Plans for a $1 million public toilet are raising a stink in Los Angeles, where locals say the cash-strapped city is flushing money down the drain.Officials last year approved a scheme to build a bathroom with two stalls at the entrance to the city’s popular Runyon Canyon hiking trail at a cost of $960,000.But people living nearby say the eye-watering price tag seems almost corrupt in a city that had to slash its fire department budget last year.It is “an epic waste of money,” park neighbor Shira Scott Astrof told the local ABC affiliate.Scott Weil of the Runyon Canyon Guardians, an action group of nearby residents, said he had found a supplier who would fit the same two-stall unit for half the price.”How does a city that is broke… have $500,000 extra dollars?” he said.The 160-acre (65-hectare) park sits a stone’s throw from the famed Hollywood sign, attracting thousands of hikers, dog walkers and tourists every day.It is not uncommon to see celebrities climbing the hillside trails, which offer fantastic views of the sprawl of Los Angeles.A spokesman for Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the park, which is currently served by some scruffy — and often smelly — porta potties, welcomes two million people a year.”A project to install a prefabricated restroom at the front of the park… was approved by the (Recreation and Parks) Board last year after community outreach,” a statement said.”The City of Los Angeles is committed to ensuring all of LA’s parks are safe, clean, accessible, and enjoyable for Angelenos and visitors alike.”The office did not immediately respond to AFP requests to explain the price.In 2022 San Francisco made global headlines after approving a plan to spend $1.7 million on a public toilet.A public backlash led to a rethink and the final project cost $200,000.

US President Donald Trump warned Thursday that a government shutdown was looming, as the White House raised the stakes in a clash with Democrats by threatening mass federal firings.Republican Trump is in a tense showdown with congressional Democrats to agree on spending plans ahead of a fiscal deadline of midnight on September 30, after which key services will be cut.”Could be, yeah,” Trump told reporters when asked in the Oval Office if a shutdown was likely. “Because Democrats are crazed, they don’t know what they’re doing.” The White House earlier ordered government agencies to prepare for layoffs that would go beyond the usual practice of temporary furloughs during government shutdowns.In a memo obtained by AFP, the White House Office of Management and Budget told federal agencies to “use this opportunity to consider Reduction in Force (RIF) notices for all employees.”The move would add to the pain of government workers after large-scale firings masterminded by tycoon Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) earlier this year.Democrats have rejected Republican proposals, unless some of the spending cuts are reversed and existing health care subsidies are extended.Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries responded to threat of layoffs by telling the White House to “get lost.””We will not be intimidated,” he told reporters, describing OMB chief Russ Vought as “totally and completely out of control.””The Trump administration has made their intention clear: They want to continue to fire the civil servants who are hard-working American taxpayers.”- ‘Insane demands’ -A shutdown would see non-essential operations grind to a halt and hundreds of thousands of civil servants temporarily left without pay.But the White House memo also ordered agencies to submit proposed staff reduction plans, and to inform employees.It blamed “insane demands” by Democrats and accused them of breaking what it called a 10-year trend of reaching bipartisan agreement to avoid shutdowns at the same time of year.Shutdown battles have become a regular feature of US politics under both Republican and Democratic administrations in an increasingly paralyzed and polarized Washington.Senate Democrats rejected a stopgap funding bill last week that was hurriedly passed by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives as it sought to avert a shutdown.Trump in turn cancelled a meeting on Tuesday with Democratic leaders in Congress, saying he would not meet with them until they “become realistic” with their demands.With both chambers on recess this week and senators not returning until Monday, the day before the deadline, time is running out to keep the US government funded after the end of the fiscal year.Republicans hold a narrow majority in both chambers of Congress but, due to Senate rules, have to get some opposition support.House Republicans warned on Friday that their members will not return before the funding deadline, forcing the Senate to vote again and accept their proposal or face a shutdown.The bill, if passed, would still only be a temporary fix funding federal agencies through November 21.Congress last faced a shutdown in March, when Republicans refused talks with Democrats over Trump’s massive budget cuts and the layoff of thousands of federal employees. During the last showdown, lawmakers voted to keep the lights on through September with hours to spare, after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced he would back the Republican-drafted proposal.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday urged Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to stop buying Russian oil over the war in Ukraine, while hinting that he may drop a ban on Ankara buying US stealth fighter jets.Erdogan was making his first visit to the White House since 2019 — the same year Washington kicked Turkey out of the F-35 jet program over the NATO ally’s purchase of a Russian air defense system.Trump said they would talk “very seriously” about ending the rift over the high-tech planes, and said he was ready to lift sanctions against Ankara over the Russian S-400 missiles if the meeting went well.But he also pushed the key issue of Ukraine with Erdogan, whose country has refused to join international sanctions on Moscow and has even stepped up its purchases of Russian oil. “I’d like to have him stop buying any oil from Russia while Russia continues this rampage,” Trump told reporters at the start of the two-hour meeting in the Oval Office.Erdogan had influence over Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump said, but added: “The best thing he could do is not buy oil and gas from Russia.”Turkey is Russia’s fourth-biggest trading partner, according to Europe’s Bruegel institute, which tallied $52 billion worth of exchanges last year — largely fossil fuels and electronics.Trump, who said in a major shift earlier this week that he now believed Ukraine can win the war, insists Western allies must stop buying Russian oil and gas before he imposes any more sanctions on Moscow.- ‘Rigged elections’ -It wasn’t clear if Trump and Erdogan reached a deal on the F-35s that have been a sticking point ever since Trump’s first term.Turkey was booted out of the flagship US fighter jet program six years ago out of concern that its purchase of the Russian system would give NATO’s main adversary a window into the F-35’s capabilities.But Trump said after meeting Erdogan that the talks were “very conclusive in so many different things — things that we wanted, things that he wanted.” “We’ll be announcing that sometime later, and he’ll be making an announcement too,” he told reporters.Trump added that US sanctions imposed on Turkey’s defense sector amid the Russian missiles row could be lifted “almost immediately.” Known for his admiration for forceful foreign leaders, Trump, 79, has long shown a fondness for Erdogan, 71, and is embracing him despite a crackdown in Turkey on the opposition. “This is a guy who’s highly opinionated. Usually, I don’t like opinionated people, but I always like this one, but he’s a tough one,” Trump told reporters.”He knows about rigged elections better than anybody,” Trump added about his counterpart, after saying that they had stayed friends even while the Republican was out of office due to what he called a “rigged election.”Trump and Erdogan were also seeking to paper over differences on Gaza and Syria. Erdogan has been a fierce critic of key US ally Israel over the Gaza war.”President Trump has tremendous influence. I believe that we could, hand-in-hand, overcome all the bitterness and the problems in the region,” Erdogan told reporters through an interpreter.

Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order laying out a proposed deal for a US version of TikTok that would see Chinese ownership reduced to 20 percent and put control in the hands of the president’s allies.At a signing ceremony at the White House, Trump said the US version of the app would be run by “highly sophisticated” investors including Larry Ellison, the founder of cloud giant Oracle, tech investor Michael Dell and media tycoon Rupert Murdoch. Investment firm Silver Lake Management and Silicon Valley powerhouse Andreessen Horowitz are also thought to be part of the deal.”The proposed divestiture would allow the millions of Americans who enjoy TikTok every day to continue using it while also protecting national security,” Trump stated in the order, which affects TikTok’s approximately 170 million American users.The lineup of investors mentioned are all Trump allies but he insisted that the app would not toe any political line.”If I could make it 100 percent MAGA I would, but it’s not going to work out that way unfortunately. No… every group, every philosophy, every policy, will be treated very fairly,” Trump told reporters.The president confirmed that the US version of TikTok would feature a homegrown model of the app’s prized algorithm, often described as TikTok’s “secret sauce” that helped it grow into one of the world’s most popular platforms in just a few years. A White House official said Monday the algorithm would be “continuously monitored” to ensure it is “not being unduly influenced.”The new set-up for TikTok is in response to a law passed under Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, that has forced its Chinese owner ByteDance to sell its US operations or face a ban in its biggest market. US policymakers, including Trump in his first presidency, have warned that China could use TikTok to mine data from Americans or exert influence through its state-of-the-art algorithm.Trump has repeatedly delayed enforcement through successive executive orders, most recently extending the deadline until December 16, 2025. Thursday’s order extended that deadline still further, granting a 120-day enforcement delay to complete the transaction by January 23.Vice President JD Vance, the one-time venture capitalist who led the team to find a solution for TikTok, said the US entity would be valued at about $14 billion, though he added that it would ultimately be up to the investors to figure out its price.When asked if the Chinese authorities had signed off on the deal, Trump said that President Xi Jinping gave his green light in a phone call last week.”(I have) great respect for President Xi, and I very much appreciate that he approved the deal, because to get it done properly, we really needed the support of China,” he said.TikTok did not respond to a query seeking comment and confirmation, and Beijing has remained largely silent on any deal. After the Trump-Xi call, state broadcaster CCTV said Xi emphasized to his US counterpart that China supports market-based negotiations that align with Chinese laws.