Appeals court strikes significant blow against Voting Rights Act – live

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Here’s more info on polling that shows a majority of Democrats believe Israel’s actions are “too much”:

According to polling from Reuters/Ispos, the majority of Americans believe that Israel should call a ceasefire. About 68% of respondents said they agreed that ‘Israel should call a ceasefire and try to negotiate’.

A majority of Democratic voters also believe that Israel’s overwhelming response to the 7 October Hamas attack, in which the Islamist extremists killed more than 1,200 people in southern Israel and took hostages back to Gaza, is ‘too much’, according to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll.

And 56% of Democrats have said that Israel’s military operations in Gaza have been too much, which is 21 points higher than a similar survey last month.

People of color in the US as well as those under the age of 45 also believe that Israel’s response has been disproportionate, pointing to generational and racial splits around support for Israel.

Meanwhile, 52% of Republicans viewed Israel’s response as ‘about right’, an increase from last month’s poll when more Republicans then viewed Israel’s reaction as ‘too little’.

Overall, the majority of respondents say they are more sympathetic to Israelis than Palestinians.

Read more information here and about US demonstrations in support of Palestine, from the Guardian.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre addressed a question about poll numbers showing that a growing number of American people don’t support Joe Biden’s handling of the conflict in Gaza.

“We’re not gonna govern by poll numbers. We’re gonna focus on delivering for the American people … on what the American people expect him to do,” Jean-Pierre said, emphasizing Biden’s gains for the economy.

Jean-Pierre added that she would not be going “point by point” on each poll.

The White House briefing is happening now, with spokesperson John Kirby discussing the situation in Gaza with reporters.

Kirby has said that he does not have an update regarding a potential deal to get hostages from Hamas.

Kirby did not elaborate if the potential deal would focus on women and children, but added, “we’re closer now than we’ve been before” when it comes to a deal to guarantee the hostages’ safety.

More quotes are coming out of this morning’s hearing on the scope of Donald Trump’s gag order, demonstrating that the judges were not entirely unsympathetic to the arguments of the former president’s defense team.

At one point, a judge raised the hypothetical point that it wouldn’t be fair if Trump “has to speak Miss Manners while everyone else is throwing targets at him”, Forbes reported.

Judges also criticized another hypothetical situation where Trump would not be allowed to call a potential witness a “liar” if they said things that were untrue.

When the supreme court gutted the requirement for states with a history of racial bias to pre-clear changes to their voting laws with the federal government – in its 2013 landmark ruling in Shelby county v Holder that drastically weakened the Voting Rights Act – it expected that the capacity for individuals to sue was the safety net needed.

That’s one element drawing expert ire today. Here’s Steve Vladeck:

Wendy Weiser of the Brennan Center is clearly furious at the appeals court’s ruling today:

Some background from the Guardian:

The decision from the 8th circuit court of appeal, which is based in St Louis, Missouri, and was ruling on a lower court redistricting case out of Arkansas, is drawing furious reaction from defenders of a fundamental element of the Voting Rights Act.

Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is chiefly designed to prohibit voting practices or procedures that discriminate on the basis of a person’s race and is one of the law’s last remaining powerful provision after years of attacks from the right.

(The US supreme court, in a 5-4 opinion authored by chief justice John Roberts in 2013, gutted a key provision of the law that required states with a history of voting discrimination to get voting changes pre-cleared by the federal government before they went into effect.)

Most challenges under section 2 are brought by private individuals or civil rights or voting rights advocacy and campaign groups, not the US government.

Appeals court strikes blow against Voting Rights Act

A federal appeals court has issued a decision striking down a core element of the Voting Rights Act, further undermining protections for voters of color in the US, saying only the federal government – not private citizens or civil rights groups – is allowed to sue under a crucial section of the landmark civil rights law.

The 8th circuit today upheld a lower court’s ruling that says private individuals can’t bring lawsuits under the law, meaning only the federal government can sue under the Voting Rights Act’s section 2 protections for people of color. That also means that civil rights groups wouldn’t be allowed to sue either.

There appears to be a strong prospect that even the right-leaning US supreme court will not uphold this when, as is likely, it is appealed to the highest level. But as currently ruled the decision would be a massive blow to voting rights and racial equality.

The civil rights law was implemented to increase minority representation in US national leadership.

And:

Joe Biden joked about his birthday and age while conducting the annual pardon of Thanksgiving turkeys.

Biden, who turned 81 today, joked that he was only turning 60 while pardoning the poultry, the Hill reported.

“I just want you to know it’s difficult turning 60, difficult,” Biden said.

Biden also added that it was the 76th anniversary of the pardoning tradition in the White House, joking that he was “too young” to make the tradition up.

Judges appear skeptical of Trump team complaints against gag order in election case

Judges at the hearing on Donald Trump’s gag order appeared skeptical about complaints regarding the gag order’s prophylactic nature, the Guardian’s Hugo Lowell reports.

The hearing on the scope of the former president’s gag order in the election interference case is now over.

After over two hours of arguments, judges are not expected to make a decision on the order today.

The three-judge panel seemed unconvinced about legal complaints coming from Trump’s defense team, but also believed that the original gag order was “insufficiently narrow”.

Joe Biden turned 81 on Monday, as concerns around his age grow ahead of the 2024 US presidential election, the Hill reports.

Biden is the oldest US president in history, ABC News reports.

If re-elected in 2024, Biden will be 82 and finish out his second term at the age of 86.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump, the front runner for the Republican presidential nomination, is 77.

Biden has increasingly caught flack for his age after several gaffes on the campaign trail and at other public speaking events.

Recent polling has shown that a majority of voters have concerns about Biden’s age. A New York Times/Siena College poll of battleground voters showed that 71% of respondents believed that Biden was “too old” to be president.

54% of Democrats also believed Biden was too old.

Read the Guardian’s David Smith reporting on how Biden’s team has tackled criticism about his age, available here:

The supreme court declined to review an appeal for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s conviction for the 2020 murder of George Floyd.

Chauvin’s murder of Floyd during a 2020 arrest ignited international protests against systemic racism and police brutality, Reuters reported.

The supreme court justices rejected an appeal filed by Chauvin’s team after a Minnesota appellate court upheld his conviction in 2021 and denied his request for a new trial.

Chauvin argued that he was denied an fair trial due to various reasons, including publicity associated with his case.

Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree and third-degree murder as well as second-degree manslaughter.

He is currently serving a prison sentence of over 22 years.

Politicians are posting tributes to Carter, with many remembering the former first lady for her public service.

From US representative Cori Bush:

From Antony Blinken, the secretary of state:

Funeral arrangements have been announced for former first lady Rosalynn Carter, who died on Sunday at the age of 96.

A funeral for Carter will take place in Plains, Georgia next week, the Carter center announced on Sunday, the Hill reported.

The funeral will be next Wednesday and limited to family and invited friends.

Other ceremonies to celebrate Carter’s life will take place next week as well.

Carter died at her home in Plains on Sunday shortly after going into hospice care.

Judges are pressing Donald Trump’s team on hypothetical questions to understand how the former president’s defense team interprets the release condition and to test the legal rule that Trump’s lawyers want adopted with regards to the gag order.

From CBS News corespondent Scott MacFarlane:

The format of the gag order hearing is different from a standard criminal case.

As Trump’s defense team makes their arguments, judges on the panel interrupt and frequently ask questions.

A question that continues to arise is if there can be limitations on speech to protect the administration of justice, outside of speech that is already illegal.

From CBS News corespondent Scott MacFarlane:

The hearing on Donald Trump’s gag order has began.

The former president’s attorney John Sauro is arguing first.

A main argument from Trump’s defense team is that there is “no evidence” that Trump has made social media posts about “non-public” witnesses.

The three judges that make up the panel are judges Patricia Millett, Cornelia Pillard, and Brad Garcia, who were all appointed by Democratic presidents.

Listen to a live audio of the hearing here.

The Guardian’s Hugo Lowell is currently in Washington DC for the court hearing.

Jack Smith is currently in the courtroom for oral arguments at the DC Circuit, with the hearing set to begin at 9.30 am.

He’s sitting in the front row of pews.

The latest clash over the gag order comes after Donald Trump’s supporters have threatened officials associated with the election interference case and other cases.

A woman in Texas was charged after making threats against Judge Tanya Chutkan, who mandated the limited gag order against the former president, NPR reported.

A New York judge presiding over a civil case involving Trump has also received hundreds of threats.

Trump is under a separate gag order for that case after making a social media post on his Truth Social account attacking the judge’s clerk, Axios reported.

Trump legal team and prosecutors to face off in court over gag order in election case

Good morning.

Attorneys representing Donald Trump and federal prosecutors will face off on Monday in federal court about the perimeters of a gag order placed on the former president, which prevents him from attacking witnesses, prosecutors, or others associated with the election interference case.

Both sides will present their argument before a US federal appeals court on Monday at 9.30 am ET, with the hearing expected to last one hour.

Prosecutors with the Justice department have said that the gag order is critical for a fair trial, as Trump’s public comments on the trial have led to harassment or witness intimidation from his supporters.

Meanwhile, Trump’s attorneys believe that the gag order impedes on his “core political speech”, especially with Trump being the Republican frontrunner for the 2024 presidential election.

A limited gag order was placed on Trump last month, prohibiting him from “from making any public statements, or directing others to make any public statements” about witnesses, their testimony, the prosecution and their staff, as well as the court’s staff, NBC News reported.

Here’s what else is happening today:

Biden will pardon the national Thanksgiving turkey on the White House’s South Lawn at 11.15 am ET.