NPR News: 04-26-2026 6PM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst. Investigators say they think the gunman, who opened fire at the White House correspondent Stinner last night at the Hilton, was targeting Trump administration officials. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche says it's not clear if he acted alone. We are actively combing through all the evidence that we've collected and going to continue to do that today in the coming days and weeks. If he did not act alone or if folks knew what he was doing or helped him along the way, we will find that out. Speaking there to CBS's Face the Nation, authorities identified him as 31-year-old Cole Allen from the Los Angeles area. He's scheduled to be arraigned in federal court as early as tomorrow on weapons charges and assault on a federal officer. President Trump says he wanted to continue the dinner at the Hilton last night after the shooting, but he says it was the right thing to do to leave the hotel. NPR's Franco Ordonia's reports now Trump's pointing to the shooting as reason to finish

1:03the 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. He called the Washington Hilton not a particularly secure site as he explained on Fox News. Well, it's always tough when you have a thousand rooms. It's a large hotel right on top and so people come down and elevators and they're right over the top of where you're speaking and not very far away and it's pretty tough. And you know, as you know, we're building a big, beautiful, very, very secure ballroom in every way with a massive bulletproof glass that's almost four inches thick. The White House ballroom is facing legal hurdles. Even if it is built, it's not clear if the dinner could be held there. The annual event is private. Franco Ordonia's NPR News. Two former Israeli prime ministers have agreed to merge parties against Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of Israel's parliamentary elections that take place in October.

2:04And Pierce Eleanor Beardsley has more. Now, if Tally Bennett and Yaya Lapid say their merger is intended to unite the center right to focus all efforts on winning the critical upcoming elections, though they have ideological differences, they've enjoyed a close working relationship. Bennett is in Orthodox Jew with a hard-line view towards Palestinians. Lapid is secular and seen as more moderate. Both have already served as prime minister in a previous coalition government in 2021-22 during a brief interlude in Netanyahu's 18-year grip on power. Hundreds of protesters came out against Netanyahu and Tel Aviv Saturday night. These poll numbers have dropped since the U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran has failed to deliver a decisive outcome, Eleanor Beardsley and Pierre News, Tel Aviv. And you're listening to NPR News from Washington. Millions of birds will be migrating across the United States tonight.

3:05It's why conservation groups are asking residents to turn off or dim their lights. It's the annual spring migration. Almost 250 million birds are traveling across the U.S. right now. Most birds migrate at night and summer on journeys that take them from South America all the way to the Arctic. Artificial lights, like from buildings, can interfere with their navigation. So conservation groups are asking residents to turn out or dim non-essential lights overnight for the next few weeks. The biggest hotspots are in the South, Midwest, and Mid-Atlantic states, as well as the West Coast. Lauren Summer and Pierre News. At the weekend box office, Michael, the big budget Michael Jackson Project, took the top spot with an estimated $97 million in ticket sales. The authorized bio-pick shrugged off bad reviews and production problems. The film stays away, though, from Jackson's controversy. His reputation had been tarnished by allegations of sexual abuse of children which Jackson denied.

4:10In second place, the Super Mario Galaxy movie with $21 million globally has made $45 million so far. In third place, Project Hail Mary with $13 million, with the Amazon MGM films taken in more than $613 million globally and rounding out the top five, the drama, with $2 million and hoppers with $1 million. I'm Janine Herbst, 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.NPR.org. That's plus.NPR.org.