BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge in Boston on Friday ruled the Trump administration can’t use an obscure clause relating to agency priorities to make billions of dollars in funding cuts.
Twenty-three states had a filed a lawsuit last year accusing the administration of using the clause to make cuts to everything from crime prevention to food security to scientific research. They were concerned that it would be used to cancel current and future grants.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani granted a summary judgment preventing the administration from relying on the clause to make cuts and denied a motion by the government to dismiss the case.
“Defendants’ interpretation of the Termination Clause is not clearly supported by the text of the provision, runs counter to the regulatory scheme, receives no support in the rulemaking history, and would violate the Spending Clause’s requirement that conditions be imposed unambiguously,” Talwani, who was nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama, wrote.
The lawsuit argued that the Office of Management and Budget promulgated the use of the clause in question to justify what it described as a “nationwide slash-and-burn campaign.”
The clause, which was first introduced in 2020 and revised in 2024, says federal agents can terminate a grant if the award “no longer effectuates the program goals or agency priorities.” The states argued that the language, put in place during the Biden administration, was for the first time being used to terminate grants.
“Instead of working with us to keep the public safe and lower costs for hardworking New Jerseyans, the Trump Administration has recklessly and illegally gutted federal funding for public safety, disaster preparedness, scientific research, clean water, and more,” New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said in a statement.
"Today’s decision is an important win for all New Jerseyans and confirms that the Trump Administration defied the law when it embarked on its campaign to gut critical federal funding to the states,” she continued. “The President and his allies cannot hold critical programs hostage to their personal whims and political ideologies, destabilizing the country by yanking essential federal funding that was already awarded to the states.”
Calling the case an “extraordinarily unusual lawsuit," lawyers for federal government argued it should be dismissed because some of those grants have already been terminated and plaintiffs' argument about the impact to future grants was far too speculative. They also accused the states of “raising blanket, undifferentiated objections” to the termination of thousands of grants without seeking relief that would “restore a single grant.”
“That mismatch between the allegedly unlawful agency ‘decision’ on one hand, and the amorphous relief requested in this suit, on the other, creates a set of jurisdiction and justiciability defects that doom this lawsuit at the threshold,” lawyers wrote in the motion to dismiss.
A spokesperson for the Office of Management and Budget did not respond to a request for comment.
Russell Vought, acting director, Office of Management and Budget, testifies before the House Financial Committee on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) semi-annual report, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
SOUTHPORT, England (AP) — The oldest championship in golf is now the last major of the year.
The British Open dates to 1860 and has returned this year to Royal Birkdale, and it's already different from anything the world's best players have seen this year. The links course along the Lancashire coast of England is yellow and brown, the sure sign of a fast and firm test.
Scottie Scheffler is trying to become the first repeat winner of the British Open since Padraig Harrington won in 2007 and 2008 — the second one also was at Royal Birkdale. He also can become only the third player in the last 20 years to go three straight years winning a major.
Even though Royal Birkdale did not join the British Open rotation until 1954, this is the 11th time it has hosted golf's oldest major. And its roll call of champions rivals any other links course. All but one champion at Birkdale is either in the World Golf Hall of Fame or will be.
Here's what to know about the 154th edition of the British Open:
Lucas Herbert tied the major championship record with a 62 — so did Sam Burns some 20 minutes later — and leads at 8-under 132.
For about 30 minutes, he had a one-shot lead over Bryson DeChambeau. But then DeChambeau was penalized two shots after a review of his actions on the fifth hole when officials deemed he inadvertently improved the path of his swing. So his 66 became a 68 and DeChambeau went from one shot behind to three back and in a tie for fifth.
Herbert leads by two over British Open newcomers Ryan Gerard (67) and Jackson Suber (69) and Cameron Young (67), the No. 4 player in the world.
This will be the 10th year for NBC Sports to be the lead broadcast network in the United States, and it will be wall-to-wall coverage. USA Network will broadcast it from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. on Saturday, followed by NBC from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. The final round will be an hour earlier. USA Network will start at 4 a.m. to 7 a.m., with NBC picking it up from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
It started with Herbert and Burns becoming the sixth and seventh players to post a 62 in a major championship. Then came the ruling on DeChambeau, who asked to be driven out to the scene of the violation on the fifth hole and adamantly protested the two-shot penalty against him.
Right before that unfolded, Jon Rahm was issued an official code-of-conduct warning for throwing his club on the 15th tee after a bad shot. It didn't cost him any shots, but the next such violation would come with a two-shot penalty.
The two-time U.S. Open champion certainly draws attention wherever he goes and whatever he does. Don't expect to see the argument with officials on his YouTube Channel.
It all happened on the fifth hole when DeChambeau drove it to the right in thick, knee-high grass. He was stomping around trying to figure out how to play the next shot. He eventually gouged it out over the green and made bogey.
At issue was whether all that movement caused the thick clumps of grass behind his ball to no longer affect the backswing. The R&A made it clear that was not DeChambeau's intention. But it point to Rule 8 that players can't move, bend or break any growing or attached natural objects when taking intrusive action.
If that wasn't drama enough, his agent couldn't confirm that DeChambeau would play Saturday. Stay tuned.
Not since Padraig Harrington in 2007-08 has there been a repeat winner in the British Open, and Scheffler remains optimistic despite having a cold putter. He shot another 68 — this time with 16 pars and two birdies — and was four shots behind.
It's still Scheffler. BetMGM Sportsbook as the world's No. 1 player at +600 as he goes into the weekend four shots behind. He is followed by Cameron Young at +650 and Lucas Herbert, the 36-hole leader at +1000.
Tommy Fleetwood and Si Woo Kim are at +1100, while Bryson DeChambeau is +1200
Tommy Fleetwood is the favorite son of Southport and birdied three of his last five holes for a 67 that puts him well in the hunt at four shots back of the lead. There's also a Fitzpatrick who's four shots behind but it's Alex, the younger brother of world No. 3 Matt Fitzpatrick, who missed the cut.
Justin Rose also missed the cut. Robert MacIntyre of Scotland was also four behind.
Based on the first two days, it's not everything. Jackson Suber and Ryan Gerard are in the British Open for the first time and they're tied for second.
Look no further than Marcus Plunkett, a West Point grad who was a captain in the Army when he got the golf bug. Instead of staying in the Army, he chose to pursue golf again. He shot 72 in his Open debut, and then played the last seven holes in 1 under to make the cut on the number.
The winner is introduced as the “Champion Golfer of the Year” and receives the silver claret jug, the oldest trophy in golf. Scheffler had to officially return the claret jug to the R&A on Tuesday. The winner is exempt to the British Open through his 55th birthday, and he is exempt into the other three majors for the next five years.
After sunny conditions that have baked Royal Birkdale, there's a slight chance — slight — of some passing showers on Saturday. But it otherwise will be mostly sunshine through the weekend with a high in the low 70s Fahrenheit (23 degrees Celsius).
Royal Birkdale joined the British Open rotation in 1954, the last addition among courses in England. But it’s regarded as the best in England, and in 72 years this is the 11th time hosting the championship. But it’s not quite the same course as when Jordan Spieth won in 2017. The par-3 14th hole is gone. No. 14 is now a par 5 that used to be the 15th hole. And it’s followed by an entirely new par-3 15th that can play as long as 241 yards.
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Tommy Fleetwood of England plays out of a bunker on the 4th green during the first day of the British Open Golf championships at Royal Birkdale golf club, in Southport, England, Thursday, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Bryson DeChambeau of the United States gestures as he walks the 7th hole during the first day of the British Open Golf championships at Royal Birkdale golf club, in Southport, England, Thursday, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland looks at his club after putting on the 9th green during the first day of the British Open Golf championships at Royal Birkdale golf club, in Southport, England, Thursday, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Jackson Suber of the United States putts win the 18th green during the first day of the British Open Golf championships at Royal Birkdale golf club, in Southport, England, Thursday, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Bryson DeChambeau of the United States, right and Scottie Scheffler of the United States walks off the 18th green after completing their round, during the first day of the British Open Golf championships at Royal Birkdale golf club, in Southport, England, Thursday, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
