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Episode Date: April 17, 2026

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Live from NPR news, I'm Jail Snyder. Celebratory gunfire rang out in Beirut early Friday as a 10-day ceasefire agreed on by Israel and Lebanon went into effect. The truth announced by President Trump adds to optimism that the Iran war could be nearing an end. NPR's Katlonsdorf is in Beirut. Iran has said that it wouldn't engage in further talks with the U.S. unless a ceasefire with Israel and Lebanon is in place. The current two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Israel and Iran is set to expire in six days. So with this temporary ceasefire in place, that potentially helps keep talks between the U.S. and Iran moving. But both these ceasefires, like so many ceasefires, are shaky. So it's a bit of a house of cards. In Las Vegas for an event Thursday, Trump said the Iran war should be ending pretty soon.

However, the Lebanese army said early Friday that Israel committed ceasefire violations, including intermittent shelling. of several southern Lebanese villages. The House is taking a late-night vote on renewing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The controversial surveillance tool used by U.S. spy agencies to collect overseas communications without a warrant, but criticized as a violation of Americans' right to privacy. It expires next week. Hundreds of Jews and Arabs rallied in Tel Aviv Thursday evening against settler violence in the West Bank. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports that settlements are on the rise and have the support of Israel's

right-wing government. Hundreds of people came out in central Tel Aviv to protest the rising violence and impunity of Israeli settlers. 68-year-old protester Annette Gros held a large sign written in Hebrew. Stop the terror, the Jewish terror. She says things are getting worse and it's not just the settlers. It is a thing of the government that tells the settlers, that gives them money, that gives them cars that gives them guns. According to Israeli peace organizations, more settlements were approved

in the last year than in the two previous decades. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government has been accelerating the process of taking Palestinian land in the West Bank. Eleanor Beardsley and Pierre News, Tel Aviv. Lower income countries put a record amount of money toward vaccines last year. More than $300 million. These countries teaming up with Gavi, the international a partnership that funds immunizations for many of the world's poorest children. And beers Gabriella Emmanuel has more. Against the backdrop of international aid cuts, countries stepped up to minimize interruptions to their vaccine programs. It's part of a broader trend, as many lower-income countries

have increased their vaccine spending in recent years. Still, the head of Gavi is praising this milestone and calling it a new era. The U.S. used to be one of Gavi's top donors, but this past year, the Trump administration caught that funding. Gabriela Emmanuel and PR News. This is NPR. The acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement is stepping down. Federal officials say Todd Lyons will leave his position at the end of May. Under Lyons' direction, ICE ramped up arrest to meet the demand of the Trump administration. It's not clear why Lyons is resigning, nor who will be replacing him at the head of ICE, which is at the center of the Homeland Security, Department funding dispute in Congress. The House passed a measure to extend temporary protected status

or TPS for Haitian migrants living in the U.S. Several Republicans broke with the party to help pass the bill, which now heads to the Senate, and Pearson-Lonna Wise reports. The vote was split 224 to 204, with 10 Republicans joining the Democrats and approving the resolution. The bill had been put forward by Massachusetts Democrat Ayanna Presley. She used a congressional procedure called a discharge petition to force the vote to the floor where it passed. Now the measure heads to the Senate, where Republicans hold a six-seat majority. Even if it does pass, however, Trump has indicated he would veto the bill. Haitian refugees have held TPS since 2010, when an earthquake devastated the country and, according to the UN, love some 220,000 people dead and 2.3 million

displaced. The outcome of changes to their TPS would affect some 330,000 Haitians living in U.S. Alana Wise, NPR News. Democrats have added another victory to the string of party wins and special elections heading into the November midterms in New Jersey and Alia Mejia. Defeated Republican Joe Hathaway to fill the congressional seat previously held by Democratic Governor Mikey Sherrill.