Mark Angelides

A second round of negotiations between the United States and Iran is expected to take place before the two-week ceasefire runs its course. After the collapse of the weekend talks in Islamabad, President Donald Trump upped the ante by ordering a blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz. Did this rare maritime action strip Tehran of its final ace? And just what does each side bring to the table in the anticipated negotiations?

Virginia voters head to the polls today, April 21, to determine whether commonwealth lawmakers can pass a new House map before the 2030 census. The proposed redistricting effort would likely switch party balance from one that currently favors Democrats six to five to one that gives the left a ten-to-one advantage.

In the wake of the Old Dominion referendum to make a more Democrat-friendly House map on Tuesday, April 21, legal challenges began to mount. Late Wednesday, the first of these efforts claimed a legal win. Virginia Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley ruled that the vote was unconstitutional and that the requirements for a referendum were not met.

Some things outlast political rivalry. King Charles III arrived yesterday (April 27) for the first leg of his official state visit.

Today (May 7), a significant swath of Brits head to the polls to vote in local elections. Such small-scale ballots were traditionally focused on garbage collections and potholes, but with the growing disaffection in politics – aimed squarely at the ruling Labour Party and the Conservative Party – politicos and pundits are treating them as a midterm equivalent. And with potentially the biggest defeat for any establishment party ever as the most likely outcome, UK politics may never be the same again.

As the results of Thursday's local UK elections begin to roll in, Brits are waking up to the possibility that the two-party system is well and truly over. Regarded as a set of midterm elections, the final tally looks set to be a condemnation of both the governing Labour Party and the Conservative Party. Hoovering up support is Mr. Brexit, Nigel Farage, leader of the new Reform UK Party.

If you guessed it was former VP Kamala Harris, who has been touting everything from expanding the US Supreme Court to doing away with the Electoral College, you would be correct. In a recent

President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, promising to end the free-flowing illegal immigration that so exemplified his predecessor's time in office. The numbers show he has done just that. Notably, considering this was one of the top issues in the 2024 election, discussion of illegal crossings seems to have disappeared from the front pages of the nation's leading media outlets. Why might that be?

New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez appears to be hitting the unofficial campaign trail to stake an early claim on the 2028 Democratic Party presidential nomination. While her denials lack the stridency of an outright dismissal, her activities of late show every indication that she sees herself as a real contender. What does AOC bring to the political table, and will her mass of liabilities sink the nascent campaign before it even begins?

An issue of Icarus proportions. While the pollsters and betting markets have the Democratic Party on course to take back the US House of