After a wildfire torched their Nebraska ranch, anonymous donors came to their rescue: “They don’t want the glory”

2026-05-01 19:59 EDT / CBS News

By Steve Hartman

Steve Hartman Correspondent

Steve Hartman is a CBS News correspondent. He brings viewers moving stories from the unique people he meets in his weekly award-winning feature segment “On the Road.”

Read Full Bio

Steve Hartman

Updated on: May 1, 2026 / 8:03 PM EDT / CBS News

Sandhills, Nebraska — Go to the edge of nowhere and keep heading toward the middle of it and you will eventually come to the home of Mike and Kayla Wintz, ranchers who live and work deep in the sandhills of western Nebraska. How remote is it?

“A gallon of milk is a little over an hour away,” Mike told CBS News.

Although they are isolated, Mike and Kayla say they have never felt more connected to this great nation, thanks to the blessing of a curse.

In March, the Morrill Fire, the largest wildfire in Nebraska history, burned about 1,000 square miles of ranchland, including the fields that Mike and Kayla lease. The wildfire burned all 11,000 acres of their land.

“Within two hours it’s all gone, it’s tough,” Mike said.

With the grass gone, the cattle couldn’t graze, and Mike and Kayla were in real danger of losing their livelihoods. Other ranchers in the area who might have helped were in the same boat: They didn’t have hay either. But then Mike’s phone started ringing with donations.

So far, Mike says, he has been gifted about $80,000 worth of hay, mostly from anonymous donors.

“They don’t want the glory,” Mike said of the donors.

Added Kayla: “They know they did it and that’s all they need.”

Sara Cover is a volunteer who has been connecting donors with other ranchers in the area who lost all their grass and hay too.

“Up to 200 phone calls a day of people wanting to donate hay,” Cover told CBS News. “… You see these convoys of 20-plus trucks loaded with hay. And there’s school kids cheering them on.”

No one asked for this help. It just came from thousands of farmers, ranchers and truck drivers as far away as South Carolina. Empathy, charity and grace — qualities that guarantee that no matter how isolated you are, you are never alone.

Said Cover: “Every rancher that we have called to send them hay has asked us to send it to their neighbor first.”

US approves military sales of over $8.6 billion to Middle East allies

May 1, 2026 10:27 PM UTC / Reuters

By Kanishka Singh

Updated 28 mins ago

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United States Department of State logo and U.S. flag are seen in this illustration taken April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Purchase Licensing Rights

WASHINGTON, May 1 (Reuters) – The U.S. State Department said ​on Friday it was approving military sales ‌totaling over $8.6 billion to Middle Eastern allies Israel, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

The announcements came as the U.S. ​and Israel’s war against Iran marked nine ​weeks since its start and more than three ⁠weeks since a fragile ceasefire came into ​effect.

The Reuters Iran Briefing newsletter keeps you informed with the latest developments and analysis of the Iran war. Sign up here.

Friday’s announcements by the State Department included approving military ​sales to Qatar of Patriot air and missile defense replenishment services costing $4.01 billion and of Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems (APKWS) ​costing $992.4 million.

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They also included approval of the ​sale to Kuwait of an integrated battle command system costing $2.5 billion ‌and ⁠to Israel of Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems costing $992.4 million.

The State Department approved a sale to the UAE of APKWS for $147.6 million.

The principal contractor ​in the APKWS ​sales to ⁠Qatar, Israel and the UAE was BAE Systems BAES.L, the State Department said.

RTX RTX.N and Lockheed ​Martin LMT.N were the principal contractors in the integrated ​battle ⁠command system sale to Kuwait and in the Patriot air and missile defense replenishment sale to Qatar, the ⁠State ​Department added.

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Northrop Grumman NOC.N was also ​a principal contractor in the Kuwaiti sale.

Reporting by Kanishka Singh, Ryan ​Patrick Jones and Christian Martinez; editing by Costas Pitas

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Appeals court blocks mailing of abortion pill mifepristone in U.S.

May 1, 2026 / 7:24 PM EDT / CBS/AP

A federal appeals court on Friday restricted access to one of the most common means of abortion in the U.S. by blocking mailing of prescriptions of mifepristone.

A panel of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is requiring that the abortion pill be distributed only in person at clinics.

“Every abortion facilitated by FDA’s action cancels Louisiana’s ban on medical abortions and undermines its policy that ‘every unborn child is human being from the moment of conception and is, therefore, a legal person,’” the ruling states.

In their ruling, the judges stated that the current regulation “creates an effective way for an out-of-state prescriber to place the drug in the hands of Louisianans in defiance of Louisiana law.”

Judges have long deferred to the Food and Drug Administration’s judgments on the safety and appropriate regulation of drugs.

FDA officials under President Trump have repeatedly stated the agency is conducting a new review of mifepristone’s safety, at the direction of the president.

The judges noted in their ruling that the FDA “could not say when that review might be complete and admitted it was still collecting data.”

In a court filing, Louisiana’s attorney general and a woman who says she was coerced into taking abortion pills requested that the FDA rules be rolled back to when the pills were allowed to be prescribed and dispensed only in person.

A Louisiana-based federal judge last month ruled that those allowances undermined the state’s abortion ban but stopped short of undoing the regulations immediately.

Since the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed enforcement of abortion bans, prescriptions by mail have become a major way that abortions are provided — including to states where bans are in place.

“Louisiana’s legal attack on mifepristone shamelessly packaged lies and propaganda as an excuse to restrict abortion — and the Fifth Circuit rubber-stamped it,” American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Julia Kaye said Friday in a statement. “For countless people, especially those who live in rural areas, face intimate partner violence, or live with disabilities, losing a telemedicine option will mean losing access to this vital medication altogether.”

Mifepristone was approved in 2000 as a safe and effective way to end early pregnancies. It is typically used in combination with a second drug, misoprostol.

Because of rare cases of excessive bleeding, the FDA initially imposed strict limits on who could prescribe and distribute the pill — only specially certified physicians and only after an in-person appointment where the person would receive the pill.

Both those requirements were dropped during the COVID-19 years. At the time, FDA officials under President Joe Biden said that after more than 20 years of monitoring mifepristone use, and reviewing dozens of studies involving thousands of women, it was clear that women could safely use the pill without direct supervision.

Friday’s ruling sets up a likely appeal to the Supreme Court.

In a statement, Reproductive Freedom for All said Friday’s ruling is “one step closer to a national abortion ban.”

“Louisiana built this case on debunked, junk science,” Reproductive Freedom for All President and CEO Mini Timmaraju said in a statement. “The safety of mifepristone has never actually been in question. As this case moves towards the U.S. Supreme Court, we will fight until every person has access to the care they need.”

The conservative-majority high court overturned abortion as a nationwide right in 2022 but unanimously preserved access to mifepristone two years later.

That 2024 decision sidestepped the core issues, however, by ruling that the anti-abortion doctors behind the case didn’t have legal standing to sue.

榜鹅组屋一晚两单位失火 四楼单位疑孩童玩火被烧毁

2026年5月2日 07:07 / 联合早报

据观察，失火的四楼单位的卧室被烧得一片焦黑，衣物、床垫和衣橱尽毁，现场一片狼藉。 （梁麒麟摄）

榜鹅一座组屋星期五（5月1日）接连发生两起火患，大约30名居民被紧急疏散。其中一间失火单位疑因6岁男童玩打火机引起，卧室被烧得面目全非。

这起事故发生在星期五傍晚时分，地点是榜鹅苏芒巷（Sumang Lane）第223A座组屋。

《联合早报》记者事发晚上10时30分赶抵现场时，发现起火单位分别位于四楼和九楼。据了解，九楼火患发生在前，随后四楼单位也传出火警。

四楼失火单位的男屋主司德念（35岁，送餐员）受访时说，他与妻子（35岁）及四名儿女住在失火的一房一厅单位约八年。事发时，只有他们两夫妇和两名6岁和2岁的儿子在家。

他说，当晚8时许，一家人在卧室陆续入睡，并猜测当时仍醒着的6岁儿子在房内玩打火机，不慎点燃纸巾，火势迅速蔓延至一旁的尿布和床垫，最终酿成大火。

“妻子发现起火后立刻叫醒我，我赶忙让她带孩子逃离。我离开卧室时，浓烟已弥漫客厅，气味呛鼻，视线也非常模糊。”

司德念说，他在逃生时觉得单位内酷热难耐，也听到卧室玻璃窗因高温碎裂的声音。他切断了门外正在充电的行动辅助工具的电源，随后请邻居拨打求助电话。

据记者观察，失火单位的卧室被烧得一片焦黑，衣物、床垫和衣橱尽毁；整个客厅也被熏黑，橱柜和冰箱等家具无一幸免。

住家尽毁，司德念深感无奈与痛心。他透露，当局已为他们一家安排临时住所，建屋局也将尽快修复单位。

住在同一座组屋17楼的纳比拉（22岁，自雇人士）透露，事发时她正在洗澡，惊见浴室内的排水孔竟不断冒出浓烟。

“我担心是楼下失火，立刻带着孩子逃生。当时楼梯间只听见邻居的喊叫声，烟味非常刺鼻。后来才知道是四楼起火，火势显然很大。”

目前，九楼单位的失火原因尚不明确，但从走廊可观察到外墙已被熏黑。

《联合早报》已针对这两起火患向新加坡民防部队和榜鹅市镇理事会了解更多。

By Tierney Sneed

Updated 1 hr 41 min ago

Updated May 1, 2026, 6:26 PM ET

PUBLISHED May 1, 2026, 5:30 PM ET

A federal appeals court temporarily reinstated a nationwide requirement that abortion pills be obtained in person.

Natalie Behring/Getty Images

A federal appeals court temporarily reinstated a nationwide requirement that abortion pills be obtained in person, undermining access to the method of abortion that has only grown more widespread since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Friday’s ruling from the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals is a major victory in the anti-abortion movement’s war against medication abortion, which now accounts for roughly two-thirds of all abortions in the United States.

The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by Louisiana last year against the US Food and Drug Administration, after President Donald Trump’s administration refused to act on calls to reinstate the in-person dispensing requirement for abortion pills through the regulatory process.

The opinion was written by Trump-appointed Circuit Judge Kyle Duncan, joined by Circuit Judges Leslie Southwick and Kurt Engelhardt, who were appointed by Presidents George W. Bush and Trump, respectively.

Related article Medication abortion pill is safer than penicillin, Viagra and procedural abortion, CNN analysis shows 4 min read

Referring to Louisiana abortion prohibitions, they wrote that the current federal regulations create “an effective way for an out-of-state prescriber to place the drug in the hands of Louisianans in defiance of Louisiana law.”

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, abortion-seekers have been able to obtain mifepristone – one of the two drugs in the medication abortion regimen – through telehealth appointments. President Joe Biden’s administration finalized rules that ended the requirement that the pills be obtained through an in-person doctor’s visit in 2023, after the US Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe precedent protecting abortion rights nationwide with Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

Louisiana alleged that that regulatory maneuver was aimed at undermining the abortion ban that went into effect in the state with the reversal of Roe and says that now, hundreds of abortions are occurring every year within its borders because women are able to obtain pills via mail after telehealth visits with providers.

“Every abortion facilitated by FDA’s action cancels Louisiana’s ban on medical abortions and undermines its policy that ‘every unborn child is human being from the moment of conception and is, therefore, a legal person,’” the appeals court wrote Friday.

Evan Masingill, CEO of mifepristone manufacturer GenBioPro, a plaintiff in the lawsuit, said in a statement that the company is “alarmed by this court’s decision to ignore the FDA’s rigorous science and decades of safe use of mifepristone in a case pursued by extremist abortion opponents. … We remain committed to taking any actions necessary to make mifepristone available and accessible to as many people as possible in the country, regardless of anti-abortion special interests trying to undermine patients’ access.”

The ruling is the latest development in a yearslong legal battle over access to abortion pills. The issue reached the US Supreme Court two years ago, in a case in which the justices ruled that anti-abortion doctors lacked standing to challenge the regulations.

A CNN analysis of mifepristone data shows that the drug is overwhelmingly safe and has fewer reported side effects than Viagra or penicillin. Mifepristone is also safer than procedural abortions, which are banned or heavily restricted in more than a dozen states.

Related article Mifepristone (Mifeprex) and Misoprostol, the two drugs used in a medication abortion, are seen at the Women’s Reproductive Clinic, which provides legal medication abortion services, in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, on June 17, 2022. Mifepristone is taken first to stop the pregnancy, followed by Misoprostol to induce bleeding. – In the wake of Friday’s ruling by the US Supreme Court striking down Roe v Wade and the federally protected right to an abortion, women from Texas and other states are traveling to clinics like the Women’s Reproductive Health Clinic in New Mexico for legal abortion services under the state’s more liberal laws. – RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images) Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images What is mifepristone? 4 min read

Telehealth abortions on the rise

Most abortions in the United States happen in person, but medication abortion provided through telehealth is becoming more common. More than 1 in 4 abortions nationwide were provided through telehealth in the first half of 2025, according to the latest data from #WeCount, a research project sponsored by the Society of Family Planning — up from fewer than 1 in 10 in 2022.

After the Dobbs decision, some states started to enact shield laws that offer some legal protections for providers who practice where abortion remains legal to prescribe medication abortion drugs via telehealth to people living in states with bans or restrictions. Eight states now have shield laws that cover telehealth provision regardless of where the patient is located, according to the Guttmacher Institute.

In 2025, about 91,000 telehealth abortions were provided under shield laws to people in states with total abortion bans, Guttmacher estimates show. Tens of thousands of people still travel across state lines to receive an abortion in person, but that number is falling as telehealth abortion becomes more common. Between 2024 and 2025, about 12,000 fewer people in states with total abortion bans traveled out-of-state for an abortion, while the number of telehealth abortions to people in states with total abortion bans increased by about 19,000, according to Guttmacher estimates.

The latest #WeCount data shows that people in states where abortion remains legal also utilize telehealth for abortion care, but the share of abortions provided via telehealth varies widely by state.

Several other states with anti-abortion laws are making claims similar to Louisiana’s. Joining Louisiana as a plaintiff in the lawsuit against the FDA is a woman who alleges that she was coerced into terminating a pregnancy by taking abortion pills that were shipped in from out of state.

Previously, the judge overseeing the case expressed sympathy with Louisiana’s arguments but declined to issue a preliminary order reversing the regulations. US District Judge David Joseph had instead granted a Trump administration request to put the case on hold while the FDA does its own review of the current mifepristone regulations.

The Trump administration had stopped short of defending the FDA’s regulatory approach to the mifepristone on the merits, but it argued that Louisiana’s lawsuit suffered procedural defects that warranted ruling against the state. The 5th Circuit rejected those arguments and the arguments of two mifepristone manufacturers that intervened in the case to put up a full-throated defense of the rules that made abortion pills easier to obtain.

Advocates say decision ‘defies clear science’

“Telehealth has been the last bridge to care for many seeking abortion, which is precisely why Louisiana officials want it banned,” Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement. “This isn’t about science – it’s about making abortion as difficult, expensive, and unreachable as possible. Telehealth has transformed healthcare. Selectively stripping that away from abortion patients is a political blockade.”

Julia Kaye, senior staff attorney for the Reproductive Freedom Project of the ACLU, said in a statement that the decision “defies clear science and settled law and advances an anti-abortion agenda that is deeply unpopular with the American people. For countless people, especially those who live in rural areas, face intimate partner violence, or live with disabilities, losing a telemedicine option will mean losing access to this vital medication altogether.”

Reproductive Freedom for All said the court is “dictating medical practice and overriding state laws” in places where abortion is legal.

“The court’s decision moves us one step closer to a national abortion ban. It is now much more difficult for people to access abortion care,” President and CEO Mini Timmaraju said in a statement. “Anti-abortion politicians know their policies are unpopular, so they are using every lever of government they can. Louisiana built this case on debunked, junk science. The safety of mifepristone has never actually been in question. As this case moves towards the U.S. Supreme Court, we will fight until every person has access to the care they need.”

CNN’s Deidre McPhillips and Katherine Dillinger contributed to this report.

中国教育部长：打好首批疏解高校雄安校区开门办学攻坚战

2026年5月2日 07:24 / 联合早报

中国教育部部长怀进鹏要求全力以赴打好首批疏解高校雄安校区开门办学、高质量发展、创新引领三大攻坚战，确保高校疏解承接工作有序推进。

据中国教育部官网消息，雄安新区高校建设发展座谈会星期三（4月29日）在河北雄安新区召开。会议强调，要深入贯彻落实中共总书记习近平在雄安新区考察时的讲话精神，推动北京地区高校向雄安疏解和承接工作提速提质。

教育部中共党组书记、部长怀进鹏，河北省委副书记、省长王正谱，河北省政协主席、省委常委、雄安新区党工委书记、管委会主任张国华出席会议并讲话。

怀进鹏强调，要深刻认识做好高校疏解和建设发展工作的重大政治意义、战略意义，确保高校疏解工作始终沿着正确方向前进。当前首批高校疏解工作重心已经从建设为主转向建设、开办、保障并行的新阶段，要全力以赴打好首批疏解高校雄安校区开门办学、高质量发展、创新引领三大攻坚战。

怀进鹏提出，要倒排工期、挂图作战、压茬推进，全面做好教学、科研、生活等各方面条件准备，确保按时开门办学。要统筹“硬投资”和“软建设”，主动推动解决办学所涉各种困难问题。要统筹布局创新研究院、大学科技园等，汇聚国内外创新要素，促进教育科技人才一体发展。

延伸阅读

习近平：中共中央关于建设雄安新区决策完全正确
北交大等四所高校2027年启用雄安校区

王正谱表示，河北省把服务疏解高校落地建设作为重大政治任务，目前各项工作正在有力有序推进。下一步将积极配合做好服务保障工作，满足疏解高校师生学习、工作、生活需求。希望教育部继续支持雄安新区建设发展和河北教育事业发展，深化部省合作，共同推进首批疏解高校平稳落地。

雄安新区管委会、北京交通大学、北京科技大学、中国地质大学（北京）、北京林业大学、北京市教委、中国华能集团，以及中央编办、国家发展改革委、财政部、人力资源社会保障部、国务院国资委有关司局作交流发言。教育部有关司局、驻部纪检监察组、有关高校及在雄央企负责人参加会议。

中共总书记习近平今年3月23日到河北雄安新区考察时说，要牢牢把握雄安新区作为北京非首都功能疏解集中承载地的首要功能定位，并称中共中央关于建设雄安新区的决策是完全正确的。

雄安新区上星期五（4月24日）召开加快推动疏解高校雄安校区规划建设工作座谈会。北京交通大学、北京科技大学、北京林业大学、中国地质大学（北京）等北京四所高校在会上表示，已于2025年底全面进入施工高峰期，预计2027年实现开门办学。

Ford CEO Jim Farley says company is focusing on making its vehicles more affordable

2026-05-01 6:43 PM EDT / CBS News

By Kris Van Cleave, Faris Tanyos

Emmy Award-winning journalist Kris Van Cleave is the senior transportation correspondent for CBS News based in Phoenix, Arizona, where he also serves as a national correspondent reporting for all CBS News broadcasts and platforms.

Ford CEO Jim Farley says making vehicles more affordable must be a priority for the industry, and he told CBS News in an exclusive interview Friday that his company is taking steps to do just that.

When asked whether Americans can afford the price of new cars today, Farley responded, “Some Americans can.”

“But we need to do a great job as a brand, and as an industry, to make our vehicles more affordable,” he continued. “I think you’re certainly going to see that at Ford over the next couple of years.”

According to data from Kelley Blue Book, the average price of a new car is nearly $50,000 — 30% higher than in 2019 — and consumers are also being hit by sharply higher fuel prices.

Farley says Ford’s goal is to offer some of its new models at prices of $40,000 or less.

“Most of our new models are going to be more affordable versions,” Farley said. “We are going to offer more choice in those kind of price points, around $40,000, less than $40,000. The trick is to make them in America. And to do that we need, you know, affordable parts from around the world.”

He also pointed to a new promotion in which Ford will sell nearly all its new vehicles through July 4 at employee pricing. He acknowledged that prices are a concern for many Americans.

“That is why we’re coming up with more affordable vehicles,” Farley said. “And that’s why we’re offering employee pricing, and $399 to $499 leases, and why we have more affordable versions of the F-150, and Explorer, our most popular models.”

President Trump in a Truth Social post Friday announced he would implement a 25% tariff on European-made vehicles — up from the 15% tariff that was put in place last year — saying the European Union is not complying with the trade deal reached last August. Farley said he didn’t want to comment on specific trade policy, but said the focus should be on dealing with the rapidly growing Chinese auto market, which is focused on lower-priced vehicles than typically come from Europe.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/ford-ceo-jim-farley-most-new-models-more-affordable-versions/

新疆阿克苏地区库车市发生4.5级地震

2026年5月2日 07:50 / 联合早报

中国新疆阿克苏地区库车市发生4.5级地震，震源深度18千米。

据中国国家地震台网官方微博消息，中国地震台网正式测定，星期六（5月2日）6时17分，在新疆阿克苏地区库车市（北纬41.29度，东经83.92度）发生4.5级地震，震源深度18千米。

星期六6时19分，库车市（北纬41.23度，东经83.90度）发生4.3级地震，震源深度23千米。

当地最近几天已连续发生不同程度地震，包括：4月30日18时38分发生3.1级地震，20时49分发生3.0级地震，21时15分发生3.9级地震；4月29日3时16分发生4.8级地震，3时58分发生3.0级地震，15时20分发生4.3级地震等。

Democrat on Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Act reasoning: We’re not in a ‘colorblind society’

2026-05-01 06:39 PM EDT / CNN Politics

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Democrat on Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Act reasoning: We’re not in a ‘colorblind society’

The Lead

Louisiana Rep. Troy Carter joins The Lead

1:55 • Source: CNN

Republican governors pursue new congressional maps after US Supreme Court ruling

2026-05-01 10:22 PM UTC / Reuters

By Joseph Ax

May 1, 2026 10:22 PM UTC Updated 1 hour ago

节点运行失败

[1/2]Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry speaks during a christening ceremony in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Kathleen Flynn/File Photo

• Summary

• Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina could pursue new maps
• Democrats sue Louisiana governor over suspended election
• Supreme Court ruling weakened landmark Voting Rights Act
• Trump’s Republicans fighting to keep control of Congress

May 1 (Reuters) – The Republican governors of Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee made clear on Friday they will try ​to push through congressional maps more favorable to their party ahead of November’s midterm elections, the latest fallout from the U.S. Supreme Court’s ‌seismic voting rights ruling on Wednesday.

Democratic voters, civil rights groups and a Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives meanwhile filed lawsuits challenging Republican Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry’s decision to suspend his state’s congressional primary elections and pursue a new map.

Jumpstart your morning with the latest legal news delivered straight to your inbox from The Daily Docket newsletter. Sign up here.

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Landry on Thursday postponed the scheduled May 16 primary vote to give state lawmakers time to draw a new map ​that would dismantle at least one Democratic-held majority-Black U.S. House district, after the Supreme Court found the current map unconstitutional. Early voting had ​been set to begin on Saturday.

President Donald Trump’s fellow Republicans are fighting to maintain their control of the House, as well ⁠as the Senate, in the midterm elections.

The rapid developments underscored how the court’s decision, which severely weakened the landmark Voting Rights Act passed in 1965, has ​injected a fresh dose of chaos into what had already been a dizzying national fight over redistricting.

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Alabama Governor Kay Ivey announced that she had called a ​special legislative session starting on Monday so lawmakers can consider postponing the May 19 primary election in the hope that the Supreme Court will permit the state to use a different map.

Alabama, where Black voters make up a quarter of the electorate, is currently using a court-ordered map that includes two majority-Black districts out of seven. Both are held by ​Black Democrats.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision, Alabama immediately filed emergency motions asking the court to allow it to revert to an older map with only a ​single majority-Black district.

Black voters tend to support Democratic candidates.

“I remain hopeful Alabama will receive a favorable outcome from the U.S. Supreme Court,” Ivey said in a statement.

Republican Tennessee Governor ‌Bill Lee ⁠on Friday also called a special legislative session beginning on Tuesday to “review” the state’s congressional map, saying in a statement that officials must “ensure our congressional districts accurately reflect the will of Tennessee voters.”

And Republican South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster suggested that he would like his state’s legislature to consider a new map. South Carolina’s lone Democratic seat, a majority-Black district that includes parts of the capital Columbia, is represented by longtime U.S. Representative Jim Clyburn.

“In light of the court’s most ​recent decision on the Voting Rights ​Act, it would be appropriate for ⁠the General Assembly to ensure that South Carolina’s congressional map still complies with all requirements of federal law and the U.S. Constitution,” McMaster wrote on X.

In Louisiana, the new lawsuits argued that Landry had overstepped his authority in suspending the ​election and that allowing the contests for other offices to proceed would confuse voters. The plaintiffs also noted that ​at least some absentee ⁠ballots had already been cast.

“Louisiana is following the law,” Landry said in response to the litigation in a social media post on Friday.

In a process called redistricting, the boundaries of legislative districts across the United States are reconfigured to reflect population changes as measured by the national census conducted every 10 years. Redistricting typically has ⁠been carried ​out by state legislatures once per decade.

Republicans and Democrats have been waging a multistate redistricting fight ​ignited last year when Trump initiated an unprecedented mid-decade effort to redraw maps in Republican-led states, starting with Texas.

Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Donna Bryson and Will Dunham

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