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White House Correspondents’ Association Cancels Plans to Feature Comedian Amber Ruffin at Annual Dinner
The White House Correspondents’ Association has canceled plans to have comedian Amber Ruffin perform at its annual dinner on April 26, a new sign of the pressures being brought to bear on news organizations during President Donald Trump’s second term.
The journalism group, which has seen its control over interactions with Trump eroded in recent weeks, made the decision after Taylor Budowich, a White House deputy chief of staff, raised comments Ruffin has made in the past that are critical of Trump. Earlier this week, Ruffin told a podcast backed by The Daily Beast that she would not try to make sure her jokes targeted all sides of the political spectrum as the WHCA had requested, and likened the Trump administration to “kind of a bunch of murderers.” Playing to both sides “makes them feel like human beings,” she said, “cause they’re not.”
Ruffin, who first came to notice as a writer and contributor to Seth Meyers’ “Late Night” on NBC, has in recent years hosted her own program on NBC’s Peacock streaming service and, more recently, worked as a featured player on CNN’s “Have I Got News For You,” a topical comedy program that airs on Saturday nights.
“The WHCA board has unanimously decided we are no longer featuring a comedic performance this year. At this consequential moment for journalism, I want to ensure the focus is not on the politics of division but entirely on awarding our colleagues for their outstanding work and providing scholarship and mentorship to the next generation of journalists,” WHCA president Eugene Daniels wrote to members in a statement.
“For the past couple of weeks, I have been planning a re-envisioning of our dinner tradition for this year,” he added. “As the date nears, I will share more details of the plans in place to honor journalistic excellence and a robust, independent media covering the most powerful office in the world
President Donald Trump will not be attending the dinner.
Daniels, who is about to a launch a career as an MSNBC anchor, seemed very supportive of Ruffin just a few weeks ago. “When I began to think about what entertainer would be a perfect fit for the dinner this year, Amber was immediately at the top of my list,” he said in February, when the decision to have Ruffin host the dinner was announced.
The annual WHCA dinner often spurs lots of media attention and comedians ranging from Seth Meyers to Roy Wood Jr. have tilted at both the press corps and the presidents they cover. During Trump’s tenure, however, the comedy has also generated controversy. In 2018, comedian Michele Wolf drew pushback after a series of jokes and remarks that poked more than an elbow in the ribs of her targets. “I think she’s very resourceful, like she burns facts and then she uses that ash to create a perfect smokey eye,” said Wolf of Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House Press Secretary. ” Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s lies.” And, Wolf on the media: “He has helped you sell your papers and your books and your TV. You helped create this monster and now you are profiting from him.”
But the WHCA dinner has always been a minefield. In 2006, Stephen Colbert sparked a controversy by speaking about then-President George W. Bush, all in the manner of the bloviating talk-show host he portrayed on Comedy Central’s “Colbert Report.” “I stand by this man,” Colbert told the audience. ” I stand by this man because he stands for things. Not only for things, he stands on things. Things like aircraft carriers, and rubble, and recently flooded city squares. And that sends a strong message: that no matter what happens to America, she will always rebound — with the most powerfully staged photo ops in the world.”
Rich Little, the affable comedian and impressionist, was tapped for the event in 2007.
Things seem to have gotten worse with Trump. In 2019, after the Wolf appearance stirred rebuke, the WHCA hired biographer Ron Chernow to give remarks. He may best be known as the author of a history of Alexander Hamilton that was used as source material for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s famous musical about the politician. The choice marked the first time since 2003 that a comedian was not utilized.
The WHCA has long managed seating arrangements at the White House during briefings and a “pool” feed that gives members details on the President’s movements and remarks so that they are always covered. But the Trump administration has taken over many of those duties, deciding for itself which outlets get entry to the White House and Air Force Once. In some cases, non-traditional media outlets with less credibility have been elevated to positions on par with those of NBC News and The New York Times, among others.
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A renewed search for Madeleine McCann, an English toddler who disappeared from a family vacation to Portugal May 3, 2007, likely came from a trusted inside tip, according to Grey Bull Rescue founder Bryan Stern.
Madeleine was abducted from the family’s ground-floor apartment in Praia da Luz, a coastal, southern Portuguese city, when she was 3 years old.
Portuguese and German police began a new search this week in Praia da Luz that concluded Thursday, and officials have not yet said whether they discovered any evidence that may be significant to the missing persons case, according to Reuters.
MISSING MADELEINE MCCANN’S PARENTS SAY INVESTIGATION INTO TODDLER’S ABDUCTION ‘WILL EVENTUALLY YIELD RESULTS’
“The five W’s are unanswered right now: Who did it? How did it happen? When did it happen? Where did it happen, you know?” Stern, a multiple-tour combat veteran of the U.S. Army and Navy who now rescues people for a living, told Fox News Digital.
“That’s why these situations are so frustrating … because there’s way more questions than answers. The only thing that anybody knows for sure is that there’s a little girl who used to be walking the streets; now she’s not.”
This undated file photo made available by the London Metropolitan Police shows missing British girl Madeleine McCann before she vanished from a Portuguese holiday complex May 3, 2007. (AP/London Metropolitan Police)
He added that renewed searches like this one for Madeleine show that law enforcement agencies are still actively searching for answers in an unsolved case, and they may have received a tip from someone who knew the main suspect in her disappearance or the suspect himself as part of a deal with prosecutors.
MADELEINE MCCANN WITNESS CLAIMS SUSPECT IN HER KIDNAPPING DRUNKENLY CONFESSED TO CRIME
A search was conducted June 5, 2025, at the request of the German federal police to look for evidence that could implicate Christian Brueckner, who German prosecutors say is the prime suspect in Madeleine McCann’s disappearance. (James Manning/PA Images)
In 2020, German authorities named Christian Brueckner, 45, the main suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance. That same year, German officials declared her dead.
MADELEINE MCCANN SEARCH IN PORTUGAL OVER, ITEMS COLLECTED FOR TESTING: POLICE
Authorities search for evidence in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. (James Manning/PA Images)
Brueckner continues to deny his involvement in the case. Brueckner spent many years in Portugal, including in Praia da Luz, around the time of Madeleine’s disappearance.
MISSING MADELEINE MCCANN: GERMAN COURT THROWS OUT SEX CHARGES AGAINST SUSPECT IN TODDLER’S DISAPPEARANCE
The house where Christian Brueckner was reportedly staying in Monte Judeu, Portugal. (James Manning/PA Images)
He is serving a seven-year sentence for raping a 72-year-old woman in 2005 and is scheduled to be released in September, according to Reuters.
Brueckner was also charged in 2022 for sex crimes against children that German authorities allege he committed in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.
Police investigators arrive to continue an ongoing search operation in the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann at Atalaia, Lagos, in Algarve, June 5, 2025. (Patricia de Melo Moreira/AFP)
A source involved with the search in Praia da Luz this week told Reuters it included several derelict houses, wells and reservoirs covering “dozens of hectares.”
Stern noted officials also likely used radar technology that “can see into the ground.”
Madeleine McCann disappeared from a Portugal vacation 18 years ago. (Carabinieri Milano/handout)
“They find stuff in the dirt all the time, all the time. It’s 2025. Technology is amazing. DNA technology, specifically, is amazing. DNA doesn’t die,” Stern said. “There’s technology that can see into the ground. They use it for fossils all the time. They use it for missing people all the time.
“They use it for oil drilling. They use them for water mitigation, all kinds of things. … It’s a type of radar that pushes sound and energy down, and it comes back up with a return, and that return, in today’s world, can actually be extremely, extremely detailed.”
MADELEINE MCCANN’S PARENTS RELEASE VIDEO ON MISSING DAUGHTER’S 20TH BIRTHDAY
Authorities look for evidence in Madeleine McCann’s disappearance. (James Manning/PA Images)
Stern works “all the time” with parents who have lost children, and he said talking to them is the hardest part of his job.
“I don’t care about the bad guys. I don’t care about the Russians or Hezbollah or any of that stuff. What I care about is the mommy who’s depending on me to bring her kid back. That’s what really, really drives me and scares me. … My biggest thing that I’m afraid of is having to go to a mother saying I failed. Seven hundred and twenty-nine missions later, we’ve never failed; 7,128 people later, we’ve never failed.”
The search June 5, 2025, was conducted at the request of the German federal police as they look for evidence that could implicate Christian Brueckner, who German prosecutors say is the prime suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance. (James Manning/PA Images)
In the McCann case, however, Stern said not knowing absolutely that she is dead, because her remains have never been found, is “painful.”
Madeleine was born in May 2003 and would be turning 22 years old this year.
The Official Find Madeleine Campaign, run by Madeleine’s parents — Kate and Gerry McCann — did not respond to an inquiry from Fox News Digital regarding the search.
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Hosted by Prince Albert of Monaco, the final day of the Blue Economy and Finance Forum (BEFF) closed with leaders pledging their support and calling for global responsibility to protect the oceans.
William, Prince of Wales, said the challenge of protecting the world’s oceans was “like none that we have faced before” and that the clock is ticking:
“I believe that urgency and optimism have the power to bring about the action needed to change the course of history. I’m an optimist because as the founder of the Earthshot Prize, I see the incredible examples of the ideas, innovations and technologies that are harnessing the power of the ocean whilst protecting its vitality.”
“Watching human activity reduce beautiful sea forests to barren deserts, the base of our oceans is simply heart-breaking for many. It is an urgent wake-up call to just what is going on in our oceans, but it can no longer be a matter of out of sight, out of mind. The need to act to protect our ocean is now in full view, as ever,” Prince William added.
Not ‘a matter of opinion’
Meanwhile, in his closing speech, French President Emmanuel Macron criticised countries that deny climate change and cut budgets on this matter.
“We’ve been hearing that, basically, climate change, the threat to biodiversity, the issue of the oceans, all of that, is a matter of opinion,” Macron said. He continued:
“I’m going to tell you: no, we don’t have the right to do that because it’s not an opinion, but it’s scientifically established.”
The French president also hinted at potential developments in the near future:
“We have a duty to mobilise because the science is clear and the facts are there. There is no inevitability. And so, with a few governments, we will in the coming days make strong decisions and mobilise the international community.”
A major focus of the weeklong summit was the push to ratify the High Seas Treaty, which would enable conservation in international waters.
The forum is the precursor to the United Nations Oceans Conference (UNOC) in Nice, where more than 50 world leaders are expected to attend. The US administration will not send representatives.
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