Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire; Acting ICE Chief to Leave

 

Read Online  |  April 17, 2026  |  E-Paper  | 🎧 Listen

“Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see.”

— Arthur Schopenhauer

Ivan Pentchoukov
National Editor

Good morning, it’s Friday. Here are today’s top stories:

• A 1o-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon has come into effect. The agreement to pause attacks came after conversations between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
• Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, will leave the agency at the end of May. He will move to a role in the private sector, according to the Department of Homeland Security. 
• The United States has significantly expanded the scope of its naval blockade on Iran, signaling that vessels linked to Tehran can now be boarded, searched, and seized on the high seas worldwide. 
• Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson criticized her conservative colleagues on the court for issuing emergency orders that advance Trump administration policies, saying she hoped her speech could serve as “a catalyst for change.”
• 🍵 Health: Diet soda may have lower calories, but is it worth the potential health risks?

The Lebanese capital is seen from a viewpoint after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon set to begin at midnight local time in Beirut on April 16, 2026. (Adri Salido/Getty Images)

10-Day Ceasefire Between Israel and Lebanon Begins

Israel and Lebanon entered into a 10-day ceasefire on April 16.

U.S. President Donald Trump said the brief pause of violence would begin on the evening of April 16 after conversations with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“These two Leaders have agreed that in order to achieve PEACE between their Countries, they will formally begin a 10 Day CEASEFIRE at 5 P.M. EST,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on April 16.

The announcement came after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio led the rare talks between the countries in Washington on April 14—the first time leaders from the neighboring countries met in-person in the U.S. Capitol in 34 years.

Trump ordered Rubio, Vice President JD Vance, and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine to work with Israel on a deal that would achieve “lasting peace.”

“It has been my Honor to solve 9 Wars across the World, and this will be my 10th, so let’s, GET IT DONE!” Trump said in his post.

The president, who was pushing for “breathing room” amid parallel efforts to reach a diplomatic settlement to the Iran war, suggested that he hopes to host the two leaders at the White House in the coming weeks.

The U.S. State Department said in an April 16 statement that both countries recognized “the significant challenges faced by the Lebanese state from non-state armed groups, which undermine Lebanon’s sovereignty and threaten regional stability.” (More)

IRAN WAR

• A second round of peace talks between the United States and Iran could take place this weekend, Trump said. The first round of talks that ran for more than 20 hours failed to yield an agreement. 
• The U.S. military commander who oversees the Middle East said the United States is using the time during the Iran ceasefire to rearm and reorganize.
• Secretary of War Pete Hegseth warned that U.S. military action against Iran could be restarted quickly and that its power plants would be struck if Tehran doesn’t reach a deal with Washington. 

POLITICS

• Trump nominated Dr. Erica Schwartzto lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Schwartz served as deputy surgeon general during Trump’s first term.
• Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced lawmakers both critical and supportive of actions on vaccines taken by himself and agencies under his oversight.
• Analilia Mejia, a Democratic activist and labor organizer, comfortably won a special election to fill New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s former seat in Congress. She defeated Republican Joe Hathaway by a 40-point margin. 
• A day after the Senate rejected a measure to block further military action in Iran, the House narrowly voted downa similar war powers resolution. 
• The House passed a bill that would extend temporary protected status for certain Haitian immigrants, in a move meant to counter the Trump administration’s actions to end TPS for Haitians. The measure has an uncertain future in the Senate. 

LATEST NEWS

• Minnesota prosecutors have charged an ICE agent suspected of pointing his gun at passengers in a car after pulling alongside them on a highway. This is the first prosecution of a federal officer involved in immigration enforcement in Minnesota. 
• Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax killed his wife and then himself in a murder-suicide in northern Virginia, authorities said. 
• A federal judge has once again haltedconstruction of the White House ballroom, this time restricting work to below-ground only. 
• A federal panel approved the initial design for a large triumphal archproposed by Trump near Washington, advancing the 250th anniversary project to its next stage.

MORNING READ

A plan to cull all deer on a California island is sparking debate over what’s a reasonable approach to preserving the island’s unique ecosystem and what’s an overzealous push for ecological purity.

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WORLD

A worker adjusts a European Union flag among Hungarian flags prior to a press conference by Peter Magyar, lead candidate of the Tisza party, the day after the sweeping Tisza victory over rival Fidesz in Hungarian parliamentary elections on April 13, 2026, in Budapest, Hungary. The win paves the way for Magyar to replace current Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who yesterday conceded defeat. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

• Hungary’s parliamentary elections, which ended 16 years of Viktor Orban’s rule, were monitored by two international observation missions that reached different conclusions on the vote.
• A viral video alleging that thousands of people died or disappeared at a detention facility in southern China sparked a wave of online discussion before it was swiftly censored. Several former detainees shared accounts of abuse in the facility that operated for decades.
• An unusually broad anti-corruption probe is sweeping through southwest China’s Guizhou Province—and this time, Beijing appears to be running it directly. According to insiders and official announcements, at least 18 officials under provincial-level management have been placed under investigation as of mid-April.

 

OPINION

• Understanding Gilligan’s Island—by Jeffrey A. Tucker (Read)
• Iran: A Longer View—by Victor Davis Hanson (Read)
• What Are Iran’s Next Possible Moves?—by Carl Schuster (Read)
• The Hard Things Men Still Carry—by Mollie Engelhart (Read)
• Debunking Five Tax Day Myths—by Veronique de Rugy (Read)

A bee pollinates rapeseed blooming in a field near Bewl Water in Lamberhurst, England, on April 16, 2026. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

 📸 Day in Photos: Rockets in Ukraine, Memorials in Japan, and Shakespeare’s Home (Look)

🇺🇲 American Thought Leaders: How Rampant Explicit Material is Poisoning the Minds of America’s Children—Kristen Jenson (Watch)

💛 Inspiration: Are We Born Good or Evil? This question has long been debated among philosophers, theologians, and ethicists. Now, science might finally have some answers. (Watch)

🎵 Music: Mozart’s Adagio In C Minor And Rondo In C (Listen)

🚨 (Sponsored) Waking up to pee? It may not be age—and you don’t have to live with it. Discover the overlooked cause behind nighttime urination* and a simple, practical way adults are using to support bladder control, reduce urgency, and sleep through the night.

HEALTH

(The Epoch Times/Shutterstock)

What Diet Soda Is Doing to Your Brain

“A diet soda, please.”

It feels like the obvious healthier choice—to skip the sugar, but keep the treat. But it’s not that straightforward. Researchers are starting to wonder if we traded one problem for another.

Diet sodas contain little to no calories, relying on artificial sweeteners such as aspartame or sucralose.

“They are a popular choice when someone is craving a sweetened beverage but wants to remain mindful of their caloric intake,” Jaz Robbins, a holistic nutritionist, told The Epoch Times.

However, one recent study found that people who drank more than one diet soda a day were over four times more likely to develop dementia than those who had one or none. Also, each additional diet soda per day was linked to about a 39 percent higher risk.

“We do not know what ingredients may be driving the association,” Hannah Gardener, a research associate professor and study author, told The Epoch Times. “More research is needed to understand whether different types of diet soda play different roles.”

The findings are part of a broader pattern. Beyond individual studies on diet soda, other research has examined artificial sweeteners more broadly and their potential effects on cognitive health over time. One study found that low- or no-calorie sweeteners were associated with faster cognitive decline over eight years, with long-term effects linked in particular to artificial sweeteners and sugar alcohols.

Sweeteners, including saccharin, acesulfame, aspartame, neotame, and sucralose, are synthetic and far more potent than regular sugar, meaning only small amounts are needed to create a sweet taste.

But they may come with unintended effects. Artificial sweeteners can disrupt the gut microbiome and contribute to glucose intolerance. (More)

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Thanks for reading 🙏

Have a wonderful day!

—Ivan Pentchoukov, Madalina Hubert, and Kenzi Li.

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