News in Brief

The U.S. Supreme Court last week asked the Clinton Administration for its views on whether a Mississippi law affecting school district boundaries dilutes the political strength of black voters.

The case in question, which the Court is considering taking up, centers on a 1986 law under which school districts no longer automatically expand their boundaries when cities annex land.

Members of the Hattiesburg school board challenged the law. They argued that because the board is appointed by the city council, city voters who live outside the school district--who are mostly white--will have some electoral authority over the...