Enjoy this snippet of major headlines from the last week, as well as updates on older major stories. A few major revelations about past events came out this week. Often times, this stories are overlooked or hidden amongst the “new news” making headlines. Because updates are just as important as the news itself, here are some of the newest headlines regarding previous stories.
Demolition of the 125-year-old East Wing of the White House started last week. The Trump Administration moved quickly on a plan to tear down the East Wing and build a $250 million ballroom seating 600 people in its place.
The White House’s repeated false claims — like that “nothing will be torn down” — raise bigger questions about the project.
The Trump administration did NOT receive approval for construction from the National Capital Planning Commission, which approves construction work and major renovations to government buildings in the Capitol.
The Chairman of the NCPC (who also serves as Trump’s White House staff secretary) decided to interpret the NCPC’s role as only being concerned with “building vertically, not demolition.”
Questions regarding who’s paying for the project have also raised concerns.
The financial details and receipts have not been made available to the public, despite the administration’s claim that taxpayers will not be footing the bill for the ballroom’s construction.
CBS News, however, confirmed that major donors to the project — like Lockheed Martin, Blackstone, and Google — are routing their donations through the Trust for the National Mall, a non-profit that is supposed to support the National Park Service and protect historical sites.
As a result, each donation qualifies as a federal tax deduction — effectively turning the funding into money that would have otherwise been paid in taxes.
Virginia Giuffre, Epstein sex-trafficking survivor who died by suicide this year, was repeatedly raped, beaten and tortured by former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, her post-humous memoir says.
“He repeatedly choked me until I lost consciousness and took pleasure in seeing me in fear for my life. Horrifically, the Prime Minister laughed when he hurt me and got more aroused when I begged him to stop. I emerged from the cabana bleeding from my mouth, v—- and a—. For days, it hurt to breathe and to swallow…[The Prime Minister] raped me more savagely than anyone had before.”
Ehud Barak was born Ehud Brog in Mandatory Palestine, before the creation of Israel. His parents were Russian. He changed his last name in 1972 to make it sound Hebrew. He is known worldwide as the most prolific killer in Israel’s 77-year existence. In Israel, he is the most decorated soldier in Israel’s history.
Al Jazeera uncovered the identities of the men responsible for the murder of Hind Rajab, the five-year-old little girl in Gaza who was killed by Israeli forces while on the phone with emergency services.
Israeli officials initially lied and said none of its forces were in the area when Hind was killed, then later lied again and said Hind was caught between the cross-fire of Israeli and Palestinian forces.
Spain announced its plans to file a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Israel for abuse and torture used against Spanish citizens who were kidnapped by Israel from the Sumud flotilla.
Spain has been pressuring Israel to release the remaining 28 Spanish nationals Israel has held hostage since July, all of whom were kidnapped in international waters by Israeli forces. The final six remaining Spanish hostages arrived home last week after months of detention and torture.
Explore the White House in 3D as Trump demolishes the East Wing to add a tacky ballroom
https://thedemlabs.org/2025/10/21/explore-the-white-house-in-3d-as-trump-demolishes-east-wing-add-tacky-ballroom/