CNN 5 Things

Hey from CNN, I'm Ifeoma Dike with the five things you need to know for Thursday, April 23rd.

President Trump says he's under no pressure to quickly reach a deal with Iran to end the war. On Truth Social, he said any agreement to end the war would be made on U.S. terms and his timeline. On Tuesday, Trump extended a ceasefire with Tehran to give it more time to come up with a, quote, "unified" proposal. But on social media, he seemed frustrated with Iran's leadership, saying Iran doesn't know who their leader is. CNN has reported that the U.S. suspected a divide between Tehran's negotiating team and the country's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. This comes as the Pope told reporters on a plane after a trip to Africa that he can't support the war but condemns Iran killing protesters.

As a pastor, I cannot support war. I would like to encourage everyone to make every effort to seek answers that stem from a culture of peace, rather than hatred from a vision of peace.

'Neither Trump nor the Pope have seen eye-to-eye on the Middle East conflict recently. Meanwhile, Trump says a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon has been extended by three weeks after officials from both countries met at the White House today for a second round of talks.

More news coming up, including details on a shootout inside a mall.

Police say one person was killed and at least five people injured in a shootout at the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge. They say five people are in custody.

We found out looking through surveillance videos. It looks like it was kind of a targeted two groups of people got into an argument inside the food court and started shooting at each other. Unfortunately, there were some innocent people that were in the area that might have also caused some rounds.

It's unclear how many people opened fire. The police chief said investigators are reviewing surveillance footage and collecting evidence to determine how many weapons were involved. The FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says they're also on the scene.

Authorities arrested a former police officer yesterday evening at a Florida hotel for allegedly planning a mass shooting at a festival in New Orleans. Louisiana authorities sought to arrest him on a charge of making terroristic threats as the community prepared for the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, known as Jazz Fest, which began today. Authorities did not say which festival the suspect allegedly intended to target. CNN's Diane Gallagher has more.

He was a longtime police officer here in North Carolina. 45 year old Christopher Gillum served as a police officer, a detention officer, and a sheriff's deputy at at least three different agencies in here in North Carolina over the course of nearly two decades. Now the Okaloosa County Florida Sheriff's Office took him into custody at that hotel room on Wednesday night. They said that he was wanted in Orleans Parish by the Department of Public Safety for terroristic threats. According to a law enforcement source who viewed an intel bulletin, Gillum's family actually told local police in Burlington, North Carolina that he'd expressed interest in harming Black people.

The Justice Department's internal watchdog is launching a review into how the DOJ handled the Jeffrey Epstein files. The Inspector General says it'll review how the DOJ identified, collected, and produced the material, as well as its redaction process. There has been controversy over the handling of the files since Congress passed a law late last year ordering them to be released after the DOG failed to deliver on past promises that they would release information on Epstein. President Trump fired Pam Bondi as attorney general, in part, over the matter.

Coming up, a crucial moment for a major media merger.

Warner Brothers Discovery shareholders have approved the takeover deal from Paramount Skydance. CNN's Brian Stelter explains.

'Now this is one of the last remaining hurdles for Paramount before it can actually take over WBD, a much bigger company, and bring together brands like CNN and CBS News and HBO Max and Paramount Plus. Now this was a no-brainer for investors this morning because if you were a shareholder of WBD, you had shares worth about $8 a share this time last year. Paramount's paying $31 per share, so a big win for shareholders. But this deal has been a source of intense controversy in Hollywood and Washington and beyond. Many entertainment industry veterans are warning against media consolidation, and many political activists are warning out about Paramount's close ties to President Trump. But this shareholder vote today, a big step for Paramount as it tries to take over CNN's parent company.

That's a wrap. Our next episode drops tomorrow morning.