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An AR-15 rifle at FT3 Tactical shooting range in Stanton, Calif., on May 3, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear two high-profile challenges to state gun-control laws—one in Maryland banning semiautomatic rifles such as the AR-15, and another in Rhode Island prohibiting magazines that hold more than 10 rounds.

Both denials came in a list of orders released on Monday. The list did not provide an explanation for the denials. However, three justices—Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch—dissented, indicating that they would have taken up the cases.

In the Maryland case, sometimes referred to as an “assault weapons” ban, Justice Brett Kavanaugh concurred with the majority in its decision to deny review, but said the Supreme Court “should and presumably will” address the constitutionality of AR-15 bans within the next term or two.

The case involved a 2013 law enacted in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook massacre, which bars the sale and possession of 45 named semiautomatic rifles and similar “copycat” weapons. The challengers of the ban argued in court filings that rifles such as the AR-15 are among the most popular firearms in the country, lawfully owned by millions for self-defense and sporting purposes, and therefore are protected under the Second Amendment.

The Rhode Island case, Ocean State Tactical v. Rhode Island, challenged a 2022 state law banning large-capacity magazines, passed shortly after a mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The law gave owners six months to modify, surrender, sell, or transfer such magazines.

A federal district court and the First Circuit Court of Appeals both declined to block the law. According to filings, the appeals court found that even assuming that the magazines are covered under the Second Amendment, the law imposes no “meaningful burden” on self-defense, arguing that civilians almost never need more than 10 rounds in a defensive scenario. The court also pointed to historical analogues for similar bans, such as restrictions on dangerous weapons and gunpowder storage. (More)

More Politics:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a major update to its measles vaccination guidance, urging all Americans traveling internationally, regardless of destination, to get vaccinated amid a resurgence of the disease in the United States and abroad.

“All international travelers should be fully vaccinated against measles with the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine,” the CDC said in a May 28 update.

The agency recommends two doses for everyone aged 12 months or older, spaced at least 28 days apart, and a single early dose for infants aged 6 to 11 months who will be traveling.

“Most people who bring measles into the United States are unvaccinated U.S. residents who get infected during international travel,” the agency added.

The new travel alert marks a significant shift from previous CDC guidance, which prioritized vaccination only for those heading to outbreak-prone regions. Experts say the expanded recommendation reflects a growing risk of infection in transit—especially on airplanes and in airports.

“We’re seeing a shift from localized outbreaks to transmission in transit,” said Ashley Darcy-Mahoney, a professor at George Washington University’s nursing school.

That risk was recently illustrated in Colorado, where state health officials linked six confirmed measles cases to a single infected passenger aboard a Turkish Airlines flight that landed at Denver International Airport on May 13. Among the infected are three Colorado residents who were on the flight, including a vaccinated adult from Arapahoe County, and two unrelated unvaccinated adults from El Paso County who were at the airport the following day and likely exposed to the virus there. A fourth case from the flight involved an out-of-state passenger. (💬 Comment)

More U.S. News:

Delegations from Ukraine and Russia ended their second round of cease-fire negotiations in Turkey after just an hour.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday that the two sides were preparing for a new prisoner swap, and the Ukrainian delegation delivered a list of deported Ukrainian childrento Russia that Kyiv wants returned home.

The previous round of direct talks in May also led to a swap of prisoners, with 1,000 on both sides being exchanged.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said before the talks began that the aim of the June 2 meeting, the second of its kind, was to evaluate the two sides’ conditions for a cease-fire, to facilitate more prisoner exchanges, and to discuss a possible meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents.

“The eyes of the whole world are focused on the contacts here,” Fidan said.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov led negotiations for Kyiv.

Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky headed the Kremlin team.

“We are insisting on a full and unconditional end to the killing now,” Umerov said in a press conference following the talks. He noted that Ukraine had delivered its conditions to Russia days in advance of the talks but received nothing from Russia until June 2.

Kyiv will now take a week to review Moscow’s demands, according to Umerov.

He said real peace talks could only take place at the level of national leadership and welcomed the involvement of foreign leaders in the process, including the president of the United States.

“This war must end, and the whole world supports us in that,” Umerov said. (More)

More World News:

📷 Photo of the Day: Smoke rises from the crater of the Etna volcano as it erupts, on Mount Etna near Catania, on June 2, 2025. A huge plume of ash, gas and rock spewed forth on June 2, 2025, from Italy’s Mount Etna, Europe’s largest active volcano, after a portion of its southeastern crater likely collapsed, authorities said. (Giuseppe Distefano/AFP via Getty Images)

Our photography editors comb through the best images in the world every day. See their picks for today here ➞ Etna Eruption, Rockfall in Indonesia, and Schwarzenegger in Austria

🎙️ Podcast: The new visa policy for Chinese international students marks another major shift in the U.S.-China decoupling. The potential impact is way bigger than tariffs. It’s getting personal. Join Terri Wu on China Watch as she unpacks the historical relationship between the two countries. (Listen)

✍️ Opinion: Central Planning Works for Rich People by Jeffrey A. Tucker (Read)

🎵 Music: Felix Mendelssohn – String Octet (Listen)

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A teenage Eisenhower (C) in a 1907 photograph indicates just how far West Point took him from his humble beginnings in Kansas.

Dwight David Eisenhower (1890–1969), also known by his nickname, “Ike,” grew up in a strict but loving Mennonite home in Abilene, Kansas. He and his brothers joined their parents daily in prayer, worked hard at their chores, and received the standard education of the time.

From there, Eisenhower entered West Point, graduated, rose through the ranks, and eventually led the Allied forces in the June 6, 1944, invasion of Normandy and on to victory in World War II. In 1952, he won the presidency as a Republican. He ended the Korean War, served another term, and presided over both the beginning of the Cold War and the 1950s’ economic boom.

On his journey from Abilene to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where he retired, Eisenhower enjoyed a variety of hobbies. As a young man, he played football and baseball, and was a skilled pistol shot and poker player. He became an expert at bridge, developed a passion for golf, and was a lifelong fan of fishing and the outdoors. In his later years, Eisenhower took up painting as a means of pleasure and relaxation.

A final component in this mix of pastimes was his love for books and reading.

Of special interest to the young Eisenhower were the histories of ancient Greece and Rome, with Hannibal being a particular hero. Often he, his brothers, and their friends acted out these battles outdoors.

He became so enamored with history that he would steal away from his chores to read. At one point, his mother, Ida, locked his favorite books in a closet to keep his attention focused on work, yet in one of his rare acts of rebellion, Eisenhower found the key. Whenever Ida was out of the house, he would unlock the closet and sink again into those histories. (More)

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