NPR News: 04-21-2026 10PM EDT
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst.
What recent changes occurred in Virginia's congressional redistricting?
Virginians have voted to redraw congressional maps to favor Democrats. Todd Khalil of member station VPM has more.
Virginia's approval for redistricting brings Democrats even or ahead of the Republican redistricting push that President Trump kicked off in July last year. The map that voters approved could lead to a four seat gain for Dems in the House. In a statement, Virginia's Democratic Speaker of the House, Don Scott, said Virginians sent a message to Trump. Republicans said the process was tilted and the courts would have the last word. There are still court cases outstanding that could nullify the results because Republicans have challenged the process by which Democrats put the redistricting question before voters. Virginia is the second time voters have redistricted through the ballot box.
How is the Trump administration handling voter data and what legal actions are being taken?
California was among the first to redistrict in response to Texas. For NPR News, I'm Jad Khalil in Richmond, Virginia.
An advisor to the Speaker of Iran's parliament says President Trump's decision to extend a ceasefire with Tehran indefinitely at Pakistan's request means nothing. On X, Mahdi Mohammadi says, quote, the losing side can't dictate terms. Trump extended the ceasefire, which had been set to expire tomorrow night. He also says the U.S.
What are the implications of the Southern Poverty Law Center's indictment?
blockade in the Strait of Hormuz continues. Voting rights groups are suing the Trump administration over illegally stockpiling confidential voter data. Cynthia Abrams from member station WPLN reports 12 states, including Tennessee, voluntarily handed over their voter information.
That data includes names, addresses, dates of birth, and the last four digits of voters' social security numbers. 12 states submitted the information after the Trump administration required all states to do so in an effort to create a national voter database and purge ineligible voters.
What advancements are being made with NASA's new space telescope?
Now, four individuals along with the organization Common Cause have sued the Department of Justice. They are trying to block the DOJ from storing this data and want the department to delete info it has already obtained. The lawsuit alleges the department is violating the Constitution by, quote, usurping state authority to oversee voter list maintenance. It also takes issue with the Trump administration making it a requirement to hand over sensitive information.
How has consumer spending changed recently in the U.S.?
For NPR News, I'm Cynthia Abrams in Nashville.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights organization that tracks hate groups, has been indicted by the Justice Department on federal fraud and money-related charges connected to its past use of paid confidential informants to infiltrate extremist groups. CEO Brian Vare says they use them to gather information on the activities of radical violent groups. The FBI cut ties with SPLC in 2025, calling it a partisan smear machine. Fair says the group will vigorously defend itself. U.S. futures contracts are trading higher at this hour. You're listening to NPR News. NASA's next major space telescope is getting ready to be shipped to its launch site, Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Empire's Nell Greenfield-Boyce reports the launch is now targeted for early September.
NASA officials announced the launch plan at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. There, in a giant clean room, was the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. which is named after NASA's first chief of astronomy. The approximately $4 billion telescope has a primary mirror as big as the one in the Hubble Space Telescope, but it has a much wider field of view than Hubble and will be able to survey the sky up to 1,000 times faster. Nikki Fox is the head of NASA's Science Mission Directorate.
Roman will discover tens of thousands of new planets outside our solar system. It will reveal billions of galaxies.
What does NPR's shift away from federal funding mean for public media?
It should also help astronomers understand mysteries like dark energy and dark matter. Nell Greenfield-Boyce, NPR News.
Shoppers increased their spending in March from February, but a good chunk of that money was spent at gas stations. The Commerce Department says spending rose 1.7 percent after a revised 7 tenths percent increase in February.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:04
2
What recent changes occurred in Virginia's congressional redistricting?
0:04–0:49
3
How is the Trump administration handling voter data and what legal actions are being taken?
0:49–1:14
4
What are the implications of the Southern Poverty Law Center's indictment?
1:14–1:51
5
What advancements are being made with NASA's new space telescope?
1:51–2:17
6
How has consumer spending changed recently in the U.S.?
2:17–3:53
7
What does NPR's shift away from federal funding mean for public media?
3:53–5:03