Monday morning news: April 27, 2026

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WHCA shooting » The man accused in Saturday's shooting at the White House correspondents’ dinner in Washington is a Caltech grad with no criminal record.

Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, is 31 years old. He holds a master's in computer science and tutored high schoolers for college entrance exams.

But in writings sent to family minutes before the attack, Allen called himself a "Friendly Federal Assassin" … and lashed out at recent actions of the Trump administration.

President Trump reacted on Sunday.

TRUMP: The guy is a sick guy. When you read his manifesto, he hates Christians, that's one thing for sure. He hates Christians.

Allen's father is a church elder at a small Reformed congregation in Torrance. 

Investigators say the suspect legally bought a handgun in 2023 and a shotgun last year. He stored both at his parents' home. Allen's sister told the Secret Service that her brother had been making radical statements—but said her parents had no idea the weapons were in the home.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer is skeptical:

EMMER: You're telling me that, uh, even though they knew that there were some, uh, red flags on this, that, uh, they were unaware of, uh, uh, guns, weapons, whatever, in their own home?

Federal charges are expected this week.

WHCA: Carolina report » WORLD’s Carolina Lumetta was in the room when the incident occurred, and she files this report…

CAROLINA LUMETTA: The police tape has been removed from the event entrance here at the Washington Hilton, one of the most well known venues in the city. But the coat check room is still full of guests’ coats, including mine, as federal investigators are combing the scene. 

On Saturday night, it was mayhem.

AUDIO: Move, move! [glassware crashing]

I was seated at a table on the main floor, far away from the entrance where the gunman was apprehended. Roughly 30 minutes after the president arrived, we heard shots and ducked under the table. Like countless other reporters in the room, I whipped out my phone to record the scene while Secret Service agents ran on top of tables to secure lawmakers and cabinet members in attendance. 

I saw officers help carry out House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who has been healing from a foot injury.

AUDIO: Watch out, watch out, trying to get through.

For about an hour, we waited for word on what had happened, if there were injuries, or if the scene was safe. 

Then, White House Correspondents’ Association President Weijia Jiang informed the room that the dinner would be canceled and the president was holding a news conference at the White House. Women took off their heels and started to run, and producers and reporters set up around the sidewalks to record segments for the evening shows.

As I left, I saw U.S. Marshals and TSA agents blocking off hallways in the hotel’s basement, and we exited the same door where former President Ronald Reagan was shot by would-be assassin John Hinckley, Jr., in 1981.

It was both a scary and busy night for the Washington press corps. And we are thankful it ended without any serious injury.

COVINGTON: Carolina, before we let you go, what was security like?

LUMETTA: Right, well, like I said, the Washington Hilton is known as one of the largest and most secure venues for major events outside of federal buildings. To get into the hotel, I had to show my dinner ticket about a block before the building. Then I had to show it again to hotel staff to head down a flight of stairs. 

Now, because news outlets and other groups were also hosting private receptions, the Secret Service was only responsible for securing the dinner area. To get there, everyone had to pass through metal detectors and have their bags searched. But there was no identification check at any point. 

The Secret Service stopped the gunman at their first checkpoint, the metal detectors one floor above the main ballroom doors. Now the open question is whether that perimeter should have been extended farther away from the doors.

COVINGTON: Carolina Lumetta in Washington. 

Carolina, thanks very much.

LUMETTA: Thanks, Kent.

Iran » Chairs at the bargaining table sat empty over the weekend in Pakistan. U.S. and Iranian negotiators did not meet again face to face as planned.

President Trump pulled the plug—keeping envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner home.

TRUMP: By the time they get there, it's hours and hours and hours of flying, and I said, "We're not doing this anymore. We have all the cards. If they want to talk, they can come to us or they can call us."

Trump says that minutes after the cancellation, Iran sent what he called a much better proposal—though still not enough.

Indirect talks continue through Pakistani mediators. The ceasefire is in its third week. But the standoff at the Strait of Hormuz drags on. Iran is still restricting traffic through the waterway that normally carries a fifth of the world's oil … and the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports remains in place.

Wildfires » Two massive wildfires in south Georgia are causing historic destruction.

Governor Brian Kemp:

KEMP: We looked at all the records going back historically with the state, we believe that these two fires have created the most lost homes ever in the history of our state.

The Highway 82 fire in Brantley County and the Pineland Road fire near the Florida line have destroyed more than 120 homes … and have scorched more than 50-thousand acres.

And containment is still only in the single digits.

As many as a thousand or more residents have been forced to evacuate. One of them said he and his family barely made it out safely.

RESIDENT: Found out a tanker blew up and it was coming straight, the wind kicked up and it went to our house, and then the firefighters right end of the road said, it's too big, we can't put it out. And as soon as we pulled off and left, 15 minutes later, our house was gone.

Authorities say debris left over from Hurricane Helene has helped to fuel the flames.

With deep drought across the region, forecasters say it could take 8 to 10 inches of rain to put them out.

Box office: Michael breaks records » At the weekend box office … the Michael Jackson biopic, simply titled Michael, shattered records for music biopics.

CLIP: You want to be the biggest star in the world. … We need to capitalize on Michael’s success.

Michael moonwalked to a $97 million opening domestically and $217 million worldwide. The film focused on his rise to stardom and steered clear of abuse accusations against him.

In second place … The Super Mario Galaxy Movie sold another $21 million dollars worth of tickets domestically. It has now taken in well over $800 million globally.

I'm Kent Covington.

And coming up: David Bahnsen will be here for Moneybeat. Plus, 40 years later, the lingering effects of Chernobyl.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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