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Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Texas lawmakers approve redistricting map favouring Republicans
Texas legislators have approved new congressional maps designed to give Republicans an edge in next year's elections for the US House of Representatives. After a two-week standoff, where Democrats fled the state to stall the vote and rally supporters against the redistricting plans, Republicans in the Texas House of Representatives passed the new voting lines in an 88-52 vote. The maps will now go to the Texas Senate, where they are expected to be swiftly approved. They create five new Republican-leaning seats that would shore up the party's US House majority in Washington DC. Democratic-led states are pushing to redraw their own maps to offset the Texas ones. President Donald Trump backed redrawing the maps to safeguard a Republican majority in the US House. Republicans hold a slim majority in the upper chamber of Congress, which Democrats aim to win back in the 2026 midterm elections. Wednesday's vote in Texas followed a dramatic showdown as Democrats fled across state lines to deny Republicans the quorum necessary in the state legislative body to take a vote. Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, ordered their absent Democrats' arrest, and some of them said law enforcement had monitored their homes while they were gone. The lawmakers returned this week, saying they had achieved their objective of drawing national attention to the matter. In an effort to ensure Democrats would not attempt to halt the vote again, Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows ordered the statehouse chamber doors to be locked on Monday. He also said Democrats would be "released into the custody" of a designated police officer to ensure they returned to the statehouse on Wednesday for the redistricting vote. Several Democrats instead ripped up the written agreements that they were required to sign for the police escort. One lawmaker, Nicole Collier, decided to sleep in the chamber rather than be escorted by an officer. In the time since Texas started planning these new voting maps, other states controlled by both political parties - including Florida, New York, Ohio and Missouri - have been weighing similar changes. California lawmakers are currently debating new maps that would give new advantages to Democrats in five districts, which would cancel out changes made in Texas. A key provision in California says the maps would only go into effect if Texas or other states went ahead with changes favouring Republicans. After the vote on Wednesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote on X: "It's on, Texas." The new maps in Texas sparked uproar over gerrymandering - the redrawing of electoral boundaries to favour a political party - which is practised by both main parties and is legal unless ruled to be racially motivated. Like other states, Texas typically redraws congressional districts once a decade when new population data is released by the US Census. Texas Democrats claimed that redrawing the maps before the next population count in 2030 was being done along racial lines - an argument that has been rejected by Republicans. Voting maps that were approved in 2021 after the last population count are still being litigated over claims of racial discrimination. During one of the many heated exchanges during debate in the Texas statehouse, Republican legislator Todd Hunter, who introduced the redistricting bill, was applauded as he scolded Democrats. "Don't come into this body and say we didn't include you," he said. "You left us for 18 days, and that's wrong." Democrats in the chamber questioned the legality of the maps and accused Republicans of trying to "steal" an election. "Let's talk about cowardice and cheats," Democratic legislator Ann Johnson said. "The root of all of this is around racism and power," she added. "A pure power grab." Democrats and civil rights groups have said the new maps will dilute voting power from minorities, which would violate federal law, and have threatened to sue. Texas Democrats return home after redistricting row California governor unveils voting lines plan to counter Texas Republicans Texas redistricting feud escalates as Democrats face bomb and FBI threats
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Protesters heckle Vance, Hegseth at photo op to thank National Guard troops in DC
As President Donald Trump's deployment of National Guard troops in Washington continued Wednesday, protesters booed Vice President JD Vance during a photo op with the guardsmen stationed in the city. The protesters jeered Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller as they visited Union Station, blocks from the U.S. Capitol, to thank the troops at a Shake Shack where they bought lunch for the guard members. "Well, a lot has changed in the past seven days," Vance told the troops, referring to when the federal surge against D.C. crime began. "You guys are doing a hell of a job. I'm proud of you and we're grateful," he told the troops. "So, we'll say hello for a bit -- just want to shake some hands and say hey to you guys." "Free D.C.," the protesters shouted as the three officials arrived and then later inside the Shake Shack. The chants drowned out much of what Vance, Hegseth and Miller said as they tried to speak to reporters. MORE: 6th Republican-led state sends National Guard troops to DC as Trump continues law enforcement takeover Vance and Miller dismissed the jeers, calling the protesters "crazy" and "communists." "They appear to hate the idea that Americans can enjoy their communities," Vance said. Vance was asked why troops were stationed at Union Station instead of parts of the city with higher crime rates. The vice president said the station was being overrun with homeless people and visitors didn't feel safe. "This should be a monument to American greatness," he said. Vance added that he believed that crime statistics do not report the full scope of crime on the streets of the nation's capital. After being met with boos at Union Station, Vance sat down with Fox News Wednesday evening to recap his visit, and criticized those who called the surprise visit a PR stunt. "You've got a lot of national guardsmen over there, some D.C. cops who have been heckled by some of the protesters. So I thought, what a good show of moral support to have the vice president, some of the senior team at the White House show up." At a back-to-school event Wednesday morning, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said the city doesn't need federal agents to ensure safety in D.C. "Crime has gone down in our city and it has gone down precipitously over the last two years because of a lot of hard work, changes to our public safety ecosystem, including changes to the law," Bowser said. "And we know that those facts don't comport to what some people are saying, but those are the facts." Bowser also said she doesn't believe the National Guard should be used for "law enforcement." "They have to be used on mission specific items that benefit the nation," she said of the guardsmen. However, when asked about how her relationship with President Trump has changed since the start of the year, Bowser said her plan is to "represent the district." Flanked by Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith, Bowser repeatedly deferred to Smith when asked about the city's crime data. The MPD has been collaborative with the federal agencies and so far has developed a congenial relationship with its federal partners, according to Smith. Smith also acknowledged having federal agents spread throughout the city has been helpful to the city's police force. "Hearing from the officers on the street, some of them have found it to be very helpful, some people in the community have found it to be very helpful," she said. ABC News' Arthur Jones II contributed to this report.
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Why Shake Shack, Sweetgreen and Cava are flashing warning lights for the US economy
As President Donald Trump's aggressive policies on international trade and immigration gradually begin to make their presence felt, the underwhelming recent earnings results reported by some key casual food businesses are serving as flashing warning lights for the U.S. economy. Shake Shack shares tumbled 7.7 percent in response to its second-quarter results, despite their being generally positive. In comparison, Sweetgreen shares dropped 23 percent after it cut its 2025 outlook for the second consecutive quarter, and Cava's quarterly revenue disappointed estimates because of weaker-than-expected sales growth. Bloomberg columnist Connor Sen has argued that the headwinds being faced by those brands are uniquely significant because their restaurants are more likely to be based in metropolitan centers along the west and east coasts of the United States, which are likely to bear the brunt of the president's policies first. Shake Shack, for instance, has 80 of its 610 U.S. locations in New York, while one-third of Sweetgreen's branches are in New York and California, and Cava is based in D.C., which, along with Maryland and Virginia, accounts for 17 percent of its business, according to Bloomberg. Their exposure to 'critical coastal metro areas that are immigration hubs and popular international tourism destinations' contrasts with rival eateries such as Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, and Texas Roadhouse, which more typically cater to middle American diners across a wider geographic spread and have not yet suffered an equivalent financial setback. Sen points out that New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco – three of America's biggest cities, all coastal and Democrat-governed – suffered a combined 43,000 job losses in the first six months of the year, a period when the U.S. as a whole added 500,000. Over the same half-year stretch, those three locations plus Washington, D.C, saw a combined reduction in their workforces of 60,000 people, after experiencing a 160,000 increase in 2024, a phenomenon that might very reasonably be attributed to Trump's immigration crackdown. Meanwhile, New York City Tourism + Conventions has said it expects to see a 17 percent fall in international visitors this year, and Visit California is forecasting a 9.2 percent fall in arrivals, as travellers from overseas register their disapproval of Trump's administration by vacationing elsewhere. Those factors conspire to leave businesses dependent on America's coastal cities facing a smaller pool of potential customers. Furthermore, those who remain appear to be less likely to spend their disposable income, meaning a reduced likelihood of their treating themselves to a meal out. The latter point is made by a preliminary study of consumer sentiment carried out by the University of Michigan, which found left-leaning voters much less likely to spend freely in August than their Republican counterparts. While economists might traditionally look at the stock market or the unemployment rate to gauge the health of a nation's bank balance, the well-being of brands like Shake Shack, Sweetgreen, and Cava can be equally revealing, primarily by exposing regional disparities. Other surprisingly telling indicators of an economic downturn or coming recession might include declining sales of men's underwear, reduced sales of inessential goods like snacks and cigarettes in grocery stores, or, conversely, a rise in the sales of miniature bottles of alcohol, which might signal increased consumer stress. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
