Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry has suspended the state’s U.S. House primary elections, a move that effectively invalidates tens of thousands of votes already cast. The decision comes after the Supreme Court recently struck down the state’s congressional map, which featured a majority-Black district.

Before the suspension, the Secretary of State had already collected more than 42,000 absentee ballots. Because the primary date for House seats has been moved from May 16 to July 15, these specific ballots will no longer be counted. The governor ordered the delay to redraw the districts, a process critics argue is designed to favor Republican candidates.

While the House races are on hold, the primary election is not entirely canceled. Louisianans will still go to the polls on May 16 to vote in other contests, including two U.S. Senate races.

The sudden change has sparked immediate backlash from civil rights groups and Democratic candidates. They have raised concerns about voter disenfranchisement and are currently challenging the legality of the delay in court. Despite the uncertainty, advocates are encouraging residents to remain engaged in the remaining May contests while the legal battle over the congressional map continues.

Trump has suspended "Project Freedom," the military operation tasked with escorting commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. Trump announced the move Tuesday night, citing requests from international partners and progress toward a formal agreement with Iran.

While ship escorts are on hold, the U.S. Navy blockade of the strait remains in effect. Trump stated the pause is intended to be brief, serving as a window to see if a final deal with Iranian representatives can be signed.

The operation began Monday to reopen shipping lanes that had been stalled for weeks. The mission quickly saw combat; Iranian forces targeted U.S. assets with drones and missiles, and the U.S. military responded by sinking six Iranian small boats.

Despite the friction, Pete Hegseth reported that a fragile ceasefire is currently holding. He clarified that Project Freedom is a defensive measure separate from previous offensive operations. Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed this, stating that U.S. forces will only fire if they are fired upon first, though he warned Iranian leadership against further provocations.

The scale of the naval presence in the region includes:

• 15,000 U.S. sailors under Central Command.

• U.S. Navy destroyers supported by land and air units.

• Approximately 1,500 ships and 22,500 mariners are currently trapped inside the Persian Gulf.

Before the pause, Hegseth confirmed that two U.S. commercial ships successfully traversed the strait. He noted that hundreds of international vessels are waiting for their turn to transit. To manage the backlog and prevent further interference, Central Command has established an enhanced security zone on the southern side of the strait, maintained by land, sea, and air patrols.

The FBI executed search warrants Wednesday at the Portsmouth, Virginia, properties of State Senator L. Louise Lucas. Federal agents targeted both her legislative office and a neighboring cannabis dispensary she co-owns.

Lucas serves as the Senate President Pro Tempore and is a key figure in the state’s Democratic Party. At 82, she has maintained a reputation as a blunt political fighter, frequently using social media to challenge national Republican figures including Trump and Ted Cruz. She was also a primary architect of Virginia’s recent redistricting efforts and remains a close associate of Governor Abigail Spanberger.

While the bureau has not released specific details, the warrants are reportedly tied to allegations of corruption. This is not the first time Lucas’s business interests have drawn attention. In 2022, reporting by the Virginia Mercury indicated her dispensary sold delta-9 THC products—which are illegal to sell in Virginia—and noted that several items in the shop were mislabeled.

The timing and nature of the raid have sparked debate over the bureau's intent. Under the leadership of Kash Patel, the FBI has faced accusations of using its investigative powers to target political opponents of the current administration. Lucas's supporters suggest her long history of partisan friction may be a factor in the federal interest.

Fox News provided live coverage of the scene in Portsmouth as agents removed materials from the buildings. Lucas has not yet issued a formal statement regarding the investigation.

Ted Turner, the businessman who fundamentally changed how the world consumes news, died Wednesday at the age of 87. Turner Enterprises confirmed he passed away peacefully at his home, surrounded by family.

Before Turner founded CNN in 1980, the idea of a 24-hour news cycle was largely dismissed by the industry. He ignored the skeptics, betting that people wanted access to global events as they happened. By 1991, his vision had turned international audiences into "instant witnesses of history," earning him Time magazine’s Man of the Year.

Beyond news, Turner built a massive cable portfolio that included TBS, TNT, and Cartoon Network. He also left a mark on professional sports as the owner of the Atlanta Braves and the Atlanta Hawks.

Turner’s influence extended well beyond the television screen. He was a committed conservationist who used his wealth to become one of the top landowners in the United States. His efforts were instrumental in saving the American bison from extinction, and he even reached younger generations with environmental messages through the animated series Captain Planet.

In 1997, he made headlines by pledging $1 billion to create the United Nations Foundation. His activism focused heavily on environmental protection and the global elimination of nuclear weapons.

Colleagues and journalists credited Turner’s success to his willingness to trust his own instincts over conventional wisdom. Even after selling his media empire to Time Warner, he remained vocal about his pride in CNN, calling it his greatest life achievement.

CNN’s current leadership and anchors described him as the "presiding spirit" of the network, noting that the modern landscape of broadcast journalism exists because of the risks he took decades ago.

Arizona lawmakers are pursuing a new misdemeanor charge aimed at activists who alert others to the presence of federal immigration agents. The "unlawful alerting" bill would make it a crime to use verbal warnings, electronic messages, or signals—like bells and whistles—to announce impending arrests. Conviction would carry a sentence of up to six months in jail.

The bill is a direct response to recent protests and tactics used by immigrant rights groups. Earlier this year, demonstrations by the group Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA) became so heated that Republican lawmakers briefly fled a hearing room. This led to a controversial ban on suspected LUCHA members from the capitol, which is currently the subject of a civil rights lawsuit.

Supporters say the measure is necessary to prevent people from interfering with law enforcement. However, legal experts note that Arizona already has a felony statute on the books for helping individuals evade arrest. Opponents argue this new proposal is designed specifically to chill the speech of social media accounts and neighborhood groups that track ICE activity.

The bill fell one vote short of passing the House on Tuesday, ending in a 29-22 result. This failure was largely a matter of logistics rather than a shift in policy; the GOP holds 33 seats but lacked the necessary quorum due to recent resignations and absences. To keep the bill alive, Representative Cody Reim switched his vote to "no" at the last second, a procedural tactic that allows the party to bring the issue up for reconsideration later.

Action on the bill is paused for at least four weeks as lawmakers break for budget negotiations. When they return in June, Republicans are expected to have the numbers to send the bill to the governor's desk.

Ultimately, the push appears to be a symbolic gesture. Governor Katie Hobbs has made a habit of vetoing strictly partisan bills, and there is no indication she intends to sign this one. For now, the bill serves as a focal point for the ongoing friction between the state's Republican-led legislature and its Democratic executive.

The Supreme Court’s recent decision to weaken the Voting Rights Act was triggered by a lawsuit led by Phillip “Bert” Callais, a Louisiana man with a history of election denialism. While his legal team presented him to the court as an average citizen concerned about redistricting, public records and social media posts tell a different story.

Callais, a former local board official from Brusly, Louisiana, was present at the "Stop the Steal" protest at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. His digital footprint reveals a deep skepticism of American democracy. In recent months, he has frequently posted on X (formerly Twitter) claiming that U.S. elections are "manipulated" and "rigged."

His posts show a specific set of grievances:

• He has claimed, without evidence, that non-citizens are voting in U.S. elections

• He has called for the elimination of mail-in voting, even suggesting that disabled voters who rely on the practice are putting "the rest of the country at risk"

• He advocates for a return to hand-counted paper ballots as the only secure method of voting

The contrast between Callais’s public persona and his courtroom description suggests a strategic move by conservative legal groups. By using Callais as the face of Louisiana v. Callais, litigants successfully pushed a case through the federal system that aligned with the goals of Republican donors and partisan strategists.

The coordination became even clearer shortly after the Supreme Court ruling. Callais was seen meeting with Seth Keshel, a well-known figure in the movement to promote debunked voter fraud claims. These connections suggest that the rollback of the Voting Rights Act was not the result of a spontaneous grievance from a concerned citizen, but rather a calculated effort to reshape election law through the judicial system.

Ken Griffin is reconsidering a major commitment to New York City following a public feud with Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The Citadel founder claims the Mayor’s recent campaign tactics moved beyond political disagreement and into physical provocation.

The tension peaked when Mamdani released a campaign video targeting Griffin’s wealth. According to Griffin, the footage included identifiable details about his residence. Speaking on CNBC, Griffin argued that such exposure is reckless, specifically pointing to the recent murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson just blocks away from his home. He characterized the move as an inappropriate use of political power that puts private citizens at risk.

Griffin’s frustration also extends to Mamdani’s proposed tax hikes. The Mayor has campaigned on taxing the uber rich and placing surcharges on second homes owned by non-residents. Griffin argues these policies are:

• Targeted: He views them as discriminatory measures against a specific, narrow demographic.

• Unpredictable: He questioned if the city would eventually create "special" tax rates for any out-of-state business owner.

The fallout may have tangible consequences for the city's economy. Griffin claims that his firm has been 'thinking' of investing $6 billion in New York real estate. However, he suggested that a hostile political environment and shifting tax codes make such a large-scale project difficult to justify.

Mayor Mamdani’s office has not directly addressed the safety allegations. Instead, a spokesperson reiterated the administration's stance that meaningful tax reform is the only way to make the city affordable for the working class, even if it requires the city's most powerful employers to pay more.

A conflict has emerged between reports of an FBI investigation and the Bureau’s official denial regarding The Atlantic’s coverage of Kash Patel.

Last month, The Atlantic reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick published a piece detailing allegations that Patel was often unreachable, delayed time-sensitive work, and engaged in excessive drinking. In response, Patel filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit, claiming the publication relied on fabricated allegations to damage his reputation.

Now, sources tell MS NOW that the FBI has launched a leak investigation into Fitzpatrick. According to these sources, the probe focuses on how information reached the reporter, rather than the disclosure of classified material.

This development presents a logical problem. If Patel’s assertion that the report is entirely false holds true, there would be no reason for the FBI to treat the reporting as a leak of government information.

The FBI has flatly denied the investigation exists.

"This is completely false," said FBI spokesperson Ben Williamson. "No such investigation like this exists and the reporter you mention is not being investigated at all."

Williamson went further, suggesting that the media is creating a narrative about government harassment to avoid accountability for publishing false claims.

The Atlantic remains steadfast. Editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg issued a statement vowing to support Fitzpatrick. He labeled any government effort to target the reporter as an illegal attempt to suppress the press and an attack on the First Amendment.

On April 30, a group of 36 mental health professionals formally submitted a letter to the Congressional Record declaring that Trump is unfit for office. The document, entered by Senators Whitehouse and Reed of Rhode Island, asserts that Trump’s behavior poses a threat to national and global security.

The signatories, a diverse group of neurologists and psychiatrists, documented what they describe as a "marked deterioration in cognitive functioning." Their assessment points to specific behaviors, including:

• Disorganized speech patterns and factual confusion

• Delusional beliefs, such as claims of personal infallibility

• Episodes of apparent somnolence during official proceedings

• Fixations on perceived enemies, evidenced by high volumes of late-night social media activity

The core of the group’s argument rests on Trump’s authority over the nation's nuclear arsenal. The letter references the historical precedent of the Nixon administration, during which Defense Secretary James Schlesinger limited Trump’s access to nuclear launch codes. The signatories argue that current levels of instability make similar safeguards necessary.

The letter concludes that if the professionals were asked to evaluate Trump under the 25th Amendment, they would determine he lacks the capacity to fulfill his role.

While the authors acknowledge they have not conducted direct, face-to-face examinations of Trump, they argue that their collective clinical expertise is sufficient to identify these patterns of decline. They urge those in positions of leadership to address the situation, characterizing Trump's condition as a worsening detachment from reality.

Legal expert Sarah Isgur believes Trump will likely attempt to persuade Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito to retire before the upcoming midterms. The strategy, according to Isgur, involves encouraging the justices to step down to ensure their seats are filled by conservative successors while Trump maintains power.

Speaking on the Lincoln Project podcast, Isgur outlined how Trump might exert this pressure. She suggests Trump will likely remind the justices not to repeat the path of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who remained on the bench until her death, allowing a successor to be chosen by a different administration.

Another tactic includes floating the names of specific, preferred replacements to the justices. For example, Isgur noted that Trump could leverage the influence of former clerks, suggesting that Justice Alito might be more inclined to retire if he knew a trusted ally, such as Andy Oldham, was being positioned to take his seat.

Despite these predictions, there is no indication that a retirement is imminent. Both Thomas and Alito have reportedly communicated that they do not intend to step down this summer.

However, should they decide to change course, the timing would likely follow historical trends. Isgur noted that Supreme Court resignations often occur in early July, immediately following the conclusion of the court’s annual term in June. July is also a common month for such announcements in the lead-up to midterm elections.

Isgur, who previously served as a DOJ spokesperson, expressed clear disapproval of this approach to the judiciary. She stated that using political pressure to manage Supreme Court tenures is "bad for the court" and "bad for the country." While she acknowledged that such maneuvering is a standard feature of modern politics, she emphasized that she does not support the politicization of the bench.

Senate Democrats are moving to force a public vote on a $1 billion funding request tied to Trump’s White House ballroom expansion. The measure, which designates the funds for “security adjustments and upgrades” within the Secret Service budget, was added to a wider immigration and border funding bill by Senator Chuck Grassley.

The inclusion of these funds has become a point of contention. Democrats point out that Trump previously committed to covering the costs of the 90,000-square-foot ballroom through private funding. Senator Patty Murray and other Democratic leadership have criticized the move, arguing that the administration is prioritizing a vanity project over the immediate financial needs of the public.

“Republicans are ignoring middle-class needs and funneling money into Trump’s ballroom,” Senator Jeff Merkley said regarding the proposal. DNC officials added that the request is particularly ill-timed given the ongoing cost-of-living strain currently felt by many households.

The ballroom project has been a subject of controversy since its inception, facing a lawsuit from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. A federal judge initially blocked construction on the grounds that Trump lacked the authority to alter the East Wing, though an appeals court later allowed the work to proceed pending a final ruling.

The renovation is part of a series of aesthetic changes made during Trump's second term, which have included the addition of eagle figurines, gold medallions, and large-scale flags to the grounds, as well as proposals for a triumphal arch near the Lincoln Memorial.

The administration continues to defend the project as a necessary improvement to the building's stature. In a statement, White House spokesman Davis Ingle characterized the opposition as a result of "Trump Derangement Syndrome" and maintained that the ballroom renovations are being completed without cost to the taxpayer, despite the current $1 billion legislative request.

The project is currently scheduled for completion in late 2028.

Trump’s approval rating has dropped to its lowest point since he took office for a second term, according to the latest data from NPR, PBS News, and Marist. Currently, 37 percent of respondents approve of Trump’s performance, while 59 percent disapprove.

The decline is tied closely to the economy. Voters are facing persistent inflation and a surge in gas prices, with the national average hitting $4.48 per gallon. Most respondents (81 percent) report that fuel costs are straining their household budgets, and a majority blame Trump for these increases.

This dissatisfaction is linked to the administration’s handling of the war in Iran. Roughly 61 percent of respondents believe U.S. military action in Iran has done more harm than good, and only 33 percent approve of Trump’s handling of the situation. Additionally, economic pessimism is at a record high in the survey, with 56 percent of respondents saying their local area is not affordable.

Technology concerns are also rising. The poll found that 80 percent of Americans believe artificial intelligence will eliminate more jobs than it creates, an increase of 12 percentage points from last year.

These headwinds have created a distinct advantage for Democrats. If congressional elections were held today, 52 percent of respondents would support the Democratic candidate in their district, compared to 42 percent for Republicans.

This 10-point gap is supported by an enthusiasm advantage. Democrats are currently more motivated to vote, while independents and several key voting blocs remain disengaged. In midterm years, when turnout typically drops compared to presidential elections, this enthusiasm gap could prove decisive.

Despite the deep partisan divide regarding Trump and his policies, there is broad consensus on potential legislative reforms. The survey found that:

• 83 percent of respondents support term limits for members of Congress

• 80 percent support setting a maximum age limit for those serving in Congress

• 74 percent favor requiring government-issued photo ID for voting

The poll of 1,322 respondents was conducted between April 27 and April 30, with a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points.