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The Trump administration intends to pull some $4 billion in federal funding from California’s long-delayed high-speed rail project, transportation officials say.The announcement Wednesday by the Department of Transportation follows a report by federal railroad regulators, which concluded the project to link the state’s megacities Los Angeles and San Francisco was rife with “missed deadlines, budget shortfalls, and overrepresentation of projected ridership.””I promised the American people we would be good stewards of their hard-earned tax dollars,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement.”This report exposes a cold, hard truth: CHSRA has no viable path to complete this project on time or on budget,” he added, referring to California High-Speed Rail Authority.Duffy said California’s rail agency has 37 days to respond to the findings of the review before the two grants worth some $4 billion would be terminated.CHSRA said it strongly disagreed with Federal Railroad Administration’s conclusions, adding they “do not reflect the substantial progress made.””We remain committed to completing the nation’s first true HSR system & will fully address + correct the record in our response to the FRA’s notice,” the rail authority said.California’s Democratic lawmakers also strongly denounced the decision by President Donald Trump’s Republican administration.”For the millions of Californians left to pick up the tab for Trump’s reckless trade wars and rising costs of living, today’s announcement is devastating,” Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff said in a statement.Despite being the world’s largest economy, the United States does not have high-speed rail lines and the California project has been 15 years in the making.Another high-speed rail line is planned to open in 2028 in the neighboring state of Nevada, connecting Las Vegas to Los Angeles in time for the Summer Olympics hosted by the United States.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Thursday that NATO allies were close to agreeing a deal on spending ahead of a summit later this month, in a bid to satisfy US President Donald Trump’s demand that it reach five percent of GDP.Trump is pressuring alliance members to announce a massive boost in the target for their military budgets at the June 24-25 summit in the Netherlands.”Countries in there are well exceeding two percent and we think very close, almost near consensus, on a five percent commitment for NATO in The Hague later this month,” Hegseth said after meeting his NATO counterparts in Brussels. NATO chief Mark Rutte has put forward a compromise agreement of 3.5 percent of GDP on core military spending by 2032, and 1.5 percent on broader security-related areas such as infrastructure.”This alliance, we believe, in a matter of weeks, will be committing to five percent — 3.5 percent in hard military and 1.5 percent in infrastructure and defence-related activities,” Hegseth said. “That combination constitutes a real commitment, and we think every country can step up.”The threat from Russia after more than three years of war in Ukraine and worries about US commitment to Europe’s security under Trump are driving up military budgets in Europe.Several diplomats said Rutte appeared on track to secure the deal for the summit in The Hague, though a few allies are still hesitant about committing to such levels of spending.Most vocal in its reluctance has been Spain, which is only set to reach NATO’s current target of two percent of GDP by the end of this year.But Defence Minister Margarita Robles said Madrid would not veto a deal, even if it did not agree with setting a “fixed percentage” figure. Diplomats say other countries are also haggling over making the timeline longer and dropping a demand for core defence spending to increase by 0.2 percentage points each year. The deal appears an acceptable compromise to most, which will allow Trump to claim that he has achieved his headline demand, while in reality setting the bar lower for struggling European allies.Currently only a handful of NATO countries most worried about Russia, such as Poland and the Baltics, are on target to spend five percent on defence. – ‘America can’t be everywhere’ -In a connected move, NATO ministers signed off at their meeting on new capability targets for the weaponry needed to deter Russia.German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius estimated the new requirements meant Berlin would need to add “around 50,000 to 60,000″ more soldiers to its army. His Dutch counterpart Ruben Brekelmans said reaching the level requested would cost the Netherlands at least 3.5 percent of GDP.”The new defence investment plan, of course, is rooted in what we need in terms of the hard capabilities,” Rutte said.Hegseth, a former TV presenter, rocked NATO on his last visit in February with a fiery warning that Washington could look to scale back its forces in Europe to focus on the threat from China.This time around Hegseth said he did not want to “get ahead” of any decisions from Trump as the United States conducts a review of its force deployments worldwide. “We’re going to make sure we shift properly to the Indo-Pacific and re-establish deterrence there, and then we’re going to increase burden-sharing across the world,” he said.”America can’t be everywhere all the time, nor should we be.”- Ukraine question -While US officials are focused on getting Trump a win on defence spending in The Hague, they have sidestepped talks on supporting Ukraine in its fight with Russia. Hegseth underscored the United States disengagement with Kyiv by skipping a meeting of Ukraine’s backers in Brussels on Wednesday, and is set to miss a second sit-down with Ukraine officials Thursday. Kyiv’s European allies are pressing to overcome US reluctance and invited Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky to the Hague summit as a sign of support. So far, NATO has said only that Ukraine will be represented at the gathering, without confirming that Zelensky will be in attendance. 

President Donald Trump ramped up his campaign against top US universities Wednesday, banning visas for all foreign students coming to attend Harvard and threatening to strip Columbia of its academic accreditation.Trump is seeking to bring the universities to heel with claims their international students pose a national security threat, and that they ignored anti-Semitism on campus and perpetuate liberal bias.A proclamation issued by the White House late Wednesday declared that the entrance of international students to begin a course at Harvard would be “suspended and limited” for six months and that existing overseas enrollees could have their visas terminated.”Harvard’s conduct has rendered it an unsuitable destination for foreign students and researchers,” the order said.Karl Molden, a Harvard government and classics student from Austria, said: “I’m trembling. This is outrageous.””He is abusing his executive power to harm Harvard as much as he can,” Molden told AFP.”My god!” said another international student at Harvard, who declined to be identified for fear of retribution. “This is such a disgrace.”China’s foreign ministry vowed on Thursday to “resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of its overseas students.””China has always opposed the politicization of educational cooperation,” ministry spokesman Lin Jian said, adding that the measure would “harm America’s image and international credibility.”US Secretary of State Marco Rubio promised last week to “aggressively revoke visas” for Chinese students, a move condemned by Beijing.- ‘Retaliatory’ -Wednesday’s announcement followed the Trump administration’s earlier efforts to terminate Harvard’s right to enroll and host foreign students were stalled by a judge.The government already cut around $3.2 billion of federal grants and contracts benefiting Harvard and pledged to exclude the Cambridge, Massachusetts, institution from any future federal funding.Harvard has been at the forefront of Trump’s campaign against top universities after it defied his calls to submit to oversight of its curriculum, staffing, student recruitment and “viewpoint diversity.” Trump has also singled out international students at Harvard, who accounted for 27 percent of total enrollment in the 2024-2025 academic year and are a major source of income.”This is yet another illegal retaliatory step taken by the Administration in violation of Harvard’s First Amendment rights,” a university spokesman said.”Harvard will continue to protect its international students.” Trump’s education secretary had also threatened on Wednesday to strip Columbia University of its accreditation.The Republican has targeted the New York Ivy League institution for allegedly ignoring harassment of Jewish students, throwing all of its federal funding into doubt.Unlike Harvard, several top institutions — including Columbia — have already bowed to far-reaching demands from the Trump administration, which claims that the educational elite is too left-wing.- ‘Combating anti-Semitism’ -Wednesday’s official action suggested it was not enough for Trump.”Columbia University looked the other way as Jewish students faced harassment,” US Education Secretary Linda McMahon said on social media platform X.She accused the school of breaking rules prohibiting recipients of federal funding from discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin.”After Hamas’ October 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel, Columbia University’s leadership acted with deliberate indifference towards the harassment of Jewish students on its campus,” McMahon said in a statement.”This is not only immoral, but also unlawful.”The US Education Department said in the statement its civil rights office had contacted Columbia’s accreditation body about the alleged violation.Withdrawing Columbia’s accreditation would see it lose access to all federal funding, a very significant proportion of the university’s income.Students would also not be able to receive federal grants and tuition loans.Critics accuse the Trump administration of using allegations of anti-Semitism to target educational elites and bring universities to their knees.The administration has already put $400 million of Columbia’s funding under review, prompting the university to announce in March a package of concessions to the government around defining anti-Semitism, policing protests and conducting oversight for specific academic departments.A Columbia spokesperson said after Wednesday’s announcement the university was “aware of the concerns” raised by the government.”We take this issue seriously and are continuing to work with the federal government to address it,” the spokesperson said.

A year out from kick-off, Iranian football fans are watching their World Cup dream slip away after a US travel ban barred them from entering the land of “Great Satan” to cheer on their team.The 2026 tournament will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, but most matches, including the final, are scheduled to be played on American soil.Many in Iran had clung to hopes of cheering from the stands until Wednesday when US President Donald Trump rolled out a new travel ban on 12 countries including Iran, which will take effect from Monday. “My friends and I have been waiting for years to watch Team Melli (a nickname for the national team) play in a World Cup on US soil, and when they qualified, it felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Sohrab Naderi, a real estate agent in Tehran, told AFP.”Now with the new travel ban, that dream is shattered because of politics that we don’t care about and have no control over,” said the 46-year-old who attended the 2022 World Cup in Qatar which saw the US side defeat Iran 1-0 in the group stage.The prospect of Iran competing in a US-hosted tournament comes against the backdrop of a decades-long enmity, with diplomatic ties broken since the 1979 Islamic revolution.The two sides are currently engaged in high-stakes talks over Iran’s nuclear programme, with the United States threatening military action if no deal can be reached.- ‘Degrading to all Iranians’ -Trump said the new travel ban was prompted by a makeshift flamethrower attack on a Jewish protest in Colorado that US authorities blamed on a man they said was in the country illegally.The ban will not apply to athletes competing in either the 2026 World Cup or the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the order said. Nonetheless, supporters who had dreamed of crossing the Atlantic to cheer on their team will no longer be able to make the trip.”Every Iranian has the right to support their team, just as much as any other country, whether the game is in America or in any other country,” said Hasti Teymourpour, a 16-year-old football fan.Since his return to office in January, Trump has reinstated his “maximum pressure” policy of sanctions against Iran and vowed that “something bad” would happen unless the Iranians “move quickly” towards a nuclear deal.Naderi, who called the ban “inhumane” and “degrading to all Iranians”, still hopes the Iran-US nuclear talks will yield a deal that might persuade Trump to reconsider. The outcome of the US-Iran talks that began in April remains unclear, and many fans worry that even if they result in a deal, it may be too late for them.Some Iranians have refused to give up hope, however, seeing in the World Cup an opportunity to thaw relations.”Sports diplomacy can act as a strong catalyst and bring the efforts of political diplomats to fruition sooner,” said political commentator Mohammad Reza Manafi.It could be “a great opportunity to help advance diplomacy between the two countries”.- Friendly? -In a memorable 1998 World Cup clash, Iranian players handed flowers to their American adversaries and posed together for photos — a rare public gesture of goodwill between the nations.Iran won 2–1, a victory celebrated in Tehran as a source of both sporting and political pride.With the 2026 draw expected in December, it remains unclear whether Iran and the United States will face off again, but anticipation is building.”The two countries are not hostile to each other, this political discussion is for the governments,” said 44-year-old day labourer Siamak Kalantari.Another fan, Mahdieh Olfati, said: “If we face the US again, we’ll definitely win.””Ours are real players,” the 18-year-old added.Manafi, the commentator, said a friendly before the tournament, possibly hosted by a third country, could help ease tensions.Such a game, he said, could help “achieve what politicians from both sides have not managed to do for years”.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is set to meet with US President Donald Trump on Thursday, hoping to build a personal relationship despite discord over Ukraine and the threat of a trade war.A month into his job, the conservative Merz, 69, is a staunch transatlanticist at pains to maintain good ties with what he considers post-war Germany’s “indispensable” ally, despite Trump’s unyielding “America First” stance. Merz will hope that his pledges to sharply increase Germany’s NATO defence spending will please Trump, and that he can find common ground on confronting Russia after the mercurial US president voiced growing frustration with President Vladimir Putin.On Trump’s threat to hammer the European Union with sharply higher tariffs, Merz, leader of the bloc’s biggest economy, has argued that it must be self-confident in its negotiations with Washington, saying that “we’re not supplicants”.Despite the tensions, Merz said he was “looking forward” to his first face-to-face meeting with Trump. “Our alliance with America was, is, and remains of paramount importance for the security, freedom, and prosperity of Europe,” he posted on X late Wednesday.His office has also voiced confidence that Merz will be spared the kind of public dressing down Trump delivered in the Oval Office to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa.Merz is looking ahead to his first in-person meeting with Trump “with great calmness and joy”, his spokesman Stefan Kornelius said, pointing to their “very good relationship” so far.”Germany is the third-largest economy in the world, and we have a lot to offer as an economic partner of the USA,” Kornelius said. “At the same time, a very constructive and positive relationship with America is very important to us, for our own economy and for the security of Germany and Europe.”The two leaders — both with business backgrounds and keen golf players — are on first-name terms after several phone calls, Kornelius said, and Merz now has Trump’s cellphone number on speed dial.- Defence and trade -Merz has been given the honour of staying at Blair House, the presidential guest residence on Pennsylvania Avenue across from the White House.Merz has even felt comfortable enough to have a little fun at Trump’s expense, recently telling a TV interviewer that his every second or third word was “great”.Whatever the personal chemistry, the policy issues are potentially explosive.Trump launched his roller-coaster series of trade policy shifts in April, with the threat of 50-percent US tariffs on European goods looming.Merz, who has sat on many corporate boards, is “very experienced in business, too — the world from which Donald Trump comes,” his chancellery chief of staff, Thorsten Frei, told the Funke media group.On the Ukraine war, where Germany strongly backs Kyiv, Merz will hope to convince Trump to heighten pressure on Putin through new sanctions to persuade him to agree to a ceasefire. Trump, 78, has recently expressed frustration with Putin, calling him “crazy”, but without announcing concrete new measures.Merz’s visit comes ahead of a G7 summit in Canada on June 15-17 and a NATO meeting in The Hague at the end of the month.Merz has said Germany is willing to follow a plan to raise defence spending to 3.5 percent of GDP over coming years, with another 1.5 percent dedicated to security-related infrastructure.- ‘Calm and reasonable’ -Another potential flashpoint issue looms — the vocal support Trump and some in his administration have given to the far-right and anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which came second in February elections.US Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and former Trump adviser Elon Musk have all weighed in in support of the AfD, which in Germany is shunned by all other political parties.When Germany’s domestic intelligence service recently designated the AfD a “right-wing extremist” group, Rubio denounced the step as “tyranny in disguise”.Merz slammed what he labelled “absurd observations” from Washington and said he “would like to encourage the American government… to largely stay out of” German domestic politics.German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has also openly criticised Trump, saying this week that he frequently made statements “that seem directed against the fundamental foundations of our coexistence”.ilp-jsk-fz-sr/sea/js

US defence chief Pete Hegseth on Thursday pushed NATO to agree a deal on increasing military spending that could satisfy President Donald Trump at a summit this month.The volatile US leader has demanded that alliance members boost defence budgets to five percent of their GDP at the June 24-25 meeting in the Netherlands.NATO chief Mark Rutte has put forward a compromise agreement for 3.5 percent of GDP on core military spending by 2032, and 1.5 percent on broader security-related areas such as infrastructure.Several diplomats say Rutte looks on track to secure the deal for the summit in The Hague as NATO grapples with the threat from Russia after more than three years of war in Ukraine. But a few allies are still hesitant about committing to such levels of spending. “The reason I’m here is to make sure every country in NATO understands every shoulder has to be to the plough, every country has to contribute at that level of five percent,” Hegseth said at a meeting with his NATO counterparts in Brussels. “Our message is going to continue to be clear. It’s deterrence and peace through strength, but it can’t be reliance. It cannot and will not be reliance on America in a world of a lot of threats,” he said.Most vocal in its reluctance is Spain, which is only set to reach NATO’s current target of two percent of GDP by the end of this year.Diplomats say other countries are also haggling over making the timeline longer and dropping a demand for core defence spending to increase by 0.2 percentage points each year. But the deal appears an acceptable compromise to most, which will allow Trump to claim that he has achieved his headline demand, while in reality setting the bar lower for struggling European allies.The United States has backed Rutte’s plan, but Washington insists it wants to each country to lay out a “credible path” to meet the target.- Germany needs more troops -In a connected move, NATO ministers were due to sign off at their meeting on new capability targets for the weaponry needed to deter Russia.German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius estimated the new requirements meant Berlin would need to add “around 50,000 to 60,000” more soldiers to its army. His Dutch counterpart Ruben Brekelmans said reaching the level requested would cost the Netherlands at least 3.5 percent of GDP. It is not just the fear of Moscow that is pushing Europe to ramp up its ambitions — there is also uncertainty over the United States’ commitment to the continent. “What we will decide in The Hague, what we will spend on defence going forward, the new defence investment plan, of course, is rooted in what we need in terms of the hard capabilities,” Rutte said.Hegseth, a former TV presenter, rocked NATO on his last visit in February with a fiery warning that Washington could look to scale back its forces in Europe to focus on China.Since then, there has been no concrete announcement from the United States on troop withdrawals, but NATO allies remain on tenterhooks. – Ukraine question -With NATO looking set for the defence spending deal, another thorny issue threatening to overshadow the summit in three weeks’ time is what to do about Ukraine.Trump’s return to the White House ripped up Washington’s support for Ukraine and upended the West’s approach to Russia’s three-year-long war.Hegseth underscored the US disengagement with Kyiv by skipping a meeting of Ukraine’s backers in Brussels on Wednesday.Kyiv’s European allies are pressing to overcome US reluctance and invite Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky to The Hague as a sign of support. So far, NATO has said only that Ukraine will be represented at the gathering, and has not confirmed that Zelensky will be in attendance. 

US defence chief Pete Hegseth will seek on Thursday to drive home a deal on ramping up NATO defence spending that can satisfy President Donald Trump at a summit later this month.The volatile US leader has demanded that alliance members agree to boost defence spending to five percent of their GDP at the June 24-25 meeting in The Netherlands.NATO chief Mark Rutte has put forward a compromise agreement for 3.5 percent of GDP on core military spending by 2032, and 1.5 percent on broader security-related areas such as infrastructure.Multiple diplomats say that Rutte looks on track to secure the deal for the summit in The Hague — but that some allies are still hesitant about committing to such spending.”I’m really, absolutely, positively convinced that at the summit with the 32, we will come to an agreement when it comes to this really big increase in defence spending,” the NATO chief said on Wednesday. Most vocal in its reluctance is Spain, which is only set to reach NATO’s current target of two percent of GDP by the end of this year.Diplomats say that other countries are also haggling over making the timeline longer and dropping a demand for core defence spending to increase by 0.2 percentage points each year. But the deal appears an acceptable compromise to most that will allow Trump to claim that he has achieved his headline demand, while in reality setting the bar lower for struggling European allies.Hegseth looks set to use a meeting with his NATO counterparts in Brussels to pressure them into signing up to the agreement. The United States has backed Rutte’s plan — but its ambassador to NATO insisted on Wednesday that Washington wants to see “plans, budgets, timelines, deliverables” to meet the target.In a connected move, NATO ministers will sign off at their meeting in Brussels on new capability targets for the weaponry needed to face the threat from Russia.NATO officials have estimated that, on average, meeting the new targets would cost countries between 3.5 and 3.7 percent of GDP.Hegseth, a former TV presenter, rocked NATO on his last visit in February with a fiery warning that Washington could look to scale back its forces in Europe to focus on China.Since then there has been no concrete announcement from the United States on troop withdrawals but NATO allies remain on tenterhooks. – Ukraine question -With NATO appearing headed for the defence spending deal, another thorny issue now threatens to overshadow the summit in three weeks time: what to do about Ukraine?Trump’s return to the White House ripped up Washington’s support for Ukraine and upended the West’s approach to Russia’s three-year-long war.Hegseth underlined US disengagement with Kyiv by skipping a meeting of Ukraine’s backers in Brussels on Wednesday.Kyiv’s European allies are pressing strongly to overcome US reluctance and invite Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky to The Hague as a sign of support. So far, NATO has only said that Ukraine will be represented at the gathering — but has not confirmed that Zelensky will be in attendance. 

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered an investigation into what Republicans claim was a “conspiracy” to cover up Joe Biden’s declining cognitive health during his time in the White House.The move, which was slammed by Biden, is the latest in a long-running campaign by Trump — with the backing of Republican Party politicians and their cheerleaders in the conservative media — to discredit his predecessor.But it also comes as a growing chorus of Democrats begin to acknowledge the former president appeared to have been slipping in recent years.Those concerns were thrown into stark relief by a disastrous debate performance against Trump during last year’s presidential campaign, in which the then-81-year-old stumbled over his words and repeatedly lost his train of thought.”In recent months, it has become increasingly apparent that former President Biden’s aides abused the power of Presidential signatures through the use of an autopen to conceal Biden’s cognitive decline,” a presidential memorandum issued Wednesday reads.”This conspiracy marks one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history.”The American public was purposefully shielded from discovering who wielded the executive power, all while Biden’s signature was deployed across thousands of documents to effect radical policy shifts.” – ‘Ridiculous and false’ -Biden vehemently denied the allegations.”Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations,” he said in a statement shared with AFP.”Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false,” he said, slamming the ordered probe as “nothing more than a distraction by Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans who are working to push disastrous legislation.” Republicans have long claimed that Biden was suffering from intellectual decline even as the White House pressed ahead with major legislation and presidential decrees during his term.They cite his infrequent public appearances, as well as his apparent unwillingness to sit for interviews as evidence of what they say was a man incapable of doing the demanding job of Commander-in-Chief of the United States.They insist that those around him covered up his physical and cognitive decline, taking decisions on his behalf and using a device that could reproduce his signature to allow them to continue to run the country in his name.- ‘Autopen’ -“The Counsel to the President, in consultation with the Attorney General and the head of any other relevant executive department or agency… shall investigate… whether certain individuals conspired to deceive the public about Biden’s mental state and unconstitutionally exercise the authorities and responsibilities of the President,” the document says.The probe will also look at “the circumstances surrounding Biden’s supposed execution of numerous executive actions during his final years in office (including) the policy documents for which the autopen was used (and) who directed that the President’s signature be affixed.”  Biden’s calamitous debate performance ultimately sank his bid for reelection, with key Democratic Party figures soon calling for him to drop out of the race.But it was only several weeks later, after unsuccessful attempts to quieten his critics, that he withdrew, anointing his vice-president Kamala Harris, who eventually lost to Trump.The Democratic Party is increasingly riven by squabbles about whether Biden could have been forced to step down earlier to give the party chance to find a more popular presidential candidate.Biden’s former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday criticized the in-fighting by the Democrats, calling it a “betrayal” of Biden and announcing her departure from the party as a result.The fight has been given oxygen with the publication of a book by journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson that claims the former president’s inner circle connived to keep him from public view because of his decline, which included forgetting familiar faces like Hollywood star and party stalwart George Clooney.Trump’s claims of a cover-up were also boosted by news that Biden is suffering from an “aggressive” prostate cancer, with some voices on the right insisting — without evidence — the diagnosis must have been known some time ago to those close to the former president.

Elon Musk has a long way to go before colonizing Mars, but the controversial billionaire already has his own city on a flat patch of Texas, where giant, experimental Starship rockets roar over the incongruous sight of dolphins — and some skeptical human neighbors.Starbase on the south Texas coast is HQ for the Starship project and something of a shrine to its South African-born founder, the world’s richest man and until recently one of President Donald Trump’s closest advisors.Musk’s short Washington tenure spearheading the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, ended last week, with a vow to get back to his day job of running his business empire, including SpaceX, Tesla and Starlink.The departure came as investors grew increasingly nervous about the spillover from Musk’s reputational damage after publicly allying himself to Trump and tearing through the US government in search of spending cuts.Now he hopes to hunker down in Starbase near the Mexican border and get back to the matter of reaching Mars.The scene is a curious mix of futuristic high-tech and down-to-earth attractions for a city that was officially incorporated in May but remains very much a work-in-progress.Cars speed down the narrow Boca Chica Boulevard leading to Starbase, where an AFP film crew was not allowed to enter. A huge bust of Musk on the outskirts of the settlement was vandalized in April and now stands with the right cheek peeled off, covered by a giant plaster.A cluster of buildings rises near the launch site, including an imposing corporate tower that bears Musk’s X logo and prefabricated houses painted black, white, and gray.For now, the city has only about 500 residents, some still living in trailers and some in the prefab homes, which have patios and outdoor grills.Looming over the landscape are two models of super heavy launchers and one Starship rocket.”I think it’s pretty cool, making a whole entire city based around a launch site,” said 21-year-old computer engineer Dominick Cardenas who was visiting the area for the unsuccessful test launch last week. “Maybe I’ll move down here one day. Who knows? I’d love to go to Mars, who wouldn’t?”- Environmental impact -But the space city is surrounded by nature and wildlife, especially birds.Activist Christopher Basaldu, who is a member of the Carrizo/Comecrudo Native American tribe and holds a PhD in sociocultural anthropology, called Musk a “colonizer.””The land here is sacred to the original inhabitants of the area. And SpaceX is polluting and desecrating this land,” he told AFP.There are two federal wildlife refuges in the area where SpaceX operates: the Lower Rio Grande Valley and the Laguna Atascosa.There is also the Boca Chica Beach, where residents have been spending their summers for decades and which is now closed during test flights.”There isn’t supposed to be exploding rockets next to pristine wetlands and habitat,” Hinojosa said.In 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency fined SpaceX for unauthorized discharges of water from its deluge system into wetlands near its Starbase launch pad connected to the Rio Grande.Despite protests by Hinjosa and other groups, SpaceX received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to increase the number of launches per year from five to 25.Hinojosa calls it “very much a David versus Goliath situation.””We are one of the poorest communities in the country… and we’re dealing with the biggest bully on the planet, Elon Musk,” she said. “Elon Musk has so much power that he’s found a way around most of our lawsuits,” she added.- Mall, restaurants, power plant -According to a document obtained by CNBC, Starbase City officials have notified the residents that they might “lose the right to continue using” their property as they currently do. A hearing is scheduled for the end of June to discuss the new zoning plan.SpaceX is also building the Rio West giant shopping mall and restaurant complex near Starbase, valued at $15 million, according to official filings.And environmental activists worry that the Rio Grande liquified natural gas plant being built in the neighboring city of Brownsville, which has the capacity to process methane, a gas that powers Starship, could become Musk’s fueling station.SpaceX representatives, Starbase City Mayor Bobby Peden as well as Cameron County officials did not respond to AFP requests for comment for this story.

US President Donald Trump signed a new travel ban Wednesday targeting 12 countries, saying it was spurred by an attack on a Jewish protest in Colorado that authorities blamed on a man they said was in the country illegally.The ban, which strongly resembles a similar measure taken in his first presidency, targets nationals of Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.It will go into effect on June 9, the White House said.Trump also imposed a partial ban on travelers from seven countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela, the White House said.”The recent terror attack in Boulder, Colorado has underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted,” Trump said in a video message from the Oval Office posted on X.”We don’t want them.”Trump compared the new measures to the “powerful” ban he imposed on a number of mainly Muslim countries in his first term, which he said had stopped the United States suffering attacks that happened in Europe.”We will not let what happened in Europe happen in America,” Trump said.”We cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen. That is why today I am signing a new executive order placing travel restrictions on countries including Yemen, Somalia, Haiti, Libya, and numerous others.”Rumors of a new Trump travel ban had circulated following the attack in Colorado, with his administration vowing to pursue “terrorists” living in the US on visas.Suspect Mohammed Sabry Soliman is alleged to have thrown fire bombs and sprayed burning gasoline at a group of people who had gathered on Sunday in support of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.US Homeland Security officials said Soliman was in the country illegally, having overstayed a tourist visa, but that he had applied for asylum in September 2022.”President Trump is fulfilling his promise to protect Americans from dangerous foreign actors that want to come to our country and cause us harm,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson said on X.”These commonsense restrictions are country-specific and include places that lack proper vetting, exhibit high visa overstay rates, or fail to share identity and threat information.”