Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Thursday.
Supreme Court blocks Missouri’s Republican-backed voting mapFor the second time this week, the Supreme Court issued a ruling preventing Missouri from using a congressional map that was redrawn to give Republicans an advantage. The dizzying back-and-forth appears to have at least temporarily resolved the state’s district lines, just two months before Election Day. Missouri’s Republican secretary of state said today that the state would abandon the maps that were redrawn last year at President Trump’s request and stick with the 2022 maps. That would most likely allow Democrats to retain a seat in the Kansas City area. However, new legal questions could arise because it is not clear how, or if, Missouri can hold a general election with a different map than the one used in this year’s primary elections. The justices did not explain their reasoning, as is normal with emergency decisions. They deferred to the state’s Supreme Court, which blocked the Republican-drawn map, saying that voters must first have an opportunity to approve the map in a statewide referendum. For more on voting: New federal design requirements for mail ballots are currently blocked by a court, but if they take effect, officials could struggle to meet them.
Concerned about the war, Vance sought out unvarnished viewsVice President JD Vance took the unusual step over the spring and summer of directly calling U.S. military commanders in the Middle East, Europe and Asia, seeking their unvarnished views of the U.S. war against Iran. Vance, who opposed the war from the outset, came away with deep concerns. The assessments he received were sobering, and they did not line up with what the administration has said publicly. The commanders told Vance that the Iranians appeared to be willing to endure an extraordinary amount of pain in their fight for survival. But the commanders were most worried about their depleted air defenses: They told Vance that the stockpiles of critical munitions were the lowest they had ever seen. In related news:
A.I. giant says it halted possible biological weapon researchAnthropic announced today that, several times over the past nine months, it had blocked scientists from using its artificial intelligence models to conduct research that could have helped develop biological weapons. The A.I. start-up said that it could not determine if the research was legitimate or nefarious; some valid research can also help engineer dangerous pathogens. But the company said it chose to err on the side of caution. For more:
Some Republicans balk at Trump’s $5,000 offerLater tonight, Vance is set to headline the final day of the Republican Party’s rare midterm convention in Dallas. It will be one of the vice president’s most high-profile moments, ahead of a widely expected 2028 presidential run. We’ll be covering it live. Trump is also set to speak again, a day after he promised to send every American adult $5,000 if his party keeps control of Congress. The payments, which would cost more than $1 trillion, were panned by some Republican fiscal hawks as a socialist-style giveaway. Before appearing at the convention, Trump hosted a fund-raising event in Dallas. Donors were charged $88,600 for a picture with the president. More top news
New York’s Dudamel era has arrivedAfter 17 years in Los Angeles, the superstar conductor Gustavo Dudamel is taking the helm at one of the world’s most storied orchestras: the New York Philharmonic. Many admirers hope that his arrival will rejuvenate interest in classical music in the city and around the world. Ticket subscription sales have topped $12 million, a record. Starting tonight, with a performance at Radio City Music Hall, Dudamel will be very busy. He will lead 14 concerts in three halls over the next three weeks before taking the orchestra on its first European tour in a decade. “This is not a job,” he told my colleague. “It is a mission.”
A beloved mountain lion will live on in bronzeLos Angeles first met the mountain lion known as P-22 in 2012, after he had somehow crossed at least 10 lanes of freeway traffic to enter the city’s sprawling Griffith Park. He lived there for a decade — and achieved celebrity status among the locals — before being euthanized in 2022. Now, P-22 will be honored in the same way that Los Angeles celebrates its human heroes: with a larger-than-life bronze statue that will go up in Griffith Park. See how the sculptor made it.
Dinner table topics
Cook a pork tenderloin with a sweet-sour maple-shallot sauce. Find a book to match your mood. Watch “Call My Agent!: The Movie,” a comedic yet sincere continuation of the French series. Get inspired by our fashion photographer’s sporty look of the week. Light up your life with one of Wirecutter’s favorite desk lamps. Hunt: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
