Several key primary races, including the one for California’s governor, remain uncalled. Veteran CBS News correspondent Scott Pelley is fired. And Elon Musk is set to become the world’s first trillionaire.
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California’s race for governor and other key primaries too close to call
California’s crowded and protracted gubernatorial primary is going to take a little more time to settle.
The race remained too early to call Wednesday morning with 50% of the expected vote counted, according to NBC News’ Decision Desk.
Three main candidates — former Fox News host Steve Hilton, a Republican, and two Democrats, former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and billionaire activist Tom Steyer — are competing for two spots in the general election, with the candidate in fourth place, Republican Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, running well behind.
Hilton had 27% support in the all-party primary with about half of votes still left to count, while Becerra had 26% and Steyer had 20%. Bianco was the only other candidate in double digits, at 11%.
And with millions of ballots left to count, other key races in California remain uncalled as well, including major battleground districts and the second runoff spot to face Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass in November.
While Bass is projected to advance to a runoff, it’s not yet clear whether she’ll face Republican Spencer Pratt or Democrat Nithya Raman.
Bass leads with about 37% of the vote, ahead of Pratt at 29% and Raman at 21%, with roughly half of the expected vote tallied.
In San Francisco, three prominent Democrats are competing to succeed retiring Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the former House speaker. State Sen. Scott Wiener advanced to the general election, NBC News projects, but the second spot is still up for grabs, with Pelosi-endorsed Connie Chan leading progressive activist Saikat Chakrabarti, 29% to 15%.
Read more about the primary results:
- Former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has won the Democratic primary in New Mexico’s race for governor.
- Businessman Zach Lahn defeated Rep. Randy Feenstra in Iowa’s Republican primary for governor, as party voters rejected President Donald Trump’s late endorsement in the race.
- Republican businessman Toby Doeden has advanced to a runoff in South Dakota governor’s race.
- Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot, has won the Democratic primary in New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District.
- Iowa state Rep. Josh Turek has won the Democratic nomination for his state’s open Senate seat.
- Republican state Rep. James Gallagher, the former state Assembly minority leader, will join Congress as its newest member after he won California’s 1st District special election.
For Subscribers: Some Democrats are highly skeptical of the story Jill Biden sells in her new book
Joe Biden’s advisers spent years delivering the message that the aging president was still sharp and fit for duty, while explaining away visible signs that he had grown disturbingly frail. But a new book by former first lady Jill Biden suggests that these reassuring portraits of an octogenarian president with enviable stamina were embellished.
The book has sparked a backlash among Democratic donors and strategists, who argue that she was one of the Biden consiglieres who should have persuaded him to step down after one term and maximize the party’s chance of defeating Donald Trump.
Read more about Jill Biden’s book.
CBS News fires ’60 Minutes’ correspondent Scott Pelley after clash with new producer
CBS News fired veteran “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley, a day after he confronted the show’s new executive producer at a heated staff meeting.
“Your antipathy to the future of the show has come through loud and clear. And I have heard you,” “60 Minutes” exec producer Nick Bilton said in a letter addressed to Pelley, a copy of which was obtained by NBC News.
Pelley pressed Bilton about his new role during the meeting, asking why he had accepted a position at a show “knowing that you would never be welcomed here,” according to a recording. He also raised concerns about the firings of former executive producer Tanya Simon and fellow correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega.
Pelley’s exit deepens the turmoil at the leading newsmagazine, where several employees have clashed with CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss over the show’s editorial direction under its new corporate owner, Paramount Skydance, the company run by technology scion David Ellison.
The remaining roster of “60 Minutes” correspondents include Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim.
Read the full story here.
Supreme Court allows Alabama to use congressional map that eliminates a majority-Black district
The Supreme Court will allow Alabama to use a congressional map that eliminates one of two majority-Black districts in the state, giving a boost to Republicans.
In 2023, the state drew a map with one majority-Black district despite a lower court suggestion that there should be two after it found an earlier map violated the Voting Rights Act. The lower court later determined the map intentionally discriminated against Black voters.
The Supreme Court asked the lower court to look at its recent ruling in Louisiana, which weakened the Voting Rights Act — a law that previously placed sharp limits on states’ diluting the power of minority voters.
On Tuesday, the conservative majority came back saying the lower court did not sufficiently consider its Louisiana redistricting decision, which requires judges to largely defer to states’ partisan interests in drawing maps that benefit the majority party.
The decision is likely to add fuel to criticism that the high court itself acted too close to the midterm elections when it issued the Louisiana ruling, pushing the previously planned primaries from May 19 to Aug. 11.
Read the full story here.
Read All About It
- Iran launched a deadly new set of attacks in the Persian Gulf as it traded strikes with the U.S., the latest exchange to threaten the fragile ceasefire between the two countries.
- Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department is not moving forward with the $1.8 billion ‘anti-weaponization’ fund.
- A man was barricaded with an unknown number of hostages at a California building where police had received reports of a bomb threat. Two hostages were released on Tuesday evening and no injuries have been reported. “The situation continues to be active,” the FBI said
- The U.S. Coast Guard is conducting a new underwater search in the Bahamas for Lynette Hooker, who disappeared in April, after her husband said she fell from a boat.
- A U.S. proposal to open a 50-bed quarantine facility in Kenya for Americans exposed to Ebola is prompting backlash and protest.
- Peabo Bryson, the Grammy-winning R&B singer known for his duets “Beauty and the Beast” and “Whole New World,” died after a stroke.
- The San Antonio Spurs will have to buck this historic trend if they plan to become one of the youngest teams to win a championship.
Staff Pick: Elon Musk is set to become Earth’s first trillionaire. Democrats are taking aim.
The phrase “millionaires and billionaires” has become familiar in American politics anytime the topic of the nation’s wealth gap comes up. Now, add trillionaires to the list.
I started thinking about the phrase again after it became clear that Elon Musk was on the cusp of becoming the world’s first trillionaire. It may happen as soon as next week, when his rocket company, SpaceX, is expected to make an initial public offering of stock. So I started to ask people: How is that historic moment going to change politics, especially in the heat of the midterm election cycle?
What I found surprised me: Plenty of candidates, strategists and activists are already changing how they talk about inequality to account for Musk’s next milestone.
— David Ingram, tech reporter
NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified
It’s official: Amazon Prime Day 2026 is happening from June 23 to 26. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the Prime-member exclusive sale. If you’re hoping to get ahead of the virtual crowds, our editor sifted through hundreds of deals to find the best ones to shop now.
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