NPR News: 04-18-2026 1PM EDT
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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rahm. Iran has reversed its decision and is again restricting ships from passing through the state of Hormuz. Iran had said it would reopen the waterway after the announcement of Israel's ceasefire in Lebanon. Now it appears the strait is closed again. NPR's Quill Lawrence has more.
Yesterday, there was a ceasefire announced between Israel and Lebanon. Iran then announced it would open the strait for commercial traffic for the duration of that ceasefire, though only along this prescribed route close to the Iranian coast. But then the U.S. said it would still maintain its total blockade of Iranian ports while these peace talks continue. And perhaps in response today, Iran's military said that the strait, no, is closed until the U.S. lifts the blockade. So It's been a confusing 24 hours.
NPR's Quill Lawrence reporting, at least three commercial ships came under fire today in the Strait. They were flying under the flags of India and the United Kingdom. A British maritime monitor says the attacks caused damage but no fires or casualties. French President Emmanuel Macron today accused the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah of killing a French UN peacekeeper in Lebanon. NPR's Elena Wise reports.
Florian Montario was killed in what Macron described as an attack on the UN's peace service. Three additional soldiers had been injured as well. Macron said, quote, everything suggests that Hezbollah was behind the attack. The accusation against the group was, comes just a day into the 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. The Israeli military says it has conducted strikes against a threatening target in Lebanon. More than a million people in Lebanon have been forced out of the south of the country, where Israel is trying to create a buffer zone to prevent Hezbollah from firing rockets into northern Israel. Alana Wise, NPR News.
Protesters are gathering in South Texas at this hour at the family detention center run by Immigration and Custom Enforcement. Texas Public Radio's Jerry Clayton reports organizers say conditions at the facility are inhumane.
Hundreds of protesters are expected to arrive in Dilley Saturday at noon. It's estimated there are over 300 men, women and children being detained at the center. Cheryl Gonzalez with Project Unidad, one of the protest organizers, says they are focusing on children who are not getting clean drinking water, proper medical attention and are being abused by the staff.
What we want is to not only release the children, but to shut that center down.
Texas Democratic Congressman Joaquin Castro recently said that since the departure of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, officials at the Dilley Detention Center have been operating under even more secrecy and are still mistreating detainees there. I'm Jerry Clayton in San Antonio.
This is NPR News in Washington. President Trump signed an executive order today directing the Food and Drug Administration to expedite the approval of certain psychedelic drugs to treat mental health. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found some psychedelics have had significant success in treating depression and anxiety. The U.S. has announced new sanctions aimed at those it says are recruiting Colombian forces to fight in the conflict in Sudan. Michael Kolonke has more from Nairobi.
The U.S. Treasury Department has put in place sanctions targeting five companies and individuals involved in recruiting former Colombian military personnel to fight on behalf of the paramilitary group the Rapid Support Forces or RSF. Among those sanctioned are a former colonel in the Colombian army as well as a Colombia-based employment agency. Clashes involving the RSF and the Sudanese armed forces have been going on for three years. The US has called on both warring sides to accept a three-month humanitarian truce. Scores of civilians caught up in the conflict are being killed and uprooted from their homes in what aid groups say is the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
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