US judge won’t block Trump’s UFC mixed martial arts event at White House
A federal judge has declined to block Donald Trump from hosting the upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship event on the White House South Lawn on Sunday, in a mixed martial arts show timed for the president’s 80th birthday and part of the celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary.
US district judge Amit Mehta ruled against two Virginia residents who argued in a lawsuit that Trump’s administration exceeded its authority for the event, dubbed “UFC Freedom 250”, by among other things failing to obtain congressional authorization. The plaintiffs had sought a judicial order to block the event.
The UFC event will feature mixed martial arts bouts contested in an octagonal cage situated inside a 92ft-tall claw-like structure erected in recent weeks on the White House’s South Lawn, with weigh-ins for the fighters at the Lincoln Memorial.
The plaintiffs sued on 6 June, arguing that the Trump administration’s authorization of the 14 June event was unlawful.
The lawsuit said such approval violated National Park Service regulations prohibiting sporting events on federal parklands, Congress did not consent to the erection of “The Claw” and no environmental review was conducted before the construction.
It said that UFC CEO Dana White, a longtime Trump friend and ally, denied that the event’s timing is a birthday celebration for Trump and maintained the timing is a “coincidence”. But, the suit added, White has acknowledged that the event was “Trump’s idea”.
The suit also argued that the fight is “private” and “for-profit”, and alleged that even though the UFC claims it is “eating” the whole cost of the event and is not selling tickets, “the event will likely be profitable for the UFC and its partners” as the organization is selling VIP and sponsorship packages.
It also claimed, that while some preliminary fights will be broadcast on cable networks, the “main card” will be exclusively broadcast on streaming platform Paramount+, noting that Paramount Skydance is “run by two other Trump allies, Larry and David Ellison”.
The filing reads:
The UFC Freedom 250 event also is not being held ‘for the celebration of the 250th anniversary of American Independence.’ Rather, UFC Freedom 250 is being held for the financial benefit of the UFC, Paramount, and their advertisers, and to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Donald Trump’s birth.
The Trump administration said in a court filing that the plaintiffs were unlikely to succeed in their claims as they had not shown how they would be harmed by the UFC event. There is a history of holding public events on the White House South Lawn, the justice department told Mehta.
The administration said more than 4,000 spectators are expected to attend the fights.
Key events
Judge denies Kennedy Center request for pause in ruling ordering removal of Trump’s name from building
A judge has denied a request from the Kennedy Center to pause a ruling that had ordered Donald Trump’s name removed from the building by today’s deadline.
Trump’s hand-picked board at the Kennedy Center had mounted the last-ditch effort to keep his name on the facade of the building this morning following a vote yesterday.
US district judge Christopher Cooper ruled on 29 May that Trump’s name was illegally added to the iconic Washington performing arts facility. Cooper said that only Congress could institute a change to the Kennedy Center’s name and ordered references to Trump to be removed within 14 days (which takes us up to today).
He also blocked the administration from closing the cultural and arts venue for major renovations that had been planned to start in July and last for two years.
The board vote marked a shift from a 4 June memo to staff from the Kennedy Center’s office of general counsel which said email signatures, letterhead and other documents must reflect the name as “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts” or “Kennedy Center”.
The Kennedy Center’s website dropped Trump’s name earlier this week in compliance with the ruling. And an email sent to members this week offering ticket packages for the 28 June Mark Twain Award for American Humor ceremony came from the Kennedy Center without including Trump’s name.
US judge won’t block Trump’s UFC mixed martial arts event at White House
A federal judge has declined to block Donald Trump from hosting the upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship event on the White House South Lawn on Sunday, in a mixed martial arts show timed for the president’s 80th birthday and part of the celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary.
US district judge Amit Mehta ruled against two Virginia residents who argued in a lawsuit that Trump’s administration exceeded its authority for the event, dubbed “UFC Freedom 250”, by among other things failing to obtain congressional authorization. The plaintiffs had sought a judicial order to block the event.
The UFC event will feature mixed martial arts bouts contested in an octagonal cage situated inside a 92ft-tall claw-like structure erected in recent weeks on the White House’s South Lawn, with weigh-ins for the fighters at the Lincoln Memorial.
The plaintiffs sued on 6 June, arguing that the Trump administration’s authorization of the 14 June event was unlawful.
The lawsuit said such approval violated National Park Service regulations prohibiting sporting events on federal parklands, Congress did not consent to the erection of “The Claw” and no environmental review was conducted before the construction.
It said that UFC CEO Dana White, a longtime Trump friend and ally, denied that the event’s timing is a birthday celebration for Trump and maintained the timing is a “coincidence”. But, the suit added, White has acknowledged that the event was “Trump’s idea”.
The suit also argued that the fight is “private” and “for-profit”, and alleged that even though the UFC claims it is “eating” the whole cost of the event and is not selling tickets, “the event will likely be profitable for the UFC and its partners” as the organization is selling VIP and sponsorship packages.
It also claimed, that while some preliminary fights will be broadcast on cable networks, the “main card” will be exclusively broadcast on streaming platform Paramount+, noting that Paramount Skydance is “run by two other Trump allies, Larry and David Ellison”.
The filing reads:
The UFC Freedom 250 event also is not being held ‘for the celebration of the 250th anniversary of American Independence.’ Rather, UFC Freedom 250 is being held for the financial benefit of the UFC, Paramount, and their advertisers, and to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Donald Trump’s birth.
The Trump administration said in a court filing that the plaintiffs were unlikely to succeed in their claims as they had not shown how they would be harmed by the UFC event. There is a history of holding public events on the White House South Lawn, the justice department told Mehta.
The administration said more than 4,000 spectators are expected to attend the fights.
House oversight committee formally requests Alan Dershowitz to appear for interview as part of Jeffrey Epstein investigation
Anna Betts
Today, the House oversight committee sent a letter to Alan Dershowitz formally requesting him to appear for a transcribed interview before the panel on 9 July, as part of its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.
“Due to public reporting, documents released by the Department of Justice, documents obtained by the Committee, and your former role as Mr. Epstein’s attorney, the Committee believes you have information that will assist in its investigation” the letterfrom Representative James Comer, the Republican who chairs the committee, reads.
The letter said the committee would release the transcript and video of the interview after it takes place.
The letter comes as earlier this week, Comer announced that he would be asking Dershowitz to appear before the panel. At a news conference this week, Comer said that the decision was based on the testimony of Lesley Groff, Epstein’s longtime assistant, who testified before the committee on Tuesday, as well as “a meeting that I had afterwards with several of the Epstein survivors”.
“We will have questions for him and we will give him an opportunity to come in and answer several questions that arose yesterday based on Ms Groff’s testimony and some things that someone of the Epstein survivors said,” Comer said.
The transcript of Groff’s testimony has not yet been released by the committee.
Dershowitz, a Harvard law school professor who was a member of Epstein’s legal team that negotiated Epstein’s controversial 2008 plea deal, has said in recent interviews that he was willing to testify before the committee.
In an interview with the Guardian earlier this week, Dershowitz said that he is “not a reluctant witness, I wanted to testify, as I said from day one, I want the truth to come out”.
“Everything I did in relation to the Epstein case, I’m proud of,” he said.
Dershowitz has faced scrutiny over the years for his past ties to Epstein. And in 2014, Virginia Giuffre, an Epstein survivor, alleged that Dershowitz sexually assaulted her when she was a teenager as part of Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation. Dershowitz has repeatedly denied those claims and has never been charged with any wrongdoing related to Epstein.
Giuffre sued Dershowitz in 2019, alleging that he defamed her when denying her claims, but dropped the lawsuit in 2022, and said that she “may have made a mistake” in accusing him.
Outcry in Texas over waivers to allow border wall in Big Bend national park
Roque Planas
The Trump administration has waived a slew of environmental and historical preservation laws that would allow it to build a towering border wall that cuts through Big Bend national park, a vast protected wilderness in south Texas.
Congress poured a whopping $46.5bn for border wall construction into the “Big, Beautiful” bill last year, supercharging Donald Trump’’s ambition to wall off the southern border with Mexico. The longest unwalled stretches lie along a roughly 500-mile (800km) section of west Texas that Customs and Border Protection calls the “Big Bend sector”.
That corridor includes some of the largest chunks of protected land in a state that is 95% privately owned, including Big Bend national park, Big Bend Ranch state park and Black Gap wildlife management area.
More here:
Federal judge extends court-ordered block on $1.8bn Trump anti-weaponization fund
A federal judge on Friday extended a court-ordered block on the creation and operation of the Trump administration’s “anti-weaponization fund” – a $1.8bn settlement fund alleged victims of a weaponized government, the Associated Press reports.
Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled that the “anti-weaponization fund” will remain blocked until further notice from the court.
Earlier this month, following fierce bipartisan backlash, acting attorney general Todd Blanche told Congress that the government was scrapping its plans for the fund.
Though government attorneys are now arguing that lawsuits challenging the fund are now moot, plaintiffs’ attorneys aren’t satisfied by Blanche’s assurances.
Texas senator John Cornyn has told the New York Times that he isn’t seeking revenge after Donald Trump endorsed his challenger, scandal-ridden Texas attorney general Ken Paxton, and ended his Senate career after a bruising primary race – but added that Trump should not demand “slavish” loyalty from his party.
Trump said at the time that Cornyn would “remain my friend for a long time to come”. “If that’s the way friends treat you, you wonder about his enemies,” Cornyn told the NYT. He maintains he feels the most important factor in his loss to Paxton was low voter turnout, “but certainly the president’s endorsement had an impact.”
Having come to terms with his defeat, he joins a handful of other Senate Republicans not seeking re-election or defeated in primaries at Trump’s behest who now have added room to manouevre politically. “It does give some of us a little more freedom, and certainly leverage,” he said.
Cornyn told the Times he is not a “wounded bear” seeking revenge, but said that Trump is hurting the Republican party with self-serving decisions and by insisting on absolute loyalty. The president is ultimately setting himself up for a midterm “disaster” that would pave the way for “the most miserable two years of his life”, Cornyn said.
He also told the NYT that the provision granting Trump, his family and his businesses immunity for IRS audits needs to be overturned. “I think that’s a terrible mistake,” Cornyn said. “The president needs to be treated like everybody else.”
Despite his self-assessed “99.3%” voting record in line with the president, Trump threw him under the bus. Cornyn told the Times:
double quotation mark If he would do that to me, he would do that to anybody. There’s never going to be good enough for him, other than 100%, you know, slavish adherence to whatever he wants. But obviously that’s not what the senator’s role is supposed to be, especially in terms of checks and balances.
He said he fears the GOP is in for a rough time in November’s midterms and Trump in for a difficult two years, in part because of self-inflicted wounds like his endorsement of Paxton putting the Texas seat at risk.
“It’s going to make things harder, certainly more expensive in Texas, and make it harder around the country,” Cornyn said, predicting that the president would come to regret his actions.
double quotation mark I don’t say that with any sort of desire for vengeance; I just think that’s the way it’s going to be. He’s going to have the most miserable two years of his life in the last two years of his term, I think, because I think November is going to be a disaster.
Trump and allies working on plan to ‘expunge’ impeachments, WSJ reports
Donald Trump and his allies have discussed pushing lawmakers to pass a resolution aimed at voiding his first-term impeachments, the Wall Street Journal reported last night, citing people familiar with the matter.
“It should be done because I did nothing wrong,” Trump said when asked about the resolution in a phone call this week with the Journal. “It was a rigged deal — it was a whole rigged situation.”
The resolution would likely be symbolic and would have little legal significance, because the US constitution provides no procedure for undoing an impeachment, experts told the WSJ.
It also likely wouldn’t be considered until after November’s midterm elections – in the run-up to which Republicans are trying to focus on the economy and cost-of-living – and even then, several House Republicans told the WSJ, it would be difficult to get the votes needed for it to pass.
House speaker Mike Johnson told the Journal he has discussed the resolution with Trump, and has had more detailed conversations with some of the president’s allies in the legal world, including Harvard law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz and Jay Sekulow, a conservative lawyer who represented Trump during his first impeachment trial.
“I think it makes a lot of sense the more the evidence comes out, the more we know they really were sham impeachments,” Johnson told the Journal, adding that the conversations about the resolution picked up about a month ago. “We were saying it at the time, now we know. And they make a very compelling case that it should be expunged from the record, because it was a hyperpartisan attack job.”
The speaker said the expungement effort was “not an order of first priority” but it was on his list. “It is a priority and something that Congress should make right,” he said.
Further to my earlier post, Andrew Giuliani, the CEO of the World Cup task force, confirmed yesterday that Donald Trump will not be in attendance when the United States opens its World Cup competition against Paraguay tonight in Inglewood, California.
“He’s not going to end up attending the opening game,” Giuliani told TalkSport. “As we’ve said, his scheduling is tight. But I know he’s going to be engaged throughout this World Cup.”
As you will remember, Trump will be very busy hosting the UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House on Sunday, which is also his 80th birthday.
While it is uncommon for a head of state from a host country to miss the nation’s World Cup opener, it is not unprecedented. The US delegation will be led by secretary of state Marco Rubio, transportation secretary Sean Duffy, and homeland security secretary Markwayne Mullin.
Giuliani, the son of former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, said he wasn’t sure when Trump would make an appearance.
“Having known President Trump for now 30 years, what I can tell you is: expect the unexpected. Always expect a cliffhanger with him,” Giuliani said. “Throughout the course of this tournament, it wouldn’t surprise me if we see him engage more and more with the World Cup.“
Trump has attended several big sporting events while president, including Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden earlier this week, where he was met with a chorus of boos.
Trump lashes out at ‘dishonourable’ Iran over terms of deal reported in state media
Taz Ali
Donald Trump has dismissed Iranian media reports on an imminent deal with the US as “fake news”, saying they were not the terms Washington agreed to.
Several Iranian media outlets have been reporting what they described as details of a draft proposal being reviewed by Iran’s leadership. Some of the terms of the agreement, according to the reports, include Iran’s control of the strait of Hormuz and postponed discussions on its nuclear programme (see more here and here).
Trump said the reports were inaccurate and lashed out at Iran, calling them “very dishonorable people” and warning, “They better get their act together, and FAST!”
He wrote on Truth Social:
The terms that Iran leaked out to the Fake News have NOTHING to do with the terms that were agreed to, in writing. What they said, including their weak and pathetic statement on having a deal, bears no relation to the truth. Very dishonorable people to deal with. With them, there is no such thing as dealing in good faith. AMAZING! Also, their totally rebuffed Drone attack last night against Indian Ships leaving the Hormuz Strait is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. They better get their act together, and FAST!”
Analysis: controversial spying power is set to expire – what happens now?
Sanya Mansoor
Section 702 of Fisa due to expire tonight – and remain so for at least a week during recess – amid backlash to Trump’s pick Bill Pulte for acting DNI.
While Trump has moved to contain the furor – announcing his nomination of another top official, Jay Carney, to take the role on a permanent basis, yesterday – Congress has so far failed to extend the key power in time for tonight’s deadline.
But, per my colleague Sanya Mansoor while the Pulte row brought Fisa back in the spotlight, underlying concerns over the program’s balance of civil liberties and national security has been the subject of fraught debate and controversy in recent months, and years.
Section 702, first enacted in 2008, allows national security agencies to collect and review texts and emails sent to and from foreigners living outside the US, without a warrant. If an American is talking to a non-American target living abroad, their communications can get swept up too.
Privacy advocates say that while the law is intended to surveil foreigners outside the US, the federal government uses this loophole to spy without warrants on Americans, an unconstitutional practice. Intelligence agencies say they need these surveillance powers to prevent terror attacks.
This year, Congress has only been able to pass short-term re-authorizations of the section 702 program. Trump and Republican leaders in the House of Representatives have tried, unsuccessfully, to push through longer extensions that do not include key reforms demanded by a broad coalition including progressive Democrats and far-right Republicans.
In refusing to allow a vote on a warrant requirement to surveil Americans’ communications, Republican House leadership has closed the door to the most important change that dissenting lawmakers and privacy advocates are asking for. They, in turn, blame House speaker Mike Johnson for tanking repeated attempts to extend the program by taking a “my way or the highway approach”.
What happens now? Well, government surveillance under section 702 can actually still continue through March 2027, because it operates through year-long certifications approved by a special federal court.
Some lawmakers are worried about a statutory lapse and the program “going dark” – and the Trump administration has accused Democrats of playing politics with national security by blocking its renewal over Pulte’s appointment. But privacy advocates say this is a scare tactic, since all existing certifications and directives continue to be valid.
“It is shameful, and it is very, very dangerous,” a vexxed Johnson told reporters after yestserday’s failed House vote. “We did everything in our power to try to ensure that this statute does not expire.”
As you know, the House has left town and is scheduled to return on 23 June – two weeks after the surveillance program’s deadline.
Jake Laperruque, with the Center for Democracy and Technology, said Johnson’s willingness to send lawmakers home this week, without resolving the Fisa issue, is proof the national security implications aren’t as dire as he has suggested. “They would not be flying off to go home if they actually thought it was a real threat,” he said.
Also in attendance at the match later will be California governor Gavin Newsom. According to Politico, he and secretary of state Marco Rubio – both widely considered potential future contenders for the presidency – are expected to sit within close proximity of each other at kickoff at SoFi Stadium.
“The Governor is there to support Team USA. Any frame-mogging that occurs will be purely incidental,” an official familiar with the governor’s plans told Politico. Rubio’s office declined to comment.
The United States begin their World Cup challenge – their first on US soil for 32 years – today, taking on Paraguay in a high-stakes match in Los Angeles.
Secretary of state Marco Rubio will attend the opening match. Donald Trump has said he would be present at other games in the tournament, but hasn’t specified which.
The start of the action on the pitch yesterday will have come as a welcome relief to football’s world governing body Fifa, which has faced stinging criticism over the eye-watering cost of tickets.
In addition, Trump’s immigration crackdown has seen a top Somalian referee, Iranian team officials and dozens of fans refused entry to the United States.
For all things World Cup, my colleagues have got you covered:
About half of evangelical Christians – a core component of Donald Trump’s political base – believe his administration’s approach to the Iran war and immigration enforcement is not in line with their understanding of Christianity, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
Evangelicals helped power the Republican’s 2024 election victory, and Trump and his top officials including defense secretary Pete Hegseth have regularly used religious language in describing their goals and policies.
Republicans will be counting on them in the November midterm elections, when they will be defending thin majorities in the US Senate and House of Representatives.
Some 54% of evangelicals in the 3-8 June poll said Trump’s use of the military in Iran was not in line with their understanding of Christianity, while 41% said it was in line with it.
Some 51% of evangelicals said the administration’s approach to immigration policy was not in line with Christian values, with 44% saying it was.
Donald Trump’s hand-picked board at the Kennedy Center is mounting a last-minute effort to keep his name on the facade of the performing arts facility before a court-ordered deadline to remove it by Friday.
The board voted on Thursday to seek a stay of US district judge Christopher Cooper’s 29 May ruling that said Trump’s name was illegally added to the Kennedy Center, according to a person familiar with the move who requested anonymity to discuss a private meeting.
The formal stay will be filed on Friday, the person said.
Cooper ruled that only Congress could institute a change to the Kennedy Center’s name and ordered references to Trump be removed by Friday. He also blocked the administration from closing the cultural and arts venue for major renovations that had been planned to start in July and last for two years.
The board move marks a shift from a 4 June memo to staff from the Kennedy Center’s Office of General Counsel saying email signatures, letterhead and other documents must reflect the name as “The John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts” or “Kennedy Center”.
The Kennedy Center’s website has dropped the president’s name. And an email earlier this week sent to members offering ticket packages for the 28 June Mark Twain Award for American Humor ceremony came from the Kennedy Center without including Trump’s name.
Autistic children injected with unapproved stem cell treatments supported by RFK Jr
Autistic children as young as 18 months old are being injected with human stem cells derived from umbilical cords in unapproved, unproven and potentially harmful “treatments” that scientists warn are proliferating across the US under the active encouragement of the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr.
Clinics in Florida, Texas and other states are selling what they bill as “regenerative medicine” to families with autistic children who have intensive care needs.
The procedure, which can involve the child being sedated with ketamine before receiving intravenous doses of millions of stem cells, costs up to $20,000 each treatment. Families are often advised to return for regular top-ups.
Profoundly stressed parents are being wooed to the clinics with promises that a high-dose infusion of umbilical cord stem cells can lead to dramatic improvements in their children’s ability to speak, socialise, or avoid aggressive or self-harming behaviour. Yet there is no scientific evidence that the procedure works – the most comprehensive clinical trial staged so far, a placebo experiment conducted by Duke University, found insignificant benefits for most of the 180 children tested.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) directly cautions parents that if they are being offered stem cell treatments outside an approved clinical trial, “you are likely being deceived and offered a product illegally”.
Though the Duke trial found minimal safety concerns with properly administered stem cell infusions, authorities continue to highlight the potential risks of under-regulated therapies.
The FDA warned in 2021 that it had received reports of complications following applications of umbilical cord stem cells and other related unapproved products leading to “blindness, tumor formation, infections and more”.
In his 16 months as the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services within the Trump administration, Kennedy has undercut established scientific endeavors. He has fired thousands of federal health officials, dismissed longstanding scientific advisers, defunded $31m in autism-related research and attempted to shrink the recommended list of childhood vaccinations.
At the same time, largely unnoticed, he has given his backing to alternative health providers moving to fill the gap. Kennedy appeared by video link at the first two annual summits held in San Diego by Autism Health, a leading advocate of stem cell infusions for autistic kids.
At the summit last year, he told the audience that “your issue is no longer on the fringe”. At this year’s gathering in April, he promised to “create opportunities that extend across a lifetime” and to work with the stem cell providers “to drive solutions together”.
Here’s Ed’s full report:
Congress fails to act as Fisa spy powers set to expire
Hello and welcome to the US live blog.
A key surveillance tool that allows the US to collect intelligence abroad appears certain to expire after Congress failed to temporarily extend the program.
The impasse is a protest against president Donald Trump’s temporary pick to head the nation’s intelligence agencies, AP reported.
Trump doubled down on his choice of Bill Pulte for acting director of national intelligence, despite the federal housing finance regulator having little experience.
In response, Democratic politicians said they would not support the renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, known as Fisa, unless Trump withdraws Pulte’s appointment and nominates a permanent replacement.
The House vote collapsed, with 19 Republicans and nearly all Democrats rejecting the temporary measure, 198-218. The Senate tried to approve its own versions, but also failed, with the law due to expire today at midnight.
After the votes, Trump announced Jay Clayton, a US attorney who previously served as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, as his permanent pick as intelligence director. But the president’s move did not seem able to break the standoff over Pulte before the deadline.
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said:
double quotation mark Pulte has to go. He cannot be in the DNI role. It’s too important.
In other developments:
-
Donald Trump declared “a great settlement” with Iran, which could be signed soon “maybe in Europe, over the weekend”.
-
Trump’s hand-picked board at the Kennedy Center is mounting a last-minute effort to keep his name on the facade of the performing arts facility before a court-ordered deadline to remove it by Friday. The board voted on Thursday to seek a stay of US district judge Christopher Cooper’s 29 May ruling that said Trump’s name was illegally added to the Kennedy Center, according to a person familiar with the move who requested anonymity to discuss a private meeting.
-
Congressman Robert Garcia, who is in line to chair the House oversight committee next year if Democrats win back the majority in November, called for testimony from vice-president JD Vance and other senior officials over what he called “the White House cover-up” of the Epstein files revealed by the New York Times.
-
US federal authorities are investigating what appears to be a massive etching of “8647” into the grass of the National Mall. Live webcam footage from atop the Washington Monument as of Thursday afternoon shows the markings, with a highly visible “8,” along with less visible “6”, “4” and “7”.
