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Mixed Signal, new tariffs and a ghost gun decision

 
Today's NATIONAL SeCURITY story

Trump allies urge White House to admit chat blunder

What happened
The Atlantic yesterday published the full Signal group chat on Yemen strikes between President Donald Trump's top national security officials and, inadvertently, the magazine's editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg. The White House and top intelligence officials continued to insist that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had not disclosed "war plans" or "classified information" on the unsecured messaging app, but few people outside the administration appeared to follow their lead.

Who said what
The information Hegseth shared about the imminent strike on Houthi targets was "jaw-dropping in its specificity and includes the type of information that is kept to a very close hold to protect the operational security of a military strike" and the safety of pilots, The Associated Press said. Even "routinely pro-Donald Trump figures pushed back" on Trump's "handling of the Signal scandal" and called for those responsible to be fired, Politico said.

"The White House is in denial that this was not classified or sensitive data," Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said. "They should just own up to it and preserve credibility." What Hegseth disclosed was "of such a sensitive nature that based on my knowledge, I would have wanted it classified," Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.). Mistakes "should be acknowledged."

Trump has "privately expressed frustration about the incident," The Wall Street Journal said, but he made the "strategic decision to paper over his annoyance" and "attack, attack, attack." The president did "tentatively" blame national security adviser Michael Waltz yesterday, Politico said, but continued to "vigorously defend" Hegseth. Waltz "claimed responsibility," and "I always thought it was Mike," Trump said. But "how do you bring Hegseth into it? He had nothing to do — look, look, it's all a witch hunt."

What next?
Wicker yesterday "became the first member of his party to call for an independent review" at the Defense Department, The New York Times said. "But it is unclear who would oversee such an investigation," as Trump "fired the inspector general at the Pentagon" in his first week back in office.

 
 
Today's Global Trade story

Trump sets 25% tariffs on auto imports

What happened
President Donald Trump said yesterday he would impose a "25% tariff on all cars not made in the U.S." starting April 3. The White House said the tariffs would also apply to most auto parts, temporarily excluding those produced under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.

Who said what
"This is permanent," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "I think our automobile business will flourish like it's never flourished before." The tariffs could "increase domestic auto production," but likely not for "several years," The New York Times said. The steep import taxes "could also backfire economically, harming the U.S. auto industry by squeezing its profits and slowing its sales."

If the full tax is passed onto consumers, prices on imported vehicles "could jump by $12,500, a sum that could feed into overall inflation," The Associated Press said. Cox Automotive predicted a $6,000 increase on cars made in Mexico and Canada and an extra $3,000 for cars built in the U.S., given the tax on auto parts. "Bottom line: lower production, tighter supply and higher prices are around the corner," Cox chief economist Jonathan Smoke said yesterday.

What next?
The auto tariffs will be on top of other import taxes Trump has imposed in his growing trade war, including "reciprocal tariffs" he plans to roll out April 2. 

 
 
Today's Gun Regulation Story

Supreme Court upholds 'ghost gun' restrictions

What happened
The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 yesterday that "ghost guns" can be regulated like other firearms under the 1968 Gun Control Act, upholding a 2022 interpretation of the law by former President Joe Biden's administration. The decision, written by conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch, allows the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to require serial numbers, background checks and sales receipts for the build-it-yourself gun kits. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented.

Who said what
Police recovered more than 19,000 ghost guns from crime scenes in 2021, a 1,000% jump from 2017, but there has been a "sharp decline" since the rule took effect, Daniel Webster at the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions told The Washington Post.

The ruling was a "rare win" for gun control advocates before this "conservative high court," said CNN. In 2022, the court's "conservative supermajority dove headlong into the deep end of a constitutional pool that seemed to make gun control very hard to defend in court," NPR said. But since then, most of the justices have "seemed a bit hesitant about heading back to the deep end."

What next?
The Trump administration "has not said whether it would enforce or rescind the ghost gun restrictions," the Post said. Gorsuch's ruling also "left open the possibility" that some fragmentary kits might "fall outside the regulation," The Wall Street Journal said.

 
 

It's not all bad

Sebastien Beauzile says he feels like a "new man" after becoming the first person in New York to be cured of sickle cell anemia, a painful inherited disorder tied to abnormally shaped red blood cells. The 21-year-old received a pioneering gene therapy called Lyfgenia, which modifies a patient's bone marrow to treat the disease. Since getting the treatment in December, Beauzile said he "hasn't had any pain. I'm finding I can do things I couldn't do before, of course with doctor approval."

 
 
Under the radar

Iceberg A-84 broke off from Antarctica in January to reveal a thriving community of sea creatures underneath, leaving researchers curious as to how such species have survived. Fracturing icebergs are only going to become more common as climate change worsens, metaphorically thawing a whole field of research in the process.

Researchers aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute's R/V Falkor (too) used a remotely operated vehicle to plunge 4,265 feet below the surface of the ocean and investigate the seafloor. Experts identified more than 70 new species there, including "squat lobsters and marine snails that were completely new to science," said The Washington Post. "It was really surprising to see the degree to which life was thriving in such a hostile environment," Sasha Montelli, an expedition co-chief scientist, said to Scientific American. 

Researchers estimate that the ecosystem may have been around for decades or even hundreds of years. Lab research is still required to confirm that any of the species are new.

"Normally, deep-sea ecosystems get their nutrients from the sea surface, which sprinkle down toward the seafloor," said National Geographic. But this area was "covered by a 500-foot-thick icy roof." One theory is that "these lifeforms may derive their energy from ocean currents, which sweep nutrients beneath the ice sheet to sustain the ecosystem," said IFL Science.

Scientists are unsure "how this vibrant ecosystem will fare now that the iceberg has broken away," said Scientific American. "Many deep-sea dwellers are adapted to unchanging conditions," so they are "highly sensitive to even small environmental shifts."

 
 
On this day

March 27, 1998

The FDA approved the use of Viagra to treat erectile dysfunction. The drug, which goes by the generic name sildenafil, is one of many popular medications still used to treat the condition in the U.S. About 24% of men in the U.S. deal with erectile dysfunction, according to SingleCare data.

 
 
TODAY'S newspaperS

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth "needs to resign," the Arizona Republic says on Thursday's front page, quoting Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.). The New York Times reprints part of "the leaked Signal chat" that landed Hegseth in hot water. "Trump team digs in over chat leak," USA Today says. "Hegseth tries the defense patented by his boss," and "lying seems to come naturally to Trump's underling," the San Francisco Chronicle says. "Trump imposes 25% fee on autos," The Washington Post says. "Corporate elation over Trump gives way to distress" over his "whipsaw policy changes and complacency about the risks of recession," The Wall Street Journal says.

► See the newspaper front pages

 
 
Tall tale

Hoppy ending

In South Carolina, a runaway kangaroo named J.J. was aided and abetted by Blue, a mischievous goat who unlatched a gate in their yard, according to Horry County Police. Blue is a known escape artist, and he "wanted to let everybody go out and have a field day, and that included J.J.," their owner, Lindsay Richardson, said to WPDE. Police officers cornered J.J. and used a rope to wrangle him before bringing the roving marsupial home.

 
 

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; Jabin Botsford / The Washington Post via Getty Images; Luiz C. Ribeiro Archive / NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images; Illustration by Marian Femenias-Moratinos / Getty Images