Shares of Trump Media surged on Friday after President-elect Donald J. Trump confirmed he would not divest his interest in Truth Social’s parent company. The announcement, which appeared as a post on Truth Social, was Trump’s first written communication since his landslide win over Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential election earlier this week.
Following Trump’s statement, shares of Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC), the Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) linked to Truth Social, increased by more than 10 percent, prompting a temporary trading halt due to heightened market activity and volatility.
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In his Friday morning post, Trump addressed circulating rumors about potential stock sales, labeling them as false and potentially illegal. “There are fake, untrue, and probably illegal rumors and/or statements made by, perhaps, market manipulators or short sellers, that I am interested in selling shares of Truth,” Trump stated, emphasizing his refusal to sell.
“I hereby request that the people who have set off these fake rumors or statements, and who may have done so in the past, be immediately investigated by the appropriate authorities,” he added.
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❓WHAT HAPPENED: Colombian businessman Alex Saab, considered a top money launderer for Nicolás Maduro, was reportedly arrested in Caracas during a joint U.S.-Venezuela operation.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Alex Saab, Nicolás Maduro, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Venezuelan authorities, and businessman Raúl Gorrín.
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📍WHEN & WHERE: Saab was captured on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, in Caracas, Venezuela.
🎯IMPACT: Saab had initially been captured by the U.S. in 2020, but was subsequently released by former President Joe Biden as part of a prisoner exchange with the Maduro regime.
IN FULL
Former Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro’s top money launderer, Alex Saab, was captured in a joint operation by the United States and Venezuelan authorities on Wednesday in the country’s capital of Caracas. Saab—a Colombian businessman with extensive ties to Maduro and the illicit narcotics trade—was apprehended in an operation led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), along with Venezuelan businessman Raúl Gorrín, the head of Globovision TV network and another close Maduro ally.
The United States placed sanctions on Saab and Gorrín during President Donald J. Trump‘s first term in office. In June 2020, U.S. law enforcement arrested Saab in Cape Verde during a stopover on a flight from Venezuela to Iran and charged him with laundering $350 million taken from Venezuela’s treasury through the U.S. financial system.
However, in 2023, as part of a prison swap with the Maduro regime, former President Joe Biden signed an order for Saab’s release and return to Venezuela. Officials in the former Biden government argued that Maduro would be more inclined to help reduce the number of Venezuelan illegal immigrants attempting to enter the U.S. as a result of the release. Upon his return, Saab was appointed by Maduro as Venezuela’s Minister of Industry and National Production, a role he held until he was stripped of it by acting President Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former deputy, in January.
Despite U.S. officials confirming Saab’s arrest, his lawyer Luigi Giuliano claimed late Wednesday that Saab was still in Caracas and called reports of his capture “fake news.” Giuliano claimed that Saab may make a public appearance to refute the reports of his capture, but thus far, that has not materialized.
Venezuelan businessman Raúl Gorrín was also apprehended during the operation. A close associate of Maduro, Gorrín was indicted in 2024 by a U.S. federal grand jury in Florida for a scheme to launder $1.2 billion. Like Saab, Gorrín was sanctioned by the Trump administration for corruption.
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❓WHAT HAPPENED: Sir Keir Starmer apologized to Jeffrey Epstein’s victims and admitted to being misled by Lord Peter Mandelson, whom he appointed as British ambassador to Washington despite Mandelson’s ties to Epstein.
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👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Lord Peter Mandelson, Jeffrey Epstein, Labour MPs, and opposition leaders such as Kemi Badenoch and Sir Ed Davey.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The controversy surrounds Mandelson’s appointment in 2024 and revelations emerging as late as 2023, with Starmer addressing the issue in Hastings on Thursday.
💬KEY QUOTE: “The information now available makes clear that the answers he gave were lies. Such deceit is incompatible with public service.” – Sir Keir Starmer
🎯IMPACT: Mandelson has resigned from the House of Lords, left the Labour Party, and faces a criminal investigation. Calls for a no-confidence vote in Starmer are growing among opposition parties.
IN FULL
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has apologized to the victims of Jeffrey Epstein after former British ambassador to the U.S. Lord Peter Mandelson was exposed as having even deeper ties to the pedophile than previously suspected. Starmer admitted it had long been publicly known that Mandelson and Epstein were friends, but insisted that “none of us knew the depth of the darkness of that relationship.”
Starmer said. He confirmed that Mandelson had been questioned during the vetting process, saying that “The information now available makes clear that the answers he gave were lies,” but insisting he had no reason to disbelieve Mandelson’s word—despite his long history of resigning from government posts amid scandals.
Starmer addressed Epstein’s victims directly, saying: “The victims of Epstein have lived with trauma that most of us can barely comprehend. I am sorry for what was done to you, sorry that so many people with power failed you, and sorry for having believed Mandelson’s lies and appointed him.”
Mandelson, a senior Labour figure for decades, previously served as a Cabinet minister under former prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and also served as a European Commissioner in Brussels, Belgium. He was elevated to the House of Lords by Brown and appointed ambassador to the United States by Starmer despite multiple past controversies, including his known association with Epstein, raised by critics, including The National Pulse Editor-in-Chief Raheem Kassam, prior to his appointment.
The political fallout has intensified pressure on Starmer’s leadership. Several Labour Members of Parliament (MPs) have expressed anger over how Mandelson’s appointment was handled, with some calling for the removal of Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, who was involved in the process.
The release of documents related to Mandelson’s appointment has been delayed after London’s Metropolitan Police requested that publication be paused to avoid undermining the investigation.
❓WHAT HAPPENED: The British government has disbanded a victims panel that was advising a national inquiry—roughly equivalent to a U.S. presidential commission—investigating the largely Muslim, Pakistani heritage rape gangs operating across the country.
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👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Baroness Longfield, of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party, survivors like Fiona Goddard, and opposition figures such as Reform Party leader Nigel Farage.
💬KEY QUOTE: “Survivors were told they had a voice and then it was taken away from them.” – Grooming gang survivor Fiona Goddard
🎯IMPACT: Survivors feel betrayed, and concerns have been raised about the inquiry’s scope and credibility.
IN FULL
The British government has disbanded a victims’ advisory panel that had been supporting a national inquiry—roughly equivalent to a U.S. presidential commission—investigating endemic child sexual abuse by mostly Muslim, Pakistani heritage grooming gangs, and the failure of authorities to protect vulnerable girls from them. The removal of victims from the process has caused anger among survivors and campaigners.
The panel was set up to ensure survivors’ experiences informed the inquiry, which is examining decades of abuse linked to organised grooming networks targeting predominantly white girls, as a major component of the scandal was the police and other authorities disregardng the testimony and experiences of victims. Survivors say the panel being scrapped undermines assurances that their voices would, for once, become central in a major investigation.
Fiona Goddard, who was abused by a grooming gang in Bradford, said: “Survivors were told they had a voice and then it was taken away from them.” Another survivor accused Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s government of using the panel to neutralise criticism, saying: “It should have been ongoing until the inquiry was complete.”
The government now claims the panel had always been intended as a temporary body and that survivor engagement would continue in other ways. Baroness Longfield, the Labour Party lawmaker who is chairing the inquiry, claims she plans to work directly with survivors as the investigation progresses.
The inquiry itself has been contentious from the outset. Prime Minister Starmer initially opposed launching it and previously described some campaigners pushing for a grooming gangs inquiry as part of the “far right.” He reversed his position last year under sustained political and public pressure, formally opening the inquiry in June.
Recent official findings proved that investigators have avoided examining the ethnicity of suspects and their victims, despite internal data revealing a disproportionate number of perpetrators were Muslims of Pakistani heritage and their victims were largely white working class. Reviews found that police and social workers sometimes failed to act against suspects or dismissed child victims as “promiscuous” or “troublesome,” partly out of fear of being accused of racism if they took on the groomers. Following those findings, authorities agreed to reopen hundreds, and potentially more than 1,000, historic cases.
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❓WHAT HAPPENED: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that federal law enforcement officials have arrested over 4,000 illegal immigrants in Minnesota as part of Operation Metro Surge.
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👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: DHS, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, local and state officials, and the Trump administration, including Border Czar Tom Homan.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Operation Metro Surge began in late 2025 and has focused on the Twin Cities and Minnesota more broadly.
💬KEY QUOTE: “We will not back down from our mission to remove criminal illegal aliens from American neighborhoods.” – DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin
🎯IMPACT: Over 4,000 illegal immigrants, including violent offenders, have been apprehended ahead of a planned drawdown of federal law enforcement.
IN FULL
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Wednesday that federal law enforcement has arrested more than 4,000 illegal immigrants in Minnesota since the launch of Operation Metro Surge in late 2025, part of the Trump administration’s broader push to expand interior immigration enforcement. The operation, which is now drawing down, has focused on the Twin Cities and other parts of the state, with DHS saying it prioritizes migrants with serious criminal histories.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt praised the effort, stating, “President Trump’s commonsense immigration enforcement policies are delivering the public safety results the American people demanded, with more than 4,000 dangerous criminal illegal aliens already arrested in Minnesota since Operation Metro began.” She added, “Democrats opened our borders and allowed vicious criminals, including murderers, rapists, gang members, and terrorists, to invade our communities. President Trump is reversing that horrific damage and removing these threats from our country.”
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said, “Despite coordinated attacks of violence against our law enforcement, our officers have made more than 4,000 arrests of illegal aliens including murderers, pedophiles, rapists, gang members, and terrorists in Minnesota since Operation Metro Surge began.”
Federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota intensified in December 2025 after DHS announced a series of large-scale ICE operations in the state, amid widespread coverage of endemic Somali fraud in the state. Those actions resulted in hundreds of arrests, including about 500 illegal immigrants taken into custody in a single wave, according to DHS.
The expanded federal presence sparked far-left protests backed by Governor Tim Walz (D) and other state and local officials. Demonstrations disrupted ICE operations and even church services, leading to two deadly confrontations between protesters and federal agents.
Border Czar Tom Homan announced this week that the federal footprint in the Twin Cities will be reduced, with about 700 officers set to leave the area. He said the drawdown reflects increased cooperation from local jurisdictions. “We currently have an unprecedented number of counties communicating with us now and allowing ICE to take custody of illegal aliens before they hit the streets,” Homan said, adding that the shift reduces the need for large-scale community enforcement actions.
❓WHAT HAPPENED: The White House is finalizing plans for a new anti-fraud task force targeting welfare abuse in California and other states.
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👤WHO WAS INVOLVED:Vice President J.D. Vance, Andrew Ferguson of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and Attorney General Pam Bondi.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The task force is expected to be announced later this month via executive order from President Donald J. Trump.
🎯IMPACT: The task force aims to tackle billions of dollars in fraud.
IN FULL
The White House is in the final stages of organizing a new federal anti-fraud task force aimed at combating the abuse of welfare and other taxpayer-funded programs, particularly in California, according to multiple sources. President Donald J. Trump is expected to sign an executive order establishing the task force and appointing Vice President J.D. Vance as its chairman, signaling an increased emphasis on fraud enforcement across federal programs.
Andrew Ferguson, chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), is slated to serve as vice chairman and manage the task force’s day-to-day operations. Ferguson has led several high-profile consumer protection efforts, including a multibillion-dollar settlement with Amazon and antitrust actions against major technology companies.
The task force will also include Colin McDonald, a nominee for a newly created fraud investigator position at the Department of Justice. McDonald would report to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche while coordinating closely with Vance and Ferguson. Sources say the initiative was partly driven by internal frustration within the administration over what it views as resistance from career Justice Department officials to advancing certain enforcement priorities.
California has been a focal point in recent fraud investigations. State auditors previously identified billions of dollars in fraudulent unemployment insurance claims and improper pandemic relief payments. Governor Gavin Newsom (D) has defended his state, claiming his administration has made efforts to recover funds and strengthen oversight.
Fraud concerns extend well beyond California, however. Federal investigators have estimated that welfare-related fraud tied to Somali networks operating in Minnesota could ultimately exceed $9 billion, following years of alleged abuse of housing and food assistance programs.
In another recent case, federal prosecutors in Chicago, Illinois, charged foreign nationals in a massive Medicare fraud scheme involving more than $1 billion in false claims submitted using stolen identities and fraudulent medical orders.
Separately, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton recently launched a broad investigation into H-1B visa fraud, alleging companies may have manipulated the federal program to use migrants to undercut American workers.
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❓WHAT HAPPENED: A Texas judge was arrested and charged with unlawful restraint and official oppression after allegedly handcuffing and detaining a defense attorney in her courtroom.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Bexar County Judge Rosie Speedlin Gonzalez and defense attorney Elizabeth Russell.
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📍WHEN & WHERE: The arrest occurred on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, stemming from an incident that occurred in 2024 in a Bexar County courtroom, Texas.
🎯IMPACT: The arrest raises concerns about the stability and bias of activist judges in positions of power.
IN FULL
Bexar County, Texas Judge Rosie Speedlin Gonzalez—an outspoken LGBTQ activist—has been arrested and charged with a felony count of unlawful restraint by a judicial officer and a misdemeanor count of official oppression. The charges stem from a 2024 incident where Gonzalez allegedly handcuffed and detained defense attorney Elizabeth Russell in the courtroom during a probation hearing.
During the hearing on a motion to revoke probation, which occurred in December 2024, Russell’s client—who the attorney claims suffers from cognitive issues—answered “true” to one of the allegations presented by prosecutors. This prompted Russell to interject during the questioning and request for a moment to confer with her client. After an ensuing argument between Russell and Gonzalez, the latter ordered her court officers to handcuff the defense attorney and confine her to the jury box.
Judge Gonzalez—known for her far-left political and LGBTQ activism—has had a controversial tenure on the bench, facing a number of legal and ethical issues. In 2022, she was fined for attempting to bring a loaded rainbow-painted firearm through airport security in her carry-on luggage. Earlier, in 2019, she was sanctioned for displaying Pride flags in her courtroom, violating the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.
Former staff members have accused Gonzalez of fostering a “hostile work environment” and exhibiting erratic and aggressive behavior, particularly toward defendants and litigants. Some described her as “unstable” and prone to violent outbursts.
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❓WHAT HAPPENED:The Washington Post laid off nearly 300 employees, terminated its current sports section, books section, and Post Reports podcast, and closed several international bureaus.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED:The Washington Post‘s executive editor Matt Murray, human resources director Wayne Connell, and affected employees, including reporters and editors.
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📍WHEN & WHERE: The layoffs occurred on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, with employees informed via a Zoom webinar.
💬KEY QUOTE: “This wasn’t a financial decision, it was an ideological one” — Former Washington Postrace and ethnicity reporter Emmanuel Felton
🎯IMPACT: The newspaper has struggled financially for years, with its budgetary situation becoming especially tenuous after the 2024presidential election.
IN FULL
The Washington Post cut nearly 300 employees on Wednesday, eliminating its current sports section, books section, and the Post Reports podcast. The company also closed several international bureaus, including those in the Middle East, Asia, and Ukraine. Employees were informed of the layoffs during a Zoom webinar led by executive editor Matt Murray and human resources director Wayne Connell.
A number of the Jeff Bezos-owned newspaper’s employees took to social media to criticize the layoffs. Race and ethnicity reporter Emmanuel Felton argues the decision was “ideological,” noting that his job had been described as a subscription driver. “This wasn’t a financial decision, it was an ideological one,” he claimed. Other critics of the layoffs, including retired Washington Post editor Robert McCartney, slammed the loss of international coverage. McCartney noted, “Apparently, The Post has laid off every reporter and editor covering the Middle East. Jerusalem bureau closed. Also Ukraine bureau closed.”
The newspaper has struggled financially for years, with its budgetary situation becoming especially tenuous after the 2024 presidential election. The National Pulse previously reported that The Washington Post lost $100 million in revenue in 2024 alone. Notably, the newest round of layoffs follows earlier staff reductions in both 2025 and 2023.
The Post’s refusal to endorse Kamala Harris for President in 2024 and Bezos’s announcement last February that the newspaper’s editorial page would focus on promoting “personal liberties and free markets” previously led to tens of thousands of liberal readers cancelling their subscriptions.
❓WHAT HAPPENED: The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), the last remaining US-Russia nuclear treaty, is set to expire on February 5, 2026, leaving no formal limits on nuclear arsenals.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: The United States, Russia, and experts such as Dr. Jim Walsh and John Erath have weighed in on the implications of the treaty’s expiration.
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📍WHEN & WHERE: The treaty will expire on February 5, 2026, with discussions spanning Washington, Moscow, and international forums.
💬KEY QUOTE: “There’ll be a turn of events a month from now, a year from now, five years from now. Things always happen in international affairs. There’ll be a war, there’ll be a crisis.” – Dr. Jim Walsh
🎯IMPACT: Experts warn that the expiration could lead to a renewed arms race and the erosion of decades of nuclear stability.
IN FULL
The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), signed with Russia in 2010, is set to expire on February 5, 2026. New START limits the United States and Russia to 1,550 deployed strategic warheads each, has been a critical mechanism for maintaining nuclear stability between the two nations. Its expiration will mark the first time since the Cold War that no formal limits will exist on their nuclear arsenals.
Nuclear arms control experts caution that while the expiration of New START may not set off an immediate nuclear expansion by either the United States or Russia, it could set off a long-term chain reaction. “There’ll be a turn of events a month from now, a year from now, five years from now,” contends Dr. Jim Walsh, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Security Studies Program (SSP). “Things always happen in international affairs. There’ll be a war, there’ll be a crisis,” he continued, adding that such incidents could set off a new arms race.
While a number of past arms control agreements had indefinite extension provisions, New START allowed only one extension, which was exercised in 2021 under former President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin. President Donald J. Trump had indicated he would let the treaty expire, stating, “If it expires, it expires. We’ll just do a better agreement.”
Russia currently holds the largest confirmed nuclear arsenal, with over 5,500 warheads, followed closely by the United States with approximately 5,044. Together, the two nations account for nearly 90 percent of the world’s nuclear weapons.
❓WHAT HAPPENED: A man in Illinois has been charged with doxing and threatening a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent using information stolen from federal vehicles in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Jose Alberto Ramirez, the FBI agent (Victim A), and anti-ICE agitators.
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📍WHEN & WHERE: The threats originated from stolen documents in January; Ramirez is set to appear in federal court on Wednesday afternoon.
💬KEY QUOTE: “I know where your mom lives bro. And your dad. And your kids buddy. Get home safe and fast.” – Text message sent to the FBI agent.
🎯IMPACT: Ramirez faces federal charges for threatening an FBI agent and will appear for arraignment on Wednesday.
IN FULL
Jose Alberto Ramirez, an Illinois resident, has been charged with doxing and threatening a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent and his children after anti-ICE agitators stole documents from federal vehicles in Minneapolis last month. The documents contained personal information, including residential addresses, phone numbers, and emails, which were later posted on social media.
According to an affidavit filed with the U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, Ramirez allegedly sent a series of profanity-laced text messages to the FBI agent’s work phone. One message read, “I know where your mom lives bro. And your dad. And your kids buddy. Get home safe and fast.” Another message threatened to firebomb an address associated with the agent.
The affidavit also linked Ramirez to an incident at the Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, Illinois, where he was reported to police by his manager for threatening to shoot another employee. The phone number provided in that incident matched the one used to send the threatening messages to the FBI agent.
Ramirez, who will appear in court for arraignment late Wednesday afternoon, has a criminal history involving multiple felonies and misdemeanors, including domestic battery, burglary, and mob action.
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❓WHAT HAPPENED: The U.S. Supreme Court decided to allow California Democrats to proceed with new, gerrymandered maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
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👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: California Democrats, the state GOP, the Department of Justice (DOJ), Justice Elena Kagan, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The ruling was issued on Wednesday, impacting California and the U.S. as a whole.
🎯IMPACT: The decision allows Proposition 50 to move forward, potentially reducing Republican congressional seats in California from nine to four.
IN FULL
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to block California’s new congressional district map, allowing the state to proceed with new, gerrymandered boundaries ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The decision rejects an emergency request from California Republicans and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) seeking to halt implementation of the plan, known as Proposition 50.
Proposition 50 dismantled California’s independent redistricting commission and granted the Democratic-controlled legislature authority to redraw congressional lines. Supporters said the measure was intended to counter Republican redistricting efforts in other states and better reflect demographic changes, while critics argued it was designed to boost Democrat power in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Under the new map, Republicans could lose as many as five congressional seats, reducing the number of GOP-held districts in California from nine to four. Republican officials and voters filed suit shortly after the ballot measure passed, claiming the new districts relied too heavily on racial considerations and violated the Constitution and federal voting laws.
The Justice Department joined the legal challenge, arguing that California lawmakers improperly used race as a tool to achieve partisan goals. A three-judge federal district court panel rejected those claims in January. Following that ruling, opponents of the map asked the Supreme Court to intervene. The application was initially submitted to Justice Elena Kagan and then referred to the full Court, which denied the request for an injunction without issuing a written opinion.
California officials argued that blocking the map so close to the 2026 election cycle would disrupt candidate filings, campaign planning, and voter outreach already underway. Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and other Democrats praised the Court’s decision.
The ruling comes amid heightened national disputes over redistricting. In a separate case, the Supreme Court recently allowed Texas to use a Republican-drawn congressional map that could add several GOP seats, despite lower court claims that the plan discriminated against minority voters.
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