In a victory for voting rights and Alabama voters, the US Supreme Court has ruled that the state likely violated the Voting Rights Act with a congressional redistricting plan that diluted the voting power of Black voters. The state likely discriminated against Black voters with a newly drafted map that packs most of the state’s Black residents into a single district, out of seven, despite Black residents making up 27 per cent of the state’s population. A key ruling in the case of Allen v Milligan means that the state will have to re-draw its congressional map to include a second majority-Black district. The surprise 5-4 decision on the conservative-majority panel was written by Chief Justice John Roberts, joined by liberal Justices Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Sonia Sotomayor, with partial but crucial concurrence from conservative Brett Kavanaugh. In January, a lower court determined that the map significantly dilutes Black residents’ political power and ordered the state to draw new political boundaries that would create at least two districts in which Black voters would be more likely to elect a representative that more closely resembles the state’s demographics. The Voting Rights Act was drafted to prevent that kind of race-based dilution of Black voters. But attorneys for the state argued the opposite – that considering race to redraw political boundaries would mark an unconstitutional consideration of “racial targets” and “race-based sorting”, in violation of the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause. A decision that sided with Alabama attorneys would have radically reduced Black voters’ political power and landed a critical blow to a state with a long history of racist violence and discrimination. Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act prohibits voting laws and election policies from discriminating on the basis of race. The state’s suggestion that “race should play no role whatsoever” to determine whether redistricting plans violate Section 2 would “rewrite” the law and “overturn decades of settled precedent,” according to the map’s challengers. Attorneys for President Joe Biden’s administration argue that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act should be considered when “pervasive racial politics would otherwise deny minority voters equal electoral opportunities.” The map’s challengers argued that is precisely what is at stake in Alabama. This is a developing story Read More Main suspect in 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway due to be extradited to US Alabama senator says Space Command prefers Huntsville for HQ, but command has no comment Missouri governor signs ban on transgender health care, school sports

'Sister Wives' star Christine Brown has always been seen posting about her daughters, but nver her son

Facing a deep economic crisis, Pakistan has started to buy Russian oil, but the country's petroleum minister says the future lies...

Some of the derailed cars were carrying hazardous materials that could pose a threat to the public and the environment

Prince Harry has scored a victory at the outset of his first phone hacking trial with the publisher of the Daily Mirror apologizing for unlawfully gathering information about him in its reporting that warrants some compensation

Traffic on the road-and-rail bridge linking Russia and the Crimean peninsula was stopped early on Monday due to

The mother of Rachel Morin has broken her silence with a plea for compassion as the family takes time to grieve the “sudden and tragic” loss of the 37-year-old whose body was found after she vanished while going for a jog on the Ma and Pa Trail in Bel Air. “We are grieving. We need the time and space to grieve as a family. We have not forgotten our community,” the post read. “We just need time. . . I need time. It has only been 4 days since we received the horrific news. I ask that as mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters, that you would please have compassion on us and allow us this.” Morin was last seen heading to the Ma & Pa Trail at around 6pm Saturday. Her boyfriend Richard Tobin reported her missing that night after she failed to return home. Morin’s body was found the following day, and her death is being investigated as a homicide. The heartfelt letter, which was shared on Thursday in a post on the Facebook page of Rachel Morin’s sister Rebekah, thanked the community for its support and announced that a Celebration of Life service and a 5K run would be held in Morin’s honour thanks to the money raised. “Because of the tremendous outpouring of prayers, love and concern, our family is in the process of making arrangements for a Celebration of Life service to which friends and the community will be invited (more details to come),” the family wrote. “And because Rachel was an avid runner, we are in the early stages of planning a 5K walk/run in her honor with the hope of having a trail of flowers.” The GoFundMe goal amount was raised to $65,000 to help pay for the arrangements and it has raised $41,612 as of Thursday. “If you have experienced the loss of a dear loved one, then you know how hard it can be to express the pain that you feel in your heart. When it’s sudden and tragic, your mind looks for ways to cope,” the letter continued. “As a mom, I appreciate the outpouring of love and support from family, friends, and the worldwide community that grieves with me for my young daughter. Thank you for caring. Truly.” Morin’s family shared the letter with the update just a day after the Hartford County Sheriff Jeffery Gahler vowed to bring the “heinous coward” who killed Morin to justice. He also confirmed police had yet to identify a “solid suspect” but said detectives have been working around the clock and that some of the “more than 100 tips” that have been submitted by the public “have been promising”. Read More Man who described grisly state of Rachel Morin’s body never actually saw it, sheriff says Rachel Morin’s chilling Facebook post before mother-of-five found dead on Maryland hiking trail Maryland sheriff calls out ‘heinous coward’ who killed mother-of-five Rachel Morin

The tension around the US debt-limit negotiations ratcheted up after Fitch Ratings warned the nation’s AAA rating was

One of Donald Trump's co-defendants in the classified documents case told a federal judge Thursday that he's not concerned his defense lawyer previously represented three witnesses who could testify against him.

The 'Friends' cast aims to pay 'tribute' to Matthew Perry at the 2023 Emmys post his passing to celebrate his life and impactful legacy

New Zealand’s economy contracted in the first quarter, confirming that a recession began in the final three months

Autonomous carmaker Cruise must suspend its driverless taxi operations in California immediately, state motor vehicles regulators announced on Tuesday. "The California DMV today notified Cruise that the department is suspending Cruise’s autonomous vehicle deployment and driverless testing permits, effective immediately,” the state Department of Motor Vehicles said in a statement. “The DMV has provided Cruise with the steps need to apply to reinstate its suspended permits, which the DMV will not approve until the company has fulfilled the requirements to the department’s satisfaction.” The regulator said it has the right to pull back permissions when “there is an unreasonable risk to public safety.” The suspension, which only applies to Cruise trips where no human safety driver is onboard the vehicle, follows an incident earlier this month, where a woman in San Francisco was struck by a human driver in a hit-and-run accident that propelled her into the path of a Cruise robotaxi. “Ultimately, we develop and deploy autonomous vehicles in an effort to save lives,” Cruise said in a statement to ABC7. “In the incident being reviewed by the DMV, a human hit and run driver tragically struck and propelled the pedestrian into the path of the AV. The AV braked aggressively before impact and because it detected a collision, it attempted to pull over to avoid further safety issues. When the AV tried to pull over, it continued before coming to a final stop, pulling the pedestrian forward.” “Our thoughts continue to be with the victim as we hope for a rapid and complete recovery,” the company added. The suspension is a major blow to Cruise, which is owned by General Motors. Alongside Waymo, a subsidiary of Google parent company Alphabet, Cruise saw California, and in particular San Francisco, as a key testing ground of driverless taxi technology. The companies both got permission from state regulators in August to conduct paid taxi service 24/7 without a safety driver in San Francisco, despite vigorous debate in the city over whether the AVs were safe enough to operate. The rollout of robotaxis in San Francisco has been marred with problems. Driverless cars, in particular Cruise taxis, were accused of causing traffic and impeding first responders. According to data Cruise shared with the state in August, between January and mid-July of 2023, Cruise AVs temporarily malfunctioned or shut down 177 times and required recovery, 26 of which such incidents occurred with a passenger inside, while Waymo recorded 58 such events in a similar time frame. Meanwhile, according to the San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency (SFMTA), between April 2022 and April 2023, Cruise and Waymo vehicles have been involved in over 300 incidents of irregular driving including unexpected stops and collisions, while the San Francisco Fire Department says AVs have interfered 55 times in their work in 2023. Last year, Cruise lost contact with its entire fleet for 20 minutes according to internal documentation viewed by WIRED, and an anonymous employee warned California regulators that year the company loses touch with its vehicles “with regularity.” Since being rolled out in San Francisco, robotaxis have killed a dog, caused a mile-long traffic jam during rush hour, blocked a traffic lane as officials responded to a shooting, and driven over fire hoses. Jeffrey Tumlin, San Francisco’s director of transportation, has called the rollout of robotaxis a “race to the bottom,” arguing Cruise and Waymo weren’t yet definitive transit solutions, and instead had only “met the requirements for a learner’s permit.” Others have argued the introduction of driverless cars in San Francisco and beyond will further displace workers pushed out of the taxi industry by companies like Uber and Lyft. Read More Live updates: Republicans nominate Tom Emmer for House speaker New doc on the wrestling abuse that dogged Jim Jordan’s Speaker run Trump slams ‘Globalist RINO’ Tom Emmer after speaker nomination win Live updates: Republicans nominate Tom Emmer for House speaker New doc on the wrestling abuse that dogged Jim Jordan’s Speaker run Trump slams ‘Globalist RINO’ Tom Emmer after speaker nomination win