Early Edition: July 6, 2026

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A curated guide to major news and developments over the weekend. Here’s today’s news:

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR 

Russian missiles and drones struck Kyiv early this morning, killing at least 11 people and heavily damaging apartment blocks, Ukrainian officials said. The attack came just a few days after the deadliest assault on Kyiv this year, which killed at least 31 people. Ukraine has repeatedly said it is short of interceptors for its Patriot defence system, which is the only effective weapon for shooting down these incoming ballistic projectiles. Cassandra Vinograd reports for the New York Times; Valentyn Ogirenko and Vladyslav Smilianets report for Reuters.   

Kyiv has “dramatically taken the war to Russian territory in 2026 by orchestrating a series of short-, medium-, and long-range strikes to disrupt and destroy Russian logistics and supplies,” according to a Center for Strategic and International Studies report shared last week. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has claimed that Russia has since relocated the bulk of its air defenses to cover key areas, such as central Moscow and a presidential residence. Colin Demarest reports for Axios.  

President Trump offered to help find a solution to the Russia-Ukraine war during a 90-minute phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said yesterday. Ushakov said Trump made the offer on Saturday in the context of his participation next week at the NATO summit in Turkey. Zelenskyy said he also spoke to Trump in recent days. Reuters reports.  

The United Kingdom said its aircraft carrier in the Norwegian Sea was repeatedly approached by a Russian patrol aircraft last Thursday, before being escorted away by U.K fighter jets. “The [Russian] Bear-F… dropped a large number of sonobuoys in ​close proximity to the carrier,” the British Ministry of Defence said ​in a statement, referring to devices which are used to detect and ‌track submarines. Reuters reports.  

IRAN WAR 

Three sons of Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attended his funeral yesterday alongside senior Iranian officials and thousands of mourners. Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his father as Supreme Leader, did not make an appearance. There has still been no public sighting of Mojtaba, said to have been injured in the attack that killed his father on Feb. 28. Khamenei’s body will be transported to cities in Iran and neighbouring Iraq throughout the week, including to major Shi’ite religious sites. Reuters reports; Aaron Boxerman and Abdi Latif Dahir report for the New York Times.

The U.S. Navy yesterday suspended the search for a crew member who has been missing since an MH-60 Sea Hawk helicopter crashed into the Arabian Sea last Wednesday. Military officials have said the downing of the helicopter was not the result of hostile fire, and that the cause of the crash was under investigation. Eric Schmitt reports for the New York Times.  

Trump told Axios on Saturday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked him for a meeting at the White House, and that it could take place as early as this week after Trump returns from the NATO summit. This would be the first in-person meeting between the two leaders since their Situation Room meeting in February, where Netanyahu presented his plan for launching a joint war against Iran. Barak Ravid reports.

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR 

An Israeli airstrike yesterday killed at least two Palestinians in Gaza City, health officials said. Medics said the two people were ‌killed when an airstrike hit a group of people at the Omar Al-Mokhtar road in the heart of ​the city. Several ​others were wounded, they added. The Israeli military had not commented on the strike at the time of writing. Reuters reports. 

Israel said that an image on social media depicting a blindfolded Gaza man stripped to his underwear and restrained face down on a cot while in Israeli custody is genuine, acknowledging that the treatment it depicts “does not align” with its military’s values. It has yet to say who the man is or where he is being held, but announced that an investigation is underway. Mahmoud Issa and Rami Ayyub report for Reuters.  

SUDANESE CIVIL WAR 

The U.N. Human Rights Council passed a motion today condemning the escalating violence committed by the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces paramilitary in Sudan’s el-Obeid and setting up an urgent inquiry into abuses there. South ​Africa’s ambassador Zaheer Laher backed the move, calling ​the situation a “red alert as the [RSF] are drawing ‌from ⁠the very same genocidal playbook they used in el-Fashir.” Emma Farge reports for Reuters.

UNICEF announced today that drone strikes in Sudan have killed or injured more than 300 children in the last six months. The war is now concentrated in the Kordofan, Darfur, and Blue Nile states, with drone warfare causing 60% of casualties, according to UNICEF. AP News reports.  

OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS

China test-fired a long-range ballistic missile with a dummy warhead in the Pacific Ocean today, according to a report from China’s official news agency. This was the first such launch in almost two years and drew criticism from countries in the region. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong called the test “destabilizing for the region” and said that it was “in the context of a rapid military build-up by China.” Victoria Kim and Chris Buckley report for the New York Times.

The launch came after Australia and Fiji signed a major defense alliance, committing each country to come to the other’s aid if either is attacked. The Ocean of Peace Alliance marks Fiji’s first-ever alliance, while the Pacific nation will become Australia’s fourth formal ally, after the U.S., New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea. Christine Chen reports for Reuters.  

The Israeli government yesterday passed a resolution criticising an Israeli Supreme Court decision that allowed the current board of the national broadcast regulator to stay in place instead of being replaced by government appointees. The resolution prompted concerns that the government was threatening to defy the court, though a senior official later said it was intended as criticism of the ruling rather than a refusal to comply. Aaron Boxerman reports for the New York Times. 

The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations center yesterday reported that a cargo ship came “under attack by unknown armed assailants” off the coast of Yemen in the Red Sea. The cargo ship and crew were reported safe, the British military said, adding that authorities were investigating. Also this weekend, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels killed 16 troops in an attack on government-aligned forces. Both incidents were reported near the port city of Hodeida, which is under Houthi control. Samy Magdy reports for AP News; CBS News reports.

Nigeria said yesterday that two of its nationals were killed last month in South Africa following violent anti-immigrant protests. The Nigerians were killed on June 28, two days before an unofficial deadline by protesters for foreigners to leave, the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. One was allegedly killed by police officers and the other by unidentified attackers, it said. AP News reports. 

U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte told the Wall Street Journal last week that the alliance has largely solved the problem of getting European members to spend more on defense, but now faces the challenge of turning that money into weapons and military capability. At this week’s NATO summit in Ankara, leaders are expected to focus on overcoming arms production bottlenecks, expanding industrial capacity, and improving coordination so that increased spending translates into stronger armed forces. Gordon Fairclough and Daniel Michaels report.

NATO leaders, including Trump, are also set to affirm an “ironclad commitment” to collective defense under the alliance’s Article 5 pact in Ankara this week, according to a text approved by NATO ambassadors and reviewed by Reuters. Andrew Gray and Lili Baye report.

U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS 

The Trump administration is planning to open a 528-bed holding facility for migrant families and unaccompanied children next to an airport hub in Alexandria, Louisiana, to speed up deportations. ICE is calling the facility a “staging area,” not a detention center, and says people would only be there for a few days at most. Immigration advocates have raised concerns that children could be held longer than intended, questioned the lack of oversight, and criticized the growing role of a private prison contractor in its operation. Jack Brook reports for AP News.  

U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS

Tennessee National Guard troops shot and killed a man who was armed with a handgun in Memphis yesterday, according to the Memphis police. The National Guard has been patrolling Memphis since October last year as part of a federal task force, established by Trump, to combat crime. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said it is investigating the incident at the request of Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy. Joel Rose reports for NPR. 

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS

Trump said yesterday that he personally overruled a recommendation to cancel the July Fourth “Salute America” event on the National Mall on Saturday after severe storms prompted a mass evacuation. A senior White House official said that “all the entities involved” had recommended calling the festivities off altogether, but “when POTUS heard this, he told all involved to invite everyone back in and the speech would take place.” Trump’s campaign-style speech called for new voting restrictions, warned that “communists” could gain ground in the country, and cycled through a list of what he touted as his achievements. Jeremy Roebuck, Cat Zakrzewski, and Olivia George report for the Washington Post; Andy Sullivan and Steve Holland report for Reuters.

The Trump administration on Friday released a regulatory plan to eliminate 702 existing administrative rules. It plans to scrap measures such as environmental review requirements for energy projects and rules that promote diversity, equity and inclusion by the end of the fiscal year in September. Gregory Korte reports for Bloomberg. 

The Trump administration is also scrapping more than three dozen firearms regulations, abandoning a crackdown on illegal sales, restoring gun rights to some people with mental illness, and loosening oversight of private weapons transactions. Aishvarya Kavi reports for the New York Times.

The New York Times reports that Trump’s executive order deprioritising “disparate impact” discrimination cases has led to widespread withdrawal or dismissal of civil rights cases across federal agencies, including education, housing, trade, justice, and the E.E.O.C. While there is no public accounting of exactly how many cases have been closed, legal advocates describe a generational void in civil rights enforcement. Erica L. Green and Niko Gallogly report.

Trump on Friday pardoned 11 people, most of whom were convicted of violating the Clean Air Act, which targets air pollution, according to a White House official. Scott Nover, Maegan Vazquez, and Natalie Allison report for the Washington Post.  

Trump called Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, last week and asked him to review the suspension of the USA’s top goal scorer in the World Cup after he was given a red card, according to four sources. FIFA yesterday reversed the suspension, announcing that Folarin Balogun would be eligible to play today against Bulgaria. Tyler Pager and Tariq Panja report for the New York Times.  

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION

A federal appeals court on Thursday ruled that an effort by the CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence must reinstate 19 intelligence officers who were fired for their involvement in diversity-related work, finding that the agencies violated their own rules and the officers’ Fifth Amendment due process rights. Julian E. Barnes and Seamus Hughes report for the New York Times.

A federal appeals court on Thursday ruled that people detained by ICE while awaiting the outcome of their deportation proceedings must be afforded a bond hearing within 90 days. Kyle Cheney reports for POLITICO. 

A federal appeals court on Friday ruled that the Trump administration can reinstall interpretive panels that critics say whitewash the history of slavery at the site of President George Washington’s home in Philadelphia. Geoff Mulvihill reports for AP News.  

Did you miss this? Stay up-to-date with our Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions.

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