海角大神

The Trump administration fired the top Navy civilian Wednesday. Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Secretary of the Navy John Phelan would be leaving office 鈥渆ffective immediately.鈥� This departure comes as the U.S. Navy is blockading Iranian ports. No reason was given for the firing, but Mr. Phelan was said to have clashed with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. A financier and political appointee, Mr. Phelan pushed to establish a 鈥淭rump-class鈥� battleship and increase the service鈥檚 shipbuilding budget by 46% to $66 billion in fiscal year 2027.

The U.S. Senate approved funding measure for Homeland Security and Border Patrol. The vote early Thursday sends a $70b plan to the House that would fund the two agencies for three years, through the rest of the Trump administration. Republicans in both chambers have viewed the measure, known as a budget reconciliation, as a last opportunity to enact their priorities before the midterm elections. Some tried to include money for farmers and President Donald Trump's SAVE America bill, which would require proof of citizenship for voting.聽Democrats have sought restraints on federal immigration authorities. 鈥� The Associated Press

An unusual coalition in the U.S. Supreme Court allowed a veteran to sue a military contractor on Wednesday. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the majority opinion, breaking with three of his conservative colleagues to form the 6-3 decision. The case concerned a lawsuit brought by an Army veteran against a military contractor. The contractor had hired a Taliban operative who later injured the veteran in a bombing on a military base. Wednesday鈥檚 ruling overturned lower court decisions blocking the suit.

The United Kingdom passed a lifetime smoking ban for those born after 2008.聽Lawmakers voted to prohibit sales of cigarettes to anyone born in 2009 or thereafter. The bill raises the legal age each successive year until, eventually, it will become illegal to sell tobacco products to any adult. In 2021, Brookline, Massachusetts, implemented a similar generational ban. New Zealand followed in 2022 but later overturned the legislation, citing the rise of black markets and loss of tax revenue from cigarette sales.聽Our coverage:聽Massachusetts towns ban nicotine for a generation. Public health win or overreach?

Los Angeles became the first major school district to limit digital devices. On Tuesday, board members voted in favor of a resolution to limit the use of laptops and tablets in classrooms at all grades, including a complete ban on usage for preschool through first grade. It will also prohibit students from using YouTube and other streaming platforms. Last year, the district implemented a school cellphone ban. Meanwhile, in Britain, Parliament is debating a bill that includes a provision to prohibit smartphones during the school day.聽Our coverage:聽What鈥檚 behind the global push to ban social media for kids.

Six women won the Goldman Environmental Prize, a first in the award's 37-year history. The prize, also known as the 鈥淕reen Nobel,鈥� honors grassroots leaders from six global regions for their efforts to protect the environment and combat climate change. The recipients 鈥� from Colombia, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States 鈥� were recognized for their work ranging from stopping fossil fuel projects to protecting wildlife and ecosystems. Each recipient received $200,000.

鈥�聽Compiled by Monitor writers around the world

President Donald Trump鈥檚 desire to end the war quickly and reach a deal he can sell as a win has given Tehran leverage. Amid an impasse over dueling blockades of the Strait of Hormuz, efforts to return to the negotiating table remained on hold.

Public prayer for troops has long been a part of America鈥檚 history. But Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth鈥檚 rhetoric is raising concerns about the impact that 海角大神 nationalist ideas are having on military unity and religious freedom.

President Donald Trump鈥檚 desire that the federal government play a role in how Americans vote is putting focus on election laws ahead of the midterms this fall. The outcome, which could be influenced by off-cycle redistricting in several states, will affect the president鈥檚 final two years in office.

Less than two years since becoming British prime minister, Keir Starmer is fighting to keep his job. Mr. Starmer鈥檚 appointment of Peter Mandelson as U.K. ambassador in Washington is at the heart of the political scandal.

From foreign occupations to coups to natural disasters, Haiti鈥檚 longest-running newspaper has covered it all. But, with gang violence on the rise, Le Nouvelliste may be facing its biggest challenge yet.

From reworn bridal dresses to recycled wedding favors, New Delhi-based groups help couples honor both tradition and the environment on their big day.

For Earth Day in 2026, the celebratory events held April 22 numbered well over 10,000 worldwide. From cleanups to teach-ins to tree planting, such activities help boost enthusiasm for caring about the environment. Ultimately, however, it is during the other days of the year that follow-through can bring those good intentions to fruition.

Over decades of Earth Day celebrations, many individuals have found that a focus on environmental care in local communities can reap tangible civic and social benefits. A case in point is Philadelphia, where a long-standing project in urban greening has been linked to drops in crime. That success has led the neighboring city of Chester to trod the same path.

Philadelphia鈥檚 story began with green-thumbed activists from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society seeking to recover good neighborliness, square foot by square foot. Working with local contractors and volunteers, the Society鈥檚 LandCare initiative cleaned up and greened nearly 12,000 derelict plots (or one-third of the city鈥檚 vacant land) since 2003. (Nationwide, nearly 7.4 million acres 鈥� or 15% 鈥� of land in American cities is considered vacant or abandoned.)

鈥淚t makes the blocks cleaner and nicer. People ... start to put a little more effort into their own public spaces/curbs,鈥� one resident told LandCare during a 2025 survey, which found that 47% of residents felt more connected to their neighbors and 59% felt safer.

Not only do these city dwellers feel safer, they are safer. A 2018 controlled study directly linked greened areas in Philadelphia to a 29.1% drop in gun violence and 21.9% drop in burglaries over time; another study found a reduction in residents鈥� self-reported depression or poor mental health.聽

This tracks with broader findings: In Flint, Michigan, cleaner, greener areas saw 40% fewer assaults and violent crimes over a five-year period. A comparative review of 301 of the largest cities in the United States found that greater green space was associated with lower violent crime in all but three cities, and lower property crime in all of them.聽

A 2025 study by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign across 3,100 counties found lower levels of fatal police shootings. 鈥淚 was gobsmacked. ... [The results] were very clear: the greener the county, the fewer the fatal shootings,鈥� co-author William Sullivan told the news site Reasons to be Cheerful in early April.

This finding, he added, confirmed his earlier research: As cleaner, greener spaces encourage neighbors to venture outdoors more, connection and civic engagement increase 鈥� as does informal surveillance of neighborhood goings-on.

That spirit of neighborliness in the City of Brotherly Love was captured by one Philadelphian who told LandCare researchers, 鈥淣ow, I get to hear the sounds from my childhood that were absent before: children giggling and playing outside.鈥�