Day: April 20, 2026
5 cars from the 2026 New York International Auto Show you might actually want to buy
The New York International Auto Show still draws a crowd — but like all auto shows these days, it’s not what it used to be.
That’s something Karl Brauer and I talked about on a recent episode of “The Drive.” Automakers don’t rely on shows the way they once did. Big reveals happen online now. A lot of media events are private. The industry has moved on, even if the show is still here.
For consumers, though, it still works. You can walk the floor, sit in everything, and compare cars side by side without a salesperson pressuring you.
Award-winners get the headlines. Concept cars pull people in. But if you’re seriously shopping for a vehicle — or even thinking about it over the next year — what matters is what you can actually buy, what it costs, and how it fits into your life.
Here are five vehicles from this year’s show that stood out for real-world buyers.
1. Volkswagen Atlas
Volkswagen didn’t try to reinvent the Atlas. When you’ve nailed the basics like this, that’s probably the right call.
It’s still one of the few SUVs where the third row actually works for real passengers, not just kids. Pricing starts around $40,000, and the updated interior is simpler and easier to use.
It’s not pushing the boundaries of car design. But it is beautifully practical — and that’s exactly why it sells.
Bloomberg/Getty Images
2. Kia EV3
There’s been a lot of talk about “affordable EVs.” Very few have actually shown up.
The EV3 could be different.
Kia is targeting a starting price under $30,000, with roughly 300 miles of range and access to Tesla’s charging network. If it delivers, the EV3 becomes one of the first electric vehicles that makes sense for mainstream buyers.
That’s still a big “if.” But it’s one to watch.
Bloomberg/Getty Images
3. Hyundai Boulder Concept
Hyundai caught people off guard with the Hyundai Boulder Concept, a Bronco- and Wrangler-style off-roader — and it’s expected to be gas-powered.
That’s not random.
While parts of the industry are still pushing all-electric lineups, Hyundai is clearly leaving room for what buyers actually want: options. Gas, hybrid, or electric.
If the Boulder makes it to production without being watered down, it could shake up a segment that hasn’t seen much real competition.
Bloomberg/Getty Images
4. Genesis GV70
Genesis keeps showing up at these events, but the bigger story is what’s happening outside the show.
The GV70 is its best-selling model — and it makes sense. It’s competitively priced, well-equipped, and doesn’t overcomplicate things.
At the same time, Genesis is rolling out its new Magma performance line. That’s more about brand building, but it shows confidence — and momentum.
Bloomberg/Getty Images
5. Kia Seltos
Quality doesn’t always announce itself with huge fanfare. Case in point: the refreshed Kia Seltos.
It’s smaller, more affordable, and now styled more like a mini Telluride. For a lot of buyers, that’s the sweet spot — usable, reasonably priced, and easy to live with.
It’s not going to win many awards — but it’ll handle the everyday stuff that actually matters.
Bloomberg/Getty Images
‘Brazenly dishonest’: Virginia Democrats shamelessly make play for more power with redistricting proposal
A high-stakes partisan battle is unfolding in Virginia that could reshape control of the U.S. House in the 2026 midterm elections. The state’s Democrat leaders were called out by the Washington Post for attempting to ram through a new congressional map “in the most brazenly dishonest way imaginable.”
In 2020, Virginians voted to amend their state constitution to establish a 16-member bipartisan redistricting commission responsible for drawing congressional and state legislative district boundaries.
‘Who opposes “fairness” in elections? It depends on how it’s defined.’
The state’s current congressional map was chosen by the Virginia Supreme Court after the Virginia Redistricting Commission reached a deadlock. This map resulted in Democrats securing six U.S. House seats while Republicans obtained five.
In January, the state’s Democrat lawmakers proposed a controversial constitutional amendment that would allow them to redraw the state’s congressional map in the middle of the 10-year redistricting cycle. They argued that the amendment was essential to combat Republican gerrymandering in other states that could shift control of Congress.
Virginians will vote on the proposed amendment in Tuesday’s special election. Under current law, the congressional districts will not be redrawn until 2031.
The Democrat-controlled General Assembly has already approved a map that could give Democrats a 10-1 advantage over Republicans, potentially giving them four additional U.S. House seats. If the proposed amendment passes on April 21, it would allow Democrats to move forward with implementing this new map and adopt new congressional districts for the 2026, 2028, and 2030 elections only. Authority reverts to the bipartisan commission for 2031 onward.
RELATED: Democrat tough talk fails in Maryland, where congressional redistricting plan dies on the vine
Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg/Getty Images
An op-ed from the Washington Post’s editorial board accused Democrat politicians of presenting the amendment “in the most brazenly dishonest way imaginable,” citing the ballot language. Voters will be asked whether the Constitution of Virginia should “be amended to allow the General Assembly to temporarily adopt new congressional districts to restore fairness in the upcoming elections.”
“Who opposes ‘fairness’ in elections? It depends on how it’s defined,” the Post wrote. “In Richmond, apparently ‘fairness’ means maximizing partisan advantage for Democrats and drawing incumbents out of their seats.”
RELATED: Democrats’ gerrymandering campaign in Virginia hits a snag: Obama
Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) issued a statement in March in support of the proposed amendment.
“It is temporary, directly responsive to what other states decide to do, and — most importantly — it preserves Virginia’s bipartisan redistricting process for the future,” Spanberger said. “I supported the formation of Virginia’s bipartisan redistricting commission in 2020, and that support has not changed. What has changed is what we’re seeing in states across the country — and a president who says he is ‘entitled’ to more Republican seats before this year’s midterm elections.”
Former Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) called the proposed map “the result of a process that’s unconstitutional and illegal.”
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Kash Patel says 2020 election fraud arrests are ‘coming soon’
After 14 months in office, FBI Director Kash Patel has announced that the bureau will be making arrests related to the 2020 presidential election.
President Donald Trump has long said the 2020 election was rigged, tasking Patel with finding any perpetrators of this alleged election fraud. Over a year after Patel took office, the FBI director said arrests would be “coming soon.”
‘We’ve got all the information we need.’
“I lived through it, and the media came at me then too,” Patel told Fox News Sunday. “That just shows you when you’re over the target, you keep pummeling the target, because the media is going to try to pummel you.”
“We are not going to take this and have not taken this laying down,” Patel added. “We did already indict former Director [Jim] Comey, and that’s going through the judicial process.”
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Comey was indicted in September 2025 for allegedly making false statements to Congress and for obstructing a congressional proceeding, citing Comey’s testimony during a 2020 hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The Department of Justice zeroed in on Comey’s claim that he had not authorized anyone at the FBI to leak stories to the media about Russiagate, which prosecutors claimed was false. Comey pleaded not guilty to the charges, and a federal judge dismissed the case in November 2025.
“I am never going to let this go,” Patel said. “Because they have not only personally attacked the presidency of the United States and President Trump, but they’ve tried to thwart our elections and rig the entire system.”
“That is not something I’m going to allow on my watch.”
Although the case against Comey fell through, Patel signaled that there were more arrests coming, claiming the FBI had more than enough information to move forward.
“We’ve got all the information we need,” Patel said about incoming arrests. “We’re working with our prosecutors and the Department of Justice under [acting] Attorney General Todd Blanche, and we are going to be making arrests. And it’s coming, and I promise you, it’s coming soon.”
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IDF soldier caught smashing Jesus statue with sledgehammer — officials and critics react
A photograph began circulating on social media over the weekend that has many people both angry and confused while others question whether it is a real photo.
And the answers that later emerged did nothing to quell the outrage.
‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’
The photo, posted by Palestinian journalist Younis Tirawi on Saturday, depicts a uniformed Israel Defense Forces soldier smashing the head of a statue of Jesus Christ with a hammer.
The journalist noted that the photo was taken during operations in Southern Lebanon, which have persisted despite the United States’ attempts to reach a ceasefire agreement with Iran.
RELATED: OUTRAGE: Israel scrambles after police block church leaders from celebrating Palm Sunday Mass
Anwar AMRO/AFP/Getty Images
Tirawi made a follow-up post suggesting that the statue was in Debel, one of several predominantly Christian border villages in Southern Lebanon.
The post brought attention to a Facebook post associated with the town with a photo of the intact statue of Jesus. The caption of the post is Luke 23:34, which reads, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
The IDF confirmed that the photo of “an IDF soldier harming a Christian symbol” was indeed of “an IDF soldier operating in southern Lebanon.”
It confirmed the authenticity of the photo, adding that the incident is viewed with “great severity” and that “appropriate measures will be taken against those involved in accordance with the findings.”
The post added that the IDF is “operating to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure established by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, and has no intention of harming civilian infrastructure, including religious buildings or religious symbols.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with the rest of the “Jewish state,” intimated that he was “stunned and saddened to learn that an IDF soldier damaged a Catholic religious icon in southern Lebanon.”
Netanyahu promised that the offender would face “appropriately harsh disciplinary action” and concluded:
While Christians are being slaughtered in Syria and Lebanon by Muslims, the Christian population in Israel thrives unlike elsewhere in the Middle East. Israel is the only country in the region that the Christian population and standard of living is growing. Israel is the only place in the Middle East that adheres to freedom of worship for all. We express regret for the incident and for any hurt this has caused to believers in Lebanon and around the world.
Critics, however, were not so convinced.
Glenn Greenwald mocked anyone who would defend this horrific action: “Christian Zionists: This Israeli soldier was absolutely justified in smashing the head of the Jesus Christ statue because Hezbollah and Hamas were hiding inside. We owe him our gratitude.”
“Horrific,” Matt Gaetz said.
Ana Kasparian attacked the IDF and its post, saying that she didn’t believe a word the IDF said: “This is just another example of Israel’s hatred and disregard for other cultures and faiths. No one trusts your phony investigations, especially when IDF soldiers get away with rape and murder every single day.”
Marjorie Taylor Greene joined the fray, quipping, “’Our greatest ally’ that takes billions of our tax dollars and weapons every year.”
Israel has justified its incursions into Lebanon on the basis of rooting out Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy in the country.
Cardinal Pizzaballa and Catholic leaders in the Holy Land stated their “profound indignation and unreserved condemnation of the desecration of a representation of Jesus Crucified by an Israeli soldier in a Lebanese village.”
Cardinal Pizzaballa added to the statement: “It further reveals a disturbing failure in moral and human formation, wherein even the most elementary reverence for the sacred and for the dignity of others has been gravely compromised.”
While stressing the deeply offensive nature of the act, Pizzaballa emphasized that “even in the face of such offense, the Cross remains unassailable in its meaning.”
He concluded with a renewed call for peace and “reverence for the sacred.”
Journalists provided examples of other acts of violence perpetrated by Israel against Christians and Christian holy sites, including the Melkite Greek Catholic Church in Derdghaya, Lebanon, in October 2024. The church, which was reportedly being used as a shelter for displaced civilians, was destroyed in an Israeli airstrike, killing at least eight people in the process.
Editor’s note: This article was edited after publication to include a statement from Cardinal Pizzaballa and information about a previous Israeli strike on Christian sites in Southern Lebanon.
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Male, 31, fatally shoots 8 children execution style; 7 were his own kids: Report
A 31-year-old male fatally shot eight children execution style in Shreveport, Louisiana, on Sunday morning — and seven of the victims were the shooter’s own children, authorities told the New York Times.
The gunman, Shamar Elkins — who was fatally shot following a police chase — had mental health problems and recently had expressed suicidal thoughts, the Times said, citing family members’ statements in interviews.
‘My babies — my babies are gone.’
The children ranged in age from 1 to 14, officials told the paper, and seven of the eight were Elkins’ own children. A Shreveport Police Department spokesman said he shot them execution style, the Times reported.
Elkins also shot two other people, including his wife, who was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, the paper said, citing officials and relatives.
Following the shootings, authorities said Elkins took a car by force, and police pursued him, the Times said. Officers opened fire, and Elkins died, Cpl. Chris Bordelon of the Shreveport Police Department said in a news conference, according to the paper. It’s unclear if officers killed Elkins, or if he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the Times said.
Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux said it’s “maybe the worst tragic situation we’ve ever had,” according to the paper.
RELATED: Masked men open fire after storming into Chick-fil-A; 1 dead, 6 injured; manhunt under way
While police haven’t offered a possible motive, the Times said relatives in interviews noted that Elkins recently struggled with mental health and was stressed about his relationship with his wife, Shaneiqua Pugh.
More from the paper:
Earlier this month, on Easter Sunday, he called his mother, Mahelia Elkins, and his stepfather, Marcus Jackson. Ms. Elkins and Mr. Jackson said in interviews that their son sounded despondent. They said they could hear his children playing in the background during the call.
Mr. Elkins told them through tears that he wanted to take his own life. He told Mr. Jackson that his wife wanted a divorce, and that he was drowning in “dark thoughts.”
“I told him, ‘You can beat stuff, man. I don’t care what you’re going through, you can beat it,’” Mr. Jackson said. “Then I remember him telling me: ‘Some people don’t come back from their demons.’”
Elkins’ mother told the Times she didn’t know precisely what problems her son was having with his wife. The paper said records indicate they were married in 2024. Elkins’ mother added to the Times that her son worked for UPS and had served in the Army.
The Army told the paper in a Sunday statement that Elkins served in the Louisiana Army National Guard from August 2013 to August 2020 as a signal support system specialist and a fire support specialist. The Times added that Elkins had no deployment and left the Army as a private.
Elkins’ mother also told the paper she wasn’t extremely close with her son; she had given birth to him when she was a teenager and struggling with a crack cocaine addiction. The Times added that she had a family friend — Betty Walker — raise Elkins, and he and his mother reconnected more than a decade ago.
Walker spoke to authorities Sunday, the paper said. While she didn’t witness the shootings, Walker said in an interview that Elkins shot his wife several times, including in the head and in the stomach, the Times reported.
Walker told the paper she last saw Elkins last weekend when his family came over for dinner, and nothing appeared off with him at the time: “I was getting up this morning to make myself some coffee, and I got the call. My babies — my babies are gone.”
The Times, citing records, reported that Elkins had at least two prior convictions, including driving while intoxicated in 2016 and illegal use of weapons in 2019.
The paper said a police description of the March 2019 incident notes that Elkins pulled a 9-millimeter handgun from his waistband and shot at a vehicle five times after the driver of the car pulled a silver handgun on him. One of the bullets Elkins shot was found near a school where children were playing outside, the Times said.
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