Trump, Putin Meeting Up in the Air, As WH Negotiates Zelenskiy Inclusion
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Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Moscow strikes kill six in Ukraine; refineries hit in Russia
A new round of Moscow's shelling and drone attacks killed six people and wounded dozens in Ukraine Sunday, authorities said, while Kyiv hit two oil refineries deep inside Russia. There was no reduction in hostilities on the frontline, even as the United States and Russia agreed to hold a summit in a bid to resolve the conflict, which so far does not include Ukraine. "Russia has not taken a single real step towards peace, not a single step on the ground or in the air that could save lives," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a regular evening address on Sunday. Six people died across the eastern regions of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, their respective authorities said. The focus of the Russian offensive is on eastern Ukraine, where it has stepped up gains in recent months against its less well-equipped opponents. A Russian glide bomb hit a busy bus station in the city of Zaporizhzhia in a separate afternoon strike, wounding 19 people at once, the local officials said, adding that a search and rescue operation was still ongoing. Visuals from the site shared by the authorities showed rescuers with sniffer dogs pulling injured people in blood stains and dust from the rubble in the shattered central bus station building. Three beachgoers were killed earlier in the Black Sea coastal city of Odesa, after they triggered a mine while swimming in a prohibited area. The Ukrainian army claimed its drones had hit a large oil refinery in Russia's western Saratov region. Its governor Roman Busargin only gave a vague comment about it, saying that "one of the industrial enterprises was damaged" and adding that one person died as a result of the drone attack. Another refinery was damaged in Russia's remote northern town of Ukhta in the Komi Republic, some 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) from the frontline, a source in Ukraine's GUR main intelligence directorate told AFP. The Komi governor confirmed in his Telegram channel there was a drone attack on the region, but didn't mention the Ukhta refinery and said there were no casualties in the assault. Another woman died in Russia's Belgorod region, often under Ukrainian fire due to its proximity to the frontline, the local governor said. Kyiv is trying to hamper Moscow's ability to fund the more than three-year war of attrition by attacking its oil and gas facilities, the key source of revenue for the state budget. Ukraine's military claimed to have taken back the village of Bezsalivka in the Sumy region from the Russian army, which has made significant recent gains. Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will meet in the US state of Alaska this Friday to try to resolve the grinding conflict, despite warnings from Ukraine and Europe that Kyiv must be part of negotiations. bur-asy/gv
Los Angeles Times
13 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Trump's judicial picks could reshape abortion rights for decades
CHICAGO — During Donald Trump's campaign for president last year, he sought to ease the concerns of voters alarmed that the Supreme Court he helped shape during his first term had overturned the constitutional right to abortion, saying that he did not oppose abortion but thought the issue should be decided by individual states. More than six months into Trump's second term in the White House, a review by the Associated Press shows that several of his nominees to the federal courts have revealed antiabortion views, been associated with antiabortion groups or defended abortion restrictions. Several have helped defend their state's abortion restrictions in court, and some have been involved in cases with national impact, including on access to medication abortion. The nominees, with lifetime appointments, would be in position to roll back abortion rights long after Trump leaves the White House. Trump has repeatedly shifted his messaging on abortion, often giving contradictory or vague answers. In the years before the 2024 campaign, Trump had voiced support for a federal ban on abortion on or after 20 weeks in pregnancy and said he might support a national ban around 15 weeks. He later settled on messaging that decisions about abortion access should be left to the states. Throughout his campaign, Trump has alternated between taking credit for appointing the Supreme Court justices who helped overturn Roe vs. Wade and striking a more neutral tone. That's been an effort to navigate the political divide between his base of antiabortion supporters and the broader public, which largely supports access to abortion. One Trump nominee called abortion a 'barbaric practice,' while another referred to himself as a 'zealot' for the antiabortion movement. A nominee from Tennessee said abortion deserves special scrutiny because 'this is the only medical procedure that terminates a life.' One from Missouri spread misinformation about medication abortion, including that it 'starves the baby to death in the womb' in a lawsuit aiming to challenge the Food and Drug Administration's approval of the abortion pill mifepristone. Legal experts and abortion rights advocates warn of a methodical remaking of the federal courts in a way that could pose enduring threats to abortion access nationwide. Bernadette Meyler, a professor of constitutional law at Stanford University, said judicial appointments 'are a way of federally shaping the abortion question without going through Congress or making a big, explicit statement.' 'It's a way to cover up a little bit what is happening in the abortion sphere compared to legislation or executive orders that may be more visible, dramatic and spark more backlash,' she said. Harrison Fields, a White House spokesperson, said that 'every nominee of the President represents his promises to the American people and aligns with the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark ruling.' 'The Democrats' extreme position on abortion was rejected in November in favor of President Trump's commonsense approach, which allows states to decide, supports the sanctity of human life, and prevents taxpayer funding of abortion,' Fields said in a statement to the AP. Trump focused primarily on the economy and immigration during his 2024 campaign, the issues that surveys showed were the most important topics for voters. Antiabortion advocates say it's premature to determine whether the nominees will support their objectives, but they're hopeful based on the names put forth so far. 'We look forward to four more years of nominees cut from that mold,' said Katie Glenn Daniel, director of legal affairs for the national antiabortion organization SBA Pro-Life America. Abortion-rights advocates said Trump is embedding abortion opponents into the judiciary one judge at a time. 'This just feeds into this larger strategy where Trump has gotten away with distancing himself from abortion, saying he's going to leave it to the states, while simultaneously appointing antiabortion extremists at all levels of government,' said Mini Timmaraju, president of the national abortion rights organization Reproductive Freedom for All, formerly known as NARAL Pro-Choice America, Fernando writes for the Associated Press.
New York Times
14 minutes ago
- New York Times
Trump Attacked California's Congressional Maps. Republicans Want to Save Them.
The national battle over redistricting fueled by Texas Republicans' effort to draw new congressional maps has created an odd dynamic for California Republicans. They are trying to save California's system for drawing political districts, while President Trump is trashing it. 'California's gerrymandered,' Mr. Trump said last week. 'We should have many more seats in Congress in California.' The week before, Vice President JD Vance wrote on X that 'the gerrymander in California is outrageous.' Political scientists who study redistricting say that the state's system for drawing maps, which is overseen by a bipartisan independent commission, gives Democrats a slight statistical edge. Even so, Republican officials in California say that the commission is considerably better than the alternative: letting the Democrat-dominated legislature draw the lines. 'I would argue that independent redistricting benefits Republicans in California,' said Matt Rexroad, a Republican political consultant and redistricting expert. The commission is receiving more scrutiny as a fierce tit-for-tat over redistricting ricochets across the country. At Mr. Trump's request, Texas lawmakers have drafted new maps to help Republicans win five additional seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Gov. Gavin Newsom of California has vowed to respond in kind, by redrawing congressional districts in his state to create more seats that Democrats are likely to win. Mr. Newsom's plan would toss the independent commission's maps through 2030 and replace them with intentionally partisan districts created by Democratic lawmakers. That has California Republicans working to preserve the maps Mr. Trump criticized as they try to block Mr. Newsom's attempt at a Democratic gerrymander. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
