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Texting overshare, judicial pushback and a postmaster's exit

 
Today's NATIONAL SeCURITY story

US officials share war plans with journalist in group chat

What happened
A group of top Trump administration officials, including Vice President J.D. Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, discussed detailed operational plans on striking Yemen in a group text conversation on Signal, Jeffrey Goldberg said at The Atlantic yesterday. Goldberg, the magazine's editor in chief, said he knew about the secret group chat because he was added to the conversation, presumably by accident, by national security adviser Michael Waltz.

Who said what
The White House is "reviewing how an inadvertent number was added" to what "appears to be an authentic message chain," National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes said. "I don't know anything about it," President Donald Trump told reporters. "You're telling me about it for the first time." 

Hegseth criticized Goldberg and insisted that "nobody was texting war plans." Hegesth "can say that it wasn't a war plan," Goldberg replied on MSNBC, "but it was a minute-by-minute accounting of what was about to happen," including "precise details" like targets and weapons.

Discussing "sensitive war plans" on a "publicly available encrypted messaging service" was an "extraordinary" and "mind-boggling security breach" that highlighted the Trump team's "lax handling of America's secrets," Axios said. "Well, somebody f--ked up," said Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.). "Heads should roll," Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.) told Axios.

What next?
Goldberg's revelations "triggered furious discussion inside the White House" that Waltz "may need to be forced out," Politico said, though Trump will "ultimately make the decision" as he "watches coverage of the embarrassing episode." Two people on the chat, Director of National Security Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, will face questions on the breach when they appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee today and House Intelligence Committee tomorrow.

 
 
Today's Immigration story

Judge: Nazis treated better than Trump deportees

What happened
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg yesterday reaffirmed his order barring President Donald Trump from deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members without a hearing, under a controversial interpretation of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act. Justice Department lawyers, invoking the state secrets privilege, refused to provide Boasberg any more information on dozens of Venezuelans flown to an El Salvador prison (pictured above) on March 15, after he had ordered the flights aborted. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., appeared split yesterday on whether to lift Boasberg's order. 

Who said what
"Nazis got better treatment under the Alien Enemies Act" in World War II, appellate Judge Patricia Millett told government lawyer Drew Ensign. "We certainly dispute the Nazi analogy," Ensign said, arguing that Boasberg's ruling was an "unprecedented and enormous intrusion" on the president's foreign policy decisions. 

The Justice Department's unusual invocation of the state secrets privilege was a "patent act of defiance" to Boasberg that "sharply escalated the growing conflict between the administration and the judge — and, by extension, the federal judiciary — in a case that legal experts fear is precipitating a constitutional crisis," The New York Times said.

What next?
The appellate panel did not issue an opinion, but its eventual ruling "probably will shape how the Trump administration uses the Alien Enemies Act going forward," The Washington Post said, at least until the Supreme Court weighs in.

 
 
Today's NATIONAL Story

USPS Postmaster General DeJoy steps down

What happened
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy stepped down yesterday, ending a tumultuous five years as head of the U.S. Postal Service that began with the Covid-19 pandemic and mail-ballot-heavy 2020 election and "ended amid pressure from President Donald Trump's administration to assert political control over the postal system," The Washington Post said.

Who said what
DeJoy announced his departure in February but did not set a date. His resignation yesterday preempted Trump's plans to "force him out of the role faster than planned," The Wall Street Journal said. "Recent tension" over DeJoy's refusal to give Elon Musk's DOGE team "broad access to agency systems" and power over policy changes "contributed to the White House's antipathy," the Post said. He recently said he would seek DOGE's help cutting 10,000 workers and billions of dollars.

The departure of DeJoy, a Republican donor and former logistics company owner, leaves the USPS with an "uncertain future," The Associated Press said. Trump and Musk have "floated the idea of privatizing mail service," and the president more recently proposed folding the USPS into the Commerce Department.

What next?
"Any change to the Postal Service's structure would require congressional approval," the Post said. DeJoy said Deputy Postmaster General Doug Tulino would take the reins until a permanent successor was appointed.

 
 

It's not all bad

A new AI meteorological model, Aardvark Weather, can generate highly accurate forecasts in minutes using a standard desktop computer, replacing traditional supercomputers that take hours. Developed by Cambridge University and partners, this technological breakthrough could provide eight-day forecasts and hyperlocal predictions, benefiting industries, emergency responders and developing nations. Experts say the tool could democratize weather forecasting worldwide.

 
 
Under the radar

For several decades, the Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe have been far from a tropical paradise for many local workers. From the early 1970s until 1993, chlordecone, an "extremely toxic and persistent" pesticide, was used on banana plantations to tackle the banana weevil, a "pest that ravaged crops," said The Guardian. Years later, residents of the two French territories continue to suffer from the fallout; the islands now have some of the highest rates of prostate cancer in the world, and chlordecone is "one of the culprits." 

Chlordecone was first produced in 1952 and patented in the U.S. for use on a variety of crops. But it was banned in the 1970s after factory workers in Virginia producing the molecule exhibited "alarming neurological damage," said Atmos magazine. Other countries outlawed the pesticide, but France acquired its patent for use in its former colonies — "despite warnings" of its side effects. By the time France finally banned it in 1993, about one-sixth of the world's chlordecone had been used in the Caribbean islands. 

This month, a landmark ruling found France guilty of "wrongful negligence" for the widespread use of chlordecone in the Caribbean, said The Associated Press. The French government must now offer "financial reparation" for the anxiety suffered by those "durably exposed to the pollution," if they can prove damage. While the decision is a "small step in a long fight for justice," the "vast majority" of plaintiffs in the case will receive nothing, according to The Guardian.

 
 
On this day

March 25, 1975

King Faisal II of Saudi Arabia was shot dead by his nephew during a meeting in Riyadh. He was succeeded on the throne by his half-brother Khalid. Today, Faisal's descendent Salman is the king of Saudi Arabia, though his son Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman is widely considered the country's de facto ruler.

 
 
TODAY'S newspaperS

Elon Musk's "DOGE struggling to turn up Social Security fraud," The Washington Post says on Tuesday's front page, and "Musk's claims of massive waste" are "at odds with audits." Musk is "in position to reap billions in U.S. contracts," The New York Times says. "Researchers fear cuts jeopardizing advances" in medicine, USA Today says. Texas bears "large brunt of cuts," the Austin American-Statesman says. "Leaders don't hide from people," Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said, as Democrats seek to "engage GOP voters" in "red districts," the San Francisco Chronicle says.

► See the newspaper front pages

 
 
Tall tale

Wild goose chase

First responders in Tauranga, New Zealand, answering a call about two swimmers in distress quickly learned that things were not as they appeared. Police sent a rescue helicopter and the Tauranga Coastguard to the scene, and instead of finding two people in the water, they discovered geese. The caller who confused the birds for people did the right thing by making the report, a spokesperson for the Tauranga Coastguard said. It's "always better to be safe than sorry."

 
 

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: Andrew Harnik / Getty Images; Salvadoran Government via Getty Images; Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images