US President Donald Trump is no stranger to ambitious construction projects but could he be eyeing one of his biggest yet? A mock-up of a triumphal arch sat on Trump’s Resolute Desk in the Oval Office as he met Finnish President Alex Stubb on Thursday, an AFP journalist and photographer saw.The plan, featuring small models on a map, shows the arch sitting on a traffic circle near Arlington Cemetery, on the other side of the Potomac River from the white marble Lincoln Memorial.A second, larger model arch sat on the desk, on which details could be seen more clearly, including a winged golden angel holding aloft a torch, flanked by two white eagles on either side.Both models resembled the famed Arc de Triomphe in Paris, which was commissioned by the French emperor Napoleon in the early 19th century to commemorate fallen soldiers during his military campaigns.The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the plan.But the “Donald Trump for President” Facebook page, which has more than six million followers, posted a drawing in September with a virtually identical design in the same spot, linking it to celebrations for the 250th anniversary of US independence next year.Since returning to power in January, former real estate developer Trump, 79, has enthusiastically embarked on a series of renovation and building projects.For example, he has covered the walls of the previously spartan Oval Office with gold, paintings and ornaments. And he once interrupted a meeting to wax lyrical about the changes he had made to the White House Cabinet Room, including a long aside about the new drapes.He is also building a huge ballroom next to the White House, a model of which appeared to be on Trump’s desk in a photo shared by his Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino on Wednesday.The brash Republican has converted parts of the White House to resemble his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, particularly the newly paved-over Rose Garden with its picnic tables and yellow and white umbrellas.The Republican leader signed an executive order at the end of August to promote “classical” architecture, inspired by ancient Rome and Greece. He has also repeatedly expressed his desire to further celebrate the power and military victories of the United States.

A US federal judge in New York on Thursday threw out a defamation case filed by Canadian rapper Drake against his own label Universal Music Group over Kendrick Lamar’s viral diss track.In 2024, the superstar rappers exchanged a litany of increasingly vitriolic songs, with Lamar delivering the major blow with his chart-topping “Not Like Us.”In his suit filed in January, Drake accused Universal — which is behind both artists — of betraying him in favor of profits by promoting the song, which features punchlines that accuse him of pedophilia.The lawsuit also cited the track’s promotion as causing a “physical threat to Drake’s safety” as well as a “bombardment of online harassment.”But Judge Jeannette Vargas said Lamar’s lyrics about the 38-year-old Canadian artist — born Aubrey Drake Graham — amounted to “nonactionable opinion.””The issue in this case is whether ‘Not Like Us’ can reasonably be understood to convey as a factual matter that Drake is a pedophile or that he has engaged in sexual relations with minors,” Vargas wrote in her ruling.”In light of the overall context in which the statements in the recording were made, the Court holds that it cannot.”In a statement after the ruling, Universal Music Group called the suit “an affront to all artists and their creative expression and never should have seen the light of day.””We’re pleased with the court’s dismissal and look forward to continuing our work successfully promoting Drake’s music and investing in his career.”Lamar, a Pulitzer Prize winner who is also 38, went on to perform the Grammy-winning “Not Like Us” as the headliner of the Super Bowl halftime show in February. He cut the profanity and the word “pedophile” but didn’t stop short of the money line, rapping “tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A-minoooooor” on live television in front of more than 130 million viewers.

US President Donald Trump and his Health Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., on Thursday promoted another fringe theory about autism — this time linking it to circumcision or to pain medication given for the procedure.The claim was swiftly derided by experts who said the main study cited by proponents of this theory was strewn with errors and it was yet another example of Kennedy’s penchant for “pseudoscience.””Don’t take Tylenol if you’re pregnant and when the baby is born, don’t give it Tylenol,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting.”There’s two studies that show children who are circumcised early have double the rate of autism,” chimed in Kennedy, adding: “It’s highly likely because they’re given Tylenol.””None of this makes sense,” Helen Tager-Flusberg, a professor at Boston University and autism expert, told AFP.”None of the studies have shown that giving Tylenol to babies is linked to a higher risk for autism once you can control for all the confounding variables,” she said.Pregnant women are also advised by medical associations to take pain medication including acetaminophen — the active ingredient in Tylenol — in moderation when needed, contrary to Trump’s advice to “tough it out.”While a few studies have suggested a possible association with acetaminophen in pregnancy, no causal link has ever been proven. The most rigorous analysis to date — published last year in JAMA and using siblings as controls — found no link at all.As for the circumcision theory, the most widely cited paper, published by Danish researchers in 2015, was “riddled with flaws” that were pointed out by other scientists at the time, David Mandell, a psychiatrist at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, told AFP.Specifically, he said, the study relied on a tiny sample of Muslim boys circumcised in hospitals rather than at home — the dominant cultural practice. Because those children were hospitalized, Mandell said, it was likely they were “otherwise medically compromised,” which could explain higher rates of neurodevelopmental disorders.”A more recent review of studies in this area finds no association between circumcision and any adverse psychological effects,” he added.Kennedy — a former environmental activist and lawyer who spent decades spreading vaccine misinformation before being appointed Trump’s health secretary — has made uncovering the root causes of autism a central focus, while cutting research grants in other areas.He has hired vaccine conspiracy theorist David Geier, previously disciplined for practicing medicine without a license and for testing unproven drugs on autistic children, to investigate alleged links between vaccines and autism — a connection debunked by dozens of prior studies.

A federal judge on Thursday ordered a temporary halt to President Donald Trump’s deployment of hundreds of National Guard troops in the Chicago area as part of his sweeping crime and immigration crackdown.Trump’s administration has argued the troops are necessary to protect immigration agents and facilities in America’s third largest city, falsely depicting it as a “war zone.”But local Democratic officials have said police and other law enforcement are perfectly sufficient, while arguing that Trump is purposefully provoking protests with its heavy handed operations.In her ruling from the bench, District Judge April Perry said she had doubts about the Trump administration’s reliability and worried the troops’ presence would “only add fuel to the fire,” the Chicago Tribune reported.She ordered an immediate halt to the troop deployment, lasting until October 23, rejecting the government’s argument that Trump cannot be second-guessed over such matters.Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, who has accused Trump of unconstitutional authoritarianism, hailed the ruling, saying on X: “Donald Trump is not a king — and his administration is not above the law.”At the same time, a three-judge appeals court panel in San Francisco was expected to rule on whether to lift another judge’s temporary block of a similar deployment in Democratic-ruled Portland, Oregon.Illinois and Oregon are not the first states to file legal challenges against the Trump administration’s extraordinary domestic use of the National Guard.Democratic-ruled California filed suit after the Republican president first sent troops to Los Angeles earlier this year to quell demonstrations sparked by a crackdown on undocumented migrants.A district court judge ruled it unlawful but an appeals court panel allowed the deployment to temporarily proceed.An AFP journalist who visited the Broadview facility on Thursday saw a few National Guard members and ICE personnel milling about on the other side of the fence.About 15 protesters hurled insults, calling the agents “human traffickers” and “Nazis.””Show your faces, you cowards!” they yelled. “Are your mommies proud of you?”The deployment in Chicago involves 200 National Guard troops from Texas and 300 from Illinois, the US Army Northern Command said. They have been mobilized for an initial period of 60 days.- Insurrection Act -Trump has said he could invoke the rarely used Insurrection Act — which allows the president to deploy the military within the United States to suppress rebellion — if courts or local officials continue “holding us up.”At a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Trump repeated his claims that crime is rampant in Chicago and Portland.”We’ve launched a historic campaign to take back our nation from the gangs and the street criminals, violent repeat offenders, illegal alien law breakers, domestic extremists and savage, bloodthirsty cartels,” he said.The Republican has been accused by critics of growing authoritarianism as he tries to fulfill his campaign promise to deport millions of illegal immigrants.Raids by armed and masked federal agents have sparked allegations of rights abuses and illegal detentions.Local officials argue that city and state law enforcement are sufficient to handle protests against ICE agents and street crime.Pritzker, seen as a potential Democratic candidate in the 2028 presidential election, has called Trump “unhinged.””He’s a wannabe dictator. And there’s one thing I really want to say to Donald Trump: if you come for my people, you come through me. So come and get me,” the governor said Wednesday.