Friday, April 10th

Henry Perretta

Henry Perretta

— 3 min read
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Friday, April 10th
The Towers in Narragansett, c. 1880, prior to a fire that destroyed most of the casino in 1900.
"There is no ceasefire. Like Gaza before it, Lebanon is being decimated to make way for annexation." - Dr. Abdul El-Sayed (Democratic candidate for Michigan Senate)

Headlines

Ceasefire on shaky ground; Lebanon remains under heavy fire. Negotiations planned for this weekend appear to be on course, however both sides are walking away from the concessions that brought them to the table. Ships remain stalled in the Persian Gulf, U.S. troops activated in the gulf, Kuwait says it is under fire from Iran, Iran says any such fire is a false-flag perpetrated by the U.S./Israel coalition. It’s clear that Iran is weary, as negotiations to-date for Israel’s ongoing conflicts have been a ruse.

One of the clearest causes for weariness is Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Lebanon despite the ceasefire. (Reuters) Israel’s mass-bombings have killed hundreds and injured thousands in residential areas in Central Beirut. (Guardian) Analysts warn this provocation is an attempt to prolong the war. (Guardian) Thursday was declared a day of mourning in Lebanon.Under pressure from Europe, Netanyahu says Israel will negotiate with Lebanon. Israel will be seeking the disarmament of Hezbollah. (Bloomberg) This news as Al Jazeera reports Israel is expanding its ground invasion.

The U.S. has attacked Iraq over 135 times since the war on Iran began. The war has spilled out across the region, and the U.S. is back in Iraq conducting targeted strikes, including “double-tap” strikes using aviation-mounted machine guns. State department employees speaking to Dropsite news painted a U.S. military that oversimplifies the Iraqi domestic environment and seeks some sort of retribution for the surge of 2007. (Dropsite)

Quick Hits

  • A super El Niño, as well as supply shocks on oil, fertilizer and other inputs from the U.S. war in Iran, threatens global food supplies. (CNBC)
  • Melania Trump delivered a confounding speech Thursday calling for congressional hearings over the Epstein files. Trump distanced herself, “I never had a relationship with Epstein or Maxwell.  My email reply to Maxwell cannot be categorized as anything more than casual correspondence.” (WH)
  • U.K.’s Prime Minister Starmer compares Trump to Putin in his disruption of global energy markets. (Politico)
  • Israel’s air defense missiles are low in supply, with construction of those missiles taking months and costing as much as $12m per unit. (Dropsite)
  • NATO Chief Rutte says European allies are doing everything asked of them to support the U.S., as Trump says he doesn’t expect anything from the alliance and SoS/NSA Rubio complains about France/Spain’s airfield restrictions for bombing campaigns. (Politico, Politico)
  • China’s factory-gate prices rose for the first time in more than three years, signaling global inflation. Domestic prices in China also rose. (CNBC)
  • The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) will soon require congressional reauthorization, which may not be straightforward. Left-aligned groups are leading opposition to reauthorization of Section 702, which permits the government to collect corporate data (think AT&T, Google, etc.) in order to spy on American citizens. Trump is encouraging its renewal. (Brennan, Punchbowl)
  • The U.S. Commerce Department continues its trend of revising data downward, downgrading its Q4 CY2025 GDP growth to a sluggish 0.5%. (AP, CBS)
  • Emil Michael, who oversees the Pentagon’s negotiations with AI companies, sold a one-year-old position he took in xAI. The sale netted a profit of over $25 million. (Guardian)

R.I. Stories

R.I. legislators are coming together to stop driving under the influence of alcohol by imposing stricter fines and penalties. According to the Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association, troopers and officers made approximately 3,100 impaired driving arrests last year statewide. (WPRI)

Cranston’s deficit is nearing $10m, according to the latest data from the city. Cranston Mayor Hopkins will rely on service cuts, not tax increases, to solve the issue in the near-term. A majority of the deficit is due to cost overruns, with the majority of cost overruns coming from the police and fire departments. Cranston is preparing to lay off teachers in response. (WPRI)

11 employees of East Providence-manufacturer Aspen Aerogels were taken to the hospital after surviving an explosion at the manufacturing plant early Thursday morning. (WCVB)

R.I. began 2026 in a recession, University of Rhode Island economist and professor Leonard Lardaro said Thursday in his monthly Current Conditions Index report. (PBN)

Sports

The Knicks beat the Celtics 112-106 on Thursday night. Next game is tonight at 7:30 against the New Orleans Pelicans. Final regular season game is Sunday against the Orlando Magic at 6:00.

The Bruins will play the Tampa Bay Lightning at home tomorrow afternoon at 12:30 and Sunday against the Columbus Blue Jackets at 6:00. 

Red Sox (4-8) won against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday night to win the series two games to one. Over the weekend, the Sox will face Saint Louis on a three-game road trip. The first game is Friday at 7:15.

Editor’s note: starting this upcoming week, R.I. political news will be moved to a Sunday or Monday bulletin independent of the daily briefing. Significant political news developing over the week will appear in the R.I. stories section.

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