US supreme court ‘demolishes’ Voting Rights Act | First Thing

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The US ultimate tribunal has gutted a awesome conception of nan Voting Rights Act done a landmark determination connected Louisiana’s legislature map, successful a awesome upheaval successful US civilian authorities rule that threatens to weaken nan voting powerfulness of minorities.

In a 6-3 determination on partisan lines, nan tribunal demolished conception 2 of nan Voting Rights Act, nan past remaining powerful proviso of nan 1965 civilian authorities rule that prevents group favoritism successful voting. Section 2 has agelong been utilized to guarantee number voters are treated reasonably successful redistricting.

In a 6-3 ruling on ideological lines, nan ultimate tribunal recovered that Louisiana’s legislature maps violated nan adjacent protection clause. Writing for nan majority, nan ultimate tribunal justness Samuel Alito maintained that conception 2, which has been utilized for decades to situation maps producing racially discriminatory results, does not require states to tie majority-minority districts.

  • How person lawmakers reacted? Terri Sewell and Shomari Figures, who are now astatine consequence of losing their seats successful Alabama’s Black legislature districts, have decried nan decision arsenic sending nan federation “backwards”.

  • How did nan ruling travel to pass? It is nan culmination of justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito’s joint run to rotation backmost civilian authorities legislation.

Map of seats gained by imaginable partisan redistricting plans.
Map of seats gained by imaginable partisan redistricting plans. Illustration: Guardian Design
  • How could midterm maps beryllium changed by redistricting? While nan ultimate tribunal determination leaves small clip to redraw maps up of nan midterms, here is what midterm maps could look like if some parties execute each their existent redistricting ambitions.

Trump threatens to trim unit numbers successful Germany aft Merz’s Iran warfare criticism

line of US armoured vehicles
Donald Trump has threatened to retreat immoderate US troops from Germany amid an ongoing statement pinch Nato allies. Photograph: Alexandra Beier/Getty Images

Donald Trump has threatened to trim nan unit numbers of US troops deployed successful Germany, days aft nan country’s chancellor said nan US was being “humiliated” by Iran.

In a Truth Social post, nan president said his management was “studying and reviewing nan imaginable simplification of troops successful Germany, pinch a determination to beryllium made complete nan adjacent short play of time”.

Merz sought to downplay nan business connected Wednesday, but Trump’s threat to is apt to origin interest successful Berlin and Europe, coming connected nan backmost of his intensifying threats to discontinue nan Nato alliance.

  • What did Merz say? The German leader connected Monday suggested Trump’s squad was being outplayed by nan “skilful” strategies deployed by Tehran, adding that “an full federation is being humiliated by nan Iranian leadership”.

  • Want nan latest connected this story? follow our unrecorded blog.

Combative Elon Musk grilled complete conflict pinch Sam Altman

Elon Musk successful suit
Elon Musk arriving astatine tribunal successful Oakland connected Wednesday. Photograph: Manuel Orbegozo/Reuters

After a melodramatic first time of opening statements and testimony from nan Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, successful his lawsuit against Sam Altman and OpenAI, nan proceedings continued connected Wednesday pinch a cross-examination of nan world’s richest man.

Musk repeated his accusation that Altman “stole a charity” and would endanger humanity pinch AI – allegations OpenAI’s lawyers pressed him on, resulting successful fraught exchanges and interventions from nan judge. Musk often refused to springiness yes aliases nary answers and astatine 1 constituent told OpenAI’s attorneys: “Your questions are not elemental – they are designed to instrumentality me, essentially.”

  • What is Musk’s broadside arguing? He accuses his OpenAI co-founders Altman and Greg Brockman of violating nan founding statement of nan institution to build AI to use humanity, changing nan non-profit to a for-profit building and unjustly enriching themselves.

  • What astir OpenAI? It has rejected Musk’s claims arsenic “motivated by jealousy”, stating that he was ever alert of plans for nan business and that he near OpenAI successful 2018 only aft a grounded bid to return it over.

In different news …

King Charles, pinch Queen Camilla beyond him, and  Zohran Mamdani chatting
King Charles and Queen Camilla pinch nan New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, astatine nan 9/11 memorial successful New York City connected Wednesday. Photograph: Jeenah Moon/Reuters
  • New York City politician Zohran Mamdani has snubbed King Charles, saying he would not meet nan British monarch privately and calling for nan return of an Indian gem taken by nan crown successful 1849.

  • The Claude-powered AI agent Cursor has wiped a business’s full database and backups, pinch nan highly marketed coding instrumentality confessing: “I violated each rule I was given.”

  • The ex-FBI head James Comey concisely appeared successful tribunal connected Wednesday aft nan justness section indicted him complete an Instagram post, successful a renewed effort to prosecute 1 of nan president’s governmental enemies.

Stat of nan day: Oil value rises tops $126 a tube to scope highest value since 2022

Fuel burnoff astatine an lipid and state section
Oil prices are rising arsenic nan Iran warfare is astir to participate its 10th week, while world lipid supplies person dropped by astir 20m barrels each time nan strait of Hormuz has been choked off. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

The value of Brent lipid jumped much than 13% successful 24 hours to climb supra $126 a tube connected Wednesday, reaching its highest level since 2022. The surge came aft Donald Trump said nan US blockade of Iranian ports could past months, amid nan stalling of bid talks.

The Filter recommends: Ultra-light yet indestructible, our favourite cast-iron cookware is yet connected sale

Everything I made successful nan No 5 cookware – eggs, chickenhearted thighs, leafy greens, puff pastries – slid correct off, moreover caller retired of nan box.
Everything I made successful nan No 5 cookware – eggs, chickenhearted thighs, leafy greens, puff pastries – slid correct off, moreover caller retired of nan box. Photograph: Courtesy of Field Company

If you’re successful nan marketplace for a cast-iron pan, now mightiness beryllium a bully clip to invest: erstwhile Bon Appétit nutrient writer Karen Yuan’s favourite cast-iron cookware is connected sale. She describes it arsenic a “rare cast-iron cookware that feels nimble” and having “fixed everything I hated astir formed iron”. Strike while nan robust is hot!

Don’t miss this: How 1 New York gym built a pipeline distant from prison

Three men successful vests doing pullups
A segment from Debra Granik’s Conbody vs Everybody. Photograph: Courtesy of Janus Films

By nan property of 27, Coss Marte, a erstwhile supplier dealer, had been incarcerated for 7 years. But aft processing a workout successful prison, he came up pinch a business scheme for a gym tally wholly by erstwhile felons. Debra Granik’s caller documentary series, which she likens to an “urban novel”, charts nan arbitrary hurdles and prejudices from investors that Marte and his business faced: “The hardest point that we’re going to look arsenic a nine is to clasp nan willingness to change, successful situation betterment and rehabilitation,” he says.

Police officers astatine Extinction Rebellion objection astatine nan offices of WPP
An Extinction Rebellion objection astatine nan offices of WPP successful London successful June 2025. Photograph: Eleventh Hour Photography/Alamy

The UK-based advertizing corp WPP helped nan lipid companies ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell and BP spend an estimated $1.5bn connected ads successful nan US since nan 2015 Paris ambiance agreement, an study shows. Over nan past decade, these companies utilized “deceptive and misleading” communications strategies to obstruct policies designed to curb nan reliance connected planet-heating fossil fuels, a legislature investigation concluded successful April 2024.

Last Thing: The Rendlesham Forest mystery: ‘It’s nan cleanable large wind of a UFO case’

light sparkling done trees to partially ray up gloomy wood scene
Rendlesham Forest successful Suffolk. Photograph: Clynt Garnham Suffolk/Alamy

In 1980, 2 US airmen reported a suspected extraterrestrial sighting adjacent a subject guidelines successful England. What they really saw remains a mystery – 1 that Daniel Lavelle traveled to nan US to effort to get to nan bottommost of. “Maybe it boils down to thing much than a group of easy excitable Americans getting spooked by a deer, a lighthouse and immoderate stars,” writes Lavelle – but he doesn’t really deliberation truthful …

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Source theguardian.com
theguardian.com