Hello and welcome to the latest developments in US politics. We start with the report that a small number of state military forces has started protecting government facilities in the Greater Chicago region and supporting police operations in Memphis on Wednesday, as confirmed by authorities.
Troop Information
An unit of 200 Texas Guard troops were working in the Chicago area, as stated by a representative for the US Northern Command, who communicated with the Associated Press on background basis in order to reveal operational details that have not been made public.
The military personnel are in the urban area to secure US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) buildings and other government properties and police officers, Northern Command said online.
The troops, along with about three hundred Illinois personnel, had reached on Tuesday at a US Army Reserve Center in Elwood, approximately 90 kilometers southwest of Chicago. All 500 troops are under the Northern Command and have been deployed for two months. The spokesperson wasn't able to quickly provide details about how the troops were armed.
Political Context
It coincides with Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the jailing of Brandon Johnson, Chicago's mayor, and JB Pritzker, the state governor, charging them of failing to protect US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.
"The city's mayor should be in jail for failing to protect ICE personnel!" Trump wrote on his social media platform on Wednesday morning. "The state governor also!"
Both the mayor and governor are Democrats. Trump's comments coincide with national guard troops have started deployment in the Chicago area at the direction of the federal administration, despite objections from Illinois officials, including Pritzker and Johnson.
Other Updates
- The president announced that the conflicting parties have agreed to a tentative deal to end the fighting in Gaza, and free Israeli hostages and detained persons.
- Reports about the Middle East deal was praised by Republican lawmakers, who urged Trump to be awarded the Nobel Peace prize this week, but received with greater caution by Arab-American communities.
- During presidential gathering, Trump appeared not to recognize the term 'legal principle' and deferred to Kristi Noem. In May, the secretary gave a highly incorrect definition of the fundamental legal concept that requires that the authorities provide a public reason for detaining and imprisoning people.
- All of the witnesses who provided statements at the White House "antifa roundtable" hosted by the president on Wednesday were self-described independent journalists who might more accurately described as political content creators. The content producers cover liberal demonstrations in a partisan fashion, more similar to political investigation than neutral journalism.
- Senate Republicans voted down a war powers resolution that would have limited Trump's ability to use deadly military force against suspected drug smugglers after opposition party tried to oppose the government's extraordinary use of the military to destroy boats in the Caribbean Sea.
- During the White House "political discussion" on Wednesday, at least one witness echoed Trump's inaccurate statement that large numbers of people have been killed by political extremists in Portland, Oregon. The correct number of killings by political activists in Portland is: one.
