Donald Trump doesn’t rule out seeking a third term. An experimental treatment is highly effective at wiping out stealthy cholesterol. And why this year’s Final Four is remarkable.
Here’s what to know today.
Trump won’t rule out seeking a third term in the White House
President Donald Trump did not rule out the possibility of seeking a third term in the White House, saying in an exclusive interview with NBC News that there were methods for doing so and clarifying that he was “not joking.”
His remarks came during a Sunday-morning phone call. “A lot of people want me to do it,” he said. “But, I mean, I basically tell them we have a long way to go, you know, it’s very early in the administration.”
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When asked whether he has been presented with plans to allow him to seek a third term, Trump said, “There are methods which you could do it.” When NBC News asked about a possible scenario in which Vice President JD Vance would run for office and then pass the role to him, Trump said, “That’s one.”
“But there are others, too,” Trump added. Asked to share another method, Trump simply responded “no.”
Trump is prohibited from seeking a third term by the Constitution under the 22nd Amendment. Amending it to abolish the two-term limit would be exceedingly difficult, requiring either a two-thirds vote of Congress or two-thirds of the states agreeing to call a constitutional convention to propose changes. Either route would then require ratification from three-quarters of the states.
More politics news:
- During his Sunday phone call with NBC News, Trump also said he was “very angry” and “pissed off” when Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized the credibility of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s leadership, adding that the comments were “not going in the right location.” Trump also threatened more tariffs on Russia.
- In a different phone call with NBC News, Trump said he would not fire anyone involved in the Signal group chat and later added that he “couldn’t care less” if automakers raised prices because of new tariffs.
- Reciprocal tariffs that Trump is set to announce this week will include “all countries,” he told reporters, not just a smaller group of 10 to 15 countries with the biggest trade imbalances.
- Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado said his party’s brand is “problematic,” echoing similar comments made by California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
France’s far-right leader Le Pen guilty of embezzlement in ruling that could end her career
French far-right Leader Marine Le Pen arrives at court in Paris on March 31, 2025.Tom Nicholson / Getty Images
A French court found Marine Le Pen guilty of embezzling European Union funds in a verdict that could end the far-right leader’s plans to run for the French presidency in the country’s next elections.
While the court is yet to announce her sentence, the Paris prosecutor had previously requested that Le Pen face a five-year prison sentence and a five-year ban from public office, along with a fine of 300,000 euros if found guilty.
The nine-week trial, which began in November after almost a decade of investigations, saw Le Pen and 24 other figures from her National Rally (RN) party accused of misusing over 3 million euros of European Parliament funds to pay party staff between 2004 and 2016 in violation of EU regulations. All of those accused have denied the charges.
Read the full story here.
Trial shows experimental drug is effective in nearly wiping out stealthy cholesterol
An experimental drug that targets a deadly form of cholesterol was found to dramatically reduce its levels in the body for up to a year, findings that one cardiologist called “remarkable.”
The cholesterol scientists are aiming to treat is called lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a), which lurks in the body but is undetected by routine tests and undeterred by existing drugs, diet or exercise. People with high levels of the rare type of cholesterol are at extremely high risk of buildup, raising the odds of heart attack, stroke or early death. In a Phase 2 clinical trial of the Eli Lilly drug lepodisiran, scientists found that after one injection, patients’ Lp(a) levels were cut by 93.9% after six months, and people who received a second dose at six months had a 94.8% reduction at the one-year mark.
Cardiologists say the findings are a critical step toward treating the millions of Americans genetically predisposed to abnormally high levels of Lp(a).
The Final Four is filled with No. 1s
Michael Conroy / AP
What do Auburn, Duke, Florida and Houston have in common? The teams all advanced to the Final Four — and they all entered the NCAA Tournament as No. 1 seeds in their regions. It’s only the second time the history of the men’s tournament that this has happened, the last time being in 2008.
The high-seed dominance extends to the women’s tournament, as well, where another all-No. 1-seeded Final Four is possible. UCLA and South Carolina have already advanced to the Final Four. Today, No. 1-seeded USC faces Connecticut, while No. 1-seeded Texas faces TCU.
The advancement of the tournament favorites is no fait acompli, sports reporter Andrew Greif explains, especially because March Madness is known for its occasional unpredictability. Maybe each team’s star power has something to do with it.
Read All About It
- The vice chair of U.S. Bank is believed to have been on a small plane that crashed in Minnesota, a company spokesperson said. There were no survivors.
- Storms in the Midwest and South left a line of rain, strong winds and hail in several states, spanning from Texas to Ohio, over the weekend.
- The chair of a charity co-founded by Prince Harry accused him of “harassment and bullying” after he announced his resignation.
- The talk of the town after the MLB’s opening weekend is the new torpedo-shaped bats used by several New York Yankees.
Staff Pick: International travelers are thinking twice about the U.S.
Passengers arrive at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City in 2017.Spencer Platt / Getty Images file
When I spoke to Muhammed Ihsanullah, a 20-year-old British citizen, he was overjoyed about his plans to attend a camp in Minnesota this summer. But there was also caution in his voice after a series of incidents under the Trump administration in which travelers from Western nations are being deported, detained or denied entry at the U.S. border. Many of the cases in recent weeks have involved travelers from countries that are longtime U.S. allies, and some people say their troubles at the border were due to their political beliefs. As a result, governments have issued warnings for their U.S.-bound citizens, while experts advise worried travelers to consider using burner phones or disabling facial recognition on their devices.— Mithil Aggarwal, Hong Kong-based reporter
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