Early Edition: April 20, 2026

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A curated guide to major news and developments over the weekend. Here’s today’s news

IRAN WAR – CEASEFIRE 

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday, after the announcement of a ceasefire in Lebanon last week, that passage through the Strait of Hormuz would be “completely open,” but only on a route that runs close to Iran’s coastline and only “for the remaining period of the ceasefire.” A day later, Iran’s military declared that it would retake “strict” control over the strait until Trump ended the blockade. Trump responded that U.S. representatives were on their way to Islamabad for negotiations ahead of the ceasefire deadline and that the United States would attack every power plant and bridge in Iran if it did not accept a deal. Tasnim news agency reported that Iranian negotiators had said no negotiations would take place unless the United States ended the blockade. It remains unclear whether negotiations in Islamabad will go ahead. Anushka Patil reports for the New York Times; Daphne Psaledaki, Trevor Hunnicutt, and Saad Sayeed report for Reuters.  

President Trump yesterday accused Iran of firing on ships passing through the Strait in “a total violation of our ceasefire agreement,” while a spokesperson for the Iranian foreign ministry said it was the U.S. blockade that was a violation of the ceasefire. Trump said on social media that the ships attacked by Iran were from France and Britain, though the two vessels that the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations organizations reported hit on Saturday appeared to be Indian-flagged. U.K.M.T.O said that gunboats belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reportedly fired on one vessel, a tanker, without radio warning. In the other incident, a container ship was “hit by an unknown projectile.” India’s external affairs ministry said it had summoned Iran’s ambassador over the incidents. Anushka Patil reports for the New York Times. 

Later on Sunday, a U.S. Navy destroyer in the Arabian Sea fired at the engine room of the Touska, an Iranian-flagged cargo ship, U.S. Central Command said in a statement. Helicopter-borne Marines then seized the vessel. This was the first time a vessel was reported to have tried to evade the U.S.-imposed blockade. Central Command said that 25 other vessels intercepted by a Navy flotilla operating outside the strait had turned around when hailed by Navy crew members. Iran’s armed forces warned that they would soon retaliate for what they called “armed piracy,” according to Tasnim. Eric Schmitt reports for the New York Times.

Pakistan appeared to be readying for a fresh round of talks between the United States and Iran today as Islamabad went on a security lockdown last night, and officials said they would deploy 10,000 extra security forces in the city. The U.S. advance team has already reached Islamabad, a diplomat told the Washington Post. Tyler Pager, Shirin Hakim, Sanam Mahoozi, Rebecca F. Elliott, and Joe Rennison report for the New York Times; Mariana Alfaro, Taraa Copp, Joyce Sohyun Lee, and Sammy Westfall report. 

U.S.-Iranian negotiations, conducted remotely last week, were focused on a three-page memorandum of understanding to end the war, with one element being that the United States would release $20 billion in frozen Iranian funds in return for Iran giving up its stockpile of enriched uranium, two U.S. officials and two other sources told Axios. Barak Ravid and Marc Caputo report. 

IRAN WAR – LEBANON OPERATIONS

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said on Saturday that Hezbollah was “fully cooperating” with the Lebanese government amid the 10-day ceasefire. Qassem added that Hezbollah would keep its fighters at the ready and listed five conditions for extending a ceasefire with Israel, including permanent cessation of Israeli attacks and Israel’s complete troop withdrawal. “A ceasefire cannot be one-sided; it must be observed by both parties,” Qassem said. “We will not accept a repetition of 15 months of patience in the face of Israeli aggression while waiting for diplomacy that achieved nothing.” Pranav Baskar reports for the New York Times.  

A U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon came under attack with small arms fire on Saturday morning, which killed one French peacekeeper and wounded three others, French President Emmanuel Macron and UNIFIL said. “Everything suggests that responsibility for this attack lies with Hezbollah,” Macron wrote on social media. Hezbollah denied links to the attack, calling for caution in assigning blame and judgment until the Lebanese army completes its investigation. Bassem Mroue and Samuel Petrequin report for AP News.  

Thousands of displaced Lebanese returned to the country’s south on Saturday, as the ceasefire appeared to be largely holding despite sporadic Israeli strikes. The Israeli military said on Saturday that it had carried out strikes over the past 24 hours on what it described as “terrorists” who had approached areas in southern Lebanon where Israeli troops remain deployed, which the Israeli military said violated the truce. Euan Ward, Sarah Chaayto, and Christina Goldbaum report for the New York Times. 

The Israeli military yesterday published a map of its new deployment line inside Lebanon, bringing dozens of Lebanese villages under its control. Stretching east to west, the deployment line on the map runs 5-10km deep from the border into Lebanese territory, where Israel has said that it plans to create a so-called buffer zone. Asked whether people who fled the Israeli strikes would be allowed to return to their homes, the Israeli military ‌declined ⁠to comment. Maayan Lubell reports for Reuters. 

IRAN WAR – OTHER DEVELOPMENTS

Iran’s government announced yesterday that it would restore wider internet access for the country’s university professors, Iranian state media reported. The shutdown, which has lasted more than 50 days, has cut access to the internet for most of the country’s population. Erika Solomon and Sanam Mahoozi report for the New York Times.  

The United Arab Emirates’ minister of state said yesterday the country had been hit by over 2,800 missiles and drones in the first 40 days of the U.S-Israeli war with Iran, adding that more than 90% of the targets were civilian infrastructure. Jacob Wendler reports for POLITICO. 

The UAE has opened talks with the United States about obtaining a financial backstop in case the Iran war plunges the Gulf state into a deeper crisis, U.S. officials said. UAE Central Bank Gov. Khaled Mohamed Balama raised the idea of a currency-swap line with Bessent and Treasury and Federal Reserve officials in meetings in Washington last week. David S. Cloud, Alexander Saeedy, and Nick Timiraos report for the Wall Street Journal.  

The Treasury Department extended a sanctions exemption on the sale of some Russian oil last Friday. The renewed license will be in effect until May 16 and supersede the sanctions waiver on Russia that expired on April 11. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had first said at a White House briefing on Wednesday that the federal government would not renew the sanctions exemption. Ashley Ahn reports for the New York Times. 

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said yesterday that he believes gas prices have peaked but predicted that they may stay above $3 per gallon until next year. Leah Douglas reports for Reuters. 

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR 

Two Hamas officials told the New York Times that the group is ready to hand over thousands of automatic rifles and other weapons belonging to its police force and other internal security services in Gaza. Such a step would be a remarkable concession from Hamas but falls well short of the full disarmament and demilitarization of Gaza, which is at the core of Trump’s peace plan. Asked whether the Palestinian administrative committee would also be able to confiscate weapons belonging to Hamas’s military wing, the two officials did not provide a clear answer. Natan Odenheimer and Adam Rasgon report.

UNICEF said on Friday that it was “outraged” after Israeli fire killed two truck drivers contracted to deliver clean water to families in Gaza. UNICEF ​said it had suspended activities at the site and called on Israeli authorities to investigate, stressing that humanitarian workers, ​civilians and vital water infrastructure must be ​protected under international humanitarian law.  Reuters reports. 

An average of at least 47 women and girls were killed every day in Gaza between October 2023 and December 2025, according to a report by U.N. Women. Olivia Le Poidevin reports for Reuters. 

OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS

Representatives of the Democratic Republic of the Congo government and the Alliance Fleuve Coalition have agreed to refrain from attacking civilians and to facilitate the passage of humanitarian personnel and humanitarian convoys, the U.S. State Department, the DRC, and AFC said in a joint statement on Saturday. Reuters reports.  

Nearly 900 Rohingya refugees were reported missing or dead in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal in 2025, ​making it the deadliest year on record for the route, UNHCR said on Friday. More than one in seven of the estimated 6,500 Rohingya refugees who attempted the sea crossing last year were reported missing or dead, the highest mortality rate worldwide for refugee and ​migrant sea journeys. Olivia Le Poidevin reports for Reuters.  

Rumen Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria party has won Sunday’s Bulgarian election – the eighth general election in five years. With 87% of the vote counted, his party has secured a majority of at least 135 seats in the 240-seat parliament. “The Russians are very, very keen to at least partially compensate for the loss of Orban in Hungary,” said Ilian Vassilev, a former Bulgarian ambassador to Russia. “It is more than a possibility” that the Russians are hoping Bulgaria can help fill the void through Radev. Nick Thorpe reports for BBC News. Catherine Belton reports for the Washington Post.  

TECH DEVELOPMENTS 

Palantir published a 22-point “mini-manifesto” based on company CEO Alex Karp’s book, arguing that Silicon Valley should prioritize national security, economic strength, and Western interests. The post ends by criticizing “the shallow temptation of a vacant and hollow pluralism.” In Palantir’s argument, a blind devotion to pluralism and inclusivity “glosses over the fact that certain cultures and indeed subcultures…have produced wonders. Others have proven middling, and worse, regressive and harmful.” Anthony Ha reports for TechCrunch. 

U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

Pope Leo XIV said on Saturday that it was “not in my interest at all” to debate Trump about the Iran war, but that he would continue preaching the Gospel message of peace. Nicole Winfield reports for AP News. 

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said yesterday that Canada’s close ties with the United States were once a strength, but have become a weakness. In a video message, Carney said that Canada cannot control the disruption coming from its U.S. neighbors and cannot bet its future on the hope that it will suddenly stop. Carney said he plans to give regular addresses to Canadians in the weeks and months ahead to update them ⁠on what ​his government is doing to grow Canada’s economy ​and defend its sovereignty. Amanda Stephenson reports for Reuters.  

U.S. CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC OPERATIONS 

The U.S. military attacked a boat in the Caribbean Sea yesterday, killing three people. The strike raised the death toll to at least 180 in the U.S. campaign against people it accused of smuggling drugs at sea. Eric Schmitt reports for the New York Times.  

U.S. officials held rare talks in Havana last week with Cuban representatives, including a grandson of Raúl Castro, urging political and economic reforms while offering incentives like restoring internet access via Starlink, a State Department official told Axios.   

Brazil, Spain, and Mexico pledged on Saturday to step up coordinated aid to Cuba to alleviate what they called the humanitarian crisis caused by the U.S. blockade of the island. In a ​joint statement, the three countries called for sincere dialogue in line ​with the U.N. ​Charter, adding that the Cuban people ‌must ⁠be free to determine their own future. Reuters reports. 

U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS 

The Department of Homeland Security recently doubled its fleet of jets to carry out deportations, spending $304 million for five planes, according to government documents and interviews. This includes two Gulfstreams, which can only accommodate fewer than 20 passengers and are typically used as private jets. Madeleine Ngo reports for the New York Times.  

Of the roughly 200 bills targeting legal and undocumented immigration in state legislatures this year, fewer than two dozen have made it into law so far, according to a Washington Post analysis. Opposition from businesses and Christian groups, citing economic harm and moral concerns, has been a key factor in blocking or weakening many of the more aggressive proposals, even in Republican-led states. Lauren Kaori Gurley reports.

U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS 

The Senate voted on Friday to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act through April 30. FISA was set to lapse today. Kathleen Hunter reports for Axios. 

Secret memos obtained by the New York Times reveal that the Supreme Court’s modern “shadow docket” began in 2016, when a conservative majority, led by Chief Justice John Roberts, rushed an unprecedented, unexplained order to block Obama’s Clean Power Plan before lower courts ruled. The episode exposed a break from traditional deliberation and helped establish a fast, opaque decision-making process that has since been widely used in major cases. Jodi Kantor and Adam Liptak report for the New York Times.

A senior federal prosecutor in Miami has withdrawn from an investigation into former CIA director John O. Brennan over concerns about whether there was enough evidence to justify prosecution, according to sources. Charlie Savage, Alan Feuer, and Glenn Thrush report for the New York Times. 

Dana Nessel, Michigan’s attorney general, responded to Assistant Attorney General for civil rights Harmeet K. Dhillon on Friday with a letter that said the allegations of election fraud in November 2024 were “baseless” and did not justify the Justice Department’s demand for election records. Sonia A. Rao reports for the New York Times. 

The Justice Department has appointed former Trump campaign lawyer Joseph diGenova to lead the expanded investigation into whether former U.S. officials committed crimes in their inquiries into Trump, a senior law enforcement officer said on Saturday. Charlie Savage and Alan Feuer report for the New York Times.  

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent joined a meeting on Friday between White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, a source told Axios. Regarding the declaration of Anthropic as a “supply chain risk,” a Trump advisor said, “This is a big problem. Everyone’s complaining. There’s all this drama. So this got elevated to Susie to hear Dario out, determine what is bullshit and start to plot a way forward.” The meeting explored potential collaboration on advanced AI tools like Mythos while balancing innovation with safety concerns, though no clear breakthrough was confirmed. Maria Curi, Marc Caputo, and Dave Lawler report. 

The National Security Agency is already using Anthropic’s Mythos model, despite the Pentagon’s insistence that the company is a supply chain risk, two sources said. Maria Curi and Sam Sabin report for Axios.  

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION 

A federal appeals court on Friday allowed construction on President Trump’s ballroom project to proceed through early June, pausing, for now, a lower court’s order that construction stop after next week. Zach Montague reports for the New York Times.