Virginia's supreme court on Friday ruled that the state cannot use new congressional maps approved by voters to help Democrats gain as many as four new seats in the US House of Representatives, handing Republicans a major win before November's midterm elections.
Court Decision and Implications
In a 4-3 decision, the court found that the state's general assembly did not follow the appropriate constitutional procedure in approving the map, which voters then passed in a referendum last month. The ruling is a setback for Democrats' efforts nationwide to counter gerrymanders approved by Republican-led states that may oust Democratic House representatives and boost the odds that Donald Trump's allies retain their majority in Congress's lower chamber in the November midterm elections.
Texas, North Carolina and Missouri have enacted new maps that could gerrymander as many as seven Democrats out of their districts, while voters in Democratic-led California have approved a new map that may cost the Republican party as many as five seats. Republicans cheered the court's decision, with Trump calling it a "huge win for the Republican Party, and America."
Other Key Stories from May 8, 2026
- US awaiting response from Iran over ceasefire deal: Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington expects a response from Iran to proposals for an interim deal to end the Middle East conflict, as Iran accused the US of breaching the fragile ceasefire.
- Supreme Court's Voting Rights Act ruling based on misleading data: A Guardian review found that Justice Samuel Alito's claim about Black voter turnout in Louisiana relied on an unusual methodology, copied from a Department of Justice brief.
- Trump administration arrested parents of 27,000 children in seven months: Government records show that since January 2025, the administration has targeted thousands of parents for deportation, with DHS deporting about twice as many parents each month compared to 2024.
- Hunting restrictions relaxed in US parks and refuges: The Trump administration is quietly pushing managers to scale back hunting restrictions, raising concerns about visitor safety and wildlife impact.
- Pentagon releases previously secret UFO files: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the release of initial files documenting UFO reports, calling it time for the American people to see them.
- White House brands Mark Hamill 'sick individual': After an AI-generated image showing Trump in a shallow grave was posted to Hamill's social media, the White House condemned the actor.
- US employers added 115,000 jobs in April: The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.3%, a robust gain despite economic uncertainty from the US-Israel war with Iran.
- Hantavirus outbreak on Dutch cruise ship: The outbreak highlights how cuts to US capacity have limited ability to track pathogens, with implications for pandemic preparedness.
- GM pays $12.75 million to settle data privacy claims: General Motors agreed to pay California for illegally selling location and driving data of hundreds of thousands of residents.
- Federal judge rules Trump administration's humanities grant terminations unconstitutional: The terminations involved "blatant" discrimination, the judge said.
