[MUSIC]
U.S. forces intercepted Iran in attacks on Navy ships in the street for moves. The U.S. responded by hitting launch sites inside Iran, but President Trump says the ceasefire is still on. They try for, I call that a trifle.
I'm Leila Faldin, that same Martinez and this is up first from and be our news.
[MUSIC] Tennessee is the first state to redraw its congressional map after the Supreme Court weakened the Voting Rights Act. The new map breaks up a majority black district in Memphis, effectively eliminating the state's last Democratic House seat. And the U.S. military's facing allegations about undisclosed air strikes on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean. Survivors say fishermen were attacked detained and transported for days with little food or water.
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For a second time this week, the U.S. and Iran traded fire.
The U.S. military says three Navy ships came under attack Thursday as they move through waters near Iran. U.S. Central Command says it responded by attacking Iranian missiles and drone sites. NPR International correspondent Hayah Bathrawi is in Dubai, tell us what else do we know about what happened last night in the Gulf? Yes, this is the first report of U.S. air strikes on Iranian soil since the ceasefire a month ago.
Sent comes as it responded to, quote, unprovoked Iranian attacks and responded with self-defense strikes yesterday. After they say three U.S. Navy ships were attacked by Iranian speedboats missiles and drones while moving through the street of her moves southward and out toward the Gulf of a man. Now, sent comes as it intercepted those attacks. Iran, though, says the U.S. started this latest round of violence by attacking one of its oil tankers in the street, and that three areas along
its coast were hit by U.S. air strikes, and that it did hit those U.S. naval ships, transiting the street. Iran's first news agency published videos of Iran's missile attacks against U.S. forces. Have a listen. And a this vital waterway was where we saw violence flare up also on Monday when President Trump launched that surprise operation called Project Freedom to try and take control of the straight from Iran, but that operation was abruptly halted by Trump.
And both times the violence risks engulfing this region again, the United Arab Emirates were talking to you from came under Iranian attacks throughout the week, including again last night.
Yeah, the control of the straight forward moves is Iran's most important point of leverage.
So what does this latest round of violence mean for the ceasefire? Right. This waterway is vital to the world, but Iran has blocked access to it to ship since the start of the war. And, you know, with ships unable to transit, we're seeing really high oil prices because there's now 13 million barrels of oil a day off the market and shortages and things like fertilizers and other products that come from this region. And this has hurt Trump's polling
ahead of midterm elections later this year. But despite this latest round of violence, neither the US or Iran seem eager to return to war. Listen to what Trump told reporters yesterday. He says the ceasefire is still on. They trifle with us today. We blew him away. They trifle. They call that a trifle. I'll let you know when there's no cease. You won't have to know.
“If there's no ceasefire, you're not going to have to know. You should have to look at one big”
glow coming out of Iran. But alongside those comments, Trump is still threatening Iran with more bombing. If it does not agree to a US proposal to ending this war, Iran says it's reviewing that text and will deliver our response to mediator Pakistan. You mentioned the UAE coming under Iranian attack again this week. So what are you hearing from Gulf Arab states? The UAE has borne the brown of Iran's attacks throughout this war,
including this week when its key oil terminal caught fire for two days from Iranian drone attack. And it says it reserves the right to self defense. And we also know that the UAE's using Israeli and US defense systems to intercept Iran's attacks. Iran's foreign ministry, however, is warning leaders in Abu Dhabi against quote collusion with Israel and the US. But the UAE is doubling down on those alliances and says a ceasefire with Iran is not enough.
It wants the US to push for a deal that also limits Iran's missiles and drones and its support for proxies like Hezbollah. But you know, other countries in the region like Qatar, Al-Man and Saudi Arabia, they're more supportive of current ceasefire efforts because they don't want their infrastructure attack again. The Pakistani Prime Minister says that he and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince asked Trump to halt project freedom earlier this week and he did after
“just 36 hours. And supportive Gulf Arab states is important because the US needs their approval”
to use bases and their airspace. That's MPR international correspondent Taya Batrawi in Dubai. Thanks a lot. Thank you.
Tennessee is the first day to redraw its congressional map after the Supreme ...
move last week to weaken protections against racial discrimination in redistricting under the Voting Rights Act. Yeah, Tennessee's legislature passed it and the governor signed it into law on Thursday. It carves up a majority black district eliminating the state's last democratic house seat. His part of a wave of Republican lead states that have redrawn voting maps ahead of the midterm elections. President Trump kicked off the National Redistricting
Race last year. Jordan is from member station WPL and in Nashville this morning is Mariana
“Bakiao. So what can you tell us about the new congressional lap in Tennessee?”
Well, the biggest change is to the city of Memphis, a majority black district that up until last week had been protected under part of the Voting Rights Act. Now the city will be split into three different congressional districts and it means all nine of the state's U.S. house seats are more likely to go to Republicans. Protesters from the state's blue cities argue that
this will take away the voice of voters who support Democrats roughly a third of the state's
population. Some Republicans agreed in their own way. We had a few no votes and a few who have stained but by and large the state's Republican Supermajority was on board with Trump's redistricting plan. Now Memphis's ninth congressional district was pretty compact. Now it will stretch nearly 300 miles from the border with Mississippi in the western corner of the state to the edge of Nashville
“in the middle of the state. Okay, so what's been the early reaction? The NAACP has filed the”
petition to challenge the map. They've argued that this is too close to the election to change the maps. People could be confused about what district they're even in. But across the country mid-decade redistricting efforts have survived in court so far at least Republicans have said this is strictly partisan and partisan jury-mandering is legal. This is what state representative Jason Zachary had to say yesterday during the floor debate. This map was drafted based on politics and based on
population and the opportunity for the first time in history for us the sin and entire Republican
delegation from Tennessee to represent the state in Washington DC. The protesters who came to Nashville from Memphis for demonstrations yesterday said you can't really consider this without the context of race and the obstacles that have historically stopped black voters from casting a ballot.
“One protester to Kiela Johnson addressed the crowd by invoking Tennessee's history as the birthplace”
of the Ku Klux Klan and Nashville's history as the first city to desegregate lunch counters. Even though they see this as a setback, protesters say what really matters is who comes out to vote in November. Now Tennessee is the first state to do this after the Supreme Court ruling. Doesn't look like it's going to be the last to what states could possibly be next. Yeah, just in the last few days, Republicans and states across the South Louisiana, Alabama and
South Carolina are rushing to redistrict congressional maps. That's on top of redistricting that started last year when President Trump asked states to redraw maps to give Republicans an edge. Now, California and Virginia are the only states to redraw to a Democrat. So these new maps and the new maps to come could give Republicans a redistricting advantage during the midterms and time when the party in power typically loses seats.
Marianne Buckyow from WPLN. Thank you very much. Thank you. Well, much of the attention on the U.S. military is in the Middle East. There is still significant deployment in this hemisphere. The U.S. has been increasing its air strikes on what it claims are narco-terrorists operating in the eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean. The Trump administration has publicly disclosed at least 56 air strikes on boats.
They're killing at least 190 people. There are also allegations of additional undisclosed strikes. That survivors say were carried out by the U.S.
They say fishermen were detained, transported to third countries, and mistreated.
NPR's South America correspondent, Kerry Codison, Rio de Janeiro. I'll admit, Kerry. I mean, focusing on Iran has put this part of the world in the back of my mind a little bit. Yes, there has been an uptick in strikes in recent weeks, which has brought this back in the news. But the information we're getting about them and the controversy about them just stays the same. The latest strike, which is on Tuesday, which the U.S. has Southern Command says killed three men.
As usual, the military posts a short video on social media and the same turf statement
That those killed remembers of what they say is a designated terrorist organi...
transiting along known narco-trafficking routes, but no evidence or further information is provided. Legal experts say the strikes are extrajudicial killings, and that even if the suspects are criminals under international law, the U.S. must interdict them and give them a trial, which has been U.S. policy for decades. President Trump says the U.S. is involved in award the war on drugs and that these men are combatants and claims that they can be killed legally.
“Kerry, there are also those allegations about other strikes. What are people saying?”
Yes, there is disturbing testimony coming out of Ecuador, about three strikes. The most documented was on a shrimp trowler off the Galapagos islands that occurred on around March 26. In that case, human rights lawyer Fernando Bastillas says that 20 fishermen gave testimony that their ship was attacked by an aircraft. Bastillas says what happens next fits a pattern
that has been observed in two incidents and possibly a third.
“In the United States, then makes its way to the disabled vessel and at Guns Point, the fisherman”
are forced on board the U.S. ship he says. The men are then restrained, hoods are put over their heads and according to these testimonies, they are then transported by sea for days with little food and water to El Salvador. Ultimately, the men were returned to Ecuador where they are speaking
out. And family members of a crew from a third incident back in January say they receive messages
of a similar attack underway but haven't heard from their relative since and fear their dead,
“or maybe still being held in El Salvador. So, Kerry, what's the U.S. military saying about these”
allegations? In a statement, South Com, tells NPR, it has no knowledge of any of those incidents off Ecuador. The Trump administration insists the month-long action striking suspected drug trafficking boats are working. President Trump likes to cite numbers of lives saved from overdoses in the U.S. by killing these sea-faring drug traffickers, but most drug overdoses in the U.S.A. are caused by fentanyl, which is not trafficked on the seas from South America and is mostly very cocaine.
And even the South Command General Francis Donovan doubts the strikes efficacy. He told a Senate Armed Services Committee in March that, quote, "boat strikes aren't the answer." That's NPR's Kerry Khan and Rio de Janeiro. Thanks Kerry. You're welcome. And that's a
first for Friday, May 8th, I mean, Martinez. And I'm Leila Faldale. Today's episode of
U.S. was edited by Tina Crya, Acacia Squire's Tower of Neal, Muhammad Zabritisi, and Adriana Fayardo. It was produced by Ziyad Buch and Niedumas, our director, is Katie Klein. We get engineering support from Nisha Highness, our technical director is Carly Strange, and our executive producer is Jay Schaler. Join us again tomorrow.
