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Episode Date: June 25, 2026

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton. Back-to-back powerful earthquakes have hit Venezuela collapsing buildings in the capital of Caracas. The first quake has had a magnitude of 7.1. Minutes later, an even larger magnitude 7.5 earthquakes struck, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The U.S. Pacific tsunami warning center issued tsunami alerts for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The head of the U.N.'s nuclear agency signal that Iranian nuclear enrichment sites would be visited by his inspectors. That's a key component of the U.S.'s preliminary deal to end the Iran war,

but Iran says the visit would only come after a final deal. During a meeting at the White House today, NATO Secretary Mark Ruta praised President Trump for the war. I really want to make clear how important it is what you are doing on Iran. This is, first of all, about the nuclear capability Iran was basically getting its handle. Trump has renewed threats to leave NATO, raising the stanks before next month's summit in Turkey. The head of the U.S. Postal Service says the agency has responded to an executive order by President Trump by proposing not to deliver mail-in ballots in states that refuse to turn over their voter lists to the federal government. NPR's Hansi Lle Wong reports the proposals already facing multiple lawsuits that are trying to block it.

At a hearing on Capitol Hill, Democratic Senator Gary Peters of Michigan as Postmaster General David Steiner about President Trump's order, it calls for the U.S. Postal Service to maintain lists of eligible voters. If a state refuses to turn their absentee voter list over to the federal government, will the Postal Service still mail their ballots under this proposal? Under our proposed regulation, no. Five lawsuits by Democrats, almost two dozen states and voting rights groups are arguing the Constitution gives power to state legislatures and Congress, not the president, to set federal election rules. They also argue the Postal Service has no authority to refuse to deliver ballots to voters because they are not on a list. USPS is a financial.

support of NPR. A court ruling on whether to Black Trump's order may come as soon as this month. Anzi Luong, NPR News. It's been four years since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to abortion. Since then, the number of abortions nationally has actually increased, as NPR's Selena Simmons-Duffin reports. The internet, telemedicine, and sending abortion in the mail have profoundly shaped abortion access and post-Roe America. Residents of the 13 states with abortion bans have continued to access abortion using those tools and by traveling across state lines. Republican lawmakers continue to push for more abortion restrictions. Several states have introduced bills to charge women who have abortions with homicide. Democrats in the Senate,

including Patty Murray of Washington State, held a press conference in support of abortion rights. We are in this fight and we will not give up and we will not stop until we get our rights back. Public opinion polls show most Americans support legal access to abortion in all or most circumstances. Selina Simmons-Duffin, NPR News, Washington. This is NPR. A judge has barred the federal government from making arrests at immigration courts nationwide, a practice that took hold shortly after President Trump took office last year. It's the second setback for courthouse arrests since May when a judge in New York barred them at immigration courts there. The Trump administration says the decision is a show of judicial overreach.

A federal judge overseeing the Kennedy Center lawsuits as administrators at the arts complex in Washington, D.C., must update him on their plans in the next few weeks. As NPR's Anassociate Silkas reports, they must also explain why there's a tarp covering a sign at the front entrance. Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that the Kennedy Center administrators must explain their operations and programming plans no later than July 31. The center's current president, CEO Matt Floka, has told the court that he plans to present the Center's board with several options for both performances and renovations when they meet next month. Judge Cooper also said that the Kennedy Center must explain. the purpose and status of the tarp and scaffolding that have been placed over the front of the arts complex, where until recently, President Trump's name had been added above President John F. Kennedy's. Anastasia Silkus and Pierre News.

A skateboarder traveled from Venice Beach, California to Jacksonville, Florida in 39 days. In an attempt to break his own Guinness World Record, Chad Caruso traversed more than 3,000 miles, averaging about 72 miles a day, breaking his previous record by almost two weeks. He said the trip was about breaking his own record and celebrating 10 years of sobriety. This is NPR News from Washington.