#racial-gerrymandering

#racial-gerrymandering

Gov. Mike Lee (R) signed into law a new congressional map that will effectively erase the last Democratic, majority-Black district, in a move that some are calling "Jim Crow on steroids." The legislation, which looks a whole lot like racial gerrymandering, comes a whole week after the Supreme Court hollowed out the last of the Voting Rights Act... removing the last protections to prevent racial gerrymandering.

Tennessee's Republican-dominated legislature passed redistricting maps on Thursday, eliminating the state's one Democratic, Black-majority congressional district as GOP lawmakers scramble to improve their fortunes ahead of the November midterms. The new map splits Shelby County, the home of Memphis, a majority-Black city that played a critical role in the civil rights movement, into three separate Republican-leaning districts. The majority-Black district being eliminated in the Memphis area has long been represented by Rep. Steve Cohen, the state's lone Democratic congressional representative.

The Pentagon estimates the war in Iran has already cost $25 billion, according to Pentagon Comptroller Jay Hurst. Hurst testified before the House Armed Services Committee yesterday alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who offered no indication of when the war might end during his combative testimony.

A panel of federal judges has ruled that Texas's newly redrawn congressional districts cannot be used in next year's 2026 midterm elections, striking a blow to Republican efforts to tilt races in their favour. On Tuesday, a two-to-one majority at the US District Court for western Texas blocked the map, on the basis that there was substantial evidence to show that Texas racially gerrymandered the districts.