Monday, April 6th

Kennedy Plaza in the 1960's looking west down Washington Street.

A very stable genius is making that genius known far and wide.

Headline

Trump demands the Strait of Hormuz be opened by Tuesday; goes on explicative-filled rant to that end.

"Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran,” Trump wrote on social media, “There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah."

This declaration, combined with reports that the president is taking “very little [off the table]” and resignations from the U.N. due to concerns of the U.S. or Israel using a nuclear weapon, paints a very worrisome picture.

Meanwhile, at least six helicopters (two AC-130s and four Hercules) were lost in recovering the second U.S. pilot who was ejected after their F-35 was shot down late last week.

Indonesia is demanding a formal investigation into Israel’s invasion of Lebanon after receiving the bodies of their citizens killed in a peacekeeping mission. Farizal Rhomadhon, 28, Zulmi Aditya Iskandar, 33, and Muhammad Nur Ichwan, 26, were killed in Lebanon during Israel’s invasion.

Quick Hits

U.S. Forest Service will no longer research wildfires, further accelerating the Trump administration’s position on climate change. (NYT)
Polymarket allowed users to bet on the recovery of the U.S. pilot lost in Iran, for which the company later apologized.
Haemophilus influenzae type b, a.k.a. “Hib” is making a comeback after near eradication in the late 1980’s. The highly contagious pathogen is at its highest levels in nearly forty years due to decreasing levels of vaccination. (NBC)
Trump’s budget proposal would increase the record defense spending from $1 trillion to nearly $1.5 trillion, paid for in a cut in all other spending by $500 billion. (Politico)
A three year old girl in I.C.E. custody experienced sexual abuse in monthslong detention in a foster home, her family has said. (AP)
A man in Louisiana has been arrested after driving his vehicle into a crowd celebrating the Lao new year. (Guardian)

R.I. Stories

The controversial mural featuring the slain Ukrainian refugee, Iryna Zarutska, has found a new home at Opa on Federal Hill in Providence following national controversy that spread over social media last week. (WPRI)

Former R.I. Senate President Joseph Montalbano was unanimously confirmed to serve as the next presiding judge on the R.I. Superior Court. (Current)

Newport Hospital’s Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center will remain open, Brown University Health announced on Friday. The center will need nearly $5m in yet unsecured supplemental funding annually to maintain operations. (Current)

R.I. Politics

U.S. Representative Gabe Amo (R.I.-1) says that Democrats should have been “stronger” on border policy during the Biden administration. Amo also cites his presidential-hopeful watchlist includes Andy Beshear (Gov., K.Y.), Gavin Newsom (Gov., C.A.), Josh Shapiro (Gov., P.A.), Wes Moore (Gov. M.D.), Corey Booker (Sen., N.J.). (WPRI)

U.S. Representative Seth Magaziner (R.I.-2) was covered by TMZ after hosting a Real Housewives of Rhode Island watch party during the government shutdown.

The presidents of Crossroads and Unitedway wrote a joint op-ed in the Providence Journal calling for development to solve the housing crisis, signaling opposition to the City Council’s stabilization proposal.

R.I. Elections

The Rhode Island League of Businesses (RILoB), a right-leaning business-focused group continues to expand its target list for the 2026 cycle. The group, founded by Brewed Awakenings’ owner, David Levesque, has endorsed candidates to challenge Democratic House Speaker, K. Joe Shekarchi (Warwick), and Senate President Valerie Lawson (E. Providence). The group says it can steer up to $80,000 to each of its candidates per cycle, which is an exceptional figure.

In the pretty well-established Providence mayoral race, challenger David Morales says his campaign is leading incumbent Brett Smiley in the Democratic primary election, 45% to Smiley’s 34%. The poll was conducted by Data for Progress.

Sports

Celtics cruised to an easy win over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday, 115-101. Tatum and Brown led the team in scoring. This week is the last week of the NBA regular season. Next game is tomorrow night is against the Charlotte Hornets at 8:00.

Bruins fell to the Philadelphia Flyers in OT on Sunday, 2-1. Despite being on a three-game slide, the Bruins remain in the top wildcard spot. Next game is tomorrow at 7:00 against the Carolina Hurricanes. Four games remain in the regular season.

Red Sox lost to the San Diego Padres 8-6 on Sunday, the Padres getting the best of the Red Sox in that series 2-1. Three game home stand against the Milwaukee Brewers starts tonight at 6:45.

UConn men’s basketball will face Michigan in the NCAA tournament final tonight starting at 8:50.