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San Francisco’s Department of Building Inspection has said it is investigating a giant flashing X on top of Twitter’s headquarters, amid a series of complaints.

People based in the area complained about intrusive lights, with video circulating on social media showing the X sign emitting a blinding white pulsing light, particularly affecting a high-rise building on the other side of the street.

The company’s new sign is part of owner Elon Musk‘s rebrand of Twitter, which he claims will involve the creation of an “everything app”.

'X' logo is seen reflected on an apartment window across the street from the headquarters of the messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, in downtown San Francisco, California, U.S., July 30, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Barria TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
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The ‘X’ logo is seen reflected on an apartment window across the street from the headquarters

But the Californian city’s department of building inspection said the structure may violate permitting rules.

An inspector said in a written statement that officials were denied access to the building’s roof twice by Twitter representatives to inspect the logo. The inspector noted one staff member said the sign was temporary.

The sign remained on top of the building on Sunday.

The X appeared after San Francisco police stopped workers from removing the brand’s decade-old bird and logo from the side of the building earlier this week, saying they had not taped off the footpath to keep pedestrians safe if anything fell.

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Any replacement letters or symbols would require a permit to ensure “consistency with the historic nature of the building” and to make sure additions are safely attached to the sign, Patrick Hannan, spokesperson for the department of building inspection, said earlier this week.

An ...X... sign rests atop the company headquarters, formerly known as Twitter, in downtown San Francisco, on Friday, July 28, 2023. The city has launched an investigation into the sign as city officials say replacing letters or symbols on buildings, or erecting a sign on top of one, requires a permit. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
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The sign atop the company headquarters in downtown

A large, metal "X" sign is seen on top of the downtown building that housed what was once Twitter, now rebranded by its owner, Elon Musk, in San Francisco, Friday, July 28, 2023. The new metal X marker appeared after police stopped workers on Monday, July 24, from removing the iconic bird and logo, saying they didn't have the proper permits and didn't tape off the sidewalk to keep pedestrians safe if anything fell. (AP Photo/Haven Daley)
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Inspectors were refused access to the building roof to see the new sign

Erecting a sign on top of a building also requires a permit, Mr Hannan said.

“Planning review and approval is also necessary for the installation of this sign. The city is opening a complaint and initiating an investigation,” he said.

The department opened a separate investigation in December into a complaint alleging Mr Musk had built bedrooms in the San Francisco headquarters for workers.

The rebranding is the latest major change since he bought Twitter in October last year for $44 billion (£34.3 billion).

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The changes include the apps “verified” blue tick status being monetised in April and a temporary limit at the start of July on the number of posts users were allowed to read.

The long-standing blue logo, known as Larry the Bird, has been Twitter’s emblem since its creation in 2006, with the current design in use since 2012.

 A worker dismantles at Twitter's sign at Twitter's corporate headquarters building as Elon Musk renamed Twitter as X and unveiled a new logo, in downtown San Francisco, California, U.S., July 24, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
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A worker dismantles the old sign at Twitter’s corporate headquarters

In April, Musk briefly replaced the logo with a small picture of a Shibu Inu dog, famously known as the Doge meme, in an apparent nod to the cryptocurrency Dogecoin.

Musk, who is also CEO of Tesla, had already renamed Twitter’s corporate name to X Corp. He also named one of his children X.

Read more:
Why rebranding Twitter will be an enormous challenge

Twitter user gives up @X username to platform’s official account after 16 years

The changes at Twitter prompted Facebook owner Meta to launch Threads, its own text-based conversation app, earlier this month.

Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said more than 30 million people had signed up to use his rival messaging app in the first 24 hours.

Twitter threatened to sue the company over what it alleged were stolen trade secrets.

FILE - Kanye West arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party on Feb. 9, 2020, in Beverly Hills, Calif. A surge of anti-Jewish vitriol, spread by a world-famous rapper ... Ye, formerly known as Kanye West ... an NBA star and other prominent people, is stoking fears that public figures are normalizing hate and ramping up the risk of violence in a country already experiencing a sharp increase in antisemitism. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
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Kanye West Pic: AP

The investigation into the logo comes as the company reinstated Kanye West’s account after eight months’ suspension.

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Donald Trump says second UK state visit could happen in September

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Donald Trump says second UK state visit could happen in September

Donald Trump has said his second state visit to the UK could take place in September.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer handed over an invitation from the King when he visited Washington in February.

Trump teases return to UK – latest updates

Buckingham Palace previously only said the visit would happen “when diaries allow”, but Mr Trump told reporters on Thursday: “I think they are setting a date for September.”

“I don’t know how it can be bigger than the last one,” he said.

“The last one was incredible, but they say the next one will be even more important.”

Sir Keir Starmer the Trump charmer.
Pic: PA
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Sir Keir Starmer handed Trump the invite earlier this year. Pic: PA

Mr Trump will become the only elected political leader in modern times to be invited to two state visits by a British monarch.

The president called the UK a “great country” in his comments at the White House on Thursday and said it was “an honour to be a friend of King Charles and the family, William”.

His first state visit was in 2019, when he was hosted by the late Queen.

Second-term US presidents who have already made a state visit usually get tea or lunch with the monarch at Windsor Castle, as was the case for George W Bush and Barack Obama.

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The president was hosted by the Queen in June 2019. Pic: Reuters
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The president was hosted by the Queen in June 2019. Pic: Reuters

But Mr Trump is set to get all the pomp and ceremony laid on again in his honour – with another state banquet likely at Buckingham Palace.

The Royal Family‘s soft power diplomacy is viewed as a way of currying favour with the president, who’s known for his love of the monarchy and links to the UK through his mother, who was born on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland.

It comes as the government seeks an economic deal with the US, in the hope of potentially lessening the impact of the president’s tariffs.

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Four in hospital as police deal with active shooter at Florida university

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Four in hospital as police deal with active shooter at Florida university

Four people are in hospital as police deal with an active shooter on a university campus in Florida.

Videos showed people running through traffic, fleeing the scene, around the time of the shooting at the student union at Florida State University’s campus in Tallahassee.

Local police were “on the scene or on the way”, according to an alert sent out by the school and students have been told to “shelter in place”.

The FBI is also said to be responding to the incident.

Florida State University students wait for news amid an active shooter incident at the school.
Pic: AP/Kate Payne
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Florida State University students wait for news amid an active shooter incident at the school.
Pic: AP/Kate Payne

In a statement, Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare said it was “actively receiving and caring for patients” from the incident.

“At this time, details are still unfolding, and we do not yet have specific information to share. However, we want to assure the community that our teams are fully mobilised and prepared to provide the highest level of care and support to all those affected,” it added.

President Donald Trump said he was fully briefed on the incident and described it as “a shame”.

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He added: “It’s a horrible thing. Horrible that things like this take place.”

Florida governor Ron DeSantis, in a statement posted on X, said: “Our prayers are with our FSU family and state law enforcement is actively responding.”

Ambulances, fire trucks and police vehicles raced to the campus around midday local time (5pm UK time) on Thursday.

As students streamed away from the area of the student union in their hundreds, some were visibly emotional and others were glued to their phones.

Dozens later gathered near the university’s music school, waiting for news.

Florida State University student Daniella Streety told NBC News of the chaos that unfolded at the scene.

She remained on lockdown in a campus building and said: “I did see them carry out one student in what looked like on a stretcher and kept them in the road until an ambulance was able to pick them up.”

Joshua Sirmans, 20, was in the university’s main library when he said alarms began going off warning of an active shooter.

Police escorted him and other students out of the library with their hands over their heads, he said.

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US judge warns Trump administration could be in criminal contempt over El Salvador deportations

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White House rages at 'appalling' attempt to return wrongly deported man from El Salvador

A US federal judge has warned that he could hold the Trump administration in contempt for violating his orders to turn around planes carrying deportees to El Salvador.

US District Judge James E. Boasberg said he had found “probable cause” to hold the administration in criminal contempt and warned he could refer the matter for prosecution if it does not “purge” its contempt.

If the government doesn’t purge the contempt, charges could be brought forward by the Justice Department, NBC News reported.

And if the executive-led Justice Department refused to prosecute the matter, Judge Boasberg said he would appoint another attorney to prosecute the contempt.

Mr Boasberg said the administration could “purge contempt by returning those who were sent to El Salvador prison, in violation of his order, to the US.

This, he said, “might avail themselves of their right to challenge their removability”.

“The Constitution does not tolerate wilful disobedience of judicial orders – especially by officials of a coordinate branch who have sworn an oath to uphold it,” the judge wrote.

Executive vs judicial

This marks a notable escalation in the ongoing tensions between the judicial and executive branches of the US government during Donald Trump’s second term.

Parts of the US president’s legislative programme have been halted by judges, as the administration strains against the restraints of the separation of powers.

Mr Trump previously called for Judge Boasberg to be impeached while the Justice Department claimed he overstepped his authority – both reflecting the administration’s attempts to overcome perceived obstacles to the implementation of its agenda.

Mr Trump’s administration has also argued it did not violate any orders.

It claimed the judge didn’t include a turnaround directive in his written order and said the planes had already left the US by the time the order came down.

‘Administrative error’

At the heart of the legal wrangling is Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man who was sent to El Salvador by the Trump administration in March despite an immigration court order preventing his deportation.

Washington acknowledged that Mr Garcia was deported due to an “administrative error”.

The US Supreme Court has called on the administration to facilitate his return, upholding a court order by Judge Paula Xinis, but Trump officials have claimed that Mr Garcia has ties to the MS-13 gang.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Pic: CASA / AP
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Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Pic: CASA/AP

Mr Garcia’s lawyers have argued there is no evidence of this.

This all comes after El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele visited the White House earlier this week.

During his time with Mr Trump, Mr Bukele said that he would not return Mr Garcia, likening it to smuggling “a terrorist into the United States.”

The US and El Salvador presidents in the Oval Office.
Pic: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque
Image:
The US and El Salvador presidents in the Oval Office.
Pic: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque

Along with Mr Garcia, the Trump administration has deported hundreds of people, mostly Venezuelans, whom it claims are gang members without presenting evidence and without a trial.

Democrat senator travels to El Salvador

Meanwhile, Democratic senator Chris Van Hollen arrived in El Salvador on Wednesday, saying he would seek a meeting with the country’s officials to secure Mr Garcia’s release.

“I just arrived in San Salvador a little while ago and look forward to meeting with the US embassy team to discuss Mr. Abrego Garcia’s release,” Mr Van Hollen said on social media.

Deportations have been an important part of Mr Trump’s second term, with him being vocal on the issue throughout the campaign trail and into office.

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