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Bernice King, members of Congress expected at Saturday redistricting protests

A group of protestors hold a banner saying "Black Voters Matter" with a quote from Allen v. Milligan, a 2023 case that required Alabama to draw a second congressional district to give Black voters an opportunity to elect their preferred leaders, on May 4, 2026 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. Protestors plan rallies on Saturday in opposition to the state's efforts to redistrict congressional seats. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) Thousands of people are expected to attend two rallies in Selma and Montgomery on Saturday to protest what organizers call a concerted Republican effort to dilute the voting power of Black voters throughout the South. The All Roads Lead to the South National Day of Action is response to attempts by southern state legislatures to reconfigure their electoral maps to increase Republican majorities in Congress and in state assemblies in the region. “Now we are seeing unprecedented assaults on our generation, on those rights that we...

Video: What this Montgomery street tells us about southern democracy

Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church is seen in downtown Montgomery, Alabama on Nov. 14, 2025. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. pastored the church from 1954 to 1960, and it held several mass meetings during the 1955-56 Montgomery Bus Boycott. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) Thousands of protestors are expected to attend rallies in Selma and Montgomery on Saturday against the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais , which substantially weakened Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The court’s decision set off a frenzy of redistricting throughout the South, targeting Black members of Congress. In Alabama, the Supreme Court on Monday gave the state permission to use a 2023 congressional map it previously ruled racially discriminatory. Gov. Kay Ivey on Tuesday set special primary elections in four congressional districts under the new lines, which will likely cause Alabama to lose at least one Black member of Congress. As of Friday afternoon, litigation in the...

Republicans’ redistricting moves make Alabama weaker, not stronger

Sens. Shay Shelnutt, R-Trussville (left) and Jabo Waggoner, R-Vestavia (right) speak next to a lithograph of the first Black members of Congress during Reconstruction on May 8, 2026 in the Alabama Senate. The Alabama Legislature Friday approved two bills that would allow the state to set new primary dates should federal courts allow Alabama to use congressional and legislative maps previously declared discriminatory by federal courts. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) Republicans who are excited about how Alabama’s redistricting fight is playing out might want to hold that thought. Their party’s swift maneuvers to gain more power might feel like they’re yielding a tasty victory. But there’s rot at its core that’s going to make us all sick. While representative democracy can be aggravating, healthy opposition is an essential ingredient. Don’t believe me? Remember this: Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Elected officials have to work much harder to represent their constituents when the...

US Supreme Court rules telehealth abortion can resume while lawsuit continues

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that telehealth access to abortion medication can continue according to current rules from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) The U.S. Supreme Court decided Thursday to preserve telehealth access to the abortion drug mifepristone until after the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled on the merits of the high-stakes federal lawsuit Louisiana v. Food and Drug Administration . Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas issued dissenting opinions. In his dissent, Thomas said the rule violates the Comstock Act , a long unenforced 1873 law that bans the mailing of “obscene” material. During the 2024 presidential campaign, President Donald Trump said he didn’t support using the Comstock Act to stop mail delivery of abortion pills, saying he thought the federal government should have nothing to do with the issue. Mifepristone’s manufacturer “makes a passing reference to the possibility of lost sales,”...

State officials demand transparency as businesses get billions in Trump tariff refunds

Shipping cranes stand above container ships loaded with shipping containers at the Port of Los Angeles on Feb. 20, 2026, in Los Angeles, Calif. The fiscal leaders of several states are demanding transparency and consumer fairness as President Donald Trump’s administration seeks to refund billions in international tariffs. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) The fiscal leaders of several states are demanding transparency and consumer fairness as President Donald Trump’s administration seeks to refund billions in international tariffs following a recent Supreme Court loss. In a February decision , the high court dealt a blow to the president’s trade agenda, ruling by a 6-3 margin that the tariffs he issued under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act were illegal. Last month, U.S. Customs and Border Protection began accepting applications from importers and brokers who are owed an estimated $166 billion in import tax refunds. While companies are receiving those refunds, it app...

Free prison, jail calls linked to lower costs, better outcomes in new report

Telephones inside a Missouri state women’s prison where incarcerated people pay per-minute rates to call loved ones. More than 330,000 incarcerated people nationwide now have access to free prison or jail communication services, according to estimates from Worth Rises. (Photo by Amanda Watford/Stateline) A growing number of incarcerated people across the country now have access to free phone calls and other communication services, a shift some advocates say is strengthening family connections, improving prison conditions and easing reentry after release. A new report from Worth Rises, a nonprofit that advocates in opposition to the prison industry, found that an estimated 330,000 incarcerated people nationwide now have access to free prison or jail communication services, including phone calls, video calls and electronic messaging in some jurisdictions. For decades, incarcerated people and their families often paid steep rates for phone calls and other communication services throug...