Tracy Mumford: From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Tuesday, April 14th. Here's what we're covering.

Tracy Mumford: It feels like we're a long, long way away from Iran and the war there. But here, these farmers are hurting because of that conflict. This harvester behind me exemplifies the challenges that farmers are facing. My colleague Damen Cave is in Vietnam tracing the global fallout from the war in Iran. Vietnam is the world's second largest exporter of rice, a staple for hundreds of millions of people.

Damen Cave: This thing uses about 100 liters of diesel a day. Before the war started, that would cost about $72. Now it's $160. The farmers here are freaking out and trying to figure out how to deal with that much of a cost increase.

Tracy Mumford: With the strait of Hormuz all but closed for the last 6 weeks, oil and gas prices have skyrocketed. And Damen says that's made things not just more expensive, but also slower. Weeks long shipping delays have become common since the huge boats that transport rice and other goods have lowered their speeds to save fuel. Damen went to one wholesale rice distributor where in normal times a huge conveyor belt would have been going 24/7. Now, he said it was stopped and there were bags just piling up that normally would have been shipped out to China, the Philippines, even Trader Joe's and Costco.

Tracy Mumford: Add in the shortages of fertilizer since a lot of the world's supply comes from the Middle East. And Damian says the impact on food prices could be long-term. One rice farmer told him, quote, "If I grow new crops, I'm just pouring money into the ground."

Tracy Mumford: For the moment, the economic fallout caused by disruptions to the strait could get even worse. Yesterday, the US started its own blockade of the waterway to stop Iranian oil tankers that had been getting through. The goal is to put pressure on the regime by choking off the country's oil revenue, but it could drive global oil prices up even more.

Tracy Mumford: Meanwhile, in Washington,

JD Vance: >> the big question from here on out is whether the Iranians will will will have enough flexibility, whether the Iranians will accept the critical things that we need to see in order for things to get done.

Tracy Mumford: >> After talks between the US and Iran collapsed over the weekend, Vice President JD Vance said the big sticking point was Iran's nuclear program. The US has repeatedly insisted that the country must never be able to build a nuclear weapon. But the Times has now learned that what the US actually put forward at the talks was a 20-year plan, demanding that Iran would have to agree to suspend all nuclear activity for the next two decades.

Tracy Mumford: In some ways, it's a repeat of how US Iranian policy has gone in the past, with many instances of US officials trying to buy time, delaying Iran's nuclear ambitions, but not ending them completely. People familiar with the current negotiations told the Times that in response yesterday, Iran said it would agree to a suspension of up to 5 years. President Trump has already rejected that offer, according to a US official. But the fact that the two sides are talking about timelines could be a sign of progress in negotiations.

Tracy Mumford: Yesterday, two members of Congress resigned amid allegations of sexual misconduct. First, Democratic Representative Eric Swalwell of California said he would resign just days after CNN and the San Francisco Chronicle published reports that he sexually assaulted a former staffer, which he denies, and engaged in misconduct with other women. Swallwell had already suspended his campaign for California governor, but a growing number of lawmakers, including many of his Democratic colleagues, said they would support forcing him out of the House, too.

Tracy Mumford: In response, Swallwell issued a statement saying that being expelled from Congress without due process over an allegation is wrong, but quote, "It's also wrong for my constituents to have me distracted from my duties." He didn't offer a timeline for his resignation. And hours later, Republican Representative Tony Gonzalez of Texas said he would also leave the House as he's faced growing outcry over his behavior.

Tracy Mumford: He's been accused of coercing a staff member into a sexual relationship. The woman later killed herself. Text messages documenting his relationship with her recently became public. Originally, the representative denied the relationship, then called it a mistake and said he had nothing to do with her death. Yesterday in a post announcing his resignation, he wrote, quote, "There is a season for everything, and God has a plan for us all."

Tracy Mumford: In both states, it's up to the governors if they want to call for special elections to replace the representatives before November. Swallwell's seat in California is in a heavily Democratic district, making it unlikely to change hands. In Texas, Gonzalez's district was drawn to favor Republicans, but Democrats have been performing surprisingly well in special elections in districts like that over the last year.

Pope Francis: >> Dear Algerian brothers and sisters, peace be with you.

Tracy Mumford: This week, Pope Leo kicked off a 10-day trip to Africa with stops in Algeria, Angola, Cameroon, and Equatorial Guinea. It's a big moment of outreach for the Pope. Though, the start of his trip has become tangled up in a back and forth with President Trump with Trump lashing out at the Pope after the Catholic leader criticized the war in Iran.

Mokco Rich: Still, my colleague Mokco Rich, who is traveling with Pope Leo, says he remains focused on two main goals for the trip.

Mokco Rich: One is that Africa has the largest population of Catholics now. One out of every five Catholics in the world live in Africa, and it's also the fastest growing Catholic population because there's so many young people. So, he definitely wants to reach out to the future of the church by coming to Africa.

Mokco Rich: But the sort of overarching theme of the trip is peace and unity. And I think peace is partly that he wants to talk about it in Africa, but he also is using the trip to have a platform to talk about peace around the world. He's been pretty outspoken since the United States and Israel started attacking Iran to the point where he drew out President Trump on social media.

Mokco Rich: So I think that he is using this opportunity to talk about general principles. He's already in his speeches talked about violations of international law, the need for reducing inequality, respect and dignity and unity. So I think they're both kind of specific themes addressing Africa and more general themes that he wants to elevate.

Tracy Mumford: Tomorrow is tax day and the Times has been looking at how the filing deadline has become a major dilemma for many undocumented immigrants. For decades, the IRS implicitly encouraged undocumented taxpayers to file their returns, and millions did. It was seen by some people as a way of showing they were making an effort to follow the rules and to avoid jeopardizing any potential future pathway to legal residency. But that all changed last year when the IRS decided to share more information with immigration officials in a controversial break with long-standing privacy practices.

Tracy Mumford: Now, many undocumented people fear that filing could get them deported. Across the country, organizations that help immigrants with tax returns say they've seen a noticeable drop off in the number of filings. That could have widespread impacts for immigrants, preventing them from getting tax refunds that they were counting on. And the federal government could also take a hit, potentially losing out on some of the tens of billions of dollars in taxes that undocumented people pay every year. One political scientist told the Times that the new collaboration between tax and immigration officials is quote sending the message to undocumented immigrants and mixed status families that being in the shadows is safer. The IRS did not respond to a request for comment.

Tracy Mumford: And finally, in the last decade, investment firms have been gobbling up many of America's favorite foods, acquiring stakes in Duncan, Popeye's, Jersey Mike's. Now big money is coming for the bagels. The wisdom used to be that really good bagels were not profitable and not scalable. The baking process is too finicky with all the proofing and rolling and rising and boiling and baking. But

Bagel Business Owner: >> you cannot tell me that these bagels aren't the prettiest bagels you've ever seen.

Tracy Mumford: Thanks in part to food influencers and trend obsessed customers. Demand for the perfect bagel has now exploded.

Bagel Business Owner: >> And the inside is so chewy and the outside is so seasoned and crispy,

Tracy Mumford: especially in the South and the Sun Belt where populations are surging and specialty bagel spots can feel novel.

Bagel Business Owner: >> They're making fresh batches every 20 minutes and they have just five flavors.

Tracy Mumford: Investment firms are now pouring tens of millions of dollars into those businesses, hoping to turn them into runaway successes. They're banking on people who want something different than the big chains. Einstein Brothers, Bugarers, Noah's, which are all owned by Panera, their growth has been stagnant. But boutique artisan bagels, game on.

Bagel Business Owner: One Florida business owner who got started making bagels at home during the pandemic said when he opened his 20th store, quote, "I suddenly got emails from every investment fund I'd ever heard of."

Tracy Mumford: Still, some people are skeptical whether investment firms will boost bagels long-term as they chase profits. The author of a book on private equity told the Times, quote, "The play is always to take the thing that made it unique and try to universalize it. It's a move that can pay off and put you on every main street in America, or it can collapse spectacularly."

Tracy Mumford: Those are the headlines. Today on the Daily, a look at what's happened in the tech industry as coders have started trying to get AI to do their jobs for them. You can listen to that in the New York Times app or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow.