Trump's Primetime Speech, Voter Lists Required & Historic Moon Mission - Wednesday, April 1, 2026

Today is Wednesday, April 1st, and we'll tell you about the new timeline for the U.S.

military to leave Iran and President Trump's latest effort to get allies involved.

Also, how a new presidential order could change elections in the U.S.

and a key pillar of Trump's immigration agenda being scrutinized by the Supreme Court,

plus a new proposal that could change how Americans save for retirement,

a new announcement from legendary golfer Tiger Woods,

and a countdown to astronauts return to the moon.

Those stories and even more news coming up.

Welcome to the newsworthy.

All the days news in less than 15 minutes.

I'm Erica Mandy. Thanks so much for being here. Let's do this.

It's possible the U.S. will wrap up its military campaign in Iran in two or three weeks.

President Trump gave that new timeline yesterday,

despite a recent buildup of troops and military assets in the region,

including some that are still on their way.

The president now says he's okay with leaving and ending the war,

as long as he's certain Iran won't be able to build a nuclear weapon for years.

He now says even if the Strait of Hormuz stays closed,

it can be a problem for other countries to deal with.

Yesterday, he criticized American allies that have not answered his call to help

with securing the vital passageway, particularly Britain.

He wrote on social media, quote,

you'll have to start learning how to fight for yourself.

Go get your own oil.

But the thing tank the Brookings Institution says the U.S.

started this war and can't walk away from the fallout now,

adding that the economic damage could impact the U.S.

along with other countries.

It's still not clear what might be happening with peace talks.

In his latest update, Trump said Iran is begging to make a deal,

but whether it happens or not is irrelevant to America's timeline.

While Iran still says no formal negotiations have taken place.

President Trump is expected to lay out more plans for an endgame tonight.

The president is scheduled to deliver a national address at 9 p.m.

Eastern to provide what's being called an important update on Iran.

Already, the U.S. has claimed major progress in the war,

destroying thousands of targets in Iran.

In fact, an airstrike that caused a huge explosion yesterday

was said to have taken out an ammunition steepot.

And yesterday, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed the U.S.

had begun flying B-52 bombers over Iranian territory

for the first time since the war started,

which is a sign Iran's air defenses have been significantly damaged.

Still, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says Iran does still have some ability to retaliate.

And it's been doing just that.

Gulf countries reported more missile and drone attacks yesterday

and Iran threatened to attack 17 American companies

if more Iranian leaders are killed,

including Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Tesla.

Meanwhile, back in the U.S., the war has caused gas to top an average of $4 a gallon,

a threshold that had not been reached since 2022.

The Trump administration has taken some big steps

to try to boost domestic oil production

and ease some of the price pressures.

Most recently, a committee of senior leaders

voted to exempt the oil and gas industry

from a federal law meant to protect endangered species,

like whales, birds, and sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico.

It's the first decision of its kind in more than three decades.

An American journalist has been kidnapped in Iraq.

Shelley Kiddelsen has reported extensively from the Middle East

as a freelance contributor for multiple outlets,

including Politico and the BBC.

And U.S. officials say Kiddelsen was warned multiple times,

including as recently as this week,

that she was in danger and should leave Iraq immediately.

Now they believe at least one of the people involved in her kidnapping

has ties to an Iranian-backed militia group.

That person is now in custody,

but his alleged accomplices are still on the loose,

and a search is ongoing.

President Trump took a major step toward

reshaping American elections.

He signed an executive order that would create lists of people

eligible to vote in federal elections.

It would be up to the Homeland Security Secretary

to oversee the effort,

drawing up lists that include American citizens

who are at least 18 years old

and maintain a residence in a particular state.

The lists would be based on federal records

held by the Social Security Administration.

Trump's order would also place new restrictions

on mail-in voting.

The Postal Service would have to create new rules

to handle ballots, adding things like specialized bar codes.

And it could also restrict the USPS from handling ballots sent

unless they're from people who appear on an official list.

And all of this would go into effect

ahead of the midterms this fall.

President Trump says it's about election security

and preventing cheating,

but proven instances of voter fraud are extremely rare.

Already a couple of states have promised to sue over this order

and more are expected to join.

Critics point out how the Constitution says the times,

places, and manner of federal elections are determined by states

with Congress allowed to make changes.

So it's not clear if Trump has the authority here to be continued.

The US Supreme Court is taking up a highly anticipated case today

over the future of birthright citizenship.

As we've told you, President Trump has been trying to end the tradition

of automatically giving citizenship

to American-born children of undocumented immigrants and visitors.

It's a restriction that, according to some estimates,

would impact the legal status of more than 250,000 babies

who are born in the US each year.

And some of those future babies would become stateless,

meaning no country would claim them.

And they may have no pathway to citizenship,

even if their parents do.

But first, the policy would have to survive the high court.

Today, justices will consider whether Trump's effort holds up

under the 14th Amendment,

which says people born here are US citizens.

Outside of the Constitution, there's also a 1940 law

that defines citizenship.

Trump's team argues unauthorized immigrants are here illegally,

and therefore, they and their children

don't have the same rights granted by US law or the Constitution.

And President Trump says he plans to take the extremely unusual step

of actually going to the Supreme Court today.

Both the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court Historical Society say,

there's no official record of any sitting president

ever attending oral arguments.

So this could be a first.

Already this week, the high court took up another highly controversial case.

In an eight to one decision, the Supreme Court ruled against a Colorado law

that bans what's known as conversion therapy for LGBTQ plus kids.

A counselor had sued over it with support of the Trump administration.

She argued the law wrongfully kept her from offering voluntary faith-based

therapy to kids who are confused about their gender.

And her lawyers made the point that if therapy options like that were banned,

the only option for parents would be one that supports gender transition.

On the other side, Colorado argued therapy doesn't fall under free speech

since it's a form of healthcare.

It also pointed out how therapy used to convert LGBTQ plus people

has been scientifically discredited and linked to serious harm.

And still, religious ministries were already exempt from the law.

Well, most justices agreed with the therapist's side of things that

the ban raised free speech concerns.

So they sent it back to a lower court with instructions to scrutinize the law more.

And it's not expected to survive that step.

Colorado is one of about two dozen states with a ban on the books,

but the Supreme Court ruling is expected to eventually make all those laws unenforceable.

Starting today, humans could set out for the moon for the first time in half a century.

Under a mission scheduled to launch this evening,

four NASA astronauts are set to travel around the moon in an endeavor known as Artemis II.

The plan is for them to go all the way around the moon eventually passing the far side,

meaning this could be further than any humans have ever traveled into deep space.

It could also be the first time any woman or any person of color has ever traveled to the moon.

The journey is expected to take about 10 days.

If the mission is successful, it would be a major step for the space agency that's

planning for astronauts to land on the moon's surface in future missions.

And it could pave the way for even further human space exploration like trips to Mars.

NASA will stream the launch live tonight.

More news still coming up, but first a quick break to tell you about our sponsors.

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Now back to the news.

The Trump Presidential Library is already in the works. The president unveiled his vision

yesterday with an AI-generated video. It shows a glass skyscraper in Miami with a red,

white, and blue spire, an illuminated American flag, and the name Trump emblazoned near the top.

Inside, there's a golden escalator in the lobby, multiple planes, and replicas of prominent parts

of the White House. Trump told reporters the library will also, most likely, include a hotel.

The nations are now being collected for the project.

President Trump's big White House ballroom was blocked, at least for now. A federal judge

ordered construction to stop until the project receives a go-ahead from Congress.

Remember, Trump's plan has been for the ballroom to go in place of the East Wing? That's already

been demolished. But the judge says the president most likely did not have the authority to act on

his own to replace entire sections of the White House. While lawyers for the Trump administration

have already filed an appeal, and despite the legal challenges, the National Capital Planning

Commission that's been packed with Trump allies is still scheduled to vote on the project tomorrow.

The Army pilots who hovered two helicopters near Kid Rock's home were suspended yesterday,

but just for a matter of hours. Soon after the suspension was reported, President Trump said

the pilots probably should not have done the flyby, but that they and he, like Kid Rock.

Then Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the suspension had been lifted,

and Hegseth wrote on social media, quote, no punishment, no investigation, Harry on patriots.

In other words, the investigation into any potentially unsafe or unauthorized flight operation

has been canceled. Hegseth thanked Kid Rock for sharing a video of the flyby that showed him

applauding and saluting the troops. Legendary golfer Tiger Woods is stepping out of the public

spotlight for a while. Yesterday, he issued his first public statement since being arrested for

driving under the influence of the weekend, following a rollover crash. In it, Woods said he's

seeking treatment to become healthier, stronger, and more focused, both personally and professionally.

An incident report from last week's crash says Woods appeared to be impaired and that he had

opioid pain pills in his pocket. He told deputies he had taken the medication that morning,

and that when he was driving, he looked down at his cell phone just as the truck in front of him

had slowed down and he didn't realize it until it was too late. No one was hurt in the crash. Woods

is pleading not guilty to the DUI. One of the most important Jewish holidays begins tonight at

sundown. This kicks off eight days of Passover for Jewish people all across the world. As part of

the holiday Jews eat unleavened bread called matza instead of regular bread throughout the week.

Families also get together to eat traditional foods during a big meal called a cedar.

This year, Passover runs at the same time as the Christian holy week that started with Palm Sunday

and ends on Easter this Sunday, April 5th. There's also a more silly holiday happening today,

and that's April Fool's Day. So here's your reminder not to believe everything you see are here today.

That's it for the main news today. So now it's time for work Wednesday when we break down one

interesting career or work related news story every Wednesday. And today we're talking about a

new proposal to let employees use their workplace retirement plans to invest in cryptocurrency and

private equity along with other alternative assets. The Trump administration says private assets

can be more lucrative for people's 401k's and give people more investment choices. But there are

also higher risks and higher fees and critics say the move could put more people in danger of

losing a huge chunk of their retirement savings. Either way, the change has the potential to be a

pretty big deal. The Labor Department says this plan would apply to roughly 118 million workers

holding more than 8.8 trillion dollars in assets. This could get a lot more people into investing.

The Labor Department still needs to collect public feedback on the proposal before it takes effect.

Thank you so much for listening today and making us part of your daily routine. We'll be back

tomorrow with the latest news. Until then, have a great day.