CNN 5 Things

Hey, from CNN, I'm Ifeoma Dike with the five things you need to know for Monday, April 13th.

President Donald Trump says Iran wants to make a deal, quote, "very badly" after the U.S. imposed a maritime blockade on ships entering and leaving Iranian ports today. And that's after marathon talks with Iran and Pakistan failed to reach a deal to end the war over the weekend. Today, Trump reiterated a major sticking point to White House reporters.

They will never have a nuclear weapon. Iran, you're marking it down, Iran will not have a nuclear weapon and we agreed to a lot of things but they didn't agree to that and I think they will agree to it. I'm almost sure of it. In fact, I am sure of if they don't agree, there's no deal. There'll never be a deal.

'Trump says if Iran doesn't reach a deal with the U.S. by the end of a two-week ceasefire, quote, "it won't be pleasant for them." A US official tells CNN both sides are still communicating. Meanwhile, diplomats from Israel and Lebanon are expected to take part in peace negotiations in Washington tomorrow amid fears that Israeli strikes in Lebanon could threaten the ongoing ceasefire with Iran. The leader of the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah called talks with Israel, quote "futile" and wants Lebanon's government to cancel them.

More news coming up, including backlash over Trump's deleted post on social media.

'President Trump is backing away from a social media post depicting himself as a Jesus-like figure. He deleted the picture on Truth Social after intense backlash and said this to reporters earlier today.

I did first it, and I thought it was me as a doctor and had to do with Red Cross as a Red Cross worker there, which we support, and only the fake news could come up with that one.

Yet when pressed on a separate post where he slammed Pope Leo as, quote, weak on crime and accused him of catering to the radical left, Trump stood his ground.

Hopefully, I said things that are wrong. He was very much against what I'm doing with regard to Iran.

Pope Leo defended his position of seeking peace and rejecting violence amid the Iran war and says he's not afraid of the Trump administration.

Representative Eric Swalwell says he plans to resign from Congress following explosive allegations of sexual misconduct against him. The California Democrat had already suspended his campaign for governor over the weekend. In a statement posted to X, Swalwell said, "I am deeply sorry to my family, staff and constituents for making mistakes in judgment I've made in my past. I will fight the serious false allegation made against me. However, I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make." CNN reported that a former staffer accused him of sexual assault, describing a night of drinking, saying Swalwell had sex with her when she couldn't consent. Three other women who spoke with CNN alleged other sexual misconduct, including that Swalwell sent unsolicited nude photos and graphic messages.

'A 16-year-old boy has been charged with sexually assaulting and killing his 18-year old stepsister on a Carnival cruise ship, according to the Justice Department. He was initially charged as a juvenile in February, but the case was sealed until a judge said the teen would be prosecuted as an adult at the request of prosecutors. Court records show the teenage boy's defense lawyers didn't object. The teen's stepsister, Anna Kepner, had been traveling on a cruise ship with her family last November. Before the ship was scheduled to return to Florida, Her body was found concealed under a bed in her room she shared with two other teens, including the younger stepbrother. The cause of her death was determined to be mechanical asphyxia, which is when an object or physical force stops someone from breathing. Emails and a voicemail for comment about the indictment were not immediately returned by the teens' attorneys.

Coming up, an update on Trump's lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal.

A federal judge has dismissed President Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal. The lawsuit was filed over the journal's reporting on a lewd birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein with Trump's name on it. The judge ruled that Trump failed to plausibly allege the newspaper acted with, quote, actual malice when it reported the story. A spokesperson for the journal publisher Dow Jones said they're pleased with the judge's decision, but the saga isn't over yet. The judge dismissed the lawsuit without prejudice. So Trump's camp now has until April 27th to file an amended complaint addressing the judge's concerns.

That does it for us. We're back tomorrow morning.