Rob Schmitz is NPR's international correspondent based in Berlin, where he covers the human stories of a vast region reckoning with its past while it tries to guide the world toward a brighter future. From his base in the heart of Europe, Schmitz has covered Germany's levelheaded management of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of right-wing nationalist politics in Poland and creeping Chinese government influence inside the Czech Republic.
All three progressive candidates backed by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani — including two who took on Democratic incumbents — won their primaries in safe seats almost guaranteeing their election in November.
The Supreme Court ruled that a Louisiana prisoner whose dreadlocks were forcibly shaved off by prison guards cannot sue the guards under a federal law to protect the religious rights of prisoners.
The New York district represented by Republican Rep. Mike Lawler is a toss-up and one Democrats are eyeing to pick up in their quest for control of Congress.