President Donald Trump on Sunday said his proposed 250-foot triumphal arch will now be a “top grade” military complex that will house drones, snipers and ammunition, in a social media post that raised new questions about the controversial project. Trump wrote on Truth Social that he has agreed to convert the arch “at the strong request” of the U.S. military, and “for National Security purposes.”Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. The “Military Complex/Triumphal Arch” near Arlington National Cemetery will “house, store, and have the rapid ability to use large numbers of drones, plus Snipers, on both the roof and plaza areas, and additionally have and hold large quantities of sniper ammunition in storage,” Trump wrote. “There will be no facility like this anywhere in the World.” Trump and his deputies had previously maintained that the arch would be a new tourist attraction, and the administration has released detailed plans of its internal design and outside observation deck. The administration had not previously broached the idea of converting the arch to a military complex, even as the project has undergone months of federally required reviews. The Trump administration plans to begin construction on the arch as soon as November, amid resistance from military veterans, advocacy groups and historic preservationists who say the towering structure will overshadow the nearby cemetery and is too large for the site. A federal judge is weighing whether to halt the project. On Sunday, some critics asked whether the arch would now undergo further required reviews to accommodate Trump’s new vision. “Presumably, this would result in security hardening, inclusive of fencing, guard posts, and other additional features above and beyond what has been approved,” Charles Birnbaum, the CEO of the Cultural Landscape Foundation, wrote in an email to the Commission of Fine Arts, which approved the arch in May. The email was shared with The Washington Post. Critics also questioned the practicality of building a military complex at the center of a widely used traffic circle not far from Reagan National Airport. The White House did not respond to questions about the president’s post, including the need for a military complex at the arch site. The Interior Department, which oversees the federal parkland where the arch would be built, did not reply to requests for comment, and a Pentagon spokesperson said they had nothing to add beyond the president’s post. Trump’s new claims about the arch resemble his arguments for the need to build a ballroom at the White House. Trump initially said the ballroom was needed to entertain guests but more recently has said it was a “desperately needed National Security structure.” That argument also has become central to the administration’s legal claims that the ballroom must be built. Trump has spent nearly a year touting his plans to build an arch at Memorial Circle, a traffic roundabout tucked inside Washington’s boundaries, near the entrance to the military cemetery and managed by the National Park Service. The president and his deputies have said the arch should be built to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary. The administration contends it does not need congressional approval for the arch because lawmakers a century ago authorized a somewhat similar project near the site. “This will be one of the Great Pieces of American Architecture, honoring the history and significance of Arlington Cemetery and befitting the most powerful Capital in the World,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum wrote on X this month. The Trump administration has acknowledged that its arch project will alter pedestrians’ views of the Lincoln Memorial and other historic sites, affect the experience of visiting Arlington National Cemetery and cause other disruptions. A D.C. official last week advised the administration to abandon its plans and instead pursue a less obtrusive alternative. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Virginia), who represents the district that encompasses the cemetery and National Airport, has also urged Trump to stop the project and seek authorization from Congress before building a structure. “Putting a drone launching site directly in the landing path for DCA is a stupid, dangerous, and unworkable idea,” Beyer wrote Sunday, suggesting on X that it was a pretext to strengthen Trump’s legal arguments for the arch. Outside lawyers also questioned Trump’s national security claims. “The President’s belated efforts to manufacture a national security justification for this project do nothing to cure its fundamental illegality,” said Nicolas Sansone, a lawyer at Public Citizen Litigation Group, a watchdog organization that is representing several veterans who say the large arch would alter their experience when visiting the nearby military cemetery. U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, the Obama administration appointee who is reviewing the veterans’ case, has warned the Trump administration not to abruptly move forward with construction on the arch – as Trump did when demolishing the White House’s East Wing to build his ballroom without seeking approval from federal review panels or from Congress. Trump officials have said they will obtain “all necessary approvals” before beginning construction on the arch. The president’s claim Sunday about the arch being converted to a military complex follows his administration’s evolving legal strategy to defend the ballroom on similar grounds. Administration officials have increasingly contended that the ballroom must be built by citing the planned military complex being constructed underneath it and the need to protect the president. Judge Neomi Rao, a Trump appointee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, said the administration’s national security claims in the ballroom case had merit. “The equities in this case turn on complex architectural and security determinations best made by the Secret Service and the military – not judges,” Rao wrote in August. Other federal judges have said that Trump could not claim broad national security reasons as a basis to pursue a construction project that had not been authorized by Congress. “While I take seriously the Government’s concerns regarding the safety and security of the White House grounds and the President himself, the existence of a ‘large hole’ beside the White House is, of course, a problem of the President’s own making,” U.S. District Judge Richard Leon – who first blocked work on the ballroom – wrote earlier this year. The Supreme Court on Aug. 31 ruled 5-4 that construction on the ballroom could continue for now but declined to rule on the merits of the administration’s arguments in that case. Related ContentThis article originally appeared on Washington Post at https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/trump-says-planned-arch-military-125332168.html

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani will meet with President Donald Trump at New York’s Gracie Mansion on Monday, Sept. 21, the mayor’s office announced Sunday.”The meeting will focus on issues affecting New York City and New Yorkers,” according to the announcement.No further details were immediately provided.Trump and Mamdani have met twice before. The first meeting was in November of last year at the White House, when Mamdani was mayor elect, and the second was in February, also at the White House.The White House had no immediate public comment on the meeting.President Trump was already scheduled to be in New York City Monday to address the United Nations General Assembly.This is a developing story. Check back for updates.This article originally appeared on ABC News at https://abcnews.com/Politics/nyc-mayor-mamdani-president-trump-meet-monday-mayors/story?id=136602476

By Jana Choukeir and Doina Chiacu DUBAI/WASHINGTON, Sept 20 (Reuters) – Iran and the United States exchanged new threats on Sunday, with President Donald Trump warning Iran would fail economically or face its leadership being wiped out if it didn’t make a deal, and the Iranian ‌military saying it would retaliate harshly to any fresh attack. The conflict has looked stalemated for months, with no sign either side was ready ‌for concessions even as it has deepened a global energy crisis, cratered swathes of Iran’s economy and spilled over into new regional escalations. In a phone call with a Fox News reporter, Trump ​said Iran’s leaders should make a deal, rot economically or be wiped out, the reporter said. However, with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian expected in New York this week for the United Nations General Assembly, Trump said he would be open to meeting him, the Fox reporter added. Trump has repeatedly made vague threats of major military escalations during the conflict that began with US and Israeli strikes on February 28, without carrying them out. Earlier, Iran’s military central command said any new attack would trigger sustained ‌retaliation against US bases and interests and that Washington’s ⁠regional allies would be considered parties to the conflict. The Iranian military added that it had information that an attack was being prepared, without elaborating on what that information might be. HOUTHIS TARGET RIYADH US Gulf allies have already been badly scarred by a ⁠war that the US and Israel launched with no warning, bringing their cities under Iranian fire and hammering their economies with the crucial Strait of Hormuz waterway blockaded. On Saturday their predicament worsened further, with Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi group launching missile and drone strikes at the Saudi capital after having made sudden military gains in Yemen’s reignited civil war ​earlier ​this month. Reuters video showed a massive plume of black smoke billowing from the area of ​Riyadh’s main international airport following booms overnight. The US State Department ‌issued a security alert citing the Houthi hostilities. It said there was potential for unforeseen escalation in the Middle East, and Americans should exercise more vigilance and be aware of possible flight cancellations and airspace closures. Saudi Arabia did not comment on the incident, though a Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said it had foiled other attacks on the kingdom. Recent escalation by the Houthis has forced Riyadh into a painful dilemma: continue airstrikes on the group to stop it seizing more Yemeni territory or step back in the hopes of averting drone strikes on critical infrastructure. ENERGY EXPORTS BLOCKADED The Houthi gains along the coast mean the group’s forces ‌now sit on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, giving them easier control over shipping travelling between ​the Red Sea and Asia and the ability to blockade the crucial waterway. With Iran already ​having blockaded most shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the oil-rich Gulf’s ​energy exports are now almost entirely cut off from global markets, adding to pressure on oil prices. A US blockade of ‌Iranian ports is meanwhile stopping Iran from selling its own oil, ​contributing to major problems in the Islamic ​Republic’s economy. Despite the economic damage, there is little sign of a return to the interim ceasefire agreement that was struck in June but fell apart in July amid disputes over its terms. Iran reiterated on Sunday that it would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the terms ​of that June agreement, as it interpreted them, were met. Iranian ‌Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said Iran would have to keep on fighting as well as negotiating, to push back its enemies ​and to consolidate any gains with diplomacy. (Reporting by Jana Choukeir in Dubai and Doina Chiacu in Washington; Additional reporting by Timour Azhari ​in Riyadh; Writing by Angus McDowall; Editing by Aidan Lewis and Ros Russell) This article originally appeared on Reuters at https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/iran-warns-against-escalation-us-131851523.html

SEOUL, Sept 20 (Reuters) – North Korea fired two missiles off its eastern coast on Sunday, its second set of tests in roughly a week and days after Pyongyang accused the US of driving tensions ‌on the Korean Peninsula through a series of military drills.Nearly three hours after launching a short-range ‌ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Sunday afternoon, North Korea fired a similar missile, according to South Korea’s defence ministry.If the subsequent launch ​is confirmed to be a ballistic missile, it will mark two consecutive ballistic missile tests by North Korea within a three-hour window.South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected the first test firing from the Wonsan area around 3 p.m. (0600 GMT), identifying the weapon as a ballistic missile. Japan’s defence ministry also said it appeared to be a ballistic missile.Japanese ‌public broadcaster NHK said the projectile had ⁠come down outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.The first projectile flew approximately 450 km (280 miles) and is presumed to belong to the Hwasong-11 series, according to South Korea’s military. The second short-range missile, ⁠which was also fired from Wonsan at about 5:50 p.m. (0850 GMT), flew more than 600 km (373 miles), it said.”South Korean and US intelligence authorities have been tracking and sharing related developments from the initial stage of the launch, and have also shared ​information ​regarding the ‘North Korean ballistic missile’ with Japan,” the South Korean Joint ​Chiefs of Staff said.South Korea’s National Security Council ‌condemned the missile launch, which follows a test on September 12. The council urged Pyongyang to immediately cease missile activity, warning the test directly violated UN Security Council resolutions.”We are aware of the recent missile launches and are consulting closely with our allies and partners. Based on current assessments, these events do not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory, or to our allies,” the US Pacific Command said in an X post.Japan also lodged ‌a protest through embassy channels in Beijing, according to a Nikkei ​report.”This series of North Korean actions threatens the peace and security of ​Japan, the region, and the international community,” Japanese ​Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi was quoted as saying by Nikkei.On Saturday, North Korea dismissed a ‌resolution by the UN nuclear watchdog against Pyongyang’s nuclear ​programme.Pyongyang last week also condemned ​a US-led naval drill which included South Korea and Japan and which ran from August 29 to September 10 near Guam.North Korea’s Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of leader Kim Jong Un, on Friday ​blamed US-led military drills for “ever-worsening” tensions ‌on the Korean Peninsula and vowed no change in the country’s course to strengthen its nuclear arsenal.(Reporting ​by Cynthia Kim and Heejin Kim in Seoul, Junko Fujita in Tokyo, and Sumedha Mukherjee in ​Bengaluru; Editing by William Mallard, Michael Perry and Christina Fincher)This article originally appeared on Reuters at https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/north-korea-fires-missile-off-061756384.html

Rep. Lauren Boebert is publicly refuting a complaint filed with the House Committee on Ethics on September 17 which alleged that the Colorado congresswoman had sexual relationships with three staffers she supervised, including two women, and paid $200,000 in hush money in an attempt to keep one of the relationships secret.“Congresswoman Lauren Boebert rejects these allegations as utterly false and there is no truth to them whatsoever,” a representative for the lawmaker wrote in a statement to multiple media outlets on Saturday. “This is nothing more than a politically motivated stunt designed to manipulate the ethics process, create headlines, smear her, and generate clickbait.”The sworn ethics complaint, first reported by the Colorado Times Reporter, was filed by David Wheeler of the political action committee American Muckrackers and identified three current and former staffers, claiming that Boebert had relationships with former district director Clarice Navarro Ratzlaff, district chief of staff Raven Finegan and former chief of staff Jeffrey Small. The complaint claims that the six-figure hush money payment was issued to Navarro to disincentivize her from filing an ethics complaint.Related: Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert Dates Bar Owner Who’s Hosted Drag ShowsNavarro, who worked under Boebert from 2021 to 2025, denied the substance of the complaint to the Reporter, writing, “These allegations regarding me are entirely false, defamatory, and beyond ridiculous. There is absolutely no truth to any part of this claim.”Navarro’s ex-husband, Jace Ratzlaff, appeared to suggest he believed the relationship took place when contacted by American Muckrackers, reportedly saying, “I assumed this would eventually surface, I’ll have no further comment on this topic.”The complaint primarily focuses on an alleged relationship between Boebert and Navarro, laying out a timeline of joint travel and claiming that $200,000 was paid to the staffer in 2025 “to secure her silence and forestall the threatened complaint.”“The source of the funds is presently unknown to Complainant,” Wheeler added.Related: Lauren Boebert Dumps Theater Date, Sidesteps Fondling Incident QuestionsIn her statement, Boebert’s representative attacked Wheeler, calling him “an activist who has long recycled sensational claims, including numerous baseless accusations previously fact-checked as false.” Wheeler’s group has previously sued Boebert for defamation over her denials of previous allegations made by American Muckrakers.Boebert, a far-right politician with an extensive anti-LGBTQ+ track record, also denied the affairs in a separate statement to the political blog Sources Say News by suggesting that she is strictly heterosexual: “Well, I’m not a lesbian or bisexual, and I have never, ever been in any inappropriate relationship, nor have I ever been sexually involved with any staff.”Boebert also addressed a claim in a blog post Wheeler made accompanying the complaint that has attracted widespread media attention: “One source,” Wheeler wrote, “also claims that Boebert and Navarro had a threesome with former U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz.”“Creative, I’ll give him that!” Boebert told Sources Say News of the Gaetz detail.Related: Lauren Boebert Caught Fondling Date’s Genitals During Family-Friendly Musical: VideoGaetz himself denied the allegation on X, writing, “I am requesting that anyone with video of me in this alleged ‘threesome’ release said evidence IMMEDIATELY! Unedited, please.”Boebert, who assumed office in 2021, has staunchly advocated against LGBTQ+ rights during her time in Congress. She opposes the Equality Act, which would formalize federal discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people, and has co-sponsored legislation aimed at restricting healthcare for transgender youth. Her official website includes an extensive “family values” section, in which she writes, “I oppose efforts to redefine marriage as anything other than the union of one man and one woman.”This article originally appeared on Advocate: Lauren Boebert denies alleged relationships with staffers: ‘I’m not a lesbian or bisexual’RELATEDLauren Boebert Dumps Theater Date, Sidesteps Fondling Incident QuestionsLauren Boebert Caught Fondling Date’s Genitals During Family-Friendly Musical: VideoRepublican Rep. Lauren Boebert Dates Bar Owner Who’s Hosted Drag ShowsThis article originally appeared on The Advocate at https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/lauren-boebert-relationships-staffers