U.S.
A man stormed the White House Correspondents’ Dinner with multiple weapons Saturday night in a brazen attempt to assassinate President Trump.
Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, traveled by train from Los Angeles to Washington, checked into the Washington Hilton days before the black-tie event, and descended an interior stairwell before charging through metal detectors outside the packed ballroom. Armed with a shotgun, handgun, and knives, he exchanged fire with Secret Service agents — one of whom was struck but protected by his vest — before being tackled to the ground. A written manifesto sent to his family minutes before the attack stated he wanted to target Trump administration officials. On Monday, Allen was charged in federal court with three counts including attempting to assassinate the president.
The Trump administration has instructed immigration officers to deny green cards to immigrants who posted anti-Israel content on social media or participated in pro-Palestinian campus protests. Officers from US Citizenship and Immigration Services are being directed to treat participation in anti-Israel demonstrations — particularly those following the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre — as an “overwhelmingly negative” factor in applications. The new guidance flags posts calling to “stop Israeli terror,” images depicting a crossed-out Israeli flag, and maps replacing Israel’s name with “Palestine.” A USCIS spokesman said, “If you hate America, you have no business demanding to live in America.” The White House stated the policy is meant to protect national security and “the safety of citizens” — not to curtail free speech.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrived in the United States on Monday for the most consequential British royal visit in nearly two decades. Landing at Joint Base Andrews, the royal couple began a four-day state visit timed to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence. The trip — the first by a British monarch since Queen Elizabeth II visited in 2007 — will include a private bilateral meeting with President Trump, a formal state dinner at the White House on Tuesday, a joint address to Congress (the first by a British monarch since 1991), and a stop in New York City including a visit to the 9/11 Memorial. The visit comes amid notable strain in US-UK relations over Britain’s refusal to commit military support to the American-led campaign against Iran.
The US-Iran ceasefire teetered on the edge of collapse this week as diplomatic talks stalled and President Trump abruptly canceled a planned meeting between envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and Iranian officials in Pakistan. Trump cited “tremendous infighting and confusion” within Tehran’s fractured leadership as the reason for scrapping the Islamabad summit. The ceasefire, brokered by Pakistan on April 8 and repeatedly extended, has been violated by both sides — Iran seized multiple ships in the Strait of Hormuz while the US naval blockade of Iranian ports remains in force. Oil prices surged again on the news. Over the weekend Iran’s foreign minister flew to Moscow to shore up diplomatic backing, while Tehran submitted a fresh proposal to reopen the Strait and end the war, deferring nuclear talks to a future date. Trump said his national security team was reviewing the offer.
For the fifth time this year, the US Senate rejected a measure that would have required congressional approval before President Trump could resume large-scale military action against Iran. The resolution failed 46 to 51, with nearly all Republicans voting to preserve the president’s war-making authority. The vote came as the ongoing conflict — now in its third month — continues to keep the Strait of Hormuz choked, jet fuel costs soaring, and global markets on edge. Separately, Trump signed sweeping new pharmaceutical tariffs of up to 100 percent on patented drug imports, a move the White House says is designed to bring drug manufacturing back to American soil. The administration estimates the pharmaceutical tariffs will generate $81 billion in revenue over ten years while reducing the overall average tariff rate slightly by offsetting restructured steel and metal duties.
New York
Mayor Zohran Mamdani issued his first-ever veto Friday, rejecting a City Council bill that would have required the NYPD to establish anti-protest security perimeters around schools and educational institutions — drawing immediate condemnation from Jewish leaders who called it a “profound failure.” The bill, which passed the Council 30-19, was one of two anti-harassment measures prompted by ugly pro-Palestinian protests outside city synagogues where demonstrators chanted “We support Hamas here” and hurled antisemitic epithets at congregants. Mamdani let the companion bill — protecting houses of worship — become law without his signature, but only because it passed by a veto-proof 44-5 margin. For the schools bill, pressure from unions and progressive allies carried the day. A consortium of major Jewish organizations including UJA-Federation called the veto “a profound failure of City Hall to demonstrate that our safety is a priority.” Council Speaker Julie Menin, who sponsored both bills, is now weighing a veto override — but supporters are four votes short. Notably, on his first day in office, Mamdani had also revoked the city’s use of the IHRA definition of antisemitism.
The man who shot and killed NYPD Detective Jonathan Diller during a Queens traffic stop two years ago was sentenced Monday to 115 years to life in prison — a term that virtually guarantees he will never leave a prison cell. Guy Rivera, 36, of Long Island City, had been convicted earlier this month of aggravated manslaughter and attempted murder after jurors acquitted him on the top charge of first-degree murder — a verdict that drew fierce outrage from the NYPD and Diller’s family. At a packed sentencing in Kew Gardens, Diller’s widow Stephanie spoke directly to Rivera: “This is the last moment I will allow you to take from me.” His mother told the court, “He has forced our family into a life sentence of grief.” Queens DA Melinda Katz said Rivera “will most certainly die in a prison cell.” His defense announced plans to appeal.
New York City got its first-ever glimpse of an aviation revolution Monday as an electric aircraft flew from JFK Airport to a Midtown Manhattan heliport in under ten minutes. Joby Aviation, which acquired helicopter booking service Blade Air Mobility in 2025, completed the inaugural demonstration flight as part of a federally approved ten-day eVTOL pilot program. The aircraft — which resembles a large, sleek drone and carries up to four passengers plus a pilot — is said to be 100 times quieter than a conventional helicopter and produces zero emissions. Routes also included the Downtown Skyport and the East 34th Street heliport. Joby, which has partnerships with Delta Air Lines and Uber, is targeting the launch of commercial passenger service in New York — as well as Texas and Florida — as soon as the second half of 2026, pending full FAA certification.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani is scrambling to close a $5.4 billion budget gap as New York State’s own budget — now three weeks past its April 1 deadline — leaves City Hall unable to finalize its spending plan. Mamdani, who marked his first 100 days with a Sunday night rally at a Queens concert venue, is weighing delaying release of his executive budget past its May 1 due date pending resolution of the Albany standoff. Governor Hochul has been pushing the mayor to slow his spending ambitions in exchange for increased state aid and a new pied-à-terre tax on second homes. The mayor has largely abandoned an earlier proposal to raise property taxes, which was rejected even by allies on the City Council. The protracted standoff leaves localities across the state unable to finalize their school budgets ahead of the May 19 deadline.
City Council Member Simcha Felder stormed out of City Hall’s inaugural antisemitism task force meeting after the Mamdani administration indicated the city would not adopt a formal definition of antisemitism as part of its mandate. Felder, who represents the heavily Orthodox neighborhoods of Flatbush, Borough Park, and Midwood in Brooklyn, called the decision “unconscionable and unacceptable.” “I can’t recall ever hearing something so absurd from someone in this administration,” Felder said. “Without a definition, the task force has no real teeth.” The meeting is part of Mayor Mamdani’s stated effort to address growing concern in the Jewish community over a spike in antisemitic incidents. Critics, however, note that Mamdani — whose wife has previously liked sharply anti-Israel social media posts — has not committed to adopting the IHRA definition of antisemitism that most Jewish organizations consider the gold standard.
Israel
Israel’s 78th Independence Day, Yom HaAtzmaut, was celebrated across the country this week with fireworks and ceremonies — but against an unusual backdrop of ongoing multi-front war, empty seats in the north, and missile-defense batteries on standby. One journalist observed that Israel is “celebrating while knowing it is fighting for survival,” with the state in its third consecutive year of conflict: first against Hamas, twice against Hezbollah, and now in the historic joint campaign against Iran. At the President’s Residence in Jerusalem, President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presided over a ceremony honoring 120 outstanding soldiers and officers. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir declared that “prolonged years of fighting have reshaped Israel’s security and fortified our existence.” The mood was a remarkable blend of pride and wartime sobriety.
Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid formally announced Sunday the merger of their parties into a unified electoral slate called “Together” — with Bennett at the top of the list. “We are uniting today to win the elections and to establish a Zionist government,” Lapid declared at the announcement in Herzliya. Bennett called joining forces with Lapid “the most Zionist and patriotic act we have ever done.” The move is a direct challenge to Prime Minister Netanyahu, who must face voters by October 27. Former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot, head of the Yashar party, congratulated the alliance but did not join it, suggesting the new union still needs to expand its coalition of right-center Zionist parties. Netanyahu’s Likud party quickly attacked the new slate as a “terror-supporting Muslim Brotherhood alliance,” citing the pair’s past cooperation with Arab parties.
Hezbollah continued to systematically violate the fragile Lebanon ceasefire this week, killing one IDF soldier and wounding six others in a drone strike inside Israel’s declared security zone in southern Lebanon. Prime Minister Netanyahu responded Sunday by ordering the IDF to strike Hezbollah targets “with force,” declaring that the terror group is “dismantling the ceasefire.” Since the truce took effect April 16, Hezbollah has launched rockets, anti-tank missiles, and armed drones toward Israeli communities in the Galilee on multiple occasions. Israel has asked the United States pressure the Lebanese government to rein in Hezbollah outside the IDF’s forward defense line, but the US has not yet publicly acted upon that request.
Lag Ba’Omer celebrations at the kever of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai on Har Meron have been canceled for the second consecutive year, with Prime Minister Netanyahu citing the fragility of the Lebanon ceasefire and renewed Hezbollah rocket fire in the north. The Home Front Command, which had lifted restrictions on large gatherings nationwide only nine days earlier, reimposed a limit of 1,500 people for communities near the Lebanon border. The annual Meron event — which ordinarily draws upwards of half a million people and is the largest annual Jewish gathering on earth — will take place only in “symbolic” fashion this year. The decision was met with disappointment across the chareidi world and by pilgrims who had traveled from abroad.
IDF troops conducting a targeted raid in southern Lebanon discovered a massive weapons cache hidden inside a child’s bedroom in the village of Aadshit al-Qusayr, approximately two miles north of the Israeli border. The cache contained Kalashnikov rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, machine guns, heavy munitions, and explosives.
sNiPeEtS oF StRaNgE
A Montana moose with an apparent flair for brand loyalty made headlines this week when — after treating the entire city of Bozeman to an unannounced self-guided tour — he chose to cap off the adventure with a nap directly in front of a radio station called The Moose. The large animal first crashed a local real estate listing by galloping through a vacant lot Monday morning. By the end of the day, the moose had been spotted all over Bozeman before settling down for a long snooze beside The Moose 94.7 radio station. Wildlife officials called it a case of beautiful, if inconvenient, navigation. The station did not comment on whether it considers the moose an official endorsement.
A sheriff’s office in North Carolina issued a social media APB this week for a suspect described as enormous, pink, and “living his best life on the lam” — a very large escaped pig roaming free. “To put it lightly: he is a REALLY big pig. We’re talking ‘absolute unit’ status,” the department announced, adding that animal services personnel had so far been unable to locate it. Residents were urged to report sightings but were emphatically advised not to attempt a citizen’s arrest. The pig’s owner, who would presumably know what happened to his very large pig, had not come forward. The department also invited the public to suggest a nickname for their new “porcine pal.” In a sign that the internet had too much free time this week, suggestions flooded in immediately
A lobster fisherman working the waters off Cape Cod hauled in one of the rarest creatures in the ocean this week: a perfectly symmetrical split-color lobster, half orange and half brown right down the middle, which scientists estimate occurs in roughly one in fifty million animals. The extraordinary find drew excitement from marine biologists, who explained that a true split-color lobster results from a fertilized egg that divides very early in development, with each resulting half carrying different genetic material that expresses different pigmentation. While rare blue, yellow, and calico lobsters appear occasionally, a perfectly split specimen is extraordinarily uncommon. The fisherman, a Cape Cod veteran who has spent decades on the water, told reporters he had never seen anything like it in his career. Rather than ending up on a dinner plate, the lobster was donated to the New England Aquarium.
An Indiana woman went to renew her driver’s license this year and got far more than a photo ID: facial recognition software flagged her application because another woman in the state apparently looks exactly like her. Officers informed the woman — an only child with no known relatives who look like her — that her face had matched a second applicant’s in the state’s database so closely that the system flagged a potential duplicate identity. After a three-month bureaucratic odyssey to finally get her new license issued, she has turned the mystery into a daily TikTok series documenting her search for her look-alike. “I want to meet her, be in the same room, and know who she is,” she said. “What are the odds that we look so similar, live in the same place, and have never crossed paths?”
A Maryland man turned a $200 scratch-off win into a $100,000 jackpot this week by doing the one thing financial advisors never recommend — immediately gambling his winnings on another ticket. The man said he felt “emboldened” after winning $200 from a scratch-off, so he used the entire amount to buy a second ticket from the same game. It paid off: the new ticket hit the $100,000 top prize. “I overlooked the message at first and swiped it away,” he said of scanning the ticket. “Then I said, ‘Wait, what did I just see?’” This is actually not his first rodeo — in 2017 the same man won $50,000 from a Bonus Match 5 ticket, which he used to pay for his Master’s degree. He is either the luckiest man in Maryland or the best argument against getting an education.
A California grandmother has officially reclaimed her Guinness World Record as the oldest unicycle rider on earth — at the entirely reasonable age of 69 years and 189 days. Linda Jarrett, known in performance circles as the “Unicycle Granny,” first earned the distinction back in January 2023 before aging out of it, and has now taken it back after a December performance in which she unicycled across a stage in front of a live audience. Jarrett started on a unicycle at age 10, went on to perform in a flying circus, worked as a Hollywood stunt performer, and has never fully stopped. Her advice to aspiring unicyclists: “Start very young and never stop.” Her advice to everyone else appears to be: Stop making excuses about your knees.