A damning report on the renovation of the Washington DC Reflecting Pool has exposed the real reason for the shambles.
A report on the $US14.7 million ($20 million) renovation of Washington’s Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has outlined a series of errors that led to the new lining peeling off in chunks.
Improper material use and filling the pool before the lining was completely dry were blamed for the project’s failure.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump announced “massive” oil, gas and mineral exploration in Greenland in a late-night social media post on Tuesday, local time.
“Massive Oil, Gas, and Mineral Exploration is getting ready to begin in our new and beautiful Greenland!” he said on Truth Social.
Mr Trump is also reportedly reconsidering plans to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan after learning the Fort Hood shooter has been paralysed since the 2009 attack.
Mr Hasan, who killed 13 people and wounded more than 30 others in the mass shooting at the Texas military base, was shot in the back by police during the attack, leaving him paralysed from the waist down and reliant on a wheelchair.
Mr Hasan was convicted by a military court in 2013 for the shooting rampage at the Fort Hood army base, one of the deadliest attacks on a US military installation in history. He has remained on death row since his conviction, with his case repeatedly delayed through the appeals process. A final decision on the livestream is yet to be made.
It comes as Mr Trump’s new press secretary held her first briefing – and it didn’t go well.
A clearly nervous Katie Zacharia, who replaced Karoline Leavitt, took to the White House podium on Tuesday, US time.
The briefing lasted for just 14 minutes, far shorter than usual, most of the time was taken up with her praising Mr Trump. She then took just four questions, only two of which were on policy and she couldn’t answer one of those. At one point she confused her husband and the President.
Mr Trump said Ms Zacharia was “very good”, one US network said White House officials were “severely unimpressed” and her tenure as press secretary may not be long.
Meanwhile, a Saudi national employed as an engineer at OpenAI has been federally charged with planting a hidden recording device in an executive conference room at the ChatGPT maker’s San Francisco headquarters.
Abdulrahman Alfozan, who had worked at the artificial intelligence company since July, allegedly concealed the device, wrapped in toilet paper, inside a USB port on the back of a television, prosecutors say.
Report reveals why $21 million reflection pool reno failed
A damning inspection report has revealed the new lining applied to the Reflecting Pool at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington failed in 85 places, according to the Washington Post.
The 610-metre pool was drained and repainted in a $US14.7 million ($21 million) facelift just in time for the 250th anniversary of US Independence earlier this year, after US President Donald Trump complained it looked “filthy”.
“I’m very proud of it,” Mr Trump said upon the renovation’s completion, “I’m very good at building things and constructing things”.
“It’s really beautiful. It’s something for you to see, it’s incredible.”
However, the beauty was short-lived as visitors to the pool soon began noticing the new “American flag blue” coloured lining was falling off in chunks. The pool also suffered an algal bloom shortly after the renovation’s completion that turned the water a swampy green.
At the time, Mr Trump blasted “vandals” and threatened to enforce 10 year prison sentences for destruction of public property.
The report obtained by the Washington Post places blame instead on the execution of the renovation, pointing to a number of errors including the use of improper materials and filling the pool with water before the new liner had completely dried.
It said moisture or chemical fumes trapped underneath the new liner caused blisters to appear in multiple places across the length of the pool.
Peeling was also noted in about 24 places, which the report said was likely due the pool being filled before the 72 hours needed for drying had passed.
In a statement given to the publication this week, a spokesperson for the US Interior Department said the contractor – a company that had already done work for Mr Trump at one of his golf clubs and who was controversially awarded the job in a no-competition deal – is obliged to make the necessary fixes.
It added that the company is “well on its way to doing so.”
Family of tiger victim condemn 'deeply offensive' content
The family of a man killed by a tiger at a UK wildlife park have urged people to stop posting “deeply offensive media content” of the attack.
William Chapman, 23, died from his injuries after being attacked by a tiger when he entered its enclosure on Saturday at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park, near the northern English city of Doncaster.
HIs family’s request comes after US President Donald Trump uploaded disturbing footage of the attack online.
Mr Trump, who regularly posts provocative material on social media, captioned the post to his 13 million followers on his Truth Social, “Don’t ever mess with nature!”.
The 41-second clip was also later shared by the White House’s “Rapid Response 47” account on X.
And Mr Trump followed it with a video clip of apparently AI-generated visuals of individuals being mauled by big cats.
Later on Tuesday, local time, Mr Trump doubled down and posted an AI-generated video of himself wrestling and befriending a smiling tiger, to the tune of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”.
In their statement, Mr Chapman’s family described him as a “bright, warm and engaging young man” who had been suffering from “significant mental illness over a number of years”.
“The family are utterly devastated by their loss and are struggling to come to terms with what has happened,” they said.
“The publication and circulation of deeply offensive media content is causing them severe distress at an exceptionally vulnerable time. We ask people to stop doing this.”
‘Not a fan’
Users on X, where the “Rapid Response 47” account has 2.3 million followers, questioned the president’s judgment, with one calling the post “sick”.
“I’m a big supporter but not a fan of this post.” wrote another.
British media personality Piers Morgan posted: “This is appallingly tasteless. Delete it President, @realDonaldTrump”.
An inquest into Chapman’s death is due to open on Thursday in Doncaster. He was visiting the zoo alone and it remains unclear how he entered the enclosure. He was pronounced dead at the scene after emergency services were called.
According to videos posted online, Chapman appeared to have filmed the inside of the enclosure with his mobile phone and the moment he approached the tiger.
Visitors to the park had also filmed the incident from a raised 300-metre long walkway which looks down on to the park’s “Land of the Tigers” feature.
The walkway allows visitors to view the park’s Amur tigers, also known as Siberian tigers, in their enclosure featuring woodland, grassland and a waterfall pool.
The park has said the tiger involved, called Atai, was safe and well, and would not be put down.