WASHINGTON — Alabama on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to allow it to use a congressional map favoring Republicans in this year’s elections, despite a lower court’s ruling that the redistricting plan intentionally discriminates against Black people.
The state’s Republican leadership filed an emergency appeal with the justices a day after a three-judge court refused to let the state use a map it adopted three years ago that has a majority Black population in just one of its seven congressional districts.
The judges instead required Alabama to continue using a court-ordered map that was put in place for the 2024 elections that includes two districts where Black residents comprise a majority or close to it.
Atty. Gen. Steve Marshall told the court that the state did not intentionally discriminate against Black residents and should be allowed to hold elections this year under a map chosen by lawmakers, not judges.
The appeal is the latest development in the fallout from last month’s Supreme Court ruling that struck down a Black-majority district in Louisiana and weakened the federal Voting Rights Act. That ruling has led Republicans in several Southern states, including Alabama, to take steps to reshape voting districts with large minority populations that have elected Democrats.
The redistricting frenzy is part of a broader push by President Trump to try to hold on to Republicans’ slim House majority in the November elections.
The Alabama cases stretches back several years. The three-judge panel in 2023 ruled that a map drawn by Republican state lawmakers intentionally diluted the voting power of Black citizens. The court said the state, which is about 27% Black, should have two districts where Black voters are the majority or close to it. The court-selected map was used in 2024.
After the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in the Louisiana case, Alabama officials moved to implement the 2023 state-drawn map. The Supreme Court’s conservative majority agreed to lift the injunction that had blocked the map’s use and sent the case back to the three-judge panel for reconsideration in light of the Louisiana ruling.
In the meantime, voters cast ballots in Alabama’s May 19 primaries, and Republican Gov. Kay Ivey set new special primaries for Aug. 11 in four congressional districts affected by the map switch.
Upon further review, the judicial panel said it was standing behind its initial finding that there was “undisputed evidence” of intentional racial discrimination, a holding that was independent of and unaffected by the Supreme Court ruling on the Voting Rights Act.
It said the special congressional primaries should instead proceed under the previous court-approved districts.
The use of the court-ordered map led to the 2024 election of U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures, a Black Democrat. State Republicans are seeking to use a map that would give the GOP an opportunity to reclaim the south Alabama seat.
The state is asking for Supreme Court action by Monday as it makes preparations for the special vote in August.
Sherman writes for the Associated Press.
‘Love Island USA’: Alannah Keyser fired over racial slur
It seems “Love Island USA” producers pulled one bombshell aside for a chat, one that has led to her firing from the hit reality dating series.
Contestant Alannah Keyser’s time in Fiji has officially come to an end as she faces backlash for apparently using a racial slur in a video and social media comments that recently resurfaced on social media. “Love Island USA” streamer Peacock confirmed to The Times on Friday that Keyser, a film student at USC from Miami, will no longer appear on the series. She is the second contestant Peacock dismissed this season over a racial slur scandal.
Keyser made her “Love Island USA” debut last week as one of the six women hopeful to strike up a connection with the male contestants in Casa Amor, testing the men’s relationship with their partners back in the villa. Keyser appeared to pair up with contestant Zach Georgiou. In her debut episode, she informed Georgiou she had a brief romance with his older brother Charlie, a previous “Love Island USA” contestant.
“Love Island USA” parted ways with contestant Alannah Keyser after she used a racial slur in social media comments and posts.
(Ben Symons / Peacock)
She faced allegations of racism amid her first “Love Island USA” episode when a social media user surfaced screenshots of Keyser allegedly using the N-word on Snapchat and Instagram. A user on X (formerly Twitter) also published video of Keyser seemingly saying the slur as she sings along to Roddy Ricch’s “The Box” at a party. Some viewers — and other contestants on the series — also observed that Keyser interacted less with the Black men on the series in her debut episode.
A source familiar with “Love Island USA” production said the controversial video and posts only became public on social media after Keyser’s first episode and that the posts were not viewable during the series’ vetting process. Peacock confirmed Kesyer’s firing hours after the U.S. Sun reported her exit and minimized screen time. “Producers were disappointed and embarrassed that this has become another mishap,” a source told the outlet.
Keyser did not immediately respond to a request for comment via social media.
Keyser is the fourth “Love Island USA” contestant in two years to face scrutiny for her past use of racial slurs. Earlier this month, Peacock pulled beauty technician Vasana Montgomery from its Season 8 lineup before the season started. Last year, contestant Cierra Ortega prematurely left the villa as she faced criticism for her past social media posts that included a slur for Chinese (and, more generally, Asian) people. A month before that, contestant Yulissa Escobar was dismissed by the season’s second episode amid social media outcry over her use of the N-word.
Those three contestants have since publicly apologized for their posts.
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Alabama asks Supreme Court to allow use of congressional map helping GOP, despite racial bias ruling
WASHINGTON — Alabama on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to allow it to use a congressional map favoring Republicans in this year’s elections, despite a lower court’s ruling that the redistricting plan intentionally discriminates against Black people.
The state’s Republican leadership filed an emergency appeal with the justices a day after a three-judge court refused to let the state use a map it adopted three years ago that has a majority Black population in just one of its seven congressional districts.
The judges instead required Alabama to continue using a court-ordered map that was put in place for the 2024 elections that includes two districts where Black residents comprise a majority or close to it.
Atty. Gen. Steve Marshall told the court that the state did not intentionally discriminate against Black residents and should be allowed to hold elections this year under a map chosen by lawmakers, not judges.
The appeal is the latest development in the fallout from last month’s Supreme Court ruling that struck down a Black-majority district in Louisiana and weakened the federal Voting Rights Act. That ruling has led Republicans in several Southern states, including Alabama, to take steps to reshape voting districts with large minority populations that have elected Democrats.
The redistricting frenzy is part of a broader push by President Trump to try to hold on to Republicans’ slim House majority in the November elections.
The Alabama cases stretches back several years. The three-judge panel in 2023 ruled that a map drawn by Republican state lawmakers intentionally diluted the voting power of Black citizens. The court said the state, which is about 27% Black, should have two districts where Black voters are the majority or close to it. The court-selected map was used in 2024.
After the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in the Louisiana case, Alabama officials moved to implement the 2023 state-drawn map. The Supreme Court’s conservative majority agreed to lift the injunction that had blocked the map’s use and sent the case back to the three-judge panel for reconsideration in light of the Louisiana ruling.
In the meantime, voters cast ballots in Alabama’s May 19 primaries, and Republican Gov. Kay Ivey set new special primaries for Aug. 11 in four congressional districts affected by the map switch.
Upon further review, the judicial panel said it was standing behind its initial finding that there was “undisputed evidence” of intentional racial discrimination, a holding that was independent of and unaffected by the Supreme Court ruling on the Voting Rights Act.
It said the special congressional primaries should instead proceed under the previous court-approved districts.
The use of the court-ordered map led to the 2024 election of U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures, a Black Democrat. State Republicans are seeking to use a map that would give the GOP an opportunity to reclaim the south Alabama seat.
The state is asking for Supreme Court action by Monday as it makes preparations for the special vote in August.
Sherman writes for the Associated Press.
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