(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed his name on one of the slabs of a new multimillion-dollar granite helipad being built on the White House South Lawn as he showcased the ongoing construction project for the first time.

“It’s very exciting, very exciting, and I think it will be here for a long time,” Trump told reporters as he gave them a tour and touted the project, which will feature the U.S. seal.  

But questions are mounting about who is paying for the project and if taxpayers might be on the hook.

Trump announced the helipad in July from the Oval Office, and said that Sikorsky, the manufacturer of the Marine One fleet that carries the president, would pay for the build.

“They are paying for the cost of it. It’s about $5 or $6 million. They’re paying the full cost,” Trump said at the time.

On Wednesday Trump reiterated that Sikorsky was footing much of the bill with additional “donations from numerous people, including me.”

A spokesperson for Lockheed Martin, Sikorsky’s parent company, told ABC News in a statement last month that its contribution was “made to the National Park Service.”

They added that their work with the administration was being “guided by rigorous ethics and compliance standards.”

Trump said crews were working nearly around the clock to bring the project in for a landing, starting as early as six in the morning and wrapping at midnight.

In addition to landing Marine One, the helipad would be used for when foreign dignitaries come for state visits and as a cocktail space ahead of events at the ballroom he’s constructing. He has in the past said it could also be used for news conferences.

The president said his signature, and that of those leading the project, will be on the back of the head of the eagle, which is part of the U.S. seal, and would not be visible once the project is complete.

ABC News has asked the White House Historical Association whether there are any past instances of a president inscribing their own name on a project on the grounds. 

The president has said the landing zone is being built to allow newer Marine One helicopters that ferry the president to make trips to the White House.

“This is a helipad at the highest level. It can land any helicopter in the world, no matter how big, no matter how powerful, no matter how strong,” he said.

Lockheed Martin delivered a new fleet of Sikorsky helicopters to the Air Force in 2024, but the White House has had to keep using the older fleet for South Lawn departures and arrivals because they burn the grass. The newer helicopters have been used at other locations. 

A construction worker told the president that the helipad could be completed by “the 21st,” though it was not clear if that was of August or September. Trump is slated to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sept. 24.

“Oh, so we might make it for President Xi? That would be great,” Trump said. He later added, “Not imperative, but it would be very nice to have it done.”

He also admitted that work was delayed for a week after he asked for the helipad to be raised to account for a slope in the lawn.

“Sorry to take an extra week and a half, but lifting it up was one of the best things we’ve ever done, right? Trump said to the construction workers standing around him.

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(DILLEY, Texas.) — Last month, Kelly Ocampo believed she received good news: Her 21-year-old pregnant sister had finally been granted bond and was going to be released from the family immigration detention center in Dilley, Texas.

The letter she received from a lawyer to whom she had paid more than $3,000 was written on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement letterhead and stated that the ICE bond for Maria Alejandra Gomez-Quiroz was approved.

“This notice confirms that the immigration bond ordered by the Immigration Court has been successfully paid through an official payment method authorized by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS),” the letter stated.

When Ocampo received the letter, her sister had been in detention for a few weeks. But now, a month after she believed the bond was approved, her sister — who is five months pregnant — is still in federal immigration custody.

“It was a scam,” Ocampo told ABC News.

Ocampo believes she was scammed by an individual posing as an immigration attorney, and said her sister has now been detained for over 40 days. Ocampo and her family spent all their savings on the alleged lawyer to try to get her sister released, she said.

ABC News reached out to the person Ocampo says claimed to be a lawyer, but did not receive a response.

Ocampo told ABC News that her sister and partner were fleeing violent guerrillas in Colombia and were planning on applying for asylum in the U.S.

Gomez-Quiroz was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol at the border in June.

She is one of at least 500 people detained at Dilley and one of four pregnant women being held there as part of the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration crackdown, according to lawmakers.

Her detention comes as a federal district judge in California has ordered the appointment of a special master and independent monitor to examine “time in custody” at the Dilley facility to ensure that the government is complying with guidelines established in previous legal settlements.

Immigration lawyers have argued that the administration is detaining people longer than allowed by previous court settlements.

Immigrant advocacy groups have also said that arrests and detentions of pregnant women violate an ICE directive stating that the agency should not “detain, arrest, or continue to detain individuals known to be pregnant, postpartum, or nursing” except under exceptional circumstances.

ABC News previously reported on a different 21-year-old pregnant woman who has been detained at Dilly for more than 50 days with her 2-year-old son.

Immigrant advocates, medical professionals and lawmakers have previously raised concerns about conditions at the South Texas facility.

The order from the California judge also calls for the special master and independent monitor to monitor compliance with “adequate access to medical care” at Dilley.

DHS officials have previously disputed any allegations of substandard medical care at the detention facility.

A spokesperson for DHS said Gomez-Quiroz was convicted of illegal entry on July 6 and stated that she remains in ICE custody pending the outcome of her removal proceedings.

In response to concerns from Gomez-Quiroz’s family that she has been experiencing lower abdominal pain, a DHS spokesperson said, “It is a longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care from the moment a person enters ICE custody.”

“She’s been very depressed,” Ocampo told ABC News. “My mom is desperate … this is a very hard situation.

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(NEW YORK) — Charges were announced Monday against 14 people in connection with an alleged cocaine-trafficking operation involving students associated with two Penn State fraternities, the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office said.

Thirteen current or former students, as well as a student’s father, face felony or misdemeanor charges, according to a press release. At least four defendants are current students, the attorney general’s office said.

“This was a coordinated and highly profitable drug-trafficking crew revolving around two senior members of the fraternities, other fraternity brothers, and pledges,” Attorney General Dave Sunday said in a statement. “In fact, according to the evidence uncovered, cutting and packaging cocaine was, for some pledges, an indoctrination into the fraternities.”

Penn State officials placed the Delta Upsilon fraternity on an interim suspension, the school said in a statement. The other fraternity, Sigma Chi, where members were allegedly involved, is not recognized as an official fraternity at the school, the statement said.

The allegations stem from 2023 and 2024, Penn State said, adding that both fraternities operate off campus.

The investigation, which the attorney general dubbed “Operation Drugs Unlimited,” found that two members of the group — Agostino Abbatiello and Thomas Robinson — were alleged to have been the main suppliers to the group, roles that included “making regular trips to Philadelphia and New York for large quantities of cocaine,” officials said.

“The cocaine was then cut and packaged — primarily at the Delta Upsilon and Sigma Chi fraternity houses — and distributed mainly to Penn State University students,” according to the attorney general’s office.

Officials said they tracked how the cocaine was allegedly obtained, packaged and sold, saying, “Most of the payments were made in cash or via payment apps.”

Abbatiello, 24, the alleged leader of the cocaine-trafficking ring, surrendered Tuesday morning, prosecutors said. He was denied bail at his arraignment

Abbatiello and Robinson, along with two others, Mohammed Hurabi and Lars Zeepvat, face charges including felony corrupt organizations, conspiracy, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity and related offenses, the attorney general’s office said.

Another person, Robert Zanolla, faces charges of felony conspiracy and criminal use of a communication facility, as well as related misdemeanors, the office said.

The eight remaining student-age defendants face misdemeanor counts of possession and possession of drug paraphernalia, the office said.

“Paul Robinson is charged with felony tampering, hindering apprehension for taking steps to conceal evidence, including a safe containing drugs and cash, and obstructing the investigation,” the release said, identifying him as the father of one of the students.

The charges were announced by Sunday’s office in cooperation with the State College Police Department and the 54th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury.

“We are horrified by these serious allegations against current and former students,” said Andrea Dowhower, Penn State’s vice president for Student Affairs, in a statement.

Dowhower added, “Criminal activity, including hazing, such as this has no place at our institution, and we will cooperate with law enforcement in any way we can. We will continue to enhance our efforts around health and safety and hazing educational efforts for all our organizations.”

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(NEW YORK) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested a member of the San Diego Padres’ minor league coaching staff, according to his family and the agency.

Oswaldo Pirela, the team’s minor league catching coordinator who is based in Arizona, was detained Sunday morning at El Paso International Airport while he was traveling for work, his brother and mother told ABC News.

Pirela, 34, a married father of two daughters, entered the U.S. legally from Venezuela in 2014 and was allowed to remain in the country until 2018, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement Tuesday. However, the agency alleged that he, “overstayed his welcome.”

“When approached by law enforcement officers, he was not in possession of legal documentation granting him status in the country. He will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings and will receive due process,” DHS said in a statement.

Pirela’s family said in social media posts that he has done nothing wrong and is in the country legally.

“Oswaldo, like me and other members of our family, was directly affected by persecution from the Venezuelan regime. We came to the United States seeking safety through the legal process, applied for asylum through the proper channels, and have worked hard to build our lives and become contributing members of American society,” his brother, Jorge Pirela, said in an Instagram post on Monday.

The Padres said in a statement to ABC News Tuesday that it is aware of Pirela’s arrest.

“We are working to gather additional information and will not have any further comment at this time,” the team said.

A LinkedIn profile for Pirela, confirmed by his brother, said he played for the Texas Rangers from July 2008 to November 2011. After arriving in America in 2014, he worked landscape management before returning to baseball as a coach.

He has been with the Padres since 2024, according to the LinkedIn profile.

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(WASHINGTON) — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has filed a federal lawsuit against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to compel the extradition of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent charged with assault over a nonfatal shooting and alleged false reporting during Operation Metro Surge. 

The ICE agent, Christian Castro, is accused of firing a gun at the front door of an occupied home in Minneapolis on Jan. 14, striking a Venezuelan man in the leg, then lying about the circumstances of the shooting, according to prosecutors.

Castro was charged in May with four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime. A Hennepin County District Court judge found probable cause for the charges and issued a nationwide warrant for Castro’s arrest, according to Ellison’s office.

On May 29, Texas Rangers located and arrested Castro, after which a Cameron County judge ordered him detained pending extradition proceedings, according to Ellison’s office.

Four days after Castro’s arrest, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz sent Abbott an extradition request, but, according to Ellison’s office, the Texas governor has “withheld a rendition warrant” directing law enforcement to transfer Castro back to Minnesota for prosecution.

“Now, Governor Abbott is trying to shield Castro from being held accountable for these serious charges by refusing to extradite him to Minnesota,” Ellison said in a statement on Tuesday. “Abbott’s refusal to extradite Castro is unconstitutional and violates federal law and Texas law. I will not stand for that, so I’m taking Abbott to court. Christian Castro will stand trial in Minnesota.”

ABC News reached out to the Texas governor’s office for comment on the Minnesota lawsuit but has not yet received a response.

The lawsuit also alleges that Manuel Trevino — the sheriff of Cameron County, Texas, who is named as a defendant in the federal complaint — has failed to make Castro available for extradition.

Ellison’s office said the attorney general will also be requesting a temporary restraining order “barring the Cameron County Sheriff’s Office from releasing Castro.”

The Cameron County sheriff declined to comment on the lawsuit.

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(WASHINGTON) — A power failure aboard a U.S. Navy destroyer operating in the South China Sea last month left the ship’s crew without potable water, hot food, working toilets or air conditioning for four days.

The outage stemmed from an engineering failure aboard the USS Benfold, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, Cmdr. Matthew Comer, a 7th Fleet spokesperson, said in a statement to ABC News.

The incident adds to concerns about the strain on the Navy as it juggles the Iran war and an expanding slate of global commitments.

The Benfold, a 30-year-old ship, was sailing with the George Washington carrier strike group on July 24 when an issue with the ship’s generators caused a complete loss of power aboard the destroyer, according to Comer.

The George Washington strike group is slated to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East, where the carrier and its crew have faced an extended deployment supporting the Iran war.

“There were no injuries to the crew, who demonstrated resilience, grit, professionalism, and unwavering steadiness in their response,” Comer said of the power failure on the Benfold.

It’s unclear why the incident wasn’t disclosed by the sea service at the time.

ABC News reached out to the Navy for more information about the circumstances surrounding the power outage.

The Benfold was towed by contracted tugboats to Subic Bay in the Philippines, arriving July 28, where Navy maintenance specialists met the ship to begin repairs. Sailors were provided food and moved into contracted lodging ashore beginning the following day, Comer said.

Power was restored July 30, and repairs were completed on Aug. 7; the Benfold departed Subic Bay a day later, Comer added.

It’s unclear whether the Benfold returned to its home port of Japan or continued to sail with the Washington. 

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