Tuesday morning news: April 14, 2026

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Iran latest » The White House says it’s up to Iranian leaders to decide whether the war in Iran will end or resume. Vice President JD Vance said Monday:

VANCE:  We have the cards, we have the military advantage, we now have additional economic pressure that we're applying on them through the blockade that we've imposed on their oil coming outta the Strait of Hormuz. So, uh, we have a lot of cards. We have the leverage, and we're gonna see what the Iranians do with that.

It was Vance who led the U.S. delegation to Pakistan for those direct weekend peace talks with Iranian leaders.

The White House says Iran wasn’t budging on giving up their nuclear ambitions.

VANCE:  They were unable. I think the team that was there wanted was unable to cut a deal and they had to go back to Tehran, either from the Supreme leader or somebody else, and actually get approval to the terms that we had set.

President Trump has expressed optimism that a deal will still come together. But he says the outcome will be “unpleasant” if Iran refuses to take a deal with the United States.

Pakistan has offered to host more talks, but none have been publicly announced. The 2-week ceasefire is set to expire early next week.

Commission on religious liberty » The Trump Administration’s religious liberty task force held its final meeting on Monday, to discuss threats to religious freedoms in America.

WORLD’s Carolina Lumetta reports from the nation’s capital.

CAROLINA LUMETTA: Commission members asked faith leaders and advocates from across the country how the federal government may have violated their religious conscience.

They also previewed recommendations they plan to hand to President Trump to better protect religious liberty.

Commissioner Kelly Shackelford suggested that the administration allow the IRS to fine a church for preaching politics in order to trigger a court challenge to overturn the Johnson Amendment. That amendment bars nonprofits from endorsing or opposing political candidates.

And Commission Chairman and Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick recommended requiring businesses and schools to post information about employees’ religious rights.

PATRICK: We need to push back every time we hear separation of church and state, we need to say there is no separation of church and state. That's a lie. And every time I'm going to make it very clear, because we know that's what the Constitution says.

LUMETTA: The Commission is set to deliver their final report to the president next month. However, Patrick plans to send a letter to Trump asking him to extend the commission for at least another year.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Carolina Lumetta in Washington.

Swalwell exits » Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell is ending his campaign for California governor and resigning from Congress following allegations of sexual misconduct.

Reports from The San Francisco Chronicle, and then CNN detailed the accusations by a former staffer and multiple other women.

Numerous Democrats had been calling on the congressman to step down, including fellow California Congressman Ro Khanna:

KHANNA: He should step aside, I've called for House ethics investigations. I've called for, uh, law enforcement investigations.

The Manhattan District Attorney's office says it is investigating one of the alleged incidents. Swalwell denied the accusations.

Meantime, Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales of Texas says he’ll file paperwork today to retire from Congress amid pressure from fellow Republicans to step aside. That comes after Gonzales admitted to an affair with a staff member who had later died by suicide.

Pacific typhoon » Super Typhoon Sinlaku is barreling toward the Northern Mariana Islands — a U.S. territory packing sustained winds of nearly 170 miles per hour.

The storm was forecast to be the strongest on Earth this year. It’s expected to cross near the islands of Tinian and Saipan as a Category 4 or 5 typhoon.

President Trump approved emergency disaster declarations over the weekend and FEMA has dispatched nearly 100 staff to the region.

At least 100 dead in Nigeria » Families are mourning in Nigeria after a Nigerian Air Force airstrike meant for jihadi rebels slammed into a crowded market, killing more than 100 people.

WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: Human rights groups confirmed the death toll from survivors in Yobe state. That is near the heart of a Boko Haram insurgency that has ravaged the region for more than a decade.

The military says it struck a terrorist stronghold in the area but made no mention of hitting the market. The Yobe state government said only that people at the weekly market were “affected.

The Associated Press says at least 500 civilians have died in similar strikes since 2017. Amnesty International is calling for an independent investigation of the weekend airstrike.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: a new phase in the war with Iran, a naval blockade choking off its economic lifeline. Plus, peace talks between Israel and Lebanon.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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