Suspected Gunman Charged With Attempting to Assassinate President Trump

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0:33Alex Ossola:The suspect in the White House Correspondents' dinner shooting is charged with attempting to assassinate President Trump. Plus, consumers may be gloomy, but big American companies are raking it in. Wall Street seems to think that this profit boom is not about to end. The energy shock this time didn't seem to push us into any kind of really bad place. Wall Street is pretty optimistic. And welcome to the era of the$50 movie ticket. It's Monday, April 27th. I'm Alex Osola for The Wall Street Journal. This is the PM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories that move the world today.

1:16Alex Ossola:China has banned Meta's acquisition of AI startup Manus on national security grounds and ordered the deal to be unwound. Manus has its origins in China but is based in Singapore. Meta paid$2.5 billion in December to acquire Manus, hoping the company would make it more competitive in the buzzy AI agents sector. Agents are AI tools that can carry out complex tasks with minimal human input. Meta says that the transaction was legal and that the company looked forward to the inquiry being resolved. Our tech reporter Megan Bobrowski says China's ban could influence deals in the future. Yeah, so this is a really unprecedented situation.

1:51The founders already took steps to leave China. And so when this acquisition happened, the company Manus would argue that they were based in Singapore and they're not a Chinese company. So this is really testing the limits of China's control. So how this plays out is going to be actually pretty critical to future deals. If you're a founder in China and you leave, are you still subject to Chinese regulations and rule in China?

2:21Alex Ossola:Meta reports earnings after markets close on Wednesday. In other deal news, United Airlines is dropping its effort to merge with rival American Airlines after American wouldn't engage. The deal would have brought together two of the world's largest airlines. But there was a lot of pushback, and not just from American. Industry officials have said it would be difficult for such a merger to get past antitrust enforcers. And lawmakers raised concerns about it being bad for travelers. United's stock closed down more than 1 % today, while Americans fell almost 3.5%.

2:56Alex Ossola:Despite the war with Iran and general consumer anxiety, big American companies are thriving. About a quarter of the S &P 500 companies have reported first quarter earnings so far. Financial data firm Elseg has crunched the numbers and predicts that those results, plus analyst expectations for the rest of the companies, mean earnings per share growth of more than 16 percent and revenue growth of almost 10 percent. That sales growth figure would be more than in any quarter since the fall of 2022. Special writer Tao Francis covers U.S. companies and is here to help us understand what's going on. Tao, what is behind this disconnect between how consumers are feeling and how companies are doing?

3:33Consumers are still spending, but it's clear that they really feel the pinch of higher prices. And, you know, the question is when that flows through to overall spending. Of course, higher income Americans are spending more. And so that can make up for some of the pullback if there is any at the lower end of the spectrum.

3:52Alex Ossola:The earnings that have already come out so far for the quarter, have they affected Wall Street's forecast for the rest of the companies that have not reported yet? In general, what we're seeing is kind of an uptick. So at the beginning of the quarter, expectations were a little lower than where they are now, including the actual results. Companies like to come out ahead of Wall Street expectations. So that isn't unusual. We do tend to see this sort of upward drift in overall results. And I think we're seeing that again. So this may be a conservative view of where profits are going to go. Has there been anything unexpected about what's been reported so far?

4:30We're used to tech really doing well. We're used to financials doing well. And it does seem to be broadening. Earnings growth is healthy beyond those two sectors. But this rosy picture isn't universal. Tech really is outperforming everybody. you're seeing a sector breakdown that, you know, puts tech and materials and financials out ahead. And then the consumer companies, communications, energy trailing.

4:57Alex Ossola:And what about analysts' outlook for the future? Wall Street seems to think that this profit boom is not about to end. The energy shock this time didn't seem to push us into any kind of really bad place. You get certain kinds of shocks at the wrong time and that can happen. But for right now, Wall Street is pretty optimistic. That was WSJ special writer Tao Francis. Thanks, Tao. Thank you. Major U.S. indexes were mixed today. The Nasdaq and the S &P both built on their Friday records with the Nasdaq adding 0.2 % and the S &P up 0.1%. The Dow, meanwhile, slipped 0.1%. Coming up, the legal battle between Elon Musk and OpenAI kicks off.

5:36Alex Ossola:And the Supreme Court hears arguments about Bayer's liability in lawsuits over its weed killer Roundup. That's after the break.

5:46This episode is brought to you by Charles Schwab. Decisions made in Washington can affect your portfolio every day. But what policy changes should investors be watching? Washington Wise is an original podcast from Charles Schwab that unpacks the stories making news in Washington right now and how they may affect your finances and portfolio. Listen at schwab.com slash Washington Wise.

6:16Alex Ossola:The Supreme Court heard arguments today over whether Bayer is liable for failing to warn consumers that its flagship weed killer Roundup might cause cancer. Justices across the ideological spectrum appeared receptive to arguments that Bayer can be sued for damages under a Missouri law requiring companies to warn consumers about risks from their products. A ruling against Bayer would be a blow to the company's efforts to contain the Roundup litigation, which has costed billions of dollars. Thousands of consumers have sued the company, claiming that glyphosate, the key ingredient in Roundup, caused their cancer.

6:49Alex Ossola:Bayer has maintained that Roundup is safe to use. Governments globally and the Environmental Protection Agency in the U.S. have determined that glyphosate isn't likely to be carcinogenic in humans, and approved Roundup labels that didn't include cancer warnings. Outside the Supreme Court today, Make America Healthy Again activists protested the Trump administration's handling of glyphosate. People versus poison! People versus poison! President Trump had issued an executive order in February boosting domestic glyphosate production. And in federal court in Oakland, California, Elon Musk's trial against OpenAI begins this week.

7:25Alex Ossola:Musk alleges that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman tricked him into bankrolling OpenAI when it was a non-profit, only to then turn it into a de facto for-profit company. OpenAI argues that Musk supported the plan to create a for-profit structure and is suing to benefit his own AI company. Musk is asking for remedies like removing Altman from his job and damages that could exceed$180 billion to be paid to OpenAI's nonprofit parent. Speaking of OpenAI, the startup has struck a new deal with Microsoft, its longtime collaborator and investor. The deal offers OpenAI more freedom to partner with Microsoft's rivals and caps the amount of revenue it must share with the software giant through 2030.

8:06Alex Ossola:Microsoft, meanwhile, will keep its access to OpenAI's models and products. On the Middle East, we've learned that Iran has presented regional mediators with a new offer to stop its attacks in the Strait of Hormuz. In exchange, the war would end and the U.S. would lift its blockade on Iranian ports. Discussions about Iran's nuclear program would be shelved. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt told reporters today that President Trump discussed Iran's new proposal with his national security team and that Trump's red lines on Iran remain clear. Turning now to the latest on the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner this past weekend, prosecutors have charged 31-year-old Cole Allen with attempting to assassinate President Trump, along with two other counts.

8:49Alex Ossola:Allen faces a potential life sentence on the attempted assassination charge alone. He made his first appearance in federal court today in Washington, D.C., wearing bright blue jail scrubs. He gave short answers to routine questions in court, while a federal public defender said Allen was presumed innocent and had no prior arrests on his record. At a press conference today, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said more charges could be brought. There will be additional charges as this investigation continues to unfold. But make no mistake, this was an attempted assassination of the president of the United States, with the defendant making clear what his intent was.

9:29And that intent was to bring down as many of the high-ranking cabinet officials as he could.

9:36Alex Ossola:A senior White House official also says security officials will meet this week to discuss security protocols for major events attended by President Trump. And President Trump today called on Disney's ABC to fire late-night host Jimmy Kimmel over a joke he made about Melania Trump last week, before the shooting. Kimmel made the remark during a segment that was a mock White House Correspondents Association dinner speech. Of course, our First Lady Melania is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow. The administration has gone after Kimmel before. In September, Disney temporarily pulled Kimmel's show from the air after remarks the host made about President Trump's response to the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

10:18Alex Ossola:Disney didn't immediately respond today to a request for comment.

10:25Alex Ossola:And finally... How did father do it? Your father never started a war. That is Dune 3. And if you want to see it on opening night in 70mm IMAX, it's going to cost you. Specifically, it will cost$50. That's how much Regal Cinemas recently charged to see it for its December premiere. And apparently people didn't mind the price tag because the showings were sold out in minutes. Entertainment reporter Ben Fritz says movie theaters are using a pricing strategy that's common in other industries. Movie theater attendance is still down by approximately a third from where it was before the pandemic. People are going to the movies less.

11:06And theaters are responding with a strategy from airlines or from hotels where they try to segment the audience and say, hey, there's some people who love movies, have discretionary income, and will spend a lot. So those people often go to the IMAX screen. They want to go opening night. And theaters are finding ways to charge those people a lot more. On the other hand, if you will see a movie on any screen and you're happy to go on like a Tuesday or Wednesday, you could find a discount ticket for probably like six or eight dollars.

11:33Alex Ossola:I'm sorry to say I can't remember the last time I saw a movie in theaters. So that$50 ticket price is probably not for me. And that's what's news for this Monday afternoon. Today's show is produced by Anthony Bansi with supervising producer Tali Arbel. I'm Alex Osala for The Wall Street Journal. We'll be back with a new show tomorrow morning. Thanks for listening.

12:20We'll see you next time. Find exactly what you need so you can spend your time learning to trade brilliantly. Learn more at schwab.com slash trading.