Reid Jones

Pizza and soda laid out on red gingham-covered tables. Marching bands from local schools and cheerleaders with pom-poms paraded down the street, interspersed with fire trucks and classic American cars. But this wasn't an average block party celebration for this small town. It was a royal jubilee. King Charles III and Queen Camilla stopped by Front Royal, a Virginia town with a population of roughly 15,000 tucked near mountainous Shenandoah National Park, on April 30.

The Supreme Court on April 29 threw out a congressional map in Louisiana that had been drawn to protect the voting power of Black residents, a decision that undercuts a landmark civil rights law. An ideologically divided court sided 6-3 with the Trump administration and with the non-Black voters who challenged the map as relying too heavily on race to sort voters – and it did so just three years after upholding the 1965 Voting Rights Act’s vote dilution protections for racial minorities. Writing for the conservative majority, Justice Samuel Alito called the map an “unconstitutional gerrymander) that violates the constitutional rights of the non-Black voters who challenged it.

President Donald Trump's approval rating has plummeted to the lowest level of his current term for reasons including his handling of the nation's cost of living and an unpopular ongoing war with Iran, according to a recent poll. Just 34% of Americans approve of the job Trump is doing, a Reuters/Ipsos four-day poll released April 28 found. The survey showed Trump's overall approval sliding 2 percentage points, down from 36% in a prior Reuters/Ipsos survey, which the outlet reported was conducted April 15-20. "The majority of responses were gathered prior to the Saturday night shooting at the White House Correspondent's Association dinner, where Trump was due to speak," Reuters wrote in its report. Federal prosecutors have charged the suspect in the case with charges including attempted assassination of a president.

The White House announced that Chief of Staff Susie Wiles will convene a meeting this week to discuss security for President Donald Trump after the shooting April 25 at the White House Correspondent's Association dinner. The Secret Service subdued a gunman at the dinner and evacuated Trump, Vice President JD Vance and others from the Washington Hilton. Trump is standing by the leadership of the Secret Service and the president personally thinks agents did an excellent job neutralizing the shooter, said a senior White House official who was not authorized to speak publicly. But Wiles will meet with the White House operations team, the Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security leadership to discuss protocol and practices for major events involving the president, the official said.

President Donald Trump had taken his seat on the dais just a few minutes earlier and was talking with other VIPs when a series of loud bangs rippled through the jam-packed Washington Hilton ballroom. Chaos erupted at one of Washington's premier social events, the White House Correspondent's Dinner. Guests in tuxedos and evening gowns ducked for cover under tables. Secret Service agents rushed the dais and quickly evacuated Trump and first lady Melania Trump from the room. Banquet chairs toppled and maroon napkins scattered across the floor. The strong smell of gunpowder hung in the air. Some people prayed. Trump, making his first appearance at the dinner in more than a decade and his first ever as president, was whisked back to the White House. Later, still dressed in black tie and tux, he told reporters at a news conference that he had first thought the loud bangs had been caused by a waiter dropping a serving tray. "It was either a tray or a bullet," he said. "...

Jared Shult flaided both arms during the first weekend of Coachella like the kind of inflatable figure that sits outside a used car lot in a small American town. "Imagine hating on me when this is the vibe I'm on," he captioned an Instagram video post of his moves at the California music and arts festival on April 13. "Trump has more rhythm than you bro," one user commented. "Damn, that's a low blow," Shult, 22, replied with two crying emojis. As Shult buoyed his reputation with over 500,000 followers across Instagram, TikTok, and X, a fellow influencer jabbed at the Trump administration.

The U.S-Israel war on Iran, a conflict that President Donald Trump originally said would take four weeks or less, will soon enter its third month. During that time, Trump has made many statements, some of them contradictory, about the war's military progress, status of negotiations and ceasefires, and how long the conflict would last. Trump has said the United States has won the war. He has said the war would end soon. He also has threatened to bomb critical infrastructure and eradicate Iran's "whole civilization." During Operation Epic Fury, 13 U.S. service members have been killed, and 398 have been wounded. An estimated 3,375 people in Iran have died.

Longtime Rep. David Scott, a Georgia Democrat, died on April 22, a day after he'd cast a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives. He was 80 years old. House Minority Leader Hakeeem Jeffries, D-New York, and Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, confired his death. Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-New York, also offered his condolences on Capitol Hill, calling him a friend and saying he was "going to be missed." "I was just with him yesterday," Meeks said. The Georgia lawmaker was running for reelection, seeking another term in the House. Scott's office did not immediately identify his cause of death. Concerns about his health had spread on Capitol Hill in recent years.

Dry enough for you? With drought stretching from coast to coast, water restrictions are already in effect in many states even before the thirsty summer season begins. Indeed, more than 61% of the nation is now in a drought, the highest percentage in nearly four years, according to the most recent U.S. Drought Monitor. In all, 45 of 50 states are enduring drought, with only Alaska, North Dakota, Michigan, Connecticut and Rhode Island completely drought-free.

President Donald Trump said the fight with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz is "over," declaring in a phone interview with USA TODAY that the deal reached Friday was 'a great victory.' "It's over, it's a great victory," Trump said in an April 17 phone call. Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said in an April 17 social media post that the strait is "completely open." Roughly 20% of the world's oil is transported through the waterway. Restoring shipping traffic in the strait has been a major focus of the U.S. in negotiations over ending the war.

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports will continue and threatened strikes on the Middle Eastern country's infrastructure if it fails to make a deal to end the war. "We'd rather not have to do it, but we're ready to go at the command of our president," Hegseth said at a Thursday briefing at the Pentagon, adding: "We are locked and loaded." The blockade, which went into effect Monday and forced at least 13 ships to turn around, is a response to Iran's grip on the Strait of Hormuz and part of a broader pressure campaign seeking to force Tehran to make a deal. Iran has vowed to retaliate by halting all trade in the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the Red Sea.

President Donald Trump is not backing down from his battle with Pope Leo XIV, resharing an AI-generated image showing him being embraced by Jesus. The latest post, which shows Trump with an angelic light and the U.S. flag circling him and the AI Jesus, follows another AI-generated image that he posted - and later took down - earlier in the week, of himself in red and white robes with a light in one hand and blessing a sick man with the other. The post evoked imagery of Jesus healing the sick and sparked backlash from some of Trump's political party. The president denied that it depicted him as Jesus.

After President Donald Trump clashed with Pope Leo XIV over the war in Iran, Vice President JD Vance said the leader of the Catholic church should be careful when talking about theology. Vance, who converted to Catholicism and calls himself deeply religious, told the audience on April 14 at a Turning Point USA rally in Georgia that he welcomed the pope commenting on immigration and abortion. But Vance said the pontiff was wrong to say that political figures should never wield the sword because that would have opposed the U.S. liberation of France and the Holocaust concentration camps during World War II. "I think it's very, very important for the Pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology," Vance said.

President Donald Trump is following through on a threatened blockade of Iranian ports by U.S. forces after peace talks broke down between the United States and Iran on April 12. The blockade started close to 10 a.m. ET April 13. It will affect "vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman," according to the U.S. Central Command. At least 15 U.S. warships will be part of the blockade, according to an unidentified official cited by The Wall Street Journal. The U.S. military has not officially released specifics of the blockade, nor has it released information about the number of warships involved and whether warplanes will be used. NATO allies are refusing to join the blockade.

Tucker Carlson called President Donald Trump a "slave" to Israel and said his handling of their war on Iran is "awful to watch" as the feud between the two continues to escalate. "I've always liked Trump and still feel sorry for him, as I do for all slaves," the former Fox News host told Newsmax on April 10. He added that Trump "can't make his own decisions" and that the president is "hemmed in by other forces." Carlson doubled down on his interpretation of the president when asked whether he think Trump is a "slave to Benjamin Netanyahu" in an interview on the BBC's "Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg" on April 12.

Vice President JD Vance said the United States was unable to reach an agreement to end the war in Iran after a marathon meeting in Islamabad, Pakistan, that saw U.S. and Iranian officials meet face-to-face, the first peace talks between the two nations in 47 years. "The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement, and I think that's bad news for Iran, much more than it's bad news for the United States of America," Vance said at a press conference early Sunday. A sticking point continued to be Iran's refusal to commit to not developing nuclear weapons now or in the future, the vice president said.

President Donald Trump lashed out at MAGA media figures who have criticized him in recent days over the Iran war, declaring that MAGA as a whole is on his side and accusing the conservative influencers of trying to get "cheap publicity." The president took aim at Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens and Alex Jones, all of whom raised concerns about the president's recent threats against Iran. "They're not 'MAGA,' they're losers, just trying to latch on to MAGA," Trump said in an April 9 social media post. Trump threatened dire consequences for Iran if its leaders didn't agree to his demands, writing April 7 on social media that "a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again." That prompted Owens and Jones to suggest invoking the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to remove Trump from the presidency.

Vice President JD Vance will lead in-person talks in Pakistan this weekend, the White House said, as the United States' ceasefire with Iran faced tests over Israeli attacks on Lebanon and the Strait of Hormuz. Vance will be accompanied by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner for the negotiations in Islamabad, said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. Iranian state media said the country again closed the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday in response to Israeli bombardments on Lebanon. Leavitt called those claims "false" but reiterated Trump's demand that the trade route is "reopened immediately, quickly and safely." Deep confusion also emerged over whether Lebanon was included in the ceasefire. Pakistan, which brokered the deal on Tuesday, and Iran said the pause in fighting would extend to Lebanon. Israel and the White House have denied this, and Israel vowed to continue its war against Hezbollah.

President Donald Trump announced the United States reached a ceasefire with Iran for two weeks after earlier threatening to destroy Iranian energy and transportation infrastructure and wipe out a "whole civilization." The pause came less than two hours before the 8 p.m. ET deadline Trump set for a deal. The agreement, the president said, will be contingent on Iran allowing oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway used to ship much of the world's oil. The president had threatened to launch the sweeping attacks if the country did not relinquish its grip over the critical area. Iran has blocked traffic through the strait, driving up fuel prices and causing the global economy to wobble.

The Supreme Court on April 6 paved the way for the Trump administration to wipe out longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon's contempt of Congress conviction. At the request of the Justice Department, the court effectively erased lower court rulings upholding the conviction and sent the case back to the district court where the department has asked for the case to be dismissed. Bannon, now a host of a popular MAGA podcast, was convicted in 2022 for defying a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021. Bannon has already served his four-month prison sentence, after the Supreme Court in 2024 rejected his bid to remain free while he appealed.

President Donald Trump took to social media on Easter Sunday to applaud the U.S. military's rescue of the second airman whose fighter jet was shot down over Iran - and to issue an expletive-laden threat against the Middle Eastern nation to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. After extending the deadline on his ultimatum that Iran cease its effective blockade on ships passing through the oil route, the president said the regime now has until Tuesday to meet his demands, threatening strikes on critical Iranian infrastructure. "Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!!" Trump wrote in the April 5 post on Truth Social. "Open the F------Strait, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH!" The president signed off is message, "Praise be to Allah."

Amid an intense search-and-rescue effort to locate the second crew member of an F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet that crashed in Iran, President Donald Trump said Saturday in a social media post that Iran's military leaders "are terminated". In the Truth Social post, the president included a video that appeared to show strikes and bombs going off against the background of a darkened sky. On Friday, the F-15E fighter went down over Iran, prompting a U.S. rescue mission that quickly recovered one crew member. But another from the fighter aircraft remained missing as of late Friday. Separately, an A-10 "Warthog" plane that was part of the search-and-rescue mission was fired on by Iranian forces. The Warthog pilot ejected over the Persian Gulf but was rescued, according to the New York Times and CBS News.