The Pentagon has ended its long-standing requirement that U.S. service members receive the annual influenza vaccine, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced in a video posted on X on April 21, 2026. A memo dated April 20 makes seasonal flu vaccination voluntary “effective immediately” for active duty, reserve component and civilian Defense Department personnel, though the vaccine remains available to anyone who wants it. The move follows earlier steps to narrow vaccination rules for reservists and the 2023 rescission of the COVID-19 mandate; roughly 8,000–8,700 service members were separated during that dispute. The Pentagon says the change reflects respect for individual conscience and faith; critics, including Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, warned it could marginally reduce readiness. Public-health bodies including the World Health Organization recommend annual influenza vaccination for most people, and military health officials have long argued universal shots reduce outbreaks and protect force readiness. The U.S. force includes about 1.3 million active-duty troops and more than 750,000 National Guard and Reserve members, who operate in close quarters where respiratory illness can spread rapidly.

WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD, April 21 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said he would indefinitely extend a two‑week ceasefire with Iran on April 21 at Pakistan’s request to allow peace talks to continue, hours before the truce was due to expire. Trump framed the pause as conditional, saying it would last “until their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal,” while ordering the U.S. Navy to maintain a blockade of Iranian ports. Tehran’s leadership had not immediately confirmed acceptance and Iranian officials criticized recent U.S. seizures of vessels, calling the boarding of the tanker Tifani and an earlier cargo ship “piracy” and saying such actions undermine negotiations. Pakistan has been preparing to host a possible second round of talks in Islamabad but the U.S. delegation’s travel was uncertain and Vice President J.D. Vance had not yet departed. Markets reacted to the fragile truce: oil spiked on fears the Strait of Hormuz would remain effectively closed, and global equities dipped. Core negotiating disputes include the blockade and Iran’s nuclear programme, with Tehran seeking recognition of its enrichment rights and the U.S. demanding limits on highly enriched uranium stocks.

The U.S. Justice Department on April 21–22, 2026 unsealed an 11‑count federal indictment charging the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) with wire fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering over a now‑disbanded program that paid confidential informants to infiltrate extremist groups. Prosecutors in the Middle District of Alabama say the group secretly funneled roughly $3 million between 2014 and 2023 — and through practices dating to the 1980s — to members of the Ku Klux Klan, neo‑Nazi outfits and other violent organizations using fictitious entities and concealed bank accounts. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said prosecutors believe the SPLC misled donors by claiming it was “dismantling” far‑right groups while funding some of their activities. SPLC interim CEO Bryan Fair said the informant program gathered intelligence that saved lives and pledged to vigorously defend the organization. The indictment follows a wider campaign by the Trump administration scrutinising liberal nonprofits and comes after FBI Director Kash Patel ended cooperation with the SPLC. The organization faces criminal exposure, potential civil fallout with donors and prolonged litigation in Alabama federal court.

Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) resigned from Congress on April 21, 2026, minutes before the House Ethics Committee was set to vote on disciplinary recommendations that could have led to expulsion. The committee had earlier concluded there was substantial evidence of misconduct and an adjudicatory subcommittee found 25 violations related to alleged misuse of funds. Cherfilus-McCormick was indicted in November on federal charges accusing her and relatives of diverting about $5 million in FEMA pandemic-relief funds to her campaign and personal expenses; she has pleaded not guilty. Her attorney said the ethics process would jeopardize her right to a fair criminal trial. With her resignation the Ethics Committee said it lost jurisdiction and will not pursue sanctions; Florida Governor Ron DeSantis must set dates for a special election to fill the seat. The departure comes amid a string of recent House resignations and narrows Democratic ranks as Republicans hold a two-seat working majority in the chamber.

Senate Republicans on April 21 advanced a party-line budget resolution that clears the way for a reconciliation bill to provide roughly $70 billion to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and parts of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) through the remainder of President Donald Trump’s term. The 52-46 procedural vote moves the 58-page GOP blueprint, authored by Sen. Lindsey Graham and promoted by Majority Leader John Thune, into a debate and amendment phase that could conclude this week. The measure uses reconciliation to bypass a Democratic filibuster and instructs the Judiciary and Homeland Security committees to draft legislation — with committees given deadlines (reporting deadlines cited as mid-May) to submit proposals. Republicans say the funding will guarantee enforcement operations for about 3.5 years; Democrats counter that the bill offers billions “without reforms” sought after two fatal federal-agent shootings in Minneapolis and demand guardrails such as warrants and identification requirements. The plan’s final price tag could range from $70 billion to as much as $80 billion, although technical language allows higher limits. House sequencing, intra-GOP disagreements and the ongoing partial Department of Homeland Security shutdown complicate prospects for swift passage and implementation.

U.S. forces conducted a right-of-visit maritime interdiction and boarded the sanctioned oil tanker M/T Tifani “without incident” on April 21, the Pentagon said. The operation took place in the Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility in the northern Indian Ocean, with ship-tracking firms placing the vessel between Sri Lanka and the Strait of Malacca. The Tifani, linked to ENSA Ship Management and previously sanctioned by Washington for transporting Iranian crude, was reported to be carrying roughly two million barrels loaded from Iran’s Kharg Island. The Pentagon published video of the boarding and said it will pursue global enforcement to disrupt vessels providing material support to Iran. The seizure comes as a fragile two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran was near expiry and diplomacy in Pakistan was under way. U.S. naval actions this week also included disabling and seizing an Iranian-flagged cargo ship, moves Tehran has called piracy. U.S. officials have said decisions on the tanker’s disposition — including towing or transfer to another state — will follow in coming days.