Federal court again strikes down Alabama’s congressional map
A panel of federal judges rejected Alabama’s latest congressional map Tuesday, ruling that a new map needed to be drawn because Republican lawmakers had failed to comply with orders to create a second majority-Black district or something “close to it.” In a sharp rebuke, the judges ordered that the new map be independently drawn, taking the responsibility away from the Republican-controlled Legislature while chastising state officials. The Legislature had hastily pushed through a revised map in July after a surprise Supreme Court ruling found that Alabama’s existing map violated a landmark civil rights law by undercutting the power of the state’s Black voters.
Murdaugh’s lawyers seek new trial, saying clerk tampered with jury
When once-influential South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh was convicted in March of murdering his wife and younger son, the verdict was widely seen as a rebuke of corruption in a legal system that Murdaugh had bent to his benefit for years. Now, Murdaugh’s lawyers say that he is a victim of a corrupt judicial process, and are seeking a new trial and an FBI investigation. In an explosive court filing Tuesday, they claim that the clerk of court, Rebecca Hill, had a series of inappropriate conversations with jurors and committed other misconduct during his trial. Hill did not respond to several requests for comment.
McConnell Releases New Health Assurances From the Capitol’s Physician
Hoping to reassure his colleagues that he is physically able to continue as minority leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell released a letter Tuesday from the attending physician of Congress declaring that an examination and tests had ruled out a stroke or seizure as causes of his recent on-camera medical episodes. In the letter, Dr. Brian Monahan, the Navy rear admiral who serves as the on-site doctor in the Capitol for members of Congress and the Supreme Court, said his examination of McConnell, R-Ky. — along with a brain MRI, an electroencephalogram study and a neurological consultation — had found no sign of a seizure disorder or stroke.
‘That’s valor’: Biden awards Medal of Honor to Vietnam-era army pilot
The four American soldiers were pinned down in June 1968, taking intense fire from the enemy near Ap Go Cong in Vietnam. But 1st Lt. Larry L. Taylor refused to give up. Flying in his two-man Cobra helicopter, Taylor landed in the middle of the firefight, extracting the four men who hung onto the helicopter’s skids and rocket pods as the helicopter carried them to safety. On Tuesday, President Joe Biden awarded Taylor the Medal of Honor at the White House, citing his “conspicuous gallantry” for rescuing the soldiers “under heavy enemy fire and with complete disregard for his personal safety” more than five decades ago.
Ukraine’s forces try to punch 2nd hole in Russian lines
Ukrainian forces, churning slowly forward after breaching Russia’s initial defensive lines in the occupied south, are turning their attention to breaking through in another heavily defended patch of territory. In recent days, military analysts say, the Ukrainian army has been battling to break through Russian positions near a village called Verbove. The Black Bird Group, a volunteer organization that analyzes satellite imagery and social media content from the battlefield, said Monday that Ukrainian soldiers had cleared obstacles to reach Russian infantry fighting positions on the outskirts of Verbove. But analysts said that does not necessarily mean they have secured the territory.
Cuba says its citizens were lured to fight in Russia’s war in Ukraine
Cuba’s government has begun criminal proceedings against a “human trafficking network” that recruited Cuban citizens to fight in Russia’s war with Ukraine, according to the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ministry issued a statement Monday saying that Cuban authorities had begun dismantling the recruiting group for Russia. The statement said the network had intended to “incorporate Cuban citizens living there and even some living in Cuba” into the military to take part in operations in Ukraine. The statement did not say who was behind the trafficking network or how many people had been affected. The claims had not been independently verified.
Key suspect in assassination of Haiti president is set to plead guilty
A key defendant in the trial of the men charged in the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse of Haiti is set to plead guilty this week, in what could be a major breakthrough for U.S. prosecutors who are handling the case in Miami. A change of plea hearing has been set for Thursday in the case of a retired Colombian army captain, Germán Rivera, according to court records. The guilty plea is viewed by legal observers as a sign that Rivera is willing to cooperate with prosecutors and testify against the other defendants. Rivera, 45, initially pleaded not guilty after his extradition from Haiti in February.
Can Kenya bring order to Haiti? Doubts are swirling.
As gangs were seizing control of one part of Haiti’s capital of Port-au-Prince after another, the country’s fragile government issued a plea nearly 12 months ago for foreign troops to step in and assert order in the Caribbean nation. After that desperate appeal, a force led by Kenya seems close to materializing in what would be the first time an African country leads such a mission in one of the Americas’ most unstable places. But as Haiti’s security conditions spiral further out of control, as heavily armed gangs try to quell a citizen-led vigilante movement, many disparage the plan as too meager and too late.
Biden picks Jacob Lew as envoy to Israel during time of friction
President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday that he would nominate former Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, 68, as his next ambassador to Israel, tapping a low-key Washington veteran for a high-charged post at a time of friction with America’s strongest ally in the Middle East. If he is confirmed by the Senate, Lew will head to Jerusalem even as Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are at odds over the president’s efforts to negotiate a new nuclear agreement with Iran and the prime minister’s plans to rein in the authority of the judiciary in Israel.
By wire sources