This week on The Necessary Conversation, Chad and Haley are joined by Mary Lou but Bob is sitting this one out while he deals with some health issue.

🔫 Last night a gunman opened fire near the security checkpoint of the White House Correspondents' Dinner. The suspect was armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives. Trump — attending his first ever Correspondents' Dinner across both presidencies — immediately used the incident to push for his blocked $400 million ballroom project. We ask: was this staged? And why is the guy who constantly attacks the free press showing up to a dinner that celebrates it?

💣 Week 9 of Trump's war with Iran. JD Vance's second round of peace talks was cancelled because Iran refused to show up. The Strait of Hormuz is still blocked. Iran seized two cargo ships. Nearly 3,400 Iranians have been killed including a school full of children, 12 hospitals have been destroyed, and a U.S. soldier says he's lost 17 pounds because troops are still rationing food. We check back in on Mom's prediction that this would be a six-week war.

🎰 A U.S. Army Special Forces soldier was arrested for betting over $33,000 on Polymarket on the timeline of the Maduro kidnapping raid — a mission he was directly involved in — and pocketed nearly $410,000. Trump compared it to Pete Rose and said the world "has become somewhat of a casino."

🎁 We simmer down with Mom opening a mystery box.

😴 Sleepy Don strikes again. Trump fell asleep on camera during a healthcare event — adding to a growing list that now includes seven publicly televised naps since December. We ask Mom why she cared about Biden looking tired but not this.

💀 The DOJ announced it's bringing back firing squads, gas chambers, and streamlined executions. The federal government has never previously used firing squads, and Biden had banned lethal injections. They're also exploring building new execution facilities and restricting clemency petitions.

📉 Trump hit the worst approval ratings of either of his presidencies. Nate Silver's aggregate has him at 39% approval, CNN has his economic approval at a career-low 31%, and two-thirds of Americans say his policies have made things worse. We ask Mom if any of this matters to her.

No Bob this week but Mary Lou is holding it down. This one covers a lot of ground.

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💬 Drop your thoughts in the comments — we read them all.

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