‘We’re in War’

Good afternoon. This is the Final NOTUS newsletter for April 3, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!

The Latest

The U.S. military has rescued a pilot from the fighter jet that was shot down over Iran, but the status of the other person on board is not publicly known. Iranian state TV said that at least one crew member ejected, adding that there’d be a reward for any resident who turned in the “enemy’s pilot or pilots.”

• Donald Trump was briefed on the incident, but has not yet made public comments about it beyond telling NBC that it would not affect negotiations with Iran. “No, it’s war. We’re in war,” the president said.
• A second aircraft was shot today in a separate incident, The Washington Post reports. The A-10 attack plane was also hit by incoming fire, and the pilot navigated the plane into Kuwaiti airspace before ejecting and being rescued, according to U.S. officials.
• Just a few days ago, Pete Hegseth told reporters that the U.S. had achieved such “air superiority” that the military began flying B-52 bombers directly over Iranian airspace.
• A new Reuters/Ipsos poll found that two-thirds of Americans think the U.S. should wrap up the war quickly, even if it means not achieving the Trump administration’s goals.

The Administration

Trump submitted his budget proposal to Congress. In: massive military spending and immigration detention facilities. Out: anything the administration considers “woke, weaponized and wasteful.” Some highlights:

• A $1.5 trillion defense budget, a record-breaking request amounting to a 42% increase over last year’s (record-breaking) ask. There’s no mention of the war with Iran in the request.
• A plan to operate up to 100,000 beds for adult immigrant detention and a request to lock up tens of thousands of more parents and children.
• $10 billion for construction and beautification projects in D.C., a move some advocates worry is a strategy to claim congressional authorization for controversial new monuments or other changes.
• A 10% reduction in non-defense spending, including the elimination of the Fair Housing Initiatives Program, Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing, the Minority Business Development Agency, Minority-Serving Institutions programs and others described in the document as “woke” and “funding for cultural marxism.”

The president is expected to sign an executive order as soon as today giving the NCAA more control over college sports, CBS reports. The order targets the rapidly evolving name, image, likeness (NIL) landscape, which allows Division I student athletes to be directly paid by colleges.

The Courts

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was hospitalized last month after a Federalist Society dinner, CNN reports. Alito, 76, was evaluated for dehydration and returned home that night. Many have speculated about when Alito will retire, but he has so far declined to answer journalists’ questions on the subject.

A federal judge compared U.S. prison health care to a ‘Soviet Gulag’ in an order releasing a woman from home confinement, NOTUS’ Jose Pagliery reports. The case concerned a woman with symptoms that potentially indicated breast cancer, but her referral to see a breast surgeon was ignored by prison staff, according to court records.

• “The Court is not happy about releasing Ms. Holland prematurely,” the judge wrote in the order to cut her sentence short. “She’s a convicted con artist. But a prison sentence should not include the added consequence of delayed diagnosis and treatment of cancer.”

The Sincerest Form of Flattery

Thank you for reading! Today’s newsletter was produced by Kate Nocera and Andrew Burton. If you liked it, please forward it to a friend. If someone shared it with you, please subscribe — it’s free! Got a tip or comments to share? Email us at finalnotus@notus.com.