RJ Hamster
Iran Rejects Peace Deal
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Read Online | April 12, 2026 | E-Paper | đ§ Listen
âCourage conquers all things: it even gives strength to the body.â
âOvid

Ivan Pentchoukov
National Editor
Good morning. Itâs Saturday. Here are todayâs top stories.
- Iran has rejected the terms of a U.S. peace deal.
- Two U.S. missile destroyers started clearing mines in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday.
- One or two health systems controlled the entire market for inpatient care in nearly half of U.S. metropolitan areas in 2024, marking a sharp intensification of hospital consolidation over the last decade.
- The sender of emailed bomb threats to the venue hosting Shen Yun Performing Arts in Toronto has boasted about having links to the Chinese Communist Party, contents of two newly released emails received by the showâs presenter reveal.
- đ”Health: One drug can lead to another. Doctors call it a prescribing cascadeâand it often begins in predictable moments. Hereâs how to prevent it.

Vice President JD Vance (R) speaks during a news conference after meeting with representatives from Pakistan and Iran, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner (L) and U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff (C) watch, in Islamabad on April 12, 2026. (Jacquelyn Martin/AFP via Getty Images)
U.S. and Iranian delegations closed out peace talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Sunday, without a deal.
Vice President JD Vance, who led the U.S. delegation in the talks, said the Iranian delegation has declined to accept a set of U.S. terms for a lasting peace.
âWe have been at it now for 21 hours, and weâve had a number of substantive discussions with the Iranians. Thatâs the good news,â Vance said. âThe bad news is that we have not reached an agreement, and I think thatâs bad news for Iran much more than itâs bad news for the United States of America.â
The Islamabad talks began on April 11, four days after President Donald Trump agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran. The temporary truce has already proven contentious.
Vance said the stumbling block in the Islamabad talks has been Tehranâs refusal to commit to forego nuclear weapons.
âThe simple question is, do we see a fundamental commitment of will for the Iranians not to develop a nuclear weapon, not just now, not just two years from now, but for the long term. We havenât seen that yet. We hope that we will,â Vance said.
Iranian state media said the U.S. terms had been excessive. State media said Iranâs nuclear rights and control over the Strait of Hormuz were among the points of contention
Before the April 7 ceasefire, Tehran had submitted a set of its 10 terms for a lasting peace. Those terms included the acceptance of some degree of uranium enrichment.
Trump has not agreed to Iranâs 10-point peace proposal, but referred to the terms as a âworkable basisâ to continue negotiations when he accepted the April 7 ceasefire
As he closed out the Islamabad talks, Vance said, âWeâve made very clear what our red lines are, what things weâre willing to accommodate them on, and what things weâre not willing to accommodate them on.â (More)
IRAN WAR
- Two U.S. missile destroyers started clearing mines in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that his country plans to keep fighting the Iranian regime and its proxies.
POLITICS
- As the first MAHA Action-endorsed state-level candidate, Zach Lahn is a regenerative farmer who is one of five Republicans in a crowded Iowa gubernatorial primary.
- Several Democratic politicians have pulled their endorsements of Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and urged him to end his campaign for California governor amid sexual assault allegations.
MORNING READ: Following a landmark $6 million personal injury verdict in March against Meta and Google, the next bellwether case in California state court considering whether tech giants can be liable for harms caused by their platformsâ addictive features will center on a 17-year-old boy from Panama City, Florida.
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OPINION
- Why the Thaw in ChinaâIndia Relations Is So Slowâby Wang He(Read)
- Interpol at Risk: CCP Influence and the Abuse of Red Noticesâby Antonio Graceffo (Read)

Alina FernĂĄndez Revuelta (C), Fidel Castro’s daughter, poses with other crew members of documentary “Revolution’s Daughter.” The film was released in Miami, Fla., on April 10, 2026. (Troy Myers/The Epoch Times)
đ€ Interview: Why 28- and 29-Year-Olds Are Disappearing From Chinaâs Uyghur Concentration CampsâEthan Gutmann (Watch)
đżFilm: Alina FernĂĄndez Revuelta, daughter of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, premiered a documentary on April 10 at the Miami Film Festival, bringing together personal testimony from generations of exiles grappling with displacement, shared trauma, and a search for freedom. (Read)
đ” Music: Junyi Tan: “Handkerchiefs” (Listen)
đ (Sponsored) Tylenol masks pain â it doesn’t fix it. And long-term use risks real organ damage. One natural herb is shown to reduce pain and swelling as well as ibuprofen, with zero harsh side effects.* Seniors are ditching the pill bottle for good.
ARTS & CULTURE

Knighthood blended strength, courage, piety, and courtesy into a code that has influenced generations of Western men.
Chivalry in an Age of Algorithms
In 1960, Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loeweâs âCamelotâ took Broadway by storm. In that play, as Lancelot wends his way to King Arthurâs court, he sings of the attributes and virtues of a perfect knight: strength, courage, prowess in battle, and purity âwith a will and a self-restraint thatâs the envy of every saint.â
He asks, âBut where in the world is there in the world a man so extraordinaire?â then boldly and humorously answers, âCâest moi!â
Broadwayâs Lancelot embodies a code of chivalry conceived hundreds of years ago, a model of virtue, honor, and right conduct that has long served as a staple of Western manhood. Chivalric ideals influenced the social behavior of Americaâs Founders and helped define the Victorian gentleman. Even today, the knight haunts our postmodern sensibilities, a ghost in our algorithmic age who still has the power to summon boys and men to his banner.
To better understand the code of chivalry and its meaning for men, letâs look at one of the greatest knights of the Middle Ages, Englandâs William Marshal (c. 1146-1219), and the forces that shaped him.
Because he was a younger son, William had no hope of inheriting from his father, a minor noble. After a rough-and-tumble childhood amid upheavals in England, he was sent in his early teens to Normandy at the household of a relative for training as a knight. There, he excelled in horsemanship and the arts of individual combat while being schooled in the manners and courtesies of his class.
Knighted around age 20, William spent years fighting in battles and skirmishes, as well as in tournaments. (More)

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Have a wonderful day!
âIvan Pentchoukov, Madalina Hubert, and Kenzi Li.
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