Top Stories — Tuesday, April 21, 2026
What is trending in the USA today? Here is Breaking News:
- Canadian Tourist Is Killed in Shooting at Mexico’s Pyramids — nyt News
- Japan to Sell More Weapons Abroad, Breaking With Postwar Pacifism — nyt News
- Another Democrat exits California's crowded gubernatorial race weeks before the June 2 primary election — Fox News
Canadian Tourist Is Killed in Shooting at Mexico’s Pyramids
Source: nyt News • Published: 4/21/2026, 7:55:49 AM
One Canadian tourist was shot dead and several other people were wounded, including U.S. nationals, officials said, when a man opened fire on Monday at one of Mexico’s most popular tourist destinations, the Teotihuacán pyramids just outside Mexico City.
The gunman then shot and killed himself, the authorities said.
State and federal security forces arrived at the archaeological site after receiving an emergency call, according to a statement by the local security ministry of Mexico State, which is adjacent to Mexico City, the capital.
Two people were found dead, “one of whom was likely the shooter,” the statement said. Later on Monday evening, the federal authorities released a list with the names of 13 other tourists who had been injured. Seven of them had gunshot wounds, including two minors ages 6 and 13 from Colombia and Brazil. They were all taken to hospitals. It was unclear how some of the tourists had been injured.
Six U.S. citizens, ranging in age from 26 to 61, were among those injured during the gunfire, including two who had been shot, according to the list.
The shooting at the Teotihuacán pyramids is believed to have been the first such violence in the site’s modern history.
Mexico’s security cabinet said in a statement that a Canadian woman had been killed during the shooting but did not identify her. A spokeswoman for the Canadian Embassy in Mexico City said that it could not share any personal information about the victim because of Canadian privacy laws.
Videos circulating online on Monday show tourists ducking at the bottom of the Pyramid of the Moon, the second largest in Teotihuacán, amid the sound of gunfire. “Call the police!” a woman is heard screaming. A lone figure is seen on the pyramid next to what appears to be a group of people lying down nearby.
Laura Torres, a tourist visiting Teotihuacán, told reporters at the scene that she had been walking in when she heard the gunfire.
“I saw the guy shooting from up on the pyramid, and yeah, there were a lot of people there,” said Ms. Torres, who recounted hearing up to 20 shots.
Tourist guides who had brought groups of people to the site began to lead them out, she said. Then she saw a tourist being shot.
“She was lying about halfway up the pyramid,” Ms. Torres said. “This shouldn’t have happened.”
The identity of the gunman was not immediately released, and his motive for the shooting were unclear, Cristóbal Castañeda, the security minister of Mexico State, told reporters on Monday.
“This seems to have been a direct attack, but we cannot speculate,” Mr. Castañeda said, adding that at least one handgun had been recovered. The gunman seemed to have acted alone, he said.
Anita Anand, Canada’s minister of foreign affairs, confirmed that a Canadian national had been killed during the shooting and said that another one — a 29-year-old woman, according to the Mexican government’s list — had been wounded. Consular officials were providing assistance to their families, she said.
“What happened today in Teotihuacán pains us deeply,” President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico said on social media. She added that the Mexican government had been in contact with the Canadian Embassy. “I have instructed the security cabinet to thoroughly investigate these events and provide all necessary support,” she said.
Mexican officials were also in touch with the embassies of the other tourists who had been wounded, of which eight remained hospitalized by Monday evening, officials said. A spokesman for the Mexico State prosecutor’s office said an investigation had been opened.
Teotihuacán, an ancient city of pyramids and palaces that predates the Aztecs, had as many as 125,000 people living there at its peak. The site attracts thousands of tourists every year, both foreigners and nationals, who are drawn by its three titanic pyramids. To this day, researchers continue making discoveries there.
In 2025, Teotihuacán was Mexico’s second-most-popular archaeological site, with 722,000 visitors that year. For the upcoming World Cup, the Mexico State government announced it was preparing an immersive night show for tourists there. Mexican officials expect the soccer tournament to attract nearly 5.5 million fans. To safeguard the matches, Mexico is planning to deploy 10,000 security forces across the country.
Last month, the Canadian government urged its citizens in a regular security advisory to “exercise a high degree of caution” while visiting Mexico.
Despite high rates of violence across Mexico, the Teotihuacán archaeological zone is generally considered safe for visitors. Tourists have died at the site, often after falling or suffering health issues.
Emiliano Rodríguez Mega is a reporter and researcher for The Times based in Mexico City, covering Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.
Read the full story at nyt News.
Japan to Sell More Weapons Abroad, Breaking With Postwar Pacifism
Source: nyt News • Published: 4/21/2026, 7:29:47 AM
The Japanese government moved on Tuesday to allow the sale of more weapons abroad, in the latest shift away from pacifist policies imposed after World War II, as it grapples with rising security threats from China and a rapidly changing global order.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, at a cabinet meeting in Tokyo, reversed longstanding limits on the sale of Japan-made weapons overseas. The move comes days after Japan welcomed more than 30 NATO envoys for a visit meant to show stronger ties, and after Tokyo sealed a $6.5 billion deal to supply warships to Australia.
Ms. Takaichi said in a post on X that the change was necessary in an “increasingly challenging security environment.”
“No single country can now protect its own peace and security alone,” she said.
Ms. Takaichi, an outspoken critic of Beijing who rose to power last year, is seeking to shore up Japan’s defense industry and to build a more diverse network of allies, with increasing uncertainty over the reliability of its main partner, the United States. Japan hopes that easing the export rules can help strengthen deterrence in the region by showing China, North Korea and Russia that democratic countries around the Pacific are building a global arms supply chain.
Japan, which adopted pacifism in the aftermath of World War II, has gradually eased limits on weapons exports over the past decade, allowing some exceptions, such as for rescue purposes, surveillance or under license agreements.The changes approved on Tuesday will unfetter defense contractors, allowing them to sell lethal weapons systems directly to 17 countries. That will permit Japanese companies to provide advanced frigates to the Philippines, for example, or submarines to Indonesia. But Japan will still prohibit the transfer of lethal weapons to countries in active combat, unless top officials determine that national security is at stake.
Ms. Takaichi addressed concerns about Japan abandoning its postwar pacifism, writing that “there is absolutely no change in our commitment to upholding the path and fundamental principles we have followed as a peaceful nation for over 80 years since the war.”
Japan is stepping up at a time when the United States is distracted by the war in Iran. The decision by the Trump administration to move some military assets out of Asia in recent weeks to support the war has fueled concerns about U.S. commitment to the region.
“The idea that the U.S. would champion the global order has turned out to be sort of an illusion, and that’s a very inconvenient reality,” said Michito Tsuruoka, a professor at Keio University in Tokyo. “Now Japan is rushing to find viable alternatives for its own security and defense.”
The shift in policy is aggravating tensions with China, which has accused Ms. Takaichi of reviving World War II-era militarism. China has unleashed a wave of economic reprisals against Japan over the past five months to punish Ms. Takaichi for saying Japan could intervene military if Beijing were to attack Taiwan.
Tensions have risen since last Friday, when Japan sent a warship through the Taiwan Strait. In response, China said on Sunday it was sending naval vessels through a waterway near southern Japan, near Kagoshima Prefecture.
Japan should “act prudently in military and security areas, and stop going further down the wrong path,” Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for the Chinese foreign ministry, said when asked about possible changes to the export rules at a recent news conference.
Faced with the increasingly unpredictable foreign policy of President Trump, Japan has hedged its bets. Ms. Takaichi has welcomed a procession of European officials to Tokyo recently, including the leaders of Britain, France, Italy and Poland. In the coming weeks, she is expected to visit Vietnam and Australia.
Last week, NATO sent its largest delegation to Japan since they established a partnership more than a decade ago.
Anita Nergaard, the permanent representative to NATO for Norway, who helped lead the three-day visit, said Japan’s decision to export more weapons would be “really valuable to us, to Europe and the entire alliance.”
“We are exactly at the point where need to turn those commitments and funding into concrete capabilities,” she said in an interview.
Japan and NATO both face the challenge of dealing with Mr. Trump, who has criticized Japan and NATO countries for a lack of support in the war in Iran.
Dan Neculaescu, Romania’s permanent representative to NATO, who also helped lead the delegation, said concerns about the role of the United States did not dominate the conversation in Tokyo.
“We have had 70 years of the U.S. in NATO,” he said in an interview. “We can see the dynamics on the outside. But inside, the alliance is quite powerful.”
He added that the spread of conflict around the world made it clear that “we have to work with Japan and they have to work with us.”
Japan has gradually shifted its approach to weapons as it has sought a larger global security role. In 2014, Shinzo Abe, then Japan’s prime minister and Ms. Takaichi’s mentor, revised regulations to allow weapons to be exported for international security efforts, such as peacekeeping missions by the United Nations. That ended a strict ban that had been in place for nearly 50 years.
The rules changed again in 2023, when Japan allowed the sale of advanced air defense systems to the United States under a license agreement. The move helped bolster American military stockpiles at a time when Washington was helping Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
Hisako Ueno and Kiuko Notoya contributed reporting.
Javier C. Hernández is the Tokyo bureau chief for The Times, leading coverage of Japan and the region. He has reported from Asia for much of the past decade, previously serving as China correspondent in Beijing.
Read the full story at nyt News.
Another Democrat exits California's crowded gubernatorial race weeks before the June 2 primary election
Source: Fox News • Published: 4/21/2026, 7:24:42 AM
Another Democrat has dropped out of California’s crowded gubernatorial race as the primary election approaches in roughly six weeks.
Former state Controller Betty Yee, of San Francisco, announced her withdrawal Monday after polling showed she had failed to break into the top tier of candidates, according to The Associated Press (AP).
Her exit comes just a week after embattled former U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell also withdrew from the race amid multiple serious sexual misconduct allegations.
"Today I am announcing that my campaign for governor will be suspended," Yee said in a video announcement, Fox 11 Los Angeles reported. "This campaign has always been about something much bigger than any one candidate. It’s about building a California where opportunity is real and owned, where government regains trust by being responsible and accountable, and where no one is left behind."
FILE - California Controller Betty Yee listens during a meeting on June 28, 2016, in Sacramento, Calif. Former Controller Yee announced, Wednesday, March 27, 2024, that she'd be running for governor in 2026 to succeed outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File) (Rich Pedroncelli/AP)
Yee, who had been vying to become California’s first female governor as Gov. Gavin Newsom prepares to leave office, consistently lagged in the polls, never rising above roughly 3% support among likely voters, according to local nonprofit outlet Cal Matters.
She attributed her inability to gain traction in part to fundraising challenges in a race known for its steep costs and heavy advertising demands.
"It was becoming clear that the donors were not going to be there. Even some of my former supporters just felt like they needed to move on," Yee said, according to The AP.
Talk radio host Tavis Smiley, left, moderates the California Governor Candidate Forum in Los Angeles, CA on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
During an emotional announcement, Yee thanked her supporters who stood by her throughout her two-year campaign, which emphasized her experience managing the state budget and highlighted her family’s middle-class immigrant background.
Before serving as state controller, where she audited government agencies and oversaw the allocation of state funds, Yee previously worked as a budget director under former Gov. Gray Davis before being elected to the State Board of Equalization.
Rep. Eric Swalwell spoke during a press conference on committee assignments for the 118th Congress at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 25, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Yee’s exit leaves former Rep. Katie Porter as the primary woman in the race.
As the June 2 primary election approaches in what is expected to be one of the nation’s most closely watched state contests, other remaining key candidates include Democrats Xavier Becerra and Tom Steyer, along with Republican frontrunners Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Bonny Chu is a Digital Production Assistant at Fox News Digital.
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