Read Online  |  April 13, 2026  |  E-Paper  | 🎧 Listen

“Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship.”

— Benjamin Franklin 

Ivan Pentchoukov
National Editor

Good morning. It’s Monday. Here are today’s top stories.

• The U.S. Navy will begin blockading the Strait of Hormuz on Monday after peace talks with Iran ended without a deal. The blockage, President Donald Trump said, is to prevent Iran from charging tolls to pass through the strait. 
• Hungary’s Viktor Orban conceded defeat in the country’s elections after early results showed his opponent Peter Magyar’s party dominating the vote. Orban, who has been in office for 16 years, called the results “painful.”
• Eric Swalwell has ended his campaignfor California governor after facing pressure to pull out over allegations that he sexually assaulted a former staffer—which he’s denied. In his announcement suspending his campaign, Swalwell vowed to continue fighting the allegations. 
• Make kids read again—Education policy experts are calling for legislation requiring students in grades 6 through 12 to read four books a year. This comes amid a retreat from requiring kids to read whole books in English language arts instruction. 
• 🍵 Health: Discover the 7 overlooked warning signs of pancreatic cancer that can lead to early detection. 

Tankers sail in the Persian Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates, near the border with Oman’s Musandam Governorate, amid the U.S.–Israeli conflict with Iran on March 11, 2026. (Reuters)

US to Blockade Strait of Hormuz After US–Iran Talks End Without Deal

The U.S. Navy will begin blockading the Strait of Hormuz after peace talks with Iran ended without a deal.

“Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of blockading any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz,” U.S. President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post on April 12.

Trump criticized Iranian leadership for not allowing ships to pass freely through the crucial waterway, located south of Iran, without fear of hitting an Iranian-planted mine.

“I have also instructed our Navy to seek and interdict every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran,” Trump said.

Iran allegedly charged some ships a toll of $2 million each to pass through the Strait of Hormuz last week. Five ships allegedly paid the fee.

The president said he refuses to let the Iranian regime make a profit from the waterway, which did not happen before the conflict in the Middle East.

“No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas,” Trump said. “We will also begin destroying the mines the Iranians laid in the Straits. Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be blown to hell!”

The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) revealed specifics about the blockade hours after Trump’s post and clarified that it will be only for “all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports.”

The blockade on Iranian ports will start on April 13 at 10 a.m. ET, according to CENTCOM.

It noted that U.S. forces would not impede freedom of navigation for vessels traveling through the Strait of Hormuz “to and from non-Iranian ports.” (More)

IRAN WAR

• The U.S. detained and revoked the green cards of the family of an Iranian regime propagandist, known as “Screaming Mary.” Masoumeh Ebtekar served as the spokeswoman for the Islamic terrorists who took American hostages at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979 and held them for 444 days.
• The UK paused an agreement to give the Chagos Islands back to Mauritius, citing U.S. opposition to the deal. Trump had criticized the deal, saying that the U.S. needs Diego Garcia, Chagos’s largest island that’s home to a UK base, for military purposes. Trump also noted that the island’s airfield may be valuable to the U.S. operation in Iran. 

LATEST NEWS

• Property taxes rose 3 percent on average in 2025, outpacing inflation, according to a new report. 
• A federal appeals court declared a nearly 158-year-old ban on home distilling to be unconstitutional, ruling that the ban was an unnecessary and improper means for Congress to exercise its power to tax.
• IBM agreed to pay $17 million to settlea discrimination lawsuit with the DOJ. The U.S. government accused the company of taking DEI considerations into account when it made employment decisions, violating anti-discrimination requirements. 
• In keeping with tradition, the Artemis II crew named two craters on the moon during their historic flyby. Here’s the story behind the naming of one of the craters: Carroll Crater. 

WORLD

• The UK has put on hold an agreement to give the Chagos Islands back to the country of Mauritius, citing U.S. opposition to the deal.
• Public employees within the system of the ruling Chinese Communist Party are facing unprecedented social controls, as the Chinese regime has started scrutinizing their overseas contacts, Chinese residents have recently told The Epoch Times.
• Russia and Ukraine accused each other of thousands of ceasefire violations during Orthodox Easter, with both sides reporting continued attacks despite a declared holiday truce.

MORNING READ

Located two hours east of St. Louis and two hours west of Indianapolis, Casey is a town of 2,400 residents that holds 12 Guinness World Records for oversized objects. More than 20 other big sculptures fill the blocks around them. Jim Bolin—the man who built them, and the visionary of what’s known as “Big Things, Small Town”—started with the wind chime and a hope to breathe life back into his hometown.

ADVERTISER’S NOTE: 

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OPINION: ‘March Madness’ 2026 Marked the Birth of a New Era—by Mark Hendrickson (Read)

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, celebrates after winning the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., on April 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

 ❓ Explainer: New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani recently hit 100 days in office. Our NYC reporter, Nick Zifkac, recaps which campaign pledges the socialist democrat has taken action on so far—and which he hasn’t. 

⭐ Inspiration: We tend to think ofphilosophy as a field solely focused on thinking. But for the ancient Greeks, thinking and training were inseparable. It was about cultivating a healthy mind in a healthy body.

🎵 Mozart’s Six Preludes And Fugues For Violin, Viola And Cello (Listen)

🇺🇲 (Sponsored) America’s Largest Graphite Deposit. A small company controls what may be the largest graphite deposit in America. The Pentagon has funded feasibility work, and federal interest tied to the project could exceed $2B. See why Washington is watching >

⚠️ (Sponsored) 5 warning signs your skin is aging faster than it should be — A 2025 study found a simple approach may help block common skin damage while supporting elasticity and reducing the look of wrinkles. Discover the signs your skin may be aging faster—and what’s helping many support a more youthful appearance.*

HEALTH

(Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock)

7 Overlooked Warning Signs of Pancreatic Cancer 

The most dangerous thing about pancreatic cancer isn’t how fast it spreads; it’s how quietly it starts. By the time it’s detected, it’s often already advanced, making it one of the deadliest cancers.

Thus, early detection is crucial. Patients diagnosed at the earliest stage of pancreatic cancer can have a five-year survival rate of more than 80 percent. However, survival drops to 44 percent when the tumor has spread but remains confined to the pancreas, and to just 3 percent once the cancer has spread distantly.

Before looking at the signs, it helps to understand the pancreas itself.

The pancreas is a long, flat organlocated deep in the abdomen, behind the stomach and near the small intestine. It helps digest food by producing enzymes and regulates blood sugar by releasing hormones such as insulin.

Because the pancreas supports both digestion and blood sugar control and sits close to many other organs, pancreatic cancer can cause symptoms that seem unrelated but occur at the same time.

Unintentional weight loss, even as little as five to 10 pounds, can be an early warning sign, according to Dr. Shanel Bhagwandin, program director of the National Pancreas Foundation Pancreatic Cancer Center of Excellence at Jupiter Medical Center. This is driven by early metabolic changes triggered by the tumor.

As the disease progresses to advanced stages, cachexia, a severe wasting of fat and muscle that affects about 70 percent to 80 percent of pancreatic cancer patients and can reduce the effectiveness of treatments, can develop. However, in its early stages, patients often attribute the weight loss to stress, diet changes, or increased activity. (More)

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Thanks for reading 🙏

Have a wonderful day!

—Ivan Pentchoukov, Madalina Hubert, and Kenzi Li.

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