memeorandum: Trump announces indefinite extension of ceasefire as Iran stalls negotiations (Washington Post)

6:10 PM ET, April 21, 2026

Top Items:

Trump's approval on economy falls in AP-NORC poll, showing new warning signs for president — President Donald Trump's approval rating on the economy has slumped over the past month as the Iran war drives prices higher, according to a new AP-NORC poll, with even Republicans showing less faith in his leadership.

Discussion: The Guardian and USA Today

AP-NORC:

Fewer approve of Trump's handling of the economy — About 7 in 10 Americans describe the national economy as poor and think the country is headed in the wrong direction. … As gas prices have risen amid the ongoing war in Iran, public views of President Trump's handling of the economy have declined.

G. Elliott Morris / Strength In Numbers:

Trump approval falls to 35% as rating on handling prices hits a record -46 — This article reports results from the April 2026 Strength In Numbers/Verasight poll. You can read our previous poll releases here. Subscribers to Strength In Numbers have access to additional visuals …

Discussion: CNN, The Guardian, Daily Kos and The Hill

NOTUS:

Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick Resigns — The congresswoman stepped down just hours before the Ethics Committee announced sanctions against her. — Copy — Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick is resigning from Congress hours before the House Ethics Committee was set to announce sanctions …

Discussion: New York Magazine, New York Post, The Guardian, New York Times, IJR, Raw Story, Newsweek, Washington Examiner, New Republic, The Hill and Talking Points Memo

NBC News:
Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigns amid Ethics probe

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion

Associated Press:
Lawmakers weigh sanctions for Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida

Andrew Solender / Axios:
Democrats prepare to abandon Cherfilus-McCormick en masse

Discussion: Politico, Fox News, The Hill, Capital B News, Washington Examiner, RedState, CBS News, MS NOW and HotAir

New York Times:

Iran War Live Updates: Vance's Trip to Peace Talks on Hold — The vice president's trip to Pakistan is on hold because Tehran failed to respond to American negotiating positions, a U.S. official with direct knowledge of the situation said. But it could be back on at a moment's notice.

Washington Post:

Trump announces indefinite extension of ceasefire as Iran stalls negotiations — The announcement came as talks set to take place between U.S. and Iranian delegations in Pakistani were postponed amid uncertainty about the broad strokes of a deal. — Summary

Discussion: The Guardian, Politico, Axios, American Greatness, Boston.com, Agence France-Presse, France 24, WUSA, Al Jazeera, New York Post, The Hill, New York Sun, HotAir, Associated Press, CNBC, Bloomberg, New Republic, Joe.My.God., Forbes and The Economist

Ej Dickson / Wired:

This Scammer Used an AI-Generated MAGA Girl to Grift ‘Super Dumb’ Men — A med student says he's made thousands of dollars selling photos and videos of a young conservative woman he created using generative tools. He's not alone. — Like many medical school students, Sam was broke.

Discussion: Metro.co.uk

New York Times:

Trump Is Said to Be in Talks to Send Afghans Who Aided U.S. Forces to Congo — A U.S. aid worker said that the Afghans, who were evacuated to Qatar, would face a choice between moving to the Democratic Republic of Congo and living under the Taliban. — After halting a U.S. resettlement program …

Associated Press:

Southern Poverty Law Center says it faces a Justice Department criminal probe over paid informants — The Southern Poverty Law Center says it's the subject of a criminal investigation by the Justice Department and faces possible charges over its past use of paid informants to infiltrate extremist groups.

Hannah Rabinowitz / CNN:
Southern Poverty Law Center says Justice Department is investigating its work with informants

Discussion: Bloomberg, HotAir and Reuters

Megan Lebowitz / NBC News:

Tucker Carlson says he will be ‘tormented’ for ‘a long time’ over his support for Trump — The former Fox News host apologized for “misleading” people and expressed regret for having previously backed the president. — Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson expressed regret …

Discussion: Mother Jones, The Guardian, Mediaite, The Wrap, The Independent, Washington Examiner, New York Magazine, Raw Story, No More Mister Nice Blog, Forbes, New Republic, Mercury News, Just Jared and Variety

Mike Brock / Notes from the Circus:

Apology Not Accepted, Mr. Carlson — On April 20, 2026, on his own podcast, sitting across from his brother Buckley, Tucker Carlson said this: “I want to say I'm sorry for misleading people. … Yes, you were misleading people, Mr. Carlson. And contra your characterization, it was very much intentional.

Will Sommer / The Bulwark:

Lawsuit: Blaze's Crackpot Reporting Prompted a Wild, Unnecessary FBI Raid — Quickly debunked reporting based on “gait analysis” was enough to get the feds to descend with a helicopter on a falsely accused J6 pipe-bomber's home. — WHEN THE CONSERVATIVE WEBSITE the Blaze published an article …

Politico:
Former Capitol police officer sues Blaze Media over pipe bomb allegation

Discussion: Joe.My.God.

Financial Times:

Elite law firm Sullivan & Cromwell admits to AI ‘hallucinations’ — Firm whose partners bill more than $2,000 per hour apologises to judge for software-driven errors in bankruptcy case — Sullivan & Cromwell told a US federal bankruptcy court that a major filing it made in a high-profile …

Discussion: Reuters and Above the Law

Bill Scher / Washington Monthly:

Cancel the 2026 White House Correspondents' Dinner — Allow me to make a confession: I'm a fan of the White House Correspondents' Dinner (WHCD). I have never been invited. I just enjoy the show. The president does a stand-up routine. The people who cover the president hire a famous comedian to roast him.

Discussion: The Atlantic, Megyn Kelly, Deadline, CNN, RedState, Fox News, The Independent, New York Sun, The Hill, UPI, New York Times, NewsMax.com, twitchy.com, Variety and The Post Millennial, more at Mediagazer »

CNN:

US at risk of running out of missiles if another war breaks out after depleting stockpile in Iran operations — The Middle East Federal agencies US military Donald Trump — The US military has significantly depleted its stockpile of key missiles during the war with Iran and created a …

Discussion: Center for Strategic …, NOTUS, NewsMax.com and New Republic

Thomas B. Edsall / New York Times:

‘Easily the Worst President in U.S. History’ — The damage President Trump has inflicted on the United States and the world is so enormous and wide-ranging that it is hard to grasp. — It runs the gamut from public and private institutions to core democratic customs and traditions …

Washington Post:

Annual flu vaccine no longer required for U.S. military, Hegseth says — The move alarmed some public health experts, who warned that it would weaken troop readiness. — Summary — The military will no longer require U.S. troops to receive the annual flu vaccine, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth …

Paul Krugman:

The Vindication of Bidenomics — Are we finally ready to acknowledge its successes? — Consumer sentiment, which fell off a cliff in 2022, has declined further under Trump II. Indeed, according to the venerable Michigan Survey, it is at the lowest level ever recorded.

Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo and NPR

New York Times:

2 Americans Killed in Mexico Crash Were C.I.A. Officers — The two Americans were killed on Sunday when their vehicle crashed while returning from a counter-cartel operation led by Mexico's armed forces in the state of Chihuahua. — Two American officials killed in a car crash early Sunday …

Discussion: The Guardian, Al Jazeera, New York Post, RedState, CBS News, Fox News, Talking Points Memo, Associated Press and UPI

Associated Press:
2 CIA officers killed in Mexico vehicle crash after counterdrug operation, AP sources say

Discussion: Washington Post, The Intercept, CBS News, The Hill, Fox News, NewsMax.com, Washington Examiner, The Gateway Pundit, Charleston Daily Mail, KDFX-TV, NBC News, Associated Press and Reuters

Peter Smith / Associated Press:

‘If my people’: Here's why the Bible passage Trump will read aloud is so potent and polarizing — The scriptural passage that President Donald Trump plans to read Tuesday evening in a livestreamed Bible-reading marathon dates back to the depiction of an ancient event …

Discussion: Daily Kos, USA Today, MS NOW, The Hill, Breitbart, NewsMax.com, RNS, The Independent, New Republic, KDFX-TV, Straight Arrow News, Washington Times and Newsweek

Phil Williams / WTVF-TV:

Armed ‘No Kings’ counter-protester in Tenn. faces new charges, including child porn — Federal grand jury returns superseding indictment against Elijah Millar, 20, of Murfreesboro, Tenn. — NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Murfreesboro man who was arrested last year after an armed confrontation …

Alan Rappeport / New York Times:

U.S. Considers Financial Support for Oil-Rich U.A.E. — President Trump acknowledged that the Gulf state has incurred significant damage during the war with Iran. — President Trump said on Tuesday that the United States was considering offering financial support to the United Arab Emirates …

Discussion: CNBC, Bloomberg, New Republic, The Hill, NewsMax.com and Semafor

Rebecca Archer / New York Times:

When Your Child Dies of Measles — When my daughter Renae, my firstborn, was 5 months old she spiked a fever. By that evening, she was having trouble breathing — the color was gone from her face and I could see her skin tugging in around her ribs. At the hospital the doctors noted …

Marc Caputo / Axios:

Scoop: DeSantis “begging” Trump for prime role in administration — President Trump has told confidants that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is “begging” for a job in Trump's administration — including attorney general — Axios has learned. — DeSantis also has expressed interest in being secretary …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, The Independent, Raw Story, Mediaite and Joe.My.God.

Noah Berlatsky / Public Notice:

Speaker Johnson's beginning of the end — Public Notice is supported by paid subscribers. Become one ⬇️ — 🍃🍃 Subscribe to PN 🍃🍃 — Last week, Analilia Mejia won her election in a suburban northern New Jersey district …

Discussion: KDFX-TV and The Independent

Alan M. Dershowitz / Wall Street Journal:

Why I'm Becoming a Republican — I first registered as a Democrat in 1959. The party's hostility to Israel is too much. — I am a lifelong Democrat. I started campaigning for the party's local candidates as a teenager in Brooklyn, N.Y., have been a registered Democrat for 67 years …

Discussion: RedState, NewsMax.com, Wonkette, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, HotAir and Mediaite

Max Rego / The Hill:

Warsh declines to say whether Biden won 2020 election — Kevin Warsh, President Trump's nominee for chairman of the Federal Reserve, declined to say Tuesday whether former President Biden defeated Trump in the 2020 election. — When asked by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) …

Discussion: Straight Arrow News, Mediaite, Washington Times, Raw Story and Joe.My.God.

Charlie Savage / New York Times:

U.S. Abruptly Rescinds Subpoenas It Had Just Issued in John Brennan Inquiry — The vacillation came after the Justice Department replaced a career prosecutor with a loyalist to President Trump in the administration's effort to charge the former C.I.A. chief with a crime.

Discussion: Associated Press, Digby's Hullabaloo, Daily Caller News Foundation and CBS News

Jordain Carney / Politico:

Graham releases blueprint for GOP immigration enforcement funding plan — Senate Budget Chair Lindsey Graham unveiled a fiscal blueprint Tuesday paving the way for the GOP's party-line immigration enforcement plan. The budget resolution is the first step in Republicans' two-step plan …

Discussion: CBS News, New York Times, Bloomberg Government, NewsMax.com, The Hill, KIFI-TV, IJR and Washington Times

Politico:

Capitol agenda: Trump-Powell clash hijacks Warsh hearing — A bitter spat is set to dominate Kevin Warsh's confirmation hearing Tuesday morning. It's not the economic outlook or bank regulation. The real focus for Senate Banking members vetting Warsh to be the next Federal Reserve chair …

Michelle Roberts / BBC:

Smoking ban for people born after 2008 in the UK agreed — Children aged 17 or younger will face a lifelong ban on buying cigarettes, as the Tobacco and Vapes Bill clears Parliament. — Both the Commons and Lords have settled on a final draft of the “landmark” legislation that aims …

Discussion: The Daily Wire, The Guardian, New York Sun and NewsMax.com

Jordain Carney / Politico:

Rick Scott holds up Coast Guard promotions — Florida Sen. Rick Scott is blocking quick confirmation of hundreds of Coast Guard promotions as he tries to resolve a dispute involving a shipbuilder in his home state. The Republican said in an interview Tuesday that he has placed a hold …

Discussion: NOTUS and Raw Story

Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:

Our Idiot President “Can't Even Surrender Right” — We will get the worst possible result from the least-worst choice. — ∙ Paid — Mailbag: We're going to try something new this week. On Friday, instead of writing a newsletter, I'm going to answer questions.

Moira Donegan / The Guardian:

Why is the Maga project teetering? Because not even Trump supporters voted for this dysfunction — The president's fixation on culture-war grievances is a colossal misreading of voters who just want prices to come down. He has forgotten why he was re-elected

Discussion: Raw Story

New York Times:

A Year After U.S.A.I.D.'s Death, Fired Workers Find Few Jobs and Much Loss … She was fired by email while on maternity leave, given 24 hours to clear out her desk and left with three days of health insurance and no severance pay. She had worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development …

Josh Boak / Associated Press:

Trump picks a University of Minnesota professor to lead his economic council — President Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated University of Minnesota economist Christopher Phelan to be the next chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, a key position for conducting analyses …

Discussion: Washington Examiner

Politico:

Trump bucks New York Republicans in race to replace Rep. Elise Stefanik … The president's backing for Constantino further complicates an already messy primary to succeed Stefanik, one of Trump's most fervent congressional allies. The deep red district was expected to be a Republican layup in the midterm elections.

Discussion: Fox News, New York Post, Bloomberg, Joe.My.God. and New York Sun