Tuesday headlines: Final arguments today in S.C. trial over congressional redistricting

Final arguments are expected today in a federal case over whether South Carolina’s redistricted congressional maps are legal. The issue at hand: Whether the GOP-dominated state legislature diluted Black voting power in a Charleston-area congressional seat.

According to the Associated Press, the lawsuit alleges the GOP redrew maps to dilute race in the First Congressional District and give the party an advantage. Democrats flipped the seat in 2018, but lost it narrowly in 2020 before new lines were drawn.

“According to a lawsuit filed by the NAACP, the new boundaries unconstitutionally split Black voters in the state’s 1st, 2nd and 5th Districts and packed them all into the 6th District, which already had a majority of African American voters,” the news service reported. A ruling by a panel of three federal judges is expected in the weeks ahead.

In other recent news:

GIVING TUESDAY: How to help throughout the holidays. Today is Giving Tuesday, a national effort to encourage people to give to local organizations to radically transform communities. Here are some ways you can help today … and throughout the holidays.

$25 flights from Charleston were available yesterday only. Breeze Airways offered $25 flights out of Charleston for a few hours Monday.

Charleston again offers free holiday parking. You can get two hours of free parking for shopping downtown.

Berkeley County in line for big investment — at big cost. The county will have to spend millions on roads to land a billion dollar business.

Kidnapped child found after 51 years in Texas. A tip that someone looked like an age-progressed photo of a child kidnapped in 1971 reinvigorated the search for the missing child, who was located in Texas due to DNA.