Mike Tomlin, now with NBC, predicts that Aaron Rodgers will return to Steelers: 'He's got a love affair with the game'

Mike Tomlin won’t coach him. But he believes that Aaron Rodgers will return to play quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In his first official capacity asa football analyst for NBC,Tomlin sat down with host Maria Taylor on the network’s NBA pregame show Sunday night to promote his new gig. There, Taylor asked Tomlin who he thinks will play quarterback for the Steelers in 2026.

“Man, if you’ve got a gun to my head, I’d say it’s AR, Aaron,” Tomlin responded. “I just think, being around him for the 12 months I’m around him, he’s got a love affair with the game of football. And not only the game, but the process. …

“I think he has an addiction to that. And there’s only one way to feed it. And certainly, he is still capable and in really good shape. I think at the end of the day, he’ll play football.”

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Tomlin doesn’t appear to have any inside information. But as far as educated guesses on Rodgers’ future go, his carries some weight. Tomlin coached the Steelers for 19 seasons and spent his last season in Pittsburgh with Rodgers as his quarterback.

And with the NFL Draft in the rearview and no deals done to acquire a veteran quarterback, the Steelers appear to be counting on Rodgers’ return. Pittsburgh selected Penn State quarterback Drew Allar in the third round of last week’s draft. ButAllar appears at this point to be a long-term projectin Pittsburgh and not the Steelers’ planned quarterback of 2026.

The leaves veteran backup Mason Rudolph and second-year reserve Will Howard on the depth chart with Allar — neither of whom Pittsburgh should be considering as a starter for next season.

But for now, the waiting game continues and appears to hinge on Rodgers’ decision. Rodgers is 42 years old with 21 seasons of NFL experience. Now is a reasonable time for him to call it a career.

But the Steelers appear to be banking on what Tomlin speculated Sunday: that Rodgers loves the game too much to quit now while he still has gas in the tank and will return to play with his former Packers coach Mike McCarthy in Pittsburgh.

byDaniel Coleman

in

April 26, 2026

Mike Tomlin, now with NBC, predicts that Aaron Rodgers will return to Steelers: 'He's got a love affair with the game'

Mike Tomlin won’t coach him. But he believes that Aaron Rodgers will return to play quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers. In hi...

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Thanks, Mom: Elizabeth's lessons on presidents for King Charles

King Charles IIImay well be channeling his mother when he arrives in Washington April 27.

During her record-setting reign,Queen Elizabeth IImet with 13 sitting U.S. presidents − more than any other person from anywhere, ever − and sometimes at moments when the "special relationship" between the United States and the United Kingdom was strained.

Now that isher son’s taskin hisfirst visitto the former colonies since he was crowned, arriving amid rifts over the war in Iran and the future of NATO.

What are Elizabeth’s lessons?

Here are four of them.

Today's troubles? Ignore them

A constitutional monarch doesn't have the power to negotiate the role of the United States in the Western alliance or the deployment of British forces in the Strait of Hormuz. Those are the problematic tasks of Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

So why get entangled in today’s troubles?

Elizabeth arrived in Washington on her first visit as queen in the aftermath of Britain’s effort to take over the Suez Canal, a misadventure that not only failed but also enraged President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

But there’s no evidence the queen and the president talked about Suez during her visit. Instead, they fondly remembered old times — when she was a teenaged princess and he was the U.S. general sent to London to help win World War II — and they discussed the breaking news of the day, the Soviet launch of Sputnik.

That was a challenge to U.S. superiority in space on which their two nations were aligned.

Years later, in 2003, she greeted President George W. Bush to London amid massive protests over the war in Iraq, an issue that was consuming politics in both countries.

Would they have talked about that?

”No,” a senior palace adviser said, startled at the very idea and adding for emphasis, “No, no, no, no.”

No need for that. Leave it to 10 Downing Street.

Bring the bling

The regalia of royalty has long enchanted millions of Americans — including Trump, who has added a palace-like layer of gold and gilt to the Oval Office. The huge new ballroom he has ordered built is poised to dwarf the grand dining halls at Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace.

On her formal encounters with presidents and other foreign leaders, Elizabeth would bedazzle with her tiaras, earrings and necklaces, heavy with history and laden with priceless jewels.

Charles will be sporting medals, not gems, of course. But watchQueen Camillato display some of the Crown Jewels.

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The gifts the royal couple will present Trump and First LadyMelania Trumpwill be another opportunity to use the British store of treasures to impress.

Take the long view. Like 250 years

The king has the serendipitous timing of arriving as the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence approaches. No one seems to mind that the Declaration was directed against his great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, King George III, who was denounced in it as a tyrant who had "destroyed the lives of our people."

Instead, that shared history gives Charles an opening to emphasize the shared language and values of the United States and the United Kingdom.

A half-century ago, Elizabeth had visited the White House during the Bicentennial celebrations.

For her, that was a chance to meet a new president, Gerald Ford, in the wake of the Watergate affair that had engulfed his predecessor, Richard Nixon.

Concern about the scandal and its repercussions had prompted the British to impose a certain diplomatic distance for a time. There was even a behind-the-scenes debate in London over whether the queen should visit during the Bicentennial, with the suggestion she might send son Charles instead.

That is, if Nixon survived. He didn’t, solving that problem.

If all else fails, wait. Another president will be along soon

Monarchs don’t have terms or term limits, although Charles’ reign will certainly be shorter than his mother’s seven decades. He was 73 years old when he was crowned in 2022. Two years ago, he revealed that he was battling cancer.

In contrast, presidents do have sell-by dates, and the end of Trump’s time in the White House is now two and a half years away. At that point, Charles or his heir will presumably still be ensconced at Buckingham Palace.

Elizabeth understood that. When President Lyndon Johnson rejected entreaties to visit London, she bided her time until a friendlier Richard Nixon was inaugurated. After a prickly relationship with President Jimmy Carter, she developed the closest presidential relationship she had with successor Ronald Reagan.

She was generally careful not to let her relationship with the current president create complications with whomever would be next in line.

The exception was when British officials searched their files for dirt on Bill Clinton, who had been a Rhodes scholar in Oxford during the Vietnam war. It was a not-so-subtle effort to help President George H.W. Bush defeat his Democratic challenger in 1992.

Clinton won and never forgot, although he insisted that he didn’t hold a grudge.

When the queen visited in 1976, British officials discussed whether to invite Carter, then the likely Democratic nominee, to the reciprocal dinner at the British Embassy to meet her. But the White House made it clear Ford was against that idea, and they didn't.

This time, watch for Charles to reach out, however diplomatically, to Democrats.

Because presidents come and go. The British monarchy has been around for more than a thousand years, and counting.

Susan Page, the Washington Bureau chief of USA TODAY, is the author of “The Queen and Her Presidents,” published in April by Harper.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Queen Elizabeth's lessons for King Charles on handling presidents

byDaniel Coleman

in

April 26, 2026

Thanks, Mom: Elizabeth's lessons on presidents for King Charles

King Charles IIImay well be channeling his mother when he arrives in Washington April 27. During her record-setting reign,Queen El...

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WHCA dinner shooting live updates: Suspect planned to target multiple people

President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and other dignitaries are safe after ashooting incidentoutside the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner Saturday night at the Washington, D.C., Hilton hotel.

The incident took place near the main magnetometer screening area at the event, according to the Secret Service. A suspect, whom law enforcement authorities identified as Cole Allen of Torrance, California, is in custody, officials said.

A Secret Service agent who was wearing an armored vest was struck in the chest, President Trump said at a press briefing following the incident. The Secret Service agent suffered non life-threatening injuries, according to the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department. No one else was injured in the incident.

A motive for the attack was not immediately known.

Latest Developments

Apr 26, 1:45 PMSuspected shooter 'sought to assassinate the president,' Leavitt says

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the suspected shooter at Saturday night's White House Correspondents' Association dinner intended to kill President Donald Trump."What was supposed to be a fun night at the @WHCA dinner with President Trump delivering jokes and celebrating free speech was hijacked by a depraved crazy person who sought to assassinate the President and kill as many top Trump administration officials as possible," Leavitt wrote in apost on XSunday.

"I was with President Trump and the First Lady back stage after we were quickly ushered to safety by Secret Service. President Trump was truly fearless, but as he said last night, this political violence needs to end," Leavitt wrote."Thank you to law enforcement for keeping all of us safe, including the brave agent who took a bullet to the chest and immediately moved to neutralize the shooter. Pray for our country," the post concluded.

Apr 26, 11:54 AMHandwritten notes found in hotel room of WHCA dinner shooting suspect, per law enforcement sources

Handwritten notes found in the hotel room of the suspect in the White House Correspondents' Association dinner shooting Saturday appear to have been left with the intent that officials would find them, according to multiple law enforcement sources.Sources tell ABC News that the suspect, Cole Allen, allegedly made brief statements to law enforcement officials after his arrest that he was focusing on Trump administration officials, and that he allegedly indicated that authorities would be able to find his thoughts in written form.

Sources say early evidence suggests that Allen's plans were to target as many people as possible in a mass shooting.According to law enforcement sources, the alleged writings expressed a distaste for the Trump administration and also for Washington, D.C., elites.Other similar writings were found in Allen's California home, sources told ABC News.-ABC News' Jack Date, Pierre Thomas, Luke Barr, Aaron Katersky, Josh Margolin, and Katherine Faulders

Apr 26, 9:34 AM'The system worked,' Acting Attorney General Blanche says

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday that "the system worked" and kept President Donald Trump and other leaders safe from the shooting Saturday night at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner that they were attending."The system worked; law enforcement and the Secret Service protected all of us. The man barely got past the perimeter. And so when you have a perimeter designed to keep people safe, like President Trump, and it works – that's something that should be applauded,"Blanche told"This Week" anchor George Stephanopoulos.

Blanche said the suspect, whom law enforcement has identified as 31-year-old Cole Allen from Torrance, Calif., was likely acting alone, although investigations are ongoing.

"We believe that he traveled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago and then Chicago to Washington, D.C.," Blanche said.Asked how the suspect may have gotten a firearm into the hotel, Blanche replied, "It's a good question. And listen, I'm not sure. It appears that he checked in on the 24th [of April] to the hotel, and we're still looking at video surveillance and footage of where he walked and how he got in and how those firearms got in, but at the end of the day, I expect we'll have a lot more about that in the coming days."

-ABC News' Oren Oppenheim

Apr 26, 8:31 AMSuspect Cole Allen held by DC police ahead of Monday court appearance

Cole Thomas Allen, the suspect in the White House Correspondents' Association dinner shooting, is being held in the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department's Third District after being released from an area hospital overnight, according to law enforcement sources.Allen is expected to appear in court on Monday.A Secret Service Uniformed Division officer was also treated and released overnight from a different area hospital, according to sources.-ABC News' Jack Date

Apr 26, 7:56 AMKing Charles reaches out to Trump after WHCA incident, royal source says

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Britain’s King Charles and Queen Camilla reached out to President Donald Trump following the incident at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, according to a royal source."Their Majesties have reached out privately to The President and First Lady to express their sympathies with all those affected on the night and their gratitude to the security services who prevented further injury," a royal source told ABC News.

The king and queen are scheduled to arrive on Monday in Washington, where they’ll be hosted by Trump and first lady Melania Trump for a state visit, according to the White House.ABC News' Zoe Magee

Apr 26, 6:23 AMWorld leaders begin expressing solidarity after WHCA incident

International leaders expressed their shock and pledged their solidarity with the White House early on Sunday, after a suspectallegedly exchanged gunfirewith authorities outside the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner."I am shocked by the scenes at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington overnight," British Prime Minister Keir Starmersaidin a statement. "Any attack on democratic institutions or on the freedom of the press must be condemned in the strongest possible terms."He added that it was a "huge relief" that both Trump and first lady Melania Trump, along with the other attendees, were safe after the event.

The suspect’s alleged actions were condemned by members of the governments ofKuwait,Pakistan, theUnited Arab Emiratesand a host of other countries.French President Emmanuel Macrondecriedthe incident, saying, "The armed attack targeting the President of the United States last night is unacceptable. Violence has no place in a democracy. I extend my full support to Donald Trump.""No political hatred can find space in our democracies," Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Melonisaid. "We will not allow fanaticism to poison the places of free debate and information. The defense of the culture of confrontation must remain the insurmountable bulwark against every intolerant drift, to safeguard the values that found our Nations."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said ina statementreleased by his office that he was "shocked" by the event, but glad the president and first lady "were safe and strong.""We send our wishes for a full and speedy recovery to the wounded police officer and salute the US Secret Service for their swift and decisive action," Netanyahu said, according to his office.Lebanon’s president, Joseph Aoun, sent Trump a cable after the incident, according tohis office."And President Aoun expressed in his cable full solidarity with President Trump in the face of such regrettable events that target security and stability, affirming his strong condemnation of acts of violence in all their forms, and wishing that the United States of America enjoys security and safety," Aoun’s office said.

Apr 26, 2:56 AMWHCA dinner brings back memories of Butler shooting, White House deputy chief of staff says

The chaos that erupted at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner after a suspect charged a security checkpoint brought back memories of the shooting at a Trump campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, a White House deputy chief of staff said early on Sunday.

"Never thought I’d be hitting the ground again after Butler, Pennsylvania, as a result of shots being fired," Dan Scavino Jr., the deputy,saidon social media. "Brings back a lot of terrible memories -- I am so thankful that everyone in attendance tonight is okay. We’re all in this together, stay strong!"

A gunman fired a barrage of shots at then-candidate Donald Trump in anapparent assassination attemptat a campaign rally in the Pennsylvania city in July 2024.

Apr 26, 2:34 AMLaw enforcement gathers near address in Torrance, California

Officers from multiple law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and members of a SWAT team, were gathering late on Saturday near an address in Torrance, California, thought to be associated with the suspect.

Authorities earlier identified Cole Allen, the suspect in the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner incident, as a resident of Torrance, a city southwest of Los Angeles.

Apr 26, 2:16 AMSecret Service 'performed admirably,' director says

The director of the Secret Service praised his staff's response during the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner incident, saying they "performed admirably.""Tonight we saw exactly what our brave men and women do each and every day to protect our protectees," Director Sean M. Curran said ina statementreleased by the service. "It’s not easy and I will tell you that they performed admirably. We got to see what they do."

The suspect's apprehension at a checkpoint "shows that our multi-layered protection works," he said, adding, "And I’m grateful to our partners that help assist us with building these sites and protecting these sites."Deputy Director Matthew Quinn also releaseda statement, saying that "a coward attempted to create a national tragedy.""He underestimated the protective capabilites of the U.S. Secret Service, and was stopped at first contact," Quinn added. "The strength of our layered security posture was evident, with a myriad of countermeasures still ahead. Grateful for the brave men and women of the Secret Service and our valued Law Enforecment partners."

Apr 26, 12:30 AMShooting suspect identified as Cole Allen, according to authorities

The suspect in the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner shooting has been identified as Cole Allen from Torrance, California, according to authorities.According to law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation, the suspect is believed to have booked a room in the Hilton in early April.He is declining to answer questions but allegedly made some reference to targeting administration officials but was not specific, the officials said.He mentioned that he is a tutor in California, according to officials.-ABC News' Pierre Thomas, Luke Barr, Katherine Faulders and Josh Margolin

Click here to read the rest of the blog.

byDaniel Coleman

in

April 26, 2026

WHCA dinner shooting live updates: Suspect planned to target multiple people

President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and other dignitaries are safe after ashooting incidentoutside the White House Corresp...

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Jokic fined $50,000, Randle fined $35,000 for Nuggets-Wolves incident

NEW YORK (AP) — Denver's Nikola Jokic was fined $50,000 and Minnesota's Julius Randle was fined $35,000 for their roles inan altercationnear the end of Game 4 of the teams' playoff series, the NBA announced Sunday.

Nuggets Timberwolves Basketball

Both will be eligible to play when the series resumes Monday with Game 5 in Denver.

The incident was evidently sparked when Minnesota'sJaden McDanielstook an uncontested layup with 2.1 seconds left and the Timberwolves already leading by 14 — a play the Nuggets took exception to, given how the game had been decided.

Jokic, the NBA said, “initiated the incident by confronting and shoving” McDaniels in reaction to that play. Randle, the league said, “escalated the incident by forcefully inserting himself into the scrum and shoving Nuggets guard-forward Bruce Brown.”

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Jokic and Randle were assessed technical fouls and ejected from the game.

“He scored when we’d stopped playing,” Jokic said. “You guys saw what happened.”

The teams are meeting in the postseason for the third time in the last four years. Minnesota leads the series 3-1, but will be without guard Donte DiVincenzo for the rest of the season because of a torn Achilles and will be without fellow guard Anthony Edwards indefinitely because of a knee injury. DiVincenzo and Edwards bothgot hurt on Saturday.

AP NBA:https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

byDaniel Coleman

in

April 26, 2026

Jokic fined $50,000, Randle fined $35,000 for Nuggets-Wolves incident

NEW YORK (AP) — Denver's Nikola Jokic was fined $50,000 and Minnesota's Julius Randle was fined $35,000 for their roles inan al...

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Wildfires abound in US Southeast, Georgia suffers record property losses

By Steve Gorman

April 24 (Reuters) - Georgia Governor Brian Kemp declared an emergency on Friday for 91 counties in his state, where authorities are battling two major wildfires that have caused record property damage as more than 120 homes and ‌other buildings have gone up in flames.

The Highway 82 and Pineland Road fires - one sparked by a party balloon, the ‌other by a welder's torch - are by far the fiercest among dozens of blazes ravaging the drought-stricken Georgia countryside and neighboring states of Florida, South Carolina and Alabama in ​recent days.

No casualties were reported in Georgia, which has borne the brunt of the wildfires. But a volunteer firefighter died on Thursday evening after suffering an unspecified medical emergency while fighting a brush fire in northern Florida, according to various news media reports.

The conflagrations were primed by a confluence of climate extremes gripping the Southeast, authorities said.

EXTREME DROUGHT, HEAVY FUEL BED

Unusually sparse rainfall this spring following heavy vegetation growth in the aftermath of Hurricane ‌Helene last fall has created a fuel bed ⁠of drought-parched timber and brush now posing the kind of wildfire hazards more typical for the Western United States in summer.

"We are in extreme drought conditions, and wildfire activity has already surpassed our five-year average," Georgia Forestry ⁠Commission Director Johnny Sabo said in a video message posted online. "Right now conditions are so dry that even one small spark can quickly turn into a dangerous wildfire."

As of Friday night, the Highway 82 and Pineland blazes had scorched more than 39,500 acres (16,000 hectares) combined, incinerating at least 122 homes and ​other ​structures, state forestry officials said. The tally of destruction marked the biggest property ​loss from a single fire event in Georgia's history, ‌the governor told a press conference.

Nearly 1,000 more homes remained threatened, he said.

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Fires are scattered across Georgia, with the two biggest clustered in the southeast near the Florida border, roughly 250 miles (400 km) southeast of Atlanta, the state's capital and largest city.

News footage of the fires showed walls of pine trees engulfed in flames, and Kemp described "fire that is burning to the top of trees and burning from one treetop to another."

With firefighters and water-dropping aircraft struggling to halt the advance of the flames, crews were trying to protect homes still in harm's way, ‌Kemp said.

Teams had managed to carve containment lines around 10% of the perimeters ​of each of the two major fires, forestry officials said.

In a move aimed at ​hastening and consolidating Georgia's disaster response, Kemp declared a state ​of emergency in 91 of Georgia's 159 counties. Sabo announced a 30-day ban on the outdoor burning of refuse, ‌agricultural waste or campfires in the same counties, the ​first such restriction in the state's ​history.

The origin of the two biggest blazes illustrated how a small ignition source could touch off catastrophic fires.

Investigators determined that the Highway 82 blaze began on Monday, when an aluminum-coated balloon landed on a transmission line, triggering an electrical spark that ignited surrounding ​vegetation.

The Pineland Road fire, burning since April 18, ‌was touched off by a stray spark from a welding operation that fell to the forest floor, authorities said.

Authorities said ​they expected extreme fire conditions to persist through the weekend, with gusty winds and little chance of rain in ​the forecast.

(Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by William Mallard)

byDaniel Coleman

in

April 25, 2026

Wildfires abound in US Southeast, Georgia suffers record property losses

By Steve Gorman April 24 (Reuters) - Georgia Governor Brian Kemp declared an emergency on Friday for 91 counties in his state, wh...

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