Morning Report - Trump pulls back from Iran brink

TODAY’S POLITICS story

GOP keeps Greene seat, loses Wisconsin court race

What happened
Republican Clay Fuller (pictured above) last night won the special election to fill former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R) seat in Georgia’s heavily Republican 14th Congressional District. But he beat Democrat Shawn Harris by only about 12 percentage points, far short of President Donald Trump’s 37-point margin in 2024. That 25-point shift was the “largest leftward swing in a special election since the start of 2025,” The New York Times said. In Wisconsin, Democratic-backed Judge Chris Taylor won a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and Democrat Alicia Halvensleben narrowly won the mayoral race in Waukesha, a GOP-leaning Milwaukee suburb.

Who said what
Republicans were relieved to bolster their narrow House majority in Georgia’s “deep red” 14th District, The Associated Press said, while Democrats were hopeful this latest in their string of better-than-expected electoral results “will create momentum toward November’s midterm elections.” Democrats “notched their best Trump-era overperformance” even after “national Republicans made the remarkable decision to actually spend money on the race,” Aaron Blake said at CNN.

What next?
Taylor’s victory over Republican-backed Judge Maria Lazar means “liberals will have a 5-2 edge on the swing state’s highest court, putting the majority out of reach for conservatives until at least 2030,” NBC News said.

TODAY’S INTERNATIONAL Story

Australia charges former war hero with war crimes

What happened
Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia’s most decorated living veteran, was arrested yesterday and charged with two counts of “war crime — murder” and three counts of abetting such crimes, according to documents presented in court this morning. The charges relate to the killings of five unarmed civilians while he was the patrol commander of an elite Special Air Service Regiment in Afghanistan from 2009 to 2012.

Who said what
Roberts-Smith (pictured above with Queen Elizabeth II) is “only the second Australian veteran of the Afghanistan campaign to be charged with a war crime,” said The Associated Press. He has “consistently denied all wrongdoing,” said Australia’s ABC. But his “public image was shattered in 2018,” when several newspapers published articles accusing him of killing Afghan civilians, The New York Times said. He sued for defamation and lost. Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said the five Afghans at the center of the charges were unarmed, “under the control” of the Australian military and “not taking part in hostilities at the time of their alleged murder.”

What next?
Roberts-Smith’s trial could become the “most consequential military prosecution” in Australian history, said the Times. The maximum penalty for each charge is life in prison.

It’s not all bad

A new program called Chefs on the Spectrum aims to help people with autism find jobs in fine-dining restaurants that play to their strengths. Franklin Becker, owner of Point Seven in Manhattan, launched the project to help combat both high unemployment rates among adults with autism and the widespread lack of skilled restaurant workers. More than a dozen chefs across the U.S. are on board, and will welcome Chefs on the Spectrum participants once their training ends.

Under the radar

AlloClae: the ‘zombie filler’ invading cosmetic surgery

A new injectable filler is making a splash for being minimally invasive and because of its source: donated human fat from cadavers. The eerie origins of the shots have led to a mixed response. Some praise the innovation; others worry about future complications.

Tiger Aesthetics’ new product, AlloClae, has become popular with “patients eager to look their best in the boardroom” without “undergoing general anesthesia or taking days off for recovery,” said Business Insider. Rather than using an implant or a patient’s own body fat to add volume to hips or augment breasts, AlloClae relies on “donor fat from a cadaver as a first-of-its-kind body filler.”

While the procedure can cost as much as $100,000, people are “paying for the convenience,” cosmetic surgeon Sachin Shridharani said to Business Insider. The rise in GLP-1 use has contributed to the trend, as people who are on Ozempic or are dieting heavily are “really thin and don’t have enough fat to transfer” from their own bodies, plastic surgeon Melissa Doft said to The Guardian’s Ask Ugly column.

While a select few plastic surgeons have begun offering injections of what some social media influencers call “zombie filler” or “corpse cosmetics,” others have concerns, “especially when it comes to using AlloClae in the breast,” said The Cut. Breast tissue is not “just fat, it’s glandular, hormonally active and requires lifelong imaging for cancer screening,” said plastic surgeon Adam Kolker. AlloClae is a “good tool,” said surgeon Glenn Lyle to The Guardian, but there is wariness about how eagerly people are adopting it. The industry is “moving too fast with this” without “follow-up studies.”

On this day

April 8, 1820

A farmer on the Greek island of Milos discovered a marble sculpture, named Venus de Milo by its French buyers, in an ancient wall niche. It is thought to date from the 2nd century BC. King Louis XVIII donated what is now one of the world’s most famous works of art to the Louvre in Paris, where it’s still on display.

TODAY’S newspaperS

‘Trump backs off’

“Trump backs off threat to level Iran” after “threat gripped world,” The Wall Street Journal says on Wednesday’s front page. “Trump backs off, OK’s ceasefire,” The Boston Globe says. “Hegseth’s boasts are too rosy, some say,” The Washington Post says. “Iran hackers target key U.S. infrastructure,” the Los Angeles Times says. “Artemis heads back after moon mission,” USA Today says. And “stellar views,” the Houston Chronicle says. “Ukraine moves to deny Russia an oil windfall,” The New York Times says. “Little-known contractor helped run operations at FEMA,” The Philadelphia Inquirer says. “Michigan magic,” as U-M wins its first NCAA men’s basketball championship in decades, says the Detroit Free Press.

► See the newspaper front pages

Tall tale

Rescue dog

One week after going missing, a dog named Molly was found in the New Zealand bush by a search and rescue team crowdfunded by strangers. Molly was hiking with her owner when the woman fell from a 180-foot waterfall. She was rescued, but no one could find Molly. Word spread and donations began flooding in to hire a helicopter with thermal imaging equipment. After three hours, the pilot spotted Molly, who was coaxed to safety.

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