URL: NPR

US News

Friday, May 8, 2026

• Why Trump's efforts to force Iran to concede to U.S. demands aren't working
  The Virginia Supreme Court has delivered a striking blow to Democrats in the redistricting battle they're waging against Republicans.
  
• A young mom at her wits' end tossed out her dirty dishes. Then they turned up clean
  A young mother felt overwhelmed raising her three kids alone. Unable to face a sink full of dirty dishes, she threw them out. A neighbor returned them, washed and shiny, along with a message of hope.
  
• UFO files spanning decades are released by Defense Department
  Cold War reports of mysterious rotating saucers; recent sightings of metallic elliptical objects floating in mid-air. Those and other reports of unidentified anomalous phenomena or UAPs — the military's term for UFOs — are described in documents released Friday.
  
• Canvas is back online, but questions — and final exam disruptions — linger
  Some schools are warning users not to log back into Canvas yet, after a ransomware group claimed credit for a data breach. Half of North America's higher education institutions use the platform.
  
• Court rejects Virginia redistricting in a blow to Democrats' counter to Trump, GOP
  Virginia voters approved redistricting that could help Democrats pick up four House seats. Democrats said it was to counter the gains that Trump and the GOP have picked up in Republican-led states.
  
• The U.S. fires on Iranian tankers trying to evade its blockade amid a Hormuz standoff
  U.S. forces fired on two Iranian oil tankers after exchanging fire with Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz. And the United Arab Emirates reported another Iranian missile and drone attack.
  
• What video got Kash Patel in the headlines this week? The quiz knows
  Plus: The Met Gala, GameStop, Canada and Banksy (again!).
  
• Fallout from the Iran war may include a NATO where the U.S. is no longer its leader
  President Trump's decision to leave NATO in the dark before launching strikes on Iran has inflamed tensions and is putting new urgency on rethinking the alliance.
  
• With Spirit in liquidation, here's what happens next to its planes
  When Spirit Airlines stopped flying last weekend, it left more than 90 planes scattered across the country. Many will go back to the companies that own them, while Spirit tries to monetize the rest.
  
• Experts warn Trump's plan to paint federal building could cause permanent damage
  President Trump wants to paint the Eisenhower Executive Office Building white, but experts and preservationists are pushing back, warning it could permanently damage the historic granite.