DC, VA sue over Trump's arch; 3 shot in Silver Spring | TOP STORIES

Right now at 6, the Trump administration just slapped with a brand new lawsuit. Details on D.C. and Virginia's last-ditch effort to stop President Trump's proposed triumphal arch. Plus, three people shot, including a teenager, in Silver Spring, where that investigation stands tonight. And there's just three days left until Election Day. If you can believe it, how both parties tonight are working hard to sway voters before the midterms. Fox 5 News at 6 starts right now. But first, tonight at 6, D.C. and Virginia have just filed a joint lawsuit challenging President Trump's proposed triumphal arch. The attorneys general argue that the Trump administration did not complete the required reviews and get approvals as mandated by federal law. I want to bring in now former federal prosecutor and Georgetown Law's Mushtaq Gunja. Mushtaq, thank you so much for joining us tonight. We appreciate it. Thank you for having me. Happy Halloween. Happy Halloween to you, too. Let's just jump right in here. What is the legal argument at the core of this suit, as you understand it? Yeah, the legal arguments break down into two forms. First, that the Trump administration did not get the required approvals from Congress to be able to build this arch. Thank There are a couple of different points of view on that, but there's a commemorative works act. There's a height of buildings act. Both of those acts would need express permission from Congress to be able to build the arch. And then separately, there's a couple of lawsuits around or a couple of counts around the environmental effects you. and the historic preservation sort of effects of the arch and the effects that it would have on both Virginia and D.C. So the judge over this case, as I understand it, actually on Friday before this specific suit was filed, we know there's others pending, she signaled she might actually block construction from happening. Does that tell you, if she made that signal on Friday, that it's less than likely that construction is going to start next week as it maybe could have without her intervention? Yeah, I think that's probably right. So there is a separate lawsuit, Lemon versus Trump. It's the plaintiffs in that case are four individuals, three World War Two veterans and I'm sorry, Vietnam War veterans and an architecture sort of person. They were suing on very similar grounds. That suit has been months and months in the making. Judge Chutkin had a hearing this week. She did signal, you read the tea leaves, she signaled that she probably was not going to approve the building of the arch, agreed with the plaintiffs, at least in the first instance. But the question in that case was, there is a question about a legal term called standing, about whether or not those plaintiffs had the right to be to be able to challenge this arch. Here, with the D.C. and Virginia attorneys general, they almost certainly have standing. And so they've cleared, the attorney generals, I think, have cleared that bar probably. And so Judge Chutkin's signals last week probably mean that this arch construction probably will not start next week. Mushak, I'm curious what your understanding is around the law about whether the president, in fact, would need congressional approval to build this arch. The administration has argued they do not. Folks in these lawsuits, we know, have argued that that is necessary. What is your understanding around the law of if a president wants to build a memorial or something to that effect in D.C. without approval from Congress? Yeah, I think the law is fairly clear, actually, that he does need express approval from Congress to be able to build this sort of monument, especially at this sort of height. He does need express approval from Congress. This is not the ballroom, you know, where the construction is smaller. It's attached to the White House. This is a big, pun intended, deal. This is an enormous arch. It's 250 feet. It will have major effects. On the sight lines in D.C. and in Virginia. And I do think that that approval was probably necessary. And just, you know, we're right next. We're right before the midterms. Probably is the smartest thing to do to be able to go get approval from Congress, too, because otherwise the next president could or next administration could just tear this thing down. You know, if Congress has approved it, I mean, those dollars are properly there. You know, the construction is is all, you know, above board. That's probably the way this should have gone and should go. Last question for you, Mushak, just about a minute left. The president a couple of weeks or months ago suggested that maybe this arch would actually be used as part military complex. And some spectators, some critics argued that maybe that was in an effort to get around congressional approval. Is your understanding that if there is a military component that might make congressional approval less legally necessary, or at least that there's an argument that can be made to that effect? Yeah, national security concerns and interests will sometimes create exemptions for, you know, for having to go through the regular course of having to go to Congress. So it's possible that that's the case. I think the question is, are those justifications just fig leaves, or are they truly for national security purposes? If it's just a fig leaf, I'm not sure that Judge Shutkin or the other courts that are likely to hear this case are necessarily going to agree that they are truly for purposes of national security. Well, it sounds like in the next couple of days, we'll know at least the direction this is going in for now. Mushtaq Ganja, thank you for joining us, and enjoy the rest of your Halloween. Thank you. All right. So we know that the National Capital Planning Commission is set to review a final site and building plan next Thursday. Members of the public will be able to testify there. And D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelsohn will join us live at 630 with more on this developing story. So stay with us. Meanwhile, another legal battle over the future of the Kennedy Center is also heating up tonight in federal court. Democratic Congresswoman Joyce Beattie has filed a brief opposing renewed efforts to close the historic venue for two years. She accuses officials of concealing key evidence to mask financial mismanagement. Beattie claims trustees were never shown assessment from their own construction manager, showing closure was unnecessary. She's asking a judge to keep renovations blocked and bar any attempts to demolish the landmark. All right, time now on this Halloween is 6.06. Let's turn to our... Weather now, first check on your forecast. A little bit of a chilly Halloween, but skies are staying clear for trick-or-treating. It could be much worse, Ms. Jen Delgado. Oh, it could be way spookier. At least it's going to be dry. And overall, the temperatures are comfortable. They're just a lot cooler than what they were yesterday. But the biggest transformation tonight is the last 6 p.m. sunset. I know that's, yeah. 6.09. In three minutes, say goodbye to the 6 o'clock sunsets, and then we're going to fall back. We'll at least have some candy to offset your potential disappointment over that. Yes, go on a sugar rest to compensate for the sadness of losing those 6 p.m. sunsets. Let's see if that was going to help you make it through this winter. But as we look at our planner for tonight for the trick-or-treaters, you are the most important for the forecast for tonight. Temperature 60 degrees at 6 o'clock, 7 o'clock, 57, 8 o'clock, 56. And then you should be home by then and looking at all your candy with your parents and making sure it's nice and safe. The other thing that's going to happen this weekend, as I said, we will be falling back. And for tonight, the sunset is at 6.08. And then by Sunday, we have a sunset at 5. So 7 p.m. and then it gets earlier and earlier and then we're just going to throw it into the 4 o'clock hour. Clouds are out there. They will continue to be thick, but it is going to be a cool Halloween as we look outside. This is our view out at National Harbor. I'm just so sad that we don't get a really nice sunset for the last 6 p.m. sunset of 2026. Our winds right now are from the north-northwest. Our dew points are in the 30s and that means a cool start to your morning for tomorrow. Our temps right now in the 50s generally pretty much. everywhere. 58 degrees in Manassas, 56 degrees in Leonardtown. Here's our satellite radar. We are dry. We've got high pressure blocking us from anything. It's that sinking air that's really preventing any rainfall from moving in for us. Now, what we do know is we had a cold front that came through yesterday, and that's why we are so much cooler. As we look at our temperatures for tonight, we'll get them down into the 60s. We're looking at you, Frederick, a low of 40 40 degrees, 48 in Manassas, and then 51 degrees for a little in Quantico. And then tomorrow afternoon, there's your high, 65, very close to seasonal for this time of the year. We're going to talk about our next chance for rainfall and when the 70s will come back in just a few minutes. Sydney. All right, Jen, thank you. Developing right now, three people, including a teenager, were shot overnight during a Gaithersburg, excuse me, in Silver Spring. Police are still trying to figure out what exactly led up to that shooting and find whoever is responsible. Let's get live now to Regina Ureta, who is at the scene. Regina, what are you learning? Yeah, well, Sydney, we're very close to the location where three people were shot early Saturday morning. Now, authorities have not called this outdoor gathering that happened as an illegal car meetup. But what I can tell you is that there are signs of similar car activity in this area. You can see tire marks left on the pavement, possibly from vehicles spinning or swerving in this parking lot. Again, it's not clear whether that activity was connected to the gathering or the shooting, but it gives you sort of an idea of what may have been happening ...in this area before the gun... Fire erupted. So here's what we know so far. Montgomery County police say officers responded to the 11900 block of Bornfield Way just before two this morning after receiving reports of a shooting. When officers arrived, they found two adults and one teenager suffering from gunshot wounds. According to investigators, all three victims were attending a large outdoor meetup in the area when another person opened fire. One of the victims, including the teenager, were taken to nearby hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries. A third victim was rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, but authorities believe that person is now in stable condition. Now, at this time, no suspect has been identified. There's no description of this suspect, and police have not released any information about what led up to this shooting. This continues to be an ongoing investigation. Sydney? Let's get to some other top stories we're tracking tonight. One person has died and six people are injured after a targeted shooting inside of a Spirit Halloween in Northern California. Officers say shots were fired inside the store in Fairfield late last night. That's less than 40 miles southwest of Sacramento. Three victims we know are in the hospital and remain in critical condition. Investigators say that shooting is tied to a targeted incident involving one of the suspects. And a man is dead after he was shot inside of a home in Capitol Heights, Prince George's County. Police say this happened around 4.30 this morning. Investigators say are still working to determine a motive. No suspect information has been provided at this hour. And a gunman remains on the run after a shooting at a Prince George's County Recreation Center. Park Police say shots were fired last night at the Port Foot Rec Center in Port Washington. They tell Fox 5 a man was flown to the hospital in critical condition. No suspect description in this case either tonight. And testimony resumes on Monday morning in the Naresh Bhat murder trial. Prosecutors are expected to rest their case around nine in the morning. Just earlier this week, jurors reviewed bank and credit card records belonging to Bhat's wife, Mamta, who he is accused of killing. Prosecutors point to her final Uber charges in July of 2024 and late fees that followed her disappearance.