April 6, 2026

U.S., ISRAEL, IRAN WAR | Day 38.

• Reports say both the U.S. and Iran have received a proposal from Egyptian, Pakistani, and Turkish mediators that calls for a 45-day cease-fire and re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz. [more]
• U.S. President Donald Trump over the weekend set and then extended a deadline for Iran to re-open the Strait of Hormuz or face attacks on bridges and other infrastructure, saying in a social media post yesterday that, "Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.” Iran has rejected the new demand to open the Strait, saying it would do so only after it receives payments for war damages. [more]
• U.S. military, special forces, and intelligence operatives successfully rescued an American pilot in Iran early yesterday after an F-15 fighter jet was shot down on Friday. The aircraft's pilot was rescued shortly after the plane was downed while the weapons officer evaded Iranian military and civilian searchers for more than 48 hours before being rescued. [more]
• U.S.-Israeli airstrikes targeted Tehran's Sharif University of Technology early today. Reports note that the University has long been linked to research for Iran's military and its ballistic missile program. [more]
• Israel said today that its forces have struck a petrochemical facility near the Iranian city of Asaluyeh – the location of Iran's key South Pars gas field that was damaged in an Israeli attack in mid-March. [more]
• Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said today that the head of intelligence for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Maj. Gen. Majid Khademi, was killed in a targeted attack today. [more]
• New Middle East war death toll estimates: more than 1,900 people killed in Iran, 1,400 in Lebanon, two dozen in various Gulf Arab countries, 19 in Israel, and 13 U.S. military service members. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,500 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said over the weekend that Russia fired more than 2,800 attack drones, nearly 1,350 glide bombs, and more than 40 missiles of various types at Ukraine over the past week. [more]
• Authorities in Ukraine's Black Sea port city of Odesa say two women and a child were killed overnight when Russian airstrikes struck an apartment building. Eleven others were wounded in the attack. [more]

WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM | The Trump administration filed an emergency appeal Friday seeking to block a federal judge's order that construction of a $400 million ballroom on the White House grounds be halted pending Congressional approval. Administration attorneys wrote in their appeal that the suspension of construction is "threatening grave national security harms to the White House, the President and his family, and the President’s staff." [more]

COLORADO | Union officials say thousands of workers at the Swift Beef Co. plant in Greeley, Colorado – one of the largest meatpacking plants in the United States – have agreed to return to work following a two-week strike after plant owner JBS USA agreed to resume contract negotiations. [more]

U.S. AND CONGO | Under an agreement announced by the Congolese Ministry of Communications yesterday, the Democratic Republic of Congo will receive an unspecified number of migrants deported from the United States under the Trump administration’s third-country deportation program. [more]

GLOBAL HUMANITARIAN AID | International aid groups say the ongoing Middle East war has severely disrupted their ability to deliver food and medical aid to millions of people worldwide due to rising costs, supply chain disruptions, and the closing of vital shipping routes. [more]

NIGERIA | Regional officials say at least 26 people were killed in three separate attacks on villages in northern Nigeria over the weekend. Reports say the identities of the attackers are still unknown, but note that the attacks took place in a region known for frequent clashes between mostly Muslim Fulani herders and largely Christian farming communities. [more]

AFGHANISTAN | Amidst warnings of additional heavy rains, Afghanistan's Disaster Management Authority said Saturday that 77 people had been killed, and more than 3,000 homes had been damaged or destroyed, in widespread flooding and landslides over the previous 10 days. [more]

KOREA | South Korea's National Intelligence Service says in a new report to lawmakers that North ‌Korean leader Kim Jong Un's teenage daughter, believed to be around ‌13 years old and ⁠to be named Kim Ju Ae, is being officially positioned as the successor to the Kim regime, as evidenced by her more frequent recent appearances with Kim at military demonstrations and other venues. [more]

BURKINA FASO | Authorities in the West African nation of Burkina Faso have rejected a recent Human Rights Watch report that claimed the governing military junta of President Ibrahim Traoré has been responsible for most of more than 1,800 violent civilian deaths in the country since Traoré seized power in 2023. [more]

BANGLADESH | Public health officials began an emergency vaccination campaign in Bangladesh yesterday amidst an ongoing and fast-spreading measles outbreak that is believed to involve more than 7,500 cases and at least 100 deaths in the South Asian nation. [more]

HUNGARY | Prime Minister Viktor Orban convened an emergency meeting of advisors today after explosives were found near a pipeline that carries gas into Hungary from Russia. Reports cite opposition leaders as accusing Orban's governing party of staging the incident ahead of next week's national elections in which Orban's party is behind in the polls. [more]

ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY | The Writers Guild of America West and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have reportedly reached an agreement on a new four-year contract that includes improvement in workers' health care plans and contains protections against artificial intelligence. [more]

SPACE | NASA's Artemis II astronauts will begin their swing around the dark side of the moon today, setting a record for the furthest distance from Earth ever reached. [Artemis II mission info] [more]

COLLEGE BASKETBALL | UCLA beat South Carolina, 79-51, yesterday to win the team's first NCAA women’s basketball national championship. The men's championship game between Michigan and UConn is scheduled for tonight. [more]

WEEKEND MOVIES | "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" topped the North American box office over the weekend with an estimated $130.9 million in receipts, followed by "Project Hail Mary" and "The Drama." [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1917, the United States declared war on Germany, entering World War I three years after the conflict began.  [more history]