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  • U.S. to lead ceasefire talks between Lebanon and Israel in D.C. as Lebanon emerges as potential spoiler to Iran deal

    The U.S. is convening hastily arranged diplomatic talks next week in Washington, D.C., in an effort to craft a ceasefire in Lebanon, where Israeli troops have been pounding Iranian-backed Hezbollah targets with airstrikes and also killing Lebanese civilians.

    Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s office is planning the three-way talks, which will be led by U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa along with Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad and Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter, according to two sources familiar with the matter and one Lebanese official. The sources described this as a discussion about how to launch direct talks.

    A State Department official confirmed to CBS News that representatives from the two sides will meet at the department next week.

    Shortly after Israel and the U.S. began the war with Iran, Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel in a show of solidarity with Tehran. Israel then launched a new offensive against Hezbollah, and invaded much of southern Lebanon.

    Lebanon has emerged as one of the thorniest issues complicating the nascent diplomacy with the U.S. and Iran. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi — who is expected to join upcoming talks in Islamabad — accused the U.S. of letting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu kill diplomacy.

    Multiple diplomatic sources told CBS News that President Trump had been told that the ceasefire announced Thursday would apply to the Middle East region, and he agreed that included Lebanon. Mediators believed the ceasefire to include Lebanon, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that it did. Araghchi also said it was included.

    On the day of the ceasefire, a White House official told CBS News that Israel had also agreed with the terms of the deal that Pakistan had helped to broker.

  • After Iran war talks yield no deal, Pakistan pushing for Round 2

    A senior Pakistani government official confirmed to CBS News that Islamabad has intensified diplomatic efforts to bring Tehran and Washington back to the negotiating table over the Iran war.

    Despite the lack of a breakthrough in the historic face-to-face round of talks over the weekend, Pakistani authorities said they remain cautiously optimistic about the prospects for continued engagement between both sides.

    Notably, there appears to be an element of rebranding underway, with officials now increasingly referring to the “Islamabad Talks” as the “Islamabad Process,” a shift that suggests an effort to frame the engagement as an ongoing diplomatic track rather than a one-off meeting.

    The top-level source also said Monday that Pakistan is in active contact with both Washington and Tehran, urging them to resume dialogue at the earliest opportunity. The primary objective is to reach a workable understanding before the current ceasefire — set to expire around April 22 — ends in order to prevent a return to all-out-war. Efforts are now underway to facilitate a second round of talks within this narrow window.

    According to the source, these diplomatic initiatives are being pursued under the direct instructions of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir. Both played a key role in bringing the two sides together, were present at varying times throughout the 21 hours of inconclusive talks, and have been working intensely to move the process forward.

    CBS News has been told Pakistan is now waiting for responses from both the U.S. and Iran.

    On Monday, Qatar’s foreign minister told his Iranian counterpart that Iran and the U.S. should engage positively with mediation efforts, warning that maritime routes must not be used as “bargaining tools.”

    Qatari Foreign Minister and Premier Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani “also emphasised the need to open maritime routes, guarantee freedom of navigation, and refrain from using them as a tool for pressure or bargaining,” according to the foreign ministry’s X account.

    A new global player?
    Pakistan, a nuclear power with a population of 250 million, has been trying to rebrand itself to attract investment and stabilize its crippled economy.

    Successfully mediating such peace talks would be a diplomatic coup and go some way toward helping the nation’s desire to be seen as a global player.

    If the current ceasefire holds, Pakistan may have some wiggle room as it tries to bring the Americans and Iranians back around the table.

  • U.S. military kills 2 men in another alleged drug boat strike in eastern Pacific

    The U.S. military said it killed two people in a strike on an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Monday, bringing the death toll to at least 170 since strikes began last September.

    U.S. Southern Command, which is responsible for Washington’s forces in the region, said in a post on X that “the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.”

    “Two male narco-terrorists were killed during this action. No U.S. military forces were harmed,” the post said.

    CBS News reached out to U.S. Southern Command for evidence of narco-terror operations by the vessel.

    A spokesperson replied that they rely on “a rigorous process of intelligence gathering and analysis, which may include multi-source intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance to confirm illicit activity” prior to any operation.

    “In this instance, the vessel in question was identified through coordinated intelligence efforts as operating along established narco-trafficking routes and was assessed to be engaged in activities consistent with narco-trafficking operations,” the spokesperson said, adding, “For operational security reasons, we cannot discuss specific sources or methods.”

    The latest strike comes two days after U.S. military strikes killed five people in two boats, also in the eastern Pacific. One person survived those strikes, U.S. Southern Command said.

  • U.S. sanctions cartel-linked Mexican casinos, alleged “gatekeeper” of human smuggling routes

    The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday issued sanctions against three individuals and two casinos for their alleged links to Mexico’s Cartel del Noreste, one of several criminal groups designated last year as terrorist organizations by the Trump administration.

    Washington has intensified its crackdown on the Cartel del Noreste – heir to the former Zetas – which has been accused of trafficking weapons, drugs and people, and is characterized by its violent practices and extortion. Its base is Nuevo Laredo, the busiest commercial port on the U.S.-Mexico border.

    Among the entities sanctioned is Casino Centenario, a gambling venue in the border city of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, which the U.S. claims functions as a drug storage hub and a mechanism for laundering money through gambling activities.

    The Treasury also sanctioned Diamante Casino, headquartered in the northern city of Tampico – also in Tamaulipas – which operates an online betting site.

    Sanctions were also leveled against high-profile enablers, including Eduardo Javier Islas Valdez – the alleged “gatekeeper” of the cartel’s human smuggling routes into Texas – and attorney Juan Pablo Penilla Rodríguez, cited for providing illicit support.

    Notably, the list includes activist Jesús Reymundo Ramos, whom the Treasury Department identified as a paid operative responsible for spreading cartel disinformation under the guise of human rights advocacy.

    The U.S. sanctions block assets the targeted people have in the United States and prohibit people from doing business with them in the U.S.

  • Many shoppers prefer self-checkout, One state is considering a crackdown

    Connecticut lawmakers are considering a bill that would impose new limits on how grocery stores use self-checkout systems. Micromanagers in Hartford are seeking to cap the number of machines in each store and force nonunion stores to adopt union polices to purportedly improve customer service and worker protections.

    But the proposed crackdown on automation could lead to rising costs for stores and limited services for shoppers.

    The bill would restrict self-checkout stations to eight per store, require one staffed checkout lane for every two automated stations and mandate one employee for every two machines. Connecticut would be among the first jurisdictions in the country to implement such strict rules governing retail checkout operations, despite self-checkout technology being used by grocery stores for more than 25 years.

    One of the few localities that has experimented with self-checkout regulations, Long Beach, California, offers a useful case study in how the regulations could impact shoppers and stores. In 2025, the city adopted local restrictions on self-checkout, including mandating one employee for every three stations. Advocates argued that the legislation would keep checkers and cashiers safer by preventing retail theft, claiming self-checkout lanes contributed to “hostile and unsafe” conditions for employees. Grocers warned that the new rules would increase labor costs, and shoppers would be hit with higher prices and longer lines.

    When the Long Beach regulations kicked in, some retailers responded by cutting self-checkout options entirely. There’s a lesson to be learned here for Connecticut lawmakers: When operational costs rise, businesses are more likely to limit services than expand them.

    Supporters of the Connecticut legislation argue that reducing reliance on self-checkout will benefit seniors and shoppers who manage complex transactions such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or WIC purchases. Ed Hawthorne, president of the Connecticut AFL-CIO, testified that self-checkout can be “confusing and frustrating” for “seniors, individuals with disabilities, families with large orders, or customers using WIC, SNAP, or coupons.”