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A little over a year after President Donald Trump scolded him during a nationally televised Oval Office meeting, insisting he held “no cards,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is proving he holds a few after all.

Setbacks for Trump ally and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and the world’s newfound appreciation for Ukraine’s drone-focused defense industry have given Zelenskyy a remarkable reversal of fortune and a much stronger position than Trump could have predicted 14 months ago.

In Moscow on Saturday, Putin, who expected to take control of Ukraine within days of his 2022 invasion, will instead oversee a Victory Day parade that is drastically scaled down out of fear of Ukrainian long-range drones and missiles. Russian airports were closed in the preceding days and cell service periodically shut off as security measures. Putin himself has cut back on public appearances over fears of assassination attempts or even a coup.

On the same day, 1,000 miles to the southwest, Putin’s biggest defender in Europe, Hungarian autocrat Viktor Orbán, will officially hand over power to a new prime minister, Peter Magyar, whose election last month has already opened the door to more European Union and NATO help for Ukraine.

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Virginia Democrats on Friday asked the state Supreme Court for a stay on its ruling that threw out last month’s referendum on redistricting in the commonwealth, signaling plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The state, Virginia’s House of Delegates Speaker Don Scott (D) and others filed a joint motion asking the state Supreme Court to “delay issuing its mandate” on the referendum, according to a copy obtained by The Hill. It also stated that they plan to file an emergency petition to the nation’s highest court.

“Today’s action is an imperative step in the process we promised to pursue to explore every available option to restore the will of the voters. We will continue moving through that process deliberately, responsibly, and with full respect for the voters who made their voices heard,” said Rae Pickett, spokesperson for Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones (D), in a statement shared with The Hill.

The Virginia court on Friday had issued a ruling that quashed a new map, narrowly approved by voters in a referendum last month, that would have given Democrats as many as four new pickup opportunities ahead of the midterms.

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A new initiative named the Anti-Zionist America Political Action Committee (Azapac) released an unprecedented video ad on Monday calling for donations and volunteers to help it build momentum and counter pro-Israeli lobbying groups in the US. 

The project, which kicked off earlier this year, is spearheaded by former New York University professor and author Michael Rectenwald, a self-described Libertarian, and has amassed more than 22,000 followers on X.

"Our government acts like the servant of another country. That other country is, of course, the State of Israel," Rectenwald says in the ad, overlaid with images of the Israeli flag outside several offices of members of the US Congress.

"That's not policy. That's a national disgrace," he adds. "Their strings are pulled by donors loyal to the modern nation-state of Israel. This isn't an alliance. It's extortion."

As Rectenwald details the US contribution to Israel of $33bn since 7 October 2023, the ad shows images of Palestinians in body bags.

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Ukraine said its forces struck a Russian warship capable of launching Kalibr cruise missiles during overnight attacks targeting military infrastructure deep inside Russian-controlled territory and along the front line.

The Ukrainian General Staff said on May 7 that Ukrainian Defense Forces had hit a Project 22800 Karakurt small missile ship near the Russian naval base in Kaspiysk.

According to the military, the vessel has the capability to launch Kalibr cruise missiles, which Russia has repeatedly used in attacks on Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure throughout the war.

“The extent of the damage is being clarified,” the General Staff said.

Ukraine also said it struck a Russian command post in Sosnivka in the occupied Luhansk region and a drone command center near Yasne in the Donetsk region.

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The meaning of the term “ceasefire” should be self‑evident. Yet Israel’s strikes have killed scores of people in Lebanon since it agreed a truce with Hezbollah under pressure from the US, with the two sides trading fire. There was a strike on Beirut on Wednesday. Benjamin Netanyahu’s government would be delighted to resume war with Iran. But it is wary of Donald Trump’s wrath as he seeks an exit from the conflict.

In Gaza, the Israeli military has killed more than 800 people since the truce there was declared in October, striking almost every day. This, too, is not a true ceasefire but a de-escalation, however necessary. Lethal Israeli attacks on an engineer and drivers transporting water have intensified the water crisis that is fuelling the spread of infectious diseases; Médecins Sans Frontières has called the weaponisation of water supplies a campaign of collective punishment.

Never mind the estimated $70bn cost of reconstruction; homes are still being flattened. Families in tents face a rat infestation. Essential medicines are unavailable. Hospitals and schools lie in ruins. An analysis of the war’s impact on education described children feeling “like the living dead”.

Israel agreed to end attacks, massively increase the aid allowed into the territory and withdraw its forces to within a “yellow line” – still accounting for 53% of the territory. Yet strikes have continued, aid flows yo-yo and essential items are blocked on the claim that they are “dual use”.

The military has expanded its zone of control substantially – and the unmarked surrounding area in which Palestinians are considered legitimate targets. Israel’s Army Radio has said that military leaders are pushing to resume the war.

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Tennessee’s Republican-dominated legislature passed redistricting maps on Thursday, eliminating the state’s one Democratic, Black-majority congressional district a week after the US supreme court effectively gutted a major section of the Voting Rights Act.

The move cracks Tennessee’s ninth congressional district, which covers Memphis, into three pieces, each of which contains almost exactly a third of the city’s Black voters. The new maps mean that all nine of Tennessee’s congressional districts are Republican-leaning.

The district had closely occupied the south-west corner of the state. Now three districts snake out from Memphis’ dense center, with two crossing the Tennessee River to reach Nashville’s suburbs 200 miles away.

“If Republican policies are so great, why are we changing the lines to rig elections?” asked Vincent Dixie, a state representative from Nashville, during debate on Thursday, pleading for Republicans to refrain. “Where is your humanity in this?”

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A federal judge in North Carolina conditionally agreed to cancel former FBI Director James Comey’s upcoming court appearance on charges of threatening President Trump at his request and with the government’s support.

Comey asked to call off the hearing because he already made an initial appearance in Alexandria, Va., last week over the allegations. He said that federal criminal procedure rules provide “for an initial appearance in the singular.”

U.S. District Judge Louise Flanagan, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, said she would cancel the initial appearance if Comey files a waiver for the hearing in the district by Friday. She said the hearing would proceed as scheduled if no waiver is filed.

In Comey’s initial request, his attorneys said he would be willing to execute any necessary waiver “to give the Court additional comfort if the Court so desires.”

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The Pentagon said the U.S. military launched "self-defense strikes" on Iranian targets Thursday after "unprovoked" attacks from the Islamic republic on U.S. Navy vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

No U.S. assets were struck by Iranian attacks, but U.S. forces hit Iranian military facilities behind the attacks, U.S. Central Command, the arm of the U.S. military overseeing operations in the Middle East, said in a statement. The agency added it does not want to see an "escalation" of the fighting. 

"U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) eliminated inbound threats and targeted Iranian military facilities responsible for attacking U.S. forces," the statement said. "CENTCOM does not seek escalation but remains positioned and ready to protect American forces."

Iranian state media reported the U.S. struck Iranian ports on Qeshm Island and the city of Bandar Abbas. The two sites are located near the Strait of Hormuz. Iran says they launched attacks on U.S. Navy assets after American forces tried to seize an Iranian oil tanker. U.S. forces on Wednesday struck an Iranian oil tanker, disabling the vessel.

The White House and Pentagon did not respond to requests for information. The apparent resumption of hostilities comes as President Donald Trump says progress is being made in negotiations as Tehran reviews a U.S. framework for peace talks.

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