Trump authorizes additional 2,000 National Guard members to Los Angeles, US officials say

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Another 2,000 National Guard troops along with 700 Marines are headed to Los Angeles on orders Monday from President Donald Trump, escalating a military presence local officials and Gov. Gavin Newsom don’t want and the police chief says creates logistical challenges for safely handling protests.

An initial 2,000 Guard troops ordered by Trump started arriving Sunday, which saw the most violence during three days of protests driven by anger over Trump’s stepped-up enforcement of immigration laws that critics say are breaking apart migrant families.

Monday's demonstrations were was far less raucous, with thousands peacefully attending a rally at City Hall and hundreds protesting outside a federal complex that includes a detention center where some immigrants are being held following workplace raids across the city.

Trump has described Los Angeles in dire terms that Mayor Karen Bass and Newsom say are nowhere close to the truth. They say he is putting public safety at risk by adding military personnel even though police say they don’t need the help.

Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said in a statement he was confident in the police department’s ability to handle large-scale demonstrations and that the Marines’ arrival without coordinating with the police department presented a “significant logistical and operational challenge” for them.

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President Donald Trump pushes ahead with his maximalist immigration campaign in face of LA protests

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump made no secret of his willingness to exert a maximalist approach to enforcing immigration laws and keeping order as he campaigned to return to the White House. The fulfillment of that pledge is now on full display in Los Angeles.

The president has put hundreds of National Guard troops on the streets to quell protests over his administration's immigration raids, a deployment that state and city officials say has only inflamed tensions. Trump called up the California National Guard over the objections of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom — the first time in 60 years a president has done so — and is deploying active-duty troops to support the guard.

By overriding Newsom, Trump is already going beyond what he did to respond to Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, when he warned he could send troops to contain demonstrations that turned violent if governors in the states did not act to do so themselves. Trump said in September of that year that he “can’t call in the National Guard unless we’re requested by a governor” and that “we have to go by the laws.”

But now, the past and current president is moving swiftly, with little internal restraint to test the bounds of his executive authority in order to deliver on his promise of mass deportations. What remains to be seen is whether Americans will stand by him once it’s operationalized nationwide, as Trump looks to secure billions from Congress to dramatically expand the country's detention and deportation operations.

For now, Trump is betting that they will.

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Pentagon draws up rules on possible use of force by Marines deployed to LA protests

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon was scrambling Monday to establish rules to guide U.S. Marines who could be faced with the rare and difficult prospect of using force against citizens on American soil, now that the Trump administration is deploying active duty troops to the immigration raid protests in Los Angeles.

U.S. Northern Command said it is sending 700 Marines into the Los Angeles area to protect federal property and personnel, including federal immigration agents. The 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines are coming from Twentynine Palms, California, and will augment about 4,100 National Guard members already in LA or authorized to be deployed there to respond to the protests.

The forces have been trained in deescalation, crowd control and standing rules for the use of force, Northern Command said.

But the use of the active duty forces still raises difficult questions.

The Marines are highly trained in combat and crisis response, with time in conflict zones like Syria and Afghanistan. But that is starkly different from the role they will face now: They could potentially be hit by protesters carrying gas canisters and have to quickly decide how to respond or face decisions about protecting an immigration enforcement agent from crowds.

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Some visitors report extra scrutiny at US airports as Trump's new travel ban begins

MIAMI (AP) — President Donald Trump's new ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens from a dozen countries took effect Monday with relative calm, as some travelers with valid visas reported extra scrutiny at American airports before being allowed entry.

The ban targeting mainly African and Middle Eastern countries kicked in amid rising tension over the president’s escalating campaign of immigration enforcement. But it arrived with no immediate signs of the chaos that unfolded at airports across the U.S. during Trump’s first travel ban in 2017.

Vincenta Aguilar said she was anxious Monday as she and her husband, both Guatemalan citizens, were subjected to three different interviews by U.S. officials after arriving at Miami International Airport and showing tourist visas the couple received last week.

“They asked us where we work, how many children we have, if we have had any problems with the law, how we are going to afford the cost of this travel, how many days we will stay here,” said Aguilar, who along with her husband was visiting their son for the first time since he left Guatemala 22 years ago.

She said they were released about an hour after their flight landed, greeting their waiting family members in Florida with tears of relief. Guatemala is not among the countries included in the new ban or flagged for extra travel restrictions.

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RFK Jr. ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory committee

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday removed every member of a scientific committee that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on how to use vaccines and pledged to replace them with his own picks.

Major physicians and public health groups criticized the move to oust all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

Kennedy, who was one of the nation’s leading anti-vaccine activists before becoming the nation’s top health official, has not said who he would appoint to the panel, but said it would convene in just two weeks in Atlanta.

Although it’s typically not viewed as a partisan board, the entire current roster of committee members were Biden appointees.

“Without removing the current members, the current Trump administration would not have been able to appoint a majority of new members until 2028,” Kennedy wrote in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece. “A clean sweep is needed to re-establish public confidence in vaccine science."

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Gaza-bound aid boat with Greta Thunberg on board arrives in Israel after its seizure

JERUSALEM (AP) — A Gaza-bound aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists arrived at an Israeli port Monday after Israeli forces stopped and detained them — enforcing a longstanding blockade of the Palestinian territory that has been tightened during the Israel-Hamas war.

The boat, accompanied by Israel's navy, arrived in Ashdod in the evening, according to Israel's Foreign Ministry. It published a photo on social media of Thunberg after disembarking.

The 12 activists were undergoing medical checks to ensure they are in good health, the ministry said. They were expected to be held at a detention facility in Ramle before being deported, according to Adalah, a legal rights group representing them.

The activists had set out to protest Israel's military campaign in Gaza, which is among the deadliest and most destructive since World War II, and its restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid. Both have put the territory of around 2 million Palestinians at risk of famine.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which organized the voyage, said the activists were “kidnapped by Israeli forces” while trying to deliver desperately needed aid.

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Foreperson’s complaints signal a divided jury at Harvey Weinstein’s retrial

NEW YORK (AP) — The jury foreperson in Harvey Weinstein ’s sex crimes retrial complained Monday that some jurors were prodding others to change their minds, talking about the former studio boss' past and going beyond the charges as they deliberate.

“I feel like they are attacking, talking together, fight together. I don’t like it,” the foreperson said, according to a transcript of his closed-door conversation with Judge Curtis Farber and the prosecution and defense teams.

The foreperson said he believed the jury was tasked only with considering “what happened at the time, in the moment” of the crimes alleged by the prosecution, but others “are pushing people, talking about his past.”

“I feel it is not fair taking the decision about the past,” the foreperson said. He added that others pushed people “to change their minds,” when he thought they instead should seek to answer one another's questions and “let that person make a decision.”

He didn’t specify what parts of Weinstein's past came up. An Oscar-winning movie producer, Weinstein was one of Hollywood's most powerful figures until a series of sexual misconduct allegations against him became public in 2017, fueling the #MeToo movement and eventually leading to criminal charges.

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Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs' ex says he was violent and forced a sex encounter after public apology in 2024

NEW YORK (AP) — Sean “Diddy” Combs forced his ex-girlfriend to have a “freak-off”-style sexual encounter with a male sex worker last year after chasing her around her California home, putting her in a chokehold, punching her in the face and kicking down doors, the woman testified Monday.

Testifying for a third day under the pseudonym “Jane," the woman said Combs erupted after she accused him of cheating on her. After beating her, Jane said, Combs invited a sex worker over, gave her an ecstasy pill and told her: “You’re not going to ruin my night like this.”

Jane, whose injuries included a black eye and welts on her forehead, said she’d planned June 18, 2024, as a romantic night with Combs, but now remembers it as a very terrible day."

It's also one of the more recent examples of Combs acting violently toward a woman while seeking to fulfill his sexual desires — happening amid the federal investigation that led to his arrest last September.

Combs has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering charges that could put him in prison for life.

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Apple unveils software redesign while reeling from AI missteps, tech upheaval and Trump's trade war

CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) — After stumbling out of the starting gate in Big Tech’s pivotal race to capitalize on artificial intelligence, Apple tried to regain its footing Monday during an annual developers conference that focused mostly on incremental advances and cosmetic changes in its technology.

The presummer rite, which attracted thousands of developers from nearly 60 countries to Apple's Silicon Valley headquarters, was more subdued than the feverish anticipation that surrounded the event during the previous two years.

Apple highlighted plans for more AI tools designed to simplify people's lives and make its products even more intuitive while also providing an early glimpse at the biggest redesign of its iPhone software in a decade. In doing so, Apple executives refrained from issuing bold promises of breakthroughs that punctuated recent conferences, prompting CFRA analyst Angelo Zino to deride the event as a “dud” in a research note.

In 2023, Apple unveiled a mixed-reality headset that has been little more than a niche product, and last year WWDC trumpeted its first major foray into the AI craze with an array of new features highlighted by the promise of a smarter and more versatile version of its virtual assistant, Siri — a goal that has hasn't been achieved yet.

“This work needed more time to reach our high-quality bar,” Craig Federighi, Apple’s top software executive, said Monday at the outset of the conference. The company didn't provide a precise timetable for the Siri's AI upgrade to be finished but indicated it won't happen until next year, at the earliest.

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Doechii uses BET Awards win to speak out on immigration raids and protest crackdowns

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Grammy winner Doechii turned her BET Awards moment into a powerful call for justice, using the stage to highlight the immigration raids and protest crackdowns happening just miles from where the ceremony is taking place in Los Angeles.

After being named best female hip-hop artist — her first-ever BET Award — Doechii acknowledged her fellow nominees, then shifted the spotlight to the issues unfolding outside the venue.

“There are ruthless attacks that are creating fear and chaos in our communities in the name of law and order,” said Doechii, who won a Grammy for best rap album, only the third woman to win in that category.

“Trump is using military forces to stop a protest," she said. "I want you all to consider what kind of government it appears to be when every time we exercise our democratic right to protest, the military is deployed against us. What type of government is that?”

Doechii's words drew applause from the audience at the Peacock Theater, where the awards airing live.

News from © The Associated Press, 2025