In today’s newsletter: This year’s gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia challenge each party’s political strategies ahead of the midterms next year. In Afghanistan, an earthquake has claimed at least 800 lives and injured over 1,300 individuals. Kristi Noem confirms the Trump administration’s intention to broaden ICE operations in various states beyond D.C. Plus, meet the woman who has explored over 100 Smithsonian exhibits.

Here’s what to know today.

Gubernatorial showdowns in New Jersey and Virginia test both parties

The gubernatorial races of 2025 are approaching in two months, marking a significant test for both political parties since the last presidential election. New Jersey and Virginia contests offer opportunities for both sides to refine their campaign narratives before the upcoming midterms: Democrats aim to harness anti-Trump sentiment, while Republicans look to echo his successes.

The Republicans are optimistic in New Jersey, which saw a notable shift towards Trump in 2024. Jack Ciattarelli, the Republican candidate, has garnered the president’s endorsement by aligning with him. However, he faces the challenge of appealing to voters outside his party, especially given the current Democratic Governor Phil Murphy’s high approval ratings.

Conversely, New Jersey’s Democratic candidate, congresswoman and ex-Navy pilot Mikie Sherrill, is campaigning as a tenacious advocate who is unafraid to criticize her own party. Her campaign focuses on affordability, a pressing issue for residents dealing with the state’s hefty living expenses.

In Virginia, Democrat Abigail Spanberger has gained traction in polls by criticizing Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears over Trump’s substantial tax cuts, emphasizing economic issues in her campaign. Spanberger, a former congresswoman, also secured the endorsement from the state’s largest police union.

Nonetheless, Earle-Sears is gaining ground after restructuring her campaign team and emphasizing “common sense” issues. She is aiming to align herself closely with term-limited Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin, who enjoys widespread approval in Virginia.

Read the full story here.

More politics news:

• Trump faces a hurdle in banning mail-in voting: His own party.

• A federal judge temporarily blocked the deportation of a group of Guatemalan children who had crossed the border without their families.

• Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani was hospitalized with a spinal fracture after a car accident, according to his head of security.

NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified

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Sign up to The Selection newsletter for hands-on product reviews, expert shopping tips and a look at the best deals and sales each week.

Afghanistan earthquake kills more than 800 and injures 1,300

At least 800 people have been killed and more than 1,300 have been injured in Afghanistan after a powerful earthquake hit the country, Taliban officials said.

The 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck 17 miles from the city of Jalalabad near the border with Pakistan around midnight local time, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Because the earthquake hit a remote mountainous area, “it will take time to get the exact information about human losses and damage to the infrastructure,” said Sharafat Zaman, a spokesperson for the Afghan Public Health Ministry.

Read the full story here.

Kristi Noem confirms plan to expand ICE operations in major cities

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed that the Trump administration plans to expand ICE operations in major cities, including Chicago. Noem did not share specifics or comment on whether National Guard troops would be mobilized as part of such an initiative.

“We’ve already had ongoing operations with ICE in Chicago and throughout Illinois and other states, making sure that we’re upholding our laws, but we do intend to add more resources to those operations,” she said.

Her remarks came a day after Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order to combat a surge of federal law enforcement in the city. During his announcement, he affirmed that local police would not collaborate with the military on immigration.

Here’s what else we know.

A ‘miracle’ survivor in the Minneapolis school shooting

Doctors discovered a bullet fragment in the neck of a 10-year-old boy who went viral for recounting how his friend jumped on top of him to shield him during the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis.

Weston Halsne, a fifth grade student, described running under a pew and covering his head during the attack and said his friend Victor was shot while shielding him.

“I think I got, like, gunpowder on my neck,” he said. But doctors later discovered it was a bullet fragment. Weston’s father told NBC News that the fragment was just shy of his carotid artery, which a doctor described as a “miracle.”

Siblings Pablo and Pilar Maldonado are also young survivors of the attack, and are leaning on faith and community as they begin to heal. Pablo attended the church’s first mass since the shooting, saying it was good to “be with God” even though he’s “a little traumatized by going to church.” Read the full story here.

The Smithsonian marathon

In January, Kathryn Jones began a quest to visit every exhibit at the Smithsonian’s museums in D.C. and read every plaque. During the past eight months, she’s visited 100 exhibits at 13 museums, spending a total of 73 hours inside the buildings and almost 51 hours reading signs. All of it is documented for her TikTok account.

“A priority of mine is getting people in museums, getting people curious, reminding people that learning is fun,” she said.

Jones’ mission has new urgency as the Trump administration takes aim at the Smithsonian. Last month, it announced it would begin a systematic review to “remove divisive or partisan narratives” ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Read All About It

• An 11-year-old boy was shot and killed while playing a game known as “doorbell ditch,” Houston city officials said.

• A Wisconsin boater stumbled upon a long-lost shipwreck in Lake Michigan.

• A man was found dead in a suspected homicide at the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert.

• The leaders of Russia, China and India met at a key regional summit in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin on Monday as they navigate tensions with the United States.

Staff Pick: On divided college campuses, a high-tech push to promote healthy debate

Endless digital ink has been spilled over the past decade on how college students transformed campuses from centers of inquiry into places where only so-called woke ideas are welcome. Now high-tech tools are offering a solution, promising to make college students more open-minded — and nicer — when they argue.

I looked into several new chat platforms that push students to practice disagreement. The creators told me they hope they’ll set up campuses for healthy civil discourse.

Among the most prominent is a program called Dialogues, created by entrepreneur Sal Khan, that allows high school students to debate peers on Zoom. Students then rate each other on how well they handle conflict, and share the results with colleges when they apply.

Critics say that too many students will fake their way through it, and two prominent universities already backed out of accepting these transcripts. But Khan says it builds bridges and pushes people out of their bubbles, noting that 2,500 students have tried it out in the past five months. And buzz is only growing around the other options targeting current college students and promising to transform the way they disagree.

– Tyler Kingkade, national reporter

Thanks for reading today’s Morning Rundown. Today’s newsletter was curated for you by Kayla Hayempour. If you’re a fan, please send a link to your family and friends. They can sign up here.