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Today's Political News Compilation - Friday, April 17, 2026

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Below are some of the top political news stories of the day:

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Iran reopens Strait of Hormuz, but threatens to close it again as the US maintains its blockade


By KAREEM CHEHAYEB, AAMER MADHANI and ELENA BECATOROS
Updated 10:44 PM CDT, April 17, 2026

BEIRUT (AP) — Iran said it fully reopened the Strait of Hormuz to commercial vessels, but questions lingered Saturday about how much freedom ships actually had to transit the waterway as Tehran maintained its grip on the who got through and threatened to close it again if the U.S. kept in place its blockade of Iranian ships and ports.

Iran’s Friday announcement about the opening of the crucial body of water, through which 20% of the world’s oil is shipped, came as a 10-day truce between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon appeared to hold.

U.S. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, said the American blockade “will remain in full force” until Tehran reaches a deal with the U.S., including on its nuclear program.

Asked by a reporter Friday night what he will do if there’s no deal when the ceasefire expires next week, Trump said, “I don’t know. ... But maybe I won’t extend it, so you’ll have a blockade and unfortunately we’ll have to start dropping bombs again.” But he also told reporters accompanying him aboard Air Force One to Washington that a deal is “going to happen,” and flatly rejected the idea of restrictions or tolls by Iran on the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump had earlier celebrated the Iranian announcement, posting on social media that the strait was “fully open and ready for full passage.” But minutes later, he issued another post saying the U.S. Navy’s blockade would continue “UNTIL SUCH TIME AS OUR TRANSACTION WITH IRAN IS 100% COMPLETE.” ...

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Jackson scolds colleagues in solo dissent after court jumps into routine police-stop case

  • News source: FOX News
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Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson accused the Supreme Court majority on Monday of overstepping its role to "wordsmith" a lower court in Washington, D.C., in a pointed break from her colleagues in a Fourth Amendment case about whether a police officer had reasonable suspicion to stop a man.

Jackson, a Biden appointee, was the lone justice to defend the D.C. appeals court, which had found last year that the officer improperly stopped the man while he was in a vehicle. The Supreme Court reversed the lower court's decision 8-2, approving the police stop...
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Sen Mark Warner 'heartbroken,' announcing daughter dies of juvenile diabetes

  • News source: FOX News
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  • Views: 1
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., announced the loss of his adult daughter Madison Warner at age 36 after a long battle with juvenile diabetes and other health problems.

"We are heartbroken beyond words by the passing of our beloved daughter, Madison, 36, after a decades-long battle with juvenile diabetes and other health issues," Warner wrote in a joint statement with his wife Lisa Collis. "She filled our lives with love and laughter, and her absence leaves an immeasurable void."

"We are grateful for the loving support of friends and family during this...
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Sledgehammer-wielding illegal immigrant sought by ICE after alleged blue city murder

  • News source: FOX News
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  • Views: 1
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has asked officials in Democratic-run Harris County not to release a sledgehammer-wielding illegal immigrant from custody after he allegedly beat a coworker to death on a construction site in a suburb of Texas’ largest city, Houston.

This comes as Texas officials feud with the City of Houston over a new policy limiting law enforcement cooperation with ICE. The confrontation mirrors the broader national debate between Democrats and Republicans over the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement...
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Swing-state Dem candidate's 'disgusting' comments about JD, Usha Vance's 'Brown children' sparks outrage

  • News source: FOX News
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  • Views: 1
Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, who is running as a Democrat for a U.S. Senate seat in Michigan, is facing online blowback over a podcast appearance where he took several pointed shots at Vice President JD Vance’s personal life, including his relationship with Second Lady Usha Vance.

"What do you think is going through Usha's head when he talks? She's like, ‘Damn, I have to sleep with him,’" El-Sayed said on The Allen Analysis Show posted on Friday.

"I guess she’s pregnant so something is happening," El-Sayed continued, "Can you imagine, he’s got brown kids...
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WATCH: Houston faces $110M hit as Texas gov lays down law on 'sanctuary' policies

  • News source: FOX News
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Houston, a major red-state city run by Democrats, is in "crisis" mode as it faces an ultimatum to repay the State of Texas approximately $110 million if it does not repeal a "sanctuary"-type ordinance limiting cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The Houston City Council recently voted to end a policy requiring police to wait at least 30 minutes for ICE to arrive if a suspect had an immigration warrant. Afterward, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, drew a line in the sand, telling the city to immediately reverse its...
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Left-wing activists heckle pro-Israel Democrat Haley Stevens at Michigan convention

  • News source: FOX News
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Pro-Palestinian activists shouted down Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., as the U.S. Senate hopeful spoke at Michigan Democrats’ spring convention on Sunday.

When Stevens, a pro-Israel Democrat, walked on stage with a group of union employees, the crowd erupted with party activists heckling her over her support for Israel.

"Democrats, I love you, even when we disagree," the congresswoman said, but audience members continued to drown her out with boos and jeers.

DEMOCRATS TEAM UP WITH FAR-LEFT STREAMER WHO ONCE SAID ‘AMERICA DESERVED 9/11’

As Stevens...
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More than 200 rescued from IS-linked group in DR Congo

  • News source: BBC News - World
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The youngest of those freed from an Allied Democratic Forces camp is a girl aged just 14, Uganda's army says.
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Days of Our Lives and Starship Troopers actor Patrick Muldoon dies aged 57

  • News source: BBC News - World
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The actor and producer also appeared in Melrose Place and Saved By the Bell.
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Sen. Mark Warner's daughter dies at 36 after longtime diabetes battle

  • News source: Politics - CBSNews.com
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Washington — Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia announced on Monday that his daughter Madison has died following a lengthy battle with juvenile diabetes and other health issues. She was 36.

"We are heartbroken beyond words by the passing of our beloved daughter, Madison," Warner and his wife, Lisa Collis, wrote in a statement shared on social media. "She filled our lives with love and laughter, and her absence leaves an immeasurable void."

The couple said they are "grateful for the loving support of friends and family during this difficult...
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Trump pushes back against pundits, says Israel did not talk him into the Iran war

  • News source: FOX News
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  • Views: 5
President Donald Trump rejected the notion that Israel convinced him to launch the war against Iran, asserting in a Monday Truth Social post that the outcome "will be amazing."

The president said that the heinous October 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack against Israel bolstered his view that Iran must be blocked from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon.

"Israel never talked me into the war with Iran, the results of Oct. 7th, added to my lifelong opinion that IRAN CAN NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON, did," the president declared in the Truth Social post.

"I...
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Eric Holder accuses GOP of 'stealing seats' while defending 'fair' Democratic redistricting push

  • News source: FOX News
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Top Virginia redistricting proponent and former Attorney General Eric Holder defended Democrats’ proposed changes to the Old Dominion’s congressional map, accusing Republicans of "stealing seats" in Missouri and Texas.

Voters go to the polls Tuesday to decide whether to "restore fairness" — in the words of the Democrat-crafted referendum itself — by essentially approving a new congressional map that would redraw Virginia's districts to favor Democrats over Republicans 10-1.

In a CBS News interview, anchor Margaret Brennan pressed Holder on the need...
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Trump tariff refunds begin but consumers likely to miss out

  • News source: BBC News - World
  • Replies: 0
  • Views: 6
Businesses can apply online through a portal for refunds expected to total $160bn.
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Outrage over Israeli soldier's vandalism of Jesus statue in Lebanon

  • News source: BBC News - World
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  • Views: 4
The Israeli military says it views with "great severity" the actions of the soldier, as the US ambassador demands "swift" consequences.
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New Zealand declares state of emergency in Wellington as floods hit

  • News source: BBC News - World
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  • Views: 4
Footage online shows vehicles submerged, trees uprooted and houses hit by landslides.
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Nigerian wins global prize for trying to save bats in a country that shuns them

  • News source: BBC News - World
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  • Views: 3
Many Nigerians associate bats with witchcraft but that did not deter ecologist Iroro Tanshi.
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Witnesses in criminal probe of ex-CIA Director Brennan subpoenaed, sources say

  • News source: Politics - CBSNews.com
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Former senior intelligence and FBI officials who are cooperating with the U.S. Justice Department's criminal probe into whether former CIA Director John Brennan lied to Congress were subpoenaed over the weekend to testify before a grand jury in Washington, D.C., multiple sources familiar with the matter told CBS News.

The subpoenas went out shortly after the Justice Department appointed conservative Trump ally Joe DiGenova to formally take over the criminal investigation into Brennan after the career prosecutor handling the case was removed late...
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Lawmakers demand answers as scientists tied to US secrets die or vanish

  • News source: FOX News
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House Republicans are pressing multiple federal agencies for answers about reports that at least 10 individuals tied to sensitive U.S. nuclear and aerospace programs have died or disappeared in recent years, with lawmakers pointing to public reporting that raises questions about a possible "sinister connection" between the cases.

In letters sent Monday, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and Subcommittee Chairman Eric Burlison, R-Mo., request briefings from the FBI, Department of Energy, NASA and Department of War, citing what they describe as "unconfirmed public reporting" surrounding the incidents.

The lawmakers say the reports involve individuals with connections to "U.S. nuclear secrets or rocket technology" who have "
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Elon Musk summoned by French prosecutors amid ongoing X probe

  • News source: BBC News - World
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Whether the tech billionaire will attend the interview requested by Paris prosecutors remains to be seen.
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Ukraine police chief resigns after officers allegedly fled deadly shooting

  • News source: BBC News - World
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  • Views: 7
Authorities say the officers have been suspended and an investigation into their actions is under way.
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Kash Patel sues The Atlantic for $250 million over story on alleged drinking

  • News source: Politics - CBSNews.com
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Washington — FBI Director Kash Patel filed a defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic magazine on Monday, saying a recent story about his alleged frequent drinking and absences included "false and obviously fabricated" claims.

The 19-page lawsuit, filed in the District of Columbia, is seeking $250 million in damages. Sarah Fitzpatrick, the reporter who wrote the story, is also named as a defendant.

Patel and the FBI have repeatedly denied allegations in the story, which included allegations that Patel often drinks to excess. The piece, which cited...
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United merger with American Airlines would hurt consumers, senators say

  • News source: Politics - CBSNews.com
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Two lawmakers are speaking out against a potential merger between United Airlines and American Airlines, saying a deal would weaken industry competition and harm consumers.

"If United and American were to merge, airlines would face less pressure from rivals to keep the cost of flying down, and airlines across the industry could raise ticket prices and fees even higher," Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, and Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, said in an April 19 letter to United CEO Scott Kirby and American CEO Robert Isom.

The...
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Supreme Court turns away parental rights case over child's gender transition

  • News source: Politics - CBSNews.com
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Washington — The Supreme Court on Monday turned away a legal battle testing whether a public school violates parents' rights when it encourages their child's social gender transition without their knowledge or consent.

In rejecting the appeal from Massachusetts parents who sued their child's school district, the high court left untouched a lower court ruling that rejected their claim that their rights had been violated. But the justices may have another opportunity to weigh in on the simmering issue of parental rights in public schools, since a...
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Supreme Court takes up religious liberty case over Colorado's preschool program

  • News source: Politics - CBSNews.com
  • Replies: 0
  • Views: 7
Washington — The Supreme Court on Monday said it will consider an appeal from Catholic preschools in Colorado that said they were excluded from the state-funded universal preschool program because they sought to admit only children whose families adhere to the church's teachings on gender and sexual orientation.

The legal fight, known as St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, is the latest to land before the Supreme Court in recent years that involve religious entities' participation in state-funded programs. In a string of decisions, the high court...
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Supreme Court to hear Catholic parish's challenge after Colorado barred schools from universal pre-K program

  • News source: FOX News
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  • Views: 5
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a Catholic parish's argument after Colorado excluded its schools from the state's program that pays for families to send their children to the preschool of their choice, public or private.

The oral arguments in the case of St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy are expected to take place this fall.

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Canada's prime minister refers to US economic ties as a weakness

  • News source: FOX News
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Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney asserted that many of his nation's prior "strengths" stemming from its close relationship with the U.S. have turned into "weaknesses" that must be addressed.

"The U.S. has fundamentally changed its approach to trade, raising its tariffs to levels last seen during the Great Depression. Many of our former strengths, based on our close ties to America, have become our weaknesses, weaknesses that we must correct," Carney said in a video message.

"Workers in our industries most affected by U.S. tariffs, in autos, in...
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