Start your week smart: Celebrating moms, India-Pakistan ceasefire, Pope Leo appeals for peace, shingles vaccine
By Andrew Torgan and Daniel Wine, CNN
(CNN) — Getting the shingles vaccine could do more than just prevent a painful red rash — it may also lower the risk of heart disease and stroke. A new study of more than 1 million people age 50 and older found a 23% lower risk of cardiovascular disease among those who were vaccinated for shingles.
Here’s what else you need to know to Start Your Week Smart.
Sunday spotlight
Breakfast in bed, a handwritten card, flowers, dinner out. It’s Mother’s Day, which means it’s time to celebrate the person who brought you into this world.
For some, this can be a difficult day because of a strained relationship.
Others, like me, lost their moms too soon. Today I’ll be digging out some old photos and remembering the good times we shared together.
1️⃣ Capturing the light: For more than a year, photographer Emily Whitney has been documenting the lives of immigrant moms in Pennsylvania. She found something unexpected.
2️⃣ ‘Matriarch’: In her memoir, Tina Knowles shares wisdom from her childhood, her own motherhood journey raising Beyoncé and Solange, and her cancer diagnosis. She’s living her most authentic life — and her daughters benefit.
3️⃣ How it all began: In the 1870s, suffragist and writer Julia Ward Howe suggested Mother’s Day as a chance to unite women and rally for peace. Here’s the story behind how the holiday came to be.
4️⃣ What to watch: Mothers might be the original muse. Our entertainment team rounded up some emotional movies inspired by moms, so grab the popcorn, settle in on the sofa — and keep a tissue handy.
🎧 Listen in: CNN’s Anderson Cooper talks about grief with actor Andrew Garfield, who lost his mom to pancreatic cancer in 2019.
5️⃣ Animal moms: Comedy writer Glenn Boozan’s book “There Are Moms Way Worse Than You” spotlights some horrific parenting practices in the animal kingdom to make human moms feel better and know that their best is good enough.
Top headlines
• What we know about the surprise India-Pakistan ceasefire
• Judge halts drastic cuts to agencies being done under Trump executive order
• Pope Leo appeals for ‘never again war’ in first Vatican address since his election
The week ahead
Monday
The Federal Trade Commission’s rule prohibiting bait-and-switch pricing and other tactics used to hide total prices and fees for live-event tickets and short-term lodging goes into effect. The new regulations cover everything from concerts, sporting events and theater performances, to hotels and home rentals offered through platforms like Airbnb or VRBO.
Tuesday
President Donald Trump travels to the Middle East, where he’ll visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The trip is tied to the president’s expected announcement of his plans for the US to begin referring to the Persian Gulf as the Gulf of Arabia or the Arabian Gulf — echoing his executive action to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.” Arab nations have long pushed for the Persian Gulf, which is off the coast of Iran, to be renamed to reflect their countries.
Wednesday
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will appear before a Senate committee to review the department’s proposed budget request for fiscal year 2026. He will also likely field questions about the massive layoffs at HHS and his plans to restructure various agencies.
Thursday
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments over President Trump’s request to enforce a plan to end birthright citizenship.
Listen in
One Thing: 🎧 Air traffic, out of control?
In this episode of the “One Thing” podcast, CNN’s Alexandra Skores explains how the Trump administration plans to address serious air traffic control issues that have led to massive delays and cancellations at one of America’s busiest airports. Listen here.
Sports + entertainment
The NBA semifinals resume today with the Oklahoma City Thunder taking on the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference and the Cleveland Cavaliers facing the Indiana Pacers in the East.
In the NHL’s Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Winnipeg Jets play the Dallas Stars and the Toronto Maple Leafs face off against the Florida Panthers.
Jannik Sinner enjoyed a winning return to tennis after serving a three-month doping ban, as he defeated Mariano Navone in front of a rapturous crowd at his home Italian Open.
The PGA Championship, the second of golf’s four majors, tees off Thursday. Xander Schauffele is the defending champion. Golf fans also are hoping world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler doesn’t get arrested this year.
The 2025 WNBA season gets underway Friday with three games: Atlanta Dream vs. Washington Mystics, Minnesota Lynx vs. Dallas Wings and Los Angeles Sparks vs. Golden State Valkyries. The New York Liberty will defend their 2024 crown in a home opener against the Las Vegas Aces.
For more of your favorite sports, head on over to CNN Sports as well as Bleacher Report, which — like CNN — is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.
In theaters
Opening Friday is “Hurry Up Tomorrow,” a psychological thriller starring Jenna Ortega, Barry Keoghan and musician The Weeknd. Also coming to the big screen is “Final Destination: Bloodlines.” It’s the sixth (yes, sixth!) installment of the “Don’t get on that plane! (or in that car or on that roller coaster, etc.) movie franchise.
Quiz time!
Looking for a challenge to start your week? Take CNN’s weekly news quiz to see how much you remember from the week that was! So far, 12.6% of readers who took the quiz got a perfect score and 58% got eight or more questions right. How will you fare?
Play me off …
‘Mother’
Consider this a friendly reminder to always listen to your mother … (Click here to view)
The-CNN-Wire
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