AwesomeCapital

Thursday, October 2, 2025

Judge Rejects Racial Gerrymandering Claims In North Carolina Senate Maps

by Savannah Hulsey Pointer via The Epoch Times,

A judge has rejected claims that voters in two North Carolina legislative districts were the victims of racial gerrymandering.

U.S. District Judge James Dever ruled on Sept. 30 that Republicans did not illegally manipulate the boundaries of the two northeastern state districts to favor candidates.

The case stemmed from a suit against the GOP legislative leaders in November 2023, brought by two plaintiffs, one of whom is now a Democratic state House member.

The pair claimed that the state Senate districts, as approved by the General Assembly, were illegal.

According to the suit, they argued that the map violated Section 2 of the U.S. Voting Rights Act via race-based discrimination, and that lawmakers should have created a majority-black district instead of the current districts.

The two areas in question cover about 20 counties in a region that has a significant African American population.

In 2024, white Republicans were elected to the two district seats.

Dever wrote a 126-page order, saying that plaintiffs Moses Matthews and Rep. Rodney Pierce lacked standing to challenge one of the districts, because neither lived in the area, and they failed to provide evidence that the lines, as drawn, watered down black residents’ voting power.

The judge also stated that Republican lawmakers didn’t have access to race-based data while mapping the new districts.

Dever pointed out that the 2024 elections, held under the 2023 maps, resulted in 38 of 170 seats going to African American candidates—roughly proportional to their population in the state.

“This case does not involve the General Assembly engaging in race-based districting or the odious practice of sorting voters based on race,” Dever wrote.

“Black voters in northeast North Carolina and throughout North Carolina have elected candidates of their choice (both white and black) with remarkable frequency and success for decades.”

A number of states are currently considering redistricting in some form.

A request from the Department of Justice prompted Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to add redistricting to a state congressional special session.

California took up redistricting in response to the possible loss of seats for Democrats in the House of Representatives.

Missouri was the third to join the push after a Sept. 12 decision by the Missouri Senate to approve a redrawn congressional map to increase Republicans’ odds in a longtime Democratic district.

Ohio was already in the midst of a legally required congressional map redraw, due to the 2022 map passing without sufficient Democratic support to satisfy state laws.

Additionally, Maryland and Indiana lawmakers are considering changes that could change their congressional delegation makeup.

In Maryland, however, the change would likely impact the state’s sole Republican, and in Indiana, Republicans believe they could increase their footprint if redistricting takes place.

Redistricting is also being considered in Illinois, Florida, New York, Nebraska, Utah, and Kansas.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/judge-rejects-racial-gerrymandering-claims-north-carolina-senate-maps

Suspected Hamas members accused of planning antisemitic attacks appear in German court

Three suspected members of the Palestinian armed group Hamas have been arrested for allegedly planning attacks on Israeli and Jewish institutions in Germany, prosecutors say.

The three men - two of whom are German citizens and one of whom is Lebanese-born - are suspected of having procured firearms and ammunition since the summer to allegedly be used in the attacks, Germany's federal prosecutor's office said.

The men, named as Abed Al G, Wael F M and Ahmad I, were arrested in Berlin on Tuesday, the office added. Their arrests came a day before Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.

Hamas - which controls Gaza and is considered a terrorist organisation by the EU - denied any connection to the men.

The federal prosecutor's office said in a statement on Wednesday that, during the course of the arrests, "various weapons, including an AK 47 assault rifle and several pistols, and a significant amount of ammunition, were found".

It added: "The weapons were intended for use by Hamas in assassination attacks on Israeli or Jewish institutions in Germany."

Prosecutors in Germany typically only refer to suspects by their first name and an initial.

German media report the men were arrested when they met for a weapons handover in the capital.

Police searches also took place in the cities of Leipzig and Oberhausen around the time of the Berlin arrests, according to newspaper Der Spiegel.

The three have been charged with preparing a serious act of violence endangering the German state and membership of a foreign terrorist organisation.

The suspects will appear before a federal judge on Thursday, the federal prosecutor said.

Hamas said in a statement that the allegations against it were "baseless" and aimed to "undermine the German people's sympathy for the Palestinian people".

The group added that it had a policy of limiting its activities to what it considers Palestinian territory.

The arrests come after four Hamas members went on trial in Berlin in February, accused of plotting attacks on Jewish sites in Europe.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgknpzrkyvno

Kyiv says Moscow preparing to connect Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to Russian grid

The Zaporizhzhia plant, which is one of the 10 biggest nuclear facilities in the world, has been disconnected from the grid for over a week.

Zaporizhzhia has repeatedly been caught in the crossfire during the war. Zelenskyy blamed Russian artillery for cutting the power line to the plant, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was Ukrainian shelling.

The facility is using emergency diesel generators to run cooling systems for its six shutdown reactors and spent fuel.

The IAEA says the plant is not in immediate danger but wants it swiftly reconnected to the grid.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, said Russia’s occupation of Zaporizhzhia has “significantly degraded” the security of the plant.

It claimed Wednesday that Moscow wants to integrate the plant into the Russian grid — a move that will “exacerbate security risks, degrade Ukraine’s future power generation capacity, and serve as a tool that Russia can use to legitimize its occupation of Ukraine.”

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/zelenskyy-warns-russian-drones-endanger-safety-chernobyl-europes-126143518

Tisch saved cop’s job despite Mamdani-supported civilian board’s push for firing

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch refused to fire an officer — finding that he stepped in to save a fellow cop’s life — going against recommendations from a civilian board that mayoral front-runner Zohran Mamdani now wants to embolden.

Tisch went against the Civilian Complaint Review Board’s wishes when she bucked an administrative judge’s ruling and determined Lt. Jonathan Rivera’s fatal shooting of unarmed ex-con Allan Feliz was justified.

The top cop argued that Rivera had opened fire during the Oct. 17, 2019, Bronx car stop in order to prevent Feliz, 31, from mowing down a fellow brother in blue.

“Looking at the totality of what transpired during the car stop and subsequent struggle, I am convinced that [Rivera] shot Mr. Feliz because he believed that doing so was necessary to save Officer [Edward] Barrett’s life,” she wrote in her July decision.

“There is nothing about this sequence of events that remotely suggests that [Rivera] was looking to discharge his firearm.”

Tisch said she made up her mind after reviewing a separate analysis of the caught-on-camera clash conducted by the State Attorney General’s Office, rather than the one presented by the CCRB at Rivera’s internal trial.

The AG’s office, which is tasked by law with investigating all fatal officer-involved incidents, had probed the tragic encounter and cleared Rivera of criminality — but the CCRB still opted to bring internal charges against the lieutenant.

“Five years later, CCRB wants to say he used excessive force,” railed Lou Turco, president of the Lieutenants Benevolent Association.

“There is more than enough sufficient oversight by the five district attorneys, the attorney general and the police department,” Turco told The Post on Wednesday. “Cops do not need to be investigated by an inexperienced CCRB with zero police experience. That is dangerous for all police officers.”

Mamdani, the Democratic mayoral nominee, said this week he wants to pull the power to make final disciplinary decisions in serious cases away from the NYPD commissioner — and instead leave it up to the CCRB.

That proposal is in line with Mamdani’s lefty allies, including in the progressive City Council — which railed against Tisch’s decision in the Rivera case, calling it “egregious.”

The commish’s finding mirrored that of Attorney General Letitia James’ office, which found the evidence “strongly suggests” the shooting was justified, Tisch said.

The bar to find someone guilty at an internal trial is lower than in a criminal case.

Deputy Trial Commissioner Rosemarie Maldonado, an NYPD administrative judge, had recommended that Rivera be canned after the CCRB brought the case against him and prosecuted him at the internal trial.

Police had pulled over Feliz at around 3 p.m. after an officer said he saw him driving without a seatbelt on. Cops running his license found several open minor warrants, including for littering, spitting and disorderly conduct, and asked him to exit the car.

Cops said he appeared to try to drive away, prompting a struggle to make sure he stayed put and didn’t drag Barrett with him.

Rivera first shot Feliz with a Taser, and then with his firearm when the SUV yanked backwards and Barrett was pushed by the driver-side door to the rear of the vehicle.

Rivera said he believed Barrett had fallen over and was under the wheel of the car.

https://nypost.com/2025/10/01/us-news/nypd-commissioner-jessica-tisch-saved-cops-job-despite-mamdani-supported-civilian-boards-push-for-firing/

House GOP asks RFK Jr., Dr. Oz if Andrew Cuomo’s nursing home order broke COVID safety rules

New York House Republicans are urging President Trump’s top health officials, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Mehmet Oz, to determine whether ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo violated federal safety guidance by sending COVID-infected elderly patients released from hospitals into nursing homes during the worst of the pandemic.

The appeal centers on the then-Cuomo administration’s controversial March 25, 2020, directive prodding nursing homes to accept treated COVID patients discharged from hospitals.

“More than 15,000 New York nursing home residents died of COVID during the early part of the pandemic. We just passed the grim five-year anniversary of New York’s infamous March 25, 2020, directive, which forced ill-prepared nursing homes to accept 9,056 COVID-19 patients over a six-week period,” said the letter drafted by Congressman Mike Lawler.

“We are seeking a written determination from your agencies as to whether the New York State Department of Health’s March 25th directive was in compliance with CMS [Centers for Medicare and Medicaid] and CDC [Centers for Disease Control] guidance,” said the Sept. 29 letter sent to Kennedy, secretary of Health and Human Services, CMS Administrator Oz and Acting CDC Director Jim O’Neill.

The letter was co-signed by GOP Reps. Elise Stefanik, Claudia Tenney, Andrew Garbarino and Nick LaLota.

The letter comes as Cuomo seeks a comeback bid for New York City mayor, running on an independent “Fight and Deliver” ballot line after losing the Democratic primary to democratic socialist Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani.

His handling of COVID as governor continues to haunt him.

Earlier Wednesday, Cuomo released a video explicitly apologizing to the ultra-orthodox Jewish community for imposing lockdowns during the pandemic that barred large gatherings, including religious services.

The lawmakers expressed displeasure with Trump’s health team for blowing off a similar letter requesting a ruling on the Cuomo administration’s nursing order on March 6.

“Over six months later, we have yet to receive a response,” they said.

It’s a sensitive issue for RFK Jr. as Cuomo is his ex-brother-in-law, who was once married to his sister, Kerry Kennedy.

While the GOP-led House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic concluded in
its final report that the Cuomo directive was not consistent with CMS and CDC guidelines and that he committed “medical malpractice”, the agencies themselves have never provided a clear written determination, the lawmakers said.

The Justice Department has reportedly opened a criminal investigation into Cuomo for allegedly lying to Congress about nursing home deaths in the Empire State during the COVID-19 pandemic, a claim he denies.

Families of nursing residents who died from COVID-19 applauded House Republicans for pressing the Trump health team on the issues.

“On behalf of the nursing home families, we are thankful to the NY Republican congressional delegation for giving our lost loved ones a voice and helping the COVID orphans find out the truth!.” said Peter Arbeeny,

Arbeeny’s dad, Norman, 89, died from COVID after a rehab stint in a nursing home in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn.

The Cuomo campaign fired back and insisted that the March 25,2020 nursing home order was “consistent with federal guidance” and accused Republicans of politicizing the issue.

“More than 1 million Americans died as a result of the COVID pandemic, and our hearts break for the families of every person who lost a loved one –but unfortunately, as the DOJ IG [Department of Justice Inspection General] confirmed, that pain has been weaponized and politicized for purely electoral purposes for years,” Cuomo spokesman Richard Azzopardi said.

He claimed reports by the DOJ IG, the state attorney general and New York State’s COVID-19 “After Action” report concluded the state’s nursing home admission guidance under Cuomo “was consistent with federal guidance, was similar to guidance issued in a dozen Republican and Democratic-led states, and there has been no credible empirical evidence that concludes it caused additional deaths.”

“This matter was investigated by the Department of Justice three times and the Manhattan DA, who closed their investigations as a result of no finding of wrongdoing, while multiple civil cases were dismissed,” the Cuomo rep said.

But during his testimony before the House COVID-19 panel, Cuomo admitted to instructing his secretary to write an email to his inner circle referring to the March 25, 2020 directive as “the great debacle in the history books.”.

A few independent studies claimed the March 25, 2020 nursing home directive, during the six weeks it was in effect, did cause additional deaths of nursing home residents.

Meanwhile, the Cuomo rep rebutted Arbeeny’s claim that the administration’s nursing home policy caused his father’s death from COVID.

“Mr. Arbeeny filed a lawsuit against the state that was dismissed, but the facts that came out of that clearly show the nursing home he checked his father into did not admit a single COVID- positive patient into their facility until three weeks after his father was discharged,” Azzopardi said.

https://nypost.com/2025/10/01/us-news/house-gop-asks-rfk-jr-dr-oz-if-andrew-cuomos-nursing-home-order-broke-covid-safety-rules/