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阿联酋再遭空袭 中使领馆提醒中国公民加强防范

2026年5月5日 07:16 / 联合早报

阿联酋星期一（5月4日）再遭空袭。阿联酋国防部强调，军方正保持最高级别戒备与战备状态，应对一切潜在威胁。 （法新社档案照）

阿联酋星期一（5月4日）再遭空袭。中国驻阿联酋大使馆和中国驻迪拜总领事馆提醒在阿中国公民加强安全防范。

据新华社报道，中国驻阿联酋使领馆提醒在阿中国公民，密切关注当地安全形势和阿政府部门发布的相关公告和警报，远离军事基地和可能遭受打击的敏感设施，并严格遵守当地法律法规和政府相关要求，切勿拍摄和发布袭击事件现场或机场、港口、军事设施等敏感区域的视频和照片。

使领馆提醒，如遇紧急情况，第一时间报警并与中国驻阿使领馆联系。

阿联酋国防部4日宣布，该国防空系统当天成功拦截来自伊朗方向的12枚弹道导弹、三枚巡航导弹以及四架无人机，袭击造成三人受伤。

阿联酋国防部强调，阿军方正保持最高级别戒备与战备状态，应对一切潜在威胁，并坚决打击任何破坏国家安全的行为，以确保国家主权、安全、稳定以及国家利益与重要设施得到有效保护。

Exclusive: US intelligence indicates limited new damage to Iran’s nuclear program, sources say

2026-05-04T20:36:53.386Z / Reuters

By Gram Slattery, Jonathan Landay and Erin Banco

May 4, 2026 8:36 PM UTC Updated 3 hours ago

节点运行失败

A man holds a flag with a picture of late leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, late Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, during a rally in Tehran, Iran, April 29, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/File Photo

• US intel assessments of Iran’s nuclear capacity broadly unchanged despite ongoing war, sources say
• Iran would need around a year to build a weapon if leaders decided to pursue that path, sources say
• Sources say the US has largely steered clear of nuclear targets during current war
• US officials argue that by destroying conventional military targets, US has muddied Tehran’s path to a nuclear weapon

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) – U.S. intelligence assessments indicate that the time Iran would ​need to build a nuclear weapon has not changed since last summer, when analysts estimated that a U.S.-Israeli attack had pushed back the timeline to up to a year, according to three sources familiar ‌with the matter.

The assessments of Tehran’s nuclear program remain broadly unchanged even after two months of a war that U.S. President Donald Trump launched in part to stop the Islamic Republic from developing a nuclear bomb.

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The latest U.S. and Israeli attacks that began on February 28 have focused on conventional military targets, but Israel has hit a number of significant nuclear facilities.

The unchanged timeline suggests that significantly impeding Tehran’s nuclear program may require destroying or removing Iran’s remaining stockpile of highly enriched uranium, or HEU.

The war has stalled since the U.S. and Iran agreed an April 7 ​truce to pursue peace. Tensions remain high as both sides appear deeply divided, and as Iran has choked traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, blocking some 20% of world oil supplies and igniting a global energy crisis.

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Secretary ​of Defense Pete Hegseth has said publicly that the U.S. aims to ensure Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon via ongoing negotiations with Tehran.

U.S. intelligence agencies had concluded prior ⁠to June’s 12-day war that Iran likely could produce enough bomb-grade uranium for a weapon and build a bomb in around three to six months, said two of the sources, all of whom requested anonymity to discuss U.S. intelligence.

Following the June ​strikes by the U.S. that hit the Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan nuclear complexes, U.S. intelligence estimates pushed that timeline back to about nine months to a year, said the two sources and a person familiar with the assessments.

The attacks destroyed or badly ​damaged the three enrichment plants known to have been operating at the time. But the U.N. nuclear watchdog has been unable to verify the whereabouts of some 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%. It believes that about half was stored in an underground tunnel complex at the Isfahan Nuclear Research Center, but it has been unable to confirm that since inspections were suspended.

The International Atomic Energy Agency assesses the total HEU stockpile would be enough for 10 bombs if further enriched.

“While Operation Midnight Hammer obliterated Iran’s nuclear facilities, Operation Epic Fury built on this ​success by decimating Iran’s defense industrial base that they once leveraged as a protective shield around their pursuit of a nuclear weapon,” said White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales, referring to the June operation and the latest war that began in February.

“President ​Trump has long been clear that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon – and he does not bluff.”

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not respond to a request for comment.

STOPPING TEHRAN’S NUCLEAR PROGRAM A KEY U.S. GOAL

U.S. officials, including Trump, repeatedly cite ‌the need to ⁠eliminate Iran’s nuclear program as a key objective of the war.

“Iran can never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon. That is the goal of this operation,⁩” Vice President JD Vance wrote on X on March 2.

The unchanging estimate of how long it would take Iran to build such a weapon reflects in part the focus of the latest U.S. and Israeli military campaign, the sources said.

While Israel has struck nuclear-related targets, including a uranium-processing facility in late March, U.S. attacks have concentrated on conventional military capabilities, Iran’s leadership and its military-industrial base.

The unchanged estimates may also stem from a lack of major nuclear targets that can be readily and safely destroyed following June’s military action, according to some analysts.

Eric Brewer, a former senior U.S. intelligence ​analyst who led assessments of Iran’s nuclear program, said it ​was not surprising that the assessments have not changed ⁠because recent U.S. strikes have not prioritized nuclear-related targets.

“Iran still possesses all of its nuclear material, as far as we know,” said Brewer, vice president of the nuclear materials study program at the Nuclear Threat Initiative arms control think tank. “That material is probably located in deeply buried underground sites where U.S. munitions can’t penetrate.”

In recent weeks, U.S. officials have contemplated dangerous operations which ​would significantly impede Iran’s nuclear efforts. Those options include ground raids to retrieve the HEU believed to be stored in the tunnel complex at the Isfahan site.

Iran has repeatedly ​denied seeking nuclear weapons. U.S. intelligence ⁠agencies and the IAEA say Tehran halted a warhead development effort in 2003, though some experts and Israel contend that it secretly preserved key parts of the program.

POSSIBLE IMPACT FROM KILLING OF SCIENTISTS

Precisely evaluating Iran’s nuclear capacity is difficult, even for the world’s leading intelligence services, say experts.

Several U.S. intelligence agencies have independently studied Iran’s nuclear program, and while the sources described a broad consensus regarding Iran’s capacity to build a nuclear weapon, outlying assessments do occur.

It is possible Iran’s nuclear ambitions have been set back further than ⁠the intelligence estimates ​suggest.

Some officials, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have argued that U.S. strikes on Iranian air defenses have reduced the nuclear threat by diminishing ​Iran’s ability to defend its nuclear sites should it decide to rush toward weaponization in the future.

There also is the impact of Israel’s assassinations of Iran’s leading nuclear scientists.

David Albright, a former U.N. nuclear inspector who runs the Institute for Science and International Security, said the killings have added significant uncertainty ​to Tehran’s ability to build a bomb that would function as intended.

“I think everyone agrees knowledge can’t be bombed, but know-how certainly can be destroyed,” he said.

Reporting by Gram Slattery, Jonathan Landay and Erin Banco; Editing by Don Durfee and Daniel Wallis

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

吴宜泽成为首位00后斯诺克世锦赛冠军

2026年5月5日 07:42 / 联合早报

吴宜泽成为首位00后斯诺克世锦赛冠军

中国小将吴宜泽星期二（5月5日）凌晨夺得斯诺克世界锦标赛冠军。 （路透社）

中国小将吴宜泽夺得斯诺克世界锦标赛冠军，中国选手连续两届夺冠。

据央视新闻报道，新加坡时间星期二（5月5日）凌晨，2026斯诺克世锦赛结束决赛争夺，吴宜泽以18比17战胜肖恩·墨菲夺得冠军。

吴宜泽成为首位00后斯诺克世锦赛冠军，他也是继去年夺冠的赵心童之后，第二位问鼎世锦赛的中国球员。

特朗普称期待与习近平会面

2026年5月5日 07:57 / 联合早报

美国总统特朗普表示，他期待与中国国家主席习近平会面，显示尽管全球两大经济体之间紧张局势再度升温，他仍计划推进这场备受关注的峰会。

据彭博社报道，特朗普星期一（5月4日）在白宫一场活动上说：“我将在两周内去见习近平主席，我期待此行。”他还说：“这实际上将是一次非常重要的行程。”

Trump’s gambit to move ships through the Strait of Hormuz tests the fragile ceasefire

2026-05-04 20:59:02 UTC / CNN

By Kevin Liptak, Adam Cancryn, Zachary Cohen

PUBLISHED May 4, 2026, 4:59 PM ET

In this picture obtained from Iran’s ISNA news agency on May 4, vessels are pictured anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran.

Amirhossein Khorgooei/ISNA/Getty Images

President Donald Trump’s initiative to guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz was a high-stakes, high-risk attempt to jolt loose a resolution to the standoff that had come to define his war against Iran.

But the gambit has put the US’ fragile ceasefire with Iran under strain, as US and Iranian forces traded fire in the contested waterway. Now, no one is entirely sure whether the tenuous peace can hold long enough for halting negotiations to yield some resolution.

“It is very bad and messy at the moment,” a regional source told CNN.

With little sign Tehran would blink in its efforts to block traffic through the waterway, Trump had grown frustrated at the deadlock in the strait. High gas prices and a looming visit to China both created pressure to find a way to get vessels moving.

So from his golf course in Florida on Sunday, Trump announced a plan for the US to help guide certain ships through the strait, dubbed “Project Freedom.” The risks soon became apparent. Booms reverberated in Dubai as Iranian missiles were intercepted for the first time since a truce went into effect nearly a month ago. The US military destroyed six Iranian small boats, US Central Command said. (A report by an Iranian state media outlet disputed that the boats had been sunk.)

The open-ended ceasefire appeared to be stretching to its limit, without clear evidence a negotiated settlement may be near. Speaking to CNN on Sunday, Trump’s foreign envoy Steve Witkoff would only say of talks with Iran: “We’re in conversation.”

Some of Trump’s allies have encouraged him to resume the bombing campaign inside Iran, arguing the US has already weakened the regime and insisting the time was ripe to further degrade its military capabilities.

“I hope this conflict can end diplomatically, but it is now time to regain freedom of navigation and forcefully respond to Iran if they insist on terrorizing the world,” GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham wrote on X this weekend.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who Israeli sources say is planning a trip to Washington to visit Trump in the near future, convened security meetings Monday. Officials signaled in Israeli media afterward that the country was prepared to resume a bombing campaign.

Despite the hostilities, it was not clear whether Trump had the appetite to resume full-scale bombing inside Iran. He shrugged off a damaged South Korean ship as from an “unrelated Nation” and claimed otherwise there had been “no damage going through the Strait.” He similarly told ABC News of Iran’s drone and missile attacks, “One got through. Not huge damage.”

But he also warned in a phone interview with Fox News that Iran would be “blown off the face of the Earth” if it targets US ships.

“I wouldn’t go into details of whether the ceasefire is over or not,” Adm. Bradley Cooper, head of US Central Command, told reporters Monday. “I think the key thing is, for us, is we’re merely there as a defensive force and to give a very thick layer of defense to commercial shipping to allow them to proceed out of the (Persian Gulf).”

Trump’s highly anticipated visit to Beijing next week could also complicate his decision to resume the war with Iran. He initially delayed the trip from April while the conflict raged. China has called for reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, where much of the energy products it relies upon pass through.

Arriving in Beijing with the conflict at best unresolved — or at worst raging yet again — could place Trump in a weakened position in his talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Speaking to Fox News on Monday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent — who has been leading preliminary discussions with the Chinese ahead of Trump’s visit — said the country could do more to convince Iran to allow ships to pass through the strait.

“Let’s see if China – let’s see them step up with some diplomacy and get the Iranians to open the strait,” he said.

The origins of “Project Freedom” lie in meetings the president has held over the last several days exploring options for reopening the strait, through which 20% of the world’s oil passes. Iran has resisted US demands to allow ships to pass through.

Trump received a 45-minute briefing from Cooper and Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, last Thursday to discuss updated military plans for Iran, including on reopening the strait, a source familiar with the matter said.

During an earlier meeting with energy executives at the White House last week, participants conveyed varying levels of urgency to Trump and his aides over the status of the strait, a person familiar with the exchange said, with some warning Trump and top officials of the continued consequences of the waterway’s closure on rising oil prices.

Trucks and tanks at the Port of Long Beach on Wednesday, April 29, in Long Beach, California.

Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images

Others opted to deliver a more optimistic view focused more on praising Trump’s move to blockade the strait and ramp up economic pressure on Iran.

The president’s latest bid to change the dynamics in the strait came as oil and gas prices have continued to march upward, with energy experts warning that the US is likely only weeks away from averaging $5 per gallon for gasoline nationwide.

Trump officials have regularly pressed energy industry representatives over whether companies can ramp up domestic production to help alleviate the strain, two people familiar with the matter said. But the industry has so far declined to make any major commitments, wary of the time it would take to substantially boost output and the lack of a guarantee for exactly how long prices will remain elevated.

“The longer this goes on, the higher prices are going to get. There’s nothing that can replace Hormuz output,” said Gregory Brew, a senior analyst on Iran and the energy sector at political risk firm Eurasia Group, who added that based on the amount of oil already lost to the market, “$5 gas is basically baked in.”

US gas prices have skyrocketed from an average of $2.98 a gallon before the war started to $4.46 a gallon on Monday, according to AAA.

Despite those rising prices, Trump has so far declined to try to reopen the strait by force — opting instead to take a more nuanced approach focused on negotiating the exit of certain ships that have been stuck at sea for months in the Persian Gulf.

Yet while the US’ blockade does appear to be damaging Iran’s economy, Brew said, there’s little evidence so far that it’s done much to change the Iranian regime’s calculus. Iran has continued to load some oil onto tankers, meaning it’s not under imminent threat of having to shut down its production.

And while Iranian negotiators have maintained a running dialogue with the US over the parameters of a deal, they’ve yet to signal any willingness to make the significant concessions Trump has demanded.

“The administration on the one hand is digging in its heels in negotiations, waiting to see if the blockade forces the Iranians to make more concessions,” Brew said. “But at the same time, I have to imagine the president is getting impatient.”

Judge says he’s “very troubled” by accused White House Correspondents’ Dinner gunman’s treatment in jail

May 4, 2026 6:03 PM EDT / CBS News

By Jacob Rosen, Jacob Rosen Justice Department Reporter

Jake Rosen is a reporter covering the Department of Justice. He was previously a campaign digital reporter covering President Trump’s 2024 campaign and also served as an associate producer for “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”

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Jacob Rosen, Joe Walsh

Joe Walsh Senior Editor, Politics

Joe Walsh is a senior editor for digital politics at CBS News. Joe previously covered breaking news for Forbes and local news in Boston.

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Joe Walsh

A federal judge on Monday sharply criticized the treatment of accused White House Correspondents’ Dinner attacker Cole Allen, at one point apologizing to the defendant for what he saw as overly restrictive and punitive conditions at the D.C. jail where he is being held.

Prosecutors have charged Allen with attempting to assassinate the president and two firearm charges. They say Allen — armed with a shotgun —sprinted through a security checkpointone story above the ballroom for the April 25 dinner at theWashington Hilton, where President Trump, top administration officials and members of the press corps were among the 2,600 guests.

Lawyers for Allen have agreed that the alleged would-be presidential assassin will remain jailed while awaiting trial, but have pushed back on his treatment there. They say Allen was placed on suicide watch shortly after arriving at jail last week, meaning he was held in a padded cell with the lights on constantly and no access to a phone or tablet. A day later, he was downgraded to suicide precautions, which still sharply limited his access to a phone and ability to leave his cell, his lawyers said.

On Friday, Allen’s lawyers said he was reassessed and deemed not to be a risk, but was still held in a form of protective custody that resulted in him being held separately.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui on Monday pressed a representative of the D.C. Department of Corrections about conditions at the jail, including allegations from Allen’s lawyers that the defendant was denied access last week to a Bible, that his tablet has not been set up yet, and that he wasn’t able to meet with his legal team privately last week.

At one point, Faruqui told Allen he was “very troubled” by the “conditions you’ve been treated to.”

The judge also apologized to Allen for the issues in the first week of his detention.

Tony Towns, the D.C. Department of Corrections’ acting general counsel, said the issues raised at the hearing will be worked out in the coming days. Towns said a tablet that would allow Allen to read court filings and access legal materials would be set up soon.

Towns said a psychiatrist had assessed that Allen was a suicide risk, though the medical form from that evaluation was not in the record. Faruqui said he wanted to see the form.

Towns also said there is a separation order for Allen, meaning he did not travel to court Monday with other defendants and is kept in his cell separately from other inmates.

“We don’t really know how to keep him safe, your honor, outside of separation,” Towns said.

Faruqui replied: “That seems to be a problem then.”

Faruqui — a frequent critic of the Justice Department’s handling of cases — said he was worried about what might be happening to lower-profile criminal defendants.

He also said he is “fascinated and concerned” that Allen has been treated differently from many now-pardoned Jan. 6 defendants, who Faruqui said were often assigned to medium- or low-security prisons and weren’t held in complete isolation.

“A lot of people seem to have forgotten January 6,” Faruqui said. “Pardons may erase convictions, but they do not erase history.”

While the charges against Allen “could not be more serious,” Faruqui said, “I’m not understanding how we are where we are.”

U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro criticized Faruqui after the hearing, writing on X that Faruqui “believes a defendant armed to the teeth and attempting to assassinate the president is entitled to preferential treatment in his confinement compared to every other defendant.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jocelyn Ballantine, who is prosecuting the case, alleged Monday that Allen told FBI agents after the attack that he did not expect to live.

“It’s clear he did not expect to survive it, which gives rise to potential concern for suicide,” Ballantine said.

Faruqui ordered the D.C. Department of Corrections to update the court by Tuesday morning on how long it will take for officials to determine where Allen will be detained ahead of trial.

If the answer is not soon, Faruqui said he would schedule another hearing to hear a justification.

Towns told Faruqui that the process to determine where Allen will be held is still underway, but that he would get an answer as soon as possible.

“DOC’s main concern is his safety as well as his health,” Towns said, adding that a prison housing board meeting would be held soon to determine where he stays.

阿联酋5月4日指责伊朗袭击导致富查伊拉石油工业区，造成三名印度公民受伤。图为3月14日，富查伊拉一能源设施遇袭，涌现大量乌黑浓烟。 （法新社档案照片）

波斯湾地区星期一（5月4日）再度发生袭击事件，美国与伊朗的临时停火协议岌岌可危。阿拉伯联合酋长国称遭到伊朗无人机袭击，而美国军方表示击落了射向霍尔木兹海峡上的船只的导弹和无人机。与此同时，伊朗把美国总统特朗普协助受困于海峡船只的“自由计划”斥之为“死结计划”。

综合《纽约时报》和英国广播公司（BBC）报道，阿联酋当局说，阿方防空系统拦截了12枚弹道导弹、三枚巡航导弹及四架从伊朗发射的无人机。

阿联酋指责伊朗发动的无人机袭击导致富查伊拉石油工业区（阿联酋最大的石油储存区）发生火灾，造成三名印度公民受伤。这是自4月初美伊达成停火协议以来，伊朗首次发动此类袭击。

另据阿曼国家通讯社报道，阿曼的布哈市也遭袭击并有两人受伤，但未说明袭击者身份。

美国海军星期一开始协助受困商船安全驶出霍尔木兹海峡，美国中央司令部说，美国海军的“海鹰”直升机和陆军的AH-64“阿帕奇”武装直升机摧毁了威胁商船航行的伊朗小型船只。

延伸阅读

美军助受困船只离开海峡 伊朗称视为违反停火 伊朗促美国放弃过分要求

美国总统特朗普在社媒平台贴文说，美军在试图打通霍尔木兹海峡时袭击了七艘伊朗“小型船只”。他还说，伊朗“袭击了一些无关联国家的船只”，包括一艘韩国货船。

伊朗外长阿拉格齐星期二（5日）说，霍尔木兹海峡的局势清楚表明，政治危机无法通过军事手段解决。

阿拉格齐在社媒X平台上说，巴基斯坦的斡旋努力取得进展，“美国应该警惕被别有用心的人拖回泥潭。阿联酋也一样。”

目前尚不清楚4日的袭击是否表明美伊停火协议已经失效，战争已重燃。伊朗官方既未证实也未否认恢复袭击，一名高级军官否认伊朗船只被击沉。

U.S. Supreme Court lets Voting Rights Act ruling take effect ahead of schedule

2026-05-04T23:11:52.804Z / Reuters

By John Kruzel

May 4, 2026 11:11 PM UTC Updated 39 mins ago

People walk across the plaza of the U.S. Supreme Court building on the first day of the court’s new term in Washington, U.S. October 3, 2022. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday allowed its recent ruling that gutted a key part of the Voting Rights Act ​to take effect ahead of schedule, bolstering Louisiana Republicans as ‌they pursue a new congressional voting map ahead of the November midterm elections.

The action by the justices, though procedural, potentially could undercut challenges to the decision ​by Louisiana Republicans to delay the state’s congressional primary elections and ​seek a new electoral map that could be beneficial ⁠to Republicans.

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The court’s move came in response to a request from ​a group of Louisiana voters who described themselves in court papers as “non-African ​American” whose lawsuit led to the 6-3 ruling on April 29 striking down an electoral map that had given Louisiana a second Black-majority U.S. congressional district. The ​ruling gutted a key provision of the Voting Rights Act that ​had barred electoral maps that would result in diluting the clout of minority voters.

President Donald ‌Trump’s ⁠fellow Republicans are fighting to maintain their control of the House, as well as the Senate, in the November elections.

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To give the losing side of a decision the chance to ask for a rehearing, the ​Supreme Court typically ​waits 32 days ⁠before its formal judgment is issued. But the prevailing party can ask the court to issue its ​judgment more quickly, as the “non-African American” voters did here.

Governor ​Jeff Landry ⁠responded to the court’s ruling by declaring an emergency and announcing he would postpone his state’s congressional primary elections that had been scheduled for ⁠May ​16.

Landry’s move prompted lawsuits. Some challengers have ​argued, among other things, that the governor exceeded his authority to declare an emergency because ​the Supreme Court’s ruling had not yet taken effect.

Reporting by John Kruzel

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Top Trump fundraiser enlisted in new nonprofit for president’s sculpture garden and golf course as legal challenges abound

2026-05-04 6:52 PM ET / CNN

By Sunlen Serfaty

A rendering of a reimagined East Potomac Golf Course.

National Garden of American Heroes Foundation

One of President Donald Trump’s top fundraising lieutenants has been enlisted to solicit money for his personal endeavor to develop a new golf course and sculpture garden on a prime piece of land along the Potomac River in Washington, DC.

Meredith O’Rourke, a longtime GOP fundraiser whom Trump has dispatched for many of his high-profile personal pursuits in his quest to put his stamp on the capital city’s landscape and culture, was the president’s national finance director during the 2024 election.

Since Trump took office, she has overseen donations for his ambitious East Wing ballroom project and played behind-the-scenes roles in raising money for the Kennedy Center and Freedom 250, the nonprofit the administration set up to run federal programming for the nation’s birthday celebrations.

Now O’Rourke is working with a new nonprofit, the National Garden of American Heroes Foundation, to solicit funds for Trump’s planned revamp of a historic public golf course in East Potomac Park and the nearby West Potomac Park, which the administration has homed in on for the sculpture garden.

Her role was revealed in a fundraising document included as part of an emergency court filing to the DC District Court on Sunday. The foundation is still awaiting approval for its tax-exempt status, the brochure said.

The involvement of O’Rourke and the coupling of the golf course and sculpture garden projects in fundraising efforts highlights the priority Trump appears to be placing on the projects.

O’Rourke declined to comment and referred CNN to the White House.

White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said: “President Trump’s National Garden of American Heroes will be built to reflect the awesome splendor of our country’s timeless exceptionalism. President Trump continues to beautify and honor our Nation’s Capital during America’s historic semiquincentennial celebration.”

The Trump administration had already allocated millions for the garden — $34 million through funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities and $40 million from the president’s massive policy bill. But the new foundation will solicit private donations as plans for the sculpture garden have expanded and the administration takes over the lease of the public golf course on the site Trump wants to redevelop, according to the fundraising brochure.

According to the latest plans, included in the emergency court filing Sunday and confirmed to CNN, the National Garden of American Heroes, which Trump had envisioned with 250 statues to celebrate America’s 250 years, now includes additional elements such as an amphitheater and numerous fountains.

The lead designer of the garden is Michael Curtis, a co-founder of the National Civic Art Society, along with a team composed of urban planner Dhiru Thadani, architect Michael Franck, architect CJ Howard and sculptor Brian Kramer.

This rendering shows the proposed National Garden of American Heroes.

National Garden of American Heroes Foundation

However, CNN has previously reported that sources close to the project say it is unlikely that any sculptures will be delivered by July 4, the deadline. Plans for the garden have not been submitted to the Commission of Fine Arts or the National Capital Planning Commission — two government agencies whose approval is needed before it can be built. Foundries and artists from across the country who applied to work on the sculptures, which would take months to build, haven’t heard from the Trump administration.

The creation of another fundraising entity to collect money for the president’s Washington projects comes as judges are hearing lawsuits challenging the pursuits over their lack of transparency and disregard for legal processes.

At a DC District Court hearing Monday over the emergency filing, a preservation organization suing the administration over its plans to take over the golf course cited the fundraising brochure from the new foundation as evidence the government is moving forward without regard for environmental laws.

Judge Ana Reyes indicated she wanted confirmation that the fundraising message was real. She said the Justice Department should start gathering internal communications that would explain where it came from and who was involved.

Reyes said that such a fundraising pledge would not have been sent on a “whim” and that she suspected someone with knowledge about the plans for the East Potomac golf course would have been in communication the fundraiser.

“Something is happening, Mr. Robertson. I don’t know what it is, I trust you don’t know what it is,” Reyes said, addressing the DOJ’s lawyer while airing her suspicions that there was communication from the White House or the agency that prompted the fundraising pledge.

“When you have a pledge going out with pictures asking people for money, we are pretty far down the road.”

The hearing also underscored concerns that the administration will bulldoze first and ask questions later.

Reyes made clear that she didn’t want the plaintiffs or the court to be caught off guard by major changes to the grounds while the case is pending.

“Act first and ask for forgiveness later … that’s not going to be acceptable,” she said.

Trump previously appointed O’Rourke to serve on the board of the National Park Foundation, which is the congressionally authorized fundraising arm of the National Park Service and of which Freedom 250 is a subsidiary.

Senate Democrats have attempted to scrutinize her fundraising activities for Trump several times. In a letter late last year, Senate Democrats asked that she provide details on her role in the ballroom project. Earlier this year, several senators wrote to the White House demanding to know more about her role in “facilitating” collecting funds for both the White House ballroom project and Freedom 250.

CNN’s Piper Hudspeth-Blackburn, Tierney Sneed and Katelyn Polantz contributed to this report.

Warren pushed ‘free and easy’ IRS filing system, but docs reveal what she used instead

May 4, 2026 6:30pm EDT / Fox News

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., didn’t use the free government tax-filing system she had spent years promoting when it became available in her state, records show.

As far back as 2016, Warren pushed for a free IRS online tax preparation and filing service, a precursor to what became Direct File. The senator touted it as a way for taxpayers to save time and money. When Direct File launched a pilot program serving Massachusetts for the 2024 tax-filing season, however, Warren’s publicly released tax return indicated that she opted to use a private accountant instead.

Warren was ineligible to use Direct File during the 2024 tax-filing season because she chose not to take the standard deduction that year. The standard deduction under the program is a restriction critics say illustrates why the program was too limited to serve many taxpayers.

“The Direct File pilot program has been a huge win for taxpayers,” Warren said in April 2024. “This year, thousands of taxpayers saved hours of their time and the $150 typically spent on TurboTax and other junk filing fees — money that could be spent on groceries or rent … I’m excited to continue to work with the IRS and the Treasury Department to permanently extend and expand this free and easy tax filing solution for Americans.”

HAWLEY, WARREN TEAM UP TO BACK TRUMP, CRACK DOWN ON DEFENSE CONTRACTOR PAYOUTS

“In just the space of minutes, it looks like insiders have been making out like bandits, using secret information about the war,” Warren said.(Heather Diehl/Getty Images)

Warren has characterized herself as one of the top legislative architects of the Direct File system.

“For years, Senator Warren has been the Direct File program’s biggest champion — yet her own tax returns show she hired a private accountant,” David Williams, president of the Taxpayer Protection Alliance (TPA), a right-of-center fiscal advocacy group, told Fox News Digital.

“Direct File was ill-equipped to handle investment, property and interest income — limiting the tax credits and deductions Americans deserve. At its core, the government would not have any incentive — as the tax preparer, collector, and auditor — to maximize those deductions,” he added.

The Trump administration moved to suspend Direct File in 2025, and the IRS later told states the program would not be available for the 2026 filing season.

Even after her own return showed she used a private accountant and not Direct File for the 2024 tax-filing season, Warren continued to push for the system. On April 15, Tax Day 2026, Warren took a recently-introduced bill to the Senate floor seeking to revive the program.

“Filing your taxes should be easy and free … Let’s save people time and money, and show the American people that government can work for them,” Warren said.

SEN WARREN UNLOADS ON TRUMP’S FED NOMINEE KEVIN WARSH IN EXPLOSIVE HEARING SHOWDOWN

Ranking member Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., questions Kevin Warsh, nominee to chairman of the Federal Reserve, during his Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee confirmation hearing on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Usage of the Direct File was low during the 2024 tax-filing season, with only 161,042 of the estimated 19 million eligible Americans submitting returns through it, according to an IRS report.

Among those who did use the service, however, 90% rated their experience as “excellent” or “above average,” according to the IRS. Large majorities of respondents reported that Direct File was easy to use and had high quality customer service support.

The TPA, however, says that 25% of Direct File users rated their experiences negatively, citing its analysis of user responses obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request.

THE SIMPLE TAX HABIT THAT COULD SAVE YOU THOUSANDS OVER YOUR LIFETIME

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. appears before a Senate Finance Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 4, 2025.(Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Critics of Direct File, such as conservative economist Stephen Moore, have argued that allowing the IRS, which has an incentive to maximize tax revenue, to prepare taxes for Americans creates a conflict of interest and that the program isn’t truly free, given its administrative costs. Proponents like the left-of-center advocacy group Public Citizen, meanwhile, argue that eliminating filing costs could save taxpayers billions of dollars per year at a relatively minor public expense.

Firms such as Intuit and H&R Block lobbied aggressively to kill Direct File, which many believed would cut into their profits.

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Warren’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment sent Monday.