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Democrats’ Southern victories could affect redistricting

By The Associated Press
Flip Virginia Blue
In this Nov. 5, 2019, photo, a mobile billboard urges voters to cast ballots for Democrats outside Centreville High School in Clifton, Va. A re-election victory on Saturday, Nov. 16 by Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards has assured Democrats a place at the table when political maps are redrawn after the 2020 census. The recent Southern state elections provided a preview of the battle over redistricting power that is to come next year in many states. (Courtesy AP/ Matthew Barakat)

 

Election results this month in three Southern states could give Democrats a greater say in redistricting for U.S. House and state legislative seats after the 2020 census.

The victory this past weekend by Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards in Louisiana and Republicans’ inability to win a veto-proof supermajority in the Legislature has assured Democrats of a place at the table in that state when political maps are redrawn.

Other state elections this month in Kentucky and Virginia provided a preview of the battle over redistricting power that is to come next year in many states.

About one-quarter of the states use a nonpartisan redistricting process, but state lawmakers, governors and other elected officials have key roles in redistricting in most other states.

Between prices and a diarrhea-causing parasite, lettuce is causing hard times at some restaurants

By The Associated Press
It’s been a choppy year for restaurants that lean into lettuce. Lettuce prices rose sharply in the first half of 2026 due to hot weather in Arizona, where about one-third of America’s lettuce is grown. Now, restaurants are dealing with the fallout from a cyclospora outbreak linked to shredded lettuce that has sickened thousands of Americans. Taco Bell will likely see the biggest sales impact from the outbreak, which began in late June. Federal health officials first tied the outbreak to shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. Later, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said customers in Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania were also affected. Taco Bell said on July 17 that it had voluntarily removed shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms from its U.S. restaurants. But its customer volume has suffered. As of July 23, Taco Bell visits were 21% lower than average across the U.S., according to Placer.ai, a market research company.
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