Israel blocks construction of key Gaza base created by Trump peace board

Exclusive: Israel has not permitted US-led project to house 150 international troops to move forward…

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/14/israel-trump-peace-board-gaza-base

 

Groundbreaking for Trump's arch will begin soon, Burgum says - POLITICO

The monument will be constructed on land overseen by the National Park Service, and critics have argued Trump’s latest project requires explicit congressional approval. However, the Interior secretary continues to rebut these claims...

 https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/03/trump-arch-groundbreaking-timeline-01064052

 

Federal judge orders Trump pause construction on White House ballroom - POLITICO

The judge said work on the $400 million project must halt pending congressional authorization...

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/31/trump-white-house-ballroom-lawsuit-order-00852455 

 

Federal judge reverses Trump’s freeze on $16bn for NY-NJ tunnel project

The US district judge Jeannette Vargas in New York on Friday handed down the temporary ruling hours after New York and New Jersey authorities said construction would halt for lack of funding. 

Vargas said the states were likely to succeed on their claims that a Trump administration directive freezing the funds was arbitrary and ran afoul of legal procedures for making policy changes...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/07/federal-judge-reverses-trump-freeze-ny-nj-tunnel

 

Trump administration halts offshore wind projects from Virginia to New England, in major blow to clean power - POLITICO

The move is yet another escalation from President Donald Trump, who has vowed to throttle wind projects despite his party's worries about electricity affordability…

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/22/interior-pauses-construction-of-all-offshore-wind-projects-citing-national-security-concerns-00702593

What the end of Energy Star could mean for commercial real estate

Energy Star, a public-private partnership administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is reportedly on the chopping block as part of massive budget cuts proposed by the Trump administration.

Roughly 2,500 builders, developers and manufactured housing firms participate in the Energy Star Residential New Construction program, which sets strict energy-efficiency guidelines required to earn its designation.

Last year, more than 8,800 commercial buildings earned the Energy Star, saving more than $2.2 billion and preventing more than 5.7 million metric tons of emissions…
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/06/energy-star-commercial-real-estate.html

Krugman warns of Trump immigration plans harming food production, construction

The agriculture industry might be hit the hardest, he suggested, noting that many farm laborers lack permanent legal status. 

"Push those workers out, either by actual deportation or detention or simply by creating a climate of fear, and just watch what happens to grocery prices," he wrote...

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5108708-krugman-trump-immigration-policy-economic-consequences/

 

Elon Musk’s Boring Company Is Building the Vegas Loop With Little Oversight — ProPublica

In 2019, the company discharged groundwater into storm drains without a permit, resulting in a state settlement and a $90,000 fine. In 2021, state officials sent a cease-and-desist letter to prevent Boring from taking actions that could "cause unpermitted discharge of groundwater," prompting Davis, Boring's CEO, to complain to the head of the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection that the state was "being fairly aggressive and that this was starting to hurt" the company, according to an email the head of the agency sent to several staffers. 

The following year, local officials cited Boring for illegally connecting to a sewer without approval, records show. In 2023, state environmental regulators found the company was dumping untreated groundwater into the sewer, with one official writing that Boring staff were "unsure of how long they have been bypassing the treatment system." Local officials said they investigated but did not find evidence to take further action... 

"What's the traffic control system going to be like down in those tunnels? How are they going to make sure that none of those cars crash into each other when they're going at 35 mph from one tunnel into an intersection with another tunnel?" said the expert, who requested anonymity because of concerns about professional repercussions. "All their answers are completely evasive. So there are significant operational concerns."…

https://www.propublica.org/article/elon-musk-boring-company-las-vegas-loop-oversight 

 

Pentagon shifts money from overseas projects to fill hole caused by border wall funding | TheHill

The Pentagon is taking money from 19 construction projects, including several in Europe meant to deter Russia, in order to pay for construction projects stateside that had been delayed because funding was reallocated to President Trump’s border wall. ....
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/495103-pentagon-shifts-money-from-overseas-projects-to-fill-hole-caused-by-border

Republican-connected firm gets $569 million to build 17 miles of border wall. During a pandemic

No pandemic is going to stop the Trump administration from pouring billions of dollars into building a needless border wall, apparently. And once you’re blowing through money at the rate of $20 million per mile, why not up it to $30 million per mile and send that money to a construction company owned by big Republican donors?
https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/4/17/1938067/-Republican-connected-firm-gets-569-million-to-build-17-miles-of-border-wall-During-a-pandemic

Trump officials to announce completion of 100 miles of border wall | TheHill

Trump administration officials will announce Friday that they have completed construction on 100 miles of new barriers along the southern border with Mexico. Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Chad Wolf will announce the completed construction in Yuma, Ariz., The Washington Post reported. He will be joined by senior border officials and Sen. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.).....
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/477594-trump-administration-to-announce-completion-of-100-miles-of-border

Company touted by Trump to build the wall has history of fines, violations - CNN Politics

President Donald Trump appears to have set his sights on a North Dakota construction firm with a checkered legal record to build portions of his signature border wall.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/31/politics/fisher-sand-and-gravel-legal-history-border-wall/index.html

Another Texas Republican breaks with Trump over wall funding -- and gets applause for it at town hall - Raw Story

A Texas Congressman, U.S. Rep. Roger Williams (R-TX), said he opposes Trump's "emergency" declaration for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, saying he fears the money might be swiped from essential military construction projects...
https://www.rawstory.com/2019/02/another-texas-republican-breaks-trump-wall-funding-gets-applause-town-hall/

Building wall could take at least 10 years, even with 10,000 workers - The Washington Post

Even at 1,000 miles long, the project wouldn't help the steel industry much either ....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/build-the-wall-it-could-take-at-least-10-years-even-with-10000-workers/2019/01/09/62d5eaae-1376-11e9-803c-4ef28312c8b9_story.html

Israel Set to Raze Palestinian Village for Settlement Construction | Democracy Now!

In the occupied West Bank, Israeli bulldozers have entered the Palestinian Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar ahead of its planned demolition. In September, Israel’s Supreme Court approved a plan to raze the village to make way for an expansion of two nearby Jewish-only settlements. The plan will force the relocation of the village’s 180 residents to an area next to a landfill. On Monday, Israeli forces arrested four villagers and injured seven as they protested the arrival of demolition teams. ....

https://www.democracynow.org/2018/10/17/headlines/israel_set_to_raze_palestinian_village_for_settlement_construction

These U.S. Workers Are Being Paid Like It’s the 1980s - Bloomberg

Thanks to a web of loopholes and limits, the federal government has been green-lighting hourly pay of just $7.25 for some construction workers laboring on taxpayer-funded projects, despite decades-old laws that promise them the "prevailing wage."
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-25/these-u-s-workers-are-being-paid-like-it-s-the-1980s

Construction zone: filling in the cracks - gifs

https://www.reddit.com/r/gifs/comments/7asbjq/construction_zone_filling_in_the_cracks/

Filling in a crack

Here's a Revolutionary Suggestion For Fighting a Labor Shortage

Daniel Gross has some advice for the free-market titans in the homebuilding industry who are facing a shortage of willing American workers:...
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/03/heres-revolutionary-suggestion-fighting-labor-shortage