Tuesday Morning Briefing: U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments on partisan gerrymandering

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March 26, 2019 Reuters News Now Sponsored by   Politics The Supreme Court will hear arguments over the contentious practice of partisan gerrymandering - the manipulation of electoral district boundaries to entrench one party in power - today. After failing to deliver a definitive ruling on the legality of the practice last year, justices will get another chance in cases challenging North Carolina’s Republican-drawn statewide U.S. House of Representatives map and a single Democratic-drawn House district in Maryland. U.S. lawmakers seeking Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report face a long road ahead, and are likely to encounter a legal battle that will turn on President Donald Trump’s right to keep communications with his advisers private. At the heart of the issue is the evidence surrounding an obstruction of justice case against Trump. Attorney General William Barr’s four page summary concluded there was insufficient evidence, but Mueller’s full report was inconclusive on the issue. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, a Democrat, said he will “try to negotiate” to obtain the full report, but that the committee would issue subpoenas and litigate if needed. U.S. Senator Kamala Harris has released a plan that would use federal money to raise teachers’ salaries, in a nod to several constituencies whose help she will need to win next year’s Democratic presidential nomination – teachers unions, women and black voters. The proposal would invest $315 billion over 10 years to give the average teacher a $13,500 raise. In a move aimed at dividing Democrats, Republican U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has set a vote for on the “Green New Deal” resolution, slated for 4 p.m. today. Democratic Senator Edward Markey, who unveiled the plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions by moving off fossil fuels with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, has called the vote a “sham.” Many Democrats plan to vote “present” at the procedural vote on the resolution, instead of up or down, to show unity among the party. World About 1.85 million people have now been affected by Cyclone Idai in Mozambique alone, says the U.N. humanitarian agency OCHA. Idai flattened homes and provoked widespread flooding when it made landfall on March 14th. It then ripped through Zimbabwe and Malawi. At least 686 people have been killed across the three countries, a figure that could rise as relief workers prepare for what they say are inevitable outbreaks of diseases including malaria and cholera. As British lawmakers prepare to seize control of Brexit for a day tomorrow, they are calling on Prime Minister Theresa May to heed whatever alternative strategy they settle on. The government insists that the deal May agreed with the European Union after more than two years of negotiation remains the only way forward for taking Britain out of the bloc - a deal that has been voted down twice in parliament. Myanmar’s Supreme Court have heard the appeal of two Reuters journalists imprisoned for breaking a colonial-era official secrets law. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo have spent more than 15 months in detention since they were arrested while investigating a massacre of Rohingya Muslim civilians involving Myanmar soldiers. Their case has raised questions about Myanmar’s progress towards democracy. You can follow updates on their case here. Donald Trump signed a proclamation yesterday officially granting U.S. recognition of the Golan Heights as Israeli territory - a dramatic shift from decades of U.S. policy. The move was an election boost for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and it prompted a sharp negative response from Syria and four Gulf Arab states. But why does a hilly plateau overlooking Lebanon and bordering Jordan have political significance in the Middle East? Read our quick guide to region here. Where do you stack up? Forrester ranked the top 9 providers of enterprise insight platforms - see where your vendor stacks up. Read the Forrester Wave Business Apple spotlights services with TV, gaming and credit card offerings Apple attempted to reintroduce itself on Monday as an entertainment and financial services company that also makes iPhones as it launched a streaming television service, a credit card and an online gaming arcade. But star-studded appearances from the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg failed to excite investors, who sent Apple shares down 1.2 percent. 6 MIN READ Ethiopian crash report likely to be released this week as Boeing briefs airlines A preliminary report on an Ethiopian Airlines crash will very likely be released this week, the country’s transport ministry said on Tuesday, as Boeing prepares to brief more airlines on software and training updates on the 737 MAX. 3 MIN READ China's Huawei sees little impact on sales from U.S. broadside The U.S. campaign against China’s Huawei is having little impact on the company’s sales and it is unlikely many countries will follow the United States in banning Huawei from building next-generation mobile networks, its rotating Chairman Eric Xu said. 5 min read Uber buys rival Careem in $3.1 billion deal to dominate ride-hailing in Middle East Global ride-hailing firm Uber will spend $3.1 billion to acquire Middle East rival Careem, buying dominance in a competitive region ahead of a hotly anticipated initial public offering. 6 MIN READ Top Stories on Reuters TV Midwest farmers struggle amid floods, trade war U.S.   1:48 Russian jets in Caracas? 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