Secret Service Probes Soaring Threats Against Protectees

Threats against the president and other top officials are surging, according to the Secret Service, which says it has opened more than 10,000 threat investigations this year—a jump of about 40% over last year, NBC News reports. Director Sean Curran described the current political climate as unlike anything he's seen in 24 years and called the threat level "off the charts."

Still, agency leaders say they're ready for Friday's White House Correspondents' Association dinner, moved to a smaller Washington venue after an April incident in which a gunman was stopped well short of the ballroom. Trump was in attendance then, and will be in attendance again Friday.

Officials also highlighted fast-evolving dangers from drones (the alleged plot to attack June's White House UFC fights involved drones) and say they're rolling out new detection tools around the president. They report a tenfold increase in mental-health-related interventions involving people who have made threats, CBS News reports, and stress the public's role in flagging alarming behavior. Other Secret Service protectees include Supreme Court justices, cabinet members, foreign leaders who visit the US, past presidents, and presidential candidates, Axios reports.