Car ploughs into crowd
A suspect is in custody after 28 people were injured yesterday when a vehicle ploughed into a crowd watching the Krewe of Endymion parade in New Orleans.
PRESIDENT Donald Trump ratcheted up an increasingly hostile feud with the media yesterday, announcing he would skip a century-old annual correspondents’ dinner a day after an fierce row erupted over press access to the White House.
The Trump White House triggered widespread outrage on Friday by denying access to an off-camera briefing to several major US media, including CNN, the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and Politico.
Smaller outlets that have provided favourable coverage of the Trump administration, such as Breitbart and the One America News Network, received a green light to attend the briefing by the President’s spokesman Sean Spicer.
The move came hours after Mr Trump renewed his assault on the mainstream US media by calling it “the enemy of the people”, in an ongoing battle in which he has labelled the fourth estate “fake news” and the “opposition party”.
The White House Correspondents’ Association said it was “protesting strongly” against the decision to selectively deny media access and would bring it up with the Republican administration.
The New York Times described the White House decision as “an unmistakeable insult to democratic ideals” while CNN called it “an unacceptable development” and the Los Angeles Times warned the incident had “ratcheted up the White House’s war on the free press” to a new level.
Mr Trump doubled down in the stand-off yesterday when he said he would not attend the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on April 29, breaking with an annual tradition in which the President is the guest of honour at a lighthearted roast held by journalists and studded with celebrities.
“I will not be attending the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner this year. Please wish everyone well and have a great evening!” Mr Trump tweeted.
The WHCA, organiser of the event which dates to 1921, said it would go on as planned as a “celebration of the First Amendment (on freedom of the press) and the important role played by an independent news media in a healthy republic”.
Mr Trump built his campaign on criticising the mainstream US press and has intensified his rhetoric since taking office, routinely accusing the media of bias in overstating his setbacks and downplaying his accomplishments.