by David A. Lieb The battlefield is narrowing and the timeline is tightening in a congressional redistricting contest among states seeking a partisan advantage ahead of the November midterm elections. Virginia voters on Tuesday approved a constitutional amendment authorizing a Democratic redistricting plan that could help the party win several additional House seats in this year’s elections. Next up could be Florida, where lawmakers are to begin a special session April 28 for a Republican attempt at congressional redistricting. Voting districts typically are redrawn once a decade, after each census. But President Donald Trump triggered an unusual round of mid-decade…

by Nicole Winfield and Gerald Midray LUANDA, Angola  — Pope Leo XIV challenged Angola’s leaders to break the “cycle of interests” that have plundered and exploited Africa for centuries, as he arrived in the southern African country on Saturday with a message of encouragement for its long-suffering people. Leo’s arrival in Angola, the oil-and-mineral rich former Portuguese colony, marked the third leg of his four-nation African voyage. En route from Cameroon, he spoke again of the ongoing back-and-forth with U.S. President Donald Trump over the Iran war. Leo, history’s first U.S.-born pope, said that it was “not in my interest…

by Joseph Omoremi The All-Nations Assembly Church (ANAC) and RoseHeart Renewal Center (RoseHeart)  have filed a-five-point allegations of unfair housing discrimination against the Village of Olympia Fields at the Northern District of the U.S District Court, in Chicago.  ANAC, a parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) filed the charges after the Village of Olympia Fields turned down its application to turn the 22-acres property to a 120-bed drug addiction and rehabilitation center.  It is “a clear violation of the Fair Housing Act (FHA), American with Disabilities Act ADA), Rehabilitation Act (RA), the Fourteenth Amendments to the United…

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A California attorney who aided President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results has lost his license to practice in the state. The California Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered John Eastman disbarred and his name stricken from the state roll of attorneys. It caps a yearslong effort by the state bar to strip Eastman of his law license after he developed a legal strategy to have then-Vice President Mike Pence interfere with the certification of Joe Biden’s presidential victory. A judge for the State Bar Court of California in 2024 recommended that he…

by Mary Clare Jalonick WASHINGTON  — The Republican-led Senate on Wednesday rejected the latest Democratic attempt to halt President Donald Trump’s war in Iran, turning aside a resolution that would require the U.S. to withdraw forces from the conflict until Congress authorizes further action. The 47-52 vote was the fourth time this year that the Senate has voted to cede its war powers to the president in a conflict that Democrats say is illegal and unjustified. Republicans say they will keep faith in Trump’s wartime leadership, for now, citing Iran’s nuclear capabilities, the potential for ongoing talks and the high…

by Nicole Winfield and Nalova Akua YAOUNDE, Cameroon. — Pope Leo XIV arrived in Cameroon on Wednesday where he delivered a masterclass on wielding authority legitimately to President Paul Biya, who consolidated his four-decade grip on power with a contested election last year that gave him an eighth term in office. The Vatican had said fighting corruption in the mineral-rich central African country would be one of the themes of Leo’s visit, and the American pope didn’t hold back in addressing Biya and government authorities in an address at the presidential palace. “In order for peace and justice to prevail,…

by Nicole Winfield ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE  — Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday doubled down as U.S. President Donald Trump’s criticism showed no sign of letting up, insisting that the message “the world needs to hear today” is one of peace and dialogue. Leo spoke to journalists en route to Cameroon as he continued his Africa visit. He made no mention of Trump’s latest social media post or the suggestion by U.S. Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert, that he should “be careful” when speaking about theology. Leo took no questions. Rather, he focused on his first stop in…

by Scott Bauer MADISON, Wis.  — Democratic-backed candidate Chris Taylor won election to the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday, growing the liberal majority on the court as cases affecting congressional redistricting, union rights and other hot button issues await in the perennial battleground state. Taylor, who focused her campaign on abortion rights, handily defeated Republican-backed Maria Lazar in the fourth straight victory for liberal court candidates dating back to 2020. Liberals are now guaranteed to hold a majority on the court until at least 2030. “Once again, Wisconsin showed the entire nation that we believe that the people should be…

by Marcia Dunn HOUSTON — The Artemis II astronauts are now forever intertwined with Apollo 8. A day after the historic lunar flyaround, NASA on Tuesday released striking new photos taken by the U.S.-Canadian crew. The four astronauts channeled Apollo 8’s famous Earthrise shot from 1968 with their own: Earthset, showing our planet setting behind the gray, pockmarked moon. Another photo captures the total solar eclipse that occurred when the moon blocked the sun from the crew’s perspective. The three Americans and one Canadian are now headed home, with a splashdown in the Pacific set for Friday. In the meantime,…

by Stan Choe NEW YORK  — Oil prices plunged and U.S. stock futures jumped after President Donald Trump held off on his threat of devastating attacks on Iran. U.S. crude oil futures fell more than 15%. Futures for the S&P 500 were up 2.2% as of 8:05 p.m. ET, while Dow futures rose 930 points or 2%. Late Tuesday, Trump said he was holding off on his threatened attacks on Iranian bridges, power plants and other civilian targets, subject to Tehran agreeing to a two-week ceasefire and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said it…