This is an L.A. Times Studios podcast.

Hi, I'm Faith Pino, and you're listening to Headlines from L.A. Times Studios.

Here are some of today's top stories from the Los Angeles Times.

The Supreme Court could soon make it easier for Republicans to redraw congressional maps,

a move that could help them keep control of the House next year.

According to David Savage, justices heard arguments Wednesday in a Louisiana case that could

dramatically weaken the Voting Rights Act, the law that for decades has protected

black and Latino voters. Lawyers from Louisiana and the Trump administration argue that

race should no longer be used when drawing political districts, saying the practice amounts to,

quote, racial affirmative action. If the court's conservative majority agrees, Republican-led states could eliminate several

black majority districts across the South, effectively unseeding a dozen or more black Democrats.

Critics, however, including legal scholars, warned the ruling could devastate minority representation

in Congress and rewrite decades of civil rights precedent.

And L.A. County declared a local state of emergency in a renewed effort to push back against

the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

Summerlin reports the board of supervisors approved the emergency declaration Tuesday,

which aims to protect tenants and families heard by the blitz of ice activity across

Southern California.

Supervisor Lindsay Horvath and Janice Hahn introduced the measure, calling it a critical step, offering aid

and housing protections for people who have lost income after the raids. The move could lead

to eviction moratoriums and allow the county to speed up hiring for positions helping immigrant

communities. Los Angeles was one of the first cities to see an

...