New Supreme Court ruling could affect the balance of power in Congress

The Supreme Court has ruled in a voting rights case that could affect the balance of power in Congress. The court's conservative majority struck down Louisiana’s second majority Black congressional district, finding redistricting there relied too heavily on race. The decision weakens the landmark Voting Rights Act and its protections against discrimination in redistricting. One election law expert has estimated that 70 of the 435 congressional districts are protected by the portion of the law this case focused on. In a ruling in a separate case, the Supreme Court is siding with a faith-based pregnancy center that raised First Amendment concerns about an investigation into whether it misled people to discourage abortions. It's a procedural victory for First Choice Women’s Resource Centers. It's challenging a New Jersey probe of its practices. The conservative majority court has given abortion opponents high-profile wins in recent years, most notably the watershed case that overturned the nationwide right to abortion in 2022. First Choice had also drawn support from the American Civil Liberties Union, which supports abortion rights but backed the group’s First Amendment concerns. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)