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In the news today: California’s Democrats are working to counter President Donald Trump's Texas redistricting play; how Russia is increasingly restricting internet access; and polio eradication methods in Pakistan and Afghanistan face criticism. Also, a livestream of deep sea creatures has viewers transfixed with its exceptional clarity and detail.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif., on July 25. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

POLITICS

California could slash 5 GOP US House seats to counter Texas’ move to pad Republican margin

California Democrats are considering new political maps that could slash five Republican-held House seats in the liberal-leaning state while bolstering Democratic incumbents in other battleground districts. The move comes in response to efforts by Texas Republicans to redraw House districts to strengthen the GOP hold on the chamber in 2026. Read more.

Key points:

• A draft plan aims to boost the Democratic margin to 48 of California’s 52 congressional seats, according to a source familiar with the plan who was not authorized to discuss it publicly.
  
  

• The proposal is being circulated at the same time that Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has said he wants to advance partisan redistricting. He says he won’t move ahead if Texas pauses its efforts. Newsom said he’d call a special election for the first week of November.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• Texas Democrats who left state prevent vote, for now, on Trump’s efforts to add GOP House seats
  
  
• Texas dispute highlights nation’s long history of partisan gerrymandering. Is it legal?
  
  
• WATCH: New York governor joins Dems in redistricting fight, says 'we are at war'
  
  
• Rwanda accepts up to 250 deportees from the US under Trump's third-country plan
  
  
• Young adults are less likely to follow politics or say voting is important: AP-NORC poll
  
  
• Bondi moves forward on Justice Department investigation into origins of Trump-Russia probe
  
  
• Senate confirms Trump nominee Brian Nesvik to lead the US Fish and Wildlife Service
  
  
• Judge orders Florida, federal officials to produce ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ agreements
  
  
• Judge rules that Rhode Island’s gun permit system does not violate Second Amendment
  
  
• Judge blocks 4 districts from enforcing Arkansas law requiring Ten Commandments in classroom
  
  
• Lawsuit challenges California affordable housing programs after Supreme Court ruling
  
  
• Trump says he doesn’t trust the jobs data, but Wall Street and economists do
  
  
• In his own words: Trump’s comments over the past year on the jobs report
  
  
• August recess can’t hide tensions ahead for Congress on spending and Trump nominations
  
  
• Democratic governors may offer a path forward for a party out of power in Washington
  
  
• Mitch McConnell’s legacy comes under fire in Kentucky race to replace him in the Senate
  
  
• Alaska Sen. Murkowski toys with bid for governor, defends vote supporting Trump’s tax breaks package
  
  
• Rep. Nancy Mace kicks off South Carolina GOP gubernatorial bid. She says she’s ‘Trump in high heels’
  
  
• FACT FOCUS: Trump says he’s cut drug prices by up to 1,500%. That’s not possible
  
  
• Eagles running back Saquon Barkley declines invitation to join Trump’s sports council

WORLD

How Russia reins in the internet by blocking websites and isolating it from the rest of the world

Going online in Russia can be frustrating, complicated and even dangerous. Accessing independent news sites, Facebook and YouTube is increasingly difficult due to extensive online censorship. The Kremlin has blocked or throttled thousands of websites and apps over the past decade. Virtual private network apps, once a workaround, are frequently blocked. Read more.

Why this matters:

• This summer, authorities further restricted internet access by shutting down cellphone internet connections and penalizing users for searching illicit content. It's a deliberate, multipronged and long-term effort by authorities to bring the internet under the Kremlin’s full control. Experts warn that Russia is edging closer to making its internet a tightly controlled, isolated space.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• Russia says it no longer will abide by its self-imposed moratorium on intermediate-range missiles
  
  

• NATO to coordinate regular and large-scale arm deliveries to Ukraine. Most will be bought from US
  
  

• A look at the top buyers of Russian oil as Trump pressures China and India to stop buying it

HEALTH

The world nearly beat polio. But fake records, an imperfect vaccine and missteps aided its comeback

The World Health Organization and partners embarked on their polio campaign in 1988 with the bold goal of eradication — a feat seen only once for human diseases, with smallpox in 1980. They came close several times, including in 2021, when just five cases of the natural virus were reported in Pakistan and Afghanistan. But since then, cases rebounded, hitting 99 last year, and officials have missed at least six self-imposed eradication deadlines. Read more.

Why this matters:

• The Global Polio Eradication Initiative, one of the largest and most expensive public health campaigns in history, has been derailed by mismanagement and what insiders describe as blind allegiance to an outdated strategy and a problematic oral vaccine, according to workers, polio experts and internal materials obtained by the AP.
  
  

• Dr. Jamal Ahmed, WHO’s polio director, defended progress in those two countries. “There’s so many children being protected today because of the work that was done over the past 40 years,” he said. Ahmed said he believes authorities will end the spread of polio in the next 12 to 18 months. Its latest goal for eradication is 2029.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• Takeaways from interviews with families forever changed by diseases that vaccines can prevent

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