INTERNACIONAL
South Carolina Republicans defy Trump, tank redistricting, for now
Virginia Supreme Court strikes down Democrats’ redistricting map
Former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares explains why the Virginia Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the Democratic redistricting map was a «win for the rule of law.» Miyares notes the proposed map would have drastically shifted power for Democrats, citing the court’s emphasis on adhering to the state’s constitutional amendment process.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A handful of Republican state senators in South Carolina on Tuesday derailed an effort in the GOP-dominated legislature to redraw their state’s congressional district map which aims to erase the only Democrat-dominated U.S. House seat ahead of the midterm elections.
Five Republican state senators broke with their party and teamed up with Democrats to defeat a proposal that would have allowed the chamber to vote on redistricting after the South Carolina legislative session comes to a close later this week.
The move came hours after President Donald Trump warned on social media that he’d be «watching closely» as lawmakers met to move forward with changing their state’s map.
The setback means it will be much harder for South Carolina to join Tennessee, Alabama and Louisiana, which are altering their maps to eliminate Democrat-controlled congressional districts in time for the midterms, when the GOP will be defending its razor-thin House majority. The southern states are the latest battleground in the nationwide redistricting showdown. At stake is which party will control the House during the final two years of Trump’s second term in the White House.
DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB
The South Carolina Statehouse, in Columbia, S.C. (Getty Images)
The efforts by Republicans in the southern states come in the wake of a decision by the conservative majority on the Supreme Court to slash a key protection in the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act. The justices ruled that race should not dictate the redrawing of legislative district maps.
South Carolina Republicans were trying to advance a new map that could put longtime Rep. Jim Clyburn, the only Democrat in the state’s seven-person House delegation, out of a job.
Clyburn this past week remained optimistic he can still win re-election.
«I don’t know why people think I could not get re-elected if they redistrict South Carolina,» Clyburn said in a CNN interview. «I have a district that’s about 45 percent African-American. I have no idea what the number will be after the legislature finishes, but whatever that number is, I will be running on my record and America’s promise.»
ALABAMA REPUBLICANS PLOW FORWARD ON REDISTRICTING
Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., speaks during the 2024 Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago on Aug. 19, 2024. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images)
Trump, in a social media post Monday night, urged «South Carolina Republicans: BE BOLD AND COURAGEOUS.»
«Move the U.S. House Primaries to August, leave the rest on the same schedule. Everything will be fine. GET IT DONE!» he emphasized.
Trump’s message came a week after five Indiana Republican state senators who in December helped sink congressional redistricting in the solidly red Midwestern state were ousted by Trump-backed challengers in GOP primaries.
Shane Massey, the South Carolina Senate’s Republican majority leader, argued in a floor speech that following Trump’s lead on edistricting would be against the interests of the Palmetto State.
«South Carolina has always punched above their weight,» Massey said. «Doing this will diminish that influence.»
Republican South Carolina Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey speaks during a debate on redistricting on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, in Columbia, S.C. (Jeffrey Collins/AP Photo)
But he also acknowledged that he will likely face political payback from Trump and the president’s allies.
«There are likely consequences for me, personally, taking the position that I am right now,» Massey said. «I’m comfortable with that. I may not like it, but I’m comfortable with it…My conscience is clear on this one.»
Other South Carolina Republicans had raised concerns that carving up the district represented by Clyburn could backfire on their party in the midterms.
The top four Republicans running for governor this year, Lt. Gov. Pam Evette, Attorney Gen. Alan Wilson, and Reps. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman all criticized the lack of legislative action, with Evette describing it as «a betrayal of the people of South Carolina» and in «direct defiance» of Trump.
The current governor, Republican Henry McMaster, a top Trump ally, could still call the legislature back into special session to try and push through redistricting, but his office has so far said that scenario is unlikely.
WHAT’S ON THE LINE AS THESE STATES HOLD PRIMARIES TODAY
The GOP-dominated Tennessee legislature on Thursday quickly adopted a new map that would eliminate the only Democrat-controlled congressional district in the state, and would likely give Republicans control of all nine districts.
GOP Gov. Bill Lee quickly signed the new maps into law.
Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen, who represents the majority Black district that’s being carved up, vowed legal action.
«Trump knows he HAS TO rig the game to keep his majority in November. And the TN GOP was willing to go along with it. It’s shameful,» Cohen wrote on social media. «Next stop is the courts.»
Trump praised Tennessee Republicans in his social media post and urged GOP lawmakers in South Carolina to act «just like the Republicans of the Great State of Tennessee were last week.»
President Donald Trump has urged Republican-controlled states to redraw their congressional district maps in time for this year’s midterm elections. (Charlie Neibergall/AP)
It’s back to the future in Alabama, after the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 ideological ruling, cleared the way for the state to put in place a map Republicans drew up in 2023 that had been blocked by lower courts. The map would eliminate one of the state’s two blue-leaning congressional seats.
GOP Gov. Kay Ivey on Tuesday called for a special primary election in August in the four U.S. House districts altered by the new map.
Last week, the Supreme Court said that its decision declaring Louisiana’s map unconstitutional should go into effect immediately.
That cleared the way for the GOP-controlled state legislature to begin the process of reshaping the map, and hearings got underway on Friday.
Republican Gov. Jeff Landry, a top Trump ally, took swift action in the immediate aftermath of the high court’s ruling, when he delayed the May 16 U.S. House primary elections in Louisiana.
Louisiana Republicans are aiming to erase one or both of the two Black-majority House seats, which are represented by Democrats.
BLOCKBUSTER SUPREME COURT VOTING RIGHTS RULING IGNITES REDISTRICTING WAR ACROSS SOUTHERN STATES
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida signed into law a new congressional district map that may create up to four more right-leaning U.S. House seats (Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service)
In Florida, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis last week signed a bill by the GOP-dominated state legislature that overhauls the red-leaning state’s congressional districts, adding four more right-leaning seats by eliminating districts currently controlled by Democrats.
Republicans currently control Florida’s U.S. House delegation by a 20-8 margin.
Democrats are fighting back.
On Monday, Democrats filed an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to halt a Virginia state Supreme Court ruling invalidating a ballot measure that would have given their party an additional four left-leaning U.S. House seats.
Last week’s ruling in Virginia means the map used in the 2024 elections will stay in place for the 2026 ballot box showdowns. Democrats currently control the state’s U.S. House delegation by a 6-5 margin. The now overturned map could have resulted in a 10-1 advantage for Democrats in the blue-leaning but competitive state.
How we got here
The battle over the maps ignited last spring when Trump, aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterms, first floated the idea of rare, but not unheard of, mid-decade congressional redistricting.
The mission was simple: redraw congressional district maps in red states to pad the GOP’s fragile House majority to keep control of the chamber in the midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats.
When asked by reporters last summer about his plan to add Republican-leaning House seats across the country, the president said, «Texas will be the biggest one. And that’ll be five.»
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas called a special session of the GOP-dominated state legislature to pass the new map.
But Democratic state lawmakers, who broke quorum for two weeks as they fled Texas in a bid to delay the passage of the redistricting bill, energized Democrats across the country. Among those leading the fight against Trump’s redistricting was Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California.
California voters in November overwhelmingly passed Proposition 50, a ballot initiative that temporarily sidetracked the left-leaning state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission and returned the power to draw the congressional maps to the Democratic-dominated legislature.
That led to five more Democratic-leaning congressional districts in California, which aimed to counter the move by Texas to redraw their maps.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during an election night press conference at a California Democratic Party office in Sacramento on Nov. 4, 2025. (Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo)
But the fight quickly spread beyond Texas and California.
Republican-controlled Missouri and Ohio and swing state North Carolina, where the GOP dominates the legislature, drew new maps as part of the president’s push.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
But in blows to Republicans, a Utah district judge late last year rejected a congressional district map drawn by the state’s GOP-dominated legislature and instead approved an alternate that will create a Democratic-leaning district ahead of the midterms.
And as mentioned, Republicans in Indiana’s Senate in December defied Trump, shooting down a redistricting bill that had passed the state House.
midterm elections, republicans, south carolina, democrats, house of representatives, donald trump
INTERNACIONAL
El Salvador registra dos millones de visitantes en sus destinos turísticos durante las vacaciones
Durante el periodo vacacional, El Salvador ha registrado una afluencia de dos millones de visitantes nacionales e internacionales en sus principales destinos turísticos, según datos oficiales actualizados hasta el 4 de agosto por el Ministerio de Turismo.
La cifra, que corresponde tanto a turistas locales como extranjeros, marca un intenso movimiento en sitios emblemáticos del país y confirma una tendencia al alza en la movilidad interna de la temporada.
La ministra de Turismo, Morena Valdez, atribuyó este resultado a la coordinación interinstitucional y al despliegue de personal en los principales destinos. La funcionaria recalcó que la meta de la cartera es alcanzar los 2.8 mil visitantes al cierre de la temporada, cifra que, a su juicio, podría cumplirse si se mantiene la tendencia de las últimas jornadas.
De forma inmediata las autoridades no han brindado detalles sobre las nacionalidades de los turistas que se encuentran visitando el territorio salvadoreño.
Entre los destinos de mayor preferencia destacan SívarLand, el Centro Histórico de San Salvador, playas públicas como Playa Punta Roca, áreas naturales protegidas y una amplia oferta de sitios culturales.
La funcionaria señaló que además que actividades como la tradicional atolada y las experiencias familiares en parques y volcanes forman parte de la agenda atractiva para las familias.
El panorama en la zona costera también ha mostrado una afluencia notoria. Yaneth Bran, gobernadora del departamento de La Libertad, aseguró que el destino mantiene un flujo constante de turistas y que las instituciones han fortalecido los mecanismos de prevención y seguridad. “La Libertad es un territorio privilegiado por su extraordinaria riqueza natural, cultural, histórica y gastronómica.
La diversidad de sus paisajes y la calidez de su gente convierten en este departamento en un lugar que ofrece experiencia para todos los gustos”, afirmó Bran durante su intervención. Destacó la presencia de visitantes en lugares emblemáticos como Surf City, el Puerto de La Libertad, el Malecón, San Diego, El Majagual, El Tunco, El Sunzal, Mizata y San Blas, así como en diversos parques recreativos y comercios del litoral.
La ministra Valdez resaltó que la totalidad de los parques del Instituto Salvadoreño de Turismo y los sitios culturales operan con normalidad y acceso abierto al público.
La funcionaria recomendó explorar sitios menos tradicionales como El Taquíl y Los Almendros en la zona occidental, además de los espacios naturales del Parque Natural Cerro Verde y las rutas de escalada en volcanes, siempre bajo la guía de personal autorizado del Ministerio de Medio Ambiente o de la Corporación Salvadoreña de Turismo.
En el litoral, la gobernadora Bran subrayó la disposición de equipos de emergencia, guardavidas y personal sanitario.
“Debido a la importante movilización de las personas que se registran durante esta temporada, todas las instituciones que conforman el Sistema Nacional de Protección Civil han fortalecido sus capacidades de prevención, de monitoreo con el propósito de garantizar la seguridad y el bienestar de las personas”, manifestó Bran.
“No hay pretexto, podemos disfrutar de estas vacaciones con sano esparcimiento, cuidándonos y previniendo. Y recordando que la prevención es responsabilidad de todos”, insistió la titular del ramo de turismo e instó a la población y al sector privado a seguir las indicaciones de las autoridades.
playas sonsonate,arena dorada el salvador,roca volcánica el salvador
INTERNACIONAL
Russia deploys North Korean missile unit to Ukraine; Moscow-Pyongyang axis deepens: report
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Russia has begun deploying a North Korean missile unit equipped with up to 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers for use in its war against Ukraine, a Ukrainian intelligence official told told Reuters Wednesday.
The reported escalation marks a deepening military partnership between Moscow and Pyongyang, with around 90 North Korean personnel expected to be stationed in Russia’s western Voronezh region to support the new unit, according to Andrii Cherniak of Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR).
Cherniak also claimed Pyongyang has already delivered a fresh batch of 40 KN-23 and KN-24 ballistic missiles to Russian forces, Reuters said.
RUSSIA LAUNCHES BALLISTIC MISSILE ATTACK ON KYIV HOURS AFTER ZELENSKYY WARNS OF MAJOR STRIKE
Russia has reportedly begun deploying a North Korean missile unit equipped with up to 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers for use in its war against Ukraine. (Alexander Kazakov/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
Final details of the deployment are expected to be finalized during high-level talks next month.
The intelligence report follows a massive Russian barrage against Kyiv and the surrounding region Aug. 4.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Moscow launched 24 ballistic missiles, four cruise missiles and 115 drones overnight, killing at least 17 people.
Zelenskyy argued more lives could have been saved had Western allies replenished Ukraine’s depleted stockpiles of air defense interceptors.
Zelenskyy previously warned that Moscow had been preparing since June to receive additional North Korean military personnel in the Voronezh region, according to reports.
RUSSIA UNLEASHES NEARLY 600 MISSILES AND DRONES ON KYIV IN DEADLIEST STRIKE SINCE MAY
Russian President Vladimir Putin has deepened his defensive ties with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. (Getty Images)
Cherniak told Reuters a Russian strike in late July marked the first recorded use of North Korean ballistic missiles against Ukrainian targets since August 2025.
According to HUR estimates, Russia has received approximately 150 KN-23 and KN-24 missiles from North Korea since late 2023.
Military analysts say Russia is increasingly relying on ballistic weapons because they require advanced defense systems — such as the U.S.-made Patriot — to intercept.
The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) assessed that Russia is deliberately incorporating more ballistic missiles into its long-range strike packages to maximize pressure on Ukraine’s limited air defenses.
ISW added that North Korea is gaining critical battlefield data from the conflict, allowing Pyongyang to refine its missile performance using Russian operational experience.
ALARMING MISSILE REPORT DRAWS FORCEFUL RESPONSE FROM TRUMP AS IRAN WAR TESTS AMERICA’S ARSENAL
North Korea has emerged as one of Moscow’s key military allies. (KCNA via Reuters)
North Korea has emerged as one of Moscow’s key military allies since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.
Reuters reported that Pyongyang has supplied millions of artillery shells and previously sent 14,000 troops to Russia’s Kursk region to counter Ukraine’s 2024 cross-border incursion.
Cherniak also noted that roughly 9,500 North Korean troops are still in Kursk, though they are not engaged in active combat right now.
A report by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) states that, since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, North Korea has supplied Moscow with large quantities of artillery and rocket ammunition, cannon and rocket artillery systems and ballistic missiles.
The policy institute described the Russia-North Korea relationship as one of the «most consequential among the Axis» and the only partnership in which one member has deployed troops in combat to assist another.
russia, north korea, ukraine, conflicts
INTERNACIONAL
Dems in the hot seat for skipping crucial hearing on radical group hiding in US: ‘Embarrassment’
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Democratic lawmakers were missing during Wednesday’s Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing as they skipped a hearing on the Muslim Brotherhood’s alleged network inside the United States, drawing a blistering rebuke from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
«You may notice that there are empty chairs on the Democrat side of the dais,» Cruz said as he opened the hearing by pointing out that every Democratic member of the subcommittee refused to attend. «The American people should ask themselves why not a single member of the minority decided that a hearing on terrorism was worth their time? It is an embarrassment.»
Cruz tied the Democrats’ boycott to Abdul El-Sayed’s primary victory, arguing that the timing helped explain why no Democratic members attended. Cruz accused the party of embracing a candidate who had campaigned alongside left-wing streamer Hasan Piker.
Cruz cited Piker’s past statement that «America deserved 9/11» and asked the witnesses what El-Sayed’s rise said about the direction of the Democratic Party.
HASAN PIKER UNLOADS ON ‘ISLAMOPHOBIC PIECES OF S—‘ DEMOCRATS AS EL-SAYED FACES PARTY UNITY TEST
«Abdul El-Sayed, the son-in-law of a leading member of several Brotherhood groups, won Michigan’s Democrat primary for U.S. Senate. Perfect timing for this hearing, probably explains why no Democrats are here and none intend to attend,» Cruz said. «Because their campaign is now openly embracing terrorist organizations waging war on America.»
(From left to right) Democratic Party Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Peter Welch of Vermont, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Alex Padilla of California and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. Muslim Brotherhood supporters near the Jordanian border with the West Bank from 2021 can be seen in the background. (Getty Images)
The five Democratic members of the subcommittee — Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Alex Padilla of California and Peter Welch of Vermont — announced beforehand that they would not attend. In a joint statement, the senators accused Cruz of staging a «political creepshow» that scapegoated Muslim Americans.
«Scapegoating Muslims may be a Texas Republican strategist’s idea of ‘solid gold’ to whip up their voters, but Democrats have no intention of indulging this political creepshow, particularly after the recent violence targeting places of faith,» they said. «Our focus is the costs families face thanks to rampant, non-stop Trump corruption.»
Blumenthal separately told reporters Wednesday that Democrats refused to attend because the hearing «could well be used as an anti-Muslim, Islamophobia kind of show trial.»
MICHIGAN SENATE RACE: EL-SAYED’S TIES TO EXTREMIST FUEL ANTISEMITISM CONCERNS AMONG JEWISH VOTERS
The Connecticut Democrat added that he planned to meet with members of the Muslim community who shared concerns about the Muslim Brotherhood, «which appears to be a terrorist organization,» while advocating for «tolerance and inclusion.»
US Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) speaks during a press conference at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on January 24, 2023. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
The offices of Whitehouse and Welch referred Fox News Digital to the joint statement when asked why the senators chose to boycott rather than attend and challenge the witnesses directly. The offices of Hirono and Padilla had not responded by publication time.
Cruz and the hearing’s witnesses rejected the Democrats’ characterization of the proceeding as an attack on Muslims generally.
Lara Burns, a retired FBI special agent who helped lead a terrorism-financing investigation against what was once the largest Muslim charity in the United States, the Holy Land Foundation, warned that Americans should not disregard evidence because it is politically controversial.
A surfaced OIG report shows FBI agents were urged to avoid communications with CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations. (Getty Images)
«For decades, narratives have been intentionally seeded into public discourse that portray terrorist organizations as resistance movements,» Burns testified before arguing Americans cannot «ignore evidence introduced in federal court simply because that evidence is politically uncomfortable.»
«The history of this network is not in question,» she added. «It was made public decades ago, but few paid attention. Now is the time to pay attention and understand the facts.»
hearings, democrats senate, ted cruz, national security, politics
El Gobierno se quedó sin el capítulo de tierras: el derrotero que hizo que el oficialismo no pudiera sostener una iniciativa clave
Tras el revés en el Senado, Quirno pidió la renuncia de Victoria Villarruel: “Que dé un paso al costado”
La FIFA reconoce errores, respalda a Infantino y lanza un aviso: ‘No toleraremos ataques’
Yanina Latorre sacó a la luz el dato más fuerte sobre Facundo Moyano y su novia en el escándalo de drogas: «Podría haberse muerto»
Pablo Quirno también le pidió la renuncia a Villarruel: “Es sabido que busca desestabilizar al Gobierno”
El Salvador registra dos millones de visitantes en sus destinos turísticos durante las vacaciones
“Vamos a acelerar con todo”: el objetivo del Gobierno por las reformas y la agenda electoral de cara al 2027
Javier Milei cruzó a Victoria Villarruel y elevó la tensión: “Es una opositora, replica los argumentos kirchneristas”
Reelecciones indefinidas: el oficialismo bonaerense niega que busque ampliar la Legislatura como parte de una reforma política para beneficiar a los intendentes
¡Chau Luck Ra! La salida de soltera de La Joaqui, muy bien acompañada, a días de su separación
-
POLITICA2 días agoJavier Milei cruzó a Victoria Villarruel y elevó la tensión: “Es una opositora, replica los argumentos kirchneristas”
-
DEPORTE3 días agoVideo: locura en Chile con la llegada de Vozinha para sumarse a Colo Colo
-
INTERNACIONAL3 días agoUkraine seeks more US Patriot interceptors as bomb shelter probe deepens