Paramount Skydance’s proposed $111-billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery could result in 4,500 jobs eliminated in Los Angeles over a three-year period, according to a new report.

Los Angeles County supervisors earlier this year wanted to explore the potential economic impact of David Ellison’s proposed union of two historic Hollywood studios. The report, completed this week by CVL Economics, paints a sobering picture of the potential aftermath of the debt-laden deal, including the prospect of an estimated $1.26 billion in lost wages.

“Los Angeles County’s film and television economy is already undergoing a significant structural contraction,” the report said. “The proposed merger of Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance introduces an additional source of risk into that already changing market.”

California Atty. General Rob Bonta is leading a coalition of 12 states attempting to block the merger on antitrust grounds. A trial has been set for March. Paramount and other groups, including cinema chain owners and some Hollywood unions, have agitated for a settlement to curtail months of uncertainty over whether the deal will go through.

The proposed merger has been controversial in Hollywood due to fears of widespread layoffs. The Writers Guild of America has brought its own lawsuit to thwart the deal.

The goal of the county’s report was to provide “a comprehensive assessment of the merger’s production workforce implications,” amid the ongoing decline of L.A. based film and television production work. Los Angeles has witnessed the elimination of more than 50,000 entertainment jobs since 2022.

The 120-page report, from the county’s Department of Economic Opportunity and Film Office and requested by Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, found that more than 15,000 corporate roles would be at risk, including an estimated 2,495 jobs based in Los Angeles County.

The two companies would have an overlapping workforce within its linear cable channel divisions, film and television studios, streaming operations and corporate functions, including marketing, technology and advertising sales.

“Effects on crews, crafts, post-production personnel, vendors, and production-serving small businesses,” could also be substantial, the report said.

Paramount, in a statement, said the report highlighted the industry’s troubles and made a case for the merger.

“LA County’s own economic report underscores what we have been saying all along: our industry is in decline, production is down and jobs are being lost — and lost for good if we don’t act,” Paramount said. “Our plan to invest $30 billion annually in production and release at least 30 films a year.”

That commitment, Paramount said, would lead to “more jobs over time, and ultimately, a stronger, more durable entertainment industry for generations to come.”

Paramount has received clearances from the U.S. Justice Department and 65 other regulators around the globe to complete the merger.

For now, Bonta’s lawsuit is standing in the way.

Paramount has promised investors the deal would lead to at least $6 billion in cost savings through the consolidation of operations. The company has said the merger would ultimately be good for consumers and workers because a combined Paramount-Warner Bros. would have greater resources to compete with tech giants that are investing heavily in entertainment.

But the report pointed to the high level of debt that Paramount would have to take on — nearly $82 billion — to buy the stock of Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders to finalize the takeover.

“If revenues underperform or planned savings prove more difficult to achieve, pressure to identify additional cost reductions could increase,” the report said.

The two companies already are carrying substantial interest costs due to their existing debt structures. “In the quarter ended June 30, 2026, the two companies reported a combined $712 million in operating income and $737 million in net interest expense,” the report said, meaning that the companies were producing less profit than what was needed to support their debt obligations.

Despite Paramount predicting cost savings and reduction in debt over time, “those savings will take several years to fully realize,” the report said.

David Ellison was hoping to wrap up his $111-billion merger with Warner Bros. by September.

(PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

Television production in Los Angeles could be especially vulnerable, in large part, because Paramount and Warner Bros. already have moved most of their feature film projects outside of L.A. High levels of TV production continues at Warner Bros. complex in Burbank and Paramount’s and CBS’ soundstages in Hollywood and Santa Clarita.

“The economic impact extends well beyond employment,” with an expected elimination of $547 million in tax revenue, including $78.6 million in local taxes, the report said.

It noted that Warner Bros. and Paramount films were “particularly employment-intensive.”

“Their theatrical releases carry 2.74 times as many screen credits as the average theatrical release, while their streaming films carry twice as many,” the report found.

The document also highlighted a pre-existing pull-back in production at the two studios in recent years — something that Ellison plans to correct.

Paramount was struggling to remain solvent prior to the Ellison family’s purchase of the media company last year. Warner Bros. had scaled back offerings following Discovery’s $43-billion takeover of WarnerMedia in 2022 as it struggled to contain the debt from that deal.

“Between 2019 and 2025, Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount accounted for a net reduction of approximately 195 major U.S. releases,” the report said. At the same time, other major distributors combined “added about 67 projects.”

Ellison is looking to finalize his massive Hollywood deal — folding CNN, HBO, TBS, Food Network and the Warner Bros. film and television studios under Paramount — as quickly as possible. He must hold together Paramount’s coalition of financiers and manage rising expenses, primarily legal fees and escalating obligations to Warner shareholders.

The state attorneys general, including from Colorado, Oregon, Nevada, Washington and New York have argued that the blockbuster merger — the largest in Hollywood in decades — would violate the century-old Clayton Antitrust Act.

Paramount hoped the trial over Bonta’s lawsuit would begin in November but U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín set the trial for March 2.

If the deal goes forward, just four studios — a post-merger Paramount-Warner, Disney, NBCUniversal and Sony Pictures — would control 86% of movies that are widely released (in more than 3,000 movie theaters), according to the attorneys general lawsuit. Paramount has argued that projects from Amazon MGM, Netflix and Apple should be included because they compete with the traditional companies for talent and audiences.

Paramount-Warner Bros. would also own more than 50 cable channels, including HGTV, Animal Planet, BET, MTV and Comedy Central.

The Swede set Celtic on their way and Duran’s double did the rest, a gorgeous volley – on the back of hustling and harassing of the LASK defence – and then that sumptuous team goal that rounded it off.

O’Neill said the club has a bargain in Duran and the early signs are that he was an absolute steal at somewhere between £4.5m and £6m, depending on who’s talking.

The Colombian has intelligence and guile but he’s also got the work-ethic that means every bit as much as his other qualities.

In the 72nd minute, Celtic were 3-0 ahead, and yet there the 24-year-old was darting back into defence to help out, tracking LASK men until they were hounded out of possession.

As much as his goals, his lung-busting effort to put in a shift made him a hero of the night for Celtic people. Honesty counts for a lot.

It’s easy to say that Celtic learned their lesson from a year ago and splashed the cash. They spent close to £30m and now they’re getting their reward. It’s never that simple.

Spending is something that Celtic have done a lot of over the years. Spending wisely has been their problem. Splurging money on last-minute loans who, surprisingly, turn out to be duds.

Forking out multiple millions on recent and not so recent failures – from Balikwisha to Barkas – has been the problem. The decision-making has been awful too often.

Duran represents a return to form, a reminder of the days when they found value, mostly under Ange Postecoglou.

We’re too quick to write off players and we can also be too quick to brand them as stars in waiting. You should tread carefully at all times. With Duran we’ll take the plunge – this guy looks special.

Beyond offering a physical distraction, Kasper Hogh was quiet against LASK, but he will score plenty in the weeks and months ahead. At £11m, he, too, looks like money very well spent.

Aug. 19 (UPI) — A study released Wednesday shows that the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea are far hotter than normal, threatening ecosystems and coastal communities.

Parts of the oceans around Europe reached more than 42 degrees Fahrenheit above average this week in a marine heat wave hitting the area.

Climate change is the cause, said the World Weather Attribution consortium in the study.

This summer has been especially brutal in Europe, which has seen multiple heat waves with extreme temperatures and worsened by wildfires. Western Europe recorded its hottest summer on record.

In the water, the high temps harm marine life, raise jellyfish populations and increase the risk of stronger storms later in the year.

“This summer, we’ve seen some really exceptional ocean temperatures around Europe,” said Catherine Gregory, a climate scientist at the University of Bern who contributed to the study, Politico reported.

“By July, the average temperature of the entire Mediterranean Sea was just over 27C [80.6 degrees Fahrenheit], which was the highest July value on record,” she added. “We’ve had a buoy reading to the west of Mallorca measuring more than 33C [91.4F] in open water … and we’ve seen similarly extreme conditions in the North Atlantic.”

The scientists analyzed four regions: the Eastern and Western Mediterranean; the Atlantic around the Bay of Biscay and Iberian Peninsula; and the seas around Ireland and western Britain.

“We find it’s the most extreme July marine heat wave conditions in the record for the Western Mediterranean, the Celtic region and for the Bay of Biscay-Iberian Peninsula region,” Gregory told Politico.

The scientists found that climate change raised temperatures in both Mediterranean regions by 35.6 degrees Fahrenheit, and Iberian waters increased by 34.52 degrees. The Irish seas rose by 34.34 degrees.

Oceans absorb most of the excess heat from burning fossil fuels. The warming waters push some species to search for cooler water, while those that can’t move, such as corals or seagrasses, could see mass die-offs.

“We have what we call winners and losers. So a lot of species wane in abundance or completely disappear while others bloom and proliferate,” said John Bruno, an ecologist from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and one of the study’s co-authors.

The transfer is the first from Lebanon involving a Syrian military officer who fled after al-Assad’s government was toppled in 2024.

Lebanon has handed over a former senior Syrian army officer to Damascus to face charges related to murder and torture, the first such transfer since former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was toppled in 2024.

The transfer involved Major-General Adel Issa, a former commander of the Syrian army’s 17th Division who later led ground forces in the eastern province of Deir ez-Zur.

Syria’s Ministry of Interior confirmed his delivery into Syrian custody in a statement on Wednesday.

“Today, Syrian authorities received from the Lebanese authorities the former officer in the defunct regime army, Major-General Adel Issa,” the ministry said.

It added that a Syrian arrest warrant had accused Issa of charges including intentional homicide, facilitating a felony, killing more than two people, torture leading to death, and crimes aimed at inciting civil war and sectarian strife.

A Damascus referral judge will hear his case, which could then be sent to a criminal court for trial, the ministry added.

Issa, 67, has denied the accusations, the Reuters news agency reported, citing two people familiar with his arrest and extradition.

He was detained on August 8 after going to the Syrian embassy in Beirut to complete paperwork.

Embassy officials alerted the prosecutor’s office in Lebanon that he was wanted in Syria, and Lebanese investigators took him into custody, Reuters reported.

His transfer follows months of pressure by Damascus for Lebanon to act against former government officers, as well as security and military officials, who sought refuge in Lebanon after the Assad regime collapsed in December 2024.

President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former rebel leader, has led the country since.

In January, Syrian authorities gave Lebanese security officials a list of more than 200 former senior officers wanted by Damascus.

Earlier this month, a Damascus court sentenced al-Assad to death in absentia on charges including murder, arbitrary detention and torture. Al-Assad lives in exile in Moscow.

LILY Allen has described herself as a ‘porn enthusiast’ in a very candid new interview.

The singer, who split from her husband David Harbour last year, also revealed she suffered an awkward blunder with her new boyfriend when it came to X-rated sites.

In February, Lily confirmed she’s in a new relationship with Jonah Freud.

And while she is hesitant to speak about the romance publicly, Lily has opened up on her bedroom preferences in a very open new interview.

Talking about her opinions on porn, she told Perfect Magazine: “There have been times when I’ve been a porn enthusiast. I’m not currently in one of those periods.”

Admitting she recently had a blunder with new beau Jonah about porn, Lily continued: “However, I did try to get on to Pornhub the other day because my phone was connected to the Bluetooth speaker [backstage at a show] and I thought it would be really funny while everyone was getting ready to go to the toilet and put porn on and everyone would think I was secretly watching it in the toilet.

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“But the wifi wouldn’t allow me to go on any restricted sites, so I couldn’t do it.

“And then I was in bed with my boyfriend later and when he asked me to Google something, Pornhub came up on my search history and I tried to explain but it just didn’t sound very believable.”

Lily added that she wasn’t embarrassed but was “annoyed” her other half didn’t believe her.

The singer confirmed her relationship in February after being spotted with Jonah several times.

After being asked who the last person she texted was in an interview, she replied: “My boyfriend.”

However, she didn’t expand further on the romance.

It comes after she split from husband David Harbour last year.

It is reported Lily turned detective after growing suspicious that her hubby was cheating and caught him out on Raya — the same app where she met him in 2019.

WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice is defending its prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey, saying “there is no serious dispute” that a social media post of seashells he made last year could be understood as a threat against President Trump.

Prosecutors also called into question Comey’s account that he had found the seashells in the numerical arrangement of “86 47” while walking on a beach in North Carolina and suggested that his May 2025 post on Instagram was an effort to generate attention for a forthcoming novel about a social media personality whose words inspire his fans to attack his foes.

The arguments in motions late Tuesday represent the government’s most detailed explanation of its indictment and were filed in response to wide-ranging defense efforts to dismiss the case on grounds including that it constitutes a vindictive prosecution and that Comey’s post did not amount to a true threat. Comey’s lawyers contend that investigators in the case misled judges, submitted documents containing false statements, withheld key facts and repeatedly came up empty in their efforts to prove that Comey intended a physical threat or knew that the number 86 could suggest violence.

The entry for “86” from Merriam-Webster, the dictionary used by the Associated Press, says its meaning is “to throw out,” “to get rid of” or “to refuse service to.” Trump, a Republican, is the 47th president.

The Justice Department maintains that the post constituted a real threat

Federal prosecutors maintain that the photo of the seashells, which Comey said he found on the beach, constituted a threat against Trump. Comey deleted the post shortly after he put it up, saying he did not know that anyone interpreted the numbers as a call to violence. His lawyers have said that the slogan has long meant to “get rid of” or “eject” and has been featured on thousands of items sold online and is regularly displayed at protests.

But the department sought in its filings to place the post against the backdrop of assassination plots or attempts against Trump in the months before and after Comey’s post. Prosecutors say that two minutes before the post was made, Comey’s wife texted him a screenshot of a definition of “86” that said “to get rid of or refuse service.”

“There is no serious dispute that an objective viewer of Comey’s post could read it to mean ‘Kill President Trump,’” prosecutors wrote.

The photo was posted days before Comey was set to release a novel he wrote titled “FDR Drive,” in which a prosecutor pursues a far-right social media personality who has called out his adversaries by name and inspired violence against them by his fans, the department said.

After the Instagram post provoked an outcry, according to the government’s filings, Comey’s publishing agent observed in a text message to him that he had “gone viral.” Comey responded that that was “not my intention, but I’ll be OK if it sells books.” The agent replied, ”Music to an agent’s ears.”

Prosecutors also asserted there was “reason to doubt” Comey’s account of having come upon the seashells while on a walk, saying they were located four miles “down from the beach from beachfront property where Comey was staying, in an area separated from the ocean by a sand dune.” They said there was “no evidence that anyone else arranged, photographed, or even saw the shells.”

Comey has called the case vindictive, but prosecutors deny that

Comey’s lawyers have called the indictment, which was filed months after an earlier and unrelated case against him was dismissed, part of a Trump retribution campaign targeting one of the president’s vocal critics. Trump fired Comey as head of the FBI in 2017 as Comey was overseeing an investigation into potential ties between Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and Russia. Trump since then has called for him and other perceived adversaries to be jailed.

But the Justice Department denied allegations of vindictiveness, saying the decision to indict Comey was made by the U.S. attorney in the area and did not stem from a directive from the president or the attorney general.

To bolster their claims that Comey was unjustly targeted, the defense team argued that investigators struggled to develop compelling evidence from witnesses that Comey had intended the post as a threat, but they concealed that from federal magistrates as they applied for warrants to search digital accounts associated with Comey and his wife.

For instance, defense lawyers have said, the FBI searched an internal database of information about open and closed investigations for any indication of an association between Comey and the term “86” but found inconclusive results. An FBI agent also requested a review of the FBI file for the case against reputed mobster John Gambino, which Comey worked on as a young prosecutor, but found no references to the term “86.”

Investigators also interviewed a key government cooperator in the case, Salvatore “Sammy the Bull” Gravano, who said he did not recall ever discussing the term “86” with Comey or hearing it in connection with the trial.

The latest filings made clear that the administration was standing behind the premise of the case.

“No Government theory was disproved at that time, or now. No intentionally false omission exists, much less one made with reckless disregard for the truth,” prosecutors wrote. “The evidence still supports that Defendant acted at least recklessly by consciously disregarding a substantial risk that his coded message of “8647” that he sent to his 200,000 or so Instagram followers, and the millions of secondary social media users who would view this as threatening violence against the President of the United States.”

Tucker writes for the Associated Press.

Much like it is a tradition for a footballer to take away the match ball after scoring a hat-trick, a bowler will pocket the cricket ball after claiming a five-wicket haul.

But what happens if two bowlers take five-wicket hauls in the same innings?

England seamers Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue came up with a solution after they snared five apiece on the opening day of the first Test against Pakistan.

“Robbo said we can split the ball in half,” Tongue told Test Match Special. “The groundstaff have kindly done that.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen that happen. I’m sure I’ll be putting that up somewhere.”

Robinson showed off his half in a media conference and explained: “We were walking off the field.

“Josh said it and I said: ‘We actually should do that, it would be quite cool.’

“You don’t really have too many halves of a cricket ball, so it would be something that we never forget.”

The efforts of the pace-bowling duo helped Joe Root get off to an ideal start on the first day of his second stint as England Test captain.

Tongue claimed 5-46 and Robinson 5-51 to skittle Pakistan for 171 after England won the toss. The home side moved to 112-2 by the close in Leeds.

Tongue and Robinson are the first pair of England bowlers to register five-wicket hauls in the same Test innings since Steve Harmison and Monty Panesar against Pakistan at Old Trafford in 2006.

They led England off the field at Headingley hand in hand, hatching their plan to make one ball into two halves.

“Wayne Bentley, the team manager, took it down to the groundstaff,” said Robinson.

“I said: ‘Do you reckon they will be able to do it?’ Within five minutes he brought it back up and it was done. It’s really nice.”

Social media giant Meta is facing a landmark trial that could impact its future.

Opening statements began on Tuesday in a US federal court case brought by 29 state attorneys general, who have accused Facebook and Instagram’s parent company of designing platforms to encourage infinite scrolling and keep their youngest users hooked, despite allegedly knowing they could fuel addictive behaviour. The company is also accused of collecting data on minors.

The case is expected to last as long as six weeks. If the attorneys general get their way, the Silicon Valley-based tech company might have to make structural changes to its platform and pay as much as $1.4 trillion in fines.

While Meta denies the allegations, the potential consequences of this case could be significant for the company, which is already facing low employee morale, waves of layoffs and a series of lagging investments.

Significant financial impact

The potential exposure to Meta is significant. State penalties could reach as high as $1.4 trillion, Meta has said, although that is unlikely, as the coalition of states said it is seeking $200bn in damages.

To put that in context, the amount is roughly the equivalent of Meta’s revenue last year. In 2025, the tech giant generated nearly $201bn in revenue, and it had $83.2bn in operating income.

The $200bn ask is significantly higher than any penalty the company has had to face so far. In March, a jury in a separate New Mexico lawsuit ordered Meta to pay $375m in civil penalties, and another $567m was ordered by a judge earlier this month.

At the time of the March penalty, financial services firm Morningstar said it was not overly concerned about the impact of the looming court cases on Meta’s valuation, even if governments around the world use these cases as a reason to push for structural changes to the business.

“We think that any algorithmic changes imposed on the firm via legislation are also a manageable risk, given the firm’s monetizable user base, which is overwhelmingly adult, thereby insulating the firm against such legislation,” a Morningstar analyst note said.

While no one can predict which way the coalition case will go, Meta’s problems extend to concerns about significant financial exposure in some of its investments and business units.

For instance, Reality Labs, the division responsible for Meta’s virtual and augmented reality tools and software like the metaverse, has lost $70bn since 2020.

Meta has also ramped up spending to build out AI infrastructure as growing concerns about an AI bubble loom over the sector.

Cash flow for the business fell significantly, from $12bn in the first quarter to $784m in the second quarter, although it did not go into negative territory as some analysts had expected.

“I think it’s [Meta] in an unenviable spot, because it’s facing pressure from multiple fronts,” Aleksandar Tomic, associate dean for strategy, innovation, and technology at Boston College, told Al Jazeera.

“These verdicts are going to put pressure on their advertising business. The AI development seems to have stalled, and the virtual reality thing seems to be dead on arrival, at least for now. So the only bright spot is that they might be able to get into the AI infrastructure game, but that is no guarantee.”

Meta itself is worried about the financial strain. “There can be no assurances that a favorable final outcome will be obtained in all our cases, and defending any lawsuit is costly and can impose a significant burden on management and employees,” the company said in a January Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing.

Can the lawsuit impact its core product?

While financial penalties might be a strain, a legal requirement to fundamentally alter the machinery that makes Instagram and Facebook so valuable to advertisers would be much harder for Meta to absorb.

The lawsuit calls for changes to its business model, including eliminating the infinite scroll that allows users to continually look at new posts. Meta’s advertising business is dependent on impressions, or the number of times a content appears on a user’s screen. The longer someone is on the app, the more impressions they can see.

“Our financial performance has been and will continue to be significantly determined by our success in adding, retaining, and engaging active users of our products that deliver ad impressions, particularly for Facebook and Instagram,” the company said in an SEC filing.

“User growth and engagement are also impacted by a number of other factors, including competitive products and services, such as TikTok, that have reduced some users’ engagement with our products and services,” the filing added.

In 2025, Meta reported 12 percent more advertisement impressions than in 2024, while the average price per advertisement jumped by 9 percent.

The plaintiff states want the company to make other changes, including getting rid of algorithms and AI models made from data compiled from minors. The states are also asking the court to compel the company to promote the wellbeing of its users and set time restrictions for its youngest consumers.

Meta has introduced features that have reminded teens of their time use on their platforms. In January 2023, it gave teens ways to manage the kinds of advertisements they could see on Instagram and Facebook. In June 2023, it introduced a feature to notify teen users that they have spent more than 20 minutes on the platform and to set daily time limits.

“We stand by our record of creating strong protections for teens, and look forward to making our case in court,” Stephanie Otway, a Meta spokesperson, told Al Jazeera.

But the lawsuit says that is not enough, alleging that teens could easily dismiss the notification and continue scrolling.

How will this impact future lawsuits?

Meta is currently facing lawsuits from more than 100,000 different parties, according to its SEC filings, including individuals, cities, states, and school districts around the US.

“These first few cases going out are really going to set the standard,” Tre Lovell, a Los Angeles-based media law and entertainment lawyer, told Al Jazeera.

Lovell predicted that, ultimately, there will be a combined settlement.

“We’re going to get close to some type of global settlement, a global resolution. I think, ultimately, that’s where this is going to end.”

Snap, TikTok, and Google’s YouTube have also faced litigation amid allegations that their products are built to encourage compulsive use by young people, Tomic told Al Jazeera. The claims could open the floodgates to the type of litigation that challenged the tobacco industry in the late 1990s, he said.

“This is the tobacco litigation of the information age. They [the plaintiffs in the Meta lawsuit] have identified this addiction component of social networks. Now that there is a judgement against Meta, I would be shocked if we don’t see everybody else getting sued, and once they get sued, it will be pretty much the same,” Tomic said.

In 1998, 46 states settled lawsuits with major cigarette makers over health costs and forced the companies to impose restrictions on advertising, especially targeting younger audiences.

LITTLE Mix star Perrie Edwards has revealed that her beloved dog has died after 14 years.

The singer, 33, took to her Instagram to pay tribute to her sweet “fury baby” Hatchi that she adopted back in 2012 with ex Zayn Malik.

Perrie shared a number of sweet snaps of herself and the adorable Pomeranian as she confessed that her heart was “completely broken”.

The pooch helped her through some of the “hardest moments”, celebrated “every milestone” with her and even went on tour with the Little Mix girls.

Perrie wrote: “My Hatchi. 14 years with you, and somehow it still could never have been enough.

“You weren’t just my dog. You were my fur baby, my little shadow, my companion and one of the greatest gifts I have ever been given.

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“You were there beside me through every chapter and every milestone of my life.

“Through the happiest moments and the hardest ones. You licked away my tears when I cried, made me laugh when I needed it most, and every morning you would look at me with that little smile that made me feel like I was your whole world.

“And you were such a huge part of mine.

“We lived so much life together. You came on tour with Little Mix, travelled the world with me, came on our holidays to Portugal, sat in the best restaurants eating steak like the little prince you were.

“Wherever life took me, you were part of it.

“I hope you knew how loved you were, Hatchi.

“I hope you knew that everything I ever did for you was because I wanted to give you the happiest, fullest, most beautiful life I possibly could.

“You gave me 14 years of unconditional love, loyalty and memories that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

“My heart is completely broken knowing I won’t see your little face in the morning, hear your footsteps, cuddle you or have you following me around anymore.

“The house and my heart already feel emptier without you.

“Thank you for growing up with me. Thank you for being there for every version of me.

“Thank you for licking my tears, for making me smile, for loving me so completely and for being my best little friend for 14 years.

“I would choose you in every lifetime.

“Sleep peacefully my beautiful boy. I hope wherever you are, there’s endless steak waiting for you.

“I will love you and miss you forever, Hatchi. My first baby, my fur baby, my little companion. A piece of my heart went with you.”

Many rushed to the comments section to share their loving thoughts with Perrie.

Little Mix star Jade Thirlwall said: “Oh Hatchi.”

Love Island’s Chris Hughes wrote: “ahhhh man so sad, rest up Hatchi.”

Comedian Alan Carr added: “So sorry!!”

Perrie has owned a number of pets over the years.

She adopted Travis the French Bulldog in lockdown, and she also owns a Golden Retriever called Polo.

Some of her other pets include Prada the cat, Benji the cat and Teddy the Teacup Yorkshire Terrier.

WASHINGTON — As the year’s midterm primaries draw to a close, Tuesday’s results in Florida, Wyoming and Alaska continued to underscore an unpredictable election season marked by unreliable polls, intra-party divides and surprise showings by political outsiders.

In one high-profile surprise, democratic socialist state Rep. Angie Nixon’s easily defeated former Army intelligence officer Alexander Vindman in Florida’s U.S. Senate primary, despite Vindman having raised 16 times as much money as the new Democratic nominee, according to OpenSecrets, a nonprofit that tracks campaign finance.

According to Florida Politics, a digital media outlet, a now-deleted Change Research poll showed Vindman leading Nixon by 10 points. At that time, 41% of Democrats polled were still undecided.

In the race for a Senate seat Democrats hope to flip, former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola outpolled incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, with another Republican Dan Sullivan — this one a retired teacher — also making the cut for the four-person, ranked-choice general election in November.

The results from Tuesday night also show that President Trump’s influence on his party’s base may be dwindling. Three of his endorsed candidates in Wyoming and Florida, both safe red states, were defeated.

Here are four takeaways from Tuesday’s results:

Democratic socialist overcame a huge cash disadvantage

Nixon, who recently joined the Democratic Socialists of America and the Working Families Party, won in a massive upset against Vindman, a moderate selected to run by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Nixon will face Republican incumbent Sen. Ashley Moody in November in a special election to serve the final two years of former Sen. Marco Rubio’s term. Moody was appointed to the seat by Gov. Ron DeSantis when Rubio became secretary of State.

Through a highly coordinated grassroots campaign, Nixon overcame a $15-million fundraising deficit against Vindman in a state where affordability, high property insurance costs and public infrastructure strain were top concerns for many voters.

Although Vindman had the support of the Democratic establishment his lack of profile in Florida — where he has lived for just three years — was a clear detriment, said Susan MacManus, a political analyst at the University of South Florida.

“Angie Nixon was extremely well known in Democratic circles,” MacManus said. “There’s a battle here in Florida: Do you want a Democratic candidate who’s a fighter, or do you want someone more in line with the establishment? … Nixon had no money, but she had a presence.”

But Nixon still faces a steep battle against Moody, MacManus said. According to state data, Florida has 1.5 million more Republicans than Democrats, meaning that Nixon will have to win over most of the independents — and perhaps convert a few Republicans — to have a shot in the general election.

Florida redistricting had a big effect on House races

In May, DeSantis’ office rearranged districts for the second time this decade to secure more safe-Republican seats in the House of Representatives, shortly after the Supreme Court narrowed the scope of the Voting Rights Act.

In Florida’s 25th District, a newly drawn coastal area north of Miami, incumbent Rep. Jared Moskowitz defeated democratic socialist and activist Oliver Larkin.

The redistricting increased the number of Jewish voters in the district, which likely hurt Larkin’s candidacy because of his openly anti-Israel stance, said Jonathan Cervas, an assistant professor at the Carnegie Mellon Institute for Strategy and Technology.

Moskowitz will face the former mayor of Boca Raton, Scott Singer, in the general election.

In Florida’s Black-majority 20th District, which was redrawn this year, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz finished ahead of four Black rivals in a crowded field, and will face Brent Andersen, an insurance broker, in November. Black leaders criticized Wasserman Schultz, a white 11-term congresswoman, for running in the district.

“She won against a crowded field, but she didn’t win with 50% of the vote,” said Kareem Crayton, vice president of the Brennan Center’s Washington office. “The open question remains: Is she the preferred candidate of African Americans? We’ll see in the general.”

Although these two districts lean slightly blue, data suggest that Republicans will be more competitive in these areas than they were in the 2024 congressional races, Cervas said. He added that this shows Florida’s redistricting efforts were mostly a success, likely adding at least one or two seats in the general election.

Alaska was more competitive than Democrats thought

Some Democratic Party leaders had initially ranked Alaska behind other states with the potential to flip a Senate seat. But they likely will make the Alaska race a higher priority after a strong showing Tuesday by former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola, who topped the field in the primary against incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan. It has been 11 years since Alaska last had a Democratic senator.

According to the New York Times, the Alaska Survey Research poll shows Peltola with a two-point lead heading to the general election.

Peltola has run as a centrist Democrat, attacking the Trump administration’s cuts to the federal workforce and lack of resource development in Alaska, which is likely to have wide appeal in a state that Trump won in 2016, 2020 and 2024, but that has suffered in recent months from rising costs and job losses.

Three Trump endorsements fell short

Trump-endorsed incumbent Rep. Cory Mills — the subject of a House Committee Ethics probe stemming from accusations of assault by two women — lost his primary race in Florida’s 7th District to former television reporter Ryan Elijah, making him the 10th Trump-backed candidate to lose in a primary this year.

After the results were known, the president wrote in a Truth Social post: “I told Congressman Cory Mills of Florida, a friend of mine, to get out of the Race, but he wouldn’t listen. He thought he could win, so who can blame him?”

Trump had picked Catalina Lauf to replace Republican Rep. Byron Donalds, only to see her lose to Jim Schwartzel, a businessman-turned-politician. Donalds is the Republican nominee for governor, where he will face Democrat David Jolly, a former Republican House member.

Trump’s pick for Wyoming governor, Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder, was defeated handily by Republican state Sen. Eric Barlow.

Manchester City look set to rival neighbours Manchester United for Manu Kone, Aston Villa interested in Tosin Adarabioyo and Tottenham in talks over Man City duo.

Manchester City have identified Roma’s Manu Kone as a potential signing, with the France midfielder, 25, having already been linked with rivals Manchester United this summer. (Mail), external

Aston Villa are interested in signing Chelsea‘s English defender Tosin Adarabioyo, 28, as a potential replacement for Ezri Konsa following Arsenal‘s deal for the 28-year-old England international. (Sky Sports), external

Benfica have also made contact with Chelsea over a potential deal for Adarabioyo. (Sun), external

Tottenham are in talks to sign both Brazil winger Savinho, 22, and Egypt forward Omar Marmoush, 27, from Manchester City. (Athletic – subscription required), external

Barcelona are monitoring Harry Kane’s contract talks with Bayern Munich, with the England striker, 33, having entered the final year of his current deal. (Mail), external

Sunderland could shatter their transfer record by triggering the 60m euros (£51m) release clause for Sporting’s Mozambique winger Geny Catamo, 25. (Teamtalk), external

Everton are interested in Como’s Senegal winger Assane Diao, 20, who could cost between £50m and £60m. (Teamtalk), external

Arsenal‘s Gabriel Jesus is not looking to move to Napoli despite their interest in the Brazil forward, 29. (Mirror), external

Juventus have joined Napoli in holding an interest in Manchester United‘s Joshua Zirkzee, but both clubs must sell before being able to make a move for the Netherlands forward, 25. (Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian), external

Hull City are close to reaching an agreement with Real Betis for 20-year-old Spanish winger Pablo Garcia. (Sport – in Spanish), external

Hull, Ipswich Town and Al-Ittihad are pushing to secure the signing of Morocco midfielder Azzedine Ounahi, 26, from Girona. (Mundo Deportivo – in Spanish), external

Arsenal are working on deals to sign Gibraltar winger James Scanlon, 19, and English right-back Habeeb Ogunneye, 20, from Manchester United. (Telegraph – subscription required), external

Barcelona have put attempts to sign Argentina forward Julian Alvarez, 26, from Atletico Madrid on hold and are exploring other options. (ESPN), external

Atletico Madrid are looking to beat Manchester United to the signing of Spanish defender Jorge Salinas, 19, from Racing Santander. (Teamtalk), external

Aug. 19 (UPI) — The U.S. Treasury Department announced Wednesday that it will buy back about twice the usual amount of its bonds in a move to prevent rising interest rates on mortgages and consumer loans.

The department, which is led by Secretary Scott Bessent, said it will target the 10- to 20-year and 20- to 30-year portion of the market. Those bonds have faced a buyers’ strike since late June, CNBC reported.

Treasury said it will at least double the maximum size of its usual buyback, from $2 billion to “at least” $4 billion, an announcement from the department said. The buyback operation will be from Sept. 9 through Nov. 4.

The yields on longer-term debt have been at their highest levels since 2007, pushed up by war with Iran and other concerns, such as growing competition for financing with borrowers and growing federal deficits, Politico reported.

After the announcement, yields plummeted, while stock market futures spiked, CNBC reported.

The 10-year note dropped 6 basis points to 4.647% and the 30-year bond plunged 9 basis points to 5.196%. A basis point equals 0.01%. Yields and prices move in opposite directions.

It’s the latest move by Bessent to affect treasury yields.

The department conducted a joint operation with Japan to boost the yen, which was trading at its weakest against the dollar in about 40 years. He had warned in January that Japanese government bonds were causing issues in the U.S. treasury market.

The department also recently alluded to possibly issuing less longer-term debt in the future, Politico reported.

“This increase in buyback operation sizes reflects Treasury’s desire to provide greater liquidity support in longer-dated nominal sectors where there is consistent strong sponsorship from market participants, as evidenced by the significant volume of high-quality offers Treasury routinely receives in longer-dated buyback operations,” the department’s press release said.

The move “can help crowd in potential buyers tempted by the prior run-up in yields and force some near-term short-covering, while discouraging investors from going max short in the future for fear of being ambushed again,” Krishna Guha, head of global policy and central bank strategy at Evercore ISI, said in a client note, CNBC reported.

“But the operation changes almost nothing in terms of the fundamentals, in particular the unchanged need to finance the tidal wave of hyperscaler debt in addition to very large government deficits,” Guha added.

It could actually end up making the Federal Reserve‘s job of getting inflation back to 2% more difficult, said RSM Chief Economist Joe Brusuelas.

The buyback could artificially suppress yields and make controlling inflation more challenging.

“Bessent is a political actor. His interest is purely short-term and is organized around the upcoming election and not a return to price stability,” Brusuelas wrote.

HAYDEN Panettiere’s on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson has been spotted for the first time since her shocking death.

Brian, 37, looked solemn as he stepped out on Wednesday in a hat, sunglasses and hoodie in his native Greenville, South Carolina – close to where his on-off girlfriend Hayden died on Sunday at just 36.

Brian has been keeping a low profile in recent days, and has not made a public statement since her death.

Brian and his brother Zach were at the Greenville rental apartment when Hayden was discovered unresponsive in a “possible overdose” on Sunday afternoon.

In a police report obtained by The U.S. Sun, cops said Zach walked into the apartment after 1 pm to find Hayden unconscious on a chair in the living room.

Brian was apparently asleep in another room at the time of the horrific discovery.

One of the brothers called 911, and an emergency medical team rushed to the scene.

While police said Zach was extremely emotional as the first responders attempted to save her life, Brian apparently did not shed a tear until Hayden was officially declared dead an hour later.

Brian told cops Hayden regularly took a “bag of medication,” and a long list of redacted prescription names were included in the police report.

Now, the tragedy’s fall-out is unfolding for Brian and his family.

Police arrived to Brian’s grandmother’s home on Wednesday morning.

“Greenville Police officers responded to a call for a welfare check at a home belonging to Brian Hickerson’s family on Wednesday morning,” police told The U.S. Sun in a statement.

“The call is unrelated to the Hayden Panettiere death investigation and did not require an incident report.”

But TMZ reported earlier on Wednesday that a criminal investigation has been launched into the death.

According to the outlet, the investigation was triggered because Hayden’s death was “unexpected.”

Hayden and Brian have a long, tumultuous history since first meeting in 2018.

In May 2019, Brian was arrested for domestic violence.

According to the LAPD, cops were called to Hayden’s Los Angeles home after a heated altercation on May 2 at 2:30 am.

“Right off the bat, I noticed that she had bruising on her eyelids, a swollen face. She did have marks on her neck, the left side. When I continued to talk to her she removed the sweater that she had on. I saw bruising on both her arms,” the responding officer said.

The case was ultimately dismissed.

But on Valentine’s Day 2020, Brian was arrested again for domestic violence while the pair was vacationing in Wyoming.

Hayden told officers he threw her and then punched her in the face.

Soon after this arrest, Hayden released a statement to fans.

“I am coming forward with the truth about what happened to me with the hope that my story will empower others in abusive relationships to get the help they need and deserve,” she said.

“I am prepared to do my part to make sure this man never hurts anyone again. I’m grateful for my support system, which helped me find the courage to regain my voice and my life.”

Brian ultimately was sentenced to 45 days in jail.

Despite her harsh words, the couple was spotted back together again in 2021, with Hayden insisting she “forgave” him.

Three months before her death, Hayden said she was happy and healthy, and it was reported Brian was in her rear-view mirror.

A source told TMZ the pair was secretly together during this time.

WASHINGTON — A Massachusetts woman who told police that she brought homemade firebombs to the U.S. Capitol to kill Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was sentenced on Tuesday to just over six years in prison.

Riley English, a 26-year-old transgender woman, said she was in the grips of a mental health crisis and abusing drugs when she drove to Washington in January 2025 and told Capitol police that she was there to kill Bessent on the day of his Senate confirmation.

“I never wanted to hurt anyone,” she told U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras. “I’m not a political person. I’m not a violent person.”

Contreras, who was nominated to the bench by Democratic President Barack Obama, sentenced English to six years and one month of imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release. English has remained jailed since her arrest and will get credit for the nearly 20 months that she already has spent in custody. She pleaded guilty in March to two weapons charges.

“You’ve had a very difficult life,” Contreras told English. “Hopefully, the progress you’ve made in jail to this date has set you on the right path.”

Nobody was injured, and Contreras said her plan to harm Bessent had an “exceedingly low or non-existent” chance of success. Bessent wasn’t at the Capitol when English arrived on Jan. 27, 2025. The Molotov cocktails that English brought to the Capitol appeared to be incapable of igniting, the judge noted.

Prosecutors had recommended a prison sentence of 10 years and one month for English. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan Horan said English had been planning the “attempted political assassination” for at least a month at a time when the threat of politically motivated violence has been mounting in the U.S.

“This was not a chance encounter or an impulsive act,” Horan said.

The case against English fits a pattern of politically motivated violence that has plagued the U.S. over the past decade. In a letter addressed to the judge, Bessent said he worries the country “cannot survive this assault.”

“Political violence is an attack on the rule of law and on representative government itself,” Bessent wrote. “It also deprives our country of service by talented men and women with ability and integrity who may reasonably decide that no job is worth threats to themselves and their families.”

English’s prosecution drew comparisons to the case against California resident Sophie Roske, who was sentenced last October to over eight years in prison for attempting to assassinate U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh at his Maryland home. Prosecutors had recommended a prison sentence of no less than 30 years for Roske, a transgender woman. They appealed Roske’s sentence by U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman, calling it unreasonably lenient.

Defense attorney Maria Jacob said English was “terrified and traumatized” by fears of what would happen to transgender people under the second Trump administration.

“Our argument is that she was in a diminished mental state,” Jacob said.

Investigators said they found a folding knife, two homemade firebombs and a lighter in English’s possession at the Capitol.

English, of South Deerfield, Massachusetts, told police that she was influenced by Luigi Mangione, the man who was charged with fatally shooting the CEO of UnitedHealthcare. She said she was “on a mission” and “had been thinking about this for a while because of Luigi Mangione,” prosecutors said. English told officers that she was terminally ill and “wanted to do something before I go,” according to prosecutors.

English also said she traveled from Massachusetts to Washington intending to kill other Republican political figures — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and House Speaker Mike Johnson — and to burn down the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, according to police. English changed her target to Bessent after reading an internet post about his confirmation hearing, police said.

Jacob said English’s actions last year were “a cry for help.”

“There was no indication that she was acting rationally that day,” the judge said.

Kunzelman writes for the Associated Press.

Nneka Ogwumike’s return to the Sparks this season, it turned out, was a goodbye tour.

The 15-year WNBA veteran announced on Wednesday morning that this would be her last WNBA season.

She made the announcement in an interview with Taylor Rooks at Boardroom Talks.

“I feel very fulfilled with the 15 years that I’ve been able to play and compete at such a high level and I am proud to say that I’m retiring from the WNBA,” Ogwumike said.

Drafted first overall in 2012, Ogwumike was the WNBA rookie of the year and went on to have one of the best careers in. league history. She was the league’s MVP in 2016, when she led the Sparks to their most recent WNBA title. She is also a four-time first-team All-Defensive player.

In her return to the Sparks this season, Ogwumike set the Sparks’ all-time scoring record and was selected to her 11th WNBA All-Star Game, where she also became that event’s leading scorer.

She is the active WNBA leader in career field goals (3,098), rebounds (3,565) and steals (707).

“There is no telling the story of the WNBA’s recent growth and evolution without Nneka Ogwumike,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement. “Her extraordinary career has been defined not only by excellence, but by the way she has led and lifted those around her.”

Ogwumike, a future Hall of Famer, was the Sparks’ free-agent splash this offseason after she spent her last two seasons in Seattle. She returned to the organization that drafted her intending to help them get back to the postseason.

Instead, the Sparks (12-23) have struggled this season, fired general manager Raegan Pebley midway through the season and traded star Kelsey Plum to Phoenix at the trade deadline earlier this month.

Ogwumike has played 31.3 minutes per game for the Sparks this season while averaging 16.9 points and 8.7 rebounds, her most since 2023.

“I’ve learned there’s power in knowing when to walk away,” Ogwumike told Boardroom Talks. “For so long, that strength meant finding a way to keep pushing; now, it means recognizing when you feel complete. I find myself grateful, fulfilled and at peace with everything this game has given me and everything that I’ve poured into it.”

Ogwumike also serves as the president of the Women’s National Basketball Players Assn., where she helped spearhead a transformative collective bargaining agreement this offseason that brought some player salaries over $1 million for the first time.

She signed a one-year, $950,000 deal to return to the Sparks in the offseason.

An Israeli attack on a Syrian airbase has been widely condemned.

The United States envoy warns the incident could have caused a direct confrontation with Turkish forces.

So why did Israel attack the base? And what are the implications?

Presenter: Anna Burns-Francis

Guests:

Murat Yesiltas – Director of Foreign Policy Studies at the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA) think tank

Haid Haid – Consulting fellow with the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House

Michael Mulroy – Former US deputy assistant secretary of defence for the Middle East

Coronation Street fans are worried for Brody Michaelis amid his dodgy dealings with Idris Nazir after a violent scene on Wednesday, with fans predicting a sad fate for the teen

Fans fear a death twist is on the way for one Coronation Street teen, after they crossed baddie Idris Nazir on Wednesday.

After some dodgy dealings with Idris over recent weeks, Brody Michaelis exposed Idris to his love interest Leanne Battersby. Revealing all about the poker night and the fact he’d risked her money in the process, Brody left Idris furious.

Idris had hosted a poker night at Leanne’s restaurant in secret. He then used the £5,000 she leant him, which he claimed was a loan for something, on the poker game. With the help of Ollie Driscoll, Idris fixed the poker game so that Ollie won, and dodgy businesswoman Fiona lost.

With Ollie winning thousands of pounds, most of it went to Idris. But the fact he’d chosen Ollie for this task and not Brody, who is keen to impress his boss, left Brody upset, and he got drunk.

As Brody confronted his boss about Ollie, Idris realised he’d had alcohol. Idris called Brody “sloppy” and a “bad liar”, saying this is why he chose Ollie. A rejected Brody then took his revenge.

As Leanne showed up at the restaurant after the clean-up, Brody dropped Idris in it by confirming the poker night. He told Leanne about the winnings too, making it clear that Idris had used her money.

A furious Leanne told Idris not to bother joining her later before storming out. As Brody laughed, Idris went over to him and attacked him. Pinning him against a wall, he grabbed him before slapping and then grabbing his face.

Idris said: “Think you’re a big man, do you? I don’t care who your dad is. If you ever cross me like that again, you’ll regret it.” He then threw Brody over, telling him to get out.

Fans watching the scenes were worried it was a hint of what is to come for the characters. With Brody tipped to take some time away later this year, as actor Ryan Mulvey works on another project, fans are fearing he could be killed off.

While his exit is only thought to be temporary, fans believe Idris’ true colours have been shown, and Brody could get caught up in dark scenes. A fan said: “I think Idris will kill Brody.”

Another viewer theorised: “I think Brodie’s going to end up asking too many questions or double crossing Idris and that’s how he leaves.” Another fan thought he’d live, but still be facing trouble thanks to Idris.

The comment read: “I can see him going to prison for a while, if the actor is leaving.”

Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITV X. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

WASHINGTON — President Trump played White House tour guide on Wednesday, showing off the helipad he is building on the lawn before leaning over to autograph a piece of it and bragging about the ballroom he’s rushing to complete despite legal challenges.

Trump gushed for several uninterrupted minutes about granite being laid and said the chopper landing area would leave visiting foreign leaders “very impressed” — including Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is coming next month.

At times, he sounded almost like a construction manager, singing the praises of granite over asphalt in painstaking detail and noting for reporters he brought out for the show that the stone could withstand 35,000 pounds per square inch of pressure.

“That’s stone that, if you took a hammer and you started hammering right now — all day long — you wouldn’t see a mark on it, literally, that’s the kind of power it is,” Trump said, at times straining to be heard over the thrum of ongoing work behind him.

The president also revealed for the first time that he has replaced the walkway from the White House’s diplomatic entrance along with a portion of the asphalt driveway around the South Lawn with white granite.

“One thing I know how to do is build,” he said, asserting that asphalt is “not appropriate for a great house, or a great place like the White House.” He said that, had he instead merely used “really powerful concrete,” it would have supported ”just a tiny fraction of that in terms of strength.”

Trump relishes being the builder-in-chief

The president is called upon to fill many roles as president, but embraces none with as much zeal as managing various building projects to mold the White House and large swatches of Washington in his own image, seeming happiest recalling his days as a real estate developer.

Trump also likes to show off his handiwork and having the White House press pool on hand at all times gives him a readymade audience. Last year, he made an appearance on the roof of the briefing room to survey a future work site, and earlier this summer, he took reporters for a closer look at the ballroom construction site.

It suggests Trump remains focused on such projects, even as his war in Iran nears the six-month mark, his approval ratings sink with just 2 1/2 months to go before critical midterm elections, and as voters are increasingly worried about a weakening economy.

Trump drove home just how important the construction projects are to him, calling the work “very exciting.”

“This will be here long after we’re gone,” Trump said of the projects. “No matter what happens with the world.”

But whether it will endure after he leaves office remains to be seen. Trump once suggested that his refurbishing of the Lincoln Memorial’s Reflecting Pool would last a century, only for the paint to fade and its liner to peel away in chunks just days after it was laid.

Trump again says his ballroom will have security value

The president has increasingly insisted that the $400 million ballroom will add security to the White House and include things like anti-drone technology. His administration even unsuccessfully sought $1 billion in congressional funding to make military improvements to the structure.

“This will be the greatest military complex slash ballroom anywhere in the world,” he said.

Trump also scoffed at court orders seeking to block its construction without congressional approval, saying work is continuing regardless and predicting that the Supreme Court will eventually side with him and allow the project to be completed.

The president found time to talk again about one of his favorite subjects of late — grass — and praised at length Scotts-Miracle Gro. The company’s former CEO is a Trump supporter, and it donated $1 million to repair the grass on the White House lawn after it was damaged by Trump’s UFC fight marking his 80th birthday in June and by the helipad construction.

At one point on Wednesday, Trump signed the back of one of the granite stones that was marked “Donald Trump 45-47 president” for the occasion. Its front is shaped like an eagle and will be laid into the helipad’s presidential seal once work is completed.

“I thought this would be a little different kind of a news conference,” the president said. “We were going to sign this privately and just put it in. I said, ‘This is something I think the press should see,’ and I hope you liked it.”

Trump had some of the construction workers sign the granite, too, and joked about leaving it upside-down so that his signature would be visible for future generations.

“Nice job, fellas,” he told the workers. “Does anybody know the word media?”

Trump also confirmed Wednesday that he’d delayed ongoing work on the helipad to ensure the project could be regraded to lay flatter.

He said that the granite used “has a million-year life” and predicted that it “will never break. It will never leak. It will never do anything” — which would mark a departure from the problem-plagued Reflecting Pool project.

“Nature is stronger than what the human can produce,” Trump said of the granite. “It’s really pretty amazing.”

Weissert and Binkley write for the Associated Press. AP writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.