Live from NPR News in Washington, on Corvo Coleman, voters in Virginia have h...
to Democrats, they narrowly voted to redraw congressional maps to favor Democrats.
“From Member Station VPM, Jan Kalil reports.”
Virginia's approval for redistricting brings Democrats even or ahead of the Republican redistricting push that President Trump kicked off in July last year. The map that voters approved could lead to a four-seat gain for Dems in the House. In a statement, Virginia's Democratic speaker of the House, Don Scott, said Virginia sent a message to Trump.
Republican said the process was tilted and the courts would have the last word. There are still court cases outstanding that could nullify the results, because Republicans have challenged the process by which Democrats put the redistricting question before voters.
Virginia is the second-time voters have redistricted through the ballot box.
For NPR News, I'm Chad Kalil and Richmond Virginia. President Trump announced he's extending the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran indefinitely until negotiations conclude. And B.R. Franco-Ortonius reports Trump backed away hours after issuing threats of new strikes. The President said he extended the ceasefire to request the Pakistanis who are mediating
the talks.
“The Iranians so far have dismissed the extension saying it means nothing.”
Now Trump has mentioned so many different objectives for this war, regime change, helping protesters, preventing Iran from getting a nuclear bomb. But the current priority is about control of the state of Hormuz, which Iran has maintained a steel grip on over the last several weeks. The Trump administration has tried everything to reopen the state, including aggressive
threats, to now launching its own blockade of Iranian ports, preventing ships from entering or leaving Franco-Ortonius and P.R. News. The White House. Another member of Congress has resigned the third in a week and a half, all faced the threat of expulsion for alleged misconduct.
And B.R. Sam and Greenglass reports, Congresswoman Sheila Scherfallus McCormick resigned as the ethics committee was set to recommend sanctions against her.
Scherfallus McCormick is under indictment for allegedly stealing $5 million in disaster relief
to fund her campaign.
“The Florida Democrats says she was denied due process.”
Former Congressman Eric Swallwell and Tony Gonzalez resigned last week amid allegations of sexual misconduct and a fourth member, Florida Republican Corey Mills, could face an expulsion vote over accusations of assault among other offenses. All four have denied wrongdoing. Congress has only ever expelled a few members.
They often resigned before facing that vote. But some rank-and-file members have been pushing for expulsion votes as investigations drag on and embattled members hold on. They say Congress must deal with misbehavior swiftly or risk further eroding trust in the institution, same Greenglass and P.R. News Washington.
On Wall Street in pre-market trading down futures are up nearly 300 points. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. Homeland Security Secretary Mark Wayne Mullin is warning his agency will run out of money in early May. He says thousands of employees such as TSA workers won't get paid.
The agency has been partially shut down in a congressional dispute over the actions of federal immigration agents. The agency has been shuffling money to temporarily pay workers. NASA is continuing preparations to launch a major space telescope. It's being sent to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, ahead of September's scheduled launch
date. And P.R. Snow Greenfield Bois reports that telescope is expected to reveal new galaxies and new planets. NASA officials announced the launch plan at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. There, in a giant clean room, was the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which is named
after NASA's first chief of astronomy.
The approximately $4 billion telescope has a primary mirror as big as the one in the Hubble
Space Telescope, but it has a much wider field of view than Hubble and will be able to survey the sky up to a thousand times faster. Nikki Fox is the head of NASA's Science Mission Directorate. Roman will discover tens of thousands of new planets outside our solar system. It will reveal billions of galaxies.
It should also help astronomers understand mysteries like dark energy and dark matter. Nell Greenfield Bois NPR News. Today is Earth Day. The observation officially began in 1970 as a teaching for students. It's now observed worldwide with events such as local cleanups.
I'm Core of a Coleman, NPR News. Across the country, parents are taking their kids out of traditional public schools and opting for private or charter schools instead. My kids have to come first for me, the great good has to come second. On the Sunday Story, we go to Cedar Rapids Iowa to see how going all in on school choice
is leaving some students behind.
