WJI's daily reads for Aug. 24, 2021

AP via WBAY: Two more lawsuits filed over Wisconsin redistricting.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A conservative group filed a redistricting lawsuit with the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Monday, an action that comes after Democrats filed their own legal challenge in federal court less than two weeks ago.

A third lawsuit on behalf of voting rights advocacy groups was also filed in federal court on Monday. The lawsuits mean there are fights in both state and federal courts in Wisconsin over redistricting, even before the Legislature proposes a map or takes a vote on new political boundary lines.

All of the lawsuits argue that the current maps, adopted in 2011, are unconstitutional and courts should establish a plan to draw new lines because the Republican-controlled Legislature and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers will not be able to agree.
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Newsweek: Washington state jail offers ramen noodles as incentive for COVID vaccines.

The Benton County Corrections Department began offering packets of the wavy instant noodles to inmates who got their first shot on August 1 as part of a program called "Soup for Shots." So far, the program has seen success, with around 900 packets being doled out to 90 inmates, out of the prison's 360 overall, Scott Souza, chief of corrections for the department, said.

Ramen noodles were chosen as the incentive because they were among the institution's most popular commissary items. Posters placed around the prison—located in Kennewick, Washington—make the pitch to inmates.

Alaska Public Media: Federal judge nixes environmental approval for major Alaska oil project.

CNN: Proud Boys leader gets five months incarceration for burning BLM banner and bringing ammunition magazines to Washington, D.C. 

The Washington Post: Corporate America's half-hearted commitment to racial justice after George Floyd. 

To date, America’s 50 biggest public companies and their foundations collectively committed at least $49.5 billion since Floyd’s murder last May to addressing racial inequality — an amount that appears unequaled in sheer scale.

Looking deeper, more than 90 percent of that amount — $45.2 billion — is allocated as loans or investments they could stand to profit from, more than half in the form of mortgages. Two banks — JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America — accounted for nearly all of those commitments.