memeorandum: American universities in Middle East brace for Iranian retaliation (Mohamad El Chamaa/Washington Post)

5:15 PM ET, April 5, 2026

Top Items:

Barak Ravid / Axios:

Trump to Axios: Iran deal possible by Tues., otherwise “I am blowing up everything” — President Trump claimed in an interview with Axios that the U.S. is “in deep negotiations” with Iran and that a deal can be reached before his deadline expires on Tuesday.

Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo, Raw Story, The Hill and Mediaite

Laura Esposito / The Daily Beast:

Trump Skips Easter Church to Take Self-Worship Tour of D.C. — SACRED SKIP — Rather than attend Easter services, the president spent the day roaming D.C. and visiting his golf course. — Donald Trump, a Christian, opted to skip Easter service and instead went on a bizarre tour of Washington, D.C.

Discussion: The Hill, Salon, Raw Story, Washington Times and The Gateway Pundit

Paul Krugman:

Living in Hell — War crimes coming: A horrifying update — America as we knew it may end Tuesday. — Hi, I'm Paul Krugman. Sunday morning update. Yesterday, I talked about how awful Trump's message about glory to God and all of that was, but it's looking much, much worse today.

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Mahablog and Digby's Hullabaloo

Edward Wong / New York Times:

Trump Revels in Threats to Commit War Crimes in Iran — The president said he would bomb Iran “back to the Stone Ages.” Until this administration, American leaders had insisted they were trying to follow international law in war. — Power plants, desalination stations, oil wells, roads, bridges and other infrastructure.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal

Laura Esposito / The Daily Beast:

Trump, 79, Drops F-Bomb in Unhinged Easter Morning Threat — HE HAS RISEN — The president started off the holiest Sunday with profanity. — Donald Trump began the holiest day on the Christian calendar with a profanity-filled Truth Social tirade in which he praised Allah.

Discussion: Rolling Stone, Palm Beach Post, New York Post, TMZ.com, RedState, The Hill, Raw Story, The Independent, Showbiz411, Zeteo and LGBTQ Nation

Meridith McGraw / Wall Street Journal:

Trump Warns Iran He Could Strike ‘Every Power Plant,’ in WSJ Interview — 'If they don't do something by Tuesday evening, they won't have any power plants and they won't have any bridges standing' — WASHINGTON—President Trump threatened to destroy all of Iran's power plants …

Discussion: Bloomberg, NOTUS, The Independent, Washington Times, NewsMax.com, HuffPost and Reuters

David E. Sanger / New York Times:

In New Threats, Trump Seems Emboldened by a Successful Rescue — In an expletive-filled social media post, Mr. Trump said Iran should open the Strait of Hormuz or he will bomb bridges and power plants. — After celebrating the recovery of a lost airman from the mountains in Iran on Saturday night …

Discussion: Agence France-Presse

Reuters:
Iran War Live Updates: Trump Escalates Threat to Hit Iranian Power Plants After U.S. Rescues Downed Airman

Discussion: New York Times, Advocate, Axios, Mediaite, Al Jazeera, The Times of Israel, France 24 and CBS News

Jacob Wendler / Politico:
Trump again threatens to hit Iranian civil infrastructure

Discussion: The Guardian, The Hill, Breitbart, Associated Press, The Gateway Pundit, Politico, Just Jared, Bloomberg and Washington Examiner

Nick Arama / RedState:
Libs Go Wild About Rumor on Trump's Health - Then He Nukes the Story With Important Post

Discussion: The US Sun, The Gateway Pundit, MS NOW, Washington Examiner and Mediaite

NBC News:

Second airman in F-15E that was shot down over Iran rescued safely, U.S. officials say — The search was on for the backseater since Friday's incident, when the pilot was rescued shortly after the strike. — ADD NBC NEWS TO GOOGLE — U.S. forces safely rescued the second F-15E crew member …

Discussion: Axios, Washington Examiner, New York Times, Al Jazeera, Associated Press, New York Sun, Reuters, New York Post, Fox News and Aviation A2Z

Axios:
Exclusive: Trump says U.S. feared Iran trap during F-15 crew rescue

Discussion: NewsMax.com, The Gateway Pundit and France 24

Washington Post:
U.S. rescues missing crew member in Iran after fighter jet shot down

Discussion: Associated Press, Stars & Stripes, The Guardian, CBS News, The Hill, The Times of Israel, Mother Jones, Al Jazeera, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit and MS NOW

New York Times:
U.S. Commandos Rescue Downed Air Force Officer Deep Inside Iran

Associated Press:
US aviator missing after Iran shot down fighter jet has been rescued

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Washington Times, New York Post, NPR, The American Conservative, Salon, MPR News, WUSA, The US Sun, The Independent, The Daily Caller and Politico

Irie Sentner / Politico:

‘Proactively fall in line:’ Holocaust Memorial Museum quietly changed content after Trump returned to office … “It seems like they were trying to proactively fall in line as to not then be forced to change,” one of the people said. — The museum pulled from its website a page called …

Anthony Faiola / Washington Post:

On Easter, Pope Leo delivers commanding message of peace to a world at war — “Let those who have weapons lay them down!” the first American pope declared. The White House's war in Iran and nativist agenda at home are testing the Vatican. — ROME — Pope Leo XIV used his first Easter speech Sunday …

Discussion: Axios, New York Times, RNS, CNN, Reuters, France 24, Letters from Leo, MS NOW and Middle East Monitor

Washington Post:
Trump threatens Iran with ‘Hell’ over Strait of Hormuz in profane post

Daniel W. Drezner / Drezner's World: The Strategic Defeat of the United States

G. Elliott Morris / Strength In Numbers:

Why Democrats are suddenly winning back the left — and the “double-haters” — This is my weekly Sunday roundup of new political data published over the last seven days. It is free to read, but if you want to support independent data-driven political journalism, become a paying subscriber.

Discussion: Breitbart

Kelly Garino / Daily Mail:

Fury as SNL comedian makes foul joke about Trump ‘being assassinated’: 'President in a theater...what's the worst that could happen?' — Saturday Night Live is under fire after a cast member cracked 'what's the worst that can happen?' about Trump attending a play - an unmistakable nod to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

Discussion: The Post Millennial, Mediaite, Daily Caller News Foundation, Hollywood in Toto and Just Jared

Ryan King / New York Post:

Late-night shooting near the White House puts Secret Service on heightened alert — The Secret Service is on heightened alert after a shooting early Sunday near the park across from the White House, where President Trump is for the weekend. — No injuries were reported in the shooting …

Associated Press:
Secret Service investigates reports of gunfire near Lafayette Park across from the White House

Discussion: CBS News, The Daily Caller, WFAA-TV and Washington Times

Richard Stengel / The Guardian:

I was the US soft power czar. Our reputation may never recover from this — Trump's venal persona and his war on Iran will do untold damage to America's ability to make a positive difference in the world — Early one Sunday morning in the summer of 2003, I drove into the center …

Discussion: Raw Story

Brentin Mock / Democracy Docket:

Reports: DOJ Civil Rights chief Harmeet Dhillon to be promoted amid department shakeup — U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights Division chief Harmeet Dhillon may be promoted to Associate Attorney General, according to a report from the conservative Daily Wire news outlet.

Discussion: The Daily Wire, The Gateway Pundit, The Post Millennial, Raw Story and CBS News

Mohamad El Chamaa / Washington Post:

American universities in Middle East brace for Iranian retaliation — After the U.S.-Israeli campaign struck Iranian universities, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps called American schools in the Middle East “legitimate targets.” — BEIRUT — The American University of Beirut restricted access to all but essential personnel.

Discussion: NewsMax.com