While you were sleeping, we compiled the biggest stories of the day in one place. Each story has a quick and easy summary, so you're prepared for whatever the day brings. Just click on the links if you want to know more!
1. New York subway shooting suspect tipped off police to his location
The man accused of shooting 10 people on a Brooklyn subway train has been arrested and charged with a federal terrorism offense.
Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said the motive remains unclear, and there is no indication 62-year-old Frank R. James has ties to terror organizations. James was taken into custody Wednesday, about 30 hours after the violence.
At least 10 people were wounded in Tuesday's shooting. Numerous others were injured during the commotion.
2. Gov. Ron DeSantis draws Florida congressional map that would expand GOP’s edge
Gov. Ron DeSantis submitted a Congressional map for Florida Wednesday ahead of a special session next week. The session was called after the governor vetoed maps sent to him by the Republican-dominated Legislature.
DeSantis' map would create 20 Republican seats and eight Democratic ones based on 2020 electoral data, according to Matthew Isbell, a leading Florida-based Democratic data consultant who analyzed the maps Wednesday evening.
Court challenges appear inevitable, but there is little time to change the map before the August primaries in the lead-up to the November midterm elections.
3. Florida's citrus production could hit the lowest numbers since before World War II
Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture dropped its Florida orange forecast by more than 7 percent from the March update, dropping numbers to the lowest they’ve been since before World War II.
Mixon’s Fruit Farms in Bradenton has been producing and selling citrus for more than 80 years, but owner Dean Mixon says in the last 20 years, diseases like “citrus greening” have wiped out nearly 95 percent of the farm's orange crop.
He says citrus farmers across the state are facing the same problem.
4. Travel mask requirement to be extended for 2 weeks
The Biden administration will extend the nationwide mask requirement for public transit and air travel as it monitors an uptick in COVID-19 cases.
The Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) order was set to expire on April 18. It will now be extended by two weeks to monitor for any increase in severe virus outcomes as cases rise in parts of the country.
The U.S. is now averaging about 30,000 cases a day, the CDC reports. That's a slight increase from previous weeks. Hospitalizations rates have not changed much in recent weeks, according to CDC data.
5. President Biden approves $800M in artillery and helicopters for Ukraine
In anticipation of a new Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine, President Joe Biden on Wednesday approved an $800 million package of military assistance, including additional helicopters and the first provision of American artillery.
Ukraine will also receive armored personnel carriers, armored Humvees, naval drone vessels used in coastal defense, and gear and equipment used to protect soldiers in chemical, biological, nuclear and radiological attacks.
President Biden announced the aid after a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It is the latest in a series of U.S. security assistance packages valued at a combined $2.6 billion that has been committed to Ukraine since Russia invaded on Feb. 24. The weaponry and support material have played an important role in Ukraine's successful defense thus far.
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On This Day In History
President Abraham Lincoln is shot in the head at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. on April 14, 1865. The assassin, actor John Wilkes Booth, shouted, “Sic semper tyrannis! (Ever thus to tyrants!) The South is avenged,” as he jumped onto the stage and fled on horseback. Lincoln died the next morning.
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