INTERNACIONAL
Trump says he ‘disagrees 100%’ with U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro over Reflecting Pool case
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President Donald Trump publicly broke with his top local prosecutor Saturday, insisting damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was «a pure case of VANDALISM» despite federal officials citing contractor failures as they moved to dismiss a felony case against a former U.S. Olympian.
«I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the Reflecting Pool,» Trump wrote on Truth Social. «I don’t know what she was thinking?»
Trump’s remarks came one day after Pirro’s office asked a federal judge to dismiss a felony destruction of property charge against former U.S. Olympian David Hearn, who was accused of damaging the landmark after allegedly pulling up a loose section of its protective lining on June 19 despite being told by a National Park Service employee to stop.
«To me, it was a pure case of VANDALISM, that included the grass, which had a big 86 47 emblazoned in giant letters on it, and other elements of the surrounding area,» Trump continued, referencing a separate vandalism incident that had occurred about a week earlier.
U.S. Park Police previously discovered the numbers «86 47» etched into the grass near the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The phrase has become a politically charged slogan directed at Trump. Supporters of the president, including Trump himself, have argued it amounts to a call for his assassination.
The Lincoln Memorial and the Reflecting Pool are seen from the Washington Monument on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in Washington. Rahmat Gul/AP (Rahmat Gul/AP)
WHO IS DAVID HEARN? US OLYMPIAN WHO DENIES VANDALIZING REFLECTING POOL AFTER VIRAL ARREST
Pirro’s office dropped the charges against Hearn on Friday after concluding that reports disclosed by the Department of the Interior revealed that there were many flaws with the renovation project, including that the lining appeared to begin peeling days after installation.
«Given all of this newly discovered information, it is difficult to attribute the widespread damage to the Reflecting Pool to vandalism, let alone to establish that fact beyond a reasonable doubt,» the motion concluded.
Trump acknowledged there potential issues with the project but rejected the Justice Department’s conclusion that construction problems were primarily responsible for the damage.
«There may have been some contractor difficulty, but the major damage was caused by VANDALS!» Trump wrote.
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Hearn was indicted on July 2 on one count of felony destruction of property after U.S. Park Police alleged he pulled at the pool’s protective coating, with authorities initially estimating the damage exceeded $1,000.
According to Pirro’s office, the Department of the Interior initially provided only «barebones» reports and did not disclose documents showing the Reflecting Pool’s newly installed coating had begun failing almost immediately after construction.
«Had DOI been forthcoming with the information clearly in its possession, the government would not have sought a grand jury indictment,» prosecutors wrote in Friday’s filing.
«It was not until after the return of the indictment, that the DOI provided additional documents to the USAO-DC indicating that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in June 2026 was the result of flawed installation by the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings (‘AIC’), and the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration in the weeks surrounding Independence Day 2026,» the filing continued.
The case against Hearn was dismissed without prejudice, meaning charges could be brought again in the future.
David Hearn of the United States competes in the men’s C1 whitewater canoeing final of the 2000 Summer Olympics at the Penrith Whitewater Stadium. Penrith, Australia, on Sept. 18, 2000. (David Madison/Getty Images)
Court filings show Atlantic Industrial Coatings received a no-bid contract worth more than $14 million to install a new protective lining across the Reflecting Pool’s 68,000-square-foot floor.
The project began in early May but was slowed by rain and complications with the pool’s expansion joints, adding pressure to complete the work before the July Fourth festivities celebrating America’s 250th anniversary.
According to prosecutors, problems surfaced almost immediately.
TRUMP SHARES NEWS OF ‘CRYSTAL CLEAR’ REFLECTING POOL, CALLS FOR VANDALISM SUSPECT’S ARREST
Just two days after the project was completed on June 9, a National Park Service engineer reported that sections of the new lining were already peeling.
«I stated my concern that this ‘overspray’ along the perimeter of the pool could lead to a 1′-2′ strip that is vulnerable to peeling,» the engineer wrote in a June 11 email obtained by the New York Post. «The contractor would not confirm in field if this was or wasn’t a risk.»
Following the dismissal request, Hearn’s legal team accused the government of rushing to prosecute the case.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announces charges related to an international car theft ring during a press conference at the Justice Department in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, April 22, 2026. (Nathan Howard/Reuters)
«The Trump administration’s case against Davey Hearn should never have been brought. Its dismissal today does not erase the abuse of government power in arresting and charging a patriotic American who did nothing wrong. The government’s approach was ready, fire, aim. The administration owes Mr. Hearn an apology,» attorneys Norm Eisen, Mary Dohrmann and Steve Levin said in a statement to the New York Post.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Pirro’s office for comment.
justice department, attorney general, controversies state and local, donald trump, washington dc
INTERNACIONAL
State Department raises travel warning for part of Spain as migrant surge sparks military deployment
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The State Department on Saturday raised its Travel Advisory for Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta to Level 3: Reconsider Travel after tens of thousands of migrants surged into the Spanish territory from neighboring Morocco, prompting a major security response.
The updated advisory warns that the «massive and uncontrolled arrival of migrants from Morocco to Ceuta may lead to unpredictable and dangerous security situations.»
«Spain has deployed the Spanish military, Spanish National Police, and Guardia Civil as a result of this serious situation,» the advisory states. «Americans should reconsider travel to the area given the risks posed to their safety and security.»
SPAIN DEPLOYS MILITARY AFTER THOUSANDS OF MIGRANTS OVERWHELM BORDER ENCLAVE, AT LEAST 18 DEAD
The advisory applies only to Ceuta, an autonomous Spanish city on the northern coast of Africa that borders Morocco. The rest of Spain remains under its existing travel advisory level.
Spanish officials have scrambled to respond after tens of thousands of migrants crossed into Ceuta this week. Ceuta President Juan Jesús Vivas said Friday that about 60,000 migrants entered the enclave over a 24-hour period, while Spain’s Interior Ministry later estimated roughly 50,000 arrivals since Thursday. Authorities said thousands have since returned to Morocco.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Spain would boost the presence of security forces in Ceuta, deploy a physical sea barrier to help facilitate repatriations and continue working with Moroccan authorities to combat human trafficking networks.
TRUMP BLASTS SPAIN MIGRANT SURGE AS ‘CATASTROPHE,’ WARNS US COULD FACE WORSE IF DEMOCRATS REGAIN POWER
A map shows Ceuta, a Spanish autonomous city on the North African coast bordering Morocco. (Fox News)
Authorities have linked the migrant surge to a recent Spanish Supreme Court ruling involving migrants arriving by sea. Sánchez said human trafficking organizations misrepresented the decision, triggering the influx.
The crisis also drew comments from President Donald Trump during a Cabinet meeting Friday at Camp David.
«You know, I saw Spain yesterday, and I watched the catastrophe that took place. It looks like an invasion of a country by hundreds of thousands of people. And that same thing is going to happen to us if the Republicans don’t get elected,» Trump said.
Migrants cross on foot into the North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco by attempting to swim, according to Spain’s Guardia Civil, near the border with Ceuta, in Fnideq, Morocco, July 30, 2026, in this still image obtained by Reuters (Reuters)
Earlier Friday, Trump also told Fox News chief White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich: «It’s terrible. Remember that picture. That’s going to be us in three years if the wrong side gets in.»
Ceuta, along with the Spanish enclave of Melilla, has long been a flashpoint for illegal migration into Europe because both territories sit on the African mainland while remaining part of Spain and the European Union.
travel safety, europe, spain, world, europe
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A Massachusetts federal judge has once again blocked the Trump administration from ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somalia, issuing a new administrative stay after plaintiffs rewrote their lawsuit around constitutional claims just days after a federal appeals court threw out similar stays terminating TPS for Ethiopia and South Sudan.
U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs, appointed by former President Barack Obama, issued the administrative stay Friday after African Communities Together and other plaintiffs filed an amended complaint alleging the Trump administration violated the Fifth Amendment by terminating Somalia’s TPS designation based on racial and national-origin discrimination.
The plaintiffs filed an amended complaint and emergency motion on Thursday in a renewed bid to keep Somalia’s TPS protections alive after the Supreme Court’s June ruling in Mullin v. Doe sharply limited lower courts’ ability to block TPS terminations.
Burroughs’ latest order has intensified growing criticism over whether district judges are using administrative stays to work around higher court rulings. It comes just days after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit reversed similar administrative stays issued by U.S. District Judges Brian Murphy and Patti Saris, who had temporarily delayed the Trump administration’s TPS terminations for Ethiopia and South Sudan.
LIBERAL COURT STUNS WITH RULING THAT HANDS TRUMP MAJOR IMMIGRATION WIN
A side-by-side photo of protesters demonstrating against the Trump administration’s immigration policies, and a photo of U.S. President Donald Trump signing executive orders at the White House. The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Thursday, May 14, in a case involving birthright citizenship in the U.S. Photos via Getty Images (Getty Images)
The First Circuit based its rulings on the Supreme Court’s Mullin decision, which ruled lower courts generally cannot block TPS terminations based on non-constitutional claims.
The latest order drew an immediate rebuke from DHS General Counsel James Percival, who accused Burroughs of continuing a pattern of judicial obstruction.
«Judge Allison Burroughs just entered yet another order preventing the termination of Somalia TPS. There is no serious debate about what is going on in these cases — defiance, obstruction, and delay,» Percival wrote on X.
Iowa Solicitor General Eric Wessan argued Burroughs’ order improperly grants emergency relief despite what he described as legally deficient claims.
«I looked at the amended complaint in the Somalia TPS case,» Wessan wrote on X. «The district judge has entered a novel ‘administrative stay’ to sort out the claims. She has declared the TPS termination ‘void’ for now, while deciding whether any of the claims can justify a more permanent pause.»
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Wessan argued that the order «turns the law upside down,» writing that four of the lawsuit’s five claims are foreclosed by the Supreme Court’s decision in Mullin and describing the remaining claim as «frivolous.»
«Even if this was a fresh lawsuit without the baggage, the claims cannot justify any relief– much less meet the high bar for interim relief,» Wessan wrote. «This is very bad. I hope that, with time to review, Judge Burroughs vacates her administrative stay to allow the correct status quo to continue.»
The plaintiffs contend, however, that their amended complaint presents a fundamentally different case than those recently rejected by the First Circuit.
BIDEN JUDGE BLOCKING ETHIOPIAN DEPORTATIONS DESPITE SCOTUS RULING CLASHED WITH ICE BEFORE
The amended lawsuit argues the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to revoke Somalia’s TPS designation was predetermined, pointing to President Donald Trump’s November 2025 Truth Social post announcing the end of TPS months before DHS had completed the review process. Plaintiffs argue that deprived Somali TPS holders of the fair process guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause because the decision had effectively already been made before the agency completed the review required by law.
The complaint also alleges the administration violated the Fifth Amendment’s Equal Protection guarantee by targeting Somali nationals based on race and national origin. It cites Trump’s past remarks describing Somali immigrants as «criminals,» «gang members,» and «low IQ,» as well as his statements that he doesn’t «want them in our country» and to «send them back.»
President Donald Trump announcing the establishing of the first ever self-deportation program which incentivizes illegal migrants to voluntarily leave the country. (@realDonaldTrump via Truth Social)
«These statements evince the Administration’s racist and xenophobic motivations to exclude Somali people from the country. At the same time, the Administration has expressed preferences for white immigrants as ‘nice’ and welcome in the U.S. and created protections for white Afrikaner refugees from South Africa,» the plaintiffs wrote.
Burroughs has presided over the Somalia TPS litigation since earlier this year. On March 13, she initially entered an administrative stay preventing the Somalia TPS termination from taking effect while the litigation proceeded.
Fox News Digital reached out to African Communities Together for comment.
refugees, judiciary, human rights, federal courts, homeland security
INTERNACIONAL
El Colegio de Abogados de Guatemala expresa preocupación por la violencia tras el desalojo de Juana Santiago Chel, en Nebaj
El Colegio de Abogados y Notarios de Guatemala expresó este sábado su preocupación por la violencia desatada tras el desalojo judicial de Juana Santiago Chel en Santa María Nebaj, Quiché, un operativo ejecutado el 30 de julio que derivó en el incendio de la vivienda de la jueza que emitió la orden y en la apertura de una investigación penal por parte del Ministerio Público.
El caso se originó en una disputa familiar por un inmueble. Uno de los hijos de Santiago Chel promovió el proceso que concluyó con la orden de desocupación, y la ejecución de esa resolución provocó una reacción violenta entre pobladores de la comunidad.
Según reportes de medios locales, los habitantes incendiaron la vivienda de la jueza responsable de la orden. También fue detenido un vecino que intentó auxiliar a la adulta mayor, un hecho que elevó la tensión en el municipio.
El Ministerio Público aclaró que no participó en la planificación ni en la ejecución del operativo, pero confirmó que abrió pesquisas al conocer posibles acciones delictivas vinculadas al procedimiento. La investigación incluye tanto lo ocurrido durante el desalojo como los hechos posteriores en la comunidad, entre ellos los eventos en los que se vio involucrada Santiago Chel y cualquier otra conducta que pueda derivar en responsabilidades penales.
En el Comunicado No. 15/2026, fechado el 1 de agosto de 2026, el Colegio de Abogados y Notarios de Guatemala manifestó solidaridad con las personas, familias, profesionales, autoridades y comunidades afectadas en su integridad, seguridad, patrimonio o tranquilidad. La institución rechazó el uso excesivo de la fuerza en el cumplimiento de órdenes judiciales relacionadas con desalojos y sostuvo que en esos procedimientos debe prevalecer el respeto al debido proceso, los derechos humanos y la dignidad de todas las personas involucradas.
El documento advirtió que ningún profesional, funcionario, autoridad comunitaria o ciudadano debe ser objeto de amenazas, intimidaciones, agresiones o represalias por el ejercicio legítimo de sus funciones o derechos. También remarcó que cualquier inconformidad con una resolución judicial debe canalizarse por los mecanismos legales correspondientes.
“La violencia, las agresiones y la destrucción de bienes no constituyen medios legítimos para resolver controversias”, señaló el comunicado. El colegio pidió a las autoridades competentes investigar los hechos de manera pronta, objetiva, imparcial y transparente, sin prejuzgar ni estigmatizar a personas o comunidades, con garantía de presunción de inocencia y derecho de defensa.
La entidad también exhortó a instituciones públicas, autoridades indígenas, autoridades locales y organizaciones comunitarias a fortalecer el diálogo y los mecanismos pacíficos de resolución de conflictos. El llamado incluyó promover una relación respetuosa entre la jurisdicción ordinaria, las formas propias de organización comunitaria y el marco constitucional vigente.
El abogado Gabriel Guzmán Matón, defensor de Santiago Chel, informó a Infobae que presentó acciones legales contra la Policía Nacional Civil, la Procuraduría de los Derechos Humanos y la jueza de Primera Instancia que autorizó el desalojo. El jurista identificó a la funcionaria como Ada Madaí López Morales, jueza pluripersonal de Primera Instancia Civil.
Guzmán Matón señaló que las principales denuncias contra la jueza son por prevaricato, resoluciones contrarias a la Constitución, abuso de autoridad e incumplimiento de deberes. También afirmó: “Ella jamás se presentó a ninguno de los lanzamientos en contra de mi clienta”.
El abogado sostuvo además que esta era la séptima ocasión en que Santiago Chel iba a ser desalojada de su vivienda. En las ocasiones anteriores, agregó, la mujer había logrado frenar el procedimiento mediante acciones legales.
En otra parte del caso, el texto señala que la jornada en Santa María Nebaj cambió de forma abrupta cuando las fuerzas de seguridad ejecutaron la orden judicial de desocupación en la casa de la adulta mayor, a quien el mismo material identifica en un tramo como de 72 años y en otro como de 77 años. La orden, según vecinos y autoridades locales citados en el relato, fue tramitada por su hijo Pedro Santiago López.
Las imágenes y transmisiones en vivo de medios locales mostraron que el operativo estuvo marcado por el uso de fuerza que dejó las pertenencias de la mujer en la calle. En esos registros también se observa cómo la hija de la anciana fue cargada por agentes de la Policía Nacional Civil cuando opuso resistencia al desalojo.
Guatemala,Desalojo,Violento,Nebaj,Quiché,PNC,Indignación,Ministro de gobernación,Marco Antonio Villeda,Juana Santiago Chel
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