NPR News: 04-30-2026 4AM EDT

Live from NPR News, I'm Giles Snyder. The U.S. Supreme Court has weakened a portion of the Voting Rights Act that protected minority congressional districts. St. Louis Public Radio's Jason Rosenbaum reports on how the decision could have huge implications, especially in the South. The court ruled 6-3 that a congressional map that gave Louisiana a second black majority district was unconstitutional. Eddie Grime is a Kansas City-based attorney who successfully argued that case to the high court. He says the decision lays the groundwork to either legally challenge minority-majority districts or for state legislatures to get rid of them. If you're drawing districts because you want to help Republicans or want to help Democrats and not because you just don't want a Black or a Hispanic or a white person elected, then you're going to be okay. The Supreme Court's decision could make it easier for Southern states to convert Democratic-leaning congressional districts with majority Black populations into whiter, more Republican-leaning seats. For NPR News, I'm Jason Rosenbaum in St. Louis. and former and current Mexican officials, including a sitting governor, of conspiring with the Sinaloa cartel to traffic drugs into the United States. Nina Kravinsky of member station KJZZ reports from Hermosillo Sonora. Sinaloa Governor Ruben Rocha Moya and nine others were charged with drug trafficking and weapons crimes that carry a possible penalty of life in prison in the United States. U.S. prosecutors accused the current and former officials and law enforcement leaders in the state of Sinaloa of collectively accepting millions of dollars in bribes to protect cartel members from arrest, investigation, and prosecution. In a post on social media, Rocha says he categorically rejects the accusations against him. Mexico's foreign ministry said in a statement it's received extradition requests from the U.S., but that they lacked sufficient evidence and were now under review by Mexico's attorney general's office. For NPR News, I'm Nina Kravinsky in Hermosillo, Mexico. The Federal Reserve has voted to hold interest rates steady as the war with Iran continues to put upward pressure on energy prices. NPR Scott Horsley reports that this was likely the last rate meeting run by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell Powell term as Fed Chairman expires in mid This morning the Senate Banking Committee okayed President Trump pick to replace Powell Kevin Warsh That sets the stage for a confirmation vote by the full Senate. Trump has insisted the central bank should be cutting interest rates, but Powell and most of his Fed colleagues have instead held rates unchanged since December. Inflation climbed to its highest level in 22 months in March. That's thanks in part to soaring gasoline prices after the war in Iran stalled tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. Gasoline prices have continued to climb in April, with the average price of regular gas jumping a nickel a gallon overnight. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington. And you're listening to NPR News. To Capitol Hill, the House has approved a budget resolution Republicans plan to use to fund the Homeland Security Department. With no Democratic vote supporting it, the House voted 215 to 211 Wednesday evening to approve a three-year budget plan that unlocks the reconciliation process, allowing Republicans to get around Democratic demands that immigration enforcement operations be reined in A new survey finds that a majority of workers expect layoffs in the near future due to artificial intelligence taking over jobs NPR Ritu Chatterjee reports a majority said they feel more comfortable with an AI chatbot for mental health concerns than their HR department The survey was conducted by Modern Health, a workplace mental health company. Respondents reported growing stresses affecting employee mental health, with only one-third saying that their well-being is valued by their employer. More than 70% said their employer pushes productivity at the cost of employee wellness. Despite a majority reporting adequate mental health coverage, half of the respondents said they don't use employer-provided mental health days for fear of being judged. More than two-thirds say that the country's political environment is affecting their emotional well-being at work and that political anxiety increases workplace burnout. Ritu Chatterjee, NPR News. Amid doubts about the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, oil prices rising. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, now around $122 a barrel. And with the Iran war now in its ninth week, shares in Asia were down. I'm Giles Snyder, NPR News.