Supreme Court Reinstates Transgender Military Ban; Papal Conclave Begins | JQJO

North Korea’s state media on Wednesday warned border troops to take prompt and resolute action if South Korean forces threaten their safety, raising the risk of a clash along the heavily armed frontier. The directive followed Seoul’s pledge to punish any further provocation by Pyongyang resolutely. North Korean Army Marshal Pak Jong Chon inspected fortifications on the border with South Korea on Tuesday, accompanied by Kim Yo Jong, the sister of leader Kim Jong Un. Kim Yo Jong said new firepower units had taken their firing positions at the border. Tensions have risen since Pyongyang began fortifying its border in April two thousand and twenty‑four. The two countries are separated by the Demilitarized Zone established when the Korean War ended in an armistice in nineteen‑fifty‑three.

Independent lawmaker Helen Haines had both legs amputated after a car rammed her outside her electoral office in Wangaratta on Monday. Doctors removed her left leg and failed to save the right. The 43‑year‑old suspect, Brendan Nugent, appeared in court on Wednesday and faces charges of dangerous driving, intentional injury and harming a public official. Police say no intelligence indicated a threat to Haines. She was elected in 2019 and re‑elected in 2022 and 2025.

Armed federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security have been knocking on doors in several states to ask residents about their immigration status and whether they are registered to vote. The operation aims to root out potential noncitizen voters ahead of the midterms. DHS alleges up to two hundred fifty thousand citizens may be illegally registered, a figure disputed by election experts. Since the beginning of the Trump administration, only one hundred fifty‑six people have been charged with voting‑fraud offenses. Critics say the door‑knocking could intimidate lawful voters. The Justice Department announced that Homeland Security agents in California arrested more than twenty people, all green‑card holders, on allegations of illegal registration or voting. A 72‑year‑old man from Belize was taken from his home in pajamas and charged with voting illegally in the past four elections.

Russia released retired American teacher Stephen Hubbard, 74, who had been detained in Ukraine in 2022. The move follows U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff’s meeting with President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg, where Witkoff praised Putin for the release. President Donald Trump said he had personally requested Hubbard’s release and described the action as an unprecedented gesture of respect. Hubbard’s family thanked Trump and his team for opening dialogue with Russia, noting the release brings them “joyful blessings.” The release comes as Washington pressures Kyiv to agree to a deal to end Moscow’s war. The State Department had previously designated Hubbard as wrongfully detained in Russia.

Stephen Hubbard, a seventy‑four‑year‑old American teacher, was freed from a Russian prison after a visit by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff to St. Petersburg. Hubbard had been detained for more than four years on accusations of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine. President Donald Trump had urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to secure Hubbard’s release. Witkoff thanked Putin for the decision, and Hubbard was released at Pulkovo airport. The release follows a broader effort to free Americans wrongfully detained in Russia.

Liberal Justice Elena Kagan on Tuesday sharply criticized the Supreme Court’s conservative majority, saying it undermined democracy in a series of rulings. She cited the 2019 decision that barred federal courts from limiting extreme partisan gerrymandering and recent rulings that gutted the Voting Rights Act, allowing Republican states to eliminate majority Black districts. Kagan also condemned the Court’s striking down of campaign finance restrictions, most recently in June. She warned that these decisions have driven voters toward political extremes and increased polarization. Kagan’s remarks were delivered at Catholic University’s law school in Washington, D.C.

The Department of Justice has requested California segregate ballots for roughly twenty‑thousand voters it says are likely noncitizens. Los Angeles County officials say the list is unreliable, noting that about thirty‑nine percent of sampled registrations list a U.S. birthplace, indicating citizenship. The state argues that complying would be unfeasible close to the election and could violate federal and state election laws. The lawsuit, filed by the federal government, seeks to compel California to investigate the list before votes are counted.

French authorities extended curfews and increased police presence after rioters torched buildings and looted thousands of businesses this weekend. President Emmanuel Macron blamed radical far‑left groups and criminals for the violence and vowed to punish rioters while listening to protest demands. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced a massive police deployment ahead of demonstrations scheduled for October twenty‑four. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez admitted authorities underestimated the unrest and lost control in some cities during Saturday’s protests. Over two thousand five hundred people were taken into police custody by Monday evening, including those who burned a historic town hall in Limoges. Overnight curfews were imposed around Paris’ Place de la République and Les Halles, with restrictions also introduced in Lyon and other cities. The government offered concessions, such as deploying more than three thousand substitute teachers to high schools most in need on October eighth.