The Brief

Israel has agreed to begin a 10-day ceasefire in Lebanon, which would pause Israel's conflict with Iran-backed Hezbollah that has escalated since the U.S. and Israel launched a war with Iran. The truce will start Thursday at 5 p.m. Eastern time, President Donald Trump announced.

The devastating conflict in Lebanon has posed a challenge for the shaky ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, as Iranian leaders have insisted the agreement include Lebanon.

Meanwhile, the U.S. continues enforcing a naval blockade on ships entering and exiting Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz, as mediators work to bring about an end to the Iran war that has engulfed the region and caused oil supply disruptions and higher fuel prices around the world.

Here are more updates from the Middle East conflict:

Israel ceasefire in Lebanon | U.S.-Iran talks | Iranian threats

Lebanese displaced woman Mariam Zein sits with her son inside the classroom of a school transformed into a displaced reception center in the area of Dekwaneh, east of Beirut on April 15, 2026.

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Joseph Eid

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Israel agrees to a 10-day ceasefire in the war against Hezbollah in Lebanon

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he has agreed to enter a 10-day ceasefire in the fight against Iran-backed Hezbollah but will not withdraw Israel's troops from southern Lebanon.

His remarks followed President Trump's announcement on social media that Netanyahu and the president of Lebanon agreed to the temporary ceasefire.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said he welcomed Trump's ceasefire announcement.

But Hezbollah said the Lebanese people have "the right to resist" if Israeli forces remained in Lebanon, Reuters reported, raising the question of whether it will abide by the truce.

Hezbollah has both a political wing, with lawmakers in Lebanon's national parliament, and a militant wing that operates largely independently of the Lebanese government and receives funding and direction from Iran.

Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, said the ceasefire would take effect at 5 p.m. — but warned that Israeli forces would take action if threatened.

"We will have to follow very carefully what's happening on the ground. And if we will feel threatened, we will react," Danon told reporters at the State Department in Washington. "We are not going anywhere. We are holding our positions."

"The problem is not with the Lebanese government. The problem is with Hezbollah. And it will be challenging," he said.

Trump also said he is inviting Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to the White House for peace talks.

These developments come two days after Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the U.S. held rare talks in Washington, the first direct high-level engagement between the two countries in decades.

Israel had agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon in 2024, but U.N. peacekeepers recorded more than 10,000 violations of that agreement, mostly by Israeli forces.

The latest chapter of fighting escalated after Israel and the U.S. launched attacks on Iran on Feb. 28. Within a few days, Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel. Israeli forces responded with airstrikes and an invasion of southern Lebanon.

Israeli strikes have killed more than 2,100 people and displaced over 1 million in Lebanon, according to Lebanese authorities.

Hezbollah's attacks have killed at least 12 Israeli soldiers and two civilians, according to Israeli authorities.

Pakistan army chief visits Tehran to revive talks

Pakistan's army chief, Asim Munir, a key mediator in talks between the U.S. and Iran, was in Iran's capital Tehran Thursday to secure a second round of U.S.-Iran negotiations ahead of April 22, the deadline of the tenuous two-week ceasefire.

Pakistan, which holds strong diplomatic relations with both the U.S. and Iran, has emerged as a key mediator in negotiations between the two countries.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stressed the point on Wednesday, saying the Pakistanis "are the only mediator in this negotiation" and the president felt it's important to streamline the process through them.

Vice President Vance, Washington's lead negotiator, said a major sticking point that led to the breakdown in Saturday's talks was Iran's refusal to commit to abandoning its nuclear ambitions.

In this photo released by Telegram channel of the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, right, welcomes Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Gen. Asim Munir upon his arrival in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, April 15, 2026.

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Telegram channel of the the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

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"The simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon," Vance said.

Iran, under its 10-point negotiation plan, demanded an end to Israel's attacks against the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah as part of any permanent agreement. Other demands from the Iranian delegation included the release of $6 billion in frozen assets, guarantees around its nuclear program and the right to charge ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's military threatens to block key shipping routes

Iran's military warned it will retaliate by blocking other important shipping routes if the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz continues.

Major-General Ali Abdol-lahi, the commander of Iran's top military command center, renewed threats on Wednesday to halt all trade in the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the Red Sea in retaliation for U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.

Of particular concern is Bab al Mandeb, a narrow waterway in the Red Sea for vessels sailing between Europe and Asia. Iranian-aligned Houthi militias in Yemen control much of the coastline near the Bab al Mandeb. Houthis disrupted shipping in that passage during the height of the Gaza war.

Another route that could be in jeopardy if Iran retaliates is a pipeline that Saudi Arabia has used just after the Iran war began on Feb. 28 to divert crude oil from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea.

A top aide to Iran's supreme leader said Thursday Iran would sink U.S. ships if Trump tries to "police" the Strait of Hormuz and that he'd welcome a ground invasion as a chance to hold US soldiers hostage.

Mohsen Rezaee, a former commander in chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, told the Iranian Fars news agency he is personally opposed to a ceasefire, and that Iran is prepared for a prolonged conflict with the United States.

Feelings are mixed among the Iranian public about the possibility of a ceasefire. Many say they welcome an end to the war, but critics of the regime say keeping a hardline government in place will lead to a harsher crackdown on dissent and personal freedoms.

In this voice note shared with NPR, a carpenter in the city of Rasht, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he fears for his safety, said he thinks it's a good sign that Iran has sat at the negotiating table at all. But many, he says — are fed up with and how long the process has taken. It makes people's hopelessness even worse, he said.

Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv, Israel, Kat Lonsdorf and Jawad Rizkallah in Beirut, Aya Batrawy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Ahmed Abuhamda in Cairo, Rebecca Rosman in London, Jackie Northam in Maine, Tina Kraja and Alex Leff in Washington contributed to this report.
Copyright 2026 NPR

Southern California was built on radio.

"I can still hear the jingle KFWB News 98,” wrote  Taline in Los Feliz, during a recent conversation on LAist's daily news show, AirTalk, which airs on 89.3 FM. “I grew up hearing that in my dad's minivan on the way to and from school. It has a special place in my heart.”

Back in April, broadcast company Audacy announced KNX News — one of the last-remaining all-news FM stations — was leaving the FM dial where it had simulcast on 97.1 FM since 2021. The station, which is also one of the oldest in L.A., is not budging from 1070 AM where it has been on the air for more than 100 years. The move away from FM officially happened in May to make way for a new sports talk station, which Audacy officials called an area of growth for advertisers in today’s media landscape.

The move is one in a long line of changes for radio and a reminder that before podcasts, playlists and algorithms, many Southern Californians built their days around radio broadcasts.

Radio, a daily ritual

The construction of KNX

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Los Angeles Public Library

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Michael Jackson, a well-known KNX, personality

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Larry Mantle, now in his 41st year hosting AirTalk, remembers being a kid and dreaming of what it might be like to be behind the mic at one of these radio stations.

“ I grew up with KNX," he said. “My dream job as a kid was to be an anchor on KNX or KFWB, the two local all-news radio stations, 'cause there was nothing like hosting AirTalk that even existed at that point.”

Mantle opened up the phone lines on a recent show to hear from his fellow SoCal radio lovers about the shows they miss and the memories they have. Here's what they had to say:

A love for radio, then and now  

A pilot of KMPC's traffic alert helicopter pictured with his daughter and grandson.

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A 1963 picture of Valley State College (now Los Angeles Valley College) preparing to launch KVCM

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Los Angeles Public Library

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“When you'd walk down Hollywood Boulevard where the station was, you could hear it playing as you went down the street,” said  Olivia in Glendale about KLAC 570 with Al Jarvis.

 Larry in Yorba Linda shouted out KBCA Jazz for its 24-hour jazz, saying “When I first moved out here in '68 from Phoenix, which had like an hour a week, it was a real wonder.”

 Mark in Glassell Park emailed that he loves KCRW’s Henry Rollins, writing, “I used to bristle at his unique DJ persona, but over time, I came to love him and his crazy eclectic playlists. I find his knowledge in history and punk rock fascinating. He's a gem and a legend."

"I'd like to give a shout-out to all the DJs working at KXLU, the college station at Loyola Marymount University, said  Jeremy in Culver City in an email. “That station's been on the air for nearly 60 years. I believe it's one of the best examples of what's possible with radio."

"KFWB and KRLA back in the day when they were rock music stations —  Dr. Demento, one of my favorite on-air personalities, also had eclectic music taste," said  Carrie in Desert Edge.

“ Dr. Demento was must listening when I was a kid in junior high school at Le Conte Junior High in Hollywood,” Mantle added. “Every Sunday night on KMET, we would make sure we were listening to Dr. Demento and his funny records.”

The question remains…

An 11-year-old winning a car in a KMPC contest in 1963.

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Listener support is vital to any radio station, and it’s clear KNX has many lifelong fans. AirTalk listeners highlighted their support for household KNX names over the decades like Bill Keene, Melinda Lee, Mike Roy and Jackie Olden.

As KNX makes changes, many are watching closely and thinking about the future of radio.

Listeners like Tommy in La Quinta are left wondering if the radio dial will be the same…

“I’m a hardcore listener, but I don't know about casual listeners [and] if they'll tune to AM,” he said.

After months of hand-wringing, Los Angeles and LA28 have come to a tentative agreement on how Olympics organizers will reimburse the city for its expenses for the 2028 Summer Games.

According to the deal, the private Olympic organizing committee will pay upfront for the estimated cost of services that are not eligible for federal reimbursement, like trash pick-up and traffic control. Under another proposal, the city would also be able to tap an LA28 contingency fund if it isn't fully repaid by the federal government for policing costs at Olympic venues.

The agreement is nearly nine months overdue and still needs approval by Mayor Karen Bass and the City Council.

The 2028 Olympics are intended to be privately financed, and an existing city agreement with LA28 states that the Olympics organizers, not L.A., will pay for extra costs for public services in support of the Games. But L.A. is the financial back-stop for the Olympics, meaning if LA28 goes in the red, taxpayers will pick up the bill.

Beyond that, the city services agreement presents another area where L.A. could incur additional unexpected expenses for hosting the Games. L.A. City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez warned LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover earlier this year that a bad deal could "bankrupt" the city.

Jacie Prieto Lopez, an LA28 spokesperson, and Paul Krekorian, who leads the city's office of major events, said in statements that the freshly inked agreement would help deliver a fiscally responsible Games.

"Mayor Bass’ priority is that the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games be fiscally responsible, protect taxpayers, and benefit Angelenos for decades to come. This agreement helps deliver that commitment," Krekorian said.

But the contract between the two parties doesn't fully resolve one of the biggest areas of financial risk for the city: the enormous cost of security for an event as extensive and high-profile as the summer Olympics and Paralympics.

Organizers are counting on the federal government to pay for public safety at Olympic venues that are considered part of a "national special security event." That includes costs for LAPD staffing. LA28 has not included security costs in its $7.1 billion budget — a fact that City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto criticized earlier this year.

The federal government has so far allocated $1 billion for security costs for the Olympics. Exactly where those federal funds will go has not yet been determined, and there's no guarantee they will cover all of L.A.'s policing costs.

To address this, city officials have also proposed an amendment to a 2021 agreement between the city and LA28. That amendment would establish that if L.A. is not reimbursed by the federal government for all its eligible expenses, it could dip into LA28's contingency fund of $270 million before the private organizing committee could use those funds for any legacy projects.

But that bucket of money will first be used for any costs that Olympics organizers still owe if they run out of revenue — meaning if the Olympics don't turn a profit, the city's access to that money will depend on how much is left for the taking.

Civil rights attorney Connie Rice, who has been tracking the city's negotiations with LA28, told LAist the agreement was a "PR document" not a deal. She pointed out that if the federal government does not pay up for security spending as expected, L.A. could be in trouble.

" It leaves the taxpayers with a GoFundMe strategy," she said.

The city services agreement lays the groundwork for more negotiations between LA28 and the city. Each venue will require its own agreement, to be negotiated by July 1, 2027. Venues in the city of L.A. include Dodger Stadium, the L.A. Convention Center, L.A. Memorial Coliseum and the Venice Beach Boardwalk.

The City Council's ad-hoc committee on the 2028 Games will meet Tuesday afternoon to vote on the agreement.