U.S. Representative Terri Sewell

Federal judges on Tuesday sharply questioned lawyers on a request to make Alabama subject again to the preclearance requirement of the Voting Rights Act after courts ruled the state intentionally diluted the voting strength of Black residents.

Senate Democrats reintroduced a bill Tuesday to restore and expand protections enshrined in the Voting Rights act of 1965, their latest long-shot attempt to revive the landmark law just days before its 60th anniversary and at a time of renewed debate over the future administration of American elections. The bill is named for the late John Lewis, who was injured during the 1965 attack on voting rights marchers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma.

All sides are preparing arguments for a three judge panel over how Alabama draws future voting maps. A three-judge federal panel has scheduled a hearing one week from today on whether federal oversight is needed for Alabama. Criticism was made over how conservative handled the creation of the new minority U.S. House seat in District two.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada will keep working toward a new trade framework with the United States despite U.S. President Donald Trump saying he'll raise taxes on many imported goods from Canada to 35%. Trump's move deepens a rift between two North American countries that have suffered a debilitating blow to their decades-old alliance. Alabama U.S. House member Terri Sewell was in Tuscaloosa for a small business round table at the Edge Incubator Center. She says tariffs, overall, may hurt Alabama.

Federal judges will weigh a request to bring Alabama back under the pre-clearance requirement of the Voting Rights Act after ruling the state intentionally diluted the voting strength of Black residents when drawing congressional lines. The three judge panel will hear arguments on July 29th over whether any future changes to the state’s voting map should be made under federal review. The current fight resulted in a redrawn District two, now held by Democrat Shomari Figures, will be the subject of tonight’s APR Notebook at 7 p.m. on Alabama Public Radio.

The Alabama Public Radio news team is known for its major journalism investigations. We've been doing them for over a decade. Our most recent national award winning effort was an eight month investigation into Alabama's new U.S. House seat in the rural Black Belt region of the state. The new voting map was ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court so Alabama would be more fair to black residents. Now, anybody who follows the news might reasonably be thinking— okay? The same high court that overturned Roe versus Wade and ended affirmative action in the nation's universities told Alabama that they needed to treat black voters better. Even the plaintiffs in the legal case of Allen versus Milligan told APR news they were gobsmacked they won. The goal after that legal victory was to make sure the new minority congressional district works. The point there was to keep conservative opponents from having the excuse to try to flip the voting map back to the GOP. And that's a moving target that could change at any moment, even as we speak. The job of managing all of these issues now falls to Congressman Shomari Figures.

An Alabama U.S. House seat APR spotlighted in a eight-month investigation apparently got support from a three-judge federal panel. Their ruling states the Alabama legislature pushed an alternative voting map that intentionally discriminated against black voters. The U.S. Supreme Court ordered the state to redraw its voting districts to better represent African Americans.

Voters in rural Alabama will cast historic votes this November. It’s the first time residents in the newly redrawn Congressional District two will pick their member of the U.S. House. It took a fight before the U.S. Supreme Court to create the new map to better represent African Americans in Congress. That’s what the high court seems to want. Now, let’s look at how things are and the impact that has on Terri Sewell. She’s the only Congressional Democrat in Alabama and the only African American…

Fireworks on Capitol Hill started long before this Thursday’s Fourth of July holiday. Congress is still working on the new spending plan for the U.S. Military and things got contentious in the House of Representatives. APR news was in Washington, D.C. during a partisan fight over the bill.

The Radio Television Digital News Association recognized the Alabama Public Radio news team with a national Edward R. Murrow Award. APR won “Best Series, Small Market Radio” for its eight month investigation into preserving slave cemeteries in Alabama.