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Democratic-backed candidate’s win to Wisconsin supreme court gives liberals 5-2 edge on courtHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Democratic-backed candidate Chris Taylor won election to the Wisconsin supreme court on Tuesday, giving liberals a 5-2 edge on the court.Shortly before his 8pm ET deadline for Iran to reopen the strait of Hormuz, or face the death of its “whole civilization”, Donald Trump posted on social media that the US had reached a temporary ceasefire agreement with Iran. Details of the agreement are still forthcoming and bombing continues across the region.Iranian officials will meet with the United States for talks beginning Friday. Pakistan, which brokered the ceasefire agreement, will host the negotiations in Islamabad.The Pentagon will hold a press briefing at 8am ET today. Defense secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are expected to attend.Some Democrats criticized the ceasefire deal, saying its terms, if true, would cede major concessions to Iran, including control over the strait of Hormuz. Others, including New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, called for Congress to invoke the 25th amendment to remove Trump from office after he “threatened a genocide against the Iranian people”.Several Republicans cheered the president’s decision, casting it as shrewd and tactical. “This is a strong first step toward holding Iran accountable,” said senator Rick Scott of Florida.Shelly Kittleson, the US journalist who was kidnapped in Baghdad by the Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah last week, has been released, said secretary of state Marco Rubio.Repulican Clay Fuller won Georgia’s special election to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene in the House of Representatives. In line with special elections for Congress since the start of Trump’s term, his Democratic rival, Shawn Harris, overperformed. Continue reading...

US is in weaker position than before war as Tehran has shown capacity to inflict pain on Trump administrationMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe announcement of a two-week ceasefire has allowed Donald Trump to hail the reopening of the Hormuz strait as a victorious dawn of a new golden age, but it is Iran that now enters peace talks with the stronger hand.The Tehran regime goes to the negotiations planned for Friday in Pakistan bloodied but still intact. It still holds a stockpile of highly enriched uranium (the original crux of the conflict with the US, Israel and allies), and it now claims at least part-control of the strait, having demonstrated its power to close the narrow waterway and hold the world to ransom. Continue reading...

Richard Hewett, who was forced to sleep in his car when his relationship broke down, is one of many in the UK hit by rising costs and a lack of social housingWhen Richard Hewett’s relationship broke down, he was forced to leave his partner’s council house – but found his disability benefits didn’t stretch far enough to get him his own flat in his Essex home town. He resorted to the next best option: sleeping in his car.It wasn’t what he had expected, aged 59. At 6ft 2in, he squeezed into a Ford Focus and struggled to sleep. When he broke his ankle, he couldn’t look after it properly, contracted sepsis and had his leg amputated. Continue reading...

Category 3 cyclone is moving south of Fiji towards New Zealand, with winds at centre in excess of 150km/hTropical Cyclone Vaianu forming in the Pacific could bring life-threatening winds and heavy rain to New Zealand later this week, forecasters have said, with strong wind watches issued for the entire North Island.The category 3 cyclone is moving south of Fiji towards New Zealand, with winds around the centre in excess of 150km/h, MetService said on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Voters pick Clay Fuller, deciding Iran war was not enough to propel a Democrat into a conservative-leaning House seatUS politics live – latest updatesSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailClay Fuller supports the war in Iran. Shawn Harris opposes it. Voters in Marjorie Taylor Greene’s former district in north-west Georgia decided that this distinction was not enough to propel a Democrat into a conservative-leaning House seat on Tuesday night.Associated Press called the election as results from the rural counties of north-western corner of the state rolled in. Continue reading...

Former SAS soldier and Victoria Cross-recipient, who has always denied wrongdoing, did not immediately apply for bail on WednesdayFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia’s most decorated soldier, Ben Roberts Smith, has not applied for bail and will remain in custody after being charged with war crimes.The former SAS soldier and Victoria Cross-recipient was expected to make his first court appearance on Wednesday after being charged with five counts of war crime – murder in relation to alleged offences in Afghanistan between April 2009 and October 2012. Continue reading...

As the US vice-president wades into a heated campaign, Hungary’s leader faces the real possibility of defeatEven before the plane carrying JD and Usha Vance had landed in Budapest, the Hungarian government had hailed their two-day visit as a new golden age in the relationship between Washington and Budapest.What came next was a whirlwind of politics in which the US vice-president waded directly into the country’s heated election campaign, just days before Hungarians cast their ballots. Continue reading...

London gallery to undergo biggest transformation in its 200-year history, with Kengo Kuma’s design called ‘exemplary’The National Gallery has announced that its largest and most significant transformation since its formation 200 years ago will be designed by the Japanese architect behind Tokyo’s Olympic stadium.The new wing will be designed by Kengo Kuma as part of Project Domani, the gallery’s expansion into art from the 20th and 21st centuries. Its completion would make the National Gallery the only museum in the world which exclusively displays paintings where visitors will be able to view the entire history of painting in the western tradition. Continue reading...

US vice-president rails against ‘bureaucrats in Brussels’ interfering in Sunday’s vote as he arrives in BudapestJD Vance has railed against the EU, accusing it of blatantly interfering in Hungary’s upcoming elections, even as the US vice-president said he had travelled to Budapest to “help” Viktor Orbán win Sunday’s vote.Speaking to reporters shortly after landing in Budapest on Tuesday, Vance’s tone was combative as he alleged that the EU was responsible for “one of the worst examples of foreign election interference” he had ever seen. Continue reading...

• Artivion (AORT) secured U.S. FDA approval for the NEXUS Aortic Arch System on April 7, 2026. • The device approval is expected to accelerate hospital adoption and spark reimbursement discussions. • This milestone positions Artivion for revenue growth in cardiovascular treatments.