pool

RIYADH: Trade can grind to a halt before ports close or shipping lanes are blocked. Disruption can begin elsewhere, when cargo or vessels become too costly or difficult to insure, or when markets are unable to provide adequate coverage for war-related risks.

Against a backdrop of rising geopolitical risks in the region and their spillover into maritime traffic, insurance and reinsurance markets, Saudi Arabia is moving to establish a national framework to help keep trade flowing even in a highly volatile maritime environment.

In response, the Cabinet approved the establishment of the “Saudi War Risks Insurance Pool for Cargo and Vessels,” a step aimed at building domestic insurance capacity to address risks that could drive up transportation and trade costs or constrain global insurers’ ability to provide coverage.

The initiative is also intended to help ensure the continuity of goods flows and support businesses involved in transportation and logistics.

The move is particularly significant for Saudi Arabia as it expands its role as a trade and logistics hub. The competitiveness of ports and distribution centers depends not only on cargo-handling speed and transport costs, but also on companies’ ability to price and manage risks when geopolitical conditions change abruptly.

Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan said after the Cabinet approved the mechanism that the Saudi marine insurance pool was a specialized national mechanism designed to support the continuity of trade and supply chains through a public-private partnership.

He said the pool would directly enhance the technical preparedness of the domestic insurance market and expand its capacity to provide the necessary coverage under rules and frameworks set by the Insurance Authority.

He added that the initiative would strengthen the resilience of the national economy and help safeguard its stability amid regional and international crises and challenges.

Industry specialists who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat said the pool’s economic value would be most evident during crises, when insurance premiums surge or insurers and reinsurers tighten their acceptance of risks associated with particular regions.

They said a stable insurance safety net could give transport companies, importers and exporters greater room to plan and continue operating.

A stable insurance environment

Logistics specialist Nashmi Al-Harbi said rising shipping risks in the Red Sea and the Gulf had prompted some insurers to tighten their conditions for covering vessels linked to the region.

That makes the establishment of the Saudi pool particularly timely for domestic transport and logistics companies, he said, as it would help reduce one of the main sources of uncertainty affecting international shipping contracts.

Al-Harbi told Asharq Al-Awsat that international companies doing business with Saudi Arabia, or whose cargo passes through its ports, would also benefit from greater clarity and stability in the insurance environment.

He said the pool’s scope would not be limited to vessels based in the kingdom but would extend to activities and companies with Saudi interests, subject to approved eligibility and coverage requirements.

Al-Harbi said providing stable war-risk coverage would make Saudi Arabia more attractive as a regional hub for storage, distribution and re-exporting.

Logistics companies do not consider only port, transport and cargo-handling costs when selecting destinations, he said. They also take into account the costs of risks to goods and vessels throughout their journeys.

The cost of risk

Supply chain and logistics expert Khalid Al-Ghamdi said the importance of the Saudi war-risk insurance pool went beyond providing coverage for vessels and cargo.

It also addressed a deeper challenge facing businesses: the difficulty of predicting risk costs when geopolitical conditions change suddenly.

Al-Ghamdi said a national war-risk safety net would give Saudi logistics companies greater stability when planning voyages, signing contracts and setting prices.

Companies managing thousands of containers need to know more than the cost of fuel, transport and cargo handling, he said.

They also need greater certainty about insurance costs so that insurance risks do not suddenly become a heavy financial burden or an obstacle to keeping voyages in operation.

The decision sends a message to international logistics companies that Saudi Arabia is continuing to build a business environment capable of operating even when shipping is disrupted, he said.

That could become an additional factor in decisions by global companies when choosing ports and distribution and re-export centers.

Al-Ghamdi added that the selection of a logistics hub was based not only on location and transport costs, but also on its ability to absorb shocks and manage risks associated with trade flows.

Strengthening that capacity could improve supply-chain resilience, bolster international companies’ confidence and create opportunities for more effective risk-management partnerships, he said.

Insurance pool arrangements

The initiative establishes a national insurance mechanism bringing together the public and private sectors under the supervision of the Insurance Authority.

It is intended to strengthen the domestic insurance market’s ability to handle war risks associated with maritime transport and mitigate the effects of volatility and rising reinsurance costs in global markets.

The initiative also aims to enhance Saudi Arabia’s competitiveness as a logistics hub at a time when more flexible tools are needed to manage the risks facing trade and transport.

As part of its implementation, the Saudi Reinsurance Company, known as Saudi Re, said that the Insurance Authority had selected it to lead and structure the pool’s arrangements, with participation from insurers operating in the domestic market.

Saudi Re will manage the pool’s technical operations and reinsurance arrangements. Beneficiaries will be able to obtain coverage through participating insurers under approved terms and conditions.

Initiative’s objectives

The Insurance Authority has identified four main objectives for the pool: enhancing the insurance market’s preparedness and capacity to absorb marine insurance risks; supporting the continuity of trade and supply chains; limiting the effects of sharp volatility and higher reinsurance costs in global markets; and strengthening Saudi Arabia’s competitiveness as a major logistics hub.

The pool will cover cargo transported by land, sea and air, as well as marine hull insurance against covered damage and risks.

It will also cover charterers’ liability and provide protection and indemnity coverage, offering broader protection to parties involved in transport and trade.

Eligible beneficiaries include exporters and importers; vessel owners and operators; shipping, freight and maritime transport companies; businesses involved in cargo movements, logistics and supply chains; and Saudi insurers participating in the pool.

International models

Saudi Arabia is not alone in adopting such a mechanism. Other countries have established national pools to address rising war risks and difficulties in obtaining coverage from traditional insurance markets.

India offers a recent example. This year, it launched a marine insurance pool with a total capacity of $1.5 billion, including a $1.4 billion sovereign guarantee, to cover war risks affecting vessels and cargo linked to Indian interests.

India’s experience demonstrated the scale of demand for such coverage. The scheme issued more than 1,600 policies within weeks of beginning operations, while war-risk insurance premiums fell by about 35% to 40% from the peaks recorded during the escalation of regional tensions.

The trend reflects a shift in how countries manage maritime war risks — from relying entirely on global insurance and reinsurance markets to developing domestic capacity that can help keep trade moving when coverage becomes more expensive or private insurers’ appetite for risk declines.

A summer trip to France ‘got worse and worse’ for one family as they were greeted by a ‘radioactive’ pool, a dead rodent, poison and broken furniture at their holiday home

What was meant to be a charming holiday home in France resembled more of a ‘horror house’, as a family trip went from bad to worse during a ‘hellish’ experience.

Richard Glendenning, who hails from London, travelled to France this summer for a holiday with his wife, her parents and their eight-month-old puppy. Wanting a quieter and more authentic experience, the couple booked a 10-night stay at an ’18th-century barn, with a private pool and sauna’ through Airbnb, nestled in a rural area of Bars in Bergerac.

Before they arrived, they were aware that the holiday rental was a little rustic around the edges, but at the time, it was all part of the appeal. It was only when they turned up at the property on Monday, 27 July 2026, that they realised it was far from what they had been expecting.

“It looked like a very lovely gîte (self-catering holiday home) online, I thought it’d be charming and nice,” Rich exclusively told the Mirror. “But it was in no way indicative of how hellish the experience was.

“It was actually two buildings next to each other that were part of the same space, and when we first arrived, it was filthy. It was the messiest place, and it looked like nobody had bothered to clean it for a year or so – it was awful.”

He continued: “It was like something from a film set, where you try and make a horror house with insects, cobwebs and spiders, everywhere. In the kitchen, the ceilings were fairly low, and I walked into one of those sticky tape things, covered in flies. There were flies everywhere, alive and dead.

“The bathrooms weren’t clean, and I had to use another bedroom in the other building, but when I went in there, I found a dead rodent, a rat.

“The towels were also tiny; you could barely wrap a toddler in one, and I had a white stain on mine. We were looking around, and in one bedroom, the owners had taken the bed from the mezzanine area, so there were just really horrible mattresses on the dirty floor, like in a squat.

“I walked through one of the bedrooms that was facing the pool, and instead of a bed, there were just stacks of wood pushed against the wall.” Rich added that they had arrived a “little bit early”, which had been previously agreed, and the cleaners did later fix the bed.

However, there were more surprises waiting. “The outdoor swimming pool was a comedy green, it was like a radioactive, glowing green colour, rather than a beautiful blue,” Rich revealed. “There was also a noisy filter machine, and there was an auto-motored machine going around, so that wasn’t done either. The owner had also removed loads of furniture from around the pool that were in the photos and advertised.”

Rich and his wife also spotted a “layer of scum around the edge of the pool”.

Rich and his wife had previously confirmed with the owner that their puppy could stay at the property, and the owner had agreed before their arrival. But the accommodation became worryingly unsafe for them and their beloved pooch.

“I saw this kind of gravel or type of salt across loads of the floors, and it was even across the dining table in the house. So I asked the owner, and she said, ‘Oh, that’s poison we put down’. She knew beforehand we were bringing a puppy, so that was unbelievably dangerous,” he said.

“We knew it was going to be rustic, but we thought we’d spend more of our time outside than in the house. But there’s rustic, and then there’s filthy, broken and items missing,” Rich’s wife added.

They also discovered that what looked like a microwave was actually the kitchen’s main oven, but the couple said, “You couldn’t even fit half a pizza in.” Rich’s wife said that the oven in the other building, which they were offered to use, was “so disgusting” and had “never seen something so dirty”, so they were left without an oven for a few days before it was cleaned again.

While they were caught off guard by the state of the property, the family decided to have some lunch outdoors near the pool on their first day. A platform area had been a “major selling point” for them because of the “beautiful views with a big table under some trees”.

In true French style, they laid out a “huge spread” on the outdoor table by the pool, with wine and cheese. “We put it all on the table, and it instantly collapsed. All the food and wine, everything went everywhere and broken plates”, Rich explained.

During their stay, Rich and his wife said they were in communication with the owner and Airbnb while documenting everything. “We were complaining and telling the owner what we found,” he said.

Airbnb confirmed that it has ground rules for hosts that make clear its expectations and the standards hosts must meet. If they fail to comply, Airbnb will investigate and take action, which may include removing the property from its platform.

“The owner was very responsive and trying to help, but she kept saying that it was her last rental and she’s selling the property,” Rich’s wife said. “She had given up on the property, really.”

To help with their issues, the owner said they could use the second building “freely”. However, this only revealed more, as it was “beyond dirty and dusty” and “uninhabitable”.

The couple explained that cleaners did return to clean the main property again during their stay following the complaints, but “didn’t do what they promised to do”. Although after two to three days, the pool was “back to a blue colour”.

The owner allegedly told the couple that before their arrival, she had around five 20-year-olds staying in the property and said that they had “left the place in a complete state, broken, and that’s why the pool was green.”

When speaking to the owner about the collapsed table, Rich said that the owner nonchalantly told them, ‘Oh, just take the table from the dining room in the house out there.’ He added that the owner had also told them she’d ordered new furniture, although it “never arrived”.

They were offered relocation by Airbnb, as all bookings come with AirCover, which means Airbnb will help guests find a similar place or issue a refund in the rare event that something isn’t as expected on arrival. However, because it was the peak summer period, they had two elderly parents, and one car that didn’t fit them all, they felt it wasn’t a realistic option for them.

Rich said: “The case was closed down without us being satisfied with any outcome”. Airbnb said it is providing feedback to the customer service teams that handled the case, as it did not meet their expectations.

In another turn of events, rain began leaking through the rental’s roof. His wife explained: “It was the final night in my bedroom, and thankfully, we weren’t in that room and didn’t have any lights on, but the rain flooded through the light socket.

“It went all over the bed. I had packed everything; my suitcase was open and directly under the flood. Every single item I owned was soaking wet.

“We were meant to drive back to the UK the next morning, but everything was wet, so I was desperately trying to dry everything before leaving, but didn’t manage to.”

After the ongoing ordeal of their accommodation, Rich said: “We need a holiday after the holiday. It just got worse and worse – it was hellish.”

A spokesperson for Airbnb said in a statement: “We are disappointed to hear about this experience and how it was handled. We have reached out to the guest to provide a monetary refund for the entire cost of their stay and are investigating the host.

“We have standards and ground rules for hosts, which require listings to be clean and free of health hazards, safety hazards and secure. While these reports are rare, we investigate and take the relevant action, which can include removal of listings from Airbnb.”

Do you have a travel story to share? Email webtravel@reachplc.com

Cagliari forward Yael Trepy is out of a medically induced coma and off mechanical ventilation two days after being pulled unconscious from a swimming pool.

Trepy, 20, was airlifted to hospital after the incident at a villa in Sardinia on Sunday afternoon.

His club shared a statement, external on Tuesday evening from the Santissima Annunziata Civil Hospital in Sassari, where Trepy is being treated.

It said his ventilation and sedation was reduced gradually through the day, allowing him to wake from the induced coma.

“Upon awakening, the patient showed a full recovery of consciousness: he is alert and co-operative and, at present, shows no evident neurological deficits,” said Dr Stefania Milia, director of the Emergency and Intensive Care Unit at the hospital.

However, Trepy remains in intensive care and “continues to receive close clinical and respiratory monitoring,” Dr Milia added.

A statement earlier on Tuesday had said Trepy was “fever free” and his “respiratory function” had improved compared with his severe condition when he was admitted, though it added “the prognosis remains guarded”.

BBC Sport has been told the player was in the swimming pool with friends and it is thought he got into difficulty after reaching an area of the pool where he could not touch the bottom.

Cagliari players had the weekend off after they beat Arezzo 1-0 in the Coppa Italia on Friday, in which Trepy played 54 minutes.

Trepy scored once in eight Serie A appearances last season after being a Cagliari youth player.

He joined the club’s academy in 2022, having started his youth career with Parisian side US Creteil-Lusitanos.

THREE steps. That was all it took to go from my villa’s back door to the pool.

Around me, the gentle hum of cicadas and the fragrant breeze of Mediterranean flora filled the air.

It was everything I had imagined rural Greece to be, and more.

While I was on the popular island of Crete, Ella Resorts’ Rocrita sits on the quieter, eastern side where many tourists don’t venture.

For miles around, the only views are of the shimmering Aegean and a blanket of green olive groves across the rolling hills.

The all-inclusive 5* resort only opened a few months ago, so everything still had that new feel and fresh scent.

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Rooms range from deluxe to two-bedroom suites, many with swim-up pool access.

My earthy-toned villa had a spacious bedroom with customisable lighting, and a plush lounge with stylish sofas, a Nespresso machine, TV and writing desk.

The lounge also had a mini-fridge, restocked daily with complimentary soft drinks.

The bathroom had all the essentials plus a few luxuries — think high-end exfoliating loofahs and boujee body lotion.

When you aren’t in your swim-up pool, there are other pools across the resort lined with loungers looking out to the ocean.

Sprawled in a cabana by one of the main pools with a spritz, I tucked into a freshly made pistachio tiramisu from the street food hub right next to the pool — just one of many mouthwatering desserts to tempt you.

Guests can also enjoy direct beach access to a quiet stretch of coast, dotted with the comfiest beanbag loungers I’ve had the pleasure of laying on.

Families are well-served, with a Ninja Warrior-style obstacle course suspended over a pool, a creche and a kids’ club.

Couples can head to Roée Spa for a treatment, plus steam rooms and a sauna.

And when it came to dining, I was spoilt for choice with six à la carte and buffet restaurants.

These featured a wide mix of cuisines curated by Michelin-star chefs including traditional Greek dishes as well as Italian and Mexican.

At Smigo, there were cold and warm plates, freshly made bread and locally caught seafood.

It was a feast for the eyes as well as the stomach, with colourful, fragrant ingredients in every dish.

The star of the show, though, was definitely breakfast — in fact, it was the biggest I’ve ever seen.

Spread across four buffet stations, there were all the breakfast items I could think (or dream) of, including semolina pudding, fresh pastries, antipasti, fully cooked breakfast items, pancakes, yoghurt, omelettes, cakes, fresh fruit . . .  the list goes on.

Without exaggerating, I ate so much each morning I didn’t need to have lunch.

For a tipple, there were four bars, including one stocking 300 local and international wines.

There’s enough to do that you needn’t leave the resort, but staff can arrange excursions if you want to explore.

Try the historic island of Spinalonga, an hour’s drive away.

Once a Venetian fortress, the island later became a leper colony — which was one of the last in Europe, before being abandoned and left as it is, with the same sights on the island there today.

A ferry runs every half hour and costs €12 (£10.44) return.

For something slower-paced, head up into the mountains to the 15th-century Toplou Monastery, where you can taste a flight of eight organic wines including white, rose and red.

To accompany the wines you’ll get a plate of cheeses, olives, figs, breadsticks and oil, and a host talking you through how the wine is made and the history of the monastery.

Whether I’d spent the day uncovering the history of a forgotten island or tasting wine in the hills, the best part was always returning to my villa in this untouched corner of Greece, sliding into my swim-up pool with a glass of local wine in hand and floating to the familiar soundtrack of the cicadas.

WASHINGTON — A person has been arrested in connection with vandalism at the World War II Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., U.S. Atty. for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced Friday.

Pirro announced on X that her office was filing two felony charges against Melissa L. Farris. Pirro said the felony charges are “Depredation Against Property of the United States and Destruction of Veterans’ Memorials.” The offenses carry penalties of up to 10 years in prison.

On Thursday, the words “Clean hands dirty $” were found painted on the monument and bubbles filled a fountain.

“Vandalizing our World War II Memorial is a despicable attack on a sacred monument honoring the Americans who fought and died for our freedom. Those Americans include my father and grandfather,” Pirro wrote.

A woman identified on her Facebook page as Melissa Lovewell posted a video Thursday in which she is seen taking cans of spray paint from her bag and then painting the monument.

“I will wait here to be arrested for spraying our veterans’ fountain,” she says. “It was me, I’m doing it, it’s on camera.”

In a video posted Friday, the woman, who in a separate post said she had been in Washington for three weeks, said she was turning herself in.

The arrest warrant filed in the case indicated that witnesses took pictures of the vandalism occurring, which were circulated among U.S. Park Police officers.

One officer recognized the suspect as someone they arrested Aug. 10 “for unlawfully camping on federal property” just blocks away. She livestreamed that arrest, the warrant said.

The suspect was identified by her Kentucky driver’s license as Melissa L. Farris, of Elizabethtown, Ky.

Farris was expected to be arraigned Friday. The public defender’s office said she was not yet listed in the system and had not been assigned an attorney.

The incident sparked harsh rebukes from Pirro and President Trump and comes after the president blamed damage to the nearby Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on vandals, without providing evidence. That case prompted charges against multiple people, which were dropped when Pirro said evidence showed the damage came from botched repairs after Trump’s renovation at the site.

“Our beautiful World War II Memorial was just hit by Spray Painting Vandals,” Trump said on Friday on his Truth Social site. “First the Reflecting Pool, now this.”

The Interior Department said that the U.S. Park Police were on the scene following the Thursday vandalism and an investigation was ongoing. “The public should know we will find the person responsible for this disgusting act,” the department said.

The Friends of the National World War II Memorial, a nonprofit organization that helps maintain the site, said: “There are many places in our country for expression, debate, and disagreement. A national memorial honoring those who served and those who never returned home should never be used as a canvas for vandalism.”

The Veterans of Foreign Wars called the vandalism “an act of profound disrespect, a slap in the face to the veterans who served and sacrificed and to the families who carried that burden at home.”

A former Olympian was charged in late July with deliberately damaging the Reflecting Pool, but the Justice Department later moved to dismiss that case, saying evidence prosecutors had received refuted the idea that vandals were to blame.

Trump sharply criticized Pirro’s assessment that damage to the Reflecting Pool was the result of shoddy construction and not the work of vandals, as he claimed.

The case dismissal was an embarrassing setback for a Justice Department that had previously echoed Trump’s claims and billed the prosecution as accountability for damage at a Washington landmark, a pet project of Trump. Pirro’s decision to drop the case was also a rare moment during Trump’s second term of an aide or political appointee openly defying him.

Fields writes for the Associated Press.

WASHINGTON — President Trump’s botched repairs at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool have landed the National Park Service in a political predicament.

The beloved federal agency, its iconic park rangers and other employees have been serving the public while managing controversial demands by the Republican president — from revising exhibits at parks and other sites to the demolition of important structures under its stewardship, such as the White House’s East Wing, to arresting visitors for alleged vandalism at the pool.

Critics say the monthslong Reflecting Pool saga and other demands by Trump risk undermining the integrity of a federal agency that has long been held in high esteem by the American public.

“Never — not once in decades — have I witnessed such systematic degradation, disrespect and dismantling of the National Park Service as I see today under the thumb of President Donald Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum,” said Bill Wade, a former park ranger and superintendent.

Wade, who now serves as executive director of the Association of National Park Rangers, wrote an op-ed for The Denver Post lamenting what he called the Trump administration’s “assault on the people, the mission and the values that have made the National Park Service one of America’s most valued institutions.”

The park service has been at the center of some of Trump’s most contentious actions during his second term. An executive order targeted funding and demanded reviews at national parks and other sites that Trump said advanced “divisive narratives” and “improper ideology,” resulting in changes to some exhibits on slavery or climate change.

The president has also ordered sweeping changes to historical monuments and buildings in Washington that fall under NPS’ purview, including the creation of a White House ballroom and a 250-foot-tall memorial arch. The agency meanwhile has lost at least one-quarter of its permanent workforce since Trump began his second term, through layoffs, forced retirements and resignations.

Park service employees “are being politicized and drawn into the absurdities and corruption of this administration” on a regular basis, said California Rep. Jared Huffman, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee. He cited the pool project, the proposed arch and the executive order on exhibit materials.

The ongoing political assault on the agency “is unlike anything we’ve seen in this country, and it makes life miserable at agencies like the National Park Service,” Huffman said.

Reflecting Pool saga continues

Trump launched repairs at the Reflecting Pool earlier this year, hoping to address longstanding problems at the iconic site ahead of the America 250 celebrations. But the $16 million project faced immediate problems, including peeling blue sealant and a fierce return of green algae.

Trump blamed the sealant issues on vandalism without providing evidence, and felony charges were brought against a former Olympic canoeist, David Hearn, after he was accused of vandalizing the pool.

The U.S. Park Police, a unit of the National Park Service, arrested Hearn, who denied wrongdoing and said he briefly touched a chunk of the coating.

Charges against Hearn were dropped on July 31 after prosecutors acknowledged that damage was caused by a bungled installation rather than vandalism.

The advice and counsel of career officials and rangers — instantly recognizable by their signature flat hats and green-and-gray uniforms — has been ignored or pushed aside as Trump and Burgum make decisions regarding the failed pool repair, according to an Interior Department employee who was not authorized to discuss internal discussions and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

“It’s tragic,” said Ed Stierli, vice president of government affairs at the National Parks Conservation Association, another advocacy group. “The whole thing is a master class in how not to go about a public rehabilitation project.”

In the days since the dismissal of the charges, Trump has continued to lean on NPS in his repeated claims that vandals damaged the pool’s lining.

“A National Park Service career employee, a highly credible witness, saw David Hearn … in broad daylight vandalize the Reflecting Pool by ‘violently’ ripping and tugging at the Pool’s somewhat delicate coating,” Trump posted Aug. 9 on his Truth Social site. Hearn’s legal team said Trump “is continuing to attack an innocent man.”

Stierli, of the parks conservation group, called Trump’s reference to the unnamed park employee an example of the awkward position agency workers now face under Trump and Burgum, who has publicly backed Trump’s claims about vandalism at the pool.

“I think the public understands that unfortunately, you have the president of the United States directly driving decisions, both here in Washington and around the country,” Stierli said. The park service — and especially its career staff — “has very little control over this,” he added.

The White House and the Interior Department did not directly respond to requests for comment on the park service. The White House defended the pool project, saying Trump “promised to make D.C. safe and beautiful, and he’s delivering.”

“For years, the Reflecting Pool sat neglected, plagued with algae and leaking millions of gallons of water,” the White House said in a statement. “Fixing it was common sense.”

Park service morale is at its lowest point, a former official says

Wade, the former park superintendent, called the pool repair “a comedy of errors” and “a continuation of the incompetence” shown by the Trump administration.

“Most people realize the NPS is under the gun and can’t do much about it, even though they’d like to,″ he said, adding that morale at the agency is at the lowest point he can remember.

Edicts from Washington have made clear that speaking honestly about what is going on could cost staffers their jobs, Wade said. “There’s a very strong fear among employees at NPS,″ he said in an interview. “It’s very frustrating for them, as you can imagine.”

Trump’s proposed memorial arch has faced some pushback. A recent report by park service staff warned that the proposed gilded arch could disrupt the historical significance of dozens of sites around its planned location near the Lincoln Memorial.

The arch, which last month received initial approval from a key federal commission, would impact the “integrity” of dozens of historical properties because it would change “character-defining visual and spatial relationships” between them, the report said.

Americans view the National Park Service favorably

The park service is popular with Americans. About three-quarters of U.S. adults — including similar shares of Democrats and Republicans — have a favorable opinion of the agency, according to Pew Research Center polling from 2025. Only about 1 in 10 have a negative impression, and about 15% are unsure.

A Washington Post/Ipsos poll from July found that about two-thirds of Americans say they are “dissatisfied” or “upset” about Trump’s Washington area projects, including construction of a new ballroom at the White House, painting the Reflecting Pool and building his triumphal arch. Republicans are more likely to be “enthusiastic” or “satisfied” with the projects.

About one-quarter of U.S. adults say Trump’s goal is to “make Washington more beautiful,” while about half say he has a “different goal.” In an open-ended question, many respondents speculated that Trump wants to glorify himself or leave his mark.

The pool and other recent controversies including the exhibit reviews jeopardize the agency’s credibility, Wade said.

“Whether interpreting the Civil War, discussing climate science or describing the complex stories of Indigenous people, rangers have sought to present evidence, not political ideology,’’ he said. ”That is now being lost.”

Daly writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Linley Sanders contributed to this report.