Trump, Zelenskiy discuss weapons and escalating Russian strikes

Trump, Zelenskiy discuss weapons and escalating Russian strikes

By Max Hunder and Doina Chiacu KYIV/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he discussed air defences in a conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday, and agreed to work on increasing Kyiv's capability to "defend the sky" as Russian attacks escalate. He added in a message on Telegram that he discussed joint defence production, as well as joint purchases and investments with the U.S. leader. Ukraine has been asking Washington to sell it more Patriot missiles and systems that it sees as key to defending its cities from intensifying Russian air strikes. A decision by Washington to halt some shipments of weapons to Ukraine prompted warnings by Kyiv that the move would weaken its ability to defend against Russia's airstrikes and battlefield advances. Germany said it is in talks on buying Patriot air defence systems to bridge the gap. One source briefed on the call told Reuters they were optimistic that supplies of Patriot missiles could resume after what they called a "very good" conversation between the presidents. U.S. outlet Axios reported, citing unnamed sources, that the call lasted around 40 minutes, and that Trump told Zelenskiy he would check what U.S. weapons due to be sent to Ukraine, if any, had been put on hold. Zelenskiy, speaking later in his nightly video address, said he and Trump had agreed to "arrange a meeting between our teams to strengthen air defences. "We had a very detailed discussion on joint production. We need it, America needs it." The conversation came a day after Trump said he had a disappointing call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia pummelled Kyiv with the largest drone attack of the war across the capital, hours after Trump's conversation with Putin on Thursday. Zelenskiy called the attack "deliberately massive and cynical." Trump spoke with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday, according to Spiegel magazine, citing government sources. The two leaders discussed the situation in Ukraine, including strengthening its air defences, as well as trade issues, Spiegel reported on Friday. Kyiv had previously received Patriot batteries and ammunition from the U.S. in the form of aid under President Joe Biden. Trump criticised him for sending weapons to Ukraine without getting anything in return, and since taking office has overseen a dramatic shake-up of relations with Kyiv. (Reporting by Doina Chiacu, Tim Gardner, Max Hunder and Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Louise Heavens, Peter Graff, Sharon Singleton, Hugh Lawson and Ron Popeski)

byMario Satorik

in

July 04, 2025

Trump, Zelenskiy discuss weapons and escalating Russian strikes

Trump, Zelenskiy discuss weapons and escalating Russian strikes By Max Hunder and Doina Chiacu KYIV/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Ukrainian Preside...

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Texas may not enforce migrant arrest law, US appeals court rules

Texas may not enforce migrant arrest law, US appeals court rules

By Nate Raymond (Reuters) -Texas authorities may not enforce a Republican-backed state law that would let them arrest and prosecute people suspected of illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, a divided federal appeals court ruled late on Thursday. A 2-1 panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an injunction that blocked enforcement of the disputed law, which former Democratic President Joe Biden's administration had gone to court to challenge. Republican President Donald Trump's administration dropped the federal government's case, but the Texas law known as SB4 had continued to be challenged by, among others, the immigrant rights group Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, which argued federal law preempted the state's. The law, which Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed in December 2023, would make it a state crime to illegally enter or re-enter Texas from a foreign country and would empower state judges to order that violators leave the United States, with prison sentences up to 20 years for those who refuse to comply. U.S. Circuit Judge Priscilla Richman, writing for the New Orleans-based court's majority, said that for nearly 150 years, the U.S. Supreme Court has recognized that the power to control immigration was exclusively a federal power. Relying on a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down parts of an Arizona immigration law, she said the Texas law, if allowed to be enforced by the Texas Department of Public Safety, would interfere with the federal government's ability to enforce complex U.S. immigration laws. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, vowed to appeal the decision, saying "I will always fight to stop illegal immigration." The ruling upheld a lower-court judge's February 2024 preliminary injunction. The U.S. Supreme Court a month later briefly allowed the law to take effect, but the 5th Circuit within hours halted it pending further review. The opinion by Richman, an appointee of Republican President George W. Bush, was joined by U.S. Circuit Judge Irma Carrillo Ramirez, a Biden appointee. U.S. Circuit Judge Andrew Oldham, a Trump appointee, dissented. He said the majority treated as irrelevant that Trump has been encouraging states to aid his administration's efforts to ramp up immigration enforcement. "It is a sad day for the millions of Americans who are concerned about illegal immigration and who voiced those concerns at ballot boxes across Texas and the Nation," Oldham wrote. Cody Wofsy, a lawyer for the plaintiffs at the American Civil Liberties Union, in a statement welcomed the ruling, saying state immigration laws like the one Texas adopted have been repeatedly rejected by courts and "are deeply harmful to our communities." (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Aurora Ellis)

byMario Satorik

in

July 04, 2025

Texas may not enforce migrant arrest law, US appeals court rules

Texas may not enforce migrant arrest law, US appeals court rules By Nate Raymond (Reuters) -Texas authorities may not enforce a Republican-b...

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Yankees pitcher Clarke Schmidt goes on injured list and heads for scan of forearm

Yankees pitcher Clarke Schmidt goes on injured list and heads for scan of forearm

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees pitcher Clarke Schmidt was placed on the 15-day injured list because of right forearm soreness on Friday, one day after his start at Toronto was cut short following three innings. A 29-year-old right-hander, Schmidt was set to have an MRI on Friday. New York also recalled right-hander Scott Effross and left-hander Jayvien Sandridge from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Right-hander Clayton Beeter had been optioned to the RailRiders after replacing Schmidt on Thursday night and taking the loss in the8-5 defeatas the Yankees were swept in a four-game series against the Blue Jays and dropped out of the AL East lead. Schmidt allowed three runs, four hits that included George Springer's two-run homer and two walks. He said he's been dealing with soreness in his arm since his June 4 outing against Cleveland. "Earlier on in the game it felt OK," Schmidt said. "As the game progressed it sort of tightened up a little bit on me. ... Just pitch to pitch I didn't feel 100%. I felt like the whole night I was kind of guarding it a little bit on the breaking balls, really not ripping them or trying to get a lot behind them." Schmidt had Tommy John surgery in May 2017, a month before the Yankees selected him with the 16th overall pick in the amateur draft. In his sixth major league season, he is is 4-4 with a 3.32 ERA in 14 starts. Schmidt left a June 21 start against Baltimore after a career-high 103 pitches in seven hitless innings, part of a streak of 28 1/3 scoreless innings. "Any time you're getting an MRI on your forearm, or whatever the body part is, you're not feeling happy about it," Schmidt said. "I'm praying everything is going to be clean and minor. We'll see what happens." Right-hander Luis Gil, sidelined since straining his right lat during spring training, will throw either a third batting practice session on Tuesday or Wednesday, or start a minor league injury rehabilitation assignment. Gil, the reigning AL Rookie of the Year, threw to hitters on June 21 for the first time since getting hurt. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said the 27-year-old right-hander will throw 45-50 pitches. "I'm not sure if it's a three-up live because sometimes we like them to get to that number in a more controlled environment just so we don't have to pull a plug," Boone said. Right-hander Ryan Yarbrough, out since June because of a strained right oblique, has not started throwing. "I think he's getting close to playing catch, but he has not started playing catch yet," Boone said. ___ AP MLB:https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

byMario Satorik

in

July 04, 2025

Yankees pitcher Clarke Schmidt goes on injured list and heads for scan of forearm

Yankees pitcher Clarke Schmidt goes on injured list and heads for scan of forearm NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees pitcher Clarke Schmidt was placed ...

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Red Bull's Christian Horner says Max Verstappen intends to stay despite Mercedes links

Red Bull's Christian Horner says Max Verstappen intends to stay despite Mercedes links

SILVERSTONE, England (AP) — Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has said Max Verstappen intends to stay with the team for next year despite speculation about a move to Mercedes which would shake upFormula 1. Verstappen has repeatedlydeclined to sayhe's committed to Red Bull for 2026 following asuggestionlast week from Mercedes' George Russell that his team spoke with Verstappen. Russell doesn't have a contract for 2026. The four-time world champion has a contract through 2028 at Red Bull but there have been indications that a performance-related clause could allow him to exit earlier. The exact details are not public. "The contracts between the drivers and the teams are always going to remain confidential. With any driver's contract there is an element of a performance mechanism, and of course that exists within Max's contract," Horner said on Friday at theBritish Grand Prix. "His intention is that he will be there and driving for us in 2026. It's inevitable that he's of huge interest to any other other team in the pit lane." Horner suggested Russell "probably triggered all this speculation" to strengthen his hand in talks with Mercedes. "I think the most important thing is the clarity that exists between Max and the team and that's very clear," Horner added. Horner also said of Verstappen: "He's made it quite clear that he would like to finish his career in a Red Bull car from start to finish. I think that's quite special and unique for him." Russellsaidon Thursday he believed there was an "exceptionally low" chance he'd have to leave Mercedes for 2026. Horner added that Yuki Tsunoda will get the rest of 2025 to show he deserves to keep a seat at Red Bull, but signaled he'd consider a range of options inside and outside the wider Red Bull organization, including Liam Lawson and his rookie Racing Bulls teammate Isack Hadjar. Tsunoda waspromotedto Verstappen's teammate in March after Lawson struggled in the first two races. "Yuki has got until the end of the season to demonstrate that he's the guy to remain in the car," Horner said. "We have Isack also doing a good job and Liam finding his form as well. So within the Red Bull pool we have talent. Of course, you're also open to what is outside of that. We want to field the best lineup that we can for next year. We've gone outside of that pool in recent years. If we feel the necessity to do so, we wouldn't be afraid to do so again." ___ AP auto racing:https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

byMario Satorik

in

July 04, 2025

Red Bull's Christian Horner says Max Verstappen intends to stay despite Mercedes links

Red Bull's Christian Horner says Max Verstappen intends to stay despite Mercedes links SILVERSTONE, England (AP) — Red Bull team princip...

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Dem Eyes House Seat That Swung Nearly 20 Points To Trump

Dem Eyes House Seat That Swung Nearly 20 Points To Trump

Democratic California Assemblywoman Jasmeet Bains is reportedly preparing to run against Republican California Rep. David Valadao in the 2026 midterms as Valadao's district continues to trend further to the right. Bains, a family medicine and addiction doctor, will be launching her bid for California's 22nd congressional district this month, Punchbowl Newsreported. The state lawmaker has alreadyrun adsacross the district urging Valadao to vote against President Donald Trump's "one big, beautiful" bill — which Valadao voted for onThursday. and previously onMay 22. "I'm trying to see as many patients as I can because Congress is trying to cut their Medi-Cal [California Medical Assistance Program]," Bains said in the ad paid for by a group called Health Care Saves Lives. Medi-CalisCalifornia's Medicaid program. (YouTube / Screenshot / Public — User: KBAK Eyewitness News) Bains has represented Kern County in the state legislature since 2023. She is also the Central Valley's Chief Medical Officer for the California Medical Assistance Team — anorganizationthat oversees some emergency health services for California. Notably, Bains was the sole Democrat in the State Assembly tovoteagainst a 2023 gas price gouging bill targeting oil companies. The bill was backed by and eventuallysignedinto law by Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Days after her vote, Bains was temporarilyremovedfrom the Business and Professions Committee by then Democratic California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon. "I will never throw my constituents under the bus," Bains wrote in an Xpostat the time describing her opposition to the bill. Kern County iswidelydescribedas being at the center of California's oil industry. The 22nd congressional district, spanning from Bakersfield to Tulare County, isover 70%Hispanic and has moved 19 points to the right between the 2020 and the 2024 presidential election cycles. Former President Joe Biden beat Trump there by 13 percentage points in 2020, but Trump beat former Vice PresidentKamala Harristhere by 6 points in 2024, according todatafrom the California Secretary of State's officeandDave's Redistricting App. Trump's gains in the district reflect hisgainswith Hispanic voters nationwide. Valadao, who was first elected to Congress in 2012, refrained from endorsing Trump in the 2016 election andlost his seatto Democrat TJ Cox in 2018. Valadao quicklywonthe district back in 2020 andvoted to impeachTrump following Jan. 6, 2021. Nonetheless, the congressmanmetwith the president on Wednesday to discuss his concerns over the reconciliation bill, although his office wouldn'tprovidecomment on how the talks went. Valadao was worried about Medicaid provisions and rural hospitals, as his rural agriculture-based district has a large population of Medicaid recipients. He said in astatementafter the vote that he voted for the bill due to its provisions that would help the district itself such as water infrastructure and crop research for his district, and tax credits for the Central Valley's clean energy sector, claiming he "came to Congress to be a voice for our community." "It does preserve the Medicaid program for its intended recipients—children, pregnant women, the disabled, and elderly," Valadao said in the statement. "The bill also includes dozens of other policy provisions that directly benefit CA-22, including blocking the largest tax hike on working families in American history, eliminating taxes on tips and overtime, expanding the Child Tax Credit, enhancing deductions for seniors, and keeping provisions in place that double the standard deduction for over 90% of taxpayers in my district." Also in the race for the congressional seat isRandy Villegas, a Democratic school board trustee from Visalia, and Democratic State Assemblyman Rudy Salas who hasreportedlyfiled paperwork to run in 2026. Salas lost to Valadao in both the 2024 and 2022 general elections. California uses a top-two all-party primary system for congressional elections — where the candidates with the highest and second-highest number of votes in the primary advance to the general election regardless of party affiliation. Valadao and Bains' offices did not respond to the DCNF's request for comment. All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter's byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contactlicensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

byMario Satorik

in

July 04, 2025

Dem Eyes House Seat That Swung Nearly 20 Points To Trump

Dem Eyes House Seat That Swung Nearly 20 Points To Trump Democratic California Assemblywoman Jasmeet Bains is reportedly preparing to run ag...

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Sen. Jenkins says 'one, big beautiful bill' could impact 1.6M in Louisiana

Sen. Jenkins says 'one, big beautiful bill' could impact 1.6M in Louisiana

(The Center Square) — State Sen. Sam Jenkins, D-Shreveport, said President Donald Trump's "one big, beautiful bill" would affect 1.6 million Louisiana residents' access to healthcare. "Me and my lawmakers down in Baton Rouge have some very serious concerns about the potential cuts to Medicaid and SNAP," Jenkins said during the Thursday Caddo Parish Commission meeting. "Significant federal cuts could lead to a multi-billion dollar loss for Louisiana." Jenkins made it clear he was not giving any political statement towards the bill but was specifically focused on numbers. According to Jenkins, the massive budget reconciliation bill proposes cutting $1 trillion to Medicaid and $180 billion to SNAP nationwide. Data released byUSAFactsshowed roughly 847,100, or 18.4%, of Louisiana residents received SNAP benefits monthly during fiscal year 2024, larger than the 12.3% receiving benefits nationwide. In 2012, nearly 948,800 people in Louisiana received monthly SNAP benefits. In 2024, Louisiana ranked third in the U.S. for the state population receiving SNAP benefits. KFFdata shows that as of May, 1.8 million people in Louisiana have Medicaid, and 79% of Medicaid spending is federally funded. Louisiana currently receives $13 billion in federal funds for Medicaid. The state budget for the 2025-2026 year is $47.9 billion-- $24.2 billion of the budget is state funds, and $23.7 billion is federal funds. Of the $23.7 billion federally funded dollars, $16.4 billion supports healthcare for Louisiana residents. The Center Square previouslyreportedpositive and negative responses from lawmakers surrounding the passage of the president's bill, which he is expected to sign into law on Friday. The bill is said to add $4.1 trillion to the primary deficit over the next 10 years, raise the debt ceiling by $5 trillion, add cost-saving reforms to Medicaid and SNAP and fund border construction. "Thanks to the leadership of President Donald Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson, and Congressman Steve Scalise, Americans just received: largest tax cut in history, no tax on tips, overtime and social security, permanently secure our borders, permanent increase to the child tax credit, protects two million family farms from punitive double taxation, unless American Energy Dominance, modernizes the American military and ends fraud, waste and abuse in our federal government," Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said on X. Landry, U.S Rep. Julia Letlow, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, all Republicans, shared their support for the bill. Democratic Congressmen Cleo Fields and Troy A. Carter released statements of concern.

byMario Satorik

in

July 04, 2025

Sen. Jenkins says 'one, big beautiful bill' could impact 1.6M in Louisiana

Sen. Jenkins says 'one, big beautiful bill' could impact 1.6M in Louisiana (The Center Square) — State Sen. Sam Jenkins, D-Shrevepor...

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Wales celebrates its first ever press conference at a women’s major tournament at Euro 2025

Wales celebrates its first ever press conference at a women's major tournament at Euro 2025

LUCERNE, Switzerland (AP) — Wales coach Rhian Wilkinson and midfielder Angharad James celebrated their country's first ever press conference at a women's major tournament at Euro 2025 on Friday. Wales press officer Owain Harries informed assembled journalists of the premiere and was rewarded by a round of applause and cheers. Wilkinson and James laughed and clapped, while Wilkinson did a little dance in her seat before the questions started. "This is it," said Wilkinson, a former Canada player and assistant coach. "I can't wait for the bus to arrive, to watch these women walk out onto the field, to see where they're going to get, to step on and make history." Wales, the lowest-ranked team in the competition, makes its uropean Championship debut against the Netherlands in Group D on Saturday. The Welsh threatened to qualify for major tournaments in recent years but it took a playoff win over Ireland to make the dream a reality. "It's been something that we've always strived to achieve, and we've always come short but not anymore. We're here," James said. Wales has been landed in arguably the toughest group, however, with heavyweights France and England, the defending champion, also in Group D. "Underestimate us all you want but we know that we're ready for the fight, we're ready for each game and we're ready to be here, to be present and take on each team as it comes," James said. "We're ready." After the players' training session in the stadium, they were joined on the field by all of the team staff and coaches for a photo. ___ AP soccer:https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

byMario Satorik

in

July 04, 2025

Wales celebrates its first ever press conference at a women’s major tournament at Euro 2025

Wales celebrates its first ever press conference at a women's major tournament at Euro 2025 LUCERNE, Switzerland (AP) — Wales coach Rhia...

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