Art exhibit features robot dogs with tech mogul heads admin - Latest News - December 4, 2025 admin 7 views 6 secs 0 Comments Art exhibit features robot dogs with tech mogul heads Source link PREVIOUS Dec. 4, 2025, 9:09 AM ESTBy Jane C. Timm and Matt DixonFlorida is entering the national redistricting arms race, with a legislative hearing Thursday set to kick off yet another contentious map-drawing fight.Republicans are hoping Florida, where they have full control of state government and already represent 20 of 28 congressional districts, will be fertile ground for further shoring up the party’s narrow House majority ahead of next year’s midterm elections.But it won’t be easy, legally or politically.From a legal standpoint, voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2010 that’s meant to block partisan gerrymandering. The state Supreme Court weakened the amendment’s ban on racial gerrymandering, but the prohibition of partisan gerrymandering remains intact.“No apportionment plan or individual district shall be drawn with the intent to favor or disfavor a political party or an incumbent,” the Florida Constitution reads.That means that lawmakers will need to explain and defend their reasoning for redrawing a map they enacted just three years ago without mentioning the partisan aims that have motivated other states around the country to pursue an unusually aggressive mid-decade redistricting push.“While that partisan redistricting battle is not illegal in other states, that is illegal in the state of Florida,” Amy Keith, executive director of Common Cause Florida, told NBC News.The politics aren’t simple, either. While the state has a Republican governor and Legislature, party leaders are divided on how to proceed.The Florida House, eager to engage in redistricting, has scheduled two hearings this month. But Gov. Ron DeSantis said this week he wants a new map to be drawn in the spring, just days before the candidate filing deadline. That way the state could take into consideration a potential Supreme Court ruling on a Louisiana redistricting case, which could weaken the Voting Rights Act and make the process easier.On Wednesday, the Senate’s GOP leader sided with DeSantis in the fight.“The Governor has expressed a desire to address this issue next Spring. As such, there is no ongoing work regarding potential mid-decade redistricting taking place in the Senate at this time,” Florida Senate President Ben Albritton told colleagues in a memo. Still, Albritton warned lawmakers to gear up for litigation, reminding them to stay away from partisans trying to influence the process and to keep all their communications and records for the likely lawsuits.State House Speaker Danny Perez did not return a request for comment.No map proposals have yet been filed, but there is an expectation that a redraw could net Republicans between three and five seats, with three seats seen as the most likely scenario.Any potential special legislative session would have to come by early April, as the state’s federal candidate qualifying deadline is April 20.Three seats that could be affected are held by Democratic Reps. Darren Soto in Orlando and Jared Moskowitz and Debbie Wasserman Schultz in South Florida.If they decide to be more aggressive, Republicans could also risk a “dummymander,” a redraw that helps the opposing party by making previously safe seats more competitive.Democrats have little ability to block any redistricting effort since the Florida Legislature is dominated by Republicans. But a coalition of more than 30 pro-democracy and progressive groups are planning to bus more than 300 protesters to the state Capitol in Tallahassee on Thursday in opposition to the GOP’s push.Florida’s entry into the redistricting battle comes at a critical moment for Republicans, who kicked off the cycle over the summer by passing a new map in Texas that could net the party up to five seats. But since then, fears have grown that Democrats could neutralize the GOP’s push.California Democrats responded with new district lines approved by voters last month that could cancel out any Republican gains in Texas. And while Republicans able to enact new maps in Missouri and North Carolina, efforts elsewhere have either not led to gains the party hoped for or stalled out.And now Republicans are waiting for a final ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court on whether they can use their new map in Texas in 2026.The redistricting season isn’t over, though. A map that could net Republicans two seats in Indiana is currently moving through the state Legislature, though it’s unclear if it has enough support in the Senate.In Virginia, Democrats kicked off a multistep process to draw new maps before the midterms in October that will stretch into the spring. State House Speaker Don Scott on Wednesday floated the possibility of an aggressive map that could result in a four-seat gain for Democrats.And there is continued pressure on lawmakers in Maryland, Illinois and Kansas on redistricting.Jane C. TimmJane C. Timm is a senior reporter for NBC News.Matt DixonMatt Dixon is a senior national politics reporter for NBC News, based in Florida. NEXT Dec. 4, 2025, 11:09 AM ESTBy Sahil KapurWASHINGTON — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Thursday that Democrats will force a vote next week on a bill to extend expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits and prevent health insurance premiums from skyrocketing for millions of Americans.Schumer said it will be a “clean” three-year extension of the enhanced ACA funds that first passed in 2021, designed to cap premiums for an average marketplace plan to 8.5% of income, and he said “every single Democrat will support it.”Schumer’s legislation is all but guaranteed to fail, as many GOP senators want the ACA funds to expire, arguing that the Covid-era subsidies were meant to be temporary and are no longer needed.Hopes fade in Congress for a health care deal before premiums are expected to soar03:08“Republicans have one week to decide where they stand: Vote for this bill and bring health care costs down, or block this bill and send premiums skyrocketing,” Schumer said on the floor. “That’s what’s at stake when we vote next week. It’s going to be one of the most important votes we take.”The vote is the product of a promise that Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., made to Democrats in discussions to end the record-long government shutdown last month. Thune reiterated Tuesday that the Senate will vote next week on any bill Democrats propose — but it will require 60 votes to pass, meaning at least 13 Republicans would need to support it.Some Republicans say they’re open to extending the ACA funding with modifications and stricter limits, but the two sides have failed to reach an agreement. And Republican demands for tougher abortion restrictions tied to any ACA funds have been dismissed as a nonstarter by Democrats.Still, the issue has deep political ramifications, with costs expected to soar for millions of Americans on the ACA marketplaces. Democrats see it as a potent weapon to use in their campaigns for the 2026 elections if no solution is reached.Schumer previewed his party’s message on the floor, calling his bill the “only path” to preventing insurance costs from rising significantly next month.“People back home will be watching what Republicans do, and the American people are running out of time before January 1,” he said. “Make no mistake, our bill is the last chance Republicans will get before Jan. 1 to prevent premiums from skyrocketing.”Thune did not mention health care during his floor speech Thursday, but told reporters two days earlier, after a GOP meeting, that it is still a work in progress. Republicans have proposed a variety of ideas to extend, redirect or end the ACA funds, but lack consensus internally about the way forward.“Conversations continue,” Thune told reporters Tuesday. “I don’t think, at this point, we have a clear path forward.”Sahil KapurSahil Kapur is a senior national political reporter for NBC News.Brennan Leach and Gabrielle Khoriaty contributed.