Lebanon-Israel Ceasefire, Hegseth On Blockade, Trump Nominates New CDC Director
April 17, 2026
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5 min readLebanon-Israel Ceasefire, Hegseth On Blockade, Trump Nominates New CDC Director
A ten-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon went into effect at midnight Thursday, and so far it appears to be holding — but the deal is fragile, Hezbollah was not party to the negotiations, and Israel says it is not leaving the southern Lebanon territory it occupies. Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned Iran that the U.S. is "reloading" its military options and compared journalists covering the war to biblical figures persecuting Jesus. And President Trump nominated Dr. Erica Schwartz to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an agency struggling under budget cuts and internal turmoil.
The Lebanon-Israel Ceasefire: Holding, But Precarious
President Trump announced the ceasefire Thursday afternoon on social media after separate phone calls with leaders of both Israel and Lebanon. In the hours before the deal took effect, both sides escalated: Israel carried out a wave of airstrikes in southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah fired several rockets into northern Israel. Since midnight, NPR's Cat Lonsdorf reports from Beirut, things have been "relatively quiet."
But the optimism is cautious. "A ceasefire is always welcome in war," Lonsdorf said. "But people also realize this is temporary."
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What you'll learn
- 1 Lebanon-Israel Ceasefire, Hegseth On Blockade, Trump Nominates New CDC Director
- 2 (02:05) **Lebanon-Israel Ceasefire Takes Effect** - A 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah begins, announced by President Trump after calls with both countries' leaders
- 3 (05:14) **Ceasefire's Impact on US-Iran Negotiations** - The temporary Lebanon-Israel ceasefire could help keep broader US-Iran talks moving as a separate two-week ceasefire is set to expire
- 4 (05:45) **Dual Blockades in the Gulf** - The US naval blockade on Iranian ports remains in place while Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz through threats of mines and drone attacks
- 5 (06:56) **Hegseth's Warning and Religious Language** - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the blockade as "the polite way" and mentioned bombing Iran's civilian infrastructure as an alternative
- 6 (09:57) **Trump Nominates Dr. Erica Schwartz for CDC** - The former Coast Guard chief medical officer has been nominated to lead the struggling agency, which has lacked a confirmed leader since August
- 7 (11:11) **The CDC's Current Crisis** - Schwartz would inherit an agency described as "much quieter" and struggling with budget cuts, vaccine policy changes, and internal distrust
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Guests on this episode
Show Notes
The U.S. naval blockade on Iran is firmly in place as Defense Secretary Hegseth compared reporters covering the war to the enemies of Jesus in the Bible, part of a pattern of religious language from the Pentagon that is raising eyebrows.
And President Trump has nominated Dr. Erica Schwartz to lead the CDC after nearly a year without a confirmed director, as the agency has been struggling under budget cuts and a loss of public trust.
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Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Ruth Sherlock, Andrew Sussman, Kris Husted, Mohamad ElBardicy, and Lindsay Totty.
It was produced by Ziad Buchh and Nia Dumas.
Our director is Christopher Thomas.
We get engineering support from David Greenburg. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange.
And our Executive Producer is Jay Shaylor.
(0:00) Introduction
(01:54) Lebanon-Israel Ceasefire
(05:34) Hegseth On Blockade
(09:46) Trump Nominates New CDC Director
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