Friday Afternoon Updates: Rigged Maps and a Hidden War — 5/8/26

U.S. President Donald Trump attends a Mother’s Day reception for Gold Star mothers, whose children died while serving in the U.S. armed forces, and also to mothers the White House is describing as ‘Angel Mothers’ who are the parents of people killed by immigrants in the U.S. illegally, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 8, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Hi all, Ben here. It’s Friday, we’ve made it to the end of the week. There is a lot happening today — an active war in the Middle East that the Trump regime is pretending is over, strikes near Dubai International Airport, and Marco Rubio doing verbal gymnastics on live television. We’ll get to all of it.

But I want to start with the seismic state Supreme Court decision in Virginia.

Here’s what we’re tracking today:

• The Virginia Supreme Court just overturned a voter-approved redistricting referendum in a 4-3 ruling — a massive blow to Democrats heading into the midterms

• Republican state legislatures are already racing to redraw maps after the Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Act decision

• Iran is launching ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones at U.S. warships and UAE targets

• Dubai International Airport appears to have been struck, with black smoke visible and flights suspended

• CENTCOM is boasting about attacking unarmed oil tankers and calling it a victory

• Marco Rubio is trying to explain why an active war and a ceasefire are somehow the same thing

• Trump is posting AI laser memes and UFC promos while his military fights a war he won’t acknowledge is still going on

• Global perception of the United States has now fallen below Russia in international polling

• Consumer sentiment has hit its lowest recorded level

• A CDC response is underway for a hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship

Let’s start in Virginia.

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It was an ugly morning for democracy

The Virginia Supreme Court ruled today, 4-3, to overturn a redistricting referendum that Virginia voters approved just last month. That referendum could have delivered Democrats up to five additional House seats. Gone. Thrown out by four justices citing constitutional procedural violations by the General Assembly.