Top U.S. & World Headlines — April 13, 2026

AMY GOODMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL NEWS ANCHOR, THE WARREN PIECE REPORT, IS HERE WITH US.

Welcome to Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The Warren Piece Report. I'm Amy Goodman. President Trump's announced a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz starting 10 a.m. today. Iran called it an act of piracy. It comes after negotiations between the U.S. and Iran and Islamabad, Pakistan, collapsed Sunday without a deal. Vice President J.D. Vance declared Iran, quote, "'chose not to accept our terms,' unquote.

Iranian state media blamed, quote, "'excessive demands,' unquote, from Washington for the talks' collapse." Meanwhile, President Trump watched a UFC cage fight in Miami with Secretary of State Marco Rubio during the ceasefire negotiations. This comes as CNN is reporting China is preparing to deliver new air defense systems to Iran within weeks following over a month of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran.

This is President Trump speaking to Fox News Sunday.

We didn't get there on the important issue. They want to have nuclear weapons. They're not going to have nuclear weapons. I've been saying that for 30 years. I would never allow that to happen, before I was in politics. And that country will not have nuclear weapons.

In Lebanon, an Israeli strike killed an infant girl during her father's funeral on Sunday. The baby's sister, 7-year-old Aline Saeed, had attended the funeral wrapped in bloodied bandages from an Israeli strike on her family home Wednesday. The Israeli strike on Sunday also killed other relatives at the funeral. This is Nasser Saeed, the girl's grandfather.

What humanity are they talking about? This is humanity? This isn't humanity. This is a war crime. Where are the human rights? If a child, a child is wounded in Israel, the whole world jumps up.

Are we not people? Are we not humans? We're like them.

Lebanon's health ministry says Israeli attacks have killed over 2,000 people, including 165 children, since March 2nd. More than 1.2 million Lebanese have been displaced. On Sunday, an Israeli military tank rammed into UN peacekeeping vehicle twice in southern Lebanon, blocking a road used to access U.N. positions in the region. An Israeli strike in southern Lebanon also killed a Red Cross paramedic and injured another

emergency worker. At least seven Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes across the central and southern Gaza Strip on Saturday. An Israeli drone fired two missiles near a police post in Beresh refugee camp, hitting a group of civilians. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, Israeli attacks have killed more than 700

Palestinians and injured more than 2,000 since the so-called ceasefire took effect last October. Meanwhile, a second Global Samud flotilla carrying humanitarian aid set sail for Gaza on Sunday from Barcelona. Aiming to break the Israeli blockade, organizers are calling it the largest civilian maritime effort in history. Last October, the Israeli military halted the previous Global Samud flotilla, arresting

Bratatinbri and more than 450 other participants. This is organizer Thiago Avila.

Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu need to fear the people, because of their violations, both war criminals, but also the abstinent class and all the other things that they do, they will be made accountable. And we will not stop.

In the United Kingdom, police arrested over 500 pro-Palestinian activists at London's Trafalgar Square on Saturday. They were holding signs that read, quote, "'I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action,' unquote. Palestine Action was declared a terrorist organization in the U.K. last year, making support for the group punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

Britain's High Court struck down the ban earlier this year on free speech grounds. The government's appealed the ruling. Nearly 3,000 people have been arrested since the ban on Palestine action was first imposed. Hundreds face charges. President Trump slammed Pope Leo on Sunday night, posting on Truth Social he does not, quote, want a pope who criticizes the president of the United States because I'm doing exactly what I

was elected in a landslide to do. Trump claimed credit for Pope Leo's election, writing, "'If I wasn't in the White House, Leo wouldn't be in the Vatican.'" Trump also criticized Pope Leo for meeting with David Axelrod, the former senior adviser to President Obama. Earlier today, President Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself as Jesus Christ.

Here's Pope Leo responding to Trump's attacks. I don't want to get into a debate with him.

I don't think that the message of the gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some

people are doing. And I will continue to speak out loud, as the Pope has said, and I will continue to speak out loud. I don't think that the message of the gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing. And I will continue to speak out loud against war.

Pope Leo is on a four-country trip in Africa. He's just landed in Algeria. The Trump administration's fired immigration judges who dismissed high-profile deportation cases against international students who joined protests in support of Palestinians. Judge Rupal Patel had ruled in January the government had no grounds to deport Ramesa

Ozturk, the Turkish-born tough student targeted by the Trump administration. Ozturk was personally targeted by Secretary of State Marco Rubio after she wrote an op-ed in a student newspaper critical of Tuft University's stances on Palestinian causes. Judge Patel was fired Friday, as were five other judges, including Nina Froese, who in February ended deportation proceedings against Columbia University Palestinian student Mohsen Madawi. Both of the fired judges told The New York Times they'd come under pressure from the

Trump administration to order more deportations. In Hungary, the far-right prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has conceded defeat in Sunday's parliamentary election, bringing 16 years of authoritarian rule to an end. Official results show Peter Magyar and his center-right pro-EU Tisza party won in a landslide, with more than the two-thirds majority needed to reverse Orbán-era changes to Hungary's constitution.

Tens of thousands of people celebrated the results in the streets of Budapest Sunday

night. I think this nation woke up, and we try to, again, to rebuild all the relationship in our families, because this is the most important thing, the love and kindness, and to believe in the future. And this nation, one of the best nations in Europe. And we can show, we can change also other nations to wake up.

Orbán has been prime minister of Hungary since 2010, making him the European Union's longest-serving leader. He was supported by Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Trump administration. Last week, Vice President J.D. Vance traveled to Budapest to campaign for Orbán ahead of Sunday's election. We'll have more on this story later in the broadcast.

Nigeria's government is denying reports that its air force mistakenly bombed a crowded market Saturday after Amnesty International reported over 100 civilians, including children, were killed in attack on the village of Zili in Yobe State. The village is near the border of Borno State, the epicenter of a Boko Haram insurgency that's ravaged the region for over a decade. In a statement, a spokesperson for Nigeria's president called the market a legitimate military

target, adding, quote, "'The narrative that those who are killed are innocent civilians is totally false,' unquote. The Nigerian military regularly bombs vast forest enclaves to battle Boko Haram and Islamic state groups operating throughout the region. In Southern California, a 29-year-old warehouse worker is being held without bail after his arrest in connection with a massive six-alarm fire at a paper products warehouse east of

Los Angeles. Tuesday's fire at a Kimberly-Clark warehouse completely destroyed the 1.2-million-square-foot facility, causing an estimated $600 million in damages. Prosecutors say it was started by Chumel Abdelkarim, who allegedly texted a co-worker afterward comparing himself to Luigi Mangione, the alleged killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. A social media video appears to show Abdul Karim using a lighter to set fire to paper

products while criticizing corporate greed and inadequate pay.

All you had to do was pay us enough to live. All you had to do was pay us enough to f—ing live.

In Ireland, a man climbed onto the roof of a U.S. military aircraft as it was parked at Shannon Airport Saturday, using a hatchet to sabotage its wing and fuselage. Police said they arrested a man in his 40s but didn't identify him, as action caused extensive damage to the $75 million C-130 Hercules military transport. Shannon Airport is a frequent site of protests demanding the Irish government end U.S. military chartered flights and weapons shipments to Israel.

In California, Democratic Congressmember Eric Swalwell has suspended his gubernatorial campaign after a former staffer said he twice raped her when she was heavily intoxicated, leaving her bruised and bleeding. Three other women also alleged sexual misconduct by Swalwell in interviews with CNN. Swalwell denied the claims, but said he would suspend his campaign for governor of California while fighting what he called serious false allegations.

On Saturday, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office said it had launched an investigation into the rape allegations. A growing number of lawmakers, including Democrats, are calling on Swalwell to resign from Congress. Many are also calling on Texas Republican Congressmember Tony Gonzalez to quit, too, after he admitted to an affair with a former staffer who later took her own life, burning herself to death.

Gonzalez is also accused of sending sexually explicit messages to a former campaign aide. And New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani marked his first 100 days in office with a pair of rallies Sunday, first at Terminal 5 in Manhattan and later at the Knockdown Center in Queens. Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders spoke at both events. Mayor Mondani touted his accomplishments to roll out 2,000 daycare seats in low-income neighborhoods and fill 100,000 potholes in his first 100 days.

He also announced New York City will open a city-owned grocery store in East Harlem by the end of his first term. This is Mayor Mumdani.

It is, as I said, on that freezing January afternoon to more than 8.5 million New Yorkers, we will make no apology for what we believe. I was elected as a Democratic Socialist, and I will govern as a Democratic socialist.

And those are some of the headlines. This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman. Make sure you never miss a video. And for more of our audience-supported journalism, go to democracynow.org, where you can download our news app, sign up for our newsletter, subscribe to the Daily Podcast and so much our news app, sign up for our newsletter, subscribe to the Daily Podcast and so much

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