Washington: President Donald Trump railed against a federal judge's decision on Thursday that continues to block above-ground construction of a $400 million White House ballroom, allowing only below-ground work on a bunker and other "national security facilities" at the site.US District Judge Richard Leon's latest ruling comes in response to an appeals court's instruction to clarify an earlier decision on the 90,000-square-foot (8,400-square-meter) ballroom planned for the site where it demolished the East Wing of the White House.Trump on social media called Leon, who was nominated to the bench by Republican President George W. Bush, a "Trump Hating" judge who "has gone out of his way to undermine National Security, and to make sure that this Great Gift to America gets delayed, or doesn't get built."The administration filed a notice that it will ask the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to review Leon's latest decision, too.National Trust for Historic Preservation president and CEO Carol Quillen, whose group sued to challenge the project, said in a statement that the group is pleased with the court's ruling.Leon said that below-ground work on security measures is exempt from his order suspending above-ground construction. Government lawyers have argued that the project includes critical security features to guard against a range of possible threats, such as drones, ballistic missiles and biohazards.Leon's latest ruling comes several days after a three-judge panel from the DC appeals court instructed him to reconsider the possible national security implications of stopping construction.In his previous order, Leon barred above-ground work on the ballroom from proceeding without congressional approval. The judge also ruled on March 31 that any construction work that's necessary to ensure the safety and security of the White House is exempt from the scope of the injunction. Leon said he reviewed material that the government privately submitted to him before concluding that halting construction wouldn't jeopardize national security.Leon had suspended his March 31 order for two weeks. He stayed his latest decision for another week, which gives the administration more time to seek Supreme Court review.Leon said he is ordering a stop only to the above-ground construction of the planned ballroom, apart from any work needed to cover or secure that part of the project. Otherwise, the Trump administration is free to proceed with the construction of any excavations, bunkers, military installations, and medical facilities below the ballroom."Defendants argue that the entire ballroom construction project, from tip to tail, falls within the safety-and-security exception and therefore may proceed unabated," the judge wrote. "That is neither a reasonable nor a correct reading of my Order!"On Saturday, the appeals court panel said it didn't have enough information to decide how much of the project can be suspended without jeopardizing the safety of the president, his family or the White House staff.Leon said he recognizes the safety implications of the case, but stressed that "national security is not a blank check to proceed with otherwise unlawful activity." He also said he has "no desire or intention to be dragooned into the role of construction manager."On April 2, two days after Leon's previous ruling, Trump's ballroom won final approval from the 12-member National Capital Planning Commission, which is charged with approving construction on federal property in the Washington region.The preservation group sued in December, a week after the White House finished demolishing the East Wing to make way for a ballroom that Trump said would fit 999 people. Trump says the project is funded by private donations, although public money is paying for the bunker construction and security upgrades.

Los Angeles: Singer D4vd has been arrested on suspicion of killing a 14-year-old girl whose decomposed body was found seven months ago in his apparently abandoned Tesla, authorities said Thursday, while his lawyers declared his innocence.Los Angeles police said in a brief statement that homicide detectives arrested the 21-year-old Houston-born alt-pop singer, whose legal name is David Burke, on suspicion of murder in the investigation of the killing of Celeste Rivas Hernandez.Defence attorneys Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter responded in an email: "Let us be clear - the actual evidence in this case will show that David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez and he was not the cause of her death."Police said investigators would present a case to prosecutors at the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office on Monday. The office said in its own statement that it is aware of the arrest, and its Major Crimes Division will review the case to determine whether there is enough evidence to file charges.The defence lawyers added, "There has been no indictment returned by any grand jury in this case and no criminal complaint filed. David has only been detained under suspicion. We will vigorously defend David's innocence."It was their first public statement on the case. Authorities did not publicly name Burke as a suspect until his arrest. He was being held in jail without bail.The singer had been under investigation by an LA County grand jury looking into the death of Rivas Hernandez. The probe was officially secret, but its existence - and the designation of D4vd as its target - was revealed on Feb. 25 when his mother, father and brother filed an objection in a Texas court to subpoenas demanding they testify.The long-dead body of Rivas Hernandez was found in a Tesla towed from the Hollywood Hills on Sept. 8, a day after she would have turned 15. She was a 13-year-old seventh grader when her family reported her missing in 2024 from her hometown of Lake Elsinore, about 70 miles (112 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles. Authorities give her age as 14 when she was killed in court documents.The 2023 Tesla Model Y was registered in the singer's name at the Texas address of his subpoenaed family members, according to court filings from prosecutors. It had been towed from an upscale neighbourhood in the Hollywood Hills where it had been sitting, seemingly abandoned.Police investigators searching the Tesla in a tow yard found a cadaver bag "covered with insects and a strong odour of decay," court documents said, and "detectives partially unzipped the bag and observed a decomposed head and torso."Investigators from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office removed the bag and "discovered the arms and legs had been severed from the body," according to court documents. A second black bag was found under the first, and dismembered body parts were inside it. No cause of death has been publicly revealed.D4vd, pronounced "David," gained popularity among Generation Z fans for his blend of indie rock, R&B and lo-fi pop. He went viral on TikTok in 2022 with the hit "Romantic Homicide," which peaked at No. 4 on Billboard's Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. He then signed with Darkroom and Interscope Records and released his debut EP "Petals to Thorns" and a follow-up, "The Lost Petals," in 2023.When the body was discovered, D4vd had been on tour in support of his first full-length album, "Withered." Later, the last two North American shows, in San Francisco and Los Angeles, along with a scheduled performance at LA's Grammy Museum, were cancelled, as was the European tour that was to have begun in Norway.