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BILLINGS, Mont. — The 250th anniversary of U.S. independence was just months away when National Park Service employees received a surprising directive from Washington: Maintenance projects approved for this year at sites across the nation were being relegated to a new “low priority” list.

Work wanted by the White House was taking precedence, including repairs to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, according to documents obtained by the Associated Press and three officials from the park service and Interior Department who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

The reflecting pool repairs and other projects tied to President Trump’s Freedom 250 initiative landed on a separate list for White House priorities, the documents show. Many of the administration-backed projects have advanced, though the Reflecting Pool repairs were botched.

Meanwhile, almost all of about 1,500 maintenance and other projects on the low priority list as of last month are expected to go undone, the officials said. That will worsen a repair backlog at national parks that doubled over the last decade to more than $24 billion even as visitor numbers surged.

The shelved projects, many already approved, span more than 200 sites and range from roof repairs at Golden Gate National Recreation Area to computer upgrades at Alaska’s Katmai National Park and bulk purchases of toilet paper and garbage bags at Yellowstone National Park.

Because of their low priority designation and with the fiscal year ending on Sept. 30, it’s unknown when they will move forward unless park staff can find a workaround, two of the officials said.

Park service employees “were told to not expect anything on the low priority list to be contracted,” one of the officials said.

“The first priority was White House priorities,” the official said. “Anywhere that is 250th-related they would have been diverting resources, some it probably planned but a lot of it pushed by the administration.”

The Interior Department said many entries on the low priority list had been “mis-prioritized and were corrected.” It declined to say how many or which ones, or how much parks are spending on projects outside Washington. Agency officials declined to answer questions about the Reflecting Pool.

Congress has pushed to fix maintenance backlog

The park service has a third list for “high priority” projects that includes more than 2,000 items, many with contracts awarded or in process, the documents show.

“In any year, the National Park Service must prioritize projects most in need,” Interior spokesperson Katie Martin wrote in a statement. “The National Park Service has not only been focused on beautifying the district for the 250th celebrations in our nation’s capital but has also been working on many deferred maintenance projects throughout the country.”

The 1,500 low priority projects had a combined cost estimate of more than $400 million.

Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), the ranking member of the Senate’s National Parks Subcommittee, said the administration’s pursuits around Washington “are more aesthetic than strictly necessary,” even as they siphon resources from sites elsewhere in the U.S.

“I don’t object to setting priorities,” King said in an interview. “I object to the White House priority list being tacked onto the top of that pyramid.”

He added it could lead to “the deterioration of America’s gems” as things like sanitation upgrades and basic maintenance don’t happen.

Congress during both Democratic and Republican presidencies has pushed to address the backlog. The bipartisan Great American Outdoors Act in 2020 included $6.5 billion for maintenance and repairs through 2025. A legislative extension is pending.

Testing the park service’s mission

The priority designations came from park service headquarters in Washington, according to documents obtained by AP and one of the unnamed officials.

The park service appears to be moving forward on at least $80 million in White House priorities, including $52 million awarded, the documents indicate. Much of that work was championed by Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, such as the reflecting pool repairs and the rehabilitation of other parks in the capital with an eye toward the 250th celebrations.

Trump announced his plans to paint the Reflecting Pool blue in April, aiming to address longstanding problems at the site before July 4. But the $16-million initiative faced immediate problems, including peeling sealant and a fierce return of green algae.

Not all of the administration’s priorities advanced: A $70-million line item for “turf maintenance” over five years at parks in the Washington, D.C., area is among more than $80 million in work marked as “canceled” in the Interior Department data.

The park service’s mission has been tested under Trump as its employees navigate new realities. It lost at least one-quarter of its permanent workforce under Trump.

Remaining employees have been ordered to revise exhibits that Trump said advanced “improper ideology,” and demolish the East Wing of the White House, which is under park stewardship, for the creation of a ballroom. Trump also reduced Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah as Republicans reshape public lands management.

Contracting officers in short supply

Pressure to deliver on administration demands for Freedom 250 was compounded by staffing cuts that made it harder to execute contracts, the unnamed officials said.

Prior to Trump’s second term, the parks had 275 contracting officers. They’ve since been consolidated into the Interior Department, which nevertheless saw its contracting workforce drop more than 20%, public records show.

About $140 million has been obligated or spent by the park service in Washington, D.C., this year, according to public data. That includes the reflecting pool work and the rehabilitation of fountains across the district.

Interior spokesperson Martin said the Trump administration is eyeing different revenue sources for maintenance including endowments and park pass sales.

Those sales rose more than $2 million, to $16.7 million, in the first quarter of 2026 compared with a year earlier, she said.

Brown writes for the Associated Press.

WASHINGTON — A Republican senator whose support will be necessary to advance Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general said Thursday that Blanche must meet with accusers of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to earn his vote.

Sen. Thom Tillis had indicated during Blanche’s confirmation hearing Wednesday that he was leaning toward backing the acting attorney general’s nomination. But after an Epstein accuser testified a day later, Tillis said he expects a meeting to occur before he’s “willing to vote out of this committee.”

Epstein’s case and the Justice Department’s handling of millions of files related to his sex trafficking investigation have been a persistent political headache for the Trump administration.

After missteps by then-Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi that enraged President Trump’s base, Blanche as deputy attorney general oversaw a massive review and release of millions of files related to the investigation into the disgraced financier with connections to wealthy and powerful people.

Shortly after Tillis’ remarks, Blanche arrived at a Senate office building, where Blanche told reporters he had hoped to meet with Epstein accusers but “it didn’t work out.” Blanche said they were trying to find another time later Thursday or another day to schedule the meeting.

“The Department of Justice will always meet with victims or their representatives, and if those victims or their representatives have evidence that anybody committed a crime — whether it has to do with Jeffrey Epstein or anybody else — we will of course move forward and investigate and prosecute,” Blanche said.

Without Tillis’ support, Blanche’s nomination won’t make it through the Senate Judiciary Committee, which questioned Blanche for hours on Wednesday about the Epstein files as well as the creation of a fund to compensate Trump’s allies, a tax immunity deal for the president and a slew of other issues.

Another Republican on the committee who says he has not made up his mind on whether to support Blanche, Sen. John Cornyn, conveyed concerns that the Trump administration has yet to commit in writing that the fund is dead and that it could therefore conceivably be resurrected.

One Epstein accuser, Dani Bensky, told lawmakers earlier Thursday that women harmed by Epstein repeatedly asked to meet with Blanche “through multiple channels and he never responded.”

“We deserve to be heard directly, not dismissed and ignored,” Bensky said.

Blanche has pushed back on suggestions that the Justice Department has been dismissive of the late financier’s accusers, saying Wednesday that officials have spoken with more than 30 representatives of the women over the course of its sweeping review of the files.

Blanche has also defended the department’s staggered release of the Epstein files, a process beset by problems, including redaction errors that left exposed nude photos showing the faces of potential victims.

Blanche said during his confirmation hearing Wednesday that he takes responsibility for mistakes that were made, but noted that department lawyers were given a “herculean task” to quickly review millions of files for release. Blanche said department lawyers took pains to protect the women involved, and quickly fixed any errors that were found.

“I am sorry that in about 1% of the documents, mistakes were made,” Blanche said Wednesday. “But what I will say on top of that is we put tons of resources to rectifying those mistakes immediately, including pulling down documents within minutes of being informed that there were mistakes.”

The political firestorm over the Epstein files dogged the Trump administration for much of last year, with lawmakers eventually passing a measure that compelled the release of a massive trove of documents in the government’s possession related to its investigation.

The Justice Department began releasing the documents in late December, which included photos, call logs, grand jury testimony and interview transcripts. The release did little to tamp down skepticism from conspiracy theorists and online sleuths, who have long pushed allegations of a government cover-up, without evidence.

Richer and Cappelletti write for the Associated Press.

WASHINGTON — Kathryn Ruemmler, the former top lawyer at Goldman Sachs who was White House counsel to President Obama, said Wednesday in testimony to Congress that it “was a mistake to deal with” Jeffrey Epstein but insisted she never witnessed criminal activities.

“I can see now that he used me and other respectable people to legitimize his standing,” Ruemmler told members of the House Oversight Committee, according to a copy of her opening remarks.

Ruemmler is the latest prominent figure called before the House Oversight Committee as lawmakers investigate the network of powerful people connected with Epstein. The bipartisan inquiry has already included testimony from more than a dozen high-profile witnesses, including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and former President Bill Clinton, as lawmakers examine how Epstein’s wealth and influence may have helped shield him from scrutiny.

Ruemmler served as White House counsel under Obama from 2011 to 2014 and was briefly considered for attorney general. She served as Goldman Sachs’ general counsel for the past six years before announcing in February that she would step down amid backlash over her correspondence with Epstein.

Although she said she would step down on June 30, she remains employed by Goldman Sachs.

Entering Wednesday’s hearing, Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the committee, told reporters that Ruemmler will provide unique insight as one of the few people who was “very close in the last phase of Jeffrey Epstein’s life.”

“I think some of the emails that are in the files are very concerning about how she communicated with Jeffrey Epstein,” he added.

The two were close years after Epstein’s 2008 conviction on sex crimes

While Ruemmler has tried to downplay their relationship in more recent statements, thousands of documents released by the Justice Department showed that Ruemmler and Epstein had an extensive relationship. The files included personal emails, social plans and gifts that extended beyond formal legal work. Documents showed she had called Epstein “Uncle Jeffrey” in emails and said she adored him.

Ruemmler said in her opening remarks that she first met Epstein in 2014 regarding potentially working with him and Gates “to set up a large donor advised fund.” Soon after, according to Ruemmler, she learned about Epstein’s 2008 conviction on sex crimes, when he became a registered sex offender.

She said Epstein expressed remorse about it, and that he did not know the women were underaged. She said she “relied on the resolution reached by federal and state prosecutors and validated by a judge as being a proportionate and final resolution of his criminal conduct.”

House Oversight Chair James Comer told reporters Wednesday that the “most concerning” part of Ruemmler’s communications with Epstein is how she “tried to rehabilitate his image after he was convicted of solicitation of a minor.”

Ruemmler’s interview is part of a broader investigation

Comer said Wednesday that Ruemmler is the 18th person to testify as part of their broader investigation.

Billionaire investor Leon Black was subpoenaed last month after lawmakers said he refused to answer some questions about his yearslong relationship with Epstein.

Comer said Wednesday that Black will appear for a formal deposition on Sept. 3 but that he expects to have Black’s nondisclosure agreements by “the end of the week.”

The committee has also expressed interest in questioning acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, whose nomination to permanently lead the Justice Department is pending before the Senate. Former Attorney General Pam Bondi identified Blanche as the department’s point person on the release of the Epstein documents, a process that has drawn bipartisan scrutiny.

“Hopefully Blanche will come in as soon as his confirmation is over,” Comer said.

Cappelletti writes for the Associated Press.

Garoua and Tiko, Cameroon – A year ago, Oumarou Sanda, mayor of Garoua 2 in northern Cameroon, raised a trophy above his head after his municipality was named Cameroon’s Citizenship Champion for its efforts to expand birth registration.

The recognition, awarded through UNICEF-supported initiatives in partnership with the Cameroonian government, marked months of work to address one of the country’s most persistent but often invisible child protection gaps: the absence of legal identity for thousands of children.

Under Cameroon’s civil status law, every child has the right to a birth certificate. Parents are expected to register births within 90 days at no cost. After that period, registration becomes more complex, and after one year, families must go through court procedures that are often costly, time-consuming, and difficult to navigate.

For many parents, that system remains out of reach.

“One of my eldest children was sent home years ago from school because we didn’t have his official papers,” says Aissatou Bouba, a mother of four living in Garoua 2.

That changed in 2024 when she brought her youngest child to a local health facility where staff registered the birth immediately after delivery, issuing the documents needed to establish his legal identity.

Her experience reflects a wider reality. According to Cameroon’s Ministry of Basic Education, more than 1.5 million children, about 30 percent of primary school pupils, are enrolled without birth certificates.

Without that documentation, the consequences often emerge later in life.

“If a child stays without a birth certificate, the child will not have admission into secondary school,” says Anna Enanga epse Itoe, head of the civil status bureau at the Tiko Council in Cameroon’s southwest region.

“It will be impossible to sit for public examinations. It will also be impossible to obtain a national identity card, which is needed to access many services,” she told Al Jazeera.

UNICEF estimates that, of the 560,000 births recorded in health facilities in 2023, only 43.77 percent were officially registered. The gap leaves many children exposed to risks that extend beyond education.

“Children without documentation are harder to trace, monitor, or protect,” says Alexis Mayang, a UNICEF child protection specialist based in Yaounde. “They can be moved across borders with fewer checks,” he told Al Jazeera.

He added that in conflict-affected areas, the lack of identification increases vulnerability to exploitation, including recruitment into armed groups.

A response to a protection gap

The push to address these gaps gained momentum after the first Mayors’ Forum on Birth Registration in April 2024, where local authorities signed a charter committing to strengthen civil registration systems in their municipalities.

Following the forum, UNICEF, working with the government and local partners, supported the rollout of the “My Name” campaign, aimed at identifying and registering children without legal documentation across Cameroon’s 360 councils and 14 cities.

Since its launch, officials involved in the programme say more than 17,000 children have been registered.

Municipalities were assessed based on how effectively they improved registration systems, including setting up civil registration services within health facilities and identifying out-of-school children without documentation.

In Tiko, in the southwest, officials brought registration services closer to remote communities, working with traditional leaders to collect birth declarations from rural areas.

“In Tiko, people are coming every day to register their children and obtain birth certificates,” says Enanga. “We have issued documents to thousands of children.”

To manage demand, local chiefs played a central role in documenting births in hard-to-reach areas before forwarding records to council offices.

In Garoua 2, authorities took a different approach. Faced with delays caused by handwritten registers, the municipality shifted to digital civil status systems, allowing certificates to be issued within minutes.

Barriers that remain

Despite these gains, officials say significant challenges remain.

In many communities, birth registration is still not prioritised, with some parents only engaging with the system when children are denied access to schooling or barred from sitting national examinations.

Schools often become the first point of enforcement, particularly at primary level, where pupils without documentation are turned away from key assessments.

Deeper social barriers also remain. Child protection workers say that in some rural communities, harmful norms persist, including beliefs that girls do not require formal documentation or education. These practices contribute to undocumented children and increase the risk of early or forced marriage.

Officials and community workers say traditional and religious leaders are increasingly being engaged in awareness campaigns aimed at changing these perceptions and encouraging earlier registration of births.

Globally, UNICEF estimates that 166 million children under the age of five remain unregistered. In Cameroon, officials say closing that gap will depend not only on administrative reform, but also on shifting how communities define a child’s legal existence.

“I was happy knowing that my son could get educated without any hindrance,” Bouba told Al Jazeera.

Bailey Zimmerman is apologizing after a warrant for the country singer’s arrest was issued following an incident at a New Mexico hotel.

Last week, an arrest warrant was issued in Bernalillo County for Zimmerman, who’s facing a felony charge of criminal damage to property and a misdemeanor charge of falsely obtaining services after the “Holy Smokes” singer allegedly caused more than $16,000 worth of damage to a room at the Sandia Resort and Casino in Albuquerque.

The 26-year-old country singer was scheduled to perform at the resort May 27 and 30 but abruptly canceled the show the day of the performance.

“I have not been feeling well and have tried to power through, but I’m not able to give you all the show you deserve,” Zimmerman wrote on Instagram at the time.

According to an affidavit reviewed by People, hours before the singer was slated to perform, he appeared inebriated and volatile during a sound check.

The document alleged Zimmerman stumbled onto the stage around 4:30 p.m., smashed a guitar on the ground, threw cymbals, kicked a drum set, pushed a guitarist and threw a microphone before he stormed offstage. At one point, he tripped and fell backward.

The affidavit further alleged that the country singer “spit toward a Sandia security officer standing nearby.”

A representative for Zimmerman emailed The Times a statement on Tuesday.

“First things first, I want to apologize to the Pueblo of Sandia and to everyone at Sandia Resort & Casino. I never meant for any of this to come across as disrespectful. I am deeply sorry for my actions that transpired. I respect your community and the hospitality and appreciate the opportunity that was given to me to perform on Native Land. I take full accountability for everything that happened and I am sorry to anyone who feels hurt or disrespected,” the statement read.

“To my fans who bought tickets and showed up expecting a performance, I am so sorry, you deserved better from me,” the statement continued. “I understand that being a musician comes with big responsibilities, both on and off stage, and I know that I fell short that day. I am reflecting on the disappointment and concern that I caused.”

Zimmerman wrote that he was taking the legal matter seriously and was committed to doing the “work necessary to learn and grow.”

“Thank you to my fans for holding me accountable and for understanding that I am human. I do not take your support for granted,” the statement added.

You need to check if your paperwork is still valid for Spain, France, Portugal, Greece, Italy and other destinations

Martin Lewis’s MoneySavingExpert has issued urgent advice for anyone travelling to Europe this summer, as more than two million people will see a key document expire before they head off. MoneySavingExpert.com has a holiday warning for anyone visiting countries including France, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Italy.

Martin’s team has urged holidaymakers to check if their European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) is still valid, as 1,285,250 GHICs and 926,954 EHICs are set to expire this year. The EHIC is being replaced by the new Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC). These cards are totally free to get and they give you access to state-run hospitals or GPs in EU countries for the same price as a local.

They last for up to five years, and the final EHICs issued after Brexit are expiring this year. The MSE newsletter reads: “These cards give access to state-run hospitals or GPs in EU countries for the same price as a local – so if it’s free for them, it’s free for you.”

You need to check your card for the expiry date, and apply for a new one if necessary.

The team said: “You’ll need to get a new card – it’s now called a GHIC (as it’s been rebranded a ‘Global’ card, though in essence still covers mostly the same European countries).” However, MSE also warned people not to fall for websites that charge you for these cards.

MSE said: “Never pay to get an EHIC or GHIC. It is always free, beware shyster sites trying to charge you for ‘fast tracks’ or other stuff, that’s nonsense. See how to safely get a free GHIC.” If you have an existing EHIC, it remains valid until the expiry date runs out – after this, you’ll need to apply for a GHIC card.”

The NHS explains: “The UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) lets you get necessary state healthcare in the European Economic Area (EEA), and some other countries, on the same basis as a resident of that country. This may be free or it may require a payment equivalent to that which a local resident would pay.

“The UK GHIC has replaced the existing European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). If you have an existing EHIC you can continue to use it until the expiry date on the card. Once it expires, you’ll need to apply for a UK GHIC to replace it.

“The ‘Global Health Insurance Card’ (GHIC) and its predecessor, the EHIC, give access to state-run hospitals or GPs, mainly in European countries, for the same price as a local. So if they don’t pay, you don’t either. Over two million expire this year, check yours.”

A UK GHIC is free, and you can apply through the NHS website. The NHS advises avoiding unofficial websites, which may charge an application fee. People can apply for a new card up to nine months before their current card expires.

The NHS says: “Every member of your family needs their own card. You can add your spouse, civil partner and children to your application when you apply. You must enter your own details first and apply for any additional cards when prompted.”