In our news wrap Thursday, the Supreme Court allowed Texas to use a redrawn congressional map that could add Republican seats in the midterm elections, only one hostage body remains inside Gaza after Israeli officials identified the latest remains handed over and The New York Times sued the Pentagon, saying restrictive new press rules violate both its First Amendment and due-process rights.
Amna Nawaz:
In the day’s other headlines, two late-breaking legal developments.
The Supreme Court, in a brief unsigned opinion, has allowed Texas to use a redrawn congressional map that could add Republican seats in next year’s midterm elections. It reverses a lower court decision that found the new boundaries were likely unconstitutional.
Separately, a federal grand jury in Virginia has reportedly refused to re-indite New York Attorney General Letitia James for alleged mortgage fraud. This comes just 10 days after a federal judge threw out charges against both James and former FBI Director James Comey because Trump’s handpicked prosecutor for both of those cases, Lindsey Halligan, was found to be unlawfully appointed. The Justice Department could try to seek an indictment against James for a third time.
Turning now to the Middle East, only one hostage body remains inside Gaza after Israeli officials identified the most recent remains handed over by Palestinian militants to be those of Sudthisak Rinthalak from Thailand. The final hostage left in Gaza is a deceased Israeli police officer, Ran Gvili.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today vowed to secure his immediate return.
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister (through interpreter):
We are committed to bringing Ran back for a proper burial in Israel and will spare no effort to do so.
Amna Nawaz:
Separately, an audit by Israel’s own Justice Ministry found that Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel since the October 7 Hamas attack faced grueling conditions that included overcrowding, starvation, and near daily beatings. It is a rare admission from Israeli officials of what former prisoners have long alleged they endured.
The leaders of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo signed a U.S.-mediated peace deal today aimed at ending a decades-long conflict. Government forces in Eastern Congo have clashed with rebels believed to be backed by Rwanda.
President Donald Trump:
Today, we’re succeeding where so many others have failed.
Amna Nawaz:
President Trump celebrated the deal, which includes critical mineral cooperation. The region is full of rare earths and integral to much of the world’s technology.
Trump hosted his African counterparts at the former U.S. Institute of Peace, which had been vacant since his administration laid off most of the institute’s staff this spring. Trump renamed the building for himself yesterday.
The New York Times has sued the Pentagon, saying restrictive new press rules violate both its First Amendment and due process rights. The rules, which went into effect in October, give Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth the power to revoke press credentials or ban journalists for seeking or reporting information that had not been approved for release.
Most organizations refused to agree to the rules and walked out en masse. That left mostly conservative pro-Trump outlets who agreed to the terms in their place. The Pentagon itself has not yet commented on the suit.
And on Wall Street today, stocks held near their all-time records but ended mixed. The Dow Jones industrial average slipped, but only slightly, while the Nasdaq rose by 50 points. The S&P 500 also closed higher, just half-a-percent below an all-time high.
