Thursday, April 30th, 2026 - SCOTUS Guts Voting Rights Act, Republican Gerrymandering Begins, Hegseth Defends $25B Iran War

Today's Headlines: The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to gut Louisiana's congressional map on racial gerrymandering grounds, but the real headline is what the decision does to the 1965 Voting Rights Act — essentially making it easier for Republican-controlled legislatures to draw racially discriminatory districts going forward. Republican states wasted exactly zero time responding: Louisiana is already redrawing its map, Florida is moving forward with DeSantis's new 24-to-4 Republican-favoring map, and Mississippi's governor had apparently pre-scheduled a special legislative session to start 21 days after the ruling dropped, which tells you everything about how surprised he was by it. Meanwhile, Virginia's Supreme Court blocked the redistricting map that Virginia voters literally just approved, because apparently voting for something doesn't mean it happens anymore. On the Iran front, Pete Hegseth testified before the House Armed Services Committee, insisted the $25 billion war is being won, and blamed congressional Democrats for being the real obstacle to opening the Strait of Hormuz — the same strait his boss declared open weeks ago. He also declined to explain why he fired a bunch of experienced generals and admirals, adding that more firings are coming, before heading over to repeat the performance before the Senate. The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady for the third straight meeting, and Jerome Powell chaired his final meeting as Fed Chair before Trump's nominee Kevin Warsh takes over. LIV Golf lost its Saudi funding after the kingdom decided it had burned enough billions on the experiment, leaving a bunch of PGA defectors in a very awkward position and the league scrambling for new investors. And Amazon is reportedly in early talks about an Apprentice reboot hosted by Donald Trump Jr., which is either the most on-brand thing that's ever happened or a sign that we are truly in the final act. Resources/Articles mentioned: AP News: Supreme Court weakens the Voting Rights Act and aids GOP efforts to control the House  Axios: Supreme Court boosts DeSantis' GOP congressional map The Hill: Virginia Supreme Court leaves order temporarily blocking redistricting certification in place WaPo: Hegseth slams ‘defeatist’ lawmakers in fiery House hearing on military budget WSJ: As Hormuz Traffic Stalls, U.S. Pitches New Coalition to Get Ships Moving Again Politico: DOJ sues New Jersey governor over immigration enforcement mask ban Axios: Fed holds rates steady amid the most dissents in decades WSJ: Powell to Remain on Fed Board, Citing Legal Pressure From Trump WSJ: Saudi Arabia Pulls Funding From LIV Golf. Its Star Players Face a Painful Road Back. WSJ: Amazon Discusses ‘Apprentice’ Reboot—With Don Jr. as a Potential Host Subscribe to the Betches News Room and join the Morning Announcements group chat. Go to: betchesnews.substack.com Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices