JD Vance to Lead Iran Talks; WH Announces Uptick in Hormuz Traffic | NTD Good Morning (April 9)

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says that the Trump administration is sending a negotiating team to Pakistan for talks with Iran led by Vice President JD Vance. The first round of talks is set to begin on Saturday morning. The team will also include U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser. This will come just days after Iran and the United States agreed to a deal that secured a two-week ceasefire.The White House is declaring that Iran has agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Press Secretary Leavitt saying on Wednesday that President Trump's maximum pressure campaign and the leverage from Operation Epic Fury is what ultimately led to the Iranian regime asking for and then agreeing to a ceasefire proposal with the US.NASA's Artemis II mission is heading back to Earth after completing a historic flyby of the moon. A plush moon named "Rise" is also flying aboard the Orion spacecraft, serving as the mission’s zero-gravity indicator, floating once astronauts reach weightlessness. "Rise" was designed by an 8-year-old from California, and selected from thousands of global submissions.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine held a press conference at the Pentagon on Wednesday, declaring a ‘historic military victory’ against Iran. Secretary Hegseth saying that Iran’s missile program and defense industrial base has been destroyed, and that the Strait of Hormuz is open for commerce. Following the cease-fire announcements, oil prices drop sharply across the globe, with U.S. crude dropping more than 16%.Georgia voters have elected Trump-backed Republican candidate Clay Fuller, to serve in Congress as Marjorie Taylor Green’s replacement. Fuller won nearly 56% of the vote, though his opponent said the race showed progress for Democrats in the red district. Fuller will fill Greene’s seat until the end of the year, but will have only one month off the campaign trail, as he will have to run in another Republican primary in May to secure a full two-year term.The Justice Department’s newly-created fraud enforcement division is cracking down on fraud across the U.S. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche says its core mission will be to investigate and prosecute those who steal taxpayer dollars and ‘rip off the American people.’ The new division is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to go after fraud.

President Trump now vowing to wipe out Iran's power plants and bridges, if it does not reach an agreement with the U.S. by 8 PM EST on Tuesday, to end the conflict and open the Strait of Hormuz. Trump posted on Truth Social on Tuesday morning saying ‘A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.’The four-person crew aboard NASA’s Artemis II mission is pushing deeper into space than any human before, traveling more than 252,000 miles from Earth, surpassing the record set by Apollo 13 more than five decades ago. The crew also witnessing a rare solar eclipse and distant views of Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn during the flyby. President Trump also marked the historic milestone, saying that the astronauts have ‘made all America really proud.’The Education Department announcing in a video posted on X that it's rescinding multiple Title IX agreements it says pushed a transgender agenda under previous administrations. Officials say those policies wrongly expanded the law beyond its original intent, protecting against discrimination based on sex, by requiring schools to adopt gender identity rules, including pronoun use.

The United States is continuing to strike Iran following a stunning rescue of a U.S. airman. President Donald Trump will address the nation on Monday on Operation Epic Fury. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says the president's press conference on Iran will take place in the White House Briefing Room due to popular demand from the press.NASA's Artemis II mission is now entering a critical phase, with astronauts preparing for a historic flyby of the moon. NASA said lunar gravity will soon take over. The mission marks the first crewed journey around the Moon in more than five decades. NASA said the Moon’s surface offers a record of the solar system’s history through its impact craters. NASA said the mission will help pave the way for future efforts to return humans to the lunar surface later this decade.The White House is hosting its annual Easter Egg Roll today on the South Lawn, with a patriotic theme tied to America's 250th anniversary. First Lady Melania Trump is previewing an expanded lineup of activities for families attending the event. The event includes traditional egg rolling and hunting, along with interactive experiences and educational exhibits.

NASA’s Artemis II crew is officially heading to the moon after a final major engine firing on Thursday, taking them out of Earth’s orbit. The four astronaut crew are on a 10-day mission as they plan on circumnavigating the moon, marking the first time humans have left Earth’s orbit since Apollo 17’s 1972 mission.President Trump is warning of further military action against Iran, saying more strikes could be coming soon, following reports of an air strike hitting a major highway bridge near Tehran. U.S. Central Command says it is making undeniable progress, as the U.S. enters the 5th week of Operation Epic Fury.President Trump announced a major shakeup at the Justice Department, saying Attorney General Pam Bondi will be stepping down. In a social media post, the president praised Bondi’s tenure, calling her a ‘Great American Patriot and a loyal friend.’ President Trump says Bondi will transition to a new role in the private sector, while Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche will serve temporarily as acting Attorney General.

In a primetime address on Wednesday night, President Trump says the U.S. is nearing the end of its war with Iran. Since the operation began, U.S. forces have targeted Iran's military infrastructure, including vessels, missile systems, and proxy networks. The campaign is also focused on preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. President Trump also reiterated that Operation Epic Fury will continue until all objectives are fully achieved.The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Wednesday about President Trump’s executive order to restrict birthright citizenship. The president sat in the courtroom, the first time for any U.S. president. The justices didn't give a clear indication of how they would rule. But some seemed reluctant to reinterpret a constitutional amendment that's been in existence for over a hundred years, and are expected to make a ruling by late June or July.For the first time in more than 50 years, NASA is sending astronauts around the moon. Artemis II launched from Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, sending four astronauts on a trip around the moon. The trip will take roughly 4 days and is expected to be the farthest any human has ever traveled in space. The astronauts will return to Earth for splashdown off the U.S. west coast.

President Donald Trump is set to address the nation in a prime-time address on April 1. The White House says he plans to provide an important update about Iran.The president said U.S. forces could wrap up combat operations in as little as two to three weeks, after striking more than 11,000 targets since the start of the campaign. The Trump administration says the military effort has significantly degraded Iran’s capabilities, with new intelligence pointing to declining missile and drone attacks.The Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments in the birthright citizenship case on April 1. Trump is also set to attend the case. The case, Trump v. Barbara, is about whether his executive order excluding the children of illegal immigrants and legal temporary visitors from automatically gaining U.S. citizenship at birth is constitutional. The order has been blocked in the lower courts.The Supreme Court on March 31 ruled against a Colorado ban on so-called conversion therapy. In the 8–1 decision, the justices said a lower court failed to properly analyze whether the Colorado law violated the First Amendment.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine declared at a news conference on Tuesday that ‘the upcoming days will be decisive’ in the war with Iran. In a post on social media early Tuesday, President Trump called on other countries to ‘go get your own oil’ by taking control of the Strait of the Hormuz.Gas prices are climbing sharply, with the national average hitting f$4 a gallon on Tuesday for the first time in years. AAA says that’s the highest level since August 2022, when Russia launched its war against Ukraine. Prices jumped more than a dollar in just the past month. The conflict in the Middle East disrupting global energy supplies, especially through the Strait of Hormuz.The FBI is now saying the attack on a Michigan synagogue earlier this month was inspired by the Hezbollah terror group. Investigators say the suspect, 41-year-old Ayman Ghazali, targeted Temple Israel in West Bloomfield because of the size of its congregation. Authorities say Ghazali spent days planning the attack, researching synagogues, and looking up what time lunch was served at Temple Israel.

The Senate approved a partial funding package for the Department of Homeland Security early Friday morning, covering most agencies but leaving out immigration enforcement operations. The measure now heads to the House, which is expected to vote on it on Friday, just before lawmakers depart for a two-week Easter recess.President Donald Trump is extending his pause of strikes on Iranian energy plants by 10 more days. That’s as he declares the Iranian regime is "begging" to make a deal with the United States, saying its military has "zero" chance of a comeback.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent predicts that energy prices and inflation will be lower after the end of Operation Epic Fury and is confident shipping traffic will continue to increase daily, even before the United States secures the Strait of Hormuz.Secretary of State Marco Rubio joined his G7 counterparts on Friday for a summit in France. Rubio is attending the second day of the gathering of ministers of leading Western democracies. The sit-down is being held in a 12th-century abbey near Paris.European powers accused Russia of helping Iran target U.S. forces in the Iran war during the meeting’s first day. Washington's partners are also hoping to get greater clarity on U.S. and Israeli military operations.

President Trump says talks with Iran are going very well. The President telling reporters aboard Air Force One that the U.S. is negotiating directly and indirectly. He also said that Iran has allowed 20 oil ships to pass through the Hormuz Strait as a ‘sign of respect.’ President Trump also saying the U.S. military is having enormous success, decimating the Iranian Navy and Air Force.President Trump outlining the latest on the SAVE America Act, saying it would enforce new proof-of-citizenship and ID requirements for federal elections. Critics say it could disenfranchise millions of eligible voters, but the president dismissing those concerns.TSA agents will start getting paid on Monday, after President Trump signed an executive order last week that would allow them to get paid despite the partial government shutdown. A DHS spokesperson says more than 500 TSA agents have quit since the partial shutdown began, with thousands calling out. White House Border Czar Tom Homan says ICE agents are stepping in to help at airport during the ongoing shutdown, and that support will continue until operations return to normal.