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In the news today: Melania and President Donald Trump both call for ABC to fire Jimmy Kimmel following a widow joke about the first lady; the reverberating damage of the war on Iran’s economy; and in a new book a former FBI agent looks at the world’s largest art heist, which remains unsolved. Also, a growing amateur choir bringing joy to communities in Serbia.
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Jimmy Kimmel arrives at the third annual Rare Impact Fund Benefit: A Night of Radiance & Reflection, 2025, at nya studios WEST in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
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Trumps call for ABC to fire Jimmy Kimmel — again — after morbid joke about first lady
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Kimmel’s remark describing the first lady as having “the glow of an expectant widow” was part of a routine on Thursday’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” where the host pretended to deliver a comedy routine at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. That event two nights later was cut short following an attempted assassination of President Donald Trump. Read more.
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Iran’s economy has been battered. Its leaders still think Trump will blink first
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Over more than five weeks of bombardment, U.S. and Israeli strikes hit thousands of factories. The damage is reverberating across Iran’s economy, threatening increasing waves of layoffs, even as Iranians face skyrocketing prices. Read more.
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It could get worse as the U.S. blockades Iranian ports, choking off many imports and oil exports that bring in billions of dollars. Iran’s leaders say they will only reopen the Strait of Hormuz if the blockade is lifted and the war ends. They are betting that an economy built to be self-reliant under decades of international sanctions can endure the pain longer than President Donald Trump. Economic woes sparked the mass protests that were crushed before the war and could again push Iranians into the streets.
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Inside the world’s largest art heist when over $500M of paintings were stolen from a Boston museum
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For decades, the 1990 theft of 13 artworks from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum has remained unsolved. It remains the largest art theft in history. In 2013, the FBI said it knew who was responsible for the Boston museum heist but declined to name them, fueling speculation that persists today. Read more.
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Geoffrey Kelly, a former FBI agent who led the investigation for more than two decades, is now offering the first detailed account of how investigators reached that conclusion. In a new book, “Thirteen Perfect Fugitives,” Kelly traces how the artworks moved through criminal networks, where violence took the lives of key suspects and witnesses, and challenges long-circulating theories by revisiting key details. Kelly also publicly identifies the men he believes were involved. Over the years, tips have pointed to notorious crime boss Whitey Bulger, the Irish Republican Army and others. The story of the heist also includes a triple murderer known as “Meatball.”
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Choir members perform a song during a practice in Belgrade, Serbia, April 15. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
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Choir in Serbia sings for joy
Serbia is one of the places I have family ties to, so I enjoyed reading our story of a growing amateur choir there. Community choirs are common in other countries, but they’re relatively rare in Serbia. And singers in Pop Hor (or Pop Choir in English) say it’s serving a vital purpose that goes beyond music. As one 72-year-old singer puts it, the choir provides a much-needed positive contrast to the everyday reality of political tensions. Pop Hor’s inclusive, no-stress and fun approach has helped it expand from a couple dozen people in a small town to thousands of singers in multiple locations. And there’s ambition to grow further. The plan is “to have the whole region sing,” said Pop Hor founder Nenad Azanjac — and I do hope he succeeds.
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Please let us know what you think of this newsletter. You can sign up for more and invite a friend here. For news in real time visit APNews.com. - Nadja
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