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Good morning and welcome to Fox News’ morning newsletter, Fox News First. And here’s what you need to know to start your day …

TOP 3

1. What we know about the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting suspect

2. Former WHCA president calls out ‘disturbing’ claims from liberals on the shooting

3. Trump admits he slowed Secret Service evacuation to see what happened
 

MAJOR HEADLINES

DIPLOMATIC PITCH — Iran gives new deal to US to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, bring an end to the war.Continue reading …

CHANGE OF TUNE — Steve Kerr admits he was ‘wrong’ on Hong Kong, regrets calling Trump a ‘buffoon.’Continue reading …

BETWEEN THE LINES — Mamdani unveils racial equity plan that expert warns is even worse than it seems. Continue reading …

HISTORIC TRIP — Each stop on King Charles, Queen Camilla’s US visit: Here’s where they’re traveling. Continue reading …

THAT SETTLES IT — Archaeologists crack ‘Spanish Roanoke’ mystery with haunting find from doomed colony.Continue reading …

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POLITICS

ROYAL REUNION — King Charles heads to Trump White House as America marks 250 years since breaking from the crown. Continue reading …

MIXED SIGNALS — GOP governor hopeful’s Trump-backed pitch meets an awkward paper trail inside candidate’s own company. Continue reading …

‘FAILED THOSE KIDS’ — California gov hopeful Xavier Becerra haunted by migrant children scandal from HHS tenure. Continue reading …

TASTELESS TOAST — Dem-owned brewery celebrates DC dinner attack with ‘free beer day’ post.Continue reading …

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MEDIA

SECURITY SHAKEUP — Lawmaker questions hotel metal detector setup at Correspondent’s Dinner.Continue reading …

TRUST IN TATTERS — MS NOW hosts call out ‘disturbing’ left-wing theories WHCD shooting was ‘false flag.’Continue reading …

ROAST GONE WRONG — Late-night host’s vile jabs at the First Lady preceded dinner shooting chaos.Continue reading …

REGRETFUL WORDS — CNN commentator said Trump ‘wants us dead’ minutes before WH dinner shooting scare. Continue reading …

OPINION

ARTHUR HERMAN — Trump has Iran on the ropes — and critics still don’t get his edge. Continue reading … 

ERICH PRATT — Virginia senators want to inflict their tyrannical gun strategy on entire country. Continue reading …

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IN OTHER NEWS

GUT CHECK — Bacteria in your mouth may travel to the gut and trigger stomach cancer. Continue reading …

SET THE ‘STANDARD’ — Super Bowl champion Monte Coleman dead at 68. Continue reading …

AMERICAN CULTURE QUIZ — Test yourself on baseball bests and restaurant revamps. Take the quiz here …

HOLY HARVEST — Questions raised after study detects carrots, melons on Jesus’ ‘burial shroud.’ Continue reading …

PORK IN THE ROAD — Traffic police chase runaway pig. See video …

WATCH

TODD BLANCHE — WHCD shooting should be wake-up call for Congress to fund DHS. See video …

ASRA NOMANI — Suspect in WHCD operated and lived in an ecosystem that too him from nerdy geek to attacker. See video …

LISTEN

Tune in as we explore how adaptive artificial intelligence is reshaping education and what it means for the future of classroom learning. Check it out …

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A New York woman was convicted after authorities said she threw a handmade stick of dynamite at her boyfriend while he was sleeping, causing his hand to be blown off as he attempted to get rid of the explosive.

Keyonna Waddell, 35, of Deer Park on Long Island, was found guilty by a jury on Friday of first-degree assault and first-degree criminal possession of a weapon in connection with the March 2024 incident.

Waddell had threatened the victim with dynamite several times in the months leading up to the incident, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.

WOMAN CHARGED IN MAN’S FATAL STABBING OUTSIDE UPSCALE LONG ISLAND YACHT CLUB

“Domestic violence can escalate to deadly levels, and this case is a sobering reminder of that reality,” Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said in a statement.

On March 22, 2024, Waddell and her boyfriend were involved in an argument inside his apartment, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.

After the dispute, the man left the apartment and told Waddell to leave. When he arrived back home, Waddell did not appear to be there, and he went to sleep.

He was later woken up by a hissing sound and noticed a flame on the floor of his bedroom. He then realized that a stick of dynamite had been thrown into his bedroom and attempted to toss the explosive device out of the window, but it detonated and blew off most of his hand before he was able to throw it out of harm’s way.

The victim then ran out of his home to the driveway, at which point he saw Waddell running away.

He was subsequently rushed to the hospital, where the remainder of his hand and part of his arm were amputated.

MAN CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER AFTER ALLEGEDLY SHOOTING VICTIM IN FACE WITH CROSSBOW: POLICE

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Waddell was arrested the following day, officials said. Her sentencing is scheduled for May 27, and she could face up to 25 years in prison.

“Thanks to the outstanding work of our prosecutors and the Suffolk County Police Department, a dangerous individual has been held accountable and will face a lengthy prison sentence for this horrific act,” Tierney said in his statement.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The White House Correspondents’ Dinner quickly devolved into chaos Saturday as shots rang out inside the Washington, D.C., hotel hosting the annual gala while President Donald Trump was in attendance. 

The suspect has been identified as Cole Allen, 31, of Torrance, Calif., with law enforcement adding that he prepared a manifesto and shared posts to social media outlining his intent to target Trump and other administration officials, according to authorities. 

Allen’s sister, Avriana Allen, told Secret Service and Montgomery County Police that her brother had a history of making radical statements and previously mentioned a plan to do “something” to fix what he believed to be issues with today’s society, authorities said. 

WHCD SHOOTING SUSPECT PLANNED TO TARGET TRUMP OFFICIALS, MANIFESTO REVEALS

Allen allegedly stormed the Washington Hilton’s lobby while armed with weapons within minutes of the event kicking off, and was quickly apprehended by members of the Secret Service.

He is currently in custody and authorities are expected to file federal charges against him Monday. 

Here is a timeline of events leading up to the shooting: 

October 2023: 

Allen legally purchases a .38-caliber semiautomatic pistol, according to the Associated Press. He purchased a 12-gauge shotgun two years later. 

WATCH: Suspect went from ‘nerdy geek’ to attempted attacker: Asra Nomani

His sister told authorities the weapons were purchased from Cap Tactical Firearms and stored in their parents’ home, who were unaware of the guns being kept there.

WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER SUSPECT CHECKED INTO HILTON HOTEL ONE DAY BEFORE THE SHOOTING: SOURCES

She also revealed her brother was a regular visitor to the shooting range, was a member of a group called “The Wide Awakes” and had previously attended a “No Kings” protest in California. 

Mid-April 2026: 

Allen allegedly travels by train from California to Washington, D.C., making one stop in Chicago, according to authorities. 

Friday, April 24

Allen checks into the Washington Hilton one day before the April 25 gala dinner, sources told Fox News.

Saturday, April 25, 8 p.m.

The 2026 White House Correspondents’ Dinner begins, with Trump taking his seat alongside Vice President J.D. Vance and first lady Melania Trump. Several other administration officials, including FBI Director Kash Patel and House Speaker Mike Johnson, are also in attendance. 

WATCH: Trey Yingst reports live from WHCD during shooting

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Before the shooting, Allen allegedly sends a written manifesto outlining his intent to target Trump administration officials to members of his family, according to law enforcement sources. 

Saturday, April 25, 8:30 p.m.

Shots ring out on the hotel’s terrace level, one floor below the hotel lobby and one floor above the International Ballroom, where hundreds of journalists and cabinet officials were enjoying the start of the program. 

According to authorities, Allen charged through a security checkpoint in the hotel’s lobby area armed with firearms and knives, striking one officer in his ballistic vest.

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Allen is intercepted by members of the Secret Service as they return fire and tackle him to the ground. 

Within seconds, Trump and other high-level members of the federal government are rushed to safety by the Secret Service, as journalists and other attendees take shelter under tables in the ballroom.

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The officer who was struck is later transported to a local hospital and is expected to survive.

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Saturday, April 25, 9:17 p.m.

Trump makes his first comments after the shooting on Truth Social, commending officers for acting “quickly and bravely.” Trump also added that “the shooter has been apprehended,” and that he had recommended the event resume.

WATCH: WHCD shooting appears to be third incident targeting Trump

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Saturday, April 25, 9:36 p.m.

Trump makes a second post to Truth Social, revealing that law enforcement had asked attendees to evacuate the building, as was consistent with protocol. 

Saturday, April 25, 10:49 p.m.

After the shooting, Allen’s brother contacts the New London Police Department in Connecticut regarding his alleged manifesto. 

The police said in a statement they were contacted at 10:49 p.m. but someone who wanted to share information related to it, and the department said it then immediately alerted federal law enforcement, the Associated Press reported.

Sunday, April 26

Allen initially speaks with police before refusing to talk as of Sunday morning, according to authorities.

Authorities execute search warrants Sunday in Los Angeles and Washington, including at a hotel room where the suspect was staying, Blanche said. Investigators review devices and communications recovered during the searches.

Blanche added that it appears Allen bought the guns in “the past couple of years.”

“That could be another reason why he traveled by train because he had the firearms with him, but I’m speculating there,” he said.

Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom, Amanda Macias and CJ Womack contributed to this report.

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Newly unearthed video shows a different side of the gunman authorities say tried to blast his way into the press dinner to kill President Donald Trump.

In the decade-old video obtained by Fox News Digita, Cole Allen, now 31, presents his invention at an “Aging into the Future” conference co-sponsored by St. Barnabas Senior Services in Los Angeles. Surrounded by fellow innovators, he demonstrated a prototype emergency brake for wheelchairs — a device he assembled using basic PVC piping. The contraption was notably simple, engineering experts told Fox News Digital, and didn’t reflect particularly advanced mechanical engineering for a graduating senior at Caltech.

Still, the video provides a sharp contrast in the life of an angry radical accused of trying to barrel through the Washington Hilton on Connecticut Avenue NW in a shocking assassination plot allegedly targeting Trump administration officials at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

The video chronicles a very stark contrast to the portrait emerging from law enforcement interviews with Allen’s brother and sister and his own writings in a manifesto. 

Speaking about past assassination plots, Trump told Fox News on Sunday, “You know, these assassins, they seem to be high IQ people, but they’re crazy.”

The FBI has now identified Allen as the suspect in the shooting Saturday night at the Washington Hilton, with his brother reporting to law enforcement authorities that Allen’s manifesto detailed allegedly deadly plans at the weekend gathering for journalists and administration officials.

Trump told Fox News, “The guy is a sick guy. When you read his manifesto, he hates Christians. That’s one thing for sure. He hates Christians, a hatred.” 

Trump said his family raised alarm bells with law enforcement. 

“He was a very troubled guy,” he said, later also calling him “disturbed.”

According to law enforcement officials, Allen also descended into anti-Trump hate, attending at least one of the three “No Kings” protests organized over the past year by groups including Democratic-leading nonprofits, like Indivisible, MoveOn and American Federation of Teachers, and a network of socialist organizations, including the People’s Forum, the Party for Socialism and Liberation and the ANSWER Coalition, funded by an American tech tycoon, Neville Roy Singham, living in Shanghai.

WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER SUSPECT CHECKED INTO HILTON HOTEL ONE DAY BEFORE THE SHOOTING: SOURCES

Almost a decade ago, Allen appeared to have very different priorities. 

In a news segment published in March 2017 by WABC in Los Angeles, Allen appears as a disciplined student at the California Institute of Technology, an elite institution known for admitting students with near-perfect test scores and training top-tier engineers and scientists.

Speaking in a flat, measured tone, Allen walked a reporter through the mechanics of his device, explaining how it could stabilize a wheelchair and prevent it from skidding. “The wheelchair brakes tend to lock the wheels but don’t actually lock the chair to the ground,” he explained.

WHO IS COLE ALLEN? CALIFORNIA MAN NAMED AS SUSPECT IN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER SHOOTING

Kneeling beside the wheels of a wheelchair and fiddling with an assembly of QVC pipes between the wheels, he continued, “The deal with this is to prevent it from moving at all.”

A year later, Allen earned a mechanical engineering degree. While in college, he completed a competitive summer research fellowship at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, contributing to astrophysics work, according to his LInkedIn profile. He also developed complex technical projects, including a physics-based role-playing shooter game called “First Law,” as well as robotic systems and later another intricate game, “Bohrdom,” released on the Steam platform. Gaming experts said his “Bohrdom” game was very basic in its technical level.

After Caltech, Allen held down a job for only about a year before starting work as a tutor with C2 Education in 2020 and going on to earn a master’s degree in computer science from California State University, Dominguez Hills, in 2025. C2 Education recognized Allen a “teacher of the month” in late 2024, according to a social media post.

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Records also show a small political donation during the 2024 election cycle to the Kamala Harris presidential race.

Allen now faces federal charges including using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer, with additional charges expected.

Jesse Watson contributed to this report.

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A Wisconsin family is reeling after a judge vacated the conviction of a man previously found guilty in the once-cold case of a mother killed in an execution-style shooting.

Miguel Cruz was sentenced to life in prison in 2021 stemming from the killing of Juanita Zdroik, 39, in Racine County in 2000. 

The case began on Feb. 7, 2000, when the mother of three was hauled to a rural highway and shot execution-style after witnessing a double homicide in Milwaukee. 

Authorities launched a desperate search for her killer, but the case ultimately ran cold until a suspect – identified as Cruz – was arrested in 2017.

PARTY PREP TALE FALLS APART AS HUSBAND CHARGED IN WIFE’S DECADES-OLD COLD CASE MURDER

“One day I got a call while at work, and they said they caught my mother’s murderer,” Zach Zdroik, Juanita’s son who was 13 years old at the time of her death, told Fox News Digital. 

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“I felt extreme relief that the man responsible for my mother’s murder, and ultimately for a lifetime of pain for my sister and I, is finally where he belongs,” Zdroik added. “It was very fulfilling for us.”

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However, after filing an appeal surrounding the credibility of DNA and a broader investigation into the members of the sheriff’s office’s conduct, Cruz was granted a new trial earlier this week. 

“It was obviously heartbreaking, knowing that we have to deal with this again,” Zdroik said. “We’ve been very understanding throughout this entire process that has been years with the county and the legal system, so the fact that we saw the system itself fail us as a family was pretty disheartening.”

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Despite Cruz ultimately winning his chance at appeal, the charges against him have not been dismissed – setting the stage for a second trial or, according to Zdroik, a potential plea deal. 

“Our voice doesn’t matter to the county or state at this point,” Zdroik told Fox News Digital. “Like, what are we doing here? A man that was proven to be there, multiple eyewitnesses saw him there and they testified against him, now that that is no good due to a corrupt history. But he’s gonna get off now and live a life that my mother wasn’t able to live. I mean, does that seem fair?”

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Zdroik added that officials have told him Cruz’s possible plea deal could result in a 10-year prison sentence, which holds the potential of Cruz being released after just six months behind bars. 

“Who knows what is possible, I mean, I know this murder took place years ago,” Zdroik said. “I don’t know if he’s done anything else in between now and then that he was arrested for, or even not arrested for, to get away with murder, so who knows.”

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However, no plea deal has been officially offered or agreed upon, according to Zdroik. 

The ordeal has been especially taxing on Zdroik and his family, including his two sisters and children.

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“[My mom] was the one person in this world that I knew always loved me,” Zdroik told Fox News Digital. “I’ve never had that love ever in my life, and I don’t think I’ll ever have it again. My mother was my world.” 

“We’ve all had to struggle,” Zdroik added. “And live our lives in darkness and sadness because of this.”

The Racine County Sheriff’s Office, Racine County District Attorney’s Office and Cruz’s attorney did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.