WeekDay AM: 10 Things you need to know this morning
Trump's first 100 days, Blair on net zero, and Kardashian robbery suspects go on trial

 
today's international story

Trump marks first 100 days with rally in Michigan

What happened
Donald Trump has told a rally in Michigan that "we've just gotten started" as he appeared before supporters to mark 100 days in office. The US president said his tariff and trade policies would help bring jobs back to areas like the midwestern state and he received enthusiastic applause for his immigration crackdown and deportations of alleged gang members.

Who said what
Trump's Michigan event was "very much aimed at the president's base", said Carl Nasman on the BBC. In a speech that had been billed as an opportunity for the president to demonstrate his commitment to America's manufacturing heartland, "there was little, if anything, for the rest of the country".

"There have never been 100 days like this," said The New York Times. Trump's "chaotic blur of new initiatives" has "tested the nation's ability to process disruption" and "American democracy's resilience". In 100 days "Trump has made keeping up with the news hard and keeping things in perspective even harder", said Politico.

What next?
Trump's approval rating at 100 days is lower than any president's in the past seven decades. In 2021 political scientist Larry Sabato told the Guardian that history would remember Trump as by far the worst president ever on the basis of his first term. "I was wrong," he said last week. "This is the worst presidency in American history."

 
 
today's politics story

Blair says current net zero policies 'doomed to fail'

What happened
Tony Blair has urged the government to shift its climate strategy, arguing that attempts to phase out fossil fuel in the near future – a key aim of the British government and other leading nations – are "doomed to fail". The former prime minister called on Keir Starmer to switch focus to technological solutions like carbon capture.

Who said what
In a foreword to a report by the Tony Blair Institute, Blair claimed voters "feel they're being asked to make financial sacrifices and changes in lifestyle when they know that their impact on global emissions is minimal". The comments were condemned by climate activists, while sources close to Energy Secretary Ed Miliband defended the government's current approach.

What next?
Blair's "stark warning" will "fuel fierce debate about the ideological stance taken by Mr Miliband and the pragmatic arguments by Sir Tony, who won three elections for Labour by pursuing centrist policies", said The Independent. There are "serious concerns" that the energy policies being pursued by Miliband "could contribute to Labour being punished at the polls" on Thursday, added the paper.

 
 
Today's crime story

Kardashian robbery suspects go on trial

What happened
A group of 10 men – dubbed the "grandpa robbers" by French media – are on trial this week over the robbing of Kim Kardashian at gunpoint in Paris in 2016.

Who said what
The years since the burglary have "taken a toll" on the original 12 defendants, one of whom has died while another has been excused on the grounds of advanced dementia, said Le Monde.

Yunice Abbas, 72, has already confessed to his role in the $10 million heist in which the reality star was bound and gagged. He told the Court of Appeal of Paris that he had "regret" and TV coverage of the robbery led him to "ask myself some questions".

What next?
The trial is due to run until 23 May, with Kardashian set to appear in court on 13 May. The charges include armed robbery, membership of a criminal gang and kidnapping. Eight defendants deny any involvement, but if found guilty those accused of the more serious crimes could face anywhere from 10 years in jail to life imprisonment.

 
 

It's not all bad

Exercise can significantly reduce the side-effects of cancer treatment, according to the largest review of its kind. The study found that activities like walking, resistance training and yoga eased heart and nerve damage, brain fog, and fatigue, while improving sleep, mental health and quality of life. Published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, the results support including exercise in treatment plans – although experts stress that patients should go at their own pace and seek guidance.

 
 
under the radar

Anti-anxiety drug has a not-too-surprising effect on fish

A drug used to treat anxiety has been found to affect Atlantic salmon in similar ways to humans. Exposure to the drug makes the fish less fearful and gives them more confidence to take risks, according to a new study. This boldness can both increase their chances of survival and their vulnerability to predators.

Researchers dumped the drug clobazam and the pain-relieving opioid tramadol into the waters of the Atlantic salmon before they were set to migrate from the River Dal in Sweden to the Baltic Sea. The study, published in the journal Science, found that clobazam made the fish bolder and changed their migratory behaviour, while tramadol seemingly had no effect. More of the salmon affected by the anti-anxiety drug swam faster, farther and made it out to sea than those that were drug free.

In humans, the two drugs used in the study are not prescribed together as they interact negatively with each other, but they do get mixed in pharmaceutical pollution. "Our bodies don't absorb 100% of the drugs we ingest so traces of them end up in the toilet," said Vox. So, in many bodies of water, fish are swimming in a "veritable soup of drugs", said NPR.

"While the increased migration success in salmon exposed to clobazam might seem like a beneficial effect," said Dr Marcus Michelangeli, a contributor to the study, "it's important to realise that any change to the natural behaviour and ecology of a species is expected to have broader negative consequences both for that species and the surrounding wildlife community."

 
 
on this day

30 April 1945

Adolf Hitler and his wife, Eva Braun, committed suicide in a Berlin bunker. This month several members of the far-right British Movement – a neo-Nazi organisation – celebrated the dictator's birthday at a pub in Oldham with a swastika cake. Greater Manchester Police said it was treating the incident with the "utmost sensitivity and severity".

 
 
Today's newspapers

Several papers lead on news that Tony Blair has told Keir Starmer that "net zero is doomed". The Times says Blair's intervention was "met with anger in government". Donald Trump's trade deal with the UK has been made a "second-order priority" according to officials quoted in The Guardian, news that is "hampering" British attempts to "meet their mid-May deadline". "Our children are starving" says The Mirror, leading on a "mum's desperate plea" as the Israeli blockade on Gaza which cut off aid supplies "leaves 65,000 kids suffering from malnutrition".

See the newspaper front pages

 
 
tall tale

Radio dials up synthetic scandal

An Australian radio station has sparked outrage after it ran a daily show for six months without telling listeners the host was AI generated. CADA, a Sydney-based station, aired "Workdays with Thy", a four-hour music show that, unbeknownst to listeners, featured an artificial voice created by ElevenLabs cloning software. The truth only came to light after listeners began to question Thy's identity, noting that her voice sounded identical when saying the words "old school" across different shows. Project lead Fayed Tohme admitted all in a now-deleted LinkedIn post, calling Thy "an experiment" with "no mic, no studio, just code and vibes".

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Arion McNicoll, Harriet Marsden, Sorcha Bradley, Devika Rao, Ross Couzens and Chas Newkey-Burden, with illustrations by Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: Scott Olson / Getty Images; Kirsty O’Connor – WPA Pool / Getty Images; Mehdi Taamallah / NurPhoto / Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images.