Judge rejects legal effort to cancel White House's UFC event
The White House can host an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on the South Lawn this weekend, a federal judge ruled on Friday. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta rejected a request to block the high-profile event brought by two Virginia residents who alleged the Trump administration's authorization for the event was unlawful. In his order, Judge Mehta determined that the plaintiffs failed "to establish both a substantial likelihood of standing and irreparable harm" in their lawsuit against the event. The lawsuit alleged the event -- which includes a press conference at the Lincoln Memorial on Friday, ceremonial weigh-in and concert at the Ellipse on Saturday, and the South Lawn fight on Sunday -- violated National Park Service regulations, was improperly permitted, and lacked a necessary environmental review. In his order, Judge Mehta found neither plaintiff was able to show they are "directly affected" by the event, despite their contentions that the tem...