Suspect charged in Trump assassination attempt; King Charles heads to Congress
A suspect now faces an assassination charge after rushing the White House correspondents’ dinner. Court filings detail how he got there and who he says he was targeting.
Plus, King Charles moves from the White House to Capitol Hill on Tuesday. His address puts the war and U.S.-U.K. tensions squarely in focus.
And first lady Melania Trump calls for ABC to take action against talk host Jimmy Kimmel. The comedian is now responding.
These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Tuesday, April 28, 2026.
Correspondents’ dinner suspect charged with attempted assassination as prosecutors detail what led to the shooting
More details have emerged about the man accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump at the White House correspondents’ dinner.
Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old teacher from California, did not enter a plea at his first court appearance Monday. He faces multiple federal charges, including attempted assassination and firing a weapon during a violent crime.
New court filings lay out how prosecutors say this unfolded.
Prosecutors said Allen booked a room at the Hilton earlier this month, then traveled across the country by train, checking in the day before the event.
When he was arrested, investigators said he had two guns, a shotgun and a pistol, along with three knives.
Prosecutors said Allen is not cooperating, and while a motive is still being worked out, his own writings make clear who he was targeting.
“Make no mistake, he says, ‘I am targeting the administration officials. They are my targets, and I’m prioritizing from the top down, the highest ranking from the lowest,’” said U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro. “’And I will not hesitate to get involved in any kind of encounter with anyone who blocks me from the president.'”
Investigators said Allen opened fire as he rushed into the ballroom. Secret service agents returned fire.
One agent was hit in a bulletproof vest and is expected to be okay. Allen was not hit.
King Charles to address Congress Tuesday during Royal visit
King Charles heads to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, delivering a rare address to Congress as his U.S. visit moves into its main events.
Trump will officially welcome King Charles and Queen Camilla to the White House on Tuesday morning with a military review and remarks, including a speech from the president. They will then head to Capitol Hill and meet with congressional leaders before the king addresses a joint gathering of Congress this afternoon.
Tuesday night, the King’s visit wraps up with a state dinner at the White House.
The visit began Monday, when the president and first lady greeted the royals on the south lawn. The four posed for photos.
They headed inside for tea — a softer start to a visit playing out against a more complicated backdrop between Washington and London.
The king becomes just the second British monarch to address Congress, following Queen Elizabeth’s speech more than three decades ago in 1991.
Rubio rejects Iran Strait offer, saying proposal leaves nuclear program untouched
Oil prices are climbing again as any real path to a deal with Iran still looks out of reach.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has dismissed Iran’s latest proposal, saying it falls short of the U.S. core demand: no nuclear capability. Iran has offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but only if the U.S. lifts its blockade on Iranian ships and ports.
The problem: there’s no movement from Iran on its nuclear program.
Rubio also made clear the Strait is not Iran’s to control.
“If what they mean by opening the straits is, ‘yes, the straits are open as long as you coordinate with Iran and get our permission or we’ll blow you up, and you pay US,’ that’s not opening the straits,” Rubio said. “Those are international waterways. They cannot normalize, nor can we tolerate them trying to normalize a system in which the Iranians decide who gets to use an international waterway and how much you have to pay them to use it.”
As the U.S. weighs that offer, oil markets react. Brent crude, the global benchmark, is back above $100 a barrel, hitting around $111 early Tuesday morning.
U.S. crude is also pushing higher, just under $100 a barrel.
White House blasts Jimmy Kimmel joke, demands ABC take action
Trump and the first lady are calling for Jimmy Kimmel to be fired after his joke about Melania Trump, which is now fueling a broader fight over comedy, politics and speech.
The backlash centers on a Segment from Thursday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which was a parody of the White House correspondents’ dinner.
Kimmel, playing host, joked about the first lady’s appearance.
“And of course our first lady, Melania, is here. Look at her, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.”
The line drew sharp criticism from the White House, especially after a gunman rushed a security checkpoint at the correspondents’ dinner two days later and fired gunshots.
On Monday, the first lady called Kimmel’s comments “hateful” and “corrosive.” She urged ABC to take action.
“Enough is enough. It is time for ABC to take a stand. How many times will ABC’s leadership enable Kimmel’s atrocious behavior at the expense of our community?”
The president went further, posting on Truth Social that Kimmel should be immediately fired by ABC and its parent company, Disney.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the comments “disgusting.”
“Who in their right mind says a wife would be glowing over the potential murder of her beloved husband? And having experienced what I did with the first lady on Saturday night, I can tell you that she was anything but that. This kind of rhetoric about the president, the first lady and his supporters is completely deranged, and it’s unbelievable that the American people are consuming it night after night after night.”
— Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary
Kimmel addressed the backlash on his show Monday night, rejecting the White House’s characterization of the joke.
“It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he’s almost 80 and she’s younger than I am. It was not by any stretch of the definition a call to assassination, and they know that. I’ve been very vocal for many years, speaking out against gun violence in particular. But I understand the first lady had a stressful experience over the weekend, and probably every weekend is pretty stressful in that house. And also, I agree that hateful and violent rhetoric is something we should reject. I do, and I think a great place to start to dial that back would be to have a conversation with your husband about it… because umm …”
— Jimmy Kimmel, host of Jimmy Kimmel Live!
The free speech group Committee for the First Amendment also defended him, saying, “In America, satire is not a crime. The right to mock, to challenge, and yes, to offend those in power is foundational to democracy.”
Justice Department pushes to end White House ballroom lawsuit
The legal fight over a new White House ballroom is escalating. A preservation group has refused a Justice Department request to drop its lawsuit over the $400 million project.
After Saturday’s shooting at the correspondents’ dinner, the Justice Department gave the group until Monday to drop the case.
Trump, along with some lawmakers, including Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, have argued the breach shows the need for a secure, on-site venue for about 1,000 people.
But the National Trust for Historic Preservation has held its ground, saying nothing about that incident alters the legal questions.
The group’s lawyer put it bluntly: a security event does not change the constitution. The organization’s CEO added that the project still needs congressional approval before construction can proceed.
“We’re grateful to the Secret Service and DC law enforcement officers for keeping the president and all guests safe at this weekend’s White House correspondents’ dinner.
We are not planning to voluntarily dismiss our lawsuit, which endangers no one and which respectfully asks the Administration to follow the law. Ballroom construction is continuing unabated until June 5 at the earliest because the injunction is on hold.
We have always acknowledged the utility of a larger meeting space at the White House. Building it lawfully requires the approval of Congress, which the Administration could seek at any time.”
— Carol Quillen, president and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation
For now, construction of the White House ballroom continues, with a federal appeals court allowing the work to proceed while the case plays out.
A hearing is set for June 5.
Pompeii researchers recreate victims’ last moments using AI
A striking look at how artificial intelligence (AI) is now reaching back into the ancient world.
Archaeologists have used AI to recreate the face and final moments of a man who tried to escape the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The image looks like a frame from a film: a man holding an object over his head as ash and debris fill the sky behind him.
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Pompeii Archaeological Park via Facebook -
Pompeii Archaeological Park via Facebook -
Pompeii Archaeological Park via Facebook -
Pompeii Archaeological Park via Facebook -
Pompeii Archaeological Park via Facebook -
Pompeii Archaeological Park via Facebook -
Pompeii Archaeological Park via Facebook -
Pompeii Archaeological Park via Facebook -
Pompeii Archaeological Park via Facebook -
Pompeii Archaeological Park via Facebook -
Pompeii Archaeological Park via Facebook
Pompeii Archaeological Park released the digital reconstruction Monday.
Researchers built it using two sets of human remains found just outside the city walls, along with artifacts such as a lamp and gold coins.
The city of Pompeii was buried under ash after the eruption, preserving buildings, objects and human remains for centuries. Now, using AI tools, researchers are turning those remains into a clearer picture of what people may have looked like in their final moments.
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Nonprofit donor anonymity overhaul faces free speech skepticism
A First Amendment battle may be brewing over announced changes by the U.S. Treasury to an important tax document. Those changes could be coming to Form 990, which nonprofits across the country use.
That form is most simply described as a yearly report that nonprofits file with the IRS to report their finances and activities.
The Treasury wants to change what nonprofits across the country report on that form to increase public transparency into how these groups operate and spend money.
There’s nothing simple about tax laws in a country where the tax code is more than 17,000 pages long.
But in essence, this potential change focuses on two things.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
