INTERNACIONAL
Louisiana AG aims to dismantle ‘offensive’ voting law that factors race into redistricting
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EXCLUSIVE: Louisiana’s attorney general is siding with the people who sued her, an unusual move that comes as part of a case that she hopes will reshape the Voting Rights Act, a decades-old law designed to prevent discrimination in the voting process.
Liz Murrill, who was solicitor general of Louisiana before becoming attorney general last year, told Fox News Digital in an interview on Tuesday that she expected the lawsuit and was prepared to agree with the plaintiffs.
Murrill, an elected Republican, had approved of a congressional map that appeared to favor Democrats, but in a perceived turnabout, she welcomed a lawsuit that challenged the map, saying it was a product of race-conscious «cracking and packing,» where minority voters were plucked out of various districts and consolidated into one.
«We’ve said all along, if section two [of the Voting Rights Act] requires us to do that, then it is in conflict with the equal protection clause, and section two has to yield, because the statute has to yield to the Constitution,» Murrill said, referencing the section of the Voting Rights Act that she is hoping the high court will gut.
SUPREME COURT HEARS PIVOTAL LOUISIANA REDISTRICTING CASE AHEAD OF 2026 MIDTERMS
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill leaves the U.S. Supreme Court after justices heard arguments in a case about social media censorship, in Washington, March 18, 2024. (REUTERS/Bonnie Cash)
Murrill rejects ‘bait-and-switch’ claims
The case has a tangled, yearlong history.
One-third of Louisiana’s voters are black, but the state legislature kept a map after the 2020 census that remained favorable to Republicans. The new map leaned 5-1 in favor of Republicans and included one district with a black majority, rather than two.
Black voters and civil rights groups sued, and through a string of court battles, Louisiana was found to have violated the Voting Rights Act by diluting black voters’ votes.
Instead of the court taking it upon itself to create a new map, Murrill said the alternative was that her state could retain its sovereignty by reluctantly drawing its own 4-2 map that complied with the current Voting Rights Act jurisprudence and court orders, even though she believed the map violated the Constitution.
NEW MAJORITY-BLACK LOUISIANA HOUSE DISTRICT REJECTED, NOVEMBER ELECTION MAP STILL UNCERTAIN
Voting rights activists protest outside the U.S. Supreme Court as the court prepares to hear arguments in a case challenging Louisiana’s congressional map in Washington on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Murrill said she did not pull a «bait-and-switch» and has maintained all along that creating a second district with a black majority is problematic.
«All along, we’ve said we don’t think we can do this, but because the courts have told us we have to do it, we’re going to go do it, and then we faced another challenge from non-African American voters, saying it violates the equal protection clause,» Murrill said. «We could have predicted, we did predict that would happen.»
‘So much stereotyping’
The Supreme Court has said it is examining whether the map Louisiana created with two black-majority districts violates the Constitution. Murrill agrees with the people who sued her and contends that it does.
«The only way to create a second majority-minority district would be to carve black voters off from five major cities in Louisiana, north to south, and pile them into a black district,» she told Fox News Digital. «That’s unconstitutional.»
The black voters and civil rights groups who have been advocating two majority-black districts have now reentered the legal fight and argued to the high court that creating such a map gives black voters an equal opportunity to elect the candidates of their choice. This is a requirement of the Voting Rights Act, which says minority groups’ votes cannot be diluted, they argue.
Murrill said that claim «has so much stereotyping of black voters built into it.»
«It’s not fair to just lump these people into large categories because of the color of their skin. That’s offensive,» Murrill said. «And yet, that’s what’s happening in redistricting, and it is being driven by this kind of test about whether the dilution of their votes results in an inability of them to elect candidates of their choice.»
What’s next for Louisiana
Based on Wednesday’s oral arguments, the Supreme Court appears poised to rein in race-conscious redistricting, though to what extent remains an open question.
Louisiana AG Liz Murrill speaks to the media during a press conference on Jan. 1, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Attorney General of Louisiana Liz Murrill )
The high court could make its decision as early as January or as late as June, meaning it is possible that Louisiana could adjust its maps to include one district with a black majority, instead of two, before the next midterms.
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But Murrill said it was difficult to plan for the 2026 elections since the timing and substance of the high court’s decision is unknown.
«At the end of the day, all we can do right now is try and delay the qualifying dates to give the court time to rule and give our legislature time to know what the rules are,» she said.
voting,elections,louisiana,judiciary,supreme court,politics
INTERNACIONAL
US allowing some Nigeria embassy staff to evacuate over ‘deteriorating security situation’
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The State Department said it authorized the departure of some staff at its embassy in Nigeria over the «deteriorating security situation» in the African country.
The development comes weeks after the U.S. military reportedly sent MQ-9 Reaper drones to Nigeria amid fears of a renewed insurgency by the terrorist group Boko Haram. The day before the authorization was issued, gunmen attacked two villages about 155 miles from Abuja, where the U.S. embassy is located, killing 20 people, residents told The Associated Press.
«On April 8, 2026, the U.S. Department of State authorized the voluntary departure of non-emergency U.S. government employees and family members from U.S. Embassy Abuja due to the deteriorating security situation,» the U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Nigeria said. «The U.S. Embassy in Abuja will remain open but will have limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in Nigeria.»
«The U.S. Consulate General in Lagos will continue to provide routine and emergency services to U.S. citizens in Nigeria,» it added. «The Department of State Travel Advisory for Nigeria remains at Level 3, recommending travelers reconsider travel to Nigeria due to crime, terrorism, civil unrest, kidnapping, armed gangs, and inconsistent availability of health care services.»
GUNMEN ON BIKES STORM NIGERIA VILLAGE ON PALM SUNDAY, KILLING AT LEAST 20
Nigerian soldiers prepare to patrol in Maiduguri on March 18, 2026, following a deadly triple suicide bombing that killed 23 people on March 16. (Audu Marte/AFP/Getty Images)
The embassy also said, «U.S. citizens in Abuja should consider departing if you do not need to remain for emergency or essential purposes.»
The recent attacks occurred in the early hours of Tuesday in Bagna and Erena, located in the Shiroro area of Niger state.
«They came on motorbikes and began shooting. It was a surprise attack, because it was in the early hours of the morning,» Jibrin Isah, who lives in Erena, told the AP.
100 US TROOPS LAND IN NIGERIA AS ISLAMIC MILITANTS THREATEN WEST AFRICA REGIONAL SECURITY
Police officers gather at the scene of Sunday night gunmen attack in the Gari Ya Waye community in Nigeria, Monday, March 30, 2026. (Samson Omale/AP)
Residents said at least 20 people were killed, with more missing. However, local police said only three people were killed.
The State Department said in a travel advisory issued Wednesday that there is «risk of terrorist violence, including terrorist attacks and other activity in Nigeria,» adding, «Terrorists collaborate with local gangs to expand their reach» and «They may attack with little or no warning.»
The MQ-9 drones reportedly were deployed to Nigeria in late March after 200 U.S. troops arrived in February to provide training and intelligence. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is battling a complex security crisis, especially in the north of the country.
A spokesperson for AFRICOM, the U.S. Africa Command, had told the AP that U.S. troops «are working alongside their Nigerian counterparts to provide intelligence support, advisory assistance, and targeted training in support of the Nigerian Armed Forces.»
Among the most prominent Islamic militant groups active in Nigeria are Boko Haram and its breakaway faction, which is affiliated with the Islamic State and is known as Islamic State West Africa Province, or ISWAP.
A U.S. military MQ-9 Reaper drone approaches for landing at Rafael Hernandez Airport in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, on Dec. 29, 2025. (Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/AFP)
There is also the ISIS-linked Lakurawa, as well as other «bandit» groups that specialize in kidnapping for ransom and illegal mining.
President Donald Trump has spoken out against violence targeting Christians in Nigeria, telling Fox News Radio last year, «I’m really angry about it» and «What’s happening in Nigeria is a disgrace.»
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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth also met with Nigerian national security advisor Nuhu Ribadu last November amid threats from Trump to cut off aid to Nigeria if the country «continues to allow the killing of Christians.» Nigerian officials have pushed back on the accusation.
Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
warnings, counter terrorism, us, state department, military
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House Democrats are weighing a long-shot scenario to remove President Donald Trump using the 25th Amendment, but are declining to say whether they’ll act before the November midterm elections.
House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., will brief congressional Democrats Friday afternoon on the constitutional mechanism that would rely heavily on Trump’s Cabinet agreeing to push him out of office.
The 25th Amendment has never been used before to involuntarily remove a president and is effectively moot without widespread Republican buy-in. But a bevy of House Democrats have embraced that scenario following the president’s escalating conflict with Iran.
«Donald Trump’s deranged threat to destroy ‘a whole civilization’ in Iran is a threat to commit war crimes and genocide,» Raskin wrote on social media Tuesday. «Republicans in Congress must prevail upon Vice President Vance, now campaigning for Putin’s puppet Viktor Orban in Hungary, to return to the U.S. and invoke Section 4 of the 25th Amendment.»
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., speaks to reporters outside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office in Washington, D.C., on July 22, 2021, after meeting with members of the select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection. The committee is scheduled to hold its first hearing next week. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
MASSIE-LED PUSH TO HANDCUFF TRUMP ON IRAN GETS JEFFRIES’ BACKING
«The 25th Amendment should be invoked to spare our country and the world from his increasingly unhinged behavior,» Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., a member of the Judiciary Committee, also said Tuesday.
Dozens of House Democrats have continued to press for the president’s ouster despite the announcement of a two-week ceasefire.
«All options should be on the table,» Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., said Thursday.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has offered support for the briefing and ongoing discussions about the president’s removal, saying Democrats are considering a «range of accountability mechanisms.»
The lead Democrat, however, has remained ambiguous about his personal views despite signaling that all options remain on the table. That is largely in keeping with Jeffries’ efforts over the past year to keep the focus away from impeachment talk while leaning into policy fights over health care costs, tariffs and immigration enforcement.
Fox News Digital reached out to members of House Democratic leadership, but did not receive a response before publication.
A spokesperson for the House Judiciary Committee declined to comment on the 25th Amendment briefing.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., are seen before a rally with House Democrats on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to oppose the Senate passed spending bill that would reopen the government because it does not extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, on Wednesday, November 12, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)
LONGTIME TRUMP CRITIC REVEALS WHY SHE THINKS HIS IRAN ACTIONS ARE WRONG, WARNS IT’S A ‘MUCH BIGGER WAR’
Jeffries largely sidestepped a question Thursday regarding why Democrats are having conversations about removing Trump during a news conference in New York City.
«We have a responsibility as a separate and co-equal branch of government to defend the American people, and we want to be able to do it in an informed way,» Jeffries said before pivoting to criticizing Republicans over the cost of living.
«We’ve ruled nothing out and we’ve ruled nothing in,» Jeffries told MS Now when asked about whether he thought the 25th Amendment should be invoked.
In both appearances Jeffries did not acknowledge that Democrats, who are effectively powerless in Washington, lack the numbers to successfully push impeachment or constitutional mechanisms to oust Trump.
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to address the nation from the Cross Hall of the White House on April 1, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Alex Brandon-Pool/Getty Images)
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In the 25th Amendment scenario, the power rests with Vice President JD Vance and Trump’s Cabinet, who would have to agree the president is unfit to serve. Assuming Trump were to challenge that decision, two-thirds of the House and Senate — meaning a significant number of Republicans in Congress — would have to vote in support of that judgment.
At present, Democrats also have a math problem when it comes to impeachment and conviction, which requires a two-thirds majority in the Senate. Congressional Democrats failed twice to convict Trump in his first term.
midterm elections, republicans, congress, donald trump, democrats
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