Read Online  |  April 4, 2026  |  E-Paper  | 🎧 Listen

“Adventurer—he that goes out to meet whatever may come. Well, that is what we all do in the world one way or another.”

— H. Rider Haggard, “Allan Quatermain”

Ivan Pentchoukov
National Editor

Good morning. It’s Saturday.

As the deadline for President Donald Trump’s ultimatum to the Iranian regime nears, the U.S. military has deployed several thousand additional infantry troops to the Middle East, raising speculation of imminent ground combat in the conflict with Iran. Epoch Times journalist Ryan Morgan has tracked the troop buildup for weeks. Ryan’s report is a must-read as we get closer to the deadline on Monday.

Here are today’s top stories:

• Search-and-rescue efforts were underway in southern Iran on Friday after an American fighter jet was shot down over Iranian airspace, with one crew member rescued and another still missing.
• The U.S. economy closed out a quarter marked by whiplash in the labor market, as hiring surged one month and sagged the next. Employers added 178,000 new jobs in March, according to new Bureau of Labor Statistics data released on Friday. Prior to the report, economists had forecast a more modest reading of 60,000.
• The Trump administration issued its 2027 budget request. As the war against Iran continues, President Trump is asking for more defense spending and cuts to domestic spending. Here’s what we know about the proposal.
• The DNC says its approach to voters isn’t working. Some close to the party say the real divide is over what Democrats stand for. 
• 🍵 Health: Can faith heal you? Dr. Jingduan Yang explains.

Trump’s Iran Ultimatum Deadline Nears

President Donald Trump’s ultimatum for Iran to agree to a peace deal is set to expire on April 6. With talks appearing to show no meaningful progress, the risk of a sharp escalation in the war looms large.

Senior Israeli officials told Epoch Magazine Israel on April 3 that talks between Washington and Tehran—being conducted indirectly through Pakistan’s army chief—have so far faltered and have not produced any meaningful breakthrough.

According to those sources, if no agreement is reached before the deadline, Trump may order a significant escalation in the fighting.

Trump has in recent days intensified his warnings to Iran, threatening to expand strikes on Tehran’s critical infrastructure, including bridges and electric power facilities.

“Our Military … hasn’t even started destroying what’s left in Iran. Bridges next, then Electric Power Plants!” Trump wrote in an April 3 post on Truth Social.

The warning followed a U.S. strike on a major bridge near Tehran, identified by a U.S. official as the B1 Bridge connecting the capital to Karaj.

The official said the objective was to disrupt a key military supply route used to sustain Iran’s ballistic missile and drone capabilities.

Trump shared footage of the strike online, writing that more attacks could follow unless Iran agrees to a deal.

“The biggest bridge in Iran comes tumbling down, never to be used again—Much more to follow!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

“It is time for Iran to make a deal before it is too late, and there is nothing left of what still could become a great country!” he added in all-caps.

The escalation in targeting signals a potential shift in the campaign toward degrading Iran’s infrastructure more broadly, a move that could deepen the humanitarian and economic toll of the war. (More)

IRAN WAR

• Two oil tankers and a liquefied natural gas ship appear to have made it throughthe Strait of Hormuz on Friday, according to reports from marine tracking apps.
• President Donald Trump said that the United States could “easily” reopen the Strait of Hormuz, seize oil supplies, and profit from distributing them globally, as disruptions in the critical shipping lane continue to rattle energy markets and strain international alliances.

POLITICS

• President Donald Trump on Friday signed a memorandum directing the Department of Homeland Security to pay its employees all owed compensation and benefits accrued during a nearly seven-week-long partial government shutdown.
• The Trump administration has proposed privatizing some airport security operations currently handled by the Transportation Security Administration.
• Lawmakers in Colorado are poised to scale back an education enrichment program for homeschooled children in ongoing efforts to close a massive state budget deficit.

LATEST NEWS

• The IRS is encouraging taxpayers to include banking details when submitting tax returns this filing season, highlighting that such information helps in getting refunds faster.
• Two landmark court verdicts against social media companies issued last week will open the floodgates to more lawsuits against tech giants, experts told The Epoch Times. Epoch Times journalist Jacob Burg explains the impact in this 3 minute video.

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WORLD

• U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has accused the Chinese communist regime of bullying by detaining or holding up dozens of Panama-flagged ships in China after the Central American country took control of two critical ports on the Panama Canal earlier this year from a subsidiary of a Hong Kong-based company.
• During a recent five-day trip to Beijing, a Chinese tourist posted on social media that he passed through security checks six times and was required to scan his national ID card 15 times. His experience offers a window into a rapidly expanding system of identity control in Beijing—one that integrates big data and facial recognition technology to monitor movement across the city’s public spaces.

 

OPINION

• The Kitten in the Engine Didn’t Survive by Accident—by Mollie Engelhart(Read)
• Living With a Teenager Taught Me What America Forgot—by Jeff Minick(Read)
• When the Leash Comes Off—by Tamuz Itai (Read)
• Political Branding Corrodes the Quality of Democratic Discourse—by William Brooks (Read)

An Israeli man looks at the tail section of a ballistic missile launched from Iran, in the northern Jordan Valley in Shadmot Mehola, Israel, on April 3, 2026. Iran has continued firing waves of drones and missiles at Israel after the United States and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran early on Feb. 28. (Erik Marmor/Getty Images)

📸 Day in Photos: New Strikes in the Iran War, Artemis II Monitoring, Good Friday Processions (Look)

🎤 Interview: The Missouri v. Biden Censorship Case Just Ended in a Landmark Settlement. Here’s What That Means—Mark Chenoweth (Watch)

🍿 Film Review: Is This Thing On? (Read)

🎵 Music: Mozart – Quartet No. 23 (Listen)

👁️ (Sponsored) Still Using Eye Drops? 5 Reasons They’re Not Solving Your Dry Eye Problem — Eye drops may offer temporary relief, but they don’t always address the root cause. Discover 5 overlooked reasons symptoms return—and the simple shift people are making for longer-lasting comfort.*

ARTS & CULTURE

(L–R) Kathy O’Brien (Anna Lee), Allan Quartermain (Cedric Hardwicke), and Umbopa (Paul Robeson), in “King Solomon’s Mines.” (GJW+)

‘King Solomon’s Mines’: Chasing a Legend Across Africa 

Adventure films once carried the smell of dust and campfire smoke. The 1937 film of “King Solomon’s Mines,” the first sound-era adaptation of H. Rider Haggard’s novel of the same name, comes from that tradition. A map of Africa becomes a doorway to buried treasure and lost kings.

Director Robert Stevenson keeps a peppy pace as he tosses explorers, rival tribes, and the promise of a legendary diamond hoard into the same expedition.

History left this version in an awkward position. The American 1950s film became the one people most remember, while this earlier adaptation drifts through film history with little fanfare. 

However, the 1937 production draws attention whenever Paul Robeson appears onscreen. He plays Umbopa, a hunter guide carrying a secret royal past; Robeson gives the role a commanding presence. When the script allows him to sing, that familiar bass-baritone voice rolls across the soundtrack like thunder over the hills.

The production itself carries the fingerprints of its era. Some landscape footage came from Africa, while the principal cast worked on British studio sets. The film’s many wide shots of real terrain sit beside constructed caves and painted cliffs, and the seams show from time to time.

Kathy O’Brien (Anna Lee) travels through South Africa with her restless father, Patrick “Patsy” O’Brien (Arthur Sinclair), a dreamer who never seems to stop chasing the next fortune. Their luck collapses early despite the father’s cheerful faith in Irish shamrocks.

A gemstone he believes valuableproves to be nothing more than crystal. Hoping to start again somewhere else, they persuade veteran hunter Allan Quartermain (Cedric Hardwicke) to carry them toward the coast on his wagon train. (More)

“King Solomon’s Mines” is now available on Gan Jing World. As an exclusive to our subscribers, the film will be available to watch for free until April 5.

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Thanks for reading 🙏

Have a wonderful day!

—Ivan Pentchoukov, Madalina Hubert, and Kenzi Li.

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