Texas Republicans

The months-long struggle over congressional redistricting made it past a major hurdle early Wednesday as the state House gave preliminary approval to a GOP-drawn map, which awaited a tougher battle in the Senate. For the third time this summer, the House approved a map sponsored by GOP Rep. Phil King that would likely give Texas Republicans as many as 21 seats in Congress. The final vote was 76-43, after hours of staunch debate from Democrats on Tuesday.

Republicans in the Texas Senate voted Tuesday to fine 11 fugitive Democrats up to $5,000 a day each to force them to return from New Mexico to vote on a plan that would add Republican seats in the U.S. Congress. The Democrats angrily vowed that they would not pay the fines and would remain out of state, and out of the reach of Texas police, as long as necessary to stop what they deem a Republican power grab.

President Clinton gave strong praise on Thursday to George W. Bush as a man who will be "very, very good" in dealing with Mexico and other Latin American nations. Bush has a strong understanding of the vital importance of the region and its close ties with the United States, Clinton told reporters on Air Force One during a return flight from a three-day trip to Ireland and England. "I think it's really important that the United States has a . . .

SATURDAY Good Morning America (N) 7 a.m. KABC McLaughlin Group 6:30 p.m. KCET The Chris Matthews Show Bob Woodward, the Washington Post; Andrea Mitchell, NBC; Joe Klein, Time; Katty Kay, BBC. (N) 4:30 a.m. KNBC SUNDAY Today American jet skier killed in Mexico; applying to colleges. (N) 6 a.m. KNBC Good Morning America (N) 6 a.m. KABC State of the Union With Candy Crowley Washington; the future of the GOP: Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas). Republicans in the Senate: Senator-elect Pat Toomey (R-Pa)

Mississippi Democrats picked a young congressman as their candidate to replace John C. Stennis in the U.S. Senate, while Democratic Sens. Paul S. Sarbanes of Maryland and Lloyd Bentsen of Texas easily overcame little-known primary opponents Tuesday. As the first state primaries coincided with Super Tuesday, Rep. Wayne Dowdy defeated Secretary of State Dick Molpus for the Democratic nomination in Mississippi. He is expected to face a tough fight from Rep.

SATURDAY Good Morning America (N) 7 a.m. KABC McLaughlin Group 6:30 p.m. KCET The Chris Matthews Show Bob Woodward, the Washington Post; Andrea Mitchell, NBC; Joe Klein, Time; Katty Kay, BBC. (N) 4:30 a.m. KNBC SUNDAY Today American jet skier killed in Mexico; applying to colleges. (N) 6 a.m. KNBC Good Morning America (N) 6 a.m. KABC State of the Union With Candy Crowley Washington; the future of the GOP: Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas). Republicans in the Senate: Senator-elect Pat Toomey (R-Pa)

The Supreme Court gave at least a temporary win to Texas Republicans in the fight over redrawing its congressional districts, ruling that the election districts should mostly follow the lines set by the state's lawmakers. The unsigned ruling tells judges that they should be guided by "the state's policy judgments" on where to draw new districts for use in this year's elections. At issue are 36 Texas seats in Congress, an increase of four this year due to a population surge in the Lone Star State.

Iraqis shouldn't be too embarrassed if a few tallies look suspicious or some ballots disappear as the votes are counted in their landmark election last week. More than two centuries after we began the experiment, the U.S. is still trying to iron out all the kinks in its own democracy. Case in point: the Supreme Court's decision last week to hear a suit challenging the map Texas Republicans drew for the state's congressional districts. This case could spur a landmark decision.

The Supreme Court gave an early win to Texas Republicans in the fight over redrawing election districts and the balance of power in Congress, ruling that the district lines should mostly follow those set by GOP lawmakers and not those by judges who drew new boundaries to favor Latinos. The 9-0 decision set aside a new map of congressional districts drawn by a special federal court in San Antonio that gave Latinos and Democrats a good chance to win three or possibly four new seats in the House of Representatives.