In the wake of the sad incident today in Mumbai, the Railway Minister and Railway Board officials had a detailed meeting with the ICF (Integral Coach Factory) team.

“After detailed discussions, it was decided that new non AC trains will be designed and manufactured where the key issue of ventilation will be resolved using three design changes: First, the doors will have louvres. Second, coaches will have roof mounted ventilation units to pump in fresh air. Third, the coaches will have vestibules so that passengers can move from one coach to another and balance out the crowd in a natural way,” as per report.

“The first train of this new design will be ready by November 2025. After necessary tests and certification, it will be put into service by January 2026,” as per ANI report.

World News

California governor plans to file lawsuit against Trump over National Guard deployment to protests Lawsuit over LA deployment Photo:AP Photo/Eric Thayer Multiple Waymo taxis burn near the Metropolitan Detention Center of downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025, following last night’s immigration raid protest. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he planned to file a lawsuit Monday against President Donald Trump in response to the administration’s extraordinary deployment of the National Guard to confront immigration protesters who took to the streets in Los Angeles. “Commandeering a state’s National Guard without consulting the Governor of that state is illegal and immoral,” Newsom, a Democrat, told MSNBC on Sunday. The streets of the sprawling city of 4 million people were mostly quiet Monday morning, the day after crowds blocked off a major freeway and set self-driving cars on fire as law enforcement responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades. Sunday’s protests were centered in several blocks of downtown and a handful of other places. It was the third and most intense day of demonstrations against Trump’s immigration crackdown in the region, as the arrival of around 300 Guard troops spurred anger and fear among many residents. Many protesters dispersed as evening fell and police declared an unlawful assembly, a precursor to officers moving in and arresting those who don’t leave. Some of those who stayed threw objects at police from behind a makeshift barrier. Others hurled chunks of concrete, rocks, electric scooters and fireworks at California Highway Patrol officers and their vehicles parked on the closed southbound 101 Freeway. Officers ran under an overpass to take cover at one point. The Guard was deployed specifically to protect federal buildings, including the downtown detention center where protesters concentrated. Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said officers were “overwhelmed” by the remaining protesters. He said they included regular agitators who show up at demonstrations to cause trouble. Several dozen people were arrested throughout the weekend. One was detained Sunday for throwing a Molotov cocktail at police and another for ramming a motorcycle into a line of officers. Trump responded to McDonnell on Truth Social, telling him to arrest protesters in face masks. “Looking really bad in L.A. BRING IN THE TROOPS!!!” he wrote. Governor says Guard not needed Newsom called on Trump to rescind the Guard deployment in a letter Sunday afternoon, calling it a “serious breach of state sovereignty.” The governor, who was was in Los Angeles meeting with local law enforcement and officials, also told protesters that they were playing into Trump’s plans and would face arrest for violence or property destruction. “Trump wants chaos and he’s instigated violence,” he said. “Stay peaceful. Stay focused. Don’t give him the excuse he’s looking for.” The deployment appeared to be the first time in decades that a state’s National Guard was activated without a request from its governor, a significant escalation against those who have sought to hinder the administration’s mass deportation efforts. McDonnell pushed back against claims by the Trump administration that the LAPD had failed to help federal authorities when protests broke out Friday after a series of immigration raids. He said his department responded as quickly as it could and had not been notified in advance of the raids. Newsom, meanwhile, has repeatedly said that California authorities had the situation under control. He mocked Trump for posting a congratulatory message to the Guard on social media before troops had even arrived in Los Angeles, and he told MSNBC that Trump never floated deploying the Guard during a Friday phone call. He called Trump a “stone cold liar.” The admonishments did not deter the administration. “It’s a bald-faced lie for Newsom to claim there was no problem in Los Angeles before President Trump got involved,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement. Clashes escalate as National Guard troops arrive National Guard troops stood shoulder to shoulder Sunday morning in LA, carrying long guns and riot shields as protesters shouted “shame” and “go home.” After some demonstrators closely approached the Guard members, another set of uniformed officers advanced on the group, shooting smoke-filled canisters into the street. Minutes later, the Los Angeles Police Department fired rounds of crowd-control munitions to disperse the protesters, who they said were assembled unlawfully. Much of the group then moved to block traffic on the 101 freeway until state patrol officers cleared them. Nearby, at least four self-driving Waymo cars were set on fire, sending large plumes of black smoke into the sky and exploding intermittently. By evening, police had shut down several blocks of downtown Los Angeles. Flash-bang grenades echoed out every few seconds into the evening. Deployment follows days of protest The arrival of the National Guard followed two days of protests that began Friday in downtown Los Angeles before spreading Saturday to Paramount, a heavily Latino city south of the city, and neighboring Compton. Federal agents arrested immigrants in LA’s fashion district, in a Home Depot parking lot and at several other locations on Friday. The next day, they were staging at a Department of Homeland Security office near another Home Depot in Paramount, which drew out protesters who suspected another raid. Federal authorities later said there was no enforcement activity at that Home Depot. The weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the LA area climbed above 100, federal authorities said. Many more were arrested while protesting, including a prominent union leader who was accused of impeding law enforcement. The last time the National Guard was activated without a governor’s permission was in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to protect a civil rights march in Alabama, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. Trump says there will be ‘very strong law and order’ In a directive Saturday, Trump invoked a legal provision allowing him to deploy federal service members when there is ”a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.” He said he had authorized the deployment of 2,000 members of the National Guard. Trump told reporters Sunday as he prepared to board Air Force One in Morristown, New Jersey, that there were “violent people” in Los Angeles “and they’re not going to get away with it.” In San Francisco, officers arrested dozens of protesters Sunday night after a group refused to disperse, police said in a statement on social media. Officers monitoring one protest declared an unlawful assembly when people in the group became violent, the San Francisco Police Department said. Many protesters left the scene, but some remained while others moved to another area where they vandalized buildings and a police vehicle.

Ukraine says Russia launched the biggest overnight drone bombardment of the war Drone bombardment Photo: AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky Colleagues and relatives say the last goodbye to firefighters Pavlo Yezhor, Danylo Skadin and Andriy Remenny, killed by Russia’s missile attack last week, at the farewell ceremony in front of the fire station in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, June 9, 2025. Russia launched almost 500 drones at Ukraine in the biggest overnight drone bombardment of the three-year war, the Ukrainian air force said Monday, as the Kremlin presses its summer offensive amid direct peace talks that have yet to deliver progress on stopping the fighting. Despite the difficulties in reaching a ceasefire, Russia and Ukraine swapped another batch of prisoners of war Monday. In addition to the 479 drones, 20 missiles of various types were fired at different parts of Ukraine from Sunday to Monday, according to the air force, which said the barrage targeted mainly central and western areas. Ukraine’s air force said its air defenses intercepted and destroyed 277 drones and 19 missiles, claiming only 10 drones or missiles hit their targets. Officials said one person was injured. It was not possible to independently verify the claims. A recent escalation in aerial attacks has coincided with a renewed Russian battlefield push along eastern and northeastern parts of the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said late Sunday that in some of those areas, “the situation is very difficult.” He provided no details. Ukraine is short-handed on the front line against its bigger enemy and needs more military support from its Western partners, especially air defenses. But uncertainty about the U.S. policy on the war has fueled doubts about how much help Kyiv can count on. Ukraine has produced some stunning counter-punches, however. Its June 1 drone attack on distant Russian air bases was unprecedented in its scope and sophistication. Russia intensifies its attacks The Ukrainian General Staff said special operations forces struck two Russian fighter jets stationed at the Savasleyka airfield in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region located about 650 kilometers (about 400 miles) northeast of the Ukrainian border. The statement did not say how the planes were hit and there was no immediate comment on the claim from Russian authorities. Some Russian war bloggers said there was no damage to the warplanes. Russian officials have said the recent intensified assaults are part of a series of retaliatory strikes for Ukraine’s drone attack on air bases that were hosting nuclear-capable strategic bombers. A strike on a Ukrainian air base in Dubno, in the western Rivne region, was one such response, the Russian Defense Ministry said Monday. Two recent rounds of direct peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul have yielded no significant breakthroughs beyond pledges to swap prisoners as well as thousands of their dead and seriously wounded troops. Russian President Vladimir Putin has indicated he will keep fighting until his conditions are met. Russia and Ukraine exchange more POWs The exchange of hundreds of soldiers and civilians has been a small sign of cooperation in otherwise failed efforts to agree on a ceasefire. More prisoners were swapped Monday in a staggered process taking place over the coming days, Zelenskyy and the Russian Defense Ministry said, although neither side said how many. Those who were swapped included wounded soldiers, as well as those under 25, Zelenskyy said. “The process is quite complicated, there are many sensitive details, negotiations continue virtually every day,” he added. In the Chernihiv region of northern Ukraine, dozens of anxious relatives gathered outside a hospital and formed a human corridor to see whether their loved ones were among those freed. Many held up photos of sons, husbands and brothers in hopes that someone might recognize them and offer any news. One by one, the returning soldiers passed silently through the corridor, their expressions a mixture of joy and exhaustion. Many in the crowd hadn’t received official word on their loved ones for months, and some of them for years. Tetiana Lytvyn, 38, of Chernihiv, was among those waiting. She wasn’t looking for one person, but two — her father and a cousin, both of whom went missing last year. “The war might end,” she added, “but for those of us with family still missing — the war will never be over until they come home.” Lytvyn’s cousin, 21-year-old Mykola Dmytruk, disappeared while his wife was pregnant. “He has a daughter now,” she said. “She’s 5 months old.” The Ukrainian POWs were in poor health, said Petro Yatsenko, spokesperson for Ukraine’s official body overseeing prisoners. They lacked food during their imprisonment and had no access to medical care, he said. More than 200 Ukrainian POWs have died in prison since Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor, an Associated Press report published last month found. Russia and Ukraine have disagreed over the transfer of the bodies of soldiers killed in action. The Russian Defense Ministry alleged Ukraine failed to pick up the bodies of its fallen soldiers that Russia made available for collection over the weekend. But Zelenskyy claimed that Moscow hadn’t sent to Kyiv the names of more than 1,000 Ukrainians whose bodies are in Russian-controlled territories as had been agreed. He accused Russian authorities of playing “dirty” games. Even so, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the swap is expected to go ahead, although he said there were no specific arrangements so far for the transfer. Ukraine’s intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, said the exchange of bodies will begin this week. Long-range drone attacks continue Russia has repeatedly targeted civilian areas of Ukraine with Shahed drones during the war, as happened on Sunday night. The attacks have killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the United Nations. Russia says it only attacks military targets. Ukraine has developed long-range drones that continue to strike deep inside Russia. Russia’s Defense Ministry said it shot down 49 Ukrainian drones overnight over seven Russian regions. Two drones hit a plant specializing in electronic warfare equipment in the Chuvashia region, located more than 600 kilometers (370 miles) east of Moscow, local officials reported.

NIH scientists publish declaration criticizing Trump’s deep cuts in public health research Deep cuts in health research Photo: AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana Jenna Norton ,who works as a researcher at the NIH, poses for a photograph during an interview with the Associated Press in Bethesda, Md., Friday, June 6, 2025. In his confirmation hearings to lead the National Institutes of Health, Jay Bhattacharya pledged his openness to views that might conflict with his own. “Dissent,” he said, ”is the very essence of science.” That commitment is being put to the test. On Monday, scores of scientists at the agency sent their Trump-appointed leader a letter titled the Bethesda Declaration, a frontal challenge to “policies that undermine the NIH mission, waste public resources, and harm the health of Americans and people across the globe.” It says: “We dissent.” In a capital where insiders often insist on anonymity to say such things publicly, more than 90 NIH researchers, program directors, branch chiefs and scientific review officers put their signatures on the letter — and their careers on the line. Confronting a ‘culture of fear’ They went public in the face of a “culture of fear and suppression” they say President Donald Trump’s administration has spread through the federal civil service. “We are compelled to speak up when our leadership prioritizes political momentum over human safety and faithful stewardship of public resources,” the declaration says. Named for the agency’s headquarters location in Maryland, the Bethesda Declaration details upheaval in the world’s premier public health research institution over the course of mere months. It addresses the abrupt termination of 2,100 research grants valued at more than $12 billion and some of the human costs that have resulted, such as cutting off medication regimens to participants in clinical trials or leaving them with unmonitored device implants. In one case, an NIH-supported study of multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis in Haiti had to be stopped, ceasing antibiotic treatment mid-course for patients. In a number of cases, trials that were mostly completed were rendered useless without the money to finish and analyze the work, the letter says. “Ending a $5 million research study when it is 80% complete does not save $1 million,” it says, “it wastes $4 million.” The mask comes off The four-page letter, addressed to Bhattacharya but also sent to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and members of Congress who oversee the NIH, was endorsed by 250 anonymous employees of the agency besides the 92 who signed. Jenna Norton, who oversees health disparity research at the agency’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, recently appeared at a forum by Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., to talk about what’s happening at the NIH. At the event, she masked to conceal her identity. Now the mask is off. She was a lead organizer of the declaration. “I want people to know how bad things are at NIH,” Norton told The Associated Press. The signers said they modeled their indictment after Bhattacharya’s own Great Barrington Declaration of October 2020, when he was a professor at Stanford University Medical School. His declaration drew together likeminded infectious disease epidemiologists and public health scientists who dissented from what they saw as excessive COVID-19 lockdown policies and felt ostracized by the larger public health community that pushed those policies, including the NIH. “He is proud of his statement, and we are proud of ours,” said Sarah Kobrin, a branch chief at the NIH’s National Cancer Institute who signed the Bethesda Declaration. Cancer research is sidelined As chief of the Health Systems and Interventions Research Branch, Kobrin provides scientific oversight of researchers across the country who’ve been funded by the cancer institute or want to be. But sudden cuts in personnel and money have shifted her work from improving cancer care research to what she sees as minimizing its destruction. “So much of it is gone — my work,” she said. The 21-year NIH veteran said she signed because “I don’t want to be a collaborator” in the political manipulation of biomedical science. Ian Morgan, a postdoctoral fellow with the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, also signed the declaration. “We have a saying in basic science,” he said. “You go and become a physician if you want to treat thousands of patients. You go and become a researcher if you want to save billions of patients. “We are doing the research that is going to go and create the cures of the future,” he added. But that won’t happen, he said, if Trump’s Republican administration prevails with its searing cuts to grants. The NIH employees interviewed by the AP emphasized they were speaking for themselves and not for their institutes or the NIH. Dissenters range across the breadth of NIH Employees from all 27 NIH institutes and centers gave their support to the declaration. Most who signed are intimately involved with evaluating and overseeing extramural research grants. The letter asserts that “NIH trials are being halted without regard to participant safety” and that the agency is shirking commitments to trial participants who “braved personal risk to give the incredible gift of biological samples, understanding that their generosity would fuel scientific discovery and improve health.” The Trump administration has gone at public health research on several fronts, both directly, as part of its broad effort to root out diversity, equity and inclusion values throughout the bureaucracy, and as part of its drive to starve some universities of federal money. A blunt ax swings This has forced “indiscriminate grant terminations, payment freezes for ongoing research, and blanket holds on awards regardless of the quality, progress, or impact of the science,” the declaration says. Some NIH employees have previously come forward in televised protests to air grievances, and many walked out of Bhattacharya’s town hall with staff. The declaration is the first cohesive effort to register agency-wide dismay with the NIH’s direction. A Signal group became the place for participants to sort through NIH chatter on Reddit, discern rumor from reality and offer mutual support. The declaration took shape in that group and as word spread neighbor to neighbor in NIH offices. The dissenters remind Bhattacharya in their letter of his oft-stated ethic that academic freedom must be a lynchpin in science. With that in place, he said in a statement in April, “NIH scientists can be certain they are afforded the ability to engage in open, academic discourse as part of their official duties and in their personal capacities without risk of official interference, professional disadvantage or workplace retaliation.” Now it will be seen whether that’s enough to protect those NIH employees challenging the Trump administration and him. “There’s a book I read to my kids, and it talks about how you can’t be brave if you’re not scared,” said Norton, who has three young children. “I am so scared about doing this, but I am trying to be brave for my kids because it’s only going to get harder to speak up. “Maybe I’m putting my kids at risk by doing this,” she added. “And I’m doing it anyway because I couldn’t live with myself otherwise.”

Designing homes for wildfires Designing for wildfires We live in an age of increasing wildfire disasters because more of us are living in places where wildfires and human development collide. Right now, fast-moving wildfires are forcing mass evacuations and destroying homes across Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia, where entire communities are under threat. Despite the growing impacts of extreme weather events, including prolonged droughts and increasing temperatures, we continue building and even rebuilding homes in likely paths of destructive wildfires. As cities grow, the demand for new home developments in previously forested areas means that we’re rapidly losing buffers between developed and natural land. Consequently, we’re also losing much of our protection from wildfire. I’m a structural engineer, and I was living in British Columbia during the 2023 Kelowna fires. I remember the smoke and anxiety about what was coming next. Seeing news coverage of January’s fires in Los Angeles brought back those memories. Hearing people ask how this could have happened led me to ask in response: How could it not have happened? My research speciality is in protecting structures from fires, earthquakes and explosions. From my work, I know that improved materials and engineering can protect homes much better than we do today. As we enter another wildfire season in Canada, I worry there will soon be new reminders of what we still haven’t done and urgently need to do. Wildfire risk Wildfires can ignite structures in three key ways: direct fire flux from the forest, heat radiation from nearby burning buildings and wind-driven ember showers. These embers can travel several kilometres and spark new fires far from the main blaze. Recent research shows that about 14.3 per cent of all Canadian buildings sit directly in the wildland-urban-interface — the area where development neighbours or intersects with wildland vegetation. However, if we expand this interface buffer by a kilometre to account for windborne travelling embers, over 79 per cent of all Canadian structures fall under some level of wildfire ignition risk. While researchers are working on developing more sophisticated technologies for early fire detection and monitoring, we also need to make homes safer in at-risk areas. Programs like FireSmart Canada educate communities about managing fire risk, but broader public engagement and co-ordinated action are still lacking. Primary hazards Historically, structural design has not treated fire as a primary hazard in the same way it does earthquakes or wind. We’ve designed and constructed buildings and bridges that can withstand earthquakes and high winds, but fire design is still largely governed by prescriptive, often overly simplified, insulation and building standards. This mismatch in design priorities introduces vulnerability. Just as we wouldn’t build in seismically active regions like Vancouver, Victoria or San Francisco without accounting for earthquake risk, or in flood-prone areas like Winnipeg or New Orleans without proper mitigation, we must begin to treat fire risk as an equally fundamental design consideration. It’s certainly daunting to consider the expense of building or retrofitting homes and adapting properties to resist wildfires, but the consequences of not planning or preparing better — both in terms of lives lost and homes ruined and in terms of the financial costs of rebuilding — will only worsen if societies don’t do much more. Alternative materials It’s obvious that buildings at elevated risk from fire should not be made from combustible materials, like exposed timber. Now, there are impressive alternatives such as new forms of concrete and metal roofing that can prevent fire from taking hold in a home, garage or other building. Improved land-use planning and community-scale design can also meaningfully decrease the exposure and vulnerability of buildings to wildfire. What we need is a cohesive, risk-averse and data-driven framework that allows for architectural and structural design choices based on quantified fire risk. Research — only if we make it a funding priority — can give us such a framework. Enhancing safety In Jasper, Alta., which is in a national park, new federal guidelines for rebuilding after last year’s devastating fire call for enhanced safety. These include new separations between buildings and flammable landscaping, including nonflammable buffers to separate homes from wooden fences and decks. If we continue to build (and rebuild) within forest boundaries, we have to expand standards, mandates and engineering efforts to protect people and their homes. How can we make them safer? We can start by much-needed building code updates. And we can educate residents and home-buyers about reducing their risk. FireSmart Canada, for example, offers practical advice on what kinds of trees, shrubs and lawns are safest to use in landscaping, and how far they should be from one’s house, depending on the degree of local fire risk. However, a more community-driven safety mindset is required for successful implementation of these guidelines; individual efforts alone are not enough to reduce the wildfire risk in interconnected neighbourhoods. For developers, designers and builders, improving safety may mean tighter new zoning rules and stricter building codes to govern where and how we build to protect against fire. Suppliers will need access to safer materials, some of which have yet to be developed. Research priorities To develop a framework, recommendations and guidelines to enhance fire safety and reduce loss, we need evidence, and that requires research. In Canada, we have excellent researchers working on forest fires. But as a fire crosses from a natural setting to an urban one, everything changes — the fuel, wind patterns and movement of the fire — so we need to study and model it differently too. These forms of knowledge are all within reach, but until we prioritize them, we are deciding to put lives and neighbourhoods at risk. The price of doing nothing will be much greater than the cost of taking action.

Palestinians say Israel and its allies fired on crowd near Gaza aid site. Hospital says 6 killed Crowd fired at near aid site Photo: AP Graphic The map above locates the GHF aid sites in Gaza and the no-go Israeli occupied areas. It highlights the recent shootings that took place near the aid sites. Palestinians say Israeli forces and allied local gunmen fired toward a crowd heading to an Israeli- and U.S.-supported food distribution center in the Gaza Strip early Monday. Gaza’s Health Ministry said six people were killed. The gunmen appeared to be allied with the Israeli military, operating in close proximity to troops and retreating into an Israeli military zone in the southern city of Rafah after the crowd hurled stones at them, witnesses said. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Israel recently acknowledged supporting local armed groups opposed to Hamas. The latest in a string of shootings It was the latest in a number of shootings that have killed at least 127 people and wounded hundreds since the rollout of a new food distribution system, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Israel and the United States say the new system is designed to circumvent Hamas, but it has been rejected by the U.N. and major aid groups. Experts have meanwhile warned that Israel’s blockade and its ongoing military campaign have put Gaza at risk of famine. Palestinians say Israeli forces have repeatedly fired toward crowds heading to the food centers since they opened last month. In previous instances, the Israeli military has said it fired warning shots at people who approached its forces near the centers, which are in military zones off limits to independent media. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the Israeli- and U.S.-supported private contractor running the sites, says there has been no violence in or around the centers themselves. But GHF repeatedly warns would-be food recipients that stepping off the road designated by the military for people to reach the centers represents “a great danger.” It paused delivery at its three distribution sites last week to hold discussions with the military about improving safety on the routes. GHF closed the Rafah site on Monday due to the “chaos of the crowds,” according to a Facebook site associated with the group. A GHF spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Shots fired from the ‘dangerous zone’ Heba Joda, who was in the crowd Monday, said gunfire broke out at a roundabout where previous shootings have occurred, around a kilometer (half a mile) from the aid site. She said the shots came from the “dangerous zone” where Israeli troops and their allies are stationed. She said she saw men from a local militia led by Yasser Abu Shabab trying to organize the crowds into lines on the road. When people pushed forward, the gunmen opened fire. People then hurled stones at them, forcing them to withdraw toward the Israeli positions, she said. The Abu Shabab group, which calls itself the Popular Forces, says it is guarding the surroundings of the GHF centers in southern Gaza. Aid workers say it has a long history of looting U.N. aid trucks. GHF has said it does not work with the Abu Shabab group. Hussein Shamimi, who was also in the crowd, said his 14-year-old cousin was among those killed. “There was an ambush … the Israelis from one side and Abu Shabab from another,” he said. Mohamed Kabaga, a Palestinian displaced from northern Gaza, said he saw masked men firing toward the crowds after trying to organize them. “They fired at us directly,” he said while being treated at Nasser Hospital, in the nearby city of Khan Younis. He had been shot in the neck, as were three other people seen by an Associated Press journalist at the hospital. Kabaga said he saw around 50 masked men with 4×4 vehicles in the area around the roundabout, close to Israeli military lines. “We didn’t receive anything,” he said. “They shot us.” Nasser Hospital said several men had been shot in the upper body, including some in the head. Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the Health Ministry’s records department, said six people were killed and more than 99 wounded, some of them at another GHF center in central Gaza. A new aid system marred by controversy and violence Israel has demanded GHF replace the U.N.-run system that has distributed food, medicine and other supplies to Palestinians since the war began. Israel accuses Hamas of siphoning off aid and using it to fund militant activities, but U.N. officials say there is no evidence of any systematic diversion. The U.N. and other humanitarian groups have rejected the GHF system. It says the mechanism is incapable of meeting Gaza’s huge demands and that it is being used for Israel’s military purposes, including its goal to move Gaza’s entire population of more than 2 million people to the south of the territory around the food centers. Throughout the war, the U.N.-led network has delivered supplies at hundreds of distribution points around Gaza, meaning large crowds haven’t had to trek for hours past Israeli troops to receive aid. Israel sealed off Gaza from all food, medicine and fuel at the beginning of March, shortly before it ended a ceasefire with Hamas. It began allowing small amounts of aid in last month, but U.N. agencies say they have struggled to deliver it because of Israeli restrictions, the breakdown of law and order and widespread looting. The 20-month war rages on The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. They are still holding 55 hostages, more than half of them believed to be dead, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israel’s military campaign has killed over 54,900 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up most of the dead. It does not say how many of those killed were civilians or combatants. The war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza, displaced some 90% of the population and left the territory almost completely reliant on international aid. Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in return for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal. Israel says it will continue the war until all the captives are returned and Hamas is defeated or disarmed and sent into exile. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that even then, Israel will maintain open-ended control over Gaza and facilitate what he refers to as the voluntary emigration of much of its population to other countries, a plan rejected by most of the international community, including the Palestinians, who view it as a blueprint for their forcible expulsion.

Tropical Storm Barbara forecast to become a hurricane Monday as Storm Cosme forms in the Pacific Barbara to be a hurricane Photo: The Canadian Press In this satellite image released by NOAA, Tropical Storm Barbara forms off the southwest coast of Mexico. (NOAA via AP) Two tropical storms gathered strength off Mexico’s Pacific coast Monday, with one forecast to become a hurricane later in the day, forecasters warned. Tropical Storm Barbara was about 185 miles (295 kilometers) southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico early on Monday, with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 kph), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. Barbara is expected to continue moving toward the west-northwest near 12 mph for the next couple of days. It will reach hurricane strength later on Monday but should begin weakening by Tuesday, the NHC said. The storm may bring total rainfall of 2 to 4 inches (51 to 101 millimeters) to coastal areas of Guerrero, Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco states, with the possibility of localized flooding on Monday. The NHC said swells from Barbara were likely to form life-threatening surf and rip current conditions along the southwestern Mexican coast, with gusty winds likely. Another tropical storm, Cosme, strengthened slightly Monday but remained well off the coast of Mexico, about 630 miles (1,015 kilometers) south-southwest of the tip of Baja California, the NHC said. At 2 a.m. local time it had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph and was moving west-northwest at 9 mph. Cosme is expected to reach near-hurricane strength on Monday before turning to the northeast and picking up speed Tuesday into Wednesday.

A push to turn promises into protection Promises into protection Photo: AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag Fish swim in the protected area of France’s Port-Cros National Park ahead of the U.N. Ocean Conference, Saturday, June 7, 2025, The third U.N. Ocean Conference opened Monday as pressure mounts for nations to turn decades of promises into real protection for the sea. French President Emmanuel Macron, delivering the keynote address in the host city of Nice, urged countries to move “from words to deeds” in safeguarding the oceans. He warned that “the fight for the ocean is at the heart of the years-long battles we’ve been waging — for biodiversity, for climate, for our environment and for our health.” The conference comes as just 2.7% of the ocean is effectively protected from destructive extractive activities, according to the nonprofit Marine Conservation Institute. That’s far below the target agreed under the “30×30” pledge to conserve 30% of land and sea by 2030. Atop this year’s agenda is ratification of the High Seas Treaty. Adopted in 2023, the treaty would for the first time allow nations to establish marine protected areas in international waters, which cover nearly two-thirds of the ocean and are largely ungoverned. “It’s the Wild West out there with countries just fishing anywhere without any sort of regulation, and that needs to change,” said Mauro Randone, regional projects manager at the World Wildlife Fund’s Mediterranean Marine Initiative. “The high seas belong to everyone and no one practically at the same time, and countries are finally committing to establish some rules.” The ocean is critical in stabilizing Earth’s climate and sustaining life. It generates 50% of the oxygen we breathe, absorbs around 30% of carbon dioxide emissions and captures more than 90% of the excess heat caused by those emissions. Without a healthy ocean, experts warn, climate goals will remain out of reach. The treaty will only come into force once 60 countries ratify it. As of Monday, just 32 countries had. Advocates hope UNOC can build enough momentum to cross the threshold, which would allow for the first official Oceans Conference of Parties. “Two-thirds of the ocean is areas beyond national jurisdiction — that’s half our planet,” said Minna Epps, director of global ocean policy the International Union for Conservation of Nature. “We cannot possibly protect 30% of the ocean if it doesn’t include the high seas.” South Korea, France and the European Union have championed the treaty, but most large ocean nations have yet to ratify it, including the rest of the G20. Thousands of attendees are expected in Nice — from delegates and heads of state to scientists and industry leaders. The United States has yet to confirm a formal delegation. Moving from protections on paper to something real Beyond new commitments, the conference highlights the growing gap between marine protection declarations and real-world conservation. France, the conference co-host, claims to have surpassed the 30% target for marine protection. But environmental groups say only 3% of French waters are fully protected from harmful activities like bottom trawling and industrial fishing. In 2024 alone, more than 100 bottom-trawling vessels were recorded spending over 17,000 hours fishing within France’s six marine nature parks, according to ocean advocacy group Oceana. “The government declares these as protected areas, but this is a lie,” said Enric Sala, founder of National Geographic Pristine Seas marine reserve project. “Most of it is political box-ticking. It’s all paper parks.” That criticism is echoed across the continent. A new World Wildlife Fund report found that although more than 11% of Europe’s marine area is designated for protection, just 2% of EU waters have management plans in place. Fabien Boileau, director of marine protected areas at France’s Office for Biodiversity, acknowledged the presence of bottom trawling in French protected areas, but said it was part of a phased strategy. “In France, we made the choice to designate large marine protected areas with relatively low levels of regulation at first, betting that stronger protections would be developed over time through local governance,” he said. “Today, we’re gradually increasing the number of zones with stricter protections within those areas.” France’s Port-Cros: A model for conservation While many marine protected areas struggle with enforcement, others show what real protection can achieve. Off the southern coast of France, Port-Cros National Park is one of the oldest marine reserves in the Mediterranean. There, strict anchoring bans have allowed vast seagrass meadows to grow undisturbed. Massive groupers patrol rocky outcrops, brightly colored nudibranchs munch on algae, and schools of large corbs glide through the shallows, undisturbed by fishing lines. “Thanks to the protections that have been in place since 1963, we can observe species that are much larger than elsewhere in the Mediterranean and at a much higher density than in other areas,” said Hubert Flavigny, manager of Mio Palmo dive center in Hyeres, France. Still, such examples remain exceptions. Advocates say industrial fishing lobbies continue to resist stricter protections, despite evidence that well-managed reserves boost long-term fisheries through the “spillover effect,” whereby marine life flourishes in nearby waters. “Protection is not the problem — overfishing is the problem,” said Sala. “The worst enemy of the fishing industry is themselves.” Frustrated by government inaction, environmental groups have taken enforcement into their own hands. In May, Greenpeace dropped 15 limestone boulders into France’s Golfe du Lion, aiming to physically block bottom trawling in a marine area that has long been designated for protection. The protected zone was established in 2008 to preserve deep-sea ecosystems, yet 12 trawlers continue to operate there, despite scientific warnings of ecological collapse, according to activist group MedReAct. The Golfe is now one of the most overfished areas in the Mediterranean. What will UNOC deliver? The conference will feature 10 panels on topics such as blue finance, sustainable fisheries and plastic pollution. Deep sea mining is expected to feature in broader discussions, while small island states are likely to use the platform to advocate for increased climate adaptation funding. The outcome of these discussions will form the basis of the Nice Ocean Action Plan — a declaration of voluntary commitments to be adopted by consensus and presented at the United Nations in New York this July. “There cannot be a healthy planet without a healthy ocean,” said Peter Thomson, U.N. special envoy for the ocean. “It’s urgent business for us all.”

Bitcoin is introduced into Africa’s largest slum, with risks and rewards Bitcoin in largest slum Photo: AP Members of the Livegreat Foundation who engage in waste management display their bitcoin wallets and QR codes in their mobile phones as they receive payments using bitcoin after a cleanup exercise at Kibera Slums in Nairobi, Kenya, Dotting the roadside in what is widely considered Africa’s largest urban slum are typical stands selling vegetables. What isn’t typical is their acceptance of bitcoin as a form of payment. Around 200 people use bitcoin in Soweto West, a neighborhood of the Kibera slum in Kenya ‘s capital. It’s part of an initiative to extend financial services to one of the country’s poorest and most under-banked areas. Its promoters say the adoption of crypto fits with the ideals of bitcoin as an accessible, democratic technology — but experts say it also has major risks. Bitcoin came to Soweto West via AfriBit Africa, a Kenyan fintech company, through its nonprofit initiative to improve financial inclusion. “In many cases, people in Kibera do not have an opportunity to secure their lives with normal savings,” said AfriBit Africa co-founder Ronnie Mdawida, a former community worker. With bitcoin, “they do not need documentation to have a bank account … that gives them the foundation for financial freedom.” Bitcoin, the first and largest crypto, was created in 2009 in the wake of the global financial crisis as a decentralized digital asset that could act as an alternative method of payment. The asset has found more popular use as a store of value, like a digital form of gold. Bitcoin has attracted enthusiastic supporters as prices have climbed almost 1,000% in the last five years. But its volatility and lack of regulation are concerns. AfriBit Africa introduced bitcoin into Soweto West in early 2022 through crypto-denominated grants to local garbage collectors, who are often funded by nonprofits. The groups are made up of dozens of young people, who Mdawida says are more likely to be open to new tech. After gathering on a Sunday to collect trash, garbage collectors are paid a few dollars’ worth of bitcoin. AfriBit Africa estimates that it has put some $10,000 into the community, with garbage collectors acting as the main agents of spreading bitcoin in Soweto West. In Kibera, many people earn about a dollar a day. Now a small number of other residents hold bitcoin, and some merchants and motorcycle taxis accept payments in crypto. Damiano Magak, 23, a garbage collector and food seller, said he prefers bitcoin to M-PESA, the ubiquitous mobile money platform in Kenya, because M-PESA transaction costs are higher and the network can be slower. There are no fees for M-PESA transactions between individuals or businesses up to 100 Kenyan shillings (78 cents), but after that the fees increase with transaction size. Fees for the Lightning bitcoin network where transactions take place are free if people use a platform that AfriBit Africa introduced into the community. Onesmus Many, 30, another garbage collector, said he feels safer with his money in a bitcoin wallet instead of in cash because of crime. Some merchants have found benefits to accepting crypto, including Dotea Anyim. She said around 10% of customers at her vegetable stand pay in bitcoin. “I like it because it is cheap and fast and doesn’t have any transaction costs,” she says. “When people pay using bitcoin, I save that money and use cash to restock vegetables.” The possibility that crypto prices could keep rising also appeals to residents of Soweto West. Magak and Many said they now have around 70% to 80% of their net worth in bitcoin, a far higher level of exposure than most people. “It is my worth and I’m risking it in bitcoin,” Magak said. That concerns Ali Hussein Kassim, a fintech entrepreneur and chair of the FinTech Alliance in Kenya. “In an extremely volatile asset like bitcoin, it’s overexposure. I can’t afford to lose 80% of my wealth. How about a guy in Kibera?” Kassim said. “You are exposing a vulnerable community to an ecosystem and to financial services that they can’t necessarily afford to play in.” Kassim acknowledged the potential benefits that digital assets could bring, particularly in facilitating cheaper cross-border payments like remittances, but failed to see the benefit in Kibera. Bitcoin’s volatility could negate the benefits of cheaper transaction fees, Kassim said, and bitcoin does not have the same protections as other financial services due to a lack of regulation. Mdawida disagreed, calling bitcoin’s unregulated nature a benefit. “We don’t shy away from the risks involved,” the AfriBit Africa co-founder said, noting the group’s investments in bitcoin education in Kibera, including financial literacy training and crypto courses in the community. Efforts to introduce bitcoin into developing countries have faced challenges. Bitcoin was adopted as legal tender in El Salvador and Central African Republic but both countries have reversed their decision. In Kenya, the digital asset sector has faced legal and regulatory challenges, including crackdowns on cryptocurrency giveaways. This small project, focusing only on Soweto West, has been allowed. “On my phone I put notifications on when bitcoin rises … and it’s all smiles,” Magak said. “Whenever it fluctuates up and down, I know at the end of the day it will just rise.”

‘Chemtrail’ conspiracy theories lead to legislation proposed Chemtrail legislation in US Photo: AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File FILE – A plane flies over Oakland Alameda Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., April 30, 2024. As Louisiana Rep. Kimberly Landry Coates stood before her colleagues in the state’s Legislature she warned that the bill she was presenting might “seem strange” or even crazy. Some lawmakers laughed with disbelief and others listened intently, as Coates described situations that are often noted in discussions of “chemtrails” — a decades-old conspiracy theory that posits the white lines left behind by aircraft in the sky are releasing chemicals for any number of reasons, some of them nefarious. As she urged lawmakers to ban the unsubstantiated practice, she told skeptics to “start looking up” at the sky. “I’m really worried about what is going on above us and what is happening, and we as Louisiana citizens did not give anyone the right to do this above us,” the Republican said. Louisiana is the latest state taking inspiration from a wide-ranging conspiratorial narrative, mixing it with facts, to create legislation. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a similar measure into law last year and one in Florida has passed both the House and the Senate. More than a dozen other states, from New York to Arizona, have introduced their own legislation. Such bills being crafted is indicative of how misinformation is moving beyond the online world and into public policy. Elevating unsubstantiated theories or outright falsehoods into the legislative arena not only erodes democratic processes, according to experts, it provides credibility where there is none and takes away resources from actual issues that need to be addressed. “Every bill like this is kind of symbolic, or is introduced to appease a very vocal group, but it can still cause real harm by signaling that these conspiracies deserve this level of legal attention,” said Donnell Probst, interim executive director of the National Association for Media Literacy Education. Louisiana’s bill, which is awaiting Republican Gov. Jeff Landry’s signature, prohibits anyone from “intentionally” injecting, releasing, applying or dispersing chemicals into the atmosphere with the purpose of affecting the “temperature, weather, climate, or intensity of sunlight.” It also requires the Department of Environmental Quality to collect reports from anyone who believes they have observed such activities. While some lawmakers have targeted real weather modification techniques that are not widespread or still in their infancy, others have pointed to dubious evidence to support legislation. Discussion about weather control and banning “chemtrails” has been hoisted into the spotlight by high-profile political officials, including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Recently, Marla Maples, the ex-wife of President Donald Trump, spoke in support of Florida’s legislation. She said she was motivated to “start digging” after seeing a rise in Alzheimer’s. Asked jokingly by a Democratic state senator if she knew anyone in the federal government who could help on the issue, Maples smiled and said, “I sure do.” Chemtrails vs. contrails Chemtrail conspiracy theories, which have been widely debunked and include a myriad of claims, are not new. The publication of a 1996 Air Force report on the possible future benefits of weather modification is often cited as an early driver of the narrative. Some say that evidence of the claims is happening right before the publics’ eyes, alleging that the white streaks stretching behind aircrafts reveal chemicals being spread in the air, for everything from climate manipulation to mind control. Ken Leppert, an associate professor of atmospheric science at the University of Louisiana Monroe, said the streaks are actually primarily composed of water and that there is “no malicious intent behind” the thin clouds. He says the streaks are formed as exhaust is emitted from aircrafts, when the humidity is high and air temperature is low, and that ship engines produce the same phenomenon. A fact sheet about contrails, published by multiple government agencies including NASA and the Environmental Protection Agency, explains that the streaks left behind by planes do not pose health risks to humans. However, the trails, which have been produced since the earliest days of jet aviation, do impact the cloudiness of Earth’s atmosphere and can therefore affect atmospheric temperature and climate. Scientists have overwhelmingly agreed that data or evidence cited as proof of chemtrails “could be explained through other factors, including well-understood physics and chemistry associated with aircraft contrails and atmospheric aerosols,” according to a 2016 survey published in the journal Environmental Research Letters. In the survey of 77 chemists and geochemists, 76 said they were not aware of evidence proving the existence of a secret large-scale atmospheric program. “It’s pure myth and conspiracy,” Leppert said. Cloud seeding While many of the arguments lawmakers have used to support the chemtrails narrative are not based in fact, others misrepresent actual scientific endeavors, such as cloud seeding; a process by which an artificial material — usually silver iodide — is used to induce precipitation or to clear fog. “It’s maybe really weak control of the weather, but it’s not like we’re going to move this cloud here, move this hurricane here, or anything like that,” Leppert said. Parker Cardwell, an employee of a California-based cloud seeding company called Rainmaker, testified before lawmakers in Louisiana and asked that an amendment be made to the legislation to avoid impacts to the industry. The practice is an imprecise undertaking with mixed results that isn’t widely used, especially in Louisiana, which has significant natural rainfall. According to Louisiana’s Department of Agriculture and Forestry, a cloud seeding permit or license has never been issued in the state. Geoengineering While presenting Louisiana’s bill last week, Coates said her research found charts and graphics from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on spraying the air with heavy metals to reflect sunlight back into space to cool the Earth. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022 directed the Office of Science and Technology Policy, with support from NOAA, to develop an initial governance framework and research plan related to solar radiation modification, or SRM. A resulting report, which Coates holds up in the House session, focuses on possible future actions and does not reflect decisions that had already been made. SRM “refers to deliberate, large-scale actions intended to decrease global average surface temperatures by increasing the reflection of sunlight away from the Earth,” according to NOAA. It is a type of geoengineering. Research into the viability of many methods and potential unintended consequences is ongoing, but none have actually been deployed. Taking focus In recent years, misinformation and conspiratorial narratives have become more common during the debates and committee testimonies that are a part of Louisiana’s lawmaking process. And while legislators say Louisiana’s new bill doesn’t really have teeth, opponents say it still takes away time and focus from important work and more pressing topics. State Rep. Denise Marcelle, a Democrat who opposed Louisiana’s bill, pointed to other issues ailing the state, which has some of the highest incarceration, poverty, crime, and maternal mortality rates. “I just feel like we owe the people of Louisiana much more than to be talking about things that I don’t see and that aren’t real,” she said.

Israeli forces halt Gaza-bound aid boat and detain Greta Thunberg and other activists Thunberg boat detained Photo: The Canadian Press Climate activist Greta Thunberg, center, waits to board the Madleen boat, before setting sail for Gaza along with activists of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departing from the Sicilian port of Catania, Italy, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli) Israeli forces stopped a Gaza-bound aid boat and detained Greta Thunberg and other activists who were on board early Monday, enforcing a longstanding blockade of the Palestinian territory that has been tightened during the war with Hamas. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which had organized the voyage to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and protest Israel’s blockade and wartime conduct, said the activists had been “kidnapped by Israeli forces” and released pre-recorded messages from them. “The ship was unlawfully boarded, its unarmed civilian crew abducted, and its life-saving cargo—including baby formula, food and medical supplies—confiscated,” it said in a statement. Israel’s Foreign Ministry cast the voyage as a public relations stunt, saying in a post on X that “the ‘selfie yacht’ of the ‘celebrities’ is safely making its way to the shores of Israel.” It said the passengers would return to their home countries and the aid would be delivered to Gaza through established channels. It later circulated footage of what appeared to be Israeli military personnel handing out sandwiches and water to the activists, who were wearing orange life vests. Thunberg, a climate campaigner, was among 12 activists aboard the Madleen, which set sail from Sicily a week ago. Along the way, it had stopped on Thursday to rescue four migrants who had jumped overboard to avoid being detained by the Libyan coast guard. “I urge all my friends, family and comrades to put pressure on the Swedish government to release me and the others as soon as possible,” Thunberg said in a pre-recorded message released after the ship was diverted. Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament who is of Palestinian descent, was also among the volunteers on board. She has been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israeli policies toward the Palestinians. After a 2 1/2-month total blockade aimed at pressuring Hamas, Israel started allowing some basic aid into Gaza last month, but humanitarian workers have warned of famine unless the blockade is lifted and Israel ends its military offensive. An attempt last month by Freedom Flotilla to reach Gaza by sea failed after another of the group’s vessels was attacked by two drones while sailing in international waters off Malta. The group blamed Israel for the attack, which damaged the front section of the ship. Israel and Egypt have imposed varying degrees of blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. Critics of the blockade say it amounts to collective punishment of Gaza’s roughly 2 million Palestinians. Israel sealed Gaza off from all aid in the early days of the war ignited by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, but later relented under U.S. pressure. In early March, shortly before Israel ended a ceasefire with Hamas, the country again blocked all imports, including food, fuel and medicine. Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and abducted 251 hostages, more than half of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Hamas is still holding 55 hostages, more than half of them believed to be dead. Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up most of the dead. It doesn’t say whether those killed are civilians or combatants. The war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced around 90% of the territory’s population, leaving people there almost completely dependent on international aid.

Protests intensify in Los Angeles after Trump deploys hundreds of National Guard troops LA protests intensify Photo: The Canadian Press A protester confronts a line of U.S. National Guard in the metropolitan detention center of downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025, following last night’s immigration raid protest. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) UPDATE 5:00 p.m. Law enforcement officers fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters in Los Angeles on Sunday as they gathered downtown in response to President Donald Trump’s extraordinary deployment of the National Guard over the objections of the governor and mayor. The clashes came on the third day of demonstrations against Trump’s immigration crackdown in the region, as the arrival of around 300 federal troops spurred anger and fear among some residents. By midday, hundreds had gathered outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, where people were detained after earlier immigration raids. Protesters directed chants of “shame” and “go home” at members of the National Guard, who stood shoulder to shoulder, carrying long guns and riot shields. After some protesters closely approached the guard members, another set of uniformed officers advanced on the group, shooting smoke-filled canisters into the street. Minutes later, the Los Angeles Police Department fired rounds of crowd-control munitions to disperse the protesters, who they said were assembled unlawfully. Much of the group then moved to block traffic on the 101 freeway. The presence of the Guard was “inflaming tensions” in the city, according to a letter sent to Trump by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday afternoon. He formerly requested Trump remove the guard members, which he called a “serious breach of state sovereignty.” Trump has said the National Guard was necessary because Newsom and other Democrats have failed to stanch recent protests targeting immigration agents. Their deployment appeared to be the first time in decades that a state’s national guard was activated without a request from its governor, a significant escalation against those who have sought to hinder the administration’s mass deportation efforts. Photo: The Canadian Press U.S. National Guard are deployed outside the federal prison in downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025, following a immigration raid protest the night before. UPDATE: 1:55 p.m Members of the National Guard faced off with protesters in Los Angeles on Sunday, and tear gas was fired at a growing crowd that gathered outside a federal complex hours after the federal troops arrived in the city on President Donald Trump’s orders. The confrontation broke out in front of the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, as a group of demonstrators shouted insults at members of the guard lined shoulder to shoulder behind plastic riot shields. There did not appear to be any arrests. Around members 300 National Guard troops arrived in Los Angeles early Sunday following clashes in recent days between protesters and federal immigration agents. The deployment followed two days of protests that began Friday in downtown Los Angeles before spreading on Saturday to Paramount, a heavily Latino city south of the city, and neighboring Compton. As federal agents set up a staging area Saturday near a Home Depot in Paramount, demonstrators attempted to block Border Patrol vehicles, with some hurling rocks and chunks of cement. In response, agents in riot gear unleashed tear gas, flash-bang explosives and pepper balls. Tensions were high after a series of sweeps by immigration authorities the previous day, as the weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the city climbed above 100. A prominent union leader was arrested while protesting and accused of impeding law enforcement. The deployment of the National Guard came over the objections of Gov. Gavin Newsom, who accused Trump of a “complete overreaction” designed to create a spectacle of force. The recent protests have drawn hundreds of participants but remain far smaller than other mass demonstrations, including the 2020 protests against police violence that spurred Newsom to request assistance from the National Guard. The last time the National Guard was activated without a governor’s permission was in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to protect a civil rights march in Alabama, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. Trump has framed the move as a necessary response to Newsom’s and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’s failure to swiftly contain the unrest. In a directive Saturday, Trump invoked a legal provision allowing him to deploy federal service members when there is ”a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.” He said he had authorized the deployment of 2,000 members of the National Guard. Newsom called Trump on Friday night and they spoke for about 40 minutes, according to the governor’s office. It was not clear if they spoke Saturday or Sunday. There was some confusion surrounding the exact timing of the guard’s arrival. Shortly before midnight local time, Trump congratulated the National Guard on a “job well done.” But less than an hour later, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said troops had yet to arrive in the city. In a statement Sunday, Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin accused California’s politicians and protesters of “defending heinous illegal alien criminals at the expense of Americans’ safety.” “Instead of rioting, they should be thanking ICE officers every single day who wake up and make our communities safer,” McLaughlin added. The troops included members of the California Army National Guard’s 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, according to a social media post from the Department of Defense. In a signal of the administration’s aggressive approach, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also threatened to deploy active-duty Marines “if violence continues” in the region. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said the order by Trump reflected “a president moving this country rapidly into authoritarianism” and “usurping the powers of the United States Congress.” House Speaker Mike Johnson, a staunch Trump ally, endorsed the president’s move, doubling down on Republicans’ criticisms of California Democrats. “Gavin Newsom has shown an inability or an unwillingness to do what is necessary, so the president stepped in,” Johnson said. UPDATE: 8:35 a.m. National Guard troops have begun arriving in Los Angeles on orders from President Donald Trump to stamp out protests that have broken out in recent days against federal immigration authorities seeking to carry out deportations in the region. The members of California’s National Guard were seen staging early Sunday at the federal complex in downtown Los Angeles that includes the Metropolitan Detention Center, where confrontations occurred the last two days. Trump says he is deploying 2,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles — over the objections of Gov. Gavin Newsom. Confrontations broke out on Saturday near a Home Depot in the heavily Latino city of Paramount, south of Los Angeles, where federal agents were staging at a Department of Homeland Security office nearby. Agents unleashed tear gas, flash-bang explosives and pepper balls, and protesters hurled rocks and cement at Border Patrol vehicles. Smoke wafted from small piles of burning refuse in the streets. Tensions were high after a series of sweeps by immigration authorities the previous day, including in LA’s fashion district and at a Home Depot, as the weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the city climbed past 100. A prominent union leader was arrested while protesting and accused of impeding law enforcement. The White House announced that Trump would deploy the Guard to “address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester.” Newsom, a Democrat, said in a post on the social platform X that it was “purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions.” He later said the federal government wants a spectacle and urged people not to give them one by becoming violent. In a signal of the administration’s aggressive approach, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth threatened to deploy the U.S. military. “If violence continues, active-duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized — they are on high alert,” Hegseth said on X. Trump’s order came after clashes in Paramount and neighboring Compton, where a car was set on fire. Protests continued into the evening in Paramount, with several hundred demonstrators gathered near a doughnut shop, and authorities holding up barbed wire to keep the crowd back. Crowds also gathered again outside federal buildings in downtown Los Angeles, including a detention center, where local police declared an unlawful assembly and began to arrest people. ORIGINAL: 6:25 a.m. President Donald Trump is deploying 2,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles over the objections of Gov. Gavin Newsom after a second day of clashes between hundreds of protesters and federal immigration authorities in riot gear. Confrontations broke out on Saturday near a Home Depot in the heavily Latino city of Paramount, south of Los Angeles, where federal agents were staging at a Department of Homeland Security office nearby. Agents unleashed tear gas, flash-bang explosives and pepper balls, and protesters hurled rocks and cement at Border Patrol vehicles. Smoke wafted from small piles of burning refuse in the streets. Tensions were high after a series of sweeps by immigration authorities the previous day, including in LA’s fashion district and at a Home Depot, as the weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the city climbed past 100. A prominent union leader was arrested while protesting and accused of impeding law enforcement. The White House announced that Trump would deploy the Guard to “address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester.” It wasn’t clear when the troops would arrive. Newsom, a Democrat, said in a post on the social platform X that it was “purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions.” He later said the federal government wants a spectacle and urged people not to give them one by becoming violent. In a signal of the administration’s aggressive approach, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth threatened to deploy the U.S. military. “If violence continues, active-duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized — they are on high alert,” Hegseth said on X. Trump’s order came after clashes in Paramount and neighbouring Compton, where a car was set on fire. Protests continued into the evening in Paramount, with several hundred demonstrators gathered near a doughnut shop, and authorities holding up barbed wire to keep the crowd back. Crowds also gathered again outside federal buildings in downtown Los Angeles, including a detention center, where local police declared an unlawful assembly and began to arrest people. Standoff in Paramount Earlier in Paramount, immigration officers faced off with demonstrators at the entrance to a business park, across from the back of a Home Depot. They set off fireworks and pulled shopping carts into the street, broke up cinder blocks and pelted a procession of Border Patrol vans as they departed and careened down a boulevard. U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said federal agents made more arrests of people with deportation orders on Saturday, but none at the Home Depot. The Department of Homeland Security has a building next door and agents were staging there as they prepared to carry out operations, he said on Fox11 Los Angeles. He didn’t say how many people were arrested Saturday or where. Paramount Mayor Peggy Lemons told multiple news outlets that community members showed up in response because people are fearful about activity by immigration agents. “When you handle things the way that this appears to be handled, it’s not a surprise that chaos would follow,” Lemons said. Some demonstrators jeered at officers while recording the events on smartphones. “ICE out of Paramount. We see you for what you are,” a woman said through a megaphone. “You are not welcome here.” More than a dozen people were arrested and accused of impeding immigration agents, Essayli posted on X, including the names and mug shots of some of those arrested. He didn’t say where they were protesting. Trump calls up the Guard Trump federalized part of California’s National Guard under what is known as Title 10 authority, which places him, not the governor, atop the chain of command, according to Newsom’s office. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that the work the immigration authorities were doing when met with protests is “essential to halting and reversing the invasion of illegal criminals into the United States. In the wake of this violence, California’s feckless Democrat leaders have completely abdicated their responsibility to protect their citizens.” The president’s move came shortly after he issued a threat on his social media network saying that if Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass did not “do their jobs,” then “the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!” Trump signed the order shortly before he went to attend a UFC fight in New Jersey, where he sat ringside with boxer Mike Tyson. Newsom said in his statement that local authorities “are able to access law enforcement assistance at a moment’s notice,” and “there is currently no unmet need.” The California Highway Patrol said Newsom directed it to deploy additional officers to “maintain public safety.” Speaking on ABC7, Bass said that “we certainly want to make the opportunities available for people to exercise their First Amendment rights, but the minute that things turn to violence … that is not acceptable and people are going to be held accountable.” She said she had spoken with members of the Trump administration and insisted that she and Newsom were in control and there was no need for the National Guard to be deployed. In 2020, Trump asked governors of several states to deploy their National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., to quell protests after George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police. Many agreed and sent troops. Trump also threatened at the time to invoke the Insurrection Act for those protests — an intervention rarely seen in modern American history. But then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper pushed back, saying the law should be invoked “only in the most urgent and dire of situations.” Trump did not invoke the act during his first term, and he did not do so Saturday, according to Leavitt and Newsom. Arrests in Los Angeles Protests kicked off a day earlier in Los Angeles after federal authorities arrested 44 people for violating immigration law Friday. DHS later said recent ICE operations in Los Angeles resulted in the arrest of 118 immigrants, including five people linked to criminal organizations and people with prior criminal histories. David Huerta, regional president of the Service Employees International Union, was also arrested Friday while protesting. The Justice Department confirmed that he was being held Saturday at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles ahead of a scheduled Monday court appearance. Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called for his immediate release, warning of a “disturbing pattern of arresting and detaining American citizens for exercising their right to free speech.”

President Donald Trump’s new ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens from 12 mainly African and Middle Eastern countries took effect Monday amid rising tension over the president’s escalating campaign of immigration enforcement. Meanwhile, scores of scientists at the National Institutes of Health sent their Trump-appointed leader a letter titled the Bethesda Declaration, a frontal challenge to policies they say undermine the NIH mission, waste public resources and harm people’s health.

Here’s the latest:

16 states suing Trump administration over plan to allow sale of forced-reset triggers

The lawsuit, which is also over plans to return seized devices, was announced Monday.

The states argue that returning the triggers, which make semiautomatic rifles fire more rapidly, would violate federal law, pose a threat to residents and law enforcement and worsen gun violence. The administration announced the deal last month.

Advertisement

It resolves a series of cases over the aftermarket trigger the government had previously argued qualify as machine guns under federal law, saying they’re essentially illegal machine gun conversion devices because constant finger pressure on the triggers will keep a rifle firing essentially like an automatic weapon.

Latinas for Trump founder says she’s now disappointed by recent escalation of immigrant arrests

“I have always supported Trump, @realDonaldTrump, through thick and thin. However, this is unacceptable and inhumane,” said Ileana Garcia, a Florida state senator who in 2016 founded the group Latinas for Trump and was hired to direct Latino outreach. She posted the message on X over the weekend. “I understand the importance of deporting criminal aliens, but what we are witnessing are arbitrary measures to hunt down people who are complying with their immigration hearings — in many cases, with credible fear of persecution claims — all driven by a Miller-like desire to satisfy a self-fabricated deportation goal.”

Advertisement

Garcia was referring to Stephen Miller, a key architect of Trump’s immigration crackdown.

Garcia also said “this is not what we voted for.”

However, Trump promised voters he would conduct the largest domestic deportation operation in American history to expel millions of immigrants in the country illegally.

Democrats are drawing closer to the crypto industry despite Trump divisions

As President Trump builds a crypto empire — including hosting a private dinner with top investors at his golf club — Democrats have united in condemning what they call blatant corruption from the White House.

But the Democratic Party’s own relationship with the emerging crypto industry is far less cut and dried.

Work in the Republican-led Senate to legitimize cryptocurrency by adding guardrails has drawn backing from some Democrats, underscoring growing support for the industry in the party. But divisions have opened over the bill, with many demanding it prevent the Republican president and his family from directly profiting from cryptocurrency.

Advertisement

“I’m all on board with the idea of regulating crypto,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. “But at this moment, when cryptocurrency is being so clearly used by Donald Trump to facilitate his corruption, I don’t think you can close your eyes to that when you’re legislating.”

▶ Read more about Democrats and cryptocurrency

Rare earth minerals expected to be the major issue in China-US trade talks

A senior White House official says he expects a “short meeting with a big, strong handshake” on the export of rare earth minerals from China.

Appearing on CNBC this morning, Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, said it was a “very significant, sticking point” because China, which controls the processing of critical minerals, has been “slow rolling” in sending the materials to U.S. over licensing requirements.

Advertisement

“It could potentially disrupt production for, you know, some U.S. companies that rely on those things,” Hassett said. High-level U.S. and Chinese officials are meeting today in London for their latest round of trade talks.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom to sue Trump over National Guard deployment

Newsom, a Democrat, told MSNBC he plans to file suit Monday against the Trump administration to roll back the Guard deployment, which he called “an illegal act, an immoral act, an unconstitutional act.”

Trump has cited a legal provision that allows him to mobilize federal troops when there is ”a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”

But Newsom said he believed the president was required to coordinate with the state’s governor before ordering such a deployment.

Advertisement

“We’re going to test that theory with a lawsuit tomorrow,” Newsom said Sunday night.

▶ Follow live updates on the immigration protests

Preparations underway for military parade

Security precautions are already being put in place ahead of this Saturday’s military parade. Workers were assembling black metal barriers near the White House on Monday morning.

More information on preparations will be announced in the afternoon during a briefing with local and federal officials.

Trump expected to speak to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

The American and Israeli leaders plan to speak Monday morning, according to a White House official. The official requested anonymity before a public announcement.

Trump has been pushing for a nuclear agreement with Iran, while Netanyahu is wary of the diplomatic effort .

Advertisement

— Seung Min Kim

ABC News suspends correspondent for calling Trump administration official a ‘world class hater’

ABC News has suspended correspondent Terry Moran for calling Trump administration deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller a “world class hater” in a since-deleted social media post.

Moran’s post was swiftly condemned by administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance. ABC News, in a statement, said it “stands for objectivity and impartiality in its news coverage and does not condone subjective personal attacks on others.”

The network said Moran was suspended pending further evaluation.

Moran, in his post on X at 12:06 a.m. on Sunday, said President Trump was a hater, too. But he wrote that for Trump, his hatred is a means to an end, “and that end is his own glorification.” For Miller, “his hatreds are his spiritual nourishment. He eats his hate.”

Trump’s Monday schedule, according to the White House

This morning, Trump is traveling back to the White House from Camp David. Later today, at 2 p.m., he’ll participate in an “Invest America Roundtable” event at the White House.

Trump was awake past midnight raging against the protests in LA and calling for a crackdown

“Looking really bad in L.A. BRING IN THE TROOPS!!!” he wrote on Truth Social at 12:16 a.m. ET.

Advertisement

Trump has already deployed 300 members of the National Guard over the objections of California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The military said 500 Marines were on standby.

“ARREST THE PEOPLE IN FACE MASKS, NOW!” Trump wrote at 12:19 a.m.

Trump cited Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell’s recent comments to defend his response to the protests.

“Don’t let these thugs get away with this. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” Trump wrote at 12:14 a.m.

“This thing has gotten out of control,” McDonell said Sunday.

“We have great cops in Southern California here that work together all the time,” he said. But he added that “looking at the violence tonight, I think we gotta make a reassessment.”

US and China are holding trade talks in London after Trump’s phone call with Xi

High-level delegations from the U.S. and China are meeting in London on Monday to try and shore up a fragile truce in a trade dispute that’s roiled the global economy.

Advertisement

A Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier He Lifeng was due to hold talks with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer at a U.K. government building.

The talks, which are expected to last at least a day, follow negotiations in Geneva last month that brought a temporary respite in the trade war.

The two countries announced May 12 they had agreed to a 90-day suspension of most of the 100%-plus tariffs they had imposed on each other in an escalating trade war that had sparked fears of recession .

▶ Read more about trade talks between the U.S. and China

In the ‘Bethesda Declaration,’ NIH scientists step forward en masse to denounce their agency’s direction

Scores of National Institutes of Health scientists have gone public to assail deep program cuts and upheaval at their agency under the Trump administration.

On Monday, more than 90 current employees sent their leader a letter entitled the Bethesda Declaration. It’s a frontal challenge to policies it says “undermine the NIH mission, waste our public resources, and harm the health of Americans and people across the globe.”

By signing their names, the NIH employees gave up the veil of anonymity common in Washington — and put their jobs at risk. Their declaration was endorsed anonymously by 250 other NIH researchers and staff. Altogether, employees from all 27 NIH institutes and centers registered their dismay with the agency’s direction.

▶ Read more about dissent at the National Institutes of Health

Trump says Elon Musk could face ‘serious consequences’ if he backs Democratic candidates

Trump is not backing off his battle with Elon Musk, saying Saturday that he has no desire to repair their relationship and warning that his former ally and campaign benefactor could face “serious consequences” if he tries to help Democrats in upcoming elections.

Trump told NBC’s Kristen Welker in a phone interview that he has no plans to make up with Musk. Asked specifically if he thought his relationship with the mega-billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX is over, Trump responded, “I would assume so, yeah.”

“I’m too busy doing other things,” Trump said.

The president also issued a warning amid chatter that Musk could back Democratic lawmakers and candidates in the 2026 midterm elections.

“If he does, he’ll have to pay the consequences for that,” Trump told NBC, though he declined to share what those consequences would be. Musk’s businesses have many lucrative federal contracts.

▶ Read more about Trump’s comments

Mike Johnson downplays Musk’s influence and says Republicans will pass Trump’s tax and budget bill

Johnson took clear sides Sunday in Trump’s breakup with mega-billionaire Elon Musk, saying Musk’s criticism of the GOP’s massive tax and budget policy bill will not derail the measure, and he downplayed Musk’s influence over the GOP-controlled Congress.

“I didn’t go out to craft a piece of legislation to please the richest man in the world,” Johnson said on ABC’s “This Week.”

Johnson said he has exchanged text messages with Musk since he came out against the GOP bill.

Musk called it an “abomination” that would add to U.S. debts and threaten economic stability. He urged voters to flood Capitol Hill with calls to vote against the measure, which is pending in the Senate after clearing the House. His criticism sparked an angry social media back-and-forth with Trump, who told reporters over the weekend that he has no desire to repair his relationship with Musk.

The speaker was dismissive of Musk’s threats to finance opponents — even Democrats — of Republican members who back Trump’s bill.

▶ Read more about Johnson’s comments

Trump’s new travel ban takes effect as tensions escalate over immigration enforcement

Trump’s new ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens from 12 mainly African and Middle Eastern countries took effect Monday amid rising tension over the president’s escalating campaign of immigration enforcement.

The new proclamation, which Trump signed last week , applies to citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. It also imposes heightened restrictions on people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela who are outside the U.S. and don’t hold a valid visa.

The new ban does not revoke visas previously issued to people from countries on the list, according to guidance issued Friday to all U.S. diplomatic missions. However, unless an applicant meets narrow criteria for an exemption to the ban , his or her application will be rejected starting Monday. Travelers with previously issued visas should still be able to enter the U.S. even after the ban takes effect.

Jamie Miguel, who lives in Havana, said his wife moved up her return to the U.S. ahead of the Trump administration’s travel ban.

“We were afraid that something might happen with the restrictions that are coming into effect now,” Miguel told NBC News in Havana in a translated interview. “It was necessary to move up the return as a precaution.”

He was at José Martí International Airport on Monday to say goodbye to his wife.

“She was visiting here, the news came out, and you know, it’s time to run,” he said.

Loraine Garcia, from Hialeah, Florida, said she moved up her flight to today “because it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Erick Orta, a boxing trainer, is concerned he won’t be able to see his children, who live in Las Vegas.

“I need to travel, as I used to travel before. I would travel for three months and then return to Cuba,” Orta explained, saying the ban is “wrong.”