Supreme Court declines to block California’s new mid-decade congressional map
(WASHINGTON) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a bid by California Republicans to block a newly redrawn congressional map backed by Democrats and endorsed by voters ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The move allows the state to move forward with a map enacted by Proposition 50, approved in November, that could potentially allow Democrats to flip five seats currently held by Republicans.
California’s mid-decade map change was backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Democratic Party in response to efforts by Texas and other Republican-led states to redraw their maps — at President Donald Trump’s urging — in order to give Republicans a better chance at retaining majority control of Congress.
“Donald Trump said he was ‘entitled’ to five more Congressional seats in Texas. He started this redistricting war. He lost, and he’ll lose again in November,” Newsom posted on X on Wednesday after the Supreme Court’s order.
The California Republican Party in January filed an emergency application with the nation’s high court to try to prohibit California from using the map while their appeal moved forward, arguing it was drawn predominantly based on race.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday did not explain its decision in a single-sentence order. There were no noted dissents.
Late last year, the Supreme Court declined to block the Texas map, citing a desire to refrain from interference in the political process too close to an election and broad deference to state legislators who insisted they acted in good faith and no racial animus.
President Donald Trump departs the White House, January 27, 2026, in Washington. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday touted the arrival of his border czar, Tom Homan, on a mission to Minneapolis — as he took personal charge of dealing with the backlash following the second fatal shooting of an American citizen by federal agents in the city.
The president, who had said Homan would report directly to him, sounded positive about his change in course so far, saying Homan had met with Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz and would do the same with Minneapolis Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey.
“I hear things are going very nicely,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House for Iowa, where he was set to deliver remarks on the economy. But there has been no apparent immediate change or pullback in the deployment of federal immigration enforcement agents — as Walz and Frey have demanded.
The White House has noticeably sought to put some distance between the president and the controversial words of his top officials in the immediate aftermath of the deadly shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse.
Trump on Sunday declined to defend the agents involved, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday said she hadn’t heard Trump characterize Pretti the same way as White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller or Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem — both of whom had quickly accused him of domestic terrorism without any evidence.
Trump on Tuesday also publicly broke with Miller, telling reporters he does not believe Pretti was an “assassin” as Miller had described him.
When asked if he believes Pretti’s death was justified, Trump said a “big investigation” is underway and suggested he would be monitoring it personally.
“I want to see the investigation. I’m going to be watching over it. I want a very honorable and honest investigation. I have to see it myself,” Trump said.
At the same time, Trump continued to criticize Pretti for having a gun on him, which state and local officials said he was lawfully carrying with a concealed carry permit, telling reporters: “You can’t walk in with guns.”
On what his message is for Pretti’s family, Trump told ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce: “Well, I’m looking at that whole situation. I love everybody. I love all of our people. I love his family. And it’s a very sad situation.”
Still, Trump stood by Noem on Tuesday and told reporters she won’t be stepping down.
“I think she’s done a very good job. The border is totally secure,” Trump said.
Noem met with Trump in the Oval Office on Monday as scrutiny grew over the shooting and the administration’s response, sources told ABC News. While sources saidNoem is expected to keep her job as of now, her focus is expected to shift to other priorities.
A person familiar with the planning said Homan is likely to focus on more targeted immigration enforcement efforts.
Homan’s arrival also comes as Customs and Border Protection commander-at-large Greg Bovino is set to leave Minneapolis to return to El Centro, California, and resume his duties as chief of that sector, multiple sources told ABC News. Some Border Patrol agents are also leaving Minneapolis.
Earlier Tuesday, in a radio interview on “Sid & Friends In the Morning,” Trump said that if Minneapolis officials give the federal government “their criminals” then it “all goes away” when asked about the possibility of some federal forces leaving the state.
“What we need is their criminals. You know, they have criminals. And all I said, ‘just give us your criminals’ and if you give us the criminals, it all goes away,” the president said.
Trump also recounted calls he had with both Walz and Frey on Monday amid growing tensions in Minneapolis.
“Actually, they were both great conversations,” Trump said. “So, let’s hope that turns out to be so.”
Walz, who was critical of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in an op-ed on Monday, said he and Homan agreed to an “open dialogue” after their meeting on Tuesday.
“Governor Walz met with Tom Homan this morning and reiterated Minnesota’s priorities: impartial investigations into the Minneapolis shootings involving federal agents, a swift, significant reduction in the number of federal forces in Minnesota, and an end to the campaign of retribution against Minnesota,” Walz’s office said in a statement.
“The Governor and Homan agreed on the need for an ongoing dialogue and will continue working toward those goals, which the President also agreed to yesterday. The Governor tasked the Minnesota Department of Public Safety as the primary liaison to Homan to ensure these goals are met,” the statement read.
Frey called his meeting with Homan “productive” in a series of posts on X.
“I reiterated that my main ask is for Operation Metro Surge to end as quickly as possible. Public safety works best when it’s built on community trust, not tactics that create fear or division,” he said.
Frey added he made it clear to Homan that “Minneapolis does not and will not enforce federal immigration laws.”
(NEW YORK) — New York City Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani told “Good Morning America” on Wednesday that he would not be “intimidated” by potential threats from President Donald Trump to deploy the National Guard to the city.
“His threats are inevitable,” Mamdani said. “This has nothing to do a safety, it has to do with intimidation.”
“If it was safety, President Trump would be threatening to the deploy the National Guard to the top 10 states of crime, eight out of which are all Republican-led,” Mamdani added. “But because of that party he won’t actually be doing it.”
The 34-year-old democratic socialist was propelled to victory amid a record turnout in New York City. More than 2 million voters turned out on Tuesday — the first time a mayoral election crossed that threshold since 1969.
Mamdani will become the city’s youngest mayor since 1892 and the first Muslim to hold the office.
Mamdani also said he saw his election victory as a “mandate” to pursue the “most ambitious” affordability agenda for New Yorkers in decades.
He described the first steps toward funding that agenda as pushing to raise taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers — along with raising corporate taxes to 11.5% from its current level at about 7.25%.
“These things together raise about $9 billion,” he said, “which more than pays for the economic agenda and also starts to Trump-proof our city.”
Mamdani’s proposal for city-funded universal child care is among the policies he said he planned to fund with new tax revenues.
DHS is using the CBP Home Mobile App to incentivize self-deportation. (Department of Homeland Security)
(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Homeland Security announced on Wednesday that it is increasing its stipend for those who are in the United States illegally and self-deport by $1,600.
Previously, DHS offered $1,000 to those who use the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Home App to self-deport, but now, it’s raising that number to $2,600.
DHS claimed that since January 2025, 2.2 million people who are in the U.S. illegally have voluntarily self-deported — with “tens of thousands” using the CBP app. A report from the Brookings Institution released last week called DHS’ data into question, saying the department’s numbers “should not be considered a serious source.”
“To celebrate one year of this administration, the U.S. taxpayer is generously increasing the incentive to leave voluntarily for those in this country illegally- offering a $2,600 exit bonus,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a release. “Illegal aliens should take advantage of this gift and self-deport because if they don’t, we will find them, we will arrest them, and they will never return.”
The increased amount is to mark to the first year of President Donald Trump’s term in office, and may only be temporary, DHS said in the release.
For months, the department has been pushing self-deportations — spending millions on advertisements that showcased it’s previous $1,000 payment and a plane ticket that people who register to self-deport are given.
It’s not clear how much money in total has been given to people who have self-deported.
DHS said in the first year of Trump’s term, there were 675,000 deportations. The authors of the Brookings Institution report estimated a figure much lower last week — saying there were between 310,000 and 315,000 removals in 2025.
Deporting migrants who are illegally in the U.S. was one of Trump’s key campaign promises, but advocates have said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol tactics have gone too far in some cases.
