NPR News: 05-09-2026 11AM EDT
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What recent changes are being proposed in Alabama's congressional maps?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rahm. Alabama's Republican Attorney General has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to lift a federal court order requiring the state to use a race-based congressional map for the state's upcoming congressional primaries. It comes after Alabama's Republican governor tentatively approved new congressional maps to favor Republicans. part of a broader redistricting push after the Supreme Court removed race as a consideration for drawing district lines. NPR's Debbie Elliott reports.
Democrats fought the legislation pushed through by the Republican supermajority in the Alabama legislature. Democratic State Senator Roger Smitherman says it erases 60 years of electoral gains under the Voting Rights Act.
And that is so disturbing and so wrong, the way that one-third of the people in this state are being disenfranchised, denied an opportunity to have representation.
But Republican Garland Gudger, the president pro tem of the Alabama Senate, says race is the wrong focus.
How is the war in Iran affecting regional stability?
I think the focus is exactly what the court said, which should be about a partisan line, it's not about race. And that's, in the end, what they're focused on is one, the race, where we're focused on partisanship.
Debbie Elliott, NPR News, Montgomery. The war in Iran is now in its 10th week. There's a ceasefire in effect, but both sides continue to block the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has been reviewing a U.S. proposed agreement for days. Mirzad Borujerdi is with Missouri University of Science and Technology. He doesn't see an agreement anytime soon.
The law of unintended consequences has taken hold.
What was significant about Russia's Victory Day celebrations this year?
The war has basically produced a more radical and increasingly confident leadership in Iran that believes it can outlast U.S. political will while sustaining domestic repression to suppress internal resistance.
He was interviewed on NPR's weekend edition. Russia is commemorating the anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany. The celebrations on Red Square were scaled back amid concerns over Ukrainian drone strikes. NPR's Charles Maines reports.
For the first time in nearly 20 years, the Victory Day parade on Red Square featured no tanks, missiles, or nuclear launchers, a reflection of Kremlin fears of Ukrainian drone strikes that proved unnecessary. Both Moscow and Kiev agreed to a three-day ceasefire following a last-minute appeal from President Trump. and there were no disruptions to the Red Square ceremony. Yet in a combative speech before troops, President Vladimir Putin made clear Russia intended to continue military operations.
What incident occurred at Denver International Airport recently?
Invoking the Soviet victory, Putin insisted Russians were united in a just cause against an aggressive Ukraine backed by NATO. That despite polls that show growing public fatigue with the conflict now in its fifth year. Charles Baines, NPR News.
This is NPR News in Washington. Authorities are investigating an incident at Denver International Airport last night. Officials say a person was killed after being struck by a Frontier airline plane while crossing the runway. The Trump administration released files yesterday that it described as new on UFOs. NPR's Katie Riddle reports this comes after criticism over a recent lack of transparency at the Pentagon.
Much of the files consist of blurry military footage and ambiguous sightings that experts say could have many explanations. But some of the most discussed material comes from NASA's Apollo missions, including Apollo 17 in 1972.
What new information has the Trump administration released about UFOs?
Astronauts described bright drifting lights outside of their spacecraft. One compared the scene to the Fourth of July. Mick West is a technical analyst who studies this kind of military data.
It becomes clear that what they're seeing is actually just like ice particles and paint chips. that flaked off the side of the spaceship. So a lot of the things in this are being presented as being unusual, but they're actually not.
West dismissed the released files as an effort by the administration to distract the public from other current events. Katie Everettel, NPR News.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What recent changes are being proposed in Alabama's congressional maps?
0:00–1:06
2
How is the war in Iran affecting regional stability?
1:06–1:42
3
What was significant about Russia's Victory Day celebrations this year?
1:42–2:42
4
What incident occurred at Denver International Airport recently?
2:42–3:41
5
What new information has the Trump administration released about UFOs?
3:41–4:23
6
What political shift is happening in Hungary's new parliament?
4:23–5:03