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Oz Perlman, who was shot at at the White House press dinner, made a major revelation

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April 26, 2026

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Oz Perlman, who was shot at at the White House press dinner, made a major revelation

The Mentalist said the security for the dinner, which was attended by President Donald Trump, was not what he expected for such a high-profile event.

Oz Perlman revealed the trick he was playing when gunshots rang out at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

“The night went very well. I warmed up the crowd, the vice president liked my show, and I was talking to the press secretary,” he told USA TODAY. White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt is soon to give birth to her second child with husband Nicholas Riccio. “The challenge was to figure out the name of the unborn child’s daughter,” Perlman recalled.

The Mentalist did just that. He flipped the notepad over to reveal the name Vivian.

“I never intended to share this with the world. The important thing is not to ‘catch’ her. But I told her and she said it was okay to share,” he says. “‘This is a historic moment,’ she told me. When it happened, she said, ‘I don’t know how on earth you guessed my daughter’s name.'”

In his text, Mr. Levitt acknowledged that Mr. Perlman’s account was accurate.

“The timing was insane,” he added. “Just like when I was exposed, that was the exact moment when things happened in the room. So you can see the reaction to my trick was at its peak: the ‘Ah!’ reaction. And things quickly turn into shock and pain. ”

Soon, he was on the ground with President Donald Trump. “I’ll never forget seeing his face from a foot away,” he says. “This photo will stay in my heart forever. I wish I had had Metaglass on so I would have had that photo.”

He says he can’t find the words to characterize the president’s response. “I saw people who were surprised at how quickly and suddenly the Secret Service acted.”

Oz Perlman says security at White House press dinner was not as tight as other red carpet events

Perlman noticed a difference in the security at the hotel compared to other red carpet events she has attended. “I can’t speak to what was or wasn’t done, but there was certainly ease of movement,” he says. “We weren’t restricted to the same level as other events. There’s usually one checkpoint after another.”

He didn’t see anything particularly concerning, but he did note that access to the venue was not restricted. “I saw the makeup and hair people arrive an hour early. Hindsight is always 20/20. I never felt unsafe, but there wasn’t the same intense checks that I’ve had on other red carpets like the Golden Globes, where there were three or four checkpoints and barcodes being scanned, not just paper tickets. There was a real buzz of security around the venue.”

He praised the work of the Secret Service. “The Secret Service moved incredibly fast. Anyone who says it was a failure is ridiculous. It was a success and there were no deaths. There will always be criticism.” They were soon taken backstage and the scene descended into “chaos.”

Did Perlman, as a mentalist, foresee the tragedy that was about to occur?

“I’ve seen the memes and jokes write themselves. As a mentalist, I’m going to spend the rest of my life thinking that I never thought that would happen,” he says, lighthearted about the online chatter, saying he should have predicted what happened. “First, I’m not a psychic, and I wish I were. Second, my job is not to assess security threats. I entertain and create memorable events.”

Now that everyone is safe and the adrenaline rush is over, he can look back on that night with a little more perspective. “Bittersweet is how I would describe it. When you go through something like this, it’s surreal when it happens. You feel like you’re in some kind of movie. There’s a sense that I’m okay, my wife is okay, and of course the president is okay.”

His first fear was not that it was a gunman, but that it was a bomb. “I was bracing myself because I thought the room was going to explode,” he says. His wife was across the room. “Her seat was pretty bad,” he says, but he planned to move her to the center of the room during the performance. “That would have been the worst possible position. She would have been in the middle of the podium at the show. So that was a silver lining,” he says.

He admitted that he was thinking about the shows he had scheduled. “That’s what I really wanted people to talk about,” he says. “The best show of my life.”

Perlman says he will be back for the postponed event

The Mentalist has not balked at the idea of returning to the dinner, but President Trump has said he wants to reschedule the dinner within 30 days. “For sure,” he says, but admits logistics are an issue. “This is a huge event to hold in 30 days. If I could move earth, water, and oceans, I would too.”

He would probably change the great show he had planned. “I don’t know if we’ll be able to do exactly the same show. I think it’ll be similar, but it won’t be the same. We’ll have to score different points,” he says.

“We have to prove to terrorists and assassins who believe that violence is the answer that they can’t win,” he says. “No events? No football games? No, you have to live your life. It was such an honor to celebrate the First Amendment and freedom of the press and everything that dinner stands for.”

Contributor: Brendan Morrow

Severe weather is expected in areas across the United States. Look where.

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April 26, 2026

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Severe weather is expected in areas across the United States. Look where.

Severe weather is expected to spread across much of the country through the first half of next week, potentially causing everything from flash floods, tornadoes and hail to high winds, wildfires and snow.

A “very active spring weather pattern” is expected for the central United States through Sunday, April 26, and into early next week, according to the National Weather Service, with strong winds and large hail threatening Kansas and Oklahoma.

“A complex weather scenario is unfolding today and into tonight, making the threat of very large hail and tornadoes more certain across Kansas tonight,” the NWS Storm Prediction Center posted on Sunday. “A conditional serious threat will extend south into Oklahoma.”

Flash floods threaten Midwest

Excessive rain can also lead to flash flooding. Sunday advisories are in effect for eastern Kansas, western Missouri, southern Iowa and Nebraska. On Monday, April 27, eastern Iowa and northern Illinois, including urban areas around Chicago, faced a “slight risk of excessive rainfall,” the NWS reported.

AccuWeather senior meteorologist Dan Pydinowski said Monday’s danger zone stretches about 1,000 miles from Mississippi to Wisconsin, with the “greatest threat of damaging storms” over the St. Louis area.

The NWS has also issued a winter weather warning for mountain ranges in Montana, Wyoming and Colorado, where some high-elevation areas could see half a foot to a foot of snow.

The National Weather Service in Pueblo, Colorado, predicts “winter weather will rapidly arrive late (Sunday night) into Monday morning with a mix of fog, freezing drizzle, and light snow.” Commuters should use caution Monday morning as ice is expected to build up on roads.

Tornado warning until Monday

Sunday’s storm system is expected to move east into Iowa, Missouri, Illinois and other areas in the central Mississippi Valley by Monday, April 27, bringing the potential for “large hail, strong to strong winds, and strong tornadoes,” the NWS said.

“Some particularly dangerous, long-track tornadoes are possible,” the Weather Channel noted. In another post on April 27, the magazine added, “Tornado intensities can reach up to EF3 or higher, and the threat continues throughout the night, so people facing a severe threat need a reliable way to receive alerts at bedtime.”

Oklahoma is still recovering after a series of tornadoes injured 10 people and damaged multiple homes Thursday, April 23, across Braman and Enid, home to Vance Air Force Base.

In a post on X at the time, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt urged residents in affected areas to “watch the weather, follow local warnings, and evacuate immediately if directed.”

Extreme fire danger also plays a role

Meanwhile, eastern New Mexico and far western Texas are also under very dangerous fire weather warnings. Low humidity and high temperatures, along with wind gusts up to 90 mph, are expected to continue into Sunday night.

The red flag warning will remain in effect until 9 p.m. local time Sunday, according to the ABC affiliate in Amarillo, Texas.

As inflation returns, should you consider I-bonds?

Economy

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April 26, 2026

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As inflation returns, should you consider I-bonds?

Savers spooked by the recent stock market downturn and soaring inflation may want to take a look at I Bonds.

Anyone who drives past a gas station will see prices skyrocketing, and depending on how the Iran war unfolds, inflation could even heat up. On February 28, the United States and Israel launched an unexpected wide-ranging airstrike against Iran.

The “I” in Series I savings bonds stands for inflation. The idea is to use an I Bond to protect your savings from inflation. The overall interest rate on an I bond may rise or fall every six months after you purchase the bond, based on changes in inflation.

I-Bonds can be used partly as emergency savings and partly as a conservative holding for investors who want to protect a portion of their portfolio from dramatic stock market declines.

Inflation rate reached highest level in two years

For months, I’ve heard savers say they’re more likely to let go of the high-yield I bonds they bought years ago than buy new bonds. After all, inflation has fallen significantly since peaking at a 40-year high of 9.1% in June 2022.

And that story probably would have continued if not for the latest inflation shock.

However, given the recent spike in inflation, savers may still reconsider selling these I bonds. And if you perhaps need to release some I bonds to cover the bills, you should be especially careful to make sure you are releasing the right bonds.

“People were definitely losing interest in I bonds,” said David Enna, who founded Tipswatch.com and regularly tracks government bonds adjusted for inflation.

All that has changed in recent weeks as inflation accelerated.

On Friday, April 10th, we got our first glimpse of the latest inflation picture when the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Consumer Price Index for March.

Over the past 12 months, consumer prices have risen quite sharply to 3.3%. In contrast, CPI rose 2.4% in February compared to the same month last year.

Gasoline prices in March rose 18.9% over the past 12 months. Fuel oil prices rose 44.2% year-on-year, according to details in a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report released on April 10.

Gasoline prices rose 21.2% from the previous month.

This sudden spike in inflation and concerns about future price increases for all types of goods will likely give inflation-linked U.S. savings bonds a bit of a boost in the near term.

Enna says if you buy an I Bond between May and October, you’re talking about an estimated annual interest rate of 4.26% that applies for the first six months.

All I-bonds will benefit from inflation-related interest rate changes in the coming months.

For example, in 2022, I-bond interest rates skyrocketed, causing so much excitement that the TreasuryDirect.gov website even experienced intermittent slowdowns during a last-minute rush to buy I-bonds at that time.

The annual interest rate for I bonds purchased from November 2022 to April 2023 was 6.89%. This interest rate applies for the first six months after purchasing the Series I Savings Bond. The same bond with a fixed rate of 0.4% now has a six-month annualized rate of 3.53%.

Those who follow I bonds like Ena know that the March CPI, typically released in April, is an important piece of the puzzle in estimating the new interest rate that will apply to I bonds purchased between May and October.

“March inflation marks the end of a six-month series that resets floating interest rates on I-bonds on May 1,” Enna wrote recently. He noted that the new I-bond rates starting in May will be based on non-seasonally adjusted inflation rates from October 2025 to March 2026.

New interest rates for savings bonds are announced on May 1st and November 1st of each year.

Reasons why bond interest rates are on the rise

There are two components to an I-bond. A fixed interest rate over the 30-year life of the savings bond, and a variable interest rate that adjusts every six months after you purchase the I-Bond. If you purchase an I Bond in June, the floating rate will adjust in December.

Before the Iran war began in late February, Enna didn’t have high expectations for I-bond rates. In fact, he expected interest rates on I bonds to drop considerably.

Before the Iran war, Enna said he would have confidently told savers that the floating interest rate on I-bonds was likely to fall to about 2% on May 1 from the current 3.12%. This variable interest rate is important to anyone who owns an I bond, regardless of when it was purchased.

Then, again before the war, the Treasury would likely tinker with fixed interest rates, perhaps lowering them to 0.8% from the current 0.9%, he said. This fixed rate applies for the remaining term of the 30-year bond.

Anna said if these estimates hold true, the overall interest rate on I bonds issued between May and October would be around 2.81%, down from the current 4.03%.

“After the war broke out, real yields recovered quite a bit,” Enna said.

“Inflation was obviously very high. That drove up all these numbers.”

Enna now predicts that the new inflation-adjusted floating rate for the I Bond will be 3.34%, up from the current 3.12%. For I bonds purchased between May and October, he expected the overall interest rate to be 4.26% if the fixed rate remained at 0.9%, and he still expects that to be the case. The fixed interest rate is the same as that of I bonds purchased from November 2025 to April 2026.

All I-Bonds ultimately carry a variable interest rate of 3.34% per annum for six months. When the new floating rate starts for individual savers depends on the first month the bond was purchased. Please note that after purchasing an I Bond, the inflation rate will be adjusted every six months.

“Everyone wants to get their hands on an i-bond now. The question is when?” Enna said.

Enna argues that many people underestimate how effective I Bonds can be for part of your savings, especially your emergency savings.

“That cash is there, ready to spend, but always rising with inflation. It’s a very safe investment,” Enna said.

How do I buy I-Bonds?

Each year, savers can put up to $10,000 each into an electronic I Bond that is purchased and maintained on a federal government website called TreasuryDirect.gov.

Therefore, I-Bond enthusiasts try to determine the best time of the year to purchase I-Bonds. They often argue over whether fixed interest rates will go up or down when interest rates are announced on May 1st or November 1st.

According to Enna, it’s usually wise to buy I bonds later in the month. For example, if you buy an I bond on April 20th, you will earn interest for the entire month of April.

In contrast, it’s often best to sell during the first few days of the month. For example, if you redeem your I-Bond on April 20th, you will lose all the interest you paid in April.

Looking ahead, Enna said he expects the I-bond rate announced on November 1 to be a fixed rate higher than 0.9%, possibly in the 1% or slightly higher range.

It’s hard to know how much inflation will heat up

Mr Ena said it would be interesting to watch inflation trends over the next six months.

“We are entering a new era of inflation. It’s hard to predict and hard to know where it’s going,” Ena said. He acknowledged that he has always had trouble predicting inflation.

But now it’s clear that inflation is back in the spotlight.

“Inflation is high and will accelerate this year as the Iran war increases energy and other prices,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, told USA Today Network’s Detroit Free Press.

Zandi said inflation, as measured by the Personal Consumption Expenditure Price Index, is currently near 3% and will approach 4% in the second half of this year. The Fed’s inflation target is 2%.

Zandi expects inflation to rise thanks to higher energy prices, the continued impact of higher tariffs, and the expansion of AI, which many expect will initially contribute to inflation.

As for I-bonds, you still have a short window to buy them in April, for example around April 28th, before the new interest rates take effect.

Enna said investors who bought I-Bonds in April would see a six-month annualized return of 4.03%, followed by a six-month annualized return of 4.26%. In that case, he said, he could end up receiving an estimated 4.16% over 12 months.

However, keep in mind that the fixed interest rate on the I Bond may reset on May 1st and we won’t know until the Treasury makes an official announcement.

I Things to consider when selling bonds

However, if you are considering selling an I bond, check the interest rate you are receiving on that particular bond.

Paying attention to the fixed interest rate of I Bonds is something that novice savers don’t realize is important. After all, who would imagine that you would need a very detailed chart to explain which fixed rate applied to which batch of I-bonds issued at any given time? However, such charts exist online.

Oddly enough, I Bonds can carry any type of fixed interest rate over a 30-year bond life, depending on when you buy them. And the chart certainly spells it out in very small print.

Issued in September 1998, the 1st Series I Notes continue to carry a fixed interest rate of 3.4%. I-Bonds purchased from May 2000 to October 2000 have a fixed rate of 3.6%, which is the highest fixed rate ever offered for an I-Bond.

On the contrary, there is a long list of I-bonds issued in various years with a fixed interest rate of 0%.

For example, a fixed rate of 0% applies to the long term of I-bonds purchased from May 2020 to October 2022. In this case, you will only receive variable inflation for a specific six-month period.

In contrast, I bonds issued between November 2023 and October 2024 had a fixed interest rate of 1.3%.

Ideally, if you plan to cash out some of your I-bonds, you might consider selling the batch at a fixed rate of 0% and holding on to something that will continue to pay a fixed rate of interest no matter where inflation goes.

If you sell your I Bond before you have held it for five years, there will be a small penalty charge.

If you cash out your I Bond within five years, you lose the last three months of interest. The TreasuryDirect.gov site provides an example: “If you cash out your bond after 18 months, you’ll earn the first 15 months of interest.”

After five years, the interest penalty will disappear and the loan can be redeemed at any time, Enna said.

Cashing out a savings bond means that most people must report all the interest earned on the bond over time in the year they cash out the bond. For those converting large amounts of bonds into cash, consulting with a tax professional first to review your tax situation may be key.

“You will have to pay taxes when you redeem your money,” Enna said.

Enna personally sells her 0% fixed rate I-Bonds and reinvests them into higher fixed rate I-Bonds.

“There’s nothing left of them, but there are some 0.1% and 0.2% versions that could be rolled over,” he said.

The threat of inflation remains real, especially given the presence of petroleum derivatives in everything from medical equipment to textiles to furniture. And sure enough, we’ve been ordering quite a bit online lately and getting almost everything delivered. This can lead to all sorts of price increases.

Inflation causes pain on so many levels. But i-bonds could have a new lease of life as savers can get some protection from inflation.

Contact personal finance columnist Susan Tompol: stompor@freepress.com. follow himr X @tompor.

White House dinner suspect was Caltech graduate

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April 26, 2026

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White House dinner suspect was Caltech graduate

The man suspected of opening fire at the April 25 White House Correspondents’ Association dinner appeared on Los Angeles TV news in 2017 demonstrating a prototype wheelchair.

Cole Thomas Allen, who has not been formally identified by authorities but whose identity was told to USA TODAY by a federal law enforcement official familiar with the investigation on April 26, appeared on a KABC-TV segment about an invention conference aimed at improving the lives of seniors.

Mr. Allen demonstrated a wheelchair emergency brake prototype he developed during the segment. USA TODAY has reached out to KABC-TV for comment.

Allen’s LinkedIn account shows a post that says he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from California Institute of Technology in 2017. Caltech spokeswoman Kathy Svitil previously acknowledged the records of an undergraduate named Cole Allen, who graduated in 2017, but declined to release further information.

Authorities allege Cole charged into the Washington Hilton security checkpoint with multiple weapons before gunshots rang out, injuring a Secret Service agent. President Donald Trump attended the dinner for the first time as president. The event was also attended by several distinguished guests, including Cabinet members and Vice President J.D. Vance.

Authorities say suspect is not cooperating

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced on April 26 that the 31-year-old suspect will be charged with multiple charges related to the April 27 shooting.

In an interview with CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” Blanche said law enforcement is still gathering information on how the gunman obtained the gun found at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner and that the suspect is “not actively cooperating” with authorities.

Blanche told “Fox News Sunday” and NBC News that investigators are looking into the suspect’s emails and other posts. He did not elaborate on what authorities have revealed so far.

A senior law enforcement official briefed on the investigation on both coasts told USA TODAY on April 26 that the FBI is leading the criminal investigation into the shooting, and the Secret Service is focusing on the suspect’s behavioral profile.

That includes what exactly triggered this man, what brought him to Washington, and whether there is a potential risk of additional attacks, as is often the case after a presidential assassination attempt.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity. He was not authorized to speak publicly about the ongoing investigation involving federal authorities and police in Washington, D.C., where the suspect lived, and the Los Angeles suburb of Torrance, California.

Possible triggers being considered include the Trump administration’s response to the Iran war, rising gas and other prices, or personal animosity toward the president’s administration, the person said. Sources told USA TODAY that for now, authorities don’t know the answers to those questions. But officials said the investigation is making progress, obtaining subpoenas and searching for digital evidence through such means as suspects’ phones and other electronic devices.

Michael Jackson movie’s amazing box office revenue revealed

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April 26, 2026

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Michael Jackson movie’s amazing box office revenue revealed

The Michael Jackson movie overcame poor reviews and production problems to achieve a record opening weekend box office.

It’s a thriller!

Michael Jackson’s biopic “Michael” overcame poor reviews and production issues to achieve record opening weekend box office sales in Japan. The film, which stars Jackson’s real-life nephew Jaafar Jackson as the iconic singer, grossed $97 million domestically in its opening weekend, according to ComScore estimates released Sunday, April 26.

This is without a doubt the biggest opening weekend ever for a music biopic. The previous record was held by the 2015 NWA film Straight Outta Compton, which opened to $60 million domestically. Bohemian Rhapsody, starring Rami Malek as Queen singer Freddie Mercury, also premiered in 2018 with $51 million and has since gone on to collect more than $900 million worldwide.

Among the films released in 2026, “Michael” had the second-biggest opening of the year at the domestic box office, trailing only “Super Mario Galaxy Movie” and surpassing “Project Hail Mary.” The film grossed a staggering $217.4 million worldwide.

“Michael” covers the King of Pop’s life from the 1960s to the late 1980s, ending before he faced his first child molestation allegations. Puck and Variety reported that the film was originally planned to dramatize the story of Jackson being accused of molesting 13-year-old Jordan Chandler in 1993, which Jackson denied and the film portrayed Chandler as innocent.

But Pack reported that it was only after these scenes were filmed that producers discovered a legal agreement years ago that prohibited them from portraying the Chandler family in movies. This reportedly resulted in extensive reshoots, and the film’s third act had to be significantly reworked.

The final theatrical version focuses on Jackson’s musical success and difficult relationship with his father, Joe Jackson (Colman Domingo). This led to criticism that the film ignored most of the controversies of Jackson’s life and attempted to whitewash history.

“Michael” received mostly negative reviews, with critics claiming that the film lacked substance and had little to offer other than faithfully recreated music videos and concert scenes.

But a focus on Jackson’s music and a genuine celebration of his career may have been what fans were hoping for. So far, audiences seem to have embraced “Michael” differently than critics, giving it an average rating of A- in CinemaScore’s poll of moviegoers. Over the weekend, some fans shared videos of audience members turning the screening into a full-blown dance party, jamming along to Jackson classics in theaters.

With a strong opening, “Michael” is well-positioned to spawn a sequel, which is teased at the end of the film with text that reads, “His story continues.” But it’s unclear whether a potential second film will seek to acknowledge the abuse allegations against Jackson, including those that were at the center of his 2005 trial in which he was acquitted on all charges.

Also, an open question is whether “Michael” can overcome its negative reviews and become a contender for an Oscar in 2027. Musical biopics tend to do well at the Academy Awards, with films such as “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “Elvis” and “Completely Unknown” garnering nominations in recent years. Malek won the Best Actor Oscar for his role as Mercury, while Austin Butler and Timothée Chalamet were nominated for their roles as Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan, respectively.

If Jaafar Jackson is nominated, he will join an exclusive club of actors who have won an Oscar for their first film.

Thom Tillis welcomes end of Jerome Powell investigation, supports Warsh

Economy

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April 26, 2026

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Thom Tillis welcomes end of Jerome Powell investigation, supports Warsh

Sen. Thom Tillis on April 26 welcomed the end of the criminal investigation into the current chairman of the Federal Reserve Board and said he stands ready to support the nomination of Kevin Warsh to the role.

Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, had denounced the investigation, announced in January, as a politically motivated move by the White House and a threat to the central bank’s independence.

The investigation was ostensibly about cost overruns in the Fed’s renovation projects, but many officials, including Mr. Tillis, believed it was a pretext. President Donald Trump has repeatedly pressured Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to cut interest rates, but Powell has refused.

“This is a question about whether the Fed can continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions, or whether monetary policy will instead be guided by political pressure and intimidation,” Powell said in a video recorded at the start of the investigation.

President Trump nominated Warsh, a former Fed director, in January, but Tillis said he would block the confirmation process until the investigation is complete.

On April 24, the Justice Department announced it was closing its investigation and directing the Fed’s inspector general to investigate cost overruns.

“I have been clear from the beginning: The Justice Department’s criminal investigation into Chairman Powell is a serious threat to the Fed’s independence, and it needed to be concluded before I could support Kevin Warsh’s confirmation,” Tillis said in a social media post on April 26.

“I take the Department of Justice at its word. The investigation is closed and any appeal of Judge Boasberg’s decision will be based on legal principles and not for the purpose of reissuing subpoenas,” he added. The investigation will only be resumed if a criminal complaint is filed by the inspector general.

Warsh appeared before the Senate Banking Committee on April 21 as the first step in the confirmation process. Tillis, a member of the committee, used his allotted time to criticize the White House’s pressure tactics.

The Fed’s Monetary Policy Committee is scheduled to meet on April 29th.

What we know about press dinner shooting suspect Cole Thomas Allen

Politics

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April 26, 2026

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What we know about press dinner shooting suspect Cole Thomas Allen

Federal law enforcement officials confirmed to USA TODAY that the suspect in custody is Cole Thomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California.

The gunman who opened fire at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner took a cross-country train to the nation’s capital before checking into his hotel room, where he targeted President Donald Trump and senior administration officials in an attack, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced Sunday.

Blanche and other officials did not release the name of the man detained in connection with the shooting. Federal law enforcement officials confirmed to USA TODAY that the suspect is Cole Thomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California. Federal agents were seen flocking to Allen’s home in Torrance after the April 25 shooting.

Appearing on NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” Blanche said the suspect traveled from Los Angeles, stopped in Chicago, and then arrived in Washington, D.C., by train. He added that the attackers were believed to have been guests at the Washington Hilton, where the glitzy annual event was being held.

Authorities said the suspect, armed with multiple guns and knives, charged through a security checkpoint before shots were fired. Thousands of guests in tuxedos and gowns fell to the floor as First Lady Trump and senior administration officials were led away by Secret Service agents. One of the agents was shot by the assailants, but was protected by a bulletproof vest. There were no other injuries.

Blanche told NBC News that the gunman “intended to target members of the administration, possibly including the president,” adding: “We’re still investigating the motive, which will take at least a few days.”

Here’s what we know about the suspected shooter.

The gunman did not cooperate with investigators and will be arraigned on Monday.

Blanche said the suspect was not cooperating with the investigation as of Sunday morning.

Blanche told “Fox News Sunday” and NBC News that investigators are looking into the suspect’s emails and other posts. He did not elaborate on what authorities have revealed so far.

The gunman will be arraigned Monday on multiple charges, including assault on a federal officer and discharging a firearm with intent to kill a federal officer, Blanche said.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said she would not rule out additional charges, including terrorism-related charges.

“If there is something like that, we will find it and submit it,” she said.

Suspect acted alone, barely managed to cross security perimeter: officials

President Trump described the gunman as a “lone wolf” and said he was brought down by “very brave members of the Secret Service.” The president posted on his Truth Social account a video of a person rushing through a security checkpoint and another photo of a man lying on the ground with his hands tied behind his back.

Blanche said in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that authorities “immediately subdued” the suspect after he was “shot several times.”

“Based on what we know from video surveillance and witnesses who were at the scene, it appears (he) just barely crossed the line,” Blanche said. The gunman did not arrive at the hotel’s International Ballroom, where a media gala was being held.

What we know about Cole Thomas Allen

Allen listed his job as a teacher when donating $25 to Kamala Harris in 2024. He is registered to vote in California with “no party preference.”

His LinkedIn profile shows he was a part-time teacher at C2 Education in Torrance, California. C2 is a national tutoring and college counseling provider.

Allen posted on LinkedIn that he earned a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from California Institute of Technology in 2017 and a master’s degree in computer science from California State University, Dominguez Hills in 2025. Caltech spokeswoman Kathy Svitil confirmed the records of an undergraduate named Cole Allen, who graduated in 2017, but declined to release further information.

California State University Dominguez Hills spokeswoman Lily McKibbin said a student named Cole Allen will graduate with a master’s degree in 2025, but declined to confirm that he was the suspect identified in the shooting.

“CSUDH unequivocally condemns this act of violence, as well as all forms of violence. Such acts betray our values as a university and our commitment to promoting a safe environment for the campus community,” McKibbin wrote in an email.

In December 2024, Allen’s employer, C2, named him Teacher of the Month and posted a photo on the group’s social media. Before taking that job, Allen listed his occupation as a self-employed video game developer. A PC game he developed was posted on the website Steam for download in association with his name.

Before that, Allen said he worked as an engineer for South Pasadena-based IJK Controls for a year. Prior to that, he was a teaching assistant at the California Institute of Technology, according to his LinkedIn.

Melania Trump’s birthday falls after WHCA dinner evacuation

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April 26, 2026

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Melania Trump’s birthday falls after WHCA dinner evacuation

Melania Trump will celebrate her 56th birthday on April 26th.
She left her mark on history as the only naturalized first lady.

Today, April 26th, is First Lady Melania Trump’s birthday.

On April 25, President Trump was evacuated from the White House Correspondents’ Dinner after gunshots were heard at the hotel where the event was being held, which the president described as a “pretty traumatic experience” for her.

Trump largely kept a low profile during his first year in the White House, but throughout 2026 he has been in the spotlight for his documentary, his surprise announcement on Jeffrey Epstein, and his historic appearance at the United Nations Security Council.

Melania Trump turns 56 this year. Last year, she attended Pope Francis’ funeral on her birthday. Here’s what you need to know about the first lady’s birthday.

What has Melania Trump done as first lady?

In 2025, Melania Trump made a brief appearance after defending the Take It Down Act, which was signed into law on May 19th. During the summer, she took a break from the public eye for nearly two months and appeared at an AI event in September. She continued to host many events on holidays as well.

But we’re seeing more of the 2026 first lady. She heavily promoted the documentary “Melania,” which was released in January. She recently made history as the first first lady to serve as President of the United Nations Security Council. She convened an international summit for future education initiatives, where she unveiled a humanoid robot that helps educate students.

In particular, her announcement at a press conference in which she denied any friendship with Mr. Epstein and called on Congress to hold hearings for survivors shocked the world.

As highlighted at the First Lady Luncheon on April 23, Melania Trump also recently met with members of Congress to discuss legislation to improve the foster care system.

The first lady posted an excerpt on social media from her memoir “Melania,” which tells the story of how she met her husband.

She said she met Donald Trump at the Kit Kat Club on a Saturday night in September 1998 while attending a party with friends.

“‘Hello, I’m Donald Trump,’ the man said as he sat down at my table. ‘Nice to meet you.'” I recognized the name and knew he was a businessman or celebrity, but I didn’t know much else. “He held out his hand to shake mine,” she wrote in the book. “His eyes were full of curiosity and interest, and he took the opportunity to sit down next to me and strike up a conversation.”

She also wrote that although she didn’t think much of him at the time because he was a beautiful date, she was “drawn to him by his magnetism.”

The two married in 2005 and had a child, Barron Trump, the following year.

Is Melania Trump a US citizen?

Yes, she is the only naturalized First Lady.

What is Melania Trump’s nationality?

Melania Trump was born in Slovenia.

How old is Melania Trump?

Melania Trump will turn 56 on April 26th, and Donald Trump will turn 79.

How tall is Melania Trump?

First Lady Melania Trump is 5 feet 11 inches tall.

Contributors: Jay Stahl, Christopher Cann, Rebecca Moerin, USA TODAY

Kinsey Crowley is a Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Please contact KCrowley@usatodayco.com. follow her X (Twitter), thread, blue sky and TikTok.

Tory Burch told women to be ambitious. These women then made millions

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April 26, 2026

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Tory Burch told women to be ambitious. These women then made millions

Designer Tory Burch says of her success: “It was breathtaking in a hard and beautiful way.”

In December 2019, Kathy Abel was having a good time. She was trying to run two small businesses when her only employee, a part-time worker, emailed her to take a full-time job elsewhere.

Then the new coronavirus hit. Her mother was hospitalized during the first wave, and her father suffered a heart attack and was airlifted to a nearby hospital.

Her parents slowly recovered. Abel’s business did not immediately recover.

Clients at her PR marketing and consulting firm were paralyzed, not knowing when the world would open up. Her women’s outdoor apparel company, Wild Rye, also faced uncertainty. “We’ve received emails from retailers threatening to cancel large orders because they don’t know what’s going to happen in the future,” she says. But as people began to escape their homes and go outside, equipment was needed and wild rye began to grow. Mr. Abel shut down his consulting business and gave it his all. The Idaho-based CEO now has 11 full-time employees and generated more than $4 million in revenue last year, despite the impact of tariffs.

Hard work, vision, and grit all got her there. And a little help from someone.

“Negativity is noise”

In 2017, Tory Burch participated in a sleek black and white ad campaign featuring celebrities such as Reese Witherspoon, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jon Hamm and Gwyneth Paltrow. They weren’t modeled after her huge fashion line, known for its “preppy bohemian” style, double-T logo, ballet flats and tunics. The campaign was titled #EmbraceAmbition.

It was a kind of compensation. In an interview about her success, Birch was asked whether she would describe herself as ambitious (“in a very rude way,” she says now).

Birch demurred. When this article was published, a friend gave me simple feedback: “Great article, but I can’t shy away from that word.”

“The moment she said that, something switched in me. Of course we need to come together and follow through on our ambitions,” Birch said in a video call from her sunny office before boarding a plane to Paris.

Hillary Clinton had just lost the presidential election. There were questions about how ambitious women should or could be.

But Birch answered the phone. When she called people to ask them to join the campaign, “the response was overwhelmingly yes,” she says. “Everyone who called felt at the time that this was kind of like opening a door for them,” she says.

When it was announced, there were naysayers. “I’ve been very disliked in every aspect of this company,” she says. “My parents used the phrase, ‘Negativity is noise,’ and that really helped me.”

Birch also heard something else. I can’t even tell you how many people said, “[The campaign]really helped me think differently about my own life, my own journey, my feelings about what I’m doing and what I want to do.” ”

Abel remembered that. “I love that motto,” she says. “I grew up being an athlete, but I was also kind of a super nerd. I felt like I was made fun of because I was a hard worker and ambitious. So that really resonated with me.”

This was one of the reasons she applied to the Tory Burch Foundation Fellows Program, which at the time offered $5,000 grants, networking, and other support to female founders. In the midst of a pandemic, a family health crisis, and the business challenges she’s facing, Abel thought she had another interview for the program. Birch then appeared on the screen and told the group that they had been chosen as fellows.

“It was just this moment where, okay, things are starting to look up,” Abel says. “This is exactly what I need, when I need it.”

“Keep going and get it done.”

Birch started her fashion line in 2004, but the industry has changed dramatically in the two decades since. Social media, fast fashion, e-commerce, supply chain disruption, the onslaught of AI, and other factors are making fashion even more difficult. This is despite cultural phenomena like The Devil Wears Prada and its long-awaited sequel making fashion more accessible and mainstream.

But for Birch, fashion has always been something of a Trojan horse. “My business plan was to build a global lifestyle brand to start a foundation,” Birch says. “I don’t know why I was so sure of that idea, but it just came to me instinctively.”

She said that with every pitch. One investor quickly shut her down. “He basically looked at me and said, ‘Don’t ever say that again.’ He didn’t position it as a charity, but he didn’t need to,” she recalls. He made it clear that business and purpose are incompatible.

That wasn’t the case back then. This was before Tom’s and Warby Parker, before Dove’s Self-Esteem Fund, before Tom’s and Warby Parker pledged to donate a pair of shoes or glasses for every shoe purchase.

Birch remained resolute. She launched her own fashion line, and five years later, before that, she says, “I honestly didn’t have any money” to launch the Tory Burch Foundation.

In its early days, the foundation provided mentoring, coaching, and low-interest small business loans. We started our fellowship program in 2015 and are quietly working with a small group of 10 entrepreneurs.

Now, Birch is beginning to understand the scale of what she first envisioned. Yes, she remains one of the few women at the top of a cutthroat industry that typically glorifies men (she’s been named to Forbes’ Most Powerful Women list six times). The company she founded is worth an estimated $3.2 billion.

But she always wants to focus on other founders. This year, the Foundation will add 120 Fellows. They announced a goal to add $1 billion to the economy through women entrepreneurs by 2030. Total to date: $342 million.

Ambitious? without hesitation. In a world where less than 2% of VC funding goes to women-led companies (and that number is shrinking, even though data shows women-led companies have higher returns on average), “we’re not making enough progress,” Birch says. “We just have to keep at it and get it done.”

Pamela Anderson, Marcello Hernandez to appear at Tory Burch’s 2026 NYFW

Tory Burch presented her artful Fall/Winter 2026 collection surrounded by artwork at Sotheby’s Auction House in New York City.

From fashion to empanadas?

Pilar Guzman is the founder and CEO of Half Moon Empanadas in Miami. All they make is empanadas. “At the airport, it’s one product, one brand,” she says. She later added, as an example of her training as a 2021 fellow, “We’re also building something even bigger. We’re working to make empanadas an iconic part of America’s food scene, while also opening doors and supporting our teams and communities.”

Fellows often talk about the community they found through the foundation: other women who understand what it’s like to juggle a family and a startup. Women who know how difficult it is to raise funds. Women who understand how selling take-out food that can be eaten with just one hand to customers rushing through the airport can be a successful business.

Guzman had the receipt. She grew her business to $3 million in revenue. However, growth stagnated. “Very successful people have said to me, ‘It’s crazy to expand at an airport, Pilar, you’re crazy,'” she says. This year, she opened four new stores, including Boston Logan and JFK, has 200 employees (who she boasts pays nearly $10 an hour more than the industry average), and is on track to hit $30 million in revenue this year.

“Much of the ‘female empowerment’ positioning in the industry as a whole, and especially in fashion, is a marketing smokescreen for the empowerment label,” says Megan Mason, branding strategist and founder of Elle Collective. “Real economic impact requires a comprehensive and intentional architecture.”

The Tory Burch Foundation “absolutely” built it, she says. This fellowship focuses on early-stage businesses with a minimum of $75,000 in annual revenue. The intensive 12-month program includes a financial bootcamp to drive sustainable growth, guidance on designing a pitch deck, creating a target investor list, and assistance hosting a conference. To date, the company has 500 fellows and average annual revenue of more than $2 million, nearly 30% more than the average women-owned business, according to LendingTree data. (Entrepreneurs remain lifelong companions and are mentored at every stage of their company’s growth.)

“Torrey plays to his strengths. As an entrepreneur, he knows what it takes,” said Jason Kelly, author of “The New Tycoons” and co-host of The Deal. “There’s also a very strong flywheel effect because she’s building this great network of people who have a stake in each other’s success, which has a compounding effect. They’re given this opportunity and they’re going to pass it on to the next generation of entrepreneurs.”

Beau Wangtrakuldee founded Philadelphia-based AmorSui after a chemical spill in the lab where he worked burned off his standard lab coat. Two years ago, she ended up needing a $25,000 loan after signing a $1 million contract with the VA. She received an interest-free loan from the foundation, which she helped finance, leading to an additional $5 million deal.

Entrepreneurs who participate in the program grow faster, exceed $1 million in annual revenue, 10 times the national average, and stay in business longer, according to the foundation. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 91% of businesses are still in business after five years, compared to the national average of 50%.

Only recently has Birch, now the company’s executive chairman and chief creative officer, decided to open up more about the hard work he’s been through. So women like Kathy Abel, Pilar Guzmán, and Beau Wantrakurdi can see what’s possible. “The last 20 years have been 20 amazing years. Exhausting, challenging and sometimes brutal,” she says.

Six or seven years ago, she called an investor and was told to never confuse purpose with business. “I had just been to a Forbes event, and I said, ‘You know what? They said purpose and business go hand in hand.’ And he said, ‘Okay, what do you want?’ And I said, ‘Obviously, let’s check the basics.’

He sent a check that year and every year since.

Wendy Naugle is USA TODAY’s entertainment editor. Follow her on Instagram @wendy_naugle.

Should you max out your 401(k)? The answer may surprise you

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April 26, 2026

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Should you max out your 401(k)? The answer may surprise you

Everyone is different, and so is the decision to retire.

Dana George
|The Motley Fool

There’s no denying the role 401(k)s have played in saving for retirement. For example, Fidelity Investments looked at its clients’ accounts in 2025 and found that 512,000 of them will become millionaires from 401(k) contributions alone. It’s only for Fidelity account holders.

In other words, retirement accounts play an important role in how ordinary Americans plan for their retirement.

A compelling case for getting the most out of your 401(k)

Here are some of the benefits of maxing out your retirement accounts.

Tax savings: Every dollar you contribute to your 401(k) reduces your taxable income for the year.
Employer matching: If your employer offers to match a portion of your monthly contributions, it doesn’t make much sense to leave that money on the table.
Forced discipline: Contributions to your 401(k) are automatic, so you don’t have the opportunity to spend your money any other way. Willpower is no longer required.
Tax-deferred compounding: Funds contributed to a 401(k) grow without having to pay taxes on interest, dividends, or capital gains, like taxable brokerage accounts.
Protection from creditors: 401(k) assets are protected from lawsuits, creditors, and even bankruptcy in most states.

You may not want to max out your 401(k)

There’s no denying that access to a 401(k) can help you build wealth, but the advice to “max out” your account may not be right for you. Here’s why:

Money is locked up: Funds contributed to a 401(k) generally cannot be accessed without penalty until age 59 1/2. With some exceptions, such as withdrawals for needy people, your money has been largely out of reach for decades.
Some 401(k)s are better than others. Each 401(k) plan runs under its own specific set of rules. If the 401(k) plan you’re offered offers decent investment options or high fees, your best bet may be to only contribute enough to qualify for a company match.
You may wish you had invested more in an after-tax account. After you retire, you may find yourself wishing you had made partial contributions to your 401(k). and Some of it goes into one or two after-tax accounts, from which you can someday withdraw it tax-free.

How to know if you should max out your 401(k)

Before deciding whether to make the most of your account, ask yourself the following questions:

Do you have high-interest debt you need to pay off? If you’re paying more on your debt than you’re earning in your investment account, it may be time to divert some of the funds you’re contributing to pay off that high-interest debt.
Do you have an emergency fund? Ideally, you’ll aim to have an easily accessible emergency fund with enough funds to cover three to six months’ worth of expenses.
Am I aiming for early retirement? If you plan to retire by age 59 1/2, you may want to divert some of the funds you would normally contribute to a 401(k) to an account that you can access penalty-free.

As with most things in life, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. What’s best for you depends entirely on the specifics of your current situation and your future needs.

The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

The Motley Fool is a USA TODAY content partner providing financial news, analysis and commentary designed to help people take control of their financial lives. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.

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Will GA be able to elect Democratic leaders in the midterm elections? Experts talk about the content of public opinion polls

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April 26, 2026

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Will GA be able to elect Democratic leaders in the midterm elections? Experts talk about the content of public opinion polls

Georgia’s midterm election season is in full swing, with voters heading to the polls in next week’s primaries.

Early voting for the primary election begins April 27th, and Election Day is May 19th statewide. A marathon debate will be held over three days starting Sunday, giving candidates across the state a chance to make their final claims.

Dozens of seats, from governor to school board, will be on the ballot this year as the country’s political situation remains tense. Midterm elections are always a referendum on which party is in power, but this year, perhaps more than ever before, Republicans across the country will have to explain their low approval ratings in Washington, D.C.

In the Peach State, retired Brigadier General Sean Harris had the best performance in Democratic history in the recent runoff election in the 14th Congressional District, even if he didn’t deliver a victory in the deep red parts of the state. Trump-supporting Republican District Attorney Clay Fuller won the seat once held by controversial former MAGA star Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Harris’ near-success raises an important question for the rest of the state: Will Georgia lean blue in the midterm elections?

Georgia gubernatorial election poll

An Echelon Insights poll released April 21 showed Democrats leading in both Georgia primary elections.

In the gubernatorial race, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, a Democrat, will likely defeat Brad Raffensperger, Rick Jackson, or Bert Jones, with one of them likely to become the Republican candidate.

According to the poll, Mr. Bottoms won 49% of the vote compared to 43% for Mr. Jones, also beating Mr. Jackson by a tie. Mr. Raffensperger came in first with 46% of the vote to Mr. Bottoms’ 44%.

The poll did not compare the Republican candidate to other potential Democratic candidates, such as Jeff Duncan, Michael Thurmond, and Jason Esteves.

georgia senate polls

Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff is seeking re-election unopposed in the primary for his U.S. Senate seat, but polls also show he has an edge over his Republican challenger in the general midterm election.

Against Buddy Carter, Ossoff won 52% to 43%. In the race against Mike Collins, Ossoff narrowly won with 51% of the vote to Collins’ 44%. The poll did not compare Mr. Ossoff to Mr. Kemp’s favored candidate, Derek Dooley.

But Andra Gillespie, an associate professor of political science at Emory University, cautions against reading too much into the polls. In Georgia, only 407 people were surveyed, with a margin of error of 6.5 percentage points.

“The biggest problem with these polls is that the sample size is low, so with a 6.5 percentage point margin of error, someone would have to lead by more than 13 points to be able to statistically say they’re in the lead,” Gillespie said in an interview with USA TODAY. “If you’re looking for granularity, I think you need a larger sample size.”

That said, given the number of candidates and their name recognition on both sides of the ticket, the primaries in these two races are likely headed for runoffs, Gillespie said. If necessary, a runoff election will be held in June.

“When you have this many candidates, especially when so many candidates have that profile, there’s a very good chance that one of them won’t get 50% of the vote,” Gillespie said. “That means there are two options on the MAGA side and two options on the establishment side for the Republican vote.”

Gillespie said the Democratic Party has “very qualified candidates” who will divide Georgia’s liberal wing.

The special election was a ‘harbinger of Democratic enthusiasm’

While the vote count may not go well, Sean Harris’ turnout in Georgia’s 14th District earlier this month bodes well for Democrats across the state.

“I think the results are indicative of the mood and consistent with some of what people are seeing in some of the national polling that Democrats are more engaged in this election,” Gillespie said. “If there’s more excitement on the Democratic side, you’d expect turnout to go up and voter support for Democratic candidates to increase. After all, in midterm years, it’s not uncommon for the president’s party to lose seats in Congress, so I would expect Democrats to do better than in previous years…I think that bodes well for Democratic enthusiasm.”

The leading candidates in the gubernatorial race appear to be largely united on issues, supporting repealing the six-week heart rate bill, expanding Medicaid, and pausing the development of new AI data centers. But while each candidate has name recognition, each has issues that need to be addressed if they are to win over centrist Republicans.

Keisha Lance Bottoms was the mayor of Atlanta and had a lot of support in the metropolitan area, but she chose to serve only one term before serving in the Biden administration. Jeff Duncan also has a lot of support, but just four years ago, as a Republican, he served as lieutenant governor under Brian Kemp and supported an anti-abortion law that he now plans to repeal. Michael Thurmond has been in politics for decades, working in a variety of fields, but some worry that he doesn’t fit in with the new brand of the Democratic Party, which is ushering in a new generation of leaders. Jason Estevez has been gaining momentum late in the race, but it’s unclear if he has enough name recognition in the state to challenge the top three.

Ossoff is the incumbent in the Senate race and will run unopposed in the primary election with the United Democratic Party on his side. He is campaigning across the state, which Gillespie said is essential to winning. But he’s not just at odds with Republicans. He’s also trying to outperform past Democrats.

“In Sen. Ossoff’s case, the fact that he’s an incumbent may actually be an advantage for him, but he’s going to have to organize in the states and as part of that mobilization effort, part of his winning strategy, he’s going to do better than expected or outperform Kamala Harris and Joe Biden in some of the states that they were expected to lose,” Gillespie said. “So we’re not just winning in blue parts of the state; we’re actually outperforming in red parts of the state. What Sean Harris has done is conceptually prove that this is possible. Now we just need to scale it up and do it in every other Republican congressional district in the state.”

USA TODAY has reached out to the Democratic National Committee for comment on the race and is awaiting a response.

Republicans go back to basics

Republicans within the party and in the state are warning red candidates not to get too comfortable in Georgia.

Governor Kemp said in a recent interview that Republicans have a “tough cycle” ahead of them.

“I’ve been telling many Republicans, no matter who the president is, midterm elections with a Republican president are already tough enough and we’d better stay focused on 2026,” Kemp said. “If we don’t stay as focused as we were back (in 2018), we’re very close to winning again in the Georgia governor’s race and making a comeback in the Senate race, so that’s what we need to focus on.”

After leaving the Trump bubble, Marjorie Taylor Greene has also expressed her dissatisfaction with the party by speaking out about Epstein and the Iran war.

“We can’t afford to spend any amount of money to lie to voters and get them to vote Republican right now,” she wrote in an April 22 post on X in response to Democrats’ victory in Virginia’s redistricting. “If Trump and the Republican Party had made good on their promises, things would have been different.”

Bert Jones and Rick Jackson are both vying for MAGA votes in the gubernatorial race, but only one has the president’s support. Both candidates, who have been leading the Republican Party in polls so far, are spending much of their political capital competing against each other to avoid a runoff.

Governor Kemp’s endorsement has done little to help Derek Dooley, who is trailing Buddy Carter and Mike Collins in the Senate race. While their campaign is primarily focused on the upcoming Democratic race this summer, they are also targeting Ossoff’s voting record and the recent TSA disruption at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

But Republicans are clinging to many of the same talking points they used in the 2020, 2022 and 2024 elections.

“Jon Ossoff was an ally of lawbreakers, fought for men in women’s sports, and tried to block the largest middle-class tax cut in history,” Republican National Committee spokeswoman Emma Hall told USA TODAY in an email. “Keisha Lance Bottoms defunded the police, closed small businesses, and pushed Joe Biden’s radical agenda. The Democratic Party brand is a toxic, failed disaster, and Republicans are looking forward to forcing these crazy businesses to respond to their extremism.”

Gillespie said that among the Republican base, that’s not really the issue in the primary or general election. Let’s talk about the president.

“I think Bert Jones is not just a staunch ally of Trump, but a loyal ally of Trump. So it’s strange that he would try to soften himself. It doesn’t fit his brand, and I don’t think it’s part of his DNA,” Gillespie said. “I think the really interesting strategy is Rick Jackson’s, because he’s new to politics. I’m curious to know whether aligning so squarely with the MAGA platform was a strategic or advantageous choice for him.”

Eileen Wright is an Atlanta Connect reporter for USA Today’s Deep South Connect team, covering the Georgia midterm race. X Find her at @IreneEWright or email her at ismith@usatodayco.com.

Ranking 10th biggest stolen base and best value

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April 26, 2026

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Ranking 10th biggest stolen base and best value

Several teams found potential bargains on Days 2 and 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Injuries and physical measurements were factors that led to some prospects being taken out of the draft.
CB Keonte Scott, selected by the Bucks, may be the biggest bargain of this draft.

The 2026 NFL Draft still feels fresh, but some teams must have come out of the exercise confident they’ve unearthed the latest big bargain. However, only a handful are proven correct.

Making big hits on the second and third days of the draft and generating substantial surplus value could be a fast track to revamping a roster and becoming one of the league’s top contenders. But in reality, a select few players provide the huge returns that every franchise seeks in their selections. Still, this year’s event featured several choices that stood out for their potential payoffs.

Here are the 10 biggest steals of the 2026 NFL Draft.

There is plenty of depth at center this year, with at least four players ranked as close candidates to be starters early in their careers. Two of them, Logan Jones and Jake Slaughter, were eliminated in the second round. Lou hung around much longer, despite not being noticeably behind either player in any phase. The torn anterior cruciate ligament he sustained in October likely weighed on his draft stock. The Bengals could ask veteran Ted Karras to mentor Lue before taking over the Auburn product as Joe Burrow’s pivot long-term.

9. Emmett Johnson, RB, Kansas City Chiefs (5th round)

It was a tough year for the running back group, taking just three in the first three rounds. Johnson was one of the backs who was viewed with skepticism until the Chiefs called up the Nebraska standout midway through Day 3. For runners who don’t have a breakthrough strategy, it may not be easy to achieve great results. But Johnson has the size to evade and barrel through would-be tacklers at point-blank range, and he’s comfortable taking on the heavy workload of a pass catcher. The Chiefs would be wise not to overload Kenneth Walker III, who is used to operating in a timeshare from his time in Seattle, with new talent. That could mean quite a few chances for Johnson early on.

8. Joshua Josephs, Delaware State, Washington Commanders (5th round)

It’s hard to find an edge rusher with enough athleticism to be a real factor in putting pressure on the quarterback after Day 2. Joseph could also be considered an exception. The 6-3, 242-pound edge rusher troubles opposing blockers with his long arms, is quick off the line of scrimmage, and can overwhelm opponents early on. He has little consistency in actually making his way to quarterback and requires a plan built on more than just determination. However, managers could slowly bring him in behind Odafe Oweh and K’Lavon Chaisson, with the latter potentially being replaced after this season.

7. Jayshawn Barham, LB, Dallas Cowboys (3rd round)

Barham offered a less straightforward projection than many of his peers due to his size (6-4, 240 pounds) and limited usage at edge rusher until his final season at Michigan. But what was immediately apparent was his overall talent for creating chaos. Upon transferring to Maryland, his intensity instantly increased and he was able to quickly get to quarterbacks and ball carriers. The Cowboys will start him at off-ball linebacker, where his responsibilities will certainly be more complex than just finding and chasing the ball. But it may not be long before defensive coordinator Christian Parker wants to get more reps for a player who can be a mainstay in opposing backfields.

6. Kyle Lewis, LB/S, Miami Dolphins (4th round)

Louie doesn’t fit into the typical position bucket, so some creativity will be required to get the most out of the 6-0, 220-pound hybrid defender. But for a team with patience and defensive vision, the Pitt product could be a versatile coverage asset and all-around playmaker. The Dolphins are building a team from the ground up, so new head coach Jeff Hafley will be able to find a way to unlock Louie’s dynamic abilities according to his plans.

5. Chandler Rivers, CB, Baltimore Ravens (5th round)

A modest 5-10, 185-pound frame appears to be the only thing standing in the way of Rivers’ professional prospects. But aside from playing against huge targets, experienced and savvy cornerbacks can handle just about anything thrown at them. A move to this slot should alleviate the biggest concerns about his game. In Baltimore, that could mean learning under four-time Pro Bowler Marlon Humphrey as a rookie before potentially replacing him in 2027.

4. Keith Abney II, CB, Detroit Lions (5th round)

With a plethora of talented cornerbacks still available early in the third day, Abney and several other talented coverage players paid for the buyer’s market. His size may have played a big role in his evaluation, and some teams must have doubted whether he could hold up on the outside. However, quarterbacks who target Abney do so at their own peril. His 12 pass breakups last season proved how easily he can find the ball whenever tested. Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Shepard should appreciate his versatility, instincts and physical ability.

3. Emmanuel Preignon, G, Jacksonville Jaguars (3rd round)

The Jaguars’ general manager is the one who engineered one of this year’s more bizarre draft classes, with some head-scratching moves filling the team’s efforts on Days 2 and 3. Still, few would argue with Pregnon’s choice. A sixth-year senior who transferred from USC after starting his career at the University of Wyoming, the 6-4, 314-pound blocker blossomed into an All-American last season. His age and pedestrian athleticism will put him behind top-35 draft picks like Olaiba Vega Ioane, Kieran Rutledge and Chase Visontis. But Preignon is adept at picking holes in ball carriers and is more than capable as a pass protector. He could be a high-end starter, responding to interest in continuing to strengthen Jacksonville’s ground game.

2. Chris Bell, WR, Miami Dolphins (3rd round)

Bell might have had a strong claim to the first round if not for the torn ACL he suffered in November. Instead, his wait was extended until the end of the second day. At 6-2, 220 pounds, he has drawn comparisons to AJ Brown, which are lofty but not unfounded. Like the bulky former Mississippi State receiver, Bell’s usage at Louisville (which consisted primarily of drags and slants) obscured his true ability as a downfield weapon. If he can regain his explosiveness and become a more accurate and sensitive route runner, he could be a nightmare matchup for the Dolphins’ offense, which is starting from scratch.

The Auburn transfer’s breakout season in Miami helped fuel the Hurricanes’ surprising run to the national championship game. But in this year’s draft, Scott seemed to be down for his age — he turns 25 in August — and has only played one year as an elite player. He eventually found the right role from the slot where his talents as an agent of chaos played out, and his best work came as a blitzer. The Buccaneers have cycled through several nickel options in recent years, but the addition of Scott could allow them to move Jacob Parrish to the outside to anchor the secondary. And Todd Bowles’ scheme should allow him to continue producing splash plays at an incredible rate.

Longevity influencer Kayla Barnes-Lentz follows this strict routine

Economy

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April 26, 2026

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Longevity influencer Kayla Barnes-Lentz follows this strict routine

AUSTIN — Overhead lights and lamps in homes change from bright yellow to soft orange. Every room features custom furniture that is free of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Other features include a hyperbaric chamber, a PEMF machine, a sauna with built-in red light therapy, a home gym, and a cold plunge pool. Air purifiers protect the occupants of your home from all harmful substances that enter from the outside. Say what you like about longtime entrepreneur Kayla Burns-Lentz: This woman is methodical.

The 35-year-old is the most publicly measured woman in the world and has developed a cult following as the first woman to undergo an ovarian biological age test. Her ovaries are 30, not 35, thank you.

After living on a diet of Pop Tarts and toaster strudel, Burns-Lentz chose to study nutrition in college. Although she didn’t graduate, that didn’t stop her from learning all she could about how to live a healthy lifestyle, including earning certifications and growing her business, Burnslenz said. She opened her clinic LYV in Ohio in 2018 (retiring in 2025), aiming to improve health metrics in the process. Research doesn’t necessarily support everything she does, and some experts worry that her legion of fans may be misled by the data she shares widely.

Burns-Lentz has equipped LYV with a medical team that strives to give patients a deeper look into their health than a typical doctor’s visit. Bowel exam, advanced thyroid panel, total toxin test. She was the clinic’s first patient. And she began publishing her results in 2019.

“I said, ‘Guys, why don’t we develop the most science-backed protocol for longevity?’ Essentially, that’s what I was thinking about: How healthy can I make myself?” she says.

She discovered some differences early on that distinguish her personal data from previous studies conducted on men. For example, calorie restriction disrupted menstruation.

“For the first time, I had irregular periods. My thyroid started to fail. I ended up being prescribed thyroid medication. So I took a step back and thought, ‘Okay, wait a second, this doesn’t seem right,'” she says.

Burns-Lentz’s experience is not surprising. For example, two-thirds of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease occur in women, but they are not proportionally represented in research. As of 1993, women were only required to participate in clinical research, not to mention that only 1% of federal funding went to women-specific research outside of cancer. It’s the Wild West for women’s health and longevity, and Burns-Lentz is at the helm.

“We live in exciting times.”

Reading the complete Barnes-Lentz protocol is like trying to read a dictionary from A to Z at once. There’s nothing left to take in all. However, you can certainly pick and choose which factors to focus on, such as what scans she recommends, what supplements or prescriptions she takes, and a general picture of her daily life.

If you read too quickly, you may miss important medical disclaimers. “This website, including the experimental results presented, is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice or professional services,” it says. “The information provided should not be used to diagnose or treat any health problem or disease. Persons seeking medical advice should consult a qualified physician.” Other longevity practitioners, including Brian Johnson, have posted similar messages on their sites. She also emphasized that she prioritizes the basics of sleep, exercise, stress management, nutrition, and connection over many devices.

A snapshot of her protocol: She wakes up naturally at 5 a.m. every day, takes a body composition test, then works out and does red light therapy in the sauna. Breakfast follows. She rotates what she eats, but it always includes fermented foods, proteins, vegetables, and a Greek yogurt or coconut yogurt bowl. Her plates sometimes include eggs, salmon, vegetables, arugula, and spinach. She mixes collagen peptides and countless fibrous seeds in a yogurt bowl. She strives to get 40 grams of fiber per day and 60 grams of protein from breakfast alone.

After starting work at noon, she goes for a walk, puts on a red-light laser cap, and spends an hour in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. She starts making an organic dinner around 2 or 2:30 p.m., eats at 3 p.m., takes her evening supplements, and is in bed by 8 p.m. (she has an entire room in her home dedicated to supplements, but she emphasizes that she doesn’t take them all). My stomach rarely grumbles, but if it does in the evening, I drink plain or carbonated water.

Barnes-Lentz posts all her results, but that doesn’t mean every woman’s results mirror hers. She credits her ovarian age with lowering her ovarian age to longevity efforts, in which she and her husband, Warren Lentz, spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on equipment and tested its effectiveness at Timeless Biotech, the company she advises.

How does an ovarian age test work? “It requires some standard biomarkers that we had access to, but now we have machine learning capabilities,” she says. These biomarkers include lean body mass, height, weight, and onset of first menstrual cycle, as well as follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and estrogen levels.

Research has not yet confirmed that lowering your biological age in any organ can help you live longer. But this data means Burns-Lentz can consider interventions to improve her health. While she can’t pinpoint the exact reason why her ovarian age is so low, she says, “Now that we have that baseline, we only have one additional intervention (hyperbaric oxygen therapy) besides the basic lifestyle,” so she may be able to understand what effect it has had on her body when she reexamines her body next month. Burns Lentz and her husband hope to have children someday.

But what exactly does this information tell us? “While her followers believe that her ovaries are five years younger as a result of her protocol, that causal inference is completely unfounded by the data,” says Dr. Eric Berdin, president and CEO of the Buck Institute on Aging. “The science of ovarian aging deserves serious research investment. What it doesn’t pay for is anecdotes fabricated as evidence by large platforms.”

That said, “we doctors who are busy with work may not be able to do the great job she does in spotlighting preventive medicine,” says the osteopathic internist, who also specializes in lifestyle medicine and emergency medicine, and “particularly infertility medicine. When there’s so much buzz about ovaries, you might not be able to do the great job that she does of really starting a conversation that makes people go, ‘Oh, you should think about how fast your ovaries are aging.’

“Things like this are completely normal to me.”

Barnes-Lentz has built a cohort of physicians, nutritionists, and other health care providers to help inform protocols and consult with specific physicians about specialized treatments such as hyperbaric oxygen therapy, peptides, and therapeutic plasma exchange.

She earns money from affiliate links on her website and charges $19 a month for a private membership that allows her followers to ask questions directly about the protocol. However, she is not the source of income for the family.

She and her husband co-own a sauna company, Heavenly Heat Saunas. Before their first date, she asked him to undergo a myriad of tests, as well as a biomarker screening.

“If a man is going to take a stool sample for you, he’s going to cooperate long-term,” she joked during a panel discussion at SXSW in March. They had their first date in a multi-person hyperbaric chamber. She said clearly: Do you really want to come in? If pressure is applied, it will not be able to move for a while. He was down, but four months later, in 2023, they got married. She wants to live as long as he did, preferably well into her 100s.

Tests never stop in the home they share. Gadgets are spilling out of the cabinets. The toilet is equipped with a device that photographs all fecal and urine deposits. “By the way, this kind of thing is very normal for me,” she added.

Many people ask Barnes-Lentz if she is having fun or enjoying life. She must be very miserable, they think. But she says that’s not the case.

“Who decided that fun meant staying out until 3 in the morning?” she wondered during the panel discussion. “Who decided that alcohol was the only way to celebrate? Who decided this?”

Donald Trump’s surreal White House press conference after the shooting

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April 26, 2026

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Donald Trump’s surreal White House press conference after the shooting

The president and reporters were all dressed up for a party at the Washington Hilton. They ended up at the White House trying to make sense of another story of shocking political violence.

WASHINGTON – One of the year’s most elegant and highly anticipated parties, with speakers and interrogators in tuxedos and evening gowns, took on a surreal appearance in the White House press briefing room, turning it into a crime scene instead.

President Donald Trump, wearing a black tie, was evacuating the Washington Hilton when a gunman opened fire outside the banquet hall that houses some of America’s highest levels of power and influence. Safely back in the White House, the president was flanked by Cabinet members who typically meet during business hours to discuss tougher issues like tariffs and farm policy.

Vice President J.D. Vance, FBI Director Kash Patel, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin joined President Trump on stage in the briefing room. First Lady Melania Trump was flanked by Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Reporters rushed in from the White House Correspondents’ Dinner to find women in colorful satin gowns and men in black bow ties and shiny tuxedos scrambling to make sense of a shocking new story of political violence in a country where it has become all too common.

“I saw a lot of tuxedos and beautiful dresses. It was a little different night than I expected, but I’ll do it again,” the president said.

President Trump said the police officer who was injured in the attack but was saved by a bulletproof vest is “doing well” and in good condition.

“He was shot at close range with a very powerful weapon. The vest did its job,” Trump said.

Trump added: “I spoke with the police officer and everything is going well.” “He’s doing great. He’s very energetic. And we told him we love him and respect him. He’s a very proud man. He’s proud of his work.”

The press briefing room where President Trump spoke was named after President Ronald Reagan’s press secretary, James Brady. Mr. Brady and Mr. Reagan were both shot in 1981 at the same hotel that Mr. Trump had just left.

The White House Correspondents’ Dinner has been postponed. President Trump claimed there would be another party in 30 days, bigger and better than ever.

“I’m ready, I’m willing, I’m capable,” Trump said. “I don’t know if I’ll be as rowdy as I plan on being,” he said of his traditionally humorous speech.

Trump was shot in the ear during a 2024 campaign rally. Another would be the assassin who was arrested after stalking him on his golf course. Reporters asked whether it was possible to lower the temperature of political debate.

President Trump said that while politics is a dangerous profession, he lives a “very normal life considering it’s a dangerous life.”

“I think we’re handling it as well as we can,” President Trump said. “I’m not a basket case. I take it for what it is. I’m doing it for my country.”

The president said when he first heard it, he thought a tray had fallen. A loud bang caused the crowd to duck under the table.

Trump was seated on a raised podium but was quickly removed. He said he wanted to return to continue the dinner, but the event was ultimately canceled. Law enforcement said they immediately took the suspect into custody.

“It’s always a shock when something like this happens, and that will never change,” Trump said. “I heard a noise and thought it was Tray.”

“It was quite far away, but it was a gun,” he added.

Which city is the worst for a hurricane? Maps show risks. Some locations are “past due”

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April 26, 2026

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Which city is the worst for a hurricane? Maps show risks. Some locations are “past due”

Several locations along the East Coast are in an extended “hurricane hiatus.” Some forecasters are concerned about that.

More than 100 years later, will 2026 be the year Tampa gets hit by a hurricane? What about Miami 34 years after Andrew’s hit? Or will it be Southern New England’s turn for the first time in decades?

None of these questions can be answered at this time, but experts say all three locations are among the least likely to be hit by hurricanes in the nation.

AccuWeather’s forecast highlights an unusual “hurricane hiatus” in these three locations, according to research compiled by Michael Ferragamo, a freelance hurricane researcher and prospective University of Oklahoma graduate, indicating that these areas have been without a hurricane for an unusually long time.

“All of these regions have seen significant population increases since the last major impact,” AccuWeather hurricane expert Alex DaSilva told USA TODAY. “Many residents have never experienced a hurricane and may not be familiar with evacuation zones or proper preparation, which increases the risk.”

Why are these places so vulnerable?

In Florida, both Tampa and Miami are “very vulnerable,” DaSilva said. “Both are low-lying areas with a high risk of storm surge flooding and have seen rapid development in recent decades. Tampa was very lucky when Hurricane Milton passed just to the south. If its path had shifted slightly north, the effects could have been catastrophic.”

In the Northeast, areas from New York City to Providence, Rhode Island, are also highly susceptible to storm surge.

Tampa: “I was very, very lucky.”

Florida’s second-most populous metropolitan area (after Miami) hasn’t suffered direct damage since 1921, when an unnamed storm ripped through the city, killing eight people and leaving $10 million in damage (equivalent to $170 million to $185 million today).

Hurricane Milton in 2024 was a close call for Tampa. But “Tampa’s remarkable performance in avoiding a direct hit from a major hurricane continued in Milton,” DaSilva said.

Although Milton caused a shock, the worst of the storm, and storm surge, did not affect the city. DaSilva said there is no geographic or topographical or even meteorological reason for Tampa’s long streak. “They were very, very lucky,” he said.

“A typical ‘return interval’ is about 10 years, so depending on how you classify Milton, Tampa could still be considered overdue for a more immediate and severe hit.” (Return interval or return period is the average time between hurricanes at a given location, based on historical data, rather than schedules or forecasts.)

Phil Klotzbach, a hurricane researcher at Colorado State University, agreed with DaSilva. “Tampa is a good example of a city that has had some close calls, but hasn’t had direct landfall in recent years,” citing Hurricanes Charlie (2004), Irma (2017) and Idalia (2023) as examples.

Miami: “Eerily quiet”

“Since 2004, Miami and the entire East Coast of Florida has been eerily quiet,” Klotzbach said. “Since Jeanne in 2004, the only hurricane to make landfall on Florida’s east coast was the havoc that was Nicole in 2022. Of course, Miami had a pretty good scare with Irma in 2017,” he said.

“Miami is one of the areas that lags behind the most,” DaSilva said. “The average time between hurricanes is about every six to eight years, but this is the first time we’ve had a direct hit since 2005. So South Florida is far above its historical frequency.”

Hurricane Andrew in 1992 was the deadliest storm in South Florida history in terms of structural damage and destruction, and remained the costliest in monetary terms until Hurricane Irma surpassed it 25 years later.

Ferragamo also said Florida’s east coast has had very few hurricanes make landfall recently, “in stark contrast to the seven hurricanes that occurred between 1945 and 1950.”

Southern New England: ‘It’s going to be devastating’

Southern New England, including Providence, is also far behind, DaSilva said. “The typical recurrence interval is about 17 to 20 years, but the last time a hurricane made direct landfall was Hurricane Bob in 1991. That was more than 30 years ago.”

“I can attest to the fact that it’s been a long time since a major hurricane has impacted this region,” said Klotzbach, a former Massachusetts resident.

Bob brought destruction, but the scale and severity of the death and devastation caused by the ferocious hurricane of 1938 remains almost unparalleled in New England.

The 1938 hurricane killed 682 people and had Category 3 winds ranging from 115 to 190 mph. Additionally, it moved at about 50 miles per hour and provided little warning, causing devastating high waves and winds across Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.

“Last summer, our team highlighted how the Northeast slows the arrival of hurricanes and ran scenarios. If the Great New England Hurricane of 1938 were to hit the same region now, with the same storm surge, flooding, and wind impacts, AccuWeather experts estimate that the total damage and economic losses would be $440 billion.”

In recent times, the last hurricane to make landfall was Bob in 1991, Ferragamo said. “Since then, kids in this area have grown up and are in their 20s and 30s, and they have yet to experience a hurricane.”

“My biggest concern for New England is a major hurricane, a once-in-a-lifetime monster like the 1938 hurricane or Carroll in 1954. Residents have no idea how much damage a hurricane can cause in this region, and if another hurricane hits, even a Category 2, it will be devastating.”

Which U.S. city is worst hit by hurricanes?

The map (above) shows the hurricane “return window” across the U.S. coasts. The return period, also known as the “return interval,” is the interval between hurricane occurrences in a particular location. This is based on historical data and is not a schedule or forecast.

The more frequent the return period (red on the map), the more frequently hurricanes have historically hit the area.

The map was for Ferragamo’s capstone project during his last semester at the University of Oklahoma. “For the return window map, we set a 30-mile radius around the county (taking into account the average diameter of hurricane-force winds in the storm).”

Doyle Rice is a national correspondent for USA TODAY, focusing on weather and climate.

Queen Elizabeth gives King Charles a lesson on how to deal with the president

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April 26, 2026

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Queen Elizabeth gives King Charles a lesson on how to deal with the president

Charles III may be channeling his mother when he arrives in Washington on April 27th.

During her record-setting reign, Queen Elizabeth met with 13 sitting US presidents, more than any previous figure from any country, sometimes at moments when the US-Britain’s “special relationship” was strained.

It was his son’s first mission to visit the former colony since his coronation, arriving amid a rift over the Iran war and the future of NATO.

What is Elizabeth’s lesson?

Here we will introduce four of them.

What is your problem today? Please ignore

The constitutional monarch has no power to negotiate the US role in the Western alliance or the deployment of British troops to the Strait of Hormuz. These are Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s problematic mandates.

So why get into trouble today?

Elizabeth became the first queen to arrive in Washington shortly after Britain’s attempt to seize the Suez Canal, a plan that not only failed but also infuriated President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

However, there is no evidence that the Queen and President discussed Suez during their visit. Instead, they reminisced fondly, remembering when she was a teenage princess and he was an American general sent to London to help win World War II, and discussing the latest news of the day: the Soviet Union’s Sputnik launch.

It was a challenge to U.S. supremacy in space, a partnership between the two countries.

A few years later, in 2003, she hosted President George W. Bush in London during mass protests against the Iraq war, an issue that engulfed politics in both countries.

Did they talk about it?

“No,” the senior palace advisor added emphatically, surprised at the very idea, “no, no, no, no.”

There’s no need for that. Leave it to 10 Downing Street.

Please bring me something shiny

Royal treasures have long fascinated millions of Americans. That includes President Trump, who added a palatial layer of gold leaf to the Oval Office. The huge new ballroom he ordered is likely to dwarf the grand dining rooms at Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace.

During formal meetings with presidents and other foreign leaders, Elizabeth embraced history and dazzled with tiaras, earrings, and necklaces filled with precious jewels.

Of course, Charles will be sporting medals rather than jewelry. However, take a look at Queen Camilla putting some of her crown jewels on display.

The royal couple’s gift to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will be another opportunity to tap into Britain’s treasure trove and make a good impression.

Let’s take a long view. About 250 years

The king’s arrival comes at a fortuitous time, as the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence approaches. No one seems to care that the proclamation was directed at his great-grandfather, George III, who was denounced in it as a tyrant who “destroyed the lives of his people.”

Rather, that shared history gave Charles an opportunity to emphasize the common language and values of the United States and Britain.

Half a century ago, Elizabeth visited the White House for the nation’s bicentennial celebrations.

For her, it was a chance to meet the new president, Gerald Ford, in the wake of the Watergate scandal involving his predecessor, Richard Nixon.

This scandal and concerns about its impact forced Britain to maintain a degree of diplomatic distancing for some time. There was behind-the-scenes debate in London over whether the Queen should visit during her 200th anniversary, with some suggesting that her son Charles be sent instead.

That’s if Nixon survived. He didn’t and solved the problem.

If all else fails, wait. Another president will soon be inaugurated.

Although there are no terms or term limits for monarchs, Charles’ reign will certainly be shorter than his mother’s 70 years. He was 73 years old when he was crowned in 2022. Two years ago, he revealed that he was battling cancer.

Presidents, by contrast, have a sell-by date, and the end of Trump’s White House term is currently two and a half years away. At that point, Charles or his successor will likely still be imprisoned at Buckingham Palace.

Elizabeth understood that. When President Lyndon Johnson rejected her pleas to visit London, she bided her time until the friendlier President Richard Nixon took office. After a rocky relationship with President Jimmy Carter, she developed her closest relationship with his successor, President Ronald Reagan.

She was generally careful not to let her relationship with the current president complicate her relationship with the next president.

The exception was when British authorities searched files for dirt on Bill Clinton, an Oxford Rhodes Scholar during the Vietnam War. This was a not-so-subtle effort to help President George HW Bush defeat his Democratic challenger in 1992.

Although Mr. Clinton won, he insisted he held no grudge but never forgot.

During the Queen’s visit in 1976, British officials invited Mr. Carter, then the likely Democratic candidate, to a mutual dinner at the British Embassy and discussed whether to meet the Queen. However, the White House made it clear that Ford opposed the idea, but they did not.

This time, the focus will be on whether Charles will try to reach out to the Democratic Party diplomatically.

Because presidents come and go. The British monarchy has existed for more than a thousand years and will continue to exist for many years to come.

Susan Page, USA TODAY’s Washington bureau chief, is the author of “Queens and Presidents,” published by Harper in April.

Smartphone data is at the center of Supreme Court battle over police investigations

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April 26, 2026

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Smartphone data is at the center of Supreme Court battle over police investigations

Okello Chattry was convicted of bank robbery after police tracked him through his smartphone. But he argues that the searches violate the Fourth Amendment and that the potential abuses are “stunning.”

WASHINGTON – Bringing a smartphone to a bank robbery wasn’t such a smart move for Okello Chattry.

The Supreme Court must now decide whether the “groundbreaking” and “previously unimaginable” method in which police tracked Chatry through his Samsung Galaxy S9 cell phone violates Fourth Amendment protections from unlawful searches.

At issue in the case is whether the government can examine vast amounts of data revealing the location of cellphones at crime scenes without knowing who is holding them. Searches like this with Google’s location data start with a haystack of hundreds of millions of phones and allow police to weed out the few that might lead to a suspect.

This tactic, known as a “reverse search” without identifying a suspect, is attractive to police whose shoe leather investigation has stalled. But civil libertarians are concerned about such a wide dragnet gathering highly personal information on hundreds, perhaps thousands, of non-criminals.

If courts uphold such digital investigations without identifying suspects, legal experts say the strategy could expand to eavesdropping using search engines, cloud storage and artificial intelligence chats.

“There’s no question that depending on how it’s written and how the decision is made, it could be a very important landmark decision,” William McGevellan, dean of the University of Minnesota School of Law, told USA TODAY.

Police track bank robbers using smartphone location information

Chatley was sentenced to nearly 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to robbing Coal Federal Credit Union at gunpoint on May 20, 2019.

Video showed Chatley walking into a bank in Midlothian, Virginia, talking on a cell phone at 4:52 p.m. Police suspect he may have been talking to an accomplice. Chatley handed the teller a note demanding money, brandished a silver and black pistol and left with $195,000.

Police interviewed witnesses, but ran out of leads after about a month. But because the cellphones were visible on surveillance video, police obtained a warrant to search Google location data for all cellphones on both sides of the robbery for 30 minutes, within a soccer field about 1.5 minutes from the bank.

Officials call such searches “geofencing.” This is to specify the boundaries to search. The data is fairly accurate and is measured every two minutes to within 3 meters based on the Global Positioning System, Bluetooth beacons, cell phone towers, and local Wi-Fi networks.

The data is also huge. Google was tracking the location of more than 500 million users at the time. During the search, 19 phones were found near the bank at the right time, but the owners remained anonymous at the time. Police asked Google for the names of the three owners of the phone, one of whom was Chattry.

After identifying Chattry, police discovered that he had recently purchased a pistol similar to the one used in the robbery. Police conducted a separate search and found nearly $100,000 in cash and a silver and black 9mm handgun at the suspect’s residence.

‘The potential for abuse is breathtaking’: Chattry

Ms Chattry pleaded guilty on the condition that she could still appeal the court’s decision authorizing the search.

Attorney General John Sauer, representing the federal government, argued that Ms. Chattry waived her expectation of privacy by sharing her location with Google.

“Individuals do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy when they make movements that anyone can see, that they choose to allow third parties to analyze for their own purposes, and that reveal little about their living patterns over a sufficiently short period of time, especially if their identities remain anonymous,” Sauer said in one filing.

He said there was no “just cause” to overturn the conviction “based on the objective integrity of the efforts of the investigating authorities.”

But Chatley argues that this kind of broad research without a specific subject in mind is exactly what the Fourth Amendment was designed to prevent.

“The technology may be new, but the constitutional issues it raises are not,” Chattry’s lawyers said in the filing. “The potential for abuse is staggering. A government could simply draw a geofence around a church, political rally, or gun store and force a search of all users’ records to find out who was there.”

Court to tackle ‘groundbreaking’ investigative tools ‘unimagined’

Courts have expressed various opinions regarding investigation methods.

U.S. District Judge Hannah Lauck of Virginia ruled that the search violated the Fourth Amendment, but that police acted in good faith so that the results could be used in court. She warned against “simply rubber stamping geofencing warrants in the future.”

“This case signals the next step in the court’s continued efforts to apply the fundamental doctrines of the Fourth Amendment to previously unimaginable investigative methods,” Lauck wrote.

4^th The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals split 7-7 on the issue, upholding Lauck’s decision. The court ruled that the warrant was not actually a search because Chattry “voluntarily released this information to Google.” Chief Justice Albert Diaz said he sided with the lower courts solely because of the goodwill of the police.

“My colleagues have very different views on the intersection of the Fourth Amendment and the innovative investigative tools at issue here,” Diaz wrote. “But judicial humility sometimes advises against making sweeping constitutional proclamations simply because you can, and this is precisely the case.”

State courts and lower federal courts have been grappling with geofencing cases for years, but this appears to be the first time the case has reached the Supreme Court. The last major Fourth Amendment case before the high court eight years ago dealt with the privacy of location data, but not during the search for a suspect, but after the suspect had been identified.

“I believe this is the first time the Supreme Court has dealt with geofencing warrants,” McGevellan said.

Google resists requests for information about large areas of San Francisco and Albuquerque

Google, which currently leaves location data on individual phones, said it had challenged more than 3,000 warrants, many of which were later withdrawn. Some of the requests could have inundated hundreds or even thousands of innocent people, the company said.

One of the warrants at issue sought the phone locations of thousands of people over two and a half days in a 2.5 square mile area of San Francisco.

In another case, the warrant sought location data for 489 acres in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The search would have captured 3,000 users, including more than 1,000 people who attended a funeral at the New Mexico Islamic Center.

In the third case, the warrant sought location data for 25 square miles over Vail and Aspen, Colorado. The raids were expected to target hundreds of homes, about 80 hotels, numerous places of worship and at least two hospitals.

“Personal documents and data stored electronically and securely on remote servers are modern ‘papers and effects’ protected by the Fourth Amendment,” the company said in its filing. “These documents are stored on servers in the ‘cloud’ but are not available to the public. These documents include emails, documents, photos, search history, and more that are privately stored by technology companies such as Google.”

Mobile phones track personal data such as visits to psychiatrists and abortion clinics

Critics of the data search, including the American Civil Liberties Union, said it would seriously violate the privacy of millions of people in the wrong place at the wrong time, regardless of crime.

Chattry said searches could reveal when people visited “psychiatrists, plastic surgeons, abortion clinics, AIDS treatment centers, strip clubs, criminal defense attorneys, hourly motels, trade union meetings, mosques, synagogues and churches, gay bars, etc.”

The ACLU said authorizing such searches would use new and powerful technology to violate privacy.

“The warrants purporting to authorize these dragnet searches are general warrants and are prohibited by the Fourth Amendment,” the ACLU said in one filing.

Cloud storage search and AI chat could be next: Law professor

Eight law professors filed arguments in the case, explaining that searches for highly personal data can go far beyond the phone.

For example, police can track suspects based on what they type into a search engine. But they will do so without knowing whether their requests for information about “Savannah Guthrie” or “Charlie Kirk” were made for nefarious reasons, mere curiosity about public figures.

Chats with artificial intelligence could provide new nuggets of information from the 700 million people who use the program every week.

Another option is to search cloud storage for billions of photos, including time and location stamps, email messages, and calendar items. A 2020 user study concluded that a significant portion of US users store sensitive information in the cloud, including 35% of office documents, 27% of passwords and login data, and 17% of financial information.

“All such uses generate an ocean of data in the form of archived conversations, irresistible data for drawing in the web of law enforcement,” the lawyers wrote. “As the court specifically considers geofence warrants in this case, it should be mindful of the potential ramifications of its opinion.”

Inside the White House Correspondents Dinner filming room

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April 26, 2026

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Inside the White House Correspondents Dinner filming room

A reporter recounts the moments before and after the gunshots rang out at the annual press conference, which President Trump also attended.

Three quick pops echoed across the banquet hall floor.

I swung my head across the room, hoping to see a tray of dropped food. After all, the ballroom was a small venue with over 250 tables.

Instead, the last thing I saw before being pulled under the table was one entrance door swinging open.

Just an hour before an armed man tried to breach security and enter the International Ballroom at the Washington Hilton, where President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and top members of the president’s Cabinet were in attendance, hundreds of people in tuxedos and gowns slowly made their way to the ballroom for the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. Including me.

Dinner was scheduled to begin at 8pm ET. And I was there to report on what’s inside Washington’s most popular dinner, often referred to as “Geek Prom.” This is already particularly historic, as Trump is the first president to attend. Little did I know how newsworthy this event would become.

The International Ballroom is huge. There were over 250 tables packed inside. At the front of the room was a long table where the White House Correspondents Association director, Trump, Melania Trump and Vance all sat. Behind the table was a banner that read in all caps: “Celebrating the First Amendment.”

Dinner started normally. The association’s board of directors was introduced. CBS reporters and WHCA president Weijia Jiang welcomed the guests. There was a color presentation by the U.S. Army Color Guard. The national anthem was sung.

Then it was time for a meal before the entire program began, including remarks from Trump himself.

As the waiters tried to wade through the sea of tightly packed tables, they heard three rapid thumps. As I scanned the room for the source of the noise, I heard someone whisper, “It’s a gunshot.”

Several entrances to the banquet hall exploded open, sending waves of attendees fleeing under the tables. I was pulled over by a co-worker. With trembling hands, I quickly typed “shot” into my work chat for the event around 8:35 PM ET. “Shots fired,” I quickly followed.

I later learned that I could hear the Secret Service and other security personnel rushing into the room. As I took shelter on the floor, my view obscured by a white tablecloth, I thought there might be a scuffle going on in another part of the room. It was the Secret Service that removed the first lady and vice president from the stage.

The attendees around me were sitting on the floor, some on their sides, some on their stomachs. Others, including me, peeked into our phones to see what was going on. Someone chanted “America.”

After that, the movement briefly calmed down, finally signaling that it was okay to stand up. People got up from the floor and looked around, trying to figure out what was causing the commotion. One person was escorted out and appeared to be hurt from having to cover himself so quickly. Chairs were scattered on the floor.

Hundreds of journalists then operated their cell phones, making calls and sending messages, rushing towards each other to discuss what to do. Despite having Wi-Fi, service was spotty. Some media outlets reported that there was a gunman. It’s unclear where he was in the hotel, what his position was, or how close he was to the ballroom.

As I was about to convey a message about what I had seen and heard in the banquet hall, the smell of gunpowder filled the room.

The confusion continued even after we were told to leave. I was then asked to stay as dinner was to follow. In the end, we all had to evacuate due to security regulations.

Maroon napkins were scattered like confetti on the banquet hall floor. When I finally evacuated the building with other reporters, several people caught my heel.

But my night wasn’t over. It was time to head to work.

Security after the White House Correspondents Association dinner shooting

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April 26, 2026

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Security after the White House Correspondents Association dinner shooting

How did the suspected shooter get so close to the black tie celebration? A former Secret Service leader tells us what it takes to protect the annual event.

WASHINGTON – The Washington Hilton, site of the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, is one of the most heavily guarded venues visited by the president of the United States and many of the capital’s elite.

Hundreds of Secret Service agents and senior officials, including paramilitary counter-assault teams, travel everywhere with President Donald Trump.

A Secret Service sniper was on the roof of a nearby building, part of a large security force that has been preparing for the annual event for weeks, even months. There is almost certainly a drone flying overhead.

And perhaps as many Washington Metropolitan Police Department officers and employees are working “in partnership” with numerous federal agencies to secure buildings and create impenetrable perimeters in case someone with malicious intent tries to do something.

That’s according to A.T. Smith, a private security consultant who served as deputy director of the Secret Service from 2012 to 2015 and has worked on many such events, including the annual dinner, which is traditionally attended by the president, vice president, Cabinet members, senior White House aides, members of Congress, and hundreds of journalists.

On April 25, the president and first lady Melania Trump rushed out of the dinner after gunshots were heard inside the hotel where the event was being held, causing attendees to collapse to the floor. Poole’s report said several U.S. Secret Service agents shouted “shots fired” during the event.

The suspect was identified as Cole Thomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, by The New York Times, CBS, and The Associated Press, citing anonymous law enforcement officials. USA TODAY has not independently confirmed the suspect’s name.

The president and law enforcement officials said one suspect was in custody and facing charges.

What will security look like for the White House Correspondents Dinner?

Smith said the annual dinner is protected by one of the largest security operations outside of so-called special national security events such as presidential inaugurations and political conventions.

“Security in this building has to be at the absolute highest level,” Smith told USA TODAY shortly after the incident. “On a scale of 1 to 10, this should be a 10.”

The Secret Service never says how it will protect the president, including staffing or technology used. Officials did not respond to requests for comment from USA TODAY.

However, Smith said there were likely a total of several hundred operatives on site for the dinner. The dinner took place in the same sprawling complex where a lone gunman attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan as he left his hotel on March 30, 1981.

How did someone get close to the ballroom?

So why would someone bring a gun so close?

Federal and local officials will follow protocol and consider the matter over days, weeks and even months, Smith said.

At a White House briefing on April 25, President Trump suggested the suspect was outside the most important layer of the security perimeter. This boundary is the line of magnetometers that all guests must pass outside the ballroom where the dinner party was held.

Previously, anyone wishing to enter the hotel had to present an invitation to either the dinner itself or one of the many pre-parties hosted by media and other groups elsewhere in the building.

“A man stormed into a security checkpoint with multiple weapons and was subdued by very brave members of the Secret Service who acted very quickly,” Trump said.

Asked later in the press conference whether he was concerned about safety at the indoor event, Trump said, “The room was very safe.” “You know, he charged from 50 yards away, so he was pretty far from the room.”

Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a post on X that the shooting occurred near the main magnetometer inspection area during the dinner party.

President Trump praised the work of the Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies Saturday night.

“I had to go through a lot” to get to dinner, he said. “We had resources everywhere, we had resources sitting at the table,” he added.

Trump also said the suspect was “moving, really moving. And the reaction time of the officers who apprehended and detained him was excellent.”

President Trump said a police officer was shot “at very close range with a very powerful weapon” but survived because of his security vest.

Other VIPs, including ministers, were also grabbed and pushed to the ground by two or three operatives, pictures emerging from the chaos that followed the attack showed.

Asked if he thought he was a target, Trump said: “I do. I mean, these people are crazy. They’re crazy. And, you know, you never know. They were so far away from me.”

But President Trump noted that the suspect somehow found a way through a less secure layer of the security perimeter before reaching the lower-floor ballroom area where the dinner was held.

“It wasn’t a particularly safe building,” Trump said.

Local and federal authorities said based on preliminary information they believe the suspect in the shooting was a guest at the hotel. According to media outlets including Reuters and ABC News, law enforcement agencies have secured a hotel room believed to belong to the suspect and are conducting an investigation.

The hotel operator told USA TODAY that a man named Cole Thomas Allen was staying at the hotel on April 25th.

Asked about any remedial action he felt was necessary to protect himself, Trump suggested that someone could always find a way to get to him.

“I don’t care how many people you have, I don’t care how good they are. They are your greatest people, and they could be your greatest security in history,” Trump said. But “even if you have a great job and a brain, if it’s a little skewed or a lot skewed, it can cause problems.”

Shooting wreaks havoc at White House Correspondents’ Dinner

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April 26, 2026

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Shooting wreaks havoc at White House Correspondents’ Dinner

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump had been sitting on stage talking with other VIPs just minutes earlier when a series of loud bangs rippled through the packed Washington Hilton ballroom.

Chaos broke out at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, one of Washington’s major social events.

Guests in tuxedos and evening dresses crouched under tables. Secret Service agents rushed to the stage and quickly evacuated President Trump and first lady Melania Trump from the room. Banquet chairs fell over and maroon napkins were scattered on the floor. A strong smell of gunpowder was in the air. Some prayed.

Trump attended his first dinner as president in more than a decade and was returned to the White House. Later, still wearing a black tie and tuxedo, he told reporters at a news conference that he initially thought the loud bang was caused by a waiter dropping a tray.

“It was either a tray or a bullet,” he said. “I thought it was a tray, but it wasn’t.”

Law enforcement officials said a man with multiple weapons stormed a security checkpoint in the lobby outside a hotel ballroom on Saturday, April 25.. He was apprehended and arrested by Secret Service agents. FBI Director Kash Patel told reporters that a long gun and shell casings were found at the scene.

Reschedule within 30 days

The White House Correspondents Association, organizers of the Black Tiger Gala, canceled the banquet but announced it would reschedule it within 30 days.

This annual glitzy event brings together some of Washington’s most powerful people and the journalists who cover them. The dinner often attracts Hollywood celebrities, and dozens of parties are held across Washington prior to the event.

More than 3,000 people packed into a huge ballroom for this year’s dinner in the basement of the Washington Hilton, about a mile north of the White House.

The Hilton is the same hotel where President Ronald Reagan was shot and killed in an assassination attempt by John Hinckley in 1981. Then-White House Press Secretary James Brady and several law enforcement officers were injured.

According to multiple reports, authorities identified the suspect in the shooting who attended the correspondents’ dinner as Cole Thomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said he was taken to a local hospital and is currently being evaluated. He is believed to have been the only shooter, she said.

President Trump said one police officer was shot but survived because of his bulletproof vest.

“I spoke with the police officer and he is in very good condition,” Trump said. He said the officers were “in good spirits”.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro told reporters that the suspect in custody is charged with two crimes, including use of a firearm in a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer with a dangerous weapon. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday, April 27th.

“Based on what we know so far, it is clear that this person had the intent to cause as much harm and damage as possible,” she said.

USA TODAY reporters said they heard what sounded like gunshots and the chanting of “USA” inside the ballroom.

Kerry Kennedy, the daughter of slain Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, said she was knocked to the floor when she heard loud gunshots and cries of “Get down, get down, get down!”

One of his tablemates, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), “heroically protected me, whispering, ‘It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay,'” Kennedy said on social media.

She said armed guards burst into the room and were looking for ministers to take them to safety.

Erin Thieleman, an Air Force veteran who was a guest at the dinner, said she saw the suspected gunman run through the hotel’s security checkpoint. She had left dinner and called her teenage son, who was babysitting his younger brothers.

“As soon as he stood up, I heard three loud gunshots and immediately saw the man face down,” Thielman told USA TODAY. “He was carrying a rifle and appeared to have a magazine rope hanging from it like a crossbody bag.”

Thielman said she remembered running back to the dinner party and yelling “guns, shooters, guns, shooters” and alerting security to close the banquet door.

President Trump has been the target of multiple assassination attempts.

On July 13, 2024, during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, a 20-year-old sniper armed with an AR-15-style rifle opened fire from the roof of a nearby building, wounding him. One of the bullets grazed President Trump’s right ear, and a 50-year-old retired firefighter who was in the crowd was killed in the shooting. Two other people in the crowd were also injured.

The gunman, Thomas Crooks, was shot and killed by a Secret Service sniper.

Two months later, on September 15, 2024, a second would-be assassin targeted Trump while he was playing golf at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. Secret Service agents found a rifle that had penetrated the course’s fenced perimeter. Investigators fired shots at the suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, and pursued him.

Routh, 59, was later convicted in federal court of attempted assassination and sentenced to life in prison.

Asked why people continue to target him, Trump said at a White House press conference that would-be assassins target “the most influential people.”

“I don’t want to say it’s an honor, but I’ve done a lot. We’re trying to do something great, but it also comes with risks,” he said.

Being president, he said, is a more dangerous job than driving a race car or fighting bulls.

“I don’t think there’s any other job that’s more dangerous,” he says.

Michael Collins writes about the intersection of politics and culture. He is a veteran reporter who has covered the White House and Congress. X: Follow him at @mcollinsNEWS.

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A reporter recounts the moments before and after the gunshots rang out at the annual press conference, which President Trump also attended.

How did the suspected shooter get so close to the black tie celebration? A former Secret Service leader tells us what it takes to protect the annual event.

What will security look like for the White House Correspondents Dinner?

How did someone get close to the ballroom?

Reschedule within 30 days

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