removal

Cruisers are being warned over a common balcony habit that breaks strict P&O rules and could see their holiday terminated early

Passengers looking forward to a cruise holiday may have packed their cigarettes or vape without giving much thought as to whether or not they can be used on the ship. But P&O Cruises has strict rules about smoking on board, with some breaches potentially putting the rest of a traveller’s holiday at risk.

Smoking is not permitted in cabins, on cabin balconies or in public rooms across P&O Cruises ships. Instead, guests are restricted to designated smoking areas on the open deck, which can vary depending on the weather and cleaning arrangements.

The same rule applies to electronic cigarettes. P&O says e-cigarettes, including those which do not produce smoke or vapour, can only be used in designated smoking areas and are prohibited in the same public areas.

This means a passenger who steps onto their private balcony for a cigarette is still breaking the cruise line’s rules, despite being outside. Guests are instead told to use the ashtrays and receptacles provided in designated smoking areas and make sure smoking materials are fully extinguished. The permitted locations are signposted, although the cruise line says they can change.

Consequences of breaking P&O rules

P&O’s code of conduct sets out the potential consequences of serious or disruptive behaviour on board. The cruise line says disrespectful or offensive behaviour can result in a holiday being terminated, with onward travel arranged at the guest’s own cost.

Its FAQ separately states that dangerous or violent behaviour may result in an individual guest or an entire party having their holiday terminated and having to make their own way home.

P&O’s published smoking policy does not say that every smoking breach will automatically result in immediate removal from the ship. However, passengers should not assume that breaking on-board rules is consequence-free, particularly where behaviour is considered serious or disruptive.

Beyond the threat of early disembarkation, guests caught lighting up inside their stateroom also risk steep cleaning charges billed directly to their onboard account. Because fire is considered the primary safety threat at sea, cabin smoke detectors are highly sensitive and actively monitored around the clock.

Passengers are advised to check their ship’s daily newsletter or speak to guest services upon embarkation to locate designated smoking zones. Taking a moment to double-check permitted deck areas ensures holidaymakers avoid costly fines or an unwanted confrontation with security.

PORTLAND, Maine — The person Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents targeted in Maine last month when an officer shot and killed a motorist was a roommate who was not subject to a final removal order, a Democratic congresswoman from the state said.

Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a 25-year-old Colombian national, was shot and killed by an ICE agent in a car near his Biddeford home on July 13. Rep. Chellie Pingree said during a hearing in Maine on Monday that ICE’s intended target was Durán Guerrero’s roommate, who was the owner of the car Durán Guerrero was driving.

Pingree called the discovery a “shocking revelation in clear contradiction to what ICE” and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have said about the shooting. She added that it was previously established Durán Guerrero was not the intended target and also did not have a final order of removal, but did have a pending asylum case and a valid work permit.

“Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero should be alive today,” Pingree said during the hearing. “More than a month later, there are still so many basic questions that remain unanswered by ICE and the Trump administration.”

The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement late Monday that it stands by its prior assessment of the shooting. ICE was conducting “targeted surveillance on the last known address of an illegal alien with a final order of removal,” a spokesperson for the agency said.

“We are not going to disclose law enforcement sensitive intelligence and methods. Nowhere did we state that Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero or his roommate were the target of the operation,” the spokesperson said.

The shooting of Durán Guerrero remains under investigation by the office of the Maine attorney general. Pingree was among several Democratic House members who spoke at a hearing in Biddeford on Monday to discuss ICE’s use of deadly force in the state. The Department of Homeland Security said at the time of the shooting that Durán Guerrero attempted to flee the scene and the ICE officer discharged his weapon because he feared for public safety.

Pingree and other Democratic members of Congress have also called for answers from Homeland Security about its training and vetting of agents after it was disclosed that the ICE officer involved in the shooting had a history of violent behavior and mental health issues. The shooting also appeared to lead to a policy change in which ICE would suspend most vehicle stops, but President Trump swiftly expressed opposition to that change.

Whittle writes for the Associated Press.

Legal challenges flared this week over an Inland Empire school district’s alleged removal of library books and, separately, on its efforts to require parental notification on student gender identity — policies strongly supported by the school board president, Sonja Shaw, a leading contender to become the next state schools superintendent.

One policy of Chino Valley Unified allows parents and others to force the removal of school library books to which they object, resulting in books with sexual content or with LGBTQ+ themes being pulled off shelves, according to a complaint filed this week by a leading public-interest law firm and local parents.

The complaint, filed with the California Department of Education, asks the state agency to investigate whether education codes have been violated. The complaint also seeks to invalidate the policy and have books returned to shelves.

The other Chino Valley Unified policy under legal scrutiny would require school employees to notify parents when students express gender-identity issues at school — even if the students want to keep this information secret from their parents. The Chino Valley school board passed its notification policy in July 2023, but a state judge put the policy on hold and subsequently ruled it illegal.

However, the Chino Valley school board is seeking to reinstate the policy in light of recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions. A court hearing on the matter had been scheduled for Wednesday, but has been moved to Sept. 15.

The San Bernardino County school system of 26,000 students adopted both policies under the leadership of school board President Shaw, a conservative Republican running for the office of state superintendent of public instruction. Shaw finished first in the June primary among 10 candidates, seven of them Democrats who appeared to split the Democratic vote among them.

On Wednesday, Shaw had not yet had an opportunity to review the book-policy complaint, but said both policies ultimately look out for children by safeguarding the rights of parents.

“I believe the larger issue is whether parents are going to remain the primary decision-makers for their children or whether Sacramento continues to chip away at that role,” Shaw said. “I will always stand on the side of parents.”

The book policy “is about ensuring that sexually explicit material is not placed in the hands of children in our schools,” Shaw said. “That is a reasonable responsibility for a school board, and I believe parents overwhelmingly expect us to exercise that responsibility.”

The challenge to the policies comes in the context of the November election, which pits Shaw against second-place finisher Richard Barrera, a Democrat.

Barrera said that some parents may agree with some of Shaw’s positions on culture war issues, but not with her entire agenda.

“I would say that the overwhelming majority of parents of students in our public schools find the agenda that Sonja Shaw is promoting to be terrifying,” Barrera said. “The idea that we’re going to restrict access to books for students, the idea that we are going to pick on and bully LGBTQ students, and particularly transgender students, is not a reflection of the values of parents in California.”

Barrera, the president of the San Diego Unified school board, also works as a senior state Education Department staffer, but has no involvement in handing complaints such as the one just filed, the department said.

Books removed from shelves

The Chino Valley school board adopted the book restriction policy in October 2023.

The district policy permits any community member to call for removing a library book. Such a demand, according to the policy, must be acted on immediately, with the book’s removal occurring within three days. A subsequent hearing within 45 days allows for public testimony, board discussion and a board vote, which would be the final decision.

Before the policy was adopted, community members had complained in public hearings about specific books and dramatically read aloud sexually explicit passages at board meetings to make their point. Defenders of the books said the passages were taken out of context in works that needed to be considered in their entirety.

The district began acting on its new book-removal policy before receiving any formal complaints, according to the filing submitted to state officials by Los Angeles-based Public Counsel.

In the fall of 2023, district officials asked schools for an inventory of specific titles public speakers had complained about at board meetings. Also included in the inventory were some books perceived as likely to be challenged.

Shortly after, parents and employees were no longer able to find copies of some of these books on the public-facing, book-search system, these critics told The Times in early 2024.

During this early period, only one formal complaint about a specific book was immediately received, a November 2023 request to remove the Bible “in all its forms” based on the Bible’s sexual content. This request was not carried out, the Public Counsel complaint states.

Other requests were submitted in October 2024 and covered 14 books, including: “Looking for Alaska” by John Green; “A Court of Mist and Fury” by Sarah J. Maas; “Beloved” by Toni Morrison; “Juliet Takes a Breath” by Gabby Rivera; and “More Happy Than Not” by Adam Silvera.

The complaint to the Education Department also alleges the removal this year from at least one library of an unnamed book by Maya Angelou and an unnamed middle school book that touched on sexual identity.

The complaint alleges that the Chino Valley policy is unlawful under state law and unconstitutional under state and federal law. It also alleges that, even if the policy were to survive the legal test, Chino Valley did not follow its own rules. The complaint states there is no evidence of any public hearings or board votes on a challenged or removed book.

The state Education Department had no immediate response to the filing of the complaint.

A consistent theme in the removed books was LGBTQ+ content, according to the complaint. Targeting that content would amount to unlawful discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals, who are explicitly protected against discrimination in California, said Elizabeth Graves, senior staff attorney in the educational equity unit of Public Counsel.

Ultimately, books were removed “not because they contain sexually obscene material, but because they contain content protected by law,” Graves said. “The school district appears to be targeting books that are featuring LGBTQ people, or written by LGBTQ authors.”

The state education code, Graves said, “really calls out how important accurate and inclusive education is for students, especially LGBTQ people, Black, Indigenous, and other peoples of color.”

Graves said that Public Counsel filed its complaint with the California Education Department because it can carry out an expedited complaint process in as little as 60 days.

Shaw said that if anyone questioned the district’s management of its policy, the matter could have been brought directly to district officials. Her issue, she said, is simply sexually explicit, graphic description — not references to sex. Parents can find that explicit material for their children in a public library if they choose, she added.

Parent notification on gender issues

Chino Valley became the first school district in California to adopt a parental notification policy in July 2023. It required that a school administrator, counselor or teacher notify parents if a student requests to be treated as a gender different from the student’s biological sex in any facet of school or in school records.

California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta quickly sued to stop the policy and San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Michael Sachs barred nearly all its elements. But he did allow parents to be notified of any student requests to change school records; for example, if a student requested to be known by a different name on a class roster.

In March, however, in a California case, a U.S. Supreme Court majority ruled that parents had a right to be told — if they asked — about their child’s sexual orientation issues at school. A lower court in the same case — Mirabelli vs. Bonta — had already ruled that school staff could not be barred from informing parents if they wanted to.

Since then, California Justice Center and Advocates for Faith & Freedom have filed a motion asking the state court to dissolve the injunction blocking Chino Valley’s original parent notification policy.

“Chino Valley is now in the impossible position of being subject to two conflicting permanent injunctions,” said attorney Emily Rae.

“The original policy was important because parents have a fundamental right to know what is happening with their own children,” Shaw said. “The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized the fundamental role parents play in raising and directing the upbringing of their children. Schools should not replace parents.”

Bonta’s office asserted in court papers that the original ruling should stand because the other recent rulings did not directly apply and because the Chino policy “discriminated against transgender and gender nonconforming students by forcing school personnel to ‘out’ those students to their parents, even if their parents have not asked for such notification; even when disclosure would result in physical, emotional, or psychological abuse; and even when less harmful alternatives … were available.”

July 16 (UPI) — Thousands of Ukrainians rallied in central Kyiv and other cities on Thursday demanding the reinstatement of sacked Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov ahead of a vote in parliament to approve his replacement.

The mostly young protestors, waving Ukrainian flags and holding up signs condemning the removal of the popular political figure, shouted “reappoint” and “shame.”

“Hands off Fedorov” and “Stop sabotaging victory!” read some of the placards hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Fedorov after just six months in the job as part of a major reshuffle of his cabinet.

The demonstrations come amid widespread opposition by lawmakers, the military and civil society demanding to know the reason for the ejection of one of the government’s most capable officials.

Among other achievements, Fedorov has been credited with breathing new life into the Defense Ministry, spearheading an anti-corruption drive, using data analysis to try to boost battlefield capabilities and opening a new front targeting critical Russian infrastructure in occupied Crimea and the Asov Sea.

In his previous government role in charge of digital transformation, he is credited with successfully lobbying SpaceX‘s Elon Musk to block the guidance systems of Russian drones from utilizing the firm’s Starlink satellite arrays. He also persuaded Musk to supply Starlink terminals to keep the country online amid sabotage of Ukraine‘s terrestrial internet networks.

Protesters said Fedorov’s dismissal would make people doubt the reforms he had embarked on.

A number of lawmakers from the ruling party have indicated they will not back the appointment of Ihor Klymenko, who currently serves as the minister of the interior, with at least one threatening to quit.

“Klymenko might not have enough votes. It’s not even about Fedorov. People have accumulated frustration and fatigue, and Fedorov’s resignation may cause unexpected social turmoil,” an unnamed lawmaker from the ruling party told The Kyiv Independent.

Tatiana Bohdanovska, 29, who lost her younger brother in battle in Kharkiv province four years ago, said it was a slap in the face to those killed defending Ukraine.

“My brother died believing this country would become different. If the government had invested earlier in technology and supported the army the way it should have, maybe he would still be alive,” she said.

Oleksandr, a serving soldier, told the BBC it was “the worst mistake Zelensky has made during his entire presidency.”

Fedorov’s dismissal — part of a shakeup that saw state-run Naftogaz CEO Serhiy Koretsky replace Yuliia Svyrydenko as prime minister — has been attributed to personal friction between him and Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Fedorov accused Syrskyi of sowing division among Ukrainians.

He said he tried to work with Syrskyi and his Chief of the General Staff Andrii Hnatov after Zelensky declined to replace them but every improvement he tried to initiate was rebuffed.

“Instead of finding a way of defeating Russia asymmetrically — which is the job of the commander-in-chief [Syrskyi] — he’s found a way of splitting our country,” said Fedorov.

However, Fedorov said he was 100% confident it would turn out for the best, stressing that Zelensky “hears the Ukrainian people, knows what to do.”

“I don’t believe he has yet chosen a side in the Syrskyi matter. I spoke with him today and said that I am acting according to my conscience,” he said.

Damascus, Syria – For many Syrians, the decades of rule by the al-Assad family – Hafez al-Assad from 1971 to 2000, then his son Bashar from 2000 to 2024 – were filled with oppression from the state and eventually more than a decade of civil war.

But one of the most important legacies has been an economic one – the result of the sanctions imposed by a number of countries, led by the United States, that effectively froze Syria out of the international economic system.

Despite the fall of Bashar al-Assad after rebel groups defeated him in December 2024, many of the sanctions, including a “state sponsor of terrorism” designation, have remained.

The designation has impeded Syria’s rejoining of the international community, while sanctions have impacted Syrians. Sending money back home from abroad often requires routing transfers through neighbouring countries, such as Lebanon or Turkiye, while access to some websites and online services, including Netflix and Slack, may require a virtual private network.

But there has been a positive reaction to the announcement on Wednesday by US President Donald Trump that his administration will remove Syria from the state sponsor of terrorism list.

The lifting of previous US sanctions, such as those related to the Caesar Act, has not transformed the Syrian economy, but it is hoped that those linked to the “state sponsor of terrorism” listing will allow the country to finally flourish.

“God willing, it will improve things,” said Ihab, a pastry shop owner in central Damascus.

Reintegration

US sanctions are thought to have been a huge barrier to foreign investors since the rule of Bashar al-Assad.

The World Bank said that since 2011, sanctions have led to a major collapse in exports and an increase in the trade deficit.

After the fall of the al-Assad government, interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s administration has identified the removal of all international and US sanctions as the key to reinvigorating the economy.

Al-Sharaa, the former head of the al-Qaeda-aligned Nusra Front, was himself sanctioned by the United Nations and was wanted as a “terrorist” by the US. But he has made efforts to shed those associations and build trust internationally, including by pledging to play a role in the fight against ISIL (ISIS).

His efforts have largely been successful, with the European Union and the US removing many of the sanctions on Syria and on al-Sharaa himself. The sanctions linked to the US’s “state sponsor of terrorism” list are among the few to remain.

The first “state sponsor of terrorism” designation on Syria was during Hafez al-Assad’s rule in 1979, due to the government’s support for Palestinian armed groups.

Additional sanctions were imposed on the state and individuals associated with the al-Assad regime, due to their systematic use of torture and chemical weapons.

Some rebel groups were also sanctioned due to their links to al-Qaeda and other banned organisations.

Al-Sharaa ended al-Nusra Front’s affiliation with al-Qaeda in 2016 and effectively eschewed the group’s ideology.

He also moved to establish a broader, national armed coalition dedicated to fighting the Assad government, later becoming Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

In May 2025, around the time Trump met al-Sharaa in Riyadh, the US president promised to remove many of the sanctions on the Syrian government. But the expected removal from the “state sponsor of terrorism” list will be particularly welcome as it gets rid of one of the main barriers for international banks and companies.

“This is extremely significant because it’s the last major impediment to international economic and political engagement with Syria and with the al-Sharaa administration, and in terms of reintegrating Syria back into the international order and indeed the international economic and political system,” Rob Geist Pinfold, a lecturer on security studies at King’s College London, told Al Jazeera.

Struggling economy

However, he is careful to add that the removal of the designation does not mean a flood of investment will instantly start pouring into Syria.

“This is a big hurdle that’s been overcome, but it doesn’t mean that there’s no more hurdles to investment or engagement with Syria.”

He added that international actors may be concerned about the government’s control and ability to confront remnants from the al-Assad regime, a potential ISIL (ISIS) comeback, bureaucratic impediments and corruption.

Some Syrians were also sceptical that the designation change would lead to instant results.

“This needs a long breath,” said a minimarket owner in Damascus, who refused to give his name. “You can’t sleep and wake up and expect change.”

He referred to ongoing economic problems and rising costs, as well as a recent fuel shortage.

“There’s no economy, and there’s no investment.”

Other Syrians were more hopeful that the economy, and other aspects of daily life, would improve. Still, there is a recognition that a little more patience is needed.

For some, that patience has worn out, such as the minimarket owner. Others, however, are biding their time.

At a juice stall in central Damascus, Zaher counted money received from a customer.

“I’m on the street with my cart and nobody is bothering me,” he said. “Electricity is getting better, but nothing gets better after just one day.”

“It took God Almighty six days to create Earth,” the 50-year-old said. “These things take time.”

July 10 (UPI) — Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Friday deported a man who was convicted of repeatedly sexually assaulting a child and ordered removed from the country in 2006.

Tou Lue Vang, who legally entered the United States in 1994, was convicted in 2006 of first-degree criminal sexual conduct for repeatedly sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl over the course of two years.

Vang was ordered to be deported to Laos in October 2006 but because of that country’s limits on how many deportees it accepts he, like many ethnic Laotians and Hmong, was permitted to stay, The New York Times reported.

Having been in the country legally ever since, Vang applied for a pardon during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown last year to prevent himself from being deported — which was granted in June.

“ICE deported Tou Vang, an illegal alien convicted child rapist,” Lauren Bis, acting assistant secretary of homeland security, said in a press release.

“This monster repeatedly sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl,” Bis said.

Vang was convicted repeatedly sexually assaulting the girl between 2002 and 2004, and justified his actions as being “a cultural thing … to marry and have sex with girls as young as 12,” and also suggested that the girl was just as guilty as he was of a crime, ICE said last week.

The Times reported that Vang has not been charged with serious crimes since his conviction and supervised release while awaiting his 2006 deportation.

ICE arrested Vang in December 2025, with plans to deport him, based on his prior conviction, but a Minnesota judge ordered that he be released from custody in February 2026.

Vang’s pardon request, which the Minnesota Clemency Review Commission granted on June 10, could prevent him from being deported, the federal government and legal experts have said.

The State Department said Friday that it had terminated Vang’s legal status in the United States and deported him immediately.

“Americans should never have to live in fear that foreign sex predators — shielded from deportation by their own elected officials — could endanger them or their children,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.

“That’s why I terminated his legal status in the United States,” Rubio said. “Vang has now been removed from our country and will never pose a threat to any American ever again.”

A federal appeals court on Tuesday allowed the Trump administration to resume carrying out speedy deportations of undocumented migrants throughout the United States, not just near the border.

A divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit threw out a lower court ruling that temporarily blocked President Trump’s expanded use of expedited removal. The ruling was a big victory for the Republican administration, which views the expansion of so-called expedited removal as a key tool for carrying out its mass deportation policy.

An attorney for the plaintiffs said the ruling “undermines the fundamental principle that people receive due process when the government seeks to deport them.”

“The Trump administration’s push for fast-track deportations will subject people to an unfair and error-prone system,” Anand Balakrishnan, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, said in a statement.

Trump appointed the two judges in the majority in Tuesday’s decision. The third was appointed by President Obama, a Democrat.

The plaintiffs had not “shown that the expedited-removal process denies its members notice and an opportunity to be heard,” Judge Justin R. Walker, one of the Trump appointees, wrote.

Expedited removal — quick deportation without a chance to appear before a judge — has previously been applied to migrants arriving by sea or caught at or near the border shortly after crossing.

In January, Trump expanded its use to undocumented migrants all over the U.S. Immigration agents began whisking migrants away from courthouses where they had gone for immigration proceedings and then removing them from the country within days.

U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb ruled in August that plaintiffs challenging the expansion had made a “strong showing” that it was trampling on people’s due-process rights, and she issued a stay order putting the policy on hold. Cobb was appointed to the federal bench by President Biden, a Democrat.

Many migrants living deep in the U.S. have been in the country for more than two years, making them ineligible for expedited removal under federal law. Cobb said the administration had not developed procedures to ensure they and other groups of migrants were not wrongly deported under the expedited process.

The plaintiffs had put forward “substantial evidence” that the expedited removal process, on the contrary, carried a high risk of error when applied more broadly, Cobb said. The ruling cited examples of people who had lived in the U.S. for far longer than two years but were still ordered to be removed in expedited proceedings.

The Trump administration appealed, arguing in a court filing that its expansion was legal, and protections were in place to prevent arbitrary removal.

Cobb’s ruling was an “egregious error” that was depriving the administration of an “essential tool to combat the unprecedented surge of illegal immigration over the past few years” and efficiently deport potentially millions of people, Justice Department attorneys argued in the October filing.

Thanawala writes for the Associated Press.

WASHINGTON — The curtain started to come down for President Trump at the Kennedy Center on Saturday.

After a day of legal maneuvers and thunderstorms, workers began the process in the early morning hours of removing the letters spelling out Trump’s name from the facade of the performing arts venue. They were a few hours past a court-ordered deadline and did their work shrouded by a tarp, much to the frustration of onlookers who had gathered for hours hoping to witness a dramatic moment symbolizing the limits of Trump’s power.

As the sun rose over Washington, the tarp remained in place, leaving it impossible to determine whether all the letters had been removed. Shortly after midnight, the Kennedy Center asked a judge to extend the deadline until noon Eastern time, citing the storms for delaying the work. The court agreed to that request Saturday morning.

The removal of Trump’s name closes one of the more unusual chapters in the history of the Kennedy Center, which began construction in 1964 and was dedicated to the memory of the slain president, John F. Kennedy. At what is typically one of the few relatively nonpartisan spaces in Washington, Trump has exerted unprecedented executive influence over the congressionally created venue during his second term.

Though he rarely discussed the Kennedy Center during his 2024 campaign, Trump moved quickly to oust the institution’s leadership when he returned to office in January 2025 and replaced it with a board of trustees that named him chairman. It rebranded the venue the “Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts” and his name was quickly added to the building’s exterior, though an official name change would require an act of Congress.

While the removal of his name marks a setback for Trump, he is moving forward with other plans to reshape the physical landscape of the nation’s capital in ways that have few modern parallels.

He demolished the East Wing of the White House and is building a controversial ballroom in its place. He remodeled the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and plans extensive renovations of a golf course in East Potomac Park, moves that could significantly reduce the public’s access to running and biking paths. He is also moving forward with a triumphal arch that would sit near Arlington National Cemetery across the Potomac River in Virginia.

Indeed, as Trump’s name is being removed from the Kennedy Center, the South Lawn of the White House has been transformed into a venue for a UFC match intended to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence but also coinciding with Trump’s birthday on Sunday.

Back at the Kennedy Center, there are many questions about the institution’s future. The same May court decision that ordered Trump’s name to be removed from the building also blocked a planned two-year closure for renovations that was set to begin next month.

The Kennedy Center’s calendar for the weeks ahead include performances of “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” and “Bluey’s Big Play.” Comedian Bill Maher is to be awarded the Mark Twain Award for American Humor during a ceremony on June 28.

But little is scheduled for the stages beyond that and, after the Kennedy Center substantially reduced staff, it is unclear how quickly it could build out a robust performance list. Trump, angered by the court’s order to remove his name, has said he would turn the Kennedy Center over to Congress and has suggested it might simply shutter because of public safety concerns.

In its unsuccessful appeal Friday seeking a pause on the order removing Trump’s name, the Kennedy Center’s leadership argued, in terms similar to the president’s use of language and framing of the argument, that the lower court was interfering with needed renovations.

“The District Court is not allowing us to close in order to properly fix up and repair the Building, including potentially life threatening structural damage like beams and parking garage ceilings that are rusted, and in serious danger of falling onto people below,” according to the appeal. “Indeed, total collapse!”

The institution also suggested that the president’s name could return to the building if the Kennedy Center later wins its appeal.

If the court denied the venue’s request for a pause, the Kennedy Center argued that it would “be forced to squander time and money — by both removing the signage and then potentially returning it after appeal.”

Sloan writes for the Associated Press.

In less than a month, Riverside’s Mission Inn has gained a new owner, lost two prized pieces of art and sparked a heated debate over the line between private property and community history.

The stage for this controversy was set in early May, when hotel owner Kelly Roberts decided to sell the Mission Inn to the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation, the tribe that owns the Yaamava’ Resort & Casino in Highland and the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

But it wasn’t the sale (for an undisclosed amount) that started arguments. It was Roberts’ removal of two beloved paintings from the hotel before the sale closed.

A painting at the Mission Inn in Riverside titled “Charge Up San Juan Hill” is taken down on March 20, shortly before the hotel’s change in ownership.

(James Ranger)

One is an alpine landscape called “California Alps” (1874) by William Keith, which measures roughly 6 feet by 8 feet and was displayed in the lobby near the front desk. The other painting, “Charge Up San Juan Hill” (about 1900) by Vasily Vereshchagin, was displayed on a wall of the steakhouse near the lobby. Both paintings had been a part of the hotel for more than a century.

“It was like a slow-motion version of the Louvre Museum heist, pulled off on a sunny day in Riverside in view of guests, staff and visitors,” wrote David Allen of the Riverside Press-Enterprise.

“There’s an outrage among members of this community,” said Mike Marlatt, a Riverside attorney and former board member of the Mission Inn Foundation.

The issue appears to be what agreements Roberts’ late husband made when he bought the building more than 30 years ago.

Former Riverside redevelopment official Ralph Megna, who facilitated the 1992 sale to Duane Roberts’ Historic Mission Inn Corp., wrote on Facebook that “What Kelly is apparently doing at this point is just pillaging the place in violation of those agreements.” But on a phone call, he was less absolute. He said the original pact included an agreement intended to protect about 180 movable pieces of art and artifacts from removal, but that “there’s shades of gray here.” Megna added, “We trusted people. Good faith turned out to be not so good.”

Duane and Kelly Roberts, photographed in 1998 at their home in Laguna Beach. Duane, who reopened the Mission Inn in the early 1990s, died in 2025.

(Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

Roberts’ family attorney Alan Jackson, however, said “Kelly is not pillaging anything.” He maintained that when Duane Roberts bought the hotel, “he bought every single item. Every single item was the Roberts family’s personal property.” When Kelly Roberts sold the hotel last month, Jackson said, she was free to keep or sell any of its contents.

In that deal, Jackson said, “the buyers would not close” until the paintings and a sculpture of Duane and Kelly Roberts were removed, because “they’re expensive.” Also, Jackson said that Duane Roberts, “before his passing, made it very clear to Kelly and the family that those are two of his favorite paintings ever.”

Jackson declined to say where the artworks are but said “they are in her possession” and “she has no intention of ever getting rid of those ever.”

The iconic spiral staircase in the rotunda of the historic Mission Inn.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

The hotel’s new owner, the San Manuel Investment Authority, declined to address questions about the sale agreement. But in a statement, it said it is “committed to collaborating with the Mission Inn Foundation and the City to respectfully steward and preserve this historic landmark, recognizing its deep history and significance to the Riverside community.”

Despite accolades from groups including Historic Hotels of America, tensions between the Roberts family and Riverside preservationists have risen in recent years. In late 2024, after more than 30 years renting space within the hotel, the nonprofit Mission Inn Foundation and Museum was unable to agree on a lease extension with hotel management and moved to a building on Main Street. Foundation leaders did not respond to messages seeking comment.

“The Mission Inn is so foundational to Riverside that any significant change brings real concern to me and makes me uneasy,” said City Council member Philip Falcone, 28, who has been leading tours of the inn since he was in high school.

The Keith painting is “quintessential California, a romanticized view of the Sierra Nevada range. William Keith, the painter, was friends with John Muir,” Falcone said. As for the San Juan Hill painting, it connects neatly with the history of Theodore Roosevelt, one of nine presidents who have visited the inn.

A guest takes in the view from the Spanish patio at the Mission Inn.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

The hotel is largely the creation of Frank Miller, who bought Glenwood Cottage, a modest boarding house, from his father in 1880. Then Miller enlisted investment help from his friend, railroad magnate Henry Huntington, transformed the boarding house into a hotel and renamed it. Over time, Miller built it into an architectural wonderland filled with art and antiques gathered in the U.S. and Europe. By 1931, the enterprise filled a city block.

“It’s a unique property,” said David Stolte, president of the Old Riverside Foundation. “It’s a National Historic Landmark. It kind of sits at the intersection of private commerce and public benefit. The original owner, Frank Miller, intended it as a public space, essentially a cultural museum, in addition to his business of running a hotel.”

After Miller’s death in 1935, the hotel’s reputation spread even further, attracting dignitaries of the day — and the future. It served as the site of Richard and Pat Nixon’s wedding in 1940 and Ronald and Nancy Reagan’s honeymoon in 1952. But by the 1960s, it was much diminished, and a later owner, Benjamin Swig, had sold close to 1,000 antiques and artworks to help pay bills.

By the mid-1980s, the hotel had passed through a period of city ownership and was closed. By 1992, more than $50 million had been spent in restoration and renovation, but the project was scuttled by a bankruptcy. That’s when Duane Roberts, who grew up in Riverside and made his fortune selling flash-frozen burritos, bought the property and reopened it.

Duane and Kelly Roberts, residents of Laguna Beach, also established the hotel’s annual Festival of Lights, an Inland Empire holiday tradition. The hotel today includes 238 guest rooms, four restaurants, two lounges, two chapels, a spa, pool and candy shop.

Besides their stewardship of the hotel, Duane and Kelly Roberts became known as major donors to the Republican party. In 2017, Politico reported that Kelly Roberts was in line to be named the Trump administration’s ambassador to Slovenia, but turned down the post.

After Duane Roberts died at 88 in November, Riverside buzzed with questions over the fate of the hotel, prompting another Roberts family lawyer to offer public assurances.

“Nobody’s buying this hotel. Mrs. Roberts is keeping this hotel,” attorney Patrick O’Brien told a TV news crew in late November. But on May 4, Kelly Roberts and the San Manuel Investment Authority announced the pending sale.

Festival of Lights, Mission Inn’s popular holiday tradition, was created by Kelly and Duane Roberts after they reopened the hotel.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

Then on May 20, guests spotted workers removing the two paintings from the lobby area. Longtime hotel-watchers said other items had disappeared in recent years, including an 1876 Steinway piano; a statue of the goddess Pomona; William Wendt’s painting “Houses at Arch Beach”; Ilya Repin’s 1884 painting “Portrait of Madame K.”; and the hotel’s Taft Chair, a sturdy oak armchair commissioned by Frank Miller in 1909 to hold 335-pound President Taft. But the midday, presale removal of the Keith and Vereshchagin paintings prompted immediate outcry.

It was “traumatizing, seeing that stuff on display for so long and then seeing it come down,” said James Ranger, a veteran hotel tour guide and Mission Inn Foundation docent. After all the time and money the Roberts family invested in the property, “leaving on this note puts a sour taste out there,” he said.

The sale closed May 29. Though the Roberts family’s attorneys have insisted that the buyers and sellers are in accord, preservation advocates in Riverside have called for a review of documents associated with Roberts’ purchase of the property.

Meanwhile, the hotel’s new era as a tribal holding begins. Besides the two casino-hotels, the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation owns several other hotels, including the Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort & Club in Dana Point. As for the Mission Inn, the tribe has signed on Boston-based Pyramid Global Hospitality to take over management, and several changes are already evident.

Notably, the Roberts’ names have been dropped from the signage. Kelly’s Spa has become simply the spa, Duane’s Steakhouse is now just the steakhouse, and Casey’s Cupcakes, a hotel shop founded by Kelly’s daughter Casey Beau Brown, has closed. The Festival of Lights will continue, a spokesperson said.

Stolte said the Old Riverside Foundation believes the tribe will be “great stewards” for the Mission Inn.

“I wish that their welcome to Riverside was a little smoother,” he said.

Staff writer Alex Wigglesworth also contributed to this story.