Supreme Court will weigh Trump-backed Republican push to enforce Arizona voting laws

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said Monday it will consider a Republican push to enforce strict Arizona voting laws passed in the swing state after the 2020 election.

The high court has allowed some similar rules to take effect temporarily before, including Arizona's proof-of-citizenship requirement for state and local elections and a Virginia purge of voter rolls that the state said was aimed at keeping noncitizens from voting.

President Donald Trump’s Republican administration joined the appeal after lower courts found the measures violated federal voting laws.

The high court is expected to hear arguments in the fall and hand down an opinion after the midterm elections.

The Republican-controlled legislature passed the laws in 2022, part of a wave of similar proposals around the country after Trump falsely claimed widespread voter fraud was responsible for his narrow defeat there to Democrat Joe Biden. Trump reclaimed the state in 2024, helping secure his return to the White House.

The case reached the Supreme Court's emergency docket in 2024. The justices gave the GOP a partial victory, allowing Arizona to require proof of citizenship for registration in state and local elections but not federal races.

Also that year, the high court allowed Virginia to continue a purge of voter rolls shortly before the election.

Citizenship is required to vote across the country, and people must attest they are citizens under penalty of perjury to register. Arizona is among only a handful of states that require additional proof, like a driver's license or passport. Data indicates that voting by noncitizens is rare.

Arizona tried to impose proof requirements for national elections in 2013, but the law was struck down by the Supreme Court. Now, people can register as “federal only” voters without providing proof of citizenship, but Arizona requires additional proof for state and local election participation.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court.

FILE - Members of the Arizona State University Barrett Choir wave Arizona state flags during the celebration of the 100th anniversary of Arizona's statehood, Feb. 14, 2012, in Phoenix.(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

FILE - The U.S. Supreme Court is seen, June 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)

BERLIN (AP) — Five people were killed in a shooting on Monday at a youth welfare facility in the northern German town of Stade, police said. Two people were arrested, including the suspected shooter.

Other people were wounded, police said, but they did not give a figure.

Police said the shooting took place in the facility on Dankersstrasse, a street south of the town center. That facility includes temporary accommodation for pregnant women or young mothers with children.

There was no danger to the public, police said. Video footage after the shooting showed a large police presence, along with other emergency service personnel and several ambulances on a residential street.

Two suspects were arrested, one of whom is believed to have fired the shots. Police said they were working to establish the background to the shooting and what exactly happened.

Vitali Mertens, who lives across the street from the scene, said he heard gunshots and “the whole area was cordoned off right away." He added that “the police sent me away.”

Germany’s gun laws are more restrictive than those in the United States, and mass shootings are rare but not unheard-of.

Stade has about 50,000 inhabitants and is located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Hamburg.

Police officers patrol the scene in Stad, Germany, Monday, June 29, 2026 following a shooting where five people were killed, police said. (Marcus Golejewski/dpa via AP)

Emergency responders and forensic investigators in Stade, Germany, Monday, June 29, 2026 as police say five people have been killed in a shooting. (Fabian Höfig/NEWS5/dpa via AP)

In this image taken from a video, emergency responders, residents and police in Stade, Germany, Monday, June 29, 2026 after five people were killed in a shooting on Monday at a youth welfare facility in the northern German town of Stade, police said. (NWM-TV via AP)

In this image taken from a video, emergency responders, residents and police in Stade, Germany, Monday, June 29, 2026 after five people were killed in a shooting on Monday at a youth welfare facility in the northern German town of Stade, police said. (NWM-TV via AP)