AT A GLANCE U.S. District Judge Richard Leon declined to block Trump's White House ballroom construction on Feb. 26. The National Trust for Historic Preservation sued to stop the project citing lack of congressional authorization and environmental review. The Trump administration argues the project aligns with presidential renovation practices and uses private funding. A federal judge on Feb. 26 declined to block President Donald Trump from proceeding with construction of a $400 million White House ballroom to replace the demolished East Wing, finding that a challenge from preservationists did not meet the high bar for a preliminary injunction that would halt the project for now. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon's ruling came in a lawsuit by the National Trust for Historic Preservation aiming to stop construction until the White House complies with federal law and rules including congressional authorization. The National Trust had sought a preliminary injunction to freeze the work on the ballroom, planned to be 90,000 square feet (8,360 square meters), while the private nonprofit group's lawsuit proceeds. The Trump administration has argued that the project is consistent with established presidential renovation practices and serves the public interest. Leon, in his ruling, said he could not issue an injunction based on the specific arguments the National Trust made, but he said the group could amend its complaint to reassert its claims that Trump is acting beyond his authority. "Unfortunately, because both sides initially focused on the President's constitutional authority to destruct and construct the East Wing of the White House, Plaintiff didn't bring the necessary cause of action to test the statutory authority the President claims is the basis to do this construction project without the blessing of Congress and with private funds," Leon wrote in his ruling. Trump in a post on his Truth Social platform called the decision "Great news for America, and our wonderful White House!" He said the ballroom "will stand long into the future as a symbol to the Greatness of America!" National Trust President Carol Quillen in a statement said the organization was disappointed Leon did not issue an injunction but "pleased that he encouraged us to amend our complaint — specifically, to assert that the President has acted beyond his statutory authority — and we plan to do so promptly." MAJOR WHITE HOUSE RENOVATIONS The National Trust sued Trump and several federal agencies in December, arguing that the project moved ahead unlawfully without required approvals, environmental review or authorization by Congress. Trump's demolition of the East Wing building, a part of the White House complex originally built in 1902 during Theodore Roosevelt's presidency and greatly expanded in 1942 during Franklin Roosevelt's presidency, was carried out in October. Construction equipment tore down the structure, which had housed the first lady's offices, a theater and a visitors' entrance that welcomed foreign dignitaries. The ballroom project is one of several major changes Trump has made to the White House since returning to office in January 2025. Trump has added gold accents throughout the Oval Office and converted the Rose Garden lawn into a paved patio resembling one at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. The National Trust argued that federal law bars construction on federal parkland in Washington without the express authority of Congress. It also argued the National Park Service violated federal law by issuing an environmental assessment instead of a full impact statement, and by releasing it after demolition had begun. "No president is legally allowed to tear down portions of the White House without any review whatsoever - not President Trump, not President Biden, and not anyone else," the lawsuit said. The administration has defended the legality of the project, arguing it follows a long line of presidential renovations. It said in a court filing that the ballroom is needed for state functions, its design is still evolving and above-ground construction is not planned until April, making an injunction unnecessary. Last week, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts approved Trump’s ballroom proposal. The panel, whose commissioners were appointed by Trump in January, advanced the project on a unanimous 6-0 vote. Trump's swift demolition of the East Wing drew scorn from preservationists and other critics, who saw the project as an extension of the Republican president's claims of expansive presidential powers. Trump has defended the project, asserting in a post on his Truth Social platform that his use of private donations for the project means "ZERO taxpayer funding." Trump called the planned ballroom a "desperately needed space." No firm completion date has been given but the White House said it will be "long before the end" of Trump's term.

New York's attorney general sued Valve, a video game developer whose franchises include Counter-Strike, Team Fortress and Dota, accusing it of promoting illegal gambling and threatening to addict children through its use of "loot boxes." In a complaint filed on Feb. 25 in a state court in Manhattan, Attorney General Letitia James said Valve's loot boxes amounted to "quintessential gambling," violating the state's constitution and penal law, with valuable items often hard to win and many items worth pennies. Valve, based in Bellevue, Washington, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Loot boxes let players use real money to buy chances to win virtual items, such as decorations for characters and weapons, in an effort to convey status. James said Valve generated billions of dollars of revenue by selling "keys" to open loot boxes, including in one game where the process resembled a slot machine as a wheel whirred through various items before stopping. The attorney general said key sales advanced Valve's unusual business model of letting players sell items they won on its virtual marketplace, Steam Community Market, and on other marketplaces. "Valve’s loot boxes are particularly pernicious because they are popular among children and adolescents," according to the complaint. Children introduced to gambling by age 12 are four times more likely to become problem gamblers as adults, the complaint added, citing the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. James is seeking restitution for players, plus a fine of three times Valve's alleged illegal gains. Loot boxes for video games have been the subject of other regulatory action. For example, in January 2025, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission fined Singapore-based Cognosphere, the maker of Genshin Impact, $20 million for deceiving children and others about the odds of winning valuable loot-box prizes. Children under 16 were also blocked from buying loot boxes without parental consent. Cognosphere, doing business as HoYoverse, did not admit wrongdoing, the FTC said.

A federal judge in California on Feb. 24 dismissed a lawsuit from Elon Musk's artificial intelligence startup xAI that accused rival Sam Altman's OpenAI of stealing its trade secrets. U.S. District Judge Rita Lin in San Francisco said that xAI could refile its case, but for now has failed to allege that OpenAI committed any misconduct. The lawsuit, filed in September, claimed that former xAI employees took source code related to its Grok chatbot and other confidential information with them when they left for new jobs at OpenAI. "Notably absent are allegations about the conduct of OpenAI itself," Lin said. "xAI does not allege any facts indicating that OpenAI induced xAI’s former employees to steal xAI’s trade secrets or that these former xAI employees used any stolen trade secrets once employed by OpenAI." Lin had signaled in a January opinion that she would likely rule for OpenAI. She gave xAI until March 17 to file an amended complaint. xAI has separately sued a former engineer, Xuechen Li, for allegedly taking trade secrets to the ChatGPT maker. Li was blocked in that case from sharing xAI's technology with OpenAI, though OpenAI has said that Li never worked for the company and that it never acquired or used any of xAI's secrets. Spokespeople and attorneys for xAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Feb. 24 decision. "We welcome the court's decision," OpenAI said in a statement. "This baseless lawsuit was never anything more than yet another front in Mr. Musk's ongoing campaign of harassment." The lawsuit is part of a broader legal battle between Musk and Microsoft-backed OpenAI, which he co-founded and is also suing over its ?conversion to a for-profit company. Musk, the world's richest person, is seeking as much as $134.5 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft in that case. Jury selection is scheduled for April 27. OpenAI said in a court filing that the trade-secrets case was part of a "campaign to harass a competitor with unfounded legal claims" because Grok could not keep up with ChatGPT.