8m agoSun 26 Apr 2026 at 8:39pm
Trump praises CBS journalist who addressed the crowd after shooting incident
Donald Trump has issued some rare praise for a journalist from a mainstream news organisation in the wake of the shooting incident.
White House Correspondents’ Association president Weijia Jiang was seated next to Mr Trump when shots were heard coming from a hallway near where the dinner was taking place.
Weijia Jiang addresses Mr Trump at the dinner. (AP Photo: Tom Brenner)
She hit the floor next to the president before he was removed by Secret Service agents, and was the first to take the microphone after the area was secured, telling the crowd the dinner would continue — before authorities later decided to end the event.
Jiang, a White House correspondent for CBS News, was later given the first question by Mr Trump at a news conference held at the White House hours later.
“Madam chairman, I just want to say you did a fantastic job. What a beautiful evening,” he said.
Weijia Jiang asks Mr Trump a question at the White House after the incident. (AP Photo: Tom Brenner)
As the correspondents’ association president, Jiang was in charge of organising the dinner, which was being hosted by social media mentalist Oz Pearlman.
Pearlman was reportedly trying to guess the name of the baby White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is expecting when the shots were heard.
30m agoSun 26 Apr 2026 at 8:17pm
Suspected gunman likely targeted Trump officials, says US attorney-general
Acting US Attorney-General Todd Blanche says the suspect in a shooting outside the White House correspondents’ dinner was likely targeting members of the Trump administration.
Here is a snippet of his conversation with NBC News.
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1h agoSun 26 Apr 2026 at 7:47pm
Trump thanks Secret Service, law enforcement
In an interview with Fox News, Donald Trump has thanked law enforcement and attendees for their responses to the shooting.
“We had a great group of people there last night,” Mr Trump says, speaking of the large crowd of journalists.
“Because they were strong, relatively speaking, compared to what the potential threat was.”
Mr Trump also says the Secret Service and all law enforcement officials acted professionally.
“They were outstanding, they stopped him cold,” he says.
1h agoSun 26 Apr 2026 at 7:37pm
US media publishes alleged manifesto
Tabloid US newspaper the New York Post has published what it says was a 1,052-word manifesto sent by alleged gunman Cole Tomas Allen in the minutes before the shooting.
Cole Tomas Allen being detained. (Truth Social/@realdonaldtrump via Reuters)
He allegedly lists out a number of potential motivations for his crimes.
1h agoSun 26 Apr 2026 at 7:33pm
Police believe attack was politically motivated
Investigators increasingly believe the attack on the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was politically motivated, law officials are telling US media.
The Associated Press is reporting that the man accused of opening fire at the dinner sent writings to family members minutes before the shooting.
Investigators are treating the writings, along with a trail of social media posts and interviews with family members, as some of the clearest evidence yet of the suspect’s mindset and possible motives.
Authorities also uncovered what the official described as numerous anti-Trump social media posts linked to the suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old California man accused of trying to breach a security checkpoint at the dinner while armed with multiple weapons.
Allen’s brother contacted the New London, Connecticut, police after receiving the writings, according to the official. A police spokesperson said they contacted federal law enforcement after receiving that information.
1h agoSun 26 Apr 2026 at 7:20pm
Trump interview with CBS due to air at 9am AEST
Donald Trump sat down for an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes, according to Steven Cheung, assistant to the president and White House Director of Communications.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has said the show will air tonight.
According to the schedule, that is at 7pm ET (9am AEST).
1h agoSun 26 Apr 2026 at 7:05pm
Alleged gunman ‘not actively cooperating’, says Blanche
Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche has told CBS’s Face The Nation that the man arrested over the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was targeting either Donald Trump or members of his administration.
“He’s not actively cooperating. I expect that he will be formally charged [Monday] morning in federal court in Washington.
“We do believe, based upon just a very preliminary start to understanding what happened, that he was targeting members of the administration.”
Blanche added no further motive was known for the attack, confirming the suspect, who was armed with a shotgun, handgun and knives, was staying at the Washington Hilton hotel where the black-tie dinner was held on Saturday evening.
“We believe that he travelled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago, and then from Chicago to Washington,” he said.
“It appears he purchased these firearms in the past couple of years.”
Reporting with AFP
2h agoSun 26 Apr 2026 at 6:34pm
Good morning
Welcome to our live blog of developments out of the US after Sunday’s shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
As we know, the incident has raised further questions about Donald Trump’s security. The US president was only metres away from where the alleged gunman was apprehended.
Stay with us as we bring you the latest.