Morning Report

TODAY’S POLITICS story

Dems file 25th Amendment bill amid Trump outbursts

What happened
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) yesterday unveiled a bill to set up a bipartisan panel that could help remove a mentally or physically incapacitated president under the 25th Amendment. The legislation, which had 50 Democratic cosponsors, is a “matter of national security,” Raskin (pictured above) said in a statement. “Public trust in Donald Trump’s ability to meet the duties of his office has dropped to unprecedented lows” as he “threatens to destroy entire civilizations” and “aggressively insults the pope,” among other erratic behavior.

Who said what
The 25th Amendment empowers the vice president, plus the Cabinet or “such other body as Congress” provides, to declare the president unfit for office. “This body should have been set up” when the amendment was ratified in 1967, Raskin said. A White House spokesperson called Raskin a “lightweight” and praised Trump’s “sharpness” and “unmatched energy.”

The Democratic and Republican leaders in the House and Senate would each pick four of the panel’s 16 members — physicians, psychiatrists and former top Cabinet officials — and the panel would pick a 17th member as chair. If a medical examination found the president unfit, a majority of the panel could vote to suspend the president with the assent of the vice president.

What next?
The legislation “is a long shot,” Axios said, as “Republicans control Congress, and Trump could simply veto it.”

TODAY’S CRIME Story

DOJ moves to wipe Jan. 6 sedition convictions

What happened
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office yesterday asked the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., to erase the seditious conspiracy convictions of Oath Keepers and Proud Boys leaders found guilty of playing key roles in the 2021 U.S. Capitol attack to keep President Donald Trump in power. The Trump administration has “determined in its prosecutorial discretion that dismissal of this criminal case is in the interests of justice,” Pirro’s office said. Trump pardoned most of the Jan. 6 rioters but commuted the lengthy prison sentences of the 12 covered by the new filing.

Who said what
The motion to expunge the convictions of ringleaders including Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes (pictured above) is the “latest effort by the Trump administration to erase the stain of Jan. 6,” Politico said. Asking the appeals court to “toss out the guilty verdicts” also lets the Justice Department avoid the “awkward situation of having to defend the convictions,” The New York Times said. That would “likely have required administration officials to assert that the far-right groups were acting on behalf” of Trump.

What next?
The request to vacate the last remaining Jan. 6 convictions “is likely to be granted because prosecutors have broad discretion to pursue or drop criminal charges,” The Washington Post said.

It’s not all bad

Through his “Granborghini” initiative, Mark Cody takes elderly people for joyrides around Sheffield, England, in his Lamborghini, reminding them that life doesn’t have to slow down with age. Cody said he “treasures” spending time with his passengers and considers his free service a way of combating loneliness among the elderly. Buying the car “felt like a dream,” he said, but there’s “way more joy out of sharing it in the world.”

Under the radar

A popular, edible fungus is invading US forests

The invasive golden oyster mushroom is spreading through North America, threatening native species and biodiversity. And with temperatures warming, further expansion could lead to dire ecological consequences.

The golden oyster was brought to the U.S. from Asia during the 2000s mostly because it “can grow quickly” and is considered one of the “most delicious mushrooms a forager can find,” said Vice. The bright yellow mushroom’s ability to reproduce quickly has caused it to spread across the continent. It has already been found in 25 U.S. states.

The fungus is “invisible for most of the year, living as mycelium, fungal strands within the wood,” said the BBC. In the spring, it “sends out its fruiting body,” which is “what we would recognize as the mushroom itself.” The mushrooms chew through hardwood, crowding out other fungus species as well as small animals and tree seedlings. Though the golden oyster “isn’t yet posing a significant risk to Western forests, it’s taking hold in the Northeast and Midwest,” said The Cool Down.

Human trade and climate change are the two factors most responsible for the mushroom's spread. “It’s a problem created by the way we use, grow and transport fungi, but acting rapidly could save vulnerable fungi from decline or extinction,” said the BBC.

“Continued research, management efforts anchored in social theory and collaborative conversations about microbial endemism” will be necessary, said a 2025 study published in the journal Current Biology. The “cultivation of local species or development of sporeless mushroom strains could also mitigate risks.”

On this day

April 15, 1947

Jackie Robinson made his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking Major League Baseball’s color barrier. Robinson was 0 for 3 at the plate but reached base on an error and scored the decisive run in Brooklyn’s 5-3 opening day win over the Boston Braves. Four other Black players debuted on MLB teams later that season.

TODAY’S newspaperS

‘A harder target’

“Iran’s ports are quiet as strait blockade holds up,” The Wall Street Journal says on Wednesday’s front page. “Gas prices skyrocket overnight,” says The Palm Beach Post. “Trump says talks with Iran may soon restart,” The Washington Post says. “Detroit Catholic archbishop decries war,” the Detroit Free Press says. “Bishop blasts Trump’s post,” The Dallas Morning News says. “In confronting another pope, Trump finds a harder target,” The New York Times says. “JD Vance in Georgia criticizes pope,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says. “New Swalwell accuser speaks out,” says the San Francisco Chronicle. “Fear of a deeper rot in Congress,” says the Los Angeles Times. “The race is on to save the dying Great Salt Lake,” says USA Today.

► See the newspaper front pages

Tall tale

Meta’s robotic CEO

Meta is working on creating an AI agent based on CEO Mark Zuckerberg that could interact with employees when he’s not around, said the Financial Times. The company has recently been focused on developing “photorealistic AI-powered 3D characters” able to engage with people in “real time.” The Zuckerberg version is in its early stages, and he’s participating in its training and testing so it can learn his mannerisms, tone and “recent thinking on company strategies.”

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.