Today in One Sentence. Trump paused Project Freedom after one day, citing “Great Progress” toward a “Complete and Final Agreement” with Iran while keeping the U.S. blockade “in full force and effect” Marco Rubio urged Iran to negotiate, saying “the time’s come for Iran to make a sensible choice,” but added that its leaders are “insane in the brain” Pete Hegseth dismissed reports about Iranian “kamikaze dolphins,” saying: “I cannot confirm or deny whether we have kamikaze dolphins, but I can confirm they don’t” Trump accused Pope Leo XIV of “endangering a lot of Catholics” by criticizing the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran Senate Republicans proposed $1 billion for Secret Service security upgrades tied to Trump’s ballroom project, despite Trump’s repeated promises that the project would use “ZERO taxpayer funding” soil and debris from the demolished White House East Wing tested positive for lead, chromium, and other toxic metals and Fulton County asked a federal judge to block a Justice Department subpoena seeking the personal information for thousands of 2020 election workers.

1/ Trump paused Project Freedom after one day, citing “Great Progress” toward a “Complete and Final Agreement” with Iran while keeping the U.S. blockade “in full force and effect.” Earlier in the day, Trump declined to define whether Iranian attacks on U.S. forces, commercial vessels, and the UAE had breached the ceasefire, saying: “You’ll find out, because I’ll let you know.” However, Secretary of State Marco Rubio later said Operation Epic Fury “is concluded” and that the U.S. had shifted to a defensive Strait of Hormuz mission, saying “There’s no shooting unless we’re shot at first.” Rubio also urged Iran to negotiate, saying “the time’s come for Iran to make a sensible choice,” but added that its leaders are “insane in the brain.” Separately, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed reports about Iranian “kamikaze dolphins,” saying: “I cannot confirm or deny whether we have kamikaze dolphins, but I can confirm they don’t.” (New York Times / ABC News / NBC News / Reuters / CBS News / Wall Street Journal / Associated Press / CNBC / CNN / Bloomberg / Washington Post / Politico)

2/ Trump accused Pope Leo XIV of “endangering a lot of Catholics” by criticizing the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, falsely claiming the pope thinks “it’s OK” for Iran to have a nuclear weapon. Leo, however, has never said that and he rejected the claim, saying the church has “no doubt” opposed nuclear arms. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meanwhile, will meet with Leo at the Vatican on Thursday for what U.S. Ambassador Brian Burch called a “frank conversation” on U.S. policy. Rubio said the trip was planned before the dispute and that “there’s a lot to talk about with the Vatican.” (The Guardian / Wall Street Journal / New Republic / NBC News / Bloomberg / Reuters)

3/ Senate Republicans proposed $1 billion for Secret Service security upgrades tied to Trump’s ballroom project, despite Trump’s repeated promises that the project would use “ZERO taxpayer funding.” The money is included in a roughly $70 billion immigration enforcement bill, which says the funds can’t pay for “non-security elements.” Nevertheless, the White House said Congress had “rightly recognized the need” to harden the “long overdue” project. Democrats, meanwhile, plan to force a floor vote on the provision, while Republicans are trying to move it through a party-line bill. (CNN / Politico / New York Times / ABC News / Washington Post / NBC News)

4/ Soil and debris from the demolished White House East Wing tested positive for lead, chromium, and other toxic metals after being dumped at East Potomac Golf Links. While the National Park Service said the site didn’t exceed legal environmental limits and the Interior Department said the transfer was “safe for the public,” some samples, however, exceeded California’s industrial lead threshold and normal chromium levels. (New York Times / The Hill / The Guardian)

5/ The Education Department opened a Title IX investigation into Smith College, a women’s college in Massachusetts, for allegedly violating federal sex discrimination laws by allowing transgender women to enroll and access women’s housing, bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports. The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights claimed “an all-women’s college loses all meaning” if it admits “biological males.” (Politico / New York Times / Washington Post)

6/ The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued The New York Times, alleging that it denied a promotion to a white male editor because of race and sex. The lawsuit claims the Times diversity goals influenced the 2025 hiring process for deputy real estate editor and violated federal civil rights law. The Times, meanwhile, rejected the case as “politically motivated” and said that neither race nor gender played a role. (Washington Post / The Guardian / New York Times / Axios)

7/ Fulton County asked a federal judge to block a Justice Department subpoena seeking the personal information for thousands of 2020 election workers. The subpoena demands names, addresses, phone numbers, and emails for county employees, temporary workers, volunteers, and poll workers. County lawyers called the request “grossly overbroad” and that it was meant to “target, harass, and punish” Trump’s perceived political opponents. In January, the FBI seized Fulton County’s 2020 ballots and records as part of a federal investigation tied to Trump’s false claims that he lost Georgia because of voter fraud. (Associated Press / CNN / New York Times / ABC News / NBC News)

🟦🟥 Primaries: Tuesday’s primaries in Indiana and Ohio will test Trump’s hold over Republican politics. In Indiana, Trump is trying to oust seven Republican state senators who blocked his effort for a friendlier House map. In Ohio, primaries for governor, Senate, and House will shape November contests that could help decide control of Congress. (NPR / NBC News)

The 2026 midterms are in 182 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 917 days.