Deadline Day for Iran

Summary

Here's the Scoop – NBC News
Episode: Deadline Day for Iran
Date: April 7, 2026
Host: Yasmin Vossoughian

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Episode Overview

This episode of “Here’s the Scoop” centers on the rapidly escalating Iran conflict, President Trump’s ultimatum for a ceasefire and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and the looming 8pm deadline for Iran to respond. Host Yasmin Vossoughian and NBC correspondents dissect the prospects for diplomacy, the potential for regional war, and on-the-ground reactions from Israel. The episode blends White House insights, frontline reporting, and the broader geopolitical implications of U.S. actions, as well as updates on related political stories.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. President Trump’s Ultimatum and Rhetoric

(00:59–03:48)

• Social Media Escalation:
  President Trump’s Truth Social post alarmed many:

  “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.”
  (00:59, Trump quoted by Yasmin Vossoughian)

• Analysis of Tactics:
  NBC’s Garrett Haake describes the President’s approach:

  “The rhetoric is sort of boundless... classic gunboat diplomacy. How much pressure can I put on you to make an agreement?... We’ve talked in the past about the kind of madman theory of politics as relates to Trump—the idea that if they believe he’ll do anything, people will want to make a deal with him.”
  (01:51, Garrett Haake)

• Perceived Instability:
  Democratic lawmakers have labeled Trump’s language “completely unstable and unhinged,” fueling fears of rash decisions.

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2. Scenarios: Escalation vs. Off-Ramps

(03:48–05:33)

• Paths to Escalation:

  • Direct attacks on Iranian civilian infrastructure—bridges, power stations, possibly even nuclear power facilities.
  • Possible deployment of U.S. ground forces already staged in the region.

  “The first is that the President follows through… to blow up civilian infrastructure... The second is the threat he hasn’t made, but has the option to use—deploying American ground forces in a more meaningful way.”
  (04:06, Garrett Haake)

• Paths to De-escalation (Off-Ramps):

  • Full diplomatic agreement to end the war (seen as unlikely).
  • Frameworks or temporary arrangements (e.g., short-term ceasefires) that allow both sides to claim progress.

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3. Negotiation Dynamics & U.S. Objectives

(05:33–07:46)

• Iran’s 10-Point Proposal:
  Iran, via Pakistan, shared a plan calling for permanent end to hostilities, but the U.S. rejected a ceasefire.

• Limitations of Military Action:
  Garrett Haake contextualizes the military and political realities:

  “You can't end the long term threat to global commerce through the Strait of Hormuz just with bombs. The President acknowledged that yesterday... That’s going to require some degree of either a negotiated solution or thousands of troops in perpetuity.”
  (06:06, Garrett Haake)

• Political Pressure:

  • Trump’s China trip and upcoming U.S. midterms constrain the administration’s options.
  • Gas prices and broader war fatigue weigh heavily on domestic politics.

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4. Allies, Global Implications, and Diplomatic Communications

(07:46–09:13)

• NATO Tensions:
  Strained relations with key U.S. allies due to the administration’s handling of the war; Trump’s own skepticism about NATO’s necessity in this conflict.

  “We will need [NATO] again someday whether we need them now or not.”
  (08:15, Garrett Haake)

• China:
  Limited direct diplomacy, but upcoming summit means peace is preferable.

• Israel:

  • Trump remains influential with Netanyahu and Israel’s government.
  • Coordination is close—Trump might need to push Israel for restraint if a deal with Iran nears.

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5. On-the-Ground in Israel: Regional Realities

(11:49–15:47)

With Stephanie Gosk, reporting from Israel:

• Daily Life Under Threat:

  “There are daily bomb sirens... They are the sound you wake up to, go to bed to, wake up in the middle of the night. Israel’s defenses are incredibly good... but every once in a while, a rocket does get through.”
  (12:44, Stephanie Gosk)

• Civilian Impact:
  Example: In Haifa, a home was leveled, killing four, despite most rocket attacks being intercepted.

• Escalating Strikes:

  • Recent U.S. and Israeli attacks have hit critical Iranian infrastructure (bridges, power, oil terminals).
  • Both sides appear to be crossing lines, but the U.S. threats to destroy all civilian infrastructure are of a different magnitude.

• Iranian Civilian Response:

  “They’re scared. They don’t have good communication... There was this one musician who has decided he’s going to stay outside Tehran’s most critical power plant, playing music to put himself between U.S. missiles and that power plant... Not... as a political statement to be aligned with the regime, but to be aligned with his country.”
  (16:17, Stephanie Gosk)

  Reports of human chains and public efforts to protect civilian sites—sometimes independently, sometimes under unclear compulsion.

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6. Future Scenarios and Regional Fallout

(17:31–21:43)

• Negotiations in Flux:
  Despite reports that communications between the U.S. and Iran had stopped after Trump’s “destroy civilization” threat, there are contradictory signals—propaganda and information warfare persist.

• Retaliatory Risks:
  If the U.S. launches vast strikes, Iran is expected to target Israel and U.S. assets in the Gulf.

• Iran’s Capacity:

  “The question is how much capacity do they really have left?... They’re hiding things underground, and it’s hard to get to those things. On the flip side, they have clearly been trying to be as destructive as possible around the region.”
  (19:59, Stephanie Gosk)

• Can Israel Fight on Two Fronts?

  • Israeli military claims capability to manage conflicts in Lebanon and Iran simultaneously but are stretched thin.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Trump’s ‘Gunboat Diplomacy’:

  “Nothing he’s unwilling to say if he thinks it can be used to pressure his opponent...It’s classic gunboat diplomacy.”
  (01:51, Garrett Haake)

• On the Limits of Bombs:

  “If you can move a mine or hold a shoulder-fired missile launcher, you can hold up a significant portion of the global economy right there.”
  (06:06, Garrett Haake)

• On Life in Israel:

  “People piled off the beach, very orderly, when the sirens went off... It isn’t a disruptive part of life, and people here seem to be living with it okay, but obviously they want it to end soon.”
  (12:44, Stephanie Gosk)

• On Iranian Civilian Resistance:

  “A musician decided he’s going to stay outside Tehran’s most critical power plant playing music to put himself between U.S. missiles and that power plant. Not... as a political statement to be aligned with the regime, but to be aligned with his country.”
  (16:17, Stephanie Gosk)

• On Propaganda and Negotiation:

  “We have to take every public message that we get and understand that there is a propaganda war going on here as well and that we really don’t know what’s happening behind closed doors.”
  (18:50, Stephanie Gosk)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:59: Quoting Trump’s ominous post, setting the tone for the episode.
• 01:51: Haake’s analysis of Trump’s negotiation and communication strategies.
• 04:06: Breakdown of potential U.S. escalations and legal justifications.
• 06:06: Assessment of military limitations and geopolitical context.
• 08:15: Discussion of NATO, allies, and global diplomatic context.
• 12:44: Gosk’s description of Israeli day-to-day life under bombardment.
• 16:17: Stories from Iran—civilian protection efforts and cultural resistance.
• 19:59: Assessment of possible Iranian retaliation and remaining capacity.
• 21:06: Evaluation of Israel’s capability to fight on multiple fronts.

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Tone & Language

Throughout, the tone is urgent, informed, and direct—reflecting the high-stakes context and the “conversational but clear” style of the show. Quotes are delivered with gravity, especially the President’s statements and on-the-ground accounts from Israel and Iran. The reporting combines political analysis with visceral descriptions of life amid conflict.

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Takeaway

As the 8pm deadline approaches, “Here’s the Scoop” delineates the current moment as a crossroads between catastrophic escalation and fragile diplomatic chance. The rhetoric from the White House grows more dire, but off-ramps remain—though fleeting. The fate of civilians hangs in the balance, as do international alliances and the global economy.

For those seeking to keep up with this volatile situation, this episode delivers context and clarity on the choices and consequences unfolding hour by hour.

Transcript

[A]

I'm not discounting the possibility that we might be face a very serious escalation of this war at 8 o' clock tonight. But I also think there are still hours to go with off ramps of various size and legitimacy available to him. And those are still appealing for a lot of different reasons too.

[B]

Hey everybody. And welcome to here's the scoop from NBC News. I'm Yasmin Dasugyan. Today on the show, the deadline for Iran is set to expire. Today President Trump said it's time to make an agreement on a ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face, quote, unquote, complete demolition of their country. Is there any hope for a diplomatic way out or will President Trump carry out his deadly ultimatum? Plus, how is the region bracing for an all out assault? We're going to hear from our correspondent on the ground in Israel where Iran has been ramping up its retaliatory strikes. Up first though, we're going to start at the White House with NBC News senior White House correspondent Garrett Hague. Hey Garrett.

[A]

Hello.

[B]

We all woke up to this new truth social post from the President where he says, and I quote, a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don't want that to happen, but it probably will. Garrett, his posts throughout this war have significantly ramped up. Right. We had a pretty controversial post over the weekend. Who is the president wanting to address in this post and how do you read into this escalation that he has put out on social media, including the ones that we saw over the weekend? You have Democratic lawmakers, by the way, that are calling it completely unstable and unhinged.

[A]

Yeah, well, let's take those things one at a time. The president, I think the rhetoric is sort of boundless. Right. I mean, looking back to the start of this conflict and to Venezuela before that, there's nothing he's unwilling to say if he thinks it can be used to pressure his opponent or the person at the other side of the table into reaching some kind of a deal. I've been calling it just classic gunboat diplomacy. How much pressure can I put on you to make an agreement? It may or may not actually work, but it is very much the president's favorite tactic in these situations. And so I think there are multiple audiences for it. I think there's the Iranian regime audience. I think there's a little bit of a domestic audience. I also think there's a global audience here for other folks who might get into the Iranians ears and say like, look, he's serious. He means this. You know, we've talked in the past about the kind of madman theory of politics as relates to Donald Trump, the idea that, like, if they believe he'll do anything, that people will wanna make a deal with him to avert that possibility. And so this rhetoric is very useful. Now. There have been plenty of occasions in the past year, you know, year and change since he's been back in the White House where he's made threats and since backed down, it's created that taco idiom that is popular on Wall Street. Trump always chickens out. And so I think there's the threat and then there's the possibility that the threat is just a talking point. But you mentioned these Democratic politicians, a lot of other folks. You have to treat the possibility seriously, given what he's been willing to do so far. And people are. So I'm not discounting the possibility that we might face a very serious escalation of this war at 8:00 tonight. But I also think there are still hours to go with off ramps of various size and legitimacy available to him. And those are still appealing for a lot of different reasons, too.

[B]

So there's two things in there that you said that I want to kind of parse out. One is a potential various serious escalation. What does that look like and what are the potential off ramps here? What is a potential very serious escalation look like from your reporting? What does the President mean by destroying civilization?

[A]

Yeah, well, look, I think there are two possibilities for escalation that are both on the table. The first is that the President follows through on the letter of his three threat specifically to blow up civilian infrastructure, the bridges around Iran and power stations, possibly including Iran's 1 nuclear power station. The White House knows that they can argue that many of these things are what would be called dual use utilities

[B]

essentially to justify their actions, is what you're getting at.

[A]

If Iran is trucking missiles across these bridges, they can't turn around and say it's a war crime to blow up the bridges. Or they could try, but it's at least a little bit more of a gray area. The second is the threat that he hasn't made, but that he has the option to use, which is to deploy American ground forces in some more meaningful way. Remember, we're a week on now where we've got a couple of ,ousand Marines and 1000 plus paratroopers just sort of sitting around in the region waiting for orders, as far as we know. And then the options for off ramps I think are, you know, fit into kind of a couple of categories. Number one, you could get a deal, a big picture deal to end the war, which I think is unlikely. You could get the agreement of a framework of a deal that could be sort of a face saving measure to get out of this, or you could have something that falls kind of in between, like a temporary cease fire agreement, maybe just for a couple of days or progress that looks like progress, but that gets bogged down in logistics.

[B]

So let's talk about those negotiations because on Monday, the Iranian state media, they reported Tehran had sent a 10 point peace proposal to the US through Pakistan. They rejected a ceasefire because they want a permanent end to this war. The US has launched strikes already, as you mentioned, on Kharg island overnight. There is an inherent distrust between the Americans and the Iranians. Is there any real, from your reporting and conversations that you've been having with folks in the White House, a reality that something will get done from the American side?

[A]

Yeah, yeah, look, I mean, I think there are a couple things. I mean, number one, I think we're reaching a point where you can only achieve so much with airstrikes alone. Right. You clearly are not gonna change, meaningfully change the regime in Iran, despite what the President has said by just bombing Iran. I think you can destroy their missile production capability, their nuclear program more or less with airstrikes, but you can't end the long term threat and you especially can't end the long term threat to global commerce through the Strait of Hormuz just with bombs. The President acknowledged that yesterday. The idea that a couple of guys with a truck, if you can move a mine or if you can hold a shoulder fired missile launcher, you can hold up a significant portion of the global economy right there. And the President I think has come to understand that that's gonna require some degree of either a negotiated solution or like thousands of troops in, in perpetuity to manage the straits. So I think those are military operational realities and I think they're also sort of bigger picture geopolitical realities and presidential focus realities. He wants to go to China in a month. And having this being an ongoing shooting war complicates that trip tremendously. There are midterm elections in November and the American public doesn't like this war and they don't like how expensive the gas prices have been. The political realities here are, you know, that despite what everything else that's been said here, there's a relatively small political window for the President to I think, try to achieve as much as possible with Iran before it behooves him to close that window and move on.

[B]

You mentioned the global implications of an ongoing, protracted war here. You mentioned the meeting the President is set to have with President Xi of China. There's also the NATO allies as well, which relationships between NATO allies, the United States and this administration have been frayed in part because of this war. Do we know if the President has at all been in touch with the US's NATO allies with China, even ahead of what could come after this deadline this evening?

[A]

With China, I think it's unlikely. They don't like to engage in the kind of seat of the pants diplomacy that the President likes to have, just picking up the phone and chatting. Right. He has been in touch with some of these other foreign leaders we know. I think I saw something with Finland's President Stube, who's our prime minister, who's pretty close to President Trump, has his ear, has had those conversations. We know he's talked to Emmanuel Macron a couple of times since the conflict has started. And tomorrow he'll have Mark Rutte here, who is the head of NATO and has been probably one of the most effective Trump whisperers throughout this second term. I'm very curious to see how that meeting goes tomorrow and if he can get the President to back off on some of the NATO bashing here. Because while the President has said, I think more or less accurately, at least to this point, that we don't really necessarily need NATO in this conflict as it's defined right now, it's still the most successful defensive alliance in history and we will need them again someday whether we need them now or not.

[B]

Amidst all of this, there's also the Israel question. How much coordination is the President having with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of this 8pm deadline that the President has set, and especially when it comes to ongoing negotiations with Iran, well, they spoke

[A]

at least once this past weekend that we know about and possibly more. The White House does not always read out those calls, although the Israelis typically do. And part of the reason they do is that Donald Trump is more popular in Israel than Benjamin Netanyahu. And in a lot of the polling that we do see. And so I think the President does have pretty significant pull with Netanyahu and the Israelis. He's used that in Gaza.

[C]

He's to used.

[A]

He has coordinated with them very closely on Iran. And I think it's possible he could have to use that sway again here because if the President wants to strike a deal before the Israelis feel like the job is done, he might have to lean on Netanyahu to do so. I think it's a very interesting kind of mix of decision makers and political imperatives here in the next couple of months.

[B]

Garrett Hake, thank you.

[A]

You bet.

[D]

All right.

[B]

We're going to take a very quick break. And when we are back, a report on the ground in Israel. What is regional reaction to Trump's ultimatum? And hey, while you're waiting, why not take a second to subscribe to our podcast wherever you are listening. And if you already subscribe, thank you. And do not forget to rate and review us. It really helps us with the algorithm. We'll be right back.

[E]

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[D]

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[A]

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[B]

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[D]

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[B]

And we are back with here's the scoop from NBC News. We head now to the Middle east where the violence has been escalating. The United States and Israel conducted a new wave of strikes inside Iran. According to the local governor's office in Alborz province, at least 18 people were killed, including two kids. Iran then retaliated with missile strikes against Israel and its Gulf Arab neighbors. So as the region braces for tonight's deadline and what may be to come, I want to bring in NBC News senior national correspondent Stephanie Gosque, who's on the ground for us in Israel. Hey, Steph.

[C]

Hi. Thanks for having me on.

[B]

Great to have you on. We're all looking towards this 8:00pm Eastern Standard Time deadline tonight that the president has put out there. You're in Israel. There have been a lot of strikes inside Israel throughout the duration of this war. So far, some strikes overnight as well. What is the sentiment on the ground in Israel right now when it comes to this ongoing war with Iran?

[C]

Yeah, there are daily bomb sirens. They are often the sound you wake up to in the morning. They're the sound you go to bed to at night. And waking you up in the middle of the night. This is what people have been living here with for weeks. But the reality is, is that Israel's defenses are incredibly good, and they stop and intercept more than 90% of the rockets that come into their airspace. But every once in a while, a rocket does get through. And I went up to Haifa, which is in northern Israel yesterday, and it was an example of what happens when one of these rockets does get through and it leveled a home, it killed four people, injured many others. So while people, you know, for the most part, know that they're probably going to be okay when they hear the sirens and they go into the shelters, there is also, of course, a sense of nervousness. I was just out on the street today walking around when another bomb siren went off. And I was struck by the fact that, you know, I was very close to the beach here in Tel Aviv. People piled off the beach, very orderly. They all went towards buildings that very clearly had shelters. People flowed in. You didn't see people ignoring the sirens. I mean, it isn't a disruptive part of life, and people here seem to be living with it. Okay, but obviously they want it to end soon. Yes.

[B]

I want to talk about what's happening in Iran as Well, because a U.S. official is telling us there are widespread strikes that have happened across Iran over the last few days, including in the last 24 hours. You had the destruction of a critical transit bridge, power outages in Kadaj, explosions on Kharg island, which is the site of Iran's main oil export terminal, which Trump, by the way, has publicly mused about destroying or seizing. I think the question is, is this the beginning of the campaign that the president said he is going to carry out, or are these warning shots? What is the belief in that region?

[C]

Well, you may remember in the press conference yesterday that Pete Hegseth said that there were going to be more strikes today than at any other day in this campaign and even more tomorrow. I mean, they came in today promising to strike a lot of different targets. Also, keep in mind, Israel is striking a lot of targets as well. The IDF today came out and warned Iranians to stay off of trains and out of train stations because they were going to target trains. And that's exactly what they did. They Also said they targeted eight bridges. They've targeted university or perhaps not targeted universities, but hit them. There's Sharif University in Tehran that was hit. There was a professor who spoke to the press and in English and said, you know, we're just a university. We just do research here. So there are probably quite a few Iranians who are saying, you know, civilian targets are already being hit. The justification from the idf, Israel and the United States is that these targets have had some sort of military purpose as well. But that is different than the kind of threat that the president has been issuing in the last couple of days, which is a complete annihilation of power plants and every bridge in the country has.

[B]

The president is threatening to take out key civilian infrastructure. As we've been talking about, Iranian state media shared some photos purportedly showing civilians creating, quote, unquote, human chains around sites that that could come under threat of attack from Israeli and US Forces. Specifically Cargillen. Have we been able to verify any of these reports? And what do we know about how it is that Iranians are actually responding to the potential of these attacks?

[C]

They're scared. They don't have good communication. First of all, they're basically blocked off from the world. But beyond that, they don't want to potentially say something that could get them in trouble. There are some images that come out, a lot of it from, you know, state tv. You can't entirely trust it. But there was this one musician who has decided he's going to stay outside of Tehran's most critical power plant playing music to put himself in between US Missiles and that power plant. Not, it seemed, as that kind of political statement to be aligned with. With the regime, Yaz, but to be aligned with his country. You know, you've got the president talking about annihilating the civilization. It starts to move away from the politics of the regime and whether you support them and then whether or not you support the future of just your country as a place to live and be. So we don't know for sure how these human chains are forming and whether people are being compelled or they're going out there on their own. But if they are there and they continue to be there, obviously people standing in front of these places that the US Administration has said they they want to target is going to be extremely problematic.

[B]

There was a statement that was put out staff by Ayatollah Mojtabu Khamenei that was read on Iranian television. And I want to remind folks, this is obviously the son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was taken out in the early days of this war. He is now the new Supreme Leader. We have not seen him or heard his voice directly since he was appointed as the supreme Leader and since really the attack on his father. The message, though, that was read accusing ideas in Israel of resorting to terrorism and assassination after the killing of the intelligence chief for Iran's Revolutionary Guard. We talked with Garrett before I came to you about this 10 point plan that Tehran has allegedly sent through Pakistan. What are you hearing about a potential off ramp?

[C]

Well, it's interesting to hear what President Trump says in between the sabre rattling. One of the things he said about that 10 point plan in his press conference yesterday is that it was a start. He said, we have the 10 point plan, and it's not quite enough, but it's a start. And so every once in a while you get some insight perhaps into where the negotiation stands. Almost as if there is a message going through on, on another lane.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Then, then the stuff that everyone's paying attention to. But you had a couple of things happen today in the negotiations publicly that are contradictory. So you had Iranian TV saying, following that threat to destroy the civilization, all communication had stopped, that all diplomatic recourse had stopped, and they were no longer sending any messages back and forth between Iran and the US but then you start to hear reports that maybe that's not the case, and we have to take every public message that we get and understand that there is a propaganda war going on here as well and that we really don't know what's happening behind closed doors.

[B]

If these strikes occur, Israel is likely to feel the repercussions of those strikes. If Iran has anything left after these strikes, whatever they are, they will likely come for Israel. They will likely go for US Infrastructure inside of their Gulf neighboring states. What is the potential fallout for that? And how is Israel preparing for what may be to come?

[C]

The question is how much capacity do they really have left? After more than five weeks of daily bombardment, we still do see the rockets coming into this region. Multiple alerts today in Israel, you have rockets targeting Bahrain, Saudi Arabia today, Kuwait in recent days, and some of them getting through. I mean, they still do clearly have some capacity. The Defense Minister here in Israel said to me a few days ago that they're. They're hiding things underground, and it's hard to get to the things that they have underground. On the flip side, they've clearly been trying to be as destructive as possible around the region, and they've only had some success. I really do wonder how much capacity they have for what they call wider and more destructive attacks. Yes.

[B]

Does Israel have the ability to sustain this war along with the war to its north on Lebanon? I mean, there is two fronts happening right now. Do they have the capability, the military capability to sustain both of these wars?

[C]

Well, they certainly say they do. You know, that the war to the north, and we don't, we don't talk a ton about it in the US Media, but it's an extensive effort. And there is, there is daily bombing by the Israeli military and incursions into Lebanon in a way that they have never seen in Lebanon. It does seem like Israel is intent on pursuing that war, but at the same time also intent on protecting its homeland and continuing to, to wage an offensive war in Iran. I mean, today was a huge day of strikes according to the idf.

[B]

Stephanie Gasquel, thank you.

[C]

You're welcome.

[B]

All right. We're going to take a very quick break. And when we are back, can a Democrat flip one of the most Republican districts in Georgia? That's next in the headlines,

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Hey, it's Kate Snow, NBC News anchor and host of the Drink. This month, Demi Lovato is my guest. The global superstar tells me that she is the happiest she's ever been right now. But getting there, it wasn't simple. Demi opens up about starting in Hollywood young and why she now thinks she may have started too soon. She talks about recovery, her new marriage, and the deeply personal reason behind her new cookbook. The Drink is always about the journey to the top. And this was an honest conversation about what that takes. Hope you'll listen and follow the drink wherever you get your podcasts.

[B]

And we are back with here's the scoop from NBC News. Let's get to some headlines. The outcome of a couple of races happening today will give us clues about the political environment heading into midterm elections in Georgia's 14th congressional district, we have got a runoff special election for Marjorie Taylor Greene, which she vacated in January. She resigned after breaking with President Trump over his handling of the Epstein files. Republican candidate Clay Fuller is seen as the likely favorite to replace her, pitching himself as the best choice for those in the deep red district who support Trump 100%. Fuller's opponent, Democrat Sean Harris, has knocked politicians on both sides of the aisle for being out of touch with everyday Georgians. The winner is going to fill the seat for the remainder of Greene's term, which ends in January of 2027. Meanwhile, in battleground state Wisconsin, liberals are aiming to expand their majority on the state Supreme Court. Democrats are backing Chris Taylor, an appeals court judge and former Democratic state legislator who's focused her campaign on support for reproductive rights and economic issues like affordability. On the Republican side is Maria Lazar. She previously worked in Republican Gov. Scott Walker's administration and has defended her anti abortion stance. If Taylor wins, it would expand the liberal majority of the court to 5 to 2 and put conservatives out of reach the majority for years to come. Vice President J.D. vance is in Hungary today stumping for Prime Minister Viktor Orban ahead of Hungary's general elections this weekend. Orban's party is trailing in the polls. At a press conference, Vance praised their shared quote, defense of Western civilization and Christian values, and said he and President Trump stood behind Orban. Vance also accused the European Union of interfering in the election. The EU has said that Hungary should be classified as an elective autocracy rather than a full democracy because of restrictions placed on the judiciary and the media. The artist formerly known as Kanye west has been denied entry to the UK where he was stated to headline a music festival this summer. Officials said his presence would not be conducive to the public good following controversy over past anti Semitic comments on social media and in songs. That includes a song called Heil Hitler that he released last year. It came just hours after ye offered to meet with members of the Jewish community in response to public backlash. He said in a statement after the decision Tuesday that the offer was still open, saying that he wanted to show the community that he had changed. The UK Home office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News and Finally, for the first time in 50 years, the new York State Department of Health says it is once again safe to eat some fish from the lower Hudson river, including the part that flows down the west side of New York City. It's a huge deal. The Hudson has been a super fun site since 1984 because the massive amounts of toxic chemicals known as PCBs found there, along with the occasional shipwrecks and dead bodies, of course. Apparently some fish, though, in the Hudson are now showing lower levels of PCBs than before, low enough to make them safe for consumption. But do not get too excited. There are a lot of caveats if you want to go fishing. Officials say you should keep to four or fewer meals a month from the Hudson. Also, maybe stick to the striped bass and stay away from the carp. And they say remove all the skin and fat before you eat anything that you catch so you can get rid of another 50% of the remaining toxins. That just seems like a lot of work. And I have to say, just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. That is going to do it for us. Here's the scoop from NBC News. I'm Yasmin Vesugin. We'll be back tomorrow with whatever the day may bring. And if you like what you heard, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. And you can also subscribe to our daily newsletter, the Inside Scoop. It is a deeper dive on the main stories of the day that comes out every weeknight straight to your inbox. You can sign up for the Inside Scoop as part of our paid subscription@NBC news.com we'll see you tomorrow.

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Tell me if this is your experience. Every day we navigate the headlines, but too often many are tethered to the opinions on the far left or the far right. I get it. We live in a polarized world, but there is a middle ground. There is a place for independent thinking where many of us stand together. Consider my podcast your ticket out of your media silo. I'm Michael Smirkanish. I'm here to bring you a balanced news presentation on the biggest issues of the day. Every day. Refreshingly independent politics. That's what you'll get on the Smerconish podcast. You can find it on Sirius XM or wherever you get your podcasts.