Today in one sentence: The Supreme Court approved a white-dominated congressional district drawn by the Republican-controlled South Carolina legislature; a second flag carried by rioters on Jan. 6 was flown outside Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s vacation home in New Jersey; House Republicans temporarily banned a Democrat from speaking in the chamber after he listed off Trump’s criminal charges; and the Republican-controlled Louisiana legislature reclassified abortion pills as controlled and dangerous substances, making the state the first to criminalize possession of the drugs without a prescription.

1/ The Supreme Court approved a white-dominated congressional district drawn by the Republican-controlled South Carolina legislature, reversing a lower court decision that found the map was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander that resulted in the “bleaching of African American voters” from a district. The decision, however, won’t have a direct effect on the 2024 election. South Carolina had asked the justices to issue a decision by Jan. 1, but after that deadline passed the lower court ordered the state to use the map deemed unconstitutional this year no matter how the Supreme Court ruled. (New York Times / NBC News / NPR / Politico / Associated Press / Washington Post / CNN / Wall Street Journal)

2/ A second flag carried by rioters on Jan. 6 was flown outside Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s vacation home in New Jersey. The “Appeal to Heaven” flag has been embraced by Christian nationalists and, like the inverted U.S. flag, was carried by rioters at the Capitol on Jan. 6. It dates back to the Revolutionary War. The flag was displayed at Alito’s New Jersey vacation home in July and September of 2023. An upside-down American flag – a symbol of the “Stop the Steal” movement – was hung outside Alito’s home days after the Jan. 6 attack. Democrats, meanwhile, called for Alito to recuse himself from cases related to Trump and the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. In the coming weeks, the Supreme Court will rule on whether those who stormed the Capitol can be prosecuted for obstruction, and whether Trump is immune from prosecution for actions he took while president. (New York Times / Associated Press / CNN / Axios)

3/ House Republicans temporarily banned a Democrat from speaking in the chamber after he listed off Trump’s criminal charges. “Donald Trump might want to be a king, but he’s not a king,” Rep. Jim McGovern said. “We have a presumptive nominee for president facing 88 felony counts, and we’re being prevented from even acknowledging it. These are not alternative facts. There are real facts […] And yet, in this Republican-controlled House, it’s OK to talk about the trial, but you have to call it a sham.” McGovern went on to list the counts Trump was facing, including that he was “on trial for sending a hush money payment to a porn star to avoid a sex scandal during his 2016 campaign, and then fraudulently disguising those payments in violation of the law,” and that he’s charged with conspiring to overturn the election and stealing classified material, and that “a jury has already found him liable for rape in a civil court.” Republicans interjected and demanded that McGovern’s statement be “taken down” from the congressional record. McGovern declined to withdraw them, prompting an extended delay. His remarks were eventually ruled out of order, and he was blocked from speaking on the House floor for the rest of the day. (NBC News / ABC News / Washington Post / Politico / Axios)

4/ The Republican-controlled Louisiana legislature reclassified abortion pills as controlled and dangerous substances, making the state the first to criminalize possession of the drugs without a prescription. Once signed into law by Republican Gov. Jeff Landry, mifepristone and misoprostol will be classified as Schedule IV drugs despite the FDA repeatedly reaffirming over the past 25 years that the drugs are safe and effective. Abortion is already banned in Louisiana with no exceptions for rape or incest. (New York Times / Associated Press / CNN / Wall Street Journal)

Last year today: Day 854: "Very substantial."
Five years ago today: Day 854: Intentional.
Six years ago today: Day 489: Taxi King.