Good Morning, this is the Commonwealth Report. News for the public, not the powerful.
Is Trump Idea of Peace in Iran Like Holding a Gun with the Safety Off?
Just days ago, Donald Trump was threatening to wipe an entire civilization off the map. He then announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran, brokered by Pakistan, and called it a victory. Now he’s back on Truth Social warning that if a “REAL AGREEMENT” isn’t reached, the “shootin’ starts” again, bigger and stronger than anything the world has ever seen. Let’s be clear about what actually happened here. The U.S. has spent 44 billion dollars on this war. Gas is over four dollars a gallon. Iran still has its nuclear stockpile. The Strait of Hormuz is now under more Iranian control than before the shooting started. Legal experts say Trump’s threats to destroy bridges, power plants, and civilian infrastructure were war crimes. The Pope called his conduct “truly unacceptable.” A two-week pause isn’t peace. It is a loaded gun with the safety off.
Is Congress Finally Ready to Rein In Trump’s One-Man War?
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer isn’t mincing words. He called Donald Trump a “military moron” and announced that Democrats will force a War Powers Resolution vote next week to end this war for good. This will be the fourth such attempt. The previous three were all blocked by Republicans. Schumer laid out the damage: 44 billion dollars spent, gas above four dollars a gallon, Iran’s nuclear ambitions untouched, American credibility in ruins globally, and U.S. soldiers dead. The Constitution is clear. Congress, not one man sitting alone at 3 a.m. with his phone, has the authority to send this nation to war. Democrats are right on this. The question now is whether enough Republicans finally have the spine to join them and restore the checks the founders built this republic on.
America’s Oldest Civil Rights Group Demands Trump’s Removal
The NAACP has been fighting for justice since 1909. In 117 years, it has never once called for the removal of a sitting U.S. president. That just changed. The nation’s oldest civil rights organization is demanding that Vice President Vance and the Cabinet invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Donald Trump from office immediately. NAACP President Derrick Johnson called Trump “unfit, unwell, and unhinged.” The organization points to Trump’s Easter Sunday threats to annihilate an entire civilization and a pattern of increasingly erratic behavior it says poses a direct threat to national security. Invoking Section 4 requires Vance and a majority of the Cabinet to move against Trump, which looks deeply unlikely given their loyalty. But that’s not the point. When America’s oldest civil rights organization takes this step for the very first time in 117 years, that’s not rhetoric. That’s a five-alarm warning.
Can Trump Legally Shred His Own Records Before He Leaves Office?
Trump’s Justice Department just handed him the legal cover to destroy his administration’s records. The DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel declared the Presidential Records Act unconstitutional. That’s the Watergate-era law requiring presidents to hand all official documents to the National Archives when they leave office. Every president since Ronald Reagan has followed it. Trump’s DOJ says he doesn’t have to anymore. If this stands, Trump could walk out of the White House with classified communications, memos from conversations with foreign leaders, and records of his decisions on the Iran war, and destroy every last one. The American Historical Association and American Oversight have already filed suit to block it. One analyst said this could make Trump the most poorly documented president since Richard Nixon. We all remember how Nixon’s attempt to hide his records ended.
Are Today’s Killer Heatwaves Already Crossing the Line Between Livable and Lethal?
Scientists just published a bombshell in the journal Nature Communications. They examined six major heatwaves between 2003 and 2024, in cities including Phoenix, Mecca, Bangkok, and Seville, and found that all six created what they call “non-survivable” conditions for older people who were outside in the sun for just six hours. The lead researcher’s first words when she saw the findings? “Oh [expletive].” None of those heatwaves even reached the temperature level scientists had long considered the danger threshold. The old models were wrong. Heat deaths are being massively undercounted. Hundreds of millions of people are already at grave risk. Every degree of warming we add to this planet pushes more people past the line. And while scientists sound the alarm, the people in Washington blocking climate action are holding the door wide open.
Geeky Science Alert! Harvard Finds That Staying Positive Fights Dementia
Here’s some genuinely welcome news to end on. Harvard researchers tracked more than nine thousand older adults for up to 14 years and found that people with higher levels of optimism were significantly less likely to develop dementia. The more optimistic you were, the lower your risk, and that held true across racial groups, different health conditions, and even among people dealing with depression. More than six million Americans live with dementia today, and there’s still no cure. But the Harvard team says optimism may be one of the most powerful and learnable tools we have for protecting the brain as we age. So yes, the news today is relentlessly grim. But staying positive may literally keep you sharper longer. Stay angry about what matters. And stay hopeful that we can fix it.
And that’s the way it is. Today Thursday, April 9th, 2026. I’m Thom Hartmann.
