Ballroom blitz; who gets saved first; MAGA defectors aren't buying it; National Science Board terminated; airlines want billions for fuel; A.I. escapes the lab.
It's National Blueberry Pie Day!
The best summary of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner events:
Jon Stewart dives into the chaos at the White House Correspondents' Dinner: After a shooter interrupted mentalist Oz Pearlman revealing Karoline Leavitt’s baby name, cabinet members abandoned their wives to rush to safety, Wolf Blitzer reported on the scene without a shoe, and Trump insisted none of this would’ve happened in his larger, more secure, East Wing ballroom. Plus, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog recounts his traumatic night of dodging bullets while trying to avoid having his carcass eaten by RFK Jr.
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The newsletter is published Monday through Thursday (holidays and medical procedures excepted).
—Kevin G. Barkes
(Most) everything you need to know for today:
April 28 is the 118th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 247 days remain until the end of the year. As of this writing, 997 days remain in Trump’s term of office.
Knee-deep in the hoopla:
The latest on the Iran war from the Associated Press. (Use this link if other is not working. Then check back later and use the first link.)
Pushing past third assassination attempt, Trump forges ahead with his ballroom. The president argued that Saturday’s shooting made the ballroom even more necessary, citing security concerns. (Wall Street Journal gift article)
National Trust says it won’t drop suit against Trump’s $400M White House ballroom after DOJ request. Preservationists are pressing ahead with their lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s planned $400 million White House ballroom, declining a request by the Department of Justice to withdraw the complaint following the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday. (AP)
A dark new litmus test for power in Washington. The shooting at the Correspondents’ Dinner made clear who gets saved first. (The Atlantic gift article)
MAGA defectors convinced Correspondents’ Dinner shooting was staged. Some of Trump’s biggest former supporters are now questioning an assassination attempt on his life. (The New Republic)
Reporters covered the correspondents’ dinner shooting in real time. Conspiracy theories still spread. (AP)
Trump’s acting DOJ chief is sued over his alleged failure to release the complete Epstein files. The lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court in Washington, D.C., accuses Blanche, who was the deputy attorney general at the time and formerly Trump’s personal lawyer, of failing to comply with the law. (The Independent)
President Donald Trump's administration has terminated the entire National Science Board of more than 20 members, two fired members of the board said on Monday. (Reuters)
Budget airlines ask Trump administration for billions as fuel costs rise. A trade group for the airlines is seeking $2.5 billion to help offset the big jump in jet fuel costs since the start of U.S.-Israeli attacks against Iran. (New York Times gift article)
Dozens fall ill across the country due to antibiotic-resistant salmonella linked to chicken and eggs. (The Independent)
Supreme Court considers blocking lawsuits alleging weed killer causes cancer. The Supreme Court on Monday wrestled with whether federal law preempts judges and juries from weighing claims from tens of thousands of cancer patients that the chemical giant Monsanto failed to warn them about alleged cancer risks from the popular weed killer Roundup. (Washington Post gift article)
Baby on board: Paramedics help passenger give birth just before Delta flight lands. Baby Brielle Renee Blair came in about two weeks ahead of schedule; the plane, about 20 minutes. (AP)
It begins: An AI tried to escape the lab. Don’t worry about AIs passing the Turing test- worry about them failing intentionally to conceal some potentially dastardly purpose. (Video)
Late Night:
Trumps call for ABC to fire Jimmy Kimmel — again — after morbid joke about first lady. (AP)
Why is Melania Trump going after Kimmel on X? The numbers make it clear. The numbers make it clear why Melania Trump chose to use X to make a splash: Her post on that platform has 230,000 likes, and that number is skyrocketing. Her Truth Social post has 6,500 likes and is traveling at a much more leisurely pace. (Business Insider)
As the clock ticks down to the end of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, fans were likely hoping for a full slate of fresh episodes in its final weeks. Instead, CBS is hitting pause, opting to air a lineup of reruns this week.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! Jimmy responds to both Melania and Donald Trump saying he should be fired by ABC over a light roast joke he made on the show three days before The White House Correspondents’ Dinner, and talks rejecting hateful and violent rhetoric, what unfolded on Saturday after the gunman was captured, RFK Jr. leaving his wife Cheryl Hines in the proverbial dust, an attendee who continued to eat his salad while others were taking cover, news people who were at the event reporting on the story in tuxedos and ballgowns, Trump arguing that this is why we need his new ballroom more than ever, Trump sitting down for an interview with 60 Minutes, and in honor of King Charles and Queen Camilla arriving at The White House today we present a special King Charles Edition of Lie Witness News. (Video)
Late Night with Seth Meyers: Seth takes a closer look at Trump and Republicans renewing their calls for a ballroom after the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. (Video)
Keep scrolling… lots of interesting stuff in Quote of the Day, Holidays, On This Day, Birthdays, and Deaths. I can pretty much guarantee you’ll learn something new.
History highlight:
1986 – High levels of radiation resulting from the Chernobyl disaster were detected at Forsmark Nuclear Power Plant in Sweden, leading Soviet authorities to publicly announce the accident.
Quote of the Day:
This isn’t life in the fast lane, it’s life in the oncoming traffic.
--Terry Pratchett (Wikipedia link)
(More Terry Pratchett quotes from the KGB Quotations Database)
Today’s holidays:
AMKD Awareness Day, Biological Clock Day, Clean Comedy Day, Great Poetry Reading Day, International Pay it Forward Day, KIF1A Day, National Blueberry Pie Day, National Cubicle Day, National Kiss Your Mate Day, National Superhero Day, School Bus Drivers’ Day, Workers’ Memorial Day, and World Day for Safety and Health at Work.
On This Day:
2014 – Craig Ferguson announced he was stepping down as the host of CBS’ “The Late Late Show” at the end of 2014. (Video)
2004 – CBS News released evidence of the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse. The photographs showed rape and abuse from the American troops over Iraqi detainees.
1996 – Port Arthur massacre, Tasmania: A gunman, Martin Bryant, opened fire at the Broad Arrow Cafe in Port Arthur, Tasmania, killing 35 people and wounding 23 others.
1988 – Aloha Airlines Flight 243 suffered explosion decompression while in flight but managed to land safely. (Video)
1986 – High levels of radiation resulting from the Chernobyl disaster were detected at Forsmark Nuclear Power Plant in Sweden, leading Soviet authorities to publicly announce the accident.
1983 – The West German news magazine Stern began publishing excerpts from the purported diaries of Adolf Hitler, later revealed to be forgeries.
1973 – The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd, recorded in Abbey Road Studios hit number one on the US Billboard chart, beginning a record-breaking 741-week chart run. (Video)
1970 – Vietnam War: US President Richard Nixon formally authorized American combat troops to take part in the Cambodian campaign.
1969 – Charles de Gaulle resigned as President of France.
1965 – "My Name is Barbra", Barbra Streisand's first television special, premiered on CBS. (Video)
1967 – Vietnam War: Boxer Muhammad Ali refused his induction into the United States Army and is subsequently stripped of his championship and license.
1965 – United States occupation of the Dominican Republic: American troops landed in the Dominican Republic to “forestall establishment of a Communist dictatorship” and to evacuate US Army troops.
1958 – The 104th and final episode of “Adventures of Superman” was aired. (Video)
1952 – The Treaty of San Francisco came into effect, restoring Japanese sovereignty and ending its state of war with most of the Allies of World War II.
1952 – Dwight D. Eisenhower resigned as Supreme Allied Commander of NATO in order to campaign in the 1952 United States presidential election.
1947 – Thor Heyerdahl and five crew mates set out from Peru on the Kon-Tiki to demonstrate that Peruvian natives could have settled Polynesia.
1945 – Benito Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci were shot dead by Walter Audisio, a member of the Italian resistance movement.
1937 – South African medical researcher Max Theiler developed the yellow fever vaccine at the Rockefeller Foundation in New York City.
1930 – The Independence Producers hosted the first night game in the history of Organized Baseball in Independence, Kansas.
1789 – Mutiny on the Bounty: Lieutenant William Bligh and 18 sailors are set adrift, and the rebel crew returns to Tahiti briefly before setting sail for Pitcairn Island.
1788 – Maryland became the seventh state to ratify the United States Constitution.
1503 – The Battle of Cerignola was fought. It is noted as one of the first European battles in history won by small arms fire using gunpowder.
(For more comprehensive lists of the day’s historical events, check here, here, and here.)
Some Birthdays:
1981 – Jessica Alba, American model and actress
1974 – Penélope Cruz, Spanish actress and producer
1971 – Bridget Moynahan, American actress
1960 – Elena Kagan, American lawyer and jurist, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
1952 – Mary McDonnell, American actress
1950 – Jay Leno, American comedian, talk show host, and producer (Video)
1949 – Bruno Kirby, American actor and director (died 2006)
1949 – Paul Guilfoyle, American actor
1948 – Marcia Strassman, American actress and singer (died 2014)
1948 – Terry Pratchett, English journalist, author, and screenwriter (died 2015)
1941 – Ann-Margret, Swedish-American actress, singer, and dancer (Video)
1938 – Madge Sinclair, Jamaican-American actress (died 1995)
1937 – Saddam Hussein, Iraqi general and politician, 5th President of Iraq (died 2006)
1934 – Lois Duncan, American journalist and author (died 2016)
1930 – Carolyn Jones, American actress (died 1983) (Video)
1928 – Eugene Merle Shoemaker, American geologist and astronomer (died 1997)
1926 – Harper Lee, American novelist (died 2016)
1924 – Blossom Dearie, American singer and pianist (died 2009) (Video)
1921 – Rowland Evans, American soldier, journalist, and author (died 2001)
1916 – Ferruccio Lamborghini, Italian businessman, created Lamborghini (died 1993)
1911 – Lee Falk, American director, producer, and playwright (died 1999) (Video)
1908 – Oskar Schindler, Czech-German businessman (died 1974)
1906 – Kurt Gödel, Czech-American mathematician, philosopher, and academic (died 1978)
1900 – Jan Oort, Dutch astronomer and academic (died 1992)
1878 – Lionel Barrymore, American actor and director (died 1954)
1758 – James Monroe, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 5th President of the United States (died 1831)
(A more complete list of today’s birthdays.)
Some Deaths:
2021 – Michael Collins, American astronaut (born 1930)
2019 – John Singleton, American film director (born 1968)
2007 – Tommy Newsom, American saxophonist and bandleader (born 1929) (Video)
2007 – Dabbs Greer, American actor (born 1917)
1999 – Rory Calhoun, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (born 1922)
1998 – Jerome Bixby, American author and screenwriter (born 1923)
1970 – Ed Begley, American actor (born 1901)
1945 – Benito Mussolini, Italian journalist and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Italy (born 1883)
1883 – John Russell, English hunter and dog breeder (born 1795)
(A more complete list of today’s deaths.)
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