Early voting begins in Virginia’s redistricting election, which could determine control of the House in midterms
The Virginia State Capitol in Richmond, Va., Jan. 17, 2026. (Kendall Warner/The Virginian-Pilot/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
(RICHMOND, Va.) — Early voting begins Friday in an unusual off-cycle election in Virginia that could have major implications for control of the House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm elections.
Voters in Virginia are heading to the polls for a statewide election, set for April 21, on a constitutional amendment that would allow their legislature to redraw the state’s congressional map.
This would let the Democratic-controlled legislature implement a new proposed map that would make four GOP-held congressional districts favor Democrats. Given the razor-thin margins of the House — where Democrats only need to net three seats in November to regain control — even flipping that many seats in Virginia could be decisive for control of the chamber.
It’s a gambit that Democrats both in Virginia and nationally say is necessary after Republican-led redistricting in 2025 gave the GOP nine redrawn seats that now favor Republicans across four states.
Former President Barack Obama, in a video released Thursday to promote a yes vote on the amendment, claimed that Republicans pursued mid-decade redistricting “for a simple reason: to give themselves an unfair advantage in the midterms this fall … This amendment gives you the power to level the playing field in the midterms this fall.”
Republicans have called the plan to redraw seats a political power grab, decrying the move as going against the will of voters in Virginia who previously voted in favor of a redistricting commission.
Rep. Ben Cline, one of the Virginia Republicans whose seat is among those targeted, wrote on X on Wednesday, that “The Democrats’ plan to steal Congressional seats and disenfranchise Virginians is unconstitutional, but we’re going to have to defeat it at the ballot box on April 21.”
Democrats in Virginia’s legislature have already passed their proposed congressional map through the legislature and it has been signed by the governor; it gets implemented if voters approve the amendment. While the map is technically not on the ballot, Democrats have argued that it’s important that voters see the new lines that they are essentially voting on.
Virginia’s Supreme Court ordered twice to let the election proceed in the face of legal challenges to how Democrats passed the amendment through the legislature, although litigation continues to play out.
US President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at the White House, Washington, D.C., US on February 20, 2026. (Photo by Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump has pushed back against news reports that his top military adviser, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, privately cautioned that if Trump ordered a U.S. military strike on Iran, a lack of critical munitions and support from allies could pose risks to American troops.
“General Caine, like all of us, would like not to see War but, if a decision is made on going against Iran at a Military level, it is his opinion that it will be something easily won,” Trump posted Monday on his social media platform.
That statement came as Trump was said to be considering military options as he puts pressure on Iran to end its nuclear program or face “bad” consequences.
According to a U.S. official, Tehran was expected to offer a new nuclear proposal by Tuesday ahead of another round of negotiations in Geneva led by special envoy Steve Witkoff on Thursday.
The meeting would be the second round of indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran, with Omanis and Qataris passing notes between the delegations.
In a statement, a Joint Staff spokesman emphasized that Caine’s role is to provide “a range of military options, as well as secondary considerations and associated impacts and risks, to the civilian leaders who make America’s security decisions.”
The president added that he will make the final call regarding military action, and repeated that he wants a deal with Iran, but warned that if there is not a deal “it will be a very bad day for that Country.”
“I am the one that makes the decision, I would rather have a Deal than not but, if we don’t make a Deal, it will be a very bad day for that Country and, very sadly, its people, because they are great and wonderful, and something like this should never have happened to them,” Trump said.
Trump also doubled down on his previous claims that Iran’s nuclear supply has been “obliterated” after last summer’s Operation Midnight Hammer, saying that it was “blown to smithereens.”
“He knows Iran well,” he said, referring to Caine, “in that he was in charge of Midnight Hammer, the attack on the Iranian Nuclear Development. It is a Development no longer, but rather, was blown to smithereens by our Great B-2 Bombers.” Trump said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened Iran during a speech to the Knesset on Monday, warning the Iranian ayatollah if Iran strikes Israel, “we will respond with a force they cannot even imagine,” according to remarks of his speech google translated from Hebrew to English.
“No one knows what the day will bring. We are vigilant, we are prepared for any scenario,” Netanyahu said.
President Donald Trump, joined by first lady Melania Trump, signs the Fostering the Future executive order in the East Room of the White House, Nov. 13, 2025. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration is urging states to stop removing children from their homes over gender-identity disputes at the behest of child welfare agencies without their parents’ approval.
In a letter first obtained by ABC News, the Health and Human Services Department’s Administration for Children and Families (ACF) reminds state child welfare agencies that under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), they are barred from removing children from their home because a parent doesn’t agree with the child’s gender identity.
“When states overstep their bounds, ACF will take action to deter inappropriate policies that drive unnecessary interactions with child welfare systems. This is one such example,” ACF Assistant Secretary Alex Adams wrote in a statement Tuesday.
The Trump administration cited multiple examples — from Illinois to California — where children who may reject the sex they were assigned at birth and perceive themselves as a different gender were removed from their homes without parental consent and placed in the child welfare system.
However, Shannon Minter, vice president of legal at the National Center for LGBTQ Rights (NCLR), told ABC News that he is not aware of any state removing children from parents based on their response to a transgender child.
Transgender is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or expression is different from cultural expectations based on the sex they were assigned at birth, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
Minter called the effort a broader push by the Trump administration to “eliminate” all protections for transgender young people.
“No one is advocating for removing children because a parent is struggling to understand,” he said, adding, “But child welfare professionals need the discretion to assess when rejection crosses the line into real harm — the same way they would for any other child.”
Morissa Ladinsky, a clinical professor in pediatrics at Stanford University in California, argued that children aren’t typically removed from their home without parental consent in this fashion.
“My experience tells me that there is likely more to the story,” Ladinsky told ABC News, adding that she has not seen removal over gender disputes fall under the domain of Child Protective Services.
As the division of HHS that promotes welfare assistance and supports the economic and social well-being of children and families, the agency has said ACF’s duty is to protect families and keep them together. ACF’s letter also stressed that parents hold the right to refuse removal according to their religious beliefs and moral convictions around gender identity.
The letter said breaking the law could violate the First Amendment and states could risk losing federal grant funding under CAPTA.
“What we’re doing with this letter is we’re putting states on notice,” Adams told ABC News.
“When policies are either increasing the number of kids committed to the system inappropriately or they’re deterring foster families from stepping up, I do think there was a role for ACF to weigh in,” he said, adding, “It does merit federal action.”
The letter to states bolsters an initiative to protect children from the foster-care system amid a shortage of facilities nationwide with only 57 foster homes for every 100 vulnerable kids coming into the system, according to Adams.
The letter comes at the directive of President Donald Trump’s Fostering the Future for American Children and Families executive order and follows the president’s call during his State of the Union address last week for a federal ban on gender transitions for minors.
“Surely, we can all agree no state can be allowed to rip children from their parents’ arms and transition them to a new gender against the parents’ will,” Trump said during his address. “We must ban it and we must ban it immediately.”
Gender identity is described as how a child perceives and calls themself, which can be the same or different from the sex that was assigned to them at birth, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
However, if a child sees themself as different than the sex assigned at birth, parents have the right to reject this self-identification, the ACF letter says. Under federal law, CAPTA states that a child may not be removed from the home without proof of “abuse” or “imminent risk of harm.”
The Trump administration has stated that restoring power to parents is one of its top health, education and humanities priorities. But the letter warns that states are usurping parental rights and potentially misinterpreting the CAPTA law if they remove children from their homes without evidence of “abuse or neglect.”
Under ACF, the health department’s human services division administers the largest federal child care program and other federal services that helps millions of households nationwide.
Prior to ACF’s letter to states, lawmakers have taken several child care-related actions against the nation’s health agency under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In a previous letter to Kennedy first reported by ABC News, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and other congressional Democrats said the agency’s alleged “disregard” for child welfare undermines the government’s core child-protection obligations amid federal immigration crackdowns.
Adams stressed Tuesday’s letter is supported by the whole organization, including Kennedy, and the secretary has demonstrated his commitment to improving child welfare outcomes across several different domains.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, U.S. negotiator Jared Kushner (3rd L) and US special envoy Steve Witkoff (3rd R) for talks at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany on December 14, 2025. (Photo by Ukrainian Presidency / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — U.S. administration officials signaled Monday a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine may be closer than ever.
“We believe that we probably solved … 90%, literally 90% of the issues between Ukraine and Russia, but there’s some more things that have to be worked out,” a U.S. official said during a phone call briefing with reporters.
U.S. officials spoke with reporters under the condition of anonymity on the robust discussions held in Berlin between U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and businessman Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the U.S.-authored peace plan.
A potential peace deal brokered over the weekend between U.S. officials and European allies include NATO Article 5-like security guarantees for Ukraine backed by robust security protocols, efforts to rebuild and reconstruct Ukraine following years of war, and deterrence efforts and punishments for any further Russian incursions, according to the U.S. officials.
Russia has indicated it’s open to Ukraine joining the European Union, the officials added.
The details were agreed to on a “working level” basis during discussions between NATO, Ukraine and the U.S. in Berlin, but final sign off from principals in Washington, Ukraine and Russia is still necessary, the officials said.
The officials indicated that Russia is likely to “accept all these things,” but more discussions are still required.
“We believe the Russians, in a final deal, will accept all these things which will allow for a strong and free Ukraine,” the official said.
U.S. officials said that peace talks that occurred in Berlin on Sunday and Monday with Ukraine were “really, really positive” following nearly eight hours of negotiations behind closed doors.
The officials said that consensus was reached on several issues and they hit on every detail in the revised 20-point peace plan.
“We’ve got consensus on a number of issues that we view as critical to getting to a peace deal. We have some things to discuss as well, but we’ve touched everything in the 20-point plan and had some very, very positive discussion around it,” the U.S. official said.
Two briefings have been given to Trump and he is pleased where things currently stand, according to the U.S. officials.
But despite the U.S. officials providing a more merrier readout of the progress, in his readout, Zelenskyy said that discussions with the U.S. “were not simple but productive.”
Security guarantees for Ukraine
On the security guarantees, the U.S. officials said details were still forthcoming but said U.S. boots on the ground in Ukraine were not a part of the discussions.
The officials added that the U.S. Senate would likely have to sign off on the NATO Article 5-like guarantees so that the agreement is legally binding, and “President Trump is willing to do that” — signaling a major commitment to protect Ukraine from further Russian attacks.
“This NATO-like Article 5 guarantee is something that President Trump believes he can get Russia to accept,” the U.S. official said. Ukraine is likely not going to push to join NATO, which the official added is a “critical element” in getting Russia’s sign off.
Any potential violations of the security guarantees will be addressed in the final package, the official said.
“Anything that we felt needed to be addressed to make the Ukrainian people feel safe is included in this package,” the official added.
Territory discussions continue
On territory discussions, the official said “we’ve moved considerably closer in narrowing the issues between Ukrainians and the Russians.”
Without going into further details, the officials said that Zelenskyy will be discussing the issue of territories with members of his team.
“We’ve given him some what I’ll call thought-provoking ideas. He’s got to get back to us,” one official said. “We have an obligation at some point after he gets back to us, to speak to the Russians about it, and our European partners. And you can hear that we feel really good about the progress that we’ve made, including on territories,” the official added.
Zelenskyy told reporters on Monday that he saw progress being made on security issues, but the issue of territories “is a painful one, because Russia wants what it wants, and we can’t go any further.”
“We clearly understand what they want. Some may believe it, others may not, but we know with one hundred percent certainty what they want,” he said.
Ukraine rebuilding and reconstruction
On reconstruction efforts, one of the officials said that there is a plan being put together on how to bring people back to Ukraine while also creating a “transparent government.” The official added asset managerBlack Rock and the World Bank have been working together to pull best practices from different countries and that the Europeans seem to indicate that there would be strong financial support for this.
One of the officials said on the call that the U.S. is close to having Russia and Ukraine agree to a 50-50 split of the Zaporizhzhia power plant.
Officials on the call said that Russia was open to Ukraine joining the European Union, calling it the biggest expansion of the Euro free-zone since the Berlin Wall.
The officials also shared that it is their hope that the framework of this agreement will allow for Europe and Russia to have a “prosperous future.”
“We’ve seen, over time, there’s no such thing as permanent allies or permanent enemies. And maybe if we create the right framework in this agreement, then there could be a new pathway forward, where Europe and Russia can finally have an arrangement and understanding that can lead to a more peaceful and prosperous future for everyone,” the official said.
Next steps
Kushner and Witkoff are expected to dine Monday night with European leaders and Zelenskyy and will conduct further peace discussions, the officials said, noting that Trump may join discussions.
“I think President Trump will be calling in to address the leaders, which is, you know, a pretty wonderful thing, and a testament to how much attention he’s paying to this particular conflict,” the official said.
More meetings next weekend in the U.S. are possible — likely in Miami, the official added.
“We are under instructions to do what it takes to help facilitate, on behalf of President Trump, a lasting and durable peace between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, and we intend to do our best if needed — absolutely,” the official said.
