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MTG's ouster fail, RFK Jr.'s brain worm and Brazilian floods

 
Today's politics story

Marjorie Taylor Greene fails in bid to oust Johnson

What happened
The House voted 359-43 on Wednesday to quash a bid by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) to remove Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). Ten Republicans and 32 Democrats supported Greene's motion to vacate, but 196 Republicans and 163 Democrats quickly killed it.

Who said what
Greene, who had threatened to oust Johnson since he allowed the House to fund Ukraine's defense, read a list of his "transgressions" and called his leadership "pathetic, weak and unacceptable." As Greene spoke, The Washington Post said, "she was heckled from both sides of the aisle in an unusual display of bipartisan distaste toward a single lawmaker."

Johnson said he appreciated the "show of confidence from my colleagues to defeat this misguided effort." Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said his party's decision to stop Greene "from plunging the country into further chaos is rooted in our commitment to solve problems," not a love for Johnson.

"I absolutely love Marjorie Taylor Greene," former President Donald Trump said on social media after the vote, but Johnson is a "good man who is trying very hard" and Republicans are "not in a position of voting on a motion to vacate. At some point, we may very well be, but this is not the time."

What next?
Greene would not rule out further motions to oust Johnson, and Jeffries would not say if Democrats would help him survive a second time.

 
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Today's HEALTH story

RFK Jr. said brain 'worm' caused memory fog

What happened
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr claimed that a bout of memory loss and mental fogginess in 2010 was the result of mercury poisoning and a parasitic "worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died." Kennedy revealed these previously unreported health problems in a 2012 deposition, The New York Times said Wednesday.

Who said what
Kennedy, 70, has "portrayed his athleticism and relative youth as an advantage" over both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, the Times said. But in the 2012 deposition during divorce proceedings from his second wife, Kennedy admitted, "I have cognitive problems, clearly," including "short-term" and "longer-term memory loss," and claimed his reduced mental capacity limited his earning ability.

Kennedy's cognitive issues were "resolved more than 10 years ago" and he is in "robust physical and mental health," campaign spokesperson Stefanie Spear said in a statement.

What next?
A Reuters/Ipsos poll taken before the Times' report showed Kennedy's independent campaign could "pick up 8% of voters nationwide."

 
 
Today's INTERNATIONAL Story

Death toll in Brazil flooding tops 100

What happened
At least 105 people have died and 130 are missing as devastating floods ravage southern Brazil. An estimated 160,000 people have been left homeless in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The Guaíba River rose over 16 feet in the state capital, Porto Alegre, and flights have been canceled from the city's flooded airport through the end of the month.

Who said what
"The emergency is continuing to develop" and "it's not time to go home," said Rio Grande do Sul Gov. Eduardo Leite. Nursing technician Beatriz Belmontt Abel told The New York Times "it seems like we're living through the end of the world."

Climate experts said the extreme rainfall in southern Brazil, and the concurrent drought in Brazil's Amazon, were tied to the cyclical El Niño phenomenon exacerbated by climate change, deforestation and unplanned urban growth.

What next?
Soldiers, volunteers and emergency workers are delivering aid and searching for people in need of rescue, but "authorities worried that the crisis could worsen because another wave of severe weather was expected in coming days," the Times said.

 
 

It's not all bad

A special guest attended retired teacher Karen Solomon's 80th birthday party: Seyi Fayanju, her favorite former student. Solomon taught Fayanju after he moved to the U.S. from Nigeria, and her daughter Debra knew that a surprise visit from Fayanju would be the best birthday present. Now a doctor at Stanford University, Fayanju flew to Wisconsin for the celebration, and when he appeared, Solomon "jumped for joy," Debra told GNN. The trek was worth it to honor a "phenomenal teacher, mentor and friend for my family," Fayanju said.

 
 
Under the radar

Scientists have taken a "decisive step" toward creating universal donor blood by identifying a "cocktail" of bacterial enzymes that effectively removes antigens, Technical University of Denmark (DTU) said. Researchers at DTU and Lund University in Sweden said the discovery could significantly reduce the risk of a negative reaction. 

About 50% of people naturally have type O, or "universal," blood, but those with type A, type B and the rarer type AB blood can currently only give and receive blood within their own group. This is because antigens, the chains of sugars attached to the body's red blood cells, take on different forms in type A and type B blood and can "trigger life-threatening immune reactions when transfused into non-matched recipients," DTU said in a press release. 

Scientists have "experimented with enzymes" to remove antigens from blood for decades, said The Economist. But the new combination appears to be effective on "lengthened antigen sugar chains, called extensions, that are not targeted by current enzymes." 

The study's lead author, Professor Maher Abou Hachem, said the team was "close" to producing universal blood from group B donors, while more work was needed on the "more complex" group A blood. 

The ability to convert blood from any donor into a universal type would "markedly reduce the logistics and costs currently associated with storing four different blood types," said DTU. Every drop counts; blood banks in the U.S. and U.K. have warned of dwindling supplies, and "aging populations are expected to increase the demand for blood yet further," said The Economist.

 
 
On this day

May 9, 1960

The FDA approved the first birth control pill. This made the United States the first country in the world to legalize oral contraceptives, though they did not become universally available to unmarried women in all states until 1972. Today, 14% of U.S. women ages 15 to 49 use oral contraceptives, according to CDC estimates.

 
 
TODAY’S newspaperS

President Joe Biden's confirmation that the U.S. has paused shipments of heavy bombs to Israel amid concerns about a ground invasion of Rafah "tests ties with Israelis," The New York Times says on Thursday's front page. Biden is "still committed to providing weapons for Israel's defense," The Boston Globe says, but he told CNN that "if they go into Rafah, I'm not supplying the weapons that have been used historically" to "deal with" Gaza's cities, The Wall Street Journal reports. Biden's "powerful signal that his patience has limits" is exceptional (though not unprecedented) in the close U.S.-Israeli security partnership, the Times says, "but it may not necessarily be a breaking point."

► See the newspaper front pages

 
 
Tall tale

'Man, welcome to Florida'

An alligator walked up to the drive-thru at Addition Financial Credit Union in Leesburg, Florida, last week and parked himself in one of the lanes. Excited tellers recorded the encounter. "Man, welcome to Florida, where you go to work and casually see alligators just chillin' at your job," one remarked. After the gator wandered away, the bank posted a picture on social media with the caption: "Can we even blame this little guy for wanting in on our five-star service?"

 
 

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

Image credits, from top:  Kent Nishimura / Getty Images; Lev Radin / Pacific Press / LightRocket via Getty Images; Nelson Almeida / AFP via Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images