Hinckley says ‘bad things keep happening’ at Washington Hilton and it was ‘not a secure place to hold big events’

• US politics live – latest updates

The man who shot Ronald Reagan at the Washington Hilton in 1981 has said it was “spooky” for him to learn of Saturday’s shooting at the hotel during a prestigious media gala attended by Donald Trump and senior members of the president’s administration.

In an interview with TMZ published on Monday, John Hinckley Jr also observed that “bad things keep happening” at the hotel and maintained it was “just not a secure place to hold big events”.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: The Washington Post/Getty Images

© Photograph: The Washington Post/Getty Images

© Photograph: The Washington Post/Getty Images

This live blog is now closed.

• Justice department indicts ex-FBI director James Comey over Instagram post showing seashells

• Trump v Comey: a timeline of the president and ex-FBI director’s feud

• Sign up for the Breaking News US email

Donald Trump has reportedly signaled to his top advisers that he is dissatisfied with and unlikely to accept Iran’s latest proposal to end the war, which would reopen the strait of Hormuz and leave discussion of Iran’s nuclear program for a later date.

Two people familiar with the matter told CNN that Trump conveyed his views during yesterday’s meeting with top national security aides where the Iranian proposal was discussed. One of the people said Trump was not likely to accept the plan, which was sent to the US in the last few days.

What I will reiterate is that the president’s red lines with respect to Iran have been made very, very clear, not just to the American public, but also to them as well.

I wouldn’t say they’re considering it. I would just say that there was a discussion this morning that I don’t want to get ahead of, and you’ll hear directly from the president, I’m sure, on this topic.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Cliff Owen/AP

© Photograph: Cliff Owen/AP

© Photograph: Cliff Owen/AP

It was supposed to be a night off, an evening of pleasure for the hard-working news photographers of Washington, D.C. But the biggest story of the weekend came to them as a gunman burst into the White House Correspondents' Dinner (WHCD) and opened fire.

[Read More]

Star tells awards ceremony: ‘I disagree with everything that this administration stands for, but there’s no place for the kind of violence we saw two nights ago’

In the wake of the shooting at the White House correspondents’ dinner, George Clooney used an awards-show speech to make a plea against “hatred and corruption and cruelty and violence”.

Clooney was speaking at an event at the Lincoln Center in New York, where he was given Film at Lincoln Center’s annual Chaplin award, which “recognises an individual’s significant contribution to cinema”.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Jeenah Moon/Reuters

© Photograph: Jeenah Moon/Reuters

© Photograph: Jeenah Moon/Reuters

First lady accuses the comedian of ‘hateful and violent rhetoric’ over joke made days before the White House press dinner shooting

Jimmy Kimmel has refused to apologise for a joke made days before the White House correspondents’ dinner shooting in which he described Melania Trump as glowing “like an expectant widow”, after both Donald Trump and the first lady accused him of inciting violence.

On Monday Melania Trump accused Kimmel of “hateful and violent rhetoric” and “atrocious behavior”, and said it was “time for ABC to take a stand” against the comedian, who has long been critical of Trump and his policies.

Continue reading...

© Composite: ABC, AFP, Getty Images

© Composite: ABC, AFP, Getty Images

© Composite: ABC, AFP, Getty Images

OTTAWA — Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon was among the ministers that parents and children rallying for federal government action to better protect kids online were set to meet Monday, after concerns were expressed that the minister did not have the time.  Read More

A Secret Service agent shot during former President Reagan’s 1981 assassination attempt said Monday that law enforcement did a “hell of a good job” protecting the president during the White House Correspondents' Association dinner shooting on Saturday. Reagan was targeted after leaving a speaking event at the Washington Hilton in 1981. The former president was...

Michael Glantz, a senior talent agent, says he ‘wasn’t scared’ and ‘wanted to watch’ as chaos unfolded at the event

• US politics live – latest updates

A guest at the White House correspondents’ dinner retained his table manners and was spotted calmly tucking into his salad course on Saturday, soon after gunfire rang out and heavily armed Secret Service agents swarmed into the ballroom of the Washington Hilton hotel.

A video clip captured Michael Glantz, a senior talent agent with the Creative Artists Agency, leisurely forking leaves from his burrata salad into his mouth against a backdrop of a stage just yards away, by then empty of everyone save a rifle-wielding officer in tactical combat gear.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: The Guardian

© Photograph: The Guardian

© Photograph: The Guardian

President Trump said that the shooter at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner was a “blur” and cracked a joke that the NFL “should sign him up.” “His speed was rather incredible. Actually, it was, it was like a blur,” the president remarked about the gunman in an interview with CBS News’s Norah O’Donnell on...

This live blog is now closed.

• Suspect charged with attempting to assassinate Trump at press dinner

• Sign up for the Breaking News US email

Here’s more about the timing of King Charles’s visit today with Donald Trump at the White House.

According to Trump’s official schedule, the president will greet King Charles and Queen Camilla at the White House at 4.15pm ET. Shortly after, they’ll have tea and then tour a beehive at the White House.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Leigh Vogel/UPI/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Leigh Vogel/UPI/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Leigh Vogel/UPI/Shutterstock

Secret Service director says security succeeded in stopping shooter before he could do further harm but others disagree

The shooting in the White House correspondents’ gala has prompted questions over security with some asking how a shooter was able to get close to where Donald Trump and many other senior administration officials were gathered and many others praising the actions of law enforcement that swiftly stopped the attack.

As details about the shooting at the Washington Hilton continued to surface, the alleged shooter Cole Tomas Allen, 31, mocked an “insane” lack of security at the Washington dinner in a manifesto reportedly send to his family 10 minutes before his assault started.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

© Photograph: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

© Photograph: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Alleged shooter, identified as Cole Tomas Allen, charged with three federal crimes in White House press gala attack

The suspected gunman who tried to storm the White House correspondents’ dinner appeared in federal court on Monday and was charged with three federal crimes, including attempting to assassinate the president.

The alleged shooter, identified by law enforcement agencies as Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old man from Torrance in southern California, was charged with attempting to assassinate the US president, transportation of firearms to commit a felony, and unlawful discharge of a firearm during violence.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images