A US district court, in a setback for President Donald Trump, struck down a congressional map on Tuesday redrawn by Republicans in Texas that was intended to give the party five more likely seats in the House of Representatives.The court ruled that the new map, which weakened five Democratic districts, could not be used in the 2026 midterm elections, where Republicans are seeking to safeguard their slim majority in the House.Democrats are eyeing a big win that would allow them to challenge the Republican president for the rest of his term.The court said the redrawn map, which was challenged by Black and Hispanic voters, amounted to illegal racial gerrymandering.In a split 2-1 decision, the court ordered Republican-ruled Texas to use a 2021 map for next year’s congressional midterm vote.The decision, which Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he would appeal to the conservative-majority Supreme Court, is the latest development in a congressional redistricting battle between Republicans and Democrats playing out nationwide.Democratic-ruled California, in response to the move in Texas, voted earlier this month to redraw its own congressional districts to favor Democrats, potentially gaining up to five more House seats.That move has been challenged in court by the Republican Party of California in a lawsuit that has received the backing of the Trump administration.Republicans in Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio have also moved to create more Republican-leaning congressional districts in their states.US electoral districts are traditionally drawn following the national census to reflect population numbers. The next census is not scheduled until 2030.But Republican-ruled Texas, under pressure from Trump, decided to redraw its congressional maps mid-decade to yield more Republican districts.Republicans currently hold a narrow five-seat majority in the House. They also have a majority in the Senate, preventing Democrats from mounting meaningful opposition to Trump.District Judge Jeffrey Brown, in the 160-page ruling striking down the Texas redistricting, said “the public perception of this case is that it’s about politics.””To be sure, politics played a role in drawing the 2025 Map,” Brown wrote. “But it was much more than just politics. Substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 Map.”Partisan gerrymandering is allowed in the United States but crafting congressional districts on the basis of race is considered unlawful.- ‘Brazen’ -Brown, a Trump appointee, was joined in the opinion by a district judge appointed by Democratic president Barack Obama. A judge appointed by Republican president Ronald Reagan dissented.Gene Wu, the leader of the Democratic minority in the Texas state House of Representatives, welcomed the court ruling.”A federal court just stopped one of the most brazen attempts to steal our democracy that Texas has ever seen,” Wu said in a statement.”Greg Abbott and his Republican cronies tried to silence Texans’ voices to placate Donald Trump, but now have delivered him absolutely nothing.”The Texas governor said the state would “swiftly” lodge an appeal with the Supreme Court.”The Legislature redrew our congressional maps to better reflect Texans’ conservative voting preferences –- and for no other reason,” Abbott said in a statement. “Any claim that these maps are discriminatory is absurd.”Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Trump administration expects Texas to triumph at the Supreme Court, where conservatives have a 6-3 majority.”We strongly disagree with today’s district court ruling on Texas’s redistricting map — Texas’s map was drawn the right way for the right reasons,” Bondi said on X.

Donald Trump ripped into a reporter from the US network ABC News on Tuesday, just days after calling another woman journalist “piggy” after she asked a question related to the convicted sexual offender Jeffrey Epstein.Trump threatened ABC’s broadcast license after reporter Mary Bruce posed questions during a White House visit by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.The earlier incident involving Bloomberg reporter Catherine Lucey happened a few days ago on Air Force One, but only came to light on social media on Tuesday.”Quiet. Quiet, piggy,” Trump said to Lucey on Friday, pointing his finger at her, after she asked him why he would not release material on disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein “if there’s nothing incriminating in the files.”CNN journalist Jake Tapper called Trump’s “piggy” comment “disgusting and completely unacceptable.”On Tuesday, Trump singled out ABC News’s Bruce after she asked a series of questions in the Oval Office as the US president hosted the de facto Saudi ruler in a high-profile event.Bruce first asked questions about whether dealings by Trump’s family business with the Saudis were a conflict of interest.She then quizzed Prince Mohammed over the 2018 murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, saying “US intelligence concluded that you orchestrated the brutal murder of a journalist, 9/11 families are furious that you are here in the Oval Office. Why should Americans trust you?”Trump cut in angrily, saying: “ABC fake news. One of the worst in the business.”- ‘No more questions’ -The president then said he has “nothing to do” with the Trump organization, which is currently run by his two eldest sons and which announced a deal with a Saudi developer for a resort in the Maldives on Monday.Trump also backed Prince Mohammed’s denial of involvement in the Khashoggi murder, despite US intelligence suggesting he approved the operation. “You don’t have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that,” Trump snapped.Trump boiled over again when Bruce later asked about the flashpoint issue of Epstein. Congress voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to order the release of files about the financier, who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.”It’s not the question that I mind. It’s your attitude. I think you are a terrible reporter,” Trump shot back at Bruce.Trump said he had “nothing to do” with Epstein and repeated his claim that the scandal is a “hoax.”And “your crappy company is one of the perpetrators,” he told her.Trump urged the head of the US broadcast regulator — who has previously threatened ABC over its content — to “look at” taking away its license.He then pointed at Bruce: “No more questions from you.”

The “Epstein Files,” sealed for years and the object of frenzied speculation, are one step closer to being released to the public.Both the US House of Representatives and Senate moved Tuesday to order the release of government files related to the investigation of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.The wealthy and well-connected financier died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking underage girls.But his death did nothing to staunch the furor over his connections with high-profile business executives, celebrities and politicians, including former close friend President Donald Trump.So what exactly are the Epstein Files?- Epstein Files -The Epstein Files refer to the reams of evidence amassed by the Justice Department and FBI during a probe in Florida that led to his 2008 conviction for procuring a minor for prostitution and the investigation that led to his later indictment in New York.Only a sliver of the government material has ever been released publicly, and a slew of revelations about Epstein in recent days comes from email traffic surrendered by his estate.The Epstein Files Transparency Act passed by the House and Senate calls for the release within 30 days of “all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials” in the possession of the Justice Department, the FBI and US attorneys’ offices related to Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.Maxwell, 63, is serving a 20-year prison sentence for recruiting underage girls for Epstein.She was the only person convicted in connection with the disgraced financier, but Trump’s MAGA supporters have held as an article of faith for years that “deep state” elites were protecting Epstein associates in the Democratic Party and Hollywood.- The FBI/DOJ memo -The FBI and Justice Department triggered a political furor in July with the release of a memo stating that after an “exhaustive review” there would be no further disclosures of evidence from the investigative files on Epstein.The FBI/DOJ memo said there was “no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions” or had a “client list.”Epstein personally “harmed over one thousand victims,” the FBI and DOJ said, but “we did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.”Digital searches of Epstein’s electronic devices and physical searches of his various properties, which included a private Caribbean island, had yielded a “significant amount of material, including more than 300 gigabytes of data and physical evidence,” the memo said.- Trump and Epstein -Trump campaigned for the White House on a pledge to release the Epstein files and could have done so at any time since taking office without congressional intervention.But Trump changed his mind about releasing the files after entering the White House in January and only backed their disclosure this week after it became clear that Congress was going to vote for their release.Before reversing course, the Republican president ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to open an investigation into connections between Epstein and leading Democrats, including former president Bill Clinton.Clinton, like Trump, was once close to Epstein but neither man has been accused of any wrongdoing.Bondi immediately assigned the task to a prosecutor in New York and the move could potentially complicate the release of some of the material in the files or cause it to be heavily redacted.The House bill allows the withholding of material that “would jeopardize an active federal investigation or ongoing prosecution.”