America in Brief

Ticketmaster Owner Ran a Monopoly, Jury Finds

Ticketmaster owner Live Nation acted as a monopolist and overcharging fans, a jury has found in an antitrust trial initially filed by the Department of Justice alongside 30 state and district attorneys general.

This comes a month after Live Nation reached a settlement with the U.S. government in March shortly after the trial began. But a majority of states believed this wasn’t enough and continued to pursue the case further.

The jury has decided that Live Nation overcharged concertgoers a ticketing fee of $1.72 at affected venues, as well as pressuring artists and venues into using their services, cutting out rivals.

The results could see a divestment of Ticketmaster from Live Nation.

Appeals Court Allows White House Ballroom Construction

An appeals court on April 17 temporarily blocked a federal judge’s ruling that had frozen construction of the White House ballroom, allowing it to resume.

On April 16, Judge Richard Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that construction of the above-ground ballroom in the 90,000-square-foot expansion, which began in September, 2025, must be stopped, although he allowed the underground construction of security facilities to continue.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States had initially filed the motion to halt the project.

A hearing has been set for June 5 to decide the project’s fate.

Federal Trade Commission Action

A dispute between three major advertising agencies and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been settled in an antitrust lawsuit that accused them of steering their clients away from conservative media platforms, in what the FTC—alongside eight states in the lawsuit—say is unlawful media censorship.

Dentsu US, Inc.; GroupM Worldwide LLC (doing business as WPP Media); and Publicis, Inc. have agreed not to enter into or enforce any agreements that would limit advertising to publishers based on their political or ideological content.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton hailed the agreement as a win for freedom of speech.

“This was an egregious attempt to control public opinion and silence those who speak out against the liberal elites and powerful corporations,” he wrote in a statement.

Over 5 Million Registrations for Trump Accounts

More than 5 million children have been registered for Trump Accounts so far, ahead of their official launch on July 5, 2026.

U.S. President Donald Trump highlighted the launch of the youth savings program at a summit on Jan. 28.

Any child born between 2025 and 2028 is eligible to receive $1,000 from the U.S. government that will be deposited into an account, with parents given the option to donate a maximum of $5,000 annually, which will grow over time until the child can access it when they reach 18.

Under the conditions, the money must be used for a big expense, such as college or buying a house.

New Charges Against Jan. 6 Pipe Bomb Suspect

The federal government has filed new charges against Jan. 6, 2021, pipe bomb suspect Brian J. Cole Jr., who allegedly planted pipe bombs in Washington to blow up the headquarters of both major U.S. political parties.

The new counts involve attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and committing an act of terrorism while armed, on top of the two original charges, which include interstate transportation of explosives and the malicious attempt to use explosives.

Cole has denied the previous charges.

According to video footage and phone data, Cole allegedly planted two pipe bombs, one outside the headquarters of the Republican National Committee and the other outside the Democratic National Committee.

On Jan. 6, 2021, while President Donald Trump was giving a speech questioning the accuracy of the electoral process in the 2020 U.S. federal elections, protesters separately stormed the U.S. Capitol building.

War Powers Resolution to End Iran War Fails in House

A Democratic-led resolution to end U.S. military action in Iran failed in the House of Representatives on April 16, after a similar resolution was voted down in the U.S. Senate the day before in the Republican-majority Congress.

Democrats are proposing again, under the War Powers Resolution, to counter President Donald Trump’s executive authority to end or limit U.S. military operations against Iran unless it gains congressional approval, while Republicans say the operations are justified and necessary to degrade Iran’s nuclear weapons program, ballistic missile capabilities, and regional threats.

The War Powers Act of 1973 requires the president to notify Congress and completely withdraw U.S. forces by 90 days unless approved to continue by Congress.

Triumphal Arch Approved

President Donald Trump’s Triumphal Arch has been given federal approval by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, a panel that advises the president on matters of design in the U.S. Capitol.

Also known as Independence Arch, it is meant to commemorate America’s 250th birthday and spans 250 feet from its base to the tip of the torch of a figure resembling Lady Liberty—one foot for every year.

It will be placed within the Memorial Circle roundabout on Memorial Drive at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington.

Trump first unveiled the concept to donors at a White House dinner in October 2025.