Hormuz tensions spike as Trump warns Iran; Artemis nears historic moon flyby
President Donald Trump sets a deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and warns of “hell” if it doesn’t. Fighting has escalated this morning with new strikes and missile attacks as time runs out.
Plus, Trump endorses Steve Hilton in California’s gubernatorial race, narrowing the GOP path to the general election in the state’s top-two system.
And NASA’s Artemis II crew enters the moon’s orbit path ahead of Monday’s flyby. Astronauts are set to travel farther from Earth than any humans ever.
These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Monday, April 6, 2026.
Trump threatens Iran to reopen the Strait as Tuesday deadline looms
President Donald Trump’s deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is hours away, with a warning of major consequences if it doesn’t happen. As that clock ticks down, the U.S. and Israel are already escalating strikes.
Overnight, U.S. and Israeli forces launched a new wave of strikes on Tehran, killing more than 25 people, including a top intelligence official in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. Iran fired back, launching missiles at Israel and targets across the region.
In northern Israel, a missile strike hit a residential building in Haifa, killing at least two people. And across the gulf, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates said they activated air defense systems to intercept incoming missiles and drones. Diplomatic efforts are still underway, with mediators pushing for a ceasefire, but time is running out.
All of this comes after Trump warned Iran will be “living in hell” if the Strait is not reopened in an expletive-laden message Easter morning.
He wrote “open the f—-n strait, you crazy b——s,” threatening to target Iran’s power plants and bridges by Tuesday.
The U.S. has already struck major infrastructure, including key bridges, following Trump’s address last week, where he said operations were nearing an end, while also promising more strikes.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard responded Sunday, saying the strait will “never return to its former state,” and warning a new security order is taking shape in the Persian Gulf.
Plus, a new banner has gone up in Tehran’s Enghelab Square, reading, “The Strait of Hormuz will remain closed; the entire Persian Gulf is our hunting ground.”
It is not clear who put it up.
Democrats criticize Trump’s Truth Social post, question whether he’s fit for office
Democrats and one prominent Republican have criticized Trump after he threatened new strikes inside Iran in an Easter morning post. Several questioned his fitness for office, and some even floated the 25th Amendment.
In a post on X, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said, “These are the ravings of a dangerous and mentally unbalanced individual. Congress has got to act. End this war.”
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., went further, saying cabinet officials should consider removing the president by declaring him unfit for the job.
“If I were in Trump’s cabinet, I would spend Easter calling constitutional lawyers about the 25th Amendment,” Murphy said. “This is completely, utterly unhinged.”
If I were in Trump’s Cabinet, I would spend Easter calling constitutional lawyers about the 25th Amendment.
This is completely, utterly unhinged. He’s already killed thousands. He’s going to kill thousands more. pic.twitter.com/vB0TAp3RuK
— Chris Murphy
(@ChrisMurphyCT) April 5, 2026
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer also responded, saying Trump is threatening potential war crimes and damaging alliances.
“The president of the United States is ranting like an unhinged madman on social media,” Schumer wrote. “This is who he is, but this is not who we are.”
On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said Trump’s rhetoric is only making the situation in Iran worse.
“Let me tell you what won’t open the Strait of Hormuz, threatening of war crimes and bombing indiscriminately power plants … cursing at Iran,” Khanna said. “What we need is statesmanship like President Obama had.”
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., called Trump’s words “embarrassing.”
“This is all embarrassing and juvenile,” Kaine said. “And it’s people trying to act like they’re puffed up and tough when what we really see from the administration in this war is the absence of a plan, the absence of a clear rationale, no effort to get allies on board and thus deep unpopularity of this war with the American public.”
And in a further break from the president, former ally Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote on X that Trump’s post was “madness.”
She wrote, “I know all of you and him, and he has gone insane, and all of you are complicit.”
CIA uses deception plan to rescue downed US airman from Iranian forces
New details about the high-stakes rescue of a U.S. airman trapped behind enemy lines in Iran have come to light.
Iran shot down an F-15 Strike Eagle on Friday with two air force officers onboard. The pilot was quickly recovered, but the weapons officer remained missing. That’s when the CIA got involved.
The agency helped launch a deception campaign, designed to mislead Iranian forces and buy time to find the airman, according to a senior U.S. official who spoke to The New York Times. It’s a role the CIA has played before, supporting rescue missions when American aircrews are stranded in enemy territory.
The plan worked.
The injured officer made his way up a 7,000-foot ridgeline, hiding in a crevice while search teams closed in. Once he was located, U.S. forces used airstrikes to hold Iranian troops back during the extraction. The airman was flown to Kuwait for treatment. His condition has not been disclosed.
Retired Gen. Frank McKenzie, former head of U.S. Central Command, told CBS News the mission shows how prepared U.S. forces are for this kind of scenario.
“I think I would draw two lessons from it. First of all, the excellence of the joint force, our ability to rapidly pivot to look for a downed air crewman. We train for this endlessly. It’s a part of every time we send air crew over enemy territory. We have detailed, elaborate plans to go get them. The other lesson, I think, is a hard lesson for Iran. First of all, they were not able to find the missing air crewman. Second, you know, they put out a broad appeal to their people to turn him in, a reward, asking for all kinds of leads. That does not appear to have been successful. And that would, I think that’s maybe a sign of disaffection.”
— Retired Gen. Frank McKenzie, former head of U.S. Central Command
Mckenzie also said Iran’s failure to find the airman, even after public appeals, points to a breakdown in their response.
“It takes a year to build an aircraft,” McKenzie said. “But a military culture that doesn’t leave anyone behind takes generations.
Trump will hold a press briefing Monday on the rescue mission.
Trump backs Hilton in crowded GOP race for California governor
Trump has involved himself in the California governor’s race, fully endorsing Republican candidate Steve Hilton.
In a Truth Social post early Monday morning, Trump praised Hilton and said he can turn California around, promising federal support if he wins.
Hilton, a former Fox News host and political adviser in the U.K., is now running in a crowded field to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom. He’s competing against another Republican — Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco — along with several Democratic candidates in California’s open primary.
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California gubernatorial candidates, from left, Chad Bianco, Xavier Becerra, Matt Mahan, Steve Hilton, Katie Porter, and Antonio Villaraigosa stand on stage at the conclusion of a forum hosted by the Western Growers Association at Fresno State on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (Craig Kohlruss/Fresno Bee/Tribune News Service via Getty Images) -
SANTA ANA, CA – MARCH 18: Steve Hilton, California gubernatorial candidate speaks during an affordability town hall at Hotel Zessa in Santa Ana on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images) -
Los Angeles, CA – March 24: Gubernatorial Candidate Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco speaks at an event in downtown on Tuesday, March 24, 2026 in Los Angeles, CA. (Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Trump’s support could reshape the Republican race, but it might also make it harder for two Republicans to advance to the general election.
Political analysts say the endorsement could change strategy for Democrats, who might no longer need to spend heavily on boosting a GOP candidate.
Savannah Guthrie returns to ‘Today’ as search for her mother continues
Savannah Guthrie returns to the “Today” show Monday morning, more than two months after her mother went missing, and she’s opening up about the uncertainty and faith she’s been experiencing.
The search continues for Nancy Guthrie, 84, after she vanished from her Tucson home in early February. Investigators believe she was abducted.
Surveillance footage shows a masked man approaching the home overnight, and despite thousands of tips, no arrests have been made.
Over the weekend, Savannah Guthrie shared a deeply personal Easter message, reflecting on the pain of not knowing what happened to her mother.
“Recently, though, in my own season of trial, I have wondered, I have questioned whether Jesus really ever experienced this particular wound that I feel. This grievous and uniquely cruel injury of not knowing, of uncertainty and confusion and answers withheld,” Savannah Guthrie said.
“I see a bright vision of the day when heaven and earth pass away because they are one, on earth as it is in heaven … When we celebrate today, this is what we celebrate, and I celebrate, too. I still believe,” she said.
Guthrie said returning to work is part of her purpose right now, even as the investigation continues with no clear answers.
Authorities said Nancy Guthrie did not wander off, and her family continues to seek answers, encouraging anyone with information to come forward.
Orion enters lunar orbit path, Artemis II crew set to break distance record
NASA’s Artemis II mission is reaching a key milestone as it nears its close flyby of the moon. Early Monday morning, Orion entered the moon’s sphere of influence, where lunar gravity takes over from Earth.
NASA reported that the spacecraft’s precision was so precise that flight controllers canceled their first two course corrections.
Later on Monday, the four astronauts are expected to surpass Apollo 13’s distance record, traveling farther from Earth than any humans in history.
Orion is projected to reach more than 252,000 miles from Earth, about 4,000 miles farther than that previous record.
During the flyby, the crew will document approximately 30 targets on the moon, including rare views of the far side. The spacecraft will also go dark for about 40 minutes, losing contact with Earth as it passes behind the moon.
After that, the mission remains on track for splashdown in the Pacific near San Diego on April 10.
More from Straight Arrow News:
How one city is trying to solve the loneliness epidemic
HOUSTON — When Ken Frederick moved from Dallas to Houston six months ago, he immediately noticed a major shift in the landscape. As a naturally outgoing 24-year-old, Frederick never struggled to find ways to socialize, yet in Houston, spaces for organic connection didn’t come as naturally. To him, Houston’s loneliness felt as though it was built into the city’s very infrastructure.
“In my building, there’s nowhere for students or postgrads to come and sit down and talk,” he said, highlighting the lack of “third spaces” or communal areas outside of home or work that are key to forming organic connections.
Frederick seized the opportunity to build connections in his life, as well as the lives of others. He started the Social Plant, a business that teaches people how to socialize, and hosts weekly Friday night volleyball outings. Within 30 days, his group had 250 members, he said. Some made new friends, and some even found love interests.
It was much-needed work. While Frederick was building a new community from the ground up, some of the region’s largest community connectors and organizations were mobilizing around a similar realization.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
