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Terror in DC: 2 Israeli Embassy Aides Are Fatally Shot Outside Event in Washington (New York Times)

The shooting occurred outside the Capital Jewish Museum on Wednesday night. A suspect shouted pro-Palestinian slogans after he was detained, according to law enforcement officials.

The close-range shooting occurred shortly after 9PM on a street outside the Capital Jewish Museum, where the American Jewish Committee was hosting a reception for young diplomats. The area is the heart of official Washington, packed with federal buildings, embassies and museums. The Capitol, the F.B.I.’s Washington field office and the headquarters of the Justice Department are all near the museum.

The shooting victims —Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim — had planned to get engaged next week in Jerusalem, Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter said.

There was bipartisan condemnation in the US capital.  And Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said: "I want to be clear that we will not tolerate this violence or hate in our city.”  

AI Latest.

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OpenAI to Buy Apple Alum Jony Ive’s AI Firm for $6.5 Billion (Bloomberg)

More: What Sam Altman Told OpenAI About the Secret Device He’s Making With Jony Ive (Wall Street Journal)

OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman gave his staff a preview Wednesday of the devices he is developing to build with the former Apple designer Jony Ive, laying out plans to ship 100 million AI "companions" that he hopes will become a part of everyday life.

New Milestone: Google Bringing AI Mode to Search for US (Bloomberg)

Alphabet’s Google will offer "AI mode" in search to all US users, part of an effort to bring products to market faster and keep pace with new rivals in the artificial intelligence age. 

Google has been making profound changes to its search engine to ensure that its core product remains relevant as more people turn to chatbots for information. "More intelligence is available, for everyone, everywhere," Pichai said. "And the world is responding, adopting AI faster than ever before." He said the company’s Gemini AI app has more than 400 million downloads, and that AI Overviews, the answers at the top of search queries, have more than 1.5 billion users.

AI mode is a tab in search where users can interact directly with AI models, much like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Google has framed the product as a space for users to ask more complicated questions and drill deeper with follow-ups.

What I'm Reading.

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Check out the Daily Read podcast: Click here to listen to today's AI-generated audio companion to this newsletter. And 'Follow' the Sheekey Daily Read podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts to listen and be notified when the latest are available.

Latest From the White House: Trump’s Ambush of President Ramaphosa Leaves South Africa Reeling (Bloomberg)

South Africans watched aghast on Wednesday as US President Donald Trump berated their leader in the Oval Office over false claims that there’s a genocide against White people in the country.

President Cyril Ramaphosa was upbeat ahead of his White House meeting, but the tone quickly shifted as Trump confronted him with a video and printouts of media reports purporting to back up his claims. Vincent Magwenya, Ramaphosa’s spokesman, called it a “well-orchestrated, well-planned” ambush, and it confirmed some advisers’ fears that he would face a Volodymyr Zelenskiy-style dressing down.

Just Now: Trump Tax Bill Narrowly Passes House, Overcoming Infighting (Bloomberg)

President Donald Trump’s signature tax bill narrowly passed the House Thursday morning, advancing a sprawling multi-trillion dollar package that would avert a year-end tax increase at the expense of adding to the US debt burden.

New Idea: Trump Floats a Public Offering for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac (Bloomberg)

The companies, which play a crucial role in the market for mortgage-backed securities, have been under government conservatorship since the 2008 financial crisis. Fannie and Freddie have both returned to steady profitability, with earnings being retained.

Public Health News: China to Donate $500 Million to WHO, Stepping Into Gap Left By US (Washington Post)

China has pledged to give $500 million to the World Health Organization as the country is set to replace the United States as the group's top state donor, expanding Beijing's global influence in the wake of Washington's retreat from international cooperation.

"The world is now facing the impacts of unilateralism and power politics, bringing major challenges to global health security," Chinese Vice Premier Liu Guozhong told the World Health Assembly in Geneva on Tuesday. "China strongly believes that only with solidarity and mutual assistance can we create a healthy world together."

Ukraine War: Moscow Faces Second Day of Drone Attacks, Disrupting Flights (Bloomberg)

You Can't Make It Up: Trump 'Coining It In' with Exclusive Crypto Investors as Lawmakers Call It a 'Trump Coin Scam' (Politico Playbook)

As jaw-dropping presidential activity goes, this one takes some beating, Politico Playbook writes. Tonight, Trump will host more than 200 wealthy crypto bros for a private "dinner with the president" as a special reward for their $400 million investment in his personal memecoin courtesy of what the distressingly garish official website describes as "the most exclusive invitation in the world," according to Playbook.

And there’s more: The 25 biggest investors will also be invited to a small VIP reception with the president ahead of tonight’s gala dinner. A quick glance at the website leaves no doubt that these events have been explicitly designed to sell as much $TRUMP crypto as possible. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) described "the Trump coin scam" as "the most brazenly corrupt thing a president has ever done." Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) has called it an "unprecedented pay-to-play scheme to provide access to the presidency to the highest bidder."

Family Business: Trump Family Turns Presidency Into Most Lucrative Venture Yet (Bloomberg)

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The way Donald Trump sees it, he’s the greatest businessman to campaign for the White House.

"I’m the most successful person ever to run," he told an Iowa reporter in 2015. "I have a Gucci store that’s worth more than Romney."

That might have been an exaggeration, but this isn’t: A decade later, no modern American president has positioned his family to make so much money while in the White House. Already, since the early days of his reelection campaign, he’s more than doubled his net worth to about $5.4 billion.

Financial News: JPMorgan Opens Geopolitics Arm as Dimon Warns of 'Hinge Point' (Bloomberg)

Last Night in NYC: New York Knicks Acknowledge They Let Up Late in Game 1 Loss to Pacers at Madison Square Garden (ESPN)

The Indiana Pacers victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals was a lot more than unconventional. It was one of the craziest playoff games Madison Square Garden has ever seen, a 138-135 overtime thriller to edge the New York Knicks in which Indiana trailed by as many as 17 points in the fourth quarter.

Now, Knicks star Jalen Brunson and the rest of the team are tasked with regrouping, so they don't find themselves with an even worse feeling after Friday: heading to Indianapolis down 2-0. Tune in Friday at 8PM to watch game 2 of the series, again at Madison Square Garden.

Read More: Inside the Knicks' Biggest Collapse Ever (The Athletic)

Best of Late Night.

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"A $1.1 billion Mega Millions jackpot wasn't claimed for more than 6 in New Jersey. It's Jersey so that left two possibilities: the ticket was missing or the guy was."

-- Jimmy Fallon

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"Red Lobster is exiting bankruptcy and will operate their restaurants. I don't want to say how they're saving money, but it's not good that the 'Lobster' is now in quotation marks."

-- Jimmy Fallon

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"A new study found that drinking three cups of coffee a day could protect your heart. The study was 80 pages, all one-word, no punctuation."

-- Jimmy Fallon

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"Carnival Cruise Lines confirmed last week that its ship, the Carnival Spirit, struck an iceberg off the coast of Alaska but added that the vessel did not sustain any damage. The iceberg, however, now has Norovirus."

-- Seth Meyers