April 27, 2026: DC Gala Shooting Suspect Charged, US Weighs Iran Plan, More

Hello, I'm Stephen Carroll. I'm in Brussels, where many of Europe's biggest decisions get

made.

And I'm Caroline Hepgett in London, with the hosts of the Blue Bag Daybreak Europe podcast.

We're up early every week day, keeping an eye on what's happening across Europe and

around the world.

We do it early, so the news is fresh, not recycled, and so you know what actually matters as the

day gets going.

From Brussels, I'm following the politics, policy and the people, shaping the European

Union right now.

And from London, I'm looking at what all that means for markets, money and the wider economy.

We've got reporters across Europe and around the globe feeding in as stories break.

So whether it's geopolitics, energy, tech or markets, you're hearing it while it happens.

It's smart, calm and to the point.

And it fits into your morning.

You can find new episodes of the Blue Bag Daybreak Europe podcast by 7am in Dublin or

8am in Brussels, Berlin and Paris.

On Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

News when you want it, with Bloomberg News Now, I'm Dan Schwartzman.

Cole Thomas Allen, the man accused of opening fire outside the White House correspondence

dinner, made his first appearance in federal court.

Allen was charged with attempting to assassinate President Trump along with other federal

offenses, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.

Violence has no place in civic life.

It cannot and will not be used to disrupt democratic institutions or intimidate those who serve

them.

And it certainly cannot continue to be used against the President of the United States.

That was acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.

Allen faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted of trying to assassinate the

President.

Potential motives, though, weren't clear.

But authorities have said Allen was targeting Trump officials based on a manifesto.

He'd reportedly sent to family members blasting the President and his administration.

Here is Janine Piro, U.S. Attorney for D.C.

There will be additional charges as this investigation continues to unfold.

But make no mistake.

This was an attempted assassination of the President of the United States.

With the defendant making clear what his intent was and that intent was to bring down as many

of the high-ranking cabinet officials as he could.

That's Janine Piro, U.S. Attorney for D.C.

This comes as a White House ways whether to beef up security for the President at public

events.

Press Secretary Caroline Levitt says changes are not of the question.

I think, again, it's up to the White House here and we've viewed as a great responsibility

to ensure the maximum safety of the President and the Vice President and the entire Cabinet.

And so we're always looking for ways to improve security.

That's White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt.

President Trump is called on ABC to immediately fire late-night host Jimmy Kimmel after what

he called a, quote, despicable, called a violence.

Kimmel did a parody of the White House correspondent's dinner on his show last week saying, first

lady Melania Trump had, quote, a glow-like and expectant widow.

ABC's parent company Disney shares slipped and were little changed for the day.

The White House said U.S. officials were discussing Iran's latest proposal but maintained red lines

on any deal done in the war that includes preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

The comments followed reports that Tehran proposed an interim deal whereby it reopens

the trade of Hormuz in exchange for Washington ending its blockade of Iranian ports.

The proposal would also postpone negotiations over Iran's nuclear program.

Here's Bloomberg's Laura Davidson.

What this suggests is that the U.S. is now looking at sort of a multi-phase set of talks

here to come to some sort of conclusion of that, you know, dealing with sort of the acute

pain points right now, which is sort of the closure of the trade of Hormuz.

You have both the U.S. saying that they will not, you know, agree to anything until Iran

opens up the street and Iran saying they will not open up the street until the U.S. ends

their blockade.

So you have a little bit of a detent there, so this specific offer would address that.

That's Bloomberg's Laura Davidson.

President Trump had convened a meeting of national security officials to discuss the Iranian

proposal.

The White House said Trump would address the matter very soon and that his red lines with

respect to Iran have been made very clear.

President Trump has welcomed King Charles to the White House for a visit today.

The British monarch and his wife, Queen Camilla, were greeted by the President and First

Lady Melania Trump at the start of a 4-day trip.

His first day visit to the U.S. since becoming King.

The visit comes as U.S. U.K. relations are strained by the war in Iran, with Trump slamming

Prime Minister Keir Starmer's refusal to assist the U.S. militarily.

In business news, China has decided to block meta-platforms as $2 billion acquisition

of a gentick AI startup, Manus.

This surprise moved on windy, controversial deal that Shron fire over technology leaks

to the U.S.

Matthew Bloxham covers tech for Bloomberg intelligence.

As we know, the world is shifting very rapidly towards a gentick AI as the kind of near-term

future, that technology, and it's an area that matters been looking to boost its capabilities.

Manus was originally a Chinese founded business and re-incorporated in Singapore, but it's

got Chinese founders, and those Chinese founders are in China, and they're being blocked

from leaving the country.

That's Matthew Bloxham with Bloomberg intelligence.

Meta said in a statement that the deal complied with applicable laws and that expected a resolution

to China's investigation without elaborating.

Starbucks will be among the names reporting Tuesday after the closer trading, a preview

from Bloomberg's Charlie Pellet.

Analysts say Starbucks continued sales recovery could lead the company to raise its annual

guidance.

Investors are looking for updates on the China business after the coffee chain sold a stake

to a local private equity firm.

Second quarter comparable sales are seeing gaining 3.65%, according to the Bloomberg consensus.

So far this year, Starbucks shares are up by about 16%.

In New York, Charlie Pellet, Bloomberg Radio.