NPR News: 06-29-2026 9PM EDT

Ryland Barton· Host0:00

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton. The Supreme Court rejected President Trump's attack on state laws that deal with mail-in ballots today. The decision leaves in place laws in more than half the states and Washington, D.C., that permit mailed ballots to be counted after an election as long as they're posted by Election Day. NPR's Ashley Lopez has more on the decision.

Ashley Lopez0:21

In a five-four ruling where two conservative justices, Amy Coney Barrett and John Roberts, sided with the liberal wing of the court. They said that Mississippi's law isn't violating federal statute. Justice Barrett authored the, this opinion. She wrote that states have the right to maintain some latitude in how they run their elections, which includes how they run their mail-in ballot programs. And while this might be out of step with President Trump and some GOP officials, this is actually historically a, a pretty conservative principle. The majority also said in clear language that voting is happening when voters fill out a ballot- Mm-hmm ... not when ballots are making their way through the mail.

Ryland Barton· Host0:54

NPR's Ashley Lopez reporting. Michigan's Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer, has threatened to pull her National Guard troops from Washington, D.C., if they're used for President Trump's ongoing anti-crime crackdown in the city. Michigan's one of several Democratic-led states to send troops to D.C. in recent weeks ahead of America 250 celebrations, as NPR's Cat Lohnsdorf reports.

Cat Lohnsdorf1:16

In a strongly worded letter to the head of Michigan's National Guard, Governor Whitmer reiterates that the 161 troops from her state in D.C. are only to be used for operations surrounding the America 250 celebrations, not President Trump's task