The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s trial on charges of illegally retaining classified documents set a trial date of May 20, 2024 — splitting the difference between the government’s request to begin in December and Trump’s desire to postpone until after the 2024 election.

The decision, Judge Aileen Cannon’s first significant call in the proceedings, puts the high-stakes trial after the bulk of the Republican Party’s presidential primaries. Trump is currently the dominant front-runner, and his legal obligations to be in court will overlap with his campaign schedule.

Cannon, who was appointed by Trump in 2020, was randomly assigned to the case from a pool of potential judges. The trial will be held in her home courthouse in Fort Pierce, Fla., which will draw its jury pool from several counties that Trump won handily in his two previous presidential campaigns.

Trump is also facing a flurry of other legal threats, including civil and criminal trials in New York set for early next year. He also recently received a letter indicating that he may be indicted by the special counsel, Jack Smith, in a separate case surrounding his attempts to retain power after the 2020 election.

“It appears he is likely to be indicted in both Georgia state court and D.C. federal court for his actions related to trying to overturn the 2020 election results,” my colleague Charlie Savage said, “which could mean two more trials to fit into this already very crowded court and campaign calendar.”

A.I. leaders agree to safeguards

In a meeting with President Biden at the White House, seven leading artificial intelligence companies — including Google, Meta, OpenAI and Microsoft — agreed to a series of voluntary safeguards that are designed to help manage the societal risks of the emerging technology.

The measures, which include independent security testing and public reporting of capabilities, were prompted by some experts’ recent warnings about A.I. Nevertheless, the U.S. is only at the beginning of what is likely to be a long and difficult path toward the creation of rules to govern an industry that is advancing faster than lawmakers typically operate.

Tony Bennett, champion of the American songbook, died at 96

The singer’s melodic clarity, jazz-influenced phrasing, audience-embracing persona and warm, deceptively simple interpretations of musical standards helped spread American pop music around the world and won him generations of fans. Bennett died today at his home in Manhattan, after a 70-year career that was remarkable for its longevity and for his late-stage duets with artists like Lady Gaga and Amy Winehouse.

Read his obituary, and take a look at his life in photos.

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Happy Barbenheimer Day

The biggest movie weekend of the year has finally arrived, with two highly anticipated yet starkly disparate films headlining theaters around the country.

In one corner, we have “Oppenheimer,” Christopher Nolan’s three-hour biopic of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the “father of the atomic bomb.” In the other, we have “Barbie,” Greta Gerwig’s Day-Glo feminist-magical realist take on the famous Mattel doll.

Less Cirque, more Soleil

Coming out of the pandemic, Cirque du Soleil was in trouble. The extravagant displays of artistic athleticism that it had become famous for were not catching on with a younger generation.

So Cirque decided that it would no longer just be a circus; it would seek to become a ubiquitous brand with cultural cachet. The company is embarking on a makeover that includes a video game, a signature fragrance, a line of home goods and a television documentary series. Ultimately, these efforts will answer an existential question: Is Gen Z down to clown?

The Swiss are looking elsewhere for cheese

It goes without saying that the Swiss are proud of their cheese. Gruyère and Emmenthal are coveted around the world, and the average Swiss person consumes about 25 percent more cheese per year than the average American. So it caused quite a stir when it was announced that Switzerland is on track this year to bring in more cheese than it sends out.

The leader of the Swiss dairy association called this trade difference “absurd economically, socially and ecologically.” The shift happened in part because the Swiss have developed a taste for foreign cheeses, which are often cheaper, softer and from France.

Have a cheesy weekend.