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- [00:01]
Aramco Narrator
Who drives the world forward? The one with the answers or the one asking the right questions? At Aramco, we start every day by asking how? How can innovation help deliver reliable energy to the world? How can technology help develop new materials to reshape cities? How can collaboration help us overcome the biggest challenges? To get to the answer, we first need to ask the right Search Aramco Powered by How Aramco is an energy and chemicals company with oil and gas production as its primary business.
- [00:34]
Donald Trump
I can say tonight that we are on track to complete all of America's military objectives. Shortly, very shortly, we are going to hit them extremely hard. Over the next two to three weeks, we're going to bring them back to the Stone Ages.
- [00:50]
Hannah Jewell
President Donald Trump defended his increasingly unpopular war in Iran. That's where we're starting the seven from the Washington Post, I'm Hannah Jewell. It's Thursday, April 2nd. Let's get you caught up with today's seven stories. In an address to the nation last night, Trump said that military activity in Iran was nearing completion, but he said there would first be a period of military buildup. The speech came as Trump is facing economic and political headwinds more than a month after launching the surprise attack on Iran. The conflict has sent gas prices soaring and soured Americans feelings about Trump. Just six months before the midterm elections, Trump sought to assure Americans that the spike in fuel costs was short term and spoke about his decision not to bomb Iran's oil facilities.
- [01:46]
Donald Trump
Yet we have not hit their oil, even though that's the easiest target of all because it would not give them even a small chance of survival or rebuilding. But we could hit it and it would be gone and there's not a thing they could do about it.
- [02:03]
Hannah Jewell
Israel, on the other hand, has hit Iran's natural gas and oil facilities. Over the past month, the administration has given shifting explanations about the goals of the conflict. And Iran and the US have painted very different pictures of what Trump says are ongoing negotiations to end the war.
- [02:23]
Donald Trump
Foreign.
- [02:28]
Hannah Jewell
The Supreme Court appeared skeptical of Trump's effort to end birthright citizenship. That's number Two justices heard arguments yesterday about Trump's executive order to deny citizenship to babies born in the U.S. to parents without permanent immigration status. The 14th Amendment to the U.S. constitution says that all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction they thereof are citizens of the United States. The Trump administration's argument focuses on the jurisdiction part of that phrase. It claims that exceptions that currently exist for the children of foreign diplomats and those born to invading armies should be applied more broadly to the children of undocumented or temporary immigrants. But justices yesterday seemed skeptical of that argument. Here's Chief Justice John Roberts.
- [03:22]
Chief Justice John Roberts
But the examples you give to support that strike me as very quirky. You know, children of ambassadors, children of enemies during a hostile invasion, children on warships, and then you expand it to a whole class of illegal aliens are here in the country. I'm not quite sure how you can get to that big group from such tiny and sort of idiosyncratic examples.
- [03:49]
Hannah Jewell
Watching from the public gallery was Trump himself playing the unusual role of the silent observer and highlighting the importance of this ruling to his agenda. The court's decision is expected by June or July. Number three is a Post exclusive. A panel reviewing Trump's ballroom changed a document at the White House's request Today, the National Capital Planning Commission is scheduled to vote on Trump's 90,000 square foot White House ballroom. Emails obtained by the Post show the commission softened what would become a public FAQ document about the project. A previous draft definitively stated that the White House sits on federal land, a fact that requires federal agencies to get commission approval. That's according to an email sent by the commission's general counsel. But a White House staffer requested the addition of a sentence explicitly stating that the White House is not a federal agency and that it had only asked the commission to review the project in the spirit of cooperation. After that, the commission deleted the part of the FAQ document that said a commission review was required. The exchange is likely to deepen concerns about the commission's independence. Critics have already questioned Trump's decision to appoint three White House staffers to the 12 member board. Four Republicans have a new plan to end the Department of Homeland Security shutdown. Lawmakers have been at an impasse over DHS funding for nearly seven weeks. It's the longest partial shutdown on record, which the public has mostly encountered through long security lines at airports. Pressure has been building to resolve the shutdown in recent days. The gossip website TMZ has been sharing photos of lawmakers since they left Washington last week without reaching a deal. Yesterday, President Trump endorsed a plan to fund parts of the agency, including ICE and Border Patrol, using a procedure called the reconciliation process. It would allow Republicans to bypass Democrats. Democrats have spent weeks demanding new guardrails on ICE and Border Patrol in exchange for voting to fund them, According to a new poll. The more people use social media, the less likely they are to favor democracy. That's our fifth story. A major survey of more than 20,000Americans from across the country asked people about their social media use and their political beliefs. It found that more than one in ten of those surveyed spend at least five hours a day on social media, and those who spend that amount of time or more are more likely to feel that other people value their opinions. But also they're less likely than those who spend less time on social media to believe that democracy is the best form of government or that everyone should have the right to vote. And they find it harder to get along with people who don't share their beliefs. It's not clear from the survey, though, whether platforms like Instagram and X are the cause of those views, or if being on social media a lot is an effect of already having them. At number six, Flowers and Leaves Are Emerging Early After a record warm March last month, temperatures were 7 degrees above average across the U.S. whether or not you noticed the warmer weather, the plants certainly did. Data shows that in many central and western states, leaves emerged two to four weeks earlier than normal, breaking records. In parts of the Central Plains from Kansas to South Dakota, leaves emerged 30 to 50 days earlier than normal. And in Washington D.C. cherry blossoms are now in full bloom. While all these plants are stunning to look at, early blooming can also cause issues. Peach and other fruit trees can be vulnerable to late season frost or freeze. Plus, extra pollen in the air isn't great if you have seasonal allergies in our newsletter today you can find out whether plants are blooming early where you live. Find the link to that in our show notes.
- [08:46]
NASA Mission Control
And at number seven RS25 engines lift, 4, 3, 2, 1. Booster ignition and lift off. The crew of Artemis 2 now bound for the moon. Humanity's next great voyage begins.
- [09:04]
Hannah Jewell
Four astronauts launched on a historic journey to the moon. Yesterday evening, NASA's Artemis 2 set out on a 10 day mission to loop around the moon. If all goes well, it will be the first time humans have gotten near the moon since the Apollo era, and it would also be the furthest people have ever gone into space. The mission is a crucial first chapter for an ambitious and risky program to eventually return people to the lunar surface, build a base there, and use it as a stepping stone to push deeper into the solar system. But it comes with some big risks. The mission relies on hardware that has never been used to transport humans anywhere, much less the moon. The crew has also already encountered a faulty toilet, but they were able to fix it. Thank goodness. The astronauts are scheduled to splash down into the Pacific Ocean next week. Alright, you're all caught up. But before you go A reminder that if you're a subscriber to the Washington Post, you can get access to our shows ad free and Apple Podcasts. All you have to do is find the Washington Post Channel and Apple Podcasts and connect your post subscription. If you're not a subscriber, this is a great time to start. You can sign up at our channel and Apple Podcasts or through the link in our show Notes. I'm Hannah Jewell. We'll meet you back here tomorrow.
- [10:35]
Aramco Narrator
Who drives the world forward? The one with the answers or the one asking the right questions? At Aramco, we start every day by asking how. How can innovation help deliver reliable energy to the world? How can technology help develop new materials to reshape cities? How can collaboration help us overcome the biggest challenges? To get to the answer, we first need to ask the right question. Search Aramco Powered by How Aramco is an energy and chemicals company with oil and gas production as its primary business.
- [11:05]
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