Trump to Address the Nation About War Plans, and TMZ Goes After Congress

Upstanding citizens are always turning out to be secret criminals, and I wouldn't even call

“my cousin Alan an upstanding citizen, but it's one thing to know and another thing to understand.”

Alan, murder, me, what the hell was Alan thinking? From serial productions and the New York Times, I'm Em Gesson and this is the idiot. Listen, wherever you get your podcasts. In the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford.

Today's Wednesday April 1st, here's what we're covering. I just landed in Houston. This is where NASA's mission control is for its first moon mission with humans on board in more than 50 years. My colleague Katrina Miller is on the ground in Texas to track the launch of the Artemis

2 mission. It's currently scheduled for tonight, barring bad weather or other complications. The capsule, which will be carried into space on a 300+ foot rocket, is set to travel around the moon, taking the astronauts farther from the earth than anyone has been since 1972.

“Four astronauts are flying aboard the spacecraft.”

They will launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. They will loop around the earth and then do a trans lunar injection burn toward the moon. Loop around the far side of the moon and then around a 10, they will splash down off the coast of California.

The crew will get to see and photograph the far side of the moon, the part that we never

see from earth with their own eyes. But ultimately Artemis 2 is a test flight in a series of missions by NASA to return humans to the surface of the moon, and then hopefully eventually someday travel beyond it. The U.S. has found itself in a space race once again, as China has said it's planning to try and land astronauts on the moon by 2030.

NASA for its part is hoping to pull that off by 2028 if this Artemis mission and the next few go according to plan. In the oval office yesterday, President Trump said the U.S. will end its military campaign in Iran in the next few weeks and he promised to address the nation tonight with what

“the White House says will be an important update on the war.”

"I had one goal, they will have no nuclear weapon, and that goal has been attained. They will not have."

Trump declared that the U.S. has completely eliminated any nuclear threat from Iran, a claim

that is not backed up by any evidence. Iran still has nearly 1,000 pounds of highly enriched uranium, which could be used to build a nuclear weapon. Also, its unclear whether decimating Iran's nuclear program is even a true focus of the war, while Trump talked it up when he announced the operation, lately his top officials

have been narrowing the stated goals. "They hear a lot of talk about, we don't know what the clear objectives are. Here they are. You should write them down." This week's Secretary of State Marco Rubio gave an updated list of what he said were the

administration's aims in Iran. Number one, the destruction of their Air Force. Number two, the destruction of their Navy. Number three, the severe diminishing of their missile launch and capability. Number four, the destruction of their factory, so they can't make more missiles and more

drones to threaten us in the future. Rubio's list, which didn't address the uranium, seemed to be an attempt to give the U.S. an off-ramp from the conflict, effectively lowering the bar so that Trump can declare victory. Rubio also didn't mention anything about regime change. Another claim Trump has been making.

Iran's hard-line government is still running the country. Yesterday, the stock market surged amid hopes of the war ending soon. Trump's address is scheduled for a 9 PM Eastern tonight. Meanwhile, in Lebanon, Israel has issued these sweeping evacuation warnings for much of southern Lebanon about 10% of the country, but our reporting has shown that in private

they're giving a more targeted message. Justine a gold bomb covers Lebanon for the times, and she's found that Israel isn't telling everyone to leave from the areas it's targeting. Israeli military officials have been calling several Christian and Jews communities, and assuring them that they can stay, and that they're actually only focused on driving

Shiites out. Shiite Muslims are from the same sect as Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group Israel's fighting in Lebanon. I went to Calcaba, a Marinite Christian town near the border with Israel. It's a town that had taken in around 2 dozen Shiites families who had been displaced from

their border village. When we were there, we were talking to the deputy mayor who was telling us how other

if they had Shiite living in their towns, they needed to tell them to leave, otherwise

“their town would not be safe from Israeli bombardment.”

When she was telling us how she had gone to these displaced Shiite families, told them to prepare themselves, that if they got a call telling them to expel their Shiite residents, the town would do so. Later that day, the mayor of the town got the call from Israeli military officials, and within 24 hours, they had put those displaced Shiite families on buses heading north

out from Calcaba. Being spoken to residents to municipal leaders, to other local leaders who have been receiving these calls, it's become clear to them that Israel is not only intent on changing the geographic map of southern Lebanon, but also the demographic one. The message that they understand is that Christians and Jews will be allowed to stay.

“And now, Shiite Lebanese who have fled the south are increasingly concerned that they may”

never be able to return to their homes.

Now back to Washington for a few quick updates. At the Supreme Court yesterday, the Justices handed conservatives a major win in a case about so-called "conversion therapy" for LGBTQ minors. In an eight-to-one decision, the court threw out a Colorado law that banned mental health professionals from using "talk therapy" to try and change kids' sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Justices said the law was, quote, "aggregious assault on free speech and the first amendment." The court's decision has implications for more than 20 other states that have similar laws barring conversion therapy, which critics and major medical organizations say is ineffective and potentially dangerous for young people.

“Also, President Trump is stepping up his efforts to take more federal control over elections,”

signing an executive order yesterday that would create a national list of eligible voters and restrict male and balance. It's part of his ongoing effort to promote his false claims of widespread voter fraud. And it could violate the Constitution. The President has no explicit authority to manage elections, a power the Constitution gives to states and Congress. Trump's previous executive order

is around elections, including one requiring proof of citizenship to vote, have largely been blocked by the courts. And last update.

"Basically, you say I need congressional approval, and you so wrong."

President Trump is bowing to fight in order from a federal judge that's temporarily blocked construction of his ballroom in the decision, which was handed down yesterday. The judge wrote that work on the massive White House expansion has to stop, quote, "unless and until Congress blesses this project," the national trust for historic preservation, which has been leading the court battle against the ballroom, has raised concerns about the

breakneck speed at which it's moved forward and how it's being paid for. Hearings about it have been going on for months, and the judge appeared to lose patience with the government's lawyer, asking him at one point to quote "be serious," and back off claims

that the $400 million undertaking is comparable to minor renovations that previous presidents have

done, like adding a tennis court. "Every picture we get of a Congress-manorwoman vacationing in the next two weeks, we want those pictures." The Hollywood tabloid TMZ, which is known for sending paparazzi and tipsters after celebrities, is turning its sights on Congress. The sights founder Harvey Levin said that since lawmakers started jetting off on their spring recess last week, without reaching a deal to reopen the

Department of Homeland Security. He wants every picture people can send in of senators and representatives out there living it up and not funding the government. TMZ has posted pictures of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham at Disney World, and Democratic Representative Robert Garcia in Vegas. In response to their photos being posted, Graham said that his Florida trip was part of a meeting with administration officials. And Garcia said he was visiting his dad in Vegas.

Garcia posted online, though, quote, "Actually, I don't mind what TMZ is doing here," saying he didn't think Congressional leaders should have sent lawmakers home with no deal in place. Those are the headlines. One big story to watch this morning, the Supreme Court will hear

You can follow along with live coverage in the New York Times app or at nytimes.com. I'm Tracy Mumford, the headlines will be back tomorrow.