WHCA Shooter In Court, Trump-King Charles Relationship, Lebanon Ceasefire In Limbo

[00:00] So I got most of my voice back. [00:01] Did you do, were you doing anything to wean it back? I went to a doctor who gave me some medication. I received a note. I received a number of notes after last Wednesday's up first. But my favorite one was the person who said, should you take a day off? You sound like you have the plague. [00:21] The man who allegedly stormed a dinner in Washington is charged with attempting to assassinate President Trump. Prosecutors say he booked a hotel room well before the event. What else did a court appearance reveal about Cole Allen? Hey Martinez, that is Steve Inskeep, and this is Up First from NPR News. [00:39] King Charles addresses Congress today. He's only the second British monarch to do that following the performance of his mom. [00:49] at a time of strained relations. Also, what happened to a ceasefire in Lebanon? [00:53] Israel hit eastern Lebanon with new strikes and issued evacuation orders. Hezbollah fired drones at Israeli troops. Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day. [01:04] you [01:09] This message is from AT&T with your summer essential, the iPhone 17 Pro. Its center stage front camera auto-adjusts the frame to fit everyone into group selfies. Right now at AT&T, ask how you can get iPhone 17 Pro on them with eligible trade-in. Requires eligible plan. Terms and restrictions apply, subject to change. Visit att.com slash iPhone for details.

[01:35] Support for NPR comes from IBM. On Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell explores how organizations are using technology to solve complex challenges in partnership with IBM. I spoke with Alon Cohen, who heads research and development at UFC. Insights Engine is not here to feel technical. We are bringing it to a place where you feel like you could even have an opinion because you understand enough of what's going on. [02:03] Listen to Smart Talks with IBM wherever you get your podcasts. [02:08] This message comes from NPR sponsor Charles Schwab with its original podcast on investing. It's hosted by Lizanne Saunders, Schwab's chief investment strategist, and Colin Martin, head of fixed income research and strategy for the Schwab Center for Financial Research. [02:22] Each week, Lizanne, Colin, and their guests analyze economic developments and bring context to conversations around stocks, fixed income, the economy, and more. Download the latest episode and subscribe at schwab.com slash oninvesting or wherever you get your podcasts. [02:39] A court hearing gave evidence of the extended planning that went into an alleged assassination attempt in Washington. Prosecutors charged Cole Allen, the man tackled Saturday night, on his way into the White House Correspondents Association dinner. NPR's Jacqueline Diaz is with us. Good morning. Good morning. Okay, so how did this court appearance go? Well, the whole thing was over pretty quickly. It lasted about 10 to 15 minutes and was pretty routine, you know, as these things go.

[03:09] against Allen, and they include an attempt to assassinate President Trump, the transportation of a firearm across state lines with the intent to commit a felony, and the discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence. All of these together could land Allen in prison for life. He did not speak much during the hearing. He was dressed in a blue prison outfit and answered the judge's questions, but otherwise stayed pretty quiet. Allen's next hearing is on Thursday, and until [03:39] Okay, so what was his motive? [03:41] So the court documents unsealed yesterday shed some light on that. And to take a step back in early March, President Trump announced he'd be going to the White House Correspondents Dinner. And prosecutors allege that about a month later, Allen booked a room at the Washington Hilton for that weekend. Prosecutors say Allen traveled from his home in California to Chicago and then on to D.C. via Amtrak train. And they allege he was traveling with at least two guns. [04:08] On the night of the dinner, prosecutors say that minutes before he left his hotel room to allegedly carry out his plan, he sent an email to family and friends. And in that email, prosecutors say he lays out his reasoning for the planned attack. The letter says that he did not want to be represented by someone who he called, quote, a pedophile, rapist and traitor. Presumably that is referring to President Trump. He also writes that his targets for the evening were administration officials. [04:38] prioritized from highest ranking to lowest. And that's a direct quote. Yeah, Trump was read that line about being a pedophile on CBS and took offense to it on Sunday night. Now, did the Justice Department say anything about how the suspect managed to get as far as he did get?

[04:54] Well, a video released of the incident shows Allen managed to run really fast, about 60 yards past Secret Service agents and a security checkpoint, before being taken down by agents. And on that, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche strongly defended the Secret Service during a DOJ press conference yesterday afternoon. He said the fact that Allen was stopped shows the system worked. [05:20] Law enforcement did not fail. [05:23] They did exactly what they are trained to do. I want to make this clear. This man was a floor above the ballroom with hundreds of federal agents between him and the president of the United States. There does seem to be one thing that might change. As you might know, Trump has talked about rescheduling the dinner. [05:53] since he is first in line to the White House. Not putting the whole line of succession in one place. Jacqueline, thanks so much. Thank you. That's NPR's Jacqueline Diaz. [06:10] Okay, the King and Queen of England have begun their state visit to the United States. Strictly speaking, Charles has many titles, such as this. Charles III, by the grace of God, of the United Kingdom, of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and of his other realms and territories. King, head of the Commonwealth, defender of the faith. By whatever name, President Trump welcomed him to the White House yesterday.

[06:40] taxes to immigration. NPR White House correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben is covering the visit. Daniel, good morning. Morning, Steve. Why is Charles coming now? [06:47] Well, this visit is in honor of a bigger celebration. Of course, the U.S.'s 250th anniversary of its independence from Britain. But there's tension over a bunch of other topics, primarily the war in Iran, which the U.K. has continually declined to fight with the U.S. Now, they have allowed the U.S. to use U.K. air bases, and they're working with France to try to open the Strait of Hormuz. [07:17] mocked Starmer earlier this month for not giving him more help. [07:20] I said, "You have two old, broken-down aircraft carriers. You think you could send them over?" [07:26] Oh... [07:27] I'll have to ask my team. I said, you're the prime minister. You don't have... No, no, no. [07:32] I have to ask my team, President. [07:35] Now, Trump has also been upset about a recent plan to ban new oil and gas licenses in the North Sea. And this month, he threatened new tariffs on U.K. goods in reaction to a digital services tax that the U.K. has levied on some tech companies. Lots of tension there, but this is the British head of state. So how does this affect the visit? Yeah. [07:53] Well, the king is supposed to remain politically neutral at all times. So the two men may not debate important hot topics between the countries. But the visit matters because the crown is part of the U.K.'s soft power. So even if there's no policy happening, the visit could still be a way of easing tensions. And Trump really seems to have been looking forward to this. Why?

[08:15] Well, some of it stems from his childhood. His mother was born in Scotland, and Trump has talked quite a bit over the years about how much she loved the royal family. And when he met Queen Elizabeth II during his first term, he seemed almost awed by her, which is a reaction we don't see him have towards pretty much anyone. Now, Trump also really seems to like King Charles on a personal level. He's called him a friend and a great guy in recent days. [08:41] Beyond all that, of course, Trump loves ceremony and grandeur, and that just comes with the state visit. There's going to be a formal arrival on the South Lawn today, including a traditional military arrival ceremony with a 21-gun salute, a military review, and there's going to be a banquet tonight. We should add here that the shooting at the Washington Hilton Saturday during the White House Correspondents' Dinner, that did prompt a last-minute security review, but the royals' itinerary does appear unaffected. Danielle, I'm really interested in this detail. [09:11] stay above politics, but he's going to go into a political arena today. He's going to address Congress. So what to expect? Well, for some clues, we can look to when Trump visited the UK last year at a banquet there. Charles celebrated the nation's shared heritage, as he put it, and their cooperation over the years. Now, Charles's mother, Elizabeth II, also addressed Congress in 1991. And during that, she talked about the importance of democracy and international cooperation,

[09:41] from then. Trump regularly attacks allies and he criticizes NATO a lot. So it just emphasizes how much relations have changed between the two countries. Now, we've learned from the palace that Charles's speech will focus on reconciliation, though it will at least mention some topics the two countries disagree on, like NATO, Ukraine and the Middle East. NPR's Daniel Kurtzleben will be listening for your reporting. Thanks so much. [10:04] Thank you. [10:04] Music [10:14] We're keeping an eye on the Middle East war that has ended without ending. [10:18] The ceasefire in Lebanon, for example, seems only technically still in effect. Israel has carried out widespread airstrikes in Lebanon's south in recent days, forcing many civilians who had tried to return home to re-evacuate. Hezbollah has responded by firing several drones at Israeli troops occupying the south. Let's go to Lebanon, to Beirut, where we found NPR's Kat Lonsdorf. Hi, Kat. Hey, good morning. Okay, that doesn't really sound like much of a ceasefire if we're talking about drones, civilians evacuated, airstrikes. [10:46] Yeah, it's confusing. I mean, basically, diplomatically, the ceasefire agreement is still holding, meaning that none of the parties involved, Israel, Lebanon or Hezbollah have officially declared it over. And there haven't been airstrikes here in Beirut. Although, Steve, you know, as I'm sitting here talking to you, I'm hearing the buzz of Israeli surveillance drones above the city.

[11:16] targets, mostly in the south, but they've been spreading to other parts of the country too. And they're deadly. You know, 14 people were killed on Sunday alone, according to Lebanese officials. Meanwhile, Hezbollah has been carrying out drone strikes on Israeli troops. Over the weekend, one soldier was killed and several more were wounded. Okay, what do Lebanese people then say about these acts of war in the middle of a ceasefire? [11:39] Yeah, we've been speaking to people in the south where it really does not feel like a ceasefire. I was just there a few days ago, and even then there were sporadic airstrikes. Those have intensified, and Israel has issued new evacuation orders for several communities beyond the zone it occupies. That means a lot of people are re-evacuating after trying to go back to their homes even during the ceasefire, like 35-year-old Abed Ammar. [12:03] How can you call this a ceasefire, he asked us in a voice note. If this was a ceasefire, we could be at home. This is not a ceasefire. We just met him last week in his home village down south where he had returned with his family, but he's just fled again after his village was shelled in the middle of the night. Let's just remember then, Lebanon, of course, is one theater of the larger war that pitted the U.S. and Israel against Iran. The U.S. and Iran are supposed to [12:33] They seem to have stalled in some way. What are you hearing there? [12:36] Yeah, the talks between the U.S. and Iran really don't seem to be going anywhere right now. Iran has put forward a new proposal, the terms of which haven't been made public. And President Trump met with his national security team yesterday to discuss that proposal, according to the White House. But Iran has made it clear it won't discuss anything further until the U.S. ends its blockade on Iranian ports. The U.S. has said its main focus is ending Iran's nuclear program. So they seem to be at kind of an impasse there. And those talks are really connected to the situation here.

[13:06] Iran, which is Hezbollah's main backer, has said it won't engage in further talks with the U.S. unless there's a ceasefire here. But the more it seems that those talks aren't happening, there's less pressure to keep this ceasefire holding. People must not be feeling very good about the situation where you are, given everything you've just described, Kat. [13:24] No, certainly not. I think people here very much feel like if talks fall apart between the U.S. and Iran, the war will almost certainly reignite in full here. NPR's Kat Lonsdorf is in Beirut. Thanks so much. Thank you. [13:41] And that's Up First for this Tuesday, April 28th. I'm Steve Inskeep. And I'm A. Martinez. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Anna Yukoninov, Rebecca Metzler, Ruth Sherlock, Mohamed Elbardisi, and Ali Schweitzer. It was produced by Zia Butch and Ben Abrams. Our director is Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. Our technical director is Carly Strange. And our supervising senior producer is Vince Pearson. Join us again tomorrow. Vince is supervising us? Of course he is. [14:09] Bye. [14:13] you [14:26] This message comes from Integrative Therapeutics, makers of Cortisol Manager, named Best Overall Ashwagandha Supplement by Vogue. Use code STRESS2026 for 20% off of Cortisol Manager on Amazon.com.

[14:40] This message comes from Cachava. It can be tough to stick to your wellness routine, especially when you're on the go. Cachava's new travel packs make it easier. Just one packet provides nutrition ready for wherever life takes you with protein, fiber, greens, probiotics, electrolytes, and more. Take your daily ritual with you. Go to cachava.com and use code NPR. New customers get 15% off their first order. [15:10] NPR.