removed

The John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts is seen in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. On Wednesday, workers removed a large sculpture that had been on the grounds since 2019. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo

Sept. 2 (UPI) — Workers removed a 24-foot-tall blue sculpture by Joel Shapiro from the grounds at the John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center on Wednesday amid President Donald Trump‘s efforts to overhaul the venue in Washington, D.C.

The abstract blue sculpture of a stick figure appearing to be mid-kick called Blue was installed outside the Kennedy Center in 2019. Shapiro, who died in 2025, said the artwork was a “celebration of possibility,” The Washington Post reported.

The National Park Service announced the temporary closure of the northbound lane of Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway between the Kennedy Center and the Potomac River to allow heavy machinery to remove the sculpture.

A representative at the Kennedy Center told The Hill the sculpture’s relocation will be determined by the Joel Shapiro and Ellen Phelan Foundation.

“We are deeply grateful to Joel Shapiro for the years Blue has spent animating our campus and connecting visitors to his vision,” the representative said. “We are honored to have been stewards of his vibrant work and park of his enduring legacy.”

The venue confirmed the work to remove the sculpture was done at the facility’s request but didn’t specify the reason. The Joel Shapiro and Ellen Phelan Foundation declined to comment on the move.

The removal of the sculpture is one of several changes to take place at the Kennedy Center in the past year. The Board of Trustees voted in December to add Trump’s name to the building less than a year after the president dismissed the entire existing board and named new members, who in turn elected him chairman.

Since then Trump announced the building would be renamed to include his own name, which sparked a legal battle resulting in the courts ordering his name to be removed from the facade. Trump also planned to shutter the building for two years to carry out renovations.

Aug. 28 (UPI) — The U.S. State Department removed a Kehinde Wiley painting from its embassy in the Dominican Republic and wants to sell it after Trump administration officials called it “woke.”

The department is talking with legal representatives to determine whether it can sell Young Artists After Siamesas 1960, which was commissioned with taxpayer funds in 2013 for the Art in Embassies cultural diplomacy program.

U.S. Ambassador Leah Campos posted a video Aug. 11 showing the painting being removed after it was initially covered with a tarp featuring a U.S. flag design.

“Under the Trump administration and my leadership, we are leaving behind globalist and ‘woke’ ideologies to embrace American patriotism and the beauty of our great country,” Campos wrote.

Erin Scavino, director of Art in Embassies, said in a recent interview with former Trump White House press secretary Sean Spicer that her team had worked to remove the painting. She described it as “very woke” and “aesthetically terrifying.”

The State Department cited comments Wiley made about another of his works and sexual misconduct allegations that the artist has denied, according to The Art Newspaper.

Dominican law would allow physical ownership of the painting to be transferred, but Wiley would retain his intellectual property rights, according to an analysis published by the Dominican news outlet Acento.

Attorney Edwin Espinal Hernández said the Dominican Republic’s copyright law distinguishes between ownership of the physical object and intellectual property rights over the work, Acento reported.

A buyer could own and display the canvas, but could not reproduce it, print it or sell copies without Wiley’s authorization unless the parties expressly agree otherwise.

Dominican law also recognizes an artist’s resale right. If the transaction takes place through a public auction, an exhibition or a professional dealer, Wiley would be entitled to receive at least 2% of the sale price from the seller.

In addition, if the transaction exceeds approximately $12,000, Dominican anti-money laundering law would prohibit a cash payment and require verifiable proof of the transaction.

Wiley created the painting in 2015 in collaboration with Dominican students from the School of Arts and the Altos de Chavón School of Design in La Romana, according to the official documentation from Art in Embassies.

According to the expanded Art in Embassies description, the 107-by-150-inch oil-on-linen painting depicts four local art students in poses inspired by Female Nude (1940) by Celeste Woss y Gil and Siamese Twins (1960) by Gilberto Hernández Ortega.

Wiley gained international recognition after painting President Barack Obama‘s official portrait, which was unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery in 2018.

The State Department had awarded Wiley a Medal of Arts in 2015 for his contributions to U.S. cultural diplomacy.

McKINNEY, Texas — The judge in the case of a Texas teenager convicted of fatally stabbing a 17-year-old athlete at a high school track meet was ordered removed Wednesday, as the defendant seeks a new trial in a case that drew national attention.

Karmelo Anthony, now 19, was convicted of murder and sentenced to 35 years in prison after a suburban Dallas jury in June rejected his claims of self-defense during a confrontation with Austin Metcalf in the stadium bleachers last year.

The case attracted national attention in part because of a flood of social media posts that amplified the killing in racial terms. Anthony is Black; Metcalf was white. Lawyers on both sides, however, told jurors the tragedy had nothing to do with race.

Dozens of Anthony supporters gathered inside and outside the Collin County courtroom for Wednesday’s hearing, and some chanted “Free Karmelo!” in the parking lot after visiting Judge Sid Harle’s order to remove state District Judge John Roach as Anthony seeks a retrial.

A new judge will be assigned for Thursday’s hearing on Anthony’s request for a retrial.

Anthony’s legal team argued Wednesday that a retrial is needed in part because Roach enforced overly strict courtroom rules and gave an interview after the trial was over.

In the interview that was played as Wednesday’s hearing began, Roach was asked if the jury got “it right.”

“Yeah, they did,” Roach said, adding: “Whatever they say, they got it right.”

Harle said he did not know Roach and he believed Roach would be fair in a hearing for a retrial. But Harle agreed to Anthony’s request to remove him because of the way it might look to a third party.

Anthony attended the hearing wearing a green jumpsuit. His parents and Metcalf’s parents also were in the courtroom. Attorneys for Anthony’s and Metcalf’s families did not immediately comment on the ruling.

Anthony did not testify during the trial where students described a heated exchange over Anthony’s refusal on a rainy spring day to leave a tent that belonged to Metcalf’s team. The teens went to different high schools.

Several schools were competing when Anthony sat under the Memorial High School tent that was perched in the bleachers. Austin Metcalf and others had repeatedly told Anthony to leave, witnesses testified, leading to an escalating confrontation.

Prosecutors said Anthony provoked Metcalf, and witnesses testified that Anthony was the aggressor.

Anthony at one point reached inside a bag and replied: “Touch me and see what happens,” according to a police report.

Metcalf pushed Anthony, according to witnesses, who said Anthony then pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the chest.

Stengle writes for the Associated Press.

AN ICONIC landmark could return to a UK seaside resort after more than a decade.

Councillors will decide next month whether to bring back the staggering 164ft attraction.

The Brighton Wheel could make an appearance back on Brighton‘s seafront, following a council cabinet meeting on September 17.

Brighton and Hove City Council will decide whether to award a 25-year lease to reinstate the iconic landmark back to its original site on Madeira Drive.

Originally opened in 2011, the 164ft attraction operated until May 2016.

Following the expiration of its lease, the wheel was subsequently dismantled to make way for the development of the i360.

Now, the firm behind the Brighton Zip & Daltons Venue has proposed to re-install the wheel, while maintaining the current zip-line attraction in operation.

If approved, the firm will seek to have the wheel up and running by next summer.

Brighton & Hove City Councillor, David McGregor, said the return of the iconic landmark would “bring new energy” to the seafront.

McGregor said: “Brighton became Brighton because people came here to have fun by the sea.

“That’s part of our identity, and we should be ambitious about what a great seaside city looks like for the next generation.”

During its five-year run, developers of the Brighton Wheel believed more than 250,000 visitors would ride the landmark each year.

A U.S. soldier’s wife who spent more than a month in federal immigration detention said she is back home after officers removed her from a deportation flight to Brazil.

This month, the Associated Press highlighted Maisa Lopes Eliaser as one of dozens of spouses or parents of U.S. troops who had been detained after President Trump’s administration rolled back protections for military families amid its push for mass deportations. Following the AP’s reporting, a group of Congressional Democrats launched an investigation into deportations of military service members and their families.

Eliaser was placed on a deportation flight Wednesday to her native Brazil when Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on the plane received a phone call about her mid-flight, she told the AP. She said she was then asked by an ICE officer whether she wanted to continue on to Brazil or go back to the U.S.

“Who made the call? We don’t know,” said Eliaser’s husband, Army Staff Sgt. Alexis Jaramillo. “But someone made the phone call, and then she came back.”

While other detainees were led off the plane in Brazil, Eliaser stayed on board and returned to Louisiana. ICE officers told her she was “famous” because there were videos about her case, she said.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Homeland Security previously told AP that Eliaser, 32, had been issued a final order of removal by an immigration judge on April 15, after overstaying the tourist visa she used to enter the U.S. in 2019.

Jaramillo, a 43-year-old aviation operations specialist who has served in the Army for more than a decade, took leave of his duties training soldiers in Fort Polk, La., to care for Eliaser’s 5-year-old son after she was detained on July 8.

Jaramillo said Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, a former Navy officer, also looked into his wife’s case. Kelly’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

“This family’s reunion is proof of what’s possible when people set politics aside and do right by those who serve,” Danitza James, who heads Repatriate Our Patriots, a nonprofit that supports military families facing deportation and helped with Eliaser’s case, said at a news conference. “We won’t stop until every military family facing detention gets the same chance at justice.”

Eliaser, who was detained in July while at an immigration appointment, has another appointment scheduled for Monday in an effort to reopen her case and advance her green card application. Jaramillo is a U.S. citizen, and the couple have been married since 2024.

Jaramillo said he has been told that there will be no further issues with Eliaser’s case, but the couple is still concerned.

“We are really, really, really scared about it, but you know, we have to go,” Jaramillo said. “I told the person who gave me the appointment, ‘Hey sir, don’t play with me, I’ve been through a lot.’”

Eliaser said she still is struggling to sleep and is afraid she will be sent back to the detention facility, where she said she was treated like “an animal.”

“It felt like I was in a nightmare,” Eliaser said. “I could not believe what was happening until I returned to my house. Day by day, I’m trying to recover from this trauma.”

There have been similar interventions in other high-profile cases over the last year. Annie Ramos, 22, was detained by immigration authorities as her husband, an Army staff sergeant, was preparing to deploy. She was released after a public outcry. Around the same time, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat and combat veteran, told the AP that she personally contacted Homeland Security to call for the release of Deisy Rivera Ortega, the immigrant wife of an Army sergeant who did three tours in Afghanistan, after learning about her case from advocacy groups. She eventually was released from custody.

Brook and Riddle write for the Associated Press.

LIAM Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy has revealed that she’s removing her tattoo tribute to the late star – but later admitted that she will get it redone in the future.

Kate, 27, has had a number permanent reminders in honour of One Direction star Liam, following on from his death on October 16 2024.

Liam died after falling from a hotel balcony while on holiday in Buenos Aires, Argentina, two years ago.

Since then, Kate has had a rose, angel wings, his initials LP and their angel number 444 tattooed on her to remind her of him.

Taking to her Instagram story, the star, who dated Liam for two years before his death, shared a mirror selfie of her in the studio in Miami wearing some safety goggles.

Kate captioned the post: “Tattoo removal today,” with a white love heart emoji.

In the next post she explained: “Decided to get some tattoos removed that were done poorly.

“Will be getting redone eventually.”

In the clip, Kate recorded the tattoo removal technician using their machine to zap away her ‘444’ inking – and the numbers have a special meaning.

Shortly after Liam’s death Kate declared the singer “her guardian angel” as she shared the details of their love letters.

In a heartbreaking tribute, Kate shared notes she found from Liam in which he vowed to marry her within the space of a year. 

Throughout the note, which is believed to be a manifestation pledge, he used the number 444 – which has now taken on a deeper, more resonant meaning than either he or Kate could have imagined. 

Angel numbers are believed to have mystic vibrational patterns, which help people attune themselves to the universe and what they desire. 

It’s a practice that dates back to Ancient Greece, but is still used to this day by many who believe it offers them direction in life, or messages from the spiritual universe. 

Kate, 25, revealed in the caption that they had planned their future and he wanted to get married “within a year”.

One photo showed the handwritten note from Liam, in which he wrote: “Me and Kate to marry within a year / engaged and together forever”.

His heartbroken girlfriend also described the singer star as someone who brought happiness to millions.

Calling Liam “the love of my life” and her “best friend,” she wrote in the tribute: “I don’t even know where to begin. My heart is shattered in ways I can’t put into words.

“I wish you could see the huge impact you’ve had on the world, even as it feels so dark right now.

“You brought so much happiness and positivity to everyone-millions of fans, your family, friends, and especially me. You are so incredibly loved.

“You are – because I can’t say were – my best friend, the love of my life, and everyone you touched felt just as special as I did. Your energy was contagious, lighting up every room you walked into.

“None of this feels real, and I can’t wrap my head around this new reality of not having you here.

“I’m struggling to figure out how to live in a world without you by my side. Together, we got to be kids again, always finding joy in the smallest things.

“Liam, you had the kindest soul and the most fun-loving spirit. It feels like I’ve lost the best part of myself. I can’t imagine a day without your laughter and love. You brought so much light into my life.”

She continued: “A few weeks ago, we sat outside on a beautiful evening manifesting our lives together.

“I keep your note close, even though you told me not to look at it.

“It said, ‘Me and Kate to marry within a year/engaged & together forever 444.’

“Liam, I know we’ll be together forever, but not in the way we had planned.

“You’ll always be with me. I’ve gained a guardian angel.

“I will love you for the rest of my life and beyond, carrying our dreams and memories with me everywhere I go.”

She ended the heartwrenching tribute, writing: “Forever yours, Katelyn 444.”

NewsFeed

A dead whale weighing about 12 tonnes has been recovered from the beaches of Muanda after washing ashore on the Atlantic coast.
Officials used a 42-tonne crane to remove it following two days of unsuccessful attempts with tractors and other lifting equipment, as large crowds gathered to watch the operation.

1 of 5 | Construction workers build a scaffolding near the sign for the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., on Friday. The Kennedy Center board sought an emergency appeal to block a court order requiring the removal of Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center, but a judge denied their request. Photo by Aaron Schwartz/UPI | License Photo

June 13 (UPI) — Trump’s name has been completely removed from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the executive director told the court Saturday.

Executive Director Matt Floca told the court in documents that the name was changed before the extended deadline of noon Saturday, CNN reported. The court had allowed an extension after the center missed the midnight Friday deadline due to thunderstorms, Justice Department attorneys said.

Workers began removing the name from the building early Saturday, and documents confirming the name change were filed around 11 a.m. EDT.

Since December, the center has been named the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, after the center’s board, whose members Trump installed, voted to rename the venue.

Trump claimed that naming the center after him was a surprise, but the name was added to the sign the next day.

Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, filed a lawsuit on Dec. 23 against Trump and others alleging that renaming the center was illegal.

And on May 29, a judge agreed. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that the center’s board had overstepped its authority when it voted to add Trump’s name to the center.

“Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it,” Cooper said.

On Friday, a court denied the center’s last-minute request to stop the name change while the case gets appealed.