NPR Headlines for Monday

 

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President Trump announced that the U.S. will "guide" stranded ships through the Strait of Hormuz starting today. The president called the operation “Project Freedom” and described it as an effort to free hundreds of ships and crews trapped in the crucial waterway since the start of the war with Iran. Trump says he is also evaluating a new offer from Iran, but has not ruled out the option of war.

🎧 The U.S. Central Command said the mission would include guided-missile destroyers, more than 100 aircraft and 15,000 service members. Iran says Project Freedom violates the ceasefire agreement. Little is known about the new offer the president is reviewing, NPR's Mara Liasson tells Up First. Trump says he's been briefed on the concept of a deal, and Iranians will give him the exact wording soon. Liasson says the economic impact of the war is weighing on Trump politically. His approval rating is down across the board, and Republicans want the war to end.

Republicans are quickly working to redraw and pass new congressional maps in time for the midterms, after a recent Supreme Court ruling weakened the Voting Rights Act. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry suspended the primaries for the U.S. House races to allow the state legislature to create a new map. Early voting started there this past weekend.

🎧 Aubri Juhasz of NPR network station WWNO visited a polling site on the first day of early voting in Louisiana. She said many voters were unsure what to do because House races are still on the ballot. It was too late to remove them, but officials said the votes cast won't be counted. Some voters told Juhasz that they cast votes just in case. Several voters, voting groups and candidates have filed lawsuits in state and federal court over the House primaries suspension. They argue that the governor doesn't have the right to cancel elections, and that it's too late to do so because absentee ballots have already been sent out.  🎧 Republicans face a tough political environment in this year's midterms. They have a razor-thin House majority, and Democrats have good odds of taking control of the lower chamber. But the Democrats' chances of taking a Senate majority will be an uphill climb. At the outset of this election cycle, the prospect seemed highly unlikely, NPR’s Domenico Montanaro says. Republicans hold a three-seat majority, which may seem small, but the competitive seats largely fall within traditionally Republican turf. Here are the key races to watch. ➡️ In 23 states, including five presidential swing states, candidates who have denied election results are running for positions that will directly impact certifying future elections. That is according to a new analysis, shared exclusively with NPRahead of its release, by States United Action, a nonprofit that seeks to protect elections. ➡️ Seven incumbent Republican state senators in Indiana who are up for re-election voted against Trump's mid-decade redistricting push in their state last year. It was a rare political defeat for the president at the hands of his own party. Trump said those Republicans should be ashamed of themselves. Now, with the primary tomorrow, the results will be a test of Trump's power of political retribution.

After an NPR investigation, lawmakers have introduced a bipartisan bill in Congress aiming to stop "claim sharks" from targeting disabled veterans. Lawmakers say these companies use predatory collection practices to charge veterans large sums for help claiming benefits with the Department of Veterans Affairs. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., and two of their Republican colleagues, would prevent companies from using auto-dialers to call federal agencies. Pappas said the legislation was prompted by a 2025 NPR investigation that revealed how a Florida company called Trajector Medical used an auto-dialer to access a VA benefits hotline meant for veterans. The company would connect to the system to monitor benefit payments for thousands of clients, often without their knowledge, and then automatically send a bill to the veteran if their payments increased.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is hospitalized and in critical but stable condition yesterday, according to his spokesperson Ted Goodman. Goodman said on social media that Giuliani, 81, is receiving treatment, but did not share details on what led to his hospitalization. It was not immediately clear how long Giuliani had been hospitalized or where his treatment was taking place. (via Gothamist)