We have major developments tonight. Infighting is intensifying inside the Trump administration. JD Vance is distancing himself from Trump on the Iran war even as Trump deploys thousands of Marines to the Middle East. Trump has effectively blacklisted Kristi Noem. A judge has thrown out the investigation targeting Jerome Powell. And there are significant new developments in the Epstein files.
This is only a fraction of the critical news breaking right now. I am working nonstop, both online and on the ground, to report what is actually happening as it unfolds. Independent journalism matters more than ever in moments like this.
Here’s the news:
Iran War:
- Vice President JD Vance privately expressed skepticism about launching U.S. strikes on Iran before President Donald Trump ordered the operation, according to senior administration officials. While Vance raised concerns about the risks and success of the war, he has publicly supported the administration’s decision after it was made.
- According to the Wall Street Journal, the Pentagon is deploying about 5,000 additional Marines and sailors to the Middle East to support operations related to the war with Iran, including a Marine Expeditionary Unit and an Amphibious Ready Group made up of ships and forces trained for crisis response missions such as evacuations, embassy protection and preparing areas for other military operations.
- Politico confirmed that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth cut Pentagon offices responsible for preventing and investigating civilian casualties despite warnings from senior military officials, reducing staff from about 200 to fewer than 40. The decision is drawing renewed scrutiny after a U.S. strike in Iran reportedly hit a girls’ school and killed hundreds of children, one of the deadliest civilian incidents in decades.
- U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that the next 24 hours would bring some of the most intense strikes of the war, as joint U.S. and Israeli operations carry out heavy airstrikes across Iran, including in Tehran.
- Formula 1 is expected to cancel upcoming races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia because the expanding war involving the United States, Israel and Iran has spread into the region, creating security concerns for teams, staff and fans. The races, scheduled for April 12 and April 19, could be removed from the calendar, potentially reducing the season from 24 to 22 races.
- According to Axios, President Donald Trump rejected a proposal from Russian President Vladimir Putin to move Iran’s enriched uranium to Russia as part of a plan to end the war. U.S. officials said the Trump administration repeatedly rejected similar Russian proposals despite Russia having previously stored Iranian uranium under past agreements.
- White House aides are engaged in a complex internal debate over when and how to declare victory in the war against Iran, with differing views shaping President Donald Trump’s shifting public statements about the conflict.
- The U.S. government is offering rewards of up to $10 million for information leading to key Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and other senior officials linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, through the State Department’s Rewards for Justice program.
- All six crew members aboard a U.S. KC-135 military refueling plane were killed after the aircraft crashed in western Iraq during operations related to the war with Iran, with the cause still under investigation but officials saying it was not due to hostile or friendly fire. The crash raises the number of U.S. service members who have died since the conflict began Feb. 28 to 12, with one additional death from a medical issue.
- Israel said it is reinforcing troop deployments along its northern border with Lebanon as it continues strikes against Hezbollah targets, sending additional regular units including a division, brigades and engineering battalions based on operational assessments. Lebanese authorities say at least 773 people have been killed in the country since the U.S.-Israel offensive against Iran began.
- Israel said it carried out an airstrike on the Zrariyeh bridge over Lebanon’s Litani River, saying Hezbollah militants were using it to move between northern and southern Lebanon and had positioned launchers nearby, though it provided no evidence. The strike appeared to be the first time during the current campaign that Israel acknowledged targeting civilian infrastructure, which international law generally prohibits unless it is being used for military purposes.
All other news:
- During the deposition of Epstein accountant Richard Kahn, Kahn’s attorney initially said that Jane Doe 4, who accused both Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein of abuse, never received a settlement from Epstein’s estate. The attorney has since said he can no longer confirm or deny whether a settlement was made.
- The House Oversight Committee is seeking testimony from former federal prison guard Tova Noel, who was on duty the night Jeffrey Epstein died in 2019 and has said she may have been the last person to see him alive. Lawmakers want to question her about records showing she searched online for news about Epstein shortly before his body was found and about financial transfers flagged as suspicious around that time.
- A federal judge blocked Justice Department subpoenas against Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, ruling there was essentially no evidence of wrongdoing and suggesting the investigation was likely an attempt to pressure him over interest rate decisions. Here is Pirro’s response:
- President Donald Trump has reportedly told associates he does not want former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem around anymore and that she has been excluded from recent White House events, according to people familiar with the matter. A defender of Noem disputes the claim, calling it “fake news” and saying she recently spoke with Trump and has still been at the White House since her removal.
- Authorities tell NBC News that a man rammed a pickup truck into a synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan, and set a fire in a building where more than 100 preschool children were present, though no one was injured. Investigators say the suspect had purchased more than $2,000 worth of fireworks two days earlier and are examining possible ties to Hezbollah and whether the attack was motivated by antisemitism after several of his relatives were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon.
- Andy Thomson won the Boca Raton, Florida mayoral race by just one vote after a machine recount, receiving 7,568 votes (39.62%) to Republican-backed candidate Liebelson’s 7,567 votes (39.61%), with a third candidate receiving about 21% of the vote. The extremely close result marks an apparent Democratic flip in a city where Donald Trump previously won by 13 points.
- A dark money group called Democracy Unmuted offered social media influencers $1,500 to post negative content about progressive congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh ahead of a crowded Democratic primary in Illinois’ 9th District. The campaign reportedly provided talking points criticizing her background and experience, but the group’s funding sources are undisclosed and the candidate’s campaign called the claims false and defamatory.
- According to NBC, some Republicans are warning that President Donald Trump’s priority bill, the SAVE America Act to overhaul election laws, is unlikely to pass the Senate because it lacks the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster and most Democrats oppose it, while some GOP lawmakers are frustrated Trump is focusing on a bill with little chance of success instead of legislation addressing cost of living concerns ahead of the midterms.
- According to the Daily Beast, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem approved about $1 billion in contracts for new border wall construction in Texas to SLSCO Ltd., a company that has faced past allegations in a lawsuit that it illegally employed Mexican migrants and armed them as security guards, though the case was later dismissed and the claims were never tested in court.
- A 9-year-old boy with severe autism was held in ICE detention with his mother for more than 80 days, far beyond the 20-day limit set by the Flores settlement, where his mother said he received no therapy or specialized support and became increasingly distressed, crying through the night and hitting himself as the weeks passed. His mother said the prolonged detention and lack of care caused him to regress behaviorally and emotionally before the family was eventually released.
- According to CNN, President Donald Trump is expected to replace Richard Grenell as head of the Kennedy Center after growing frustrated with negative publicity, performance cancellations, protests and declining ticket sales during Grenell’s tenure as interim president. The change comes as the arts institution prepares for a two-year renovation and as Trump seeks to reshape the center according to his vision.
See you soon.
— Aaron
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