KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Leslie Moody has strong opinions on politics. But ask her who was on the ballot for her U.S. House district in Kansas City when she voted in last month's primary, and she isn't sure, though she knew it wasn't her current representative, Democrat Emanuel Cleaver.
That's because the districts have changed fast in Missouri after the Republican-controlled legislature, encouraged by President Donald Trump, redrew its congressional map last year to give the GOP a better shot at picking up one more seat in the House as part of a multistate effort. Republicans currently hold six of Missouri's eight House seats.
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This photo taken with a smartphone shows Steve Perry, of Kansas City, holding a sign in opposition to Missouri’s congressional redistricting plan on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, outside the state Capitol, in Jefferson City, Mo. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb)
This photo taken with a smartphone shows Keith Rose holding a sign opposed to new Missouri congressional districts supported by Secretary of State Denny Hoskins outside the Missouri Supreme Court in Jefferson City, Mo., Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb)
In this photo taken with a smartphone, Steve Dakopolos demonstrates in front of the state Capitol in Jefferson City, Mo., Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in support of a referendum petition seeking a statewide vote on a congressional redistricting plan. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb)
In this photo taken with a smartphone, people opposed to a congressional redistricting plan rally outside the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City, Mo., Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb)
A flurry of litigation and contradictory decisions followed. A U.S. Supreme Court order Thursday seems to have resolved it for November's general election, with the state going back to the map that was in place for 2022 and 2024.
That means Moody's neighborhood, which was briefly in the Republican-dominated 4th District, is back in a compact 5th District centered on Kansas City, one of the two currently represented by Democrats. The other, Trump-backed map split Kansas City into multiple districts stretching far outside the city and into areas with more conservative voters.
It all may sound confusing. But for Moody, a 70-year-old retired chemist, the main feeling is something else: frustration.
“It's plain that it's completely ridiculous,” she said.
The Trump-backed map left just two of the state's eight congressional districts unchanged.
It left just one — the St. Louis-based 1st District — likely to be dominated by Democrats.
The 5th, also currently represented by a Democrat, had the biggest change, with only about 2 in 5 voters in the old district included in the new one.
Among the new additions: residents of the state capital, Jefferson City, about 130 miles (210 kilometers) east of Kansas City.
Carolyn McDowell, a longtime Republican activist from there, said she does not like that Republican lawmakers attempted to gerrymander districts in the middle of the decade. She learned Thursday that her home — temporarily shifted from Republican U.S. Rep. Bob Onder's district to that of Democrat Cleaver — would again be back in Onder's district, which stretches eastward to suburban St. Louis.
“This is confusing for people who are running for office and for the voters,” McDowell said.
But McDowell is glad the Supreme Court blocked the use of the new districts for November.
The new map “was unconstitutional when they even thought of it,” she said.
Kay Park, president of the League of Women Voters of Missouri, said her organization did not get many calls from voters about the changing districts. But several people she did talk to felt like the redrawn map did not represent them as well as the one they had before — and which has now returned.
Ashley Sadowski has tried to follow the saga closely. She even tuned in to a state Supreme Court hearing Thursday at which judges considered whether to hold Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins in contempt for not following an order to use the 2022 version of the districts.
But Sadowski has still found it nearly impossible to understand the back and forth and the switching maps.
The new maps moved Sadowski’s Kansas City home into the 4th District. Sadowski, who calls herself a progressive independent, studied the Democratic candidates carefully for the primary because she had lived in the 5th District for so long.
Now she is back in the 5th for the general election.
“It’s just astounding to me how we all showed up in August to vote on a map that wasn’t legal,” Sadowski said.
Leslie French’s home in Platte City, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northwest of Kansas City, remains in the Republican-dominated 6th district no matter which map gets used in November. But French, also a Democrat, can’t get over what has been going on.
To switch districts after they were drawn following the 2020 census is unfair and seems to be something a country not serious about a democracy would do, French said.
She said she was surprised — and thankful — that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh saw through what she called a blatant power grab and restored the earlier map.
French has been to rallies over gerrymandering and redistricting and sometimes wears a Lady Liberty costume.
“It’s embarrassing,” French said. “When we travel to foreign countries, I’m tempted to tell people I am Canadian.”
Collins reported from Columbia, South Carolina, and Mulvihill from Haddonfield, New Jersey. Associated Press reporter David A. Lieb contributed from Jefferson City, Missouri.
This photo taken with a smartphone shows Steve Perry, of Kansas City, holding a sign in opposition to Missouri’s congressional redistricting plan on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, outside the state Capitol, in Jefferson City, Mo. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb)
This photo taken with a smartphone shows Keith Rose holding a sign opposed to new Missouri congressional districts supported by Secretary of State Denny Hoskins outside the Missouri Supreme Court in Jefferson City, Mo., Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb)
In this photo taken with a smartphone, Steve Dakopolos demonstrates in front of the state Capitol in Jefferson City, Mo., Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in support of a referendum petition seeking a statewide vote on a congressional redistricting plan. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb)
In this photo taken with a smartphone, people opposed to a congressional redistricting plan rally outside the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City, Mo., Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb)
The longest road trip in NFL history has brought the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams to Melbourne, Australia, for a season opener before more than 100,000 fans packed into the Southern Hemisphere’s largest stadium.
The NFC West rivals are playing at Melbourne Cricket Ground, a longtime home to Australian rules football, only with two starkly different approaches to the epic 16-hour journey.
The Niners have spent the past week in Australia. The Rams joined them just 28 hours before kickoff.
Stick around for live coverage as we count down to their debut Down Under.
Here's the latest:
Today’s Rams-49ers game kicks off the NFL’s nine-game international schedule, which includes games in seven different countries and on four continents.
Here’s a look at the rest of the league’s games that will be played outside of the U.S. this season:
Even though the Australian Football League postseason is in full swing this month, the NFL is on center stage in Melbourne this week ahead of the Rams’ historic meeting with the 49ers.
The state of Victoria and the NFL are heavily invested in making this “gridiron” game into a success, and the American version of the sport is highlighted on trams, buses, billboards, murals and entire buildings. The historic Flinders Street Station and City Hall are both alive with moving light displays welcoming the teams.
Fans wearing gear supporting both teams have been everywhere in the Central Business District all week. Thousands of Americans made the trip from California and elsewhere to join the expected sellout crowd of roughly 100,000 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The game is a top story on newscasts and sports pages around the country as well. The 49ers dominate those reports since they’ve been in Australia all week while the Rams waited until midweek to travel, and many Australian fans and reporters clearly appreciate the Niners’ decision to make the most of the historic occasion.
Although Aaron Donald isn’t traveling to Australia, the rest of the Rams’ revamped defense will make its debut at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The Rams lost the NFC championship game to the Seattle Seahawks last season when their No. 1-ranked offense couldn’t make up for the shortcomings of a defense that struggled against the league’s best attacks.
So, in typical Rams fashion, they went out and swung bold moves to acquire two of the NFL’s best defensive players and a third high-caliber starter.
Los Angeles’ cornerback group was a clear weakness all season long in 2025, so the club acquired star cornerback Trent McDuffie from Kansas City, acquiring its first elite cover defender since Jalen Ramsey’s departure. Shortly afterward, the Rams signed McDuffie’s longtime Chiefs teammate, two-time Super Bowl champion cornerback Jaylen Watson, as a free agent.
The Rams then traded rising star Jared Verse and three high draft picks for Myles Garrett, the reigning AP Defensive Player of the Year. The Rams’ pass rush was already strong with Verse and Pro Bowl selection Byron Young, but Garrett has no equal at defensive end.
The rest of LA’s defense largely remained intact. Its first chance to play together comes against the 49ers in Australia.
The first gridiron fans have already reached their seats inside the massive Melbourne Cricket Ground just after 8 a.m. local time.
With tunes from Men at Work and Midnight Oil blaring from the sound system, several Rams players were already checking out the field, which appears to be in excellent condition seven days after the most recent Australian Football League postseason match on the turf.
Only the footy 50-meter line is vaguely visible in the grass within the red zones of the American football field. The large oval field leaves large wedges of empty space behind each NFL sideline, but the area behind the north sideline has been filled with a large hospitality area featuring chairs, couches and a big bar.
The 49ers are set to start the season following a tumultuous summer of offseason news.
Coach Kyle Shanahan got into a car crash a little more than a week before the start of training camp that left him with several injuries, including a concussion that limited what he could do early in camp. Shanahan is mostly back to full health and is expected to call plays along with the rest of his duties.
Last month, owner Jed York was arrested in a prostitution sting in Ohio. He pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors and hasn’t been around the team all summer.
The Jonas Brothers — featuring Nick, Joe and Kevin — will be the halftime performers during the NFL’s first regular season game in Australia.
The NFL announced the headliners for the mid-game show last month, giving them the major entertainment assignment to start the league’s international schedule this season that includes nine games in seven countries and four continents.
The Jonas Brothers have sold more than 20 million albums and recently landed a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
“The Jonas Brothers are global entertainers whose music connects across generations, making them the ideal artists to help us celebrate this historic game in Melbourne,” said Tim Tubito, the NFL’s senior director of global game presentation and entertainment. “We look forward to delivering a memorable halftime performance for our fans in Australia and those watching around the world.”
Rams coach Sean McVay is a strong advocate for sports science, and he also likes his players to stay in a consistent routine. That combination has led the Rams to make an extraordinarily short trip to Australia.
The Rams practiced at their training complex in Los Angeles all week, finishing their workouts on Tuesday afternoon, before getting on a plane that arrived in Melbourne roughly 24 hours before kickoff.
They’ll turn around and go back to California immediately after the game, which means it’s possible they’ll spend more total time in the air above the Pacific Ocean than on the ground in Australia.
McVay has become convinced that short trips are ideal for athletes’ circadian rhythms, body clocks and overall alertness. He employed the same strategy last year when the Rams flew from the U.S. East Coast to London one day before their blowout win over Jacksonville at Wembley Stadium — but that flight is roughly half as long as the 15-hour trek to Melbourne.
The Rams missed out on the week of practice, sightseeing and community involvement enjoyed by the 49ers, who traveled to Melbourne a week earlier, but McVay is convinced his strategy is the best way to beat a rival that has regularly topped the Rams during his parallel career with San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan.
One reason the NFL’s first game in Australia will be played tonight before the bulk of Week 1 is to give the event the one-of-a-kind treatment it deserves.
Another main reason: It should give the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers more time to rest in the aftermath.
One of the fascinating subplots to the first regular-season contest Down Under will be how teams react to the roughly 8,000-mile (12,900-kilometer), 16-hour flight from the West Coast. The Rams and 49ers had vastly different plans to stay fresh for the game despite the lengthy travel, and they’ll also need a plan when they return home.
The fact that the game is played on a Thursday night in the U.S. means both teams will have a full weekend at home to rest and recuperate before getting back to the grind of the NFL’s 18-week regular season.
The NFL hopes that today’s game between the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers will be the first of many regular-season games played in front of its growing Australian fan base.
The league is also determined to play those games at Australia’s biggest stadium during the first week of the NFL’s regular season — even with a major scheduling problem obstructing that goal in 2027.
The 100,000-seat MCG could be unavailable to the NFL at this time next year because it will be occupied by the Australian Football League postseason, which begins in early September. The AFL accommodated the NFL this year, but doesn’t intend to do the same in 2027, according to Australian media reports.
NFL Executive Vice President Peter O’Reilly downplayed the potential for disruption caused by this scheduling conflict during a recent conference call to highlight the league’s upcoming Australian debut.
“We have great partners in the MCG and the AFL, and I know we’ll work to a good solution there that allows the NFL to continue to play in Australia on an ongoing basis,” O’Reilly said.
Melbourne Cricket Ground — known by many locals as MCG or just The G — is a jumbo-sized venue fit for the NFL’s debut game Down Under.
The Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers will be playing today’s game at a stadium in Melbourne, Australia, that holds roughly 100,000 people and has hosted the Olympics, Cricket World Cup finals, some of Taylor Swift’s biggest shows and even a Papal mass.
“Melbourne as a city really stood out, having a huge stadium of that size, that caliber, that historical nature, in the middle of the city,” Charlotte Offord, GM for NFL Australia/New Zealand, told The Associated Press. “It just felt like a bit of a no-brainer.”
Established in 1853, The G has developed a revered place in Australian sports and cultural life. Australia’s premier venue is hosting the first of the NFL’s nine international games this season.
One of the biggest challenges for two U.S.-based NFL teams playing a game in Australia has always been the time difference and sheer length of travel.
Today’s Rams-49ers showdown will kick off at 8:35 p.m. EDT — standard for a big game in the U.S. — but will actually begin at 10:35 a.m. in Melbourne on Friday because of the 14-hour time difference.
The two teams are taking vastly different approaches to the nearly 8,000-mile trip.
The Rams left Southern California on Tuesday night and arrived in Australia on Thursday, roughly 24 hours before the game.
The Niners have spent a week in Melbourne, having arrived last Friday for what is expected to be the first of several NFL regular-season games in a country and venue traditionally associated with cricket and Australian rules football.
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, center, during a practice session for an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers., in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026.(AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Los Angeles Rams outside linebacker Myles Garrett, centre, works out during a practice session for an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers., in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026.(AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
