#USA#BreakingNews#News
FILE – Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich stands in a glass cage in a courtroom at the Moscow City Court, in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, April 18, 2023. Despite its reputation as a comedic roast, the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday plans to take on the serious and solemn role of journalism in a democracy. This year’s dinner occurs as Gershkovich has been imprisoned in Russia. He was detained in March and charged with spying, despite strong denials from his employer and the U.S. government. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)The White House Correspondents' Association dinner is known for its fun if ferocious jabs at Washington. But it took a more solemn tone as President Joe Biden acknowledged the several American journalists under siege in authoritarian countries around the world. Biden and first lady Jill Biden met privately with the parents of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich upon arriving at the dinner on Saturday. Gershkovich has been imprisoned in Russia since March after being charged with spying, despite strong denials from his employer and the U.S. government. Debra Tice, whose son Austin Tice who has not been heard from since disappearing at a checkpoint in Syria in 2012, also attended.
Originally published at Associated Press