Tuesday morning news: April 28, 2026

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WHCD shooting latest » The man accused of carrying out Saturday's attack at the White House Correspondents’ dinner in Washington faced a federal judge in a courtroom in D.C. on Monday.

Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, listened as prosecutors read the charges against him. He did not enter a plea.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche:

BLANCHE: The first count is attempted assassination of the President of the United States. This count is punishable by up to life in prison. The second count is interstate transportation of a firearm to commit a felony. This is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

He is also charged with discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence. That is also punishable by up to life in prison.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro:

PIRRO: This was an attempted assassination of the President of the United States with the defendant making clear what his intent was, and that intent was to bring down as many of the high ranking cabinet officials as he could.

A judge ordered Allen held pending further hearings. The 31-year-old Caltech graduate is a teacher with no prior criminal record.

We’ll have more on that White House correspondent dinner attack later in the program.

SOUND: [Military band]

King Charles in Washington » A military band playing "God Save the King", part of a welcome ceremony as Britain's King Charles III and his wife, Queen Camilla, stepped off a plane at Joint Base Andrews. The king is in town for a four-day visit.

Saturday's correspondents' dinner shooting prompted a last-minute security review. Buckingham Palace said the king is "greatly relieved" that no one in the president's party was harmed.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters hours earlier:

LEAVITT: First Lady Melania Trump has led all of the preparation for the state visit, which will honor the longstanding and special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.

The visit comes amid friction between Trump and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer over the Iran war. Charles will likely look to smooth things over during his visit.

The king is set to address a joint meeting of Congress today, making him just the second British monarch to do so after Queen Elizabeth II in 1991.

Iran talks » Karoline Leavitt also told reporters on Monday that President Trump still wants to end the Iran war at the bargaining table, but some things are non-negotiable.

LEAVITT: I don't wanna get ahead of the president or his national security team. What I will reiterate is that the president's red lines with respect to Iran, have been made very, very clear, not just to the American public, but also to them as well.

Of course, the president's biggest red line is that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. The U.S. is pressing Tehran to suspend uranium enrichment for 20 years and ship its existing enriched uranium out of the country.

Iran's latest offer skips both demands. Tehran proposes reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending the U.S. naval blockade first, and pushing nuclear talks down the road. 

Trump, for his part, said Tehran’s latest offer was better, but not good enough.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the talks are complicated:

RUBIO: Our negotiators aren't just negotiating with Iranians. Those Iranians then have to negotiate with other Iranians in order to figure out what they can agree to, what they can offer, what they're willing to do, even who they're willing to meet with.

Rubio says economic pressure on Iran may yet force a deal.

Israel-Hezbollah » In Israel:

NETANYAHU: [Speaking Hebrew]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that the Lebanese-based terror group Hezbollah now has only about 10 percent of the missiles it started with when the recent conflict began.

The Israeli military says it struck 20 Hezbollah military targets in southern Lebanon and the Eastern Beqaa Valley Monday. That comes in response to what Israel says were repeated attacks mounted by Hezbollah in violation of the ongoing fragile ceasefire between the Israeli and Lebanese governments. 

Hezbollah though, never formally agreed to hold its fire.

Also on Monday:

SOUND: [Funeral for Israeli soldier]

...hundreds of mourners turned out for the funeral of a 19-year-old Israeli soldier killed in a drone attack by Hezbollah over the weekend.

Idan Fooks is the third Israeli soldier to die in combat since the beginning of the ceasefire.

Japan’s PM launches panel to review defense » Japan is ramping up its defense posture against rising threats from China, North Korea, and Russia. 

WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more:

KRISTEN FLAVIN: Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi launched a 15-member panel Monday to overhaul Japan's security and defense policies. She told the group the international situation has completely changed and the post-Cold War order is a thing of the past.

Takaichi took office in October. Last week, her Cabinet scrapped restrictions on lethal weapons exports—a move welcomed in Washington, but blasted by China.

Japan has reached or is on track to hit its goal of spending 2% of GDP on defense each year—about $270 billion through 2027.

Takaichi says her country needs to learn from Russia's war in Ukraine and the Middle East conflict and brace for possible drone warfare in the future and longer fights.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

And I'm Kent Covington.

Coming up: the Southern Poverty Law Center faces charges that it fueled hate rather than fighting it. Plus, a conversation with the founder of one of Christian rock’s longest-running bands.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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