- Friday April 3rd, 2026
- "It Is Not A Question of Who Is Right Or Wrong But What Is Right Or Wrong That Counts."
- --Geoff Metcalf
- Providing an on line Triage of the news since 1998
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World & Nation
Iran claims it shot down US fighter jet and put bounty on missing pilot — as rescue mission launched
Iran claimed Friday it shot down an American fighter jet and put a
bounty on the missing pilot — as a search-and-rescue operation was
launched for the crew.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed “newly developed and
advanced air defenses” had downed a fighter jet, which was “completely
destroyed and crashed,” Tehran’s Press TV reported.
It would be the first known loss of a jet inside the country since the
start of the war, during which American and Israeli pilots have carried
out more than 20,000 airstrikes, the Wall Street Journal reported.
A US F-35A was damaged over Iran on March 19 during a combat mission, and 16 MQ-9 drones have been shot down, the outlet said.
High Court Setbacks May Have Led to Bondi Firing
Legal setbacks at the Supreme Court — including visible skepticism from
justices about the administration's bid to limit birthright citizenship
— are being cited by Reuters, CNN, and other outlets as a central
factor in President Donald Trump's decision to fire Attorney General
Pam Bondi on Thursday.
Conservative legal scholar John C. Yoo — the Emanuel S. Heller
Professor of Law at University of California, Berkeley School of Law;
nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute; and
former Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel official who clerked
for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas — told commentators Trump may
have concluded "he needs new lawyers" after watching key cases play out
unfavorably.
Reuters reported that justices from across the ideological spectrum
pushed back hard on the administration's constitutional arguments on
birthright citizenship, suggesting a possible loss that could embarrass
the White House and frustrate Trump's core immigration agenda.
The four words Trump said to Pam Bondi the day before he fired her as attorney general
President Trump told Attorney General Pam Bondi her time in his
administration was up while the two rode from the White House to the
Supreme Court on Wednesday, according to a report.
“I think it’s time,” Trump said as he and Bondi made the short ride
across town to take in the oral arguments of a highly contested
birthright citizenship case, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Bondi, who was sworn in as the United States Attorney General last
February, allegedly asked the 79-year-old commander in chief if she
could remain at her post until the summer.
Trump denied the request, according to the outlet.
California was horribly wrong about gender and kids
California's classroom policies put children on a path to irreversible medical interventions with no proven benefits
The Supreme Court rebuked California early in March for forcing schools to hide students’ gender transitions from their parents.
The legal stakes in this case are significant, but it also exposes a
deeper divide over how society should respond when children experience
gender distress — and how public health officials like us can shape
policy to help those children flourish.
Until recently, this debate was dominated by radical gender ideologues, who insist on affirmation at any cost.
From their perspective, a girl who thinks she’s a boy is a boy. Failing
to affirm this new identity, they believe, will cause more harm than
irreversible surgeries or a lifetime regimen of cross-sex hormones.
House Democrat gets unexpected response when he asks constituents about voter ID requirements
Rep Shomari Figures asked a crowd of town hall attendees to raise their hand if they did not have an ID — no one did
A Democratic lawmaker created an online firestorm after appearing to
inadvertently make the case for stricter voter ID requirements while
criticizing a Trump-backed election bill.
Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Ala., repeatedly said Monday that Democrats
were not against voter identification at the ballot box as he discussed
his opposition to the SAVE America Act at a town hall with
constituents. The Alabama Democrat, however, appeared to imply that the
town hall attendees might have a problem with it.
"I’m of a different era, I’m of a different generation. I probably feel
a little bit differently about it," Figures, 40, told a seemingly older
crowd. "But watch this: how many people in here do not have an ID?"
No one's hand went up.
A shortened clip of the exchange posted to social media sparked
backlash among conservatives, who said the video proved that a majority
of Americans would have no issue complying with photo ID requirements.
Trump says US can 'easily' open Strait of Hormuz with 'a little more time,' predicts global 'gusher'
President Donald Trump in a Truth Social Post on Friday said the U.S.
could "easily" open the Strait of Hormuz with "a little more time."
"With a little more time, we can easily OPEN THE HORMUZ STRAIT, TAKE
THE OIL, & MAKE A FORTUNE. IT WOULD BE A “GUSHER” FOR THE WORLD???"
Trump wrote.
The ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz continues to strain global
energy markets as Operation Epic Fury approaches a sixth week.
Artemis II crew describes life aboard Orion spacecraft on historic journey to the moon and back
Astronaut Christina Koch says she's been sleeping upside down and finding out how to make the space capsule a home
NASA’s Artemis II crew is on its way to the moon, giving Americans a
firsthand look at life aboard the spacecraft as they travel farther
from Earth than any crew in more than half a century.
Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch of the U.S.,
along with Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency, boarded the
322-foot-tall Orion spacecraft and lifted off at 6:35 p.m. Wednesday
from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Artemis II crew is expected
to travel around the moon and back.
Speaking with Fox News’ Trace Gallagher Thursday night, the four-person
crew described what it is like to be part of a mission set to carry
astronauts farther from Earth than any crewed flight since the Apollo
era — and what life aboard Orion is like as they begin their 10-day
journey.
WH Set to Release Trump's Budget With Major Increase in Defense Spending
President Donald Trump is asking Congress to boost defense spending to
$1.5 trillion, the largest such request in decades and the latest
signal of the president's emphasis on U.S. military investments.
The 2027 plans for the Pentagon were confirmed in a White House outline
of Trump's 2027 budget proposal released Friday. The White House
summary says Trump's proposal would reduce nondefense spending by 10%
by shifting some responsibilities to state and local governments.
Even before the U.S.-led war against Iran, the Republican president had
indicated he wanted to bolster defense spending to modernize the
military for 21st-century threats. Separately, the Pentagon last month
proposed $200 billion for the war effort and to backfill munitions and
supplies.
Trump, speaking ahead of an address to the nation this week about the
Iran war, signaled the military is his priority, setting up a clash
ahead in Congress.
Russia Launches Daytime Strikes on Ukraine, Killing 5, as Kyiv Holds Door Open for Easter Truce
Russian strikes killed at least five people across Ukraine on Friday,
including in a "massive" missile and drone attack near the capital,
local authorities reported. Ukrainian officials claim the Kremlin is
changing its tactics to increase civilian suffering, shifting to
daytime barrages and preparing to target more key infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signaled Kyiv's
openness to a potential Easter truce. The holiday is celebrated on
April 12 in both Ukraine and Russia.
Zelenskyy also said that Ukraine is preparing for a shift in Russian
aerial tactics, with intelligence indicating that future attacks will
move beyond energy infrastructure.
Trump didn’t wreck NATO — he just exposed its anti-US hypocrisy
By Victor Davis Hanson
NATO members are not legally required to join another member’s military
operation that isn’t formally sanctioned by the alliance or aimed at
protecting the membership’s homelands.
But they often do just that.
Some NATO members joined the United States in Afghanistan and Iraq, on
the theory that the Taliban and Saddam Hussein were dangers to all
Western security in the post-9/11 environment.
They followed the precedent set by America’s 1999 intervention in the
distant Balkans, when it led a three-month NATO campaign to dismantle
Slobodan Milosevic’s often bloody ambition to establish a Greater
Serbia.
Democratic battle pits moderates vs. progressives for soul of the party
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's fundraising dominance and progressive coalition could push Democrats left
By Doug Schoen
Democrats are undoubtedly favored to retake the House in November’s
midterms, and their odds of taking the Senate have jumped in recent
weeks.
Political betting site Polymarket gives Democrats an 86% chance to take
the House, and now they even have a slight lead in the Senate.
That said, the prospects for Democrats’ short-term success may be
overshadowing what could be a defining moment in American politics.
Specifically, Democrats’ intra-party dispute over which wing of the
party will control their direction, messaging, ideas and principles:
the seemingly moderate establishment or anti-establishment progressives?
