Trump bars US press from Xi meeting, CGTN among few allowed to cover

Trump's Press Ban Leaves Chinese State Media as Sole White House Video Source

President Trump's press ban resulted in his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping having no U.S. TV pool coverage, granting Chinese state media greater access to the White House than American press outlets.

Despite a court order Wednesday night restoring White House access to Politico, MSNBC, and CNN, their journalists were still barred from the grounds Thursday morning. As a result, the entire White House TV press pool—including Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN—continued their boycott of broadcasting the president live, joined by White House photojournalists.

"Although a court decision restored media access to CNN, Politico & MSNBC earlier this morning, we are currently without a network pool camera. If anything changes, I'll send out an update," White House print pool reporter Kerry Picket said.

Consequently, China Global Television Network was among the few outlets to have video of Xi's arrival at the White House—a reminder of when Trump, in his first term, barred the U.S. press pool while allowing Russian state media to take pictures of Trump with Russian officials.

After the outlets were barred Thursday morning, they immediately notified the court. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly gave the White House until 12:30 p.m. to explain the continued ban. The White House responded just before the deadline, claiming in a court document that access was restored to Politico, CNN, and MSNBC as of 9:55 a.m.

That was not the case, as Politico, CNN, and MSNBC only reported being allowed onto White House grounds around noon—long after Trump's press conference with Xi. Per Kelly's order, Trump must allow their access for at least two weeks while the court case continues.

Editor's Pick: Trump, 80, Struggles to Stay Awake as Xi Speaks at White House

Excavation Begins on Trump's 250-Foot "Triumphal Arch" in Washington, D.C.

Excavation work has commenced at the proposed site of Donald Trump's 250-foot "Triumphal Arch." Construction crews were spotted at Memorial Circle on Columbia Island Thursday morning, surrounded by fences and accompanied by a small drilling rig, according to photographs captured by a local resident and published by Popville.

Screenshot

The work did not begin without warning. Earlier this month, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum shared on X that the agency was "preparing to start, over the next two-week period, the excavation work necessary for the Great Triumphal Arch and Military Observation Deck."

"Over 70 major cities/capitals around the world, from London, Paris and Rome to Madrid, Athens and New Delhi, all showcase beautiful arches. Interestingly, Washington, DC, is the only major Western capital without an arch," Burgum said in a separate post. "Now after 125 years of waiting, the most powerful capital in the world will be home of the most spectacular and beautiful arch of them all!"

The Trump administration has claimed that it does not need congressional approval to begin the $250 million undertaking, citing a broad project authorization from 1925 to build the nearby Arlington Memorial Bridge and its surrounding features.

However, that plan did not include a towering arch. Historical records obtained by The Washington Post in July revealed that the original design for the bridge included smaller columns on either side.

Opponents to the arch's construction—including a coalition of prominent Democrats—argue that the administration must obtain new congressional approval before starting construction, lest the executive branch overstep Congress's authority.

"This is a straightforward issue of who's in charge," Maine Senator Angus King (an independent who caucuses with Democrats) told the Post in March.

If it moves forward, the arch will physically place Trump's legacy between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery, interrupting a hallowed symbolic conversation between the president who ended slavery and the soldiers who sacrificed their lives to do so.

Trump has obsessed over his legacy throughout his second term—a fixation illustrated by the long list of vanity projects he has pursued instead of fulfilling the difficult job of steering the nation. Beyond the arch, Trump has:

• Razed the White House East Wing
• Started construction on a $600 million ballroom (with costs continuing to rise)
• Gutted the Lincoln bathroom
• Transformed the Palm Room from a lush green foyer into a sterile lobby
• Mowed down Jackie Kennedy Onassis's famous Rose Garden
• Spent more than $16 million on an unsuccessful, rushed renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool
• Taken a sledgehammer to the Harry S. Truman Bowling Alley
• Indiscriminately axed trees in the Washington area
• Destroyed the Kennedy Center

Read more about Trump's projects: Trump Crashes Out Over Report He Wants to Rename Ford's Theatre

Republicans Dodge Questions About Mitch McConnell's Fitness for Office

Republicans are literally running away from questions about Mitch McConnell.

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul refused to acknowledge RawStory's Adam Nichols when the digital site's editor in chief asked about McConnell's ability to remain in office, rushing into an elevator while avoiding eye contact. Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker employed the same tactic, simply muttering "Oh man" while walking away from Nichols. As the elevator doors closed, Wicker relented and said McConnell is a "great guy."

Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer responded—sort of. She glared at Nichols when he inquired about McConnell's ability to serve out the rest of his term.

"I think he is, yes," Fischer said.

"He hasn't been speaking at all in the media, hasn't done a 10- or 15-second video—" continued Nichols.

"Does he need to? I don't think he needs to," retorted Fischer before ducking into an elevator. "You know he was here for a Farm Bill vote, and he voted. People are saying he didn't respond—no, he voted. And he was very quiet to begin with."

McConnell suddenly reappeared at the Senate last week after an unexplained three-month absence. However, his return faced enormous backlash, as the American public witnessed—for the first time since the 84-year-old Kentuckian fell unconscious in June—just how ill he is.

Throughout the week, McConnell appeared confused, disoriented, and quiet. At one point during a Senate Agriculture Committee meeting on the Farm Bill, McConnell even groggily sided with Democrats before his allies told him how to vote. His participation was the deciding factor that advanced the bill, which passed by a vote of 12–11.

Only North Dakota Senator John Hoeven was willing to go on the record about McConnell. Hoeven was seated beside McConnell during the Farm Bill fiasco—but his recounting of the vote differed from video footage of the gaffe. Hoeven claimed he had initially misdirected McConnell, wrongly informing him about which portion of the vote they were on.

Hoeven's soft recounting suggests that lawmakers may not need to be intellectually independent to work for the American people. Hoeven added that McConnell is widely available for public comment and encouraged Nichols to find McConnell in the hall.

However, it has been tremendously difficult to get a single word from the Kentuckian. Last week, McConnell could not even manage to give reporters a thumbs-up when asked if he was feeling well.

Read about McConnell: Mitch McConnell Is Entirely Nonverbal in New Video

Food Delivery Driver Shot by ICE Still Has Bullet Lodged in Body

Wilber Rafael Garcés Perez, the food delivery driver shot by ICE in Austin, Texas on Sunday, still has a bullet lodged in his body and his wound continues to bleed.

Garcés Perez's lawyer, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, posted on X that her client was visited by Representative Greg Casar Wednesday at ICE's detention center in Pearsall, Texas. She said Garcés Perez still does not have full mobility on his left side, receiving an injection for pain just one hour before the congressman arrived. The wound with the bullet hole is still bleeding, she added.

On Tuesday, a federal judge paused Garcés Perez's deportation. However, this came after ICE took him out of the hospital with a bullet still in his back to interrogate him. Perez was shot on Sunday while making a DoorDash delivery, and his wife and attorney did not have access to him for hours after he was detained and moved to a detention center.

At a press conference after visiting Garcés Perez Wednesday, Casar railed against the federal government for shooting him in the back and arresting people like him without a criminal record.

"If you check the overall federal government stats about San Antonio-Austin area, the overwhelming majority of people by ICE's own admission are people with no criminal history at all," Casar said.

Lincoln-Goldfinch maintains that Garcés Perez was in the country legally with a work permit.

Editor's Pick: ICE Just Made Thousands of Detainees Vanish From Its System

Are Republicans at Risk of Losing Their Seats in the Upcoming Midterms?

[Content truncated]