Wednesday, April 1, 2026

Who can be an American citizen?

The nation's highest court is hearing arguments around a Trump executive order severely limiting who can be a U.S. citizen. ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌  ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ 
Read in browser

eNewspaper   |    Crosswords   |    Horoscopes

 

The Short List

Wed Apr 1 2026

 

Phaedra Trethan National Correspondent

@wordsbyphaedra

👋🏼 Hi there! I'm Phaedra Trethan, wishing a joyous Passover to all who celebrate!

In Wednesday's news:

The Supreme Court listened to arguments about birthright citizenship. ⚖️
Americans have some choice words about rising gas prices and what it's doing to their budgets. ⛽️ 💸
President Donald Trump is challenging NATO over its refusal to join the U.S.-Israel war against Iran.

But first: Artemis II appears good to go for its lunar mission. Check out this cool graphic explainer about its launch, its trajectory, its mission and its return to Earth. 🌎 🚀 🌖

Who can be an American citizen?

Supreme Court justices are weighing whether President Donald Trump's executive order severely limiting birthright citizenship passes constitutional muster. During arguments Wednesday, the court was tough, though not dismissive, of the administration's position, even as Trump himself paid an unprecedented visit as a spectator. The court, in which conservatives hold a 6-3 majority, will decide whether to uphold its 1898 ruling that a man born in San Francisco to Chinese parents could be an American citizen. The latest updates.

Watch: The Supreme Court hears arguments over birthright citizenship.
Photos: Scenes from the Supreme Court. 📸
What is birthright citizenship? A primer.
How the Supreme Court's ruling could affect millions of people.

News Supreme Court Birthright Citizenship

Demonstrators rally outside the Supreme Court as the court hears Trump v. Barbara in Washington, DC, on April 1, 2026.

Josh Morgan, USA TODAY

Rising gas prices fuel Americans' ire ⛽️ 💸 😖

"Ridiculous." "Outrageous." A necessary "sacrifice." Those are some of the words Americans from New York to California, New Jersey to Florida, are using to describe rising gas prices – and they are indeed rising, $1.05 more on average than they were just a month ago. As the average price of a gallon of gas hit $4 (the highest they've been since August 2022), drivers told USA TODAY reporters that spending is biting into their budgets, reshaping how they live, work and travel.

Pain beyond the pump: How gas prices affect our lives beyond just our fuel tanks.
High gas prices are forcing some commuters to rethink how, and how often, they get to work. 🚗

Gas Prices Hit National High

Texas resident Breya Lewallen, 28, fills up her Toyota 4Runner SUV at a gas station in Denver on March 31 before making the 12-hour drive back home. Lewallen paid $3.65 a gallon to fill up at a time when the national gas price average was $4 a gallon.

Trevor Hughes/USA TODAY

Real quick

The head of the Pentagon overturned disciplinary actions against helicopter pilots who did a flyby at Kid Rock's Nashville home.
A British tabloid reported that the husband of former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem "lives a secret double life."
A top Cuban diplomat said that the U.S. and Cuba could forge close ties even as the Trump administration hints at regime change.
A federal judge ruled Trump administration cuts to NPR and PBS funding were unconstitutional.

U.S. out of NATO?

The U.S. will end its war with Iran soon, President Trump promised, while threatening to pull the U.S. out of NATO for its refusal to get directly involved , and offering conflicting visions of his strategy for the war. Trump claimed in a social media post that Iran's leaders asked for a ceasefire, but that the U.S. would only agree to one if the Strait of Hormuz was opened. Iran called the claim "false and baseless." And he told Reuters that he's not concerned about Iran's enriched uranium, even though the possibility of its use to create a nuclear weapon was one of Trump's initial reasons for launching the conflict. The latest.

Trump will address the nation tonight. How and when to watch. 📺
Watch: What Trump said about the U.S. leaving NATO.

Iran Crisis

Smoke rises following a strike, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, April 1, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency

Majid Asgaripour, via REUTERS

Judge: UPenn must hand over list of Jewish-affiliated employees

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the University of Pennsylvania must hand over a list of its Jewish-affiliated employees to the Trump administration's Equal Employment Opportunity Commission amid an ongoing probe into alleged antisemitism on campus. The university must comply with the EEOC's subpoena of the names and contact information of university employees who are in "Jewish-related organizations on campus" and the school's Jewish studies program. The Philadelphia-based Ivy League institution said it plans to appeal the ruling.

A break from the news

It's April 1. These big brands are getting in on the April Fools action. 😜
I love KitKats. But I can't imagine eating this many of them in a lifetime. 🍫
When I tried to score Springsteen tickets, there were at least a zillion people ahead of me in the virtual line. But now I can cobble together a playlist and pretend I'm at his show. 🎶 🎸 🎵

Phaedra Trethan is a national correspondent at USA TODAY. She'd love to hear from readers about The Short List, story ideas from across the nation and how much gasoline costs where you live. Email her at ptrethan@usatoday.com.

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks next to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) during a press conference on the third day of a partial shutdown of the federal government at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S. October 3, 2025.

Congressional Republicans announced a new deal to fund DHS, which has been shut down for weeks.

An explosion following what the U.S. Central Command says is a strike on an Iranian one-way attack drone at an unknown location, in this screengrab taken from a handout video released on March 22, 2026. CENTCOM via X/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. OVERLAYS AND BLURRING FROM SOURCE. MANDATORY CREDIT. Verification: - Location and date could not verified - No older version of the video was found posted   before March 22
 

Was AI-assisted war behind US school strike on Iran?

Hundreds of civilians have been killed in the Iran war. Is US military AI making deadly mistakes?

Illustration of a man putting money into several piggy banks for retirement.
 

The 'magic number' for a comfortable retirement just got bigger

The "magic number" of savings to retire in comfort keeps rising. But how many Americans actually retire with a seven-figure sum?

The sun sets at Santa Elena Canyon inside Big Bend National Park in West Texas on March 24, 2026. The towering limestone cliffs and narrow gorge make the canyon one of the park's most iconic and photographed vistas.
 

'They've never been here': Why these Texans reject Trump border wall

Texans of diverse backgrounds and opposing politics are uniting to fight President Trump's plan build a border wall in the state's Big Bend region.

Texas megachurch founder Robert Morris arrives at the Osage County courthouse in Pawhuska on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025.
 

Megachurch pastor free after 6 months in jail for child sex abuse

Texas megachurch pastor Robert Morris has been released after serving 180 days in Oklahoma for crimes committed against a 12-year-old girl.

Best fall foliage road trip: Lead Hill to Hot Springs, Arkansas. Route: Arkansas State Highway 7 (179 miles). I'd normally select New England for autumn's most kaleidoscopic colors, but even its most out-of-the-way back roads can be congested during peak periods. Instead, drive along Arkansas' first state-designated scenic byway to Ozark National Forest, which has 42 different species of oak trees, plus hickories, maples, beech and ash, among others. Such a vast variety of   trees results in unimaginable colors painting the region's low river valleys and hillsides. If you get an early enough start, have breakfast or lunch at Cliff House Inn and Restaurant overlooking Arkansas' version of the Grand Canyon, in the town of Jasper.
 

US Forest Service relocating headquarters from DC to Utah

The U.S. Forest Service is relocating its headquarters from Washington, DC, to Salt Lake City, Utah, by 2027, the Agriculture Dept. announced.

President Donald Trump (R) speaks as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick (L) looks after signing an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 31, 2026.
 

Trump signs executive order on mail-in ballots

President Donald Trump moved to assert federal control over mail-in ballots with an executive order.

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) speaks to reporters, on the day of classified briefings for the full U.S. Senate and House of Representatives on the situation in Iran, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on March 3, 2026.
 

Lindsey Graham explains trip to Orlando after backlash

Photos of the senator eating at the Orlando resort and holding a bubble wand amid the government shutdown went viral.

Trevor Tamura smiles at his white coat ceremony.
 

He was headed to medical school orientation. He ended up in the emergency room next door.

This 24-year-old was about to start medical school. Instead, a visit to the ER down the street turned into a brain tumor diagnosis.

Mar 28, 2026; Sacramento, CA, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks guard Agot Makeer (44) controls the ball against the Oklahoma Sooners in the Sweet Sixteen game of the Sacramento Regional 4 of the women's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images
 

Women's Final Four X-factors: Who will be key to national title?

The 2026 Women's NCAA Tournament national title may come down to an unsung hero. Here's a look at a player from each team that must make an impact:

Play Your Way to a Relaxing Break

Unwind with crosswords and challenges that recharge you. 

Crosswords, Puzzles, Comics & Horoscopes

Newsletters   |    eNewspaper   |    Crosswords

Follow Us

Problem viewing email? View in browser

LiveIntent Logo AdChoices Logo

No comments:

Post a Comment