The redistricting battle in Texas continues to escalate as Republican Gov. Greg Abbott urged the state Supreme Court to remove state Rep. Gene Wu, the chairman of the Texas House Democratic caucus. Abbott argued that Wu has "forfeited" his office by fleeing the state along with other Democratic lawmakers to prevent the quorum necessary for Texas House to vote on enacting the new GOP-proposed congressional map -- with Republican control of the U.

The Texas redistricting confrontation spawned a bomb threat in Illinois on Wednesday, along with threats of a federal dragnet to bring the absent lawmakers back. Democratic Texas State Rep. Ann Johnson and Republican Texas State Rep.