Death toll reaches 27 in quake that hit Turkey, Greek island
Izmir (Turkey): Rescue teams on Saturday plowed through concrete blocks and the debris of eight collapsed buildings in search of survivors of a powerful earthquake that struck Turkey's Aegean coast and north of the Greek island of Samos, killing at least 27 people.
More than 800 others were injured.
The quake hit Friday afternoon, toppling buildings in Izmir, Turkey's third largest city, and triggering a small tsunami in the district of Seferihisar and on Samos. The quake was followed by hundreds of aftershocks.
Early on Saturday, onlookers cheered as rescuers lifted teenager Inci Okan out of the rubble of a devastated eight-floor apartment block in Izmir's Bayrakli district.
Her dog, Fistik, was also rescued, Sozcu newspaper reported. Friends and relatives waited outside the building for news of loved ones still trapped inside, including employees of a dentist's surgery that was located on the ground floor.
In another collapsed building, rescuers made contact with a 38-year-old woman and her four children aged 3, 7 and 10-year old twins and were working to clear a corridor to bring them out, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
Two other women, aged 53 and 35, were brought out from the rubble of another toppled two-story building earlier on Saturday.
In all, around 100 people have been rescued since the earthquake, Murat Kurum, the environment and urban planning minister, told reporters.
Some 5,000 rescue personnel were working on the ground, Kurum said.
At least 25 people were killed in Izmir, including an elderly woman who drowned, according to Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, or AFAD.
Two teenagers were killed on Samos after being struck by a collapsing wall. At least 19 people were injured on the island, with two, including a 14-year-old, being airlifted to Athens and seven hospitalized on the island, health authorities said.
The small tsunami that hit the Turkish coast also affected Samos, with seawater flooding streets in the main harbour town of Vathi. Authorities warned people to stay away from the coast and from potentially damaged buildings.
The earthquake, which the Istanbul-based Kandilli Institute said had a magnitude of 6.9, was centred in the Aegean northeast of Samos. AFAD said it measured 6.6. and hit at a depth of some 16 kilometers (10 miles).
It was felt across the eastern Greek islands and as far as Athens and in Bulgaria. In Turkey, it shook the regions of Aegean and Marmara, including Istanbul. Istanbul's governor said there were no reports of damage in the city, Turkey's largest.
Turkey is crossed by fault lines and is prone to earthquakes. In 1999, two powerful quakes killed some 87,000 people in northwestern Turkey. Earthquakes are frequent in Greece too.
Authorities warned residents in Izmir not to return to damaged buildings, saying they could collapse in strong aftershocks. Many people spent the night out in the streets, too frightened to return to their homes, even if they sustained no damage, the DHA news agency reported.
More than 3,000 rescue personnel were sent to Izmir, as well as relief supplies. The Turkish Red Crescent set up kitchens.
In a show of solidarity rare in recent months of tense bilateral relations, Greek and Turkish government officials issued mutual messages of solidarity while the presidents of Greece and Turkey held a telephone conversation.
Relations between Turkey and Greece have been particularly tense, with warships from both facing off in the eastern Mediterranean in a dispute over maritime boundaries and energy exploration rights. The ongoing tension has led to fears of open conflict between the two neighbours and NATO allies.
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Accused gunman at correspondents' dinner was believed to be targeting top officials, Blanche says
Washington (AP): The accused gunman who tried to storm the ballroom at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner with guns and knives travelled across the country before the event and is believed to have been targeting members of the Trump administration, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday.
Blanche also said officials believe the suspect traveled by train from California to Chicago and then on to Washington, where in recent days he checked in as a guest to the hotel where one of Washington's glitziest events was being held Saturday night.
Investigators have not publicly named the suspect, but two law enforcement officials familiar with the matter have identified him to The Associated Press as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California.
Law enforcement officials who have examined the gunman's electronic devices and his writings preliminarily believe he intended to target administration members in attendance at the dinner. He attempted to charge into the cavernous ballroom at the Washington Hilton but was tackled to the ground in a chaotic scene that resulted in shots being fired, President Donald Trump being hurried off the stage and guests ducking for cover beneath their tables.
“It does appear that he did in fact set out to target folks who work in the administration, likely including the president,” Blanche told NBC's “Meet the Press.”
The suspect is believed to have purchased the firearms he carried within the last couple of years, Blanche said. He is not being cooperative and is expected to face multiple charges on Monday.
Video posted by Trump showed the suspect running past security barricades as Secret Service agents ran toward him. One officer was shot in a bullet-resistant vest but was recovering, officials said. The gunman was taken into custody and was not injured, but was being evaluated at a hospital, police said.
“He failed,” Blanche said on CBS's “Face the Nation.” “Law enforcement did their jobs.”
Social media posts that appear to match the suspect show he is a highly educated tutor and amateur video game developer.
A May 2025 profile photo of Allen appears to match the appearance of the man in a photo of the alleged attacker being taken into custody that was posted Saturday night by Trump. The photo, posted to the social networking site LinkedIn, shows him in a cap and gown after graduating with a master's degree in computer science from California State University, Dominguez Hills.
Allen earned a bachelor's degree in 2017 in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. He listed his involvement there in a Christian student fellowship and a campus group that battled with Nerf guns.
The shooting at the security barricades happened minutes after the event got underway.
The Secret Service and other authorities swarmed the room as guests ducked under tables by the hundreds. Gasps echoed through the ballroom as guests realized something was happening. Hundreds of journalists immediately got on phones to call in information.
“Out of the way, sir!” someone yelled. Others yelled to duck. From one corner, a “God Bless America” chant began as the president was escorted offstage. Outside the hotel, members of the National Guard and other authorities flooded the area as helicopters circled overhead.
After an initial attempt to resume the event, it was scrapped for the night and will be rescheduled.
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