INTERNACIONAL
Where Trump, GOP vs Democrats redistricting battle heads next in wake of key court rulings
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
President Donald Trump and Republicans are hailing the blockbuster ruling by the Virginia Supreme Court to strike down the state’s congressional redistricting ballot measure, which was a major setback for Democrats in the battle for the U.S. House majority.
«Huge win for the Republican Party,» the president proclaimed in a social media post on Friday minutes after Virginia’s highest court struck down the referendum passed by voters last month.
The new map drawn by the Virginia legislature would have given Democrats four more left-leaning House districts in the Commonwealth ahead of this year’s midterm elections, when Republicans will be defending their razor-thin majority in the chamber.
The Virginia ruling, along with the recent opinion by the conservative majority on the Supreme Court to slash a key Voting Rights Act protection, is giving Trump and the GOP a major boost in their ongoing political fight with Democrats to redraw congressional district maps ahead of the midterms. At stake in this nationwide redistricting showdown is which party will control the House during the final two years of Trump’s second term in the White House.
BLOCKBUSTER RULING: VIRGINIA SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN DEMOCRAT-BACKED CONGRESSIONAL MAP
The Virginia redistricting map that was approved narrowly by voters in a special election last month was struck down on Friday by the Virginia Supreme Court (Virginia Legislative Information System)
In Virginia, the decision 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.
In the wake of their latest legal setback, House Democratic Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York said, «We are exploring all options to overturn this shocking decision.»
And the House minority leader vowed, «No matter what it takes, House Democrats will win in November so we can help rescue this nation from the extremism being unleashed by Donald Trump and Republicans.»
But the 2026 redistricting wars are far from over, and the political landscape may get even rougher for Democrats going forward.
Here’s where things stand.
Louisiana
The Supreme Court’s decision reshaped the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act by ruling that race should not dictate the redrawing of legislative district maps. And the opinion specifically ruled that Louisiana’s congressional district map was unconstitutional.
Last week, the Supreme Court said that its decision declaring Louisiana’s map unconstitutional should go into effect immediately, breaking with its usual procedure of waiting roughly a month before its opinions become official.
That cleared the way for the GOP-controlled state legislature to begin the process of redrawing the map, and hearings got underway on Friday.
Republican Gov. Jeff Landry of Louisiana, right, a major ally of President Donald Trump, delayed his state’s U.S. House primaries as the GOP-dominated legislature redraws Louisiana’s congressional district map (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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.
Tennessee
Republicans in Tennessee moved even faster.
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.
TENN GOV LEE CALLS SPECIAL SESSION TO REDRAW HOUSE MAP IN GOP’S FAVOR 9-0
Rep. Justin J. Pearson, D-Memphis, center, marches with protesters before a special session of the state legislature to redraw U.S. Congressional voting maps, in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, May 5, 2026. (George Walker IV/AP Photo)
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.»
Alabama
Lawmakers in the Alabama legislature, where the GOP holds a supermajority in both chambers, are advancing legislation as they met this past week in a special session focused on redistricting. The new maps may result in eliminating one or both of the state’s two blue-leaning U.S. House districts.
The special session was called by Republican Gov. Kay Ivey.
But any new map passed by Alabama lawmakers will need to be greenlit by the Supreme Court. That’s because Alabama is currently prohibited by the high court from redistricting until 2030. It’s unclear if the court will lift its injunction.
Protests rocked both the Alabama and Tennessee legislatures as Republican lawmakers pushed forward the new maps.
South Carolina
In South Carolina, the GOP-controlled legislature returns in special session on Monday, as Republican lawmakers consider 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.
Georgia
Republicans in Georgia are divided over GOP Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia’s decision not to call state lawmakers back into a special session on redistricting.
The state’s primary is on May 19 and early voting is already underway in Georgia.
Florida
Meanwhile, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed a bill passed last week by the GOP-dominated state legislature that redraws 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.
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 Republicans in Indiana’s Senate in December defied Trump, shooting down a redistricting bill that had passed the state House.
Facing the president’s wrath, five of those Republican state senators in Indiana were ousted by Trump-backed challengers in last week’s GOP primary.
midterm elections, congress, republicans elections, democrats, house of representatives, donald trump, elections
INTERNACIONAL
El presidente surcoreano le pidió ayuda a Donald Trump para lograr la paz con Corea del Norte, como lo hizo “en Medio Oriente”
El presidente de Corea del Sur, Lee Jae-myung, solicitó a su homólogo estadounidense, Donald Trump, que lo ayude a alcanzar la paz con Corea del Norte, “tal como resolvió el conflicto en Medio Oriente”. Según un comunicado de la oficina presidencial surcoreana, durante una conversación mantenida en la cumbre del G7 en Francia, Trump consultó a Lee sobre los avances en las relaciones intercoreanas.
La petición se produjo en el contexto de la inminente firma de un memorando de entendimiento entre Washington e Irán para poner fin a su guerra, un hecho que ha alimentado la expectativa de que la administración de Trump podría concentrarse a continuación en la península coreana. El mandatario estadounidense avivó esa especulación tras anunciar el acuerdo con Teherán al publicar en sus redes sociales una imagen junto al dictador norcoreano Kim Jong-un, tomada durante su cumbre de 2018 en Singapur.
En el diálogo entre el mandatario estadounidense y el surcoreano, “el presidente Lee le pidió que él (Trump) tomara la iniciativa para lograr una resolución pacífica de la cuestión norcoreana, tal como resolvió el conflicto en Medio Oriente”. El boletín añadió que el inquilino de la Casa Blanca “expresó su compromiso de trabajar” para alcanzar esa distensión.
El presidente Lee mantiene una postura conciliadora hacia Corea del Norte, en contraste con la más firme de su predecesor, Yoon Suk Yeol. En esa línea, el Ministerio de Defensa de Seúl anunció nuevas normas que amplían el acceso público a la zona fronteriza altamente militarizada, permitiendo a los civiles acercarse varios kilómetros más al límite con Corea del Norte.
Las dos Coreas continúan técnicamente en guerra desde 1953, cuando el conflicto finalizó con un armisticio y no con un tratado de paz, y se hallan separadas por una zona desmilitarizada. Por años, la Línea de Control Civil (CCL) restringió el paso de surcoreanos a menos de 10 kilómetros al sur de la frontera fortificada. El ministro de Defensa, Ahn Gyu-back, informó que la CCL se reducirá a un promedio de 6 kilómetros, lo que incrementará el acceso para residentes, agricultores y visitantes.
Pyongyang rechazó en reiteradas ocasiones los intentos de acercamiento de Lee, calificando oficialmente a Seúl como su enemigo “más hostil” y reafirmando su condición de estado nuclear “irreversible”. Analistas especializados en la península coreana consideran que las probabilidades de un nuevo encuentro entre Kim Jong-un y Trump son bajas.
Cabe recordar que Corea del Sur y Estados Unidos restablecieron la referencia a la desnuclearización de Corea del Norte en la declaración conjunta emitida tras una reunión clave sobre asuntos nucleares en Seúl la semana pasada. El texto, correspondiente a la sexta sesión del Grupo Consultivo Nuclear (NCG) y difundido la noche del jueves, señala que ambos países “reafirmaron su objetivo común de lograr la desnuclearización de Corea del Norte”.
En la anterior sesión del NCG, celebrada en diciembre en Washington, se había omitido toda mención directa al régimen norcoreano y a la desnuclearización de la península, hecho que alimentó especulaciones acerca de un posible intento de facilitar un acercamiento entre el presidente estadounidense, Donald Trump, y el dictador norcoreano, Kim Jong-un.
El retorno del compromiso bilateral ocurre después de la reciente cumbre en Pyongyang entre Kim y el líder chino, Xi Jinping, en la que no se abordó públicamente el tema. La Casa Blanca sostuvo que, tras la reunión del mes pasado entre Trump y Xi en Beijing, ambos mandatarios ratificaron el objetivo compartido de desnuclearizar el territorio norcoreano.
(Con información de AFP)
International,Relations,Diplomacy / Foreign Policy,Europe
INTERNACIONAL
GOP Gov DeWine urges Ohio to abolish the death penalty, says it is no longer a deterrent
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, on Tuesday announced support for abolishing capital punishment in his state, reaffirming his change of heart on the policy he helped write as a legislator 45 years ago to reinstate the death penalty in Ohio.
DeWine, who has repeatedly postponed executions during his time as governor, pointed to data showing that the death penalty does not serve as a deterrent to violent crime.
«For the state to take a human life, there must, in my opinion, there must be evidence that in doing so it will help protect the public, that the threat of that action will deter someone from committing murder,» DeWine said at a news conference.
«I do not believe that argument today can be successfully made, nor do I believe that there’s any chance in the future the facts that I’ve cited to support that belief will change,» he said. «Therefore, I believe Ohio should abolish the death penalty.»
TEXAS LAWMAKER PROPOSES BILL TO ABOLISH DEATH PENALTY IN LONE STAR STATE: ‘I THINK SENTIMENT IS CHANGING’
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced support for abolishing capital punishment in his state. (AP Photo/Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos)
As he made his case, DeWine brought out charts and graphs showing the decline in both the number of death sentences handed down by courts and the quantity of executions being carried out. The data also showed the exceedingly long wait times as legal appeals play out for inmates on death row.
The governor said condemned murderers are increasingly unlikely to be executed, as they sometimes die by natural causes or by suicide before they can be executed.
«Even if the murderer is caught, indicted, convicted and sentenced to death, the odds are still pretty good they’re not going to be executed,» he said.
«In summary, each decade that the death penalty has been in effect, the chances of a murderer getting executed get more and more and more remote,» he added.
The last 10 people to be executed in Ohio had been on death row between 14 and 32 years, he said. Since the state reinstated capital punishment in 1981 under a law co-written by DeWine, 56 people who received the death sentence have been executed and 41 died by natural causes or suicide while on death row. Another 89 death sentences were overturned due to «judicial action» such as legal errors.
DeWine emphasized the years of pain for victims’ loved ones due to the delays and the impact on the mental health of state employees who work on execution teams.
UTAH DEATH ROW INMATE WITH DEMENTIA DIES OF NATURAL CAUSES 3 MONTHS AFTER EXECUTION WAS HALTED
The governor cited data showing that the death penalty does not serve as a deterrent to violent crime. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
«I no longer believe the death penalty is a deterrent to murder,» DeWine said. «The moral justification I had for voting for the death penalty simply no longer exists.»
The governor, who is term-limited and cannot seek another term in the 2026 election, said he felt compelled to share his thoughts now after 50 years of experience with the death penalty issue, including as a Greene County prosecutor, a member of the U.S. House and Senate and as Ohio’s attorney general.
However, he said his outright opposition to the death penalty has become solidified in the past year.
DeWine urged the legislature to abolish the death penalty or to leave it up to state residents to vote on the issue, although Republican House Speaker Matt Huffman has said he would oppose such an effort. Other supporters of capital punishment have argued that Ohio’s yearslong execution pause has denied justice to victims’ families and weakened the deterrent effect of death sentences.
DeWine has not authorized an execution since taking office seven years ago, citing, on numerous occasions, pharmaceutical suppliers’ unwillingness to provide the drugs used in lethal injections. Last year, President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. Justice Department to help states to resolve that issue. In January 2025, President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. Justice Department to help states resolve that issue.
The governor has said he expects no more executions during the remainder of his term. Delaying executions has left Ohio with 30 scheduled over the next four years, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. The state has not put an inmate to death since July 18, 2018, before DeWine took office.
The governor urged the legislature to abolish the death penalty or to leave it up to state residents to vote on the issue. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
«The most important way to protect the public is to lock up violent criminals and to keep them out of society,» DeWine said. «That is a proven way of saving lives and protecting our citizens. Our money and energies are much better spent focusing on keeping these repeat violent offenders out of society.»
Currently, 27 states allow the death penalty while 23 states and Washington, D.C., do not, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Since 2019, including that year, three states have abolished capital punishment, while five states now authorize nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method amid ongoing controversy over lethal injection protocols.
At the federal level, Trump has pushed to expand executions. During his first term, 13 federal executions were carried out, which was more than any president in modern history.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
ohio, politics, us, crime world, judiciary, mike dewine
INTERNACIONAL
Hay 2,4 millones de jóvenes en el padrón de Guatemala hasta junio de 2026, menos que en 2023
El Tribunal Supremo Electoral (TSE) de Guatemala informó que hasta el 15 de junio de 2026 había 2,4 millones de jóvenes empadronados menores de 30 años, por debajo del registro del proceso electoral de 2023. El dato fue analizado por la Comisión de la Juventud del Congreso junto con planes de formación cívica y preparación para las elecciones generales de 2027.
De acuerdo con Omar Alexander Gereda Franco, jefe del Departamento de Inscripción de Ciudadanos y Elaboración de Padrones del TSE, el padrón electoral sumaba 10.095.713 ciudadanos inscritos, de los cuales 2.405.563 correspondían a personas menores de 30 años. Ese grupo representa cerca del 24% de los ciudadanos empadronados en el país.
Gereda explicó que en el proceso electoral de 2023 se registraron aproximadamente 2,5 millones de ciudadanos empadronados de entre 18 y 30 años, dentro de un total de 10,9 millones de electores. La comparación con el registro actualizado para 2026 muestra una disminución en ese segmento de la población electoral.
La reunión de trabajo de la comisión se centró en la participación juvenil en las últimas elecciones, los programas de educación cívica, el empadronamiento juvenil, la inclusión de personas con discapacidad y el presupuesto para iniciativas dirigidas a la juventud.
El diputado Héctor Aldana expresó su preocupación por la falta de información dirigida a grupos juveniles para incentivar su participación en temas electorales. También señaló la necesidad de aprovechar con mayor fuerza las redes sociales y otras herramientas digitales para conectar con ese sector.
La jefa del Departamento de Inscripción de Ciudadanos y Elaboración de Padrones, Virginia García, informó que a finales de julio será lanzada la campaña Alianza Juvenil por la Democracia, orientada a la capacitación y formación de jóvenes voluntarios que participarán en las Juntas Receptoras de Votos en los próximos procesos electorales. Según la representante del programa de Voluntariado Cívico, el proyecto busca fomentar la participación de la juventud y de las personas con discapacidad en los asuntos democráticos del país.
Las autoridades del TSE buscarán apoyo de las organizaciones políticas para fortalecer las secretarías de juventud y ampliar los procesos de capacitación dirigidos a esa población.
Según lo expuesto en la reunión, en los próximos meses se prevé el desarrollo de campañas de empadronamiento y actividades de formación ciudadana enfocadas en jóvenes, con apoyo de universidades, organizaciones sociales e instituciones públicas. Los diputados también plantearon ampliar las oportunidades de participación para jóvenes con discapacidad y promover la participación ciudadana de cara a los comicios de 2027.
En una segunda reunión, la comisión citó a María Victoria Peneleu, viceministra de Previsión Social y Empleo del Ministerio de Trabajo; a Elizabeth Ugalde, viceministra de Desarrollo de la Micro, Pequeña y Mediana Empresa del Ministerio de Economía; y a delegados de la Dirección de Atención y Asistencia al Consumidor para fiscalizar el avance del programa Mi Primer Empleo y otras acciones orientadas a ampliar las oportunidades laborales para los jóvenes.
La funcionaria añadió que el programa mantiene alianzas con 60 empresas en todo el país mediante un esquema de financiamiento compartido: el Estado absorbe el 51% del salario mínimo y las empresas participantes cubren el 49% restante. Durante cuatro meses, los beneficiarios reciben capacitación y adquieren experiencia laboral para facilitar su incorporación al mercado de trabajo.
A partir de mañana puedes jugar gratis uno de los juegos más exitosos de Nintendo Switch si tienes Switch Online: EA Sports FC 26 es el nuevo juego de muestra en Europa – Nintenderos
El PRO advierte que Manuel Adorni es “indefendible” y evalúa su postura ante la interpelación
Así vivieron los famosos el triunfo de Argentina frente a Argelia en el Mundial
El posteo de Messi tras su brillante actuación en el debut de Argentina en el Mundial ante Argelia: “Feliz por el comienzo”
Susana Cordeiro, vicepresidente del Banco Mundial: “La garantía que dimos a la Argentina es un puente para que acceda al mercado de capitales”
Manuel Adorni confirmó la fecha de la presentación del informe de gestión en el Congreso
La polémica por las criptomonedas de Adorni: cómo funciona la trazabilidad y qué puede revelar una billetera
Tras las explicaciones de Adorni, el PRO y la UCR se distancian del oficialismo y cruje el apoyo legislativo
Gaspi, reconocido streamer argentino, falleció en un accidente aéreo en Brasil
La secuencia del golazo de Messi para Argentina ante Argelia en el debut en el Mundial 2026 y los récords que rompió
DEPORTE2 días agoGaspi, reconocido streamer argentino, falleció en un accidente aéreo en Brasil
- DEPORTE8 horas ago
La secuencia del golazo de Messi para Argentina ante Argelia en el debut en el Mundial 2026 y los récords que rompió
- POLITICA3 días ago
Argentina y Estados Unidos realizaron un ejercicio militar conjunto en Córdoba
