Former CENTCOM Commander and retired Marine Corps Gen. Frank McKenzie praised the efficiency of the American military&#8217;s rescue operation to retrieve a downed weapon systems operator (WSO) after his plane went down in Iran.
McKenzie spoke with CBS News anchor Ed O&#8217;Keefe on &#8220;Face the Nation,&#8221; where he said it was important to note that U.S. military forces had been able to get to him first — even though the Iranian regime had offered a reward to anyone who could help them locate him before the United States was able to pull off a rescue mission.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The mission to rescue the missing U.S. airman In Iran was “executed pretty effectively,” former CENTCOM commander Ret. Gen. Frank McKenzie says.
“It takes a year to build an aircraft and it takes 200 years to build a military tradition where you don&#8217;t leave anybody behind.”… <a href="https://t.co/rZZy9OA0Us">pic.twitter.com/rZZy9OA0Us</a>
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/2040806763054645554?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 5, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;So, it took just under 48 hours to find the missing weapon systems officer,&#8221; O&#8217;Keefe began, noting that the area where the plane had gone down was very remote and the terrain was uneven. &#8220;What&#8217;s your assessment of how the search and rescue operation went?&#8221;
McKenzie said that there were &#8220;two lessons&#8221; that he would take from the way the rescue operations had played out: &#8220;First of all, the excellence of the joint force, our ability to rapidly pivot to look for a downed air crewman. We train for this endlessly, it&#8217;s a part of every time we send air crew over enemy territory, we have detailed, elaborate plans to go get them.&#8221;
&#8220;It&#8217;s a very basic part of who we are as American fighting men and women,&#8221; he added, saying that the plan had been &#8220;executed pretty effectively&#8221; as far as he could see.
Acknowledging the planes that were lost in pursuit of the rescue mission, McKenzie argued that the man on the ground would always take precedence: &#8220;It takes a year to build an aircraft and it takes 200 years to build a military tradition where you don&#8217;t leave anybody behind. You take the aircraft trade any day in a situation like this.&#8221;
The second lesson, according to McKenzie, was one for Iran – that the people might not be as eager to help the regime as they had hoped. Even after a reward was offered for help in locating the missing American airman, the Iranian regime was unable to prevent the rescue mission from ending in success.
&#8220;You can&#8217;t be happy with that if you&#8217;re a senior leader in Tehran this morning,&#8221; he said.

US-POLITICS-AFGHANISTAN-HEARING

Former CENTCOM Chief Drops A Line That Hits At The Heart Of Military Honor

Department of War

Donald Trump

Iran

Military

Politics

Artemis II pilot Victor Glover delivered a powerful message of faith as he and his fellow astronauts traveled toward the moon, praising God&#8217;s creation ahead of the Easter holiday.
Glover, a devout Christian, said that traveling into space had given him a whole new perspective on his faith, the earth, and the universe — all of which God had made for his final creations: humans.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Astronaut Victor Glover delivers beautiful Easter message from space, praises God’s creation.
“When I read the Bible and I look at all of the amazing things that were done for us…”
“You&#8217;re on a spaceship called Earth that was created to give us a place to live in the universe,… <a href="https://t.co/OnABmW6Sz4">pic.twitter.com/OnABmW6Sz4</a>
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) <a href="https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/2040565778941169851?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;As we are so far from earth and looking back at the beauty of creation, and I think the — for me, one of the really important personal perspectives that I have up here is I can really see earth as one thing,&#8221; he said. &#8220;You know, when I read the Bible and I look at all of the amazing things that were done for us, who were created, it&#8217;s — you have this amazing place, this spaceship, you guys are talking to us because we&#8217;re in a spaceship really far from earth.&#8221;
Glover then flipped the analogy on its head, saying that in a way, earth itself was the &#8220;spaceship&#8221; from which all of humanity viewed the universe.
&#8220;You&#8217;re on a spaceship called Earth that was created to give us a place to live in the universe, in the cosmos,&#8221; he explained. &#8220;Maybe the distance we are from you makes you think what we&#8217;re doing is special, but we&#8217;re the same distance from you, and I&#8217;m trying to tell you, just trust me, you are special.&#8221;
Glover concluded by pointing out that in all the vastness of the universe — most of which was defined more by the empty space than the physical objects that inhabit parts of it — humans had been given one small planet in one small solar system in one small galaxy, and had used that to create incredible things.
&#8220;In all of this emptiness, this is a whole bunch of nothing, this thing we call the universe, you have this oasis, this beautiful place that we get to exist together,&#8221; he added, as the other members of his crew nodded along. &#8220;So I think as we go into Easter Sunday thinking about all the cultures all around the world, whether you celebrate it or not, whether you believe in God or not, this is an opportunity for us to remember where we are, who we are, and that we are the same thing and we&#8217;ve gotta get through this together.&#8221;

Artemis II Launches Manned Test Flight Around The Moon

Artemis II Pilot Pauses During Lunar Mission To Deliver Powerful Easter Message

Artemis II

Christian

Christianity

Easter

General

Outer Space

U.S.

Family members of slain Iranian general Qasem Soleimani — a niece and a grandniece — were arrested by federal immigration agents after their lawful permanent resident (LPR) status in the United States was revoked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The State Department announced in a Saturday <a href="https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2026/04/secretary-rubio-revokes-green-cards-of-foreign-nationals-with-ties-to-iranian-terror-regime/">press release</a> that Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter had been taken into custody and were being held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.
<blockquote>Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter are now in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. As identified by both press reporting and her own social media commentary, Soleimani Afshar is an outspoken supporter of the totalitarian, terrorist regime in Iran.
While living in the United States, she promoted Iranian regime propaganda, celebrated attacks against American soldiers and military facilities in the Middle East, praised the new Iranian Supreme Leader, denounced America as the “Great Satan,” and voiced her unflinching support for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a designated terror organization. Afshar Soleimani pushed this propaganda for Iran’s terrorist regime while enjoying a lavish lifestyle in Los Angeles, as attested to by her frequent posting on her recently deleted Instagram account.</blockquote>
Rubio explained in an X post why he had moved to terminate their LPR status, saying, &#8220;Until recently, Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter were green card holders living lavishly in the United States. Afshar is the niece of deceased Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani.&#8221;
Rubio went on to note Afshar&#8217;s continued support for the Iranian regime and her attacks on the United States, adding, &#8220;This week, I terminated both Afshar and her daughter&#8217;s legal status and they are now in ICE custody, pending removal from the United States. The Trump Administration will not allow our country to become a home for foreign nationals who support anti-American terrorist regimes.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Until recently, Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter were green card holders living lavishly in the United States.
Afshar is the niece of deceased Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani. She is also an outspoken supporter of the Iranian regime who celebrated attacks on…
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecRubio/status/2040454251260809340?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Afshar&#8217;s husband, according to the State Department&#8217;s release, will be barred from entering the United States in the future.
The U.S. State Department has also previously revoked legal status of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/their-parents-run-the-iranian-regime-theyre-teaching-your-kids-at-american-universities">Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani,</a> whose father was the late Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran Ali Larijani, and her husband Seyed Kalantar Motamedi. In addition to having their status reversed, neither will be permitted to return to the United States.

Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Relatives of Infamous Iranian Butcher Get One-Way Ticket From Marco Rubio

Family Members Of Slain Iranian General Arrested, U.S. Legal Status Revoked

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Marco Rubio

Qassem Soleimani

Officials on the scene had to smash the rear windshield to retrieve one prized possession for golf legend Tiger Woods following his recent rollover crash in Florida: the bag containing his golf clubs.
Bodycam <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/video/6392513281112">footage</a> showed police officers at the scene talking to the golfer&#8217;s manager, Rob McNamara, who stressed that Woods did not want to leave his clubs behind.
One officer at the scene told McNamara, &#8220;I understand,&#8221; and added that the clubs were &#8220;worth more than my house.&#8221;
&#8220;The putter is worth more than all of our houses,&#8221; McNamara said, standing next to the police vehicle where Woods was in the backseat, the door open.
&#8220;Other than the clubs is there anything in there that you absolutely need at the moment?&#8221; the deputy asked.
&#8220;No, just the sticks,&#8221; Woods replied. &#8220;The sticks in the golf bag.&#8221;
He acknowledged that there were other golf clubs in the vehicle, but repeated that the only ones he needed were the ones inside the bag.
The deputy asked him about the putter then, and Woods explained, &#8220;I&#8217;ve won 14 majors with it.&#8221;
&#8220;They don&#8217;t call you the GOAT for nothing, man,&#8221; the deputy laughed.
The golfer&#8217;s Range Rover was turned from its side to an upright position, and upon realizing that the trunk could not be opened, someone from the fire department stepped in and shattered the back windshield. Police were then able to reach into the trunk and pull out the golf bag with the clubs inside — one of which sported a tiger head cover.
After failing several sobriety tests — and refusing a urine test — Woods was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/body-cam-shows-tiger-woods-undergoing-sobriety-test-after-rollover-crash">charged with DUI</a> with property damage and refusal to submit to a test.
As The Daily Wire previously reported, a judge granted the golfer&#8217;s request to travel outside of the United States after the golfer’s attorney cited his need to get into an “intensive, highly individualized and medically integrated program.” Woods <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tiger-woods-breaks-silence-after-dui-arrest-pga-tour-also-issues-statement" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on Tuesday that he would be “stepping away for a period of time to seek treatment and focus on my health.”

Officials Smashed Back Window To Retrieve Prized Possession For Tiger Woods

Golf

Sports

Tiger Woods

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani sparked a wave of backlash when he responded to the shooting death of seven-month-old Kaori Patterson-Moore, blaming her death on gun violence rather than the criminal who opened fire in his city in broad daylight.
&#8220;Earlier today a seven-month-old baby was shot and killed,&#8221; he said. &#8220;A life that had barely begun was taken in an instant.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the fatal shooting of a baby in Brooklyn by a stray bullet a &#8220;devastating reminder&#8221; of the work that remains to be done to combat gun violence. <a href="https://t.co/fCUKHY42Hj">https://t.co/fCUKHY42Hj</a> <a href="https://t.co/S6aePIpg6K">pic.twitter.com/S6aePIpg6K</a>
— ABC News (@ABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ABC/status/2039784745018507525?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;This is not our first family to know this pain,&#8221; Mamdani said. &#8220;Too many children have never grown up into becoming adults. Too many parents have had to bury those they love most. We cannot accept this as normal in our city. We cannot grow numb to this pain, and today is a devastating reminder of just how much more work there is to be done to combat gun violence across the city.&#8221;
New York City Councilwoman Vicki Paladino criticized Mamdani for laying the blame on guns rather than the criminals who fired them, saying in an <a href="https://x.com/VickieforNYC/status/2039875425598361670">X post</a>, &#8220;Literally anything but blaming the criminals who our system releases onto our streets repeatedly, over and over again, with no consequences. Absolute disgrace.&#8221;
Media Research Center Managing Editor <a href="https://x.com/RealBrittHughes/status/2039796165193932878">Brittany Hughes</a> pointed out the hypocrisy of Mamdani&#8217;s position, noting that he&#8217;d said nothing when an 83-year-old military veteran had been pushed onto the subway tracks. He later died from his injuries and an illegal alien was charged in his death.
&#8220;An 83-year old veteran was killed in New York City last month after being randomly pushed onto the subway tracks by an illegal alien. Mamdani didn’t say a word because trains aren’t a good political prop, and he won’t condemn criminal aliens,&#8221; she said.

Mayor Mamdani And NYC Police Commissioner Tisch Discuss Crimes Statistics

Mamdani Sparks Backlash With Response To 7-Month-Old Baby Shot In NYC

Gun Violence

Violent Crime

Zohran Mamdani

The New York Times got hit with a wave of backlash — and ultimately was forced to issue a correction — after Friday&#8217;s print edition included a headline replacing the word &#8220;Atlantic&#8221; in North Atlantic Treaty Organization with &#8220;American.&#8221;
POLITICO editor Sasha Issenburg drew attention to the flub, sharing a photo of the newspaper showing both the date and the erroneous headline, which read, &#8220;A North American Treaty Organization Without America?&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Does the <a href="https://twitter.com/nytimes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nytimes</a> know what NATO stands for? <a href="https://t.co/wvD1WxPOnN">pic.twitter.com/wvD1WxPOnN</a>
— Sasha Issenberg (@sissenberg) <a href="https://twitter.com/sissenberg/status/2040078016576204989?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer weighed in on the paper&#8217;s mistake, noting that every headline published by The New York Times had to make it past multiple editors before going to print.
&#8220;The NYT should release the names of every editor who read this and did not correct it. They have multiple layers of editors, especially for the print publication. That’s what the NYT would demand when the government makes a bad mistake. They should live up to the same standard,&#8221; he said.
Former Trump administration official Richard Grenell pointed out that the piece&#8217;s author, Steven Erlanger, as the paper&#8217;s Chief Diplomatic Correspondent for Europe: &#8220;Yikes.&#8221;
President Trump even commented on the flub on Saturday morning, saying in a <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116346654846871260">Truth Social post</a>, &#8220;The Failing New York Times, whose lack of credibility, and their constant Fake News attacks on your favorite President, ME, has caused its circulation to absolutely PLUMMET, referred to our severely weakened and extremely unreliable “partner,”NATO, as the North American Treaty Organization. The correct name is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization &#8211; A very interesting mistake! The hiring and educational standards have gone way down at the NYT. Bring back, “ALL THE NEWS THAT’S FIT TO PRINT” and, Make America Great Again!&#8221;
The article itself referenced President Donald Trump&#8217;s repeated threats to leave the organization over other nations — primarily in Europe — not providing monetary or military support when the United States is the one asking. Those threats have only accelerated as European allies have failed to answer calls for assistance with Operation Epic Fury in Iran.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/rubio-says-us-need-reexamine-nato-membership-allies-blocked-basing-airspace-help">equally critical</a> of NATO, saying in recent remarks that if the United States could not rely on NATO allies when help was needed.
&#8220;If now we have reached a point where the NATO alliance means that we can&#8217;t use those bases, that, in fact, that we can no longer use those bases to defend America&#8217;s interests, then NATO is a one-way street. Then NATO is simply about us having troops in Europe to defend Europe,&#8221; Rubio told Fox News host Sean Hannity, adding that it did not make strategic sense for the United States to remain in the organization if it was going to be so one-sided.
By Friday afternoon, the outlet <a href="https://x.com/NYTimesPR/status/2040142477215056082">issued a statement</a> promising a correction in Saturday&#8217;s print edition: &#8220;A correction will appear in tomorrow&#8217;s print edition: &#8216;A headline with an article on Friday about President Trump’s threats to leave NATO misstated the full name of the body. It is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, not the North American Treaty Organization.'&#8221;

New York Times

New York Times Forced To Issue Correction After Wild Whiff On NATO

Media

NATO

The New York Times

War Secretary Pete Hegseth shook things up at the Pentagon during Holy Week when he fired several top generals — including Major General William Green Jr. the U.S. Army chief of chaplains.
Green&#8217;s job as the Army chief of chaplains is to advise the Army Chief of Staff on issues of religion and morality, as well as to oversee the Army Chaplain Corps — and he was three years into what would normally be a four-year term when Hegseth removed him from the role.
Green served as an enlisted soldier prior to becoming an ordained minister, and has served as a chaplain in the Army since the 1990s. His promotion to Major General was recent, according to <a href="https://www.military.com/daily-news/headlines/2026/04/02/army-chief-forced-out-iran-war-hits-new-phase.html">Military.com</a>, and he had become the Army chief of chaplains in 2023.
While no official reason has been given for Green&#8217;s termination — marking the first time that an Army chief of chaplains has been fired since the position was created under the National Defense Act of 1920 — Hegseth had previously voiced his displeasure with Green&#8217;s Army Spiritual Fitness Guide, published in 2025.
The <a href="https://www.militaryatheists.org/regs/ArmyFM7-22_subv202507-SF-Guide.pdf">112-page guide</a> — and accompanying Battle Book — featured &#8220;secular-inclusive&#8221; principles aimed at encouraging resilience and strength. It was written to be a part of the Army’s Holistic Health and Fitness program (H2F), for which development began in 2024 during former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin&#8217;s tenure.
The guide was published in August of 2025, and Hegseth disliked it so much that he ordered the War Department to scrap it entirely by December, less than six months after it was implemented.
&#8220;It mentions God one time. That’s it. It mentions feelings 11 times. It even mentions playfulness, whatever that is, nine times,&#8221; Hegseth said at the time, complaining that in the military, &#8220;chaplains have been minimized, viewed by many as therapists instead of ministers.&#8221;
The guide was summarily <a href="https://www.army.mil/article/287513/spiritual_fitness_battlebook_equips_soldiers_with_tools_for_inner_resilience">scrubbed</a> from the Army&#8217;s website.
Two other top generals were removed the same week: Gen. David Hodne, a former Army Ranger in charge of the Army’s Transformation and Training Command, and Army Chief of Staff Gen. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hegseth-removes-armys-top-general-asks-him-to-retire-immediately">Randy A. George</a>.

US-POLITICS-SECURITY-HEGSETH

Hegseth Fires Army Chief Of Chaplains During Holy Week

Holy Week

Pete Hegseth

Religion

U.S. Army

War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Thursday that he was ending the policy that turned U.S. military installations into &#8220;gun-free zones,&#8221; declaring in a brief video statement, &#8220;That ends today.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.war.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/4450527/hegseth-authorizes-off-duty-service-members-to-carry-private-firearms-on-instal/">Hegseth</a> signed a memorandum stating that base commanders should allow service members to request permission to carry their privately-owned firearms while off duty — regardless of any firearm regulations imposed by the states in which the bases were located — and shared video explaining the move.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Our military installations have been turned into gun-free zones—leaving our service members vulnerable and exposed.
That ends today. <a href="https://t.co/IQ204YepZ0">pic.twitter.com/IQ204YepZ0</a>
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecWar/status/2039803944965185634?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Our great republic is founded on a simple, yet bold idea,&#8221; Hegseth began, saying that the nation was built the idea that rights were given to the people by God rather than by the government. &#8220;250 years ago, the Revolutionary War was fought to secure our God-given rights. The Second Amendment to our Constitution enshrines the right of all citizens to carry weapons to protect themselves, their families, and their fellow countrymen.&#8221;
Hegseth went on to point out that America&#8217;s men and women in uniform were already well-trained in the use of firearms and should not be barred from exercising their rights simply because they were on a military installation.
&#8220;Our warfighters defend the right of others to carry; they should be able to carry themselves,&#8221; he added.
Hegseth went on to cite recent attacks on military installations, arguing that if trained service members were allowed to arm themselves, such threats could potentially be neutralized in shorter order.
&#8220;In these instances, minutes are a lifetime,&#8221; he explained. &#8220;And our service members have the courage and training to make those precious, short minutes count. Before today, it was virtually impossible … for War Department personnel to get permission to carry and store their own personal weapons aligned with the state laws where we operate our installations. … Well, that&#8217;s no longer.&#8221;
&#8220;The memo I&#8217;m signing today directs installation commanders to allow requests for personal protection — to carry a privately owned firearm — with the presumption that it is necessary for personal protection,&#8221; he added.
The policy effectively turning military bases into <a href="https://www.americas1stfreedom.org/content/trump-speaks-out-against-gun-free-zones-on-military-bases/">gun-free zones</a> — Department of Defense Directive 5210.56 — went into effect in February of 1992, and restricted on-base carrying to &#8220;DoD personnel regularly engaged in law-enforcement and security duties.&#8221;
President Donald Trump, during his first presidential campaign in 2015, spoke out against the policy and said that he would ensure that &#8220;America’s armed forces will be armed.&#8221;
Trump said at the time that the United States &#8220;never should have passed a ban on soldiers being able to protect themselves on bases &#8230; Our brave soldiers should not be at risk because of policy created by civilian leadership.&#8221;

TOPSHOT-US-ISRAEL-IRAN-WAR-HEGSETH

Hegseth Tears Up Controversial Military Base Rule After 34 Years

firearms

George H.W. Bush

Gun-Free Zones

Military Bases

Former Chicago Democratic Mayor Rahm Emanuel turned the spotlight back on his own party, saying that a number of recent policy positions had put Democrats at odds with a majority of Americans and proved that they had &#8220;lost the plot.&#8221;
Emanuel joined the &#8220;Fifth Column&#8221; podcast, hosted by Kmele Foster, Michael Moynihan, and Matt Welch, and said that, especially on several key cultural issues, Democrats had gone all in on positions that ultimately alienated some of their own voters.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Rahm Emanuel — Obama’s Chief of Staff, Clinton’s political director — just said it.
“We lost the plot.”
Emanuel: 50% of American kids aren’t reading at grade level. Reading and math scores at a 30-year low. The Democratic Party’s response was bathroom access and trans athletes… <a href="https://t.co/VjvaZO08pc">pic.twitter.com/VjvaZO08pc</a>
— Jake (@JakeCan72) <a href="https://twitter.com/JakeCan72/status/2039654591080595527?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;We lost the plot,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We as Democrats nationally, from ‘Latinx,’ to defunding the police, to ‘police organizations are all racist,’ to bringing a set of cultural wars to our schools. We are on the losing side of those cultural wars. Full stop.&#8221;
&#8220;You are worried about bathroom access and locker room access. Why don&#8217;t you focus on classroom excellence?&#8221; Rahm asked, adding, &#8220;You have 50% of our kids not reading at grade level.&#8221;
One of the podcast hosts pushed back, saying that all Democrats had to do was address both topics at once: keep fighting the culture war while also addressing everyday issues like education, the economy, and health care.
&#8220;You&#8217;ve proven you can&#8217;t, because you&#8217;ve permitted a 30-year low in reading and math scores, and nobody seems to be calling the whistle on this,&#8221; Emanuel argued.
&#8220;We&#8217;ve lost the plot,&#8221; Emanuel said again, claiming that had happened &#8220;because the party got unanchored.&#8221;
Emanuel, who also previously served as White House Chief of Staff to former President Barack Obama, said that successful Democrats in the past had always been &#8220;anchored&#8221; to values or specific issues that resonated with everyday Americans. Instead, Emanuel argued, the party had in recent years embraced issues that undermined some of the core values it had held for decades.
&#8220;And I&#8217;ll just take one on that I shouldn&#8217;t,&#8221; Emanuel said. &#8220;So, here goes: I remember fighting for Title IX. The reason we are champions in women&#8217;s sports in the Olympics in soccer, hockey, is Title IX. Why would you undercut the premise of Title IX with the ability of trans [identifying] men playing in women&#8217;s sports?&#8221;
&#8220;To me, it&#8217;s insane! You&#8217;re undermining one of the great accomplishments we as a country, but also spearheaded by the Democratic Party, Title IX! And we&#8217;re undercutting it!&#8221; he exclaimed.

Key Speakers During The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO Summit

Obama’s Former Chief Of Staff Says Democrats Have ‘Lost The Plot’ With Everyday Americans

Barack Obama

Defund The Police

Democrats

Rahm Emanuel

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) cheered the launch of Artemis II, praising American technology, innovation, and space exploration despite the fact that he voted against the measure that provided nearly $10 billion in funding for that project and future endeavors.
Kelly, a former astronaut himself, shared a video of his comments as the Artemis II mission got underway on Wednesday.
&#8220;Artemis II is proof that only in the United States of America can we aim for the stars and actually reach them. Efforts like these push technology and our country forward, together,&#8221; he captioned the clip.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Artemis II is proof that only in the United States of America can we aim for the stars and actually reach them. Efforts like these push technology and our country forward, together. <a href="https://t.co/5kv3mjsXPo">pic.twitter.com/5kv3mjsXPo</a>
— Senator Mark Kelly (@SenMarkKelly) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenMarkKelly/status/2039438195381682564?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 1, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;In later years, we&#8217;re going to send Americans back to the surface of the moon, hopefully ahead of the Chinese, and establish a lunar presence with people on the surface of the moon,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It&#8217;s inspiring, but it also pushes technology forward. And I think that&#8217;s really an important thing for the American people to understand.&#8221;
&#8220;This, it does take a lot of resources to do programs like this, but it is really only here in the United States of America that we&#8217;re able to marshal those resources, that technical talent, the engineers and scientists we need to do this — to do hard things — and when we do hard things, we get a lot out of it.&#8221;
Months earlier, however, Kelly voted against the spending bill championed by President Donald Trump — the &#8220;One Big Beautiful Bill&#8221; — that secured nearly $10 billion in funding for the Artemis II project and future space exploration.
The One Big Beautiful Bill marked a reversal in course from President Donald Trump&#8217;s initial budget proposal for fiscal year 2026, in which funding for NASA would be significantly scaled back after Artemis III and would cancel plans for the Gateway lunar outpost entirely. The final bill instead directed $9.9 billion to fund space exploration, including Artemis IV, Gateway, and more — and was backed by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).
&#8220;The moon mission MUST happen in President Trump’s term or else China will beat us there and build the first moonbase,” Cruz said in an X post — and then in a confirmation hearing for NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/live/tqejrlbfB84?t=1862">Cruz declared</a>, “We are not headed for the next space race. It is already here. … I am hard-pressed to think of a more catastrophic mistake we could make in space than saying to communist China, ‘The Moon is yours.’&#8221;
Still, Kelly repeatedly <a href="https://ktar.com/arizona-news/big-beautiful-bill-kelly-gallego/5723744/">voiced his opposition</a> to the &#8220;One Big Beautiful Bill&#8221; even after the NASA funding was included.
Despite supporting increased NASA funding during negotiations, Kelly ultimately <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2025/07/01/how-arizona-senators-mark-kelly-ruben-gallego-voted-one-big-beautiful-bill/84432101007/?gnt-cfr=1&amp;gca-cat=p&amp;gca-uir=false&amp;gca-epti=z11xx54p119750c119750e1173xxv11xx54&amp;gca-ft=257&amp;gca-ds=sophi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voted against</a> the bill that <a href="https://spacepolicyonline.com/news/trump-megabill-includes-billions-for-artemis-iss-moving-a-space-shuttle-to-texas-and-more/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">provided it</a>.

Mark Kelly

Mark Kelly Cheers Artemis Launch After Voting Against Its Funding

Mark Kelly Cheers Artemis Launch After Voting Against NASA Funding

Aerospace

Congress

NASA

More than 50 years after 17-year-old Laura Ann Aime first disappeared, DNA evidence confirmed that she died at the hands of notorious serial killer Ted Bundy.
&#8220;This case is now officially closed,&#8221; Utah County Sheriff Mike Smith announced on Wednesday, detailing during a news conference the process by which his department had been able to connect Bundy to the case.
WATCH:
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Aime <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/news/2026/04/01/ted-bundy-killed-utah-teen-laura/">disappeared</a> on Halloween night in 1974, and her body was discovered in American Fork Canyon, near the Timpanogos Cave Visitor Center, about one month later — and police initially thought they were looking at the body of a different missing teen. Debra Kent, also 17, had gone missing in Bountiful on November 8. The body of 17-year-old Melissa Smith, whose father was the Midvale police chief, was discovered just weeks earlier.
The attempted kidnapping of a 19-year-old woman eventually led to Bundy&#8217;s arrest in 1975, but he could not be directly tied to Aime&#8217;s murder. While DNA evidence was recovered at the scene, the technology was not yet available that would have allowed investigators to separate mixed profiles in order to make an identification.
Bundy was never charged with Aime&#8217;s murder, but her family — and local authorities — believed that he was the most likely suspect. The notorious serial killer himself named Aime, and Kent, as well as his victims, in a confession prior to his 1989 execution in Florida — but no one was able to tie him directly to the physical evidence until recently.
Sheriff Smith cited &#8220;new forensic techniques&#8221; that allowed commingled DNA samples to be separated into individual profiles — techniques that Utah&#8217;s state crime lab was not able to make use of until 2023.
Once a male DNA profile was extracted from the sample in Aime&#8217;s case, it was entered into a database that included samples from all around the country. A hit on the profile in Florida led investigators to collaborate with the crime lab there, and together they connected the profile to Bundy.
In the state of Utah alone, Bundy is believed to have murdered at least five women — and as many as eight. He moved to Salt Lake City in 1974 to attend University of Utah&#8217;s law school, but prior to his arrival there, he had already killed at least nine women in the Pacific Northwest.

Close Up Portrait of Ted Bundy Waving

Five Decades After Her Murder, Evidence Now Points To Notorious Serial Killer

Five Decades After Her Murder, DNA Links Slain Teen To Notorious Serial Killer

Crime

Murder

Serial Killers

Utah

With all of the seriousness that envelopes most of the day-to-day operations within the government, sometimes it&#8217;s good to let down the hair, loosen the neckties, and think up a good prank for the social media team to run with for April Fools&#8217; Day.
The Department of Health and Human Services led the charge with a post showing HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — notorious for his strict diet and opposition to fake dyes and additives in food — at a grocery store buying items that would definitely be considered contraband.
&#8220;BREAKING NEWS: SECRETARY KENNEDY CAUGHT PURCHASING ARTIFICIALLY-DYED CANDIES IN BULK,&#8221; the headline read.
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<a href="https://t.co/oOBv1uuT0g">pic.twitter.com/oOBv1uuT0g</a>
— HHS Rapid Response (@HHSResponse) <a href="https://twitter.com/HHSResponse/status/2039330926191165716?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 1, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Kennedy followed with a post of his own admitting that it was a joke.
The Department of Homeland Security shared a poster advertising free flights to the moon for illegal aliens. &#8220;FLY TO THE MOON FOR FREE!&#8221; the poster read, along with a caption that said, &#8220;This April 1st, we kindly ask all aliens to GO HOME.&#8221;
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This April 1st, we kindly ask all aliens to GO HOME. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ArtemisII?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ArtemisII</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheyAreGoingBack?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheyAreGoingBack</a> <a href="https://t.co/RJ2Z5yH33E">pic.twitter.com/RJ2Z5yH33E</a>
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) <a href="https://twitter.com/DHSgov/status/2039409788908371996?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 1, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The National Archives got in on the joke with screenshots of a &#8220;group chat&#8221; between the Founding Fathers as they prepared to sign the Declaration of Independence.
Thomas Jefferson kicked off the conversation: &#8220;Ok, patriots, the final draft is ready.&#8221;
&#8220;Wait, do I sign with my real signature or my cool one?&#8221; John Hancock wanted to know.
&#8220;Make it BIG, John,&#8221; Benjamin Franklin advised. &#8220;Go viral or go home.&#8221;
Another frame showed the men arguing about how long the process was taking and who had brought the snacks.
&#8220;Can someone please proofread before I sign?&#8221; George Washington asked — and Jefferson replied, &#8220;Too late. I already tweeted it.&#8221;
The last line showed King George III of England being added to the chat, and he responded with just an emoji: wide eyes.
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Breaking news: The National Archives has released the Founding Fathers group chat for the signing of the Declaration of Independence.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AprilFoolsDay?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AprilFoolsDay</a> <a href="https://t.co/2YHku5K4VI">pic.twitter.com/2YHku5K4VI</a>
— U.S. National Archives (@USNatArchives) <a href="https://twitter.com/USNatArchives/status/2039352671392485401?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 1, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The U.S. Department of the Interior went for the two-fer in a post outlining proposed changes to the national animal ahead of the United States celebrating its 250th birthday in 2026.
&#8220;As part of preparations for America’s 250th anniversary, Interior is reviewing wildlife nomenclature to better reflect the nation’s history and character. Following this review, the raccoon (Procyon lotor) will be renamed the Liberty Bandit, effective April 1, 2026,&#8221; the first post read.
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Known for its resourcefulness and ability to operate under cover of night, the Liberty Bandit reflects a distinctly American spirit of independence.
Additional updates will be announced in phases, including renaming the skunk (Mephitis mephitis) the Freedom Fogger. 😉 <a href="https://t.co/TzKJIAQ5Dj">pic.twitter.com/TzKJIAQ5Dj</a>
— US Department of the Interior (@Interior) <a href="https://twitter.com/Interior/status/2039334053334200641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 1, 2026</a></blockquote>
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An immediate follow up added that in addition to giving the raccoon a place of prominence as the &#8220;Liberty Bandit,&#8221; they also planned to rename the skunk the &#8220;Freedom Fogger.&#8221;
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service promised immediate compliance with the new nomenclature, saying, &#8220;We&#8217;ll get this updated on our website ASAP.&#8221;
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We&#8217;ll get this updated on our website ASAP. <a href="https://t.co/FoHyeLuS3n">https://t.co/FoHyeLuS3n</a>
— U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (@USFWS) <a href="https://twitter.com/USFWS/status/2039391809579692339?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 1, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command (ACIC) stole the show with new guidance detailing the proper headgear for soldiers with Top Secret security clearances.
&#8220;The new Frequency Obstructing Interception Layer (FOIL) covers are designed to mitigate unauthorized SIGINT collection and ensure your thoughts remain on a &#8216;need to know&#8217; basis,&#8221; the description read — and the accompanying illustration showed eight different types of military headgear redone as tinfoil hats.
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ACIC releases headwear guidance for Soldiers with Top Secret clearances.
The new Frequency Obstructing Interception Layer (FOIL) covers are designed to mitigate unauthorized SIGINT collection and ensure your thoughts remain on a &#8220;need to know&#8221; basis.
(Graphic made with AI) <a href="https://t.co/KJFdVLIlu1">pic.twitter.com/KJFdVLIlu1</a>
— Army Counterintelligence Command (ACIC) (@Real_ArmyCI) <a href="https://twitter.com/Real_ArmyCI/status/2039315175677849932?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 1, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Screenshot/HHS

Even The Government Is Getting In On The Joke Today

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

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Virginia Kruta