anti-weaponization fund; primaries; U.S.-Iran peace : NPR

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Today’s top stories

The Justice Department says it will abide by a federal court order that puts funds for the Trump administration’s nearly $1.8 billion anti-weaponization program on hold. The administration says the fund would compensate people who allege they were targeted by the federal government. The fund has faced bipartisan backlash and concerns that it would be used to pay people convicted for storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

🎧 NPR’s Elena Moore tells Up First that the issue has elicited rare Republican pushback. Even after the DOJ stated it would abide by the court order, some Senate Republicans continued to push for the White House to end the fund. Moore says it has become a distraction as Republicans focus on the upcoming midterms.

Six states — California, Iowa, Montana, New Jersey, South Dakota and New Mexico — hold primaries today. California and Iowa are drawing particular attention, with competitive gubernatorial primaries in each state. In California, the top two candidates will advance, regardless of party. In both states, the Democratic Party sees a potential road map to control of Congress in the fall. Here are the key races to watch.

🎧 In November, California voters approved new district lines designed to weaken and potentially oust five current Republican House members. Scott Shafer of the NPR network station KQED says three of the five seats will be fairly easy to flip, but Democrats face tough fights in the races for the other two seats.

President Trump said he secured pledges from Israel and Hezbollah to pause fighting after Iran said it would suspend peace talks with the U.S. over Israel’s offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran’s announcement came after Israel’s military warned residents in southern Beirut to leave ahead of planned airstrikes.

🎧 Trump and Netanyahu launched the war in Iran together, but NPR’s Aya Batrawy says it’s increasingly clear that they’re at odds on how to get out of it. Both men are facing elections in their countries this year. The war isn’t popular in the U.S., but it has broad support in Israel. Hezbollah says it wants a complete end to the war and a full Israeli withdrawal, though Lebanon’s embassy in Washington says the group has accepted the partial ceasefire for now.

Deep dive

As primary elections roll through the U.S., some lawmakers are speaking out against closed, single-party primaries. In these elections, only registered voters of a particular party can cast a ballot in their party’s primary. Critics say the system limits voter choice and rewards party loyalty. Here’s how single-party primaries could reshape Congress:

🗳️ Closed primaries exclude independent voters and see less participation than general elections.🗳️ Because more than 90% of House seats are now considered safe for one party or another, primaries determine nearly all U.S. House members.🗳️ Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., says closed primaries drag members of Congress away from compromise because they fear being ousted by a more extreme opponent.🗳️ Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., lost his Senate seat primary to a Trump-backed candidate. Cassidy was one of six Republicans who voted to convict Trump on impeachment charges. Because of Louisiana’s semi-closed system, Democratic or unaffiliated voters who may have wanted to support Cassidy to prevent a more Trump-aligned replacement couldn’t vote in his primary.🗳️ Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, remains the only Republican senator who backed Trump’s impeachment to win reelection. Alaska uses a single ballot on which all candidates for statewide offices appear. The top four candidates, regardless of party, advance to the general election.

Healthy or hype?

Healthy or Hype? is an NPR series helping readers and listeners sort truth from fiction when it comes to online health claims.

Wellness influencers are touting bovine colostrum, which is the first milk cows make after giving birth, as a must-have supplement for supporting gut health. Cows produce more colostrum than their calves need, so the excess is collected, pasteurized, dried and packaged for human consumption. But how effective is it? Here’s what science says:

🐂 Preliminary studies in humans suggest that colostrum may improve certain forms of inflammatory bowel syndrome, gastroenteritis and upper respiratory tract infections.🐂 Research is still in its early stages, and some scientists caution that it’s too early to definitively say colostrum is effective. Others say the early findings are promising.🐂 Health professionals recommend trying to improve one’s overall lifestyle before introducing a supplement. Regular physical activity, a wholesome diet, sufficient sleep and stress management should be a priority.🐂 While there’s little evidence of serious side effects from colostrum, people who are lactose intolerant or have a milk allergy should avoid it.

3 things to know before you go

Serena Williams announced she will return to competitive tennis this month, nearly four years after she retired.More than 1,000 Marilyn Monroe lookalikes gathered in Palm Springs, Calif., to break the Guinness World Record for the most Monroes in one place for the actress’ 100th birthday. (via KVCR)AI company Anthropic is preparing to go public. The company behind Claude, one of the most popular AI models on the market, announced Monday that it filed paperwork for its proposed initial public offering (IPO).

This newsletter was edited by Majd Al-Waheidi.