Blog

Politics

After hitting Ukraine hard on peace talks, how far will Trump go to pressure Putin?

Photo by Kremlin Press Office / Handout/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump‘s “trust” in Russia’s Vladimir Putin now faces a major test as the world waits for Moscow to respond to a 30-day ceasefire proposed by the U.S. and accepted by Ukraine.

Trump said after Tuesday’s breakthrough in Saudi Arabia that he would speak with Putin soon, though declined to comment on Wednesday when asked if anything had been scheduled.

“I’ve gotten some positive messages, but a positive message means nothing,” he said from the Oval Office, where he was peppered with question on what comes next. “This is a very serious situation.”

The Kremlin has cautiously said it is reviewing the proposal and it will not be pushed into anything.

The Trump administration placed significant pressure on Ukraine in recent weeks in stopping military aid and pausing some intelligence sharing — both resumed only after Ukraine agreed to the ceasefire on Tuesday.

U.S. officials, including Trump himself, have also set limited expectations amid broader negotiations on Ukraine’s borders and expressly ruled out NATO membership for the Eastern European ally.

Meanwhile, they’ve not publicly demanded any concessions from Putin — and it’s not clear how far Trump is willing to go in pressuring Russia to accept the 30-day ceasefire.

“We can, but I hope it’s not going to be necessary,” Trump said on Wednesday when asked about that very issue.

“There are things you could do that wouldn’t be pleasant in a financial sense,” he added without divulging any specifics. “I can do things financially that would be very bad for Russia. I don’t want to do that because I want to get peace.”

Trump last Friday threatened sanctions on Russia until it reached an agreement with Ukraine. The Biden administration imposed hundreds of sanctions on Moscow over the course of the conflict.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier on Wednesday noted that Russia is already “pretty sanctioned up” as he was asked what pressure the administration would be ready to apply.

“As far as I am aware, the United States has not provided armaments to Russia,” Rubio said as he largely sidestepped the inquiry. “The United States is not providing assistance to Russia. Every single sanction that has been imposed on Russia remains in place … So my point being is that there’s been no steps taken to relieve any of these things, these things continue to be in place.”

“We don’t think it’s constructive for me to stand here today and begin to issue threats about what we’re going to do if Russia says no, let’s hope they say yes,” Rubio said.

Trump has also often praised his relationship with Putin, saying he knows him “very well” and declining to call him a dictator despite using the term to describe Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“I think he wants peace. I think he would tell me if he didn’t,” Trump said of the Russian leader in mid-February. “I trust him on this subject. I think he’d like to see something happen.”

Just last week, in an interview with Fox News, Trump claimed Putin was “more generous” and easier to work with than Ukraine.

Now, the administration is saying the ball is in Russia’s court after Ukraine agreed to an immediate, monthlong stoppage in hostilities should Moscow do the same.

“We’ll see what their response is,” Rubio said. “If their response is yes, then we know we’ve made real progress and there’s a real chance of peace. If their response is no, it will be highly unfortunate and then it’ll make their intentions clear.”

ABC News’ Patrick Reevell and Kelsey Walsh contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Politics

Pentagon ‘cherry picked’ studies to support transgender service member ban, judge says

Witthaya Prasongsin/Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — 
 

A federal judge spent Wednesday morning grilling a Department of Justice lawyer about the legality of the Pentagon’s transgender service member ban, repeatedly suggesting the policy relies on a flawed understanding of gender dysphoria.

The Pentagon’s new policy to separate transgender U.S. service members from the military is facing its first legal test as U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes considers issuing an order blocking the policy from taking effect.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Judge Reyes said that the government “egregiously misquoted” and “cherry picked” scientific studies to incorrectly assert that transgender soldiers decrease the readiness and lethality of the military.

While Judge Reyes has not yet issued a formal ruling, she repeatedly suggested that the policy unfairly targets a class of people that the Trump administration dislikes.

“The question in this case is whether the military under the equal protection rights afforded to every American under the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment, if the military … can do that and targeting a specific medical issue that impacts a specific group that the administration disfavors,” she said.

Judge Reyes also pressed DOJ attorney Jason Manion to identify any other similar medical issues that has prompted a similar response from the Department of Defense.

“Identify for me a single other time in recent history where the military has excluded a group of people for having a disqualifying issue, because I can’t think of one,” Judge Reyes asked.

Manion answered that the military applied a similar policy for soldiers who declined to take the COVID-19 vaccine, prompting an incredulous Judge Reyes to ask anyone in the gallery to raise their hand if they had gotten COVID.

“Lots of people raise their hands, right?” Judge Reyes said. “All different kinds of people … so it wasn’t just aimed at getting rid of one group of people.”

The plaintiffs have argued that the DOD’s policy — which was finalized in late February and bans most transgender service members from serving with some exceptions — violates the Fifth Amendment’s right to equal protection and causes irreparable harm by denigrating transgender soldiers, disrupting unit cohesion and weakening the military.

“This case is a test of the core democratic principle that makes our country worth defending — that every person is of equal dignity and worth and is entitled to equal protection of the laws,” the plaintiffs argued.

Lawyers with the Department of Justice have defended the policy by arguing the court should not intervene in military decision-making, describing gender dysphoria as a condition that causes “clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of human functioning.”

“DoD has been particularly cautious about service by individuals with mental health conditions, given the unique mental and emotional stresses of military service,” government lawyers argued.

During a hearing last month, Judge Reyes — a Biden appointee who was the first LGBT judge on the D.C. District Court — signaled deep skepticism with the government’s claim that transgender service members lessen the military’s lethality or readiness, though she declined to intervene until the DOD finalized their policy.

When the policy was formalized last month, she quickly ordered the government to clarify key tenets of their policy, including identifying what “mental health constraint” other than gender dysphoria that conflicts with the military’s standards of “honesty, humility, and integrity.”

She also raised doubts about the government’s claims about the exceptions to the policy, flagging on the court’s docket a recent DOD social media post that “transgender troops are disqualified from service without an exemption.”

The hearing comes amid an increasingly hostile relationship between Judge Reyes and the Department of Justice.

After Judge Reyes excoriated a DOJ lawyer last month during a hearing in the case, the Department of Justice filed a complaint with an appeals judge about what they alleged was Reyes’ “hostile and egregious misconduct.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi’s chief of staff Chad Mizelle alleged that Reyes demonstrated a political bias, compromised the dignity of the proceedings and inappropriately questioned a DOJ attorney about his religious beliefs.

“At minimum, this matter warrants further investigation to determine whether these incidents represent a pattern of misconduct that requires more significant remedial measures,” Mizelle wrote.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Entertainment

Sadie Sink joins Tom Holland in ‘Spider-Man 4’

Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

Sadie Sink is slinging into Spider-Man 4.

The actress, known for playing Max on Stranger Things, is joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the fourth Tom Holland Spider-Man film, Deadline reports. ABC Audio reached out to Sony, but they had no comment. 

While it has not been announced who Sink will portray, the outlet suggests she will play a significant role in the film. It is hinted she could be introduced as the X-Men character Jean Grey, though the outlet does not rule out other options from the Spider-Man universe. Jean Grey has previously been brought to the screen by actresses Famke Janssen and Sophie Turner.

Destin Daniel Cretton will direct the fourth Spider-Man film, taking over for Jon Watts, who helmed the first three. Amy Pascal and Kevin Feige will serve as producers on the project. The sequel comes from both Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios.

Plot details for the fourth MCU Spider-Man film are being kept under wraps.

In the third film, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Peter Parker opened the multiverse and allowed other versions of the Spider-Man character, played by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, to appear alongside him. This also caused his identity to be erased from his own universe, making every person who knew and loved him forget he exists.

Holland is currently filming Christopher Nolan‘s The Odyssey. Production on Spider-Man 4 is expected to begin after he finishes wrapping Nolan’s epic.

Spider-Man 4 will swing into movie theaters on July 31, 2026.

Marvel Studios is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News. 

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Entertainment

Disney unveils live-action ‘Lilo & Stitch’ official trailer

Disney

Fans of Lilo & Stitch are saying “Aloha” to the first official trailer for the live-action reimagining of the animated classic.

Disney unveiled the first trailer for the highly anticipated film on Wednesday.

The upcoming film follows the story of a young Hawaiian girl and an alien who helps mend her broken family.

Like the animated classic, the trailer introduces fans to Stitch, who is described as a “dangerous experiment.” He escapes from those who are after him in space and lands in Hawaii, where Lilo sees his rocket crash into the Earth, but mistakes it for a shooting star.

We then see Lilo meet Stitch at an animal shelter and the island adventures they embark on.

The trailer also features the classic song from the 2002 film “Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride” and Elvis Presley‘s “(You’re The) Devil in Disguise.”

Leading up to the release of the official trailer, the film received a big game spot during the Super Bowl in February.

At the time, Disney shared a Super Bowl-themed clip of Stitch running wild across a football field before slamming a cart into the field goal post.

“Sign him IMMEDIATELY,” Disney captioned the video.

A teaser for the film was also released in November 2024.

Maia Kealoha, Sydney Elizabeth Agudong, Billy Magnussen, Tia Carrere and Chris Sanders, the original voice of Stitch, are set to star, with Courtney B. Vance and Zach Galifianakis in key roles. Dean Fleischer Camp directs the film.

Lilo & Stitch arrives in theaters on May 23.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

World news

Pope’s condition remains ‘stationary’ on 27th day in hospital, Vatican says

Massimo Valicchia/NurPhoto via Getty Images

(LONDON and ROME) — Pope Francis’ condition remained “stationary” on Wednesday, with tests confirming his improvement, according to the Vatican.

A chest X-ray performed on Tuesday confirmed improvements recorded over the past few days, the Vatican press office said in its Wednesday evening update.

The pope continues to undergo high-flow oxygen therapy during the day and “noninvasive mechanical ventilation during his night rest,” the Holy See, the Vatican’s press office, said.

“This morning, after following the Spiritual Exercises in connection with the Paul VI Hall, he received the Eucharist, dedicated himself to prayer and, subsequently, to motor physiotherapy. In the afternoon, after joining the Spiritual Exercises of the Curia, he continued his prayer, rest and continued his respiratory physiotherapy,” the Vatican said.

The pope rested peacefully overnight as he began his 27th consecutive day in the hospital Wednesday morning, the Vatican said earlier in the day.

The pope’s prognosis was “lifted” on Monday, meaning he is no longer in imminent danger, but the clinical picture still remains complex.

The 88-year-old pontiff will continue “for additional days, the pharmacological medical therapy in a hospital environment” due to the “complexity of the clinical picture and the significant infectious picture presented at hospitalization,” the Vatican said.

“The improvements recorded in previous days have further consolidated, as confirmed by both blood tests and clinical objectivity and the good response to pharmacological therapy. For these reasons, the doctors decided to lift the prognosis,” the Holy See said Monday in a statement.

Francis’ doctors said there are positive signs of the pontiff’s recovery, but caution remains, according to Vatican sources.

Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Feb. 14 and was diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia.

Thursday will mark the 12th anniversary of when Pope Francis was voted to succeed Pope Benedict XVI, who previously resigned.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Entertainment

‘This Is Spinal Tap’ sequel, ‘Spinal Tap II: The End Continues’, to be released in September

Pete Cronin/Redferns/Getty Images

The long-awaited sequel to This Is Spinal Tap now has a release date.

Variety reports that the film, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, which reunites director Rob Reiner with stars Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer, will be released Sept. 12.

A teaser for the film shows someone plugging in a set of amps and immediately turning two of them up to 11, with the final amp going farther, to the infinity symbol. The clip is a reference to the infamous scene in the original film in which Guest’s character, Nigel Tufnel, explains to documentary filmmaker Marty DiBergi, played by Reiner, that the volume on his amp goes past the standard 10, up to 11.

According to reports, the sequel will follow the band as they reunite after 15 years for a final concert. It will feature cameos from Paul McCartneyElton JohnGarth Books, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, Metallica‘s Lars Ulrich and more.

In addition to the new film, a newly restored version of the original will be released in theaters this summer, followed by a digital and streaming platform release.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

World news

21 passengers killed on Pakistani train after hundreds taken hostage

Mazhar Chandio/Anadolu via Getty Images

(LONDON) — Twenty-one passengers were killed after a train in Pakistan was attacked and hundreds were taken hostage by the militant Balochistan Liberation Army on Tuesday, according to the Pakistani military.

Four military members conducting a rescue operation and 33 terrorists, members of the BLA, have been killed, according to the military.

The military operation has ended, according to a Pakistani military official.

On Tuesday, a U.S. official told ABC News at least 450 people were taken hostage on the train and said six Pakistani military personnel were killed.

The separatist militant group claimed it had taken 182 military and security personnel hostage on the train, according to a post on Telegram, but said they had released the majority of the civilians on board. The group claimed a higher number of casualties in the attack, saying they killed 20 Pakistani military personnel and shot down a drone.

The BLA had threatened to kill all the hostages if Pakistan’s military tries to rescue them, the official said.

The BLA blew up part of the track, forcing the train to stop, before they boarded and took control, according to the official.

The attack happened in mountainous area right before a tunnel, making a rescue very difficult, they said.

Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attack and said the government would not make any concessions to “beasts who fire on innocent passengers.”

The train was trapped in a tunnel after the tracks were blown up and militants opened fire on it, reportedly injuring the driver, local authorities and police have told media.

The BLA believes the Balochistan region of Pakistan, in the country’s far west bordering Iran and Afghanistan, should be allowed to break off from Pakistan. They are well-known for committing terror attacks in Pakistan. The BLA also attacked Jaffar Express trains in August 2013 and October 2016.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

World news

Satellite appears to show new highway cutting through Brazil’s Amazon rainforest

Evaristo Sa/AFP via Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — Satellite images appear to show a new highway cutting through the rainforest in the Brazilian state set to host the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference.

The images, taken in by Copernicus satellites in October 2023 and October 2024, appear to show the construction of the Avenida Liberdade highway near the city of Belem, the capital of Para state, which is hosting COP30. The stretch of cleared path is surrounded by lush foliage on both sides.

The Avenida Liberdade highway is expected to measure at about 8.2 miles in length and offer two lanes of traffic in both directions, according to the Para regional government website. It will connect two existing road systems and function as a new entry and exit route for the Belém Metropolitan Region.

The work was about 20% complete as of November 2024, according to an update on the Brazilian government’s website.

Drone footage published by the BBC shows new cleared trees along an 8-mile stretch of what will become the new highway.

Brazil is looking to build highways elsewhere in the country to promote connectivity to rural and remote regions.

In northwest Brazil, officials are aiming to pave a 560-mile road connecting the Amazon-adjacent states of Amazonas and Roraima to the rest of the country. The highway, BR-319, is currently mostly dirt and is difficult for most vehicles to travel on, experts told ABC News last year.

Paving these roadways has social benefits for residents nearby, who have difficulties accessing hospitals, schools and goods, Rachael Garrett, a professor of conservation and development at the University of Cambridge, told ABC News in September.

But the construction of highways in the middle of the rainforest will likely lead to a “fishbone pattern” of deforestation extending from the roadway, Garrett said.

Environmental crimes, such as illegal logging and mining, would likely increase without proper governance in the region, as criminals would have easier access to remote areas, Nauê Azevedo, a litigation specialist for the Climate Observatory in Brazil, a network of 119 environmental, civil society and academic groups, told ABC News last year.

The Amazon rainforest is crucial to mitigating global climate change, as it can store up to 200 billion tons of carbon, according to the World Wildlife Fund. The Amazon is also vital to the global and regional water cycles, as it releases 20 billion tons of water in the atmosphere per day.

The Avenida Liberdade highway incorporates “environmental preservation measures” such as 24 wildlife crossings, cycle lanes and solar panel lights, officials said in the November 2024 update.

The purpose of the highway is to ease the traffic expected from COP30, which will involve about 50,000 delegates traveling to Belem, according to government officials. The city is situated on the Pará River, close to where the Amazon River meets the Atlantic Ocean, and serves as a key entry point for the Amazon rainforest due to its port facilities.

COP30 will take place from Nov. 10 to Nov. 21.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Entertainment

Millie Bobby Brown says she would shave her head again: ‘Really liberating’

The Hapa Blonde/GC Images via Getty Images

Millie Bobby Brown is interested in shaving her head again.

The 21-year-old actress, who plays Eleven on Stranger Things, recently told host Alex Cooper on the Call Her Daddy podcast she would be interested in revisiting her character’s iconic shaved head look.

Brown said she initially did not care about shaving her head for the part.

“I didn’t have anxiety, I wasn’t sad when they shaved it off. I just thought, ‘Cool. Now this is what I’m doing,'” she recalled. “I think it started to hit me months and months in,” Brown said.

She then explained why the insecurity started hitting her.

“You get to that age where you’re 11 now and you’re shaving it consecutively every three days because it cannot grow past a certain length because we’re filming. So every time it started to grow and I’d get excited, we’d shave it again. So, I think it [got] to the point where — I was like 11 or 12 — where I was like, the boys started liking girls and I was kind of like, ‘Why are boys not liking me?'”

Now, however, Brown says she is interested in shaving all of her hair off again, this time as a woman.

“Honestly, I still to this day loved the experience and I would do it again,” Brown said. “I always tell [husband] Jake [Bongiovi], for my first baby, I want to shave my hair off. It was really liberating, I would suggest it for anyone — any girl.”

Brown called the feeling of having a shaved head liberating, reiterating that shaving it off before giving birth would be ideal.

“I just think hair is such an ordeal anyway to deal with. I’m gonna nurture my child, why deal with my hair?” she said. “I had that experience as a girl, but I’d like to have that experience as a woman.”

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.