WASHINGTON — T he Supreme Court is taking up a major Republican-led challenge to t he Voting Rights Act, the centerpiece legislation of the Civil Rights Movement, that could gut a key provision of the law that prohibits racial discrimination in redistricting.

The justices on Wednesday are hearing arguments for the second time in a case over Louisiana's congressional map, which has two majority Black districts. A ruling for the state could open the door for legislatures to redraw congressional maps across the South, potentially boosting Republican electoral prospects by eliminating majority Black and Latino seats that tend to favor Democrats.

A mid-decade battle over congressional redistricting already is playing out across the nation, after President Donald Trump began urging Texa

See Full Page