Primaries in Indiana and Ohio will test Trump’s influence among Republican voters. The Secret Service said it shot a man near the White House. Plus, how the settlement between actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni came to be.
Here’s what to know today.
Trump seeks payback in Indiana and key matchups to be solidified in Ohio
President Donald Trump’s effort to defeat Republicans who have opposed his key priorities turns to Indiana and Ohio, where voters will decide a slate of primary contests across the two states.
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It’s uncommon for state legislative races to take center stage on a primary night, but that’s what’s happening in Indiana, where Trump has endorsed challengers to seven of the eight Republican state senators running for re-election. The common theme among the seven incumbents: They voted against a Trump-backed redistricting play, and a number of the Republicans that the president endorsed favor redistricting. NBC News’ politics team will be watching to see if voters respond to Trump’s heavy-handed tactics.
In Ohio, the top two statewide races don’t have much suspense tonight, but they do set up key races in the general election. Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, backed by Trump and the Ohio GOP, is expected to win the GOP nomination in his bid for governor. And in the special Senate race to fill the final two years of Vice President JD Vance’s term, appointed Republican Sen. Jon Husted and Democratic former Sen. Sherrod Brown are expected to advance. Democrats have their eyes on this race in November as one potential path to help undo Republicans’ 53-47 Senate majority.
Though most of the attention will be on Indiana and Ohio, we’ll also be keeping an eye on a race in Michigan to fill a vacant state Senate seat. The special election there is seen as one that could test voters’ attitudes ahead of the state’s primaries in August.
More politics news:
- Iowa’s primaries in less than a month are getting attention from Vice President JD Vance, who’s headed to the state today, the latest development that underscores Republicans’ midterm jitters.
- The Supreme Court temporarily restored full access to the abortion pill mifepristone, blocking a lower court decision.
- A new book about Trump’s mass deportation program details a heated clash over the Department of Homeland Security’s “master plan” to carry out the president’s agenda.
Secret Service says it shot a man after he opened fire near the White House
The Secret Service said agents shot a man yesterday near the White House after the man allegedly opened fire when he was confronted by authorities. According to Secret Service Deputy Director Matthew Quinn, the man was spotted around 3:30 p.m. by plainclothes officers who alerted uniformed officers to apprehend him. The man allegedly ran away and brandished a firearm. Secret Service agents returned fire after the man fired in their direction, Quinn said.
A bystander, who said he is a minor, was hit by gunfire and was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The suspect was taken to a hospital, Quinn said.
While the incident unfolded, Trump was holding a small business summit in the White House, but the event was not interrupted.
How the Lively-Baldoni settlement came together
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How the Lively-Baldoni dispute affected both actors’ careers
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The legal battle between “It Ends With Us” co-stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni is over after they reached a settlement deal, their lawyers announced yesterday. The case had been set to go to trial in just two weeks. Publicly, lawyers for Lively and Baldoni continued to hash out pretrial issues before a federal judge.
But behind the scenes, talks to resolve the case began in earnest last month, after a judge dismissed most of Lively’s claims, including harassment, defamation and conspiracy. The teams held a meeting over the weekend and finalized the deal yesterday, a source familiar with the matter said.
The Met Gala’s most daring looks
Beyoncé wore a bejeweled skeleton gown. Bad Bunny dressed as himself — but much older. Blake Lively waved to fans hours after her legal drama with Justin Baldoni ended (see above). And Heidi Klum was statuesque (literally). These were a few of the standout moments from fashion’s biggest night at the Met Gala. The dress code was “depictions of the dressed body throughout art history,” and the stars certainly delivered.
See the best looks from the night, and see other standout moments you may have missed.
More Met Gala coverage:
- For subscribers: Go behind the scenes at the Mark Hotel, a hot spot through the years for celebs, their stylists and fans on gala night.
Read All About It
- The ceasefire in the Middle East is in peril after the United States and Iran traded fire and threats over Trump’s “Project Freedom,” which aims to force open the Strait of Hormuz.
- A federal judge apologized to the man charged with attempting to assassinate Trump over the conditions at the jail where he is being held.
- The cruise ship at the center of a deadly hantavirus outbreak was refused permission to dock, with nearly 150 people still on board.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a two-day ceasefire in the war with Ukraine.
- Spirit Airlines said in new court papers that “recent geopolitical events” and a “sustained increase in fuel prices” forced the carrier to ground its fleet for good.
Staff Pick: Curses are part of baseball. That’s especially true for the Mets.
Last month, as the New York Mets went on a 12-game losing streak, the New York Post blamed the city’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani. He’d been seen hugging Mr. Met as the losing run began, and the tabloid said he’d cursed the team.
I found the whole episode very Metsian. I covered the team for the New York Times from 2013-2016, and strange things seemed to regularly happen to them.
But I was curious, what was it with baseball and “curses”? Through my reporting, I found this sort of thinking going back to the 1880s, when players rubbed a mascot’s head for good luck. Superstitions have always been part of the game, I learned, and the Mets seem more susceptible to them than most. — Tim Rohan, sports editor
NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified
At NBC Select, we’re not afraid to question viral trends. Recently, we spoke to dentists about whether mouth taping actually works before interviewing personal trainers about the efficacy of under-desk ellipticals. Then, in the name of good journalism, we “Bricked” our phones for two full weeks to see if it would actually help reduce our screentime.
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