INTERNACIONAL
Appeals court says federal judge must reconsider blocking WH ballroom, weigh national security concerns
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President Donald Trump’s $400 million White House ballroom construction will be able to continue for at least a little while longer, after an federal appeals court instructed a District Court judge to reconsider the situation.
A three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled Saturday that construction can proceed until Friday, April 17, giving the president time to seek a Supreme Court review as the Trump administration is claiming delaying the prospect leaves the construction site exposed and risks the security of the president and his staff.
The panel instructed U.S. District Judge Richard Leon to clarify whether — and how — his injunction interferes with the administration’s claims over safety and security.
Government lawyers argued that the project includes critical security features to guard against a range of possible threats, such as drones, ballistic missiles and biohazards and that holding up construction «would imperil the president and others who live and work in the White House.»
DEMS MOVE TO SET LIMITS ON TRUMP’S DONOR-FUNDED WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM, CLAIMING ‘BRIBERY IN PLAIN SIGHT’
President Donald Trump holds a rendering of the White House ballroom in an Air Force One media scrum. (Mandel Ngan/AFP)
Trump had also made the case that the U.S. military was installing a «heavily fortified» facility under the ballroom, including bomb shelters and a medical facility.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) sued in December, a week after the White House finished demolishing the East Wing for a 90,000-square-foot (8,400-square-meter) ballroom.
The group claimed Trump exceeded his authority when he demolished the dated East Wing — built in 1902 during Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency and expanded in 1942 — arguing the president needed congressional authorization.
TRUMP SAYS IT ‘IS TOO LATE’ TO STOP THE WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM CONSTRUCTION AMID LAWSUIT
A rendering of the proposed White House ballroom shared by President Donald Trump on Truth Social on Feb. 3, 2026. (Copyright Donald Trump/Truth Social)
Trump has said the president has historically had say over the White House remodeling, and has long noted Congress does not have to pay for the privately funded project.
A lower court had issued a March 31 injunction to halt ballroom construction, but it also paused that injunction to allow for an appeal.
The White House has argued that the injunction left the White House «open and exposed,» threatening security for the building, the president and his family and staff.
TRUMP UNVEILS NEW RENDERING OF SPRAWLING WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM PROJECT
A McCrery Architects rendering provided by the White House of the new ballroom. (McCrery Architects/White House)
NTHP CEO Carol Quillen said in a statement that the organization awaited further clarification from the district court.
She said the group was committed «to honoring the historic significance of the White House, advocating for our collective role as stewards, and demonstrating how broad consultation, including with the American people, results in a better overall outcome.»
Judge Leon exempted any construction work necessary to ensure the safety and security of the White House, but said he reviewed material the government privately submitted before determining that a halt would not jeopardize national security.
«We cannot fairly determine, on this hurried record, whether and to what extent the district court’s ‘necessary for safety and security’ exception addresses Defendants’ claims of irreparable harm, insofar as it may accommodate the Defendants’ asserted safety and security need for the ballroom itself or other temporary measures to secure the safety and security of the White House, the President, staff, and visitors while this appeal proceeds,» the D.C. Circuit said in its ruling.
WARREN-LED INQUIRY DRAWS NEW DETAILS ON TRUMP BALLROOM DONATIONS FROM MAJOR CORPORATIONS
A McCrery Architects rendering provided by the White House of the new ballroom. (White House)
The appeals panel noted that much of the government’s concerns focused on that below-ground security work, which the White House argued was «distinct from construction of the ballroom itself and could proceed independently.»
The White House is making the case now that those security upgrades are «inseparable» from the project as a whole, the appeals court said, making it unclear «whether and to what extent» moving forward with certain aspects of the ballroom is necessary for the safety and security of those upgrades.
TRUMP PUSHES BACK AFTER MICHELLE OBAMA KNOCKS EAST WING RENOVATION, CALLING OLD ARRANGEMENT ‘A DISASTER’
Although Trump’s project is funded by private donations, public money is paying for construction of underground bunkers and security upgrades.
The three-judge appeals court panel was made up of Judges Patricia Millett, Neomi Rao and Bradley Garcia. Millett was nominated by former President Barack Obama, Rao by Trump and Garcia by President Joe Biden.
Rao wrote a dissenting opinion, which cited a statute that allows the president to undertake improvements to the White House.
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«Importantly, the government has presented credible evidence of ongoing security vulnerabilities at the White House that would be prolonged by halting construction,» Rao wrote, adding that such concerns outweigh the «generalized aesthetic harms» presented in the lawsuit.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
administration, national security, congress, white house, appeals
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A newly elected Republican lawmaker is putting America’s founding principles back before Congress ahead of the nation’s 250th birthday, arguing the country must recommit to them as socialist ideas gain traction on the left.
Rep. Matt Van Epps, R-Tenn., unveiled legislation reaffirming the Declaration of Independence — a move he said follows a congressional tradition of marking major national anniversaries with the founding document.
«Congress did this in America 100 to celebrate the 100th Anniversary,» Van Epps told Fox News Digital in an interview. «We felt like this was the right time to do it so that generations forward understand that we love our country at America 250.»
The Tennessee Republican, who was elected in a December 2025 special election, said he filed the bill in response to socialism’s rise in the Democratic Party, with the far-left attempting a major power grab ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Rep. Matt Van Epps, R-Tenn., leaves the House Republican Conference caucus meeting at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
AMERICA’S NEXT 250 YEARS DEPEND ON PASSING FAITH AND FREEDOM TO OUR CHILDREN
Van Epps specifically referenced a slate of socialist candidates poised to serve in Congress after winning primaries in deep-blue districts anchored in New York City.
Democratic congressional nominee Darializa Avila Chevalier, a 32-year-old activist who won an upset victory against an establishment Democrat, has argued that the deportation of any illegal migrant is wrong, voiced support for the prison abolition movement and questioned Israel’s right to exist. She also co-founded a pro-Palestinian organization at Columbia University that called for «the total eradication of Western civilization.»
«These folks that are supported and endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America are antithetical to the founding,» Van Epps told Fox News Digital. «We’ve got to fight against that.»
«Socialism, Marxist, leftist ideas have failed every time they’ve been tried in the history of the world,» he continued, adding that those ideas are «not America at its core.»
«What the founders set out to do 250 years ago … We’ve got to continue so that the next generations know about that freedom and liberty and pursuing that greatness.»
It is unclear when the House will consider the resolution, as lawmakers left Washington early for the July 4 recess after a group of conservative Republicans effectively froze the floor in protest over the SAVE America Act and border security priorities.
Rep. Matt Van Epps, R-Tenn., unveiled legislation reaffirming the Declaration of Independence. (iStock)
MAMDANI-BACKED SOCIALIST IN HOT SEAT AGAIN OVER DELETED POSTS PRAISING COMMUNISM, MARXISM: ‘CRAZYPANTS’
Earlier this month, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., also put the Declaration of Independence on the floor in the Senate, where it easily passed in the upper chamber.
Both Schmitt and Van Epps agreed to put forward companion legislation after playing in the annual Congressional baseball game ahead of America’s 250th birthday.
For Schmitt, it was to reinvigorate Americans’ pride in their country, which over the years, he contended, has steadily declined.
«A generation ago, American pride was nearly universal,» Schmitt said on the Senate floor at the time. «After 9/11, more than 90% of Americans said they were proud to be an American. Today, Gallup puts that number at 58%.»
Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., talks to reporters as he leaves a Republican Caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol on November 7, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
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He described the idea behind the document as an inheritance passed down through the generations to remind Americans why the founding fathers opted to wrench control of the colonies’ future from England, and carve their own path as a new nation.
«That inheritance now rests in our hands, and too many powerful voices in this country teach the next generation to receive it with suspicion instead of gratitude,» Schmitt said. «We are done being ashamed of America. We love our country. We honor the men who built it. We give thanks for the inheritance they placed in our hand, and we intend to keep it.»
politics, republicans elections, american stories, democratic party, congress
INTERNACIONAL
La otra realidad de Cabo Verde: así el rival de Argentina en el Mundial busca una revolución tecnológica silenciosa
La Selección Argentina se enfrenta este viernes a un rival inesperado en el Mundial 2026: Cabo Verde, una nación insular de poco más de 550.000 habitantes que, fuera del radar futbolístico, avanza con un ambicioso plan para convertirse en el principal polo tecnológico del Atlántico.
Más allá de la sorpresa que generó el seleccionado de los “Tiburones azules” al igualar con potencias como España y Uruguay, el país africano despliega una estrategia de innovación que apunta a conectar continentes y atraer inversiones millonarias.
La transformación de Cabo Verde como centro de startups tecnológicas no pasó desapercibida entre los analistas internacionales. Según Forbes África, el gobierno impulsa desde 2023 un ecosistema digital que combina infraestructura de punta, incentivos fiscales y financiamiento internacional para posicionarse como un nodo entre Europa, África y América Latina. Esta apuesta, que involucra cables submarinos y parques tecnológicos, coloca al país en el foco de la economía del conocimiento.
Durante décadas, la economía del país giró principalmente alrededor del turismo, gracias a sus playas y su ubicación estratégica a unos 600 kilómetros de la costa africana. La independencia, alcanzada en 1975, dejó como legado el portugués como idioma oficial en un archipiélago de diez islas volcánicas. Hoy, el país apuesta por un nuevo modelo de desarrollo: convertirse en un hub digital entre continentes.
El salto de calidad llegó en 2021, cuando Cabo Verde se conectó al cable submarino EllaLink, que enlaza Europa con América Latina. Según el informe Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2026 elaborado por Startup Blink, ese avance multiplicó la capacidad de ancho de banda y transformó la isla en un puente digital.
“Creemos que podemos ser un hub en el Atlántico, y creemos que ser pequeños no significa no ser relevantes, porque ser pequeño en el mundo de la tecnología también significa ser rápido en las decisiones”, afirmó Pedro Lopes, secretario de Estado de la Economía Digital, en declaraciones a Forbes África.
Desde entonces, el país diseñó una infraestructura pensada para atraer empresas tecnológicas. El proyecto más visible es el TechPark CV, inaugurado en Praia en 2023 y expandido a Mindelo un año después. Fue financiado con unos USD 56,5 millones, principalmente aportados por el Banco Africano de Desarrollo. El primer ministro Ulisses Correia e Silva lo definió como “un espacio que conecta a Cabo Verde con el mundo”, de acuerdo con el artículo.
La revolución digital caboverdiana incluye una serie de ventajas fiscales inéditas en la región. En 2022, el gobierno estableció la Zona Económica Especial para Tecnologías (ZEET), que ofrece a las empresas tecnológicas una tasa de impuesto corporativo del 2,5%, además de exenciones de IVA e impuestos a la importación. Las compañías que reinvierten sus utilidades pueden quedar exentas del impuesto a las ganancias si destinan al menos el 7,5% de su facturación a investigación y desarrollo o si son startups jóvenes incubadas en centros certificados.
El régimen fiscal, vigente hasta 2038, permite deducir hasta el 40% de los gastos elegibles en I+D, con una tasa incremental del 50% sobre los montos que superen el promedio de los dos años anteriores. Según el informe Cabo Verde Corporate – Tax Credits and Incentives de la firma PwC, estos beneficios buscan atraer a emprendedores internacionales y favorecer el crecimiento de nuevas empresas tecnológicas en el país.
El parque tecnológico ya muestra resultados: alberga a más de 400 personas, organizó más de 50 eventos desde 2024 y cuenta con 23 empresas residentes de siete países, incluidas firmas de Angola, Portugal, Alemania, Bélgica, Italia, España y el propio Cabo Verde. El plan oficial prevé que para 2030 operen 30 compañías dentro del parque, generando 1.000 empleos directos y 2.000 indirectos.
La financiación también forma parte del paquete. En octubre de 2025, el gobierno lanzó el Fondo Morabeza, dotado con USD 27 millones, para estimular la creación de startups y acelerar la transición digital. La agencia Cabo Verde Digital impulsa programas de preincubación y capacitación, mientras que la aceleradora privada Djassi Africa apoya proyectos en etapas tempranas y startups de la diáspora africana de habla portuguesa.
De acuerdo con el Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2026, el país revelación de la Copa del Mundo 2026 ocupa el puesto 74 a nivel mundial, su mejor posición histórica, con un crecimiento anual del 31,3%, muy por encima de la media global. A nivel africano, el país es el segundo ecosistema más fuerte de África Occidental y el quinto en el continente. Además, el índice destaca que en “Actividad de la Comunidad de Startups” —que mide eventos y participación— se ubica en el puesto 13 del mundo, una cifra destacable para un país de su tamaño.
En las ciudades, Praia ingresó en el top 500 global, mientras que Mindelo figura en el puesto 1.549. El sector con mayor proyección es el de software y datos, donde el país se posiciona en el lugar 70 a nivel global y quinto en África.
Este año, Cabo Verde fue elegido como sede del Web Summit Spotlight, el primer evento del Web Summit que se celebrará en África. Según Forbes Africa, esto representa un hito simbólico y práctico en la estrategia de internacionalización del país.
La clave de este ecosistema es su perspectiva global desde el inicio. “Cuando desarrollás infraestructura de calidad, como estamos haciendo, vas a empezar a atraer a la diáspora. Les estamos enviando un mensaje a los caboverdianos que viven en el exterior: mentes brillantes, es hora de volver”, afirmó Pedro Lopes a Forbes Africa.
Mientras la atención mundial se concentra este viernes en el desafío deportivo que representa Cabo Verde para la Selección Argentina, en los círculos de inversión y tecnología el interés por el archipiélago se dispara por motivos muy distintos: su salto al mapa global de la innovación digital.
parque tecnológico,Praia,Cabo Verde,TechPark CV,telecomunicaciones,energía solar
INTERNACIONAL
Interpol issues red notice for Ukrainian woman wanted to Monaco apartment bombing targeting oligarch
Ukraine, Russia peace efforts stall as strikes intensify
Ukraine has intensified its aerial offensive, launching drone strikes deep inside Russia, hitting a refinery in Russian-held Crimea and a Moscow oil tank. Senior foreign affairs correspondent Greg Palkot reports that these actions aim to send a message to Moscow as peace negotiations between the two nations remain stalled.
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The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) issued a red notice Friday for Anastasiia Berezovska, a 39-year-old Ukrainian national suspected of bombing a Monaco apartment building that reportedly targeted a Russian-linked Ukrainian oligarch.
The June 30 apartment building explosion, according to numerous media reports, injured Vadym Yermolaiev, a Ukrainian-born construction magnate.
While declining to identify any of the victims by name, Monaco public prosecutor Stéphane Thibault also revealed the explosion injured a woman and a 13-year-old child in the apartment who media reports widely claim to be members of Yermolaiev’s family.
‘PARCEL BOMB’ EXPLODES IN MONACO RESIDENTIAL AREA, LEAVING 2 CRITICALLY INJURED: REPORTS
Berezovska, per Interpol, is now wanted on charges of attempted murder, depositing an explosive device on a public highway with criminal intent and criminal association.
Interpol identified he Ukrainian national as a dark-haired German-speaking woman who possibly has a tattoo of a snake on her arm.
Surveillance photo of Anastasiia Berezovska. (INTERPOL)
The 39-year-old suspect was initially believed to be a heavy-set man. Monaco’s Deputy Prosecutor Morgan Raymond even initially referred to the suspect in masculine terms.
«He stood up a few meters ahead of the victims, placed an explosive device taken from his shopping bag on the entrance steps of the building, then turned to confirm the presence of the three victims before triggering the explosion using a remote control,» Raymond said in an initial press conference following the incident.
RUSSIA UNLEASHES NEARLY 600 MISSILES AND DRONES ON KYIV IN DEADLIEST STRIKE SINCE MAY
Prosecutors reviewed footage of the days leading up to the explosion, finding that a man wearing a fishing hat repeatedly cased the apartment building and surrounding area. However, on June 28, the man was absent from security footage. Instead, a woman – who prosecutors now believe to be Berezovska – followed the same patterns as the man.
Surveillance photo of Anastasiaa Berezovska. (INTERPOL)
«The repeated reconnaissance operations and the pauses made in front of the building clearly demonstrate the intention to specifically target the three victims,» Raymond said.
Investigators tracked her escape across the Monaco-France border, through Italy and into Germany where authorities are now actively looking for her. They raided her Frankfurt apartment on Thursday.
Raymond noted that the sophistication of her explosive device gives prosecutors reason to believe she did not act alone.
«The relative sophistication of the explosive device and the modus operandi appear to indicate that the person who placed the device was not acting alone,» Morgan said.
The damaged entrance of a residential building following an explosion on Monday, in Monaco, June 30, 2026. (REUTERS/Alexandre Dimou)
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Though authorities have provided no motive, Yermolaiev’s status as a sanctioned former Ukrainian is notable.
The 58-year-old construction tycoon renounced his Ukrainian citizenship in 2017, Ukrainian media reported, and has been a citizen of Cyprus since 2019. In 2023, the Ukrainian government sanctioned him for allegedly continuing to engage with Russia, paying taxes to Moscow and facilitating business transactions through his liquor business in Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula which Russia annexed in 2014.
france, crime, world, bombings, foreign
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