NPR News: 04-03-2026 1AM EDT
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What recent changes occurred in the Justice Department?
Live from NPR News, I'm Jyle Snyder. Attorney General Pam Bondi is out at the Justice Department after just 14 months on the job. President Trump announced the shakeup in the post on social media. NPR's Ryan Lucas reports.
In a post online, Trump called Bondi a great American patriot and loyal friend who oversaw what he called a massive crackdown on crime. But Bondi had come under bipartisan criticism for handling of the files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. She's also been pressed by Trump to aggressively go after the president's perceived political enemies. And under Bondi's leadership, the Justice Department has investigated and even prosecuted some of Trump's critics. But those cases have foundered in court or before grand juries. Now, Bondi is out, and Trump says Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch, a former personal lawyer for Trump, will take over leading the department for now on an acting basis.
Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has forced out the Army's top general, Army Chief of Staff General Randy George, was expected to remain in his post for another year and a half. But a Pentagon spokesman says George's retiring effective immediately, no reason was given. In a now-deleted video on the White House YouTube page, President Trump said the government cannot fund programs like Medicare and child care because of the war with Iran. NPR's Deepa Shivram reports the video was quickly taken down as polls show public opinion souring over the economic impacts of the war.
Trump gave remarks at an Easter event at the White House on Wednesday. It was closed to the press, but the video was streamed live on the White House YouTube page. The president was candid in his remarks about Iran and said it was the federal government's job to take care of military security, not daycare. Because the United States can't take care of daycare. That has to be up to a state. We can't take care of daycare. The war is now in its fifth week. The White House did not respond to requests for comment on why the video of Trump's speech was deleted. Deepa Shivaram, NPR News.
President Trump has signed an executive order imposing a 100% tariff on branded pharmaceuticals imported into the U.S. The tariff would be imposed on companies that have not agreed to pricing deals. or have not committed to making their products domestically. Companies still have months to negotiate before the tariffs kick in. NASA's Artemis II mission with its crew of four astronauts now bound for the moon. The Orion spacecraft called Integrity left Earth orbit Thursday after the astronauts fired up its engine for five minutes, 50 seconds.
Integrity looks like a good burn. We're confirming.
The astronauts now on track for a lunar flyby early next week. By the time they return to Earth, the astronauts will have broken the human spaceflight distance record set in 1970 by Apollo 13. You're listening to NPR News. A proposal earlier this year by a southeastern New Mexico lawmaker for border counties in the state to become a part of Texas was largely taken as an Internet joke. But Texas House Speaker Dustin Burroughs recently released his list of priorities, calling for studying the implications. Now many Texans are asking if this is really possible. Brad Bird from member station KTTZ in Texas spoke to a constitutional lawyer about the idea.
Kenneth Williams is a professor of civil rights and constitutional law at Texas Tech University, and he says, theoretically, it could happen.
The Constitution does provide for that occurrence. However, for that to happen, there would have to be the consent of both legislatures, Texas and New Mexico. and also the consent of Congress.
Before the proposal could even reach New Mexico legislators, however, it would require a petition to call for an election and a vote of approval for the separation by voters in the affected counties. I'm Brad Burt in Lubbock.
When the Masters Golf Tournament gets underway in Georgia next week, it will be without former champions Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods.
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