Independent News Drop

KELI From Inkwell, this is the Independent News Drop. It's Thursday, May seventh. The time is eight a.m. Central. I'm Keli, joined by Hast.

HAST Good morning.

KELI We're starting with fresh polling on congressional age limits. An NPR, PBS News, and Marist poll finds that eight in ten Americans support putting age caps on members of Congress. This continues a conversation we've tracked, Hast. The numbers here are consistent with what we've seen before.

HAST They are. Eighty percent is a high floor for bipartisan agreement on anything. The poll shows majorities across party lines, across age groups, even among older voters themselves. The mechanism driving this is straightforward — people watch Congress on television, they see the physical reality of how lawmakers move and speak, and they form views. That's not an inference. That's what voters say when asked.

KELI One more on this. Hast, the temptation here is to read this story a certain way. What should listeners watch for?

HAST Right. The simple read is going to be that Americans are demanding term limits and age caps, and Congress is ignoring the will of the people. The structural reality is that constitutional amendment requires two-thirds of both chambers plus three-fourths of state legislatures. No current polling shows Americans are willing to push that hard — they're telling pollsters they support it, which is different. Watch for whether anyone in Congress introduces a serious amendment proposal in the next thirty days. If they don't, the simple read — that this is a crisis Congress is dodging — holds up. If they do introduce something, then we're watching whether states move.

KELI So public opinion and political action are two separate tracks.

HAST They are.

KELI A Rembrandt painting lost for more than sixty years has been identified by Dutch researchers. The work was being held privately. Technology used to analyze the painting's composition helped confirm its authenticity. This is the second time we're covering this story as new details emerge about the discovery and verification process.

HAST Technology's role in art authentication has become central to how museums and researchers work now. This particular case showed what's possible when you combine digital analysis with traditional provenance research.

KELI UK voters are heading to the polls today in local elections across England, Scotland, and Wales. These elections historically serve as a gauge of public sentiment on the national government. We'll have more on the results as they come in through the day.

HAST Local elections in the UK often shift significantly from national polling, so today will give us a real-time measure of where voters actually are.

KELI The FDA is reconsidering its rejection of Ebvallo, a treatment for a rare cancer. The companies developing the drug reached an agreement with the agency to address the main reason for the initial rejection. This represents a pathway forward after what appeared to be a closed door.

HAST These reconsiderations happen, but they require the companies and the FDA to align on what evidence is needed. That alignment here suggests there's a specific problem they think they can solve.

KELI A document purported to be Jeffrey Epstein's suicide note has been released by a US judge. Epstein's former cellmate claims he found the note. The BBC notes the note has not been independently verified. This document has circulated in legal proceedings, and its contents remain disputed.

HAST The verification question here is important. Handwriting analysis, chain of custody, all of that becomes relevant when any document like this enters public view.

KELI On this day in 1991, a fire and explosion occurred at a fireworks factory in Sungai Buloh, Malaysia, killing twenty-six workers.

HAST A reminder of the dangers in industrial facilities where pyrotechnics are stored and manufactured.

KELI That's the Independent News Drop. We'll be back next hour. From Inkwell.