NPR News: 04-26-2026 2PM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Noor Ram. President Trump says he wanted to continue the White House correspondence dinner last night after a gunman opened fire, but that it was the right thing to leave the Washington Hilton. NPR's Franco-Ordenia's reports now Trump is pointing to the shooting as a reason to finish the controversial White House ballroom under construction. President Trump says the shooting would never have happened if it were held in the new ballroom he's having built to the White House. We call the Washington Hilton not a particularly secure site as he explained on Fox News. The White House ballroom is facing legal hurdles, even if it is built, it's not clear if

1:02the dinner could be held there. The annual event is private. Franco-Ordenia's NPR News. The suspect is due to be arraigned tomorrow in federal court, initially facing weapons and assault charges. Officials say more charges may be at it as the investigation continues. He's been identified as Cole L in a 31-year-old man from the Los Angeles suburb of Torrance, California. See Futterman went there and spoke with people who knew him. On the street where Cole Thomas Allen lived, law enforcement spent much of the night gathering evidence that might explain what led to last night's shooting. Allen, a graduate of Caltech, worked for a company that provides tutoring and preparation for college entrance examinations. Among the evidence that law enforcement was looking for overnight were such things as computers, cell phones, and external digital storage devices. Steve Futterman reporting, Congress has just one week in town before its next recess. The Department of Homeland Security has been shut down since February 14, which means

2:07lawmakers haven't appropriated money to pay secret service agents, NPR's Eric McDaniel reports. As though the longest agency shutdown in history weren't enough pressure, Saturday and its shooting at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner has refocused lawmakers' attention on the lack of DHS funding. As Utah Senator Mike Lee saturday night in a video on X. The very same secret service that just saved President Trump's life, and thank heaven above, that he's safe, has been defunded along with the rest of the Department of Homeland Security for more than two months. My Democrat colleagues in the Senate, it's time to end this. Let's end the Homeland Security shutdown now, please. The Senate has twice advanced a unanimous bipartisan deal to fund all of the agency with the exception of some immigration enforcement teams, that House Republicans have refused to take up. The GOP is now advancing a slower one-party plan, Eric McDaniel and PR News Washington. This is NPR News. It was 40 years ago today that the Chernobyl nuclear plant exploded in what was then the Soviet Union. It exposed millions of people in the region to dangerous levels of radiation, and forced

3:13the permanent evacuation of hundreds of towns and villages in Ukraine and in Belarus. Republicans have died from radiation-related illnesses. There are reports from Mali that the Defense Minister has been killed in the attack on his residence. Militant groups have claimed responsibility for a series of attacks in various parts of the West African nation yesterday. More gunfire was reported today. Michael Koloky reports. The al-Qaeda-linked militant group JNIM claimed responsibility for attacks in parts of the country, while the rebel group FLAA also claimed to have carried out a number of attacks. In a statement, Mali's military said that several assailants had been killed during the incidents, with the government spokesperson adding that a number of people had also been injured. Meanwhile, the American embassy in Mali has issued a security alert, calling on U.S. citizens in the West African nation to shelter in place. Following the attacks, the UN has called for an international response to violence in

4:14the West African Sahel region. For NPR News, I'm Michael Koloky in Nairobi. A runner from Kenya said a new record at the London Marathon today. Sebastian saw a way finished in under two hours, at one hour, 59 minutes, and 30 seconds. He later thanked the crowds that lined the streets for the rice, saying, with them calling you feel so happy and strong. I'm Nora Rom, NPR News in Washington. Wanna hear this podcast without sponsor breaks? Amazon Prime members can listen to NPR News now, sponsor free, through Amazon Music. Or you can also support NPR's vital journalism and get NPR Plus at plus dot NPR dot org. That's plus dot NPR dot org.