The annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner returns this Saturday for a night of comedy ‘roasting’ – where the great and the good are ruthlessly mocked in celebration of the freedom of the press.

In recent years, however, the night has taken on a different tone, with the atmosphere of warm self-deprecation and bipartisan bonhomie replaced by something more scathing and serious.

This week Jonathan Freedland is joined by Jeff Nussbaum, a former senior speech writer to Joe Biden, to discuss the art of writing gags for presidents and whether there is still space for humour in US politics.

The presiding judge has suggested opening statement could begin as early as Monday

One potential juror has been excused this morning after saying that her anxiety is too intense, and will only worsen as “as the more days that go on”.

Her family will ultimately piece together that she’s on the jury, she said.

I have really bad anxiety, so I think I might not be completely fair and not impartial, so that concerns me.

We’re also still working on the temperature in the courtroom.

I want to apologize that it’s chilly in here ... We’re trying to do the best we can to control the temperature, but it’s one extreme or the other.

President touted plan during speech on Wednesday in Pennsylvania, where union support could prove crucial

Joe Biden announced plans to triple tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum and promised to block the acquisition of US Steel by a Japanese company during a speech to steelworkers on Wednesday in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, where union support could prove crucial in the November general election.

Biden touted the plan during a visit to the United Steelworkers union headquarters in Pittsburgh, the heart of the American steel industry, where he said “the backbone of America has a steel spine” and promised to keep US Steel as a “totally American-owned, American-operated” company.

Ruth Rosenthal reflects on Tehran’s mission to dominate the Middle East, Adrian de León has little faith in diplomatic channels, Phil Tate takes issue with David Cameron’s remarks, Alfredo Louro fears the game is rigged, and the Rev Graham Murphy says the UK’s position is hypocritical

How strange that my interpretation of the situation in the Middle East is the reverse of Simon Tisdall’s ( After Iran’s attack on Israel, the world must act: this is a crisis that threatens us all, 14 April ). I believe that everything from 7 October to date has been carefully orchestrated by Iran and that the events of last Saturday night are part of the ultimate plan to escalate.

Iran’s mission is to secure a dominant position among Muslim countries in the Middle East and to ensure that its rival Saudi Arabia never occupies that space. The buildup of pro‑Iranian “militias” in the countries surrounding Israel is a major part of the strategy, and anti-Israeli and anti-US sentiments are just tools to rally the “troops”, as is the pro‑Palestinian rhetoric. The “militias” can easily be used against the Saudis at a future date.

Mike Johnson’s effort to advance funding for Ukraine and Israel could trigger far-right attempt to oust him from speaker role

Good morning and happy hump day to US politics readers. Wednesday could finally see the publication of speaker Mike Johnson ’s long-awaited plan to save his job, quell Republican infighting and advance urgent foreign aid for Israel and Ukraine .

There’s been plenty of talk, and little action so far, on how the Republican leader plans to present solutions for the funding impasse that has further highlighted fractures in his divided caucus.

Democrats in Arizona are preparing to try to repeal the controversial 1864 abortion bill that has prompted huge blowback and poses a threat to Republican candidates in November’s elections.

Attorney general Merrick Garland and energy secretary Jennifer Granholm are testifying before the Senate’s appropriations subcommittee this morning.

Long-serving Florida governor and US senator Bob Graham , a Democratic political heavyweight who also ran for president in 2004, has died aged 87.

The president’s moral failure in Gaza has taken on historic proportions, like Lyndon Johnson’s in Vietnam before him

America is big, diverse and polarized. Yet, when it comes to the war in Gaza, opinions here are converging . A Gallup poll in March found 55% of respondents “disapprove of Israel’s actions”, up from 45% in November. Among registered Democrats, the figure is 75%. As the number of citizens voting “uncommitted” in Democratic primaries makes plain, President Biden’s unqualified support for Israel is a problem. Beyond the human carnage – 32,000 Palestinians, including over 14,000 children, have been killed by Israel in Gaza – Biden’s Israel policy could cost him the election.

“We have given Biden and his administration and the party a gift,” said Layla Elabed, organizer of the Listen to Michigan campaign, where 100,000 voters marked the “uncommitted” box in February. The vote in Michigan, a battleground state where Biden beat Trump by a little more than 154,000 votes in 2020, has triggered a cascade of protest votes in primaries across the country. At least 25 uncommitted delegates will be sent to the Democratic national convention in August.

More than 500 potential jurors have been summoned to the Manhattan courthouse in a process that is expected to take several days

• Full report – Trump’s historic criminal trial enters second day
• Key takeaways from the first day

Donald Trump fired off a few fiery Truth Social posts this morning ahead of his courthouse appearance.

In one post, Trump wrote, “MY TRIAL IS AN ASSAULT ON AMERICA.”

The former prime minister spent just 49 days in office but wants to stay on the world stage. Her attacks on Biden and praise for Trump are aimed at the populist right

In her new book , the former British prime minister Liz Truss directs scathing attacks and mockery at Joe Biden, president of her country’s closest ally. Biden was guilty of “utter hypocrisy and ignorance”, Truss writes, when the US leader said he “disagree[d] with the policy” of “cutting taxes on the super wealthy” in the mini-budget Truss introduced in September 2022, shortly after taking power.

“I was shocked and astounded that Biden would breach protocol by commenting on UK domestic policy,” Truss adds. “We had been the United States’ staunchest allies through thick and thin.”