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Trump's trial twister, Israel election pressure and Disney's win

 
Today's politics story

NY judge rejects Trump trial delay as Florida case drags

What happened
New York Judge Juan Merchan on Wednesday dismissed former President Donald Trump's latest effort to delay his four criminal trials, keeping Trump's Manhattan hush-money case on track to start April 15. Trump's Florida federal trial on retaining classified secrets is mired in delays, prompting special counsel Jack Smith to rebuke U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in a late Tuesday filing.

Who said what
Trump's post-deadline claim of presidential immunity "raises real questions about the sincerity and actual purpose of the motion," Merchan said. Cannon's entertaining of Trump's argument that the Presidential Records Act let him keep classified documents reflects a "fundamentally flawed" understanding of the case and has "no basis in law or fact," Smith wrote. Cannon "must resolve these crucial threshold legal questions promptly," so prosecutors can "seek prompt appellate review" if she jeopardizes the case with flawed rulings.

The commentary
Cannon has "taken a cut-and-dried case based on overwhelming evidence" and dithered, Harry Litman said at the Los Angeles Times. Clearly, "Jack Smith has had enough." Legally, "if the judge wants to drag it out, she can kind of drag it out,” Alan Rozenshtein, a University of Minnesota law professor, told CNN. "Of the many breaks Trump has gotten in his life," journalist Bill Grueskin said on X, getting Cannon appointed to this perilous case "has to rank as the very luckiest."

What next?
Between Cannon's "meandering delays" and serious consideration of  Trump's baffling legal arguments, Caroline Anders said at Semafor, it's increasingly likely the Florida case "will not go to trial before the November election." 

 
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Today's international story

Protests, Netanyahu rival Gantz urge Israel elections

What happened
Benny Gantz, a member of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's war cabinet and his top political rival, called for new elections Wednesday, as tens of thousands of Israeli protesters spent a fourth day on the streets demanding Netanyahu's resignation.

Who said what
"We must agree on a date for elections in September," a year into the Gaza war, to show Israelis "we will soon renew their trust in us," Gantz said. Netanyahu said "calls to hold elections now, in the height of the war," would "paralyze Israel for at least six months."

The commentary
"The fact that a consensus centrist politician like Gantz is saying this indicates how the pressure for new elections is ramping up in Israel," The Atlantic's Yair Rosenberg said on X.

What next?
"September is likely to be the earliest date for an election," given Israeli law, Semafor said. The next election isn't scheduled until October 2026, though "most political analysts say Netanyahu will be forced to call for new elections when the war is over," The Wall Street Journal said. "Polling suggests he would be trounced" by Gantz "if elections were held today."

 
 
TODAY'S BUSINESS STORY

Disney board fends off Peltz infiltration bid

What happened
Shareholders in the Walt Disney Co. voted down an effort by activist investor Nelson Peltz to join Disney's board on Wednesday, marking the second time in two years that Peltz's Trian Partners hedge fund has failed to infiltrate the company's governing body. 

Who said what
Disney CEO Bob Iger said he is "eager to focus 100%" of his attention now on "growth and value creation for our shareholders and creative excellence for our consumers." Trian said it was "disappointed" with the results but grateful for the "support and dialogue we have had with Disney stakeholders."

The commentary
Trian's defeat is a "vote of confidence in Iger" but has "drawn attention to Disney's CEO succession plan," Variety said. Iger's "botched succession" in 2020 was a "key point" in Trian's bid to infiltrate the board, CNBC said. 

What next?
Iger is now free to "push forward with his growth plan for Disney," The New York Times said, citing efforts to "overhaul" ESPN, and expand Disney's theme park and cruise ship offerings.

 
 

It's not all bad

Indigenous leaders in New Zealand, Tahiti and the Cook Islands signed a treaty last week granting whales personhood. Maori and other Indigenous groups believe their ancestry can be traced back to whales and the mammals helped guide early navigators from island to island in the Pacific Ocean, The New York Times said. Under this treaty, the leaders will work with Polynesian governments to come up with a plan for endowing rights and protections to whales.

 
 
Under the radar

Eurovision faces the music on Israel boycott

Next month, viewers around the world will tune in for the 68th annual Eurovision song contest. Although Eurovision remains a fairly niche pastime in the United States, the contest's popularity across the Atlantic rivals professional sports with its sheer patriotic intensity. The competition presents itself as a haven of good-natured sonic schmaltz, but the reality of the world outside Eurovision's concert hall cannot help but intrude. 

The controversy this year involves Israel and its bloody war in the Gaza Strip. The Queers for Palestine advocacy group published an open letter last week signed by nearly 500 "queer artists, individuals and organizations" urging Olly Alexander, the British singer chosen to represent the U.K. next month in Malmo, Sweden, not to perform this year while Israel remains an entrant nation. To do so, the group claimed, would be to participate in an event that "provides cultural cover for an ongoing genocide" in Gaza. 

Earlier this year, more than 1,000 Swedish musicians also called on their home country to prevent Israel from participating in Eurovision 2024, calling it a "remarkable double standard that undermines the organization's credibility." Two years ago, at the onset of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the European Broadcasting Union blocked Russia from Eurovision because their participation would "bring the competition into disrepute." The broadcasting union's executive board made that decision after it initially insisted that Russia would be allowed to compete, The Guardian said.

 
 
On this day

April 4, 1968

Civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. King was shot dead while standing on a motel balcony, and his death sparked protests and riots across the U.S. James Earl Ray was convicted of killing King, though many members of King's family say Ray was a scapegoat.

 
 
TODAY’S newspaperS

Thursday's newspapers lead with the rush to rescue survivors after the powerful earthquake — and "201 aftershocks," notes The New York Times — that shook Taiwan, killing nine people. The Wall Street Journal says 130 people remain "trapped, including 70 stuck in two mines operated by a cement company." The Los Angeles Times says Taiwan's world-class disaster preparedness limited damage, providing "key lessons” for quake-prone Southern California.

► See the newspaper front pages

 
 
Tall tale

All ears

Mike Tyson hopes his new cannabis edible, called Mike Bites, is a knockout. The former boxing world champ is putting his weight behind fruit-flavored gummies that pay homage to his notorious 1997 fight against Evander Holyfield, in which he took a bite out of Holyfield's ear. The edibles — ear-shaped with a tiny chew mark in the corner — are the latest release from the popular Tyson 2.0 cannabis line.

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Theara Coleman, Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Scott Hocker, Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, Justin Klawans, Harold Maass, Devika Rao, Rafi Schwartz and Peter Weber, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: Erik McGregor / LightRocket via Getty Images; Ahmad Gharabli / AFP via Getty Images; Charley Gallay / Getty Images for Disney; Fredrik Persson / TT News Agency / AFP via Getty