Trump sued over White House East Wing demolition for ballroom
The fate of Donald Trump’s controversial new ballroom – which caused the demolition of part of the White House – hangs in the balance as the surprising construction timeline is announced.
A US historic preservation group has launched legal action against President Donald Trump in a bid to stop his planned White House ballroom construction.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation filed a lawsuit against Mr Trump’s administration over its decision to rapidly demolish the historic East Wing of the White House to make way for Mr Trump’s 90,000 square foot ballroom.
“No president is legally allowed to tear down portions of the White House without any review whatsoever — not President Trump, not President Joe Biden, and not anyone else,” the complaint states.
The entire East Wing of the White House was rapidly destroyed in October to make way for the “big beautiful ballroom”, prompting criticism from political figures including former first ladies Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama.
Mr Trump plans to replace the wing with a ballroom funded by private donors and says construction is expected to take about 18 months.
The historic preservation group has argued the project is “illegal and unconstitutional” and urged a judge to order construction be halted to allow for a public review process for changes to “the people’s house”.
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CHARLIE KIRK’S ALLEGED KILLER SMIRKS IN COURT
The 22-year-old accused of assassinating Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk has been spotted smiling and laughing with his lawyers during his first in-person court appearance since his arrest.
Alleged shooter Tyler Robinson has previously faced court twice – once by video and once by phone – but was today brought before a Utah judge in person for the first time.
Judge Tony Graf allowed the media to film part of the court proceedings under strict instructions including that they not capture the shackles worn by Robinson who was allowed to dress in civilian clothes at the request of his lawyers.
Robinson’s family, including his father who ultimately helped convince him to turn himself into police after a manhunt, were in court to support the 22-year-old.
Robinson appeared relaxed as he joked and laughed with his lawyer.
Increased security arrangements were made at the regional courthouse which has been flooded by national media and observers.
Robinson is charged with aggravated murder, witness tampering and committing a violent offence in the presence of a child. He is yet to enter a plea.
He is accused of firing a single fatal shot from the roof of a Utah State University building, killing Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk as he addressed a crowd of students.
It came as Mr Kirk’s wife Erika, who was appointed CEO of Turning Point after her husband’s death, hit back at online trolls peddling conspiracy theories about his death.
Armchair critics have wildly speculated his death was an “inside job” by people close to him and others have come up with bizarre theories about the meaning of Mrs Kirk’s jewellery choices, including saying one of her rings indicates she’s a Freemason.
She hit back at the speculation on Fox News, flashing the jewellery on her hand and joking: “At this point, it’s the conspiracy collection — get it before Christmas,” she said.
Mrs Kirk said she had become frustrated by the conspiracy theories attacking her and Mr Kirk’s other loved ones.
“This is righteous anger because this is not okay, this is not healthy,” she said.
“This is a mind virus.”
TRUMP’S PLAN TO BREAK UP EU REVEALED IN LEAKED DOCS
Washington wants to see four countries exit the EU as part of a dramatic new “Make Europe Great Again” plan under Donald Trump, a bombshell leaked document allegedly claims.
The Sun reports that a secret full draft of the National Security Strategy (NSS) allegedly urges the US to encourage Austria, Italy, Hungary and Poland move closer into the American orbit – by quitting the bloated union.
A partial public draft released last week made shockwaves after it warned of “civilisational erasure” in the continent due to European leaders’ commitments to woke migration and censorship policies.
But the entire NSS file, now seen by US outlet Defence One, goes further by claiming the US Government should actively pursue breaking up a huge chunk of the EU.
It claims America should “work more with … the goal of pulling [the four countries] away from the [European Union],” targeting governments and movements that “seek sovereignty and preservation/restoration of traditional European ways of life.”
According to Defence One, the unpublished draft reportedly outlines a wholesale reset of US-Europe relations, painting Brussels as a force that erodes national sovereignty, restrains freedoms and fuels instability through migration.
The reported list of target countries tracks closely with Mr Trump’s ties to Europe’s national-conservative leaders.
He has repeatedly praised Hungary’s “fantastic” Viktor Orbán and exempted Budapest from sanctions over Russian oil and gas purchases.
The US president enjoys a strong rapport with Poland’s President Karol Nawrocki and openly admires Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, calling her a “fantastic woman” who had “taken Europe by storm”.
The draft proposal even urges support for cultural and political movements that defend “traditional European ways of life … while remaining pro-American.”
European Council President António Costa said the US had no business shaping Europe’s internal politics.
“The United States cannot replace European citizens in choosing which are the right parties and which are the wrong parties,” said Mr Costa.
MADURO VOWS TO ‘BREAK AMERICA’S TEETH’
South American Dictator Nicolas Maduro has vowed to “kick in the teeth” of America after it seized an oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast.
He fumed the US had committed an act of “piracy” – while a nonchalant Donald Trump suggested the States would “keep the oil.”
In a sword-wielding speech after the seizure, Mr Maduro called for Venezuelans to “give the US a real beating”.
He thundered: “In times like these we must be like warriors, with both eyes peeled, working, producing, building, keeping the country functioning.
“And be prepared to kick in the teeth of the North American empire, if necessary.”
When asked why he ordered the operation, Mr Trump responded, “It was seized for a very good reason.”
When a reporter inquired about the fate of the oil on-board, reportedly 1.1 million barrels, he shrugged, “We keep it, I guess.”
This was the first time America had interrupted Venezuela’s oil flow, and the first maritime target not directly related to the drugs trade.
RFK JR SCANDAL DEEPENS
Former New York magazine reporter Olivia Nuzzi was “elated” when her affair with married Robert F Kennedy Junior was publicly exposed in the media because it prompted the former Presidential candidate to stop “ghosting her”.
Her spurned ex-fiance and fellow reporter Ryan Lizza made the claim in the fifth instalment of his blog series describing the explosive scandal from his side.
Nuzzi, 32, claims she began a whirlwind relationship with Kennedy, who is married to actor Cheryl Hines, after she wrote a profile on him for New York magazine in 2023.
At the time, the Kennedy heir was the underdog in the three-way presidential race with Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
She detailed the relationship in her widely-panned book, American Canto, released last week. At the time, Nuzzi was engaged to 51-year-old political reporter Lizza.
In his latest blog post, Lizza claimed the politician had stopped talking to Nuzzi before the story broke as he negotiated a place in the Trump administration.
“According to three people who either spent time with her or talked to her, Olivia was in the best mood they’d seen in weeks,” he wrote of the affair breaking in the news.
“The explanation for the high was that, behind the scenes, she and Bobby were working together again.”
“Up until then, Bobby had been ghosting her. So Olivia, according to her friends, was ecstatic to be back in touch — even if it was just to protect him and humiliate her.”
RFK Jr, now the secretary of health and human services in the Trump administration has denied the affair, claiming the two only ever met once for an interview.
WHO: ‘VACCINES DO NOT CAUSE AUTISM’
A new analysis by the World Health Organisation reaffirmed there is no link between vaccines and autism – contrary to theories being propagated in the United States.
The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last month revised its website with language that undermines its previous, scientifically-grounded position that immunisations do not cause the developmental disability autism.
Years of research demonstrate that there is no causal link between vaccinations and autism or other neurodevelopmental disorders.
But Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the nation’s health chief, has long voiced anti-vaccine rhetoric and inaccurate claims connecting the two.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference in Geneva that autism was not a side-effect of vaccines.
“Today, WHO is publishing a new analysis by the Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety that has found, based on available evidence, no causal link between vaccines and autism,” the UN health agency chief said.
The committee looked at 31 studies in multiple countries over 15 years and “concluded that the evidence shows no link between vaccines and autism, including vaccines containing aluminium or thiomersal,” said Tedros.
“This is the fourth such review of the evidence, following similar reviews in 2002, 2004 and 2012. All reached the same conclusion: vaccines do not cause autism.
“Like all medical products, vaccines can cause side effects, which WHO monitors. But autism is not a side effect of vaccines.”
DISNEY MAKES BIG AI MOVE
Walt Disney and OpenAI announced a three-year licensing deal that will allow users to create short videos featuring beloved Disney characters through artificial intelligence.
The deal marks the first time a major entertainment company has embraced generative AI at this scale, licensing its fiercely protected characters – from Mickey Mouse to Marvel superheroes and Star Wars’s Darth Vader – for AI content creation.
The partnership represents a dramatic shift for an industry that has largely been battling AI companies in court.
Disney and other creative industry giants had been suing AI firms like OpenAI, Perplexity and Anthropic, accusing them of illegally using their content to train their technology.
The entertainment giant continued that legal campaign, separately sending a cease and desist letter to Google over the illegal use of its intellectual property to train the search engine giant’s AI models.
For OpenAI, the deal comes at a sensitive time as it faces increasing questions about the sustainability of its business model, with costs skyrocketing far faster than revenue despite nearing one billion daily users worldwide.
Under the agreement, fans will be able to produce and share AI-generated content featuring more than 200 characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars franchises on OpenAI’s Sora video generation platform and ChatGPT.
The partnership includes a US$1 billion equity investment by Disney in OpenAI, along with warrants to purchase additional shares in the ChatGPT maker.
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Originally published as Trump sued over White House East Wing demolition for ballroom
