Supreme Court Clarifies Voting Rights Act in Landmark Louisiana Ruling
The Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down Louisiana’s congressional district map in a 6-3 decision, ruling that the state’s creation of a second majority-Black district constituted an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The Louisiana v. Callais decision effectively narrows Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prohibits racially discriminatory gerrymandering, and could reshape voting across the South while boosting Republican prospects in the midterm elections.
Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito argued that Section 2 “was designed to enforce the Constitution—not collide with it,” and that lower courts had been forcing states into the very race-based discrimination the Constitution forbids. The Court rewrote the Section 2 test in a way that protects partisan gerrymandering, and Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Justice Neil Gorsuch, went further in a concurring opinion, arguing Section 2 should not regulate districting at all.
Justice Elena Kagan, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, wrote a forceful dissent, warning the ruling “threatens a half-century’s worth of gains in voting equality” and would allow states to systematically dilute minority voting power without legal consequence.
Hours after the ruling, the Florida House approved a new congressional map that could add up to four Republican seats. Other Republican-controlled states are expected to attempt aggressive redraws ahead of the midterms.
Iran War
🇮🇷 Iran War Enters Day 61 as Trump Holds Blockade: President Trump said he’ll maintain his Iran blockade until the regime addresses U.S. nuclear concerns. The Pentagon has prepared a “short and powerful” wave of strikes in case they’re needed to break the negotiating deadlock, and President Trump notified Congress on Friday that the original February 28 hostilities have been “terminated”—effectively resetting the War Powers Act clock.
💰 Iran War Tab Hits $25 Billion: The Pentagon’s top financial official told lawmakers this week that the Iran war has cost taxpayers at least $25 billion so far, though other estimates suggest the figure is far higher. NBC reported that Iranian strikes have caused billions in damage to U.S. military assets across the Gulf, including runways, radar systems, aircraft, and command headquarters, with reconstruction expected to cost a minimum of $5 billion.
⛽ Gas Prices Surge as Brent Tops $126: Oil prices reached their highest levels since the Iran war began, with Brent crude topping $126 per barrel on Thursday before pulling back. The national average for regular gas hit $4.30—up nearly 30¢ in a week and more than a dollar higher than a year ago.
More News
⚖️ Correspondents’ Dinner Shooter Charged: The Justice Department formally charged Cole Allen with attempting to assassinate Trump at Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Court filings allege that Allen reserved his Hilton room on April 6, traveled by train from L.A. to D.C. between April 21-24, and pre-scheduled an email to family and a former employer titled “Apology and Explanation,” in which he called himself the “Friendly Federal Assassin.” A Secret Service agent—hit in the chest but saved by a bulletproof vest—returned fire. Allen reportedly tripped and fell down with only minor injuries and was arrested.
🚓 Feds Raid Minneapolis Daycares in Fraud Probe: Federal authorities executed 22 search warrants across the Twin Cities on Tuesday, almost all at Somali-run childcare centers suspected of defrauding taxpayer-funded programs. The probe gained traction after a viral video from YouTuber Nick Shirley last year drew White House attention to alleged Somali fraud estimated at $9 billion.
🦠 Fauci Adviser Indicted Over COVID Records: The Justice Department indicted David Morens, a former senior Fauci adviser at NIH, on charges of using personal email to evade public records laws and hide communications about COVID’s origins. He faces up to 51 years if convicted on all counts, and the indictment references two unnamed co-conspirators. As the origins of COVID began to be investigated, Morens sent this private email to a colleague, “[I] learned from our foia lady here how to make emails disappear after I am foia'd but before the search starts, so i think we are all safe. Plus I deleted most of those earlier emails after sending them to gmail.”
✈️ Spirit Departs from Spirit Airlines: After 34 years as a purveyor of low-cost flights, Spirit Airlines has died after a $500 million government rescue plan fell through. The airline has filed for bankruptcy multiple times, and the Biden administration blocked JetBlue from acquiring Spirit in 2024. Several airlines have worked with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to help stranded Spirit customers. More info can be found here.
🏦 Warsh Cleared for Fed Chair: The Senate Banking Committee voted along party lines to approve Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair, replacing Jerome Powell. Senator Thom Tillis dropped his block after the Justice Department announced it was ending its investigation of Powell, who said he plans to stay on as a federal governor after his chairmanship ends May 15.
👮♂️ Comey Charged Over “86 47” Seashell Post: Former FBI Director James Comey appeared in federal court Thursday to face federal charges that his now-deleted social media post from May 2025 showing seashells arranged to read “86 47” constituted a threat to harm President Trump. A federal grand jury had indicted Comey on Tuesday, with prosecutors interpreting the numbers as restaurant-speak for “getting rid of” the 47th president.
💼 Trump Expands Retirement Account Access: President Trump signed an executive order Thursday creating TrumpIRA.gov, a coming web portal to help the roughly 54 million Americans without employer retirement plans to sign up for accounts modeled on the federal Thrift Savings Plan, which over 6 million federal employees use. The order builds on a Biden-era “saver’s match” program and has drawn surprising bipartisan support.
🩺 Saphier Replaces Means as Surgeon General Pick: President Trump pulled his nomination of wellness advocate Casey Means for surgeon general after she faced opposition over her less than enthusiastic support of vaccines. He nominated breast cancer specialist and former Fox News contributor Nicole Saphier.
🏛️ ICE Funding Left Out of Shutdown Bill: A newly passed House bill ending the Homeland Security shutdown does not include money for immigration enforcement. Republicans plan to fund ICE separately through a process called reconciliation, which bypasses a likely Democratic filibuster.
📺 FCC Targets Disney with DEI Probe: The FCC ordered Disney to file early license renewals for its eight owned-and-operated ABC stations in major markets, citing an ongoing investigation into the company’s DEI programs. The move comes amid renewed outrage over Jimmy Kimmel’s joke that Melania Trump “had the glow of an expectant widow” two days before the alleged assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
🛂 Special 250th Anniversary Passport Design: The State Department plans to release a limited-edition passport design featuring images of Donald Trump, the Declaration of Independence, and the founding fathers to commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence. The passports will be available only to applicants visiting the D.C. passport office in person, starting shortly before July 4.
Good News
There’s a calm that comes after the storm.
If you live anywhere near where I do, you’ve probably been loving the colder weather, pleasantly perplexed by all the rain, and (like me) disappointed that your vehicles are going back for the second time in as many years to the shop for hail damage. But it could be worse, like the EF-3 tornado that ripped through Mineral Wells (west of Fort Worth) on Thursday night and destroyed landmarks, homes, and businesses. Spring weather in Texas oscillates between placid and terrifying.
After a wedding on Friday night, I stepped outside to get my laptop to write this newsletter and was met by an extra golden, glorious dusk. I had only about 35 seconds to remember to take a cell phone picture before the sun tucked below the trees and disappeared.
It wasn’t until later that I remembered that we hadn’t seen the sun in a few days. Do the best sunsets always come after the strongest storms?
