Missouri judge rejects a challenge to new US House districts backed by Trump

A Missouri court has rejected a legal challenge to new U.S. House districts backed by President Donald Trump. The ruling Thursday marks a triumph for Republicans, who hope the new districts could help them win an additional seat in the November midterm elections. But it's not the final say, because other lawsuits remain pending. The new map splits Democratic-leaning Kansas City into several districts, and joins a main portion of Kansas City with rural Republican-leaning areas to the east. A lawsuit alleged the new districts violated a state constitutional requirement to be compact. But a Jackson County judge rejected that assertion.