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General U.S. News49m ago

US court deals blow to Trump’s bid to scrap climate grant programme

A United States federal appeals court has ruled that the Trump administration likely broke the law when it tried to cancel a multibillion-dollar clean energy programme, dealing a blow to the president’s broader push to dismantle Biden-era climate policies. The full US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled on Tuesday that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cannot freeze roughly $20bn in grants awarded to nonprofit groups for clean energy projects, reversing an earlier decision by the same court. But the money will not be released immediately. The ruling has been temporarily put on hold to give the EPA time to ask the US Supreme Court to intervene. At the centre of the dispute is the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, a programme created by Congress through former US President Joe Biden’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. The programme, often referred to as a “green bank”, was designed to give federal money to nonprofit organisations that would give out loans and invest in small energy projects, energy-efficient buildings and clean-energy infrastructure. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has been trying to dismantle the programme, saying it doesn’t align with his agency’s priorities and accusing its recipients of fraud, waste and mismanagement. The organisations, which included the Climate United Fund, Coalition for Green Capital and three others, denied any wrongdoing and sued, arguing the administration was illegally withholding money already approved by Congress and attempting to kill the programme because it opposed its climate goals, not because of evidence of fraud. The majority of judges said the EPA’s attempt to terminate the grants and claw back the money “based solely on a policy disagreement” likely violated the Inflation Reduction Act. The ruling restores an order issued last year by US District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who found the EPA had failed to justify cancelling the grants and warned the administration was encroaching on Congress’s power to decide how federal money is spent.

General U.S. News1h ago

UFC’s White House spectacle led to losses of around $30m, company reveals

Freedom 250 staged on White House South Lawn Invitation-only event cost an estimated $60m in all Gaethje won title on night marred by Obama smear The UFC staging its Freedom 250 card on the South Lawn of the White House in June led to losses of around $30m (roughly £22m), the company’s owners announced. US president Donald Trump, a longtime fan of the UFC , and vice-president JD Vance were in attendance for the event which marked celebrations for 250 years of American independence. A purpose-built structure was constructed, holding about 4,300 seats, with none available to the public. Invitation-only tickets were reserved for political allies, financial sponsors and members of the military. Gate revenue contributes substantially to the earnings of an event and an estimated $60m (£44m) was spent on production and overall costs, which the UFC was unable to recoup via sponsorships. Parent company TKO Group Holdings saw an increase in revenue for the second quarter of 2026 but their financial results said a decrease in profit margin “was entirely due to the financial profile of the UFC Freedom 250 event. Absent Freedom 250, margins would have increased year-over-year.” Ariel Emanuel, executive chair and CEO of TKO said: “Despite a challenging global environment, TKO delivered solid results in Q2, with strong momentum heading into the back half of the year.” Freedom 250 garnered 8.2m viewers domestically and around 34m views worldwide, making it one of the most watched mixed martial events of all-time. The headliner for the UFC lightweight title saw America’s Justin Gaethje produce a stunning upset to dethrone Spain’s Ilia Topuria.

theguardian.com Read ↗

General U.S. News1h ago

Jammu and Kashmir — the elusive quest for Statehood

Subscribed with another email? Both actions were accompanied by the most dubious lockdown in India’s history. Kashmiri response to the Pahalgam attack was a wholehearted rejection of violence, expressed in peace marches and candlelit demonstrations. No Indian State had been stripped of its Statehood since Delhi lost its Statehood in 1956. Together, the two actions comprised a breathtaking violation of India’s constitutional principles and the basic structure of the Union. They should have been seen as the second major salvo against India’s democracy — the first being the re-communalisation of the Indian polity through state-sanctioned attacks on Muslims and Christians — but instead they were hived off as specific to conflict-ridden Jammu and Kashmir. The belief that draconian measures are justified in a conflict-ridden region is fundamentally flawed both morally and pragmatically, as India knows from its own colonial past. Pragmatically, as India knows from its more recent past, subjugation only breeds disaffection which will likely express itself in violence when peaceful means of expression are disallowed. The Supreme Court of India let Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta parrot the argument for four years before weakly advising that Statehood be restored as soon as possible. After all, it was the first State to overcome communal gerrymandering when the 2024 elections yielded a majority for the pluralist National Conference-Congress alliance.

thehindu.com Read ↗

Karnataka Cabinet expansion brings back ‘insider-outsider’ debate

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More in General U.S. News

US court deals blow to Trump’s bid to scrap climate grant programme

UFC’s White House spectacle led to losses of around $30m, company reveals

Jammu and Kashmir — the elusive quest for Statehood