NPR News: 05-08-2026 7PM EDT
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What recent decision did the Virginia Supreme Court make regarding redistricting?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton. The Virginia Supreme Court delivered a striking blow to Democrats in the national redistricting battle with Republicans today. The court ruled that last month's voter referendum in Virginia, which allowed Democrats to shift four congressional districts their way, violated the state constitution. Jad Khalil of member station VPM explains.
That victory in the vote was the focus of a lot of the Democratic responses. And they said, you know, broadly that this overturned the popular will. They were kind of varied in different ways. So some Democrats said that they'll try to appeal it to the U.S. Supreme Court and others are just looking forward to the midterms. With the old map, Democrats could still pick up one or two seats. So that's sort of interesting. But Republicans, on the other hand, are celebrating the
Jad Khalil of VPM reporting. The U.S. is facing a child care crisis as operating costs and tuition continue to rise, leaving families with few affordable options. Some places are looking to ramp up supply by removing red tape on new child care centers. Cynthia Abrams with member station WPLN reports Nashville is testing the approach.
Nashville has decided to give proposals for new child care centers priority in the zoning process. The city is also looking to ease regulations for facilities, making it simply easier to open one. City leaders, like Mayor Freddie O'Connell, hope that removing bureaucratic hurdles could increase supply and have positive ripple effects. This isn't just a child care problem. It's a workforce problem and ultimately an economic and family and household problem. Because when a Nashville parent can't find care, it is much harder to go to work. Similar approaches have been considered in other states, including California, Washington State, New Hampshire, and Colorado. For NPR News, I'm Cynthia Abrams in Nashville.
The unemployment rate held steady last month as employers added 115,000 jobs. But as NPR's Scott Horsley reports, the hiring was largely concentrated in just a handful of industries.
Healthcare, restaurants, retailers, and delivery companies all added jobs last month. while factories and the federal government cut workers. LinkedIn economist Corey Cantanga says it's encouraging the unemployment rate stayed low at just 4.3%, but the opportunities to find a job are still limited.
We still see that there's not a lot of momentum, and job seekers feel that. When we ask our members how they feel about their ability to get and hold a job, that is at historic lows.
Average wages in April were up 3.6 percent from a year ago, but much of that gain is being eroded by inflation, especially with a sharp jump in gasoline prices. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.
U.S. stocks closed up today, and Monster Energy Drinks was one of the top performers. Its overseas expansion has been juicing its earnings. The energy drink maker says international sales were up almost 45 percent for the quarter at over a billion dollars and now make up about 45 percent of its total revenue. This is NPR. Three western U.S. states have announced a new two-year deal to stabilize the Colorado River. California, Nevada, and Arizona say their proposal would save 3.2 million acre-feet of water through 2028. That's enough water to serve more than 25 million people a year. The deal still needs federal approval and comes after the driest winter on record. Many foods are evaluated using internationally recognized standards, but that wasn't so for chocolate's key ingredient, cacao, until recently.
Ari Daniel reports.
The standardized process of evaluating cacao took years to develop. It involves roasting the beans, separating out the shells, and then running the nibs through a mill. Sugar and cocoa butter are added before pouring the resulting chocolate into molds. Julien Simonis helped develop the process for the Cacao of Excellence program, created by a non-profit in Rome.
How is Nashville addressing the child care crisis?
Harmonizing the way of talking about a food product, it's to see the differences, to let people appreciate it.
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