Global News Podcast - US Supreme Court upholds birthright citizenship

Episode Date: July 1, 2026

The Supreme Court's ruling that babies born in the US have a constitutional right to citizenship is a major setback for President Trump's immigration agenda, and has been welcomed by civil rights groups. Donald Trump said the court's decision was "too bad" and vowed to continue to fight to end birthright citizenship through legislation. Also: Spain is taking a very different approach to immigration as more than one million undocumented migrants and asylum seekers apply for legal status under a government scheme. A week on from the earthquakes in Venezuela, a three year old boy has pulled alive from the rubble. Tanzanian authorities say they are doing everything they can to prevent the Ebola virus arriving there from neighbouring countries. We hear the stories of some women in Ukraine who are turning to beauty and fashion as a way of dealing with the trauma of war. Despite huge excitement about her return to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, Serena Williams is knocked out in the first round by the 20-year-old Australian player Maya Joint. And one of the greatest basketball players of all time, LeBron James, is on the move to find a new team. The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: [e-mail]: Demonstrators hold letters making up the slogan "Born in the USA = citizen!" outside the U.S. Supreme Court building as the court hears oral arguments on the legality of the Trump administration's effort to limit birthright citizenship for the children of immigrants, in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 1, 2026. Credit: REUTERS/Kylie Cooper

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. Growing businesses deal with the same problem, too many tools, too much back and forth, and not enough time. Odu helps bring it all together. It's an all-in-one business management platform, fully integrated from sales and accounting to inventory and marketing, so your team can spend less time chasing information and focus on growth. Whether you're in retail, manufacturing or service, Odu gives you one place, to manage your business.

Visit Odu.com to book a demo. It's ODboh.com. The CIA has been carrying out covert operations around the world for decades. How has it shaped how people feel about the U.S.? I'm Asma Khalid. And I'm Tristan Redmond. And together, we host the Global Story Podcast from the BBC. As part of our series to mark the United States 250th birthday,

we're exploring the CIA's hidden history. Do you think the word of the United States will be trusted? in years to come. For more, check out the global story on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts. This is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Jeanette Jaliel and in the early hours of Wednesday, the 1st of July, these are our main stories. Donald Trump says he'll try to use Congress to get around the U.S. Supreme Court's rejection of the president's order banning birthright citizenship. Spain is inundated with applications from undocumented migrants to remain in the country under a government scheme.

A week on from Venezuela's devastating double earthquake, the search continues for tens of thousands of people who are still missing. Also in this podcast, Serena Williams' tennis comeback at Wimbledon at the age of 44 ends in disappointment. A moment her 20-year-old opponent will never forget. She has such an aura. She's such a legend. And this court has so many huge names that have played on it. I've been dreaming about this moment since I was a little kid. So this is pretty crazy.

One of President Trump's first acts on returning to office last year was to sign an executive order seeking to end automatic citizenship for anyone born to foreign parents in the US. He'd argued that undocumented migrants, were not subject to a right that has been enshrined in the American Constitution for more than 150 years after the abolition of slavery. But judges at the U.S. Supreme Court in a six-three decision have delivered a clear message to Mr. Trump, birthright citizenship can't simply be annulled with the stroke of a presidential pen. He responded by saying the court's decision was too bad and that he would use Congress to get around it.

The House Speaker, Mike Johnson, also expressed his disappointment. It is a serious problem. It's become a tourism, birthing tourism, they call it, you know, a trend where people will just come and you just come onto the soil and have your child and then they're able to avail themselves of the welfare state and everything else. It's been abused. But for those who've settled in the U.S. and gone on to have children, this ruling brings a great sense of relief. The BBC heard from one woman who traveled to the U.S. to claim asylum, after fleeing Guatemala because of the threat of violence back home. Last year, she gave birth to a baby girl. She didn't want to give us her name and her words are spoken by an interpreter. She says the term birth tourism is offensive to many hardworking migrants.

I would ask that they not think that way, but rather give us a chance to show that we don't want to be a burden on the government. We are hardworking people working to put bread on the table for our families. I would ask that they look at us with eyes of compassion. I have hope that my daughter's life will be safer in this country. She will have a better, more stable life here. So how could President Trump use Congress to overturn the Supreme Court ruling? A question I put to our North America correspondent, David Willis.

Several bills introduced by Republican lawmakers are seeking to end or even sharply restrict automatic birthright citizenship by amending the US Immigration and Nationality Act. But constitutional scholars have expressed doubt here that changing the Constitution is likely or even possible. And one important thing to remember against that background is that polls show that the majority of a majority of a government. Americans support birthright citizenship. But this ruling by the Supreme Court is a big blow for Donald Trump. This was a key area of battle for him. He's talked about restricting birthright citizenship in this country since the beginning of his first term in office back in 2015. But he's found those ambitions blocked by the highest court in the land. But the Supreme Court did deliver better news to President Trump on other

rulings. They did, yes. On social media, Donald Trump hailed a big win, as he put it, on the question of transgender athletes participating in women's school sports. The Supreme Court ruled that bans that exists in nearly 30 different states are not unconstitutional and can remain in existence. And this has been a big talking point for Republicans, even though the number of transgender athletes, fleets seeking to participate in school sports is said to be very small. Lifting campaign spending limits has also been a preoccupation of some in the Republican Party and the Supreme Court has now lifted limits on political parties and candidates which Republicans who traditionally attract big money donors believe could help them ahead of November's midterm elections and

on social media, Donald Trump described that decision as a big win, as he put it, for his party. And briefly, David, new filings show that President Trump made more than a billion dollars from cryptocurrency ventures during his first year in office. That's right. Figures from a newly released U.S. government report show that in total, Donald Trump earned more than $2.2 billion following his return to the White House. that's an almost four-fold increase on his income the previous year. Much of that money came from cryptocurrency-related business dealings and also legal settlements, royalties on products such as Trump watches and Bibles, which added millions more to the total. The irony perhaps says that Donald Trump, of course,

a once branded cryptocurrency, a haven for scammers and drug dealers before embracing its potential. David Willis, well, at a time when the US and many other Western countries are trying to reduce immigration, Spain is taking a very different approach. More than one million undocumented migrants and asylum seekers have applied for legal status under a government scheme. Spain's socialist Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, has long argued that immigrants are needed to sustain the economy. Our reporter, Sergei Foucardo Frasheh, told us more. When the Spanish government launched this amnesty for undocumented migrants, they expected they set around half a million people to apply, mostly of them from Latin America. But they have actually received over a million applications, and local authorities will now begin to review them.

So double the amount of applications that they were expecting. To be eligible for these, applicants had to prove that they had been in the country before the 1st of January, and that they had also a clean criminal. record. The government is offering migrants a one-year renewable permit that will allow them to live and to work legally in the country. It's important to say that this scheme does not grant citizenship or even voting rights, but many undocumented migrants that applied for this program think that getting their application approved is crucial to secure stability and to be able to find a job in Spain, for example. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez argues that migrants are needed basically to sustain the economy and a welfare state in a country, Spain,

with an aging population. So he sees this as a key to tackle Spain's demographic crisis. Sanchez said in a speech that without immigration, Spain would be poorer. And he also highlighted that the fact that more than one million people submitted applications shows how necessary these recognitions of rights was. Without immigration, Spain would lose nine. of its gross domestic product by 2015 and 22% by 2075. From business and labor market perspective, that would mean, for example, that 90,000 bars would be forced to shut down.

With anything related to migration, this scheme is divisive. So some believe it's better to offer legal protection and stability to a million people who were already in the country. But there are also critics. So the main opposition party, for example, the Conservative Party argues that the scheme could create a pool factor for irregular migrants. and they have also warned about the pressure it may place on public services. There is also the issue of integration, the question about how these people will integrate into Spain.

But to respond to this, the Spanish government has announced €500 million to support migrant integration, including things like language courses or skills developments to help them find better jobs. But yeah, while the government defends the scheme, not everyone sees it the same way. Sergei Foucada Fratius. There was huge anticipation as Serena Williams, once so dominant in tennis, returned to Wimbledon at the age of 44 to face an opponent less than half her age, Maya Joint. But in their first round clash on Tuesday, it was youth that won over experience.

The 20-year-old Australian beat the 23-time Grand Slam winner in three sets. And afterwards, she explained how nerve-wracking the match had been. I didn't get much to sleep last night. I was up to like 2 a. I'm just thinking about it. Yeah, walking out, I forgot the warm-up. I don't know what happened. My legs weren't moving.

I really don't know how I got a pretty good start in the match. I mean, she has such an aura. She's such a legend. And this court has so many huge names that have played on it. I've been dreaming about this moment since I was a little kid, so this is pretty crazy. We're watching the match was our tennis correspondent, Russell Fuller. It reminded me of one of those finals between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. It genuinely was spine tingling.

There was an atmosphere in the air that you see very, very rarely in sports because this was something very, very different and very special. And before Serena Williams walked out onto court with Maya Joint, people were taking photographs of those in the players' box, and that included Serena's family, her husband, her two daughters who were eight and two, her sister Venus. and there was a real sense of anticipation. And the match did not disappoint at all.

It really was exceptionally high quality from both players and remarkable to see a 44-year-old, however great she is, play her first singles match since September 2020, and play to that kind of level. I don't see her winning any more Grand Slam singles titles, but was she playing at a good enough level to be a regular for the next 18 months, two years?

Well, it certainly looked like it, today because I think both of them probably played top 20 tennis. Serena Williams playing like that would have beaten a lot of players in the draw. The question we can't answer at the moment is just whether she wants to be out there on tour regularly and probably to get into a position where she can win matches like this and go deep into tournament, she's going to have to play a few tournaments outside the Grand Slams and that's perhaps less appealing at the age she is now with a very, very young family. It'll be fascinating to see what she says. I'm sure we'll see. We'll see. her play at the US Open in New York, which starts at the end of August. And then the question is,

does she play on, whether it's singles or doubles next year? But what I would say is she's put a lot of incredibly hard work into getting back to this level. You have to be in the drug testing pool for six months before you're allowed to play again when you return to the tour. That's not much fun having visits from anti-doping officers, plus all that physical training. She's got herself to this level. I'm sure she'll want to play on. Still to come in this podcast, why is basketball superstar LeBron James looking for a new team? He and the Lakers kind of felt like it was time to sort of go their separate ways. So we don't know where he's going to go yet, but we know he'll be back just in a different uniform.

He's going to be getting a lot of calls for sure. The CIA has been carrying out covert operations around the world for decades. How has it shaped how people feel about the U.S.? I'm Asma Khalid. And I'm Tristan Redman. and together we host the Global Story podcast from the BBC. As part of our series to mark the United States' 250th birthday, we're exploring the CIA's hidden history.

Do you think the word of the United States will be trusted in years to come? For more, check out the global story on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts. The 26 World Cup started with 48 teams, and we've now reached the knockout stage. Records have been broken. The way that Messi has been able to score all these goals late in his career. He's happy to play football and broken records is the consequence for him. And new heroes have emerged. This country's caught the fever.

Casual fans are now die-hard fans. And the More Than the Score podcast is bringing you the stories beyond the score lines. More than the score from the BBC World Service. Listen now, wherever you get your BBC podcast. Is the American Dream still possible? I'm Asma Khalid, one of the hosts of the Global Story podcast from the BBC. One of the most successful exports to the United States has ever sold the world is the American dream, that tantalizing promise of a better, freer, richer life.

But is it still attainable? I feel like the American Dream is alive, but not well. For more, listen to The Global Story on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts. This is the Global News Podcast. A week on from the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela, a three-year-old boy has been pulled alive from the rubble by a Jordanian rescue team. Video footage showed the rescuers cheering after discovering the child and then wiping his face with tissues as he's placed gently in an ambulance.

But it was a rare moment of joy. Nearly 2,000 people are now known to have died and it's thought the real number of dead could be much higher as tens of thousands more remain unaccounted for. Oleggerian reports from the worst affected state, LaGuarda. Almost a week after the back-to-back quakes, there is still a desperate search for survivors, but the earth is yielding little.

Some risking their own lives, going deep into the wreckage, an aftershock could bury them. Jorhei cannot leave his girlfriend, Rohe. Palis. Her body is just a few steps away, where it has been since last Wednesday. Umira too knows exactly where her loved ones lie dead, but cannot reach them. We want to get our mother out of there and our niece. Please help us. We cannot take it anymore. I am begging you. you. Her brother, Alberto, tells me he dug out the bodies of three of his children on his own.

Volunteers are here day after day, but they have next to nothing. All of the work we can see being done around us is being done by hand. Generations perished here, children, parents, grandparents, and in the air there is a strong smell of death. So many are. still waiting for their loved ones to be found, for a chance to say a last goodbye. At what was the block next door, members of the UK's international search and rescue team keep looking for the living. Here, using acoustic equipment to check for the slightest sound, the slightest vibration. Among Venezuelans, there is strong solidarity and support, but many say they have been abandoned by their government.

For now, the final death toll can only be guessed at, but the United Nations says it is buying 10,000 body bags. That report by Ola Geryn in Venezuela. As the Democratic Republic of Congo continues to battle an outbreak of the deadly Ebola disease, with around 20 cases now also in Uganda, the authorities in neighbouring Tanzania say they're doing everything they can to prevent the virus arriving there. They say they're screening travelers at

border crossings and training health workers to be ready just in case. But along the vast Lake Tanganyika shoreline, concerns remain over unofficial border crossings. Sammy Awami reports. I'm at a border post called Motukula. This is the main border crossing between Tanzania and Uganda. Now the room I'm currently in is on the Tanzanian side where there is a temperature scanning machine used to check the temperatures of passengers entering Tanzania. The broadcast you can hear in the background is coming from a TV screen mounted on the wall here and it continuously airs public health messages about Ebola. Now in addition to that, there are numerous posters displayed everywhere here on the walls, doors, windows,

and they are all carrying similar Ebola awareness messages. We are treating the Ebola issue with the seriousness it deserves. Border manager Elipidius Bigirwamungu says the focus is on raising awareness and ensuring everyone crossing the border follows the health measures in place. Our main job is to raise awareness and ensure that everyone follows.

the required procedures. Many of the truck drivers crossing here say those messages are getting through and they now know how to protect themselves. We have received sufficient training here at the border on how to protect ourselves against Ebola. This disease is real and we pray that Almighty God will protect us. But stopping Ebola at the border is only part of the response. Here in Kikoma, I'm in a room at a local. hospital where around 100 frontline health workers from rapid response teams to nurses and other

medical staff and they are being trained and prepared to respond if a suspected Ebola Kesi marches who responds first who's responsible for what and how do you ensure that patients get the care they need and fast the training has been very good it has allowed us to put to practice what we previously learned in books, giving us much more hands-on experience. We have learned many things, especially through practical exercises. It helps us a lot. If we receive an Ebola patient, we know how to handle them properly and prevent the disease from spreading further. The training is giving frontline workers confidence, but among Kigoma residents concern about Ebola remains. We spend our days here serving the concrete. We spend our days here

serving the Congolese people who live around us. They are our customers. We can only pray that God continues to protect us. I feel worried because we are so close to them. And many people travel from there to hear. Honestly, we live in fear. Protecting ourselves is a difficult part. Just the other day, I was admitted to hospital

when they brought in someone with similar symptoms. We ended up leaving the hospital before we had fully recovered. Health officials say they understand those concerns. but insists that the country has strengthened its preparedness from the border to local health facilities. Dr. Damas Kaira is Kigoma Regional Medical Officer. We've trained our health workers. They are ready.

We've provided them with equipment and the infection prevention equipment so that they can prevent infection to them and to the society. So we are ready. But Kigoma's vast lake border means that people can still enter Tanzania through unofficial crossing points without the knowledge of authorities. If Ebola were to reach the country,

those informal routes could provide the biggest test of Tanzania's preparedness to detect and contain the virus. Sami Awami reporting. For more than four years, Ukrainians have endured constant Russian attacks on their cities, with sometimes hundreds of drones launched each day. Ukraine is now carrying out its own drone strikes on targets deep inside Russia. But with no end to the war in sight, people in Ukraine have found different ways of coping. Some women turn to beauty and fashion as a way of dealing with the trauma of war

and as an act of defiance. Isabella Jewel reports from Kiev. When we are expecting mass attacks, I take shower to use all my most expensive skincare products. use perfumes and wear pajamas because, you know, I want to look the best. Just before I met Arena, Russia staged one of its largest overnight strikes on Kiev, killing at least 22 people. It may sound weird, but it's a part in my life when I can take under control at least something. We're in a shopping mall in Kiev, looking at pajamas.

For Arena, it's about more than style and practicality. So I want to send a message to Russia that we still keep going. Beauty might not sound important with a war going on, but it does play a crucial role. Lisa Eldridge is a beauty expert and historian. You know, hard times, recessions, wars. There is this kind of craving for normalcy, this act of defiance whereby beauty, hair, nails, whatever it is, it's a real source of joy. Ukraine's beauty industry is still going strong. Analyst's Euro Monitor found there was a 14% growth in the retail value of beauty and personal care last year.

The windows of Dorena's beauty salon in Kiev were badly damaged in a Russian night-time strike last year. Despite none of the employees sleeping all night, we didn't cancel a single appointment. The doors barely opened. Because of that, some clients entered through the window. Olena's one of the salons committed clients. For her, beauty treatments are a coping mechanism. When we maintain our appearance, for a moment we forget what is happening in the country. It brings some joy, despite ever since collapsing due to the strikes.

Inside the salon, there are reminders of the war going on. While we were there, an air alert sounded on the government app. But nobody stopped what they were doing. We've gotten used to the situation, and we simply carry on working. attention, even if there are explosions, we just don't hear them because we have the hairdries running and music playing gently in the background, and we don't focus on it. That's hairstylist Anna. Self-care can provide calm in the chaos for Ukrainian women, but the threats of war are constant. Isabella Jewel. One of the greatest basketball players of all time, LeBron

James, is on the move to find a new team. The 41-year-old has reportedly told us, told the Los Angeles Lakers, he plans to leave after eight seasons, ending a spell which included the 2020 NBA title. It doesn't look like he's retiring and speculation is rife over where the four-time champion could play next. So why is he looking to switch things up at this stage of his career? Johnny I Anson spoke to Brian Mahoney, a basketball writer for the Associated Press. He said throughout the course of the year, he didn't know himself if he was going to play.

He's already played more. seasons and anyone else in the year history. So now he has decided, yes, he will come back and keep playing. But he and the Lakers kind of felt like it was time to sort of go there separate ways. So we don't know where he's going to go yet. He can start talking to teams, but we know he'll be back just a different uniform. So he's 41 years old. I mean, he's still in unbelievable shape, isn't he? In terms of who would want him, he has the name. Does he still have the ability that clubs will be after him? He sure does, which is amazing. He's great this level that just to be playing at all right now is one thing.

But he's still a guy who can go out and get you 20 to 25 points every night. You know, late in the season when Luca Donchich was hurt, LeBron kind of took over the team and it was their best player that got them through the first round to the playoffs. So he's still going to be highly sought after. And especially at this point, you know, if he decides it's not about the money. He may go someplace and take less money than he's entitled to make if he feels like he could go play on a team that can win a championship. So he's going to be getting a lot of calls for sure.

What kind of money are we talking about? What is it? What's his contract worth now, Brian? Well, you know, for a guy at his level, I mean, he could be expected to make $40 million if he went for his full maximum, if not more. So, you know, if he says I'll play for six, eight, whatever, 10 million, it would be an incredible bargain for what he still brings to the game. Will next season be his last then, do you think? Will it be his farewell tour? You know, I thought he'd be done already.

So I guess it's hard to say that. But, you know, at the level he's playing, if he's really enjoying, if he goes someplace and says, I want to give it two years, it wouldn't surprise me. He's still in that good of shape. He seems to really still love being around the arenas and putting all the work and you have to put in. So I would not hold him to only one more year at this point.

What does he do to keep in such great shape? Well, he's been coming up for a long time with the people he brings around him from people making the food, the people who manage his workouts and everything. You know, every place LeBron goes, he brings those folks with him. And, you know, he didn't really start to have any injuries at all until late in his career. Now he's had some things pop up, you know, hamstrings, high in ankles and sciatica last year. He had a back issue there. So things have started creep in, but he still plays a lot of games.

And certainly he'd expect to be in the lineup quite a bit next year, even to hit this age. And that was basketball writer Brian Mahoney. And that's all from us for now. If you want to get in touch, you can email us at Global Podcast at BBC.co.com. This edition of the Global News podcast was mixed by Nicola Brough. The producers were Chantal Hartle and Ariankochi. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Jean-Aude. Until next time. Goodbye. The CIA has been carrying out covert operations around the world for decades. How has it shaped how people feel about the US? I'm Asma Khalid. in Redmond, and together we host the Global Story podcast from the BBC. As part of our series to mark the United States 250th birthday, we're exploring the CIA's hidden history. Do you think the word of the United States will be trusted in years to come? For more, check out the global story on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.