Iran attack, Trump trial, and bad air quality.

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Big Stories

Israel says it will respond to Iran’s attack

Israel's military chief, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, said that Israel will retaliate against Iran's missile strike that occurred over the weekend.

• Iran fired more than 300 missiles and drones at Israel on Saturday evening. Israel, the US, the UK, and France intercepted 99% of the projectiles. Five ballistic missiles got through air defenses and hit Israeli territory, causing only minor damage and injuring one 10-year-old girl.

• The attack was in retaliation for an Israeli airstrike this month which killed three Iranian generals and four officers at an Iranian consulate building in Syria. The two nations have fought, mainly through Iranian proxy groups, for the last 45 years. Militant groups funded by Iran that have attacked Israel include Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthi rebels in Yemen, and Hamas in Gaza.

• Israel is still deliberating its course of action but affirmed that the Iranian attack will not go unanswered. World leaders have asked that Israel show restraint to prevent further escalation of violence in the Middle East.

Trump trial begins

More than half of the first group of potential jurors for former President Trump's criminal trial were disqualified on Monday after saying they could not impartially hear the case.

• Trump’s hush money trial got off to a slow start yesterday. Roughly 1/3 of the 96 people in the first panel of potential jurors remained after the judge excused over 50 jury pool members. No selections were finalized.

• The case focuses on an alleged $130K payment made to former adult film star Stormy Daniels by Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, in 2016 in exchange for Daniels's silence on a supposed extramarital affair with Trump in 2006. Prosecutors allege Trump classified a reimbursement to Cohen as a legal expense to cover up its true purpose.

• Trump’s lawyers have been arguing to an appeals court that he can’t find a fair and impartial jury in Manhattan and that the case needs to be moved elsewhere.

Masters Tournament

World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler beat Colin Morikawa to win the 2024 Masters Tournament.

• The win marks Scheffler’s second Masters title, earning him the $3.6M prize. He is arguably the most dominant player in golf right now. He has won three out of the 9 tournaments he’s played this year and racked up $15 million in winnings.

• Last year’s champion John Rahm finished 9 over par and tied for 45th place. Tiger Woods made the cut at the Masters for a record 24th time but struggled during the weekend, eventually finishing with the worst score of any tournament in his professional career.

• The tournament came as golf ratings are struggling. The PGA Tour and Saudi-backed Liv Golf league are still working on how they will coexist even though they signed a merger 10 months ago. Many of the game’s top players aren’t allowed to play in both leagues which has diluted the competition. As a result, PGA tournament viewership is down 15-30%.

Little Stories

• The conflict in Sudan has reached the one-year mark. Since fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the rebel Rapid Support Forces, more than 8 million people have fled their homes and more than 14,000 people have been killed. (More)

• Movie armorer Hannah Guiterrez-Reed was sentenced to 18 months in prison for her involvement in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin on the set of the film “Rust.” Guiterrez-Reed brought live ammunition onto the set, where it was prohibited, and failed to enforce proper gun safety protocols. (More)

• Tesla is cutting 10% of its workforce as the demand for EVs continues to drop. The company posted its lowest quarterly sales since 2022. Multiple executives are also leaving. (More)

• Colorado’s House passed a bill that would ban the sale and transfer of semiautomatic firearms. It now heads to the state’s Senate. If it passes there, it will join 10 other states that have restrictions on semiautomatic guns.  (More)

• Kenyan runner Hellen Obiri won the women’s Boston Marathon, finishing in 2:27:37. She is the first woman to win back-to-back titles since 2005 and the sixth ever. Sisay Lemma won on the men’s side, posting a 2:06:17 — the 10th fastest time in race history. (More)

Extra Credit

The top 20 travel destinations in 2024, per Google. 

Oldest living conjoined twins die at 62.

Six librarians who changed history. 

The countries with the worst air quality in 2023.