Tuesday morning news: April 4, 2023

Trump » Former President Trump is in New York City this morning, set to be arraigned in Manhattan just hours from now.

Mayor Eric Adams said his city is prepared for possible protests, and that’s fine as long as they’re peaceful.

ERIC ADAMS: As always, we will not allow violence or vandalism of any kind. And if one is caught participating in any act of violence, they will be arrested and held accountable.

President Trump previously called for protests if and when he was arrested.

In a fundraising video this week, he told supporters that the indictment was politically motivated.

DONALD TRUMP: We are now officially a third-world country. No president in the history of our country has been subjected to such vicious and disgusting attacks.

Security will be tight, and Secret Service agents will accompany Trump as police take his fingerprints and mugshot. He is not expected to be handcuffed.

Trump plans to return to his Florida Mar-a-Lago resort after the arraignment, where he’ll deliver remarks tonight.

Finland NATO » The blue-and-white flag of Finland will fly over NATO headquarters for the first time today as it becomes the 31st member of the world’s largest military alliance. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg.

JENS STOLTENBERG: It will be good day for Finland’s security, for Nordic security, and for NATO as a whole.

He also said “all allies agree” that Sweden’s accession should be completed quickly” as well.

Moscow in response threatened to bolster its military presence their joint border if NATO deploys any troops in Finland.

Finland PM » Meantime, voters in Finland just voted Prime Minister Sanna Marin out of office.

Marin’s Social Democratic Party narrowly lost to the conservative National Coalition Party. Party leader Petteri Orpo says Finland’s new government will look to reward the faith of NATO allies.

PETTERI ORPO: I want to show to the other countries, NATO countries that we are an active and good member. We are a security provider, not consumer.

Orpo’s party won what was largely a three-way race, edging Marin’s party by just one percentage point.

China balloon » U.S. officials say the Chinese spy balloon that recently floated across the country collected mostly electronic signals and not images.

Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh:

SABRINA SINGH: We were able to prevent transmission of certain aspects of our sites to be transmitted just because of what we were the precautionary steps that we were able to take.

But she admits the aircraft succeeded in transmitting information back to China in real time, even as U.S. forces tried to stop it.

Oil prices » Oil prices are up nearly 6 percent after major oil-producing countries announced plans to cut production starting next month.

Saudi Arabia is leading several OPEC members in slashing their oil output by more than one million barrels per day through the end of the year.

The White House isn’t happy about it.

U.S. National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby:

JOHN KIRBY: Look, we don’t think that production cuts are advisable at this moment, given market uncertainty.

Russia is also extending its production cuts.

The global benchmark for crude oil jumped to more than $84 dollars per barrel Monday… And the U-S benchmark is nearly $80 dollars. Both are the sharpest increases in almost a year.

Artemis 2 crew » 

BILL NELSON - This is their crew. This is our crew. This is humanity’s crew.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson naming the four astronauts selected to fly around the moon late next year.

The space agency announced Monday it picked Reid Weisman as the mission’s commander. Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen will join him.

Victor Glover:

VICTOR GLOVER - I feel like Denzel Washington should be up here talking to y’all. But you just got us. I want to thank God for this amazing opportunity. 

NASA intends for this and later trips to the moon to serve as a stepping stone for future trips to Mars.

I'm Kent Covington.

 Straight ahead: A mayor in California debunks the housing first model of fighting homelessness.

Plus, the Classic Book of the Month for April.

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