President Donald Trump announced Sunday the planned closure of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for a two-year reconstruction project, according to the New York Times. The closure, slated to begin this summer, comes after backlash from performers, contributors, and audience members. Trump stated the aim was to transform the "tired, broken, and dilapidated Center, into the finest Performing Arts Facility of its kind," the NY Times reported.
In other news, an investment firm tied to the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) purchased nearly half of the Trump family's cryptocurrency company last year, making them business partners even as President Trump negotiated foreign policy with the Middle Eastern nation, according to the New York Times. The investment, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, was confirmed by David Wachsman, a spokesman for the Trump's crypto company, World Liberty Financial, in a statement to The New York Times. Eric Trump, the president's middle son, signed the agreement with the investment firm for a $500 million investment in World Liberty days before his father's inauguration in January 2025, The Journal reported.
Meanwhile, a high-ranking federal appeals judge dismissed an ethics complaint filed by the Justice Department against Judge James E. Boasberg, the New York Times reported. Judge Boasberg's rulings repeatedly raised questions about the Trump administration's respect for the rule of law, including regarding the deportation of Venezuelans. The seven-page dismissal order found that Chad Mizelle, the former chief of staff to Attorney General Pam Bondi, failed to substantiate allegations that Judge Boasberg had violated the Code of Conduct for United States Judges with comments he was accused of making at a private meeting of judges. Judge Jeffrey Sutton signed the order, which stated that even if the comments had been substantiated, there was nothing inappropriate about them.
In Syria, Hind Kabawat, the country's minister for social affairs and labor, is the only female minister in the transitional government tasked with navigating the country's road from war to peace, according to BBC World. Kabawat, a former opposition leader in exile, acknowledged the government has made mistakes. "On the first day, I asked 'why are there no more women?'," Kabawat told the BBC. She stated she would not stay in the role if she was not free to set her own strategy.
Also from BBC World, Steve Rosenberg, the BBC's Russia editor, discussed the challenges of reporting from Russia on the Ukraine war. Rosenberg described being labeled a "conscious enemy" on Russian television. A Russian TV presenter, Vladimir Solovyov, unleashed a tirade against the UK, expressing disappointment that London and Birmingham had not been destroyed and that the BBC and Rosenberg had not been expelled. "We haven't kicked out the goddamned BBC with that Steve Rotten-berg. He walks around looking like a defecating squirrel," Solovyov said, according to the BBC. Rosenberg noted the extra scrutiny he and BBC producer Ben Tavener face on their travels in and out of Russia.
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