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Federal court clears California’s new House map boosting Democrats ahead of 2026 midterms
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California can move forward with a new U.S. House map that would boost Democrats’ chances in the 2026 midterms, a federal court ruled Wednesday.
A three-judge panel in Los Angeles ruled 2-1 to deny requests from both state Republicans and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to block the map from being used, giving Democrats a realistic chance at flipping up to five House seats in the midterm election.
In November, California voters passed a ballot initiative, known as Proposition 50, dramatically altering the state’s congressional districts. The pursuit of the new map was largely viewed as an attempt to offset recent redistricting in Texas, which generated more Republican-leaning districts.
«Republicans’ weak attempt to silence voters failed,» California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. «California voters overwhelmingly supported Prop 50 – to respond to Trump’s rigging in Texas – and that is exactly what this court concluded.»
FEDERAL JUDGES BLOCK TEXAS FROM USING REDRAWN CONGRESSIONAL MAP
California Gov. Gavin Newsom praised a federal court decision allowing the state to move forward with a new congressional map. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
The complaint challenged California’s efforts to redraw the state’s congressional map, with DOJ Civil Rights Division lawyers arguing that race was «used as a proxy» to justify creating districts that benefit Democrats.
But California Democrats argued that the map was legal because it was drawn for partisan advantage.
In 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that partisan gerrymandering is a political question and not one for federal courts to decide. On Wednesday, the California panel sided with the state’s argument, saying there was insufficient evidence that the maps were drawn based on race.
RED STATE MOVES FORWARD ON TRUMP-BACKED PUSH FOR NEW CONGRESSIONAL MAP
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks next to his wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom after California’s special election on Proposition 50, a measure that would temporarily redraw congressional districts, at the California Democratic Party Headquarters in Sacramento, California, Nov. 4, 2025. (REUTERS/Fred Greaves)
«After reviewing the evidence, we conclude that it was exactly as one would think: it was partisan,» the judges wrote.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth Lee, an appointee of President Donald Trump, said in dissent that at least one district was drawn using race as a factor «to curry favor with Latino groups and voters.»
Still, Republicans are expected to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.
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Former Vice President Kamala Harris attends a Yes on Proposition 50 rally at the Los Angeles Convention Center Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
The panel’s ruling constitutes a major victory for Democrats following the implementation of new congressional maps in several Republican-led states.
Last year, Missouri moved forward with congressional redistricting that favors Republicans, and North Carolina’s Republican-controlled legislature signed off on a new map that may lead to an additional congressional victory for the GOP.
«Californians overwhelmingly voted in favor of Proposition 50. Today’s decision upholds the will of the people. It also means that, to date, every single challenge against Proposition 50 has failed,» California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement. «I couldn’t be prouder of my team for successfully defending this ballot initiative in court on behalf of Governor Newsom and Secretary of State Weber. We remain confident in the legality of Proposition 50.»
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House maps are typically redrawn every 10 years following the census, and the process rarely takes place mid-decade. California relies on an independent commission to draw maps, while other states, including Texas, allow lawmakers to lead the effort.
To retake control of the House in the midterms, Democrats need to pick up only a handful of seats. Republicans currently hold a narrow majority with 218 seats to Democrats’ 213.
Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser, Ashley Oliver and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
california,gavin newsom,midterm elections,house of representatives politics
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A custody hearing in Ada, Oklahoma, last month took a turn for the unexpected — and the incredibly loud — after an attorney who identified himself as transgender was arrested and dragged from the courtroom where he had appeared to represent his client just minutes before.
The exchange occurred during a custody hearing in Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, some 90 minutes southeast of Oklahoma City. The attorney, Rob Hopkins, was jailed for contempt after sparring repeatedly with the judge, Lori Jackson, during an otherwise unremarkable proceeding.
Surveillance footage, audio, and body camera footage reviewed by Fox News Digital has shed new light on the extraordinary confrontation, in which Hopkins can be seen actively resisting arrest by bailiffs. At one point, Hopkins can be seen splaying his body across the judge’s bench, resulting in a pile of documents being swept off its finely polished wood surface.
«You’re HURTING ME!» Hopkins bellowed, as bystanders looked on. «I can’t BREATHE!» he shrieked again, louder.
Attendees in the courtroom could be seen looking on quietly as Hopkins twisted, turned, and contorted his body to evade the handcuffs that officers used to restrain him.
«I felt very threatened by this person,» one individual could be heard telling the judge.
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(Surveillance footage provided to Fox News Digital by the Oklahoma District Attorney’s Office, 22nd District.)
The meltdown in question, and the arrest, occurred during a custody hearing punctuated by repeated interruptions from Hopkins and warnings from Jackson that he would be held in contempt.
Hopkins then suggested she was discriminating against him for his transgender status, escalating tensions inside the courtroom.
«It’s because I’m a transgender attorney practicing all over the state,» Hopkins leveled sharply, to which Jackson shot back: «I don’t know what you are.»
«I don’t know you from Adam,» Jackson said later, describing his conduct as «entirely inappropriate.»
Shortly after, bailiffs entered the courtroom, prompting the hearing to descend into complete chaos.
«Do NOT HURT ME!» Hopkins yelled at the officers.
«I’m being thrown down!» he bellowed, as he threw himself on the bench before the officers eventually forced him onto the floor.
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More officers streamed in to help restrain Hopkins, whose uproarious exclamations had, at that point, drawn a crowd — not only in the courtroom, but also in the hallways surrounding it, as the body camera footage shows.
«Get a female officer, now!» Hopkins demanded. «Call 911!» he shrieked, as the officers attempted to place him in handcuffs.
«I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!» he declared.
From the floor of the court, Hopkins accused the officers of «throwing his glasses» onto the floor — a claim that surveillance footage reviewed by Fox News Digital appears to refute — and ordered the officers to place them back on his face.
«Put them on my face,» Hopkins demanded repeatedly, as the officers attempted to place Hopkins into a seated position and escort him from the court. «PUT THEM ON MY FACE!» Hopkins screamed once more, the volume and urgency unchanged from his request for emergency services just seconds before.
‘YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED!’: PROTESTER DRAGGED FROM KRISTI NOEM’S SENATE HEARING
Rob Hopkins, a transgender lawyer in Oklahoma, was jailed for contempt during a procedural hearing in Ada, Oklahoma, last month after a viral meltdown. ( Oklahoma District Attorney’s Office, 22nd Prosecutorial District.)
Hopkins said he has since shuttered his law firm following the contempt charge and fallout from the hearing.
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He did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment regarding either the proceedings in question or the reason for his firm’s closure.
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The Islamic Republic of Iran took the lives of two men convicted of trying to storm a military facility and access an armory in January, the Mizan news outlet of Iran’s judiciary indicated on Sunday, according to Reuters.
An organization called Iran Human Rights said that the Iranian news agency reported that the two individuals, Mohammad Amin Biglari and Shahin Vahedparast Kolor, were hanged on April 5.
Biglari, a 19-year-old computer science student, Kolor, 30, were arrested with several other individuals on January 8 amid a crackdown against protesters in the nation’s capital city of Tehran, according to the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights.
They faced charges that included «‘enmity against God (moharebeh), corruption on earth, arson of public facilities, and assembly and collusion to commit crimes against national security,’» the group indicated.
TRUMP WARNS IRAN HE MAY STRIKE ‘EVERY POWER PLANT’ AS DEADLINE TO REOPEN HORMUZ NEARS
An Iranian flag is placed amids rubble and debris next to a destroyed residential building near Ferdowsi square in Tehran on March 3, 2026. ( ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images)
Another individual arrested January 8, 18-year-old Amirhossein Hatami, was hanged on April 2, Iran Human Rights noted, citing the Mizan News Agency.
Ali Fahim, a 23-year-old who was among those arrested on January 8, was executed on April 6, the Hengaw Organization noted on Monday, explaining that the Mizan news agency confirmed the killing.
«These executions are part of the Islamic Republic’s strategy of survival, waging war against its own people under the shadow of external conflict,» Iran Human Rights Director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam noted. «The international community must respond with urgency. The situation of prisoners and the regime’s systematic use of the death penalty as a political tool of repression must be made a central condition in any negotiations or engagement with the Islamic Republic.»
The executions occurred as the U.S. and Israel continue to wage war against Iran.
EX-CIA STATION CHIEF REVEALS HOW AGENCY EXPLOITED IRANIAN COMMUNICATION CHANNELS DURING AIRMAN RESCUE
US President Donald Trump takes a question from a reporter after signing an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on March 31, 2026. (Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)
In a Sunday Truth Social post, President Donald Trump threatened to attack Iranian power infrastructure and bridges on Tuesday.
He demanded that Iran open the Strait of Hormuz.
WHY THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ MATTERS AS TRUMP ISSUES FRESH ULTIMATUM TO IRAN
A large plume of smoke rises over Tehran after explosions were reported in the city during the night on March 28, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. (Getty Images)
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«Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F—in’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah,» the president declared.
world, war with iran, iran
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