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Advancing the Power of Facts

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By Amy Langfield

April 02, 2026

By Amy Langfield

April 02, 2026

 
 

Hello and welcome to your afternoon news update from AP. Today, President Donald Trump said he will sign an order to pay all Department of Homeland Security employees; a look at the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy, which has faced jibe after jibe from Trump; and today is International Fact-Checking Day.

 

The Afternoon Wire team will be off tomorrow and Monday in observance of Good Friday and Easter. Be sure you are signed up for AP News Alerts so you don't miss any major breaking news.

 

UP FIRST

AP Morning Wire

President Donald Trump arrives from the Blue Room to speak about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on Wednesday in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)

Trump says he’ll sign an order to resume pay for Homeland Security. His move bypasses Congress

Trump said Thursday he will soon sign an order to pay all DHS employees who have gone without paychecks during the record-long partial government shutdown that has reached 48 days. Despite that unilateral move announced in a social media post, the funding lapse for some DHS needs is likely to stretch into next week as the House contemplates passing a Senate plan it had previously rejected to fund the bulk of the agency, though not its immigration enforcement operations. Read more.

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TOP STORIES

A look at the UK’s Royal Navy, which has faced jibe after jibe from Trump and Hegseth

Trump and his Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have been damning of the U.K.’s naval capabilities. Their jibes may have stung in a country with a long and proud maritime history, but they do carry some substance. The U.K. has been at the forefront of Trump’s ire since the onset of the Iran war on Feb. 28, when British Prime Minister Keir Starmer refused to grant the U.S. military access to British bases. For numerous reasons, the Royal Navy is, and has no reason to be, as big as it used it to be. But it’s not as feeble as Trump and Hegseth imply. Read more.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

  • Live updates: Iran and Israel keep up attacks as Trump insists US will hit Tehran even harder
  • UK gathers more than 40 countries to plot ways of reopening the Strait of Hormuz
  • War crimes complaint filed in France over a deadly Israeli strike in Beirut
  • Dizzying US fuel prices are determined by factors largely outside of a gas station’s control

It’s International Fact-Checking Day. Refresh your AI identification skills

Artificial intelligence-generated content is everywhere these days, making it increasingly difficult to separate fact from fiction, particularly when it comes to breaking news. Look no further than the Iran war. Since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, researchers have identified an unprecedented number of false and misleading images that were generated using artificial intelligence and have reached countless people around the world. Among them, fake footage of bombings that never happened, images of soldiers who were supposedly captured and propaganda videos created by Iran that depict Trump and others as blocky, Lego-like miniatures. International Fact-Checking Day provides a good opportunity to look at these evolving challenges. Read more.

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