5 things to know for April 29: Canada election, Gaza, Trump’s 100 days, FEMA, Illinois crash
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During the first Trump administration, the Justice Department secretly pursued internal communications at several media outlets and issued gag orders on the news organizations’ leadership and lawyers so even the journalists didn’t know their records were being confiscated. In 2022, Attorney General Merrick Garland revised the DOJ’s policy and prohibited investigators from obtaining reporters’ files, except under limited circumstances. Now, Attorney General Pam Bondi has rescinded the Garland policy — which was widely considered a win for the protection of the free press — and granted permission to federal investigators to once again pursue communications from journalists during government leak investigations. Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day. Canadian voters reelected the Liberal Party to run the government on Monday, yet it remains to be seen whether Prime Minister Mark Carney has won a majority or will need coalition partners to govern. The 60-year-old former central banker rode a wave of anti-Trump sentiment prompted by the US trade war and President Donald Trump’s numerous comments about annexing the country and turning it into the 51st state. Carney promised voters he would stand up for Canadian workers and businesses and make Canada less reliant on America. “As I have been warning for months, America wants our land, our resources, our water, our country. But these are not idle threats. President Trump is trying to break us so that America can own us,” Carney said as he declared victory. “That will never ever happen.” Nearly two months after Israel’s blockade of humanitarian aid, the World Food Programme in Gaza has run out of food. The UN agency delivered its final food stocks to charity kitchens throughout the besieged enclave on Friday and those supplies are only expected to last for a few days. “For weeks, hot meal kitchens have been the only consistent source of food assistance for people in Gaza,” the WFP said in a statement. “Despite reaching just half the population with only 25% of daily food needs, they have provided a critical lifeline.” Israel cut off food, medical supplies and other aid on March 2 in an effort to pressure Hamas to accept a US-backed ceasefire proposal. Hamas has refused to disarm and free the remaining hostages abducted during the October 7, 2023, attack. As President Trump reaches his 100th day in office, a new CNN poll shows that Americans are deeply unhappy with his work so far. Although Trump took charge of the government with the strongest poll numbers of his political career, his 41% approval rating is the lowest for any newly elected president at 100 days dating back to Dwight Eisenhower. Just 22% of those polled said they strongly approved of Trump’s handling of the job. Partisan views remained largely polarized, with 86% of Republicans approving of Trump and 93% of Democrats disapproving of him. Among independents, Trump’s approval rating dropped to 31%. In particular, the president’s handling of the economy took a major hit, with 59% of Americans saying his policies have worsened economic conditions in the US. Since January 20, trillions of dollars have been wiped off the stock market, workers’ 401(k)s have tanked and food prices remain high. Meanwhile, consumer sentiment has plummeted to its second-lowest level on records going back to 1952. Hurricane season is just a few weeks away and the Trump administration is continuing to restructure FEMA, the government agency that helps people find temporary housing and provides public assistance after natural disasters. With the agency in turmoil, disaster assistance, grant money and hiring have largely stalled. About 20% of FEMA’s full-time staff — roughly 1,000 workers — are expected to take voluntary buyouts as part of the Department of Government Efficiency’s staff reduction plan. And on Monday, Trump announced the creation of a “FEMA Review Council” to further reform the agency. In a post on his social media site, Trump said the council will be “comprised of Top Experts in their fields” who will “work hard to fix a terribly broken System.” Some of the council members include: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant and Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley.
Rep. Adelita Grijalva said Friday she was pepper-sprayed and pushed around during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid in Tucson, Arizona, a claim that the Department of Homeland Security swiftly disputed.
The alleged drug traffickers killed by the US military in a strike on September 2 were heading to link up with another, larger vessel that was bound for Suriname — a small South American country east of Venezuela – the admiral who oversaw the operation told lawmakers on Thursday according to two sources with direct knowledge of his remarks.
The first week of testimony in Brian Walshe’s murder trial in Dedham, Massachusetts, has come to an end. The jury heard from about two dozen witnesses called by the commonwealth in its case against Walshe as prosecutors work to prove he killed his wife, Ana Walshe, around New Year’s Day in 2023.
The US Army officially stood up a new command on Friday to oversee the Army’s activities in the Western Hemisphere in the latest signal of increasing focus on homeland defense.
A former high-level Drug Enforcement agent was indicted on charges of conspiring to traffic drugs and launder millions of dollars for a Mexican cartel.
A federal judge in Florida ordered the unsealing of grand jury transcripts and other records in the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein granting the Justice Department’s request.
The Indiana House approved new congressional maps designed to hand Republicans all nine of the state’s US House seats on Friday, setting the stage for a showdown next week in the state Senate.
Honduran presidential candidate Salvador Nasralla said last-minute interference from US President Donald Trump in the country’s closely fought election had damaged his chances of winning and left him trailing as vote counting dragged on.
Vice President JD Vance said he and second lady Usha Vance are largely amused by the online chatter dissecting their marriage, including a recent spate of headlines over photos of her without a wedding ring.
During interviews with the FBI, the suspect arrested in the pipe bomb probe told investigators that he believed the 2020 election was stolen, providing perhaps the first indication of a possible motive for the bombs placed near the DNC and RNC headquarters, people briefed on the matter said.
CNN’s 5 Things AM brings you the news you need to know every morning
The two men killed as they floated holding onto their capsized boat in a secondary strike against a suspected drug vessel in early September did not appear to have radio or other communications devices, the top military official overseeing the strike told lawmakers on Thursday, according to two sources with direct knowledge of his congressional briefings.
As Chad Curry busily ferries his teenage children through the streets of their Chicago neighborhood of West Ridge, he eyes passing vehicles with a skepticism he didn’t have just a few months ago.