The cost of Donald Trump’s White House ballroom is set to rise significantly after Republicans inserted $1bn (£735m) for East Wing security enhancements into an immigration enforcement funding bill this week, despite the President’s repeated claims that the ballroom would be funded through private donations.
Trump has previously insisted that the main reason for his grandiose project, previously expected to cost around $400m (£294m), is to enhance White House security, saying that “the ballroom essentially becomes a shed for what’s being built under [it]”.
However, many see its construction as a further attempt by Trump to imprint his own vision onto the landscape of Washington DC. Trump is also pushing forward with plans to erect a 250ft triumphal arch that would stand out across the city’s skyline.
Shorts – Quick stories
Caption: A group of commuter trains sit in a railway siding in London, U.K. Photographer: Luke MacGregor/Bloomberg Photographer: Bloomberg Creative Provider: Getty Images/Bloomberg Creative Source: Bloomberg Creative Photos
TRAVEL
Train passengers warned of ‘major disruption’
Train services across southern England are being disrupted by a fault with a radio system. National Rail Enquiries said the issue relates to how train drivers and signallers communicate.
It warned passengers that services may be delayed by up to 45 minutes or cancelled, and “major disruption is expected until the end of the day”.
The services affected
The affected operators are CrossCountry, Gatwick Express, Great Western Railway, London Overground, Southern, South Western Railway (SWR) and Thameslink.
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NEWS
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A closer look at the detail
The incident was reported shortly before 9am on Thursday.
SWR warned that services across its entire network “may be cancelled, delayed by up to 90 minutes or revised”.
The operator advised passengers to consider using buses “while the fault is being investigated”.
TRAVEL
5 min read
news
Two Brits self-isolating after hantavirus outbreak
Caption: Medics escort a patient, second right, evacuated from the MV Hondius cruise ship with suspected hantavirus infection, to an ambulance after being flown to Schiphol airport, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong) Photographer: Peter Dejong Provider: AP Source: AP Copyright: Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Three Britons have now left the ship, as one man with symptoms evacuated in the Netherlands and two having flown home before the outbreak was discovered.
Contact tracing effort launched
Two British people who left the MV Hondius and returned to the UK two weeks ago have been told to self-isolate. Their close contacts are being contacted to let them know the risk.
Three people have died so far from the outbreak on the ship.
Caption: Health workers in protective gear evacuate patients from the MV Hondius cruise ship into an ambulance at a port in Praia, Cape Verde, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu) Photographer: Misper Apawu Provider: AP Source: AP Copyright: Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Explained
3 min read
Who is still on the ship?
About 150 people are still on board the cruise ship, which is now docked in the Canary Islands, including 18 British passengers and four crew members.
Hantavirus is the same one that claimed the life last year of Betsy Arakawa, wife of actor Gene Hackman (Photo: AFP via Getty Images)Caption: A Bombardier Challenger 605 medical plane allegedly carrying some of the people believed to be infected with hantavirus passengers from the cruise ship MV Hondius, lands at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam on May 6, 2026. A plane that left Cape Verde following the evacuation of a cruise ship hit by the hantavirus landed in Spain’s Canary Islands on May 6, while a second flight headed for the Netherlands. (Photo by Lina Selg / AFP via Getty Images) Photographer: LINA SELG Provider: AFP via Getty Images Source: AFP Copyright: AFP or licensors
They are expected to be flown home by chartered plane once it is confirmed they do not have symptoms. They will also be asked to self-isolate to minimise the risk to the public in the UK.
What is hantavirus?
Hantaviruses are a group of 38 viruses carried by rodents such as rats, mice and voles, most of which can cause disease in humans. Symptoms vary from too mild to be noticed, to severe lung and kidney problems and even death.
It is thought it was brought onto the ship by a Dutch couple who visited a landfill site in Argentina.
Rats are a common source of hantavirus (Photo: Denitsa Kireva/ Getty Images/iStockphoto)Contamination could be caused by the previous presence of a factory, power station, landfill site, a mine or petrol station (Photo: Andrew Newark/Getty Images)
Caption: Martin Anstee one of the suspected hantavirus patients removed from the vessel MV Hondius. Source: Facebook
Former police officer in stable condition
I’m very pleased he’s now in hospital and receiving the treatment he needs.
PROFESSOR ROBIN MAY, CHIEF SCIENTIFIC OFFICER AT UKHSA
Martin Anstee, 56, was evacuated from the ship in the Netherlands yesterday after becoming ill with the virus. He is now in hospital and his condition is being monitored.
The retailer has become the first in the UK to make a delivery by sky, with a pilot scheme running in Darlington, Country Durham. It hopes to slowly expand the option across the country.
A local farmer let Amazon use his land for test drives, ordering everything he could think of under the designated weight of 5lb (2.2kg) to be delivered.
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Demand is rising
The certainty is people have never told us they want their stuff slower. This is effectively an autonomous drone that can do what a pilot does in a flight deck. It can do what ground crews do, and it can deliver a package.
Amazon is using its most advanced drone, the MK30, to deliver in Darlington.
At the moment, it only works for those with gardens or backyards for the parcels to be dropped off.
170,000
The number of successful flights completed so far – but more testing is needed before they are approved for UK-wide use.
Drone delivery is already available in five US states.
Why eating eggs five times a week could cut Alzheimer’s risk
People who eat eggs more regularly could have a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, a new study suggests.
Caption: A detail of cracked egg falling into the pan as woman holds egg shells in both hands. Photographer: SimpleImages Provider: Getty Images Source: Moment RF
What does the study show?
Having eggs at least five times a week suggests a…
27%
lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s, compared with those who rarely or never eat them.
The research followed nearly 40,000 adults aged 65 and over for an average of 15 years.
980,000
People are estimated to be living with dementia in the UK, with Alzheimer’s the most common cause.
This is forecast to rise to 1.4m by 2040 as the population ages.
What’s so special about eggs?
Photographer: Andrew Brookes Provider: Getty Images/Image Source Source: Image Source Copyright: Copyright Andrew Brookes
A no-brainer
Eggs contain choline, which the body uses to make acetylcholine, a chemical involved in memory and learning.
Nutritious and delicious
Eggs contain lutein and zeaxanthin, the yellow-orange pigments in food which could act as antioxidants.
(Photo: Laurie Ambrose/Getty).
Caption: Eggs are seen in a carton on Monday, April 13, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane) Photographer: Jenny Kane Provider: AP Source: AP
Egg-ceptional
They also provide some omega-3 fatty acids, which have been linked with cognitive function.
HEALTH
The potential cause of common type of stroke uncovered
Caption: Closeup of elderly Asian man visiting neurologist explaining stroke risk using artery model ??? discussing brain health and blood pressure Photographer: PonyWang Provider: Getty Images Source: E+
Researchers have pinpointed the potential cause of a type of stroke suffered by about 35,000 people in the UK every year.
The discovery could explain why widely used treatments don’t work, and could pave the way for new options.
What does the study say?
Lacunar strokes – triggered by damage to tiny blood vessels – are caused by the widening of arteries in the brain, researchers say.
This is unlike ischaemic strokes, which are caused by a blocked blood vessel.
This could explain why usual treatments, such as anti-platelet drugs, which stop blood clots from forming in the arteries, do not work.
Lacunar strokes can lead to problems with thinking, memory, movement and dementia.
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New treatments are needed
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh and the UK Dementia Research Institute tested and tracked 229 people who had a lacunar or mild non-lacunar stroke. Patients with widened arteries were four times more likely to have a lacunar stroke.
Scientists argue that ‘holistic’ approach is needed to brain disease prevention and treatment as the world faces a dramatic rise in cases of stroke, dementia and other conditions. (Photo credit: FRED TANNEAU/AFP/Getty Images)A retired infection control nurse says it isn’t possible to “hand wash” your way out of the quad-demic. She says hospitals need better ventilation and mask wearing to tackle the crisis (Photo: Jeff Moore/PA Wire)
This explains why conventional blood-thinners don’t work and highlights the need for new therapies to target the underlying microvascular damage.
Stroke research ‘chronically underfunded’
Stroke research is chronically underfunded, with less than 1% of total UK research funding spent on the condition…Yet these findings illustrate the value of research and the potential it has to change the lives of stroke patients.
MAEVA MAY, STROKE ASSOCIATION
Caption: Embryologist performing embryo cleaning under microscope in Petri plate after IVF next day in real laboratory Photographer: Natalia Lebedinskaia Provider: Getty Images Source: Moment RF Copyright: www.natasha-lebedinskaya.ru
Alzheimer’s can be seen on brain scans (Photo: Tek Image/Getty)
HEALTH
The at-home test that can predict Alzheimer’s risk
Scientists have developed an at-home test which can predict a person’s risk of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study led by the University of Exeter.
It involves a finger-prick blood test and an online brain assessment to help identify people at the highest risk.
How does the test work?
Caption: Cropped shot of young woman using blood test kit at home while doing health check and consultation online. Home finger-prick blood test. Photographer: Oscar Wong Provider: Getty Images Source: Moment RF
Blood test
Finger-prick blood tests look for biomarkers, p-tau217 and GFAP, which have been linked to Alzheimer’s disease.
Online brain tests
Scientists look at the blood test alongside computerised cognitive testing to identify risk.
Students are offered free laptops as an incentive for joining universities (Photo: PA)
Caption: File photo dated 18/05/17 of an elderly man holding a walking stick. Drugs that are said to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease “make no meaningful difference to patients” while increasing the risk of swelling and bleeding in the brain, according to a new review. The effects of the medicines on those with early-stage Alzheimer’s and dementia were “either absent or consistently small”, researchers said. Issue date: Thursday April 16, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Joe Giddens/PA Wire Photographer: Joe Giddens Provider: Joe Giddens/PA Wire Source: PA
Prioritise patients
The test results can be used to prioritise high-risk people for further testing and treatment.
At-home tests to ‘revolutionise’ diagnosis
Finger prick blood tests could revolutionise dementia diagnosis – they offer a low cost, scalable way to identify people who may be at higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease and who should be offered further checks.
DR SHEONA SCALES, ALZHEIMER’S RESEARCH UK
Scientists have long been trying to understand the root cause of Alzheimer’s (Photo: Andrew Brookes/Getty Images)
Co-op is confident it’s stores will be ‘back to normal’ within days (Photo: Chris J Ratcliffe/Reuters)
NEWS
The supermarket using invisible spray to combat shoplifting
Co-op has been secretly marking frequently shoplifted groceries with a special forensic spray to tackle the resale of stolen goods.
Here’s how the invisible spray works, and how the company hopes it will make shoplifting less profitable.
What’s the story?
Co-op has been marking items with an invisible spray that contains a unique forensic code linked to the shop where it was originally sold, according to Retail Gazette.
Retail theft on the increase – woman stealing in UK supermarket. (Photo: Andrey Popov/Getty Images Copyright: Copyright (C) Andrey Popov Caption: A shopper walks along an aisle inside a Tesco supermarket in Manchester, Britain, February 5, 2026 REUTERS/Phil Noble Photographer: Phil Noble Provider: REUTERS Source: REUTERS
Co-op has invested £250m in store security, including body-worn cameras for staff, reinforced kiosks for items such as spirits and tobacco, and shelf fixtures designed to stop thieves sweeping products into bags.
How does the scheme work?
Where?
The scheme has been trialled in Manchester and London and will be rolled out across the UK.
Which items?
High-risk items such as alcohol, laundry detergent and confectionary have been sprayed.
Why?
The aim is to help Co-op and the police identify where stolen products are being resold, making theft less profitable.
NEWS
2 min read
While specific details on the new East Wing security measures are scant, the President has previously said that the compound beneath the ballroom would include bulletproof glass, drone-proof roofing, bomb shelters, hardened telecommunications, a secure HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) system and “very major medical facilities”.
However, the project is facing a series of challenges, including legal ones and widespread unpopularity. A recent report from the National Park Service also found that toxic debris from the demolition of the previous East Wing had been dumped at a nearby public golf course.
A new injection of funds for Trump’s ‘vanity project’
The requested funding for security enhancements came as part of a roughly $70bn (£51bn) package to bolster spending on immigration enforcement and border patrols.
While the bill did not explicitly mention the ballroom, it stated the money would be used for “security adjustments and upgrades, including within the perimeter fence of the White House compound to support enhancements by the Secret Service relating to the East Wing Modernization Project, including above-ground and below-ground security features”.
It barred any of the money being spent on “non-security elements”.
Even so, this seems to go against Trump’s previous claim that “not one penny is being used from the federal government” to build his ballroom.
A Washington Post-ABC News poll from last week showed that Americans opposed the East Wing demolition and new ballroom project by a margin of 56 per cent to 28 per cent.
Donald Trump’s reimagining of the White House has become a divisive issue in the United States (Photo: Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
“At a time when Americans are really feeling the pinch because of the events in the Middle East and the affordability crisis that already existed, I think a lot of people will be questioning whether this is a billion dollars well spent,” Andrew Moran, a professor of politics and international relations at the London Metropolitan University, told The i Paper.
Trump and Republicans have tried to use last month’s shooting at the White House press correspondents’ dinner, where the President and many of his cabinet were in attendance, to further justify the project. Trump posted on Truth Social after the shooting that it would “never have happened” had his new ballroom already been built. A White House spokesperson said the ballroom was “long overdue”.
But Moran said that the ballroom is “in the end a vanity project… Trump is somebody who is desperate to leave a legacy”.
What the ballroom bunker could defend against
Trump has detailed some of the defences that the ballroom bunker could offer, and Moran said that “the billion-dollar price tag would suggest that it’s quite a significant bunker and I would assume that this would be designed to withstand nuclear attacks. The fact that there are medical facilities would suggest it is something that you would be able to stay in for a while”.
Moran added that conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine have highlighted the damage drones can cause and how they are able to evade traditional defences. “With drone technology advancing so quickly, I would think there would be concerns about a drone attack on facilities in the US such as the White House.”
He also pointed to the threat of cyber attacks. “If a massive cyber attack was launched on the infrastructure in Washington DC, you’d have to coordinate a response to that from a bunker because a massive cyberattack could bring all kinds of problems on the streets.”
Donald Trump tore down the previous East Wing last year to make way for his ballroom project (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Delays in the building process
Despite the strong push from Trump, construction on the project has been halted multiple times. In April, a judge ruled that lawmakers must authorise the project before it could continue, after the President tried to circumvent a previous court order by redefining the ballroom as a critical national security upgrade.
By rolling the new funding into the wider immigration spending bill, Moran said that “it will possibly be a way of getting around the decision that was made by Judge [Richard] Leon”.
However, Democrats have responded to the development, signalling that they intend to make the ballroom the centre of their opposition to the funding bill. Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, said on social media: “Republicans looked at families drowning in bills and decided what they really needed was more raids and a Trump ballroom.”
Senate Democrats previously blocked funding for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency over the conduct of federal immigration officers, after the deaths of two protestors – Renee Good and Alex Pretti – in Minnesota this year.
But Republicans seem unperturbed by the opposition, with Charles E. Grassley, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, saying: “We will work to ensure this critical funding gets signed into law without unnecessary delay.”
