Live from NPR news in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton.
The U.S. carried out more strikes on Iran tonight as President Trump continues to say
“Iran is desperate to make a deal to end the war.”
Trump has been facing pressure from members of his own party to line down the war as high gas prices hit American consumers during a cabinet meeting. Trump insisted the midterm elections won't make him rush into a deal to end the war. "They could have done it out, wait me, you know, we'll out wait him, he's got the midterm and I don't care about the midterm. So what happened last night? That was the prelude to
the midterm's. People understand that they know that very simple Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. I'm doing that for the world. I'm not doing it just for those." Today, Trump again said a deal is near, but the negotiations are clearly still in flux.
Trump wants a deal to reopen the state of Hormuz and provide him a credible argument
that Iran's nuclear capability has been diminished. California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a bill to ban law enforcement from interfering in elections in ahead of the state's primary next week. The bill was authored after a California sheriff seized hundreds of thousands of ballots earlier this year, from member station KVCR, Madison Almett reports.
The new law makes it a crime for law enforcement authorities to seize ballots from election officials. It also banes them from accessing voting equipment and list without a court order. Newsom says the law strengthens election integrity amid challenges from local and federal
“officials. If they clarify the rules of engagement, that's why this legislation is important.”
They're fines associated with this. And jail time. Three years. The fine for taking ballots is $1,000. In February, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco who's a Republican and running for governor seized 650,000 ballots from a vote to redraw the state's congressional map to favor Democrats. For NPR News, I'm Madison Almett in San Bernady now. The confirmed death toll from a chemical tank rupture at a paper mill in
Washington state has now climbed to two with another nine on account for his Oregon Public Broadcasting's Conrad Wilson reports federal officials will also announce they were opening an investigation. Authorities say they don't expect to find any more survivors from Tuesday's rupture of a 900,000 gallon chemical tank at the Nippon Dyna Wave Packaging Company in Longview. Governor Bob Ferguson says the impacts to the community and families are profound.
Bracing ourselves for this being the deadliest industrial tragedy in modern Washington state history.
“Officials say air quality and drinking water in Longview are not affected by the chemicals,”
though some did spill into the Columbia River. The federal chemical safety and hazards investigation board announced it has opened an investigation into the rupture. For NPR News, I'm Conrad Wilson in Portland. The typical CEO compensation package rose nearly
6% in 2025 to $17.7 million as company boards rewarded their top executives for bigger profits
and higher stock prices. This is NPR News from Washington. The Trump administration has announced a new policy requiring green card seekers to apply from their home countries instead of in the U.S., the change affects hundreds of thousands of applicants each year. The move is part of a pivot by the administration to target legal pathways to immigration. A federal judge has ruled that the Louisiana State Penitentiaries practice of forcing inmates to work in dangerously high temperatures
is unconstitutional, but as Michael McEwn of member station WWU and O reports the judge declined to make the protections permanent. At the prison known as Angola, the farm line involves hours of laboring and fields under intense sun. Several current and former inmates sued in 2023 initially aiming to end the practice entirely. A court then ordered temporary protections for two consecutive summers, including water breaks and mandatory shade, but the judge hearing
the bench trial said he was constrained for making the protections permanent because of a previous ruling in a higher court. Attorney Samantha Poo show with the promise of justice initiative represented the plaintiffs. That means the protections won through the three years of hard fought litigation breaks, shade, accommodations for the most vulnerable can be rolled back by the Louisiana Department of Corrections at any time. Attorney's for the men said they're now considering
further legal action. For MPR News, I'm Michael McEwn and New Orleans. Taylor Swift's fiancee and three times Super Bowl champion Travis Kelsey is becoming a minority investor in the Cleveland Guardians major league baseball team. Kelsey is a native of Cleveland. He'll play in his 14th NFL season with the Kansas City Chiefs later this year. You're listening to MPR News from Washington. Every episode of it's been a minute, MPRs what's happening in culture podcast
starts by asking three questions. Who? How? Why now? If the culture's asking it, we're talking about it. At MPR, we stand for your right to be curious and indulge your cultural curiosity. Follow it's been a minute wherever you get your podcasts and we'll break down the zeitgeisty
