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Hey, good morning. I'm Playbook editor Mike DeBonis. It's Monday, May 1st. And well, we made it,

folks, through a crazy White House correspondent's dinner weekend, and we'll have more on that

in a moment. But first, there's a few big stories driving the day in the week ahead, starting

with Speaker Kevin McCarthy's big speech today in Israel, where he's addressing

the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, as part of a bipartisan congressional delegation he's

leading to Israel this week. He's actually the second U.S. House Speaker to address the Knesset

following Newt Gingrich in the 90s. But there's some interesting context now, which is really

going to make his comments interesting, including whether he weighs in on the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his very controversial plans for an overhaul of the judiciary in Israel.

It's also a really big week for the economy.

On Wednesday, the Fed is going to meet whether to continue their interest rate hike campaign.

We're expecting a quarter point hike, but the Fed could adjust that upwards or downwards based on

economic conditions.

And speaking of economic conditions, we're going to learn more about that on Friday when the

waiver department issues new jobs numbers for April.

And also today, Joe Biden welcomes Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., also

known as Bongbong to the White House. Foreign policy experts are watching this meeting very

closely, given how important the Philippines are to U.S. policy in the Pacific Rim and to countering

China. So keep a close eye on that. And joining me now to discuss the weekend that was his playbook co-author, Eugene Daniels.

Good morning, Eugene. Good morning. I sound gross because I feel gross. It was quite the weekend

this last week. You may feel gross, Eugene, but let me assure you, you did not look gross at any

point this week. I only look gross currently. I look fabulous the rest of the time. Let me just ask. He's flat out. Highlights, low lights. What are you going to remember about the weekend? First and foremost, I'm on the board of the White House Correspondence Association. So I sat between the vice president and second gentleman, which was kind of a very surreal experience.

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