• Judge apologizes to wannabe assassin: On Monday, Cole Allen, who allegedly attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, appeared in court for the first time. Upon learning that Allen had been held under suicide watch, U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui said to him, “Whatever you’ve been through, I apologize for the prior week.” Prosecutor Jocelyn Ballantine explained that Allen had been put on suicide watch upon FBI recommendation because he had told agents that “he did not expect to survive the attempted assassination of the president.” Allen was held in an isolation cell where he was continuously monitored, but Faruqui said that “he should not be in solitary confinement.” U.S. Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro blasted the judge for believing that “a defendant armed to the teeth and attempting to assassinate the president is entitled to preferential treatment.”

• Louisiana cleared to redistrict now: The U.S. Supreme Court has acted quickly to put its ruling invalidating Louisiana’s race-based congressional map into effect. The order allows the Republican-controlled Louisiana legislature to immediately redraw its district maps, which will impact the midterm elections, likely eliminating the state’s single Democrat-majority district. The Court’s decision to expedite the timeline for returning the case to the lower court, which is normally 32 days, prompted a disagreement between Justices Samuel Alito and Ketanji Brown Jackson, with the latter alleging that the majority “unshackled itself” from “constraints.” Alito quickly rebuked KBJ, calling her dissent “baseless and insulting.” He added, “The dissent would require that the 2026 congressional elections in Louisiana be held under a map that has been held to be unconstitutional.”

• Mifepristone battle continues: The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered restrictions on the abortion drug mifepristone, requiring doctors to prescribe it in person rather than via telemedicine or through the mail. Two drug companies filed an emergency petition, which led Justice Samuel Alito to put a pause on that order through May 11. Until 2021, when the Biden administration loosened FDA laws surrounding the drug, patients had to actually see a doctor in order to get a mifepristone prescription. Louisiana sued the FDA for allowing the life-ending drug to be mailed into the state, violating its ban on abortion. The Fifth Circuit is attempting to reinstate the safety precaution that had been removed. In 2023, the same court blocked changes the FDA made in 2016 to make mifepristone more accessible, but the Supreme Court unanimously rejected that challenge, ruling that the doctors who brought the case lacked standing.

• Debt exceeds GDP: The U.S. national debt has surpassed 100% of the total annual American economic output, hitting $31.27 trillion at the end of March. The GDP over the last 12 months totaled $31.22 trillion. The Cato Institute’s Romina Boccia called this development “deeply troubling,” noting, “We have debt as high as since World War II, except we are on a steep upward trajectory, and it’s not driven by a temporary war but by permanent entitlement obligations that are expanding — that’s Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.” Indeed, Social Security alone accounts for more than 30% of last year’s federal spending, and that share is projected to increase. Boccia observed, “Strong research indicat[es] that when debt grows to such high levels, above 80% of GDP, it tends to crowd out private sector investment, which reduces economic growth, and therefore economic opportunities, jobs, and higher wages.”

• Left-wing Pulitzers: Leftmedia elites continue to pat themselves on the back with Pulitzers for the Pravda. Among the top propagandists, The Washington Post won the public service category for “piercing the veil of secrecy around the Trump administration’s chaotic overhaul of federal agencies,” despite the fact that this administration has been the most transparent of any in the past several decades. The New York Times won a Pulitzer for supposedly exposing “how President Trump has shattered constraints on conflicts of interest and exploited the moneymaking opportunities that come with power, enriching his family and allies.” They forgot to expose the decades of the Biden crime family enriching themselves, but in their usual double-standard fashion, it’s only bad if Republicans do it. These “brave and bold” reporters glom onto accolades, like being “fearless” in the face of “pressure,” when they know they have nothing to fear in their elitist echo chambers.

• CBS’s natural-disaster race-baiting: “60 Minutes” recently did an “exposé” to warn Americans of the supposed problem of “white nationalists” showing up to help people after natural disasters. CBS broadly brushed the “problem,” conveniently avoiding giving any meaningful definition of the term. CBS pinpointed one fringe group — “Active Club” — among the thousands of volunteers who went to help folks in North Caroline following Hurricane Helene, effectively smearing all those who helped as racially motivated. It alleged the group holds “antisemitic, anti-immigrant, and anti-democracy” views. However, when interviewing a group leader, reporter Lesley Stahl learned primarily that these folks don’t trust the government, particularly FEMA. When Stahl pressed him on his concern for looking out for “my people” like white people of European origin, the leader answered, “Right. And there’s plenty of organizations that are geared towards other ethnic groups, right? If we don’t look out for ourselves, who is?”

• Pacific Palisades arsonist aligns himself with Luigi Mangione: Jonathon Rinderknecht, the 29-year-old man charged with igniting the Pacific Palisades fire, was fixated on Luigi Mangione, who murdered United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. According to a pretrial memorandum, prosecutors said that Rinderknecht’s Uber passengers described him as “angry, intense, driving erratically” on the eve of the fire. They said he ranted about “being pissed off at the world,” as well as about Mangione, capitalism, and vigilantism. The prosecutors allege he started the fire that killed 12 people and caused tens of billions of dollars in damage. Investigators said Rinderknecht responded to their question about motive by saying it would be out of resentment of the rich and that “we’re basically being enslaved by them.” His attorney claims that the prosecutors have no evidence linking his client to the crime.

Headlines

• Two people injured in officer-involved shooting near White House (Just the News)

• DeSantis signs new GOP-favored House map into law (The Hill)

• Trump’s troop drawdown jolts Europe (Washington Examiner)

• McDonald’s to eliminate self-serve soda machines due to “changing consumer habits” (Not the Bee)

The Executive News Summary is compiled daily by Jordan Candler, Thomas Gallatin, Sterling Henry, and Sophie Starkova. For the archive, click here.