NPR News: 02-04-2026 3PM EST
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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. The U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for California to use the state's new Democratic-leaning congressional map for this year's midterm election. NPR's Hansi Lowong reports the ruling comes as Democrats and Republicans continue their fight for control of the House.
California voters approved the state's new congressional map last year to offset the new Texas map that President Trump pushed for to help Republicans. Now the Supreme Court has released an order that denies a request from California's Republican Party to block the map. The state's GOP argued that race and not partisan politics was the main driver of the map's redrawing. This ruling comes after the Supreme Court cleared the way in December for Texas to use its new Republican-friendly districts. That map kicked off a nationwide gerrymandering fight by boosting the GOP's chances of winning five additional House seats. The Supreme Court has previously ruled that partisan gerrymandering is not revealable by federal courts.
Legal fights are still continuing over congressional maps for other states, including New York and Virginia. Anzi Luong, NPR News.
Leaders in Fulton County, Georgia, say they filed a motion in federal court wanting the return of 2020 election documents seized in a federal raid last week. Raul Balio from member station WABE reports from Atlanta.
Fulton County Commission Chair Rob Pitt says the targeting of the county is about President Donald Trump not accepting his 2020 loss in Georgia and claims it was stolen specifically in the county.
This case is not only about Fulton County. It's about elections. across Georgia and across the nation. But Fulton County, make no mistake, in my opinion, we are the poster child here of all the states, all the counties, all the cities that may involve is Fulton County, Georgia, because of the 2020 elections.
Fulton County leaders are also worried the raid will be used as a pretext for the Republican-led state election board taking over the county election board ahead of the 2026 midterms. For NPR News, I'm Raul Bally in Atlanta.
The Trump administration is setting up a critical minerals trading bloc as a counterweight to China. NPR's Michelle Kellerman reports on a conference at the State Department today.
Vice President J.D. Vance is appealing to diplomats from 55 nations taking part in the conference to join the Trump administration's critical minerals trading bloc.
We have close to two-thirds of the world's GDP represented, and so we have the capacity to make ourselves more independent, more self-reliant, and that's what we should be doing.
He says it's crazy that some critical minerals projects are struggling to attract investors. The U.S. blames China for flooding the market to make the world more dependent on Beijing. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says countries should be interested in diversifying supply chains. He calls this a top priority of the Trump administration. Michelle Kellerman, NPR News, the State Department.
On Wall Street, the Dow was up 325 points. This is NPR. It's been four days since the 84-year-old mother of Today Show host Savannah Guthrie went missing near Tucson, Arizona. NPR's Juliana Kim reports authorities believe she may have been taken by force.
Hours after the briefing, the Pima County Sheriff's Department wrote on X that they were aware of reports of a possible ransom note circulating. A few news outlets reported receiving a potential ransom note and alerted authorities. Celebrity gossip site TMZ said the message it received demanded millions in Bitcoin. Authorities themselves didn't elaborate on the details of an alleged ransom note.
That's NPR's Juliana Kim reporting. China says beginning next year, it will ban electronically operated car door handles, ones that are hidden until needed. NPR's Camilla Dominovsky reports the futuristic handle design, popularized by Tesla vehicles, has been linked to multiple deaths.
Hidden door handles have taken off with many carmakers for reasons both aerodynamic and aesthetic.
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