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Seoul turmoil, Trump nominee troubles and an Enron rebirth?

 
Today's INTERNATIONAL story

South Korea roiled by short-lived martial law

What happened
Opposition parties in South Korea's National Assembly filed an impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk Yeol today, calling his six-hour imposition of martial law a "clear violation of the constitution" and a "grave act of rebellion." Yoon withdrew his widely condemned martial law declaration early Wednesday after a majority of lawmakers managed to push into the military-encircled parliament overnight and voted 190-0 to nullify the decree.

Who said what
Yoon said in a surprise address last night that he was declaring "emergency martial law" to "safeguard a liberal South Korea" and "eliminate anti-state elements." He also mentioned threats from North Korea, but "it soon became clear" he was responding to "his own desperate political troubles," the BBC said. Yoon, narrowly elected in 2022 and deeply unpopular now, "has been a lame duck president" since the opposition Democratic Party won decisive control of parliament in April elections, throttling his legislative agenda.

Yoon's martial law declaration, which "appeared to be a poorly-thought-out stunt," was the "first of its kind" since 1979 and "harkened to South Korea's past military-backed governments," which few wished to see again, The Associated Press said. Thousands of demonstrators who confronted the military and massed around parliament overnight demanded Yoon step down, with some calling for his arrest.

What next?
It would take 201 of the National Assembly's 300 members to impeach Yoon, then six of nine Constitutional Court justices to remove him from office. His decree was "a serious backslide of democracy," but South Korea "is no stranger to mass protests and swift impeachments," Korea analyst Natalia Slavney told the AP. Yoon was the lead prosecutor in the corruption case that led to President Park Geun-hye's 2017 ouster and imprisonment.

 
 
Today's Politics story

Trump DEA nominee bows out as Hegseth pick stalls

What happened
One of Donald Trump's picks for a top job in his administration withdrew yesterday while another, defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth (pictured above), faces shrinking odds of Senate confirmation.

Who said what
Florida Sheriff Chad Chronister said he was withdrawing as Trump's pick to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration after considering the "gravity of this very important responsibility." Chronister was a "surprising choice to run the DEA," given his lack of "experience in the kinds of complex international investigations the agency handles," The New York Times said. But he also "immediately came under fire" from some of Trump's "most ardent right-wing supporters" for having "vigorously" enforced Covid-19 regulations during the pandemic.

The "backlash to Chronister was quieter, and its apparent effects swifter, than the opposition" to other controversial Trump picks, notably Hegseth, The Washington Post said. "Trump allies increasingly think Hegseth may not survive further scrutiny" as he faces "mounting allegations" of sexual misconduct, excessive drinking and mismanagement, The Wall Street Journal said, and Trump is "considering Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as a possible replacement."

What next?
Trump's presidential transition team said yesterday it belatedly signed paperwork allowing the FBI to run background checks on proposed senior members of the incoming administration.

 
 
Today's Business Story

Enron mystery: 'sick joke' or serious revival?

What happened
Enron, the Texas energy firm that collapsed in 2001 after years of massive accounting fraud, purported to rise from the ashes of infamy on Monday, the 23rd anniversary of its bankruptcy filing.

Who said what
"Enron" announced its resurrection in a news release, video on social media, a full-page ad in the Houston Chronicle and on billboards, claiming its focus was "solving the global energy crisis" while also hinting it might launch a cryptocurrency. But several news organizations noted yesterday that a new owner of the Enron trademark was a noted prankster behind the satirical "Birds Aren't Real" conspiracy theory and the fine print on Enron's new website said its content was "parody" and "performance art."

"If it's a joke," it's a "pretty sick joke," Diana Peters, one of the roughly 25,000 Enron employees who lost their jobs and pensions in the company's collapse, told The Associated Press. Enron's implosion also landed its CEO and other executives in prison and brought down auditing firm Arthur Anderson. "No one knows what the hell this is," Dan Cogdell, a defense attorney who represented Enron executives, told Houston's ABC13 News. But "I've already ordered the puffer vest and some bumper stickers" from the new Enron merchandise page, so "if it's a ploy, it worked on me."

What next?
Enron spokesperson Will Chabot said yesterday the company isn't doing interviews but "we'll have more to share soon."

 
 

It's not all bad

The first new treatment for asthma attacks in 50 years reduces the need for further medical care by nearly a third, British researchers have found. The medication, benralizumab, is injected under the skin to reduce lung inflammation. In a recent trial, it was four times more effective than steroid tablets and improved patients’ quality of life. Scientists are hopeful the drug will revolutionize asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) treatment, benefiting millions worldwide.

 
 
Under the radar

India's space scientists are celebrating the first significant results from their maiden solar mission, which could help protect the Earth from solar storms. The spacecraft Aditya-L1, named after the Hindu god of the Sun, has captured data that will help scientists predict the exact time of coronal mass ejections (CMEs). 

These "massive fireballs" blow out of the Sun's outermost layer, said the BBC. A single CME "could weigh up to a trillion kilograms and can attain a speed of up to 3,000 kilograms per second," said R. Ramesh of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics. Imagine that "hurtling toward Earth." 

CMEs can interfere with Earth's magnetic field, making satellites malfunction or knocking down power grids. Our lives "fully depend on communication satellites," Ramesh told the BBC. CMEs can "trip the internet, phone lines and radio communication," causing "absolute chaos." But if scientists can spot what's happening on the Sun in real time, the BBC said, this can "work as a forewarning to switch off power grids and satellites." 

NASA, the European Space Agency, and Japanese and Chinese space scientists have been running solar observation missions for decades. Aditya-L1 was only launched in September 2023, but India has already "accomplished great things" in space, said The Hill. 

Last year, India became the first nation to land a probe on the Moon's south pole, and it has already orbited Mars. Bolstered by a record allocation of funds, India's space program is now planning a crewed mission to the Moon, an orbiter to Venus and the first phase of a space station. Its ambition to become "a major space power," on par with the U.S. and China, The Hill said, is "breathtaking."

 
 
On this day

December 4, 1791

The first edition of The Observer was published in London. Now the oldest continually published Sunday newspaper in the world, The Observer has played a significant role in the British news industry and is a sister paper to another influential U.K. newspaper, The Guardian.

 
 
TODAY'S newspaperS

The Supreme Court will consider a case about transgender care today that "could affect bans in 24 states," The Washington Post says on Wednesday's front page. As the justices tackle this "major case," The New York Times says, they face a "fierce debate: Who can judge them?" In Boston, "parents defend Children's gender clinic," The Boston Globe says, while a change in city parental paid leave policies leaves "happy families." Looking further north, The Wall Street Journal asks: "How free is New Hampshire? A doughnut sign will decide." 

► See the newspaper front pages

 
 
Tall tale

Not cool

An annual contest for the best frozen hairstyle was called off because temperatures were not cold enough. The Hair Freezing Contest, held at Eclipse Nordic Hot Springs in Yukon, Canada, sees competitors dunk themselves in warm spring water and make "hair-raising shapes" as they emerge into the cold air and their "wet locks freeze," said SWNS. But recent temperatures have been way above the required -4 F. "I believe climate change is definitely a factor," said Eclipse Nordic spokesperson Satyam Jain.

 
 

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

Image credits, from top: Jung Yeon-je / AFP via Getty Images; Andrew Harnik / Getty Images; James Nielsen / Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images