Virginia judge blocks redistricting referendum from being certified  —  ARLINGTON, Va. (7News) — A Virginia judge blocked the state from certifying the results of Tuesday's congressional map referendum, deeming the referendum and the bill that triggered it as unconstitutional, according to a judge's order issued Wednesday.

Navy Secretary John Phelan Is Leaving the Pentagon and the Trump Administration  —  John Phelan is leaving the Pentagon after months of tension with Pete Hegseth and other Pentagon leaders.  The tumult comes as the Navy has been engaged in war with Iran.  —  Navy Secretary John Phelan …

F.B.I. Said to Have Investigated Times Reporter After Article on Patel's Girlfriend  —  The bureau said it is not pursuing a case, but the scrutiny is an example of the Trump administration weighing whether to criminalize routine news gathering.  —  The F.B.I. began investigating …

Secret ‘sugar daddy’ sex scandal explodes inside Trump's counterterrorism HQ: Read glamorous senior aide's voracious text messages, itemized ‘trophies’... and her utterly shameless justification  —  A top-level Trump counterterrorism official is under investigation amid claims she actively looks …

Trump's Plans for ‘Mic-Drop’ Media Confrontation Are Leaked  —  AFTER-DINNER SCREECH  —  The president is planning a rage-fueled moment at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner.  —  Donald Trump will launch a “revenge” attack on the White House media when he confronts …

Trump admin agrees to pay $1.25M to 2016 Trump adviser over surveillance … A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment.  Page and one of his attorneys did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.  —  The settlement does not resolve Page's effort to revive his claims …

Oversight members split over whether to pardon Ghislaine Maxwell, committee chair says  —  Members on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee are divided over whether President Donald Trump should pardon Jeffrey Epstein's convicted co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell in exchange …

What Everyone Got Wrong About Jobs and the Immigration Crackdown  —  Deportations haven't meaningfully lifted wages for Americans, nor have they caused widespread disruptions to the labor market  —  Change in average hourly earnings, year-over-year by select industry

Two Iranian Women in ICE Detention Are Not, In Fact, Related to Qasem Soleimani, Documents Show  —  After Laura Loomer pointed to two women she claimed were connected to the late Iranian military commander, they were arrested and remain in immigration detention.  One is now gravely ill.

Congress Rejects Calls For Iran War Oversight as Key Deadline Nears … In the meantime, negotiations between the U.S. and Iran appear at a standstill.  On Tuesday, Trump announced an indefinite ceasefire with Iran while maintaining a blockade of Iranian ports.

Secretive Shipments of Iranian Oil to China Are Under Threat by U.S.  —  Boarding of tanker raises risk for sanctions-evading ‘shadow fleet’  —  Iran, China and an array of middlemen have evaded U.S. sanctions for years by shipping oil on aging tankers with opaque records …

Ron DeSantis signs law blocking local Florida governments from funding DEI  —  Florida governor says white men have been discriminated against in new effort to challenge inclusion programs  —  Florida governor Ron DeSantis on Wednesday signed a law prohibiting local governments from funding …

Trump Administration Nearing Rescue Deal for Spirit Airlines  —  President signaled this week the government could help discount carrier, which has struggled with surging jet-fuel prices  —  The Trump administration is nearing a rescue deal for Spirit Airlines, people familiar with the matter said.

Trump says eight Iranian women won't be executed, Iran disputes entire account  —  President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Iran had agreed not to execute eight women protesters in a sign of respect for him, while officials in Tehran denied the executions had been planned and accused the U.S. president of spreading falsehoods.

Kalshi suspends, fines 3 congressional candidates in ‘insider trading’ enforcement actions … Prediction market platform Kalshi said Wednesday it had suspended and fined three candidates for Congress from Minnesota, Texas and Virginia for “political insider trading” activity on their own campaigns.

New Jersey's most vulnerable GOP incumbent is MIA  —  Rep. Tom Kean Jr. represents New Jersey's most competitive district this November — but nobody, even his GOP colleagues, can say where he's been for the past month.  A scion of one of the state's most storied political dynasties …

RFK Jr. Defends Trump's Mathematically Impossible Drug Discount Claims  —  President Trump has claimed that he has secured discounts of 400 to 1,500 percent on prescription drugs.  A price discount cannot be more than 100 percent because that would lower the price to zero.

Couple Accused of Taking Child to Cuba for Gender Surgery Now Facing Kidnapping Charges  —  When it comes to the whole question of “gender-affirming surgery,” there's an argument to be made that adults, presumably those able to give informed consent, might seek out and obtain these treatments.

Virginia court blocks voter-approved redistricting, appeal coming  —  A Virginia judge temporarily halted the state's newly approved congressional map — but state officials are already moving to try to overturn the ruling, setting up a rapid legal fight in the state's Supreme Court.

US health officials nix publication of a study on COVID vaccine effectiveness  —  U.S. health officials stopped the publication of a study on whether the COVID-19 vaccine was keeping adults from becoming sick enough to have to go to the hospital.  A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services spokesman …

What Trump's Bible stunt says about his complicated history with Christianity  —  On Tuesday, the president read from the Bible in a taped message.  Religious scholars were not impressed  — This was originally published in This Week in Trumpland.  Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday

UK divers prepare for mine-clearing operations in Strait of Hormuz  —  Preparatory step comes on second day of London-hosted talks on reopening the strait.  —  LONDON — British military divers are preparing to conduct mine-clearing operations in case they are needed in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Ministry of Defence.