Hi there, everyone. It's now 5 o'clock in New York. Today, the Virginia State Supreme Court struck down the congressional redistricting approved by Virginia voters 17 days ago.

It is a big blow to democracy as voters there opted for this new

map, but it's also a blow to the Democratic Party ahead of the 2026 midterms as they seek to

counter the GOP efforts to gerrymander themselves in a victory at the behest of Donald Trump.

In a statement, Virginia's Attorney General Jay Jones said this, quote,

Today the Supreme Court of Virginia has chosen

to put politics over the rule of law.

This decision silences the voices of the millions of Virginians

who cast their ballots in every corner of the Commonwealth.

And it fuels the growing fears across our nation about the state of our

democracy. My team is carefully reviewing this unprecedented order, and we are evaluating every

legal pathway forward to defend the will of the people and protect the integrity of Virginia's

elections. As California Governor Gavin Newsom put it on social media, quote,

no vote in Tennessee plus one GOP seat, no vote in Florida plus four GOP seats, no vote in Missouri

plus one GOP seat, no vote in North Carolina plus two GOP seats, No vote in Texas plus five GOP seats. Virginia's

voter approved maps thrown out. MAGA has rigged the system. And at the same time as Virginia's

democratically passed maps have been blocked, Republican state legislatures are moving full steam ahead in passing

maps specifically designed to eliminate majority black congressional districts without consulting

their voters at all. It happens after the U.S. Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act earlier

this week. Today in South Carolina, senators debated a proposal that would

allow a special redistricting session to go forward that would eliminate the state's only black

district held by longtime Congressman Jim Clyburn. While in Alabama today, a protester was

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