North Carolina GOP advances congressional map to secure another House seat for Trump

North Carolina GOP advances congressional map to secure another House seat for Trump

By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s legislature formally began redrawing the state’s congressional district map Monday, plainly stating their intent to help Republicans gain another U.S. House seat under President Donald Trump’s push to retain his party’s grip on Congress next year.

The state Senate gave initial approval along party lines to new boundaries for two eastern North Carolina districts in a move aimed at thwarting the reelection of Democratic Rep. Don Davis, one of the state’s three Black members of Congress. That followed a committee meeting in which dozens of speakers from the public sharply accused Republican lawmakers in the ninth-largest state of bowing to Trump.

The plan’s chief author was direct about the intent to help his party in the 2026 midterm elections.

“The motivation behind this redraw is simple and singular — draw a new map that will bring an additional Republican seat to the North Carolina congressional delegation,” said GOP Sen. Ralph Hise. If Democrats otherwise take back the House, Hise added, they will “torpedo President Trump’s agenda.”

The Republican legislative leaders announced plans a week ago to rework the map as a mid-decade redistricting fight escalates between Democrats and Republicans nationwide. Democrats need to gain just three more seats to seize control of the House, and the president’s party historically has lost seats in midterm elections.

Under the 2024 election map, Republicans won 10 of North Carolina’s 14 U.S. House seats in a state where statewide races are often close. That compared to a 7-7 seat split between Democrats and the GOP under the map used in 2022. Based on past statewide elections, Republicans would stand a decent chance of winning an 11th seat in 2026 should the latest proposal be implemented.

Final vote expected this week, veto can’t block map

After a Senate procedural vote Tuesday, the proposal will head to the House for expected final General Assembly approval later this week. The state Democratic Party plans an outdoor rally Tuesday to oppose it. But Democrats are the minority in both chambers, and state law prevents Democratic Gov. Josh Stein from using his veto stamp on redistricting action. Litigation challenging the map over allegations it dilutes Black voting power is likely.

“This is an attack on Black voters,” Democratic Sen. Kandie Smith, an African American legislator representing a county in Davis’ current district, said during Senate floor debate. “It’s about stealing elections by design, so that the outcomes are predetermined and accountability becomes optional.”

Counties added, removed to make district lean more to right

Under the proposal, Davis’ current 1st District — the state’s only swing seat — would shift to the right as mapmakers remove inland counties, including Davis’ home county, and replace them with several from the coast. Counties removed from the 1st District are placed in a retooled 3rd District held by Republican Rep. Greg Murphy. Election results indicate the 3rd would remain favorable for Murphy.

North Carolina Republicans, equipped with recent legal rulings that permit partisan advantage in drawing boundaries, last redrew the map in 2023, leading to three incumbent Democrats deciding against running in 2024 because lines had shifted rightward. Those changes helped Republicans retain their House majority entering 2025.

Trump is also asking other red states for more seats. He encouraged North Carolina Republican legislators last Friday on Truth Social “to work as hard as they can to pass this new Map so that we can continue our incredible Record of SUCCESS.”

Senate Democrats and their allies also blasted North Carolina GOP legislative leaders for acting on a partisan map while they are still over three months late passing a state budget.

“They are wasting precious time and taxpayer dollars bending the knee to Donald Trump and ripping away the voice of the voters. It is shameful, it is pathetic,” 19-year-old college student Eric Willoughby told the committee.

The national redistricting battle began over the summer when Trump urged Republican-led Texas to reshape its U.S. House districts. After Texas lawmakers acted, California Democrats reciprocated by passing their own plan, which still needs voter approval in November.

Former 1st District reps call proposal “a moral regression”

Voters within versions of the 1st District have elected African Americans to the seat continuously since 1992. Some counties in the current version have majority Black populations.

The proposed map is “not merely a political act — it is a moral regression,” said former 1st District Reps. Eva Clayton and G.K. Butterfield, both Black Democrats, in a news release. “It weakens the representation of Black North Carolinians and undermines the promise of equal voice and fair elections that so many have fought to secure.”

Hise said there’s nothing unlawfully discriminatory about the map. He said race-based data wasn’t used to retool boundaries and the lack of significant evidence of racially polarized voting in the region would make it unconstitutional to draw lines with a chief goal of helping Black voters elect their favored candidates.

Millions of Indians celebrate Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights

Millions of Indians celebrate Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights

NEW DELHI (AP) — Millions of Indians celebrated Diwali on Monday as lamps illuminated homes and streets across the country to mark the Hindu festival symbolizing the victory of light over darkness.

Diwali, derived from the word “Deepavali,” meaning “a row of lights,” is typically celebrated by socializing and exchanging gifts. The dates of the festival are based on the Hindu lunar calendar, typically falling in late October or early November.

Shoppers crowded markets to buy flowers, lanterns and candles.

Indians began celebrating the annual Hindu festival of lights, Diwali, by symbolically lighting a record 2.61 million clay oil lamps on Sunday in a northern Indian city. (AP Video)

The celebrations were most visible in Ayodhya city in Uttar Pradesh state. Hindus believe the deity Lord Ram was born there and returned after 14 years in exile. People light earthen lamps to mark his homecoming.

As dusk fell Sunday, more than 2.6 million lamps were lit on the banks of the Saryu River in Ayodhya, retaining the Guinness World Record set last year. At least 2,100 Hindu priests performed prayers in unison, their chants echoing across the shimmering riverfront.

The holy city was also decked with fairy lights, and a laser and fireworks show illuminated its lanes and riverbanks. Thousands of residents lit lamps at houses and temples.

Officials said more than 33,000 volunteers helped light the lamps. Nearly 40 families from nearby villages produced 1.6 million lamps. At least 73,000 liters of oil and 5.5 million cotton wicks were used to light the city.

“It is hard work lighting diyas (oil lamps) one by one,” said 19-year-old volunteer Rachit Singh, his face glowing in the firelight. “But when you see the whole ghat (stairs to the river) light up, every bit of effort feels worth it.”

In recent years, Diwali celebrations in New Delhi have been clouded by concerns over air pollution, as smoke-emitting firecrackers cause toxic smog that can take days to clear.

On Monday, the level of tiniest particulates surged to 347 on the air quality index in parts of the city — about 14 times the World Health Organization’s daily recommended maximum exposure — according to SAFAR, the federal government’s air quality monitoring agency.

Last week, India’s top court eased a blanket ban on firecrackers in New Delhi during Diwali, allowing limited use of “green firecrackers” that emit fewer pollutants. Developed by federal research institutes, they are designed to cut particulate and gas emissions by about 30%.

The court said they could be used during specific hours from Saturday to Tuesday.

___

Associated Press writer Biswajeet Banerjee in Lucknow, India, contributed to this report.

October 21st 2025

October 21st 2025

Thought of the Day

October 21st 2024
Photo by Getty Image

A closed mind is like a closed book; just a stumbling block.

Supreme Court will consider whether people who regularly smoke pot can legally own guns

Supreme Court will consider whether people who regularly smoke pot can legally own guns

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said on Monday that it will consider whether people who regularly smoke marijuana can legally own guns, the latest firearm case to come before the court since its 2022 decision expanding gun rights.

President Donald Trump’s administration asked the justices to revive a case against a Texas man charged with a felony because he allegedly had a gun in his home and acknowledged being a regular pot user. The Justice Department appealed after a lower court largely struck down a law that bars people who use any illegal drugs from having guns.

Last year, a jury convicted Hunter Biden of violating the law, among other charges. His father, then-President Joe Biden, later pardoned him.

Arguments probably will take place early in 2026, with a decision likely by early summer.

The Republican administration favors Second Amendment rights, but government attorneys argued that this ban is a justifiable restriction.

They asked the court to reinstate a case against Ali Danial Hemani. His lawyers got the felony charge tossed out after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the blanket ban is unconstitutional under the Supreme Court’s expanded view of gun rights. The appellate judges found it could still be used against people accused of being high and armed at the same time, though.

Hemani’s attorneys argue the broadly written law puts millions of people at risk of technical violations since at least 20% of Americans have tried pot, according to government health data. About half of states legalized recreational marijuana, but it’s still illegal under federal law.

The Justice Department argues the law is valid when used against regular drug users because they pose a serious public safety risk. The government said the FBI found Hemani’s gun and cocaine in a search of his home as they probed travel and communications allegedly linked to Iran. The gun charge was the only one filed, however, and his lawyers said the other allegations were irrelevant and were mentioned only to make him seem more dangerous.

The case marks another flashpoint in the application of the Supreme Court’s new test for firearm restrictions. The conservative majority found in 2022 that the Second Amendment generally gives people the right to carry guns in public for self-defense and any firearm restrictions must have a strong grounding in the nation’s history.

The landmark 2022 ruling led to a cascade of challenges to firearm laws around the country, though the justices have since upheld a different federal law intended to protect victims of domestic violence by barring guns from people under restraining orders.

US envoys arrive in Israel to shore up the Gaza truce after violence flares

US envoys arrive in Israel to shore up the Gaza truce after violence flares

By SAM MEDNICK, SAMY MAGDY and WAFAA SHURAFA Associated Press

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Two of U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoys traveled to Israel Monday to shore up the tenuous ceasefire in Gaza, a day after the fragile deal was tested by a major flareup of violence.

On Sunday, Israel had threatened to halt shipments of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and its forces killed dozens in strikes there after accusing Hamas militants of killing two soldiers. Israel said late in the day it had resumed enforcing the ceasefire.

The delivery of food and other aid into the devastated territory will begin again Monday through multiple crossings after Israeli inspection, in line with the ceasefire agreement, according to an Israeli security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak to the media. By afternoon, it was not immediately clear if the flow of aid had restarted.

Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian said that U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about developments in the region.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance and the second lady, Usha Vance, are scheduled to visit the country Tuesday and meet with Netanyahu, the prime minister said in a speech in which he also warned Hamas that any attacks against Israeli forces would be met with “a very heavy price.”

A fragile truceMore than a week has passed since the start of the U.S.-proposed truce aimed at ending two years of war. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday that Hamas has been “quite rambunctious” and “they’ve been doing some shooting.”

He also suggested that the violence might be the fault of “rebels” within the organization rather than its leadership.

Since the ceasefire started, Hamas security forces have returned to the streets in Gaza, clashing with armed groups and killing alleged gangsters in what the militant group says is an attempt to restore law and order in areas where Israeli troops have withdrawn.

On Sunday, Israel’s military said militants had fired at troops in areas of Rafah city that are Israeli-controlled according to agreed-upon ceasefire lines.

Retaliatory strikes by Israel killed 45 people in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry, which says a total of 80 people have been killed since the ceasefire took effect on Oct. 11.

Hamas, which continued to accuse Israel of multiple ceasefire violations, said communication with its remaining units in Rafah had been cut off for months and “we are not responsible for any incidents occurring in those areas.”

Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israel is still waiting for Hamas to turn over the bodies of 16 remaining hostages. Twelve bodies have already been returned to Israel, and Hamas said it planned to return one more late Monday.

The next stage of ceasefire The next stage is expected to focus on disarming Hamas, Israeli withdrawal from additional areas it controls in Gaza, and future governance of the devastated territory. The U.S. plan proposes the establishment of an internationally backed authority.

In an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” news program on the weekend, Kushner said the success or failure of the deal would depend on whether Israel and the international mechanism could create a viable alternative to Hamas.

“If they are successful, Hamas will fail, and Gaza will not be a threat to Israel in the future,” he said.

A Hamas delegation led by chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya was in Cairo to follow up on the implementation of the ceasefire deal with mediators and other Palestinian groups.

Fears ceasefire may not hold upPalestinians in Gaza are wary that the deal may fall apart after Sunday’s flare-up.

Funeral services were held Monday for some of the dozens of people killed earlier by Israeli strikes across the strip. Associated Press footage showed mourners lining up for funeral prayers behind bodies draped in white sheets.

“There should be concerns as long as the matters have yet to be settled,” said Hossam Ahmed, a displaced person from the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.

There is also concern about how much aid Israel is letting into Gaza, which is part of the agreement.

In their Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that sparked the war, Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people as hostages.

The Israel-Hamas war has killed more than 68,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. The ministry maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. Israel has disputed them without providing its own toll.

Thousands more people are missing, according to the Red Cross.

___

Magdy reported from Cairo and Shurafa from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip.

Amazon cloud computing outage disrupts Snapchat, Ring and many other online services

Amazon cloud computing outage disrupts Snapchat, Ring and many other online services

By KELVIN CHAN

LONDON (AP) — Internet users around the world faced widespread disruption early on Monday because of a problem at Amazon’s cloud computing service that took down dozens of major online services, including social media site Snapchat, the Roblox and Fortnite video games and chat app Signal.

About three hours after the outage began, Amazon Web Services said it was starting to recover from the problem.

Amazon Web Services provides behind-the-scenes cloud computing infrastructure to many government departments, universities and businesses, including The Associated Press, which allows them to provide online services.

On DownDetector, a website that tracks online outages, users reported issues with Snapchat, Roblox, Fortnite, online broker Robinhood, the McDonald’s app and many other services. DownDetector said the problems were: “Possibly related to issues at Amazon Web Services.”

Coinbase and Signal both said on X that they were experiencing issues related to the AWS outage.

Even Amazon’s own services weren’t immune. Users of the company’s Ring doorbell cameras and Alexa-powered smart speakers posted on DownDetector that they weren’t working, while others said they were unable to access the Amazon website or download books to their Kindle.

Amazon pinned the outage on issues related to their domain name system, an apparatus that converts web addresses into IP addresses so websites and apps can load on internet-connected devices.

The first signs of trouble emerged at around 3:11 a.m. Eastern Time, when Amazon Web Services reported on its Health Dashboard that it was “investigating increased error rates and latencies for multiple AWS services in the US-EAST-1 Region.”

Later, the company reported that there were “significant error rates” and that engineers were “actively working” on the problem.

Around 6 a.m. Eastern Time, the company said that it was seeing recovery across most of the affected services. “We can confirm global services and features that rely on US-EAST-1 have also recovered,” it said, adding that it is working on a “full resolution.”

This is not the first time issues with Amazon’s key services have caused widespread disruptions. Many popular internet services were down after a brief outage in 2023. AWS’s longest outage in recent history occurred in late 2021, when companies — everything from airline reservations and auto dealerships to payment apps and video streaming services — were affected for more than five hours. Outages also happened in 2020 and 2017.

The company reported that 64 internal AWS services were affected by the issue.

AWS customers include some of the world’s biggest businesses and organizations.

“So much of the world now relies on these three or four big (cloud) compute companies who provide the underlying infrastructure that when there’s an issue like this, it can be really impactful across a broad range, a broad spectrum” of online services, said Patrick Burgess, a cybersecurity expert at U.K.-based BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT.

“The world now runs on the cloud,” and the internet is seen as a utility like water or electricity, as we spend so much of our lives on our smartphones, Burgess said.

And because so much of the online world’s plumbing is underpinned by a handful of companies, when something goes wrong, “it’s very difficult for users to pinpoint what is happening because we don’t see Amazon, we just see Snapchat or Roblox,” Burgess said.

“The good news is that this kind of issue is usually relatively fast (to resolve)” and there’s no indication that it was caused by a cyber incident like a cyberattack, Burgess said.

“This looks like a good old-fashioned technology issue, something’s gone wrong and it will be fixed by Amazon,” he said.

There are “well-established processes” to deal with outages at Amazon Web Services, as well as rivals Google and Microsoft, which together provide most of the world’s cloud computing infrastructure, Burgess said, adding that such outages are usually fixed in “hours rather than days.”

Amazon Web Services said at about 6:30 a.m. Eastern time that “most AWS Service operations are succeeding normally now.”

Festive Fall Grilled Cheese

Festive Fall Grilled Cheese

This recipe is an elevated classic. The crunch of the apples combined with the melt-in-your-mouth cheddar cheese makes for a festive comfort meal.

Ingredients

  • 2 slices sourdough bread
  • 1 tbsp. butter
  • 1/2 an apple, thinly sliced
  • 2–3 slices sharp cheddar cheese
  • optional: other festive toppings like brie, honey, bacon, or cranberry jam

Instructions

1. Toast the bread
Butter one side of each slice of bread and toast in a pan over low heat.

2. Layer the grilled cheese
Add the cheese and apples, and other optional toppings to the bread and close the sandwich.

3. Melt the cheese
Let the sandwich warm through on the stove, flipping after about 2 minutes on each side.

4. Enjoy
Serve warm and enjoy this festive and unique take on a grilled cheese!

October 20th 2025

October 20th 2025

Thought of the Day

October 20th 2024
Photo by Getty Image

Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still.

China accuses US of cyberattack on national time center

China accuses US of cyberattack on national time center

BEIJING (AP) — China on Sunday accused the U.S. National Security Agency of carrying out cyberattacks on its national time center following an investigation, saying any damage to related facilities could have disrupted network communications, financial systems and power supply.

The Ministry of State Security alleged in a WeChat post that the U.S. agency had exploited vulnerabilities in the messaging services of a foreign mobile phone brand to steal sensitive information from devices of the National Time Service Center’s staff in 2022. It did not specify the brand.

The U.S. agency also used 42 types of “special cyberattack weapons” to target the center’s multiple internal network systems and attempted to infiltrate a key timing system between 2023 and 2024, it said.

It said it had evidence but did not provide it in the post.

It said the time center is responsible for generating and distributing China’s standard time, in addition to providing timing services to industries such as communications, finance, power, transport and defense. It had provided guidance to the center to eliminate the risks.

“The U.S. is accusing others of what it does itself, repeatedly hyping up claims about Chinese cyber threats,” it said.

Western governments in recent years have alleged hackers linked to the Chinese government have targeted officials, journalists, corporations and others. The ministry’s statement could fuel tensions between Washington and Beijing, on top of trade, technology and Taiwan issues.

The U.S. Embassy did not immediately comment.

Limp Bizkit band members say bass player Sam Rivers has died

Limp Bizkit band members say bass player Sam Rivers has died

By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press

Sam Rivers, the bass player in the nu metal band Limp Bizkit, died on Saturday, according to social media posts by his band mates.

The band did not disclose where Rivers died or the circumstances, but praised him as “pure magic” and “the soul in the sound.”

“From the first note we ever played together, Sam brought a light and a rhythm that could never be replaced,” they wrote in a group Instagram post. “His talent was effortless, his presence unforgettable, his heart enormous.”

Fred Durst, the band’s front man and lead vocalist, posted a video Sunday morning that recounted how they met at a club in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, and went on to music stardom and performances around the globe. Durst said he has shed “gallons and gallons of tears since yesterday.”

“He really did have an impact on the world and his music and his gift is the one that’s going to keep on giving,” Durst said. “I just love him so much.”

Rivers, 48, had spoken of heavy drinking that had caused liver disease. He left the band in 2015 and received a liver transplant before reuniting with Limp Bizkit three years later.

Limp Bizkit has scheduled a tour of Central and South America to begin in Mexico City in late November.

Durst said he and Rivers shared a love of grunge music, naming the bands Mother Love Bone, Alice in Chains and Stone Temple Pilots.

“He had this kind of ability to pull this beautiful sadness out of the bass that I’d never heard,” Durst said, calling Rivers “so talented I can’t explain.”

Limp Bizkit, with roots in Jacksonville, Florida, emerged in the late 1990s with a sound that melds altenative rock, heavy metal and rap.

Their off-the-wall sense of humor is reflected in the titles of their mega-selling 2000 album, “Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water,” and a single released last month, “Making Love to Morgan Wallen.”

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