US President Donald Trump’s ratings have slid further to a new record low. But two recent court decisions will assist Republicans in using gerrymandering to avoid losing their majority in the House of Representatives.

In Australia, a former crossbench senator has defected to Labor. There are updated results from recent electoral events.

In analyst Nate Silver’s aggregate of US national polls, Trump’s net approval has dropped 1.4 points since my April 29 article to a record low this term of -19.6, with 58.1% disapproving and 38.5% approving.

Trump’s net approval is below what any past president since Harry Truman had at this point in their term, with Joe Biden the closest at -12.1.

On four issues tracked by Silver, Trump’s net approval is -11.9 on immigration, -19.4 on trade, -24.5 on the economy and -39.9 on inflation. Since April 29, Trump’s net approval on the economy and inflation have improved two points, while on immigration he has slipped three points.

Despite the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the benchmark US S&P 500 stock market index has surged 18.0% since March 30, hitting a new record high in last night’s session, 8.0% above the level it was at in the week before the Iran war began.

While consumers have been hurt by high fuel prices, the stockmarket has surged owing to the AI boom.

Silver also has an aggregate of US support for the Iran war. Net support has dropped 3.4 points since April 29 to a record low -19.3, with 56.7% opposed to the Iran war while 37.4% support it.

Court decisions help Republicans to gerrymander House seats

In the United States, state legislatures usually set the boundaries for........

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