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SCOTUS slapdown, weaponized intel and a death in Congress

 
Today's NATIONAL story

Supreme Court rules against Trump on aid freeze

What happened
The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday rejected a bid by President Donald Trump's administration to continue withholding nearly $2 billion in payments for foreign humanitarian work already completed under contracts with the State Department and USAID. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the court's three liberals in the 5-4 decision, which sent the case back to U.S. District Judge Amir Ali to "clarify what obligations the government must fulfill to ensure compliance" with his earlier orders to quickly restart the flow of money.

Who said what
The "closely divided decision" suggests that the high court will subject Trump's various efforts to dramatically reshape the federal government to "close scrutiny," The New York Times said. Although the language of yesterday's ruling was "mild, tentative and not a little confusing," the "bottom line" is that Trump was dealt a narrow defeat on one of his "signature projects" — and we should expect some "major rulings testing, and perhaps recalibrating, the separation of powers required by the Constitution."

Justice Samuel Alito, in an angry dissent joined by three fellow conservative justices, argued that Ali had overstepped his authority and said he was "stunned" the high court would reward such "an act of judicial hubris" that "imposes a $2 billion penalty on American taxpayers." The aid groups suing for their payments said the ruling "confirms that the administration cannot ignore the law" and must now "lift its unlawful termination of federal assistance" and stop the resulting "needless suffering and death."

What next?
Following yesterday's ruling, Ali ordered the Trump administration to develop a schedule for restarting the payments, setting up a hearing today on the timeline for aid resumption. In a closed-door House hearing, Pete Marocco, the "Trump political appointee overseeing the dismantling of USAID," detailed "concerns" he had about the ruling and "did not directly answer when asked by Democrats if he would obey the Supreme Court," The Associated Press said.

 
 
Today's INTERNATIONAL story

Trump stops Ukraine intelligence sharing

What happened
President Donald Trump has halted intelligence sharing with Ukraine's military, days after he froze military assistance to Kyiv, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and national security adviser Mike Waltz said yesterday. They described the decision as a temporary measure to force Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to peace negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Who said what
Suspending intelligence sharing "could cost lives by hurting Ukraine's ability to defend itself against Russian missile strikes," Reuter said, and "underscores Trump's willingness to play hardball with an ally as he pivots to a more conciliatory approach to Moscow." The "suspension of intelligence sharing to Ukraine is a major concession" to Putin, The Wall Street Journal said, but Trump officials said it would push "Ukraine to negotiations more quickly than the pause in weapons shipments."

Trump ordered a "pause" because he had a "real question" about whether Zelenskyy was "committed to the peace process," Ratcliffe told Fox Business. But as Zelenskyy commits to peace talks, the pause "will go away" and "we'll work shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukraine as we have." Trump's "ill-advised and weak decision" to cut off intelligence support to "our Ukrainian partners will cost lives" and cede more "American power to Russia," Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) said. "And, all the while, Putin has not let up on his illegal assault against Ukraine."

What next?
Waltz told Fox News that Trump "will take a hard look at lifting this pause" if Ukraine agrees to scheduled talks with Moscow and takes unspecified "confidence-building measures." The halt of security assistance will "reduce Ukraine's leverage, weaken the Ukrainian military and therefore undermine Ukraine's negotiating position with Russia," David Shimer, former U.S. National Security Council director for Eastern Europe, told The New York Times.

 
 
Today's POLITICAL Story

Rep. Sylvester Turner dies, weeks after joining House

What happened
Rep. Sylvester Turner (D-Texas), a former Houston mayor and longtime state legislator, died yesterday morning, hours after attending President Donald Trump's address to Congress. Turner, 70, died from "enduring health complications," his family said. He was elected in November and sworn in on Jan. 3 to fill the seat long held by fellow Democrat Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who died from cancer last July.

Who said what
Turner was an unusually powerful Democrat during his 27 years in the "increasingly conservative Texas State Legislature," known both for his "fiery, partisan speeches" and his "ability to work across the aisle," The New York Times said. As Houston mayor from 2016 to 2024, he led America's fourth-largest city through Hurricane Harvey and the Covid-19 pandemic, among other crises.

Though Turner was "newly elected to the Congress," he had "spent decades fighting for the people of Houston," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said in a statement. And he was a "fighter until the end." Turner's guest at Trump's speech was a constituent who relies on Medicaid to manage her daughter's rare genetic disorder, and Jeffries noted that his "final message," posted on Instagram, was: "Don't mess with Medicaid."

Turner's death "comes at a critical time in Congress," where House Republicans "have few votes to spare as they look to advance Trump's agenda," The Texas Tribune said. With his "safely Democratic seat vacant, Republicans now control 218 seats to Democrats' 214."

What next?
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) can call a special election to replace Turner, "although there is no deadline for doing so," Politico said. Abbott ordered flags flown at half-staff through Friday to honor Turner.

 
 

It's not all bad

Jackie and Shadow, a pair of bald eagles in Big Bear, California, welcomed two hatchlings this week, to the delight of fans around the world who watch the couple on the Friends of Big Bear Valley YouTube livestream. The new arrivals especially thrilled viewers who saw Jackie and Shadow go through several hardships, including their eggs being eaten by ravens in 2023 and others that never hatched in 2024, when heavy snow piled on Jackie and the nest during brutal storms.

 
 
Under the radar

The death of an organism does not spell the end for its cells, according to new research published in the journal Physiology. Cells have been shown to continue to function even after the organism they originated from is deceased, oftentimes developing new biological functions altogether.

"Life and death are traditionally viewed as opposites," said study co-authors Peter Noble, a microbiology professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Alex Pozhitkov, a bioinformatics researcher at the City of Hope cancer center, at The Conversation. "However, the emergence of new multicellular lifeforms from the cells of a dead organism introduces a 'third state' that lies beyond the conventional boundaries of life and death."

There has been some evidence that the death of an organism does not necessarily signal the death of its cells, especially with organ, tissue and cell transplants. The new review expands on that idea. 

A 2021 study found that skin cells from dead frogs could spontaneously reorganize to form multicellular organisms called "xenobots" that have shown the ability to collect material, record information, self-heal and limit replication. Similar results have been found in human lung cells, "which can assemble into miniature multicellular organisms called anthrobots, move around and even repair themselves and nearby neurons," said IFL Science.

Researchers are not entirely sure how the cells can continue to function after the death of the organism. One explanation, "reminiscent of Frankenstein-style ideas," said Earth.com, "involves a hidden system of 'electrical circuits' that reanimate the cells." But whatever the mechanism, exploring this third state "represents a novel and exciting avenue for medical research," Noble said to IFL Science.

 
 
On this day

March 6, 1836

The Battle of the Alamo ended following a 13-day siege. The conflict saw several hundred Texans, including folk heroes like Davy Crockett, defend San Antonio's Alamo mission from Gen. Antonio López de Santa Anna's Mexican Army. Almost all of the Texans were killed, and "Remember the Alamo" has become a common motto in the state of Texas.

 
 
TODAY'S newspaperS

"Builders, manufacturers bracing for tariff price hikes," The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says on Thursday's front page. "Car firms receive a month's reprieve on tariffs," and President Donald Trump is "open to more tweaks," The Wall Street Journal says, but "investors' worry over growth brings 'recession trade' back." Fearing their own "recession and feeling betrayed by Trump's tariffs," Canadians "steel themselves for economic pain," The New York Times says. Meanwhile, "heads are spinning in Russia as Moscow warms up to U.S." Trump's "new limits on sharing intelligence add to U.S. pressure on Ukraine," The Washington Post says, as "GOP aims to retrofit a Reagan credo": "Peace through strength."

► See the newspaper front pages

 
 
Tall tale

Temporary trillionaire

A Citigroup customer who was supposed to receive a $280 refund was accidentally credited $81 trillion, the Financial Times reported. The mix-up happened last year, and was overlooked by two officials tasked with checking transactions for errors. A third employee flagged the issue an hour later, before the funds were accessed by the customer. Citigroup said the $81 trillion payment "could not actually have been executed" due to its size, and "preventative controls would have also stopped any funds leaving the bank."

 
 

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

Image credits, from top: Win McNamee / Getty Images / Bloomberg via Getty Images; Yevhenii Vasyliev / Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images; Andrew Harnik / Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images