Lebanon casts doubt on Trump's claim of upcoming talks with Israel

Summary
15 April 2026

• Lebanon has cast doubt on Donald Trump's claim that Lebanese and Israeli leaders are due to hold talks
• On Wednesday night in the US, President Trump wrote: "Trying to get a little breathing room between Israel and Lebanon. It has been a long time since the two leaders have spoken, like 34 years. It will happen tomorrow. Nice!"
• But on Thursday, an official in Lebanon's presidential office told the BBC they were unaware of upcoming contact with Israel
• In southern Lebanon, Israel issues a new warning to residents as its air strikes continue
• The BBC's Lyse Doucet is reporting from inside Iran - read her first report here, and see her video report at the top of the page

US sending 10,000 more troops to the Middle East despite Iran ceasefire

The US is sending additional troops to the Middle East this month, according to The Washington Post.
By Al Jazeera Staff and AFP
Published On 15 Apr 2026

The United States is sending more than 10,000 additional troops to the Middle East before the end of April as Washington tries to increase pressure on Iran, US officials have told The Washington Post.

Iran Update Special Report, April 15, 2026

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and The Critical Threats Project (CTP) at the American Enterprise Institute are publishing daily updates to provide analysis on the war with Iran. The updates focus on US and Israeli strikes on Iran and the Axis of Resistance’s response to the strikes. The updates cover events from the past 24-hour period.

Key Takeaways: 

1. US naval forces continued to enforce the blockade on Iranian ports. US Central Command (CENTCOM) reported on April 15 that no vessels had breached the blockade on Iranian ports during the first 48 hours of enforcement.
2. The United States has reportedly set two preconditions for another round of negotiations: first, Iran must fully “reopen” the Strait of Hormuz, and second, the Iranian negotiating delegation must have “full authority” to finalize a deal. The second precondition comes amid reports of intra-regime conflict and corroborates ISW-CTP’s assessment that the United States is negotiating with a divided council of hardliners and pragmatists rather than a singular, unified authority.

‘Simple’ Nancy Guthrie Motive Finally Identified: ‘Something Went Very Wrong Inside the House’

Lizzie Lanuza

Tue, April 14, 2026 at 8:31 AM PDT

3 min read

Key takeaways

• Nancy Guthrie's abduction case remains shrouded in mystery, with law enforcement believing she was kidnapped for ransom but unable to provide proof of life, leaving her family in anguish.
• Former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer suggests that the motive behind Nancy Guthrie's abduction was likely simple: a kidnapping for ransom that tragically resulted in her death, with the kidnappers attempting to claim ransom without proof of life.
• Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos maintains that investigators know the motive behind Nancy Guthrie's kidnapping but have chosen not to disclose it publicly, while experts speculate that the abduction could have been an act of retribution against her family.

Six Republicans Break Ranks to Oppose Trump on Immigration

Opinion

Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling

Wed, April 15, 2026 at 12:46 PM PDT

2 min read

Six House Republicans sided with the Democratic Party Wednesday, forcing a vote on a bill that could expand protections for Haitian immigrants.

Republican Representatives María Elvira Salazar (Florida), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pennsylvania), Mike Lawler (New York), Don Bacon (Nebraska), Carlos Giménez (Florida), and Nicole Malliotakis (New York) voted alongside 212 House Democrats and one independent to advance a vote to extend Temporary Protected Status for Haitians for three years.

NASA Selects Voyager for Seventh Private Mission to Space Station

Gerelle Q. Dodson

Apr 15, 2026

RELEASE 26-032

NASA Headquarters

NASA and Voyager Technologies have signed an order for the seventh private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, targeted to launch no earlier than 2028 from Florida.

Trump says he asked China's Xi not to give Iran weapons

By Susan Heavey and Humeyra Pamuk

April 15, 2026 3:37 AM PDT

Updated 8 hours ago

WASHINGTON, April 15 (Reuters) - Donald Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping in a letter not to give Iran ​weapons, and Xi responded that China was not supplying Tehran, the U.S. ‌president told Fox Business Network in an interview that aired on Wednesday.

Donald Trump messed with the wrong pope

Trump fought with Pope Francis before. He’s finding Pope Leo XIV to be a tougher foil.
by Christian Paz

Apr 15, 2026, 10:30 AM PDT

The White House cannot stop fighting with the pope.

On Tuesday night, Vice President JD Vance — who converted to Catholicism in 2019 — accused Pope Leo XIV of not understanding the Church’s stance on war, saying it was “very, very important for the pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology.” Later in the evening, President Donald Trump continued to berate the pope for not supporting his strikes on Iran.

Exclusive: Pentagon plans possible Cuba operation awaiting Trump

Kim Hjelmgaard Rick Jervis Francesca Chambers
USA TODAY
Updated April 15, 2026, 

1:07 p.m. ET
Exclusive
WASHINGTON — Military planning for a possible Pentagon-led operation in Cuba is quietly ramping up, in case President Donald Trump gives an order to intervene there, USA TODAY has learned.

Trump Posts AI Photo With Jesus—Days After He Was Slammed For ‘Blasphemy’

By Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes Staff. 

Mary Roeloffs is a Forbes breaking news reporter covering pop culture.

Topline

President Donald Trump on Wednesday reposted an AI-generated image of himself and Jesus in a close embrace in front of the American flag, calling the image “quite nice” days after another image, in which he himself was depicted as Jesus, was slammed as "blasphemy” by conservative Christians.

The Crypto Bros Want to Get Their Hands on Anthropic’s ‘Super Dangerous’ Model

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
... before it cracks cryptography entirely

BY AJ DELLINGER PUBLISHED APRIL 14, 2026, 5:35 PM ET READING TIME 2 MINUTES

The crypto bros might be able to cut the line to get into any club in Miami, but they’re stuck trying to bribe the bouncer at Club Mythos. Anthropic’s new model, Claude Mythos, is currently only available in a limited capacity due to concerns that it may be a little too capable of exploiting cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Anthropic has given access to only a select few partners, and the cryptocurrency community would really like to get on the list.

Iran War Live Updates: Iran Threatens Retaliation Over U.S. Blockade

 

Iran’s armed forces said they would attempt to expand their influence over sea lanes beyond the Strait of Hormuz if the U.S. military continued to block Iranian shipping.

Updated April 15, 2026, 11:26 a.m. ET
Ali Watkins, Peter Eavis, Aaron Boxerman, and Erika Solomon

Picture: A billboard depicting the Strait of Hormuz with a banner that says “Forever in Iran’s hands” in Tehran on Monday.Credit...Arash Khamooshi for The New York Times

Chinese tanker goes through Strait of Hormuz, defying Trump

by CHARLOTTE HAZARD | The National News Desk 

Tue, April 14, 2026, at 7:42 AM

Updated Tue, April 14, 2026 at 7:45 AM

WASHINGTON (TNND) — A tanker from China passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday in defiance of President Donald Trump’s naval blockade that started on Monday.

Pope Leo issues warning on democracy after Trump criticism

By Joshua McElwee

April 14, 2026, 7:14 AM PDT

Updated 1 hour ago

ANNABA, Algeria, April 14 (Reuters) - Pope Leo warned of the risk of democracies sliding into "majoritarian tyranny" on Tuesday, in a ​letter issued by the Vatican two days after U.S. ‌President Donald Trump attacked the pontiff on social media.

The economic game of chicken between Iran and the US is about to enter a dangerous new phase

Analysis by David Goldman
7 hr ago
Iran has been winning its economic game of chicken with President Donald Trump

Trump’s extraordinary blockade of the Strait of Hormuz this week shows the United States isn’t backing down just yet. But America’s significant new step adds substantial risk – to more than just the economy.

Hezbollah official says the group won’t abide by any agreements from Lebanon-Israel talks in the US

BY ABBY SEWELL
Updated 3:28 AM PDT, April 14, 2026
BEIRUT (AP) — The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah will not abide by any agreements that may result from the direct Lebanon-Israel talks in the United States, negotiations it firmly opposes, a senior Hezbollah official said Monday.

Graphic: Tracking ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz

Twenty percent of the world’s natural gas and oil used to pass through the strait.

April 14, 2026, 8:22 AM PDT

By Jiachuan Wu, Max Burman, and Joe Murphy

Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has been at a near-standstill for weeks amid the Iran war, sending prices of oil and other key goods soaring. President Donald Trump made reopening the strait a condition of the ceasefire with Tehran, but with little change and no deal reached in peace talks, he announced a naval blockade of Iran.

Trump and Putin just lost their ‘poster boy’ in Europe. What now for Hungary?

CNN World > Europe

By Christian Edwards 

Budapest, Hungary — In recent decades, the United States and Russia have rarely backed the same candidate in a foreign election. Hungary’s Viktor Orbán was an exception. But as it turned out, they backed the loser.