INTERNACIONAL
Obama center opens after years-long saga as locals warn ‘monstrosity’ could price them out
Obama Presidential Center slammed as ‘architectural abomination’
‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ co-hosts express strong disapproval of the Obama Presidential Center’s design and execution. They label the Chicago-based project an ‘architectural abomination’ and the ‘ugliest monstrosity’ seen, highlighting local residents’ initial opposition.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The Obama Presidential Center is opening to the public on Friday morning following an expensive and controversy-laden construction history.
Former President Barack Obama’s presidential center was initially estimated to cost $350 million; however, after a slate of setbacks and delays, the price of the project has more than doubled to a staggering $850 million. As construction was ongoing in Chicago, the center faced an array of controversies, including opposition from locals, anger over the use of tax dollars to support surrounding infrastructure, critiques of the building’s design, alleged failure to pay contractors and even a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination.
Unlike a traditional presidential library, the Obama Presidential Center is designed as a broader civic campus, with a museum, public plaza, forum, Chicago Public Library branch, recreation space, gardens and community programming.
«It’s a monstrosity. It’s over budget, it’s taking way too long to finish and it’s going to drive up prices and bring headaches and problems for everyone who lives here,» one Chicago resident who grew up in the area near the campus’ location told the Daily Mail. «It feels like a washing away of the neighborhood and culture that used to be here.»
CHICAGO RESIDENTS CALL OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER A ‘MONSTROSITY,’ FEAR THEY’LL BE DISPLACED: REPORT
The Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park on Chicago’s South Side will open this week. (Fox Flight Team)
One of the most prominent lines of criticism levied against the new presidential center was that its construction materially harmed those it was seeking to serve.
Beyond its museum exhibits and planned displays of presidential records and artifacts, the Obama Presidential Center features prominent exhibits on slavery, racism, the civil rights movement and African American history. Additionally, the Obama Foundation wanted the center to be a boon for the local community, billing it as an «economic engine for South Side residents.»
To accomplish this, the center prioritized locals for contracting and staffing while also promising to provide workforce development services to surrounding communities.
These moves, however, were not enough to assuage the concerns of some residents that the racial justice-infused center would ultimately displace many predominantly Black American locals by increasing the value of nearby lots, thereby raising rents and driving up property taxes.
Former President Barack Obama reacts as he leaves 10 Downing Street in London following a meeting with Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on March 18, 2024. (Adrian Dennis/Getty Images)
OBAMA’S LEGACY PROJECT OFFERS LITTLE HOPE FOR CHICAGO’S SOUTH SIDE RESIDENTS
«What we got was a lease saying you have to pay $2,450 a month to stay in your home,» a lifelong resident of a neighborhood near the center told the Chicago Sun-Times, recounting how his rent had gone up after construction began. «My home that they had let fall into disrepair, my home that they had decided wasn’t worth caring for. So we had to move … our beautiful Black beach neighborhood was no longer ours to enjoy.»
Numerous residents have shared similar stories with the press, prompting Chicago to set aside $6 million to develop affordable housing in the area and providing residents with property tax relief.
Further complicating the Obama Presidential Center’s mission of racial justice was a lawsuit filed by a local subcontractor against one of the firms managing its construction in early 2025.
OBAMA LIBRARY, BEGUN WITH LOFTY DEI GOALS, NOW PLAGUED BY $40M RACIALLY CHARGED SUIT, BALLOONING COSTS
Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama join Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago on Sept. 28, 2021. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
One African American-owned concrete and rebar company working on the project alleged that the company overseeing structural engineering and design on the Obama Presidential Center unfairly singled out black-owned firms for errors.
The lawsuit alleged that those in charge of the presidential library’s construction «directly undermined the Obama Foundation’s DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) goals and commitments and mission to bring transformative change to the construction industry and local community,» a claim that was strongly denied by management.
Management argued that many of the subcontractors were «questionably qualified» and that they regularly underperformed or displayed inexperience, factors that contributed to the presidential library’s ballooning costs. The Obama Foundation emphasized hiring black-owned businesses when seeking out subcontractors for its center.
PROTESTERS RAGED, CRITICS MOCKED — NOW OBAMA SAYS HIS LIBRARY’S ACTUALLY OPENING
An Obama Foundation banner is displayed at the Obama Presidential Center construction site in Jackson Park, Chicago, Illinois, on Oct. 18, 2022.
In yet another snag, many subcontractors who worked on the center are claiming that they have yet to be paid for their work on the Obama Presidential Center.
A Fox News Digital investigation previously identified multiple firms that say they haven’t received payments, with outstanding invoices ranging from hundreds of thousands of dollars to tens of millions.
«I haven’t had eight hours or six hours sleep in over a year,» one African American subcontractor told Fox News Digital. «I’m cooked emotionally. I feel like an aluminum can that’s been thrown in front of a steamroller. We’re crushed. And I have to fight for my company and for my people.»
When pressed by Fox News Digital, the Obama Foundation passed the blame onto Lakeside Alliance, its primary contractor, stating that it was responsible for handling payments to subcontractors. Lakeside Alliance, meanwhile, said projects of this size are complex matters and that it is working to resolve all loose ends.
«That’s a bad signal to put out the fact that seven to eight to maybe 10 of our contractors in our community are going to be eliminated from doing business because of the debt that they incurred on this particular project,» Omar Shareef, the president of the African American Contractors Association, previously told Fox News Digital. «If they would have known it was a Trojan horse or a Pandora’s box, I don’t know if they would have raced as much as they did to be a part of it.»
Fox News Digital could not independently verify claims that firms had been forced to shutter due to their work on the Obama Presidential Center.
OBAMA CENTER TAKES HEAT AS CRITICS CRY FOUL OVER ID RULES FOR FREE ENTRY — WHILE DEMS BLAST VOTER ID LAWS
A view of the Obama Presidential Center from a nearby roadway in Chicago. (Michael Dorgan/Fox News Digital)
While most of the Obama Presidential Center’s rocky history was privately funded, taxpayers were on the hook for the infrastructure surrounding it.
Illinois has so far spent over $120 million on infrastructure improvements in South Chicago to accommodate the presidential center, with the total public cost estimated to reach around $200 million.
Even with roughly $1 billion spent on its construction and design, the appearance of the Obama Presidential Center has proven controversial, drawing comparisons to everything from a maximum security prison to a garbage can.
OBAMA DRAGGED FOR ‘HEADACHE’-INDUCING PRESIDENTIAL CENTER UPDATE THAT HAS VISITORS SQUINTING
Work continues on the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago on Jan. 13, 2026, featuring former President Obama’s speech marking the 50th anniversary of «Bloody Sunday» inscribed on the building’s side. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
«The building has an ominous presence, its mostly windowless heft recalling a menacing sci-fi headquarters,» The Guardian’s architecture critic wrote of the structure.
One person dubbed it the «Obamalisk.»
Some, however, have pushed back on these critiques.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
«Today’s punchline may become tomorrow’s civic treasure,» Justin Kaufmann, writing for Axios Chicago, said. He pointed to the center’s blending of modern architecture with the design language of classic civic buildings.
The Obama Presidential Center did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Thursday.
chicago, barack obama, housing, taxes, illinois
INTERNACIONAL
Polonia denunció que un misil de crucero ruso violó su espacio aéreo durante un ataque de Moscú contra Ucrania
Un misil de crucero ruso penetró el espacio aéreo de Polonia en la madrugada de este jueves durante un ataque a gran escala contra Ucrania, e impactó en un campo en la provincia de Lublin, a unos 90 kilómetros de la frontera ucraniana, en lo que el primer ministro Donald Tusk calificó como “una violación del espacio aéreo polaco” y un “incidente grave”.
El objeto, detectado por radares militares a las 3:40 de la madrugada en dirección oeste, desapareció de las pantallas seis minutos después, antes de que un caza F-16 enviado a identificarlo pudiera establecer contacto visual.
Un helicóptero Mi-24 fue desplegado posteriormente y localizó el probable punto de impacto en una zona sin urbanizar entre las aldeas de Tarnawa Kolonia y Tokary.
La policía confirmó el hallazgo de un cráter de 10 metros de ancho y restos dispersos de un objeto no identificado a unos dos kilómetros de las viviendas más cercanas. No se registraron víctimas ni daños en edificios.
El canciller ucraniano, Andrii Sybiha, fue el primero en señalar públicamente la naturaleza del objeto. “Durante la noche, un misil de crucero ruso Kh-101 cruzó al espacio aéreo polaco como parte del ataque masivo de Rusia contra Ucrania, violando el espacio aéreo de la Organización del Tratado del Atlántico Norte (OTAN)“, escribió en X.
Tusk, más cauteloso, indicó que “todo apunta” a que se trata de ese tipo de misil, pero aclaró que esperará los resultados de la investigación antes de hacer una confirmación oficial. Polonia no ha atribuido formalmente el objeto al arsenal ruso.
El ataque nocturno contra Ucrania fue uno de los más intensos del conflicto: según el Ejército ucraniano, Rusia lanzó 74 misiles —nueve de ellos balísticos— y 284 drones. Seis misiles balísticos, dos de crucero y 17 drones no fueron interceptados e impactaron en distintos objetivos. Las regiones de Leópolis, limítrofe con Polonia, y Dnipropetrovsk fueron las más afectadas. En esta última, un misil balístico destruyó una vivienda y mató a al menos ocho personas, entre ellas tres menores y sus padres, según informaron las autoridades ucranianas y recogió la agencia AP.
Tusk convocó de urgencia una reunión de seguridad con altos mandos del Ministerio de Defensa y se trasladó personalmente al lugar del impacto junto con el ministro de Defensa, Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz.
“Son solo metros lo que nos separa de esa guerra. Esta noche una vez más nos recuerda a todos que la situación es muy grave y representa una amenaza”, declaró Kosiniak-Kamysz.
El primer ministro subrayó que las fuerzas polacas estaban en condiciones de derribar el proyectil si este hubiera continuado su trayectoria hacia el interior del territorio nacional, y precisó que el Ejército, la Policía y los servicios de inteligencia actuaron “rápida y eficazmente”.
El presidente del Consejo Europeo, Antonio Costa, confirmó también la violación del espacio aéreo polaco, según informaron Reuters y AP. Tusk señaló que mantuvo contacto con líderes europeos, todos los cuales expresaron “plena solidaridad” con Varsovia. La fiscalía militar polaca abrió una investigación para determinar con exactitud qué tipo de objeto cayó en la provincia de Lublin.
Sybiha aprovechó el incidente para reclamar un refuerzo urgente de la defensa aérea de Ucrania y para pedir una distensión en las relaciones con Polonia, tensas por los homenajes ucranianos a figuras históricas vinculadas a matanzas de polacos durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial. “Reforzar la defensa aérea de Ucrania ahora es urgente y sirve como garantía de protección para toda la comunidad euroatlántica”, sostuvo el canciller ucraniano en declaraciones recogidas por Reuters.
El incidente en territorio polaco se produjo días después de que Rumania derribara por primera vez drones rusos sobre su propio suelo, un episodio que también encendió las alarmas entre los miembros orientales de la OTAN sobre la extensión del conflicto más allá de las fronteras ucranianas.
agresja rosji,atak rakietowy,atak rosji,defence,dron,drony,eksplozja,krater,lej,miejsce eksplozji,naruszenie polskiej przestrzeni powietrznej,policja,policjanci,policjant,praca sluzb,przestrzen powietrzna,radiowoz,radiowoz policyjny,rakieta,rosja,rosyjska rakieta,sluzby,sluzby mundurowe,tarnawa kolonia,ukraina,upadek rakiety,wojna,wojna w ukrainie,wybuch,zmasowany atak rosji
INTERNACIONAL
LA real estate vet comes at Mayor Bass with receipts over damning homelessness report: ‘She doesn’t get it’
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
LOS ANGELES, CA – As new data show homelessness rising in Los Angeles, local activist John Alle said Mayor Karen Bass has neglected her responsibility to address the issue and witness firsthand the crime, drug use and deteriorating conditions in some of the city’s hardest-hit neighborhoods.
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority released its 2026 annual homeless count Friday, finding overall homelessness increased 3.4% in LA and 1.2% across the Los Angeles Continuum of Care following two consecutive years of declines, though LAHSA said «neither change is considered statistically significant.»
The count estimated 45,194 people were experiencing homelessness in LA and 73,040 across the Continuum of Care, which excludes Long Beach, Pasadena and Glendale.
«She doesn’t get it. She doesn’t see it,» John Alle, a Santa Monica business owner and co-founder of the Santa Monica Coalition who owns properties across Los Angeles, told Fox News Digital in an interview last month.
KAREN BASS GRILLED OVER BROKEN HOMELESSNESS PROMISE, BLAMES BUREAUCRACY FOR SLOWED PROGRESS
John Alle, a Santa Monica business owner and co-founder of the Santa Monica Coalition, blasted Mayor Karen Bass’ response to homelessness as new data show the crisis is worsening in Los Angeles. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images ; Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
«We’ve invited her numerous times to ride along with us through Alvarado, Third Street, Park View, MacArthur Park and Westlake. Come drive with us. Have a police officer follow behind for security. And she refused.»
The report also found street homelessness rose 7.9% in Los Angeles and 3.3% countywide, with an estimated 29,115 people living on the streets in the city. LAHSA said funding cuts affecting Time-Limited Subsidies and other economic factors reduced the number of people permanently housed by about 5,100 from the «record high of 28,625 people housed permanently in 2024.»
In a press release Thursday responding to the data, Bass argued funding cuts «at the federal and state levels» contributed to the rise, adding the Trump administration had «driven up the cost of gas, groceries, and rent — pushing more families to the edge — and slashed critical safety net funding.»
«For two years straight, we drove down homelessness by historic margins — but as expected, last year our efforts ultimately couldn’t keep up with policies and funding cuts at the federal and state levels that pushed more people onto the streets,» she said.
Bass also admitted in a May interview with CNN’s Elex Michaelson that she did not fulfill her promise to end street homelessness in the city by 2026 because she «didn’t anticipate some of the bureaucratic barriers» her administration would face.
Alle said crime has «gotten so bad» in neighborhoods including Little Bangladesh, which Bass has previously described as one of «LA’s most vibrant communities.»
«In Little Bangladesh, the crime is so bad that we’re finding people on the streets unconscious,» he said. «We’re having handymen pick up needles and dispose of them.»
SPENCER PRATT SAYS HIS POLICY WILL FORCE HOMELESS OUT OF LA AND INTO CITIES LIKE SEATTLE
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass prepares to leave the scene where city workers clear a large homeless encampment behind a public storage facility along the San Diego (405) Freeway at the end of Oxnard Street in Van Nuys on July 31, 2025 (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Pointing to his tenants’ experiences, Alle said he sees the impact of the crisis every day on the «mom-and-pop» renters who live in his apartment buildings and pay thousands of dollars a month, saying «it doesn’t sit well with me.»
«From people overdosing outside the gated apartment buildings I own, to people attacking each other, murders, and calling 911 only to be put on hold for sometimes an hour, and then being told, ‘Well, you’re lucky. Sometimes it’s two hours,’» he said.
Alle accused Bass of ignoring neighborhood conditions despite living nearby at Getty House, the mayor’s official residence in Windsor Square.
«The streetlights are out,» he said. «The rubbish isn’t collected. The streets are dirty. It’s one thing to complain about copper wire theft, but we’re just talking about normal streetlights and replacing the bulbs.»
But it’s not just residents who are affected, according to Alle, who said small businesses are being forced to close early to avoid crime and making it harder to stay in the city.
«When I see them having to leave work at four o’clock, I see them having to close their businesses at four o’clock during the winter and at dusk during the summer,» he said. «That’s not good. I want them to succeed. If they don’t succeed, they can’t afford to stay in LA I feel for them, and their problems are my problems.»
HOUSING FIRST IS A DISASTER. I SAW SACRAMENTO’S HOMELESS CHAOS FIRSTHAND
A homeless encampment near Venice Beach in Los Angeles. Residents have called for stronger oversight of nearby supportive housing programs and improved public safety. (Jill Connelly/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Multiple studies have found that a large portion of homeless individuals in Los Angeles County aren’t originally from there and Alle has been vocal about how his coalition partnered with an artificial intelligence company to create an AI-powered hotline that has helped more than 40 homeless people return to their home states over the past year.
«They’ve called us from shelters,» he said. «They’ve called us from parks. The people calling aren’t entrenched with the drugs or the gangs. They came here for noble reasons.»
Additionally, Alle said his coalition collaborates with local law enforcement, paying for bus, plane or train tickets to help homeless people voluntarily return home, where they can reunite with family or enter treatment programs.
«We’re not gonna put them behind the slammer,» he said.
Alle said the most «heartbreaking» part is watching families embrace loved ones returning home, with many looking «completely different» after recovery.
«It’s a long road ahead, but they’re trying because they’ve seen hell in LA,» he said.
While acknowledging the program won’t end all homelessness, Alle said helping even a small number of people rebuild their lives is a victory.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
«One person saved is great. Fifteen percent, and the 40 people we’ve saved, is tremendous,» he said.
Bass will face off against progressive city councilwoman Nithya Raman, who has her own ties to the homeless crisis as chair of the Los Angeles City Council’s Housing and Homelessness Committee, in her bid to win another term as mayor in November.
homeless crisis, los angeles, housing, blue city crime, politics
INTERNACIONAL
«Un buen día, Paraguay decidió invadir Brasil»: la frase de Lula que generó repudio en el Parlamento paraguayo
En medio del conflicto diplomático entre los gobiernos de Argentina y Brasil, el Parlamento paraguayo salió a repudiar una frase de Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva sobre la Guerra de la Triple Alianza. «No olvidemos que, un buen día, Paraguay decidió invadir Brasil», dijo el presidente brasileño para justificar un aumento de la inversión en defensa.
El acto en el que Lula pronunció su frase ocurrió el viernes, poco antes de que estallara el conflicto con Javier Milei. Este miércoles, el Senado y la Cámara de Diputados de Paraguay expresaron su repudio a las declaraciones de Lula. Lo acusaron de «distorsionar» la historia.
En una sesión extraordinaria, la Cámara alta aprobó una declaración para «repudiar enérgicamente» las expresiones de Lula, quien aseguró el viernes pasado, durante una visita a una fábrica de la empresa de defensa Avibras Aeroco, que a su país le gusta la paz, pero que no pueden «olvidar que, un buen día, Paraguay decidió invadir Brasil», y luego lo hizo en Argentina y Uruguay.
Los senadores exhortaron a las autoridades brasileñas a tener «un tratamiento respetuoso, equilibrado y veraz de la historia compartida, en aras de fortalecer las relaciones bilaterales», al tiempo que destacaron que Paraguay es «uno de los países más pacíficos de América del Sur» y que «no representa amenaza alguna a la soberanía ni a la integridad territorial del Brasil».
Según el texto, propuesto por el senador opositor Eduardo Nakayama, los dichos de Lula «distorsionan y simplifican unilateralmente el origen de la Guerra de la Triple Alianza», en la que su país se enfrentó contra Brasil, Argentina y Uruguay, y atribuyen a Paraguay «la condición de agresor exclusivo», omitiendo la invasión del Imperio brasileño a Uruguay.
Las consecuencias para Paraguay de la también conocida como Guerra Grande fueron «catastróficas e incomparables en la historia de América del Sur», subrayó la declaración, al señalar que el país perdió entre el 50 y 60 % de su población, provocó «devastación económica, productiva del país, la ocupación militar prolongada, el saqueo y la imposición de deudas de guerra».
Pregunta para el @mreparaguay :
Cuando Celeste Amarilla habló mal de Mbappé, el comunicado salió casi al instante.
Ahora Lula dice que “un buen día Paraguay decidió invadir Brasil” para justificar su gasto militar y ni un comunicado, ni un tuit.
¿Hay alguna diferencia entre…
— LA RED 🇵🇾 (@LaRed_Py) July 25, 2026
«Esta herida permanece abierta en la memoria colectiva del pueblo paraguayo, y se agrava por actitudes y declaraciones» como las de Lula, añadió el documento.
Durante el debate, el senador opositor Rafael Filizzola dijo que le resulta «indignante» el «banalizar una guerra como esta», al tiempo que lamentó que la Cancillería paraguaya no haya emitido un reclamo oficial.
«El presidente Lula tiene derecho a defender la seguridad de su país, pero no tiene derecho a usar la tragedia paraguaya para justificar armas», expresó el también opositor Ignacio Iramain.
Por otro lado, la declaración de la Cámara de Diputados, también aprobada por mayoría y cuyo texto final se difundió este miércoles, «repudia» las expresiones de Lula «por distorsionar y minimizar la dimensión» de este conflicto bélico, considerado el más cruento de Suramérica.
El senador @edu_nakayama, pidió adherir al orden del día y tratar como primer punto un proyecto de Declaración que repudia las expresiones del presidente del Brasil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, sobre la guerra contra la Triple Alianza. Solicitud aprobada por sus colegas presentes. pic.twitter.com/GNqdFZMbI8
— SenadoPy (@SenadoresPy) July 29, 2026
La resolución, que fue enviada al presidente paraguayo, Santiago Peña, también exhorta al Ejecutivo a «impulsar las gestiones diplomáticas para la restitución» de los trofeos de guerra, como «expresión de justicia histórica».
Uno de los trofeos mencionados es el Cañón Cristiano, una pieza de artillería elaborada en 1866 por Paraguay con el bronce fundido de las campanas entregadas por el pueblo para defender al país en medio de la guerra y que permanece actualmente en el Museo Histórico Nacional de Río de Janeiro.
Los diputados además instaron a que los hechos históricos que han marcado «profundamente» a los pueblos «sean abordados siempre con sensibilidad, responsabilidad histórica y espíritu de reconciliación, honrando la verdad, la memoria de las víctimas y el principio del derecho internacional».
Las declaraciones de Lula causaron indignación entre diversos sectores paraguayos, mientras que el Gobierno ha enfrentado duras críticas ante lo que ha sido calificado como un «silencio» diplomático.
Confirmado ANSES pagará con aumento y bono en agosto: así quedan las jubilaciones, pensiones y AUH
Polonia denunció que un misil de crucero ruso violó su espacio aéreo durante un ataque de Moscú contra Ucrania
Infantino expone los argumentos para su intención de privatizar el Mundial: ‘Es una oportunidad de oro’
Mica Riera anunció su embarazo en medio del escenario tras finalizar su función en “El Chat de mamis”
Cuánto cobran los trabajadores de la construcción de UOCRA en julio 2026
LA real estate vet comes at Mayor Bass with receipts over damning homelessness report: ‘She doesn’t get it’
Crisis entre Milei y Lula: la trama política, personal y geopolítica detrás del mayor choque diplomático entre Argentina y Brasil
San Isidro: la ballena que quedó varada en un banco de arena murió pese al operativo de rescate
La pelea con Lula y el verdadero desafío que enfrenta Milei
Cómo manejar en el hielo y la nieve: técnicas y precauciones para usar el auto en la montaña en vacaciones de invierno
POLITICA3 días agoCrisis entre Milei y Lula: la trama política, personal y geopolítica detrás del mayor choque diplomático entre Argentina y Brasil
- POLITICA2 días ago
La pelea con Lula y el verdadero desafío que enfrenta Milei
- ECONOMIA2 días ago
Cómo manejar en el hielo y la nieve: técnicas y precauciones para usar el auto en la montaña en vacaciones de invierno
