Donald Trump faced a wave of criticism on Monday after the White House media restrictions appeared to backfire, leaving viewers around the world watching a South Lawn ribbon-cutting ceremony without any usable sound.

The president was marking the opening of a new granite helipad, standing alongside construction workers as he prepared to board the latest Marine One helicopter. The facility is estimated to have cost $6 million and was built after the powerful aircraft reportedly scorched the White House lawn.

With the usual television press pool—representing ABC, CBS, Fox, CNN and NBC—not covering the event, viewers were left in silence when Trump began speaking. The White House video feed showed the president, but provided no functioning audio.

The networks had announced earlier that they would suspend coverage of presidential pool events after the Trump administration blocked reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico over the weekend.

Trump-friendly network Newsmax carried the White House livestream, cutting to images of the president speaking outside the building. His remarks, however, could not be heard by viewers.

“Okay, there is no microphone because the pool cameras aren’t there,” the anchor told the audience. “So maybe this is one example of this backfiring just a little bit … the ramifications are right here—we can’t hear what the president is saying.”

The awkward broadcast quickly became a target of online ridicule, with clips of the silent ceremony circulating widely across social media.

Veteran Capitol Hill correspondent Jamie Dupree posted: “Here is what happens when you don’t have the White House TV Pool. You have video of Trump—but you can’t hear what the President is saying.”

Another user on X wrote: “He wants to be a dictator so bad he banned the press without realizing it would silence his own voice!”

The White House also unveiled its own app on Monday, promoting “real-time updates and live events streamed DIRECTLY to your phone.”

“No noise. Just the news that matters most—straight from the Trump Administration,” the White House wrote on X.

The confrontation intensified after CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed suit against the administration, saying their journalists had been refused entry at the White House gates over the weekend.

“This ban could not be a more direct assault on the First Amendment nor a more blatant violation of our most fundamental constitutional principles,” attorneys for the outlets said in a 27-page complaint filed Monday.

Later that day, the country’s major television networks announced that they would halt presidential pool coverage in support of the affected news organizations.

Bryan Boughton, Fox News Washington bureau chief and the current chair of the television pool, informed subscribers by email: “This is to advise that, effective today, the TV pool will not be covering events designated as pool coverage of the President.”

“This follows the White House’s position preventing CNN from fulfilling its assigned pool duties. There will be no replacement pool put in place.”

The disruption comes at a particularly busy moment for Trump. The president embarked on a diplomatic whirlwind, traveling to New York for the United Nations General Assembly before returning to Washington to receive Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Xi’s visit is set to feature a lavish state welcome, but if the TV pool suspension holds, the networks may not provide pool coverage of the events. 

Trump will be waiting at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday when Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan arrive.

The next morning, the White House will hold a State Arrival Ceremony involving 479 service members, with every branch of the military represented. A B-2 Spirit and four F-22 Raptors will fly overhead before Trump and Melania host Xi for a State Dinner. 

Honor guards have spent days rehearsing on the White House grounds for a welcome designed to mirror the treatment Beijing gave Trump in May. 

Trump wanted the helipad completed before Xi’s arrival and crews raced to finish it, according to the South China Morning Post.

It is not yet clear whether the Xi events will be designated pool coverage and so fall under the boycott.

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‘I am proud to announce that, effective immediately, I am banning Fake News CNN, MSNOW (who recently changed their name from MSNBC due to lack of viewership and credibility!), and Politico,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday.

He warned that ‘other Fake News Media Outlets’ could be next and has also threatened action against the New York Times and the Washington Post.

Reporters from the three outlets were turned away when they arrived for work on Saturday, with Secret Service officers confiscating their hard passes at the gates.

CNN’s Betsy Klein, who has covered the White House since 2018, was told her pass had been deactivated before an officer took it from her.

When MS NOW’s Akayla Gardner asked why hers had been disabled, the officer told her such matters were ‘above’ him. Politico’s Cheyenne Haslett was also stripped of her pass.

CNN had been due to lead the TV pool on Monday, the day of the helipad unveiling, but was struck from the schedule in White House guidance sent at 10.55pm on Sunday, according to the three outlets’ lawsuit. 

The ban immediately affected entire newsrooms. At the time, 40 CNN journalists and 22 from MS NOW held hard passes, according to the complaint. 

The suit names Trump, chief of staff Susie Wiles, communications director Steven Cheung and Secret Service director Sean Curran as defendants and asks a judge to immediately block the ban and return the passes.

The case has landed with US District Judge Timothy Kelly, whom Trump appointed in his first term. He is on familiar legal ground after ordering the White House in 2018 to restore CNN reporter Jim Acosta’s credentials after his pass was pulled following a heated clash with Trump.

Trump turned on Kelly, writing on Truth Social: ‘They have drawn a great Judge, for them, a man who ruled in favor of Jim Acosta, who now seems to have disappeared from the Planet.’

‘The Judge’s name is Tim Kelly, and he was, sadly, appointed by “TRUMP.”‘

Trump vowed to appeal, arguing that outlets which ‘only write negatively’ should not be allowed into ‘the most important Office anywhere in the World.’ 

‘It is called the Oval Office, and it should be treated with Decorum, Respect, and Dignity, not defiled by Third Rate Clowns, who purposefully distort, twist, and degrade with everything they write or publish,’ he wrote.

‘The fact is, I won all seven Swing States, the Popular Vote, the Electoral College (312 to 226), and the Counties throughout America by 86%, and yet it is reported that I get 94% bad publicity.

‘Why should I have to give “access” to such people? Perhaps Judge Kelly could explain that!’

He also renewed his demand that Politico ‘Pay back the 8 Million Dollar contribution made by the US Government to keep them afloat!’ The lawsuit calls the claim ‘categorically false and debunked.’

Trump last week told reporters in the Oval Office that no single article prompted the ban, blaming ‘cumulative stories over the last two years.’

‘You get sick of it,’ he said. ‘I don’t want them in my office. I don’t want them here. I would say the ban would go as far as you can, and if they could straighten themselves out, I’d love it.’

Vice President JD Vance defended the move on Monday. ‘It’s about basic fairness,’ he said. ‘They can still report. They still have the access to free speech. They’re just not going to get an office in the White House anymore.’

But the First Lady’s office is taking a different approach, adding to the confusion surrounding coverage of the White House. 

Melania’s office approved CNN’s request to cover her announcement at the St. Regis hotel in Manhattan on Tuesday, a source familiar with the matter told the Daily Mail.

CNN crews also covered Secretary of State Marco Rubio as he opened the New York Stock Exchange on Monday.

Attorneys for Alex Murdaugh are asking a South Carolina judge to compel prosecutors to release additional forensic evidence, including unidentified male DNA recovered from beneath Maggie Murdaugh’s fingernails. The defense says the state crime lab located the DNA but never completed testing it.

In a 93-page motion filed Friday, Murdaugh’s lawyers also sought additional ballistics evidence and the raw data from a laser scan of the crime scene in Colleton County, South Carolina.

The defense accused South Carolina prosecutors of delaying the release of evidence in a way that could undermine its preparation for Murdaugh’s upcoming retrial.

“Every week the State withholds this material is a week taken from the preparation of the defense, and if the delay continues the defense may be forced to seek a continuance that Mr. Murdaugh does not want and that the Court has said it will not grant. The State should not be permitted to create, through inaction, the very delay it would then oppose,” the motion states.

Murdaugh’s defense team had previously asked that the DNA collected from beneath Maggie Murdaugh’s fingernails be sent to Othram, Inc. After Othram examined the evidence, the defense argued that more testing was necessary to develop a male DNA profile that the state crime lab had identified but did not fully pursue.

The attorneys also want additional testing of a partial DNA profile obtained from swabs taken from Maggie Murdaugh’s phone.

The defense is further seeking records of every shooting in counties surrounding the crime scene in which .300 Blackout shell casings or projectiles were recovered, as well as details about those incidents. Lawyers also requested the raw data from a 3D laser scan that the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division conducted at the scene. Prosecutors provided a read-only viewer file in 2022, but the defense says it needs the underlying data to recreate the scene.

Murdaugh’s attorneys also accused prosecutors of changing their position on the alleged murder weapon. At his 2023 trial, the state described the .300 Blackout rifle as uncommon and used that argument to point toward the Murdaugh family’s guns. Prosecutors now characterize the cartridge as one of the most popular AR cartridges in the country, according to the motion.

“The State has had continuous and exclusive custody of every item of physical evidence in this case, including the biological material that is the subject of Part III of this motion, for more than five years. It has tested what it wished to test, in the sequence it wished to test it, without notice to the defense and without the defense’s consent. It now proposes that the defense may not do the same,” Murdaugh’s lawyers argued.

Joshua Ritter, a former prosecutor and Fox News contributor, said seeking additional DNA testing could prove risky for Murdaugh’s defense, describing the request as a “big gamble.”

“I think it’s probably better left alone by the defense so that they can make that argument about this unknown male. ‘Who is that? Why didn’t the prosecution test it? Why didn’t they do anything about it?’ Maybe they’re concerned that the prosecution could point the finger right back at them and say, well, you guys didn’t test it either, you had it for as much time as we did,” he said.

Murdaugh was convicted in 2023 of killing his wife, Maggie, and their son, Paul, at the family’s Moselle property in Colleton County. The South Carolina Supreme Court later overturned the convictions after determining that former Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill improperly influenced the jury. Murdaugh’s retrial is scheduled to begin April 5, 2027.

News Media contacted the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and Attorney General Alan Wilson for comment.

California homeowners could soon face higher costs.

Homeowners association dues may rise across the state if Gov. Gavin Newsom signs a bill that could reach his desk before the end of the month.

Assembly Bill 2050 would require HOAs to plan for the next 30 years of expenses and conduct a formal review of their reserve funds.

Under the proposal, if an association’s reserves are expected to drop below zero at any point during that period, it would have to direct at least 15% of its gross annual budget into reserves beginning in January 2032.

When an HOA lacks enough money in its budget to meet that requirement, the bill would compel it to raise money through a special assessment charged to homeowners. The exact impact on monthly HOA fees remains unclear.

The potential change could affect millions of Californians. U.S. Census Bureau data shows that nearly one in four California households pays homeowners association fees.

Newsom has until September 30 to either sign AB 2050 into law or veto it.

The Consumer Federation of California has opposed the measure, arguing that any reserve requirements should be paired with limits on how quickly HOA fees can increase.

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“We’re not against reserving, but it ought to be combined with some reasonable limitations on what could be increased and how rapidly, along with some important guardrails on financial protection and responsibility so the residents don’t get ripped off because the board acts like a kangaroo court,” Robert Herrell, the organization’s executive director, told the San Francisco Chronicle.

“I don’t know that you want to sign a bill that’s essentially going to directly lead to massive assessment increases on 14 million Californians,” he added.

Supporters say the legislation would help HOAs prepare for long-term maintenance, repairs and other property-related expenses. Robert DeNichilo, legislative co-chair of the Community Associations Institute’s California Legislative Action Committee, told the Chronicle that the bill would account for “the actual cost of ownership.”

California HOAs can currently raise regular dues by as much as 20% per fiscal year without seeking approval from community members.

Condominium communities could feel the effects most sharply. Fannie Mae plans to require condo associations to place 15% of their annual budgets into reserves starting next year, up from the current 10% requirement.

Nathan Godin, a doctoral student at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business who studied a similar Florida law enacted in 2022, told the Chronicle that the measure could distribute HOA costs more fairly between current and future homeowners.

“You don’t want to be basically passing the buck on to future owners,” Godin said. “You want to have this month-to-month payment instead of expecting some future special assessment. It’s just better practice.”

Maine residents are growing frustrated as diners increasingly favor the richer, butter-forward Connecticut lobster roll over the state’s traditional preparation.

Visitors from around the globe flock to Maine for its famous lobster rolls, but many locals object to the way out-of-state guests expect the dish to be served.

At the heart of the dispute is a single ingredient: butter. Mainers have long championed chilled lobster dressed with mayonnaise, while Connecticut-style rolls feature warm meat and melted butter—and that version is rapidly gaining ground.

Peter Bissell, co-owner of The Highroller Lobster Co., said the restaurant sold 70,000 lobster rolls this summer. Half were ordered with butter, and half of those customers paid extra to have the lobster warmed, according to the Portland Press Herald

A classic cold lobster roll usually combines chilled meat with mayonnaise, lemon juice, lettuce and simple seasonings, all tucked into a split-top bun.

The result is cool and creamy, allowing the lobster’s natural sweetness and delicate texture to remain the focus.

Connecticut-style lobster rolls take a different approach. The meat is served warm in a toasted bun after being sautéed in butter or lightly covered with melted butter.

That added heat creates a deeper, richer buttery flavor and gives the lobster a noticeably different texture.

Unlike Maine’s chilled lobster dressed with mayonnaise, visitors from elsewhere often arrive expecting warm meat served with plenty of butter.

According to the Sun Journal, that preference is tied largely to the way tourists imagine luxurious lobster should be prepared: seasoned and dipped in butter.

To meet that demand—and avoid poor reviews—local lobster shacks have increasingly added the warmer style to their menus.

One Maine resident recently shared their irritation with the trend on the Portland Press Herald’s website.

“Tourists give negative reviews to spots that serve cold lobster. But warm lobster means it was heated up, altering its taste,” they wrote.

They continued: “Lobster shouldn’t be served warm, and it’s seafood, so you shouldn’t just leave it out all day to warm up naturally.”

“Tourists are used to bad lobster and envision it as the norm.”

Another commenter looked back fondly on a time when Maine’s traditional lobster roll was more widely served.

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‘I remember eating lobster rolls with butter or mayo throughout Maine as a kid, albeit the meat was always cold,’ they said.

‘I’m talking about bean suppers, birthdays, weddings, you name it. To me, “warm” lobster is CT style,’ the user added.

Despite the pushback from some, for local business owners, catering to out-of-state preferences is simply good business even if it rustles a few feathers.

For instance, when Eventide Oyster Co first opened they didn’t even offer a butter option for their lobster rolls, the Portland Press Herald reports.

Their options were simple: one with tarragon hollandaise and one with dill and mayo. However, the increasing demand for butter-style rolls made the owners rethink their offerings, prompting them to add a brown butter option to the menu, which quickly became a best seller.

Others have resisted the change, however.

At Bayley’s Lobster Pound, the co-owner Susan Bayley Clough says the original version is still the standard.

Over 80 percent of their lobster roll orders are Maine style whereas close to 15 percent of customers request butter.

The debate has extended beyond physical stores, however, with one TikTok user raging in response to the question: ‘Are you team mayo or butter?’

‘Real people from Maine like mayo and not added B.S.,’ they said.

In the interest of neutrality, one user said: ‘Cold meat needs mayo, warm meat deserves butter.’

As Maine Lobster Week showcases the best of the state’s culinary skills, the playful rivalry adds to the experience.

Whether you stand firmly with team mayo or side with team butter, there is no denying that fresh Maine lobster reigns supreme.