The rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association dinner is taking place Friday, nearly three months after the original event was cut short by a gunman who prosecutors say was trying to assassinate President Donald Trump.

Event Details

The correspondents’ association announced in June that it would redo the annual press gala in a more intimate gathering with “significantly enhanced safety measures and new access procedures.” The event is taking place at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue.

President Trump is expected to attend and deliver remarks at Friday’s association dinner. He said last month he hadn’t decided whether to give his originally intended speech, in which he was widely expected to attack the press.

Guest List and Entertainment

The guest list for Friday’s event is scaled down from the original due to costs and space constraints. The Waldorf Astoria has a much smaller ballroom than the Hilton — where the dinner has been held every year since 1972 — and the dinner will only host about 680 people, rather than the 2,600 guests invited to the April event.

Mentalist Oz Pearlman will be the evening’s featured entertainer.

Awards and Recognition

The organization plans to present special awards to those who helped during the attempted shooting. Secret Service Police Officer Victor Gonzales, who confronted the gunman as he attempted to charge into the ballroom, and the staff of the Washington Hilton will receive the association’s “President’s Award for Exceptional Service to the WHCA.”

Press Freedom Concerns

Hundreds of former or retired journalists and eight press freedom groups are asking the White House Correspondents’ Association to stand up to the Trump administration’s recent attacks on the media at its rescheduled dinner.

A letter, organized by former ABC News correspondent Lisa Stark and producer Ian Cameron, cites in particular the recent subpoenas by the Justice Department to New York Times journalists who reported on security concerns over the president’s Qatari-gifted Air Force One jet.

Original reporting: NBC Connecticut — read the source article.