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Today’s Big Story

Congressman’s staffers attacked by a man with a baseball bat

Two members of Rep. Gerry Connolly’s (D-VA) staff were hospitalized on Monday morning after a man attacked them with a baseball bat in the Congressman’s office.

Details: Capitol police identified the suspect as Xuan Kha Tran Pham on Monday and charged him with one count of aggravated malicious wounding and one count of malicious wounding. Pham entered the office demanding to speak with Connolly and attacked a senior staffer and an intern with a metal bat once he was told the Congressman wasn’t there. Police say the motive wasn’t clear.

The big picture: This attack comes amid a string of incidents against members of Congress and their families, including the stabbing of Sen. Rand Paul’s staffer, the assault of Rep. Angie Craig, and the hospitalization of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband after he was hit on the head with a hammer in their home.

Government leaders have asked the Capitol Police to continue to remain vigilant as threats to lawmakers have increased 400% in the last six years. However, monitoring the daily movement of 535 Members of Congress will prove difficult.

Little Stories

Business & Economy

*Consumer debt surpasses $17 trillion for the first time even though demand for home mortgages and refinances dipped to the lowest level since 2014.

*European Union leaders approved Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of gaming firm Activision Blizzard on Monday.

World

*Turkey’s presidential race will be decided in a runoff on May 28. Current president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been in power for over 20 years, but failed to win by a 50% majority over his opponent, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, in the general election.

*Herders in Kenya killed 10 lions this week that wandered too close to their livestock. Conservationists and the Kenyan government compensate herders for their losses, but the drought has caused them to be extra protective of their remaining animals.

US News, Politics, & Government

*Rudy Giuliani’s former aide is suing him for $10 million over alleged sexual assault that began as soon as he hired her in 2019.

*A gunman killed 3 civilians while injuring multiple people in a shootout with police in Farmington, New Mexico, on Monday. Police killed the suspect during the firefight.

Sports & Entertainment

*Thirteen-year-old Onodera Ginwoo became the youngest-ever X Games men’s street skateboarding competition winner on Sunday.

*No. 1 prospect quarterback Dylan Raiola committed to Georgia on Monday.

Science, Health, & Tech

*Tech startup Telly is launching a free smart TV with two screens. However, users must watch 24/7 ads on the smaller screen while simultaneously streaming shows and movies.

*The World Health Organization says that replacing sugar with artificial sweeteners does not help people manage their weight in the long term. Prolonged use of sugar replacers could also raise the risk of various health problems including type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

Extras

*Bobi, the world’s oldest dog, celebrated his 32st birthday recently.

*Florida man breaks the record for longest time living underwater.

*Watch a tiger shark attack a kayak off the coast of Oahu.