Good morning. Here’s a concise update on the day’s top stories.
San Diego mosque shooting
San Diego police are investigating a deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego in the Clairemont neighborhood as a possible hate crime. Officers who answered a call at the center found three people dead inside. Two teenagers, ages 17 and 18, were later found dead in a car; officials say they appear to have died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Authorities have not released the identities of the victims or the suspected shooters. San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said there was “definitely hate rhetoric involved.” The FBI is also assisting the inquiry.
NPR reporting notes that one of the victims was a security guard at the center and that families endured long waits as children were evacuated from a school that operates inside the mosque. A parent, Montaser Barbakh, said he was shocked but had long feared that places of worship could be targeted.
Primary election day
Today is the busiest primary day so far in the 2026 midterms. Voters in Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Oregon and Pennsylvania are heading to the polls in races that could shape both parties’ paths to November. Several Republican primaries will test former President Trump’s sway over GOP voters — including a high-profile Kentucky contest where Rep. Thomas Massie faces a Trump-backed challenger, Ed Gallrein. Recent contests in Indiana and Louisiana showed Republican voters are willing to unseat incumbents viewed as disloyal to Trump. Democrats are using their primaries to define messages aimed at flipping Republican-held seats this fall.
Trump’s IRS lawsuit dismissed; $1.7B settlement announced
A federal judge dismissed President Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service after the president requested the case be dropped. The lawsuit stemmed from a years-old leak of his tax returns. As part of a related settlement announced by the Department of Justice, the government will establish a $1.7 billion “anti-weaponization fund” intended to reimburse people who claim they were mistreated by the Biden administration. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche will appoint a board to oversee the fund, and the settlement allows the president to remove board members. The fund will be financed with taxpayer money.
Details remain unclear about how recipients will be identified and whether the government will disclose who receives payments. Watchdog groups have warned that the arrangement could result in payments to participants in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. The administration compared the plan to past federal settlements, including programs used to compensate farmers for discrimination, but critics call the settlement an improper use of public funds. A judge has not signed off on the settlement terms.
Elon Musk’s suit against Sam Altman tossed by jury
A California jury rejected Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and co-founder Greg Brockman, finding Musk filed his case after the statute of limitations had expired. Musk had alleged that Altman and Brockman breached a charitable trust by moving OpenAI away from its founding mission and profiting from the change. The nine-member advisory jury issued a unanimous decision in under two hours.
Climate Solutions Week: Utah communities push renewables
As the federal government has pulled back on some climate initiatives, states and local communities are stepping in. In conservative Utah, a coalition of 19 cities and towns — from Salt Lake City to small rural communities — has formed the Utah Renewable Communities initiative to add more solar and wind power to the region’s grid. The group aims to generate enough clean electricity to serve nearly 300,000 homes and businesses by building solar arrays and wind farms, updating regulations, coordinating with the regional utility Rocky Mountain Power, and securing financing for projects. Their efforts are being highlighted as a potential model for local climate action elsewhere.
Picture show: Rex the tortoise
A Phoenix-area neighborhood recently went into a flurry when a large sulcata tortoise named Rex wandered away from home. African sulcata tortoises start small but grow very large — they are among the world’s biggest tortoise species. The U.S. banned their importation in the early 2000s, though breeding is still legal. Adult sulcatas can weigh close to 200 pounds, live many decades (often up to a century or more), dig extensively and need large grassy areas, access to water, and dry, warm shelter. Rex’s escape highlighted why these animals require space and long-term commitment.
3 things to know before you go
1) The nation’s top transportation safety investigators will open a fact-finding hearing today into last November’s crash of UPS Flight 2976 near Louisville, Kentucky. Preliminary information showed the cargo plane reached only about 30 feet off the ground before the accident.
2) A new analysis from KFF warns that up to 5 million people could drop coverage from Affordable Care Act marketplaces this year after enhanced premium tax credits expired at the end of last year, potentially raising costs for many enrollees.
3) In Manhattan, a state judge ruled prosecutors may present a gun, a silencer and a notebook found with Luigi Mangione at the time of his arrest in Pennsylvania to a jury in the trial over the fatal shooting of the UnitedHealthcare CEO. The judge excluded other items recovered during the arrest.
This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.