Justices heard arguments Wednesday over a case concerning a key provision of the Voting Rights Act related to congressional district maps in Louisiana. Lawrence Hurley, senior Supreme Court reporter for NBC News, discusses how the pending decision could drastically change voting maps in the South. Journalists from major news outlets refused to sign onto a new policy restricting who they can talk to and what type of information they can report on at the Pentagon. Melissa Korn, deputy bureau chief for media at the Wall Street Journal, explains how the move upends decades of standard practice at the Department of Defense. An investigation by the Washington Post reveals how the Department of Veterans Affairs’ disability program is fraught with shady and sometimes fraudulent claims. Craig Whitlock, investigative reporter at the Post, breaks down how the program became a target for fraud. Plus, a federal judge temporarily blocked the administration’s firing of federal workers during the shutdown, why Trump authorized CIA operations in Venezuela, and a legal battle over Uncrustables. Today’s episode was hosted by Shumita Basu.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.