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Top stories
Federal prosecutors have charged Cole Allen, accused of attempting to assassinate President Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. Allen appeared in federal court yesterday and faces counts including attempted assassination, transporting a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce for use in a felony, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said more charges could come as the probe continues. If convicted on the most serious counts, Allen could face life in prison.
Prosecutors say Allen emailed family and friends minutes before leaving his hotel, explaining his motives and saying he did not want to be represented by an attorney he described with abusive language — a statement prosecutors say was aimed at President Trump. He listed administration officials as targets, ordered by rank. His next court appearance is Thursday. President Trump has discussed possibly rescheduling the correspondents’ dinner.
The Washington Hilton is chosen partly for its design features that support presidential security, including a separate entrance and a holding room behind the stage marked with a presidential seal.
King Charles III is scheduled to address a joint session of Congress today during a four-day state visit timed with the 250th anniversary of American independence from Britain. He will be only the second British monarch to speak to Congress; Queen Elizabeth II addressed lawmakers in 1991, focusing on democracy and international cooperation. Palace officials say Charles will emphasize reconciliation while acknowledging differences over issues such as NATO, Ukraine and the Middle East. As monarch he is expected to steer clear of partisan policy advocacy, but the visit could help ease U.S.-U.K. tensions that have been heightened by recent U.S. criticisms of allies and disagreements over the Iran conflict.
International notes
Iran’s foreign minister arrived in Russia yesterday, and President Vladimir Putin expressed strong support for Tehran in its disputes with the U.S. and Israel. The trip follows a busy period of Iranian diplomacy as Tehran seeks leverage and allies; talks with Washington remain paused. Meanwhile, the Israeli military has carried out strikes in southern Lebanon, raising questions about the durability of the ceasefire there. Diplomatically the ceasefire is still officially in effect, but residents and reporters say daily airstrikes and new evacuation orders mean the area does not feel like it is at peace.
Lawsuits and business
Hundreds of lawsuits across the country accuse State Farm of using tactics to avoid paying full claims for hail damage. Many suits are concentrated in Oklahoma; one law firm said more than 600 cases were pending against the insurer as of this spring. Plaintiffs say the litigation highlights strategies insurers sometimes use to deny or limit payments as homeowners face rising repair costs. State Farm says it pays claims according to the terms of individual policies and the facts of each claim.
Deep dive: teacher pay and staffing trends
A new review of National Education Association data finds the average public school teacher salary rose 3.5% year over year, but when adjusted for inflation teachers overall still earn less than they did in 2017. Highlights from the analysis:
– Average starting pay for new teachers is $46,112. The highest starting salaries include the District of Columbia ($64,640) and Washington state ($60,658); the lowest are Montana ($36,682) and Nebraska ($39,561).
– Student enrollment fell 0.3% at the start of the 2024–25 school year compared with the previous fall, and total enrollment is down about 3.6% since 2016.
– States with collective bargaining laws show higher average starting and top salaries than states without such protections.
– Washington is among 11 states that have seen real, inflation-adjusted pay increases since 2017; teacher pay there rose roughly 36% after the state supreme court imposed measures to improve school funding.
Living better: getting useful data from wearables
Millions of Americans use smartwatches and rings to track sleep, temperature and heart rate, but device outputs can be confusing. Wearables can reveal patterns outside clinic visits and sometimes flag serious issues like arrhythmias, but to make their data more helpful:
– Learn how your device records and displays metrics, especially after software updates.
– When you bring concerns to a clinician, summarize context and patterns rather than dumping raw weeks of data.
– Remember devices don’t capture many important health factors — medical history, stress, diet and habits — so use them as one piece of the picture.
3 things to know before you go
1) Dataland, an AI art museum, opens in Los Angeles in June. Founder Refik Anadol calls it one of the first museums dedicated to AI-generated art as debates continue over authorship and human agency.
2) South Carolina public health officials declared the end of the nation’s largest measles outbreak since 1991 after going 42 days with no new linked cases.
3) First lady Melania Trump has urged ABC to respond to a joke she described as hateful and violent, aimed at late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.
This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.