NPS to flush Reflecting Pool pipes as it blames issues on previous administrations
The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting pool is shown partially filled on Aug. 5, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was partially refilled on Friday to flush out what the National Park Service said were clogged pipes that supply water to the monument, marking the latest twist in the Trump administration’s plagued renovation project.
NPS wrote in a sign posted outside the Reflecting Pool that more than half of the 58 supply ports were “deemed nonfunctioning” due to buildup and needed to be cleared.
The posting blamed the clogged lines on “years of neglect by previous administrations,” echoing attempts by President Donald Trump to pin the Reflecting Pool’s ongoing troubles on his predecessors.
Leaks and cracks in the piping have long afflicted the pool, which was constructed in the 1920s.
President Barack Obama undertook a $35 million renovation in the 2010s, installing a treatment plant to purify water piped in from the Tidal Basin, but it did not eliminate the leaks from both the pipes and between the slabs of the pool itself.
President Trump has long fixated on the leaking pipes installed during the Obama renovation. When he announced the renovation project in April, he said the pool was “filthy dirty” and had “leaked like a sieve for many years.” The administration’s spring renovation, however, was limited to repainting the bottom of the pool and installing a new filtration system, leaving the pipes untouched.
Issues have plagued Trump’s $16 million renovation project since it was unveiled earlier this summer. In mid-June, algae blooms turned the pool a murky green and the newly-installed liner appeared to peel off.
Trump has attributed the problems to vandalism. But charges brought against several visitors accused of damaging the pool have not held up in court.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, who originally brought the charges, moved to drop four of the cases last week, saying publicly that evidence indicated the damage was caused by a flawed renovation, not intentional sabotage.
Pirro explained her decision to dismiss the most high-profile charge — a felony indictment against former Olympian David Hearn — in a revelatory 20-page filing last Friday, calling the renovation “hasty” and “botched.” She said she brought the case before she was provided internal Department of Interior documents proving that concerns about the peeling pool liner predated the alleged vandalism.
The public about-face drew Trump’s ire, who continues to attribute the damage to vandalism, and led to questions about Pirro’s future as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. Meanwhile, Hearn is seeking to dismiss the case with prejudice to ensure charges cannot be revived against him. His lawyers have not ruled out further legal action of their own.
The pool, which remains fenced off and empty alongside the sides, was drained for repairs in mid-July. Trump claimed at the time that the repairs would “fix the scars and damage that was done by the Vandals” and promised it would be “refilled and put back into service soon.”
The National Park Service posting warned on Friday that the “flushing may temporarily discolor the water as buildup in the pipes is cleaned out.” The Department of Interior provided a similar explanation when algae first discolored the pool, saying it was residual growth from reactivated supply lines.
(LOS ANGELES) — As several wildfires burn across the West, parts of the Four Corners region will once again see an extremely critical fire weather danger which could help current or new fires rapidly grow and become more dangerous.
The largest wildfire in Utah, the Cottonwood Fire, has burned more than 71,000 acres and remains 0% contained. Meanwhile, the Iron Fire has burned more than 40,000 acres and is 38% contained, while the Cherry Fire — a merger of the Maple Peak Fire and the original Cherry Fire — has burned an estimated 20,000 acres and is 0% contained.
Six states in the West are under Red Flag Warnings for dangerous fire weather conditions today, with some continuing to see them through Sunday.
The greatest risk area for fire weather conditions later Saturday is for parts of the Four Corners: eastern Utah, western Colorado, northeast Arizona and northwest New Mexico. This area is under the level 3 of 3 threat with an extremely critical fire weather risk in place. Hot, extremely dry and windy conditions are bringing favorable conditions for new fires to spark and spread rapidly.
Vegetation in the area is incredibly dry, providing ample, quick-burning fuel for wildfires. In the extreme risk area, sustained winds of 25 to 35 mph and gusts up to 55 mph are forecast with relative humidity values dipping into the single digits.
These conditions will promote extreme fire behavior in an area already dealing with large uncontrolled wildfires. Existing wildfires could explode in size and move erratically with new fires potentially growing rapidly as well.
Breezy and dry conditions will continue across this portion of the West this weekend; however, cooler temperatures will be settling in.
All of this comes after many states in the West, including Utah, saw their lowest snowpack on record this winter and are now under extreme drought conditions, which is furthering the critical fire weather danger in the region.
Severe thunderstorms and flooding The threat for flash flooding and severe storms continues in parts of the country on Saturday.
On Saturday morning, rounds of heavy rain are moving through parts of southern Kansas and northern Oklahoma, and these areas remain under a Flood Watch until later this morning for the potential of flash flooding.
Flood Watches extend from southeast Missouri and northeast Arkansas to northern West Virginia and southern Ohio for potentially heavy rain today into tomorrow. This includes places such as Charleston, West Virginia; Cincinnati, Ohio; Louisville, Kentucky; Nashville, Tennessee; Evansville, Indiana; and Poplar Bluff, Missouri.
Some of these pockets of rain could have strong storms that produce gusty winds and lightning.
Two pockets of severe weather for Saturday include those centered over North Carolina and the other up towards the northern High Plains.
For much of North Carolina, a level 2 of 5 threat for severe storms is up for later Saturday into the evening for the potential for storms producing damaging winds.
Back towards the northern High Plains, a level 3 of 5 “enhanced risk” of severe storms is up for parts of west-central North Dakota, eastern Montana and northwest South Dakota – including Minot, North Dakota, and Glendive, Montana.
A level 2 of 5 threat for severe storms extends further into Montana and the Dakotas and also reaches down to western Nebraska, which includes Bismarck, North Dakota; Rapid City, South Dakota; Sheridan, Wyoming; and Valentine, Nebraska.
Storms here could produce damaging winds, large hail and a few tornadoes.
Extreme heat on the move Over the weekend, extreme heat will be building in the center of the country, starting in the southern Plains on Saturday and becoming more expansive across the central U.S. by Sunday.
There is growing confidence that a dangerous heat wave will impact millions across the Midwest early next week, with big heat also building across much of the East Coast by midweek.
By Monday, widespread highs in the 90s are forecast across the Midwest, with afternoon temperatures soaring into the upper 90s in Minneapolis.
Humid conditions will make it feel even hotter with heat index values potential reaching the triple digits in many areas.
Chicago and Detroit will see highs reaching the mid-to- upper 90s by Tuesday and Wednesday.
And a large swath of the I-95 corridor is set for a heat wave beginning Tuesday as the heat builds east, with temperatures at or above 90 from Washington, D.C., to New York and stay through at least midweek.
Meanwhile in the West, below average temperatures arriving this weekend will likely linger across the region through at least the first half of next week.
From left: Elizabeth Siders, Christina Siders, Gary Siders Jr. and Gary Siders Sr., are seen in booking photos on June 30, 2026. (Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail)
(VINTON COUNTY, Ohio) — Four people have been charged with child endangerment after 16 children were removed from a home in Ohio where officials say they were living in “deplorable conditions.”
Authorities executed a search warrant at the home in Hamden in Vinton County on Tuesday, where they say they found the children and four suspects inside.
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said the evidence in the case is “beyond comprehension.”
“I think if they would have waited another 24 hours, that there was a very high probability that we’d be dealing with a death or multiple deaths of these children,” he said during a press briefing on Wednesday.
Vinton County Prosecutor William Archer said this is not a case of human trafficking, but an “intra-family situation.”
He described the suspects as being the “grandma, grandpa, father and mother” during Wednesday’s press briefing.
The four suspects — Gary Siders Sr., 73; Christina Siders, 67; Gary Siders II, 36; and Elizabeth Siders, 33 — have each been charged with 16 counts of endangering children, a second-degree felony, according to officials. They pleaded not guilty during their arraignment Wednesday morning and their bond was set at $300,000 each. They will likely request court-appointed counsel, officials said.
The charges allege the four suspects abused the children, resulting in “serious physical harm.”
The children range in age from 1 ½ to 18, according to Wilson. He did not go into the nature of the injuries but said seven of the children were transported to the hospital on Tuesday, including two who were airlifted there. One of the children was in critical condition, Wilson said.
Archer said the children are safe and officials are working to have them placed in temporary custody.
“They are currently in a good situation and are being protected,” he said.
Wilson said the investigation has been ongoing for some time, and that a separate but “parallel” investigation led law enforcement to execute the search warrant on Tuesday.
The family had lived in Vinton County for the past four years and were “clearly bouncing around,” according to Wilson.
“They were pretty adept at keeping these kids out of sight and out of investigative eyes,” he said.
The children were not enrolled in school, according to Wilson. The eldest child is included among the charges because the 18-year-old is believed to developmentally still be a minor, officials said.
“Some of these children couldn’t even speak,” Wilson said. “It was terrible.”
Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain described the condition of the house as “disgusting,” including the presence of human feces, and said the children were largely confined to a small area.
“Most of our livestock is kept in better condition than the children,” Cain said during Wednesday’s briefing.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine called the situation “tragic.”
“It is heartbreaking to learn the conditions that these children were living in, and to learn of their medical conditions,” DeWine said in a statement, which also thanked those helping them.
An attorney for one of the suspects said that the case is in an “extremely preliminary stage.”
Gary Siders Sr. is “entitled to the same presumption of innocence that every person charged in this county should and does enjoy,” his attorney, Dorian Keith Baum, said in a statement on Thursday, in part.
“So while there is little ability to stop all speculation, conjecture, or uncorroborated guess-work from taking place, I would ask that we all let the process play out, irrespective of the sensationalist underpinnings of the allegations against Mr. Siders, so that we as his defense counsel can be provided with whatever evidence the State allegedly has in order to give it a thorough review and determine if the State can meet their burden of proof; or, alternatively, if Mr. Siders is actually not guilty of what is being alleged,” the statement continued.
ABC News’ Sasha Pezenik contributed to this report.
Microsoft Co-Founder Bill Gates stops to speak to the media as he arrives to testify at a closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill on June 10, 2026, in Washington, DC. The committee is continuing to hold closed-door interviews as part of their investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. (Photo by Tom Brenner/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — After Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates tried to end his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender attempted to use compromising information about Gates’ extramarital affairs to force his way back into Gates’ life — but never explicitly threatened him, Gates told the House Oversight Committee earlier this month, according to a transcript of the closed-door session released Tuesday.
Gates appeared before the panel on June 10 as part of its ongoing probe into the government’s handling of its investigations into Epstein.
Gates, according to the transcript, said Epstein used an adviser to send him “veiled” threats, appeared to coach Gates’ adviser on how to potentially blackmail him, and mixed fact and fiction to leverage compromising information against the software billionaire.
“I was not blackmailed, but, you know, as you look at these emails, you know, it looks like Mr. Epstein’s brainstorming was going in that direction,” Gates said about materials from the Epstein files released earlier this year by the Department of Justice. “It appears that in many cases he, at least in emails to himself, was sort of rehearsing how either he or he coaching someone else might choose to blackmail me, but none of those messages were ever sent to me.”
During the interview, Gates acknowledged having at least three extramarital affairs, though he said that Epstein was involved with none of the women and that Epstein only learned about them after he and Epstein had cut ties.
The testimony offers a rare window into how Epstein allegedly tried to use compromising information to manipulate at least one powerful public figure. The Department of Justice said last year it found no credible evidence that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals.
Gates told lawmakers that his interactions with Epstein were limited to business, that he never witnessed Epstein commit a crime, and that he did not suspect that the women who were traveling with the disgraced financier were victims of sex trafficking. Asked about photos showing him with some of Epstein’s victims, Gates said Epstein occasionally asked to take photographs of Gates with women who Gates said he believed were Epstein’s assistants.
“I have never victimized anyone. While he may have sought to foster a personal relationship, I was never interested in that and never reciprocated,” Gates told lawmakers.
Gates told the Oversight panel that he first began to meet with Epstein in 2011 because he thought the financier’s purported connections with the wealthy could help advance the Gates Foundation’s global health work. When they first began to meet, Gates said he was aware of Epstein’s “bad reputation stemming from his criminal conviction,” but continued to see Epstein.
“I was aware that he had a criminal conviction,” Gates said. “I knew that it was of a sexual nature, but, no, I don’t think I knew, dug into the specifics, although I probably should have.”
Gates said he only became aware of the full extent of Epstein’s crimes in 2018 after the Miami Herald’s in-depth reporting on Epstein’s lenient deal with federal prosecutors.
Gates said he thought the other high-profile individuals with whom Epstein socialized helped create an “image of legitimacy,” acknowledging that his own relationship with Epstein likely bolstered that image.
“I was so focused on the possibility of raising funds for global health that I allowed that goal to override my better judgment,” Gates said. “If the time I spent with Epstein lent him credibility, I am deeply sorry. I’ve learned a significant lesson and am now far more careful about who I engage with, even in a limited capacity.”
Describing Epstein as a “dilettante” with a surface-level knowledge of science and academics, Gates said that Epstein suggested he “provided advice to lots of billionaires” who might be able to advance philanthropic causes.
“He talked about Wall Street billionaires, he talked about Middle East billionaires. He made it sound very extensive … maybe for me to have a good impression of him,” Gates said.
While Gates insisted that his meetings with Epstein “weren’t social,” he recounted that some of those dinners involved “wide ranging discussion” with academics and bankers, including one dinner that included entertainment from magician David Blaine. Gates also said that Epstein repeatedly invited him to his private island, as well as an erotic show in Paris — invites that Gates said he refused.
According to Gates, his science adviser claimed they could likely go backstage to meet some of the performers that Epstein had dated, but Gates said he did not want to be spotted at an erotic show with Epstein.
“It wasn’t consistent with the relationship I had with Epstein,” Gates said. “I guess not only is my appearing at an erotic event a risk to my reputation, it would be compounded by appearing with somebody who, although I didn’t know the full extent of it, had been convicted of a sexually related crime.”
After occasionally meeting with Epstein for about three years, Gates said he began to express concerns that Epstein was “stringing” him along with his claims that he could deliver “meaningful philanthropic support.” According to Gates, Epstein set up a series of meetings in 2014 with high-profile individuals including hotel billionaire Thomas Pritzker, media billionaire Mort Zuckerman, and private equity investor Leon Black to demonstrate his connections to purportedly help Gates’ philanthropy work, though Gates said the meetings were a “dead end.”
“At that point, I concluded Epstein would never deliver on his promises. I told him we would go no further and stopped communicating or meeting with him,” Gates told the panel.
After Gates tried to cut ties with Epstein in 2014, he said the disgraced financier attempted to force his way back into his life, including by leveraging his knowledge of Gates’ extramarital affairs.
While Gates said he never disclosed the affairs to Epstein, he speculated that Epstein learned about the indiscretions through his relationship with Gates’ science adviser Boris Nikolic. Gates said that Nikolic was aware of the affairs because of their close relationship, including at least one instance when he used meeting with Nikolic as an alibi to rendezvous with one of the women.
“One time it was a scheduling thing, when we were in London, where I said to him I was going to disappear and wanted him to show that I was meeting with him at that time,” Gates said.
When Nikolic began the process of leaving the Gates Foundation, he engaged Epstein to help him negotiate the terms of his departure, Gates said. Epstein traveled to Seattle at one point to assist in Nikolic’s negotiation, Gates said, and Nikolic eventually began to make “veiled” threats via email.
“It’s hard to characterize the Epstein stuff because there was never a direct threat of any kind. There was always this veiled language like ‘we should remain friends,’ you know, which made me wonder what Dr. Nikolic had shared with him,” Gates said.
Asked about two draft emails released by the Department of Justice seemingly written by Epstein on behalf of Nikolic, Gates said the notes — which vaguely referenced the affairs and suggested that Gates has contracted a sexually transmitted disease — appeared to be part of a plot to attempt to “blackmail” him.
While Gates acknowledged at least three affairs, he explicitly denied contracting a sexually transmitted disease from the affairs, suggesting Epstein mixed falsehoods with known compromising information to use as leverage.
“If those emails that contained some truth and some false things were ever sent, then we could say there was an attempt at blackmail that never happened,” Gates said.
After he severed his relationship with Epstein, Gates claimed that the disgraced financier attempted to force his way back into his orbit, including by seeking reimbursement for money he claimed to have paid a woman with whom Gates had an affair. He told lawmakers that Epstein had nothing to do with the relationship and said he was unaware of any money that Epstein may have paid the woman, telling lawmakers that he believed the requests for payment were a “tactic [for Epstein] to reengage” him.
“I’d never asked him to do anything with respect to the person we’re discussing, so I was rather surprised. That was the first time I knew explicitly that he’d become aware of that affair,” Gates told lawmakers.
ABC News’ John Parkinson contributed to this report.
