Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky prepares to pose for a family photo before a cultural performance and concert during the G7 Summit on June 16, 2026 in Evian-les-Bains, France. (Photo by Evelyn Hockstein-Pool/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — The Ukrainian military struck a Russian oil refinery in Ufa on Wednesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, as Kyiv continues its pressure campaign seeking to push Russia to end the war.
“This is an entirely just response to everything Russia is doing against us,” Zelenskyy said on social media. “Peace is needed, and this is exactly what Russia’s leadership must realize. Russia must end its war.”
The Russian Defense Ministry did not appear on Wednesday to publicly comment on the attack, but said in a message on Telegram that its forces had shot down or otherwise destroyed at least 179 Ukrainian drones over Russian or Russian-occupied territory overnight.
The refinery, which Zelenskyy said was one of Russia’s largest producers of lubricants, sits more than 1,300 km, or about 800 miles, from the frontline.
Ukraine overnight also launched an aerial strike at a military complex in the Penza region, where Russia develops and manufactures components related to missiles, Zelenskyy said.
The General Staff of Ukraine’s military said the target was an aerospace facility known by its Russian acronym, NIIFI. The site is used to build sensors for some cruise and ballistic missiles, as well as satellite components, Ukraine said.
“Hits and smoke were recorded at the facility,” the General Staff said in a Ukrainian-language update posted on social media. “This is a leading Russian enterprise in the field of space, aviation and military instrument-making.”
U.S. President Donald Trump attends a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office of the White House on June 24, 2026, in Washington, DC. Secretary-General Mark Rutte is meeting with the President before the annual NATO summit next month and as the Pentagon does a six-month review of American forces in Europe. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump brushed off his loss after the Supreme Court rejected his attempt to end birthright citizenship — rooted in the 14th Amendment — on Tuesday, saying the decision is “too bad for the Country” and insisting that he can “easily make it up in Congress through Legislation.”
The court ruled in a 6-3 decision to reject Trump’s executive order that he issued on the first day of his presidency, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing for the majority, “Citizenship, then and now, was the right to have rights — to freely participate in our political community. The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended that promise to every free-born person in this land. We keep that promise today.”
Trump responded to the court’s decision with a post on his social media platform, writing, “The Supreme Court upheld Birthright Citizenship, which is too bad for our Country, but we can easily make it up in Congress through Legislation, with the support of the President, that has now been determined during this process,” he wrote on his social media platform.
“No long and unwieldy Constitutional Amendment is necessary! Congress should start TODAY to work on ending expensive and unfair to our Country, Birthright Citizenship,” he added.
Birthright citizenship is rooted in both the Constitution and 1940 federal citizenship law. But even if the law were to be changed, this would likely be challenged in court on constitutional grounds with the possibility of the issue making its way back to the Supreme Court.
ABC News reached out to the White House for more information about how the president would use Congress as a workaround for the court’s decision and if he is prepared for the issue to potentially return to legal scrutiny, but the White House referred questions back to the president’s post.
On Monday, Trump said he would “accept” the results of the Supreme Court and acknowledged that “it’s up to them.”
In a subsequent post Tuesday, Trump again reiterated his desire to “correct” the birthright citizenship case in Congress while touting other cases that he won before the court.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, speaking at a House Republican news conference before Trump posted, said he was “very disappointed” with the decision and that Congress will look at amending the Constitution to address the issue.
“I think it subjects the country to serious challenges going forward and we’ll have to deal with it as a Congress,” Johnson said, saying the policy has been “grossly abused.”
“I’m sure we will continue to look at that. I’m sure the conclusion from this opinion is going to be you’ve got to amend the Constitution to fix that,” he said.
Johnson acknowledged a constitutional amendment would be “very complicated” and a “many-years-long process,” but said he thought it was likely the only way forward.
Amending the Constitution would take a two-thirds majority in both chambers of Congress ratification by three-quarters of the states.
William Durham is seen in a photo released by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. (North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation)
(WILKES COUNTY, N.C.) — A United States Postal Service letter carrier was murdered while delivering mail on her rural North Carolina route, authorities said.
Brandi Reynolds, a 35-year-old mother of two, was shot and found dead by responding authorities in Wilkes County, according to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. The incident occurred Friday afternoon, while she was on her route, according to the United States Postal Inspection Service.
William Craig Durham, 56, was subsequently arrested in connection with the deadly shooting and has been charged with first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping, court records show.
The charges allege that Durham restrained and kidnapped Reynolds “for the purpose of terrorizing” her and “did of malice aforethought kill and murder” her, according to a court filing. Authorities have not released any further information, including an alleged motive and any connection between the victim and suspect.
Durham is being held without bond following his initial court appearance on Monday, online records show.
The judge noted that Durham has a “significant criminal record,” a court filing shows. His prior convictions include second-degree kidnapping and possession of a firearm by a felon, according to court filings.
Durham’s attorney had no comment when contacted by ABC News.
The homicide investigation is being conducted jointly by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the Wilkes County Sheriff’s Office.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service said no additional information on the case is being released at this time amid the ongoing investigation.
“Our heartfelt sympathies go out to her family and co-workers,” the U.S. Postal Inspection Service said in a statement.
Reynolds was remembered as a friendly and dependable presence in the community.
“Outgoing, friendly, usually never missed a beat. We could count on her,” Julie Smith, who received mail from Reynolds along her route, told ABC Greensboro affiliate WXLV. “I think if you ask anybody in the community, they would probably tell you the same thing.”
“My heart broke for her family and for her children,” she said.
Reynolds is survived by two daughters, who were “her whole world,” her obituary noted.
Tragedy previously struck the family last year, when her husband, Brent Andrew Reynolds, died in a car crash in December 2025.
His obituary remembered him as a “loving and devoted husband, father, son, and brother,” and called Brandi his “soulmate” and their two girls the “light of his life.”
Rep. Thomas Kean Jr. (R-NJ) arrives at the U.S. Capitol on June 30, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr. of New Jersey arrived back on Capitol Hill on Tuesday after a nearly four-month absence, and announced on the House floor that he received a depression diagnosis that led to an extended hospital stay.
“Now, when people hear the word ‘depression,’ many people think, simply feel, it means feeling sad, but depression is so much more than that,” Kean said. “It is physical, it is emotional, and until you experience it yourself, it is difficult to fully understand how powerful this illness can be.”
Kean said he wanted to get back to Congress as quickly as possible, understanding the importance of representing his constituents, but ultimately decided to follow his doctor’s recommendations to stay under their care.
“The doctors recommended that I remain in the hospital to address my illness. They explained to me that this would be the fastest way to recovery, and to be honest, I was hesitant. I didn’t think that I had time for it. I had responsibilities to my family, I had responsibilities to my constituents, I had responsibilities to this institution, and like many people, I believed that I could simply push through, but I agreed to follow my doctor’s recommendations again, not believing that it would result in a long-term stay,” he said.
Kean has not voted in the House since March 5, missing more than 100 roll call votes during his time away.
The congressman had not publicly addressed the reason for his absence prior to Tuesday, raising questions on his whereabouts.
During his absence, Kean won the Republican primary (where he was unopposed) in his reelection bid and received President Donald Trump’s endorsement. Kean will face Democrat Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot, in November for New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, a toss-up district Democrats hope to flip.
Kean, on Tuesday, did not answer multiple questions from reporters on why he didn’t communicate with his constituents earlier about his health issues.
In his floor remarks, Kean said he believed he would’ve been back on Capitol Hill in a few weeks, but soon began to realize that there is “no timeline for healing, there is no timeline for recovery, only the work of getting better one day at a time.”
“Today I am grateful that I listened to my doctors. I am grateful for the exceptional care that I received from doctors, nurses, and support staff. I am grateful that I accepted help, because today I stand before you healthier, stronger, and excited to return to the work that I love,” he said.
He then thanked his family, staff, constituents, and medical team for their care and understanding, going on to advocate that “asking for help is not a weakness, it is a strength.”
“This is not a partisan issue. It touches every community, every family and every corner of this country. If sharing my story encourages even one person to seek help, if it gives one family the courage to have a difficult conversation or reminds one person that recovery is possible, then this moment will have been worthwhile,” he said as he concluded his speech.
If you or a loved one is experiencing a mental health crisis, please call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. You will reach a trained crisis counselor for free, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also go to 988lifeline.org.
The West Front of U.S. Supreme Court on June 29, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Tom Brenner/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will decide later this year whether state bans on the possession of AR-15 firearms and similar semi-automatic “assault style” guns violate the Second Amendment.
Ten states plus D.C. ban the weapons, which have been used in many of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history, including Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, and Uvalde, Texas.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer speaks on March 11, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(LANSING, Mich.) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Monday ordered the state’s National Guard to limit its mission in Washington exclusively to events tied to the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration, drawing a line against the military’s prolonged presence in the capital and threatening to pull Michigan troops if they’re assigned to any other mission.
In a letter to Maj. Gen. Paul Rogers, the commander of the Michigan National Guard, Whitmer wrote she “has not deployed—and will not deploy—the Michigan National Guard to support the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Mission,” referring to the Guard’s ongoing presence and patrols across the city.
“If the National Guard is unable or unwilling to ensure the Michigan National Guard is only supporting the America 250 mission,” she added, “then I will end Michigan’s support for the America 250 mission.”
The Michigan National Guard has deployed 161 troops to Washington in recent weeks, while Minnesota has sent another 107, according to service figures, making them the first Democrat-led states to contribute sizable contingents to the capital since President Donald Trump surged National Guard forces there in August.
Puerto Rico has also deployed 155 National Guard troops to the capital ahead of the July Fourth weekend, while the U.S. Virgin Islands has sent 83.
There is precedent for National Guard units from across the country being activated for major events in Washington, including presidential inaugurations and the response to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. It is likely National Guard units would again be drawn from multiple states to support security operations tied to America’s 250th birthday celebrations.
It remains unclear how the two missions — ongoing security operations focused largely on high-traffic areas around the Capitol and downtown, and event-driven support for anniversary celebrations — would be separated in practice.
For most of the so-called “Safe and Beautiful” mission, the force has been drawn almost entirely from Republican-led states, aside from the District of Columbia National Guard. Troops have largely been assigned to high-visibility patrols around Washington’s tourist corridors and several downtown Metro stations, while also assisting with litter collection and graffiti removal.
The deployment has focused on some of the city’s safest and most heavily trafficked areas and is expected to continue through the remainder of President Donald Trump’s term.
An analysis from the think tank Niskanen Center found that the Guard’s presence hasn’t reduced violent crime but has reduced property crime. It also noted troops are far more expensive than police officers, estimating it costs $607 per Guardsman per day, compared with roughly $384 per day for a D.C. police officer, underscoring the higher cost of relying on military personnel with limited legal authority and civil training.
A Congressional Budget Office analysis estimated the Guard’s deployment to the capital would cost roughly $660 million this year, though that projection assumed an average force of about 3,000 troops, including pay, food and lodging for troops in hotels.
The estimate does not fully capture the federal government’s longer-term personnel costs, including the accrual of veterans’ benefits tied to active-duty service, such as retirement and education benefits.
A Tesla crashed into the outdoor dining area of an Urbane Cafe in Simi Valley, California, on Monday afternoon, killing one person and injuring five others, authorities said. (KABC)
(SIMI VALLEY, Calif.) — A car crashed into the outdoor dining area of an Urbane Cafe in Simi Valley, California, on Monday afternoon, killing one person and injuring five others, authorities said.
The crash was reported at about 2:30 p.m. near Tierra Rejada and Madera roads in a busy shopping center, according to Simi Valley Police.
Aerial footage from ABC News Los Angeles station KABC showed a white Tesla lodged in the restaurant’s outdoor patio after the collision.
One person was pronounced dead at the scene, while five others suffered minor injuries, according to the Ventura County Fire Department.
Authorities have not released the identity of the person who died, and additional information about the victims was not immediately available.
Investigators said they are still working to determine the cause of the crash. The Tesla driver was a 64-year-old woman with four juvenile passengers in the car, police told KABC.
The driver and one passenger were taken to a hospital for minor injuries, according to KABC.
“We’re still trying to determine if speed was involved. We do know that the Tesla was going northbound through the parking lot. It was attempting to make a right-hand turn to go eastbound toward Madera and, unfortunately, did not make the turn and went over the sidewalk when it struck the female victim,” Simi Valley police Sgt. Rick Morton told KABC.
Earlier this month, a Tesla Model 3 crashed into a home in Katy, Texas, killing a woman. Her family has since filed a lawsuit against Tesla and the driver, alleging the vehicle’s driver-assistance technology contributed to the crash.
Tesla has disputed those claims, saying the driver manually overrode the system by pressing the accelerator. Federal safety officials are investigating the crash.
Authorities have not said whether any driver-assistance technology was engaged at the time of Monday’s crash.
“We don’t believe it was an intentional act, but until we can determine what the cause was, whether it was mechanical failure or there was impairment by the driver, it’s still to be determined,” Morton said.
(WASHINGTON) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected President Donald Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship in the U.S. by executive order, reaffirming in a 6-3 ruling more than a century of legal precedent and national tradition that babies born on American soil are automatically American citizens.
The decision is a blow to Trump, who had lobbied the court to uphold his Day 1 order and attended oral arguments in the case, becoming the first sitting president to do so.
Trump had argued that children born to unlawful immigrants and temporary visitors, like tourists and foreign students, do not qualify for citizenship under terms of the 14th Amendment, which was enacted after the Civil War to address the status of former slaves and their descendants.
Immigrant advocates and civil liberties groups opposing the policy change warned that it would harm hundreds of thousands of children born every year to non-citizen parents and create a bureaucratic nightmare for older Americans, who would no longer be able to prove citizenship simply with a birth certificate.
An estimated 255,000 children born every year to non-citizen parents would have lost legal status under the order, according to the Migration Policy Institute. Some may have faced difficulty establishing citizenship in any country, effectively being born as “stateless.”
Every lower court to have considered Trump’s unprecedented order deemed it unlawful, issuing injunctions to put it on hold. The high court’s decision preserves the status quo.
The 14th Amendment, which was ratified in 1868, says all “persons born or naturalized in the U.S. and subject to the jurisdiction thereof” are citizens. Congress later codified the same language in federal citizenship law in 1940.
The administration insisted children born to parents who are not American citizens or legal permanent residents are not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the U.S. because they still owe political “allegiance” to a foreign nation.
The Supreme Court previously rejected that argument in 1898.
“The [14th] Amendment, in clear words and in manifest intent, includes the children born, within the territory of the United States, of all other persons, of whatever race or color, domiciled within the United States,” wrote Justice Horace Gray in the landmark Wong Kim Ark v. U.S. decision, addressing the status of children born to noncitizens.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
The U.S Supreme Court is seen on June 25, 2026 in Washington, DC. . (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday rolled back longstanding limits on the amount of money political parties can spend in coordination with individual candidates for federal office — a ruling that could unleash a wave of new spending before the midterms. The Supreme Court said the spending limits violate the First Amendment.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
The U.S. Supreme Court building stands in Washington, D.C., U.S. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg
(WASHINGTON) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld state bans on transgender girls from participating in girls’ and women’s competitive sports, reversing a pair of lower court decisions that had blocked the bans as violations of Title IX and the 14th Amendment.
The 6-3 decision came from Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
The ruling in a pair of cases from West Virginia and Idaho effectively upholds laws in those two states, plus 27 others that block trans girls from teams consistent with their gender identity.
The decision marks the first time the high court has weighed in on the heated national debate over transgender athletes.
The court’s ruling is a major setback for the estimated 122,000 transgender American teenagers who participate in high school sports, according to the Williams Institute at UCLA.
For trans teens and their families, the dispute has involved a matter of immutable identity and equal opportunity.
For many states and top U.S. athletic organizations, including the U.S. Olympic Committee and NCAA, the inclusion of trans athletes has been seen as creating an unfair and unsafe playing field.
The competitive advantage boys and men have physically over girls and women has been well established in physically demanding sports by medical research and serves as a primary basis for distinctions between the sexes in athletics.
Studies have shown testosterone produced during male puberty does lead to more muscle mass, larger hearts and lungs, greater body height and longer limbs on average for boys and men, according to the American College of Sports Medicine.
Many transgender teens who have received gender-affirming medical treatment from a young age argue that they lack any physiological advantage because they have not undergone male puberty.
Twenty-one states allow transgender girls to compete on girls’ sports teams, including California and New York, which have laws explicitly protecting the right of trans girls to play.
Becky Pepper Jackson, the only known openly transgender athlete in West Virginia in any sport, sued her state in a bid to continue competing on her high school track team where she throws discus and shot put. Jackson recently won the state championship in girls shot put.
“I’ve been a girl forever, and playing on the guys’ team is going backwards,” she told ABC News in an interview last year.
When West Virginia’s law takes effect, she will no longer be allowed to participate in girls competitive sports leagues. Competing with boys, she said, would “go against who I am.”
Becky, who has openly identified as a girl since third grade, said she has never undergone male puberty, thanks to puberty-blocking medication.
Idaho college student Lindsay Hecox, a former track and cross-country runner who was barred from trying out for her school teams, sued over her state’s ban in 2020. Last year, she asked the Supreme Court to drop her case because she no longer wished to compete in sports and didn’t want to be in the spotlight. However, Idaho fought to keep the case alive.
Lower courts concluded separately that the state bans discriminate “on the basis of sex” in violation of Title IX, the landmark civil rights law that has promoted equal opportunities for women and girls in athletics, and the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause.
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority reversed those decisions and reinstated the laws.
Last year, the same majority upheld a Tennessee law banning some gender-affirming medical treatments for transgender minors, rejecting claims that the law discriminated “on the basis of sex” and saying that states should have leeway to regulate health care in an area of scientific uncertainty.
In 2020, however, the high court concluded in a landmark decision that a Michigan transgender woman fired by her employer for being transgender was discriminated against “on the basis of sex” under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Justice Neil Gorsuch explained in his majority opinion at the time that her termination was “for traits or actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex.”
Sixty-nine percent of Americans believe transgender girls should only be allowed to play on boys’ teams, consistent with their gender assigned at birth, according to a June 2025 Gallup survey.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
