Thursday morning news: April 2, 2026

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Trump address » President Trump addressed the nation last night from the White House about the war in Iran.

TRUMP:  Tonight, Iran's Navy is gone. Their air force is in ruins. Their leaders, most of them, terrorist regime they led, are now dead.

The president made the case for why the military action was needed. He said that despite his warnings, the Iranian regime had no intention of abandoning its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

TRUMP:  They were also rapidly building a vast stockpile of conventional ballistic missiles and would soon have had missiles that could reach the American homeland, Europe, and virtually any other place on Earth.

He said Iran’s strategy had been to stockpile powerful nuclear-capable ballistic missiles and other conventional weapons before making the final push to develop nuclear weapons.

TRUMP:  They were right at the doorstep. For years, everyone has said that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons, but in the end, those are just words if you're not willing to take action when the time comes.

And he once again said that the United States has nearly completed its objectives in Iran.

Democrats criticized address on social media. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called it a “rambling, disjointed, and pathetic presidential war speech.”

Other Iran latest » Meanwhile in Israel:

SOUND: [Sirens again]

...sirens rang out in Tel Aviv Wednesday to warn of an incoming missile. Those sirens were followed shortly by this sound:

SOUND: [BOOM]

There were no immediate reports of casualties from that attack, but earlier in the day officials said an 11-year-old girl was severely injured from an Iranian missile in a separate incident.

DEFRIN: [Speaking Hebrew]

Israeli military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin says it is possible that Iran and the Iran-linked Lebanese terror group Hezbollah will fire on Israeli territory in an effort to harm civilians celebrating Passover.

Passover began at sundown Wednesday and runs for more than a week.

Russia claims control of Luhansk » Russia claims it has taken full control of the strategically important Luhansk region of Ukraine. But Kyiv says that’s not so. 

WORLD’s Benjamin Eicher has more:

BENJAMIN EICHER: A Ukrainian military official refuted Moscow’s claim, saying his forces still hold small positions in the Luhansk region.

That came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke by video with two of President Trump's envoys—Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner—to discuss the possibility of broader peace talks.

ZELENSKYY: [Speaking Ukrainian]

EICHER: Zelenskyy said he told the Americans that Kyiv needs a sign that Russia is serious about discussing peace. He said if Russia were to withhold attacks on Easter Sunday, that could be one such sign.

Zelenskyy said front-line fighting remains intense, but that Ukrainian forces are still holding their ground. Other Russian battlefield claims in the past have been proven false.

For WORLD, I’m Benjamin Eicher.

U.S. lifts sanctions on Delcy Rodríguez » The Trump administration has lifted sanctions on Venezuela's acting president … opening the door to closer economic ties with Caracas.

The Treasury Department announced Wednesday that Delcy Rodríguez is off the sanctions list—freeing her to work with American companies and investors.

Washington had already recognized her as Venezuela's head of state in legal and diplomatic settings. She stepped in after U.S. forces captured her predecessor, dictator Nicolás Maduro, in January and put him on trial on drug trafficking charges.

Rodríguez was originally sanctioned during Trump's first term. She called Wednesday's move a step toward normalizing the two countries' relationship.

Artemis II » At Florida’s Kennedy Space Center last night …

AUDIO: "4, 3, 2, 1, booster ignition, and liftoff! The crew of Artemis II now bound for the moon. Humanity’s next great voyage begins."

The 32-story moon rocket blasted off carrying four astronauts on a high-stakes flight around the moon. They will not land on the lunar surface, but this mission is an important step in that direction, with the next moon landing potentially about two-and-a-half years away.

I'm Kent Covington.

And still ahead: President Trump’s historic visit to the Supreme Court. And we’ll have a report from the Space Coast of Florida on the Artemis II launch.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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