The Daily Brief - Apr. 3, 2026
The latest on the US fighter jet shot down by Iran, the March jobs report, the Epstein files and more
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Iran
US and Israeli officials announced today that a US fighter jet was shot down over Iran. One of its two crew members has been rescued, and the status of the second crew member is unknown as search and rescue operations continue.
The downed aircraft was an F-15E Strike Eagle — a dual-role strike fighter that carries a two-person crew: a pilot and a weapons systems officer. This incident is the first time a US war plane has been shot down by Iran in the five-week-long war. Iran’s state media circulated images of the wreckage, and Iranian officials announced a “precious prize” for information on the “enemy pilot.” The potential capture of the second crew member could pose military and intelligence risks for the US.
Separately, a second US combat plane — an A-10 Warthog attack aircraft — crashed near the Strait of Hormuz around the same time the F-15E was shot down, though its pilot was safely rescued, according to two US officials.
Elsewhere in the conflict, Israeli Defense Forces struck Iran and Lebanon’s capitals today while Iran launched drones and missiles across the Middle East, setting Kuwait’s Mina al-Ahmadi oil refinery ablaze and damaging a desalination plant in a neighboring Gulf state. The strike at the refinery caused significant fires but there were no reports of civilian casualties.
Desalination plants are critical civilian infrastructure across the region. While Iran gets only a small fraction of its water from desalination, nearby countries including Qatar and Bahrain produce more than half of their drinking water using the technology, which converts seawater into potable water by removing salt.
Acting AG on Epstein Files
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said yesterday the Justice Department has released all records tied to Jeffrey Epstein.
“The Department of Justice has now released all the files with respect to the Epstein saga,” Blanche said on Fox News. “To the extent the Epstein files [were] a part of the past year of this Justice Department, it should not be a part of anything going forward.”
Lawmakers from both parties pushed back. “This is a lie. About 50 percent of the files have been released and per our subpoena it’s illegal to withhold them,” wrote Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) on X. “Blanche may think it’s over, but we are just getting started.”
“Congratulations AG Blanche,” posted Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.). “Now you have 30 days to release the rest of the files before becoming criminally liable for failure to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.”
The files include millions of pages of investigative material — witness accounts, financial records, and law enforcement evidence — covered by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the law enacted last year mandating broad public release.
DOJ says it has released about 3.5 million pages, but an earlier internal memo identified more than 6 million.
Jobs Report
The US added 178,000 non-farm payroll jobs in March, while unemployment edged down to 4.3% from 4.4% in February, according to the Labor Department’s jobs report released today. Non-farm payrolls exclude farm workers, private household employees, and nonprofit workers, making them the most consistent gauge of labor market health.
The numbers are often revised as more accurate data becomes available. February’s payrolls were revised further downward — from an initially reported loss of 92,000 jobs to a loss of 133,000 — while January was revised up from 126,000 jobs added to 160,000.
Newsbreak
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Presidential Records
The Justice Department has concluded that key provisions of the 1978 Presidential Records Act are unconstitutional. When a president leaves office, the PRA requires the White House to send all official records to the National Archives and Records Administration, the federal agency tasked with preserving presidential records. Those records include letters, memos, schedules, briefing papers, emails, digital images, social media content, and audio and video recordings, among other materials.
In a 52-page opinion released yesterday, the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel wrote that the Act “exceeds Congress’s enumerated and implied powers” and “unconstitutionally intrudes on the independence and autonomy of the President.” As a result, the opinion states, the president does not have to turn over records to the National Archives.
After leaving office in 2021, Trump retained many official documents — including classified materials — and ignored the National Archives’ requests to return them. He was subsequently indicted on 40 felony counts under the Espionage Act. Trump cited the PRA in his defense, arguing it allowed him to designate the files as personal. A federal judge in Florida ultimately dismissed the case, ruling that the special counsel who brought the charges had been appointed unlawfully.
The PRA was signed into law by President Jimmy Carter in 1978, after President Richard Nixon attempted to retain control of White House recordings and documents following his resignation over the Watergate scandal. Congress enacted the law to ensure presidential records would be preserved as public property.
$1.5 Trillion Defense Budget
With the war in Iran ongoing, the Trump administration is proposing $1.5 trillion for defense spending in fiscal year 2027 — which begins on Oct. 1 of this year — a roughly 44% increase over 2026 levels.
The administration has planned large increases for shipbuilding, the Golden Dome missile interceptor defense system, and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.
At a private Easter luncheon at the White House earlier this week, Trump said it is “not possible” for the federal government to fund Medicare, Medicaid, and child care, arguing those programs should be left to the states while the federal government focuses on military spending. He said he told budget director Russell Vought: “Don’t send any money for day care, because the United States can’t take care of day care…We’re fighting wars.”
Artemis II Moon Mission
Four astronauts aboard Artemis II are en route to circle the Moon following a successful launch two days ago.
The crew — NASA commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen — will spend about 10 days in space before returning to Earth. Glover is set to become the first Black astronaut to travel to deep space.
“Humanity has once again shown what we are capable of, and it’s your hopes for the future that carry us now on this journey around the moon,” Hansen said on behalf of the mission after the spacecraft fired its engines to set course for the Moon.
By midday today, the spacecraft had traveled more than 96,000 miles from Earth, with roughly 161,000 miles remaining to the Moon, according to NASA’s mission tracker.
The mission is designed to test the spacecraft’s life support, communications, and navigation systems with a crew aboard for the first time. It is the first crewed lunar mission since Apollo 17 in December 1972, and paves the way for a planned lunar landing mission in 2028.
100% Drug Tariffs
President Trump signed an executive order yesterday that could impose up to 100% tariffs on patented drugs from companies that do not reach pricing deals with his administration.
Under the plan, companies that agree to charge the US the lowest price they offer any country — known as “most favored nation” pricing — and move manufacturing to the US would face 0% tariffs. Companies building US factories but without such pricing deals would face 20% tariffs, rising to 100% within four years.
An administration official told reporters that companies still have time to negotiate — 120 days for larger companies and 180 days for others.
Industry groups objected. Stephen Ubl, CEO of the pharmaceutical trade group PhRMA, said tariffs “on cutting-edge medicines will increase costs and could jeopardize billions in U.S. investments.”
Trump said the move was needed to address national security risks tied to reliance on foreign drug supply chains. The new tariffs were announced on the first anniversary of Trump’s “Liberation Day,” when he unveiled sweeping import taxes on nearly every country in 2025. Those tariffs were among the duties the Supreme Court struck down in February.