An Illinois mother credits her son and dog with saving her life during a stabbing spree that left four people dead. Two former presidents — and dozens of protesters — attend Joe Biden’s fundraiser. And shadowy Russian actors were all too happy to spread Princess Kate conspiracies.
Here’s what to know today.
Family attacked in Illinois stabbing spree describes the fight to survive
When Rockford, Illinois, resident Darlene Weber came face-to-face with an attacker who entered her house, she said, “He looked like the devil incarnate.” A day later, Weber said that if it wasn’t for her son, she might not have survived.
A 22-year-old man is accused of going on a rampage through Rockford, Illinois, on Wednesday afternoon, ultimately killing four people and injuring seven others — including Weber and her two kids.
Recalling the attack in an interview yesterday, Weber said it felt like “it all happened in such a blink of an eye.” She took her pit bull, Brandy, out the back door, she said, and heard a man say “hey” to her before he stabbed her in the face. As Weber crawled through the house screaming for her son to help her, Brandy bit the man. It gave her enough time to escape.
When Weber’s son, 21-year-old Jacob Vollman, went to find his mom, he was confronted by the attacker. “And he literally looks at me and says, ‘Come here,’ and starts charging at me,” Vollman said.
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After a couple of minutes fighting with Vollman, the attacker turned his attention to Weber’s daughter, 23-year-old Cathy Gilfillan — but Vollman was able to keep fighting him off. “If it wasn’t for him,” Gilfillan said, referring to Vollman, “me and mom would not be here.”
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Authorities identified the suspect as Christian Soto. He was arrested on charges of murder, attempted murder and home invasion. Soto’s attorney said he admitted to the crimes and that he had taken marijuana he believed was “laced with an unknown narcotic,” causing him to become paranoid.
Among those killed are Jay Larson, a mail carrier who was on the job when he was attacked, and 15-year-old Jenna Newcomb, who died saving her sister, officials said. Here’s what else we know.
Pro-Palestinian protesters pressure Biden at NYC fundraiser
Former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton joined President Joe Biden in a star-studded campaign fundraiser last night that was hosted by actor Mindy Kaling, featured photos taken by Annie Leibovitz and raised over $25 million. But anti-war protesters made their presence known at the event.
Over 100 people crowded outside Radio City Music Hall with Palestinian flags and signs with anti-war slogans. “We cannot idly sit by as our president aides and abets genocide in Gaza,” one protester said. Inside the fundraiser, protestors interrupted a moderated discussion between Biden, prompting late night host Stephen Colbert to ask Biden about the U.S. role in a peaceful future for Israelis and Palestinians.
Biden responded with talk of diplomatic efforts towards a two-state solution and acknowledged that more needed to be done to shepherd relief into Gaza but added that Israel’s existence was at stake. Here’s what else happened at the fundraiser.
Read more Israel-Hamas war coverage:
- Recent polling suggests most Jewish Israelis support Israel’s offensive in Gaza. But at a Ramadan meal with Palestinian Bedouin, some shared a different view.
- A State Department official’s resignation and increasing disapproval of Israel’s conduct in Gaza shows how U.S. ire toward its ally is growing.
- Israel’s Supreme Court on ordered an end to state funding for ultra-Orthodox students who do not serve in the army, a blockbuster ruling that could imperil the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Baltimore bridge workers were on break at time of collapse, family member says
Just days after the container ship Dali collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge, details about the incident and what happened to the workers are still unfolding. Julio Cervantes was one of two workers rescued following the collapse — a miracle, his wife said, because “my husband doesn’t know how to swim.”
“All of the men were on a break in their cars when the boat hit. We don’t know if they were warned before the impact,” Cervantes’ wife, who did not disclose her name, said in an exclusive interview. Cervantes was taken to a nearby hospital after the rescue with a chest wound and later released.
Cervantes’ wife says her brother-in-law was one of the two victims recovered near the wreckage site earlier this week. And her nephew is one of the four victims still missing, she said.
The shadowy actors that spread Princess Kate conspiracies
Before Kate, Princess of Wales, announced she had been diagnosed with cancer, #KateGate conspiracies speculating about her whereabouts ran wild on the internet. British security experts say social media accounts linked to a prominent Russian disinformation campaign capitalized on the rumors.
Roughly 45 accounts that posted about Kate on X were identified as belonging to the disinformation campaign, known as the Doppelgänger, an analysis found. While these actors didn’t originate the rumors, they contributed to the rumors’ rampant spread.
Experts say they see #KateGate as an alarming test case for what can happen when fake news and disinformation is supercharged by artificial intelligence, particularly on social media.
‘We want him home’: Family of U.S. reporter jailed in Russia for a year tries to stay hopeful
Even as a child, Evan Gershkovich seemed destined to be a reporter. He was always curious, liked a good story, and was deeply interested in Russia, the country his parents had emigrated from.
He was there, as Russia instituted the biggest crackdown on the free press in decades — one that would ensnare him, left awaiting trial on espionage charges that many in the West decry as punishment for doing his job. NBC News spoke to his family and some of his closest friends as his detention reached a year today.
Michigan GOP lawmaker falsely labels March Madness athletes ‘illegal invaders’
A Michigan state lawmaker involved in former President Donald Trump’s election denials is being widely criticized making false claims that buses carrying college athletes to Detroit for March Madness were shuttling illegal migrant “invaders” into the city.
State House Rep. Matt Maddock made the claim Wednesday night in a social media post accompanied by photos of three buses near an Allegiant plane at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Maddock wrote that the buses “just loaded up with illegal invaders.” Four college basketball teams traveling to Detroit for the second weekend of the NCAA basketball tournament arrived by plane Wednesday evening, the Wayne County Airport Authority said in a statement.
Politics in Brief
Biden impeachment probe: Joe Biden was formally invited to testify in the impeachment inquiry led by two Republican-led House committees — during the same week one of Donald Trump’s trials is set to begin.
South Carolina politics: The same federal court that previously ruled a Charleston-area district was unlawfully drawn decided yesterday that the map must be used for this year’s congressional election. The reason for the decision: The Supreme Court delayed the case for too long.
Arizona politics: Kari Lake, a self-proclaimed “Trump in heels” who lost the Arizona gubernatorial race in 2022, is working to win over voters in her Senate bid. But several key Republicans in the state say her campaign faces an increasingly uphill battle as she struggles to shed her MAGA instincts.
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Staff Pick: Multiple women report being punched in broad daylight
Reporter Mirna Alsharif was among the first to cover this story of women in New York City sharing videos on social media in which they said they were punched by men while they were walking the streets in broad daylight. With help from the NBC News’ social newsgathering team (more on what they do here), she verified that NYPD was investigating two incidents. She also highlighted how many women online have since expressed feeling uneasy. — Saba Hamedy, culture & trends editor
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