WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida resigned from office on Tuesday moments before the start of a hearing that could have led to a recommendation that she be expelled from Congress.

Cherfilus-McCormick was the subject of a more than two-year investigation by the House Ethics Committee, which had determined recently that she had violated multiple federal laws and House rules. Support from her own party was increasingly in doubt.

It’s the third resignation in a little more than a week from a House lawmaker. Reps. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, and Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican, announced within hours of each other that they were leaving Congress. Both men were facing sexual misconduct allegations and possible expulsion.

In a statement, Cherfilus-McCormick said the House committee denied her new attorney’s request for more time to prepare a defense. She also said she would not pretend that the investigation had been anything other than a “witch hunt,” and rather than play political games, she would resign, effective immediately.

“But let me say this plainly: we should be very careful about the precedent we are setting in this country, we do not punish people before due process is complete,” she said. “We do not allow allegations alone to override the will of the people. That is a dangerous path, and one that should concern every American, regardless of party.”

Cherfilus-McCormick is also facing federal criminal charges accusing her of stealing $5 million in federal disaster funds and using the money to buy items such as a 3-carat yellow diamond ring.

She has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges and says she is not guilty of ethics violations, either.

The allegations against the congresswoman center on how she received millions of dollars from her family’s health care business after Florida mistakenly overpaid the business by roughly $5 million with COVID-19 disaster relief funds. She is accused of using that money to fund her 2022 congressional campaign through a network of businesses and family members.

Cherfilus-McCormick declined to testify during a previous Ethics Committee hearing, citing her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Her attorney, William Barzee, sparred with some of the lawmakers and argued that they should have allowed a thorough ethics trial, at which he could present witnesses and evidence to counter the conclusions of House investigators.

Some supporters weighed in against expulsion

A group of supporters in Cherfilus-McCormick’s congressional district had weighed in on her behalf with the lawmakers who lead the Ethics Committee, urging committee leaders to proceed with caution in sanctioning her.

“Our communities deserve stability. Our voices deserve to be heard. And our right to representation must be protected,” said one of the letters signed by about a dozen local faith leaders, union officials and others.

Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, along with other members of the caucus, issued a statement that praised Cherfilus-McCormick’s time in Congress. They said Cherfilus-McCormick “worked to uplift her constituents and elevate issues impacting underserved communities at home and abroad.”

“We extend our appreciation for her service and offer our prayers for her and her family,” the caucus members said.

In all, the Ethics panel’s more than two-year investigation led to the issuance of 59 subpoenas, 28 witness interviews and a review of more than 33,000 pages of documents.

House Democratic leaders had declined to condemn Cherfilus-McCormick, saying they wanted to see the ethics process play out.

Still, leadership had been in conversations with her for weeks, ever since the Ethics committee released its findings, about the situation and the likelihood of an expulsion vote.

A high threshold for expulsion

The House has historically been reluctant to serve as the final arbiter of a lawmaker’s career, preferring to give that final say to the voters.

Of the six House members expelled, the first three fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War and were expelled for disloyalty. The next two had been convicted of crimes. The final one was George Santos, the scandal-plagued freshman who was the subject of a blistering ethics report on his conduct as well as a federal indictment.

Santos, a New York Republican, served time in prison for ripping off his campaign donors before President Donald Trump granted him clemency, and he has apologized to his former constituents.

Under the Constitution, at least two-thirds of the House has to vote for expulsion for it to occur, a high threshold that requires enormous bipartisan support.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters last week he believed the House would move to expel Cherfilus-McCormick.

“The facts are indisputable at this point,” Johnson said.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., took exception to Cherfilus-McCormick’s characterization of the Ethics Committee’s investigation.

“Well, if you steal money, it’s called theft. It’s not called a witch hunt, and stealing taxpayer money is not going to be tolerated,” Scalise said.

___

Associated Press writer Lisa Mascaro contributed.

The Southern Poverty Law Center was indicted Tuesday on federal fraud charges alleging it improperly paid informants to infiltrate extremist groups without disclosing the payments to donors, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said.

The center’s CEO Bryan Fair said the payments went to confidential informants in order to monitor threats of violence from the extremist groups — and that the information the center received was frequently shared with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies. The information gathered by the informants helped save lives, Fair said Tuesday.

“We are outraged by the false allegations levied against SPLC,” Fair said.

The Justice Department alleged that the civil rights group defrauded donors by using their money to fund the same extremism that it claimed to be fighting. The indictment says payments of at least $3 million went to informants affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan, the Aryan Nations, the National Socialist Party of America and other groups between 2014 and 2023.

The charges, filed in Alabama where the center is based, include wire fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Here are some things to know about the Southern Poverty Law Center’s history and controversies:

The center was created 55 years ago to support civil rights

Alabama lawyer Morris Dees founded the organization in 1971, starting a civil rights-focused law practice for people who were poor or disenfranchised. At the time, federal laws and U.S. Supreme Court rulings designed to end Jim Crow-era segregation were still fairly new, and widespread resistance to desegregation persisted in the South.

People who faced continued discrimination often struggled to find attorneys who were willing to represent them in court; lawyers were reluctant to bring the first lawsuits to test the civil rights laws.

Dees and another attorney, Joe Levin, took on some of those cases, representing their clients for free. Some of those earliest cases resulted in the desegregation of recreational facilities, the integration of the Alabama state trooper force and other reforms, according to the center’s website.

Southern Poverty Law Center

expands to label and track hate groups

By the 1980s, the civil rights group was monitoring white supremacist organizations in the U.S. The effort, initially called “Klanwatch” and focused on the Ku Klux Klan, was later renamed the “Intelligence Project,” and expanded to include other extremist groups.

Many of the groups did not appreciate being called out, monitored and sometimes sued by the center. Members of the KKK tried to burn down the center’s Montgomery offices on July 28, 1983, in retaliation for lawsuits filed against Klan groups.

The fire damaged the building, office equipment, the center’s law library and files. More than a year later, three KKK members were arrested in connection with the blaze, and all three plead guilty and were sentenced to prison.

The center previously used paid informants to infiltrate extremist groups and gather information on their activities, often sharing it with local and federal law enforcement, Fair said. They were used to monitor threats of violence, he said, adding that the program was kept quiet to protect the safety of informants.

The center has a big purse

The nonprofit organization gets most of its funding from donor contributions, and those contributions have added up. Its endowment had just under $732 million in hand as of last October, according to the center.

Conservatives criticize SPLC and FBI cuts ties

The center’s “Intelligence Project” has grown over the years, and the organization has faced criticism for some of the groups it has added to the tracker. Conservatives have said adding some groups unfairly maligns them because of their viewpoints. The conservative religious organization Focus on the Family was added in part because of its anti LGBTQ+ rhetoric, for instance.

That criticism escalated after the September 2025 assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a college campus in Utah. That brought renewed attention to the center’s inclusion of Kirk’s group, Turning Point USA.

The center included a section on Turning Point in a report titled “The Year in Hate and Extremism 2024” that described the group as “A Case Study of the Hard Right in 2024.”

A month after Kirk’s death, FBI Director Kash Patel announced that the bureau would sever its relationship with the center, asserting that the organization had been turned into a “partisan smear machine” and criticizing it for its use of a “hate map.”

That move marked a dramatic rethinking of longstanding FBI partnerships with prominent civil rights groups.

Indictment alleges the center ‘fraudulently obtained’ donated money

The indictment says the center told donors the money would be used to help dismantle violent extremist groups, but did not disclose that some of the funds would actually be used to pay members of those groups. Some legal experts say it’s an unusual legal approach.

“That’s a new way of going after a charity — I’m somewhat surprised,” said Phil Hackney, a law professor at the University of Pittsburgh. Typically, when a nonprofit group is charged with fraud, it’s because someone is accused of pilfering donated funds to line their own pockets, Hackney said.

But in this case, the government is targeting the method and intent in which a nonprofit used its money, he said.

The government is looking at the informant payments “as an intent to further hate — and I doubt Southern Poverty Law Center had that intent,” Hackney said.

The law has never required nonprofit groups to hand donors a line-item receipt for every sensitive operation, said Todd Spodek, a federal criminal defense attorney with Spodek Law Group P.C. in Manhattan.

“From a defense perspective, this isn’t a fraud case. It is a political attack on standard investigative tradecraft,” said Spodek. “We are talking about high stakes intelligence work where discretion isn’t a form of deception, it is a matter of survival.”

In order to win a conviction, the government will have to prove the center engaged in a deliberate scheme to lie, Spodek said.

“They simply cannot. Silence of tactical details is not a crime, and you don’t get to call it fraud just because the government dislikes the methods used to get results,” he said. He later continued, “The prosecution is trying to turn operational discretion into a felony, which is a massive overreach.”

Other organizations also have relied on undercover workers

Other nonprofit groups also have sent people undercover or used confidential informants to get information. For instance, the nonprofit conservative group Project Veritas, founded in 2010, is best known for conducting hidden camera stings that have embarrassed news outlets, labor organizations and Democratic politicians.

The anti-abortion organization Center for Medical Progress was behind secretly recorded videos of Planned Parenthood executives in California. The videos were then edited in a way to falsely suggest that the executives were selling fetal remains. The videos triggered several investigations, and Planned Parenthood was cleared of any wrongdoing but two of the activists with Center for Medical Progress were ultimately convicted of illegally recording someone without consent.

The center says the informants helped monitor threats of violence

Fair says the organization began working with informants to monitor threats of violence during a time of increased risk, and the program was kept quiet to protect informants’ safety.

“When we began working with informants, we were living in the shadow of the height of the Civil Rights Movement, which had seen bombings at churches, state-sponsored violence against demonstrators, and the murders of activists that went unanswered by the justice system,” Fair said. “There is no question that what we learned from informants saved lives.”

A pilot involved in the near-crash was praised for their ‘proactive airmanship’

Three aircraft nearly collided over Cambridgeshire skies last year, a report has revealed. Airprox has carried out a report into the incident which happened over the south of Cambridge Airport on September 5, 2025.

On this day, the pilot of an Antare, a type of glider, was flying north of Cambridge. As it was going on its route, the pilot said they “preferred not to route through Cambridge”, as “incoming traffic was intended to route through the overhead”.

Instead, the pilot decided to fly on the southern edge of the Cambridge zone until they could go directly to their destination. While flying straight and level, there was a “late sighting of two low-wing single-engine aircraft in close formation” around 250m to the right of the aircraft, and around 250ft below it.

The pilot described the risk of collision as “medium”. The YAK-18T pilot was leading the two planes seen by the Antares pilot.

The pilot said that during descent, the lead pilot and wingman “both saw a glider to the right and above”. The report stated that the lead pilot was “happy that the rate of descent and forward speed provided sufficient clearance to the orbiting glider”.

After seeing a glider orbiting in the area, the lead pilot admitted it was “somewhat of a surprise”, and assessed the risk of crash as “none”. In its report, Airprox raised concerns over how close together the aircrafts were.

It said: “Despite the significant vertical separation, the lack of barrier effectiveness had resulted in a situation where safety had not been assured.” The Antares pilot was praised for their “proactive use” of an SSR responder and their “establishing a FIS whilst transiting in the vicinity of Cambridge Airport”.

Airprox added that the pilot’s actions stood as a “template of consideration and proactive airmanship for the gliding community”.

The Dawnay Arms, Church in West Heslerton is to close on Friday, May 1.

Posting on social media, the landlords said: “We are closing for good on Friday 1st May as our lease ends on the 1st June.

“We don’t know if there is a new tenant taking over or how long it will be closed for but would like to thank all our customers for their loyalty and custom. I’m sure you will miss the cheesecakes and Sunday lunches just as much as we will.

“Unfortunately due to rising running costs we can no longer keep working 70 hours a week for nothing and keep ploughing personal savings into the pub.

“A few lovely local pubs nearby which are definitely worth a visit and your custom are Star Inn, Weavethorpe, Ham and Cheese, Scagglethorpe, Coach and Horses in Rillington and Providence Inn at Yedingham.

“It’s the last Sunday lunch service this Sunday so a couple of tables left to book please ring to confirm.”

Nearly 400 people signed a petition in three days challenging the council to begin works on a long-awaited pedestrian crossing in Main Street, which runs through Monk Fryston.

It came after Keir Mather, the MP behind the petition, said that crossing the road could be “difficult” for most people – and made even more dangerous for young, elderly and disabled residents.

Recommended reading:

He added: “Anyone who lives in Monk Fryston will tell you that near misses or collisions occur far too frequently, and residents are subjected to unacceptable risks when crossing the road.”

The MP’s petition gathered nearly 400 signatures in three days, calling for action to be taken on the busy road (Image: Supplied)

The busy rural road up to and through the village is subject to a high volume of HGVs and agricultural vehicles and was the site of five crashes between 2020 and 2024 – one of which was fatal.

Speaking about this and the road safety campaign, North Yorkshire Council’s corporate director of environment, Karl Battersby, said: “We take our road safety responsibilities seriously, and, based on a recent assessment, our engineers have been considering options for a puffin crossing, which uses smart sensors to detect pedestrians and adjust light timings.

“We have identified a potential site between Water Lane and the village shop.

“To introduce a pedestrian crossing, the kerb line would need to be changed on both sides of the road, losing some on-street parking spaces, including outside of the shop.

“It would also mean having to relocate kerbed islands, manholes and gullies.

“Therefore, we are working out the cost and considering how it could be funded.

“We are liaising with the parish council and, should the scheme be approved, a consultation would be carried out later this year ahead of it being delivered.”

Two soldiers have been arrested after a Scots teenage recruit was sexually assaulted during his basic training.

A former Royal Military Police officer says he is shocked by revelations that a teenage Scots rookie soldier was sexually assaulted and filmed while carrying out his basic training. SAS trained Graham Yuill was part of the elite 177 Provost Company which provided armed escorts for senior military personnel and politicians in Northern Ireland during the height of the Troubles.

During his service Graham worked closely with the The Royal Military Police Special Investigation Branch (SIB) which is responsible for investigating serious crimes, including murder, rape and sexual assault, within the UK armed forces. Graham, from Glasgow, says the army needs to take urgent action to reduce what appears to be a rise in the number of sex attacks.

The 67 year old believes that failure to do so could affect future recruitment and deter young people from joining the armed forces. Yesterday we reported how a 17 year old male from Fife was sexually assaulted at his barracks by two fellow squaddies just weeks into their basic training.

Advertisement

Two soldiers in their 20s have been arrested after the young man was attacked last week at Catterick Army base in Yorkshire. Graham added: “The army is less than it was before but there seems to be more allegations of sexual assaults.

“It is the type of incident if not investigated properly could affect future recruitment and drive young people away including women. The army has to address this and ensure better training of senior officers to identify potentially vulnerable recruits and protect young people from assault and bullying,

“The army have to get a grip because of dwindling numbers. Perhaps some of the old timers have got to realise they have to move with the times.

“It has to be zero tolerance of any type of violence or harassment.”

One trainee soldier is said to have carried out the serious sex attack while a second filmed it. Another trainee soldier is understood to have overheard the attack being discussed in a toilet by the pair.

Senior officers were then alerted and two men, both in their mid-20s, were arrested by the Royal Military Police and placed in custody. It’s understood that mobile phones were seized and examined as part of the investigation.

Graham believes that last weeks incident will be investigated to a very high standard. He added: “I worked closely with the SIB in Monchengladbach, West Germany and Hong Kong for a total of four years whilst serving as a general duty military policeman.

“Allegations were always treated seriously when I was there, nothing was swept under the carpet. It won’t matter that the two suspects have only been in the army for a few weeks, they are subject to military law and treated just like anyone else.

“We were the first person to be called out when there was a sexual assault and it would then handed over to the SIB. It will be investigated very thoroughly.”

Graham is an author of books on the Novichok poisonings in Salisbury in 2018 and the IRA assassination of King Charles’s great uncle Lord Mountbatten in 1979. He has also worked as a private security consultant providing personal protection services at home and abroad.

Yesterday Fife Labour MP Melanie Ward urged the victim of the sex attack to contact her office if he would like support. Ms Ward, who represents Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy, said: “I am very concerned to hear about this and have raised it directly with the Ministry of Defence.”

Advertisement

The army’s Defence Serious Crime Command (DSCC) has confirmed the arrests. A spokesperson said: “Two members of the Armed Forces have been arrested following an investigation by the DSCC.

“As the matter is subject to an ongoing investigation, we will not comment further.”

Last year, a record £3.2million was paid to compensate victims of rapes and other sexual assaults by military personnel, including £2.3million to Army staff.

Get more Daily Record exclusives by signing up for free to Google’s preferred sources. Click HERE.

It comes as many Brits are worried their flights in May and early summer could be cancelled across numerous airlines, due to concerns of fuel shortages caused by the current Middle East conflict.

Supplies of jet fuel (which is used to fly planes) from the region have been disrupted since the US-Israel’s war with Iran because of Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical international shipping route.

This has led to soaring prices and warnings that flights could be affected because of Europe’s reliance on fuel imports from around the world.

easyJet issues flight update to UK passengers amid fuel shortage fears

However, for those who are planning on flying with easyJet over the next few weeks, there is no need to worry, as at present the airline is seeing “no disruption to flights” and doesn’t plan on making “any changes” to its flight schedule.

A spokesperson for easyJet which is headquartered at London Luton Airport (LTN) told Newsquest today (April 21): “We are currently seeing no disruption to flights and don’t plan to make any changes to our flying schedule”.

It appears the airline is remaining positive about its flights going into summer too, specifically in July, as someone asked @easyJet on X: “@easyJet I have a holiday package booked with you in July, with the fuel shortage looking ever more likely, is this looking likely to cancelled?”

easyJet responded: “We understand that you’re concerned about the status of your holiday.

“We are currently not seeing disruption to jet fuel supply and engage with fuel suppliers and government to monitor the situation.

“We have no plans to make changes to our flying programme.”

TUI confirms it is ‘monitoring’ jet fuel shortages

Elsewhere, TUI has said it is “monitoring” jet fuel shortages as a result of the US-Israel and Iran war.

The update from the budget airline comes after another concerned passenger asked the question on social media regarding their holiday in May.

They said: “With the reported jet fuel shortages, are you expecting holidays from May 1 to be affected?”

TUI replied: “We’re closely monitoring the developing situation in the Middle East and its potential impact on global aviation fuel supplies.

“At present, we’re not anticipating any immediate disruption to our flight schedules or holiday programmes from fuel shortages.”

Earlier this month, a trade body for European airports warned over a “systemic” shortage of jet fuel ahead of the peak summer season if the Strait of Hormuz does not reopen in the weeks ahead.

Welcome back to #TUITriviaTuesday! Which Nordic country is famous for fjords, trolls and vikings! 🔍 Hint…it is west of Sweden 🧭

— tuiuk (@TUIUK) April 14, 2026

Advertisement

Airports Council International (ACI), which represents more than 600 airports, wrote a letter to the European commissioners for energy and transport and tourism.

The body’s director-general Olivier Jankovec wrote in the letter: “At this stage, we understand that if the passage through the Strait of Hormuz does not resume in any significant and stable way within the next three weeks, systemic jet fuel shortage is set to become a reality for the EU.

“The fact that we are entering the peak summer season… is only adding to those concerns.”

Which airline are you due to fly with, in the coming weeks? Let us know in the comments below.

Archaeologists have found a papyrus copy of Homer’s Iliad in the gut of an ancient Egyptian mummy, the first time ever that a Greek literary text has been found incorporated into the preservation process.

The discovery has big implications for our knowledge of funerary practices and religious life in ancient Egypt.

The papyrus fragment was discovered in the abdomen of a mummy buried in a Roman-era tomb in Oxyrhynchus around 1,600 years ago.

Oxyrhynchus, known in the Pharaonic times as Per-Medjed, was one of the most important cities of Greco-Roman Egypt. Its remains are in the present-day town of Al-Bahnasa, about 190km south of Cairo, next to the branch of the Nile known as Bahr Yussef.

Researchers from the Institute of Ancient Near East Studies at the University of Barcelona found the mummy during a recent excavation campaign carried out between November and December 2025.

They found the mummy featured an unusual element, a papyrus placed on the abdomen as part of the embalming ritual.

Egyptian mummies from this period have previously been found to carry papyri written in Greek, but they have all carried text of magical or ritualistic content.

The discovery of the Iliad papyrus marks the first time that a Greek literary text has been found in the embalming context, researchers note.

The epic poem, divided into 24 books, is attributed to Homer and dates back to 800BC.

It mainly focuses on the Trojan War and the heroic deeds and tragic fate of Achilles, the mightiest warrior of the Greek army.

The poem unfolds a few weeks into the final year of the war, depicting the wrath of Achilles after he’s slighted by the Greek commander Agamemnon, delving into themes of pride, fate, honour, and mortality.

It combines elements of ancient Greek culture and mythology, providing valuable insights into the values of the ancient Greeks, continuing to be relevant even in modern times, inspiring countless adaptations.

The identified Iliad text in the recent dig belongs to the catalogue of ships in Book II of the epic poem, researchers say.

It contains a famous passage listing the Greek forces massing before Troy.

Researchers said they were unsure why this particular Greek text was chosen for the mummification process.

Roman-era mummification in Oxyrhynchus combined traditional Egyptian, Greek, and Roman customs.

Ancient Egyptian priests of the time focused on preserving bodies for over 40 days, using natron salt to dehydrate them and wrapping them up in linen.

Instead of using traditional canopic jars to preserve organs, they preferred to pack the body with preserved materials along with papyri containing Greek literature sealed with clay inside the chest or pelvic cavity.

Coffins and wrappings frequently displayed a mixture of Egyptian and Roman motifs.

“This is not the first time we have found Greek papyri, bundled, sealed, and incorporated into the mummification process, but until now, their content was mainly magical,” Ignasi-Xavier Adiego, a professor in the Department of Classical, Romance and Semitic Languages, said.

“Furthermore, it is worth noting that since the late 19th century, a huge number of papyri have been discovered at Oxyrhynchus, including Greek literary texts of great importance, but the real novelty is finding a literary papyrus in a funerary context.”

So far, excavations at Oxyrhynchus have revealed three limestone chambers containing Roman-era mummies and decorated wooden sarcophagi.

Previous campaigns in the ancient city led to the discovery of 52 Ptolemaic-era mummies, of which over a dozen had “golden tongues”, a symbol of preparation for the afterlife.

Hull and East Riding Friends of the Earth (HERFoE) has launched Tree Stories, a new project encouraging residents to reconnect with the living landscape in their communities.

Backed by £17,090 from the national lottery community fund, the two-year programme aims to inspire people to care for existing trees, support new planting, and explore the ways trees shape daily life.

Lauren Saunders, project artist and climate artist at HERFoE, said: “Tree Stories is about making space for many different ways of noticing, valuing and caring for trees.

“Whether your starting point is science, creativity, memory or everyday experience, this project invites people to build deeper relationships with the trees that shape our shared landscapes.”

Members of the public are invited to tell the story of a tree in their community, sharing creative responses, ecological observations, memories, historical research or hopes for new plantings.

A previous creative commission by Hull and East Riding Friends of the Earth – “Where beings are” (Image: Lauren Summers)

These stories will be added to a growing online ‘Digital Forest’ – an interactive map showcasing tree stories across the East Riding and Kingston-upon-Hull.

The project builds on local surveys highlighting strong public support for more green spaces, alongside HERFoE’s ongoing work to protect trees.

Originally conceived as an ‘adopt-a-tree’ scheme, it has grown into a broader community effort that blends creative, scientific, heritage and community-led approaches to nature connection.

Submissions are welcome in text, images or audio-visual formats, and can be sent online or by post.

To ensure the project is accessible, key resources are available in Romanian, Polish, Kurdish (Sorani), and Arabic through a partnership with Hull-based translation service Language Is Everything.

The programme will include free workshops, talks, walks and community events.

These will offer opportunities to learn about tree care and planting, while also exploring artistic and cultural connections to trees.

Friends of the Earth member Hilary picking litter from a local wooded area in East Yorkshire (Image: Supplied)

Lauren Saunders said: “Tree Stories invites people to slow down, notice and build relationships with the trees they live alongside – to see them as part of our shared community.

“Through observation, creativity, curiosity and shared knowledge, we can strengthen our collective responsibility for the places we call home.”

Tree Stories launches today, which is also Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22, 2026.

HERFoE is inviting community groups and public-facing organisations across the East Riding and Kingston-upon-Hull to take part, whether tree-focused or not.

Partners will be able to connect with new audiences, raise the profile of their work and contribute to a growing, county-wide celebration of trees and community action.

A dedicated Partner Pack and digital resources will be available to help organisations get involved.

For more information, visit hfoe.org.uk/treestories.

US Vice President JD Vance will again lead the American delegation

Donald Trump says he ‘expects to be bombing Iran’ and that the US military is ‘raring to go’ as JD Vance departs for eleventh‑hour talks in Pakistan.

The US President told CNBC he had no intention of prolonging the two‑week ceasefire with Tehran as the deadline approaches, insisting Washington now holds the upper hand and is “going to end up with a great deal”.

Fresh negotiations in Islamabad are already overshadowed by uncertainty, set against a tense stand‑off in the Strait of Hormuz that continues to disrupt global shipping and unsettle energy markets.

The effective closure of the critical supply route during the conflict has inflicted a global economic shock and sent energy prices soaring.

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, who has been holding discussions with counterparts aimed at safeguarding the strategic waterway, has described it as “a critical diplomatic moment” in the crisis.

US Vice President JD Vance will again lead the American delegation while Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf has been tipped as Tehran’s chief negotiator.

The timing of the talks has not been confirmed, and the White House said Mr Vance was still in Washington on Tuesday afternoon.

Threatening to resume strikes if a deal is not struck with Iran soon, Mr Trump said: “Well, I expect to be bombing because I think that’s a better attitude to go in with. But, you know, we’re ready to go. I mean, the military is raring to go.”

Mr Trump also said he did not want to extend the current ceasefire, which he said runs out on Wednesday. He told CNBC: “I don’t want to do that. We don’t have that much time.”

The president added: “What I think is that we’re going to end up with a great deal. I think they (Iran) have no choice. We’ve taken out their navy, we’ve taken out their air force, we’ve taken out their leaders.”

He again claimed “regime change” and said those now in charge were “much more rational”. Mr Trump said: “I think we’re in a very strong negotiating position to do what other presidents should have done during a 47-year period.”

Meanwhile, Mr Qalibaf has accused the US president of seeking to turn the negotiating table into a “table of surrender”. “We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats,” he wrote in an X post and said Iran was preparing “to reveal new cards on the battlefield”.

Ensure our latest stories always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as your Preferred Source in your Google search settings.

In the UK, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer held talks with ministers and officials on the Government’s work to ease pressures on the public caused by the conflict.

The Middle East Response Committee discussed ongoing contingency planning such as work with fuel suppliers, airlines and international counterparts, a Government spokesperson said.

They also talked about diplomacy to support negotiations between the US and Iran, military planning as part of the post-war mission to keep the Strait of Hormuz open co-led with France, and wider measures such as efforts to weaken the link between gas and electricity prices.