Israel-Lebanon ceasefire holds under strain; Trump clashes with Pope over Iran

A 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon is showing early cracks, raising questions about whether it holds.

Plus, the clash between President Donald Trump and the pope turns more direct. The two are now publicly at odds over Iran, faith and nuclear weapons.

And tariff refunds will soon be coming, but not for everyone. Businesses can start claiming money back, but the process is far from automatic.

These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Friday, April 17, 2026.

Lebanon reports Israeli attacks after midnight ceasefire takes effect

A new ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon is already under strain, with Lebanese officials accusing Israel of violating the deal just hours after it began.

There was smoke rising from at least one village in southern Lebanon early Friday. The Lebanese army said Israeli forces carried out what it calls “a number of acts of aggression” after the truce took effect at midnight.

Israel, meanwhile, said it will continue to hold positions inside Lebanon during the ceasefire. Hezbollah argued that it gives Lebanon the right to respond, but said it will hold fire as long as Israel does.

Despite the tension, thousands of displaced families are already returning home as cleanup begins.

The ceasefire could shape broader talks tied to the war with Iran.

Lebanon has been a sticking point. Israeli strikes continued there even after a separate U.S.-Israel ceasefire with Tehran. The U.S. and Israel said Lebanon was not included, but Iran said it was.

President Donald Trump said Thursday the war could be nearing an end.

“I don’t want to be a wise guy. I don’t want to speak too soon,” Trump said. “But we do very well. You noticed that we’re doing very well, and I will say the war in Iran is going along swimmingly. We can do whatever we want. And it should be — it should be ending pretty soon. It was perfect. I mean, it’s perfect.”

On Capitol Hill, an effort to force an end to the war fell short by a single vote. The House rejected the resolution 213 to 214.

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie voted with Democrats in support. Maine Democrat Rep. Jared Golden broke ranks to oppose it.

Three Republicans did not vote.

Pope warns of ‘tyrants’ in power as tensions with Trump intensify

The feud between the Vatican and the White House is now out in the open, with Pope Leo XIV taking direct aim at global leaders, and Trump firing back.

The pope, speaking during a peace mass in Cameroon, delivered some of his strongest language yet on war and power. He warned against leaders who use religion to justify violence, and said the world is being “ravaged by a handful of tyrants.”

“Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth.”

The remarks did not name Trump, but landed in the middle of a growing clash over the war in Iran.

He went on to say, “The world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants. Yet it is held together by a multitude of supportive brothers and sisters.”

Asked about the pope on Thursday, Trump pushed back and insisted there is no clash.

“I’m not fighting with him. The pope made a statement,” Trump said. “He says Iran can have a nuclear weapon. I say Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. And if the pope looked at the 42,000 people that were killed over the last 2 or 3 months as a protester with no weapons, no nothing, I mean, you take a look at that. So, I can disagree with the pope. I have a right to disagree. I have a right to disagree with the pope.”

In reality, the pope has never said he supports Iran having nuclear weapons. He actually has a history of speaking out against nuclear weapons.

And the tension is now hitting closer to home.

The Trump administration is ending an $11 million federal contract with Catholic charities in Miami. It’s a program that houses and cares for unaccompanied migrant children.

Church leaders say the program will shut down within months, ending a decades-long partnership with the federal government. 

Acting ICE director Todd Lyons stepping down, to leave agency at end of May

Acting ICE director Todd Lyons, who has led the agency through Trump’s ramped-up immigration crackdown, is stepping down.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced Thursday that Lyons will leave the role at the end of May.

Mullin praised his leadership, saying, “Thanks to his leadership, American communities are safer.”

No reason was given for the departure, though Lyons is expected to move into the private sector.

Lyons was appointed acting director in March 2025 after Caleb Vitello was reassigned.

He has led the agency during a major expansion of immigration enforcement under Trump.

It’s not yet clear who will replace him.

House passes stopgap surveillance bill

Quietly, in the middle of the night, the U.S. House passed a short-term extension of a controversial surveillance program used by American intelligence agencies.

In the early hours of this morning, lawmakers approved a stopgap measure to prevent the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) from expiring Monday.

The bill buys time until April 30, as Congress remains divided over Section 702. It’s the provision that allows the government to collect communications of foreigners overseas, including messages involving Americans, without a warrant.

Trump has pushed for a clean extension with no changes. But that effort stalled, with about 20 Republicans joining most Democrats to block it earlier.

The Senate still needs to approve the short-term extension before the deadline.

Tariff refund system set to launch

Businesses that paid tariffs under Trump could soon start getting their money back, but they will have to go get it. The check’s not in the mail.

The federal government will launch a new online system next week to process tariff refunds following the Supreme Court’s ruling that those duties were illegal.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) portal opens Monday, allowing companies to file claims electronically.

The ruling could put the government on the hook for more than $100 billion in refunds tied to tariffs imposed under emergency powers. CBP confirmed in a court filing that the system will begin accepting applications on April 20.

However, the refunds aren’t automatic. Businesses must apply, document their payments and wait for approval.

Only certain tariffs qualify, including those that are still open or have been finalized within the past 80 days. Only importers of record — or brokers who paid on their behalf — can file.

Consumers who paid higher prices are not eligible.

Approved claims could be paid within 60 to 90 days.

Artemis II crew reveals experience, details views of Earth from deep space

They’ve been around the moon and back, and now the Artemis II crew is sharing what that experience was really like.

Millions watched as the Orion capsule splashed down in the Pacific last Friday, with Navy crews pulling Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen to safety.

“Like, this was an unbelievable adventure, and it was made possible by this crew and the support of each other throughout the whole thing,” Wiseman said. “And I’ve said it so many times, we are just, we are bonded forever. I mean, that’s the closest four humans can be and not be a family.”

The crew traveled farther than any astronauts in American history, and they say the experience forged a bond that will last a lifetime.

“We were all kind of struck by these things that make us feel small, and that the sense I had was the sense of fragility and feeling small and infinitesimally small. But yet this very powerful feeling as a human being, like as a group,” Hansen, a Canadian Space Agency astronaut, said.

Christina Koch said two moments stood out to her. First, seeing Earth from deep space, small and distant as they circled the moon.

And second, the return home. She said the reentry was so intense when the Orion capsule became a blazing fireball, almost impossible to look at as it tore back through the atmosphere.

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Trump administration cancels $11M contract for Catholic Charities in Miami 

The White House has moved to cancel a major contract with Catholic Charities, a nonprofit that’s become a political pawn in the ongoing dust-up between President Donald Trump and the Pope. 

The Archdiocese of Miami said on Tuesday that the White House has canceled an $11 million contract with the nonprofit that supports migrant children who enter the U.S. on their own, the Miami Herald reported.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement, overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services, has for the last several years paid Catholic Charities in the southern Florida city to house these children. The Herald described the operation as “the equivalent of a federally funded foster care system” that’s separate from state agencies that watch over abused and neglected children. 

The outlet reported that the federal government first discussed the funding decision with Catholic Charities starting in late March. Archbishop Thomas Wenski said the White House has effectively ended what was a decades-long relationship with the church. 

“Our track record in serving this vulnerable population is unmatched,” Wenski said in a written statement given to the Herald. “Yet, the Archdiocese of Miami’s Catholic Charities’ services for unaccompanied minors has been stripped of funding and will be forced to shut down within three months.”

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