The United Kingdom has advanced legislation that would prohibit anyone born after 2008 from buying tobacco. The draft law, which aims to create a “smoke-free generation,” has cleared both houses of parliament. “Only the king’s signature remains for it to become law,” DW stated. Smoking ban for people born after 2008 in the UK agreed https://t.co/12Da2ZVzJZ — BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) April 21, 2026 BBC explained further: When it gets royal assent, ministers will also have new powers to regulate tobacco, vaping and nicotine products, including their flavours and packaging. It is part of a series of measures aimed at tackling the health effects of smoking, one of the UK’s leading causes of preventable death, disability and ill health. Vaping will be banned in cars carrying children, in playgrounds and outside schools and at hospitals, expanding smoke-free laws. Vaping would still be allowed outside hospitals in a bid to support those trying to quit. Outdoor hospitality venues like pub gardens and wider open spaces such as beaches and private outdoor spaces are not included in the plans. People will also be able to continue smoking and vaping in their homes. Only one other country, the Maldives, currently has a similar measure to create a “smoke-free generation.” New Zealand was the first country to implement such a measure, DW noted. However, it was quickly overturned after a change in government. “Prevention is better than cure – this reform will save lives, ease pressure on the NHS, and build a healthier Britain,” Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting said, according to BBC. The UK will ban anyone 17 and under from ever buying cigarettes after the Tobacco and Vapes Bill cleared Parliament. Anyone born after January 1, 2009 will never be able to legally purchase tobacco, aiming to create a smoke-free generation. (https://t.co/qMA1j2LUrV) pic.twitter.com/s4BMDfbyFu — Pop Base (@PopBase) April 21, 2026 DW has more: Monday’s session in the House of Lords provided the final green light to a series of minor technical changes, designed to remove errors and flaws identified within the bill, in order to finalize a bill that had already cleared all three readings in both the upper and lower houses of parliament. As a result, even the opposition lawmakers who had opposed the idea did not resist the passage of the six amendments. Baroness Gillian Merron, of the ruling Labour Party and part of the Department of Health and Social Care, spoke in favor of the law changes at “the end of the Bill’s journey through our Parliament.” “It is a landmark Bill, my lords, it will create a smoke-free generation. It is, in fact, the biggest public health intervention in a generation and I can assure all noble Lords that it will save lives. I commend it to the House,” Merron said. Michael Morris, or Baron Naseby, a Conservative member of the Lords, reiterated some of his objections to the plans, including to planned standard fines of 200 pounds (roughly €230 or $270) for retailers found to have breached age restrictions or sold to proxy buyers. “It does upset a great many people in that industry, that the government has not listened to the strong representations from the retailers, and particularly those who have knowledge of this partiuclar industry,” Baron Naseby said. He said he believed a time would come when those “who believe that this idea in its whole is totally out of date in relation to what is happening in the world” would come to be vindicated, saying: “What we really need is a proper understanding of how we educate people not to take up smoking.” Royal assent, King Charles III’s signature and the last stage in the process making it law, is a formality in almost any circumstance in the UK; the Bill has already featured in one of the so-called “King’s speeches” at the opening of parliament setting out some of the government’s legislative priorities. Watch more below:

Two U.S. government officials killed in a vehicle crash after returning from a raid on a drug lab in northern Mexico were Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employees, the Associated Press reports. “Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum told reporters Tuesday that federal prosecutors are investigating potential violations of national security,” CBS News stated. Two Mexican officers also died in the crash. According to the Associated Press, Mexican authorities said the crash occurred while returning from an operation to destroy drug labs operated by cartels. More below: JUST IN: Bombshell reporting claims 2 U.S. officials that were killed in Mexico were in fact CIA operatives investigating a chemical drug lab run by Mexican cartels. | @GillianHTurner @AmericaRpts pic.twitter.com/hjBb2UKdYi — Fox News (@FoxNews) April 21, 2026 More from the Associated Press: There have been discrepancies in the public accounts of what happened from U.S. and Mexican officials, which experts say underscores heightened American involvement in security operations in Mexico and across the region. The CIA’s involvement was confirmed Tuesday by the three with knowledge of the crash, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence matters. That the U.S. officials worked for the CIA was reported earlier by The Washington Post. It comes after days of contradictions from Mexican and U.S. authorities about the role that American officials played in an operation to bust a narco-laboratory in northern Chihuahua state. The lack of clarity from authorities reignited a debate over the extent of U.S. involvement in Mexico’s security operations as Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum faces extreme pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to crack down on cartels. Trump has taken a more aggressive stance toward Latin America than any leader in recent U.S. history, capturing Venezuela’s president, blockading oil shipments to Cuba and launching joint military operations in Ecuador, a country also marked by criminal violence. Trump has repeatedly offered to take action on Mexican cartels, an intervention that Sheinbaum has said was “unnecessary.” The CIA officers were initially identified as U.S. embassy personnel by U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ron Johnson, who is himself a former CIA employee. Sheinbaum said Mexico’s constitution establishes that state governments must have authorization from the federal government to collaborate with the United States and other foreign entities, CBS News noted. The U.S. Embassy declined to identify the individuals but said they were “supporting Chihuahua state authorities’ efforts to combat cartel operations.” Exclusive: Two U.S. embassy officials who died in a car accident in Mexico as they returned from the scene of a counternarcotic operation worked for the CIA, according to two people familiar with the matter.https://t.co/bh48UhwUD4 — The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) April 21, 2026 CBS News shared further: Jáuregui said that the operation came following months of investigation by state prosecutors and Mexico’s federal military, indicating there was at least some level of involvement in the operation from Sheinbaum’s security forces. Hours later, the Mexican Security Cabinet confirmed that the army and state prosecutor’s office carried out a joint operation over the weekend in Chihuahua dismantling drug labs in the same location, Morelos. After locating the labs using drones, officials found tons of material to manufacture drugs but no people, who were likely alerted beforehand and fled, the prosecutor added. The local official later backtracked and clarified to press that there “were no U.S. agents in the operation to secure the narco-lab,” and said the embassy officials joined the group after the operation and were several hours away from where the action took place. Jáuregui called the labs “one of the largest sites found in the country where chemical drugs were produced.” Sheinbaum said her government would provide more information when it has more details, but insisted Monday that “there are no joint operations on land or in the air” in Mexico. She said there is only sharing of information between her government and the U.S., carried out within a “well-established” legal framework. While U.S. officials’ training of Mexican security forces is common, their presence on Mexican territory has been the subject of ongoing debate, which has intensified after Mr. Trump’s military actions in Venezuela and Iran.

Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) has resigned from Congress amid allegations that she stole federal relief funds and used some of the money for her election campaign. The Florida Democrat faced an expulsion vote after a House Ethics panel found her guilty of 25 ethics violations related to the allegations. Democrat Representative Found GUILTY On 25 House Ethic Violations, Expulsion May Soon Be Next Cherfilus-McCormick also faces federal charges stemming from the allegations. BREAKING: Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigns before an ethics panel meeting to weigh punishment for alleged misconduct. https://t.co/YRtfsh2YOx — CBS News (@CBSNews) April 21, 2026 NBC News shared further: Tuesday’s stunning development marked the third resignation in the past week. Two other House lawmakers — Reps. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and Tony Gonzales, R-Texas — resigned ahead of potential votes to expel them from Congress over allegations of sexual misconduct. Expulsion requires a two-thirds vote of the chamber, meaning it would have taken roughly 70 Democrats to remove her — a high bar. But Democrats were under enormous pressure to oust her as Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and his team try to paint President Donald Trump and the GOP as the party of corruption in a critical midterm election year. Cherfilus-McCormick's decision to resign now means her fellow Democrats won't have to take a tough vote on removing her from office. As he opened an Ethics Committee hearing focused on Cherfilus-McCormick, Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., said Tuesday afternoon the congresswoman's resignation means his panel has "now lost jurisdiction on this matter." But he defended the committee's two and a half years of work. “I will tell you that the committee has worked diligently to investigate this matter, that this was not a rush to judgment, as some would claim," Guest said, "that this was a very deliberate process to gather information into allegations that were extremely serious and extremely complicated.” "I will not stand by and pretend that this has been anything other than a witch hunt. I simply cannot stand by and allow my due process rights to be trampled on, and my good name to be tarnished," Cherfilus-McCormick said in a statement. "Rather than play these political games, I choose to step away so that I can devote my time to fighting for my neighbors in Florida's 20th district. I hereby resign from the 119th Congress, effective immediately," she added. pic.twitter.com/u1lLBxfrI6 — Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (@CongresswomanSC) April 21, 2026 The Hill noted: The spotlight on Cherfilus-McCormick had only intensified in the days after Gonzales and Swalwell stepped down. And Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) had been prepared to call up an expulsion motion against his Florida colleague, which several House Democrats said they were ready to back. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said earlier this week that he believed the House would come to a consensus to expel her, calling the evidence found by the Ethics Committee “alarming.”

The House Ethics Committee released a list on Monday of all its “publicly disclosed investigative matters involving alleged sexual misconduct by members.” The list revealed that the committee has initiated 28 investigations into alleged sexual misconduct by Congress members since 1976. TAKE A LOOK The House Ethics Committee on Monday released a list of all its publicly disclosed sexual misconduct investigations into members, dating back to 1976. pic.twitter.com/mgROg7XVAP — Breanna Morello (@BreannaMorello) April 20, 2026 Full list below: More from the New York Post: In total, fourteen were Democrats and 12 were Republicans. The late Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) was twice investigated for pursuing a “sexual relationship with a staffer in 2014 and again in 2020. Hastings died in 2021, and was succeeded by Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.), who was recently faulted for 25 ethics violations amid a probe of her purportedly pilfering $5 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds. A sex misconduct investigation from 1982 to 1983 involving House pages also concluded with the censuring of Reps. Gerry Studds (D-Mass.) and Dan Crane (R-Ill.), though neither were expelled. Others like Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who was probed for “[s]exual misconduct with minor” and “solicitation of prostitution,” resigned before findings were publicly released. The Ethics Committee no longer has jurisdiction over the Swalwell or Gonzales investigations after both left the House, though Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) remains under a probe for “[s]exual misconduct and/or dating violence.” The committee released a rare statement encouraging anyone who may have experienced sexual misconduct by a Congress member or staffer to contact them. “There should be zero tolerance for sexual misconduct, harassment, or discrimination in the halls of Congress, or in any employment setting,” the committee said, according to ABC News. “The greatest hurdle the Committee faces in evaluating allegations of sexual misconduct is in convincing the most vulnerable witnesses to share their stories,” the statement continued. “Accordingly, the Committee’s practice has been to release only the information that is necessary to hold Members accountable for misconduct and address public reporting that impacts the integrity of the House,” it added. The bipartisan House Ethics Committee has released a rare statement encouraging anyone who may have experienced sexual misconduct by a House member or staffer to contact them, the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights or the Office of Employee Advocacy. https://t.co/XwLBO6wyDH — ABC News (@ABC) April 20, 2026 ABC News shared further: The statement comes after allegations of sexual misconduct led to the resignations of California Democrat Eric Swalwell and Texas Republican Tony Gonzales last week. Gonzales and Swalwell were about to face efforts by their colleagues to have them expelled from the House. The House Ethics Committee had announced investigations into both men, which ended when they resigned. Gonzales dropped his reelection bid earlier this year after admitting to a relationship with a staffer who later died by suicide. Gonzales said he “made a mistake” and “had a lapse in judgement.” Swalwell suspended his campaign for governor of California amid the accusations against him, including allegations of sexual assault, which he’s denied. Swalwell’s attorney, Sara Azari, last week said the allegations are “false.” The committee said that since 2017, it has initiated investigations in 20 matters involving sexual misconduct by a lawmaker.

A Chinese national was arrested at New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport for allegedly photographing sensitive military aircraft at an Air Force Base in Nebraska. “A 21-year-old Chinese national, Tianrui Liang, has been arrested and is facing charges after photographing a U.S. ‘doomsday plane’ and other military aircraft without authorization at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. He was taken into custody at JFK Airport following the incident,” Rawsalerts wrote. #BREAKING: A 21-year-old Chinese national, Tianrui Liang, has been arrested and is facing charges after photographing a U.S. “doomsday plane” and other military aircraft without authorization at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. He was taken into custody at JFK Airport… — R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) April 21, 2026 Fox News explained further: Tianrui Liang, 21, is accused of violating a federal law that restricts photographing defense installations without authorization, according to court documents filed in the Eastern District of New York. Authorities say Liang was taken into custody April 7 while attempting to board an international flight, just days after a warrant was issued in Nebraska. The case centers on activity near Offutt Air Force Base, home to U.S. Strategic Command — one of the Pentagon’s most sensitive installations. According to an FBI affidavit, investigators were alerted after a witness reported seeing “a male holding a camera with a telescopic lens” near the base, where aircraft are stationed on the flight line. Offutt hosts high-value reconnaissance and command aircraft, including the RC-135 surveillance plane and the E-4B “Nightwatch,” often referred to as the military’s “doomsday plane.” Federal agents say Liang later admitted to photographing several aircraft at the base, “including the RC-135 and the E-4B.” According to The Herald, the Chinese national is a student at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, studying aeronautical engineering. He was scheduled to fly from New York to Glasgow via Frankfurt. Tianrui Liang, a Chinese national studying aeronautical engineering at the University of Glasgow, has been charged with illegally photographing military aircraft at Nebraska's Offutt Air Force Base. The base serves as the home of the US Strategic Command, and Liang's… pic.twitter.com/RYUfWWXFTd — Spotlight on China (@spotlightoncn) April 21, 2026 More from The Herald: An affidavit was submitted by FBI special agent Noah Heflin to the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York, reporting that Liang flew to Vancouver, Canada, on March 26 to meet with a friend, a student at New York’s Columbia University. It then states that they drove together across the border into the United States on March 28, travelling to Billings, Montana, via Seattle. Liang’s friend is then recorded flying back to New York on March 28, whereas, he drove the same vehicle to Ellisworth Air Force Base in South Dakota, where he had wanted to photograph the B1-B aircraft, a strategic bomber, only to find out that it had been moved to Offutt Air Force Base, where he then set a course for. In the affidavit, agent Heflin said Liang got the idea of visiting the Offut base from a “planespotter” website, which he claimed gave instructions on where you could go to take pictures of various flightlines. Heflin went on to state that there was “sufficient probable cause” to believe that Liang photographed Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska without the approval of the base commander. The base, located south of Omaha, is the host station for the 55th Wing, the largest such unit in the US Air Force’s (USAF) Air Combat Command. A witness reportedly saw a man in a vehicle near the base holding a camera with a telescopic lens while an aeroplane was on the runway. Liang is reported to have said that he knew that taking photographs of the planes on the base was illegal, but added that they were “only for his own personal collection.”