Two golfers in Washington, D.C., sued the federal government on Friday to try to prevent the Trump administration from overhauling a more than 100-year-old public golf course, accusing the administration of violating environmental laws and polluting a park that is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The suit is the latest in a series of legal battles challenging President Donald Trump‘s extraordinary efforts to put his mark on public spaces in the nation’s capitol, including shuttering the Kennedy Center.

At the end of last year, a group of preservationists filed a similar lawsuit seeking to prevent the administration from demolishing the East Wing of the White House in order to build a ballroom — a project slated to cost $400.

Trump, who is an avid golfer himself, also plans on renovating a military golf course just outside of Washington that has been used by past presidents going back decades.

The complaint filed against the Department of the Interior on Friday says that the Trump administration’s reconstruction of East Potomac Park — which includes the East Potomac Golf Course — would violate the congressional act that created the park in 1897. The roughly 130-year-old act established the park for the “recreation and the pleasure of the people.”

The golf course, which has since been recognized on the National Register of Historic Places in part for its efforts to racially integrate in the 1940s. Municipal golf courses make up only 18% of courses in America.

“East Potomac Golf Links is a testament to what’s possible with public land and why public spaces matter,” said Washington resident and plaintiff Dave Roberts. “It deserves better than becoming a dumping ground for waste and yet another private playground for the privileged and powerful.”

The lawsuit came after the Trump administration in December ended a lease agreement the nonprofit National Links Trust held for East Potomac and two other golf courses in Washington. The Interior Department said it did so because the nonprofit hadn’t implemented required capital improvements and failed to meet the terms of the lease.

The Interior Department press office said in an email Friday that it doesn’t comment on pending litigation.

However, it said it would “ensure these courses are safe, beautiful, open, affordable, enjoyable and accessible for people visiting the greatest capital city in the world which is in line with President Trump’s agenda.”

The White House also didn’t respond to an emailed request for comment on Friday evening.

Construction on the East Potomac course has already begun, according to the lawsuit. In October, the National Parks Service began dumping debris from the demolition of the East Wing of the White House onto the golf course, the complaint said, raising concerns that the materials could contain contaminants that could pollute the air.

As a result, the plaintiffs argued, the administration of also violated the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to consider the harmful environmental impacts of the project.

The National Links Trust said in December they were “devastated” by the decision to terminate the lease and defended their management of the courses.

They said $8.5 million had gone toward capital improvements at the courses and that rounds played and revenue had more than doubled in their tenure managing the courses. They also added that the termination of the lease jeopardized hundreds of local jobs.

The nonprofit has agreed to keep managing the courses for the time being, but long-term renovations will stop.

The first 18 holes of the East Potomac Park Golf Course were built from 1918 to 1923.

___ Associated Press writer Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu contributed to this report.

Brooklyn Beckham claimed his mother ‘danced very inappropriately’ on him during his wedding to Nicola Peltz but Gordon Ramsay has spoken out about what really happened at the 2022 celebration

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Gordon Ramsay has shed light on the events that unfolded at Brooklyn Beckham’s wedding, including addressing rumours about Victoria’s supposedly ‘inappropriate’ dance moves.

The renowned chef, a close friend of the Beckhams, attended Brooklyn’s 2022 nuptials to Nicola Peltz. Earlier this year, Brooklyn made headlines when he posted a damning statement against his family on Instagram, reports the Mirror..

Among his allegations, he accused his mother of “hijacking” his first dance with his wife to “dance very inappropriately on me”.

This claim sparked widespread speculation about the nature of Victoria’s dancing. However, Gordon has now clarified the situation.

“We were there at the wedding,” he shared with The Sun. “There was nothing salacious. There was nothing inappropriate. Everyone was having fun, having a dance.”

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When asked if Victoria had ‘grinded’ on her son, as suggested by various memes, he firmly denied it. “No! Nothing of the sort. It was fun,” he retorted.

Gordon also mentioned that he hadn’t seen the memes about Victoria but noted that the former Spice Girl possesses a “great sense of humour”. He added that whilst she would be justified in feeling upset about the wedding, she could easily brush off any other nonsense.

Gordon’s wife, Tana, has reportedly been a pillar of support for Victoria during these times. Much like the Beckhams, the Ramsays are also dealing with family drama, as their daughter, Holly, and her husband, Adam Peaty, excluded the Peaty family from their December wedding.

During his wedding speech, Gordon is believed to have included a remark about Tana being a “good mum” to both the bride and groom. Some have interpreted this comment as a subtle jab at Adam’s mother, Caroline, who was amongst the first to have her wedding invitation withdrawn.

The Michelin-starred chef claims he remains in touch with Brooklyn. He revealed that he and the budding photographer-turned-chef have “messaged a little bit” and that their “relationship is solid”.

Gordon expressed his love for Brooklyn, saying his “heart is incredible” whilst cautioning that things can be difficult “when you’re infatuated”.

Gordon acknowledged that it’s easy to “get carried away” but forecast that Brooklyn “will come back” eventually, despite the 26 year old’s claims that he has no intention of making amends with his family. Gordon praised David and Victoria Beckham as “incredible” parents, adding that it was simply “a matter of time” before Brooklyn “understands what his parents mean to him”.

Gordon’s claim that Victoria’s dancing wasn’t inappropriate has been backed by wedding DJ Fat Tony. The DJ clarified that it wasn’t the dancing itself that was unsuitable, but rather the timing.

Speaking on This Morning, he explained: “There was no slut dropping, there was no PVC catsuit, there was no Spice Girls actions. The word inappropriate – why I said it was inappropriate as well, because it was the timing.

“What happened was – basically, Marc Anthony was performing on stage, he then called Brooklyn onto the stage. Everyone is expecting Nicola to go up and do the first dance and then Marc asks the most beautiful woman in the room to come to the stage.

“Then he said: ‘Victoria, come to the stage.’ At that point, Brooklyn is devastated because he thought he was going to do his first dance with his wife.”

Sky News understands Iranian doctor Yaser Rahmani-Rad has been arrested and held after accusing the country’s security forces of arresting injured protesters inside hospitals and removing medical equipment, “because they deserve to die”.

Dr Rahmani-Rad is an internal medicine specialist who was working at the Rasul Akram public hospital in Tehran when he gave Sky News an interview at the end of January.

The regime had regained control of the streets after nationwide protests had threatened to sweep Iran‘s clerical leaders aside. Dr Rahmani-Rad said he was shocked by the ferocity of this crackdown, adding the security forces had taken “full control” of the country’s hospitals.

“If they realise that someone who was injured in the protests has gone to a hospital, or even if they had gone before and managed to escape them, they will arrest that person. By checking security cameras, they track them down, raid the locations, and detain them,” he said.

Iran crackdown: Doctors share disturbing accounts

His colleagues said security personnel had removed patients from ventilators and other life-saving medical equipment inside hospitals.

“They said, ‘let them die, they have no rights, they are against the Islamic system, and they deserve to die’.”

It was a brave thing to speak out. People who criticise the regime in Iran typically request anonymity, but the medic believed the international exposure would help protect him from state forces.

When I contacted Dr Rahmani-Rad the following week, he said he was fine – although he had received a visit from the security forces.

However, these threats did not work. The specialist posted another video on Instagram – on or around 11 February – castigating the regime for inflicting violence on people who could not afford the money required to treat their injuries.

“How could you shoot at these poor souls who don’t have 200,000 or 500,000 tomans (£0.90 to £2.40) to buy antibiotics. I don’t understand it. I genuinely don’t understand it,” he said.

It seems these comments were poorly received. His videos have been stripped from Instagram and the page has been shut down.

Read more from Sky News:
Bangladesh’s historic election
Analysis: Trump and Israel’s tensions
IS detainees moved from Syria to Iraq

Dr Rahmani-Rad’s friends are unable to contact him. I spoke to Dr Keyvan Yahia, a neuroscientist who teaches at Chemnitz Technical University in Germany.

He said: “I hadn’t heard back from him for three days, so I decided to get hold of Yaser through his father. I said, ‘Mr Rahmani, I didn’t hear back from Yaser and given the circumstances, I must assume that something not very well happened to him. Do you have any idea?’”

“He said, ‘yes, on Monday, actually, on Monday, this week, on his arrival at the hospital… he was officially detained and taken into custody’. And he was taken, according to his father, to some undisclosed location. The family have absolutely no idea where he has gone.”

Despite official denials by the regime, doctors have been arrested and detained for providing medical treatment to people involved in the protests.

Sky News understands that a fellow internal medicine specialist, Dr Golnaz Naraghi, was arrested two weeks ago. Her whereabouts was initially unknown, but according to a hospital source, she was transferred to a notorious women’s prison called Qarchak near Tehran.

We previously reported on the arrest of a surgeon called Alireza Golchini, who was charged with ‘waging war against God’ – an offence which carries the death penalty.

Dr Golchini posted a phone number online for people injured in the demonstrations, and performed surgery on approximately 20 protesters.

We understand that he has been released on bail and the charges have been changed.

The surgeon now stands accused of ‘the incitement of protest and rebellion’, alongside providing medical care. He faces the prospect of two to five years in jail.

Welcome to our live coverage of the Winter Olympics. Strap yourselves in, tonight could be the night Team GB finally breaks their medal duck at Milano-Cortina, as Britain’s Matt Weston targets a place on the podium in the skeleton.

Weston underlined his gold medal credentials with near-perfect runs yesterday, setting successive course records as he jumped to the top of the leaderboard.

The 28-year-old, who is a two-time world champion, is Britain’s brightest medal prospect at the Games and after his two statement runs on Thursday, the big question is whether he can continue that fine form in heats three and four tonight.

In a measure of his superiority, Weston was the only slider under 56 seconds as he clocked 55.88secs in heat two, to add to his 56.21secs in run one on the Cortina sliding track.

“I was quite annoyed after the first run. I tried to be a bit too relaxed because I tried to over-compensate for race-day nerves,” said Weston.

“It’s pretty crazy [to be the overnight leader] but I take every run as run one. I will completely reset myself, switch off for a bit and then re-focus on Friday.”

Weston’s teammate, Marcus Wyatt, sits in seventh place on a total time of 1:53.21, 1.12s behind Weston and 0.66s off the medals. Wyatt was also viewed as a major medal prospect, but after losing time in his first two runs, a shot at the podium looks out of reach.

Stay tuned as we bring you live updates from all the skeleton action. 

A protester outside the High Court, central London, where Dame Victoria Sharp, Mr Justice Swift and Mrs Justice Steyn have ruled in favour of Palestine Action’s co-founder Huda Ammori’s challenge over the ban of the organisation as a terror group (Jonathan Brady/PA)

PA Wire

Your elected representatives agreed an increase on a majority vote

Belfast Council has agreed to raise its rates by 4.48 percent for the coming tax year, above the rate of inflation.

At the February full monthly meeting of Belfast City Council, held on Monday (February 3), elected representatives on a majority vote agreed an increase in the district rate of 4.48 per cent for 2026/27. As of December 2025, the UK annual inflation rate, measured by the Consumer Prices Index, was 3.4 percent.

It means there will be a non-domestic rate of 34.2388 percent and a domestic rate of 0.4492 percent, and that the amount raised through the tax rise in 2026/27 will result in an extra £220,388,739 going to the council. Last year the council agreed to an increase in the district rate of 5.99 per cent.

READ MORE: GAA pitches and soccer pitch for Boucher Road approved amid plans for new large scale venue

READ MORE: Sinn Féin and SDLP clash with council officials over controversial GAA pitch

Domestic rates are made up of a regional rate, set by Stormont or the Northern Ireland Office, and a district rate, set by Northern Ireland’s councils, with both parts of the rate funding the respective responsibilities of Stormont and local government.

The district rate is for home and business owners, and pays for multiple public services, including waste management leisure/community centres, parks, building control, environmental health, events and recreation, arts and tourism.

A proposal at the special City Hall meeting by the Alliance Party to raise the rates by the lower amount of 4.25 percent failed, with 13 elected representatives in support, 37 against, and 4 abstaining. A People Before Profit proposal not to raise the rates at all did not receive a seconder, and could not therefore go to the floor for a vote.

Belfast is one of only four out of Northern Ireland’s 11 councils to have raised rates above the UK level of inflation this year. Ards and North Down had the highest rate of 4.74 percent, while Fermanagh and Omagh saw the lowest increase at 1.96 percent.

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It was only a generation ago that Nintendo was faced with abject failure, but a reader is adamant that the Wii U had a good selection of quality game exclusives.

I’ve said this loads, so I apologise again if you’ve heard it before, but I’m a massive Nintendo fan since the NES days.

Back in 2013 I came into a bit of money.

I could afford the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and the Wii U all at the same time and still have change.

Fortunately for me I have no fear of missing out, so I bought a Wii U and went with the quality of their games to carry me through my game-playing years to come, I wasn’t disappointed.

For context, I’ve just been given a PlayStation 4 a couple of months ago from my brother-in-law and I’m catching up on all the games I missed. What a console that was, I love it, but I digress, this is about the Wii U.

If truth be told, the quality of a console can only be judged by the quality of its games.

The Wii U had a plethora of games to choose from.

I remember going into work one morning and a colleague told me that ‘all the talk was about Nintendo giving up on the Wii U and bringing out another console to compete’… my previous paragraph contradicting this of course.

If I was completely honest, I had been playing Splatoon the night before online for free and I was still buzzing, so his words meant nothing to me.

It’s hard to know where to start?

Then we had Nintendo Land. Anyone who’s played the ghost level on that will agree that no one on any other console can play that. Even if you had a Switch, it ain’t possible.

For me personally, Splatoon was better on the Wii U due to the map on your screen held in your hands. You could transport to anywhere on the map. I think they perfected that right from the off and everything was slightly downhill from there on in.

Super Mario Maker was also perfect for Wii U, using the stylus to generate levels. Apparently someone from the head office from Nintendo checked my level out. I’m not quite what they are looking for but I will take them looking at me as a complement.

Us Wii U owners where really not starving for games, we had enough to chew on despite outside interference saying we were missing out.

Then there were remakes of Zelda: The Wind Waker (that game does not get enough credit) and Zelda: Twilight Princess to keep us Wii U owners buying money for old rope.

Let’s not forget about Zelda: Breath Of The Wild that runs perfectly on a Wii U.

Talking about money for old rope?

Half of the Nintendo Switch sales are money for old rope.

A lot of Nintendo Switch’s games where regurgitated Wii U titles and I have no problem with that, but it is money for old rope. I’m not clever enough to point out the marketing side of things but they did a great job.

The Wii U may not have sold a lot of consoles but if you judge it by its games catalogue It could definitely punch above it’s supposed weight.

By reader freeway 77

The reader’s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.

You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot.

Just contact us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk or use our Submit Stuff page and you won’t need to send an email.

MORE: Why did Sony and Valve fall out of love with making video games? – Reader’s Feature

MORE: Xbox can’t be a third party publisher if no one likes their games – Reader’s Feature

MORE: The redemption of the PS5 beings with Horizon Hunters Gathering – Reader’s Feature

The luxury homeware company has stores across the country and is known for selling quality bedding, towels, clothing, candles and more.

Fans of the brand don’t have long to wait until the third store in Manchester opens – here’s what we know.

The White Company to open new store at The Trafford Centre in March 2026

The new store is set to open this spring, and it’s one of two coming to the north in this expansion.

Shoppers can look forward to the new store opening in The Trafford Centre on Friday, March 20.

The White Company to open 4 new UK stores in 2026

These are all the confirmed stores opening in the UK soon:

• Northallerton – Monday, February 23
• Trafford Centre – Friday, March 20
• Lakeside – Wednesday, March 25
• Horsham – April (exact date to be confirmed)

The news of the opening at The Trafford Centre comes following an announcement from luxury fashion brand LK Bennett, which confirmed it would be entering administration.

The company currently operates a concession at John Lewis in the Trafford Centre, alongside nine standalone stores and 13 concessions across the UK and Ireland.

Recommended reading:

Shoppers in Trafford and across Greater Manchester will still be able to visit the John Lewis concession in the short term, but it is expected to close permanently once the administration trading period ends.

Back in August 2025, The Trafford Centre opened the first standalone Primark Home store at Trafford Palazzo.

What’s your favourite shop in The Trafford Centre? Let us know in the comments below.

The government’s ability to deal with drones that pose a threat on American soil has been questioned this week after the use of a laser designed to shoot down drones near the border in Texas led to the abrupt closure of the airspace over El Paso, sources familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.

The details of exactly what happened before the Federal Aviation Administration shut down the busy airport in the Mexican border city on Wednesday aren’t entirely clear, but a source familiar with the situation told AP that the laser was deployed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection without coordinating with the FAA.

Two months ago, Congress agreed to give more law enforcement agencies the authority to take down rogue drones as long as they are properly trained. That could make situations like the one in El Paso more likely. Previously, only a select few federal agencies had that power.

Here’s a look at what happened and the issues that raised:

Communication issues acknowledged

The government would say only that the airspace was shut down when an incursion by Mexican drug cartel drones was neutralized.

But the two people who discussed sensitive details on condition of anonymity said the FAA grounded every aircraft in the El Paso area over concerns about the safety of the laser system being used near commercial planes. The restrictions were initially expected to last 10 days, but then they were lifted a few hours later.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Friday that the government agencies involved in El Paso are working to address the concerns that led to the cancellation of more than a dozen flights and sent travelers scrambling.

“This was a joint agency task force mission that was undertaken and we’re continuing to work on the communication through that,” Noem said in Arizona.

But drone warfare expert Brett Velicovich said the dysfunction in Texas raises questions about whether the U.S. will be prepared to deal with a significant drone threat.

“We need to simplify the authorities for who is really in charge and get these egos out of the way from these different agencies before an American gets hurt,” said Velicovich, who founded drone maker Power.us and consults on ways to mitigate their threats.

Drones can be a threat

Armed drones carry out devastating attacks daily in Ukraine. The unmanned vehicles have also allowed Ukraine to strike deep within Russia.

Velicovich, who used to use Predator drones in the military to bomb targets, said it wouldn’t be hard for someone with malicious intent to buy a drone for a few hundred bucks and do great harm at a major public event like a World Cup match or the celebrations of America’s 250th birthday that are planned this summer.

Cartels routinely use drones to deliver drugs across the Mexican border and surveil Border Patrol officers. Officials told Congress last summer that more than 27,000 drones were detected within 1,600 feet (500 meters) of the southern border in the last six months of 2024.

The government recently handed out $250 million in grants to the 11 states that are set to host World Cup matches this summer to help them prepare for the threat of drones. Another $250 million in grants will be awarded later this year to strengthen the nation’s drone defenses.

More near misses involving drones

The threat to planes from drones continues to increase along with the number of near misses around airports. Homeland Security estimates there are more than 1.7 million registered drones flying in the United States, and that number has been growing.

Larger drones are required to carry a radio transponder that identifies the drone’s owner and broadcasts its position to help avert collisions. Cities can also invest in additional sensors around stadiums to help quickly detect drones.

Airspace Link, a Detroit company, created a low altitude air traffic control system to track drones and can alert authorities who might soon be able to take action. Cities can buy additional sensors to upgrade that system around stadiums or other high-profile locations.

“We don’t want something to happen,” said CEO Michael Healander. “But we also want to be prepared to have the tools in place to take action, because these are such big global events.”

Acting against rogue drones

Common anti-drone systems use radio signals to jam or force drones to land. But the government has also developed high-powered microwaves or laser beams like the one sources say was used in Texas this week that are capable of disabling the machines.

Some other systems station small drones to take flight quickly and ram into drones that are considered a threat. And there are systems that use bullets to shoot down drones.

Michael Robbins, president and CEO of the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International trade group, said these counter drone systems are more common in warzones than across the United States. But the government is working to get them into the hands of more officers nationwide.

“It’s our belief that this is important technology that when responsibly used with proper oversight and intensive training will help to mitigate unsafe or malicious drones in the very rare instances where that needs to occur,” Robbins said.

Pilots worry about drones

Allied Pilots Association union spokesman Capt. Dennis Tajer said he’s not sure how big of a threat the counter drone technology is to the American Airlines jets he flies because so few details have been released about what happened in Texas. And officials with Homeland Security and the FAA didn’t respond to questions about it again on Friday.

Tajer said he’s more concerned about the possibility of a passenger jet running into a drone because that could bring the plane down. A year ago, 67 people were killed when an American Airlines jet collided with an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C.

“You don’t have to be a pilot, an engineer or a defense expert to understand that two pieces of metal in the sky that one doesn’t know the other is there and is uncontrolled is dangerous,” Tajer said. “We’ve got to keep those two pieces of metal away from each other.”

____

Associated Press writer Josh Kelety contributed from Scottsdale, Arizona.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military said Friday that it has carried out another deadly strike on a vessel accused of trafficking drugs in the Caribbean Sea.

U.S. Southern Command said on social media that the boat “was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.” It said the strike killed three people. A video linked to the post shows a boat moving through the water before exploding in flames.

Friday’s attack raises the death toll from the Trump administration’s strikes on alleged drug boats to 133 people in at least 38 attacks carried out since early September in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared last week that “some top cartel drug-traffickers” in the region “have decided to cease all narcotics operations INDEFINITELY due to recent (highly effective) kinetic strikes in the Caribbean.” However, Hegseth did not provide any details or information to back up this claim, made in a post on his personal account on social media.

President Donald Trump has said the U.S. is in “armed conflict” with cartels in Latin America and has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs. But his administration has offered little evidence to support its claims of killing “narcoterrorists.”