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Live from NPR News. In Washington, I'm Korva Coleman. President Trump says he'll extend the ceasefire between the US And Iran. His decision came hours before the deadline that Iran make a peace deal or the US Would start bombing again. Two ships have been attacked in or near the Strait of Hormuz. A British maritime tracking site says Iran fired on one of the vessels but did not identify the assailant in the second attack. This comes as the UK and France host a two day conference aimed at reopening the strait. NPR's Lauren Freyr reports. Any plan to deal with the waterway won't be implemented until a more permanent ceasefire goes into effect.
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Military planners from more than 30 countries are meeting at a Royal Air Force base north of London to put together a multinational mission to safeguard the Strait of Hormuz. Amid global concerns over oil and energy prices. A poll here in the UK Shows one in ten Brits is already stockpiling fuel. British defense officials have previously floated the idea of deploying autonomous military mine hunting systems from motherships sent to the Gulf. But they caution that whatever plan they come up with at this two day conference will only take effect after what they call a sustained ceasefire between Iran and the US not the shaky one in place right now. Lauren Fryer, NPR News, Glasgow.
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Voters in Virginia have handed a victory to Democrats. They narrowly agreed to redraw congressional maps to favor Democrats. From member station VPM John Khalil reports on yesterday's special election.
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Virginia's approval for redistricting brings Democrats even or ahead of the Republican redistricting push that President Trump kicked off in July last year. The map that voters approved could lead to a four seat gain for Dems in the House. In a statement, Virginia's Democratic speaker of the House Don Scott said Virginian sent a message to Trump. Republicans said the process was tilted and the courts would have the last word. There are still court cases outstanding that could nullify the results because Republicans have challenged the process by which Democrats put the redistricting question before voters. Virginia is the second time voters have redistricted through the ballot box. For NPR News, I'm Jad Khalil in Richmond, Virginia.
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President Trump's nominee to chair the Federal Reserve Board has had his Senate confirmation hearing. Kevin Warsh says he will exercise his own independent judgment on interest rates even though President Trump has demanded interest rate cuts. NPR Scott Horsley says Democrats, including Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, questioned Warsh about his substantial wealth.
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He is worth more than $100 million and that doesn't count his wife, who's heir to the Estee Lauder fortune. But Warsh's financial disclosure form was pretty opaque about how and where that money's invested. Senator Warren grilled Warsh about whether he has financial ties to the Trump family or to China, or even to Jeffrey Epstein. Warsh ducked that question with a promise to sell those undisclosed assets before he starts work at the Fed.
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NPR's Scott Horsley reporting. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. The noted civil rights group, the Southern Poverty Law center has been indicted on federal fraud charges. Justice Department officials claim the group paid informants to infiltrate white supremacist groups. The organization says the allegations are false and that the informant program saved lives. The group says it will defend itself vigorously. A federal appeals court has upheld a Texas law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom in the state. From Houston Public Media, Andrew Schneider reports. The ruling has significant implications for long established ideas of the separation of church and state.
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The Fifth Circuit judge has ruled 9 to 8 that the Texas law does not violate the First Amendment to the Constitution, either in its prohibition of government established religion or its protection for the free exercise or non exercise of religion. Charles Rocky Rhodes teaches constitutional law at the University of Missouri.
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It seems, based on the Fifth Circuit's interpretation here, pretty much anything else that the government wants to do to acknowledge religion is going to be acceptable.
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The ACLU and other organizations representing the plaintiffs challenging the Texas law say they anticipate asking the Supreme Court to reverse the Fifth Circuit's ruling. For NPR News, I'm Andrew Schneider in Houston.
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This is Earth Day. The observation officially began in 1970 as a teach in Earth Day is now observed worldwide with events such as local cleanups or political activity. I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News, in Washington.
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