🚢 Axios PM: Hormuz blues

🎧 Plus: Saving music history | Thursday, April 09, 2026

View in browser   PRESENTED BY WALMART   Axios PM By Mike Allen · Apr 09, 2026 Hi there, Thursday readers. Today's newsletter, edited by Alex Fitzpatrick, is 614 words, a 2½-min. read. Thanks to Sheryl Miller for copy editing.     1 big thing: Few ships dare sail Hormuz   Satellite view of the Strait of Hormuz in January. Image: Gallo Images/Orbital Horizon/Copernicus Sentinel Data via Getty Images The Strait of Hormuz — a narrow waterway south of Iran vital to the normal functioning of the global economy — remains effectively closed, Barak Ravid and Alex Fitzpatrick report. That's despite Iran's promise to reopen Hormuz as part of the eleventh-hour ceasefire deal President Trump announced Tuesday. The first non-Iranian tanker transited the strait today since the war began. It's unclear if more will follow, or how many. Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said in a new message today that during negotiations with the U.S. starting Saturday, Iran "will bring the management of the Strait of Hormuz into a new stage." 💸 Iran wants to impose a $1-per-barrel toll on oil tankers, paid in cryptocurrency, the Financial Times reports. (🔐) That would keep global energy prices elevated indefinitely — plus violate international norms of free navigation. ⛔️ Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, said on LinkedIn today: "This moment requires clarity. So let's be clear: the Strait of Hormuz is not open." "Access is being restricted, conditioned and controlled. Iran has made clear — through both its statements and actions — that passage is subject to permission, conditions and political leverage." 🚢 Hundreds of tankers and nearly 20,000 mariners are stranded in the Persian Gulf amid the crisis, the N.Y. Times reports (gift link). A U.S. official tells Axios that the strait is "wide open," but said ships are not moving through it because they're intimidated by the Iranians. The official said: "Iran has threatened and coerced everybody." 👀 What we're watching: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today announced negotiations with Lebanon, where Israel has been conducting an extensive bombing campaign. Iran believes Israel's attacks there violate the ceasefire deal, and it might abandon peace talks or keep Hormuz closed as a result. Go deeper.     2. 🌡️ Hottest March on record   Data: NOAA. Chart: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals This past March was the country's hottest in 132 years of recordkeeping, according to new federal climate data. Six of the country's 10 hottest months on record have come in the last decade. ☀️ The average temperature across the continental U.S. was about 50.9°F last month, fueled by an unusual March heat wave across the West. That's more than 9 degrees over the historic norm. More than 1,400 counties experienced their single hottest March day on record last month, dating back to 1950. 🔥 Nearly 60% of the continental U.S. faced drought conditions in March, raising fears of a particularly brutal wildfire season. Go deeper.     A MESSAGE FROM WALMART Investing in American products, supporting 750,000+ U.S. jobs     More than two-thirds of Walmart's annual product spend is on American-made, grown or assembled goods. That investment supports more than 750,000 U.S. jobs, strengthening American manufacturing while helping keep prices low. The result: Businesses across the country are supporting local communities.     3. ⚡️ Catch me up   Artemis II astronaut Victor Glover observes the Moon during this week's lunar flyby. Photo: NASA   🚀 Artemis' final — and perhaps biggest — test is coming up tomorrow: reentry to Earth. The Orion spacecraft will experience temperatures of up to 5,000°F, with the four astronauts inside protected by a heat shield with known flaws. Go deeper. 🚙 Tesla is developing a smaller, cheaper electric SUV, Reuters reports. The car would be about 14 feet long — significantly shorter than Tesla's top-selling Model Y SUV, which is about 15.7 feet long. Go deeper. 🚫 Meta has begun removing ads from attorneys seeking clients who claim to have been harmed by social media while under 18, Axios' Dan Primack scoops. Go deeper.     4. 🎧 1 for the road: Saving a record collection   Aadam Jacobs poses in front of records at his Chicago home last month. Photo: Nam Y. Huh/AP A worldwide group of volunteers is digitizing and uploading a Chicago man's lifelong collection of over 10,000 concert recordings. 🎤 The "Aadam Jacobs Collection" (yes, two A's!) is an online treasure trove for music lovers, featuring early performances by R.E.M., The Cure, the Pixies and more. 📼 Jacobs says most artists are happy to have their work preserved, and he's only gotten a few takedown requests. He tells AP: "I think that the general consensus is, it's easier to say I'm sorry than to ask for permission." Go deeper.     A MESSAGE FROM WALMART Walmart is investing in products made, grown or assembled in the U.S.     Since working with Walmart in 2023, UglyCo. has grown its business and hired nearly 25% more workers in Farmersville, Calif. It's one example of how thousands of suppliers are expanding with Walmart, and creating jobs along the way. When businesses grow with Walmart, communities grow too. Learn more.   📬 Thanks for reading! Please invite your friends to join PM. 👆 Like this comms style and format? It's called Smart Brevity®. Bring it to your org — via hands-on training or internal comms software — to harness its power and impact.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Advertise with us. 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