Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Hurst.
The Supreme Court laid today rejected Virginia's request to use a new congressional map
that favored Democrats in all but one of the state's congressional seats.
“The map, which was approved by the state's voters, was a key part of the effort by Democrats”
to counter a Republican wave of redistricting set off by President Trump and a Supreme Court decision that largely got it, the last remaining provision of the landmark voting rights act. And here's Nina Totenberg has more. The new map was approved by Virginia voters in an April referendum, but the state Supreme Court, by a 43 vote, invalidated the referendum, because the court said state legislators
had failed to follow the proper procedures under the state constitution. Virginia Democrats and the state attorney general appeal to the Supreme Court, containing that the state court decision overwrote the will of the people. But in a one sentence order, the high court refused without explanation to intervene in the case.
Nina Totenberg and PR News Washington. Democratic Congressman Steve Cohen is ending his reelection bid after Tennessee Republicans
“approved mid-decade redistricting, pushed by President Trump, very on a Bach a y'all”
of member station WPLN reports. The new congressional map splits Cohen's home city of Memphis into three different districts. Tennessee's ninth congressional district, which Cohen has represented for nearly 20 years, now stretches 300 miles from Memphis to the edge of Nashville. Cohen is doing to block the redistricting plan, but a federal judge has allowed the map
to go into effect while multiple legal challenges go forward. Cohen says he would rejoin the race if the map were struck down in court, and the meantime more state lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have joined the race. For NPR News, I'm Mariana Buckejow in Nashville. Ukraine's president and at the top United Nations official say Russia deliberately targeted
a UN vehicle in southern Ukraine with attacked drones. And here's Joanna Kakis' reports, the strike took place in a part of Ukraine where Russians haunted civilians with drones.
“A vehicle carrying staff from the UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs”
was hit twice by small first-person view drones.
No one was injured. Tom Fletcher, the UN's emergency relief coordinator, told a briefing he was awoken in the middle of the night to news of the drone strike. Where our people were very, very lucky to escape with their lives in what looks like a targeted attack.
We are furious about that, and we will demand accountability and full investigations. The attack took place in Ukraine's southern her son region where Russian troops used drones to hump civilians on foot and in vehicles. Ukrainians call this practice the human safari, Joanna Kakis' NPR News cave. And you're listening to NPR News from Washington.
Today marks the end of Jerome Powell's eight-year run as chair of the Federal Reserve. He helps steer the Central Bank through a tumultuous period that included double-digit unemployment during the pandemic, followed by the highest inflation in four decades. Kevin Worscht takes over as Fed chair after getting this Senate confirmation this week, but in an unusual move, Powell will remain on the Fed's governing board.
The Trump administration has notified Congress it has $19 billion set aside to close down
the U.S. agency for international development, money that was allocated for aid for global health and development. As NPR's Gabriela Emmanuel reports, a group of democratic lawmakers have now sent a letter arguing how wasteful and unnecessary it is. In January last year, President Trump's team dismantled much of the country's international
aid efforts, while most of the work stopped immediately the process of ending contracts and winding down projects continues. Democratic Congresswoman Lois Franco from Florida says the cut in foreign aid has created chaos and suffering. Having one with whole 19 billion more to clean up their mess of funds that were appropriated
by Congress to fight malaria, tuberculosis, hunger. NPR reached out to the office of budget and management as well as what remains of the U.S. agency for international development, but did not get a reply. Gabriela Emmanuel and PR News While street lower by the closing bell, the Dow Dawn 537 points NASDAQed on 410.
I am Janine Herbst, NPR News in Washington This week on the NPR Politics Podcast, President Trump in China, the latest on a summit that was built as a major meeting on Trade and AI, being overshadowed by the war in Iran, a close ally and trade partner of China, what's happening with tariffs and how is it affecting consumers on the NPR politics podcast?
