NATIONAL NEWS

Wisconsin Supreme Court refuses to hear a challenge to the state’s congressional district boundaries

Jun 25, 2025, 2:53 PM | Updated: 3:12 pm

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to hear a challenge brought by Democrats seeking to throw out the battleground state’s current congressional district boundaries before the 2026 midterms.

Democrats asked the court to redraw the maps, which would have put two of the state’s six congressional seats currently held by Republicans into play. But the court, for the second time in as many years, refused to hear the challenges without comment.

Republicans hold six of the state’s eight U.S. House seats, but only two of those districts are considered competitive. One is in western Wisconsin held by Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden and the other is in southeastern Wisconsin held by Republican Rep. Bryan Steil.

The congressional maps, drawn by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, were approved by the state Supreme Court when it was controlled by conservative judges. The U.S. Supreme Court in March 2022 declined to block them from taking effect. And last year the state Supreme Court rejected a request to reconsider the maps without giving a reason as to why.

National News

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., center, joined at left by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., th...

Associated Press

Senate struggle over Medicaid cuts threatens progress on Trump’s big bill

WASHINGTON (AP) — One key unsettled issue stalling progress on President Donald Trump’s big bill in Congress is particularly daunting: How to cut billions from health care without harming Americans or the hospitals and others who provide care? Republicans are struggling to devise a solution to the health care problem their package has created. Already, […]

5 hours ago

Associated Press

Justice Department closes investigation into Muslim-centered community near Dallas

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice has closed a federal civil rights investigation into a Muslim-centered planned community around one of the state’s largest mosques near Dallas without filing any charges or lawsuits. The Justice Department had opened the investigation after U.S. Sen. John Cornyn called for it, arguing that the development […]

5 hours ago

Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani appears on stage with his family including his wife, Ra...

Associated Press

Zohran Mamdani’s wife Rama Duwaji is an animator, illustrator and ceramicist. And they met on Hinge

NEW YORK (AP) — Rama Duwaji’s Election Day post on Instagram was only four words long, but said all it needed to say: “couldn’t possibly be prouder.” It was accompanied by a photo-booth strip of happy poses with her husband, Zohran Mamdani, and a voting selfie that would presage a momentous night: The 33-year-old state […]

5 hours ago

President Donald Trump speaks during a media conference at the end of the NATO summit in The Hague,...

Associated Press

Trump attacks the media for reporting on intelligence assessment of Iran strikes

President Donald Trump is repeatedly condemning CNN and The New York Times for reports that call into question the damage caused by last weekend’s U.S. strikes of Iran — and downplaying his own intelligence analysts in the process. Trump on Wednesday called on CNN to throw out “like a dog” a reporter who has worked […]

6 hours ago

FILE - Former Venezuelan military spy chief, retired Maj. Gen. Hugo Carvajal, walks out of prison i...

Associated Press

Former Venezuela spymaster pleads guilty to narcoterrorism charge ahead of trial

MIAMI (AP) — A former Venezuelan spymaster who was close to the country’s late President Hugo Chávez pleaded guilty Wednesday to drug trafficking charges a week before his trial was set to begin in a Manhattan federal court. Retired Maj. Gen. Hugo Carvajal was extradited from Spain in 2023 after more than a decade on […]

6 hours ago

Associated Press

The Trump administration is suing Minnesota over breaks in higher education for immigrant students

Minnesota became the latest state Wednesday to face a lawsuit from the Trump administration seeking to force it to give its high school graduates who entered the U.S. illegally as immigrants the same lower tuition rates reserved for in-state citizens. The U.S. Department of Justice’s lawsuit also seeks to strike down a law that allows […]

6 hours ago

Wisconsin Supreme Court refuses to hear a challenge to the state’s congressional district boundaries