The United States once protected ships from Iranian attacks in the Strait of Hormuz in the 1980s. That came during Iran's long war with Iraq. The U.S. could follow that model now and become more aggressive to protect ships passing through the strait as the ceasefire in the Iran war remains shaky and Tehran attacks vessels there. But this time it wouldn't be so easy. Military technology has advanced. The U.S. hasn't defined the same clear, narrow goals in this conflict as it did in the 1980s. And it's not clear international shippers would feel safe even with an American Navy escort given it is a combatant now.
On April 16, 2007, Seung-hui Cho, a 23-year-old Virginia Tech student, killed 32 people on the Virginia Tech campus before taking his own life. It remains the deadliest school shooting in US history.
On April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was shot and mortally wounded by John Wilkes Booth during a performance of the play "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theatre in Washington; Lincoln was taken to a boarding house across the street and died the following morning at 7:22 a.m.
On April 10, 1998, the Northern Ireland peace talks concluded as negotiators signed the Good Friday Agreement, a landmark settlement to end 30 years of bitter rivalries and bloody attacks.
On Feb. 3, 1959, which would become known as "the day the music died," rock 'n roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson died in a small plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa.
By KONSTANTIN TOROPIN and MICHAEL BIESECKER Associated Press
U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela. It's part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country's oil. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Thursday the tanker named Veronica had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump's "established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean." The Veronica is the sixth sanctioned vessel seized by U.S. forces as part of Trump's effort. A video Noem posted online shows helicopters hovering over the deck of a ship while armed troops drop down on the deck by rope.
By KONSTANTIN TOROPIN, AAMER MADHANI, and MICHAEL BIESECKER Associated Press
The U.S. military says U.S. forces have boarded another oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea as the Trump administration continues to target sanctioned tankers traveling to and from Venezuela. The predawn action was carried out by Marines and Navy sailors launched from an aircraft carrier that is part of the extensive force the U.S. has built up in the Caribbean. That's according to U.S. Southern Command, which declared "there is no safe haven for criminals" as it announced the seizure of the vessel called the Olina on Friday. The Olina is the fifth tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of a broader effort by President Donald Trump's administration to control the production and global distribution of Venezuela's oil products.
