The Supreme Court, in a divided ruling, allowed Texas to use its congressional redistricting map that advantages Republicans for the 2026 elections, despite a lower court’s finding that race likely influenced the map.

Democrats pushed a California ballot measure to add five seats through a different approach, but Republicans and the Justice Department are also challenging that redraw.

Justice Elena Kagan warned in dissent that intervening now could trigger further racial redistricting and raise constitutional concerns.

Developing coverage notes that the situation is timely and will be updated as new information emerges.

The broader NBC News roundup includes diverse items such as EU fines on Elon Musk’s X, a pipe-bomb suspect, scoliosis surgery insurance policies, Navy investigations, Eurovision boycott discussions, and Pantone’s 2026 Color of the Year.

The tone frames this as a liveblog of Trump-era political developments spanning the judiciary, immigration, media freedom, diplomacy, and domestic investigations.

Investigative reporting highlights Navy mishaps in operations against Yemen’s Houthi rebels, including a friendly-fire incident, carrier collisions, and aircraft losses, with substantial damage costs.

Additional items include changes to U.S. visa policy for high-risk countries and heightened scrutiny of applicants’ online activity to detect misinformation involvement.

Briefings mention ongoing diplomacy with Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Trump’s comments on releasing video of a Caribbean attack, and the broad Trump investigations managed by Jack Smith, who was ordered to testify before a Republican-led House committee in December.

Senate and Defense Department figures reacted to a controversial early-September strike on a suspected drug-trafficking boat, with calls for investigations into the incident.

Other items include possible non-indictment of Letitia James, a CDC hepatitis B vaccine advisory panel vote, a Southern Command military strike report, FDA data-transparency concerns on heart risks from COVID vaccines, and discussion of a new White House architect for a Trump-era project.

The FIFA World Cup 2026 draw will form the 48-team slate in Washington, D.C., with coverage across Telemundo, Peacock, and Fox, set against political context involving leader meetings and potential Peace Prize considerations for Donald Trump.