A three-judge panel on Tuesday blocked Alabama Republicans’ congressional map that would’ve given the party a potential pickup opportunity in the midterms.
The judges ruled the Supreme Court’s recent blockbuster decision narrowing the Voting Rights Act does not impact their finding that the map intentionally discriminates against Black voters in violation of the Constitution.
It means Alabama cannot use its design this year unless Republican leaders appeal directly to the Supreme Court, which they have vowed to do.
“Ultimately, we cannot see our way clear to requiring Alabamians to cast their votes in the 2026 elections under a districting plan tainted by intentional race-based discrimination,” the ruling reads.
“And under the unusual circumstances of this case, we conclude that a limited order requiring the Secretary to continue using this Court’s race-blind map will not disrupt Alabama’s elections,” it continued.
Tuesday’s panel included U.S. Circuit Judge Stanley Marcus, an appointee of former President Clinton, along with U.S. District Judges Anna Manasco and Terry Moorer, who were both appointed by President Trump.
The Republican-controlled South Carolina Senate bucked President Donald Trump and on May 26 rejected an effort to draw new congressional districts before the midterm elections.
In a historic first for Germany, nearly 700 students at the University of Leipzig voted almost unanimously on 19 May to demand that their university sever all ties with Israeli academic institutions over the genocide in Gaza.
The US and Israel are "actively working" to strip Jordan of its historic custodianship of Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque complex, and are pursuing a new arrangement that would see the management of the revered Muslim site closely align with Israeli interests, multiple sources have told Middle East Eye.
Words matter. When describing a government, they inevitably carry moral weight.
Stephen Miller, Donald Trump’s immigration czar and the architect of some of the government’s cruelest policies, doesn’t care what you think about him. He doesn’t care if you call him “Pee-wee German” or “Weird Stephen” or “Voldemort”, or any of the other nicknames he has inspired; his self-esteem is excellent.
Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao’s insistence this week that the Pentagon had paused a $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan over a munitions review has undercut the Trump administration’s narrative on both Iran and Taipei.
