Outside, entertainers and journalists were greeted by demonstrators protesting the Israel-Hamas war. Inside, President Biden joked about his age while taking several swipes at Donald Trump.
The Justice Department on Thursday informed House Republicans that President Joe Biden has formally asserted executive privilege over the audio of his interview with special counsel Robert Hur, who investigated Biden's handling of classified documents. It's a move that the department said effectively shields Attorney General Merrick Garland from any criminal exposure, though Republican lawmakers moved ahead anyway toward trying to hold him in contempt of Congress. The House Judiciary Committee voted 18-15 to approve a report recommending a contempt of Congress resolution against Garland for his failure to turn over the recordings.
A rare "high risk" warning for flash flooding has been issued in Texas and Louisiana as the states brace for up to 9 inches of rain in the next 24 hours. "The high risk area has seen over 600% of their normal rainfall for the past two weeks alone," the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warned, and the flash flooding could be life-threatening. "High risk" days account for just 4% of days, but they are responsible for more than one-third of flooding deaths, according to the Weather Prediction Center.
For the first time, women in the United States have the ability to self-collect a sample to screen for human papillomavirus (HPV). This week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved two self-swab tests from pharmaceutical companies Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD) and Roche Holding AG for "clinical" use, meaning in a private room inside a doctor's office, mobile clinic or another health care setting. HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the U.S. and can lead to several potentially deadly cancers, including cervical cancer.
The artist behind the new portrait of King Charles III is sharing insight into some of his more controversial artistic choices, like the use of the color red. Jonathan Yeo, a U.K.-based artist, painted the portrait of Charles -- unveiled Tuesday at Buckingham Palace -- over the course of three years. The portrait, which stands over 6 feet tall, features a striking red background and shows Charles wearing the uniform of the Welsh Guards, of which he was made Regimental Colonel in 1975, according to the palace.
The Justice Department on Thursday unsealed an indictment charging three North Korean workers and a United States citizen with allegedly engaging in "staggering fraud" through a complex scheme where they secured illicit work with a number of U.S. companies and government agencies. The indictment against the North Korean IT workers -- using the aliases Jiho Han, Chunji Jin and Haoran Xu -- alleges the group used fraudulent identities belonging to 60 real Americans to secure telework positions between October 2020 and 2023 that ultimately generated nearly $7 million in profits for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Prosecutors further allege the group was assisted by U.S. national Christina Chapman in their efforts to obtain remote work positions, who they accuse of stationing laptops belonging to U.S. companies at various residences that the North Koreans were then able to access.
The Biden administration announced Thursday that it's officially moving forward with a proposal to reclassify marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III. The Justice Department submitted the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to the Office of the Federal Register and, if approved, the rescheduling would limit the punishment for those who are in possession of marijuana when it comes to a federal crime. ABC News reported earlier this month the DEA was planning to reschedule marijuana.
The National Park Service is seeking to identify two suspects wanted in connection with an archeological theft at Canyonlands National Park in Utah. The incident occurred on March 23 at Cave Spring Cowboy Camp in the Needles district of the park, NPS said this week while releasing stills of the suspects from a trail camera video. "In a video recorded at the archeological site, the individuals entered a signed-as-closed area, removed artifacts from a cabinet, and handled historic harnesses in a manner that had potential to damage them," NPS said in a release Wednesday.
The House will vote Thursday on a Republican-led bill to condemn President Joe Biden's approach to Israel and force him to send arms shipments to the U.S. ally. The measure is a culmination of the political fallout from Biden's recent pause of a bomb shipment to Israel and his pointed warning the U.S. won't supply weapons that could be used in an invasion of Rafah, a city in southern Gaza where more than a million civilians have sought shelter. Republicans have seized on the actions to attack Biden, accusing him of betraying Israel due to political pressure.
Olivia Munn is opening up in her first TV interview since revealing her most recent surgeries as part of her breast cancer journey. "You never know what's going on in someone's life ... privately, people are battling things that you'd never know," Munn told "Good Morning America" co-anchor Michael Strahan. The actress first opened up about her private health battle on social media in March and revealed at the time that she had been unexpectedly diagnosed with breast cancer last year.
Tensions at the University of California, Irvine campus escalated Wednesday as a group of several hundred pro-Palestinian protesters entered a lecture hall and surrounded the building, according to school officials. The Irvine Police Department and the Orange County Sheriff's Department were called to the scene after the university called for mutual aid from local law enforcement agencies, UC Irvine said in an emergency update. Authorities were seen putting protesters in zip-ties and escorting them away from the main protest area.
The Las Vegas Strip is losing another iconic hotel property, dimming the lights for the last time at The Mirage later this summer. Hard Rock International, which acquired The Mirage in 2022, announced it will officially cease operations of the hotel on July 17. This closure will clear the way for HRI to begin construction and transformation into the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Guitar Hotel Las Vegas.
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spent a week dogged by self-damaging rhetoric, leaving him to defend the state of his health and scramble to rework his position on abortion after facing dissent from within his own campaign. The campaign delivered boxes of signatures to the Texas Secretary of State's Office, a spokeswoman for whom told ABC News the campaign's petition is "under review." Kennedy touted the accomplishment at an Austin rally alongside his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, whose appearance itself was noteworthy, as the California lawyer had maintained a reclusive approach to the campaign trail since she was announced as Kennedy's running mate in late March.
Faye Dunaway made a rare red carpet appearance alongside her son Liam Dunaway O'Neill at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday. The actress, 83, has reduced her time in the public eye significantly in recent years but has been photographed a handful of times throughout the festival in anticipation of the premiere of "Faye," the first feature documentary about her life. Per the festival's rundown of the film, it's set to explore the "triumphs and challenges of her illustrious career" -- including her breakout role in "Bonnie and Clyde" -- while also exploring what Dunaway deems a misstep: her starring role in 1981 camp cult classic, "Mommie Dearest."
Netflix released new images from the forthcoming film on May 15 and announced that the film will premiere in exactly six months from that date, on Nov. 15. "Back in Action" is written by Seth Gordon and Brendan O'Brien, with Gordon also in the director's chair. Also in the cast are "Friday Night Lights" actor Kyle Chandler and eight-time Oscar-nominated actress Glenn Close.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average crossed 40,000 for the first time in history on Thursday. This is a significant and symbolic milestone for the index that tracks 30 of the most valuable publicly traded companies in the U.S. The Dow is now up about 6% so far this year.
Vice President Kamala Harris has accepted an offer from CBS News to participate in a vice-presidential debate this summer, the Biden campaign said Thursday. Harris accepted CBS News' proposed dates of July 23 or Aug. 13, the campaign said. "The Biden-Harris campaign has informed CBS News that we accept the network's invitation to participate in a Vice Presidential debate, in studio, on either of two dates," the campaign said.
The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and how Congress decided to fund the agency, rejecting a constitutional challenge by the banking industry and preserving a broad set of regulations that govern everything from credit cards to personal loans and home mortgages. The court's decision, a 7-2 ruling with Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch dissenting, is a major victory for the Biden administration and Democrats who have championed the independent agency as a bulwark against corporate financial abuses after the 2008 crash. Conservatives have spent years attacking the CFPB as a source of undue and costly government regulation.
Consumers are pulling back on spending because of inflation and Uber is hoping to help encourage more riders with new promotions and services that will make it easier and cheaper to get to their destinations. Uber Shuttle is a new way for riders to get to their favorite big events like concert venues or the airport for their next flight, without the dreaded surge pricing. At launch, Uber Shuttle will be available in Miami, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Charlotte, with plans to expand.
Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico's condition has been stabilized overnight following an assassination attempt, although his condition is still serious, his deputy said early Thursday. Fico, 59, was shot five times on Wednesday outside a government building in the town of Handlova, according to Slovakian Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok. The complicated nature of his injuries means he's still considered to be in serious condition, his deputy said Thursday.
Dearest reader, "Bridgerton" season 3 is finally here! The new season of the popular Shonda Rhimes show, which arrived Thursday on Netflix, centers on the romance between Nicola Coughlan's Penelope Featherington and Luke Newton's Colin Bridgerton. In an interview with "Good Morning America" ahead of the new season, Coughlan and Newton said they were excited to explore their characters' friends-to-lovers arc.