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Today’s top stories
Two ships came under fire in the Strait of Hormuz Wednesday morning, hours after President Trump announced he was extending the ceasefire with Iran. The attacks raised fresh doubts about whether peace talks can hold. Trump extended the truce just before it was due to expire but did not say how long it will last. Vice President Vance, who leads the U.S. delegation, stayed in Washington instead of flying to Islamabad as planned. NPR reporting notes Tehran is staying on the offensive; one adviser posted that the extension “means nothing” and accused the U.S. of using it to buy time for a possible surprise attack.
Virginia voters narrowly approved a ballot measure allowing lawmakers to draw a new congressional map. That change could let Democrats pick up as many as four additional seats, potentially bringing the state’s delegation to 10 of 11 Democrats. NPR’s Ashley Lopez says the national redistricting picture mostly evens out or gives Democrats a slight edge: California gains offset possible Republican pickup in Texas, while Virginia’s vote neutralized some GOP-favored seats in states such as North Carolina and Missouri. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has called a special session to try to carve out more Republican seats. The battle follows last year’s push by Trump urging Texas to help the GOP gain seats; the response from Democrats has been massive and costly, including millions in ad spending and special elections and sessions.
The U.S. Department of Justice gave many public entities an extra year to make digital materials accessible under updated Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines. Public colleges, K–12 schools, local governments and other institutions serving 50,000 or more people now have until April 26, 2027; smaller entities have until 2028. The DOJ said it “overestimated the capabilities” of covered entities to meet the original deadline. Disability rights groups condemned the eleventh-hour delay.
Living better
In two landmark cases, courts found Meta and Google liable for endangering children with their products; both companies are appealing. During the California trial an attorney compared social apps to “digital casinos.” Cultural anthropologist Natasha Dow Schüll’s research on video slot machines highlights four features that help make gambling devices — and, by analogy, some apps — addictive:
– Solitude: A one-to-machine relationship removes social stopping cues; children who use screens alone face higher risk of problematic use.
– Bottomlessness: Endless, auto-playing content keeps users engaged with no natural stopping point.
– Speed: Faster play increases engagement; rapid scrolling and quick content access on apps have a similar effect.
– Teasing: Algorithms serve content that’s close to what you want but withholds the perfect match, prompting continued searching.
Behind the story
By Nick Schönfeld, freelance journalist. Few people have heard of Tristan da Cunha; fewer have been there. Described as the world’s most remote inhabited island in the mid–South Atlantic, Tristan often attracts fantasized notions of freedom, pristine nature and escape from modern life. But life on Tristan is not a romantic isolation — it’s a working, cooperative society. Over sixteen months of reporting and photography, the piece documents fishermen at dawn, families processing food, road crews clearing landslides, pensioners working night shifts at the lobster factory and the everyday efforts that sustain the island. The immersive multimedia feature aims to show Tristan’s history, isolation and the real lives of its people.
3 things to know before you go
1) World Cup travel costs go beyond tickets: getting to Northeast matches (especially Boston and New York) can be expensive; WBUR breaks down costs from parking to bus trips.
2) Fans gathered at Prince’s Paisley Park Studios to remember the singer on the 10th anniversary of his accidental fentanyl overdose.
3) The American Library Association’s annual list of most challenged books notes 31% of challenges came from elected officials.
This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.