GEOFF BENNETT: Good evening.

I'm Geoff Bennett.

AMNA NAWAZ: And I'm Amna Nawaz.

On the "NewsHour" tonight: A second round in negotiations between the United States and Iran hangs in limbo after the U.S.

attacked and boarded an Iranian ship as part of its naval blockade.

GEOFF BENNETT: Eight children are fatally shot in a domestic dispute.

Now investigators in Shreveport, Louisiana, are searching for answers.

AMNA NAWAZ: And we examine how a Virginia ballot measure aims to counter Republican redistricting efforts and shift the balance of power in Congress.

LISA DESJARDINS: Where I'm standing would be the intersection of three congressional districts, so that the apartment buildings over here would be in one congressional district, those over there would be in a second, and then right over here, these folks would be in a third congressional district.

(BREAK) AMNA NAWAZ: Welcome to the "News Hour."

An American delegation led by Vice President J.D.

Vance will soon be leave for Pakistan to resume talks with Iran over the nearly two-month war.

GEOFF BENNETT: Iranian officials have been noncommittal about attending the next round of talks.

President Trump also sent mixed signals, predicting success, even as he warned the war could drag on.

It follows a tense weekend around the Strait of Hormuz.

Our White House correspondent, Liz Landers, begins our coverage.

MAN: Motor vessel Touska, motor vessel Touska, vacate your engine room.

Vacate your engine room.

We're prepared to subject you to disabling fire.

(WEAPONS FIRE) LIZ LANDERS: Yesterday, in contested waters, a show of U.S.

force.

Marines seized and disabled an Iranian cargo ship.

U.S.

officials alleged the vessel tried to evade its naval cordon.

This is the first such interception of the U.S.

's over a week-long blockade of Iranian ports, yet, today, signs of renewed peace talks after a weekend of mixed signals.

A source tells PBS "News Hour" a U.S.

delegation led by Vice President J.D.

Vance plans to travel to Pakistan soon.

Iran has issued conflicting messages about its plans to attend.

The regime's Foreign Ministry said the U.S.

lacks -- quote -- "seriousness."

ESMAEIL BAGHAEI, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman (through translator): We witnessed that the United States insisted on bad faith and violation of the cease-fire.

We are still in a state of war.

A cease-fire has been announced, but unfortunately it has been met from the very beginning with repeated violations.

And the announcement that Iran's ports and vessels would be targeted by the United States has complicated the situation.

LIZ LANDERS: Israel, the U.S.

's ally in the war, won't be participating in the talks, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu touted Israel's war fighting during a Memorial Day celebration today.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, Israeli Prime Minister (through translator): Our pilots control the skies of the region as irrefutable proof of our superiority over the Iranian axis.

We have not yet finished the task, but the world already recognizes our determination to defend ourselves, not only to defend ourselves, but to defend humanity from barbaric fanaticism.

Small Israel and our great friend the United States carry the entire Western civilization on their shoulders.

MAN: If you attempt to run the blockade, we will compel compliance with force.

Over.

LIZ LANDERS: The U.S.

military released another video today showing their enforcement operations on Iranian ports.

The blockade stretches from the eastern tip of Oman to Iran's border with Pakistan.

LIZ LANDERS: Meantime, rough sailing on global energy markets.

Today's opening trades were a sharp turnaround from Friday, when oil prices tumbled.

Now climbing oil prices and slipping U.S.

stock prices roiled global markets.

China, a major importer of Iranian oil, urged U.S.

restraint.

GUO JIAKUN, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson (through translator): China expresses concern over the United States' forced interception of relevant vessels, and hopes that the parties concern will act in a responsible manner and create the necessary conditions for the restoration of normal passage through the strait.

LIZ LANDERS: While the U.S.

has maintained its blockade of Iranian ports, Iran lifted and then reimposed its own blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

This comes as two Indian ships were forced to reverse course in the strait over the weekend following reports of Iranian gunfire.

MAN (through translator): Sepah Navy.

Sepah Navy.

This is motor tanker Sanmar Herald.

You gave me clearance to go.

My name second on your list.

You gave me clearance to go.

You are firing now.

Let me turn back.

LIZ LANDERS: Indian officials said today they have been in touch with Iranian counterparts, and since, Saturday's incident, another ship has safely crossed the strait.

Key Gulf Arab energy producers lost at least 40 percent of their crude oil output in March, according to OPEC, roughly equivalent to the combined output of U.S.

oil giants ExxonMobil and Chevron.

Yet U.S.

officials say pressure, including financial sanctions and maritime enforcement, is intended to bring Iran back to the negotiating table.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright appeared on CNN yesterday.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN Host: When will it be?

CHRIS WRIGHT, U.S.

Energy Secretary: I think after a deal is reached, after a deal is reached.

It won't be in the too-distant-future.

People are ready to go.

Ships are there.

The United States put through two warships through the straits.

We can open it one way or the other.

But the best way to do it is to have an end to the conflict and a defanged and de-armed Iran.

We're also going after their financial tentacles, which are spread all throughout the region and around the world.

LIZ LANDERS: While ships at both ends of one of the world's most volatile maritime corridors wait for clearance, risking interception from U.S.

or Iranian forces, the deadline of the temporary two-week cease-fire draws close.

And even with the vice president heading to Islamabad, that cease-fire appears likely to expire overnight tomorrow, Amna.

AMNA NAWAZ: Liz, I know you spoke to President Trump directly this morning about the war in Iran and much more.

Tell us about that.

LIZ LANDERS: I called him around 8:00 a.m.

we just had a few minutes to speak on the phone.

But I asked him first about this cease-fire, which is expected to expire tomorrow evening.

And I said, what happens if there is no deal that is reached by then?

And he said, "Then lots of bombs start going off."

Of course, the United States has not bombed Israel in the last few weeks since the cease-fire has held.

AMNA NAWAZ: Iran, rather, not Israel.

LIZ LANDERS: Oh sorry.

Yes, has not bombed Iran.

Sorry about that.

I also asked him about Iran participating in these peace talks in Islamabad and whether they would show up and be there.

We have questions about that still.

The president told me he didn't know if the Iranians were going to show up, but he did say that the United States agreed to be there.

And he said: "That's fine too if they don't show up."

I asked about the key objective for these talks in Islamabad.

And he said: "No nuclear weapons.

It's very simple.

Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon."

AMNA NAWAZ: You also asked him this very important question about potential conflicts of interest about his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and his diplomatic role, because he also has business interests in the Middle East.

What did he say about that?

LIZ LANDERS: Jared Kushner started a venture capital firm in 2021 after the end of the first Trump presidency.

It's called Affinity Partners.

And he has raised money from the Saudis, from their public investment fund, and from other countries in the Middle East region.

I asked the president if it was appropriate for Kushner to be negotiating about matters of war and peace in the Middle East while he has this investment fund that has raised money there.

He told me -- the first quote that he said to me is: "Well, he was there before, a long time before, and he's purely negotiating for the fact that they're not going to have a nuclear weapon.

Whether you have business or not, everyone knows that's the right thing.

He's a very good negotiator."

So then I started to ask a follow-up question.

The president kept going.

And he said: "i sent my A team.

I sent my A team.

He's done an excellent job.

He doesn't participate with Saudi now, as you know.

He's taken -- he doesn't do that.

He has a business, but he doesn't participate now."

Kushner is not actively raising money from the Saudis right now.

And we got a statement from his lawyer from Affinity Partners.

The chief legal officer, Ian Brekke, told us that: "Affinity had early conversations with its anchor investor and does not intend to take any additional capital while Jared is volunteering for the government.

An SEC-registered investment firm, Affinity has abided by all laws and regulations and will continue to do so."

As a volunteer right now, he is not subject to financial disclosure forms.

AMNA NAWAZ: Meanwhile, we saw the energy secretary, Chris Wright, on CNN earlier, and he mentioned he doesn't foresee gas prices coming down to under $3 a gallon until next year.

You asked the president about that.

What did he say?

LIZ LANDERS: This was the last question we got to.

I asked if this was a concern for the upcoming midterm elections in November.

The president told me: "I disagree with him totally," meaning Secretary Wright.

"I think it's going to come roaring down if it ends.

If we end it," meaning the war, "if Iran does what they should do, it will come roaring down."

The president has said this a number of times, though, I would say, Amna.

He keeps saying that gas prices are going to fall.

So far, we have not really seen that.

Americans are still feeling the pain at the pump.

AMNA NAWAZ: Terrific reporting, as always.

Our White House correspondent, Liz Landers, thank you.

GEOFF BENNETT: For more now on the U.S.

enforcement of the Strait of Hormuz blockade, we turn to retired Admiral Gary Roughead.

He was chief of Naval operations from 2007 to 2011.

He's now a distinguished military fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

Thank you for being with us.

And I want to start with this, your reaction when you learned the U.S.

Navy fired on and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship near the Strait of Hormuz as part of the American enforcement there?

ADM.

GARY ROUGHEAD (RET.

), Former Chief of U.S.

Naval Operations: I was not surprised.

The blockade had been put in place, and as ships were moving in and out, if there was not enforcement of the blockade, it would be viewed as a paper tiger.

So, stopping a ship and boarding it was not unusual to me, given the circumstances.

GEOFF BENNETT: Where does firing on a vessel rank in the U.S.

toolkit for enforcing a blockade like this?

ADM.

GARY ROUGHEAD (RET.

): I would say it's ranked pretty high.

Normally -- and you heard in some of the videos that were released by CENTCOM that there were verbal warnings to the ship to stop.

Whether or not there were some shots fired across the bow to signal intent to use hostile force, I don't know.

I have not seen anything on that.

But disabling fire is quite high up the ladder.

But the fact remains that the blockade was enforced, the Marines boarded it, and my understanding now is that they're searching the containers that are on that ship.

GEOFF BENNETT: How operationally challenging is it to enforce a blockade in a body of water like that, given the size and the different entry points into it?

ADM.

GARY ROUGHEAD (RET.

): Right now, I'd say it's not very hard.

I mean, the intelligence that we have, the ability to be able to track ships, knowing where they're coming from, where they're bound, and the limited number of ships, because what we're doing is we're stopping either ships that have called at an Iranian port or are bound to an Iranian port.

So that number is fairly slow.

The sea lanes that they're -- fairly low.

The sea lanes that they're traveling on are well established, and in my mind it would not be a problem to be able to begin tracking that ship using aircraft, then passing that information to the ships that are in the region for an intercept to take place.

The volume is not high, the intelligence is good, so not that challenging.

GEOFF BENNETT: If the U.S.

wanted to keep the Strait of Hormuz open by force, what would that require operationally?

ADM.

GARY ROUGHEAD (RET.

): To keep it open by force under the current circumstances would require many more ships than are in place now.

It would require continuous air coverage of the strait, because not only are you defending against drones and missiles, but you also have to defend against small craft.

To move a large volume of ships in and out means that you would also have to start protecting those ships at some distance from the strait proper.

Ships that would be entering into the Gulf, you would have to pick them up and provide escort, and those that are leaving ports in the -- from the Arab Gulf states, you would most likely have to be able to provide protection for them moving through.

So until there's a cease-fire, a well-established cease-fire, an accepted cease-fire by countries that are engaged in commerce in the Gulf, it would require quite a bit of assets.

GEOFF BENNETT: And the U.S.

does not currently have those assets in place right now?

ADM.

GARY ROUGHEAD (RET.

): No, they're not.

GEOFF BENNETT: All right, that is retired Admiral Gary Roughead.

Thanks again for your insights and perspectives this evening.

ADM.

GARY ROUGHEAD (RET.

): Thank you.

Have a good evening.

AMNA NAWAZ: For additional perspective on the state of diplomacy with Iran, we turn now to our two Iran watchers.

Alan Eyre worked at the State Department focused on Iran and he was a senior member of the Obama administration's negotiating team for the Iran nuclear deal.

He's now at the Middle East Institute.

And Miad Maleki was born and raised in Iran, and until last year he was associate director for sanctioned targeting in the U.S.

Treasury Department with a focus on Iran.

He's now a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.

Welcome back to you both.

Good to see you.

Miad, I will begin with you.

It looks like the U.S.

delegation is set to go to Pakistan tomorrow to resume talks.

The question is, will the Iranians be there?

Will they show up?

MIAD MALEKI, The Foundation for Defense of Democracies: Well, based on reporting, I see Iranians are sending a delegation.

That's the last reporting that I have seen coming out of Iran.

It's very obvious that they know they need a deal.

They might still shout openly or through the press that they don't really need a deal, but economically and politically they really desperately need a deal right now.

AMNA NAWAZ: So they're going in search of a deal.

You think they're motivated to?

MIAD MALEKI: They're definitely - - their economy is a collapsed, bankrupt economy.

They're getting there.

They have a few days before the run out of gasoline, between 12 to 20 days, if they can't import gasoline.

And last time they had to change the price on gasoline, increase the price on gasoline, they had one of the largest protests in Iran.

So they know domestically they're going to have to address the state of economy.

AMNA NAWAZ: Alan, did the U.S.

attacking and boarding that ship, did it change leverage it all for the U.S., change how these talks could go on?

ALAN EYRE, Middle East Institute: I don't think so.

I mean, it possibly increased -- it increased the possibility that the Iranians wouldn't go.

But, as Miad said, they have to show up at the table just to see what the U.S.

is doing.

So, again, both sides -- each side wants to enter with sort of the marginal additional leverage to increase its position.

And the ship that was trying to run the blockade, I think, was testing U.S.

resolve.

But, no, it didn't really move the dial out of their way in terms of what's going to happen at the table.

AMNA NAWAZ: Well, you saw Liz Landers reporting earlier the president told her, if there is no deal at the end of the cease-fire, that the U.S.

will resume bombing.

What do you make of those threats?

Do you think the U.S.

will make good on them?

And do they pressure Iranians to come to a deal?

ALAN EYRE: I think empirically, I have learned not to put absolute credence into President Trump's statements.

A lot of them are either to assuage the market or to terrify the Iranians.

So it could well be the case that, if there's not even an interim deal that allows them to extend the cease-fire, that there could be a resumption of hostilities.

But I really do think that the United States is not looking to resume hostilities and start climbing up that escalation ladder with Iran again, because Iran will retaliate against regional energy.

And it could just be painful consequences.

AMNA NAWAZ: Miad, is that how the Iranians see it?

Do you think those threats carry weight with the leadership there?

MIAD MALEKI: You know, if I'm in Tehran, if I'm a member of this regime, I would consider President Trump's warning to be more of a real threat.

I mean, historically, President Trump there are cases that he changed his mind, he gave Iranians more time.

But there are a lot of cases that you can point to that President Trump actually went ahead and stuck to his threat.

So in this case, I think Iranians know that it might end up being things might end up getting worse for them on the Persian Gulf side.

But what I disagree with Alan on is that the tanker that was targeted and stopped by U.S.

Navy, it does send a very strong message to the Iranians that it blockade is serious and the implication on an economic side of oil not leaving Persian Gulf and the imports fully stopped through this blockade, I think that sent very strong message to the Iranians that this is a real blockade.

AMNA NAWAZ: Well, the Americans also haven't changed any of the terms or anything they're trying to push for in this deal, right?

And this was the same deal both sides walked away from last time.

What are the prospects that there's some kind of successful deal if the Americans haven't changed the things they're asking for, Alan?

ALAN EYRE: Well, we don't know for certainty, or at least I don't, that they haven't changed it.

For example, President Trump at one point said we do not want any indigenous enrichment on Iran.

Now that's modulated somewhat to a freeze on uranium enrichment for 20 years.

The Iranians say, well, how about five years?

Yes, there's room to negotiate.

A deal is doable, both on nuclear issues, on the Strait of Hormuz.

But the situation is this.

The more -- it's like the scale.

You more you put on the scale of what I want, the more you have to put on the scale of what I'm prepared to give.

And I think this scale is where the U.S.

might have some problems.

AMNA NAWAZ: Where do you think the U.S.

is on that part of the scale?

What are they willing to give?

ALAN EYRE: I think it's possible that they're willing to unfreeze assets.

I think it's possible, maybe barely possible, they'd be willing to accept downblending of highly enriched uranium, as opposed to getting rid of it all.

But things like obviously what the Iranians want, reparations, that's not going to happen.

And quick and a full sanctions relief is not going to happen.

AMNA NAWAZ: Miad, how do you see it?

What would the Iranians agree to?

MIAD MALEKI: I think Iranians would agree to anything that would give them access to some cash.

That's what they're really need desperately.

AMNA NAWAZ: So, the unfreezing of those funds would be key?

MIAD MALEKI: I think that's what they -- they brought in -- if you look at the delegation, members of the delegation that went to Islamabad last time around from Iran, they took the Central Bank governor with them, but they didn't take any of them from the atomic energy organization.

And one of the demands was really access to those funds that are sitting in Oman, Qatar, and Iraq and elsewhere.

And those are funds that they don't really need any kind of sanctions relief to be available to the regime.

They just really need some letters from the U.S.

government or some message or signal from the U.S.

government.

So that's not a really heavy lift for U.S.

government.

Iranians know that, and they really need that cash right now.

AMNA NAWAZ: Meanwhile, we saw the strait declared open by Iranian officials, and the next day it suddenly was not.

President Trump says the blockade will also continue.

Alan, do you see another round of talks opening the strait and ending the blockade?

ALAN EYRE: No.

This is -- this is their -- again, part of the pun, their trump card is control of the strait.

They never opened it.

Even when Araghchi said, we're going to open it, if you had read the fine print, which wasn't in the social media post, it was, if you go through Iranian waters, if you coordinate with the IRGC navy, and if you pay a toll.

So it was more a question of emphasis.

And, yes, the IRGC came back later and clamped that down.

But, no, the Strait of Hormuz is their most effective leverage, because every day it stays closed, its power increases.

AMNA NAWAZ: Miad, how do you see it?

This is a key point for President Trump.

He wants that strait open.

MIAD MALEKI: You know, I think this is not a trump card.

It was a nuclear option for the Iranian regime, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

They deployed it and it backlashed economically.

I think they're on the clock economically.

If the blockade continues, if the Strait of Hormuz closed, they're going to see the result underground in different provinces in Iran as far as gasoline prices, food prices.

I think they're just trying to wait out a few days, maybe a couple weeks to see if they can get a deal, winning the war of narrative here in the U.S.

and in the West.

But at the end of the day, every time there was a U.S.

escalation with Iran, whether it was some airstrikes or killing of Soleimani, IRGC commanders, Iranians always -- Iranian regime always come back to the negotiations table because they need a deal.

So they might play with the words.

They might hear rhetoric coming out of Iran that don't really make sense.

But at the end of the day, they desperately need a deal, and they're going to have to really give up some of those -- some of the principles they have been sticking to.

AMNA NAWAZ: Alan, I will give you the last word here in the few seconds we have left.

If the Strait of Hormuz is the Iranians' trump card, what's the best leverage for the U.S.?

ALAN EYRE: Well, as Miad said, the great leverage is blockading Iran.

The problem is you got two clocks.

And the Strait of Hormuz I'm giving pain clock is moving a lot more quickly than the naval blockade pain to Iran.

Plus, Iran can take more pain.

Iran is not heading into an election year.

AMNA NAWAZ: Alan Eyre, Miad Maleki, great to see you both here.

Thank you so much.

MIAD MALEKI: Thanks.

ALAN EYRE: Thank you.

AMNA NAWAZ: In the day's other headlines: The White House says Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is leaving her post.

Communications Director Steven Cheung announced her departure on social media, saying she's done -- quote -- "a phenomenal job and that she's taking a position in the private sector."

Cheung added that her deputy, Keith Sonderling, will take over as acting secretary.

Chavez-DeRemer had been under fire for months amid allegations that she abused her position.

That included allegations of an affair involving a subordinate and drinking alcohol on the job.

She's denied any wrongdoing.

Chavez-DeRemer is the third Trump Cabinet member to leave after he fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in March and ousted Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier this month.

Kash Patel filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit today against "The Atlantic" magazine.

Over a story published on Friday titled "The FBI Director is MIA."

It alleges -- quote -- "episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences" by Patel.

His suit calls the article -- quote -- "a sweeping, malicious, and defamatory hit piece designed to destroy Director Patel's reputation and drive him from office."

Both the Justice Department and the White House have denied the story's claims.

In response, a spokesperson for "The Atlantic" says it stands by its reporting, calling Patel's lawsuit meritless.

Today marks the first day the businesses can submit refund requests for tariffs paid before the Supreme Court ruled them unconstitutional two months ago.

The Web site run by U.S.

Customs and Border Protection allows the more than 330,000 importers who paid about $166 billion in tariffs to file for refunds with interest.

Approved refunds will take 60 to 90 days to be issued.

But individual consumers who paid higher prices because of tariffs do not qualify to get their money back.

Police in North Carolina say at least two people were shot and killed this morning in Winston-Salem when several juveniles agreed to meet in a park to fight.

A total of seven people were shot, with injuries ranging from minor to critical.

A 16-year-old and a 17-year-old were killed.

Authorities say they're still trying to determine each person's role in the incident.

The police chief lamented yet another episode of gun violence among young people.

WILLIAM PENN JR., Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Police Chief: First, I need to acknowledge the fear and frustration that our community must be experiencing right now.

Firearms are the number one killer of kids 1 to 17 in our nation now.

It's also our 98th mass shooting in our country.

So I share that fear and that frustration.

AMNA NAWAZ: A local middle school near the park briefly went into lockdown after the shooting.

All students were later reported safe.

The House Ethics Committee issued a rare statement today defending its handling of recent sexual harassment cases involving members of Congress.

The committee -- quote -- "strongly encouraged any victims of sexual misconduct by a House member or staffer to come forward."

The statement comes after the recent resignations of Democrat Eric Swalwell and Republican Tony Gonzales and questions about how Congress investigates its own members.

The House Ethics Committee largely operates behind closed doors and says little about its work.

In Japan, officials are warning of a possible mega-quake that could hit the country's northeastern coast in the coming week.

That follows a 7.7-magnitude earthquake felt hundreds of miles away in Tokyo striking the region earlier today.

(SIRENS BLARING) AMNA NAWAZ: Sirens blared in one coastal area followed by tsunami warnings that were later downgraded.

But officials say the threat of further quakes remains.

Japan's prime minister urged local residents to take precautions.

SANAE TAKAICHI, Japanese Prime Minister (through translator): In response to the aftershock advisory, which is expected to remain in effect for about a week, please ensure you are prepared to evacuate immediately and always carry your emergency supplies with you.

AMNA NAWAZ: Today's advisory was the second such warning for the region in recent months.

In the meantime, authorities are still assessing the damage from today's shocks.

At least two people were injured and some rail service was temporarily suspended.

The head of Apple, Tim Cook, is stepping down as CEO, but staying on as executive chairman.

John Ternus, Apple's hardware boss, will take over as CEO in September.

It's Apple's first CEO change since 2011, when Cook took over from founder Steve Jobs.

In the meantime, on Wall Street today, stocks cooled off a bit after their recent record-setting rally.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost less than five points, so basically flat.

The Nasdaq slipped about 60 points to start the week.

The S&P 500 gave back about a quarter-of-a-percent.

And a pair of defending champions won the Boston Marathon today.

On the men's side, John Korir of Kenya finished in two hours, one minute and 52 seconds, breaking the course record and running the fifth fastest marathon of all time.

And Sharon Lokedi, also of Kenya, won the women's race in just under two hours and 19 minutes.

In the meantime, in China, it wasn't a human, but a humanoid setting the pace.

This android from smartphone brand Honor set a new world record for a half-marathon, finishing in 50 minutes and 26 seconds.

That is seven minutes faster than the human record and also way better than my all-time best.

Still to come on the "News Hour": the national redistricting fight comes to Virginia; Tamara Keith and Amy Walter break down the latest political headlines; and why some cities are turning their streetlights red.

GEOFF BENNETT: Another deadly shooting has torn apart another American community.

Yesterday morning, in Shreveport, Louisiana, a man shot and killed eight children and gravely wounded two adults.

He was killed during a confrontation with police after fleeing the scene.

William Brangham has more.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Geoff, police said the children ranged in age from 3 to 11 years old.

The killer was reportedly the father to seven of the eight children that he killed.

The two adult victims were the suspect's wife and another woman.

This was the deadliest shooting in America in over two years and it sent shockwaves throughout Shreveport.

City officials today said the shooting underscores a broader problem.

GRAYSON BOUCHER, Shreveport, Louisiana, City Councilmember: I would like to also remind everyone that, in the city of Shreveport, we have a true epidemic of domestic violence.

And that is something that should be a top priority of the city's administration, the city council and law enforcement.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: For more on this tragedy and the broader issue of gun violence, we are joined again by April Zeoli.

She's the director of the Michigan Firearm Law Implementation Program at the University of Michigan.

April, thank you so much for being here again.

Your research studies the intersection of domestic violence and firearms.

So, given that people might just be taking on board what this tragedy is all about, what was your initial reaction to this?

APRIL ZEOLI, University of Michigan: My initial reaction was, unfortunately, that this has happened again.

We know from research that there are often opportunities to intervene and to stop this kind of violence from happening.

But the opportunities were missed and we're left with a tragedy.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: And what does the research show us about that, the overlap between domestic violence and firearm ownership?

APRIL ZEOLI: It shows that when a violent male intimate partner has access to a gun, the chance that he will kill the female partner goes up five times.

It is much greater.

We also know that there is more likely to be other victims as well.

So, in this case, we saw an intimate partner, another adult, and eight children.

This comports with what we know about domestic violence shootings, unfortunately.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: And this also seems to fly in the face of the way guns are marketed and sold, as a defensive weapon, that you bring a gun into your home to defend yourself, not that that gun then becomes a tool used against you.

APRIL ZEOLI: Correct.

The reason guns are pitched and sold as defensive weapons and people want them as defensive weapons are exactly the reasons that they are so deadly.

Guns are incredibly lethal and they're a range weapon.

So you can injure somebody from far away.

You can't do that with a knife.

You can't do that with a blunt instrument.

And that gives firearms more lethality.

And if you're hit by a bullet, you're much more likely to die than if, say, you were stabbed.

So, in an already violent situation, firearms just make the problem worse.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: And you touched on this before, but when we think about children in America being shot, we tend to think of school shootings.

How does the data on school shootings compare to violence in the home, shootings in the home?

APRIL ZEOLI: School shootings are tragedies, and we should do everything we can to prevent them.

But if we're concerned about children dying, then we have to look at domestic violence and events that happen in the home.

Because kids are much safer at schools than they are in the home.

When they're dying in mass shootings, these are domestic violence events.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: We heard public officials in Shreveport today repeatedly saying to the general public that, if you see something, say something.

They're basically saying, if you know that someone is troubled and may have access to a gun, that they have to speak up.

I mean, is that the message to people, that that's the best way to prevent this?

Do we have other ways of intervening that are useful?

APRIL ZEOLI: Oh, there are many ways to intervene.

In this particular case, it's been reported that the wife of the shooter was leaving.

They were getting divorced.

And just that one fact raises the risk of homicide and severe violence.

Separation is the most deadly time when it comes to domestic violence.

So this is a time for people to gather resources, for courts and domestic violence agencies to come into play and help somebody's safety plan.

Safety plans can really help.

Restraining orders can sometimes help.

There are other things people can do.

If no action is taken, if firearms aren't removed, if they're still available, if somebody who says that they're suicidal doesn't get any attention, then we're really not going to solve this problem.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: That is April Zeoli of the University of Michigan.

Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us.

APRIL ZEOLI: Thank you.

AMNA NAWAZ: In Virginia, voters are heading to the polls Tuesday to weigh in on a ballot measure that could reshape the state's congressional map and potentially shift the balance of power in Washington.

Supporters say it's a necessary response to aggressive Republican-led redistricting in.

Opponents call it blatant partisanship.

Lisa Desjardins reports.

LISA DESJARDINS: In Virginia, a divide over ideas that once unified the state, democracy and fair play, with Democrats focusing on suburban Northern Virginia, arguing this balances out Republican power grabs in other states, but with Republicans arguing Virginia Democrats are doing the power grabbing.

This purple state has a near even split in Congress now, but a referendum would change that.

A yes vote would redraw the map so Democrats could pick up four seats, leaving just one clearly Republican district.

BARACK OBAMA, Former President of the United States: Help put our elections back on a level playing field.

LISA DESJARDINS: Big stakes have brought big names, like former President Barack Obama, House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

There is a barrage of spending, nearly $100 million in all.

The national redistricting war started by Texas Republicans, at President Trump's urging, then volleyed through several other states.

But Virginia is likely Democrats' last chance to gain seats by remapping this year.

REP.

JAMES WALKINSHAW (D-VA): Very simple.

We have the opportunity to level that playing field.

LISA DESJARDINS: Which is why freshman Congressman and Democrat James Walkinshaw is at this event in his district in Fairfax County outside of Washington, along with many volunteers.

The effort is well funded and focused.

They believe Trump's actions are particularly driving backlash here.

REP.

JAMES WALKINSHAW: Look, I think DOGE,the DOGE chain saw that slashed through not just Northern Virginia, but all of Virginia, right, there's a lot of federal workers and now unfortunately former federal workers who live in every corner of the commonwealth.

LISA DESJARDINS: Like volunteer Gillian Sullivan.

GILLIAN SULLIVAN, Referendum Supporter: So I'm out here doing this because I was terminated as a probationary employee, and I... LISA DESJARDINS: By DOGE.

GILLIAN SULLIVAN: Yes, by DOGE.

LISA DESJARDINS: She was fired, rehired and then faced another possible federal layoff, so she reluctantly took the DOGE buyout.

That pushed Sullivan to volunteer for political campaigns.

GILLIAN SULLIVAN: Hi, I'm Gillian.

I'm here on behalf of Virginians for Fair Elections.

LISA DESJARDINS: She says this battle is about democracy and a fair shot to check President Trump.

GILLIAN SULLIVAN: This is a very pivotal moment.

And it's -- it's now or never.

REP.

BEN CLINE (R-VA): With Election Day, I think we're going to come out on top.

LISA DESJARDINS: But Republicans are betting on rural Virginia, like Congressman Ben Cline, in front of an overflowing crowd in Culpeper.

His district currently runs along the state's Blue Ridge Mountains, but under the proposed map, it has broken up entirely into five other districts.

His job would be in jeopardy and he thinks his area would lose power.

REP.

BEN CLINE (R-VA): They're really just tilting the scales and removing rural voices from the legislative process.

And that's something we have to say no to.

JODI NICHOLSON, Referendum Opponent: I used to teach preschool and it sounds like managing a preschool classroom, because, first of all, two wrongs don't make a right.

LISA DESJARDINS: Jodi Nicholson simply can't stomach the remapping.

She's not a shouter, sitting in the back at the rally.

She voted for Obama and then Trump.

But Nicholson sees the referendum as poisoning the balance between suburban Northern Virginia and the rest of the state.

JODI NICHOLSON: These two populations really don't understand each other.

They don't.

So there's just a disconnect that inevitably, if this referendum passes, those people are just going to be forgotten.

LISA DESJARDINS: To make the map more blue, Democrats would carve up deep blue Fairfax County.

Where I'm standing would be the intersection of three congressional districts, so that the apartment buildings over here would be in one congressional district.

Those over there would be in a second and then right over here, these folks would be in a third congressional district.

If you drove just a short distance away, you would find a fourth congressional district and then a fifth.

That's led to a new Republican catchphrase, "Don't Fairfax me," popping up.

Countering that, "Texas started it" bumper stickers.

Democrats stress the changes end after the 2030 census.

STATE REP.

DON SCOTT (D-VA): It's very clear that it's a temporary measure to deal with an unprecedented power grab from Donald Trump.

LISA DESJARDINS: The state's speaker of the House, Democrat Don Scott, says Virginia must push back at Trump now.

STATE REP.

DON SCOTT: Donald Trump is the president of the United States.

He's the speaker of the House.

He's the Senate majority leader.

He has an unprecedented power right now because no Republican in Congress will hold him to account.

LISA DESJARDINS: But this is not a simple party-line vote.

Even some Democrats say this goes too far.

BRIAN CANNON, No Gerrymandering Virginia: And we just do not have to adopt Trump's toxic politics or policies in order to be him in November and beyond.

LISA DESJARDINS: Brian Cannon helped create Virginia's current independent system to draw nonpartisan maps and opposes this redistricting.

BRIAN CANNON: It would be the worst gerrymandering Virginia's ever seen, and we have seen a good deal of them.

And as a Democrat, I'm telling my Democratic friends, we really don't need to cheat to win.

We don't need to burn this down.

LISA DESJARDINS: But what Virginians believe is not clear yet.

Polling indicates the remapping push has an edge, but this is the closest redistricting referendum the country has seen.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Lisa Desjardins in Virginia.

AMNA NAWAZ: And President Trump is personally joining the push against the Virginia ballot measure.

He's set to join a virtual rally tonight, along with House Speaker Mike Johnson.

GEOFF BENNETT: The U.S.

labor secretary's resignation marks the third Trump Cabinet departure in recent weeks.

To discuss that and more on redistricting and the midterms, we turn to our Politics Monday duo.

That's Amy Walter of The Cook Political Report With Amy Walter and Tamara Keith of NPR.

It's great to see you both, as always.

So, the labor secretary, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, is stepping down from the Trump administration to take a job in the private sector.

That's according to the White House communications director.

Tam, we know President Trump is willing to stand by embattled officials, until he isn't.

What tends to be the tipping point?

TAMARA KEITH, National Public Radio: Yes, and this is the third embattled official that is now out.

Remarkably, normally, this happens from a presidential post on TRUTH Social, his social media site.

In this case, it was just a post from the White House communications director.

Trump didn't even get his hands dirty on this one.

It has varied each time, but there is often a nexus that involves testimony on Capitol Hill or controversies that threaten to break out and get out of control and unable to manage.

And so here we are.

The other issue at play here is that, if President Trump expects that Republicans will have a narrower margin in the Senate after this year, then he may want to lock in new Cabinet officials that he will be able to get confirmed.

So now might be the time for this turnover And often there is a decent amount of turnover, depending on the administration.

Certainly, the first Trump administration had a ton.

Typically, that second year is a time of turnover.

AMY WALTER, The Cook Political Report: Yes.

GEOFF BENNETT: All right, well, let's talk about redistricting.

We just saw Lisa's terrific reporting there.

Amy, polling shows Virginians narrowly favoring this measure, even though the Democratic governor, Abigail Spanberger, won statewide by roughly 15 points.

So why that disconnect?

Is this not going -- well, who knows, right?

AMY WALTER: Right.

The disconnect is, you do have a lot of independent voters who don't like Donald Trump, but who also like the partisan -- the nonpartisan redistricting that has already taken place and that the current map is all about.

I mean, in California and in Virginia, the conversation about redistricting has centered really around Donald Trump, at least the conversation on the Democratic side, let this be a check on Donald Trump.

But I think if we want to step back just a little bit further as to what this all looks like now in the big picture, the first is, even when Virginia is done tomorrow night, there's still one more state that can redraw its lines.

Florida meets in a special session next week.

The potential there is that they redraw a map that would give Republicans two to three seats.

That is likely to be our last map before the 2026 election.

Overall, what we see is essentially a wash.

After all this redistricting, all these new lines drawn in many of these states, neither side is likely to come out ahead on this.

GEOFF BENNETT: Really?

AMY WALTER: Yes.

The second is that it's been interesting to watch sort of the pressure campaigns from both sides.

On the Republican side, the president got a lot of what he wanted, Texas and North Carolina and Missouri, but he didn't get everything he wanted.

He really pressured a state like Indiana, for example.

That rebuffed him.

Same with Kansas, New Hampshire.

And on the Democratic side, even dark blue states that didn't have to go through this whole referendum process, like Virginia and California did to redraw their lines, Illinois and Maryland, they decided not to take up redistricting.

So not everybody jumped on board from the pressure on both sides.

And, finally, I think we're not likely to see the end of this.

Remember, we have a Supreme Court case that is yet to be decided involving the Voting Rights Act.

If indeed this gets overturned, the Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, what we could potentially see for 2028 are Southern states redrawing their maps.

They would no longer have to draw minority-majority districts.

That could give Republicans up to a dozen seats.

GEOFF BENNETT: What stands out to you about all of this?

TAMARA KEITH: It is fascinating.

I'm a Virginia resident and so I'm being bombarded with mailers and advertising on TV and it is just nonstop.

And the message that the no-campaign is pushing is very interesting because in part they are playing to the priors of Democrats, Democrats who have railed against gerrymandering for years, replaying quotes from former President Obama, from Governor Spanberger in the past saying that gerrymandering is bad and shouldn't happen.

And now it has turned around.

But when you talk to voters, Democratic voters who are predisposed to think gerrymandering is bad, they say, OK, well, you got to fight fire with fire.

This one time, it's OK.That's what we saw from voters in California and it's what we're seeing from Democratic voters in Virginia as well, this sense that, you may not like it, but you might just vote for it anyway.

GEOFF BENNETT: Yes.

Let's look ahead to the midterms because we're seeing some eye-popping numbers, fund-raising numbers, from Democrats, including James Talarico in Texas, who reported more than $27 million raised in a single quarter.

What stands out the most to you in these early numbers, Amy?

AMY WALTER: For sure, the energy that Democrats are feeling on the ground, we're seeing it in special elections, where they have been outperforming Kamala Harris' showing in those same districts in 2024, one sign of their enthusiasm, Democrats' enthusiasm.

Another sign is individual fund-raising.

That's how partisans tend to show their interest in elections, because a lot of that money that Talarico raised isn't just from Texans.

It's from Democrats across the country.

To me, the biggest, and maybe we will call it the $300 plus million question for this year, is, what is going to happen to the $340 plus million in the MAGA Inc.

Super PAC account?

That is the President Trump's super PAC that every Republican in America is desperate to get a piece of.

How and when he spends that is going to be a very, very big story.

Again, these numbers are impressive; $340 million in just -- in a very small playing field, that's a big deal.

GEOFF BENNETT: Yes.

And, Tam, of course, we know from history that fund-raising money doesn't always translate into votes.

TAMARA KEITH: Money does not necessarily always translate into votes.

The other thing I will just note quickly is that, although Democratic candidates are raising a lot of money, the Democratic Party, the DNC and the Democratic Party committees, are not raising as much.

And so that might make coordinating or prioritizing where the money goes a little bit more challenging coming into the fall, because these high-profile viral candidates are able to just direct money to ourselves.

GEOFF BENNETT: Tamara Keith, Amy Walter, thanks, as always.

AMY WALTER: You're welcome.

TAMARA KEITH: You're welcome.

AMNA NAWAZ: Today marks the final day of Dark Sky Week, which is hailed as a global celebration of the night and a call for less light pollution.

In some cities internationally, local governments are trying to find a solution to lighting the night that can better serve critical wildlife ecosystems and humans alike.

Malcolm Brabant reports from Denmark.

MALCOLM BRABANT: It's dusk in Gladsaxe, a municipality north of Copenhagen that prides itself on combining urban growth with environmental initiatives.

Gladsaxe was the first Danish local authority to install red street lighting that helps reset the balance between human beings and the animal kingdom.

The council removed conventional white spectrum street lamps from this stretch of road next to a large bat colony in the trees.

Artificial white light is hugely disruptive for a broad range of creatures.

For example, bees get a form of jet lag, frogs lose their libido and bats find it difficult to catch food.

Red light enables bats to see in the dark, unlike white light, which blinds them.

The simple solution to restoring bats' night vision has been adopted in Metz in Eastern France, Worcestershire in the British midlands, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium.

And it's spreading.

RUNE BRANDT HERMANSSON, Lighting Consultant: Every light source we put up changes some balances, moves things around, makes it easier for some animals to find a mate, get food, and makes it harder for someone else.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Rune Brandt Hermansson was one of the designers behind the red light project in Gladsaxe.

RUNE BRANDT HERMANSSON: We need to take care and try to change and affect our surroundings as little as possible.

And a lot of lighting is actually there for no one's sake.

I'm not an advocate that we should not have lighting for humans.

I'm an advocate that we should try and have as little lighting as we can, so we can offer more darkness for nature.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Biologists say that people need to recognize the importance of bats in the ecosystem.

They may resemble rats with wings, but they have a critical role to play in protecting human health.

MIKKEL STENER MOELLER: We underestimate the importance of bats.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Mikkel Stener Moeller is a senior biologist with a the Danish Sustainable Development Consultancy.

MIKKEL STENER MOELLER: Bats are predators and they eat half the weight in insects every night.

They're kind of a pest control and an important part of keeping insect populations in kind of a natural balance and check.

MALCOLM BRABANT: The consequence of bats failing to feast on insects is that farmers are forced to use chemical pesticides on their crops.

Studies have shown that the toxins can contribute to cancer and other diseases in humans.

MIKKEL STENER MOELLER: It's important to regulate how we affect the ecosystem, not only for the ecosystem itself, but for our health.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Stener Moeller blends his biological knowledge with the design skills of lighting consultant Lisa Dam Trapp to create the most efficient illumination for a client's parking lot next to a sensitive wildlife habitat.

LISA DAM TRAPP, Lighting Consultant: People are actually adapting to this new technology and this new type of light.

We have been used to having this very bright light during nights.

And we have to actually change our mind-set.

And people are, I think, really embracing this a lot.

People in Denmark really care about the nature.

If we can do something different, I think that people are really up for it.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Odense, Denmark's third largest city is the latest to install biodiversity lights.

This version, using orangey red lamps, becomes softer and warmer as the night darkens, aligning with the circadian rhythms or internal body clocks of nocturnal wildlife.

But as runner Michael Groenbaek explains, some people find the darker pathways intimidating.

MICHAEL GROENBAEK, Resident, Odense, Denmark (through translator): For those who have a fear of darkness, I think that this can feel unsafe.

Some people prefer more light.

Some don't.

It doesn't bother me.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Gladsaxe sees itself as a role model for other cities around the world.

Switching to red lamps has proved to be a cost-effective way of addressing light pollution.

The system uses less power and requires less maintenance than conventional street lighting.

Serdal Benli is Gladsaxe's mayor.

SERDAL BENLI, Mayor of Gladsaxe, Denmark (through translator): I hope that we can help inspire other municipalities to join the bandwagon here, because it is quite important that we think about sustainability, think about biodiversity all the way around, because that is what we owe to future generations.

We owe it to our planet and to those we share this planet with, namely, to all living beings on this planet.

MALCOLM BRABANT: And consultant Rune Brandt Hermansson predicts that improvements in lighting technology will contribute more to the harmonious coexistence of humans and the animal kingdom.

RUNE BRANDT HERMANSSON: We are at the brink of a lot of technological advancements that can actually make a difference without it having a negative impact on humans, because we shouldn't change society.

I mean, we need lighting to do what we do.

There's no reason for us not to have our light and for nature to have the darkness or their light.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Conventional lighting accounts for approximately 5 percent of all global carbon dioxide emissions and 15 percent of total global electricity consumption worldwide.

So, the experts say, switching to red street lights could contribute to slowing climate change, as well as helping bats to maintain a healthy insect diet.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Malcolm Brabant in Gladsaxe, Denmark.

AMNA NAWAZ: Remember, there's always a lot more online.

We look at a new vaccine for Lyme disease that could soon receive FDA approval.

You can find that story on our YouTube page.

GEOFF BENNETT: And that is the "News Hour" for tonight.

I'm Geoff Bennett.

AMNA NAWAZ: I'm Amna Nawaz.

On behalf of the entire "News Hour" team, thank you for joining us.