In a poignant display of unity, even amidst a bloody conflict, nations around the globe paused to celebrate the United States on its milestone 250th birthday.

On Saturday, gratitude poured in from global leaders. Among them was Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who drew a parallel between America’s historic struggle for independence and Ukraine’s current fight for survival against Russia.

Zelensky remarked that Ukrainians, much like the early Americans, are striving for the “right to happiness” with a matching intensity of hope, purpose, and determination that propelled the founding fathers to victory and independence.

Reflecting on past tensions, notably his challenging encounter with President Trump in the Oval Office last year, Zelensky expressed gratitude for modern American assistance. His thanks extended not toward the Patriots of 1776, but rather the advanced missile systems currently protecting Ukraine from incessant Russian missile and drone strikes.

Zelensky’s message arrives amid Ukraine’s own military operations, including drone attacks deep into Russian lands, while grappling with continued deadly assaults on its capital.

Russian strongman Vladimir Putin kept his message to the US more personal.

“Donald, I wish you & your loved ones health, well-being & every success, & I wish all citizens of the United States happiness & prosperity,” Putin said in a message to Trump, according to Russia’s Foreign Ministry.

Beyond the battlefield, other world leaders also weighed in.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who has faced his own strains with Trump over the war in Iran and the role of NATO, extended his greetings with an image.

He posted a breathtaking photograph of a glistening Statue of Liberty — a gift from France in 1884 — while the aerobatic Patrouille de France flew overhead, with the air and space force jets releasing red, white and blue smoke.

The Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV issued a lengthy statement Friday expressing “heartfelt congratulations” on the United States anniversary he called “that defining moment” in the nation’s history.

The pontiff said it gave “enduring voice to the ideals of liberty, equality, the pursuit of happiness, justice and democratic self-government.”

He also mentioned “safeguarding human life from its beginning at conception” as well as “welcoming, protecting and assisting immigrants.”

King Charles, in a message to Trump and the American people from the royal family, noted “centuries of shared challenge and achievement” between the two nations.

Charles, who brought the house down during his April state visit when he joked that “if it weren’t for us, you’d be speaking French,” said he had no doubt “we will continue to defend our shared values” over the next 250 years.

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper was more succinct. “Happy 4th July to our American friends on this historic anniversary,” she said, honoring a “partnership that spans the Atlantic.”

Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, who had an extraordinary spat with Trump over Iran and las blasted him for “constant, unprovoked attacks,” visited the US embassy in Rome last week and hailed the bond between the two nations while speaking before a large American flag.

She called the US and Italy “sister nations, united by a special relationship that grows stronger day after day and clearly owes a great deal to the more than 20 million Italian-Americans who have contributed to the prosperity of the United States for generations.”

She even brought up times “when our points of view may not be perfectly aligned” but said “our ties are based on loyalty, mutual respect, willingness and an awareness that the strength of one is also automatically the strength of the other.”

In a chilling echo of past events, the Moscow suburb of Balashikha has once again been rocked by a deadly explosion, claiming the life of yet another high-ranking Russian military official.

On June 9, a violent explosion tore through the area when explosives hidden beneath a BMW detonated just as the driver was leaving a parking lot. Independent Russian news outlet The Insider reported that the victim was Lt. Gen. Damir Davydov, an esteemed officer from the Russian Defense Ministry. Davydov had played a critical role in the supply chain of missiles and artillery ammunition for Russian forces engaged in the Ukraine conflict.

This incident unfolded alarmingly close to another notable tragedy. Barely 1,150 feet away from this recent blast, Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, the deputy chief of the Main Operations Directorate of Russia’s General Staff, was killed in a car bomb attack in April 2025. The French newspaper Le Monde highlighted the proximity of these two unsettling events, underscoring the potential implications for Russian military leadership.

Adding to the string of high-profile assassinations, several months before Moskalik’s death, another senior Russian officer met a similar fate in Moscow. The repeated targeting of top military figures has raised serious concerns about the internal security landscape and the vulnerabilities that persist within Russia’s defense structure.

Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia’s nuclear, biological and chemical protection troops, was killed when a bomb hidden in an electric scooter exploded outside an apartment building. A source in Ukraine’s Security Service, known as the SBU, told Reuters the agency carried out the operation.

Together, the attacks are part of a broader pattern of assassinations and attempted assassinations targeting senior Russian military figures — a campaign that a European intelligence source says is now exposing tensions inside Putin’s own security system.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, senior Russian military figures have been killed in missile strikes, drone attacks, car bombings, crashes and frontline combat — a toll that, according to a European intelligence source, is now fueling internal tensions between Russia’s military and the FSB, Russia’s powerful domestic security service and successor to the Soviet KGB.

“There are internal frictions between Russian security institutions,” a European intelligence source told News Media. “The Russian military wants the FSB to guarantee physical protection for Russian generals, but the FSB is opposed to taking responsibility for the military.”

The dispute reflects a deeper rivalry inside Russian President Vladimir Putin’s system, where the security services have long held a privileged position over the armed forces, according to multiple sources.

“This goes back to Soviet times,” the European intelligence source said. “The security services do not like the military, and the military does not like the security services.”

The central tension, according to the European intelligence source and Russian opposition figure Maxim Katz, is inside Putin’s own system: the war has elevated the importance of the military on the battlefield, while the political structure in Moscow still treats generals as a potential threat.   

The result is a paradox for the Kremlin. Russia needs its military commanders to sustain the war, but the security services that dominate Putin’s system appear reluctant to take responsibility for protecting them. 

At least 15 Russian generals have been confirmed killed since the full-scale invasion began, according to independent Russian outlet Mediazona. 

The toll includes five lieutenant generals, seven major generals and three former generals.

Some died far from Moscow, closer to the battlefield. 

Lt. Gen. Oleg Tsokov, deputy commander of Russia’s Southern Military District, was killed in July 2023 in a Ukrainian Storm Shadow missile strike on the Russian-occupied city of Berdiansk. Maj. Gen. Sergei Goryachev, chief of staff of the 35th Combined Arms Army, was killed in June 2023 during Ukraine’s counteroffensive in the Zaporizhzhia region. Maj. Gen. Vladimir Zavadsky, deputy commander of the 14th Army Corps, was killed near Krynky in southern Ukraine in November 2023.

Others were struck inside Russia or in Russian-controlled territory. 

Lt. Gen. Alexander Otroshchenko, a senior Russian air force commander, died in a military transport plane crash over occupied Crimea in March 2026. Retired Maj. Gen. Kanamat Botashev, flying for the Wagner Group, was killed in May 2022 after his Su-25 was shot down over Ukraine’s Luhansk region.

The losses began in the opening weeks of the invasion of Ukraine, when Maj. Gen. Andrei Sukhovetsky, deputy commander of Russia’s 41st Combined Arms Army, and Maj. Gen. Vladimir Frolov, deputy commander of the 8th Army, were killed.

Katz said the military has long occupied a vulnerable position inside the Russian power structure.

“In Russia, the FSB is the biggest and most powerful security organization, and Putin himself comes from that system,” Katz told News Media. “The army, on the other hand, has always been viewed by these people as a threat.”

Katz said the Kremlin historically has feared popular military figures because the army is one of the few institutions with the capacity to challenge political power.

“You will not find Russian military men in senior government positions,” Katz said. “Since Stalin, they have been afraid of the army. Whenever there is a relatively well-known military figure with a name of his own, they deal with it somehow — legally, or like with Prigozhin, or like with other generals. In Russia, there is no such thing as a popular general.”

Katz argued that even during wartime, when the military might be expected to gain status, Putin’s system keeps the army politically weak.

“The army does not take part in decision-making,” Katz said. “It is funded now, but everything goes to the war. The generals are rich, but not like ministers or FSB people. Among the elites, they are the most deprived.”

UKRAINE LAUNCHES WHAT APPEARS TO BE ONE OF ITS LARGEST DRONE ATTACKS AGAINST RUSSIA: REPORT

That dynamic, Katz said, helps explain why Russian generals may not want the FSB responsible for their protection.

“For them, the FSB is a much bigger threat than the Ukrainian army,” Katz said. “The Ukrainian army kills a general once in a while. The FSB puts generals in prison much faster.”

The European intelligence source said the killings matter not only because of the operational losses, but because of the psychological effect inside the Russian army.

“Putin understands that losing prominent Russian generals can affect morale within the Russian army, which is already low from the Russian perspective,” the source said.

The apparent compromise, according to the European intelligence source, was to shift responsibility away from the FSB.

“The FSB did not want to deal with military protection, so the security service of the Russian presidential administration would take care of those generals,” the source said.

Katz said the internal pressure on Putin may also collide with Russia’s parliamentary elections in September — a moment he believes Western observers are largely ignoring.

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He said the vote will not be free, and the Kremlin is expected to manipulate the results. 

But he argued that if public support for Putin’s United Russia party has fallen sharply, it may become harder for the regime to make the official results appear believable.

“Everyone already knows what results they will announce,” Katz said. “The question is whether anyone will believe those results.”

Katz said Putin’s system has long depended not only on control, but on the perception that the Kremlin still commands broad public support.

“Putin has never ruled in a situation where he does not have a majority,” Katz said. “His legitimacy rests on everyone believing that he has majority support. Once everyone believes he does not have a majority, and that he did not just cheat a little but simply drew the results, that is a different story.”

He compared the potential challenge to authoritarian systems that are forced to move from managed popularity to open coercion.

“Putin cannot lose like Orban,” Katz said. “But if everyone in Russia knows that everyone voted against him and he drew the results in his favor, that would be a new situation. He has never been in that position before.”

News Media reached out to the Russian and Ukrainian governments for comment but did not receive responses in time for publication.

YOUNTVILLE, Calif. (KGO) — In the serene setting of Yountville, a notable incident involving Paul Pelosi, the husband of Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, has stirred local attention. Over the weekend, Napa County Sheriff’s Deputies announced that Pelosi is facing charges related to an alleged hit-and-run incident.

The 86-year-old is accused of colliding with a parked car before briefly pausing and subsequently leaving the scene.

Authorities said the incident occurred around 2:30 p.m. on Friday afternoon on the 6700 block of Yount Street, prompting a swift response from sheriff’s deputies.

According to reports, a witness reached out to 911 to report that a brown convertible, allegedly directed by Pelosi, had struck an unoccupied parked vehicle. The hit resulted in substantial damage to the back of the parked car, pushing its front right tire onto the curb.

Guided by the information provided by the witness, authorities managed to locate Pelosi soon after. The California Highway Patrol intercepted his car on Yountville Cross Road, as confirmed by Napa County Sheriff’s Office.

Pelosi’s car had significant damage to the front right side.

Pelosi admitted to Napa County sheriffs to hitting something, but did not know what he had hit, so “he kept driving.”

Napa County authorities said he is no longer driving.

During the investigation, authorities said alcohol does not appear to be a factor since he registered a .00 on the Preliminary Alcohol Screening Device.

Paul Pelosi was not arrested.

The Napa County Sheriff’s Office said it will be referring the case to the Napa District Attorney’s Office for review and prosecution.

MORE: Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul involved in car crash before DUI arrest in Napa Co., CHP says

This week in Los Angeles, an actress who garnered two Emmy Awards for her performance in a TV movie alongside Katharine Hepburn was spotted in public.

Her role as the innocent yet optimistic disabled character, Laura Wingfield, in the adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ renowned play, The Glass Menagerie, received widespread praise.

The talented actress also graced the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the popular series led by Patrick Stewart in the iconic role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

Throughout her extensive career, she shared the screen with a variety of prominent figures, including Sylvester Stallone, Tom Selleck, Gary Oldman, and even Macaulay Culkin.

At 86 years old, she appeared lively and energetic while enjoying some sunshine and a breath of fresh air under the warm Southern California skies.

Can you guess who she is?

She is none other than actress Joanna Miles, whom Star Trek: The Next Generation fans will recognize as Spock’s stepmother Perrin.

The Daily Mail has contacted Miles’ representative for comment and has yet to hear back. 

She was born in March 1940 in Nice, France to two painters, American Jeanne Patterson Miles and Dutch national Johannes Schiefer.

When she was two months old, the Nazis invaded France, and during the war her mother’s US citizenship served as an escape hatch for the family to flee to America.

‘We were a headline in the New York Times as the last Americans out of France,’ she told Broadway World. ‘My father was from Europe and happy to get out.’

Miles inherited her parents’ inclination toward the arts, but observed in retrospect that ‘although they both became successful, I found my mother’s struggles particularly frightening. So I decided acting was a better idea.’

She studied the profession during a golden age of education in the field, enrolling at the Actors Studio in New York City at a time in the 1960s when her classmates included Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro.

In the fledgling stages of her career, she acted with Hoffman in The Glass Menagerie in stock and appeared on TV shows like NYPD and All My Children.

Her breakthrough came in 1973 when she was asked to read for the part of the psychologically delicate Laura in a TV movie of The Glass Menagerie.

Sam Waterston, later of Law & Order fame, was cast as Laura’s older brother Tom, with Hepburn fronting the cast as their domineering mother Amanda, whose ironclad grip on her children makes them both chafe in different ways.

When Miles arrived for her audition, she found herself in a bind, as she had prepared a scene with Amanda but was asked to play another sequence.

‘So Katharine Hepburn agreed to read with me, and she cast me on the spot. It was truly a wonderful experience,’ said Miles of the TV film, which was shot in London.

‘Katharine Hepburn was an exciting person, who made the set a very demanding place. She even rode around London on her bicycle.’

Williams, who had scored his first Broadway hit with The Glass Menagerie in 1944, ‘couldn’t have been more pleased’ with the TV adaptation, Miles said.

A similar view was shared by Emmy voters, who gave Miles two gongs – Supporting Actress of the Year and the Super Emmy for Best Supporting Actress in Drama.

In 1975 she appeared in the post-apocalyptic camp classic The Ultimate Warrior, with Yul Brynner in the titular role, Max von Sydow as the tribal leader who hires him and Miles as the latter’s pregnant daughter.

Her career proceeded with guest shots on shows like Kojak, Barnaby Jones, The Incredible Hulk, Barney Miller, Trapper John MD and Dallas.

In 1990 she featured as Hamlet’s mother Gertrude in the film adaptation of Tom Stoppard’s play Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, with Tim Roth and Gary Oldman playing the title roles in a cast including Richard Dreyfuss.

Five years later she held a supporting role in Sylvester Stallone’s comic book flop Judge Dredd, starring him as the title character.

Set in a dystopia in which order is maintained by ‘Judges’ who can both capture criminals and execute them at will, the movie featured Miles as one of Dredd’s colleagues, Judge Hilda Margaret McGruder.

Her television work in the 1990s included a two-episode arc on Star Trek: The Next Generation as Perrin, the second wife of Mark Lenard’s character Sarek, who is the father of Leonard Nimoy’s Spock from the original series.

‘Star Trek was such an unlikely job for me,’ Miles reflected years later. ‘I’m still invited to Star Trek conventions and frequently asked to sign autographs.’

She recalled that the series’ ‘sets were something wonderful. I brought my young son one day and the crew activated the doors and set pieces to give him a treat.’

In 2001 she held a small role as a shopkeeper’s wife in the TV western movie Crossfire Trail, starring Tom Selleck and Wilford Brimley along with Virginia Madsen, the sister of the late Reservoir Dogs star Michael Madsen. 

Miles’ most recent theatrically released movie was the 2007 comedy Sex and Breakfast, led by Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin, who was by then in his 20s.

The movie centers on two couples who try to reignite the spark in their relationships by dabbling in swinging on the advice of a therapist played by Miles. 

Although her most recent screen role was the 2013 TV movie Hunt for the Labyrinth Killer, she kept acting onstage after that job, such as in the 2015 play Front Door Open, in which she starred as an agoraphobe.

On the personal front, Miles has been married since 1978 to the producer and writer Michael Brandman, with whom she has one son.