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Divided federal appeals court says Trump administration was wrong to terminate climate funds
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A divided federal appeals court on Tuesday said the Trump administration improperly terminated billions of dollars in funds to boost clean energy projects, handing a win to a coalition of nonprofits picked to run the Biden-era effort.
Climate United Fund and other nonprofits won't have access to their funds immediately as the decision will be put on hold for several days giving the Environmental Protection Agency time to ask the Supreme Court to step in.
The judgement by the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is a loss for the Trump administration in one of its earliest efforts to dismantle President Joe Biden's campaign to reduce climate-warming greenhouse gases. The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, commonly referred to as a "green bank," is a $20 billion congressionally authorized program that provided money to nonprofits that would then make loans and invest in small energy projects, energy-efficient buildings and transportation.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin accused Climate United Fund and other nonprofits picked to run the green bank of mismanagement and potential fraud. He froze billions that had been placed in a Citibank account for the program and then terminated their grants. The groups disputed any wrongdoing and sued, arguing the Trump administration broke the law and violated the Constitution by not spending money authorized by Congress.
"Despite efforts to harm the awardees with false allegations and misinformation, there remains no legal basis for terminating our grant award and clawing back funds that were already disbursed in our bank accounts," Climate United said in a statement.
In September, a divided three-judge panel of the same appeals court overturned a lower court and said the Trump administration had broad power to cancel grants without having to face charges of illegality in federal court.
The full appeals court agreed to revisit that decision, a rare occurrence reserved for the most important cases.
Zeldin early last year told Fox News that he suspected the green bank "was a clear-cut case of waste and abuse" that "in my opinion, is criminal."
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan last year said that when the federal government was asked for evidence of fraud, the agency didn't provide it and shifted its position to more general concerns about the level of EPA oversight over the program. Chutkan ruled the government can't violate the law and terminate the contracts and that the groups should have access to some of their frozen money. That order was put on hold during appeal.
A lawyer for the nonprofits argued at the time that the agency had already allocated the money by putting it in the Citibank account for the program's use.
House Ethics Committee opens investigation into domestic abuse allegations against Rep. Max Miller
The House Ethics Committee said Tuesday it had opened an investigation into domestic abuse allegations against Republican Rep. Max Miller as the embattled Ohio congressman faced pressure from President Donald Trump and escalating criticism from his former father-in-law, Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno.
Miller, a senior adviser to Trump during his first presidency, faced a Wednesday deadline to decide whether to stay in his race for reelection, with Republicans nervous that the allegations surrounding the second-term congressman could cost them a seat as they try to hang on to their House majority in this year's midterms.
Leaders of the ethics committee said in their statement that the committee was reviewing whether Miller "may have engaged in domestic violence and abuse or illegal drug use." Earlier in the day, Miller said he had requested his own investigation into the allegations made by his ex-wife, Emily Moreno. It was not clear whether his request or another one prompted the committee to investigate.
Trump spoke with Miller on Monday and advised that his candidacy "doesn't look good," according to a source familiar with the conversation who was granted anonymity to discuss a private conversation. Trump's conversation with Miller was first reported by Axios.
Miller said during a CNN interview Tuesday that he wasn't exiting the race, despite what he described as Trump's words of caution.
"'Maxie, it's going to be a tough race. And he said, I don't know if you're going to be able to, you know, pull this one out,'" he quoted Trump as saying during their conversation.
Miller added: "I will never, ever, ever let my baby girl see her dad walk away as a quitter. I will continue to finish this."
The former Trump aide, whom the president endorsed in May, is facing a flurry of legal filings by his ex-wife, who is the Republican senator's daughter, and an ex-girlfriend.
Sen. Moreno, who until Sunday had remained quiet about the allegations at his daughter's request, on Tuesday described the impact on his daughter, granddaughter and wider family as "truly the seventh level of hell."
"This has been brutal beyond comprehension," he told reporters at the Capitol. "And if there's any minimum standard for being a public official, as I said, he fails to meet that minimum, basic standard."
Asked about the election implications of the allegations for Republicans, Moreno told reporters, "I don't care about the politics at all."
Guard deployment to Washington into 2029 will cost roughly $1.4B, estimate shows
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The extension of the National Guard deployment in Washington, D.C. until January 2029 will cost roughly $1.4 billion, according to a Defense Department estimate provided to Congress.
The figure offers a glimpse of how much taxpayer money will be spent on a deployment that has been criticized by local officials as an infringement of their city's autonomy and by Democrats who say it has militarized the streets of nation's capital at the public's expense.
The cost estimate is for fiscal years 2027-2029 and came in response to questions from Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren and was provided to The Associated Press.
The deployment began last summer, when President Donald Trump issued an emergency order that launched a law enforcement surge in the city which the administration says was meant to fight crime. Hundreds of armed Guard troops have been deployed to city streets, supporting arrest operations but also helping with snow removal and carrying out beautification projects. This summer, as the city marked the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, their numbers surged to about 5,000.
The Defense Department said in its estimate the cost assumes there will be an average of 2,500 National Guard members in Washington through January 2029.
"While American families are getting flattened by skyrocketing costs, Donald Trump is spending $1.4 billion to keep troops on the streets in Washington for years on end," Warren said in an emailed statement. "The National Guard are not pawns and taxpayer dollars are not a piggy bank for Trump's political stunts."
The cost was first reported by The Washington Post.
The Pentagon said last month the Guard mission will continue until Jan. 20, 2029, "or until terminated by the President." The deployment was set to expire at the end of this year after previously being extended.
Ariana Grande on decision to withdraw from the public eye: 'Not a reactive or impulsive thing'
NEW YORK (AP) -- Ariana Grande chose to "clear the air about a few things" during her concert Monday night, following the news that she will be taking a break from being in the public eye after the conclusion of her "Eternal Sunshine" tour.
While on stage at Chicago's United Center, Grande told her fans that "things can get a little blown out of proportion," and that her decision to take a break from public life was one she had "quietly made a long time ago," rather than a "reactive or impulsive thing."
Reading from her phone, she continued: "It was a decision that was made from a thoughtful and empowered place. And I want you to know that many things can be true at the same time."
On Sunday, producers for a London production of Stephen Sondheim's "Sunday in the Park With George" announced that Grande had withdrawn from her role in the musical, set to debut at the Barbican theater in 2027.
Grande's recent breakup from "Wicked" co-star Ethan Slater, the ongoing tour and last week's release of the album "Petal" has fueled rampant speculation online about her health and appearance. She has previously expressed discomfort with public discourse around her weight, stating in a 2023 TikTok video, "I think we should be gentler and less comfortable commenting on people's bodies, no matter what."
A representative for Grande told People magazine that the 33-year-old singer "will be taking a step back from visibility after she completes the Eternal Sunshine Tour."
"She looks forward to finishing the tour and ending it on a high note, both healthily and happily, and then taking a much-deserved break from public-facing work and appearances, which has led to endless, ongoing public scrutiny," the statement said.
A representative for Grande did not offer further comment to The Associated Press.
Continuing her remarks from the stage Monday, Grande said she knows fans are worried that "negativity was ruining things" for her, but said the opposite is true.
"Multiple things can be true at the same time: boundaries need to be set, human beings can need a break sometimes, and also, this can be and will continue to be the greatest experience of my professional and creative life," she told her fans, who erupted in cheers.
The "Eternal Sunshine" tour is scheduled to conclude on Sept. 1 in London, after a 10-night residency at the famed O2 Arena.
In-N-Out worker killed in shooting at newly opened Idaho restaurant traveled to open stores
One of the three people killed when a gunman opened fire at an In-N-Out Burger had traveled to Idaho to help expand the restaurant chain.
Ashley Garibay was on a team tapped to train new employees, away from where she lived in Stockton, California. Her family said she loved her work and called her an "amazing, beautiful soul who loved living life."
"She was adventurous, outgoing, smart and driven, never letting obstacles get in her way," her family said in a statement Tuesday. "She lit up a room with her bright smile and a laugh that was contagious."
Police have not yet said what led the gunman, identified by police as 24-year-old Chad Williams, to open fire Saturday afternoon at the Twin Falls restaurant. The attack ended when Williams shot and killed himself. Police said they are confident Williams acted alone.
Twin Falls police Lt. Steven Gassert said Tuesday that he expected more details to be released later in the day. He didn't elaborate further.
A candlelight vigil was planned Tuesday night at Twin Falls City Park, and police have opened a center where those who were affected by the shooting could get support and request or collect personal items left at the scene. Flags in the city will be at half-staff until next week.
The In-N-Out location opened in late July as part of the California chain's Idaho expansion. Garibay got her first job at one of the restaurants, and she dreamed of one day managing one of the stores, her family said. She worked in Stockton and joined the traveling team in 2023, said family spokesperson Kristin Cole.
Witnesses described a chaotic scene in and around the Idaho restaurant as shots were fired. One customer told the AP she and her daughters were waiting inside when she heard shots from the kitchen and an employee told her to get down. Another woman and her mother were waiting in the drive-thru line when they saw people running across the road and workers bolting out of the restaurant as a man directing traffic told them there was a shooter.
A man who was at a stoplight near the restaurant described seeing a person with an AR-style rifle emerge from the drive-thru and a man with a pistol start firing toward the suspect.
During the attack, an off-duty state trooper and a civilian fired on Williams, diverting him from the restaurant, police have said. Police haven't released the identities of any of the victims, but family and friends identified Garibay and Christopher Claunch as among those killed.
One of Claunch's friends, Garren Taylor, said Claunch completed a rehab program for alcohol abuse at Renaissance Ranch Recovery Center in Rupert, Idaho, a couple of years ago and was immediately hired there. Taylor said Claunch, known to those close to him as "Toph," dedicated his life to helping others get sober.
Man charged with setting Spokane's largest wildfire was questioned about 2 other blazes last year
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) -- A man charged with intentionally setting a wildfire that's destroyed hundreds of buildings in and around Washington state's second-largest city was questioned by law enforcement during two fire investigations last year, though he wasn't charged in either, court documents show.
Aaron F. Farinacci, of Spokane, was arrested Monday and booked on suspicion of first-degree arson in connection with the Old Trails Fire, the biggest of three blazes that have destroyed at least 700 buildings and forced tens of thousands of people from their homes. According to court records, he denied setting the fire. His bond was set at $1 million.
Authorities haven't said what caused the other two fires burning around Spokane. No deaths have been reported.
Farinacci, 37, served about a decade in prison after killing his father in Arizona in 2010. Last year, authorities questioned him in two fire-related cases in Spokane, according to a probable cause statement filed in Spokane County Superior Court.
One involved several "bus-sized" fires in an area near Farinacci's apartment in July 2025, police records in that case say. The other involved a wildfire in a state park that prompted evacuation notices the following month. In neither case was he arrested.
On Saturday, Paul Child, 64, was driving with his grandson along some railroad tracks in his rural neighborhood northwest of Spokane. He saw a man standing and looking toward nearby trees. About 10 minutes later, as they were returning home, the man was still there.
"He was bent over in the brush, acting nervous," Child told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "You get the feeling this guy's up to something."
"No longer than 10 minutes after I got home, my daughter says, 'There's a fire,'" Child recalled. "My first words were, 'That SOB started a fire!' It was the exact spot where he was standing."
Child's daughter called 911 and he drove back to the spot where he'd seen the man, sheriff's detective Michael Drapeau wrote in the probable cause statement. He gave a police officer a description of the man he had seen -- bald, white, wearing a green shirt and carrying a backpack.
A responding sheriff's deputy saw a man matching that description walking more than one mile (1.6 kilometers) away and detained him. Another deputy also responded, and Child showed up to identify the person in custody -- Farinacci -- as the one he had seen in the area of the fire, the document states.
Farinacci had a backpack and a fanny pack, in which he had a pack of cigarettes, waterproof matches and a butane lighter, it says. He told the deputies he didn't start the fire and he denied having been in the area where it started. He was wearing a green T-shirt that read, "who needs luck I have charm," the detective wrote.
The deputies were unaware of Farinacci's prior fire-related contacts and the cause of the Old Trails Fire hadn't been determined yet, so they released him to continue working on evacuation efforts, Drapeau wrote.
But the following day, a wildland fire investigator ruled out other possible causes, including sparks from electric wires or passing trains, and police arrested Farinacci on Monday.
"As it happens in so many critical cases, it was citizens who were paying attention to their surroundings, being aware and willing to step up and say something that led to the relatively quick apprehension of Mr. Farinacci," Sheriff John Nowels told reporters.
Child credited the heroic work of police and firefighters responding to the disaster, and said he hopes people who lost homes "can get some kind of peace of mind or a little bit of comfort" from the arrest.
Farinacci appeared in court Tuesday via video link from the jail and was represented by Colin Charbonneau, director of the Spokane County public defender's office. A judge set his arraignment for Thursday.
In an effort to get comment from Farinacci's family, The Associated Press sent a message to a possible social media account for a brother