The Brief

The alleged gunman at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, where President Donald Trump and other top administration officials were gathered, is set to make his first appearance in court today.

Cole Allen, 31, is slated to be arraigned in federal court. Police have not formally identified Allen as the suspect, but NPR confirmed his identity with two people familiar with the investigation who aren't authorized to speak publicly.

Allen faces charges including using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon, according to U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro.

Authorities said Allen charged through a security perimeter at the Washington Hilton, where the annual event was taking place, before being stopped and arrested by law enforcement. One Secret Service agent was shot in his protective vest and not seriously injured.

Video from the event shows Secret Service agents surrounding Trump and Vice President Vance and ushering them out of the room after shots rang out. Journalists and other attendees can be seen crouched under tables as federal officers swarmed the ballroom.

At a White House press conference shortly after the shooting, Trump said he recognized the dangers of his position as president.

"I like not to think about it. I lead a pretty normal life, considering, you know, it's a dangerous life. I think I'm — I think I handle it as well as it can be handled," Trump said.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told NBC's Meet the Press Sunday morning that the suspect is believed to have been targeting administration officials.

What happened?

Just after the dinner began around 8 p.m. ET, the suspect allegedly attempted to breach a security barrier inside the Washington Hilton near the ballroom where the correspondents' dinner was being held.

Trump on Saturday night posted a video on social media appearing to show a man sprinting through a security checkpoint, with agents then turning and pointing their weapons in his direction. Those inside the nearby ballroom could hear muffled pops.

"Tonight we saw exactly what our brave men and women do each and every day to protect our protectees," Secret Service Director Sean Curran said Saturday evening. "And that individual, when he charged a checkpoint, was apprehended. It shows that our multi-layered protection works."

The suspect was believed to have acted alone, and two firearms and multiple knives were recovered, the Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement on social media.

Trump said after the shooting that he wanted the dinner to continue, but later said he decided to leave at the request of law enforcement, adding that the organizers told him the event would be rescheduled.

Weijia Jiang, a CBS News journalist who is president of the White House Correspondents' Association, called Sunday's shooting a "harrowing moment" and said the WHCA board would meet to "assess what happened and determine how to proceed."

Who is Cole Allen?

Before the shooting, Allen allegedly sent his family members what the White House is calling a manifesto, stating he wanted to target members of the Trump administration, a White House official told NPR.

That official also said Allen's sister had spoken with law enforcement, telling them her brother had a tendency to make radical statements and had alluded to a plan to do "something" to fix the world's problems.

According to his sister, Allen purchased two handguns and a shotgun that he stored at his parents' home without their knowledge.

Additional details about the suspect began to emerge in the hours after the attack.

A LinkedIn page that appears to belong to Allen describes him as a "mechanical engineer and computer scientist by degree, independent game developer by experience, teacher by birth." According to the LinkedIn page, Allen worked as a part-time teacher at C2 Education, a tutoring service that offers testing prep for high school students. He received a "teacher of the month" award from the company in December 2024.

One of his students, Jason, a 17-year-old who NPR is identifying only by his first name because he is a minor, said "you wouldn't expect [Allen] to be plotting some crazy, evil plan to kill the president." Jason added: "He was just quirky because he was a just really smart guy."

Movses Janbazian, pastor at Pasadena United Reformed Church, told NPR he knew Allen years ago as a "good guy" and "quiet." Allen attended weekly church services while he was a student at California Institute of Technology, according to Janbazian.

"He was faithful in his attendance, and he was always friendly and courteous to everyone," Janbazian said. "He was in a very competitive school, and so we didn't get to see him much because he was always working, doing homework."

"Every interaction we had with him was great," Janbazian continued.

Janbazian also said the news is still "very surprising" and he doesn't "know what to think." Allen was not involved in the church outside of worship, he added.

"No secret handshakes or anything," Janbazian said. "Just — he would come. He would hear the gospel. He would worship. He would go home."

Federal Election Commission records show that Allen donated $25 to the fundraising platform ActBlue in October 2024, earmarked for Kamala Harris' presidential campaign.

NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben, Ryan Lucas, Lydia Calitri, Steve Futterman, Deepa Shivaram and Ava Berger contributed reporting.
Copyright 2026 NPR

Orcas, the lovable black and white marine predators, have taken over 10,000 square feet of the Natural History Museum of L.A. County.

Orcas: Our Shared Future, which opened Sunday, includes floor to ceiling screens that play orcas swimming in the wild and a life-size replica of Ruffles.

He was one of the first orcas Alisa Schulman-Janiger, lead research biologist for the California Killer Whale Project, saw in the wild back in the 80s.

“It’s not him but it represents him," she said. "And I can actually go back in time and replay: I was standing here and my boyfriend who became my husband was standing next to me... seeing them under us foraging for fish."

Schulman-Janiger, who is also a research associate for the museum, said there was a sighting of these giants — the largest members of the dolphin family — in our local waters just this month.

“In the Channel Islands,” she said. “I just looked at some photos today sent to me by one of the naturalists... and she saw at least 16 different orcas.”

About the exhibition

There are 140 original artifacts and specimens to see and experience at the immersive show, including sculptures and masks by Indigenous artists of the Pacific Northwest Coast.

Fred DeNisco, an orca expert from British Columbia who goes by ‘The Orca Man’ on social media, said he fell in love with orcas at the age of three, while watching 1993’s Free Willy in the back of a mini-van.

An original 'Free Willy' VHS clamshell on display at the Natural History Museum of LA County

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He’s followed the exhibition all over the U.S. and Canada.

“It is just so unique in the breadth of topics that it covers, both in indigenous relationships with orcas, the research and more particularly our human relationship and the tumultuous relationship that has in media and captivity and even whale watching,” DeNisco told LAist.

And in case you’re wondering, the exhibition does include an original clamshell for a VHS copy of Free Willy, the film that inspired a generation of orca-lovers like DeNisco.

How to go

You can check out Orcas: Our Shared Future through April 25, 2027.

Museum hours: 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Location: 900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles
Phone: 213.763.DINO (3466)

Ticket info is at the Natural History Museum website. Note: There is an additional fee for the exhibition ($12 for adults, $6 for children)

LAist is one of the Natural History Museum’s media partners for the exhibition, Orcas: Our Shared Future.

I’ve loved reading your reactions to the new LACMA David Geffen Galleries. Here are just a few of the many responses we received; most were positive, but there were some smart criticisms as well:

“The architecture by Peter Zumthor and the uniquely designed way of displaying the collection across time and place was brilliant! The joy is in finding the connections.” —Marlan

“Time and place braid together in a continuum unleashed from the strictly defined spaces typical of an encyclopedic museum. Truly radical in the best way possible.” —Bianca

“The art seemed to be presented in an almost random order, as if they took LACMA's collection like a deck of cards, shuffled them twice, and then just hung everything in the resulting order.” —Steve

Licorice Pizza has your music picks for the week, including post-hardcore band La Dispute at the Belasco, indie-folk star Cut Worms at Pacific Electric and rock en español sensation Julieta Venegas at the Grammy Museum — all on Tuesday. Wednesday, Charlie Puth is at the Forum, dream-pop trio Sunday (1994) is at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, singer-songwriter and breakout The Voice contestant Carol Ades plays the Troubadour and Latin rock band Zoé plays the first of two nights at the YouTube Theater. Thursday, Chet Faker plays the Novo, Maro is at the Fonda, King Tuff plays Sid The Cat Auditorium and a cappella legends Take 6 begin their four-night residency at the Blue Note.

Elsewhere on LAist, you can get a first look at the new Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, find out more about this King Taco’s historic designation, and grab your tickets for Wild Card with NPR’s Rachel Martin Live at the Crawford on May 2.

Events

Enormous Things

Tuesday and Wednesday, April 28 and 29
Elysian Theater
1944 Riverside Drive, Elysian Valley
COST: $25; MORE INFO

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Courtesy The Elysian

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A more up-my-alley musical has never before landed in my Instagram feed. Do you, like me, enjoy modern art and showtunes more than almost anything else? Enormous Things — a musical about Claes Oldenburg where Jeff Koons is the villain — might also be for you.

Just Sing 

Thursday, April 30, 7:30 p.m. 
Laemmle NoHo 7
5240 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood
COST: $14.50; MORE INFO

Fans of Pitch Perfect will want to check out this local real-life story. Just Sing follows the USC a cappella group SoCal VoCals as they make their way to the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella in New York City. Co-directors and cinematographers Angelique Molina and Abraham Troen will host a Q&A following the screening.

Japanese Heritage Night at Dodger Stadium

Monday, April 27, 7:10 p.m.
Dodger Stadium 
1000 Vin Scully Ave., Elysian Park 
COST: FROM $70; MORE INFO 

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Courtesy Los Angeles Dodgers

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Japanese superstar Yoshiki will perform at the Dodgers vs. Marlins game ahead of his headliner performance at Disney Hall in July, marking Japanese Heritage Night at the stadium. Get there early to hear the music, enjoy Japanese food specials and grab your special game jersey.

Old Woman Naked

Wednesday and Thursday, April 29 and 30, 7:30 p.m. 
The Broadwater Second Stage
6320 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood 
COST: $45; MORE INFO 

Acclaimed author Pamela Redmond is no stranger to using her own life for inspiration for her beloved fiction, like Younger (which later became the hit Freeform show) and Older. But baring all — emotionally and physically — onstage? That’s new territory for the 72-year-old. First performed in New York to a sold-out one-night-only crowd, Old Woman Naked digs into the truth about aging, sexuality, feminism, motherhood and coming into your own. An additional date of May 17 has just been added.

Comedy, at Night 

Tuesday, April 28, 8:30 p.m. 
UCB Franklin 
5919 Franklin Ave., Hollywood
COST: $20; MORE INFO 

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Courtesy UCB Comedy

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Bob Odenkirk, Sarah Silverman and many more bold-faced comedy names join this showcase at UCB Franklin, hosted by Nate Odenkirk and Ari Mostow.

Double Chin pop-up 

Monday, April 27, 9 a.m. until sold out 
Petitgrain Boulangerie 
1209 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica 
COST: VARIES; MORE INFO

Double chin? More like double yum. Get in line early for this pop-up at Petitgrain, featuring Leah Chin-Katz’s popular pastries and jams.

Glowworm Full Moon Night Hike 

Thursday, April 30, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.  
Gabrielino Trail, Western Trailhead
915 Ventura Street, Altadena
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

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Jason Journeyman

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Rattlesnakes sleep at night (right?), so head out for a late-night hike to see the rare California pink glowworms that come out this time of year in the Altadena foothills. Intrepid hiker Jason Wise (Journeyman) leads this nature-filled evening with L.A. Rises.

Screening: Dead City Punx 

Thursday, April 30, 7:30 p.m.
Brain Dead Studios
611 N. Fairfax Ave., Melrose 
COST: $18; MORE INFO 

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Courtesy Gold Atlas

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Dead City Punx exhibit 

Through Saturday, May 30
Beyond the Streets 
434 N. La Brea Ave., Mid-City
COST: FREE, MORE INFO 

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yubo dong

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Punk in Los Angeles is far from dead. Dead City Punx, whose shows have shut down streets and seen fans start fires, are the focus of a new documentary and gallery show at Beyond the Streets. Dead City Punx (trailer here) tells the story of the band that built a following through “chaotic, illegal outdoor shows during the pandemic — complete with bonfires, fireworks, graffiti and clashes with law enforcement — ultimately sparking a movement that challenged what DIY and punk culture mean today.” Produced by Rage Against the Machine’s Zack de la Rocha, the film and gallery show are out now.

Los Angeles County is home to the largest homeless population in the U.S. — more than 72,000 people, according to official estimates.

In 2024, county voters approved Measure A, a half-percent sales tax increase aimed at raising $1 billion a year for homeless services and affordable housing.

Its backers promised voters more transparency, accountability and results.

As new revenue flows in, questions about how L.A. County spends homelessness dollars aren’t going away.

How Measure A came to be 

Homeless service providers and advocates wrote and campaigned for Measure A in 2024. Their goal was for it to replace a smaller, temporary county sales tax for homeless services known as Measure H, which was set to expire in 2027.

That quarter-percent sales tax, approved by voters in 2017, delivered about $500 million a year.

That new funding helped move more people into shelter beds, and the number of unhoused people in shelters in L.A. County increased from about 15,000 in 2017 to about 23,000 in 2024, according to official estimates.

But the county's overall unhoused population — which includes people staying in shelters as well as those living on the streets —- grew by 37%, from about 55,000 in 2017 to more than 75,000 in 2024.

Measure A’s solution was to double the special sales tax for homelessness, make it permanent and use the extra revenue to help build more affordable housing in addition to homeless services.

A majority of county voters agreed. The county enacted the “Affordable Housing, Homelessness Solutions, and Prevention Now Transactions and Use Tax Ordinance” — and then started collecting the Measure A tax in April 2025.

Elise Buik, President and CEO of United Way of Greater Los Angeles presents an award to Peter Laugharn, President and CEO of Conrad N. Hilton Foundation at the United Way "Annual HomeWalk To End Homelessness" in 2017. Both organizations were major backers of Measure A, along with the California Community Foundation and others.

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Greg Doherty

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Measure A’s promises

Voters approved Measure A amid increasing concerns about the regional agency long tasked with managing public homelessness dollars by the county and city of L.A.

A county audit in late 2024 found that the Los Angeles Regional Homelessness Authority, or LAHSA, had regularly paid service providers late and failed to properly monitor contracts. A separate court-ordered report found L.A. city officials had made it impossible to accurately track homelessness spending, largely by outsourcing to LAHSA.

Measure A proposed a new approach to the region’s homeless services system, which many have described as “dysfunctional.” Written into the ordinance were clearer systemwide goals, increased accountability over spending and consequences for programs that fail to perform.

Unlike Measure H, which focused on getting people off the street, Measure A was written to also focus on preventing people from falling into homelessness. It directs more than 35% of its roughly $1 billion in yearly revenue to a new county affordable housing agency. Supporters estimated it could produce 18,000 new affordable units in L.A. County over 10 years.

It directs 60% or revenues towards homeless services — and dedicates a portion of that funding to be split directly among L.A. County’s 88 cities.

Measure A delegated oversight responsibilities for the spending to the county Board of Supervisors and two governance bodies the board had established in 2023 to coordinate regional planning on homelessness.

The first is an advisory group called the Leadership Table for Regional Homelessness Alignment. It includes nonprofit service providers and experts who meet regularly and inform policy decisions.

That group advises a more powerful one called the Executive Committee for Regional Homelessness Alignment, which sets Measure A’s goals and makes plans and funding recommendations.

Its nine members include two county supervisors (currently Kathryn Barger and Lindsey Horvath), the L.A. mayor (currently Karen Bass), an L.A. City Council member (currently Nithya Raman), a representative from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration and four officials from cities across the county.

The committee’s recommendations go to the county Board of Supervisors, which has the final say.

Last March, the supervisors formally adopted five-year Measure A goals with 2030 deadlines. They include: reducing unsheltered homelessness in the county by 30%, moving twice as many people annually into permanent housing and boosting affordable housing production by about 50%.

Measure A’s effects

One of the early after effects of passing Measure A has been a reorganization of who controls the growing pot of county homelessness dollars.

In April 2025, the Board of Supervisors voted to divert more than $300 million from LAHSA and create a new county department, the Department of Homeless Services and Housing, to manage homelessness funding directly.

Supporters of the move said it was necessary because Measure A voters were demanding accountability that LAHSA wasn’t delivering. The new county department formally launched in January.

The full transition of LAHSA programs to the county is planned in July. The Board of Supervisors recently directed the new department to create strict oversight procedures for all homeless service contracts.

Last March, L.A. County approved its first annual budget that included projected allocations from Measure A, totaling about $1 billion. The county had twice as much funding at its disposal but still cut tens of millions of dollars in programs and services for unhoused people, citing a strategic shift.

Now, the county is finalizing the budget for the next fiscal year, which starts July 1. It again includes $1 billion for homeless services and affordable housing because of Measure A, but the homelessness spending plan includes nearly $200 million in program reductions.

County officials said those reductions were necessary to cover rising shelter costs and the loss of pandemic-era state and federal funding.

Measure A has allocated about $100 million annually, or roughly 9% of all Measure A revenues, directly to the 88 cities within L.A. County to address homelessness in what’s known as the Local Solutions Fund. The county publishes a regional plan showing how that money is used.

The funding is awarded based primarily on a city’s recent unhoused population numbers, using estimates from the official annual homeless count.

Some city leaders complain that their residents are paying way more into the Measure A tax than they are getting out of it.

Torrance mayor George Chen says his city will generate about $26 million annually for the county through the Measure A sales tax, and it will receive about $559,000 in local funding through the measure.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath supported the Measure A sales tax, and also championed the effort to break from LAHSA and form a new county homelessness department.

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Affordable housing focus 

The major structural difference between Measure A and its predecessor is that it earmarks roughly 36% of its proceeds — about $363 million a year — for affordable housing development. Those funds flow through a new independent regional agency called the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency, or LACAHSA.

The agency’s mandate is to create new affordable homes, preserve lower-rent housing and prevent displacement. It is still in its early stages.

As of March, the agency had received $275 million from Measure A and distributed $25 million to recipients, according to its Measure A Funds Tracker. Most of what had been awarded was emergency rental assistance.

On April 15, the agency’s board conditionally approved its first major round of housing production funding, approximately $102 million for 10 projects that will add 566 units of affordable housing, according to a recent report.

Projects are required to break ground within one year of receiving awards. A second round of awards is scheduled for the board's May 13 meeting.

Demand for funding far outpaced what was available: LACAHSA received 242 applications for 127 projects totaling $1.56 billion and representing 11,484 units.

What’s next?

The goals Measure A set are ambitious, and the deadline is 2030. A county dashboard tracking progress shows the region gaining ground reducing unsheltered homelessness while falling behind on other targets.

The county hasn’t made any progress decreasing the number of people falling into homelessness or decreasing homelessness among people with mental health or substance use disorders. The dashboard does not yet include affordable housing production metrics.

The transition from the regional Homeless Services Authority to the new county Department of Homeless Services and Housing is still underway, with a full handoff of staff and programs targeted for July 2026.

LAHSA recently announced it will lay off 284 employees at the end of June.

Federal cuts and changes to funding from Medicaid and the U.S. Housing and Urban Development — flagged as “threats to recent progress” in the county's recent budget documents — loom over the entire system.