Daily English Article — July 21, 2026

Second lady Usha Vance gave birth to her fourth child, a baby boy named Alec Neel Vance, on Sunday. Vice President JD Vance made the announcement on X, formerly Twitter, stating that both Usha and the newborn are happy and healthy. The couple's three older children, aged 4, 6, and 9, were described as overjoyed to welcome their new little brother. The pregnancy had been publicly announced in January, with the due date set for late July.

Usha Vance, 40, has made a notable historical distinction with this birth. She is the first woman since the 1870s to give birth while her husband serves as vice president of the United States. This milestone has drawn significant public attention, highlighting how rare such an event is in the context of American political history. The birth also comes at a particularly busy period for the Vance family in Washington.

JD Vance had previously indicated while promoting a book earlier this year that he was unlikely to take parental leave following the baby's arrival. The vice president, who is widely considered a potential presidential candidate in 2028, has maintained a busy political schedule throughout his wife's pregnancy. His decision to forgo paternal leave drew some public commentary, though Vance did not elaborate on his reasoning in detail.

At a White House event in Michigan in March, JD Vance humorously recounted how he persuaded Usha to have a fourth child despite her initial hesitation. He recalled telling her just before they entered public life that he wanted another baby, and she reportedly responded that he could be vice president or have a fourth child, but not both. Vance proudly declared that his powers of persuasion had ultimately secured him both outcomes.

In a separate interview with NBC News, Usha Vance confirmed that her husband had indeed convinced her, though she clarified she had never completely ruled out the idea. She explained that after their daughter was born, she had considered their family complete. However, over time she grew increasingly open to the idea of a fourth child and ultimately decided to embrace the opportunity. The family is also reportedly considering leasing a private residence in Middleburg, Virginia, in addition to the official Naval Observatory home.

Android Auto is finally showing early signs of rolling out a live speedometer feature within Google Maps, according to reports from users on Reddit. The feature displays the driver's current speed directly on the in-car dashboard interface. While the rollout appears to be extremely limited at this stage, it marks a significant step forward for a capability that Android Auto users have been waiting years to see implemented in the application.

The delay is particularly puzzling given that Google introduced speedometer support for Apple's CarPlay back in July 2024, and the feature has been available on Android smartphones for a considerable period as well. There is no clear official explanation from Google as to why the Android Auto version has taken significantly longer to develop and deploy. The discrepancy between platforms has frustrated many loyal Android Auto users who felt the feature was long overdue.

The earliest confirmed sightings of the speedometer come from a user in Canada who was running app version 26.29.02.946673643, obtained through the Android Auto beta program. The user also raised a related concern, questioning why the speed limit indicator does not appear when the map application is open but active navigation is not in use. This suggests there may still be functionality limitations even within the beta rollout that have yet to be resolved.

Technology journalists and testers at 9to5Google noted they had not yet observed the speedometer feature appearing on their own devices, and widespread user reports remain scarce. As is common with Android Auto feature releases, the rollout is expected to be gradual, potentially taking considerable time before it becomes universally available to all users. The publication encouraged readers to report in the comments section if they observed the feature activating on their own systems.

It is worth noting that Waze, another navigation application owned by Google, has supported a speedometer on Android Auto for several years already. This makes the prolonged absence of the feature in Google Maps on Android Auto even more conspicuous. Despite the slow progress, the tech community has welcomed these early signs of deployment as encouraging confirmation that the feature is finally being pushed out to users after a long wait.