In today’s newsletter: This year’s gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia test each party’s political messaging ahead of next year’s midterms. An earthquake in Afghanistan leaves at least 800 dead and more than 1,300 injured. Kristi Noem confirms the Trump administration’s plans to expand ICE operations in other states after D.C. And meet the woman who has visited 100 Smithsonian exhibits and counting.
Here’s what to know today.
Gubernatorial showdowns in New Jersey and Virginia test both parties
2025’s only gubernatorial races are just two months away, providing one of the biggest tests for both parties since the last presidential election. Showdowns in New Jersey and Virginia will allow each side of the aisle to evaluate their messaging ahead of next year’s midterms: Democrats are hoping to bank on anti-Trump enthusiasm, while Republicans seek to replicate his momentum.
The GOP is feeling confident in the Garden State, which had one of the largest swings toward Trump in 2024. Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli has aligned himself with the president and earned his endorsement, but has to balance also winning voters outside his party. The popularity of current Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy could also complicate matters.
Meanwhile, New Jersey’s blue candidate, congresswoman and former Navy pilot Mikie Sherrill, is positioning herself as a fighter willing to call out her own party. She’s centering her campaign around affordability, a key topic for voters struggling with the state’s high cost of living.
In Virginia, Democrat Abigail Spanberger has seen success in the polls by blasting Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears over Trump’s massive tax cut, putting economic issues at the forefront of her message. Spanberger, a former congresswoman, also earned the endorsement of the largest police union in the state.
Still, Earle-Sears is closing in after shaking up her staff and focusing on “common sense” issues. She’s trying to closely tie herself to term-limited Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who remains popular in the state.
More politics news:
- Trump faces a hurdle in banning mail-in voting: His own party.
- A federal judge temporarily blocked the deportation of a group of Guatemalan children who had crossed the border without their families.
- Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani was hospitalized with a spinal fracture after a car accident, according to his head of security.
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Afghanistan earthquake kills more than 800 and injures 1,300
At least 800 people have been killed and more than 1,300 have been injured in Afghanistan after a powerful earthquake hit the country, Taliban officials said.
The 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck 17 miles from the city of Jalalabad near the border with Pakistan around midnight local time, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Because the earthquake hit a remote mountainous area, “it will take time to get the exact information about human losses and damage to the infrastructure,” said Sharafat Zaman, a spokesperson for the Afghan Public Health Ministry.
Kristi Noem confirms plan to expand ICE operations in major cities
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed that the Trump administration plans to expand ICE operations in major cities, including Chicago. Noem did not share specifics or comment on whether National Guard troops would be mobilized as part of such an initiative.
“We’ve already had ongoing operations with ICE in Chicago and throughout Illinois and other states, making sure that we’re upholding our laws, but we do intend to add more resources to those operations,” she said.
Her remarks came a day after Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order to combat a surge of federal law enforcement in the city. During his announcement, he affirmed that local police would not collaborate with the military on immigration.
A ‘miracle’ survivor in the Minneapolis school shooting
Doctors discovered a bullet fragment in the neck of a 10-year-old boy who went viral for recounting how his friend jumped on top of him to shield him during the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis.
Weston Halsne, a fifth grade student, described running under a pew and covering his head during the attack and said his friend Victor was shot while shielding him.
“I think I got, like, gunpowder on my neck,” he said. But doctors later discovered it was a bullet fragment. Weston’s father told NBC News that the fragment was just shy of his carotid artery, which a doctor described as a “miracle.”
Siblings Pablo and Pilar Maldonado are also young survivors of the attack, and are leaning on faith and community as they begin to heal. Pablo attended the church’s first mass since the shooting, saying it was good to “be with God” even though he’s “a little traumatized by going to church.” Read the full story here.
The Smithsonian marathon
In January, Kathryn Jones began a quest to visit every exhibit at the Smithsonian’s museums in D.C. and read every plaque. During the past eight months, she’s visited 100 exhibits at 13 museums, spending a total of 73 hours inside the buildings and almost 51 hours reading signs. All of it is documented for her TikTok account.
“A priority of mine is getting people in museums, getting people curious, reminding people that learning is fun,” she said.
Jones’ mission has new urgency as the Trump administration takes aim at the Smithsonian. Last month, it announced it would begin a systematic review to “remove divisive or partisan narratives” ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary.
Read All About It
- An 11-year-old boy was shot and killed while playing a game known as “doorbell ditch,” Houston city officials said.
- A Wisconsin boater stumbled upon a long-lost shipwreck in Lake Michigan.
- A man was found dead in a suspected homicide at the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert.
- The leaders of Russia, China and India met at a key regional summit in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin on Monday as they navigate tensions with the United States.
Staff Pick: On divided college campuses, a high-tech push to promote healthy debate
Endless digital ink has been spilled over the past decade on how college students transformed campuses from centers of inquiry into places where only so-called woke ideas are welcome. Now high-tech tools are offering a solution, promising to make college students more open-minded — and nicer — when they argue.
I looked into several new chat platforms that push students to practice disagreement. The creators told me they hope they’ll set up campuses for healthy civil discourse.
Among the most prominent is a program called Dialogues, created by entrepreneur Sal Khan, that allows high school students to debate peers on Zoom. Students then rate each other on how well they handle conflict, and share the results with colleges when they apply.
Critics say that too many students will fake their way through it, and two prominent universities already backed out of accepting these transcripts. But Khan says it builds bridges and pushes people out of their bubbles, noting that 2,500 students have tried it out in the past five months. And buzz is only growing around the other options targeting current college students and promising to transform the way they disagree.
– Tyler Kingkade, national reporter
Thanks for reading today’s Morning Rundown. Today’s newsletter was curated for you by Kayla Hayempour. If you’re a fan, please send a link to your family and friends. They can sign up here.
Platforms editor for NBC News