☕ New York primaries, explained

Good morning!

Especially to Australian man Joseph McGrail-Bateup, who was crowned the world’s loudest man on Tuesday by the Guinness World Records.

McGrail-Bateup secured the title with a recorded cry of 122.4 decibels, the equivalent output of a jackhammer!

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Some headlines from this morning:

• International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Mariano Grossi confirmed that his agency would be allowed into Iran under the interim deal with the U.S. The confirmation marks the first time the nuclear weapons inspection agency has been allowed into Iran since it was barred in June 2025. Grossi pointed out that the peace deal “says explicitly that the nuclear activities that are going to be carried out at the nuclear material facilities will be supervised by the IAEA," concluding that this means the agency must do inspections. Iran has not responded to the comments but expressed contradictory sentiments when Vice President JD Vance said inspections would go ahead on Monday.

• The UN's International Maritime Organization (IMO) has begun to plan the process for evacuating 11,000 sailors stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, it said on Tuesday. IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez announced the plans whilst pointing to the over 600 ships stranded in the waterway and 14 seafarers who lost their lives during the conflict. Dominguez went on to state he welcomes the recent Iran-U.S. peace deal, saying it marks “a decisive step towards restoring maritime security and bringing to an end the unacceptable attacks against civilian shipping."

• Eight people have been convicted of terrorism and other related offences in relation to a shooting outside Prairieland Detention Center near Dallas in July last year. Prosecutors said the group was linked to a leftist group called ANTIFA. The shooting took place during a demonstration outside the Detention Centre and resulted in a police officer being injured. Benjamin Song, a Marine reservist, received the longest sentence, being condemned to over 100 years in prison. Others among the group were sentenced to terms ranging from 30 to 70 years.

• A federal judge in California has blocked immigration agents nationwide from making arrests in U.S. courthouses, citing a key statute that restricts civil arrests inside immigration courthouses. The ruling came out of a class action lawsuit against federal immigration authorities who had been making arrests in courthouses during legal proceedings. The Department of Homeland Security argued that making arrests in courthouses is more efficient and safer than elsewhere, but this argument was rejected. Trump administration officials have indicated they are likely to challenge the order.

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The Senate passed a law that directs President Trump to halt military action in Iran and remove all U.S. military presence on Tuesday.

The War Powers Resolution is largely symbolic, but it is a rare rebuke of the Republican controlled Congress.

What happened?

Republican Senators Rand Paul, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Bill Cassidy joined Democrats in voting for the bill on Tuesday, getting the final vote to 50 to 48, passing the legislation.

The measure passed the House earlier this month and is known as a concurrent resolution.

A concurrent resolution means the bill will not be sent to the President for his final signature and does not carry the force of law.

President Trump said the vote was “poorly timed and meaningless” and that it has “provided comfort” to Iran.

War Powers Resolution

The War Powers Resolution was enacted in 1973 to limit the President's military authority. It requires Congress to authorize any hostilities launched by the President that last longer than 60 days.

The current bill, introduced after that 60-day threshold, would force lawmakers to vote to authorize or end the war in Iran.

This is the first time since the War Powers Resolution was enacted that both the House and Senate have voted to approve an action under its powers.

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Democratic New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani saw all three of the candidates he endorsed in Congressional House primaries elected on Tuesday, indicating his growing influence over the Democratic Party.

The primaries also saw Kennedy family heir apparent Jack Schlossberg lose his primary race to Micah Lasher.

Background: Mamdani

Zohran Mamdani won the New York Mayoral elections last year in November on democratic socialist policies, which critiqued the Democratic Party establishment and promised to improve life for the working New Yorker.

Since then, Mamdani’s popularity has continued to grow, challenging the mainstream Democratic Party’s more centrist policies.

This has contributed to an argument that the party should move to more left-wing politics if it wants to defeat the Republicans in the upcoming midterm elections in November.

The Mayor’s endorsements

The Mayor endorsed three candidates running in the Democratic primaries yesterday: Brad Lander, Assemblywoman Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier.

Mamdani endorsed these candidates based on their political philosophy, which aligns with his own Democratic Socialist agenda.

Lander beat incumbent US Congressman Dan Goldman in a race that was framed as a debate over Israel, with Lander accusing Israel of genocide throughout his campaign and Goldman staunchly in support.

Valdez unseated Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso in the 7th district, whilst democratic socialist Darializa Avila Chevalier defeated incumbent Adriano Espaillat, with a race also focused on U.S. Israel relations.

What does this mean?

At the surface level, the victorious candidates will go on to participate against rival party candidates and independents in November’s midterm elections.

The Mayor’s role in the candidates’ victory, however, is seen as an indication of his growing influence over the party.

Mamdani celebrated with all his candidates on Tuesday, telling the crowd at Lander’s party that he “brings a vision of politics that is more than what we’ve seen for so long.”

Other races

Other notable races included the closely watched 12th district won by Lasher. The race drew close attention because Schlossberg was running, lending the fame of the Kennedy family to the primary.

Schlossberg lost by a significant margin, coming third overall in the race and ending his hopes of following in his grandfather, John F Kennedy’s, footsteps.

Mamdani did not endorse a candidate in this race.

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