分类： 未分类

Live: NASA’s Artemis II blasts off from Florida as crew begins historic mission toward the moon

2026-04-01T21:01:45.554Z / Reuters

Summary

1. NASA’s Artemis II launches from Cape Canaveral, Florida
2. It’s the first crewed mission around the moon in more than 50 years
3. Mission poised to be the furthest human flight into space ever
4. Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen aboard
5. Rocket blasted off at 6:35 p.m. ET (2235 GMT)
6. If you can’t see the content of video posts, please adjust your cookie settings

This video is live; comments made by participants have not been verified by Reuters. Stay with us for fact-checking and analysis.

FILE PHOTO: Hansen at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, March 27, 2026. REUTERS/Steve Nesius节点运行失败

One of the astronauts is Canadian Jeremy Hansen, who will become the first non-American to go beyond low Earth orbit. It’ll also be his first time in space.

His participation reflects a long-standing U.S.-Canadian partnership in human spaceflight, including Canada’s contributions to robotics used aboard the International Space Station.

Hansen’s participation in the Artemis mission was part of a 2020 agreement between NASA and the Canadian Space Agency.

“It was the result ‌of decades of ⁠contribution and strategic investment on our part that led to this participation,” said Mathieu Caron, head of CSA’s astronaut office, citing the robotics contributions.

A child at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, in Titusville, Florida, U.S., April 1, 2026. REUTERS/Marco Bello节点运行失败

Crowds at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, REUTERS/Marco Bello节点运行失败

People watch the launch at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. REUTERS/Marco Bello节点运行失败

Watch party at the Gerstein Science Information Centre in Toronto, Canada. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio节点运行失败

A monitor in the White House briefing room shows the launch, in Washington, D.C. REUTERS/Evan Vucci节点运行失败

FILE PHOTO: Bolden in Cape Canaveral, Florida, February 20, 2011. REUTERS/Scott Audette节点运行失败

Retired astronaut and former NASA administrator Charlie Bolden had tears of joy watching the launch from a few miles away.

“It was bittersweet to see. I wish I was on it,” Bolden told me.

“It was incredible to see. I’m an emotional person, just tears of joy, thinking about all the people that have been working to this day for more than a decade just to get here. Very proud. I hope that in the morning when I wake up and I watch all the news coverage, no matter what country it’s coming from, people will be saying ‘We are on our way back to the moon.’ We are on our way back to the moon.”

His last trip to space was in 1994 on the STS-60 shuttle mission.

While this Artemis mission will not stop on the moon, here’s a look back at the first time humans landed on it.

Aldrin walks on the moon July 20, 1969, photographed by fellow astronaut Armstrong. NASA via REUTERS节点运行失败

This iconic photograph of Astronaut Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin’s moon walk on July 20, 1969, was taken by fellow astronaut Neil Armstrong.

Armstrong famously said of the landing by Apollo 11 crew: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Footprints on the lunar dust are visible on the lower left of the picture.

Aldrin poses beside the deployed U.S. flag during the Apollo 11 moon landing, July 20, 1969. NASA via REUTERS节点运行失败

Aldrin, the mission’s lunar module pilot, posed for a picture beside the flag of the United States. The lunar module is at left and the footprints of the astronauts are visible in the foreground.

Astronaut’s footprint in the lunar soil in July 1969 file photo. Kennedy Space Center via REUTERS节点运行失败

Another archive photograph shows a close-up view of an Apollo 11 astronaut’s footprint in the lunar soil photographed with a 70mm lunar surface camera.

The Apollo 11 Lunar Module photographed from the Command and Service Modules in lunar orbit in this July, 1969 file photo. Kennedy Space Center via REUTERS节点运行失败

This photograph shows the Apollo 11 Lunar Module – which had the mission name The Eagle -in its ascent stage, with astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin aboard.

It was taken from the Command and Service Module by fellow astronaut Michael Collins, command module pilot, who remained in lunar orbit while Armstrong and Aldrin explored the Moon.

Armstrong uttered the famed phrase “The Eagle has landed” after touchdown on the lunar surface.

Cape Canaveral, Florida, April 1, 2026. REUTERS/Steve Nesius节点运行失败

NASA’s Artemis program is the U.S. effort to return astronauts to the moon for the first time since the Apollo era and eventually establish a sustained human presence there. Washington has framed the goal as central to maintaining space leadership amid growing competition from China.

NASA astronaut Christina Koch, Artemis II mission specialist, on Sunday said the moon is a “witness plate” to the solar system’s formation, and a stepping stone to Mars.

Through a series of increasingly advanced Artemis missions extending into the next decade, the U.S. aims to set precedent for how others will operate and coexist on the moon’s surface, where someday countries and companies can exploit rocky lunar resources and practice for much more difficult missions to Mars.

FILE PHOTO: NASA’s Orion Capsule on December 11, 2022 in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California, Mexico. Mario Tama/Pool via REUTERS节点运行失败

The Artemis program is the U.S. effort to return astronauts to the moon and eventually establish a sustained human presence there.

Here are key milestones in the program:

2017-2018: Program revived

During the first administration of President Donald Trump, NASA was directed to refocus human spaceflight on the moon ‌after years of prioritizing Mars.

2019: Accelerated timeline set

In 2019, the White House set a target of landing astronauts on the moon by 2024.

2020–2021: Delays mount

Technical challenges, cost overruns and COVID pandemic-related disruptions pushed back schedules.

2022: Artemis I flies

In November 2022, NASA launched Artemis I, sending an uncrewed Orion spacecraft around the moon and back during a 25-day mission.

2023–2024: Program recalibrated

Under the administration of President Joe Biden, NASA reset Artemis timelines, pushing the first crewed lunar landing to 2027.

2024: Artemis II crew named

NASA announced the four astronauts for Artemis II: Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

2026: Artemis program overhauled under new leadership

After taking office, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced a sweeping overhaul of the Artemis program.

April 2026: Artemis II mission around the moon

Later this decade: moon landing ⁠planned

Artemis is intended to return astronauts to the lunar surface using a commercially developed lander, a step NASA says is essential before future missions to Mars.

Read more here.

Cape Canaveral, Florida, April 1, 2026. REUTERS/Joe Skipper节点运行失败

The mission is expected to last about 10 days. Here is a day-by-day outline:

DAYS 1-2

The crew will spend the first one to two days in high Earth orbit conducting extensive systems checks. Once checks are complete, Orion’s propulsion system will perform a critical maneuver known as translunar injection, sending the spacecraft out of Earth orbit and onto a trajectory ‌toward ⁠the moon.

DAYS 3-4

During the several-day transit to the moon, astronauts will continue monitoring spacecraft systems. Orion will pass behind the moon on a “free-return” trajectory — a path that ⁠naturally swings the spacecraft back toward Earth without requiring additional propulsion.

DAYS 5-8

After the lunar flyby, the crew will spend several days heading home ⁠while conducting additional deep-space tests. The spacecraft is expected to splash down in the Pacific Ocean, where recovery teams will retrieve the crew.

Read more here.

NASA’s Artemis II mission lifts off at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, April 1, 2026. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid节点运行失败

The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion crew capsule. REUTERS/Joe Skipper节点运行失败

The rocket ascends after liftoff, with its solid rocket boosters already detached. REUTERS/Steve Nesius节点运行失败

Countdown clock before the launch at the Kennedy Space Center. REUTERS/Joe Skipper节点运行失败

People gather to watch the Artemis II launch. REUTERS/Steve Nesius节点运行失败

NASA says the main engine cutoff of the launch system’s core stage is complete, and the core stage has successfully separated from the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and the Orion spacecraft.

This marks the transition to upper‑stage operations of the Artemis II mission.

The rocket is now at supersonic speed, traveling at more than 5,000 mph (8,500 kph).

Cape Canaveral, Florida, April 1, 2026. REUTERS/Joe Skipper节点运行失败

The Artemis II’s 322-foot (98-m) Space Launch System rocket topped with the astronauts’ Orion crew capsule launched at 6:35 p.m. ET (2235 GMT).

Launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson gave her final go remarks: “Artemis II crew is go for launch. Full send,” she said.

FILE PHOTO: Glover speaks to the media next to Hansen, Koch, and Wiseman, at Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida, March 27, 2026. REUTERS/Joe Skipper节点运行失败

The crew has spent more than two years training for the mission since being named in 2023.

Reid Wiseman, 50, logged 165 days aboard the International Space Station during a 2014 mission launched aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

A former U.S. Navy test pilot, he later ⁠served as NASA’s chief astronaut before being selected to command Artemis II.

“The nation and the world has been waiting a long time to do this again,” Wiseman told reporters last week, adding that he and his crewmates “are really pumped to go do this.”

Victor Glover, 49, spent 168 days in space beginning in 2020 as pilot of NASA’s Crew-1 mission, the first operational ISS mission using SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule. Before joining NASA, he flew more than 40 aircraft during a U.S. Navy career that included combat deployments ⁠and test-pilot duties.

Christina Koch, 47, set a record in 2019 for the longest continuous spaceflight by a woman, spending 328 days aboard the ISS. Trained as an electrical engineer and physicist, she previously worked as a NASA engineer and carried out extended research expeditions in Antarctica.

Jeremy Hansen, 50, was selected as a Canadian astronaut in 2009. His seat reflects a long-standing U.S.–Canadian partnership in human spaceflight.

This will mark his first time in space.

The launch had been planned for as early as February 6, and then March 6, until a hydrogen leak prompted NASA to ‌roll the ⁠rocket back to its vehicle assembly building for scrutiny.

But there were major delays before then too.

In January 2024, NASA pushed back the Artemis II launch nearly a year, from late 2024 to September 2025.

The Orion spacecraft caused some of the delay. Its heat shield, the shell that protects astronauts from the heat of re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, and its electrical system, including its batteries, had issues.

In December 2024, NASA examined the capsule and heat shield and further postponed the launch to April 2026.

I’m a Reuters space reporter, and right now I’m in Florida covering the launch.

Here’s what we know about why the U.S. is returning to the moon:

Trump administration readies new tariffs on select drugmakers, Bloomberg News reports

April 1, 2026 11:31 PM UTC / Reuters

节点运行失败

Item 1 of 2 U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an event to unveil the TrumpRx drug discount site, in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus, in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 5, 2026. REUTERS/Al Drago

[1/2]U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an event to unveil the TrumpRx drug discount site, in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus, in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 5, 2026. REUTERS/Al Drago Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

April 1 (Reuters) – The Trump administration is set to ​announce tariffs as soon as Thursday ‌on drugmakers that have not struck deals guaranteeing low prices in the U.S., Bloomberg News ​reported on Wednesday, citing people ​familiar with the plan.

The White House ⁠did not immediately respond to Reuters’ ​request for comment.

Keep up with the latest medical breakthroughs and healthcare trends with the Reuters Health Rounds newsletter. Sign up here.

The Trump administration has been ​considering a 100% tariff on imported branded and patented medicines, prompting global drugmakers to ramp up ​U.S. manufacturing and stockpile inventory.

Advertisement · Scroll to continue

Pfizer (PFE.N), opens new tab and AstraZeneca (AZN.L), opens new tab have ​secured multi-year tariff exemptions through pricing deals and commitments ‌to ⁠the new TrumpRx.gov platform. Eli Lilly (LLY.N), opens new tab, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N), opens new tab and Merck (MRK.N), opens new tab have pledged billions to expand U.S. operations to avoid penalties.

Companies that ​do not ​have ⁠agreements and are not in negotiations with the administration will ​be subject to 100% tariffs, ​the ⁠report said.

The plans are not final and could still change, and there could ⁠also ​be exemptions for some ​medicines and disease categories, it said.

Reporting by Fabiola Arámburo ​in Mexico City; Editing by Chris Reese

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

How high could oil and gas prices go if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed?

2026-04-01 4:20 PM EDT / CBS News

By Megan Cerullo Reporter, MoneyWatch
Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting.

Read Full Bio

President Trump’s comments to reporters on Tuesday that he expects the U.S. to end its war with Iran in two or three weeks is buoying investors by easing global oil prices and boosting stocks. Yet such optimism is certain to fade quickly unless Iran agrees to reopen the Strait of Hormuz soon, according to economists, who warn that crude prices could continue to soar even if the Trump administration moves to wind down military operations in the region.

“The scary scenarios are, unfortunately, extremely plausible. It’s not at all hard to tell a $150 [per barrel] story, and it’s not crazy to go to $200,” Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman told CBS News.

U.S. gasoline prices, which are tied to the global price of oil, would likely keep climbing above $4 if the strait remains closed, according to Bernard Yaros, lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics. The average cost of gas rose on Wednesday to $4.06 a gallon, its highest level since August 2022.

President Trump is scheduled to address Americans on the Iran war on Wednesday night. Energy experts said oil and gas prices will likely move in response to his remarks.

“If the president just foregoes providing clarity or resolution on the Strait of Hormuz, we’re going to continue to see oil prices reacting to the reality,” said Patrick De Haan, a petroleum expert at GasBuddy.

In the near term, the average U.S. price of gas could also edge up to between $4.12 and $4.15 per gallon, he predicted.

But “if the president says good things tonight, then that $4.12 to to $4.15 would likely represent a short-term price peak. And then the national average could start falling,” De Haan said.

Mr. Trump said earlier Wednesday that Iran wants a ceasefire, but he’s made it clear he could end U.S. operations in the region without reopening the strait, leaving other countries to deal with Tehran’s control of the critical shipping lane.

Slowdown in the strait

Since the beginning of the Iran war in late February, more than 70% of all ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz have either been owned by or linked to Iran, or sailing between Iranian ports, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence, a maritime insights provider.

Normally, 20 million barrels of oil flow through the strait daily. That volume has been reduced by as many as 16 million barrels since the war began.

The Strait of Hormuz is a crucial passageway for oil shipments from Gulf states. Bedirhan Demirel/Anadolu via Getty Images

Because there are no direct substitutes for oil and demand for crude is “inelastic,” as economists say, a prolonged closure of the narrow waterway would drive oil prices well beyond their recent highs of around $120 a barrel, Krugman said.

The economist also points to two key factors that he said would influence the price of crude if the strait remains shut: the volume of oil that could traverse the Persian Gulf, and how purchasers of crude would respond to potentially much higher oil prices.

Risks for consumers

Bridget Payne, head of oil and gas forecasting at investment advisory firm Oxford Economics, expects oil prices to rise above $150 a barrel within weeks if the strait remains too dangerous to navigate. That would mean higher energy prices for consumers.

“At the speed we’re seeing prices grow, the pass-through impact on consumer prices becomes a lot worse the longer oil supply stays offline,” Payne told CBS News.

Although moves by the Trump administration to boost oil supplies during war have shielded the U.S. from even sharper hikes in fuel prices, such efforts will become less effective over time, she added. “It’s no match for the scale that goes through the strait. It doesn’t come anywhere near touching how much has been lost.”

Roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz daily.

Matt Bernstein, oil and gas analyst at Rystad Energy, thinks oil prices are likely to remain elevated even if the U.S. moves quickly to start pulling its forces out of the region.

“Even if the conflict did wind down in the next couple of weeks and that strait gradually reopened, what’s starting to become clear is there is no going back to pre-war normal,” Bernstein told CBS News, pointing to the higher geopolitical and financial risks around trade in the Gulf.

If the Strait of Hormuz “remains de facto closed and [oil] supply is still constrained, we’d be in a situation where there is no downward pressure on oil prices,” he added.

Ted Bundy’s DNA linked to unsolved death of Utah teen in 1974, sheriff’s office says

April 1, 2026 / 5:26 PM EDT / CBS/AP

New DNA testing has definitively linked the unsolved death of a Utah teenager in 1974 to the infamous serial killer Ted Bundy, the local sheriff’s office said Wednesday.

Laura Ann Aime, 17, went missing on Halloween night 51 years ago after she left a party alone to go to a convenience store. About a month later, her body was found by hikers on the side of a highway in American Fork Canyon. Aime was bound, beaten and without clothing. Authorities said the evidence indicated that she had likely been kept alive for several days after her abduction.

Investigators long suspected that Bundy was responsible — police said he verbally acknowledged his culpability leading up to his execution in Florida in 1989 — but the case remained open until they could be certain.

Bundy was one of the nation’s most prolific serial killers, with at least 30 women and girls’ deaths linked to him in several states in the 1970s. In 2011, a vial of Bundy’s blood — drawn in 1978 when Bundy was arrested in the death of a 12-year-old girl — was found in Florida. The full DNA profile was entered into the FBI’s national database, giving investigators a shot at solving potential cases linked to Bundy.

His murders — which occurred in sorority houses, parks and elsewhere — set the nation on edge. Bundy’s arrest drew widespread fascination, in part because many considered him to be charming and handsome.

Aime’s family described her as a free spirit who loved the outdoors and found joy in everything she did.

“Laura Aime is the quintessential daughter of Utah County,” Utah County Sheriff’s Sgt. Mike Reynolds said in a news conference earlier Wednesday. “We felt the pain the family feels when she was taken. We felt the pain that you felt this whole entire time, and we’ve had the desire to deliver to you some type of healing, we can’t really say closure.”

It’s not known when Bundy first began his attacks, but by 1974, young women — many of them college students — began disappearing in Washington state. Authorities were still investigating those cases when Bundy moved to Salt Lake City in September, and began killing people in Utah, Idaho and Colorado.

At the time of Aime’s killing, Bundy was studying law at the University of Utah.

Nancy Wilcox, a 16-year-old cheerleader in Salt Lake County, was believed to be one of Bundy’s first victims in Utah, according to historian Linda Sillitoe. Wilcox disappeared on Oct. 2. High school senior Melissa Smith disappeared near the end of the same month. Deer hunters found her bludgeoned body, Sillitoe said.

Bundy was arrested for the first time in August 1975, when police pulled him over and found incriminating items in his vehicle, including rope, handcuffs and a ski mask.

He was found guilty the following year of kidnapping and assaulting Carol DaRonch.

DaRonch, a teen in Utah, testified she was window shopping when Bundy approached her, pretending to be an undercover police officer and telling her a man broke into her car. Bundy offered DaRonch a ride and attempted to kidnap her but she struggled and managed to get away.

Bundy was sentenced to 15 years in prison for that crime, and while imprisoned he was charged in connection with the earlier death of a nursing student.

He was brought to Aspen, Colorado for a hearing in that case in 1977, and he escaped custody by climbing out a second-story courthouse window when he was left alone for a time. He was caught about a week later, but escaped again six months later by breaking through the ceiling of a jail.

That time Bundy fled across the country, eventually making his way to Tallahassee, Florida. On Jan. 15, 1977, he entered the Chi Omega sorority house at Florida State University, bludgeoning two women to death with a large branch and leaving two more badly injured. He then went to another house nearby, badly injuring another woman.

Less than a month later, he abducted, sexually assaulted and killed a 12-year-old girl in Lake City, Florida. Kimberly Leach was believed to be his final victim: Bundy was pulled over in Pensacola while driving a stolen vehicle, and arrested.

Why Trump might regret his historic visit to the Supreme Court

2026-04-01T21:05:12.544Z / CNN

Analysis by Aaron Blake

Updated 5 min ago
Updated Apr 1, 2026, 8:05 PM ET
PUBLISHED Apr 1, 2026, 5:05 PM ET

This courtroom sketch shows President Donald Trump during oral arguments at the US Supreme Court on Wednesday.

Dana Verkouteren

President Donald Trump bulldozed yet another longstanding norm of American government on Wednesday by becoming the first modern president to attend an oral argument of the Supreme Court.

It’s no real secret what this was about.

Presidents have avoided attending oral arguments to negate even the appearance of trying to unduly influence a coequal branch of government. But Trump is happy to browbeat whomever it takes to get what he wants. And he’s reserved some of his most pointed recent criticisms for Supreme Court justices he appointed who have occasionally ruled against him.

So after spending two years floating breaking this norm — and after suffering his biggest Supreme Court defeat in the chamber’s February tariffs decision — Trump finally did it.

But his decision to go was curious. And it’s arguably even more so after the hearing.

Trump seemed to want to send a signal to judges, who have increasingly proven his biggest obstacles in his second term. The fact that he chose to attend even amid the war with Iran — and hours ahead of a primetime address to the nation on the conflict — would seem to reinforce that. It’s not like he doesn’t have other things to do.

But combined with a series of adverse recent court rulings, his presence at the Supreme Court risked reinforcing how little he can control the judicial branch.

The policy at issue on Wednesday was Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship. On the president’s first day back in office last year, he sought to effectively overturn the more-than-century-old interpretation that the 14th Amendment grants citizenship to the children born to noncitizens on US soil.

The conventional wisdom has long been that this order stood little chance of surviving the courts — it’s been ruled against at every turn in the lower courts — and Wednesday’s hearing did little to disabuse anyone of that notion.

Solicitor General D. John Sauer faced a barrage of skeptical questions even from the court’s conservative and Trump-appointed justices.

In perhaps the most difficult exchange for the administration, Chief Justice John Roberts pressed Sauer on its claims about so-called “birth tourism,” or traveling to US soil to deliver a child so they can be a citizen. When Roberts noted that wasn’t a problem when the 14th Amendment was ratified after the Civil War, Sauer responded that “we’re in a new world now.”

To which Roberts shot back: “Well, it’s a new world. It’s the same Constitution.”

Trump left the hearing shortly after Sauer wrapped up and as the justices began questioning ACLU national legal director Cecillia Wang.

We’ll likely have to wait until June or July to hear what the court rules. But based on the arguments, it seems possible the decision could be even more lopsided than Trump’s 6-3 defeat in the tariffs case.

It would even seem possible, judging by Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s questions, that all three Trump appointees could rule against him.

An outcome like that from the first case in which Trump decided to show up in person could prove that he doesn’t have the influence he seemed to want to show.

And to be clear, Trump has made no secret that he wants these justices to feel the pressure.

He savaged Kavanaugh in 2021 for occasionally ruling against him despite Trump having stood by his nominee during an arduous confirmation process in 2018.

Trump has also frequently attacked Justice Amy Coney Barrett as she has emerged as a tough vote for him. And after the tariffs decision in February, Trump said both Barrett and Justice Neil Gorsuch were an “embarrassment to their families.”

But it’s not just Wednesday’s tough hearing that painted an increasingly unfriendly picture for Trump’s efforts to bend judges to his will. He chose to do this at a particularly inauspicious time.

Over the last few weeks, a series of rulings have gone against him on some high-profile issues:

• A judge overturned his administration’s efforts to effectively shutter the Voice of America.
• Another overturned his Defense Department’s restrictive press policy that wound up excluding virtually every mainstream outlet.
• Then a judge halted his administration’s sanctioning of Anthropic after Anthropic refused to let the Pentagon do what it wanted with its AI technology. The judge called the Pentagon’s move “Orwellian.”
• And on Tuesday alone, judges both overturned Trump’s order ending NPR and PBS funding and halted Trump’s efforts to build a new ballroom on the White House grounds — which might be one of Trump’s most prized initiatives right now.

None of these cases are over. But they add to an increasingly ugly picture of how Trump’s policies have fared in court. (Because the courts take a while to act, that picture has come into focus slowly.)

Trump seems to think he can manipulate judges much like he does Republicans in Congress. Most GOP lawmakers, after all, strain to avoid alienating Trump’s base for fear of hurting their chances in a primary.

But judges are different animals. They not only have lifetime appointments, but they actually value the appearance of independence. It’s an asset, even something to be cultivated and emphasized.

Trump lamented that independence in remarks at an Easter lunch after returning to the White House from the Supreme Court.

“Republican judges and justices, they always want to show they’re independent,” he said in a video posted by a Business Insider reporter who said the White House had uploaded it to its YouTube page. (The video was no longer visible on the page as of early Wednesday evening.)

Trump went on to describe how he thinks those judges behave. “‘I don’t care if Trump appointed me. I don’t care if … he doesn’t make any difference to me. I’m voting against him,’ because they want to show their independence.”

But it’s quite possible that Trump’s show of force could have the opposite effect. It could make the justices — and other judges — feel more like they have to stand up for their branch of government, lest it look like Trump is controlling them to some extent.

That doesn’t mean judges aren’t susceptible to pressure. But the calculus is different. And Trump doesn’t seem to have an answer for the fast-accumulating list of cases in which judges — and even many GOP- and Trump-appointed ones — have ruled against his brazen power grabs.

So he tried something different on Wednesday. He might wish he hadn’t.

This story has been updated with comments from President Donald Trump.

Trump admin makes major move to relieve ‘unfair burden’ on DHS workers as shutdown drags on

April 1, 2026 7:32pm EDT / Fox News

Tax filing extensions of this kind are rarely granted and are typically reserved for extraordinary situations such as natural disasters or major disruptions

By Amanda Macias, Fox News

FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration will extend tax filing deadlines for Department of Homeland Security (DHS) personnel as the ongoing shutdown intensifies financial pressure on thousands of federal workers.

The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service are set to announce a 30-day automatic tax filing extension for affected employees, shielding them from penalties and interest. The partial government shutdown has now entered its 46th day, intensifying pressure on federal workers.

HOUSE GOP RAMS THROUGH NEW DHS FUNDING PLAN WITH SHUTDOWN FAR FROM OVER

TSA Agents scan luggage at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia.(Valerie Plesch/Getty Images)

Such broad tax relief is highly unusual and typically reserved for major disasters and other extraordinary circumstances, underscoring the severity of the current shutdown.

“The continued shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security has created unnecessary disruptions, placing an unfair burden on DHS personnel and their families,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.

“We are committed to supporting our hard-working DHS officers and employees so they can stay focused on their mission and keep the American people safe without being penalized for missing a tax filing deadline,” he added.

AVERAGE TAX REFUND TOPS $3,700 MIDWAY THROUGH FILING SEASON, TREASURY SAYS

Scott Bessent, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, speaks to members of the media outside the White House in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025.(Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Under the measure, affected workers will now have until May 15, 2026, to file their taxes and pay what they owe without facing additional financial penalties.

DHS personnel include Border Patrol agents, TSA officers, Secret Service agents and FEMA responders—frontline workers responsible for border security, aviation safety, disaster response and counterterrorism.

Many have reported struggling to cover basic expenses such as rent, mortgages and childcare as missed paychecks pile up.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

A Transportation Security Administration agent looks on passengers queue to go through security at New York’s LaGuardia airport on March 22, 2026.(CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty Images)

The decision comes as pressure mounts over the real-world consequences of the shutdown, with DHS employees caught between their national security responsibilities and growing financial strain.

While the administration says the relief is intended to ease the burden, for many workers it remains only a temporary lifeline as the broader standoff continues.

Amanda covers the intersection of business and politics for Fox News Digital.

Sword-wielding Massachusetts man arrested over threats to Trump, FBI says

2026-04-01T20:34:45.326Z / Reuters

By Nate Raymond

April 1, 2026 8:34 PM UTC Updated 47 mins ago

节点运行失败

Item 1 of 2 A law enforcement agent holds one of several bladed weapons seized by authorities after the arrest of Andrew Emerald in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, U.S., April 1, 2026, on charges that he threatened U.S. President Donald Trump in Facebook posts. U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts/Handout via REUTERS

[1/2]A law enforcement agent holds one of several bladed weapons seized by authorities after the arrest of Andrew Emerald in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, U.S., April 1, 2026, on charges that he threatened U.S. President Donald Trump in Facebook posts. U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of… Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tabRead more

BOSTON, April 1 (Reuters) – A Massachusetts man accused of making threats on Facebook to kill U.S. President Donald ​Trump was arrested on Wednesday after a stand-off with law enforcement in which ‌the man began brandishing a sword.

Andrew Emerald, 45, was charged in an eight-count indictment, opens new tab filed in federal court in Springfield, Massachusetts, over a string of threatening posts he allegedly made last year, including one in ​which he vowed to travel to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida if the president ​was not dead by 2026.

Jumpstart your morning with the latest legal news delivered straight to your inbox from The Daily Docket newsletter. Sign up here.

Advertisement · Scroll to continue

“Either Trump is dead and in the ground ⁠by 2026 or I am hunting him down and putting him there,” Emerald wrote in ​another social media post in May 2025, according to the indictment.

Emerald pleaded not guilty during ​an initial court appearance and was ordered held without bail pending a detention hearing on Monday. A lawyer for Emerald did not respond to a request for comment.

His Facebook posts came to the FBI’s attention as ​a result of a tip from a citizen who had warned Emerald that it was ​a crime to threaten the life of the president, according to documents prosecutors filed seeking to have ‌him ⁠detained.

Advertisement · Scroll to continue

Emerald replied that he had been threatening Trump online for a decade and that, if law enforcement came after him, “I’ll kill them until they kill me,” according to an affidavit, opens new tab from an FBI agent.

When the FBI on Wednesday went to his residence in Great Barrington, Massachusetts to ​execute an arrest warrant, ​Emerald refused to come ⁠out before eventually stepping into view brandishing a long, metallic sword, the affidavit said.

The FBI agent said Emerald had previously referenced his ​sword in Facebook posts threatening Trump, including in July 2025, when he ​said he ⁠would stick it through the president’s throat.

Emerald told agents they would need to shoot him before locking his door, the FBI agent recounted.

Local police and an FBI crisis negotiation team were called ⁠in. ​He finally agreed to be arrested after a police ​officer reached him on his phone, the FBI agent’s affidavit said. Prosecutors said agents subsequently seized multiple bladed weapons following a ​search of Emerald’s home.

Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Alistair Bell and Deepa Babington

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Americans say this is their savings “magic number” to retire comfortably

April 1, 2026 / 5:55 PM EDT / CBS News

Americans’ “magic number” for the savings they need to retire with a measure of financial comfort is $1.46 million, according to new research from Northwestern Mutual.

That figure, based on a survey of 4,375 people who were asked how much money they think they need in retirement, is up from $1.26 million in 2025. John Roberts, chief field officer at the financial planning firm, said the increase reflects ongoing consumer concerns about inflation, with elevated prices in recent years straining household budgets and making it harder for people to save.

The poll was fielded before the Iran war, which has only heightened such concerns as fuel prices rise.

Respondents also worried that artificial intelligence could impact their careers, with 33% saying they fear how the rapidly emerging technology will affect their jobs. Such concerns about job security could be leading some Americans to think they need a bigger nest egg, Roberts noted.

The reality of retirement savings

In general, Americans’ perception of how much money they need to retire is starkly at odds with their actual savings. Of people in the U.S. with retirement accounts, only 5% have at least $1 million socked away, while roughly 9% have $500,000, according to NerdWallet.

Older age brackets tend to have larger nest eggs, but even workers who are nearing retirement often fall short. The median retirement savings for Americans aged 55 to 64 is $185,000, NerdWallet found.

Americans also aren’t saving as robustly. Payroll firm Dayforce found that Americans last year trimmed their annual contributions to their 401(k) accounts to 8.9%, down from 9.2% to in 2024.

“We’re acknowledging there’s a need… but we’re not taking enough action,” Roberts told CBS News.

Savings of $1.46 million would provide roughly $4,800 in retirement income per month, according to Northwestern. But Americans often undershoot how much they think they need to retire.

Unexpected expenses can crop up, depleting funds more quickly than expected. In some cases, people have to tap their savings before hitting retirement age. Recent research from financial services firm Vanguard shows a record share of Americans are taking hardship withdrawals to cover an immediate need, like a medical expense.

“They’re kind of saying, future me is going to live lean,” Rorberts said. “But it’s not actually how it plays out in reality.”

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/record-number-of-americans-making-emergency-401k-withdrawals/

GOP leaders declare path to end DHS shutdown — but enormous hurdles remain

2026-04-01T20:31:46.113Z / CNN

By Sarah Ferris, Aileen Graef

Updated 2 hr ago
Updated Apr 1, 2026, 5:54 PM ET
PUBLISHED Apr 1, 2026, 4:31 PM ET

Cherry blossoms near the US Capitol on March 26, 2026.

Nathan Howard/Reuters

Days after a messy intra-party blowup, President Donald Trump and GOP leaders are projecting unity on a plan to reopen the Department of Homeland Security amid the longest-ever partial government shutdown.

But it’s not yet clear how long it will take to restore funding since the plan is nowhere near close to landing on Trump’s desk. While the Senate plans to take its initial step as soon as Thursday morning, the House hasn’t yet said when it will make its moves — and multiple House GOP sources told CNN that is highly unlikely to happen in the next few days, with many Republicans still eager for clear assurances that the remaining immigration funding will be delivered and still wary of the precedent of letting Democrats successfully defund parts of an agency they dislike.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Speaker Mike Johnson issued a statement on Wednesday declaring an ambitious two-track plan to end the DHS shutdown and pursue a second Trump megabill, after the passage last summer of the president’s tax and border-focused “One Big Beautiful Bill.”

That joint statement, however, does not address a major remaining hurdle — when exactly the House will be willing to pass the Senate plan that they’ve detested from the start, putting the GOP’s fragile unity to the test. And any plan will be extraordinarily difficult for GOP leaders to pull off within Congress’s narrow margins and just months from a midterm election.

In their statement, Thune and Johnson effectively acknowledge that Congress will need to accept a partial reopening of DHS, which the Senate GOP leader had accepted last week to the disdain of his House GOP colleagues.

But it also comes with a sweetener for Johnson and House conservatives — a public promise for a second Trump megabill to secure that extra immigration funding. The statement from the Hill GOP leaders came shortly after Trump issued a similar statement demanding that bill by June 1.

Republicans will pursue what’s known as reconciliation, a highly complex maneuver that must abide by strict Senate budgetary rules, but allows them to bypass that chamber’s filibuster and pass a bill without Democratic votes.

Thune had already suggested that Senate Republicans could pursue this tricky route to secure ICE funding when he agreed to pass a partial DHS funding bill with Democratic support. House Republicans, however, quickly rejected that plan, criticizing the lack of immigration enforcement funding.

Now, House Republicans who have been long eager to use the complex procedural tool again have forced both Thune and Trump to go on the record supporting it.

Lawmakers have been under intense pressure to return from their recess and pass a bill, with TMZ publishing photographs of members leaving Washington, on vacation, at family events, back in their home states and on official congressional trips abroad. On Wednesday, the tabloid published photos of a group of members of Congress on a trip in Scotland.

A spokesperson for GOP Rep. Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin, one of the lawmakers seen in the photos, said in a statement that the congressman joined other members “on a delegation that was pre-approved by the House Ethics Committee months ago. The trip focuses on economic development, foreign partnerships, and business engagement, including meetings with members of Parliament and other international officials.” Congressional delegation trips to other countries are a common part of lawmakers’ duties in both the House and Senate.

GOP leaders in both chambers know that so-called Reconciliation 2.0 will be extremely difficult: Even if there is an effort to keep it relatively narrowly focused, members will try to load up that bill with all their election-year priorities, including policy wish-lists like voter ID that are not technically allowed in the budget-focused bill.

Republicans have also seriously talked about using the reconciliation maneuver to fund Trump’s war in Iran since Democrats have no interest in supporting it. It’s not yet clear if the Iran money — which hasn’t been formally requested yet — can pass in this measure before June 1.

In his statement, Trump said he is working with Republican congressional leaders to fund ICE and border patrol with a second reconciliation bill he has demanded be ready for his signature by the remarkably quick deadline.

Trump slammed Democrats for not funding ICE until key demands on reforms were met, and the president said he is planning to work around Democrats by using the reconciliation process to provide money for the agency.

“That’s why we are going forward to fund our incredible ICE Agents and Border Patrol through a process that doesn’t need Radical Left Democrat votes, and bypasses the Senate Filibuster (which should be repealed, IMMEDIATELY!), working in close conjunction with House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Leader John Thune,” he said in a lengthy Truth Social post.

Trump’s directive to the party for a new GOP megabill comes after the president mostly remained on the sidelines of Congress’ deepening DHS shutdown crisis. Now, he’s hoping to put a potential end in sight for the shutdown — and trying to force the GOP to unite behind a solution after days of ugly intraparty sniping.

The president is tossing a new demand to Congress at a rough time: GOP lawmakers are deeply divided on strategy and agenda, and Johnson has only a single vote to lose in the House. They also know members will clamor to get their own priorities tacked onto the megabill. Many lawmakers in both chambers, including in leadership, believe this will be the only way to pass Trump’s demands for more Iran funding, as well — which will be another huge lift this spring.

GOP leaders are already trying to brand the bill as a “skinny” reconciliation bill to prevent their members from overloading the bill and holding up its passage. But ultraconservatives are eager to use the tool for debt reduction — and may demand that cuts be included in any package.

This story has been updated with additional details.

CNN’s Manu Raju, Lauren Fox and Morgan Rimmer contributed to this report.

李强在四川调研 要求加快能源结构调整优化

2026年4月2日 07:16 / 联合早报

中国国务院总理李强到四川调研，他要求着力推进新型电网建设，加快能源结构调整优化。

据中新社报道，李强3月30日至4月1日在四川调研。他说，要深入贯彻落实中共总书记习近平关于绿色发展和建设能源强国的重要论述，实施好能源安全新战略，坚持创新引领，发挥资源禀赋优势，持续扩大绿电供给，着力推进新型电网建设，加快能源结构调整优化，为经济社会高质量发展提供有力支撑。

李强先后来到成都市、德阳市，考察新能源开发和相关装备制造企业等。在通威全球创新研发中心，李强听取光伏技术攻关介绍，进入车间察看电池组件研制情况。他说，近年来，光伏技术的进步有效提高了太阳能利用水平。要大力支持企业探索创新，加大研发投入、努力突破关键技术瓶颈，打通各类应用场景，加快新技术规模化应用。

在雅砻江流域水电开发有限公司，李强了解水风光一体化基地开发等情况，听取四川省新型电网建设汇报。他指出，新型电网建设对于保障能源安全、促进绿色发展具有重要意义。要积极探索新架构、新技术、新服务，完善网络建设，提升系统协同和调节能力，强化多元需求保障，打造安全可靠、绿色低碳、坚强韧性、智能灵活的新型电网。四川是中国重要清洁能源基地，要推动水风光氢天然气等多能互补，在清洁能源开发利用和新型电网建设方面走在前列，积极推进新型能源体系建设，同时更好带动相关产业发展。

在国机重型装备集团股份有限公司和东方电气集团东方电机有限公司，李强了解企业最新科研成果，察看核电、水电等装备及核心零部件。他勉励企业瞄准科技前沿和市场需求，推动人工智能等先进技术与制造业深度融合，不断在清洁能源装备制造等领域取得新突破，更好服务中国新能源产业发展和能源转型。

李强来到岷江紫坪铺水利枢纽工程，察看紫坪铺水库库区，了解四川省水利建设等情况，随后考察了都江堰水利工程。李强说，治水是利在千秋的事业。要传承发展治水智慧，加快水利设施现代化，更好发挥防洪、灌溉、供水、发电、生态等综合功能，以治水兴水的新成效造福于民。在广汉市“天府粮仓”万亩小麦单产提升示范区，李强走进田间察看小麦生长、水稻育秧、无人机作业，与农技专家、种粮农户交流。

李强说，当前正值春耕春播，要紧抓农时做好农资供应、技术服务等工作，加大智慧农机等新技术新装备应用，高标准抓好田间管理。要发挥种粮大户带动作用，创新农业经营方式，落实好惠农政策，强化种粮收益保障。要在土地改良、良种培育等方面持续用力，加快农业生产数智化转型，持续提升粮食安全保障能力。

吴政隆陪同调研。