Indiana
Vice President JD Vance to visit Indiana again as White House presses for redistricting – WTOP News
As the White House continues to push for redistricting, Vice President JD Vance is expected to be in Indiana on…
As the White House continues to push for redistricting, Vice President JD Vance is expected to be in Indiana on Friday for the second time in recent months, according to a notice from the Federal Aviation Administration.
While other Republican-led states like Texas and Missouri quickly answered the White House’s call to create new congressional district maps that are expected to favor the GOP in the 2026 election, Indiana lawmakers have been noticeably more hesitant. Indiana’s legislative leaders have said barely a word publicly about where they stand on the matter in the months since Vance first visited.
Vance’s visit is at least the third time he has talked to Indiana Republican lawmakers about the possibility. He met privately with Gov. Mike Braun and legislative leaders in Indianapolis on Aug. 7 to discuss the subject, and pressure mounted in the weeks following. Trump met privately with state House Speaker Todd Huston and state Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray in the Oval Office on Aug. 26. Vance also spoke to other rank-and-file lawmakers who were visiting Washington, D.C., that day.
Vance’s office did not respond to messages seeking comment.
Braun’s, Huston’s and Bray’s offices also did not respond to messages requesting comment.
Typically, states redo their congressional boundaries every 10 years with the census in a process called redistricting. Indiana finalized it’s own current map in 2021. But President Donald Trump has recruited Republican governors to draw up new congressional districts in an attempt to give the party an easier path to maintaining control of the House in the midterms next year.
Texas and Missouri have enacted new districts as Democrats in California are seeking voter approval to add as many as five Democrat-held seats in Congress.
The vice president’s visit comes three weeks after former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, rallied against redistricting in Indiana, a state Trump won by 19 percentage points in 2024.
Braun, a Republican and strong ally of Trump, has said that redistricting will likely happen. He hasn’t called a special session yet, though, saying he wants to be sure lawmakers are behind a new map. Republicans hold a supermajority in both chambers.
The deadline to file to run for office in the 2026 general election in Indiana is Feb. 6, leaving about four months to call a special session, make a new map, approve it and finalize candidates to run in the newly drawn districts.
Republicans outnumber Democrats in Indiana’s congressional delegation 7-2. But many in the party have suggested they should aim for all nine.
The GOP would likely target Indiana’s 1st Congressional District, a longtime Democratic stronghold that encompasses Gary and other cities near Chicago in the state’s northwest corner. The seat held by third-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan has been seen by Republicans as a possible pickup in recent elections.
Lawmakers in Indiana redrew the borders of the district to be slightly more favorable toward Republicans in the 2022 election, but did not entirely split it up. Indiana’s Republican legislative leaders praised the districts’ existing boundaries after adopting them four years ago.
“I believe these maps reflect feedback from the public and will serve Hoosiers well for the next decade,” Bray said at the time.
The new maps were not challenged in court after they were approved in 2021, not even by Democrats and allies who had opposed the changes boosting GOP standing in the suburbs north of Indianapolis.
Mrvan still won reelection in 2022 and easily retained his seat in 2024.
Republicans could also zero in on Indiana’s 7th Congressional District, composed entirely of Marion County and the Democratic stronghold of Indianapolis. But that option would be more controversial, potentially slicing up the state’s largest city and diluting Black voters’ influence.
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Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this report. Volmert reported from Lansing, Michigan.
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One of the robots that will begin delivering orders on the Indiana University Bloomington campus took a practice run on Thursday, June 4, 2026. There are 24 automated delivery vehicles that will be delivering food. Photo from USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.
By Andrew Miller, Special to The Herald-Times
The Herald-Times, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
INDIANAPOLIS — A sleek white robot sits with a scrolling “GO HOOSIERS!” message on its pixelated front screen. It cycles through other faces too: darting eyes, blinks and hearts.
Orders placed using the Grubhub app may be delivered on the Indiana University by robots beginning June 8, 2026. Photo from USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.
“These robots are very, very polite,” Rahul Shrivastav, executive director of IU Dining and Hospitality, said Thursday, June 4, during a test run.
It’s one of a fleet of 24 food-delivery robots launching June 8 on Indiana University Bloomington campus, in partnership with Grubhub and Avride. Shrivastav said they’re part of an effort to make campus food more accessible and convenient.
The robots have been tested for 18 months, mapping and learning paths. They’ll be confined to campus, with boundaries of East Third Street and Ind. 46. On the west, their coverage will extend up Indiana Avenue to 13th Street, North Walnut Grove to 17th Street and continue north on North Fee Lane.
Shrivastav said they’ll help students busy with classes and those with accessibility needs. Ordering via robot will be available on the Grubhub app. The robots will be doing deliveries from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. daily. Shrivastav said store hours vary by location on the weekend so he advices customers to look at the store hours on the GrubHub app.
Participating locations this summer include:
- King’s Hawaiian, BlenzBowls, The Meltdown and Hubbard & Cravens at Bookmarket at Herman B Wells Library
- The Vault Pub, Sugar and Spice Bakery, The Globe, The Lantern, Union Market and Whitfield Grill at the Indiana Memorial Union.
- Eskenazi Café at the Eskenazi Museum of Art
Drew Smith, director of retail dining at IU, said the robots can hold about eight entrees with four drinks. Its trunk is well-insulated, he said, keeping hot orders hot and cold ones cold.
The delivery fee is $3.50 per order. That fee isn’t covered by student meal plans, but the food ordered can be. And Smith said the robots don’t need tips.
One of the robots that will begin delivering orders on the Indiana University Bloomington campus took a practice run on Thursday, June 4, 2026. There are 24 automated delivery vehicles that will be delivering food. A robot with a food delivery waits for a customer to pick up their order at the Indiana University Sample Gates on Thursday, June 4, 2026, during a practice run. Photo from USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.
“Now, some people still throw flowers in there, and stuff,” Smith said. “I’ve seen it at other universities doing that.”
Other state universities have already introduced similar services. Purdue University adopted them in 2019, and Ball State University launched its own fleet in 2022. Shrivastav said IU waited to make sure it had the “right robot” and had time to prepare.
The robots have often made the news because of vandalism and targeted assaults. But Shrivastav said he’s not concerned about that being a problem at IU. He said students have ended up “adopting these robots and naming them” at other campuses. Still, they’ll have an added layer of security, with footage reviewable by police.
“They also have cameras everywhere,” he said. “So any vandalism, anything like that, is always recorded.”
Customers use the GrubHub app to unlock the robot when it reaches its destination. Students, parents and visitors can order food using the robot, to be delivered on the IU campus.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Food delivery robots to launch on Indiana University campus
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