Virginia voters back redistricting referendum

April 22, 2026

Summary

Virginia voters narrowly approved a new congressional map that could improve Democrats’ chances in House races.

Why this matters

Virginia’s vote could reshape the state’s House delegation and affect the national fight for control of Congress. The result also shows how redistricting battles in multiple states may influence the 2026 midterms.

Virginia voters narrowly approved a referendum to redraw the state’s congressional map, with about 51.5% voting yes and 48.6% voting no, with 97% of ballots counted.

Virginia currently sends 11 members to the U.S. House of Representatives: six Democrats and five Republicans. The new map redraws district boundaries in ways that could favor Democrats. Under the proposed lines, eight districts would be safely Democratic, two would be competitive but lean Democratic, and one would be safely Republican.

That could allow Democrats to win at least eight and as many as 10 of Virginia’s 11 House seats, instead of six. The campaign over the referendum drew an estimated $100 million in spending.

After the 2024 election, President Donald Trump urged Republican-led states to redraw maps before the usual timeline. In Texas, Republicans moved first, with new maps that could add up to five seats. In California, voters approved a plan backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom that is expected to give Democrats up to five additional seats.

The measure’s future remains uncertain. The Supreme Court of Virginia is expected to review legal challenges over whether Democratic lawmakers followed the proper process and whether the ballot wording may have misled voters. The court allowed the vote to proceed and said it would fully examine the case if the measure passed.

Republican Rep. Richard Hudson said, “Virginia Democrats can’t redraw reality. This close margin reinforces that Virginia is a purple state that shouldn’t be represented by a severe partisan gerrymander.”

Democrats said the close result reflected voter confusion they attributed to Republican messaging. They promoted the measure as a response to Republican-led redistricting efforts in other states.

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Business

Trump Media names interim CEO after Nunes exit

In its annual filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Trump Media said it posted a net loss of more than $712 million on about $3.7 million in revenue in 2025.

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Trump Media & Technology Group on Tuesday named Kevin McGurn interim chief executive, replacing Devin Nunes in a leadership change at the parent company of Truth Social.

McGurn, a longtime adviser to the company, took the role effective immediately. Trump Media said he has more than two decades of experience in media, telecommunications, and advertising technology. Nunes had led the company since 2022.

The company announced the change after reporting steep losses in 2025.

The filing showed more than $576 million in operating costs. It also said a significant share of the losses was tied to write-downs and losses related to digital assets.

“I want to thank Devin Nunes for his dedicated service to the Company over the past four years, and congratulate Kevin McGurn on his appointment as Interim CEO,” Donald Trump Jr., a board member, said in a statement.

Nunes said the transition came as the company entered a new phase and that it was “an appropriate time” for McGurn to take over while he shifted focus to other roles, including serving as chairman of the president’s Intelligence Advisory Board.

The move followed recent board departures disclosed in regulatory filings. Former U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer resigned in March, and director Eric Swider stepped down earlier this month. Trump Media said in both cases that the departures were not due to disputes with management.

Trump Media operates Truth Social, streaming service Truth+, and fintech brand Truth.Fi. The company has said it is expanding beyond social media into financial services and digital assets.
Personal Finance

Futures rise after Trump extends U.S.-Iran truce

Futures tied to the S&P 500 rose 0.7%, Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.9%, and Dow futures added about 0.7%. The moves followed a down day for Wall Street stocks.

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U.S. stock futures rose Wednesday after President Donald Trump extended the U.S. ceasefire with Iran, while investors weighed a wave of earnings reports ahead of Tesla’s results.

Markets had faced pressure amid doubts that Washington and Tehran would reach a lasting peace agreement before the ceasefire was due to expire Wednesday.

Trump’s extension offered temporary relief, but uncertainty remained. Efforts to hold a new round of talks have fallen apart, with Trump citing difficulty dealing with a “seriously fractured” Iranian government. Iranian officials, meanwhile, said the talks were a “waste of time” because of the U.S. lack of commitment to previous deals.
Business

Best Buy names Jason Bonfig CEO, Corie Barry exits

Corie Barry, Best Buy’s first female CEO, had held the role since 2019.

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Best Buy said Wednesday that CEO Corie Barry will step down at the end of the third quarter and be succeeded by Jason Bonfig on Oct. 31.

Bonfig, Best Buy’s chief customer, product, and fulfillment officer, will also take Barry’s seat on the board, the company said. Barry will remain a strategic adviser for six months after the transition.

Bonfig joined the company in 1999 as an inventory analyst, the same year Barry did.

The leadership change comes as Best Buy works through weaker sales and broader industry pressures. Same-store sales fell 0.8% in the fourth quarter, missing Wall Street expectations, as consumers reduced holiday spending.

Bonfig now oversees Best Buy’s supply chain and marketing business. He also led the launch of the company’s U.S. online marketplace and its retail media network, Best Buy Ads, which the retailer has identified as part of its growth strategy.

“He’s the right person, with the vision to accelerate the company’s strategy and take Best Buy into the future,” Barry said. In a note to employees, she called Bonfig a leader with “maniacal customer focus, innovative thinking and thoughtful decision-making.”

In a separate note to employees, Bonfig said, “We need to do more, and we need to do it quicker.” He said the rollout of Marketplace in the U.S. and the expansion of Best Buy Ads showed what the company could do by working “with more agility and creativity, embrace new ideas, and really live up to our value of taking on challenge and change.”

Bonfig added that he wants the team to be “even more aggressive in our mindset and approach.”

Best Buy shares have risen 4.5% since Barry became CEO on June 11, 2019, compared with a 145% gain for the S&P 500 benchmark. The stock rose 16% from 2020 to 2021, then fell 20% in 2022 as demand weakened. Over the past year, the stock rose about 7% as the company managed higher tariffs with vendors, but spending pullbacks and higher memory chip costs have kept shares flat this year.
World

U.S. boards sanctioned tanker in Bay of Bengal

An official said the U.S. military would decide within four days whether to tow the vessel to the United States or transfer it to another country.

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U.S. forces boarded an oil tanker previously sanctioned for smuggling Iranian crude in Asia, the Pentagon said Tuesday, part of a broader U.S. effort to track vessels tied to Tehran.

The Pentagon said on social media that U.S. forces “conducted a right-of-visit maritime interdiction” and boarded the M/T Tifani “without incident.”

A U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing military operation, said the Tifani was intercepted in the Bay of Bengal, between India and Southeast Asia, and was carrying Iranian oil.

The Pentagon described the Tifani as “stateless,” though it said the vessel was flagged in Botswana.

The boarding came as a two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran approached expiration and as Pakistan sought to broker talks between Washington and Tehran.

It was the second vessel linked to Iran interdicted by the U.S. military. On Sunday, the U.S. Navy attacked and seized the Iranian-flagged cargo ship Touska after saying it had tried to evade a blockade of Iranian ports. President Donald Trump said a U.S. destroyer blew a hole in the ship’s engine room.

“As we have made clear, we will pursue global maritime enforcement efforts to disrupt illicit networks and interdict sanctioned vessels providing material support to Iran — anywhere they operate,” the Pentagon said. “International waters are not a refuge for sanctioned vessels.”

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said last week that enforcement would extend beyond Iranian waters and the U.S. Central Command region. He said U.S. forces “will actively pursue any Iranian-flagged vessel or any vessel attempting to provide material support to Iran.”

The military also published a notice Thursday listing goods it considers contraband and said it would board, search, and seize them from merchant vessels “regardless of location.”
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Ceasefire extension leaves U.S., Iran at Hormuz impasse

Trump said on Truth Social that the ceasefire would be extended until Iran could present a unified proposal.

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President Donald Trump extended the U.S. ceasefire with Iran amid a standoff over the Strait of Hormuz and mounting mounting economic and fuel shortage pressures. It is unclear how long the extension will last.

Iran continued to threaten shipping in the strait, a critical route for global oil supplies. Iranian state media said the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard fired on three commercial ships on Wednesday and detained at least two. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a British maritime security monitoring group, reported two incidents in which commercial vessels near Oman and Iran came under fire; both crews were safe.

Weeks of bombing and threats had not reopened the waterway. The United States instead moved to block oil and cargo tankers bound for Iranian ports. U.S. forces had turned around 28 ships and boarded at least two, and U.S. officials said the pressure was affecting Iran.

“Iran is collapsing financially!” Trump said in a late-night Truth Social post on Tuesday. “They want the Strait of Hormuz opened immediately — Starving for cash!”

Iranian officials remained defiant. Mahdi Mohammadi, a senior adviser to Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, wrote on X that the ceasefire extension meant nothing because the “losing side cannot dictate terms.”

Oil exports are Iran’s main source of revenue, and some experts said leaders in Tehran were increasingly concerned about long-term damage to Iran’s strategic position. Hamidreza Azizi, a visiting fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, wrote on X that the ceasefire extension lowered U.S. costs while raising them for Iran.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that Iran’s oil storage facilities could fill within days. At the same time, European officials warned of jet fuel shortages and broader energy risks.

Lufthansa said Tuesday it was canceling 20,000 short-haul flights through October in anticipation of a fuel shortage. Experts said they expected more oil rationing in coming weeks.

Trump has said the United States depends less on oil flowing through Hormuz than other countries, but the conflict has raised prices for U.S. consumers. An AP-NORC poll conducted April 16-20 found Trump’s economic approval rating among Republicans fell to 62% from 74% a month earlier, while it remained low among independents.

Trump has not set a deadline for the latest ceasefire extension. The New York Times reported, citing a U.S. official, that Vice President JD Vance’s planned trip to Islamabad on Tuesday was put on hold because Tehran had not responded to U.S. demands.
Europe

London arson probe brings arrests to 23

Six sites have been targeted in recent weeks, police said. All but one were Jewish sites; the other was the offices of Iran International, a Persian media outlet critical of Iran’s clerical leadership.

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U.K. counterterrorism officers investigating a series of arson attacks on Jewish and other sites in London made eight more arrests, bringing the total to 23, police said Tuesday.

The Metropolitan Police said seven of the arrests, made in the past 48 hours, were part of “a proactive investigation into alleged conspiracy to commit arson.” It said, “While it is believed that the intended target of this conspiracy is a venue related to the Jewish community, the specific target or venue is not known.”

Six sites have been targeted in recent weeks, police said. All but one were Jewish sites; the other was the offices of Iran International, a Persian media outlet critical of Iran’s clerical leadership. No injuries were reported. Police said one line of inquiry is whether Iranian proxies were involved.

Late Sunday, detectives arrested three men, ages 24, 25, and 26, in Harpenden, north of London. They were later released on bail.

On Monday, officers arrested a 25-year-old man in Stevenage, and a 26-year-old man and two women, ages 50 and 59, in a car near Birmingham, in western England. They remained in custody in London.

On Tuesday, police arrested a 39-year-old man in west London under terrorism laws in an investigation into “the discovery of jars of a non-hazardous substance” Friday in Kensington Gardens, near the Israeli Embassy. Police said a search was continuing at a property in east London.

The Metropolitan Police said that, of the 23 people arrested since March 23, eight had been charged with arson-related offenses, and 13 remained in custody or on bail under active investigation.

Police said earlier Tuesday that one of those charged was a teenage boy arrested after a bottle containing “some sort of accelerant” was thrown through a window at Kenton United Synagogue in Harrow, northwest London, late Saturday. Smoke was seen inside, but no injuries were reported. A 17-year-old was charged with arson not endangering life and was due in court later Tuesday. A 19-year-old who was also arrested was released.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans said police “will be relentless in our pursuit of anyone involved in carrying out or planning these arson attacks.” She added: “One of our key lines of inquiry is whether criminal proxies — that is to say people being paid money to carry out a crime — are being used.”
Europe

Russian strikes hit Odesa port, kill rail worker

Ukraine said it shot down 189 of 215 Russian drones overnight while 24 drones hit 13 locations. Russia said 155 Ukrainian drones were destroyed overnight.

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Russian drones struck Ukraine’s main Black Sea port in Odesa and a railway site in the Zaporizhzhia region overnight, killing an assistant train driver and injuring the main driver, according to Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba.

Kuleba said on X on Wednesday that the attack damaged berths, warehouses, railway infrastructure, and port operators’ facilities in Odesa. He said the strike on a sorting yard at Zaporizhzhia-Live station killed the assistant driver. “Another proof of terrorism, Russia is at war against peaceful people, against those who were simply doing their job and keeping the country moving,” Kuleba said.

Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko said Russia also launched drones and missiles on a flight path near the disused Chornobyl nuclear plant and the Khmelnytskyi plant, raising the risk of an accident ahead of Sunday’s 40th anniversary of the 1986 Chornobyl disaster.

Kravchenko said 35 Kinzhal missiles were detected at various distances within about 20 kilometers, or 12 miles, of the Chornobyl facility or the Khmelnytskyi plant. He said 18 passed within about 20 kilometers of both sites on the same flight.

He added that the Russian military was likely using Chornobyl as an attack route for drones to bypass areas of dense Ukrainian air defense coverage.

In Russia, a Ukrainian drone attack killed two people in the city of Syzran, including a woman and a child, Samara region Gov. Vyacheslav Fedorischev said on social media.
Middle East

Iran Fires on 3 Ships in Strait, Delays U.S. Talks

Iran fired on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, highlighting risks to global energy supplies and complicating efforts to resume U.S.-Iran talks to end the war. Iranian media said the attacks were carried out by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. They came after President Donald Trump said the U.S. would indefinitely extend a…

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Iran fired on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, highlighting risks to global energy supplies and complicating efforts to resume U.S.-Iran talks to end the war.

Iranian media said the attacks were carried out by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. They came after President Donald Trump said the U.S. would indefinitely extend a ceasefire with Iran that had been due to expire Wednesday, while continuing to blockade Iranian ports.

Iran has not formally acknowledged Trump’s ceasefire extension. Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, head of the Iranian mission in Egypt has said that no delegation would go to Pakistan for another round of talks until the U.S. lifts its blockade.
Europe

Ukraine seeks Zelenskyy-Putin summit, Russia hit

U.S.-mediated talks over the past year between Russian and Ukrainian delegations have made little or no progress on key issues, including the future of four Ukrainian regions that Moscow is trying to capture but does not fully control.

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Ukraine is seeking face-to-face talks between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said, as Kyiv looks to revive U.S.-led efforts to end Russia’s invasion.

Sybiha said Ukraine had asked Turkey to help facilitate top-level talks and had contacted other capitals as possible hosts. Ukraine would consider any venue outside Russia and Belarus, he said.

“We are … advocating for a (summit) meeting now to bring new momentum to diplomacy,” Sybiha told reporters Tuesday. His remarks were embargoed until Wednesday.

U.S.-mediated talks over the past year have made no meaningful progress and now seem to be on hold as the U.S. focuses on the war in Iran.

Zelenskyy has accepted an unconditional ceasefire called for by President Donald Trump, but Putin has refused. Analysts say Putin believes time favors Russia, expecting Western military and financial support for Ukraine to weaken.

Fighting continued along the roughly 1,250-kilometer (800-mile) front line in eastern and southern Ukraine. Western officials and analysts say Russia is suffering several tens of thousands of battlefield casualties each month. Battlefield casualty figures and which side holds the advantage could not be independently verified.

Ukraine has expanded its domestic arms industry, producing long-range drones and missiles capable of striking inside Russia, including oil facilities and plants that supply the Russian military.

In Syzran, in Russia’s Samara region, about 800 kilometers (500 miles) east of Ukraine’s border, a drone strike caused part of a residential building to collapse, local authorities said.

The bodies of a woman and a child were recovered from the rubble, and 12 other people were injured, officials said. Images from the scene showed emergency workers atop a large pile of debris from part of a four-story building.

Russian media said a Rosneft oil refinery, a frequent target of Ukrainian drone attacks, is on the same street as the damaged building.

Ukraine’s aerial attacks on Russia rose from 6,200 in 2024 to more than 23,000 in 2025, Sergei Shoigu, secretary of Russia’s Security Council, said last month.
Military & National Security

Navy weighs foreign shipbuilding to ease labor strain

The Navy has faced a domestic labor capacity problem and pointed to previous maintenance, repair and operations work with South Korea and Japan as examples of how allies could help reduce pressure on the U.S. shipbuilding workforce.

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Navy Secretary John Phelan said Tuesday that the service would study whether foreign partners could help build U.S. warships as it seeks to address shipbuilding demands and labor constraints in the United States.

Speaking at a media roundtable at Sea-Air-Space 2026 in Washington, Phelan said, “Everything’s on the table. We just need to look at it, understand it, understand the implications behind it and decide if we think that makes sense or not.”

South Korean shipbuilding companies HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean have already won three maintenance, repair and operations contracts from the U.S. Navy in 2026, according to The Chosun Daily, a South Korean publication. Most South Korean maintenance contracts involve U.S. Navy ships assigned to the Navy’s 7th Fleet, which is headquartered in Japan.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle met with South Korean shipbuilders in November 2025 during his first international trip as chief of naval operations, where he reviewed shipbuilding practices that could help strengthen the U.S. maritime industrial base.

Phelan also said the Navy planned to revise contracting to encourage faster work by shipbuilders.

“One of the things we are going to do in our contracting is if you beat schedule, you’re going to get a bonus, but you’re going to share it with the workers,” Phelan said.

Phelan said contractors with multi-ship orders had been able to cut construction time for the same ship by eight to 11 months.

The proposed $1.5 trillion fiscal 2027 Defense Department budget asked Congress for $65.8 billion for shipbuilding, including 18 battle force ships and 16 auxiliary ships under the Golden Fleet initiative announced by President Donald Trump last December.

The Navy’s fleet now totals nearly 300 ships. The service has previously said it aims to expand that number to 381 over the next 30 years.