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Nov. 21, 2025, 5:40 AM ESTBy Ben KamisarThe national redistricting battle triggered by President Donald Trump has cast a long shadow over the race for control of Congress next year — not only fundamentally shifting the House battlefield, but also creating a domino effect that’s shifting new candidates into new seats, ushering longtime members of Congress to the exit and exposing deep political rifts in state parties across the country.The fight is still playing out across courtrooms, back rooms and Trump’s social media, as Republicans and Democrats tinker with district lines. Developments like this week’s federal court ruling blocking the new Texas maps from going into effect — leaving the ultimate decision to the Supreme Court — also show how much remains to be determined in the redistricting fight.The battle kicked off when Trump started pushing Texas Republicans to redraw district lines in the hopes of netting the party up to five seats in the state, and later began pressing leaders in other GOP-controlled states.The new lines add more Republicans to the South Texas battleground districts represented by Democratic Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez, redraw two districts in Houston and Dallas in a way that will likely force incumbent Democrats into primaries against each other, and redraw Austin to create one deep-blue seat and one additional Republican-leaning seat that stretches toward San Antonio.But the fate of those plans hangs in the balance after a federal court blocked the map’s implementation and called for the 2026 elections to be run under the same lines as last year’s elections. The Supreme Court’s eventual decision whether to uphold that ruling will have a significant impact on a spate of races, starting with whether Austin-area Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett decides to retire.There’s also the question of whether the winner of January’s special election to succeed the late Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner will have to immediately run against a longtime Democratic incumbent, and how Democratic Reps. Marc Veasey, Julie Johnson and Jasmine Crockett handle a potentially significant redraw in North Texas that could leave one of them out of a job. The redistricting plan already has Crockett weighing a Senate bid.California’s retaliatory map from Democrats — a similarly blunt partisan redraw explicitly aimed at canceling out Texas’ GOP gains — has similar potential to upend the Republican caucus there. GOP Reps. Doug LaMalfa, Darrell Issa, Kevin Kiley, Ken Calvert and David Valadao’s districts are becoming significantly more vulnerable to being flipped by Democrats, according to an analysis from the University of Virginia Center for Politics.One early bit of fallout: Calvert’s decision to seek re-election in a nearby district currently represented by fellow Republican Rep. Young Kim, which will likely trigger an expensive primary between two prominent incumbents. In an early show of force, Kim has already announced plans to spend more than $3 million on ads ahead of the 2026 primary.Both states also share another dynamic: state lawmakers who voted to draw the new congressional lines hopping into newly competitive races for Congress.In Texas, GOP state Reps. Briscoe Cain and John Lujan announced their campaigns shortly after the new lines passed, seeking to run in the new, heavily Republican seats in the Houston and San Antonio areas. Others could be considering bids, too, including state Rep. Katrina Pierson, who told CBS News Texas last month she’s “considering” a bid for a redrawn district in North Texas.There’s been less movement in California, since the lines are just weeks old. But one notable example is Democratic state Sen. Mike McGuire, a party leader facing term limits in the body, who announced plans to take on LaMalfa.Smaller changes to the maps in other states have had big ripple effects, too.In Missouri, where opponents of the GOP-led redraw are mobilizing a petition drive that could force the issue into the hands of voters in an upcoming special election, longtime Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s 30-plus-year career in public life is in jeopardy after GOP lawmakers packed his district with Republican voters.In Utah, a court decision to enact a new map over the protests of Republicans created a new blue seat in the Salt Lake City area — one that could spark a primary focused on ideology as well as electability, an unusual position for Utah’s Democratic minority.In Ohio, a compromise map shored up Democratic Rep. Emilia Sykes’ battleground seat — in exchange for putting more Republican voters in districts held by Democratic Reps. Marcy Kaptur and Greg Landsman. Sykes’ last GOP opponent, whom she narrowly defeated in 2024, was running again but dropped out of the 2026 campaign after the new map was released, blaming the compromise for his decision.And in North Carolina, the Republican Legislature’s new lines make Democratic Rep. Don Davis’ re-election more of an uphill climb, even as he continues to signal he’ll press on with his bid to remain in office.Meanwhile, as incumbents and challengers face pressure and opportunity from the new maps, the pressure on state legislatures to get involved in the redistricting fight on behalf of their national party has also caused significant tensions among powerful lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.In Indiana, the lack of Republican support for a redistricting effort there has led to Trump issuing broadsides at GOP leaders in the state, accusing them of “depriving Republicans of a Majority in the House, A VERY BIG DEAL,” and saying he’d support primary challenges against them. One Republican legislative leader was the victim of a swatting incident at his home hours later.In Maryland, Democratic Gov. Wes Moore is pushing forward with a redistricting commission — even as the state’s top Democrat in the Senate continues to criticize the idea of redrawing the state’s congressional maps after a court struck down a Democratic plan to squeeze more blue seats out of the state just a few years ago.“What type of country do we want to be? And who are we in this moment when things are so brittle and tense. Do we reflect a different value to show the path forward as states, or do we fight to the death one election at a time?” state Senate President Bill Ferguson told NBC News about why he’s holding firm against pressure to move forward with a Democratic-led redraw there.And even in states where redistricting efforts were successful, some lawmakers raised warnings about the conduct of their own parties.“There’s nothing conservative about using our supermajority to grab more power,” Missouri Republican state Rep. Bryant Wolfin, who voted against the redraw there, said on the floor this summer before his party passed the new lines.Ben KamisarBen Kamisar is a national political reporter for NBC News

- Latest News - November 21, 2025

The national redistricting battle triggered by President Donald Trump has cast a long shadow over the race for control of Congress next year — not only fundamentally shifting the House.

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Nov. 21, 2025, 1:44 AM EST / Updated Nov. 21, 2025, 4:54 AM ESTBy Mithil AggarwalShe went from walking out after being publicly chided by the pageant’s co-owner to being crowned its 74th victor.Fátima Bosch Fernández of Mexico was named Miss Universe on Friday, bringing to a close an exceptionally controversial pageant that first made headlines after Thai official Nawat Itsaragrisil berated Bosch, 25, in front of several contestants for not participating in promotional activities. The competition was further plunged into disarray when two of its judges resigned, one of whom accused the organizers of rigging and threatened a lawsuit. Two judges quit Miss Universe, one claiming rigged competition03:24It came as Miss Universe, which makes its revenue from licensing its broadcasting rights to various countries, has faced declining viewership in part from concerns over what some see as its objectification of women and declining relevance.The competition was started in 1952 by a Californian swimwear brand and owned, at least in part, by President Donald Trump from 1996 till 2022.But this year’s pageant became a symbol of a different kind.“It seems to me that it is an example of how women should raise our voices,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, the country’s first female leader, told reporters, referring to Bosch standing up to one of the hosts.“We women look more beautiful when we raise our voice and participate, because that has to do with the recognition of our rights,” she said, adding that she wanted to give “recognition” to Bosch for voicing her disagreement in a “dignified” way.”Miss Thailand Praveener Singh, 29, was crowned the first runner-up, followed by Miss Venezuela Stephany Adriana Abasali Nasser, 25.The pageant is seldom devoid of controversy, with sexual harassment and rigging complaints almost every year. And this year was no exception. Nawat, the Thai national director, hectored Bosch for not following the promotional activities guidelines in a livestreamed sashing ceremony on Nov. 4 and called security when the Mexican delegate stood up for herself.Bosch refused to be silenced and walked out unbowed, joined by others, including last year’s winner, Denmark’s Victoria Kjær Theilvig.“What your director did is not respectful: he called me dumb,” Bosch told Thai reporters then. “If it takes away your dignity, you need to go.”The public embarrassment for the organizers was palpable, prompting Miss Universe’s co-owner, Mexican businessman Raúl Rocha Cantú, to call out Nawat, saying he won’t let contestants be “humiliated.”Nawat later offered a teary apology.“If anyone (was) affected and not comfortable it happened, I am so sorry,” he said with the contestants behind him. He then turned to them and said, “It’s passed. OK? Are you happy?”Then, Omar Harfouch, a Lebanese-French composer, stepped down from the eight-member jury panel, saying Tuesday that there had been a “secret vote” by people not officially part of the jury to preselect the top 130 contestants out of 136.Hours later, another judge, former French soccer star Claude Makélélé, announced he was stepping down, citing “unforeseen personal reasons.” Harfouch on Wednesday said he was considering suing the Miss Universe Organization, which runs the competition, citing emotional trauma and reputational damage.The organization has denied his claims, saying there was no impromptu jury.Meanwhile, Garbielle Henry of Jamaica is recovering at a hospital after she fell offstage on Wednesday during a preliminary round. The Associated Press contributed.

- Latest News - November 21, 2025

She went from walking out after being publicly chided by the pageant’s co-owner to being crowned its 74th victor

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Nov. 21, 2025, 4:59 AM ESTBy Yuliya TalmazanUkraine said Friday it would work with a U.S. delegation in Kyiv to study the new plan backed by President Donald Trump to end Russia’s war. Rustem Umerov, the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, urged allies to respect Kyiv’s position and stressed that it was still reviewing the proposal, whose sudden emergence has fueled unease across Europe. The Kremlin remained tightlipped about its stance on the plan, which calls for major concessions from Kyiv. “Yesterday, a conversation took place between the President of Ukraine and the U.S. delegation authorized by President Trump,” Umerov said in a post on X. “Today, this work continues in Kyiv at the technical level between the teams. We are carefully reviewing all proposals from our partners and expect the same respectful approach to Ukraine’s position.”Secretary of the National Security, Rustem Umerov, attends a briefing at the presidential office in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Nov. 7.Pavlo Bahmut / NurPhoto via Getty ImagesA senior U.S. official told NBC News that the plan was drawn up immediately following discussions with Umerov. He “agreed to the majority of the plan, after making several modifications, and presented it to President Zelenskyy,” the official said.Umerov denied this Friday. “During my visit to the United States, my role was technical — organizing meetings and preparing the dialogue. I provided no assessments or, even more so, approvals of any points. This is not within my authority and does not correspond to the procedure,” he said.Zelenskyy said late Thursday that he had “a very serious conversation” with the American delegation, led by U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll. He said the U.S. side presented its proposals, and that he outlined Ukraine’s “key principles,” reiterating that his nation’s position was simple — “a real peace” that will hold.Local residents at the site of a heavily damaged residential building following a Russian air attack on Ternopil on Thursday.Vladyslav Musiienko / AFP via Getty ImagesWhite House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that any deal must provide full security guarantees and deterrence for Ukraine, Europe and Russia. “This plan was crafted to reflect the realities of the situation, after five years of a devastating war, to find the best win-win scenario, where both parties gain more than they must give,” Leavitt said. The existence of the peace plan was first reported by Axios, which released its full version on Thursday. A source familiar with the matter confirmed to NBC News that the reported plan was accurate. It’s currently in draft mode but reflects where the parties stand at the moment, with feedback from both Russia and Ukraine, the source said.The plan as outlined effectively amounts to a capitulation by Ukraine. A Ukrainian serviceman inside a destroyed building site in the frontline town of Kostyantynivka, Donetsk region, on Nov. 12.Iryna Rybakova / 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade via Getty ImagesIt calls for Ukraine to surrender its eastern Donbas heartland to Russia, including withdrawing from fiercely contested areas that it currently controls. It also stipulates that Ukraine would have to cap the size of its military and agree to never join NATO. The annexed Crimean peninsula will also be recognized as de facto Russian, including by the United States.These are all key demands of Russia’s Vladimir Putin, with little obvious concessions to be made by the Kremlin’s part of the plan. Nonetheless, Moscow has been publicly cautious.Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said Friday it had not received any information about Zelenskyy’s agreement to negotiate the peace plan, Russian state news agency Tass reported. Yuliya TalmazanYuliya Talmazan is a reporter for NBC News Digital, based in London.Monica Alba and Peter Alexander contributed.

- Latest News - November 21, 2025

Ukraine said Friday it would work with a U.S. delegation in Kyiv to study the new plan backed by President Donald Trump to end Russia’s war.

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Nov. 21, 2025, 5:00 AM ESTBy Dan De Luce, Courtney Kube and Gordon LuboldPresident Donald Trump and his Pentagon chief say U.S. military strikes on suspected drug boats in waters off Latin America are saving lives by preventing narcotics from reaching America’s shores.But drug cartels operating vessels in the Caribbean, where roughly 50% of the airstrikes have taken place, are mainly moving cocaine from South America to Europe — not to the United States, according to current and former U.S. law enforcement and military officials as well as narcotics experts. And the deadliest drug of all, fentanyl, is almost exclusively smuggled over land from Mexico, the officials and experts say.The realities of the drug trade in Latin America call into question part of the administration’s stated rationale for its unprecedented military campaign against suspected narcotics smuggling boats, and whether it will have any significant effect on the supply of narcotics in the United States, according to the officials and experts.“Fentanyl is not coming out of Venezuela. Fentanyl comes from Mexico,” said Christopher Hernandez-Roy, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington. “What’s coming out of Venezuela is cocaine.”And most of that cocaine is no longer headed to the U.S., according to Hernandez-Roy, who co-authored a 2023 report on the subject.The cocaine market in Europe has “exploded” in recent years, he said, because it’s “more lucrative and there’s less of a chance, at least at some levels of the supply chain, of facing prison time.”A U.S. official with expertise on counternarcotics efforts offered a similar assessment, saying cocaine accounts for about 90% of the drugs coming from Venezuela and is “almost all destined for Europe.”White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly responded in a statement.“All of these decisive strikes have been against designated narcoterrorists bringing deadly poison to our shores, and the President will continue to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our country and to bring those responsible to justice,” Kelly said.Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said “our intelligence did indeed confirm these boats were trafficking narcotics destined for America.”“That same intelligence also confirms that the individuals involved in these drug operations were narco-terrorists, and we stand by that assessment,” he added.Since Sept. 2, the U.S. military has carried out 21 lethal strikes on boats that the administration says are ferrying narcotics, killing more than 80 people, according to the Pentagon.A video Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted on X reportedly shows U.S. military forces conducting a strike on a vessel in the Caribbean Sea on Oct. 23.Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth via AFP – Getty ImagesThe administration has come under criticism at home and abroad over the legality of the boat strikes, with lawmakers from both parties expressing concerns that the attacks violate U.S. and international law. Some NATO allies have distanced themselves from the strikes and the United Kingdom has withheld relevant intelligence on Latin American drug smuggling at sea over concerns the campaign may be illegal, NBC News has previously reported.The Trump administration has defended the aerial attacks as a legal action against a threat to national security and an effective approach to fighting narco-traffickers.Trump has said each boat sunk by the U.S. military saves “25,000 lives” by stopping fentanyl and other narcotics from reaching U.S. shores. And in a social media post earlier this month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. military would “find and terminate EVERY vessel with the intention of trafficking drugs to America to poison our citizens.”Rahul Gupta, who served as director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy in the Biden administration, said most of the trafficking boats in the Caribbean are carrying cocaine bound for Europe, and the people on board tend to be young and desperate for work.“They’re recruiting young people, impressionable young people, so they can do these runs for $100, $500, $1,000 back and forth,” Gupta said.The drug runners at sea are often between 15 and 24 years old and the cartel leadership views them as expendable, Gupta said. For the cartels, “there is no message being sent because they really don’t care about these people,” he said.‘Go fast’ boatsOver the past several years, fentanyl and other synthetic opioids have accounted for the vast majority of overdose deaths in the U.S. In 2023, roughly 77,000 Americans died from synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl, which accounted for 76% of all overdose deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Highly powerful but easily concealed, fentanyl is mostly transported not by boat in the Caribbean but over land across the U.S.-Mexico border, according to experts and U.S. government reports.Cocaine largely arrives to the country on boats that speed across the Pacific and originate from Colombia or Ecuador.A vessel in the eastern Pacific moments before a U.S. strike on Nov. 15.U.S. Southern CommandTrump has ordered a buildup of U.S. forces as part of his campaign against Latin American drug cartels, with an aircraft carrier and other warships and aircraft deployed in the Caribbean. But there is no similar naval buildup on the western side of South America in the eastern Pacific, the main route for cocaine into the United States.Drug runners from Venezuela typically take 60-foot “go fast” boats to a stop in the Caribbean, where the cargo is transferred to larger freighters and shipped on to European ports, sometimes via West Africa, the officials and experts say. Smaller amounts are smuggled aboard commercial airliners by human “mules.”One popular route has the smugglers heading to Trinidad and Tobago, a short, 7-mile boat ride from the Venezuelan coast, according to the officials and experts.The traffickers take advantage of uninhabited islands and European overseas territories in the Caribbean. The British, French and Dutch islands offer direct air and maritime routes to Europe and have commercial and familial ties to the European continent.A kilogram of cocaine costs about $28,000 in the United States, but the same amount fetches roughly $40,000 on average in Europe and as much as $80,000 in some European countries, according to a report funded by the Norwegian government.William Baumgartner, a retired Coast Guard rear admiral and former chief counsel to the service, said the strikes in the Caribbean will likely have no major effect on the flow of fentanyl into the United States.“These boats do not carry fentanyl. They are carrying cocaine,” Baumgartner told reporters in a virtual briefing last week.Baumgartner and other former military and law enforcement officials say the lethal strikes also deprive the United States of valuable intelligence about the cartel networks and their operations, as there is no opportunity to collect forensic evidence from seized narcotics or interrogate the smugglers.“Most of our intelligence comes from people that we capture on these vessels,” Baumgartner said. But if the U.S. kills or repatriates the people on board, “we actually hurt ourselves and our effectiveness in the long term,” he said.Past counternarcotics efforts have often merely forced the cartels to adapt and reconfigure their smuggling routes, experts said.Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said the U.S. military strikes in the Caribbean were targeting boats that almost certainly were ferrying cocaine to Europe, and would not affect the vast drug problem in the United States. The attacks likely will not deter the cartels but only prompt them to choose different routes or methods, as the potential profit continues to provide a strong incentive to keep smuggling, Felbab-Brown said.Gupta, the former drug policy chief, said the administration’s approach amounted to a tactic without a strategy, with little prospect for success given that there are dozens of drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean on any given day.The strikes are “symbolic,” Gupta said. “But symbolism isn’t going to treat people with addiction. Symbolism isn’t going to dismantle cartels, their logistics network, their way to make money, their whole system that is there.”Dan De LuceDan De Luce is a reporter for the NBC News Investigative Unit. Courtney KubeCourtney Kube is a correspondent covering national security and the military for the NBC News Investigative Unit.Gordon LuboldGordon Lubold is a national security reporter for NBC News.

- Latest News - November 21, 2025

The U.S. military has been striking suspected drug boats in the Caribbean, but the cargo is likely cocaine headed to Europe, experts say.

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Nov. 21, 2025, 5:00 AM ESTBy Allan SmithDonald Trump and Zohran Mamdani will sit down Friday in a highly anticipated meeting between the upstart 34-year-old mayor-elect of New York and a president who sought to kneecap him during the campaign.The White House and Mamdani’s team worked behind the scenes to secure a session between the two men, who will speak face-to-face for the first time. Trump announced the get-together Wednesday on social media, saying Mamdani, whom he again called a “communist,” would be coming to the Oval Office. Trump frequently refers to Mamdani as a communist; Mamdani — a self-described democratic socialist — has rejected the label. Speaking to reporters Thursday, Mamdani said he will “be ready for whatever happens” in his Oval Office meeting.“I’m not concerned about this meeting. I view this meeting as an opportunity to make my case,” he said, adding, “It behooves me to leave no stone unturned in making the city more affordable.“I have many disagreements with the president,” he continued. “And I believe that we should be relentless and pursue all avenues and all meetings that can make our city affordable for every single New Yorker.”Zohran Mamdani: ‘My team reached out to the White House’00:53Mamdani noted that it is customary for the incoming mayor of New York to meet with the president.“For tens of thousands of New Yorkers, this meeting is between two very different candidates who they voted for for the same reason — they wanted a leader who would take on the cost-of-living crisis,” he said. Mamdani defeated independent candidate Andrew Cuomo — whom Trump endorsed at the last minute — and Republican Curtis Sliwa, winning over a notable number of Trump supporters in the Nov. 4 election. NBC News exit polls found that 10% of New York City voters who cast ballots for Trump in last year’s presidential election voted for Mamdani.Trump long sought to influence the mayoral race, even before he endorsed Cuomo. He told reporters that if Mamdani won he would withhold additional funding from New York City.Asked Thursday whether there’s any chance Mamdani will be able to persuade Trump not to strip New York City of additional funding, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “We’ll see how the meeting goes tomorrow, and I’ll let the president speak for himself.”She added that it “speaks volumes” that there will be a “communist coming to the White House, because that’s who the Democrat Party elected as the mayor of the largest city in the country.”“I also think it speaks to the fact that President Trump is willing to meet with anyone and talk to anyone and to try to do what’s right on behalf of the American people, whether they live in blue states or red states or blue cities,” Leavitt said. Mamdani explains how he would protect New Yorkers from potential Trump immigration enforcement01:32Trump, a native New Yorker who made his career in the city’s real estate scene, has hinted at a warmer approach to Mamdani in recent days. On Sunday, he said that Mamdani had expressed an interest in coming to Washington and that “we want to see everything work out well for New York.” During his mayoral campaign, Mamdani cast himself as the candidate who would most forcefully take on Trump while focusing on addressing cost-of-living issues in housing, child care and transportation.In an interview with NBC News this month, Mamdani foreshadowed a willingness to work with Trump on affordability issues.“My issue is not with people speaking with the president,” Mamdani said. “My issue is what they speak about.“And so I’ll be there ready to have that conversation around cost of living, if the president ever wants to,” he said. “But if the president wants to have a conversation about hurting New Yorkers, about sending more ICE agents here to terrorize families, about cuts that we’ve seen, whether it be taking from the city budget or suspending funding for city schools or threatening $18 billion in infrastructure grants being withheld, that’s not something I’m going to go along with. That’s something that I’m going to fight.”Mamdani took aim at Trump in his victory speech on election night.“If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him,” Mamdani said. “And if there’s any way to terrify a despot, it is by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power.“So Donald Trump,” he added, “since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: Turn the volume up.”’Turn the volume up’: Mamdani challenges Trump in his victory speech01:15The crowd at Mamdani’s election night party then let out raucous cheers — and Trump took notice.In an interview the next day with Fox News, Trump said he thought Mamdani delivered “a very angry speech.”“Certainly angry toward me, and I think he should be nice to me,” Trump said. “You know, I’m the one who sort of has to approve a lot of things coming to him, so he’s off to a bad start.”Trump is coming face-to-face with Mamdani at a time when operatives and political leaders on the progressive left and the MAGA right seek to nationalize his image for the midterm elections and beyond, each seeing his story as having the ability to boost their electoral hopes.There are similarities between the two men. Both New Yorkers entered primary contests as long shots or afterthoughts, barely registering in the polls, only to defeat the scions of political dynasties with innovative social media approaches and memorable messaging.Asked whether Mamdani’s political rise mirrored his own, Trump told CBS News’ “60 Minutes” this month: “Well, I think I’m a much better-looking person than him, right?”Allan SmithAllan Smith is a political reporter for NBC News.

- Latest News - November 21, 2025

Donald Trump and Zohran Mamdani will sit down Friday for a meeting between the upstart mayor-elect of New York City and a president who sought to kneecap him during the.

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