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Iran seized two ships in the Strait of Hormuz but the ceasefire extended by President Donald Trump yesterday holds. 🚢 |
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Virginia voters narrowly approved a redistricting referendum that may give Democrats an edge in Congress. |
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A civil rights group is under indictment, accused of paying informants to infiltrate far-right extremist groups. There's a wrinkle, though. ⚖️ |
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Iran tightened its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, seizing two ships in the strategic waterway on Wednesday. So far, though, the ceasefire that President Donald Trump extended late Tuesday is holding. The U.S. Navy blockade also continues, and both sides are issuing threats to the fragile detente. The latest developments.
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Two container ships were seized by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz after President Donald Trump indefinitely extended the ceasefire.
Reuters
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Virginia voters say 'yes' to redistricting 🗳️
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Voters in Virginia narrowly OK'd a referendum to redraw the state's congressional map in a special election Tuesday. The measure allows the state legislature to temporarily adopt a new map which would likely boost Democrats' hopes of gaining control of Congress in November's midterms, and comes on the heels of other states' efforts to change their maps ahead of November races, such as Missouri, North Carolina, Texas and California. What's next.
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A steady flow of voters streamed into Fairfax City Hall to cast ballots in Virginia's redistricting referendum, April 21, 2026.
Karissa Waddick
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U.S. Rep. David Scott, who represented Georgia in Congress, has died. The Democrat was 80 years old. |
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Two people were killed and several others injured in a chemical leak at a West Virginia plant. |
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A teen accused of killing his stepsister aboard a cruise ship in November pleaded not guilty. |
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The cost of raising a child is going up. The threshold it just surpassed. 👶🏻 💸 |
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FBI Director Kash Patel and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced charges against the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit advocacy group that tracks White supremacist, neo-Nazi, antisemitic and other hate groups, alleging the group pays informants large sums of money to infiltrate the groups — a tactic that's often been employed by federal law enforcement agencies. Blanche said at a news conference that the SPLC's aim "was not dismantling these groups, it was instead manufacturing the extremism it purports to oppose by paying sources to stoke racial hatred." But one prosecutor called the indictment "stupid," saying, "The idea that people who contribute to the Southern Poverty Law Center would have objected that some of their funding was going to pay people who infiltrated extremist far-right groups like the Ku-Klux Klan is ridiculous on its face."
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Love your Mother (Earth) 🌎
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Earth Day began in 1970 as a way to advocate for change — to recognize the effects of pollution and overconsumption on our planet, and to work together to find solutions. Each April 22 since, millions across the U.S. and worldwide have joined the movement to acknowledge our world and work to preserve it for all of us.
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NASA astronaut Christina Koch, a mission specialist on Artemis II, gazes out the windows of the Orion vehicle back at Earth as she and the crew head toward the moon. Koch, who already holds several NASA records from her first spaceflight in 2019 to the International Space Station, became the first woman to fly on a lunar mission.
Provided by NASA
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Phaedra Trethan is a national correspondent at USA TODAY. She'd love to hear from readers about The Short List, story ideas from across the nation and any suggestions for allergy relief. ACHOO! Email her at ptrethan@usatoday.com.
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The cause of death for Celeste Rivas Hernandez, found "dismembered and badly decomposed" in singer D4vd's car in 2025, has been released.
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One of six missing crew members from cargo ship 'Mariana' has been found dead after the vessel overturned during a typhoon in the Northern Marianas.
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Artemis II astronauts are back on Earth, sharing unique videos and adapting to gravity, while NASA plans for Artemis III.
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Data centers are popping up across Florida, but they can cause strain to the communities they're built in.
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A federal court in Texas ruled that the state can require public schools to display donated posters of the Ten Commandments.
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President Trump has frustrated some supporters in recent weeks after sharing an image that depicted himself as Christ-like and then slammed the pope.
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Wildfires fueled by extreme drought are burning across Georgia and Florida, prompting burn bans and road closures.
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The contract for Trump's $400 million White House ballroom project remained secret until Public Citizen won its release in federal court.
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Each of the Indiana Fever's 44 regular season games will be on national television this WNBA season. Caitlin Clark will face Paige Bueckers on May 9.
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Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson has long supported Donald Trump. But after the war in Iran, he says he will 'be tormented by it for a long time.'
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Play Your Way to a Relaxing Break
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Unwind with crosswords and challenges that recharge you.
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Crosswords, Puzzles, Comics & Horoscopes
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