Start your week smart: Iran strikes Israel, Australia stabbing, Texas truck crash, presidential poll, surveillance bill

By CNN

Published April 14, 2024 7:06 AM

CNN

By Andrew Torgan and Daniel Wine, CNN

If your work schedule has you dreading the return to the office tomorrow, we have good news: Nearly one-third of large US companies are exploring new schedule shifts such as four-day or four-and-a-half-day workweeks, according to a recent survey of CEOs by KPMG.

Here’s what else you need to know to Start Your Week Smart.

The weekend that was

• After unprecedented drone strikes from Iran, Israel said most of the projectiles were intercepted and warned that the confrontation is “not over.” President Joe Biden said the US will not participate in any offensive action against Iran. Follow live updates.
• Six people were killed and several others injured, including a 9-month-old baby, in a mass stabbing at a busy shopping mall in Sydney, Australian police said. The suspect was shot to death by a police officer.
• A man drove a stolen 18-wheeler into a Texas Department of Public Safety building, killing one person and injuring 13 others, authorities said. The man was denied his commercial driver’s license the day before and was fleeing pursuing deputies at the time of the crash.
• Donald Trump and Joe Biden remain locked in a close race for the presidency, according to a new poll from the New York Times and Siena College, which finds registered voters nationwide splitting 46% for Trump to 45% for Biden with no clear leader in the contest.
• The House passed a modified surveillance bill, just two days after an earlier version failed to advance in a public rebuke to GOP leadership. The bill, which reauthorizes the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, also needs to pass the Senate ahead of an April 19 deadline.

The week ahead

Monday
Jury selection begins in the New York criminal trial of Donald Trump. The case, which stems from payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign, is one of four criminal cases against the former president. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Ahead of what is expected to be a six- to eight-week trial that Trump is required to attend, law enforcement officials in Manhattan are ramping up security. Trump plans to juggle appearances in the courtroom and on the campaign trail.

April 15 is the deadline for most (but not all) taxpayers in the US to file their returns. A few things to take into account before you send your return off to Uncle Sam: Are you a crypto investor or have you been paid in bitcoin or other cryptocurrency for your services? If so, you’re going to have to report your taxable transactions. And if you won big on bets you made for the March Madness men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments, the IRS will be expecting a cut.

Tuesday
The flame that will burn during the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris will be lit during a ceremony in Greece. Learn more about the ritual that has been a tradition of the Olympic Games since 1936.

Wednesday
A Senate subcommittee will hold a hearing featuring a Boeing engineer who alleges that the aerospace giant took shortcuts when manufacturing its 777 and 787 Dreamliner jets and that the risks could become catastrophic as the airplanes age. Whistleblower Sam Salehpour’s formal complaint to the FAA, filed in January and made public last week, is not specific to the newer 737 Max jet that has been grounded twice by the agency.

Friday
Polls in India — the world’s largest democracy — will open on April 19, setting the stage for a nationwide election expected to see Prime Minister Narendra Modi clinch a rare third consecutive term. An estimated 960 million people in the country of 1.4 billion are eligible to vote in the widely anticipated election that will take a month to complete.

Saturday
If you notice something wafting in the air today, check your calendar. April 20, or 4/20, is known as “Weed Day” in some circles because the date corresponds with a popular term for marijuana. And while pot remains illegal at the federal level, it’s now accessible in most states for adult medical or recreational use.

One Thing: Trump trial guide
In this week’s “One Thing” podcast, CNN’s Paula Reid previews Trump’s first criminal trial in New York, which is set to begin today. Listen here.

Photos of the week

Check out more images from the week that was, curated by CNN Photos.

What’s happening in entertainment

TV and streaming
A new seven-episode HBO series based on author Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “The Sympathizer” premieres on Max tonight. The espionage thriller follows a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of the Vietnam War and his new life as a refugee in Los Angeles, where he learns that his spying days aren’t over. “The Sympathizer” features Hoa Xuande, Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Phanxine, Vy Le, Ky Duyen, Kieu Chinh, Duy Nguyen, Alan Trong, Emmy winner Sandra Oh and Academy Award winner Robert Downey Jr., who plays multiple roles. (CNN, like HBO and Max, are part of Warner Bros. Discovery.)

On the big screen
“The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” stars Henry Cavill as the leader of a band of unorthodox British military misfits during World War II. Bullets, bombs and even arrows aplenty will fly in this (loose) adaptation of “Churchill’s Secret Warriors: The Explosive True Story of the Special Forces Desperadoes of WWII” by prolific author Damien Lewis. “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” is directed by Guy Ritchie and opens Friday.

Music
Taylor Swift’s latest album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” arrives on Friday. It will be her 11th studio album. Last week, Swift’s music returned to TikTok following a dispute with her music distributor over royalties.

What’s happening in sports

At a glance …
The final round of The Masters, professional golf’s first major of the season, gets underway this morning. Scottie Scheffler holds a one-shot lead, while Tiger Woods recorded his worst-ever score at The Masters to drop out of contention.

The 128th running of the Boston Marathon is Monday, which is also Patriots’ Day in Boston. Last year, Kenya’s Evans Chebet and Hellen Obiri won the men’s and women’s divisions, respectively.

The 2024 WNBA draft is set for Monday in Brooklyn, and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, who shattered the NCAA scoring record, is expected to be drafted by the Indiana Fever with the first pick. For more on all of this year’s draft prospects, click here.

The NBA’s regular season ends today, with the teams that finish in the top six in the standings of each conference guaranteed a playoff spot. After that, the teams with the 7th- through 10th-highest winning percentages in each conference head to the Play-In Tournament, which runs Tuesday-Thursday. The 2024 NBA Playoffs begin Saturday.

For more of your favorite sports, head on over to CNN Sports as well as Bleacher Report, which — like CNN — is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.

Quiz time!

Looking for a challenge to start your week? Take CNN’s news quiz to see how much you remember from the week that was! So far, 51% of fellow quiz fans have gotten eight or more questions right. How will you fare?

Play me off …

‘Taxman’
If paying your taxes has you singing the blues, have we got a song for you … (Click here to view)

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