session

Indiana Republican Gov. Mike Braun called Monday for state lawmakers to return to Indianapolis for a special session to redraw the state’s congressional boundaries, escalating a national fight over midcycle redistricting.

President Trump has ramped up pressure on Republican governors to draw new maps that give the party an easier path to maintain control of the House in the midterms. While Republicans in Texas, Missouri and North Carolina have moved quickly to enact new districts and California Democrats are seeking to counter with their own redistricting plan, Indiana lawmakers have been far more hesitant.

Braun called for the General Assembly to convene Nov. 3 for the special session. It’s unclear whether enough of the GOP majority Senate will back new maps.

The White House held multiple meetings with Indiana lawmakers who have held out for months. The legislative leaders kept their cards close as speculation swirled over whether the state known for its more measured approach to Republican politics would answer the redistricting call.

National pressure campaign

Vice President JD Vance first met with Braun and legislative leaders in Indianapolis in August and Trump met privately with state House Speaker Todd Huston and state Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray in the Oval Office weeks later. Vance also spoke to state lawmakers visiting Washington that day.

Vance returned to Indianapolis on Oct. 10 to meet with the governor, as well as the Republican state House and Senate members.

Braun is a staunch ally of Trump in a state the president won by 19 percentage points in 2024. But Indiana lawmakers have avoided the national spotlight in recent years — especially after a 2022 special session that yielded a strict abortion ban. Braun previously said he did not want to call a special session until he was sure lawmakers would back a new map.

“I am calling a special legislative session to protect Hoosiers from efforts in other states that seek to diminish their voice in Washington and ensure their representation in Congress is fair,” Braun said in a statement Monday.

Typically, states redraw boundaries of congressional districts every 10 years after the census has concluded. Opponents are expected to challenge any new maps in court.

State lawmakers have the sole power to draw maps in Indiana, where Republicans hold a supermajority in both chambers. Democrats could not stop a special session by refusing to attend, as their peers in Texas briefly did.

Republican opposition to redrawing the maps again

A spokesperson for Bray said last week that the Indiana Senate lacked the votes to pass a new congressional map and she said Monday that the votes are still lacking, casting doubt on whether a special session will achieve Braun’s goals.

With only 10 Democrats in the 50-member Senate, that means more than a dozen of the 40 Republicans oppose the idea. Some state Republican lawmakers have warned that midcycle redistricting can be costly and could backfire politically.

Republicans who vote against redistricting could be forced out of office if their colleagues back primary opponents as punishment for not toeing the party line. Braun’s move to call a special session could force lawmakers who haven’t commented publicly to take a stance.

Indiana’s Republican legislative leaders praised existing boundaries after adopting them four years ago.

“I believe these maps reflect feedback from the public and will serve Hoosiers well for the next decade,” Bray said at the time.

Indiana Senate Democratic Leader Shelli Yoder decried the special session and threatened legal action over any maps passed by the Legislature.

“This is not democracy,” she said in a statement. “This is desperation.”

Redistricting balloons

Democrats only need to gain three seats to flip control of the U.S. House, and redistricting fights have erupted in multiple states.

Some Democratic states have moved to counter Republican gains with new legislative maps. The latest, Virginia, is expected to take up the issue in a special session starting this week.

Republicans outnumber Democrats in Indiana’s congressional delegation 7 to 2, limiting possibilities of squeezing out another seat. But many in the party see it as a chance for the GOP to represent all nine seats.

The GOP would likely target Indiana’s 1st Congressional District, a longtime Democratic stronghold that encompasses Gary and other cities near Chicago in the state’s northwest corner. The seat held by third-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan has been seen by Republicans as a possible pickup in recent elections.

Lawmakers in Indiana redrew the borders of the district to be slightly more favorable toward Republicans in the 2022 election, but did not entirely split it up. The new maps were not challenged in court after they were approved in 2021, not even by Democrats and allies who had opposed the changes boosting GOP standing in the suburbs north of Indianapolis.

Mrvan still won reelection in 2022 and easily retained his seat in 2024.

Republicans could also zero in on Indiana’s 7th Congressional District, composed entirely of Marion County and the Democratic stronghold of Indianapolis. But that option would be more controversial, potentially slicing up the state’s largest city and diluting Black voters’ influence.

Volmert writes for the Associated Press.

WASHINGTON — Twenty-two days into the government shutdown, California Rep. Kevin Kiley spent an hour of his morning in Washington guiding a group of middle school students from Grass Valley through the empty corridors of the U.S. Capitol.

Normally, one of his staff members would have led the tour. But the Capitol is closed to all tours during the shutdown, unless the elected member is present. So the schoolchildren from Lyman Gilmore Middle School ended up with Kiley, a Republican from Rocklin, as their personal tour guide.

“I would have visited with these kids anyway,” Kiley said in his office after the event. “But I actually got to go on the whole tour of the Capitol with them as well.”

Kiley’s impromptu tour is an example of how members of California’s congressional delegation are improvising their routines as the shutdown drags on and most of Washington remains at a standstill.

Some are in Washington in case negotiations resume, others are back at home in their districts meeting with federal workers who are furloughed or working without pay, giving interviews or visiting community health centers that rely on tax credits central to the budget negotiations. One member attended the groundbreaking of a flood control project in their district. Others are traveling back and forth.

“I’ve had to fly back to Washington for caucus meetings, while the opposition, the Republicans, don’t even convene and meet,” Rep. Maxine Waters, a longtime Los Angeles Democrat, said in an interview. “We will meet anytime, anyplace, anywhere, with [House Speaker Mike] Johnson, with the president, with the Senate, to do everything that we can to open up the government. We are absolutely unified on that.”

The shutdown is being felt across California, which has the most federal workers outside the District of Columbia. Food assistance benefits for millions of low-income Californians could soon be delayed. And millions of Californians could see their healthcare premiums rise sharply if Affordable Care Act subsidies are allowed to expire.

For the California delegation, the fallout at home has become impossible to ignore. Yet the shutdown is in its fourth week with no end in sight.

In the House, Johnson has refused to call members back into session and prevented them from doing legislative work. Many California lawmakers — including Kiley, one of the few GOP lawmakers to openly criticize him — have been dismayed by the deadlock.

“I have certainly emphasized the point that the House needs to be in session, and that canceling a month’s worth of session is not a good thing for the House or the country,” Kiley said, noting that he had privately met with Johnson.

Kiley, who represented parts of the Sacramento suburbs and Lake Tahoe, is facing political uncertainty as California voters weigh whether to approve Proposition 50 on Nov. 4. The measure would redraw the state’s congressional districts to better favor Democrats, leaving Kiley at risk, even though the Republican says he believes he could still win if his right-leaning district is redrawn.

The Senate has been more active, holding a series of votes on the floor and congressional hearings with Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi and CIA Director John Ratcliffe. The chamber, however, has been unable to reach a deal to reopen the government. On Thursday, the 23rd day of the shutdown, the Senate failed to advance competing measures that would have paid federal employees who have been working without compensation.

The Republicans’ plan would have paid active-duty members of the military and some federal workers during the shutdown. Democrats backed a bill that would have paid all federal workers and barred the Trump administration from laying off any more federal employees.

“California has one of the largest federal workforces in the country, and no federal worker or service member should miss their paychecks because Donald Trump and Republicans refused to come to the table to protect Americans’ health care,” Sen. Alex Padilla said in a statement.

Working conditions get harder

The strain on federal employees — including those who work for California’s 54 delegation members — are starting to become more apparent.

Dozens of them have been working full time without pay. Their jobs include answering phone calls and requests from constituents, setting the schedules for elected officials, writing policy memos and handling messaging for their offices.

House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks about the shutdown at a news conference Thursday with other Republican House members.

(Eric Lee / Getty Images)

At the end of October, House staffers — who are paid on a monthly basis — are expected to miss their first paycheck.

Some have been quietly told to consider borrowing money from the U.S. Senate Federal Credit Union, which is offering a “government shutdown relief loan program” that includes a no-interest loan of up to $5,000 to be repaid in full after 90 days.

The mundane has also been disrupted. Some of the cafeterias and coffee carts that are usually open to staffers are closed. The lines to enter office buildings are long because fewer entrances are open.

The hallways leading to the offices of California’s elected officials are quiet, except for the faint sound of occasional elevator dings. Many of their doors are adorned with signs that show who they blame for the government shutdown.

“Trump and Republicans shut down the government,” reads a sign posted on the door that leads into Rep. Norma Torres’ (D-Pomona) office. “Our office is OPEN — WORKING for the American people.”

Rep. Ted Lieu, a Democrat from Torrance, posted a similar sign outside his office.

A sign is posted outside of the office of Rep. Ted Lieu, a California Democrat, in Washington on Wednesday.

(Ana Ceballos / Los Angeles Times)

Rep. Vince Fong, a Republican who represents the Central Valley, has been traveling between Washington and his district. Two weeks into the shutdown, he met with veterans from the Central Valley Honor Flight and Kern County Honor Flight to make sure that their planned tour of the Capitol was not disrupted by the shutdown. Like Kiley’s tour with the schoolchildren, an elected member needed to be present for the tour to go on.

“His presence ensured the tour could continue as planned,” Fong’s office said.

During the tour, veterans were able to see Johnson as well, his office said.

Shutdown highlights deep divisions

California’s congressional delegation mirrors the broader stalemate in Washington, where entrenched positions have kept both parties at a negotiation impasse.

Democrats are steadfast in their position that they will not agree to a deal unless Republicans extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits expiring at the end of the year, while Republicans are accusing Democrats of failing to reopen the government for political gain.

Kiley is one of the few Republicans who has called on Johnson to negotiate with Democrats on healthcare. Kiley said he thinks there is a “a lot of room to negotiate” because there is concern on both sides of the aisle if the tax credits expire.

“If people see a massive increase in their premiums … that’s not a good thing,” he said. “Especially in California, where the cost of living is already so high, and you’re suddenly having to pay a lot more for healthcare.”

Rep. Robert Garcia, the chair of the House Democratic Caucus, in a press event Wednesday with five other California Democrats talked about the need to fight for the healthcare credits.

Garcia, of Long Beach, said he recently visited a healthcare center in San Bernardino County that serves seniors with disabilities. He said the cuts would be “devastating” and would prompt the center to close.

“That’s why we are doing everything in our power to negotiate a deal that reopens the federal government and saves healthcare,” he said.

As the shutdown continues, many Democrats are digging their heels on the issue.

At an Oct. 3 event outside of Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, for instance, Rep. Laura Friedman held a news conference with nurses and hospital staff and said she would not vote for a bill to reopen the government unless there is a deal on healthcare.

Last week, the Glendale Democrat said her position hasn’t changed.

“I will not support a shutdown deal that strips healthcare from tens of thousands of my constituents,” she said.

McLaren’s Lando Norris set the pace in practice at the United States Grand Prix, split from team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri by Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg.

Norris, trailing the Australian by 22 points with six races to go, headed Piastri by 0.279 seconds at the start of a sprint weekend at the Circuit of the Americas.

Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Williams’ Alex Albon.

This was the only session before sprint qualifying at 22:30 BST.

Mercedes’ George Russell was seventh fastest, the first driver to set his fastest time on the medium tyres, ahead of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar and Haas’ Oliver Bearman.

Aug. 30 (UPI) — Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., is considering holding a special session of the state legislature to address gun laws following a shooting this week, according to multiple reports.

Walz, 61, is in the process of calling state legislators to gauge reaction to the idea, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported.

The news comes after two children were killed and 17 people were injured in a shooting during Mass at a Catholic school in Minneapolis this week.

The suspect, a 23-year-old transgender woman who reportedly previously attended the church school, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The two children killed were ages 8 and 10, while 14 of the people injured were also children.

“It’s time to take serious action at the State Capitol to address gun violence,” Walz said on X this week.

The governor has yet to officially comment on the reports of a potential special legislative session.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has been vocal in his support for changes to the state’s gun laws.

“We need action … to make sure everyone has this common foundation of safety. Let’s stop this from happening,” Frey, a Democrat, said in a video on X.

“I think we’d be happy to ban assault rifles here in Minneapolis,” he said in an interview.

Police confirmed this week the rifle, shotgun and pistol carried by suspected shooter Robin Westman were all obtained legally.

Walz is dealing with the tragedy only two months after a pair of state lawmakers and their spouses were shot — two fatally — in a politically-motivated attack.

Aug. 30 (UPI) — Republican Missouri Gov. Mike Kehow ordered a special legislative session to redraw the congressional map for its eight U.S. House seats, mirroring efforts by other governors to gain seats for their parties in the 2026 midterms.

Redistricting may face a legal challenge because the state constitution requires new borders to be determined after new census numbers come out at the beginning of each decade, with the next scheduled for 2030.

On Friday, Kehow said the state General Assembly will return to the capital in Jefferson City on Wednesday to look at changing the maps. There are now six Republicans and two Democrats representing Missouri.

Both chambers hold super-majorities. The Missouri Senate will consider the map during its annual veto session on Sept. 10.

“Today, I am calling on the General Assembly to take action on congressional redistricting and initiative petition reform to ensure our districts and Constitution truly put Missouri values first,” Kehoe said in a statement.

Kehow unveiled the Missouri First Map, which he said is “a more compact, contiguous proposed map that was drawn and created by his team in Missouri to be considered by the General Assembly.”

The new map, he said, splits fewer counties and municipalities than the current map. It preserves two congressional districts as currently drawn, and retains every current member in their proposed districts.

“Missourians are more alike than we are different, and our Missouri values, across both sides of the aisle, are closer to each other than those of the extreme Left representation of New York, California and Illinois,” Kehoe said. “Missouri’s conservative, common-sense values should be truly represented at all levels of government, and the Missouri First Map delivers just that.”

President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social on Friday that “passage of a new, much fairer, and much improved, Congressional Map, that will give the incredible people of Missouri the tremendous opportunity to elect an additional MAGA Republican in the2026 Midterm Elections – A HUGE VICTORY for our America First Agenda, not just in the ‘Show-Me State,’ but across our Nation.”

Trump, who noted he decisively won three primaries and three presidential elections, added “I call on all of my Republican friends in the Missouri Legislature to work as fast as they can to get this new Congressional Map, AS IS, to Governor Mike Kehoe’s desk, ASAP.”

In his Friday video, Kehoe said: “I appreciate President Donald Trump for raising the level of conversation on this matter, because his leadership on this nationally underscores just how important this moment is for Missouri.”

The proposed map significantly redraws the 5th congressional district, which is represented by U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Democrat, who was first elected to the U.S. House in 2004. It includes a much larger portion of the state, meaning from the western portion of the state to the eastern edge.

The district currently covers Kansas City and its surrounding areas, as well as a portion of Independence. The district is home to Harry S. Truman, a Democrat who was U.S. president from 1945-1953.

“President Trump’s unprecedented directive to redraw our maps in the middle of the decade and without an updated census is not an act of democracy — it is an unconstitutional attack against it,” Cleaver, the first Black mayor of Kansas City, said in a statement. “This attempt to gerrymander Missouri will not simply change district lines, it will silence voices.”

He added Democrats wouldn’t “concede” if the map redrawing moves forward.

“The people of the Fifth District and I will fight relentlessly to ensure Missouri never becomes an antidemocratic state, where politicians choose their voters instead of voters choosing their representatives. In the courts and at the ballot box, we will demand that the rule of law is upheld, our voices are heard, and democracy prevails.”

He noted roughly 40% of Missourians cast their ballots for Democratic candidates last year but hold only 25% of the House seats.

The other House Democrat serving the state is Wesley Bell, elected for his first term in November, and serving in the 1st Congressional District covering St. Louis. He was the first Black prosecutor in St. Louis County.

The Missouri Constitution calls for the legislature to draw new congressional districts every 10 years after new U.S. census numbers are reported. Missouri officials weighed the map’s legality last week, according to emails obtained by the Kansas City Star.

“The plain language of the Missouri Constitution and the Missouri Supreme Court’s precedent make clear that mid-cycle congressional redistricting is prohibited,” attorneys Chuck Hatfield and Alix Cossette, two longtime Democratic attorneys, wrote in a memo obtained by the Missouri Independent. “Any attempt to do so will draw a substantial legal challenge, which will likely succeed and invalidate any map adopted by the General Assembly.”

Other states

In the U.S. House, Republicans currently hold a 219-212 advantage, which includes vacancies from the deaths of three Democrats and one GOP member who resigned.

On Friday, Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation for a new congressional map in an attempt to add five GOP seats in the U.S. House, which now includes 25 of 38 controlled by GOP.

In California, the new map could add five seats for Democrats, who hold a 43-9 edge. But unlike in Texas, voters in November must approve the change. California’s borders are drawn by a nonpartisan group and new legislation left it up to a referendum.

Republican-dominant legislatures in Ohio, Indiana and Florida may redraw congressional borders before the 2026 midterm elections.

Earlier this week, some Indiana legislators visited the White House to discuss redistricting.

States traditionally redo their borders at the start of each decade but in Ohio, under state law, a new congressional map must be approved by November 30. The previous map lacked bipartisan support.

Other states with a Democratic majority, including Illinois, New York, Maryland and Oregon, are also considering changing the borders.

Republican legislatures control 28 of the 50 states with 18 by Democrats and four chambers divided politically.

NEW YORK — A federal judge who presided over the sex trafficking case against financier Jeffrey Epstein has rejected the government’s request to unseal grand jury transcripts.

The ruling Wednesday by Judge Richard Berman in Manhattan came after the judge presiding over the case against British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend, also turned down the government’s request.

Barring reversal on appeal, Berman’s decision forecloses the possibility of grand jury testimony being released now that three judges have reached the same conclusion. A federal judge in Florida declined to release grand jury documents from an investigation there in 2005 and 2007.

The rulings are a collective repudiation of the Justice Department’s effort to divert attention away from its stated refusal to release a massive trove of records in its possession and make clear that the still-sealed court documents contain none of the answers likely to satisfy the immense public interest in the case.

President Trump had called for the release of transcripts amid rumors and criticism about his long-ago involvement with Epstein. During last year’s presidential campaign, Trump promised to release files related to Epstein, but he was met with criticism — including from many of his own supporters — when the small number of records released by his Justice Department lacked new revelations.

A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment on Wednesday.

Berman said the information contained in the Epstein grand jury transcripts “pales in comparison to the Epstein investigative information and materials in the hands of the Department of Justice.”

The Justice Department had informed Berman that the only witness to testify before the Epstein grand jury was an FBI agent who, the judge noted, “had no direct knowledge of the facts of the case and whose testimony was mostly hearsay.”

The agent testified over two days, on June 18, 2019, and July 2, 2019. The entire transcript was 70 pages. The rest of the grand jury presentation consisted of a PowerPoint slideshow shown during the June 18 session and a call log shown during the July 2 session, which ended with grand jurors voting to indict Epstein. Both of those will also remain sealed, Berman ruled.

Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence after her conviction on sex trafficking charges for helping Epstein sexually abuse girls and young women. She was recently transferred from a prison in Florida to a prison camp in Texas. Epstein died in jail awaiting trial.

Maxwell’s case has been the subject of heightened public focus since an outcry over the Justice Department’s statement last month saying that it would not be releasing any additional documents from the Epstein sex trafficking investigation. The decision infuriated online sleuths, conspiracy theorists and elements of Trump’s base who had hoped to see proof of a government cover-up.

Since then, officials in Trump’s Republican administration have tried to cast themselves as promoting transparency in the case, including by requesting from courts the unsealing of grand jury transcripts.

“The government is the logical party to make comprehensive disclosure to the public of the Epstein file,” Berman wrote in an apparent reference to the Justice Department’s refusal to release additional records on its own while simultaneously moving to unseal grand jury transcripts.

“By comparison,” Berman added, “the instant grand jury motion appears to be a ‘diversion’ from the breadth and scope of the Epstein files in the Government’s possession. The grand jury testimony is merely a hearsay snippet of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged conduct.”

Meanwhile, Maxwell was interviewed at a Florida courthouse weeks ago by Deputy Atty. Gen. Todd Blanche, and the House Oversight Committee had also said that it wanted to speak with Maxwell. Her lawyers said they would be open to an interview but only if the panel were to ensure immunity from prosecution.

In a letter to Maxwell’s lawyers, Rep. James Comer, the committee chair, wrote that the committee was willing to delay the deposition until after the resolution of Maxwell’s appeal to the Supreme Court. That appeal is expected to be resolved in late September.

Comer wrote that although Maxwell’s testimony was “vital” to the Republican-led investigation into Epstein, the committee would not provide immunity or any questions in advance of her testimony, as was requested by her team.

Neumeister and Sisak write for the Associated Press. AP writer Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.

Aug. 15 (UPI) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called a second special session of the state’s House of Representatives Friday after gaveling out the first 30-day session, hamstrung by Democrats who left the state to prevent redistricting.

Texas state House Democrats fled the state to prevent the state’s Republicans from initiating congressional redistricting efforts.

Congressional redistricting generally happens every decade following the publication of U.S. Census Bureau data. Texas has taken the unusual step to redraw its maps at the urging of President Donald Trump ahead of midterm elections next year. The maps are expected to produce five more GOP districts in the U.S. House of Representatives, where the Republicans hold a narrow 219 to 212 majority.

Critics and Democrats accuse the Republicans of conducting a power grab in an attempt to rig control over the congressional branch, and have backed their Texas colleagues.

“Delinquent House Democrats ran away from their responsibility to pass crucial legislation to benefit the lives of Texans,” Abbott said in a statement. “Numerous other bills to cut property taxes, support human trafficking survivors, eliminate the STAAR test, establish commonsense THC regulations, and many others have all been brought to a halt because Democrats refuse to show up for work. We will not back down from this fight. That’s why I am calling them back today to finish the job. I will continue to use all necessary tools to ensure Texas delivers results for Texans.”

House Speaker Dustin Burrows couldn’t gather enough House members for a quorum and didn’t do any official business Friday.

Burrows signed new civil warrants on the Democrats as soon as the new special session began. The warrants allow the Texas Department of Public Safety to search for them and bring them to the Capitol if they are found in the state.

“Those who have refused to make quorum, I’m sure you’re missing home,” Burrows said. “Do not think you have permission to return to Texas and enjoy a peaceful weekend before finally showing up to work.”

He instructed all House members to return Monday, saying he has been told to expect the absent members will be back at the Capitol.

The state house caucus responded on X to Abbott’s claim that Democrats were holding up flood funding.

“BREAKING: After we issued our conditions to return home yesterday, Texas Republicans have given in and ended their corrupt special session. @GregAbbott_TX can release flood funding at ANY MOMENT. Call his office and tell him to stop the delays: (512) 463-1782.”

Democrats said Thursday that they’d return home for the second session and allow the vote to happen, saying they would “take this fight to the courts.”

“It’s been six weeks since the flood, six weeks where working families have waited for relief while Gov. Abbott sits on billions in disaster funds, choosing to hold our state hostage for his racist, corrupt redistricting scheme,” House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu, D-Houston, said in a prepared statement this week. “Texans are suffering while Greg Abbott chases Donald Trump’s agenda and billionaire donors, ignoring the emergencies facing our neighborhoods.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said this week that his state will redistrict in response, handing back five seats to Democrats. The most populous state in the nation, California has 43 Democratic members of the house and nine Republican members.

On Thursday, a federal judge in Illinois rejected Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton‘s request to enforce arrest warrants for Democrats who fled the state.

Paxton has filed a slew of lawsuits since state Democrats left Texas.

The Democrats went to Democratic strongholds, including Illinois, and Texas state House Speaker Dustin Burrows issued civil arrest warrants to force their return to Texas. On Aug. 7, Paxton and Burrows filed a lawsuit seeking Illinois to enforce the return of the Democratic lawmakers.

In his ruling Wednesday, Illinois Judge Scott Larson rejected the Texans’ request, stating it is outside his court’s jurisdiction to compel the Democrats’ return.

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Republican leaders said Tuesday that they were prepared to end their stalemated special session and immediately begin another standoff with Democrats in the GOP’s efforts to redraw congressional maps as directed by President Trump.

It’s the latest indication that Trump’s push to redraw congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections will become an extended standoff that promises to reach multiple statehouses controlled by both major parties.

Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows confirmed the plans during a brief session Tuesday morning that marked another failure to meet the required attendance standards to conduct official business because dozens of Democrats have left the state to stymie the GOP’s partisan gerrymandering attempts ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

Burrows said from the House floor that lawmakers will not attempt to reconvene again until Friday. If Democrats are still absent — and they have given no indication that they plan to return — the speaker said Republicans will end the current session and Gov. Greg Abbott will immediately call another.

The governor, a Trump ally, confirmed his intentions in a statement.

“The Special Session #2 agenda will have the exact same agenda, with the potential to add more items critical to Texans,” Abbott wrote. “There will be no reprieve for the derelict Democrats who fled the state and abandoned their duty to the people who elected them. I will continue to call special session after special session until we get this Texas first agenda passed.”

Abbott called the current session with an extensive agenda that included disaster relief for floods that killed more than 130 people. Democrats balked when Abbott added Trump’s redistricting idea to the agenda. Burrows on Tuesday did not mention redistricting but chided Democrats for not showing up for debate on the flood response package.

The redistricting legislation would reshape the state’s congressional districts in a design aimed at sending five more Republicans to Washington.

The scheme is part of Trump’s push to shore up Republicans’ narrow House majority and avoid a repeat of his first presidency, when the 2018 midterms restored Democrats to a House majority that blocked his agenda and twice impeached him. Current maps nationally put Democrats within three seats of retaking the House majority — with only several dozen competitive districts across 435 total seats.

Texas Republicans have issued civil warrants for the absent Democrats. Because they are out of state, those lawmakers are beyond the reach of Texas authorities.

Burrows said Tuesday that absent Democrats would have to pay for all state government costs for law enforcement officials attempting to track them down. Burrows has said state troopers and others have run up “six figures in overtime costs” trying to corral Democratic legislators.

Barrow and Lathan write for the Associated Press. Barrow reported from Atlanta.

Jonathan Singletary is almost ready to go live on Instagram. He scans his short-sleeve button-up — it’s clean and different from the one he wore last time. He takes a few deep breaths. He throws up a quick thank-you to God, opens Instagram, hits the white circle and goes live at 5:30 p.m. People from across the country begin to tune in for improvised music in a welcoming spiritual space. It’s time for “Piano & Prayer.”

The late afternoon Los Angeles sunlight shines through gauzy curtains behind Singletary, who sits at his piano with fingers poised over the keys. The music starts. On Instagram, members of the “Piano & Prayer” community greet one another and share where they are listening from: Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Houston, New York City, Maine, Rhode Island, New Jersey and even Chile.

Jonathan Singletary connects with new people and longtimers during his “Piano & Prayer” sessions.

(Amanda Villarosa / For The Times)

Singletary riffs with the confidence of a musician who began playing a toy piano at the age of 5 in his family home in Nashua, New Hampshire. Now, a 38-year-old father of two, he starts vocalizing as he plays, sometimes forming words, but always in a soothing harmony.

During the early days of the pandemic, from his living room in New York, Singletary started “Piano & Prayer,” a weekly spiritual, but not necessarily religious gathering, for people to connect and share. For him, it was the perfect antidote to the isolation he was feeling.

“Hello, hello, welcome to ‘Piano & Prayer.’ Happy Monday,” Singletary says. He stops playing and turns toward the camera with a warm, welcoming smile.

Singletary’s eyes light up. “Jaden, good to see you, my mom’s in here, so many familiar faces, Hannah, good to see you, Aunt Jeanette, good to see you. I missed y’all, I missed this.” Singletary and his family had been on vacation for a couple of weeks, and he’s excited to be back. “Debra, good to see you.”

Debra Mazer, a “Piano & Prayer” original, is watching from Atlanta. “ I had Jonathan’s sessions on my pandemic roster . I had a schedule for myself that I put in the calendar because the Zoom groups were very important to my mental health and well-being,” Mazer says. She discovered this gathering by following Singletary’s then-financée, now wife, Elaine Welteroth, former editor in chief of Teen Vogue.

It was a tough time to be a professional musician in April 2020. “ I made music. I’ve done a lot of shows,  but all of that was shut down,” Singletary says. He credits Welteroth with encouraging him to combine social media with music. He remembers her saying, “ Go on in there and just play, just play some music.”

Jonathan Singletary played music at New York venues before the pandemic, but once stay-at-home orders were in place, he needed another outlet: Enter “Piano & Prayer.”

(Amanda Villarosa / For The Times)

Singletary confesses it was a bumpy start. The first iteration was him playing acoustic versions of his songs: “I t didn’t fully resonate with me.” So he returned to his first instrument, the piano. “Piano & Prayer” wasn’t set up to be a moneymaking endeavor at first, but Singletary recently launched a Patreon, which allows creators to collect money directly from fans.

“ I was always playing piano for fun. I would go into the chapel at my Catholic high school, and I would play piano, and my friends would come in and lie on the floor and just zen out while I played,” he remembers. “This thing [“Piano & Prayer”] has existed for a while.”

Fast forward to 2020, instead of a chapel floor, isolated people from across the country carved out 45 minutes to connect. Mazer notes that while the world has moved on from COVID, “Piano & Prayer” is one of the online activities she started during the pandemic that she still attends regularly.

Jonathan Singletary riffs while playing during his Instagram sessions, sometimes just vocalizing as viewers share their prayers in the comments.

(Amanda Villarosa / For The Times)

The Monday evening sessions are a blend of gentle piano music, meditation, prayer and community. During a recent livestream, 40 people gathered — those who want to share what they are thinking and feeling in the chat, offering prayers for themselves and others.

“For those affected by the flooding in TX,” one person shares.

“Praying for my students that they make up their work this summer session and pass to graduate,” someone types.

“Praying for the families in Texas. Lord, have mercy,” pops up.

Jonathan Singletary plays the piano in a corner of his home.

(Amanda Villarosa / For The Times)

Singletary adopts a friendly approach, meeting people where they are with their religiosity or spirituality. Never preachy or too churchy — sometimes God is never mentioned. He was raised in a churchgoing family. “The church was a huge part. Has been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember.”

For Singletary, the idea of going to church every Sunday changed during the pandemic. He didn’t feel safe, and then he moved to a new city and finding a new church was hard with social distancing.

On the other side of the country, it’s 8:30 p.m. and Bobby Brown’s four children, ages 5 to 12, are in bed. “Piano & Prayer” plays on his phone while Brown and his wife are hanging out in the humid night air. “ It’s just like a romantic thing in the background while we’re talking,” Brown explains.

“Then he [Singletary] throws out some prayers. We pause and take some deep breaths, because he tells us to and he reminds us to.”

Jonathan Singletary, with his children.

(Amanda Villarosa / For The Times)

Before relocating to Atlanta, Brown lived in Inglewood. He runs a nonprofit group called Donuts For Dads, a supportive community for fathers. This is where he and Singletary first connected. Brown says he didn’t realize his friend had this growing online community.

“ He doesn’t even promote it. It was just like, ‘Hey, I’m going live, ’” Brown laughs. “Whenever I see any of my friends go live, I just click to support them. Even if I can only hop on for a couple of minutes, try to throw some hearts in there.”

Both Mazer and Brown could be considered part of a larger trend of individuals who identify as spiritual rather than religious. A 2023 Pew Research Center survey found that 41% of U.S. adults report having grown more spiritual throughout their lifetime, compared with only 13% who say they have become less spiritual.

This data makes sense to Sarah Wilkins-Laflamme, an associate professor in social studies and legal studies at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, where her area of  expertise is the sociology of religion.

“ It’s like, no, religion’s not for me. But I like spirituality. All these shifts have happened across generations, especially amongst younger cohorts, the term religion itself now has almost a negative connotation in some contexts, but spirituality doesn’t.”

Singletary, who has about 25,000 followers, publishes the Instagram Lives on his grid and says the views on each “Piano & Prayer” session are usually around 1,000, but have reached as high as 5,000.

“This isn’t about people watching me do a thing. The most touching to me and maybe validating as well, is that I see people engaging with each other and encouraging each other and praying for one another and responding to each other’s prayer requests.”

For the moment, if it’s a Monday at 5:30 p.m., you can find Singletary at his black lacquered piano ready to welcome anyone who needs it into the “Piano & Prayer” family.

WASHINGTON — After an overnight session and hours of floor debate, the House voted Thursday to approve the “Big Beautiful Bill” — clearing its final hurdle in a landmark achievement for President Trump, who wrangled Republican lawmakers to pass the most expensive legislation in history by the Fourth of July.

The 218 to 214 vote, which saw two Republican members side with the Democrats in opposition, was delayed by a record-breaking speech on the House floor by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries that lasted eight hours and 44 minutes. “I’m going to take my time,” Jeffries said before launching into a marathon excoriation of the legislation, its Medicaid cuts and its Republican backers. “Shame on this institution if this bill passes.”

The bill encompasses Trump’s domestic agenda, extending tax breaks to millions of American households and businesses that are projected to add trillions to the national debt. The legislation also introduces new tax relief for senior citizens, tip and overtime workers, and new parents.

To offset a fraction of those costs, Republicans approved new barriers to access for Medicaid and cut funding streams under the Affordable Care Act, placing the healthcare of nearly 12 million in jeopardy over the next decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which provides food stamps, was also cut.

It has been a controversial bill within the Republican Party ever since it was conceived at the beginning of Trump’s second term, with fiscal hawks decrying its record contributions to annual deficits, and moderate Republicans fearing its cuts to healthcare would come back to haunt them in future elections.

Speaking with reporters after the vote, senior White House officials said Trump was the “omnipresent force behind the legislation,” crediting his personal relationships with lawmakers on the Hill for its ultimate success.

“I’ve lost count of the number of meetings the president has had,” one White House official said, adding that the bill “satisfies virtually every campaign promise the president made.”

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said that Republicans defied the “doubters and the panicans” to secure passage of legislation that would “add funding for at least 1 million deportations per year.”

Beyond tax relief and healthcare cuts, the bill increases defense spending and adds a historic $150 billion to fund border security and mass deportations, exponentially increasing the budget of Immigration and Customs Enforcement — a fund larger than many national armies.

The president, Leavitt said, would host a “big, beautiful signing ceremony” Friday at 5 p.m. Eastern, marked by fireworks on the National Mall celebrating Independence Day — a deadline he imposed on the Republican caucus to secure passage of the legislation.

It also includes a host of parochial provisions. The bill provides $1 billion for security, planning and other costs for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, and $30 million for the construction of a sculpture-laden “American Garden of Heroes” to be built at an undetermined location.

In total, the Congressional Budget Office projects the bill could add up to $3.3 trillion to the debt by 2034. Republicans dispute the figure as inflated, arguing the CBO assumes status economic growth, while still other groups say the projection is conservative.

In a statement after the vote, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, which has advocated fiscal responsibility for decades, warned the bill “would add more than $4 trillion to the debt, accelerate the insolvency of Social Security and Medicare, and leave us even more vulnerable to the whims of the Treasury markets.”

“In a massive fiscal capitulation, Congress has passed the single most expensive, dishonest, and reckless budget reconciliation bill ever — and, it comes amidst an already alarming fiscal situation,” the group said. “Never before has a piece of legislation been jammed through with such disregard for our fiscal outlook, the budget process, and the impact it will have on the well-being of the country and future generations.”

And yet, despite issuing scathing criticisms of the Senate language for its historic contributions to the debt, opposition from the House Freedom Caucus, also founded to advocate for fiscal responsibility, all but melted away in the early hours of Thursday under intense pressure from the White House.

Several of the Medicaid provisions kick in only after the 2026 midterms, buying Republicans time to sell the bill without facing its real-world consequences before the next election. But Democrats are already campaigning against the legislation as the greatest attack on healthcare since Republicans tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act in 2017, which prompted a Democratic wave in midterms the following year.

The legislation introduces a work requirement for Medicaid enrollment that will require extensive new paperwork for applicants, and restricts state taxes on healthcare providers, known as the “provider tax,” an essential tool for many states in their efforts to supplement Medicaid funding.

Several Republican lawmakers fear that provision could have devastating effects on rural hospitals. The Senate added a rural hospital fund to the bill to help mitigate some of the impacts of the funding cuts.

The bill also rolls back green energy tax credits that have fueled an entire manufacturing workforce in wind and solar energy in states across the country.

The bill passed through the Senate despite bipartisan opposition, with three Republicans joining Democrats to vote against it. House approval of the Senate text Thursday morning occurred barely 24 hours after the upper chamber’s vote.

On Wednesday night, a number of House Republican lawmakers had said openly they would not support a rushed process to approve the bill. But a floor vote on debate rules kept open by House Speaker Mike Johnson throughout the night kept conversations active, and ultimately swayed the holdouts.

Two Republican House members, Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Thomas Massie of Kentucky, voted against the final bill, citing its effects to the healthcare system and to the national debt, respectively.

“What a great night it was,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform before the final vote. “One of the most consequential Bills ever. The USA is the ‘HOTTEST’ Country in the World, by far!!!”

In the call with reporters, one White House official also credited Vice President JD Vance for his efforts to secure a victory on the legislation, noting his huddle hours before a final Senate vote on Tuesday with Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, a lawmaker who secured exceptional carve-outs for her state in the bill and yet still expressed disappointment with its harshest provisions after voting to approve it.

Democrats will welcome the vice president receiving credit. Several expressed hope to The Times they can tie any successor of Trump’s to unpopular healthcare cuts in 2028.

Josh Hazlewood claimed five wickets as Australia wrapped up an emphatic 159-run victory against West Indies in the first Test in Barbados.

West Indies lost all 10 of their second-innings wickets in the evening session on day three of the contest as Australia showed their ruthlessness to close out the match with two days to spare.

Set 301 for victory, the hosts’ response had started promisingly as they overcame the early loss of Kraigg Brathwaite to reach 47-1 with John Campbell and Keacy Carty at the crease.

However, Hazlewood swung the momentum Australia’s way as he ran through the West Indies top order during a characteristically controlled spell which saw four wickets fall for just nine runs.

From 56-5 it was always going to be an uphill struggle for West Indies, even though Justin Greaves (38 not out) and Shamar Joseph (44) provided some late entertainment.

Hazlewood removed Jomel Warrican to finish with 5-43 before Nathan Lyon bagged two wickets in the final over of the day, after play had been extended by 30 minutes, to seal the win.

Earlier, Australia had made a battling 310 in their second innings after Alex Carey had top scored with a punchy 65.

The tourists had resumed the day on a precarious 92-4 but Travis Head and Beau Webster made gritty scores of 61 and 63 before Carey batted smartly with the lower order.

More to follow.

NEW YORK — It had been 641 days since Shohei Ohtani last threw a pitch to a live hitter from a big-league mound.

At 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, inside an empty Citi Field on a cool afternoon in Queens, he did so again — this time, for the first time, in a Dodger blue uniform.

Nineteen months removed from a second career Tommy John procedure that has limited the two-way star to hitting-only duties during his first season and a half with the Dodgers, Ohtani threw a live batting practice session on Sunday in what was the biggest step in his pitching progression yet.

In five at-bats against Hyeseong Kim, Dalton Rushing and game-planning coach JT Watkins, Ohtani threw 22 pitches. He was 94-97 mph with his fastball, and used his full repertoire, including his sweeper. He had two strikeouts and one walk. He fielded a comebacker from Kim in his first at-bat. He gave up a line drive to right then next time Kim came to the plate.

But most of all, he seemed overjoyed to be throwing in a simulated environment again, joking with coaches and laughing with teammates throughout the first of several live sessions that precede his expected return to the rotation sometime after the July All-Star break.

“He’s looking forward to pitching,” pitching coach Mark Prior said. “And I think today was great because he was able to keep the mood light, but be able to maintain real stuff. I think that’s always important. He didn’t look like he was having stress or [was] under stress to amp up, try to generate any of his power. He was loose and it was all free and easy. So that’s always a positive.”

Sunday had been a long time coming for Ohtani, the three-time MVP with a career 3.01 ERA in 86 career big-league starts.

Last year, at the outset of his pitching rehab, Ohtani progressed from simple catch play to regular bullpens by the end of the regular season. He wasn’t far off from being able to face hitters by the time the playoffs started, but the Dodgers decided to dial back his pitching progression so he could focus on his first career MLB postseason.

An offseason surgery on Ohtani’s non-throwing left shoulder further delayed his pitching plan entering spring camp this year, limiting him only to a handful of bullpens before the club departed for its season-opening trip to Japan.

Ohtani resumed bi-weekly bullpens once the regular season started — lighter sessions on Wednesdays followed by more intensive ones on the weekends — and had been increasing the number of pitches in his bullpens over recent weeks.

This past week, he also began reincorporating his sweeper for the first time since getting hurt, one of the last boxes he had to check before Sunday’s live BP.

While the Dodgers have been wary of laying out the specific checkpoints that remain before Ohtani can join the team’s rotation, manager Dave Roberts said it’s unlikely he pitches any big-league games until after the All-Star break.

“I just think that you’re talking about end of May, he’s doing his first simulated game,” Roberts said Saturday night. “And in theory, you got to build a starter up to five, six innings. And so just the natural progression, I just don’t see it being before that.”

Still, Sunday was the most tangible sign yet of Ohtani’s nearing return to pitching.

“He has taken a very methodical approach to this. We’ve tried to take a very methodical approach to this, understanding the uniqueness of the situation,” Prior said. “I will never, and I don’t think anybody in that room would ever, doubt what he can do. But, you know, still got a long way to go. We’ll see where it comes out at the end of this year.”

May 18 (UPI) — The House Budget Committee advanced President Donald Trump‘s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” in a rare Sunday night vote.

They met at 10 p.m. to consider the bill that extends Trump’s tax cuts, increases border funding priorities and requires Medicaid recipients to work.

The measure passed 17-16 along party lines, with four Republicans who rejected the bill the first time on Friday voting present Sunday: Ralph Norman of Oklagoa, Chip Roy of Texas, Andrew Clyde of Georgia and Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma. They voted against the bill Friday, preventing it from advancing then.

Roy said he voted present “out of respect for the Republican Conference and the president,” but doesn’t support the bill as it stands.

He posted on X: “The bill does not yet meet the moment — leaving almost half of the green new scam subsidies continuing. More, it fails to end the Medicaid money laundering scam and perverse funding structure that provides seven times more federal dollars for each dollar of state spending for the able-bodied relative to the vulnerable. This all ultimately increases the likelihood of continuing deficits and non-Obamacare-expansion states like Texas expanding in the future. We can and must do better before we pass the final product.”

He is looking forward to getting the bill way he wants it. “It gives us the opportunity to work together this week to get the job done in light of the fact our bond rating was dropped yet again due to historic fiscal mismanagement by both parties,” he wrote. “This bill is a strong step forward.”

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Ky., said he was pleased the bill advances.

“There’s a lot more work to do, we’ve always acknowledged that towards the end there will be more details to iron out, we have several more to take care of,” Johnson said. “But I’m looking forward to very thoughtful discussions, very productive discussions over the next few days, and I am absolutely convinced we’re going to get this in final form and pass it in accordance with our original deadline, and that was to do it before Memorial Day.

“So this will be a victory out of committee tonight, everybody will make a vote that allows us to proceed and that was my big request tonight.”

The bill for fiscal year 2026, which begins Oct. 1, is 1,116 pages and is worth roughly $7 trillion. The last time Congress passed all 12 regular appropriations bills on time, before the start of a new fiscal year, was in 1996. Since then, Congress has relied heavily on continuing resolutions and omnibus appropriations bills to fund the government.

In fiscal year 2024, the federal government spent $6.8 trillion.

Before the meeting, Johnson said on Fox News Sunday he was optimistic the bill will past the House by the end of this week. Some Republican hardliners and moderates have opposed the bill along with all Democrats.

“We’re on track, working around the clock to deliver this nation-shaping legislation for the American people as soon as possible,” Johnson said. “All 11 of our committees have wrapped up their work, and they spent less and saved more than even we’ve projected initially. This really is a once-in-a-generation opportunity that we have here.”

The bill next gets put before the Rules Committee with a 9-4 Republican majority including Norman and Roy. In the full House, Republicans have just a 220-213 advantage with two vacancies after two Democrats died.

“It’s very important for people to understand why we’re being so aggressive on the timetable and why this really is so important,” Johnson said earlier Sunday. “This is the vehicle through which we will deliver on the mandate the American people gave us during the last election. You’re going to have historic savings for the American people, historic tax relief for American workers, historic investments in border security.

“At the same time, we’re restoring American energy dominance, and we’re rebuilding the defense industrial base, and we’re ensuring that programs like Medicaid and SNAP are strengthened for U.S. citizens who need and deserve them and not being squandered away by illegal aliens and persons who are ineligible to receive them and are cheating the system.”

On Friday, Budget Committee hard-liners blocked the package from moving forward — mainly over when Medicaid work requirements will commence. Under the current legislation, Medicaid requirements will kick in during 2029. Some conservatives want it to start as soon as 2027.

Norman, who voted against advancing the bill, earlier told CNN on Saturday that the earlier date was necessary for his vote.

The Center on Budget and Policies Priorities estimates 36 million Medicaid enrollees could be at risk of losing coverage because of potential work requirements and other factors.

In December, there were 78,532,341 on Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, according to the agency. That includes 71,275,237 enrolled in Medicaid and 7,257,104 in CHIPS.

“Some of the states have — it takes them some time,” Johnson said. “We’ve learned in this process to change their systems and to make sure that these stringent requirements that we will put on that to eliminate fraud, waste and abuse, can actually be implemented. So, we’re working with them [hardliners] to make sure what the earliest possible date is to put into law something that will actually be useful. I think we’ve got to compromise on that. I think we’ll work it out,” Johnson claimed.”

If the House passes a bill, it goes to the Senate. Johnson said he hopes the Senate won’t alter the bill, which means it goes back to the House.

“The package that we send over there will be one that was very carefully negotiated and delicately balanced, and we hope that they [Senate] don’t make many modifications to it, because that will ensure its passage quickly,” he said.

Holdouts also want to accelerate the phasing out of tax credits for green energy projects under the Inflation Reduction Act.

The bill also includes a big increase for the Defense Department and to national security. There are cuts to federal health and nutrition programs and energy programs.

It’s a balancing act for Johnson because some changes may anger House moderates. They are phasing out the tax credits and cuts to Medicaid benefits. Trump has vowed not to cut Medicaid.

Some swing-district House Republicans want to raise the tax rate on top earners to offset the cost of lifting the cap on how much their constituents can deduct in their state and local taxes, known as SALT.

“Allowing the top tax rate to expire and returning from 37% to 39.6% for individuals earning $609,350 or more and married couples earning $731,200 or more breathes $300 billion of new life into the One Big, Beautiful Bill,” Rep. Nick LaLota of New York told CNN on Saturday.