Virginia Voters Approve Constitutional Amendment Allowing Democratic-Led Redistricting

Virginia voters approved a Democratic redistricting plan on April 22, 2026, according to NBC News. The plan could allow Democrats to pick up as many as four new seats in the midterm elections. The constitutional amendment authorized the Democratic-controlled Legislature to bypass the state’s bipartisan redistricting commission and implement a new congressional map through the end of the decade.

The proposed map consists of 11 congressional districts with one solidly Republican district. Virginia is currently represented by six Democrats and five Republicans in the House. With the new map in Virginia, Democrats could win as many as 10 new House seats due to redistricting.

President Donald Trump urged GOP-led states to alter their district lines last year. Texas, North Carolina, Missouri, Ohio, Utah and California enacted new maps in the past year. The new maps in those states gave Republicans as many as nine new seats and Democrats up to six new seats.

Republicans challenged the legality of Democrats’ constitutional amendment in Virginia. The Virginia Supreme Court reserved the right to rule after the special election on questions surrounding the measure. Robert F.

Kennedy Jr. is set to appear at a Senate hearing on April 22, 2026, according to NBC News. Sen. Bill Cassidy cast a key vote for Robert F. 's confirmation. Sen. Bill Cassidy has criticized Health Secretary Robert F.

’s vaccine policies, according to Sen. Bill Cassidy. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigned from Congress on April 22, 2026, according to NBC News. The House Ethics Committee was set to consider expelling Rep.

Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick over ethics violations. Rep. Cory Mills stated he will not resign from Congress over a House Ethics Committee investigation, according to Rep. Cory Mills. A federal grand jury indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The DOJ alleged the Southern Poverty Law Center fraudulently paid informants in extremist groups, according to the DOJ. President Donald Trump signed an executive order aiming to further federal medical research and clinical trials for certain psychedelic drugs, according to NBC News. The Trump administration took steps in the last week to fast-track reviews of psychedelics.

The Trump administration took steps in the last week to widen access to some peptide injections. S. and Israel, according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Iran maintains thousands of missiles and one-way attack drones, according to the Pentagon’s internal intelligence agency.

U.S. officials. S. officials. S. and Iran. Vice President JD Vance’s planned trip to Pakistan for negotiations was postponed, according to a White House official. Two ships were seized in the Strait of Hormuz and escorted to Iran’s coast on April 22, 2026, according to the Revolutionary Guard.

A third vessel was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz on April 22, 2026, according to Iran’s semi-official news agency Fars. Former Presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton each shared a message ahead of America’s 250th anniversary in summer 2026, according to NBC News.

George W. Bush said, 'The fact that you can speak in the public square without being jailed. The fact that we have a press that’s willing to hold the powerful to account,' according to George W. Bush.

Barack Obama said, 'we don’t have rulers, we don’t have kings, or monarchs, or aristocracies; we have citizens,' according to Barack Obama. W. Bush after defeating him in 1992. Bill Clinton said, 'America is bigger than anybody’s personal hopes or dreams,' according to Bill Clinton.

Joe Biden said his path from growing up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to becoming the president of the United States is a story of what America’s all about, according to Joe Biden. The Los Angeles Unified School District approved a resolution on April 21, 2026, to restrict students’ screen time and encourage pen-and-paper assignments, according to NBC News.

The Los Angeles Unified School District is the nation’s second largest school district.

The resolution requires the creation of a screen time policy for each grade and subject. The resolution prohibits students in first grade and younger from using devices. The resolution clarifies the process for parents to opt their child out of using technology at school.

The resolution requires auditing its education technology contracts. The new policy would take effect in the next school year. S. appeals court ruled that Texas can require the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms.

Pittsburgh Public Schools are moving to remote learning while the NFL Draft is in town this week. One of the two women injured when a Louisiana man killed eight children still has a bullet lodged in her face, according to her cousin. Tourists at Mexico’s Teotihuacán pyramid site jumped off ledges and took cover as a gunman opened fire, according to tourists.

Nearly half of the top podcasts on YouTube have been running ads for gambling and sports betting apps, according to a watchdog report. A formal rock, paper, scissors tournament with hundreds of contestants and a $10,000 prize took place in New Jersey on April 16, 2026, according to Maya Huter.