Federal court blocks new Republican-friendly voting map in Alabama

Panel of three judges says congressional map was drawn to intentionally discriminate against Black voters

Alabama cannot use a new Republican-friendly map in this year’s midterm elections because it was drawn to intentionally discriminate against Black voters, a panel of three federal judges ruled on Tuesday.

The decision blocks Alabama from using a congressional map lawmakers passed in 2023 but never went into effect because the same court found it was drawn with intent to discriminate. Alabama was eventually ordered to adopt a map with two majority-Black districts that both elected Democrats. After the US supreme court gutted a major provision of the Voting Rights Act in its Louisiana v Callais ruling in April, Alabama took the extraordinary step of moving its imminent congressional primary and sought to use the 2023 congressional map this year.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/26/alabama-new-congressional-map-struck-down

Tony Blair’s essay on Labour failings gets full marks for being unhelpful

Intervention by former PM almost feels designed to inflict maximum annoyance on his party

• Tony Blair tells Starmer and rivals: abandon net zero and move closer to Trump

Did Tony Blair ever mention he was quite good at winning elections? If you happened to miss it, then his 5,700-word opus on where Labour, Keir Starmer and the UK more generally have gone wrong is here to remind you. Several times.

“I led the Labour party for 13 years and through three general elections,” goes the second sentence. Further on, Blair laments that when the party tries to puzzle out how to win a second term, the one thing ruled out was “learning from the only time in the party’s 120-year history it has ever done so”.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/may/26/tony-blair-essay-labour-failings-unhelpful

Main Takeaways From Pope Leo’s Encyclical on A.I. #wanitaxigo

Nurseries in England charging extra fees to cover funding gap, campaigners say

Head of Early Years Alliance says additional charges paid by parents represent ‘cross-subsidy’

Parents of nursery children in England are being charged extra fees to cover for government underfunding of free childcare hours, with some paying thousands of pounds a year for consumables such as food, wipes and nappies, campaigners have said.

The comments came as the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, asked the competition watchdog to investigate hidden extra charges that parents have encountered when trying to access government-funded childcare.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/money/2026/may/25/nursery-extra-fees-charges-england-funding-free-childcare-hours

GPS jammed on RAF jet carrying UK defence secretary close to Russian border

Russia suspected of obstructing signal on flight bringing John Healey home from visit to British troops in Estonia

An RAF jet carrying the defence secretary, John Healey, had its signal jammed for the entire three-hour flight after it flew near the Russian border.

Healey had been visiting British soldiers in Estonia and was travelling back to the UK when the electronic attack happened, the Times reported.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/24/gps-jammed-on-raf-jet-carrying-uk-defence-secretary-close-to-russian-border

The Oscars Start at Cannes #wanitaxigo

Australia politics live: Zali Steggall confirms teals having ‘conversations’ amid speculation about new political party

Zali Steggall says teals want to ‘be more effective in holding government to account’. Follow today’s news live

Menopause national awareness campaign launches

A nation-first campaign to spread awareness about the symptoms of menopause and perimenopause will launch today.

Menopause should not come as a surprise, but for too long silence and stigma have left too many women in the dark ... It is important that this campaign reflects the different experiences of perimenopause and menopause, because no two women experience it the same way, and every woman deserves to feel seen and supported.

The Australian public, the sensible public, wants rational policies. They don’t want culture wars. They don’t want blame game. They want something constructive.

The Coalition currently wants to repeal net zero, which means taking Australia out of the Paris agreement … They want to blame migrants who have actually built Australia …

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source https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2026/may/25/teals-new-party-gaza-flotilla-activists-anthony-albanese-jim-chalmers-labor-angus-taylor-coalition-one-nation-budget-capital-gains-tax-estimates-ntwnfb