Live updates: Trump warns all of Iran ‘could be taken out in one night’ as he sticks to deadline
Trump Says U.S. Pilot From Downed F-15 In Iran Rescued In A 'Daring Search And Rescue Operation'
President Trump, along with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, is holding a news conference Monday in the White House briefing room, hours before his deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
He started by discussing the “historic” rescue of an airman in Iran over the weekend and wrapped by reiterating his 8 p.m. EDT Tuesday deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz or face unrelenting strikes to knock out its power and bridges.
Tehran has shown little sign of bending to U.S. terms. On Monday, it rejected the U.S. 15-point proposal for peace as “excessive” and “unreasonable.”
Overnight, Israel said it killed the leader of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’s undercover unit and hit Iran’s massive South Pars natural gas field, while Iran escalated its attacks on Israel.
On Capitol Hill, Republicans are planning to use budget reconciliation rules to fund immigration enforcement without Democrats amid the Department of Homeland Security shutdown. But the move could complicate hopes to fund other priorities such as voting reform and increased defense funding amid the war in Iran. The House and Senate are in recess this week.
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Luna says Gonzales, Cherfilus-McCormick 'need to go'
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) on Monday said Reps. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) “need to go” after both lawmakers were accused of unethical behavior while in office.
“NO means NO. I’d vote to expel both him and Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick. Both need to go,” Luna wrote in a Monday post on the social platform X.
Trump rips Supreme Court over birthright citizenship, tariffs
President Trump on Monday said the Supreme Court just “doesn’t seem to care” about the country after its ruling against his tariffs, and the considerable doubts many of the justices showed toward striking down birthright citizenship.
“It’s too bad that the Supreme Court can’t watch and study the Mark Levin Show tonight on the Birthright Citizenship Scam,” Trump wrote, in a Monday Truth Social post, referring to the conservative pundit who hosts a radio show and a weekly program on Fox News.
OPEC+ agrees to boost output when Strait of Hormuz reopens
A group of OPEC+ members met on Sunday and agreed to increase their oil output once the Strait of Hormuz is reopened.
The plan is set to be implemented in May and the countries said they would plan to produce 206 thousand barrels per day, upon the waterway reopening, according to a press release.
GOP super PAC announces $342M investment in midterm Senate races
The Senate Leadership Fund (SLF), a big-dollar fundraising group affiliated with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), announced on Monday a whopping $342 million investment across eight high-stakes midterm Senate races.
In its largest-ever ad buy, the Republican-led group is making an aggressive push to take the Democrat-held Senate seats in Michigan, Georgia and New Hampshire, according to a release — and to defend Republican-held seats in Ohio, North Carolina, Maine, Iowa and Alaska.
The spending plan comes as Republicans fight a costly battle to hold on to their slim 53-47 Senate majority. Democrats are seeking to net four seats this fall to flip the chamber.
Education Department rescinds previous Title IX agreements with schools over gender identity
The Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights said Monday it would rescind Title IX agreements that six schools made with the federal government under past administrations over gender identity.
The department said the previous administrations’ enforcement of Title IX was “illegal and burdensome” over “improper use of preferred pronouns” or “asking questions about a student’s preferred ‘gender.’”
Title IX is based on sex, and the schools did not violate the law, according to the Trump administration.
The settlements’ cancellation means the school districts will no longer have to engage in trainings on gender-based discrimination, instructions for the use of preferred names and pronouns for transgender students or other resulting policy changes, The New York Times reported.
Trump details rescue operation of missing F-15 airman in Iran: How it unfolded
President Trump and his top national security officials on Monday offered details on the harrowing rescue of a U.S. service member from Iran after a fighter jet was downed inside the country on Friday.
Trump authorized the U.S. forces to start the search-and-rescue operation and within hours, the U.S. military deployed 21 aircraft into Iranian airspace.
Loomer takes credit for arrest of former Iranian commander’s niece in California
Far-right media figure Laura Loomer took credit on Saturday for the arrests of the niece and grand-niece of former Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. strike on Iraq during President Trump’s first term in 2020.
Loomer said in a social media post that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested Soleimani’s niece, Hamideh Soleimani Afshar, and her daughter “Following my report and follow up with the US State Department.”
Former NATO commander on Iran rejecting ceasefire proposal: 'They still have cards to play'
Former NATO Commander James Stavridis on Monday said Iran hasn’t accepted a ceasefire because they “still have cards” to play in the war.
Stavridis said that “Iran wants to hold onto its high-value cards, number one, Strait Hormuz closure, and number two, almost 1,000 pounds of enriched uranium,” during an appearance on CNN’s “Situation Room.”
Bolton: Trump extending deadline shows Iran 'he's not really serious'
Former national security adviser John Bolton said Monday that President Trump pushing back his deadline for Iran to make a deal shows the Middle Eastern country that “he’s not really serious.”
“Well, who knows whether he’s going to follow through. I don’t think even he knows he’s going to follow through,” Bolton said on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe,” discussing a threat from President Trump to attack Iranian infrastructure.
Associated Press cutting dozens of staffers
The Associated Press is planning to cut dozens of positions as part of a broader restructuring of the media company, The Hill confirmed on Monday.
“Even though we’ve evolved in the U.S. over the past few years, too much of our operations are still tied to large U.S. newspaper groups, who make up less than 10% of our business. Now is the time to be bolder about making this transformation,” Julie Pace, the outlet’s top editor wrote in a memo to staff that was shared with The Hill. “To ensure we are delivering the coverage today’s customers – and future customers – value the most, we are restructuring our U.S. operations and will part ways with some colleagues who have served this organization well.”
Trump floats U.S. tolls on Strait of Hormuz
President Trump on Monday suggeseted that the U.S. could one day charge tolls on boats passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane for oil and other commodities.
Asked during his press conference if we would end the conflict with Iran charging tolls on boats moving through the Strait, the president responded: “What about us charging tolls?”
“I’d rather do that than let them have them,” he added. “Why shouldn’t we? We’re the winner.”
The closure of the Strait has destablized oil supplies and sent prices skyrocketing. Iran has implemented a system where it lets a few ships through for a fee, but global oil prices have remained high as most shipping remains halted.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth alluded to the death and resurrection of Jesus in describing the rescue of an U.S. airmen whose fighter jet went down in Iran on Friday, describing the pilot as “reborn.”
The service member was rescued after more than a day hiding in Iran but was able to activate his emergency transponder, Hegseth said.
“His first message was simple and it was powerful. He sent a message: ‘God is good.’ In that moment of isolation and danger, his faith and fighting spirit shone through,” the Pentagon chief said alongside Trump.
“You see, shot down on a Friday — Good Friday — hidden in a cave, a crevice, all of Saturday and rescued on Sunday. Flown out of Iran as the sun was rising on Easter Sunday. A pilot reborn, all home and accounted for, a nation rejoicing,” Hegseth said.
Trump, meanwhile, said “God was watching us” in the rescue mission, adding that it happened around “Easter territory.”
“When you go into these areas, you don’t come out like we came out. God was watching us, I tell you,” Trump said.
Trump said destruction of Iran's bridges, power plants would take 4 hours
Trump, holding steady on his 8 p.m. Tuesday deadline for Iran to make a deal, said if no deal is made, “We have a plan.”
“We have a plan because of the power of our military, where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o’clock tomorrow night, where every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding and never to be used again,” he said.
“It’ll happen over a period of four hours, if we wanted to,” he said. “We don’t want that to happen.”
The president said the U.S. “may even get involved with helping them rebuild their nation.”
“And you know what? If that’s the case, the last thing we want to do is start with power plants, which are among the most expensive thing, and bridges,” he said.
Trump calls Iranians 'bulls--- artists'
Trump said he wasn’t sure whether Iran has any mines, after saying the U.S. “knocked out even their mine droppers.”
“Personally, they say there might be eight. I don’t know. I don’t know. I think there might be none, because they’re very good bulls— artists,” Trump said.
“That’s why, for 47 years, they’ve been bulls–ing other presidents, and they haven’t done the job,” he said.
He said Iran is at “the weakest point they’ve ever been,” and that “47 years of this stuff is long enough.”
Trump maintains Iran is negotiating
Trump reiterating that Iran has until Tuesday at 8 p.m. EDT to make a deal, told reporters that “they’re negotiating.”
“We think in good faith, we’re going to find out,” he said.
“We’re giving them til tomorrow, 8 o’clock Eastern time, and after that, they’re going to have no bridges. They’re going to have no power plants,” he said.
He said opening the Strait of Hormuz is a “very big priority.”
However, he didn’t say much about a ceasefire.
“I can’t talk about ceasefire, but I will tell you we have an active, willing participant on the side,” Trump said. “They would like to be able to make a deal. I can’t say any more than that.”
Trump says Iranians would be willing to trade infrastructure for freedom
Trump has maintained that Iranians have said, “Please keep bombing.”
And when asked why Iranians would want him to bomb their power plants and energy infrastructure he said Iranians “would be willing to suffer that in order to have freedom.”
“When we leave, and we’re not hitting those areas, they’re saying, ‘Please come back. Come back,'” he said.
“All I can tell you is they want freedom,” he said.
He told reporters that Iranians “have lived in a world that you know nothing about. It’s a violent, horrible world.”
He called Iranians “incredible people,” and said Iran “was a great country.”
Trump says US will go after ‘leaker’ of info on downed pilot in Iran
President Trump on Monday said his administration is looking for a “leaker” who shared information with the media about a daring rescue mission after a U.S. fighter jet was downed inside Iran last week.
“We didn’t talk about the first one for an hour and then somebody leaked something,” Trump told reporters during a press conference at The White House. “Which we’ll hopefully find that leaker, we’re looking very hard for them … we think we’ll be able to find it out.”
BNY to manage Trump accounts ahead of program’s launch
The Treasury Department announced Monday that the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (BNY) has been designated as a financial agent of the federal government to support implementation of the Trump accounts program ahead of its launch in July.
BNY will help develop the Trump accounts app and manage the initial accounts, which are designed to support children’s long-term savings. Robinhood will serve as brokerage and initial trustee for the accounts.
Trump says Iran could be 'taken out' in one night, and that night 'might' be Tuesday
Trump threatened to take out the “entire country” of Iran at the beginning of his news conference.
“The entire country could be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night,” he said.
Trump wrote on social media Sunday that his deadline for Iran to make a deal is 8 p.m. Tuesday.
“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!!” he wrote in another post Sunday, using expletives to tell Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz.
Pentagon press briefing on Tuesday
Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Caine says he and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will hold another Iran war briefing on Tuesday morning.
Iran extraction was 'race against the clock', says CIA director
CIA Director John Ratcliffe said the CIA deployed “both human assets and exquisite technologies” to find the second serviceman that was downed in Iran.
He compared the hunt for the airman “to hunting for a single grain of sand in the middle of a desert.”
“This was also a race against the clock, as it was critical that we locate the downed aviator as quickly as possible, while at the same time keeping our enemies misdirected,” Ratcliffe said.
He said a deception campaign was also used to confuse the Iranians looking for him.
“Following the successful exfiltration on Saturday night, our intelligence reflects that the Iranians were embarrassed and ultimately humiliated by the success of this audacious rescue mission,” he said.
Sanders on Trump Iran f-bomb threat: ‘Ravings of a dangerous and mentally unbalanced individual’
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) slammed President Trump’s recent post attacking Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, calling the president’s comments “ravings.”
“One month after starting the war in Iran, this is the statement of the President of the United States on Easter Sunday,” Sanders said in a post on the social platform X that featured a screenshot of Trump’s post.
Trump details aviator's rescue in Iran
Trump, flanked by CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, briefed the press about the mission to rescue the downed serviceman.
“This is a rescue that’s very historic,” he said.
He said 21 aircraft were deployed to the area to help with the search. He spoke highly of the downed weapons officer, saying he scaled “cliff faces, bleeding rather profusely, treated his own wounds and contacted American forces to transmit his location.”
Trump also reiterated threats against Iran at the beginning of the press conference.
“The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night,” he said.
Trump says rescue mission for missing F-15 airman involved 155 aircraft
Trump said the second mission to rescue the missing F-15 airman involved 155 aircraft, including four bombers, 64 fighter jets, 48 refueling tankers, 13 rescue aircraft and other assets.
House Republican predicts Trump will deploy troops in Iran: ‘I just don’t see any other way’
Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas), a former Air Force officer, said on Monday he expects President Trump to deploy troops in Iran and suggested such an escalation is unavoidable.
“I just don’t see any other way,” Fallon said in an interview on Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria,” when asked whether he thinks “we’re going to have some boots on the ground.”
Don Bacon on Hegseth firing top military officers: 'Not morally right nor wise'
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), a retired Air Force general, criticized Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for ousting senior military officers without giving the public a reason and said the move was wrong and unwise.
“The Secretary of Defense has the legal right to fire these Flag Officers, but it is not morally right nor wise. Further, he owes an explanation to the tax paying citizens,” Bacon, a moderate Republican who has criticized Hegseth in the past, said in a post Saturday on the social platform X.
Stephen A. Smith on Trump's Iran F-bomb threat: 'It never ends with this guy'
Sports commentator Stephen A. Smith slammed a post from President Trump over the weekend about the conflict with Iran in which he advised Tehran, using an expletive, to open the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for the oil industry.
“Look, I ain’t no damn supporter of Iran, OK? Leading sponsor of terrorism, all of that stuff they want to do to Israel, stuff they’ve already done to America. I ain’t no supporter of that. But, you the president of the United States, you go on social media with a profanity-laced tirade, and then you gonna end it by saying, ‘Praise be to Allah,’” Smith said in a video posted on the social platform X Sunday.
“How do you think that’s going to help us? How do you think that’s going to help us throughout the world? I mean, seriously? For Muslims country — Muslim countries that ain’t Iran? It never ends with this guy,” he added.
OpenAI’s Altman releases blueprint for taxing, regulating artificial intelligence
OpenAI published a policy blueprint for artificial intelligence on Monday, recommending a revised social contract to prepare for the technology’s likely impact on the economy, workforce and overall state of humans.
The 13-page document suggests superintelligence, an AI that will surpass the smartest humans, is on the horizon, and argues the governing of AI must “keep people first” once this transition unfolds.
Regulator closes investigation into Tesla 'actually smart summon' feature
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has closed its investigation into Tesla’s “actually smart summon” feature after finding that incidents occurred infrequently and were not particularly severe.
The agency opened an investigation into the feature, which allows Tesla users to summon their cars to a particular location without a driver, in January 2025 after receiving reports of several crashes.
The NHTSA opted to close the probe Friday following several over-the-air software updates from Tesla aimed at improving detection of camera blockages and dynamic gates.
By the end of the investigation, the regulator found 159 incidents involving the “actually smart summon” feature, including 97 crashes. However, none of the incidents resulted in injuries or fatalities.
Israel hits petrochemical plant in Iran ahead of Trump deadline
Israel hit a major petrochemical plant in southern Iran on Monday, just ahead of President Trump’s deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to all shipping traffic.
The Israeli military struck the largest petrochemical facility in Iran, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said, which is located in the South Pars natural gas field that Iran shares with Qatar.
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