The U.S. Supreme Court. The court on Tuesday allowed Alabama to use a congressional map previously deemed racially discriminatory. (Photo by Jane Norman/States Newsroom) Here’s the word in the Supreme Court’s Allen v. Milligan decision that got me mad. Interposed . Don’t get me wrong. The whole ruling on Alabama’s congressional districts is infuriating. The use of definite articles is the only thing the court did right. If you care about popular will and representation, well, the nation’s high court doesn’t. Particularly when Black Americans vote in ways six conservative justices don’t like. But look at “interposed” in its full context, in the unsigned order: “Here, the District Court interposed itself into Alabama’s ongoing efforts to conduct its imminent 2026 congressional elections under maps that its elected representatives selected . . . While federal courts should not impose changes close to an election, states are free to decide for themselves whether...
Ty and Allisha Setty pose with the two-bedroom house in suburban Cincinnati they bought in May for $170,000. Unlike many new homebuyers, the couple didn't need family help with the purchase. (Photo courtesy of Ty and Allisha Setty) The idea started with a sermon Micah Longmire heard at his Presbyterian church in Ogden, Utah, about the importance of grandparents in a child’s life. Longmire, now 31, exchanged a look with his mother-in-law. “We were like, ‘I’d be OK living with you after that sermon,’ and the ball rolled downhill from there,” Longmire said. Both families are now living in a house they bought together in Chattanooga, Tennessee, after a two-year nationwide search. Their partnership is an example of the lengths first-time homebuyers have gone to this year amid stubbornly high home prices and interest rates. “I make $200,000 and I wouldn’t have been able to buy a house by myself. That’s ridiculous,” Longmire said. His wife’s parents contributed $200,000 from selling th...