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T h u r s d ay, a p r i l 2, 2026
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Trump says U.S. will ‘finish the job’ President says war with Iran nearing completion
BY WILL WEISSERT, JON GAMBRELL and DAVID RISING Associated Press
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said U.S. forces will “finish the job” in Iran soon as “core strategic objectives are nearing completion,” offering a full-throated defense of the war Wednesday night in his first national address since the conflict began more than a month ago. Trump got a wide audience and a chance to articulate clear objectives for the war after weeks of changing goals and often contra-
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suggesting that the U.S. was close to meeting its major military obä Trump lashes out at NATO over jectives in Iran and his estimated war. Page 3A timeline for concluding operations was within two to three weeks. He ä Kidnapped reporter known for promised U.S. forces would congutsy assignments. Page 3A tinue to hit Iran very hard. “For years, everyone has said dictory messages about whether that Iran cannot have nuclear he’s winding down or ready to es- weapons. But in the end, those are calate military operations — even just words if you’re not willing to as Iran kept up its attacks on Israel take action when the time comes,” and Persian Gulf neighbors and Trump said. The president said, “In these airstrikes pounded Tehran. But he spent much of his time past four weeks our armed forces repeating some of the same things ä See TRUMP, page 5A he said in recent weeks, while also
LIFTOFF
Artemis II, NASA’s first lunar voyage in decades, rockets toward the moon BY MARCIA DUNN AP aerospace writer
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Four astronauts embarked on a highstakes 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. Carrying three Americans and one Canadian, the 32-story rocket rose from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, where tens of thousands gathered to witness the dawn of this new era. Crowds also jammed the surrounding roads and beaches, reminiscent of the Apollo moonshots in the 1960s and ’70s. It is NASA’s biggest step yet toward establishing a permanent lunar presence. “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,” said Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, the launch director. “Good luck, Godspeed Artemis II. Let’s go.” Artemis II set sail from the same Florida launch site that sent Apollo’s explorers to the moon so long ago. The handful still alive cheered this next generation’s grand adventure as the Space Launch System rocket thundered into the early evening sky, a nearly full moon beckoning some 248,000 miles away. Five minutes into the flight, Commander Reid Wiseman saw the team’s target: “We have a beautiful moonrise, we’re headed right at it,” he said from the capsule. On board with him are pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen. It was the most diverse lunar crew ever with the first woman, person of color and nonU.S. citizen riding in NASA’s new Orion capsule. Tensions were high earlier in the day as hydrogen fuel started flowing into the rocket.
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Permit for Atchafalaya Basin dam ruled invalid Structure harms crawfish harvests, some say
BY CLAIRE TAYLOR
Staff writer
The permit allowing a dam in the Atchafalaya Basin to remain in place, blocking freshwater flow to crawfish grounds, has been declared invalid by a judge. Instead of ordering the removal of the dam, however, which crawfish farmers say has severely damaged some crawfish grounds and hindered boat passage, the judge stayed the matter. This will allow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which initially granted the permit after the dam’s construction, to rectify deficiencies. U.S. District Court Judge Brian Jackson, of the Middle District of Louisiana, on Tuesday issued his ruling on a 2023 lawsuit filed by the Atchafalaya Basinkeeper and Louisiana Crawfish Producers Association West. In September 2021, the Miller Hunting Club, without getting a Corps permit, built a dam across Pat’s Throat, a waterway in the Atchafalaya Basin, for members to access additional hunting grounds. The dam has small culverts that let some water through, but not boats.
ä See PERMIT, page 4A
2026 LEGISLATURE
Bill exempts athlete pay from public records law BY HALEY MILLER Staff writer
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By CHRIS O’MEARA
NASA’s Artemis II moon rocket lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad ä See LIFTOFF, page 4A 39-B on Wednesday in Cape Canaveral, Fla.
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ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ALEX BRANDON
President Donald Trump speaks about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on Wednesday.
Weeks after journalists filed a lawsuit against LSU seeking records on how much it was paying athletes through revenue sharing, Louisiana lawmakers advanced a bill Wednesday that would carve out an exemption to public records law and make those payments — as well as amounts allocated to individual sports — confidential. “These are safety protections when it comes to the student athlete,” Rep. Tehmi
Business ......................6A Commentary ................3B Nation-World ................2A Classified ..................10C Deaths .........................4B Opinion ........................2B Comics-Puzzles .....7C-9C Living............................5C Sports ..........................1C
ä See PAY, page 4A
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