UNDERNEWS
Online report of the Progressive Review. Since 1964, the news while there's still time to do something about it.
April 3, 2026
Donald Trump
Mail-in Ballots
NATO
Rutte has often sought to tamp down Trump’s long-simmering ire toward the trans-Atlantic alliance, and his practice of refusing to criticize the U.S. has angered some of his European counterparts. Trump’s main issue right now is NATO members’ refusal to show “courage” and lead the fight in clearing the Strait of Hormuz so oil-bearing ships can once again safely pass.
Trump has long had it out for NATO, having declared it obsolete during his first term as he pushed “America First” policies. During his second term, he has gone much further, like saying he might use military force to take Greenland (though he later walked back those comments). While Trump can’t unilaterally withdraw the U.S. from NATO, he could take steps to diminish the alliance and weaken it as a deterrence, particularly against potential threats from Russia.
More on the strained U.S.-NATO relationship.
Study find national debt much larger than declared
Trump vs. public lands
Western Priorities - The Center for Western Priorities released the following statement from Deputy Director Aaron Weiss:
“The White House budget is missing key details, but even in broad strokes it paints a bleak picture for America's parks, wildlife, and everyone who hunts, fishes, hikes, or simply enjoys the outdoors. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has already fired or forced out 13,000 employees. How many more does he plan to push out the door? This document doesn’t say. National parks are already short-staffed heading into summer. 2026 is shaping up to be one of the driest and most dangerous years for Western communities. This budget tells the people who do that work and live in the West that things are only going to get worse.
“Days after convening the ‘God Squad’ to greenlight the extinction of an entire species of whale, the White House is now proposing to strip NOAA of its role protecting ocean wildlife and hand that authority entirely to an Interior department that has shown it’s in the business of ending species, not saving them. Meanwhile, the administration is targeting programs it clearly does not understand. Covering up irrigation canals with solar panels is not ‘woke.’ It’s one of the best tools to limit evaporation, delivering more water and power to Western farmers. Cutting them does not save money. It wastes water, even as Lake Powell heads toward deadpool.”
Key concerns:
- Kneecapping the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Restricting LWCF to easements and blocking new public land acquisition ignores Congress and the American people. Voters in red and blue states alike have consistently backed LWCF because it is the single best tool for increasing access to public lands, especially for hunters and anglers.
- Presidential slush fund. President Trump wants a $10 billion “beautification” fund to build his vanity projects around Washington, DC, presumably including projects he previously claimed would be paid for with private donations, including the White House ballroom, Trump Arch, and statue garden.
- Eliminating science. Zeroing out the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area and climate research across every Interior bureau removes the scientific foundation these agencies need to manage land, water, and wildlife. You cannot manage what you refuse to measure.
- Killing renewable energy on public lands. Eliminating $45 million in renewable energy programs, including all offshore wind work, while fast-tracking oil and gas permitting makes it clear this administration sees public lands as an extraction zone, not a resource to steward for future generations. At a moment when oil prices are spiking and American families are watching their utility bills climb, pulling the plug on every source of electricity that doesn’t come from burning fossil fuels is a blueprint for higher energy costs.
- Dismantling the Forest Service. Trying to build a new unified wildfire service while also reorganizing the Forest Service is like trying to give your car a tire rotation at highway speeds. It’s a disaster waiting to happen. It mirrors the BLM headquarters relocation from the first Trump term: use “reorganizations” to break agencies from the inside.
Polls
Election Time
Iran
NPR - Iran is formalizing a system that will require
ships to pay transit fees to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. This
move is part of a broader action by Iran to assert its control over the vital
waterway, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas passes.
Shipping analysts and crisis management groups that NPR's
Jackie Northam spoke with say that the process begins with
government-to-government negotiations. A senior Iranian lawmaker suggested that
fees could reach $2 million per vessel. Some ships, including those from India,
Pakistan and China, have negotiated diplomatic deals. Iran will not allow any
ship with links to the U.S. or Israel to pass through the waterway. Analysts
tell Northam that they expect to see some movement in the energy crisis, but it
will be slow, and the situation remains precarious.
U.K. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper hosted a virtual call with
international leaders from more than 40 countries to explore ways to reopen the
Strait. The meeting followed Trump’s recent remarks urging other
countries to take more action to unblock the vital shipping route. The U.S. and
Israel were not involved. Officials discussed both diplomatic and economic
measures their countries could implement now and after the fighting ceases
to help secure the shipping route,
according to NPR’s Fatima Al-Kassab. The meeting focused on strategies like
applying more United Nations pressure on Iran and rejecting Iran’s attempts to
impose tolls on passing ships.
As Trump's focus remains on the war, his approval
rating has dipped on the issue voters say they care about most: the economy.
These are the takeaways from the
president's last seven days.
Food warnings
Trump wants big increase in defense budget at expense of good domestic programs
Wealthy Donors Are Hiding Political Money
Reagan speechwriter takes on Trump
Childcare
Pam Bondi
EVs cost less to drive
“Even before prices at the pump started soaring above $4 a gallon, Consumer Reports found that the typical E.V. owner saves $6,000 to $12,000 on maintenance and fuel over the car’s lifetime.”
April 2, 2026
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth forces out Army's top officer
Donald Trump
Trump fires Bondi as Attorney General
Occupy Democrats - O Pam Bondi's humiliation grows as it's revealed that she begged Trump not to fire her as Attorney General — but he did it anyway and threw her under the bus… According to new reporting from The Daily Mail, Bondi "begged" for Trump to let her keep her job during an "explosive showdown" at the White House. He informed her of her firing shortly before his Iran War speech yesterday. Upon hearing the news, she began "pleading" for mercy but Trump "remained firm."
White House ballroom
Meanwhile. . .
NPR - The Food and Drug Administration has approved Foundayo, a new GLP-1 pill to treat obesity, from drugmaker Eli Lilly.
Gavin Newsom announced that California will be the first state to join the World Health Organization. This is in direct defiance of Donald Trump, who just pulled the United States out of the organization.- People - A missing teen has been located after vanishing without a trace from her Arizona home over three decades ago. Christina Maria Plante was 13 years old when she was last seen on May 15, 1994. The Gila County Sheriff's Office did not release more information on the case out of respect for Plante's privacy
Birthright citizenship
ICE
JPMorgan Chase's chair Jamie Dimon
JPMorgan Chase chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon tells Axios CEO Jim VandeHei the U.S. is facing the most concurrent risks in 80 years — and that's before AI starts displacing a large number of American workers.
- Dimon, in an interview for "The Axios Show," says American business leaders need to step up, and speak up, to help guide the country through these high-risk, tumultuous times.
"We in business made a mistake in not getting more involved earlier," Dimon told Jim at JPMorgan's new global headquarters in Manhattan. "I do not think the problems of society will be fixed by politicians alone."
- Dimon's annual shareholder letter, out next week, will dive deep into geopolitical threats. "There's more geopolitical risk than we've seen since World War II," he said.
He told Axios that AI is likely to displace lots of workers in the medium term and increase the likelihood of a large-scale cyberattack. "AI makes cyber — and these [AI agents] make cyber — far worse," he said....
Dimon's other risks, in no particular order: China, cyber, Iran war escalation, Russian aggression, rogue AI, private credit crisis, unsustainable U.S. debt, political dysfunction, economic uncertainty and nuclear weapons. More