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When Democratic lawmakers fled Texas to try to prevent the Republican-led Legislature from redrawing the state’s congressional districts, it marked the latest episode in a long national history of gerrymandering.The word “gerrymander” was coined in America more than 200 years ago as an unflattering means of describing political manipulation in legislative map-making. The word has stood the test of time, in part, because American politics has remained fiercely competitive. A woman holds a sign as she joins others during a rally to protest against redistricting hearings at the Texas Capitol, Thursday, July 24, 2025, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)…

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli Cabinet on Monday voted unanimously to fire the attorney general, escalating a long-running standoff between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the judiciary that critics see as a threat to the country’s democratic institutions.The Supreme Court froze the move while it considers the legality.Netanyahu and his supporters accuse Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara of exceeding her powers by blocking decisions by the elected government, including a move to fire the head of Israel’s domestic security agency, another ostensibly apolitical office. She has said there is a conflict of interest because Netanyahu and several former aides face a…

Warren Buffett speaks during the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska on May 3, 2025.CNBCBerkshire Hathaway shares dipped after Warren Buffett’s conglomerate reported a small decline in operating earnings, while continuing a stock-selling spree and a buyback halt.The Omaha-based giant saw operating earnings including those from its insurance and railroad businesses decline dip 4% year over year to $11.16 billion in the second quarter. While railroad, energy, manufacturing, service and retailing all reported higher profits from a year ago, a drop in insurance underwriting dragged down overall results.Class A and B shares of Berkshire both declined more than 2%…

The housing market will hamper economic growth in the second half of the year, according to Goldman Sachs. Residential investment should fall 8% in the back-half of the year compared with the same period a year ago, Jan Hatzius, Goldman’s chief economist, told clients in a Sunday note. Declines in affordability and immigration are among the key causes of weakness in the housing market, he said. “Residential investment is likely to remain the largest drag on growth,” Hatzius wrote. Hatzius said multifamily homebuilding is likely to continue to operate at depressed levels through December. At the same time, the number…

U.S. President Donald Trump gestures before boarding Air Force One as he returns to Washington, D.C., in Lossiemouth, Scotland, Britain, July 29, 2025. Evelyn Hockstein | ReutersPresident Donald Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ added a temporary $40,000 limit on the federal deduction for state and local taxes, known as SALT.But the phaseout, or income-based benefit reduction, creates what some experts are calling a “SALT torpedo,” or artificially high tax rate, when modified adjusted gross income falls between $500,000 and $600,000.”Anyone reporting income in that range” should talk with their tax and investment advisors, said certified financial planner Jim Guarino, managing director…

The post-Ottoman Arab states were created after the First World War to serve the interests of western imperialists, rather than those of the region’s native inhabitants. In 1918, as British domination of the post-Ottoman Middle East took shape, an official in the British India Office admitted: “The old watchwords are obsolete, and the question is how we are to secure what is essential under the new ones. This thing can be done, but a certain re-orientation is necessary. The ‘Arab facade’ may have to be something rather more solid than we had originally contemplated.” By the time the so-called Paris…

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A federal judge says Rhode Island’s gun permit system, which requires residents to show “a need” to openly carry a firearm throughout the state, does not violate the Second Amendment.In a ruling handed down Friday, U.S. District Judge William Smith granted Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha’s motion for summary judgment that dismisses a lawsuit filed by a coalition of gun owners in 2023. The lawsuit stems from a Rhode Island law dictating how the state issues firearms permits. According to the statute, local officials are required to issue concealed-carry permits to anyone who meets the…

BAYREUTH, Germany (AP) — Less than 41 hours after his final bows for singing the title role of “Lohengrin” at Munich’s Bavarian State Opera, Piotr Beczała was 150 miles (241 kilometers) away at the Bayreuth Festpielhaus for a different production of the same Wagner opera.Wagner’s roles are among the most punishing in classical music, and breaks of two or three days between performances are customary to allow for vocal recovery. Beczała earned thunderous ovations on Wednesday in Munich and Friday at Bayreuth.“I was a little under pressure because Christian Thielemann is coming back to Bayreuth for this production,” the 58-year-old…

Everton are in talks to sign Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall from Chelsea after having a second bid rejected for Southampton winger Tyler Dibling.A new No 8 is a priority for Everton boss David Moyes along with a defensive midfielder, with Leicester’s Wilfried Ndidi one they like. Dewsbury-Hall only joined Chelsea last summer, having impressed in Leicester’s Championship-winning campaign, and made 36 appearances, but started just two Premier League games.Everton’s offer for Dibling was understood to be worth an initial £35m plus £8m in add-ons, a considerable increase from their opening bid of around £27m.Southampton had claimed earlier in the year that they…

Bill ConnellyAug 4, 2025, 08:48 AM ETCloseBill Connelly is a writer for ESPN. He covers college football, soccer and tennis. He has been at ESPN since 2019.Soccer truly never stops. As preposterous as it might sound, considering the Women’s Euros ended less than a week ago and the Club World Cup ended less than three weeks ago, the offseason is just about over. Champions League qualification is already underway, the Premier League’s 2025-26 campaign begins in two weeks, and all of Europe’s big leagues will get rolling soon after.Thanks to the awkwardness of Europe’s transfer window closing a couple of…