NORFOLK, Va. — A Virginia judge issued an order Wednesday that blocks the certification of Tuesday’s special election on congressional redistricting, where voters narrowly approved the redrawing of maps to give Democrats the advantage in the midterm elections.

Tazewell County Circuit Judge Jack Hurley ruled in favor of Republicans who ...Read more

The U.S. and Iran are locked in a battle for control of the Strait of Hormuz after failing to meet for a fresh round of peace talks, with both sides blocking the waterway to gain leverage during an extended ceasefire.

President Donald Trump said the truce agreed April 7 would stay in place indefinitely while Washington waits for Iran to submit ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The bust of John F. Kennedy will remain in the Grand Foyer and the opera house seats will still be red. But officials involved in plans to renovate the Kennedy Center say big changes are coming to the venue.

Matt Floca, the center’s new executive director and chief operating officer, led reporters on a tour Wednesday to ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Yolo Superior Court judge on Wednesday denied a request to allow the families of seven workers killed in the Esparto fireworks warehouse explosion to wear clothing or have other visual displays of the victims inside the courtroom.

The seven workers killed in the powerful blast in Yolo County were Jesús Ramos, 18; Jhony...Read more

The Trump administration is nearing a rescue package for Spirit Airlines that could give the U.S. government the option to own as much as 90% of the carrier once it emerges from bankruptcy, according to people familiar with the matter.

The agreement, which has not yet been finalized, would offer as much as $500 million in financing in exchange...Read more

BALTIMORE — Three more Baltimore City police officers currently employed with the department have been added to the state’s attorney’s “Do Not Call” list, which identifies officers as having misconduct allegations, or character or credibility issues that could cast doubt on their ability to be truthful on the stand.

The Baltimore Sun ...Read more

WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Wednesday admonished a defense attorney for a man accused of planting pipe bombs in Washington the night before the 2021 attack on the Capitol, telling the attorney he did not follow a protective order and warning him to be “more careful.”

At issue in the back-and-forth were accusations from the Justice ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Democrats’ narrow victory in Tuesday’s redistricting referendum in Virginia gives the party up to four pickup opportunities in the commonwealth in this year’s midterm elections. But it also puts both parties near parity in the monthslong arms race over redrawing congressional lines that has been a defining storyline of the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Eaton wildfire survivors' anger about Southern California Edison's burying of electric wires in Altadena boiled over Tuesday with residents calling on government officials to temporarily halt the work.

In a letter to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, more than 120 Altadena residents and the town's council wrote that ...Read more

BOSTON — After taking some heat from city councilors, the Boston Fire Department said a new order has been placed for plastic hats that will be distributed to children at fire houses, spending that had been halted due to budget cuts.

Brian Alkins, a spokesman for the Boston Fire Department, said a directive had gone out earlier this month for...Read more

WASHINGTON — Navy Secretary John Phelan is stepping down “effective immediately,” the Defense Department said, the latest high-profile Pentagon departure amid the war in Iran.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, who announced the decision in a post on X, gave no explanation, and it wasn’t immediately clear if Phelan had been fired or was ...Read more

RICHMOND, Va. — The General Assembly effectively rejected a number of Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s proposed amendments to key policies, including the creation of a legal retail cannabis market, a ban on assault weapons and allowing public sector employees to collectively bargain. The legislature reconvened Wednesday to take up the governor’s ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Baltimore City Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming is acknowledging a misstep after posting a link to a YouTube video that included an AI-generated image of Mayor Brandon Scott, triggering an ethics complaint from City Hall and reviving questions about how far protected speech extends for the city’s top watchdog.

Cumming ...Read more

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — When Florida lawmakers return to the state Capitol next week at Ron DeSantis’ behest, one of the governor’s biggest, most-consequential priorities won’t be on the agenda: cutting property taxes.

The idea, first floated by DeSantis early last year, has all but disappeared from the daily digest of topics to tackle in ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Democrats’ narrow victory in Tuesday’s redistricting referendum in Virginia gives the party up to four pickup opportunities in the commonwealth in this year’s midterm elections. But it also puts both parties near parity in the monthslong arms race over redrawing congressional lines that has been a defining storyline of the ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Iranian forces attacked three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, stoking an already tense standoff in the Persian Gulf as a U.S. naval blockade strains Tehran’s economy and pressures its divided leadership to return to peace talks.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, claimed responsibility for...Read more

A week after the city of Durham, North Carolina, attempted to remove a homeless encampment from a downtown park, police made multiple arrests at another.

On Wednesday afternoon, Durham police carried out multiple arrests and seized drugs and weapons at Long Meadow Park on Liberty Street, according to a statement from the department.

The park ...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — On March 13, Duke University’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine shared an Instagram post featuring a political cartoon of two pigs: one labeled “U.S. Imperialism,” holding a torch of liberty, and another labeled “Zionism,” holding a Star of David. The two are touching snouts and interlocking toes.

Eleven ...Read more