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How Texas’ Mid-Decade Redistricting Could Affect Voters in One Houston Community

Then-U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner addresses a crowd at Houston City Hall in October 2024. Turner died in March, and his 18th District congressional seat has been vacant since then, with a special election set for Nov. 4. The district is one of five Republicans have targeted in a mid-decade redistricting effort aimed at gaining an advantage in Congress.

Douglas Sweet Jr. for The Texas Tribune

How Texas’ Mid-Decade Redistricting Could Affect Voters in One Houston Community

Adrian Izaguirre grew up in Houston’s South Park neighborhood, a historically low-income community tucked between Interstates 610 and 45, south of downtown. He still calls that place home.

For years, he has seen his neighbors struggle to find affordable housing and access to quality education. On any given day, Izaguirre and other residents in the predominantly Latino and Black neighborhood would have a hard time quickly accessing a local hospital. There are few nearby.

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The Hidden Cause (and Higher Stakes) of the Gerrymandering Crisis

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks about the “Election Rigging Response Act” at a press conference at the Democracy Center, Japanese American National Museum on August 14, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Newsom spoke about a possible California referendum on redistricting to counter the legislative effort to add five Republican House seats in the state of Texas.

Getty Images, Mario Tama

The Hidden Cause (and Higher Stakes) of the Gerrymandering Crisis

The first shots in the gerrymandering wars have now been fired. Texas Republicans rammed a new gerrymandered map through the legislature, forcing police escorts on Democratic lawmakers until the power grab was complete. California Governor Gavin Newsom has fired back with his “Election Rigging Response Act”— a response that will, sadly, also involve rigging elections. The Act would sideline California’s Citizens Redistricting Commission until 2031 so Democrats can oust five Republicans from California’s congressional delegation as payback.

To be clear, the actions taken by Texas and California are not equal—one’s a brazen power grab, the other a response to that power grab. But it’s still deeply concerning that California could become the first state to backtrack from independent redistricting, just when increasing polarization makes these and other independent institutions even more essential.

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How Pop Culture Can Save Democracy: Lessons From Just Do It to Designated Drive

Shoppers stand in line at a Nike outlet store on May 3, 2025 in San Diego, California.

Getty Images, Kevin Carter

How Pop Culture Can Save Democracy: Lessons From Just Do It to Designated Drive

In the late 1980s, the Harvard Alcohol Project did just that. By embedding the term designated driver into prime-time television—from Cheers to L.A. Law—they didn’t just coin a phrase. They changed people’s behavior. The campaign was credited with helping reduce alcohol-related traffic fatalities by nearly 30% over the following decade. President George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, along with organizations like Mothers Against Drunk Driving, endorsed the movement, amplifying its reach.

They made sober driving socially admirable, not awkward. And they proved that when language meets culture, norms shift.

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Court to Trump: Your Tariffs Are Illegal

Activists of different trade unions burn an effigy of US President Donald Trump to protest against the recent tariff hikes imposed by the US on India during a demonstration in Kolkata on August 13, 2025.

(Photo by DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP via Getty Images)

Court to Trump: Your Tariffs Are Illegal

The stage for a potential Supreme Court showdown is set after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that most of former President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs were unlawful.

Trump imposed a series of tariffs, citing the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977 as justification. He declared national emergencies over trade deficits and drug trafficking to impose levies on countries, including China, Canada, Mexico, and nearly all U.S. trading partners.

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