Monday, April 27th, 2026 - WHCD Shooting, Trump Cancels Iran Talks, Elon Musk Admits Tesla Self-Driving Lie, Meta and Microsoft Layoffs

Today's Headlines: Yet another wild weekend of news! A man traveled from San Diego to DC by train with two legally purchased firearms and multiple knives, charged past security at the White House Correspondents Dinner, got shot at by a Secret Service agent who accidentally hit a fellow officer, and was apprehended within seconds. Trump was evacuated, went straight to the briefing room in black tie, and has since used the incident primarily to advocate for his White House ballroom, with the DOJ helpfully filing a motion to drop the lawsuit blocking its construction the very next morning. The suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, sent a manifesto to his family calling himself a "friendly federal assassin" and targeting Trump and his cabinet — his family forwarded it to law enforcement, who apparently didn't get there in time. Acting AG Todd Blanche responded to the shooting by saying tighter gun laws aren't the answer, which is exactly what you'd expect from the president's personal criminal defense attorney. On the Iran front, Trump cancelled the latest round of peace talks at the last minute, posting that it was "too much traveling" and that Iran's leadership is confused — Iran then sent a new proposal he called better but not good enough, while Iran's foreign minister flew to Russia to meet with Putin, so that's fun. The acting Secretary of the Navy is now Hung Cao, the tenth person to hold that role across Trump's two terms, a decorated veteran who has claimed to have been "blown up" in combat without evidence, wants American law based on biblical scripture, and warned during a 2023 campaign interview that witches had taken over Monterey, California. In Israel, centrist Yair Lapid and former PM Naftali Bennett announced a new coalition party that could threaten Netanyahu's grip on power, citing Hungary's ouster of Viktor Orban as their model — notable since Netanyahu has been in office for most of the past 17 years. Two major wildfires are burning in southeastern Georgia, with over 120 homes destroyed and one volunteer firefighter dead, while a tornado in northern Texas killed at least two people and displaced 20 families. Meta and Microsoft each announced layoffs of roughly 8,000 employees, both citing AI investment as the reason they need fewer humans around. And Elon Musk finally admitted on Tesla's earnings call that the full self-driving hardware sold to millions of customers for a decade simply cannot do what he promised — triggering class action lawsuits and a rare moment of honesty from a man who has very few of them. Resources/Articles mentioned: CNN: Live updates: White House says suspect in Correspondents’ Dinner shooting wanted to target Trump officials NYT: After Shooting, Trump Demands Approval for His White House Ballroom Axios: This isn't the time to change gun laws, acting AG Blanche says Axios: Trump slams "60 Minutes" for asking about gunman manifesto allegations NY Post: Read White House Correspondents’ Dinner gunman Cole Allen’s full anti-Trump manifesto WaPo: Trump calls off Witkoff, Kushner trip to Pakistan for Iran peace talks CNN: Live updates: Iran foreign minister presses on with regional tour despite Trump canceling envoys’ visit MS Now: Acting Navy secretary’s record raises eyebrows, including his concerns about ‘witchcraft’ NYT: Former Israeli Premiers Join in Bid to Oust Netanyahu in Elections AP News: A fast-growing Georgia wildfire tops 31 square miles, with evacuations possible AP News: Tornadoes in northern Texas leave at least 2 dead and destroy multiple homes AP News: Meta slashes 8,000 jobs, or 10% of its workforce, as Microsoft offers buyouts Futurism: Elon Musk Admits He Lied to Tesla Customers' Faces for Years About Self-Driving Subscribe to the Betches News Room and join the Morning Announcements group chat. Go to: betchesnews.substack.com Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices