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The Supreme Court gives plaintiffs a do-over in gerrymandering decision; Colombia elects the protégé of a former president as its new president.
The Supreme Court delays a decision on gerrymandering
Olivier Douliery/Getty Images- The US Supreme Court decided to send a major partisan gerrymandering case in Wisconsin back down to a lower court on Monday. In other words, it delayed making a decision. [CNN / Ariane de Vogue and Eli Watkins]
- The ruling gives plaintiffs a second chance at making their case. They didn’t win over Supreme Court the first time because the justices found that the plaintiffs were arguing the entire state was gerrymandered, rather than specific congressional districts. [Vox / Andrew Prokop]
- The background on this case is that in 2010, Republicans won a majority of the legislative seats in a typically Democratic Wisconsin despite losing the statewide popular vote. Republicans were accused of redrawing district lines based on data from the most recent census in a way that benefited Republican politicians and shut out Democrats. [NPR / Nina Totenberg and Domenico Montanaro]
- Though the decision to send back the case was unanimous, Justice Elena Kagan wrote a concurring opinion decrying the practice of partisan redistricting, which she described as “degrading the nation’s democracy.” [Bloomberg / Greg Stohr]
- Both Democrats and Republicans have used partisan redistricting to their advantage (for evidence of Democratic gerrymandering, look no further than Maryland). It’s clear, however, that Republicans in multiple states would suffer most under an official judicial objection to gerrymandering. [Washington Post / Amber Phillips]
- The Supreme Court rejected a Republican challenge to a Maryland district boundary in a separate, unanimous decision. It is thought the Supreme Court took on both cases to appear nonpartisan. [NBC / Pete Williams]
Colombia elects a conservative, anti-FARC president
- Colombia voters elected conservative populist Iván Duque as their president on Sunday. Duque is the first president-elect since Colombia brokered a peace deal with guerrilla rebels in 2016. [NYT / Nicholas Casey and Susan Abad]
- Duque worked at Washington, DC’s Inter-American Development Bank before serving as a senator for Colombia’s right-wing Democratic Centre party. [BBC]
- He ran on the promise to redefine the terms of a peace deal that ended the lengthiest conflict in Latin American history and granted clemency to 7,000 members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Duque said the agreement was too lenient on FARC rebels, who have now integrated themselves into Colombian society. [AP / Christine Armario]
- Duque also promised to fortify the economy and pursue a more militant strategy in the war on drugs. Colombia is currently one of the top producers of coca, the main ingredient for cocaine. [Miami Herald / Jim Wyss]
Miscellaneous
- A magnitude 6.1 earthquake hit Osaka, the second-largest city of commerce in Japan, on Monday. Four people are confirmed dead, and hundreds more were injured. [Chicago Tribune / Mari Yamaguchi and Ken Moritsugu]
- Following her successful meeting with President Trump, Kim Kardashian West isn’t ruling out a run for political office. Keeping Up with the Kapitol Hill Kardashians? [Vulture / Amanda Arnold]
- White nationalist Jared Taylor has been given the go-ahead by a California state judge to sue Twitter for banning his account. Free speech advocates across the country are hailing the decision as a true win. [The Verge / Adi Robertson]
- Soccer fans may have triggered a small earthquake in Mexico as their country’s team defeated defending champ Germany in the World Cup. [BuzzFeed / Brianna Sacks and Nidhi Prakash]
Verbatim
“It is a truth universally acknowledged that no pleasure is so cheaply bought, and so unmarred by complexity, as the simple joy of seeing a dog hurl itself into a pond in pursuit of a slobbery stick.” [Christopher Solomon on the beauty of the canine world’s record-breaking whippet Spitfire / Outside]
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