Friday morning news: April 24, 2026

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Israel-Lebanon talks » Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend a 10-day ceasefire to pause fighting in Lebanon by another three weeks.

That's the word from President Trump, who said Thursday that negotiators from the two countries have hit it off.

TRUMP: They like each other. I found that out today, and I've sort of heard about that. They actually like each other, Lebanon and Israel. And we had a great meeting with the very high officials of Lebanon and very high officials of Israel...

Thursday's negotiations in Washington represented the second round of high-level talks between the two countries since last week. 

Israel has stressed the need to disarm and disband the Lebanon-based terror group Hezbollah. And Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter told President Trump that is one step closer to happening.

LEITER: Mr. President, under your leadership, Iran has been so degraded that the possibility of degrading Hezbollah and liberating Lebanon from the occupation is real.

Trump said the extension could open the door for a face to face meeting between the President of Lebanon and Israel's Prime Minister at the White House in the coming weeks.

Iran » Also on Thursday, President Trump said he has ordered the U.S. Navy to shoot to kill whenever it spots small Iranian boats dropping mines in the Strait of Hormuz. 

He said in that circumstance, there should be—quote—“ no hesitation.”

That came a day after Iran's Revolutionary Guard fired on three commercial ships in the Strait and seized two of them.

But with regard to peace talks, Trump said that he'd rather negotiate an end to the Iran war than resume the bombing. But he's in no hurry.

TRUMP: I don't wanna rush it. I want to take my time. We have plenty of time and I want to get a great deal. I want to get a deal where our nation and the world is safe from lunatics with nuclear weapons.

Peace talks in Pakistan earlier this month ended without a deal. Trump has since extended the fragile ceasefire to allow more time to keep talking. But he has kept a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports in place, choking Iran's oil exports.

TRUMP: They're not doing well economically, financially. They're not doing any business because of the blockade. They wanna make a deal. We have been speaking to them, but they don't even know who's leading the country. They're in turmoil.

Also yesterday, U.S. forces seized another Iranian oil tanker, this time in the Indian Ocean. It is at least the fourth Iran-linked tanker that the U.S. has diverted since the blockade began.

Marijuana re-classification » The Trump administration has taken another step toward loosening restrictions on medical marijuana. 

WORLD’s Harrison Watters has that story.

HARRISON WATTERS: Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed the final order moving FDA-approved medical marijuana products from Schedule I to Schedule III.

He said with nearly 40 states allowing medical marijuana, the federal government needs a commonsense approach.

Schedule I drugs like LSD and heroin are criminalized for high abuse potential and no accepted medical use. In Schedule III, marijuana would join anabolic steroids and ketamine as treatments with moderate or low abuse risk.

But some researchers call the change concerning. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found higher risks of psychosis and bipolar disorder in teens using marijuana.

Another study found decades of clinical trials show little or no effectiveness in treating mental health disorders.

In June, the Justice Department will hold hearings on whether marijuana in general should be moved to Schedule III.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Harrison Watters.

Wildfires » Hurricane Helene is still causing damage more than a year and a half after it slammed the southeastern United States.

Authorities in Georgia say debris from Helene is fueling wildfires in the state. The Category-4 hurricane scattered fallen trees and limbs scattered across the region, now serving as kindling for the ravenous flames.

Of course, as usual, drought and strong winds are the other factors.

The flames have destroyed more than 50 homes and threaten roughly 1,000 more.

And hundreds have been forced to evacuate their homes near Georgia’s coast.

AUDIO:  I don't know if I still have a house standing or not, and that's what drives me, I think, crazy more than anything...not knowing.

Air quality alerts are in effect in Atlanta and beyond, with smoke drifting as far as Columbia, South Carolina.

Wildfires are also raging in northern Florida.

NTSB: School buses should all have alcohol tests » The National Transportation Safety Board now says that all new school buses should be equipped with alcohol detection systems to ensure drivers are not intoxicated.

That comes out of an investigation of a West Virginia crash that led to the amputation of one boy's leg.

And the NTSB says it is not an isolated incident.

While intoxicated bus drivers are not a common occurrence, the agency says the danger to students and the public is still too great to tolerate.

Warner Bros - Paramount » Some of Hollywood's biggest names could soon be under one roof. 

WORLD’s Kristen Flavin reports:

KRISTEN FLAVIN: Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders voted Thursday to sell the entire company to Paramount in a deal worth $81 billion dollars. That would put HBO Max, Harry Potter, and Game of Thrones under the same ownership as CBS, Top Gun, and Titanic.

Regulators still have to approve the megamerger, but if approved, it would shrink Hollywood's major studios from five to four. Paramount would stand alongside Disney, Universal, and Sony.

Paramount plans to fold HBO Max into its own streaming service.

Critics warn fewer choices could push subscription prices even higher. And regulatory filings hint at layoffs ahead as the company looks to cut costs on overlapping operations.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

And I'm Kent Covington.

Still ahead, a new documentary challenges the idea that science and faith are in conflict. Plus, your listener feedback for the month of April.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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