Justices weigh Alabama’s bid to stop redistricting order

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court is weighing Alabama’s request to freeze a court order requiring the state to  draw new congressional lines and create a second district with a significant number of Black voters. Alabama has asked the court to halt an injunction issued by a three-judge panel blocking the use of the current map after the panel found it likely violates the Voting Rights Act. The Alabama attorney general argued the ruling will require the state to put race above other redistricting criteria. But lawyers for people and organizations that brought the initial lawsuit argued the current lines do not reflect a state that’s grown more racially diverse.