Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton.
The U.S. Supreme Court has weakened the Voting Rights Act's protections against racial
“discrimination in redistricting, and P.R.'s Hansi low-wong reports the ruling comes out”
of a case about Louisiana's congressional map.
The Supreme Court's conservative majority has ruled that a second majority black congressional
district that a lower court had ordered Louisiana's legislature to draw to get in line with the Voting Rights Act is unconstitutional. This high court ruling re-interprets long-standing protections under the Voting Rights Act section two that have helped make sure racial minority voters are not shut out during redistricting in places where voting is racially polarized.
In the court's majority opinion, Justice Samuel Lito says that the focus of section two must be banning quote "intentional racial discrimination," which many legal experts say will be hard to prove in court. Many of redistricting experts now expect Republican-controlled state legislatures in the South to eliminate at least some Democratic-represented house districts that were likely protected under
the Voting Rights Act, though the timing is unclear. On Z-Lawong and P.R. News.
“Iran's national re-all currency has hit a record low of $1.8 million to the dollar as a shaky”
ceasefire with the U.S. and Israel holds experts warn the fall of the re-all is likely to further fuel inflation. Many imported goods from food and medicine to electronics and raw materials are affected by the dollar rate. The war is now in a ceasefire, but the U.S. naval blockade has continued to increase pressure
on Iran's already battered economy as it appears to Tom Bowman explains. The U.S. has prevented more than three dozen ships from entering or leaving Iranian ports and meanwhile Iran is harassing shipping, entering the straightaway removes and net narrow waterway leading to the Arabian Sea, of course. So as a result of flow of oil tankers, other ships has dropped to a trickle, and that
shipping clock has led to higher prices on things like fertilizer, or liquefied natural gas, and oil. NPR's Tom Bowman reporting federal regulators are taking a closer look at broadcast licenses tied to ABC following late night host Jimmy Kimmel telling a joke on a show that alluded to Trump's death.
NPR's Windsor Johnston reports the move is raising new questions about the limits of the FCC's authority over broadcast. The FCC does regulate local stations, but Georgetown Law Professor David Cole says it does not have the authority to police content like a late night joke. Instead, Cole says any attempt to revoke a license would likely face a lengthy legal fight
and fail in court, but he says the pressure can show up elsewhere.
“I think what they're really relying on is a hope that Disney won't fight, that Disney”
will cave, but because they're concerned about the government approving a merger that it might want to engage in down the line. News isn't Trump and the first lady are both calling for Kimmel to be fired from ABC, arguing his remark days before an apparent assassination attempt crossed a line. Windsor Johnston and PR News Washington.
The Trump administration is spending nearly $2 billion to get energy companies to walk away
from U.S. offshore wind projects. Now Democrats and Congress are investigating the Republican administration adopted its strategy after federal courts thwarted President Trump's efforts to stop offshore wind development. A French company is getting $1 billion if it invests the money in fossil fuel projects instead.
That's essentially a refund of the company's projects off of North Carolina and New York. Taylor Swift is making legal moves to protect her voice and images, and PR's netty will be reports this reflects growing concern from entertainers about AI. The voice samples Taylor Swift filed to be trademarked are brief, "Hey, it's Taylor." It's Taylor Swift.
Both were promotions she made for a recent album. Swift has had to contend with AI-generated videos that wrongly suggested she was selling a line of cookware, as well as more salacious content. She also filed to trademark a photo of herself holding a pink guitar. Historically, trademarks are used more for brand names and logos than individuals' voices
and images. The celebrities are seeking extra legal protection against AI misuse. Recently, for example, actor Matthew McConaughey trademarked himself saying, "All right, all right, all right." Netto Ulippi and PR news. WNBA star Caitlyn Clark is releasing a picture book this fall based on her life.
Extraordinary, a little extra to reach big dreams will be published in November.
Clark says she hopes the book reminds children that they're never alone in chasing their dreams.
You're listening to NPR News from Washington. Every day NPR reports stories that keep you informed without fear or favor. That's the promise of a free press in a democracy. It's in the first amendment. I'm Tom Bowman and I cover the Pentagon for NPR.
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