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In the news today: Astronauts start their high-stakes moon mission; Trump’s national speech about the war against Iran; and the immigrants stuck in limbo. Also, the sunken warship that was found after 225 years underwater.
The Morning Wire team will be off tomorrow in observance of Good Friday. Be sure you are signed up for AP News Alerts so you don't miss any major breaking news. |
NASA’s Artemis II moon rocket lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39-B Wednesday, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) |
Astronauts blast off on NASA’s first moon voyage in decades |
Four astronauts embarked on a high-stakes flight around the moon Wednesday, humanity’s first lunar voyage in more than half a century and the thrilling leadoff in NASA’s push toward a landing in two years. Read more. |
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All of NASA’s moon plans — a surge in launches over the next several years leading to a sustainable moon base for astronauts assisted by robotic rovers and drones — hinge on Artemis II going well. It’s been more than three years since Artemis I, the only other time NASA’s SLS rocket and Orion capsule have soared. With no one aboard, the Artemis I capsule lacked life-support equipment and other crew essentials like a water dispenser and toilet. These systems are now making their space debut on Artemis II, ratcheting up the risk.
“On this historic mission, you take with you the heart of this Artemis team, the daring spirit of the American people and our partners across the globe, and the hopes and dreams of a new generation,” launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson told the crew right before liftoff. “Good luck, Godspeed Artemis II. Let’s go.”
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Takeaways from Trump’s address: No end date for Iran war and few details on strategy ahead |
President Donald Trump sought Wednesday to explain his rationale for the war against Iran at a pivotal moment at home and abroad, but he offered few new details. Read more. |
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Notably missing from Trump’s primetime address was his oft-repeated assertion that negotiations with Iran were underway. He softened his insults against NATO allies and did not indicate he was preparing to send in ground troops, particularly to retrieve Iran’s enriched uranium. But he gave no definitive end date for the conflict. He maintained that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, calling such a prospect “an intolerable threat,” and said the country was building a vast arsenal of ballistic missiles that were a threat to America’s homeland. While he said Iran’s ballistic missile capacity was greatly reduced, he didn’t explain how the operation had headed off Iran’s nuclear ambitions. He and his administration had previously insisted that the U.S. and Israel “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program in strikes last summer.
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Immigrants seeking asylum are ordered to countries they’ve never been to, but end up stuck in limbo |
Some immigrants find themselves in immigration limbo, unable to argue their asylum claims in court and unsure if they’ll be shackled and put on a deportation flight to a country they’ve never seen. Read more. |
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More than 13,000 immigrants were living legally in the U.S., waiting for rulings on asylum claims, when they suddenly faced so-called third-country deportation orders, destined for countries where most had no ties, according to the nonprofit group Mobile Pathways, which pushes for transparency in immigration proceedings. Yet few have been deported, even as the White House pushes for ever more immigrant expulsions. Some are in detention, though it’s unclear how many. All have lost permission to work legally, a right most had while pursuing their asylum claims, compounding the worry and dread that has rippled through immigrant communities.
“This administration’s goal is to instill fear into people. That’s the primary thing,” said Cassandra Charles, a senior staff attorney with the National Immigration Law Center, which has been fighting the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda. The fear of being deported to an unknown country could, advocates believe, drive migrants to abandon their immigration cases and decide to return to their home countries.
- “DHS is using every lawful tool available to address the backlog and abuse of the asylum system,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement, which was attributed only to a spokesperson. There are roughly 2 million backlogged asylum cases in the immigration system.
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