Throngs of UFC fans have descended on the nation's capital for an usual fight night at the White House. The Sunday night event is marking both America’s 250th anniversary and President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday. Fans from as far away as Australia are in Washington for the spectacle. Polling shows UFC fans skew male and nonwhite, with more identifying as Republicans, but the crowd near the Lincoln Memorial for a news conference with the fights on Friday night was diverse. Trump has billed this weekend as “the greatest show on earth.” A watchdog group tried to stop it with a lawsuit and says the event is a corrupt use of national monuments.

A federal judge has refused to stop the White House from staging a UFC show this weekend in an elaborate ring already built on the South Lawn to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary — on President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled Friday that organizers can use the White House lawn as the venue for Sunday’s planned UFC mixed martial arts event. The nonprofit Public Integrity Project sued to challenge Trump’s UFC Freedom 250 event. The White House calls the lawsuit baseless, saying it's no different from many other events hosted at public forums in the capital.

A judge has denied a request from the Kennedy Center to pause a ruling ordering President  Donald Trump's name removed from building. That denial came Friday. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled last month that Trump’s name was illegally added to the iconic Washington performing arts facility. Cooper ruled only Congress could institute a change to the Kennedy Center’s name and ordered references to Trump to be removed by Friday.