The Supreme Court struck down a California law that limits welfare benefits to new residents. On a seven-to-two vote, the justices declared unconstitutional a statute that prohibits welfare recipients during their first year of residency from receiving more benefits than they received in states where they previously lived. The high court also made it harder for federal judges to strike down election districts for being racially gerrymandered. The justices reversed a lower court decision that North Carolina’s 12th congressional district was unlawfully drawn in 1997. The decision puts district courts on notice that more than circumstantial evidence that race was the primary consideration is required before redistricting can be invalidated.