White House East Wing debris dumped at nearby golf course has toxic metals, report says

WASHINGTON (AP) — Debris from the demolition of the White House East Wing that was dumped at a nearby public golf course has tested positive for lead, chromium and other toxic metals, the National Park Service said.

An interim report by a Virginia engineering firm says the toxic metals, along with PCBs, pesticides, petroleum byproducts and other chemicals were detected at levels above laboratory reporting limits in soil at the East Potomac Golf Links, a historic golf course that President Donald Trump plans to renovate.

The park service began dumping debris from the East Wing onto the golf course in October, and more than 30,000 cubic yards (810,000 cubic feet) of excavated soil had been transported to the site as of last month, the report by Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. said. The report was requested by the park service.

The nonprofit DC Preservation League has sued the Trump administration, arguing that the dumping was unlawful and possibly hazardous. The group also is challenging the Republican administration’s takeover of the golf course, about 2 miles (3 kilometers) southeast of the White House, and others in the city.

The suit is one of several legal battles challenging Trump’s extraordinary efforts to put his mark on public spaces in the nation’s capital, including renaming and shuttering the Kennedy Center and building a 250-foot-tall (76-meter-tall) triumphal arch near the Lincoln Memorial.

At the end of last year, a separate group of preservationists filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent the administration from demolishing the East Wing so it could build a ballroom, a project slated to cost $400 million.

A spokesperson for the Interior Department, which oversees the park service, said in an email Tuesday that the soil removed from the White House “was tested multiple times, by multiple parties, and this project passed all standards set by law.”

While the agency does not comment on litigation, "this thorough process was followed to ensure the transfer was safe for the public,'' spokeswoman Katie Martin said.

The Preservation League's executive director, Rebecca Miller, said Tuesday that experts were still analyzing the engineering report. The group also is concerned about whether the Trump administration is complying with federal laws, including the National Historic Preservation Act and the National Environmental Policy Act, she said.

Debris from the East Wing demolition is so prevalent that it causes golfers to detour around piles of it, Miller said. “If you Google you’ll see lots of photos of golfers walking past it,” she said in an interview.

The Trump administration's plans to renovate the 105-year-old course to make it a professional-level course would permanently alter its historic character and layout, Miller said.

A federal judge told the government on Monday not to cut down more than 10 trees without first providing notice amid the legal dispute.

U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes said during a remote hearing that she wasn’t going to issue a temporary restraining order just yet, but she indicated she would take a harsh view of any major alterations made without prior notice.

Democracy Forward, a national legal organization that is co-representing the Preservation League, said in a press release that "further scrutiny will be required related to potential toxins that were dumped at East Potomac Park by the administration as part of the destruction of the East Wing of the White House.”

Test results released by the government “suggest the Defendants dumped a cocktail of contaminants — and despite indications of the refuse’s contents, they continued dumping it,” the group said.

Kevin Griess, the superintendent of the National Mall and Memorial Parks for the park service, said during Monday’s court hearing that there was no immediate plan to begin tree removal, but added that a safety assessment was underway.

Trump, an avid golfer, also plans to renovate a military golf course just outside Washington that has been used by past presidents for decades.

In her statement, Martin said the Interior Department is “committed to continuing the relationships we have built with the local golf communities to ensure these courses are safe, beautiful, open, affordable, enjoyable, accessible, and world-class for people living in and visiting the greatest capital city in the world.”

People walk past a sign at the entrance of East Potomac Golf Course, Sunday, May 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

The Washington Monument stands in the background as Roman Sandoli swings at the East Potomac Golf Course, Sunday, May 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

The East Potomac Golf Course is seen from the Washington Monument, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

A pile of debris is seen in the background as Roman Sandoli, right, prepares to putt at the East Potomac Golf Course, Sunday, May 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

NEW YORK (AP) — Inside the converted Williamsburgh Savings Bank in Brooklyn — built in the 1870s, now the site of luxurious events held beneath stunning Victorian architecture — the Rolling Stones kept their fans wanting more.

Earlier Tuesday, the band confirmed that they will release a new record, titled “Foreign Tongues,” this summer, and dropped a new single called “In The Stars.”

Journalists, VIPs and celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio, Odessa A’zion and Lindsey Vonn waited in the echoing hall to witness Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood's first conversation about the new album.

To celebrate, they invited comedian Conan O’Brien to host the exclusive announcement event. It was a hilarious choice. “I think this is the one, after years of toiling in obscurity,” he joked about “Foreign Tongues,” minutes before the band joined him on stage. “This is their time.”

“Foreign Tongues,” recorded over the course of a month in London, will be released July 10.

The Stones' last album was 2023's “Hackney Diamonds.” It was their first album of original material in 18 years — since 2005’s “A Bigger Bang.” It was also their first full-length release since the death of drummer Charlie Watts in 2021. He appeared posthumously on two of that album's 12 tracks.

“Foreign Tongues” will also include a special appearance from Watts, lifted from one of his final recording sessions before his death. “We did that in L.A. with Charlie,” said Jagger of the song. “It's real fast, a punk-rocker.”

The album will also feature contributions from Steve Winwood, Paul McCartney, the Cure’s Robert Smith and the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Chad Smith.

“I think Paul (McCartney) really wanted to jump in there,” Jagger said at the event. “There was no intimidation. He wanted to play with the band.”

The Stones also worked with their close collaborators Matt Clifford, drummer Steve Jordan and bassist Darryl Jones as well as Oscar-winning pop producer Andrew Watt (known for his work with Post Malone and Justin Bieber, and the Stones' “Hackney Diamonds,” to name a few).

When something isn’t working in studio, the band said Watt is the one who kicks them in to gear. The room erupted into cheers for him — including his parents, who were seated directly behind him — and O’Brien compared the “immediacy” of the new album to “Exile on Main Street.”

The band also spent time detailing the record’s artwork. “Let’s reveal the album cover, I call him Mr. Ugly,” said Jagger, before the cover appeared on the screen above their heads. “He’s pained by a famous new artist called Nathaniel Quinn.”

Quinn, who was seated in the front row, said it was an amalgamation of the band members’ faces and a depiction of their journey.

Speculation surrounding a new Stones album has been going around for weeks. First, posters appeared around London with the band name “The Cockroaches,” a pseudonym the Stones' have used in the past, along with a QR code. The code led to ‘thecockroaches.com’ and a sign-up page. Once a user had signed up, they received a confirmation message from Universal Music — the Stones' label. Representatives did not provide The Associated Press with comment or confirmation at the time.

Eventually it led to a white label, vinyl-only release of the track “Rough and Twisted” using The Cockroaches name — the first true tease of “Foreign Tongues” decipherable only by their most dedicated fans.

Then, in the week leading up to their announcement, billboards with the band's iconic mouth and tongue logo began appearing in major cities around the world with the words “Foreign Tongues” in various languages: “Fremmede Sprog,” “Vreemde Tongen,” “Dayuhang Dila,” “외국어,” and “Langues Étrangères” among them. Around the same time, the Rolling Stones' official website was updated to feature video clips stylized to look like surveillance footage of them in the studio.

On Sunday, the band shared a slide puzzle graphic fans believed to be the album artwork, depicting a cartoonish collage of the members' faces. (They were correct; it was the official album cover.) There was also a short video clip, just 10-seconds long, that appeared to tease a new song.

“The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” will host the surviving members of the Stones across three nights this month, NBC announced Tuesday.

Jagger will appear on Wednesday's show and Fallon will host Richards on Thursday. Wood will appear on May 13.

No additional details on whether the band will perform together on the show were immediately released.

Ronnie Wood, left, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards attend The Rolling Stones "Foreign Tongues" album launch event on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Ronnie Wood, left, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards attend The Rolling Stones "Foreign Tongues" album launch event on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

FILE - Ronnie Wood, from left, Mick Jagger, Steve Jordan, and Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones perform during the "Hackney Diamonds" tour on June 27, 2024, in Chicago. (Photo by Rob Grabowski/Invision/AP, File)