The word “gerrymander” was coined in America more than 200 years ago as an unflattering means of describing political manipulation in legislative map-making.
The word has stood the test of time, in part, because American politics has remained fiercely competitive.
Who is responsible for gerrymandering?
In many states, like Texas, the state legislature is responsible for drawing congressional districts, subject to the approval or veto of the governor. District maps must be redrawn every 10 years, after each census, to balance the population in districts.
But in some states, nothing prevents legislatures from conducting redistricting more often.
In an effort to limit gerrymandering, some states have entrusted redistricting to special commissions composed of citizens or bipartisan panels of politicians. Democratic officials in some states with commissions are now talking of trying to sidestep them to counter Republican redistricting in Texas.
A U.S. map showing who controls redistricting in each state. (AP Digital Embed)
How does a gerrymander work?
If a political party controls both the legislature and governor’s office — or has such a large legislative majority that it can override vetoes — it can effectively draw districts to its advantage.
One common method of gerrymandering is for a majority party to draw maps that pack voters who support the opposing party into a few districts, thus allowing the majority party to win a greater number of surrounding districts.
Another common method is for the majority party to dilute the power of an opposing party’s voters by spreading them among multiple districts.
Why is it called gerrymandering?
The term dates to 1812, when Massachusetts Gov. Elbridge Gerry signed a bill redrawing state Senate districts to benefit the Democratic-Republican Party. Some thought an oddly shaped district looked like a salamander. A newspaper illustration dubbed it “The Gerry-mander” — a term that later came to describe any district drawn for political advantage. Gerry lost re-election as governor in 1812 but won election that same year as vice president with President James Madison.
Is political gerrymandering illegal?
Not under the U.S. Constitution. The Supreme Court, in a 2019 case originating from North Carolina, ruled that federal courts have no authority to decide whether partisan gerrymandering goes too far. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote: “The Constitution supplies no objective measure for assessing whether a districting map treats a political party fairly.”
The Supreme Court noted that partisan gerrymandering claims could continue to be decided in state courts under their own constitutions and laws. But some state courts, including North Carolina’s highest court, have ruled that they also have no authority to decide partisan gerrymandering claims.
FILE – Evan Milligan, center, plaintiff in Merrill v. Milligan, an Alabama redistricting case, speaks with reporters following oral arguments at the Supreme Court in Washington, Oct. 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
Are there any limits on redistricting?
Yes. Though it’s difficult to challenge legislative districts on political grounds, the Supreme Court has upheld challenges on racial grounds. In a 2023 case from Alabama, the high court said the congressional districts drawn by the state’s Republican-led Legislature likely violated the Voting Rights Act by diluting the voting strength of Black residents. The court let a similar claim proceed in Louisiana. Both states subsequently redrew their districts.
What does data show about gerrymandering?
Statisticians and political scientists have developed a variety of ways to try to quantify the partisan advantage that may be attributable to gerrymandering.
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Republicans, who control redistricting in more states than Democrats, used the 2010 census data to create a strong gerrymander. An Associated Press analysis of that decade’s redistricting found that Republicans enjoyed a greater political advantage in more states than either party had in the past 50 years.
But Democrats responded to match Republican gerrymandering after the 2020 census. The adoption of redistricting commissions also limited gerrymandering in some states. An AP analysis of the 2022 elections — the first under new maps — found that Republicans won just one more U.S. House seat than would have been expected based on the average share of the vote they received nationwide. That was one of the most politically balanced outcomes in years.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A federal judge says Rhode Island’s gun permit system, which requires residents to show “a need” to openly carry a firearm throughout the state, does not violate the Second Amendment.
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In a ruling handed down Friday, U.S. District Judge William Smith granted Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha’s motion for summary judgment that dismisses a lawsuit filed by a coalition of gun owners in 2023.
The lawsuit stems from a Rhode Island law dictating how the state issues firearms permits.
According to the statute, local officials are required to issue concealed-carry permits to anyone who meets the specific criteria outlined in the statute. However, it also allows the attorney general’s office to issue open-carry permits “upon a proper showing of need.” Unlike municipalities, the attorney general is not required to issue such permits.
The plaintiffs, largely led by Michael O’Neil, a lobbyist for the Rhode Island 2nd Amendment Coalition and a firearm instructor, said in their initial complaint that the attorney general’s office denied all seven of their applications in 2021 for an “unrestricted” firearm permit, allowing both open and concealed carry. Court documents show that the attorney general’s office denied their permits because all of them had been granted “restricted” permits, which only allowed concealed carry.
Smith said in his ruling that unrestricted permits “are a privilege and there is no constitutionally protected liberty interest in obtaining one.”
The plaintiffs had hoped for a similar ruling handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022, where the justices struck down a New York state law that had restricted who could obtain a permit to carry a gun in public.
Similar to Rhode Island, New York’s law had required residents to show an actual need to carry a concealed handgun in public for self-defense.
Yet, notably, Smith said in his ruling that the high court’s 2022 ruling did not declare that the Second Amendment “requires open carry,” but even if it did, Rhode Island’s law “is within the Nation’s historical tradition of regulation.”
Frank Saccoccio, the attorney representing the gun owners, said in an email Monday that they did not believe Smith’s decision was in line with the 2022 SCOTUS decision and would be appealing.
An email seeking comment from the attorney general was sent on Monday.
With heat advisories blanketing the eastern half of the U.S., air conditioners are once again working over time as essential resources to keep millions cool. But they’re unevenly distributed: Many poor households are unable to afford them.
To reduce the gap between the air conditioning haves and have nots, a growing number of programs are giving them out for free with waiting lists numbering in the thousands. And they view them as means to protect public health and reduce poverty.
Heat-related deaths have doubled over the last quarter century, and more people will be at risk as the planet warms. Temperature increases are correlated with higher disease risk and mortality rates. Extreme heat can reduce productivity, impact children’s cognitive development and lower overall well-being.
“Each individual heat-related death is preventable,” said Kai Chen, a researcher of environmental health at Yale University, “and in the past 20 years, air conditioning use has drastically reduced heat-related mortality.”
He added that without ACs, the amount of heat-related deaths in the US would likely double, especially for older adults.
There are 14 million households without air conditioning in the U.S., but lack of access is more acute in some communities. In New York, 10% of households don’t have AC, but that percentage doubles in many Black, Latino and low-income neighborhoods. Over 500 people die from heat in New York City each summer, mostly at home with a broken or underpowered air conditioner, according to the city’s most recent report on heat mortality. The top reason for the lack of cooling: cost.
The state’s Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) provides ACs to low-income households with members over 65 or under 6, and Gov. Kathy Hochul launched a program in June that makes units available to any low-income adult with asthma, which is exacerbated by heat.
The new program, which distributes the ACs through enrollment in the state’s Essentials Healthcare Plan, focuses on ages that HEAP does not cover.
“We think this is really important as extreme weather events are happening more and more and with a lower-income population with health needs, this is absolutely a meaningful way we can help them manage their health,” said Danielle Holahan, executive director at New York State of Health, the state’s marketplace for affordable health insurance, which administers the program.
But the program and others like it face challenges due to funding cuts. Federal money for many state-level heating and cooling relief programs is in peril, and energy-efficiency tax credits, which help households afford better cooling appliances, have been cut as part of President Donald Trump’s recently signed tax law.
The bedrock of New York’s program, the Essentials Healthcare Plan, was implemented under the Affordable Care Act. According to Holahan, the program has funding for the next five years, but cuts to the ACA in the new law could remove eligibility for about 730,000 enrollees, especially lawfully present immigrants.
Local, nongovernmental groups run similar programs and have found strong demand. In Cincinnati, which will see a run of extreme heat break by the end of the week, there’s a waiting list of more than 2,700 people for a program that gives out free air conditioners.
The program, run by the anti-homelessness charity St. Vincent de Paul, provides ACs to anyone 65 and older or with a medical need. Their waiting list grew by 700 in the last few weeks alone.
While St. Vincent de Paul Cincinnati’s program initially gave out fans, that felt like a “band-aid” for a persistent problem, said Kaytlynd Leinhart, who leads the organization’s development and marketing. The group switched to ACs in 2019. It is funded by local donors, businesses and foundations.
Leinhart said nonprofits carry more responsibility after pandemic-era support tapered off. She emphasized how cooling can be a stepping stone out of a crisis by providing something as simple as good night’s sleep.
“If you’re a single mom on one income, imagine that that’s how you’re starting your day every day, with your baby having not slept, you’ve not slept, you’ve been severely uncomfortable all night,” she said.
Providing a free AC can help individuals cope with heat stress and better attend to pressing challenges.
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Demand is especially high this year. The Cincinnati program gave out over 700 ACs in both 2023 and 2024 while in 2022, it provided 980 units. This year, it expects to exceed 1,000 units.
However, providing that many will cost $110,000, and the group only has $75,000 in funding this year. With such a long waitlist, many won’t receive relief.
Climate change is making summers hotter in New York and Cincinnati, places that already regularly experience temperatures above 90F (32C). Traditionally cool cities where air conditioning is less prevalent are also seeing temperatures rise. As it gets hotter, though, free home cooling programs are becoming more common.
“Cooling is going from being a luxury or a ‘nice to have’ in many places to being essential for health and safety,” said Laila Atalla, a building decarbonization expert at clean energy nonprofit RMI.
In the wake of a 2021 heat dome that killed hundreds across the US Pacific Northwest and Canada, the city of Portland, Oregon, formed Cooling Portland with the nonprofit Earth Advantage to install energy-efficient heat pumps in households at high risk of heat-related illness.
Using heat pumps is the ideal solution because of their reliability, smaller environmental footprint and affordability, reducing cooling costs by about 20%, Atalla said.
In 2022, Cooling Portland set a target of installing 15,000 units by 2027, but it reached that goal earlier this summer and plans to install 5,000 units this year alone. In a city that is 70% white, the program is helping close the racial cooling disparity: Of those served, about a third are Black and 14% Hispanic or Latino.
Portland funds its work through a 1% surcharge on local billion-dollar corporations, passed via a 2018 ballot measure. The fund — which has raised $1.2 billion — can only be used for climate justice initiatives.
Amidst the Trump administration’s cuts to social welfare and climate programs, Atalla said that local governments and utilities can do more to improve cooling access using money they already have. They noted that the US spends $9 billion a year on energy efficiency programs that only 3% of households take advantage of because of complex applications, inconsistent eligibility requirements and income verification hurdles.
“There’s an equity dimension here too,” Atalla said. “Low-income households are about one-third as likely to receive an energy-efficiency incentive.”
Atalla underscored that programs that can help cover the costs of energy bills — which low-income households spend a disproportionate amount of income in — can also help make free air conditioner programs more effective. They also pointed to a Colorado bill that would prevent utilities from disconnecting power for nonpayment during extreme heat events as another means to keep people safe.
“Why is everyone going to Portugal?” my friend Justin asked when I told him I was going there for a visit.
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People travel for many reasons, but visiting friends and relatives (VFR in industry-speak) is one of the largest and most resilient segments of the travel industry. Travelers spend over $400 billion a year doing it.
And it was the primary reason for my trip to Portugal. I’d been promising to visit my friend Bill, who had became an “everyone” like thousands of Americans in recent years who have relocated to the coastal European country.
I also planned to visit my friend John, whom I first met in junior high school more than 50 years ago. He was planning to visit the country with his son, yet another person planning to join “everyone” moving there.
But first I would stop in Boston to visit my sister, whom I hadn’t seen in a while. She was not planning on moving to Portugal, but it happened that TAP Air Portugal was launching a nonstop flight from Boston to Porto, Portugal’s second-largest city after Lisbon. So I booked a seat on the inaugural flight, boarded a plane from my home in New York City, had dinner at the Boston Harbor Hotel with my sis, and then flew to Porto the same night. I thought this would be a perfect way to reconnect with three people I had neglected too long, while also trying to find out why so many people are moving to Portugal (I was genuinely curious).
First, let me make clear that saying “everyone” is going to Portugal is a bit of an exaggeration, but more than 21,000 Americans have moved there, either permanently or as temporary residents, in the last few years. They’re the largest group of transplants, followed by the Chinese. Fifteen percent of the country’s 10.6 million residents are from outside the country.
I had visited Lisbon once, in the 1980s, staying at what is now the Lapa Palace Hotel, then owned by the Orient-Express Hotels group, when it was affordable. Compared to the rest of Europe, Lisbon seemed like it had been left behind in a time warp, with its streets and sidewalks paved with tiny bits of stone and its vintage “elétricos” — the city’s ancient tram lines made from wood and polished brass — weaving through narrow streets — as iconic as San Francisco’s cable cars.
I rarely buy souvenirs, but I was enchanted by Portuguese majolica pottery, hand-painted in vibrant colors and depicting small woodland creatures, plants and flowers. Somehow I managed not to break anything bringing my treasures home.
So there I was again in Portugal, and I was glad to see that not much had changed, other than the influx of Americans and others.
Statistics help explain some of Portugal’s appeal. Something called the Global Peace Index, an annual survey of crime and violence data compiled by the Australia-based Institute for Economics & Peace, ranks Portugal at No. 7, just below Switzerland (the lower rankings means safer). The U.S., however, is at 132, incredibly just ahead of Iran. Portugal’s violent crime rate is one-tenth of the U.S. rate.
The day I arrived, a big soccer match was in town, and it was the last day of national elections (10 political parties are in the national assembly, and citizens can vote online). I have no idea which team or candidate won. The city was quiet. No demonstrations or post-game riots like you’d find in Paris or Philadelphia or Los Angeles or Washington, D.C. There were no roving gangs of disgruntled voters rampaging through the streets or mindless teenagers sacking retail stores just for fun. There was none of this in Porto. No sense that things were about to fall apart.
Then there’s the slower pace, and better work-life balance. The Wall Street Journal reported recently that job listings in the U.S. increasingly stress the importance of working 70 or more hours a week. “If you’re looking for work-life balance,” one job listing states, “this isn’t it.”
And if you’re looking for a stressful life, Portugal isn’t it.
Porto’s streets and sidewalks are paved with small pieces of white and black limestone, sometimes granite, while the houses are topped with red tiles and the facades clad with blue and white ceramics. (George Hobica/TNS/TNS)
Some of Porto’s trams date from the 1930s and are as iconic as San Francisco’s cable cars. (Porto Convention and Visitors Bureau/TNS/TNS)
Portuguese majolica pottery, hand-painted in vibrant colors, and signed by the artist, often depicts small woodland creatures, plants and flowers and is a favorite collectible. (George Hobica/TNS/TNS)
Many houses in Porto date from the 17th and 18th centuries and are constructed from locally quarried granite. (George Hobica/TNS/TNS)
Porto’ s housing stock spans the centuries and housing costs are lower than in other developed countries, but tourists and people seeking residency are changing the nature of neighborhoods as apartments are turned into short-term Airbnbs. (Porto Convention and Visitors Bureau/TNS/TNS)
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Porto’s streets and sidewalks are paved with small pieces of white and black limestone, sometimes granite, while the houses are topped with red tiles and the facades clad with blue and white ceramics. (George Hobica/TNS/TNS)
Health care is more affordable, with comprehensive private insurance premiums costing about $1,000 per year (public insurance is free).
English is widely spoken, in part thanks to the long presence, starting in the 16th century, of the English in the production of port wine.
The cost of living in Portugal is 36% less than in the U.S. according to a 2024 survey.
Portugal is “orderly and relaxed.” My friend Bill summed it up when we met over brunch on my next-to-last day in his new country. “Every time I turn around, the Portuguese are off work celebrating another holiday. Meanwhile Americans are lucky to get two weeks off per year working at a job that offers no employment contract, which is standard. There’s no social safety net in the U.S. Portugal has universal health care.”
In Porto I took a walking tour with Bliss Tours (blisstours.pt, $27 per person), led by Porto native Duarte Vieira. I recommend it — and him. When I got back home I texted him to ask what he likes best about his country. He came back, “The weather, the food, but mostly the safe life.” Again the safety thing. Maybe all those ex-pats are moving to Portugal for some peace and quiet.
The thing he liked least? “The low salaries.” Which helps to explain that 36% lower cost of living.
Not ready to move? There’s still a lot to see and do.
Braga Cathedral was begun in the 12th century and today celebrates a range of styles: Romanesque, Baroque, Gothic and others. (George Hobica/TNS/TNS)
Even though I went to see friends and family, in truth the visits were of necessity short and I had lots of free time. For the tourist there are 17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Portugal — more per acre than in the U.K. or France. One of them is the historic center of Guimarães, a town a few miles north of Porto. I took a walking tour there. It was a feast for the eyes. Red-tiled roofs, streets and sidewalks paved with tiles known as calçada portuguesa, or Portuguese pavement, made from small pieces of white and black limestone, sometimes of basalt and granite. Narrow winding streets lined with tile-clad houses spanning in age from medieval times to the 19th century, with those cute little trams dating from the 1930s rattling and squealing past.
I visited some churches and cathedrals, of which Portugal has many. Braga Cathedral was started in the 12th century in a mishmash of styles — Romanesque, Baroque, Gothic and others. I was surprised to see so few visitors inside. My guide said that a recent admission charge (all of $2.30) was the reason, but I think it’s just that relatively few people visit Braga compared to other cities in Europe with architectural jewels like this.
And that’s the other thing about Portugal, especially the north where I stayed: it’s not over-touristed compared to much of Europe these days. That said, the very things that make Portugal so attractive to outsiders is making living there more difficult for the Portuguese. The influx of tourists and people seeking residency is driving up housing costs and changing the nature of neighborhoods, in Lisbon especially, as apartments are turned into short-term Airbnb rentals.
Porto is well known for Port wine, although it’s made in the surrounding countryside, with its hills covered in vines, offering many opportunities for tastings. I visited Quinta da Roêda, a vineyard owned by Croft Port, founded in 1588, in the Douro Valley (another World Heritage Site), where I took a cruise on the Douro River with Deltatur (deltatur.pt), a local tour provider offering 16 options starting at $35. Nearby, I took a cooking class at Quinta da Pacheca, a country hotel set amid extensive vineyards.
Port tastings are a popular activity in the Douro Valley. (George Hobica/TNS/TNS)
Also in Porto, I strolled through the Matosinhos Municipal Market, where dozens of vendors sell everything the sea has to offer. It made me wish there was something like that back home. The surrounding restaurants, such as Bistrô by Vila Foz where I dined, are happy to prepare your “catch” to order. I caught some jumbo shrimp, freshly caught not farmed, and huge.
Because Bill was staying there and highly recommended it, on my last night in Porto I checked into the Rosa Et Al (rosaetal.com), a six-suite townhouse hotel where the rooms are decorated with modern and vintage furniture and the daily brunch is a local favorite. It’s also a deli and restaurant; I’ve never stayed anywhere quite like it. A bargain at about $140 per night. Bill took me on a walk of his favorite parts of the city and then dashed off to catch his bus back to Lisbon, two hours away. It was a short visit, but sometimes that’s all you need.
That night I had dinner with John down the street from my hotel, also a short visit. He had just arrived in Porto and was hungry, but it was 10 p.m. and I wondered if anything was open. Walking not far we came across O Afonso, where every table was taken but one. As in Spain, people eat late here. We reminisced over a Porto specialty, Francesinhas, which is basically a Portuguese adaptation of the French croque-monsieur: layers of toasted bread and sliced beef, wet-cured ham, linguiça, or chipolata topped with melted cheese and served with a sauce of tomato and beer and fries. After 50 years, our memories had faded along with much else, but by combining what I remembered with what John remembered we were able to piece something together. At the end of the meal we were served a free glass of port wine and the proprietor shook our hands and thanked us for coming. The damage came to $22 per person including tax and service.
The next morning I packed and crossed the garden to the hotel’s living room, where breakfast was supposed to be served, but even at 9 a.m. no one was stirring, so I left (“that’s laid-back Portugal for you!” Bill texted later; they quickly refunded the prepaid $15 charge when I returned home). I was going to take the train to the airport ($3) but a car to the airport cost just $16. The line at border control was long but moved quickly, and the agent wished me a pleasant journey with a smile.
Time goes faster and faster as we get older, and sometimes we put off reconnecting with friends and family too long. It felt really good to see some people who meant something to me. Still, as much as I admire the advantages of living in Portugal, I will not be moving there, not quite yet anyway. But I will be making an effort to do more “VFR” travel. For me, it’s the best reason to leave home.
