Politics

The Associated Press reports: California voters will decide in November whether to approve a redrawn congressional map designed to help Democrats win five more U.S. House seats next year, after Texas Republicans advanced their own redrawn map to pad their House majority by the same number of seats at President Donald Trump’s urging. California lawmakers voted mostly along party lines …

The Hill reports: Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) said Thursday that if the courts approve the Republican congressional maps in Texas, he will not seek reelection in the redrawn 37th Congressional District. “If the courts give [President] Trump a victory in his scheme to maintain control of a compliant House, I will not seek reelection in the reconfigured CD37, even though …

The Washington Post reports: The California Assembly on Thursday passed the first of three bills aimed at drawing new congressional maps, as Democrats try to counter a Republican-driven effort in Texas. The blue and red states are rejiggering their maps in hopes of creating new U.S. House districts that would give their parties an advantage in next year’s midterm elections. …

The Sacramento Bee reports: The California Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected an attempt by Republican legislators to delay Democrats from gerrymandering the state’s congressional districts. The justices said the emergency petition, filed earlier this week, “failed to meet their burden of establishing a basis for relief at this time under” the California Constitution. “We will continue to challenge this unconstitutional …

The Guardian reports: The CEO of Target is stepping down, as the embattled retail giant seeks to turn around its fortunes amid an ongoing customer boycott over its scaling back of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Brian Cornell will be replaced next year by Target’s chief operating officer, the company said on Wednesday. Cornell helped re-energize the company when …

Reuters reports: Nearly 6 in 10 Americans said that the United Nations (U.N.) countries should recognize the Palestinian state, according to a new survey that was published on Wednesday morning. The new Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 58 percent of U.S. adults think that every country in the U.N. should recognize Palestine as a nation. About a third of respondents, 33 …

Axios reports: Gov. Gavin Newsom’s bid to redraw California’s congressional seats to create more Democrat-friendly districts has a 22-point advantage in support among the state’s voters, Newsom’s longtime pollster writes in an internal memo obtained by Axios. California’s vote this November on what’s known as Proposition 50 will have tremendous consequences for the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential election. …

“We can minimize (the Sliwa) vote, because he’ll never be a serious candidate. And Trump himself, as well as top Republicans, will say the goal is to stop Mamdani. And you’ll be wasting your vote on Sliwa. So I feel good about that. “Let’s put it this way: I knew the president very well. believe there’s a big piece of …

Politico reports: A little-known oyster farmer is looking to upend top Democrats’ plans in Maine. Democrat Graham Platner, the 40-year-old owner of Waukeag Neck Oyster Co. and an Iraq and Afghanistan War veteran, announced Tuesday he is mounting a challenge to Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Platner has never run for office, and his campaign threatens to disrupt national Democrats’ efforts …

The Hill reports: California Democrats on Monday unveiled legislation to move forward with their plan to counter a Republican redistricting proposal in Texas with new congressional maps in the Golden State. “We decided as a delegation that we could not just stand there and allow Trump to distort the next election, and continue to harm the people who we represent. …

The New York Times reports: Texas Democrats, who had left the state to halt an aggressive redistricting, were expected to return to Texas and end their two-week walkout on Monday, paving the way for Republicans to pass a redrawn congressional map called for by President Trump. For the past two weeks, Republican leaders in Texas bristled at the Democrats’ flight …

The Guardian reports: Palestinians were gripped by fear and anxiety on Sunday after the Israeli military said it was preparing for the forcible displacement of one million people from Gaza City. The announcement came days after Israel said it intended to launch a new offensive to seize control of the territory’s largest urban centre, in a plan that raised international …

Politico reports: Former President Barack Obama met Thursday with Texas House Democrats to praise them for leaving the state to stop a GOP-backed redistricting effort. Obama also pointed to the response by California — which launched its own redistricting retaliation on Thursday — as a result of the Texas Democrats’ own protest, which he views as a temporary offset. He …

Washington DC’s NBC affiliate reports: D.C. police are now allowed to notify federal immigration enforcement agencies of people who are not in custody, including during traffic stops, the chief of police said in an executive order Thursday. It comes four days into President Donald Trump’s takeover of the city’s police department. A memo from Chief of Police Pamela Smith says …

Axios reports: The Israeli government is courting popular MAGA influencers in an effort to address Republican divisions over the war in Gaza, where scenes of violence and starvation have fueled global outrage. U.S. support for Israel’s military actions has fallen to record lows. Even within the traditionally pro-Israel GOP, younger Republicans are increasingly skeptical — questioning both the alliance and …

The Associated Press reports: Israel is in discussions with South Sudan about the possibility of resettling Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to the war-torn East African country, part of a wider effort by Israel to facilitate mass emigration from the territory left in ruins by its 22-month offensive against Hamas. Six people familiar with the matter confirmed the talks to …

Austin’s ABC affiliate reports: ABC13 has confirmed with multiple sources that House Democrats will return to Texas. Eyewitness News has not confirmed the date, but we do know that Democrats believe they’ve accomplished their mission by killing the first special session and by raising national awareness about the mid-decade redistricting effort. It is unclear which day they will be in …

The Associated Press reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis tapped Republican state Sen. Jay Collins to be his next lieutenant governor Tuesday. It’s a closely watched appointment by the two-term governor, who can’t run for reelection in 2026 and has been working to cement his legacy as his time leading the state winds down. If Collins, an Army combat veteran and …

The Associated Press reports: Israel’s military targeted an Al Jazeera correspondent with an airstrike Sunday, killing him, another network journalist and at least six other people, all of whom were sheltering outside Gaza City’s largest hospital complex. Officials at Shifa Hospital said those killed included Al Jazeera correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohamed Qreiqeh. The strike also killed four other journalists …

The Associated Press reports: Australia will recognize a Palestinian state, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Monday, joining the leaders of France, Britain and Canada in signaling they would do so. His remarks followed weeks of urging from within his Cabinet and from many in Australia to recognize a Palestinian state and amid growing criticism from officials in his government over …