Category Archives: entertainment

Full Metal Schoolgirl review: The mean streets of production

2025 年 10 月 23 日 admin Leave a comment

Sometimes, while just scrolling through the eShop, you come across a game that holds the promise of a life-changing experience. Occasionally, it doesn’t pan out the way you hoped, but you still get a few laughs along the way. That was my experience with Full Metal Schoolgirl, the second game released in October 2025 from former WWE developer—and occasional Earth Defense Force contributor—Yuke’s. While the game bursts with energy and boasts a dynamite sense of humor, its actual gameplay feels deeply undercooked and fails to stand out in an oversaturated genre.

When Even the Work Bots Are Sick of the Boss’ Crap

It’s a shame, because the pitch is perfect for our moment. The world of Full Metal Schoolgirl is dominated by corporate ownership, which has solved a labor crisis with cyborgs: a nearly fully inorganic workforce that cheerfully pushes papers, taps away at computers, and handles whatever other tasks are needed without stopping.

Of course, this has led to all kinds of abuse. Two cyborg ladies, far more colorful than their legions of coworkers, have decided enough is enough. It’s time for revenge.

To defeat the evil CEO of Meternal Jobz, these “Machine Girls” must climb a 100-floor skyscraper, take down the company’s entire management structure, and eventually face off with the man himself.

At first glance, the game may look like low-rent, anime-flavored cheesecake, but Full Metal Schoolgirl is more about chaotic workplace satire than anything else. It’s surprisingly funny—to the point where I favored the dub to fully appreciate all the sad, office culture-filtered whimpering from the enemies I was taking down. The theme song is absolutely unhinged, and pretty much every aspect of the localization is on fire. The world-building flavor of this game is a riot, and I cannot commend the localization team enough.

I was ready to have a blast based on the vibes alone, but unfortunately, I ended up desperately wishing this premise was attached to a better game.

Railroaded Roguelike

Full Metal Schoolgirl is a roguelike—because in this world, everything has to be a roguelike, as if decreed by some unwritten video game law. I’m exaggerating, of course, but in a world that now includes Ninja Gaiden 4, it would be nice to have a little more balance.

That’s not this game’s fault, but what is its fault is its unapologetically generic and dull progression structure. If you jump into this after playing something like Hades, you’ll find yourself wondering when you tripped and fell into a time machine.

Between runs, you collect resources and spend them to make your numbers go up. As your numbers increase, you’re better equipped to survive boss encounters, which then let you push the level numbers higher too. That’s it—no frills, no surprises.

There are a few new abilities you unlock along the way, but they hardly change the core gameplay and feel more like tutorialized gatekeeping than actual variety.

To make matters worse, the action mechanics are painfully simple and seldom change. You get a few basic physical attack strings and weapons that behave in textbook fashion. Everything else you find are passive modifiers impacting your stats in small ways—like stamina regeneration speed or slight changes to maximum HP. Weapons appear between rooms but don’t add or subtract from the game experience beyond number adjustments.

It’s the bare minimum of roguelike design—something the genre has long since surpassed through new ideas, mashups, and more complicated mechanics.

Brainless Battling

What Full Metal Schoolgirl most reminds me of are user-made roguelike rooms or islands in Fortnite. You have a lobby housing all the different weapons you can snag to start with, floating there for you. Then, you go through the motions—fighting unchanging, generic enemies using basic, uncomplicated mechanics—just to return to the beginning and make your numbers go higher so you can muscle your way a bit further down the line.

But unlike games with battle passes where you pay extra cash to grind toward unlocking a character like Scooby-Doo or a cheeseburger with legs, here you’re just doing it because that’s what’s on the menu.

I had a lot of hope going into Full Metal Schoolgirl. My pitch for this review was simple: “Hello, I would like to play this because it looks insane.” It seemed like some fun silliness to indulge in, and as it got started, the promise of a cathartic, satirical takedown of our soon-to-be-apocalyptic real-life labor structures had me ready for something special.

Then the dreaded Loop kicked in, and I realized I was in for several hours of grinding and bland, chicken-coded combat.

So it goes.

Full Metal Schoolgirl is available October 23, 2025, for PC, Nintendo Switch 2, and PlayStation 5. A Switch 2 code was provided by the publisher for this review.

https://www.shacknews.com/article/146472/full-metal-schoolgirl-review-score

cats, culture, entertainment, humor, internet

A Cat Roster of Cuties Ranked From Least to Most Funny

2025 年 10 月 23 日 admin Leave a comment

Humor is subjective, but that being said, here at I Can Has Cheezburger, we’re making the executive decision for you to rank these cat memes in order of least to most funny.

Humor is a saving grace for many; through life’s tumults and absurdity, we always have laughter to distract us from existential thoughts, broken hearts, and government crises.

Cats basically rule the internet—they’re moderators of the technological world and a great source of entertainment for most people. For cat lovers, this is especially true.

Whether they’re sitting like loaves, pulling the most dramatic faces they possibly can, staring into space like someone possessed, or simply existing with chaotic grace, cats have mastered the art of unintentional comedy.

So, in the spirit of feline fandom and a little harmless ranking, we present a roster of adorable cuties—graded not by beauty (because every cat is stunning), but by how much they make us laugh.
https://cheezburger.com/42899461/a-cat-roster-of-cuties-ranked-from-least-to-most-funny

entertainment, sports

“I told him I don’t wanna wrestle anymore”- WWE legend confirms talks with Tony Khan

2025 年 10 月 23 日 admin Leave a comment

A WWE legend recently revealed that he had a conversation with Tony Khan about the possibility of joining AEW.

However, he made it clear that he is not looking for a wrestling role within the company.

This development has sparked interest among fans, as many wonder what kind of position the legend might pursue in AEW outside of in-ring competition.
https://www.sportskeeda.com/aew/news-i-told-i-don-t-wanna-wrestle-anymore-wwe-legend-confirms-talks-with-tony-khan

entertainment, football, sports

While one Eagles WR sends cryptic messages, DeVonta Smith just catches the football – at a higher rate than usual

2025 年 10 月 23 日 admin Leave a comment

“I don’t think it’s something that maybe is voiced enough, but everybody sees it,” Hurts said Wednesday at his press conference at the NovaCare Complex. “Everybody feels it. It definitely oozes through the team. He’s been that size his whole entire career, his whole life.”

But Hurts doesn’t wonder about it like he once did. He gave that up a long time ago.

“I remember times asking him, ‘Hey, how much you weigh? You gaining weight?’” Hurts recalled. “I stopped asking him that as the years have gone on because that’s no indication of what type of player he is. He’s a hell of a player, and he’s been making some big-time plays.”

The Eagles’ pass offense has struggled for most of the season—enough that the team’s other star receiver, A.J. Brown, has once again expressed his dissatisfaction. It’s been enough for Hurts, Brown, and Saquon Barkley to hold a gathering after a Thursday night loss to the Giants this month. Even after Sunday’s breakout performance against the Vikings, Brown still went to social media to send a cryptic message about his usage despite his 121 yards and two touchdowns.

Ironically, Smith is in the middle of his best season yet, with his per-game average in almost every category surpassing his career averages. Smith is on pace for close to 1,300 yards, which would be the most of his career.

The 2020 Heisman Trophy winner ranks ninth in the NFL in receiving yards and 11th in receptions, despite sharing targets with Brown and tight end Dallas Goedert.

Advanced analytics show that Smith is among the NFL’s most productive receivers, even though the Eagles have the league’s seventh-fewest pass attempts. Smith’s receiving EPA (+37.5) is fourth in the NFL, and his catch rate over expectation (+18.9) is third.

“He’s a dynamic player, right?” offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo said Tuesday in his press conference. “He’s a Heisman Trophy winner. He is one of the best players in the league still, obviously. We’re going to use him in any capacity we can, and his energy is just infectious at all times.”

For sure, Smith is the team’s spark plug. He broke open Sunday’s win over the Vikings with a 79-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter on a Hurts play-action pass from under center. Smith had told the coaches prior to the play that it was there for the taking.

“Smitty does a great job of communicating what he’s seeing out there,” head coach Nick Sirianni said Monday. “He’s got great football instincts and football IQ, so he gives you that confidence to be able to call things in those scenarios when he sees something. It’s just like having another set of eyes from coaches out there on the field.”

The touchdown put the Eagles up 12 points, but the Vikings didn’t go away. It took several more big conversions from both Smith and Brown to stave off Carson Wentz’s attempted comeback.

The Eagles led only 21-16 when Smith came up with a 19-yard catch that not only moved the chains into Vikings territory but also demonstrated his unique ability to take crushing hits, land hard, and still hang onto the ball.

On another under-center play action, Hurts delivered a strike to Smith at the left seam on a deep over route. Smith had to extend both arms up as veteran Vikings safety Harrison Smith rotated over.

Harrison Smith drilled DeVonta Smith in the chest as he reached for the ball, causing the receiver to land awkwardly on his right leg while his left leg was still airborne, then crash down on his rear end as his body rolled on the turf. And then Smith just popped right back up.

“DeVonta is so tough, and he knows that,” Sirianni said after the game. “We talk a lot about—and I know he talked a lot about this in college—about finishing runs and finding ways to get ugly yards after the catch. He’s going to go look for those ugly runs and extra yards because of just his makeup, who he is, and the toughness that he has.

“I remember the Super Bowl in ’22, our first third down, he catches a little shallow route and [then-Chiefs safety Justin] Reed comes over and just smokes him on the sideline and he hit him good. I don’t know if you remember, his feet were up over his head and Smitty just gets up fast. I think about that. There was also the game in ’22 against the Cardinals where someone came over and just drilled him on a wide receiver screen and he pops up.”

These are both gifts and curses, Sirianni explained.

“Sometimes you don’t want him to take those hits, there’s a time to go out of bounds, but he is always looking for the grimy, gritty yards,” Sirianni said. “You try to show your physicality and your toughness many different ways, and I think there brings a lot of energy to guys when you see Smitty lower his shoulder and get those extra yards.”
https://www.phillyvoice.com/while-one-eagles-wr-sends-cryptic-messages-devonta-smith-just-catches-football-at-a-higher-rate-than-usual-aj-brown-nfl-receiving-yards/?utm_source=pv-rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=pv-site

celebrity, entertainment, health, medical, sports

Tearful Kim Kardashian Shares Doctors Found Brain Aneurysm

2025 年 10 月 23 日 admin Leave a comment

The Total Bellas alum revealed that one of her breast implants shifted after an elbow slam from fellow WWE star Piper Niven during a July 2025 wrestling match.

“It’s OK,” she told sister Bella Garcia at the time. “We’re going to get it fixed one day. I told the doctor, I go, ‘Newly divorced, so the minute the boots are hung up, I’m going to come back to you and we’re going to make these girls look real good, because these girls are going to get some action in the future and that can’t look like that.'”

—

The 12 Years a Slave star was diagnosed with uterine fibroids—non-cancerous growths that develop in or around the uterus—in 2014, the same year she won an Oscar for her performance in the movie. However, it wasn’t until 2025 when she disclosed her diagnosis, writing on Instagram that she had been “suffering in silence” for more than a decade.

“When we reach puberty, we’re taught periods mean pain, and that pain is simply part of being a woman,” she shared. “We’re struggling alone with something that affects us most.”

—

In July 2025, the Daisy Jones & The Six star shared that she had been hospitalized due to a hernia—a gap in the muscular wall that’s commonly found in the abdomen or groin area—caused by wearing tight pants.

“‘Suki you never tweet anymore,'” she wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Have you ever considered I wore pants so tight 6 months ago it caused a hernia & I’ve been too scared to tell you?”

—

The Beverly Hills, 90210 alum revealed in April 2025 that he was recovering from surgery after his appendix nearly burst.

“Last week, I started feeling some pain in my stomach,” Brian said in an Instagram video at the time. “I ended up going to the emergency room, and I had a perforated appendix. Not quite burst, but just before.”

He added, “I’m on the road to recovery. It’s not an easy process. This is my first major surgery.”

—

The Racing Louisville midfielder collapsed just a few minutes into her soccer team’s Sept. 14 match against Seattle Reign at Lumen Field in Seattle.

The United States Women’s National Team player could be seen slowly sitting down on the field with a teammate by her side, per Reuters, as the referee called for trainers to check her out. She collapsed seconds later.

“Savannah received immediate on-field care from medical personnel and was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation,” the National Women’s Soccer League wrote on X later that night. “She is stable and alert.”

—

Adam Devine shared that injuries he sustained after getting hit by a cement truck when he was 11 years old are still affecting him to this day.

“It’s been a nightmare,” Devine said in a 2025 episode of the *In Depth With Graham Bensinger* podcast. “I have spasms all over. For a while, [the doctors] told me I was dying—literally, within this last year.”

He noted that pain comes and goes, adding, “My body has all these things that are a little wonky and a little wrong with it.”

—

The Bachelor Nation alum shared that he went to the hospital “crawling on all fours” due to overwhelming back pain that was aggravated during an RV trip with a friend.

“Right now, knees to my toes, it’s, like, still tingly, which is crazy,” he said on a March 2025 episode of his *Trading Secrets* podcast.

“To put in perspective, I don’t know, man, like not to sound douchey, but like two, three weeks ago, maybe a month ago, I was squatting probably like 295 pounds. And right now, I can’t do a squat on my foot. I can’t do a one-legged squat, I fall. It’s like I had a stroke or something.”

But with the help of a back specialist and some steroids, he added, “We’re on the mend.”

—

The *Even Stevens* alum shared in February 2025 that she was shot in the face while on a trip to shoot clay pigeons to celebrate husband Brendan Rooney’s birthday.

“There was another party with us and they unsafely fired in the wrong direction and shot me in the face,” she wrote on Instagram. “@thebrendanrooney immediately sprung into action, assessed me, and rushed me to the hospital. I was hit in 5 places, one was less than an inch from hitting me directly in my right eye.”

The *Kim Possible* alum continued, “Unfortunately a fragment got lodged behind my eye and it is too risky to remove surgically at this time. Doctors will continue to monitor me.”

—

She explained the blood clot had traveled into her heart, “escaped” through the hole, and went to her brain, leading to the TIA.

Hailey said she had a successful PFO closure procedure and was now feeling great.

—

The same year Hailey had her health scare, Justin experienced one of his own.

In June 2022, the “Baby” singer shared he was diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a condition that caused temporary paralysis to parts of his face and forced him to cancel the remainder of his Justice World Tour.

“It is from this virus that attacks the nerve in my ear and my facial nerves and has caused my face to have paralysis,” Justin explained in an Instagram video at the time.

“As you can see, this eye is not blinking. I can’t smile on this side of my face. This nostril will not move. So, there’s full paralysis on this side of my face.”

In fact, he told his followers it had gotten “progressively harder to eat.” But after a while, the paralysis went away.

“He’s doing really well,” Hailey said on a June 2022 episode of *Good Morning America,* later adding, “He’s feeling a lot better. Obviously, it was just a very scary and random situation to happen, but he’s going to be totally OK and I’m just grateful that he’s fine.”

—

While Jamie Foxx initially kept details of his April 2023 hospitalization private, he later opened up about what he went through.

One day in Atlanta, “I was having such a bad headache, so I asked my boy, I said, ‘Listen, I need an aspirin,’” the Oscar winner said in his 2024 Netflix special *What Had Happened Was.*

“Before I could get the Aspirin, I went out. I don’t remember 20 days.”

Jamie said he was initially taken to a doctor who gave him a cortisone shot and then sent him home. However, his concerned sister Deidra Dixon then drove him to a hospital, where they got an answer: He had a brain bleed that led to a stroke.

Twenty days after undergoing an operation, the *Django Unchained* star woke up May 4 in a wheelchair and couldn’t walk. He then went to Chicago for rehabilitation and therapy.

“All I can tell you is that I appreciate every prayer,” he said, “because I needed every prayer.”

—

The reality star revealed that she “died” while running a mile during the first challenge of the NBC competition series.

“I don’t remember a lot,” she explained on *Fit for TV: The Reality of The Biggest Loser.*

“I remember hearing the helicopter. I just felt like I was floating. And then my grandpa was there. And then I saw darkness. But then I saw light. So I knew, I knew I died that day.”

“My organs were literally shutting down,” she continued. “I didn’t realize that I had rhabdomyolysis. And rhabdomyolysis is your body’s way of saying, ‘I’m going to shut down on you.’”

—

Emilia Clarke filmed battle scenes for *Game of Thrones,* but in 2019, she published an essay in *The New Yorker* titled “A Battle for My Life.”

Having a bad headache at the gym, “I reached the toilet, sank to my knees, and proceeded to be violently, voluminously ill,” the actress wrote. “Meanwhile, the pain—shooting, stabbing, constricting pain—was getting worse. At some level, I knew what was happening: my brain was damaged.”

She was taken to the hospital for a brain scan. “The diagnosis was quick and ominous: a subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), a life-threatening type of stroke, caused by bleeding into the space surrounding the brain,” the Emmy nominee added. “I’d had an aneurysm, an arterial rupture.”

Emilia had immediate surgery to seal the aneurysm, calling the pain “unbearable.” While she was recovering, she continued, she experienced aphasia and was “muttering nonsense.” A week later, “the aphasia passed,” Emilia added, and she left the hospital a month after being admitted.

At a 2013 brain scan, she learned a growth “doubled in size” and that she needed surgery again.

“When they woke me, I was screaming in pain,” she wrote. “The procedure had failed. I had a massive bleed and the doctors made it plain that my chances of surviving were precarious if they didn’t operate again. This time they needed to access my brain in the old-fashioned way—through my skull.”

Thankfully, Emilia shared, she’s now “at a hundred per cent.”

—

Snoop Dogg’s daughter Cori Broadus is grateful for her family. After she suffered a “severe stroke” in January 2024, her loved ones rushed to be by her side.

“I texted them that I just had a stroke and sent them a picture,” she told *E! News* correspondent Will Marfuggi in December 2024. “Everybody just came to my rescue.”

Because of other medical concerns, Cori ended up staying in the hospital longer than she initially expected.

“I could have went home after my stroke, but my lupus wasn’t doing so well,” the *Snoop’s Fatherhood: Cori and Wayne’s Story* star continued. “My kidneys were failing. It was a lot going on.”

Today, Cori is on the mend.

“I’m doing great,” she added. “I just had a little bit of motor skills that I had to work back on. But other than that, I was fine.”

—

Shailene Woodley’s early 20s were not an easy time health-wise.

“It got to the point where I was losing my hearing. I couldn’t walk for longer than five minutes at a time without having to lay down for hours, and hours and sleep. Everything I ate hurt my stomach,” the actress said on a September 2024 episode of the *SHE MD Podcast.*

“It was this conflation of issues and diagnoses and different doctors telling me different things.”

So Shailene—who chose to keep the exact condition private—set out to find answers.

“I come from a very holistic background and study herbalism,” she added. “So I was very keen on, ‘I’m going to work with real MDs, [and] I’m also going to work with independent kind of healers.’ Just trying to search for some sense of comfort in my own skin.”

It was a long journey—one that lasted for 10 years.

“Throughout that decade, a lot of other things came from feeling so much discomfort physically,” the *Big Little Lies* star noted, “which was, ‘My gosh, if everything I eat hurts my stomach, I’m now suddenly afraid of food.’ And then going into the kind of mental f–ckery that can happen with that of body dysmorphia and confusion about identity and feeling safe in my own capsule, in my own skin, what that meant, and what that should be.”

After tending to both her physical and mental health, Shailene is feeling much better.

“It was a journey that ultimately physically resolved itself, and I am very healthy,” she shared. “I’m so happy to be able to say that.”
https://www.eonline.com/news/1424193/kim-kardashian-reveals-brain-aneurysm-detected-amid-stress?cmpid=rss-syndicate-genericrss-us-top_stories

business, entertainment, finance, media, technology

Microsoft tells Xbox unit to deliver margins above ‘industry average’ – report

2025 年 10 月 23 日 admin Leave a comment

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is pushing its Xbox gaming division to achieve profit margins “well above the industry average,” according to a report by Bloomberg published on Thursday.

Citing insider sources, the report revealed that over the past two years, company executives have set ambitious targets across the board to enhance profitability. This strategic focus underscores Microsoft’s commitment to strengthening its position in the competitive gaming market.
https://seekingalpha.com/news/4507483-microsoft-tells-xbox-unit-to-deliver-margins-above-industry-average—report?utm_source=feed_news_all&utm_medium=referral&feed_item_type=news

entertainment, journalism, law, sports

Pablo Torre dunks on Shams for claiming Terry Rozier had been ‘cleared’ in gambling scandal

2025 年 10 月 23 日 admin Leave a comment

The recent news of Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier’s arrest has sent shockwaves throughout the sports world. This development comes after Rozier was reportedly “cleared” of any involvement in the ongoing gambling investigation, according to renowned journalist Shams Charania. However, fellow journalist Pablo Torre has since disputed that claim, shedding new light on the situation.

During an appearance on *The Pat McAfee Show* in June 2025, Charania stated, “Terry Rozier, as of now, has been cleared. He finished the season with Miami; there’s nothing really active as of right now with him.” This video resurfaced when Torre took to X (formerly Twitter) to share the clip, captioning it simply, “Previously.”

A few minutes later, Torre posted an update challenging the earlier assertion. He wrote, “Terry Rozier was never ‘cleared’ by the federal government in this investigation, according to [Pablo Torre Finds Out’s] reporting. Neither was Malik Beasley.”

### Arrest Announcement and Ongoing Investigation

Rozier’s arrest was officially announced on Thursday, October 23. A press conference is scheduled for 10 a.m. EST on the same day, where U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella Jr. will provide further details about the case. Notably, Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups was also taken into custody in connection with the probe.

This arrest has been a long time coming. The NBA has reportedly been aware of suspicious betting activity potentially involving Rozier for several months. Concerns first arose when Rozier left a game early due to a foot injury, just minutes after tip-off.

Following that game, a bettor reportedly placed 30 bets within an hour, totaling over $10,000. These wagers focused on Rozier’s player prop lines, betting that his performance would fall below the predicted marks. This pattern of suspicious betting was not isolated; at least six other sportsbooks flagged unusual activity involving Rozier on the same day.

### Impact on the Miami Heat

Rozier is currently in his second season with the Miami Heat, who have just begun their 2025 campaign. The Heat recently lost their season opener against the Orlando Magic, a game in which Rozier did not participate.

As this story develops, fans and analysts alike await further information from the federal authorities and the NBA regarding the implications of these allegations for Rozier and others involved.
https://clutchpoints.com/nba/miami-heat/heat-news-pablo-torre-shams-terry-rozier-cleared-gambling-scandal

celebrity, entertainment, indian-television, soap, television

CONFIRMED! Bill Gates to make a cameo on Star Plus’ Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi

2025 年 10 月 23 日 admin Leave a comment

The makers of Star Plus’ iconic daily soap *Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi* have officially confirmed that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates will be making a special cameo on the show, much to the delight of fans.

Following yesterday’s buzz generated by a teaser featuring Tulsi (Smriti Irani) on a mysterious video call, the channel has now unveiled the sequence, putting all speculation to rest.

**CONFIRMED!**

Reportedly, Gates will offer guidance to Tulsi on balancing family responsibilities while taking care of herself—a crossover moment that is unprecedented in Indian television.

Speaking about the special sequence, producer Ektaa Kapoor shared,
“THE BEST PART WAS WRITING. The absolute delightful JAI SHREE KRISHNA said so sweetly by @thisisbillgates.”

Fans across social media have also expressed their excitement. One fan wrote, “What a power move! Now that’s a crossover no one saw coming. Awesome!” Another commented, “Don’t know why I feel so happy and proud to see this,” while another quipped, “We got Bill Gates on Indian television daily soap before GTA 6.”

Ayyaz Ahmed humorously added, “Bill Gates ka sapna poora hone jaa raha hai… he always wanted to play Mihir Virani.”

This sequence marks Bill Gates’ first appearance on Indian television and his second-ever television cameo after *The Big Bang Theory*. With the teaser now out, anticipation for the upcoming episodes has reached fever pitch.

*Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi* airs every Thursday and Friday at 10:30 PM on Star Plus.

—

**Also Read:**
*Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii* meets *Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi*: Crossover promo featuring Parvati and Om joining Tulsi and Mihir Virani takes internet by storm

*BOLLYWOOD NEWS LIVE UPDATES*
https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/bollywood/confirmed-bill-gates-make-cameo-star-plus-kyunki-saas-bhi-kabhi-bahu-thi/

architecture, business, construction, entertainment, politics

Trump plows past concerns over East Wing demolition — and envisions an even bigger ballroom than initially planned

2025 年 10 月 23 日 admin Leave a comment

(CNN) — President Donald Trump has proceeded with enormous latitude as he constructs his massive new ballroom, bypassing concerns raised by preservationists and so far stopping short of seeking approval from the commission overseeing construction on federal buildings to tear down the entirety of the White House East Wing.

The ballroom is now expected to be larger than initially planned, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. The president has shown visitors two flat tabletop models, at times quizzing the room on which version they preferred: the smaller one or the larger one. Most answered that the bigger one was better, to which Trump agreed.

While it’s not clear how much larger, Trump said Wednesday that the ballroom is expected to cost a projected $300 million, seemingly in line with a larger structure. Previously, the administration had put the cost at $200 million.

The project has drawn outcry and led to questions about whether the president was within his legal authority to dismantle entire sections of the executive mansion. Not all of Trump’s own team was set on the project at the start, one source familiar with the internal conversations told CNN.

At the beginning, some aides and advisers thought it was too big of a task to undertake, and attempted to explain how difficult and lengthy the process was likely to be. But once it became clear the president wasn’t going to give up on the idea — which he’s been musing about for the better part of 15 years — everyone quickly got onboard.

The White House says it will submit plans for the ballroom construction to the National Capital Planning Commission, but insists the body doesn’t have purview over the decision to knock down the East Wing. Some former members of the panel have questioned that assessment. And one of the nation’s premier historic preservation organizations is calling for an immediate halt to the leveling of the East Wing.

But there appeared little standing in the way of the president’s decision to move ahead with the audacious, multi-year project. Now the demolition is well underway, making it seem unlikely the plans will be reversed.

“In order to do it properly, we had to take down the existing structure,” Trump said Wednesday in the Oval Office when questioned about the project. A scale model of the White House grounds with the ballroom prominently jutting out from the East Colonnade sat on the table in front of him.

He said after a “tremendous amount of study with some of the best architects in the world,” the determination was made that “really knocking it down” the East Wing would be necessary. “It was never thought of as being much,” he said. “It was a very small building.”

On Wednesday, track excavators continued their work ripping into the former home of the office of the first lady, the White House calligrapher, and some military aides. The demolition was proceeding quickly, with roughly half the structure now reduced to a grey pile of cement and twisted rebar. Staffers in those departments have been relocated to other areas on the complex.

The East Wing’s wood-paneled foyer has long been the main point of entry for visitors attending social events at the White House, as well as those going on tours of the building. The section emerged in its current form in 1942.

Officials said the rest of the East Wing is likely to be demolished by the end of the week.

In some ways, the cries of disapproval are coming too late. Renderings released by the White House in July showed the ballroom sitting atop where the East Wing used to sit, and an official press release at the time stated it would sit “where the small, heavily changed, and reconstructed East Wing currently sits.”

Trump said anyone outraged or concerned he was taking steps without being frank about his intentions were misplaced. “I haven’t been transparent? I’ve shown this to everybody that would listen,” he said in the Oval Office.

Still, images of the building torn to pieces this week have caused shock, particularly as Trump tests his authority in nearly all aspects of the presidency — not least of which is the building he lives and works in.

The project began ramping up over the summer, one source said, and weekly meetings to discuss the project began. The president himself has been involved in these meetings, which have also included Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, the White House Military Office, the Secret Service, an architecture team, and other staffers internally who have been tasked with helping move the project along quickly, the source said.

The White House said in late July that McCrery Architects and its CEO James McCrery would take the lead in the design of the addition. A few days later, McCrery was spotted alongside Trump on the White House roof surveying the area on the South Grounds where the ballroom will go.

Trump’s aides were prepared for pushback on the ballroom and sought to review what was legally required to complete the project, the source said.

Ultimately, administration officials determined the White House would only need approval from the National Capital Planning Commission, which oversees federal construction projects in Washington and its neighboring states, Virginia and Maryland.

However, officials said the commission has jurisdiction only when “vertical” construction begins and does not oversee demolition.

Trump recently appointed White House staff secretary and loyalist Will Scharf to chair the commission. White House deputy Chief of Staff James Blair and another Trump aide were also appointed to the commission at the same time.

Scharf said during a meeting of the commission last month the body would eventually be involved in the project, but not until after the East Wing was demolished.

“I know the president thinks very highly of this commission, and I’m excited for us to play a role in the ballroom project when the time is appropriate for us to do so,” he said.

The commission, which is closed amid the ongoing government shutdown, was created by Congress in 1924 and is comprised of 12 members. Three are appointed by the president, along with the chairman, with the rest of the seats reserved for federal agencies, such as the National Park Service, and representatives from the District of Columbia.

Projects reviewed by the NCPC in recent years include changing the perimeter fence around the White House grounds and a tennis pavilion Trump installed during his first term. The fence, in particular, took several years before it was ultimately approved; officials said it was a necessary change because people kept jumping over the previous one and running toward the North Portico.

L. Preston Bryant Jr., who served as chairman of the NCPC for nearly a decade, described a three-stage process that typically unfolds for federal projects, beginning with early consultations that he described as collaborative.

“The Commission staff very much wants a potential project to get started on the right foot. This early consultation stage is very important,” he told CNN.

The project goes through subsequent phases — conceptual, preliminary approval, and final approval — before the process is complete.

Bryant said he couldn’t remember a time when demolition was separated from the approval process in the way the Trump White House has done.

“That was not my experience during my time at NCPC,” Bryant said. “If there’s to be demolition, that’s part of the project. The demolition element is inherent in the overall project. Demo is not separated from construction. It’s part of it.”

Rebecca Miller, the executive director of the DC Preservation League, said demolishing the East Wing before a formal submission of the ballroom plans essentially starts the project before a formal review process.

“Most concerning is that they’re just tearing down the East Wing without any public submission as to what is going to be built in its place,” she said. “And that’s where the National Capital Planning Commission, or the Commission on Fine Arts, or the public, would have their input into the design of the property, its compatibility with the White House, and how to mitigate or minimize the impact on the current historic resource.”

“We’re in this kind of zone where there’s nothing that prevents the demolition, but we’ve also not seen what the submission is,” Miller added.

Other laws and rules also appear not to apply to the White House. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Historic Preservation Act in 1966, which details the process by which stakeholders should be brought in for large public projects. But the law excludes the three pillars of US government — the Capitol, the Supreme Court, and the White House — from its provisions.

The Shipstead-Luce Act of 1930 also requires that alterations to buildings in the national capital area, including the White House, must be presented to the Commission of Fine Arts. The language, however, refers to buildings facing the White House and not the White House itself.

For Trump, the concerns about the new ballroom appear unconvincing.

Sitting in the newly gilded Oval Office as the machines were working away outside, he held up a pile of paper renderings showing the plans, including the Louis XIV-style interior that closely resembles the ballroom at Mar-a-Lago.

“You see it goes beautifully with the White House,” Trump proclaimed. “I mean, the mix is beautiful.”

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