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Episode Date: May 21, 2026

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Live from NPR News, I'm Joel Snyder. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is defending the Trump administration's creation of a new nearly $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund. Amid concerns those prosecuted for their part in the January 6th Capitol Riot could claim a payout. President Trump, this Department of Justice does not stand for assaulting law enforcement and the kind of fake outrage at this because there's a handful of folks who might apply. By the way, nobody's received money. Nobody's applied yet. We don't even have commissioners. So we're talking about a hypothetical scenario that hasn't even presented itself yet. Blanche spoke with CNN Wednesday the same day that two police officers who defended the capital during the riot

sued to stop the administration from paying rioters. Blanche said the conduct of anyone who attack law enforcement would be factored into any payout decision. President Trump says he is in no hurry to make a deal with the Iraq. Iran, M.P.R. Franco Ordonia, says a state of limbo surrounds any negotiations. The threat the U.S. could strike this weekend speaks to the uncertainty. Some former officials, like Mona Yakubian, who is now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, say is turning into a, quote, frozen conflict that could extend for months. The bigger fear is also just that there is no resolution.

Or there's a resolution that leads to Iran's retaining defense. Acto control over the Strait of Hormuz and Iran being able to continue to be disruptive. She called that a kind of half solution where Trump's constant threats and the potential retaliation impair any real movement toward economic repair or economic growth. Franco, Ordonez, NPR News. The Israeli military has intercepted a flotilla of aid boats bound for Gaza, detaining more than 400 people videos show detainees being zip-tied and forced into stress positions, as Dori Baskarren reports.

Before her arrest, Megan Dominguez recorded a video of herself on board, holding her U.S. passport. We are not criminals. We are unarmed civilians from around the world who believe that all people have the right to food, shelter, medicine, and safety. She's one of more than 400 flotilla participants from 44 countries who were arrested by Israeli forces off the coast of Cyprus. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Givir posted a video of the detainees, zip-tied and forced into crouching positions. In another clip, a woman is shoved to the ground as Ben Gavir smiles broadly. He captioned the video, this is how we welcome supporters of terrorism.

For NPR News, I'm Derry Buscarin in Istanbul. Ben-Givir's video has drawn a sharp rebuke from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said Wednesday that his treatment of flotilla activists is not in line with Israel's values and norms. This is NPR. The Supreme Court's recent decision to weaken the Voting Rights Act is making it harder to challenge voting maps that discriminate against racial minority voters. NPR's Hansi Lomong reports. NPR analyzed federal court records and found active legal fights over at least 17 voting maps or election systems for state legislatures, county commissions, school boards, or other local governments. All of them are reckoning with the Supreme Court's conservative supermajorie's decision to strike down a Louisiana congressional map as an unconstitutional racial jails.

gerrymander. That ruling weakened longstanding Voting Rights Act protections against racial discrimination and redistricting for places where voting is racially polarized. Most of the active legal fights grappling with that decision were brought by black voters in the South, but not all. Native American voters are an illegal fight over North Dakota's legislative map, and Latino voters are challenging how members of a local Pennsylvania school board are elected. Hansila Wong and Kier News. Stephen Colbert's run on late night television is coming to an end. Colbert's last late show is tonight. It began hosting the show in 2015, but last summer, CBS announced a show would end this month. CBS cited economic reasons, but Colbert and others suspect political pressure played a role.

The decision followed Paramount Settlement in President Trump's lawsuit over a 60 Minutes interview and its pending sale to Skydance Media. A judge in Indiana allowing competitive eater Joey Chestnut to travel outside of the state, meaning he will be available to defend his hot dog eating title at the annual July 4th contest on Goni Island. Last month he was sentenced to 180 days probation after pleading guilty to slapping a man during a night out at a bar. This is