Top 5 US news stories
April 3 2026
Strait of Hormuz Becomes Iran's Most Powerful Weapon in War With U.S.
U.S. Strikes Major Iranian Bridge, Severing Tehran-Karaj Highway Link
Trump Signals Ground Raid on Iran's Enriched Uranium Is Off the Table?
Artemis II Completes Trans-Lunar Injection Burn, Heading to the Moon
Trump Fires Attorney General Pam Bondi Over Epstein Files, Names Blanche as Interim Replacement
Strait of Hormuz Becomes Iran's Most Powerful Weapon in War With U.S.
Oil tankers, container ships and bulk carriers have been bottled up in the Persian Gulf since the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Iran more than a month ago, with only a handful of vessels per day managing to cross the Strait of Hormuz compared to more than 100 before the conflict. Ships that do transit take circuitous routes through Iranian territorial waters, often paying Tehran a hefty toll. Iran's ability to control the waterway, through which one-fifth of the world's oil supply previously passed, has become its greatest leverage against the U.S., its Gulf neighbors and the global economy. Whether the war ends in success or defeat for the U.S. and Iran now hinges on whether Tehran emerges from the conflict still holding the strait and, with it, the keys to worldwide energy markets. Vali Nasr, a Johns Hopkins professor and former senior State Department official involved in informal discussions with Iranian representatives, said the strait now matters more to Iran than its nuclear program because it provides both deterrence and revenue.
Wall Street Journal
U.S. Strikes Major Iranian Bridge, Severing Tehran-Karaj Highway Link
The U.S. military struck the B1 Bridge linking Tehran to neighboring Karaj in two separate bombing runs on Thursday as part of an effort to sever military resupply routes and prevent Iran from distributing ballistic missile and drone parts throughout the country. Iranian state media reported the strikes killed eight people and wounded nearly a hundred others while partially destroying the structure, with Fars News reporting the second attack struck while rescue forces were assisting victims of the first. President Trump shared video on social media that he said showed the bridge's partial collapse, writing "Much more to follow" and adding that it was not too late for Iran to make a deal. The B1 Bridge is one of Iran's most prominent infrastructure projects, a major highway link underpinning a key commercial corridor and widely described as a flagship of Iranian engineering, standing among the tallest bridges in the Middle East at 132 meters high.
Wall Street Journal
Earlier today, the B1 Bridge on the Karaj Northern Bypass in western Tehran, Iran was targeted in a U.S. and/or Israeli strike, amidst an uptempo in joint U.S.-Israeli strike operations, announced by U.S. President Donald J. Trump last night. pic.twitter.com/Gm0NA2RZOC
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) April 2, 2026
Trump Signals Ground Raid on Iran's Enriched Uranium Is Off the Table?
In his national address, President Trump emphasized that Iran's nuclear sites remain under satellite surveillance and that the U.S. could strike with missiles if anyone moved toward the country's deeply buried, highly enriched uranium, according to analysis from the School of War podcast. Host Aaron Maclean, national security editor at The Free Press, said the statement suggested a special operations raid to secure the enriched uranium has been ruled out, at least for now, because the physical requirements of excavation make seizure unnecessary. The implied message to Tehran, Maclean argued, is that any attempt to unearth the material would be met with bombing. Maclean cautioned that the administration frequently engages in strategic deception, saying one thing and doing another on military action, so the statement cannot be taken entirely at face value.
The Free Press
Artemis II Completes Trans-Lunar Injection Burn, Heading to the Moon
NASA gave the command Thursday for the Orion capsule to fire its engines and leave Earth's orbit, sending four astronauts — three Americans and one Canadian — on a path around the moon for the first time since 1972. At 7:49 p.m. Eastern time, the spacecraft fired its main engine for five minutes and 50 seconds, accelerating with 6,000 pounds of thrust in a trans-lunar injection that NASA acting associate administrator Lori Glaze called "flawless." The crew — Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen — spent their first day in a higher-than-usual Earth orbit testing systems aboard the spacecraft they named Integrity, the primary purpose of this mission. The decision to leave orbit came about a day after Wednesday's launch of the gigantic orange-and-white rocket that vaulted the astronauts into space, with eight full additional days to go before a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
NYT
Trump Fires Attorney General Pam Bondi Over Epstein Files, Names Blanche as Interim Replacement
President Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday after months of private frustration over her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, announcing in a social media post that deputy Todd Blanche would serve as interim replacement. Trump wrote that Bondi would be "transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector," making her the second cabinet member ousted in recent weeks after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was removed last month. Despite her departure, the Republican-led House Oversight Committee is demanding Bondi still testify under oath about the Justice Department's handling of the Epstein files, having issued a subpoena for her testimony in March with bipartisan support. A spokesperson for committee chair Rep. James Comer was noncommittal Thursday on whether the subpoena would be enforced.
NYT / Washington Post
April 3 1973: First handheld mobile phone call marks breakthrough in wireless communication
A Motorola engineer placed the first known call from a handheld cell phone using the 2.2‑pound DynaTAC prototype. Although this brick-sized device would not reach the market for another decade—and then cost about $4,000—it proved that truly portable, personal mobile communication was possible.
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