Read Online  |  April 15, 2026  |  E-Paper  | 🎧 Listen

“Elegance does not consist in putting on a new dress.”

— Coco Chanel

Ivan Pentchoukov
National Editor

Good morning. It’s Wednesday. Here are today’s top stories:

• Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the United States for a set of direct talks on Tuesday amid ongoing Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon. The parties reported constructive discussions, but no immediate deal.
• President Donald Trump said a second round of U.S.-Iran peace talks will likely take place in Pakistan over the next two days.
• A top government doctor who declined to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in 2021 was worried he would lose his job and medical license in retaliation, according to newly obtained emails.
• In an effort to solve the decades-long shortage of air traffic controllers across U.S. airspace, the FAA will kick off a new hiring campaign targeted at video gamers interested in new career opportunities.
• 🍵 Health: Immersing your face in cold water or holding your breath has fascinating health benefits for your mind and body. 

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (C) delivers remarks alongside Counselor of U.S. State Department Michael Needham (L) and U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa (R) during working-level peace talks at the U.S. State Department on April 14, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Israel–Lebanon Talks Conclude With Signs of Progress But No Ceasefire Deal

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the United States for a set of direct talks on Tuesday, amid ongoing Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon. The parties reported constructive discussions, but no immediate deal out of the talks in Washington.

“All sides agreed to launch direct negotiations at a mutually agreed time and venue,” the U.S. State Department said in a statement after the talks.

Rubio said the meetings were not just about reaching a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, but about marginalizing Hezbollah—a designated terrorist organization that’s active within Lebanon. Hezbollah holds influence within Lebanon’s Shia Muslim population and keeps ties with Iran’s Shia Islamic leadership.

“This is about bringing a permanent end to 20 or 30 years of Hezbollah’s influence in this part of the world,” Rubio said in comments ahead of the Tuesday talks.

Israeli forces have maintained a presence on the ground in southern Lebanon since October 2024, after marching across the Israel-Lebanon border to uproot Hezbollah. Israel and Lebanon reached a ceasefire in November 2024, but Israeli forces have continued military operations in Lebanon.

After U.S. and Israel forces commenced large-scale military operations in Iran on Feb. 28, Hezbollah intensified its drone and rocket attacks on Israel. In turn, Israeli forces ramped up air strikes and ground combat operations within Lebanon. (More)

POLL

Caption

NATO at Odds—What Should the US Do?

The war in Iran and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz have exposed deep divisions within NATO. Allies have declined to participate and limited support for U.S. operations, drawing sharp criticism from Washington. When allies don’t align, what should the United States do? We invite you to share your views.

The results will be featured in an article published this Saturday. (Take the Survey)

POLITICS

• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed that an executive order mandating banks to collect citizenship information on customers is underway.
• DHS Shutdown: Senate Republicans plan a vote as early as next week on a budget resolution that would pave the way for a filibuster-bypassing bill to fund ICE and Border Patrol. A separate bill to fund all of DHS, except immigration enforcement, is pending in the House.
• The U.S. House passed a critical aviation safety bill aimed at preventing future midair collisions such as the one that occurred over Washington’s Potomac River in January 2025.
• Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) have each formally tendered their resignations from Congress, effective immediately, as both men face accusations of sexual and marital misconduct.
• As blue states raise taxes to fund an expanding array of social programs, companies, jobs, and families are moving out.
• An appeals court has ordered District Judge James Boasberg to stop contempt proceedings against the Trump administration over deportation flights.

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WORLD

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban prepares to cast his ballot at a polling station in Budapest on April 12, 2026. (Petr David Josek/AP Photo)

• Hungary’s elections saw the country turn the page after 16 years of Viktor Orbán’s rule. The prime minister lost to a similarly conservative challenger amid concerns about authoritarianism and economic stagnation. Our reporter in Budapest has the post-mortem.
• The International Monetary Fund cut its growth outlook and warned the global economy could edge toward recession if the Iran war intensifies, as energy disruptions impact inflation, financial markets, and trade.
• Chevron said that it had reached agreements with the Venezuelan government to expand its operations in the world’s largest extra-heavy crude oil field.
• The chairman of the world’s most-indebted property developer, Evergrande, pleaded guilty to a litany of charges, including illegal fundraising and bribery, after a two-day trial at a Chinese court, according to state media.
• China’s export growth slowed to its lowest level in five months as market watchers monitor the global economic fallout from the seven-week-old war in Iran.
• Chinese communist regime authorities are pursuing a 3-year prison sentencefor a 94-year-old man for exercising his freedom of expression. He was found hanging up banners shedding light on the regime’s persecution of the faith group Falun Gong.

 

OPINION

• Euthanasia and Organ Harvesting Reveal Western Medicine’s Utilitarian Drift—by Wesley J. Smith (Read)
• Tehran’s Miscalculation—By Conrad Black (Read)
• CCP ‘Peacemaker’ Narrative Collapses as China Prepares to Arm Iran—by Antonio Graceffo (Read)
• The Line We Refuse to Draw on Glyphosate—by Mollie Engelhart(Read)
• How to Do Laundry in a Bathtub—by Jeffrey A. Tucker (Read)

Wild bluebells, which usually bloom around mid-April turning the forest completely blue, in the Hallerbos, also known as the Blue Forest, near the Belgian city of Halle on April 14, 2026. (Nicolas Tucat / AFP via Getty Images)

📸 Day in Photos: Holocaust Victims Commemoration, Khmer New Year, and Blue Forest (Look)

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💛 Inspiration: What begins as a friendly showdown between two restaurants quickly escalates into a heated competition in this lively story dance. (Watch)

🎵 Music: Mozart’s Quintet for Piano, Oboe, Clarinet, Horn And Bassoon (Listen)

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HEALTH

(Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock)

Diving Reflex: A Powerful Way to Enhance Vagal Tone–Here’s How to Activate It 

The diving reflex is an automatic physiological response triggered when you immerse your face in cold water or hold your breath. It can have fascinating and practical effects—slowing the heart, conserving oxygen, and even calming the body.

This reflex isn’t just a curiosity; it has real-world applications, from helping people dive deeper underwater to assisting doctors in managing certain heart rhythm problems.

The diving reflex is an automatic physiological reaction that helps the body conserve oxygen during submersion in water. When a person holds their breath underwater, oxygen is gradually depleted from the blood without being replenished—a state known as hypoxia. Because the brain and heart are especially sensitive to low oxygen levels, the body prioritizes delivering oxygen to these vital organs, while extremities such as the arms and legs can better tolerate reduced oxygen supply.

When the face is submerged in cold water; specialized sensors in the skin stimulate the trigeminal nerve, which is the fifth of 12 pairs of cranial nerves responsible for perception across the face. This nerve sends signals to the brainstem, which enhances the vagal tone and activates the vagus nerve, the 10th cranial nerve, and a key component of the autonomic nervous system responsible for regulating involuntary functions such as heart rate and breathing.

The diving reflex is like a built-in survival mode that protects your vital organs and helps your body stretch every last breath, like a natural underwater superpower. Its result is a coordinated, three-part physiological response:

Heart Rate Slows (Bradycardia): The vagus nerve acts as the body’s natural braking system, reducing how hard the heart has to work and reducing its oxygen demand to conserve available oxygen. As your heart rate slows, your body often begins to feel more relaxed. (More)

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Thanks for reading 🙏

Have a wonderful day!

—Ivan Pentchoukov, Madalina Hubert, and Kenzi Li.

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*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this advertisement are exclusively those of the advertiser and do not represent our views or positions. This material is promotional in nature and should not be mistaken for news, research or editorial content.

**This is a paid advertisement for Miso Robotics’ Regulation A offering. Please read the offering circular at invest.misorobotics.com