First Thing: Trump claims Iran war is ‘nearing completion’ in address to nation
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Good morning.
Donald Trump declared the month-long US-Israeli war against Iran a success “nearing completion” in his prime time address to the nation on Wednesday evening – despite the conflict wreaking global economic chaos, damaging transatlantic alliances and hitting his approval ratings.
In an address that Democrats criticized as “incoherent” and doing little to answer “the most basic questions” of the American people, Trump claimed that the US’s “little journey” to Iran had nearly accomplished “all of America’s military objectives”. He was unclear on how he planned to end the conflict over the next “two to three weeks”.
Trump also repeated his claim that Iran’s leadership was seeking a ceasefire on Wednesday. But there was little sign of letup in the war as Israel unleashed two waves of attacks on Tehran and said it had killed a senior Hezbollah commander. Israel has killed at least 1,268 people in Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s ministry of health.
What is the significance of Trump’s comments on HEU? The apparent decision to leave it appears to conflict with his assertions that a key war aim was to ensure Iran could never make a nuclear bomb.
The rocket is now orbiting Earth and will continue to do so until Thursday, when the translunar injection burn will take place and send it on the rest of its 240,000-mile journey to the moon.
While the 10-day test flight will not land on the moon, it will photograph, from a height of 4,000 to 6,000 miles, areas of the moon’s south pole, where the next human landing and an eventual lunar base are planned.
What has Houston said about the rocket’s deployment? Flight controllers confirmed that all four solar arrays, which will provide the spacecraft with continuous electrical power throughout its lunar journey, were deployed successfully.
Death of Rohingya refugee left in parking lot by US border agents ruled a homicide
Authorities have ruled that the death of Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a visually impaired Rohingya refugee who was left by immigration agents in a restaurant parking lot on a cold winter night in Buffalo, was a homicide.
Shah, who was nearly blind and did not speak English, died on 24 February, five days after US Border Patrol agents dropped him off without notifying his family or attorney.
How did he die? The medical examiner’s office said the cause of death was “complications of a perforated duodenal ulcer precipitated by hypothermia and dehydration”, and ruled the manner of death a homicide.
What does homicide mean in this context? For death certification purposes, “homicide” refers to a death resulting from the actions of another person, including negligent acts or omissions, the office said. It does not imply intent to cause harm or establish criminal liability.
In other news …
Trump has reportedly polled advisers about firing Tulsi Gabbard as intelligence chief in recent weeks, apparently frustrated by her shielding a former deputy, Joe Kent, after he undermined the president’s rationale for the Iran war.
Congress’sRepublican leaders have agreed to advance a deal that would fund all Department of Homeland Security operationsexcept immigration enforcement, as an end to the shutdown appears in sight.
New DNA testing has linked Ted Bundy to the unsolved murder of 17-year-old Laura Ann Aime, from Utah, in 1974.
Stat of the day: Just 3% of US homes have an induction stove
Just 3% of US homes have electric induction stoves, which use magnetic fields to heat cookware directly. Efforts to expand their use have been fought by the gas industry and some Republican politicians. Now, a pilot project is beginning in New York to fit thousands of public housing apartments with induction stoves, with benefits for the climate, public health and cost savings.
The Filter recommends: I gave this Victorian-inspired ‘acquaintance card’ to a stranger. Here’s how it went
Tired of swiping through dating apps and want to spark a meet-cute? Acquaintance cards could be for you. Inspired by flirtation cards, which were used in the Victorian era to ask a potential beau on a date, the cards are a way of offering someone a compliment – and, importantly, your contact details. Here’s how it went when a writer tested them out in a Manhattan dive bar.
Don’t miss this: Prosecutors used hip-hop lyrics to help sentence a man to death – ‘This only happens to rap music’
James Broadnax was 19 when a jury convicted him of capital murder, with prosecutors presenting his rap lyrics as evidence that he posed a threat of “future dangerousness”. Broadnax, who has been on death row in Texas for more than 16 years, is scheduled to be executed on 30 April, partly due to how prosecutors framed his poetry. Artists and experts are petitioning the supreme court over the case, with the academic Erik Nielson saying: “This only happens to rap music. No other fictional form, musical or otherwise, has been targeted and criminalised in this way.”
Climate check: Trump pursuing ‘fossil-fuel imperialism’ in Iran
Donald Trump’s recent comments about wanting to “take the oil in Iran” by seizing control of a key export hub echo a familiar refrain for the president, who experts say believes in “fossil-fuel imperialism”. The president’s interest in Iran’s oil – and specifically, Kharg Island – stretches back decades: he told the Guardian’s Polly Toynbee in a 1988 interview that if he ever became president, he would be “harsh on Iran”, saying: “I’d do a number on Kharg Island. I’d go in and take it.”
Last Thing: Reports of this tortoise’s death are exaggerated
At 194 years old, Jonathan the giant tortoise was alive during the American civil war – and has now lived long enough to become ensnared in a crypto scam. A conman posing as his vet announcing the death of the world’s oldest tortoise, apparently in an attempt to solicit cryptocurrency donations.
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