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| Hello, OnPolitics readers! |
| Donald Trump has asked another foreign leader for information on President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden — an action that led to the former president's first impeachment by the House in 2020. |
| In the midst of Russia's deadly invasion of Ukraine, Trump took the opportunity to ask Russian President Vladimir Putin to release any information he has on rumors that a Russian oligarch invested a decade ago in a company founded by Hunter Biden. |
| "I would think Putin would know the answer to that," Trump said an interview on the "Just The News" television program. "I think he should release it. I think we should know that answer." |
| There is no evidence Hunter Biden engaged in illicit dealings with Russia. |
| Trump, who has come under fire for praising the authoritarian Putin, previously pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate the Bidens and hinted that U.S. military assistance to his country hinged on his answer. |
| Trump also implored Putin during his 2016 presidential campaign to find and release former Democratic Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's emails. |
| It's Amy and Chelsey with today's top stories. |
Reserve oil will help drive down gas prices |
| Biden announced Thursday that he would order the release of up to 180 million barrels of oil from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve over the next six months. The new supply is expected to help provide relief to Americans paying high gas prices amid Russia's war against Ukraine. |
| The release of 1 million barrels of oil a day will mark the largest release from the reserve in its nearly 50-year history. |
| Less Russian oil has been making its way to the international market since the war began in late February. The reduction in supply has raised the price of gasoline in the U.S. by nearly $1 per gallon. |
| The Biden administration expects domestic oil production to ramp up by the end of the year. Senior administration officials say the Energy Department will use revenue from the release to restock the emergency stockpile in future years. |
| The last major release of the oil reserve was in 2011, when President Barack Obama ordered the release of 30 million barrels after supplies were disrupted due to civil unrest in Libya. |
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Real Quick: stories you'll want to read |
| • | Cocaine, copulation and Congress? Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn took a rap on the knuckles from the House GOP leader on Wednesday over his claims on a podcast about orgies and cocaine use among his fellow members of Congress. | | • | More inclusive passport options: The White House and State Department on Thursday marked Transgender Day of Visibility with an announcement that U.S. citizens will be able to select "X" as the gender marker on their passport application beginning April 11. | | • | Oz is out: Dr. Mehmet Oz, a U.S. Senate candidate and host of the long-running "The Dr. Oz Show," was fired from a presidential council, according to a statement released Wednesday by his campaign. | | • | The Last Frontier makes the first move: Alaska voters will use a new system to choose their representative to Congress in a special election that will draw national attention, not just for how it might affect the balance of power in Washington but also how it could reshape American elections. Will other states follow their lead? | |
Biden may end Trump's COVID restrictions on asylum seekers |
| The Biden administration is expected to announce it will rescind a Trump-era policy that made it harder for migrants to seek asylum in the United States, according to reports. The policy allows U.S. border agents to expel asylum seekers to Mexico to prevent the spread of coronavirus. |
| The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to issue the order later this week to end the Title 42 policy, according to the Wall Street Journal. It could take effect in late May. The Associated Press reported the decision is not yet final. |
| The decision to end the policy would allow the Department of Homeland Security to prepare for an increase of migrants who may come to the border, the outlets reported. |
| The White House declined to confirm whether Title 42 will be ended. |
| "This is a decision that we have long deferred to CDC," White House communications director Kate Bedingfield said Wednesday. "Title 42 is a public health directive. It is not an immigration or migration enforcement measure." |
| Criticism over Title 42: The limits went into place in March 2020 under the Trump administration as coronavirus cases soared. While officials said at the time that it was a way to keep COVID-19 out of the United States, there always has been criticism that the restrictions were used as an excuse to seal the border to migrants unwanted by then-President Donald Trump. |
| Since coming into office, the Biden administration has embraced it under the same public health justification, denying critics' assertions they are using it to curb immigration. |
| Today is Trans Day of Visibility. USA TODAY's Opinion team shares how transgender people have always existed, but are now more visible than ever before. -- Amy and Chelsey |
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