Trump administration officials downplayed a group text about U.S. military plans that inadvertently included a journalist. Processing for some green card applications has been suspended. And a new type of antibiotic was approved to treat a common infection.
Here’s what to know today.
Trump’s top intelligence officials downplay group chat while Waltz takes ‘full responsibility’
President Donald Trump’s intelligence officials downplayed the inadvertent inclusion of a journalist in a group text about U.S. military plans at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing that grew heated as Democrats accused the witnesses of jeopardizing national security.
This week, The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg reported his inclusion in a text thread about plans to strike Houthi militias in Yemen that appeared to include National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and national security adviser Michael Waltz.
This is Morning Rundown, a weekday newsletter to start your day. Sign up here to get it in your inbox.
During the contentious Senate hearing, Gabbard said “there were not classified or intelligence equities” in the chat “at any time.” Ratcliffe acknowledged the text chain but said it was “lawful” and claimed the Signal app was permitted as a communication tool for work purposes.
Democrats, however, accused the witnesses of jeopardizing national security. Sen. Mark Warner, the ranking Democrat on the committee, characterized the Trump administration as having a “cavalier attitude.”
In an interview on Fox News last night, Waltz said he takes “full responsibility” for organizing the text group and said a staffer was not to blame for Goldberg’s inclusion. “I take full responsibility. I built the — I built the group,” Waltz told host Laura Ingram.
Earlier yesterday, Trump defended Waltz when speaking to NBC News by phone, saying, “Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he’s a good man.” The situation, Trump said, was “the only glitch in two months, and it turned out not to be a serious one.”
More politics news:
- House Speaker Mike Johnson floated the possibility of Congress eliminating some federal courts.
- Trump signed an executive order requiring people to prove their citizenship when they register to vote in federal elections.
- The CDC is pulling back $11.4 billion in Covid funding sent to health departments across the country.
- Frank Bisignano, Trump’s nominee to lead the Social Security Administration, got an earful from Senate Democrats at his confirmation hearing in the wake of early actions by Elon Musk and DOGE to downsize the agency.
- The Supreme Court will hear arguments today in a Federal Communications Commissions case that could weaken the power of federal agencies.
Trump administration stops some processing some green cards
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has suspended processing applications for green cards to do more vetting of the applicants — in particular, for people who were granted asylum and have applied for legal permanent residency — the Department of Homeland Security announced. The move is meant to comply with an executive order President Donald Trump signed on his first day in office calling for agencies to “vet and screen to the maximum degree possible” all immigrants who want to enter, be admitted or are already in the U.S., “particularly those aliens coming from regions or nations with identified security risks.”
For people who have been granted asylum, the increased vetting comes on top of a rigorous process that has already occurred overseas before they can set foot in the U.S. While it remains to be seen how the vetting will be carried out and how long the pause will last, one expert suggested the slower processing of applications and the increased time spent on each one could be costly.
First new antibiotic for UTIs in decades given the green light
The FDA has approved the first drug in a new class of antibiotics for treating urinary tract infections, the first time this has happened in nearly 30 years. The approval comes as treating UTIs becomes more difficult since the bacteria that commonly causes the infections is becoming increasingly resistant to standard antibiotics. The new drug is a pill called Bujepa from drugmaker GSK. It has been approved for women and girls 12 and up with uncomplicated UTIs and is expected to be available in the second half of the year.
Blujepa is part of a new class of antibiotics called triazaacenaphthylenes, which work by targeting two key enzymes that E. coli bacteria need to copy itself and survive. “In simple terms,” one doctor explained, “this new antibiotic works its magic by using a novel binding method to block a bacteria’s ability to replicate.” The last time the FDA cleared a new class of antibiotics for uncomplicated UTIs was in 1996. Read more about the new treatment.
Read All About It
- Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a ceasefire in the Black Sea and to implement a ban on attacks on energy facilities, the White House said.
- A federal judge in New York dismissed racketeering allegations against Sean “Diddy” Combs but said sex trafficking claims against the music mogul in a $30 million lawsuit can proceed.
- Israeli forces released Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal a day after his “No Other Land” co-director said Ballal had been arrested.
- Costa Rican authorities reversed a preliminary cause of death for the teen son of former New York Yankees star Brett Gardner after previously saying he died by asphyxia.
Staff Pick: The MLB is in the midst of unprecedented change
America’s pastime is looking a little different every year as technological innovations, society’s shrinking attention span and big money marketing concerns creep into Major League Baseball. And this year is no different. While the new season, which starts for almost all teams tomorrow, is bringing only a few rules tweaks, with more dramatic changes likely in store in future seasons.
It’s highly likely that, by this time next year, balls and strikes will have a precise, high-tech measure on a handful of key game situations that’d wipe out human judgement and error. Diehard fans who turned out for some spring training games already got a preview of the new system. This, on top of once-unfathomable changes such as pitch clocks and limits on where fielders can position themselves, have changed the look of baseball. And the pearl-clutching of purists might not stop there, as double-wide first base bags and “golden at-bat” could also be in MLB’s future. — David K. Li, senior reporter
NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified
The NBC Select team spent nearly three months testing hundreds of products for our third annual Wellness Awards. Here are the team’s picks for the best running shoes, massage guns, fitness trackers, workout socks and more. Plus, the Amazon Big Spring Sale is here and we found the 25+ best deals to shop now.
Sign up to The Selection newsletter for hands-on product reviews, expert shopping tips and a look at the best deals and sales each week.
Thanks for reading today’s Morning Rundown. Today’s newsletter was curated for you by Elizabeth Robinson. If you’re a fan, please send a link to your family and friends. They can sign up here.
