Protests intensify in Los Angeles after Trump deploys hundreds of National Guard troops

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tensions in Los Angeles escalated Sunday as thousands of protesters took to the streets in response to President Donald Trump’s extraordinary deployment of the National Guard, blocking off a major freeway and setting self-driving cars on fire as law enforcement used tear gas, rubber bullets, and flash bangs to control the crowd.

Some police patrolled the streets on horseback while others with riot gear lined up behind Guard troops deployed to protect federal facilities including a detention center where some immigrants were taken in recent days. Police declared an unlawful assembly, and by early evening many people had left.

But protesters who remained grabbed chairs from a nearby public park to form a makeshift barrier, throwing objects at police on the other side. Others standing above the closed southbound 101 Freeway threw chunks of concrete, rocks, electric scooters and fireworks at California Highway Patrol officers and their vehicles that were parked on the highway. Officers ran under an overpass to take cover.

It was 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. Sunday's protests in Los Angeles, a city of 4 million people, were centered in several blocks of downtown.

Starting in the morning, National Guard troops stood shoulder to shoulder, carrying long guns and riot shields outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles. Protesters shouted “shame” and “go home." After some closely approached the guard members, another set of uniformed officers advanced on the group, shooting smoke-filled canisters into the street.

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What to know about Trump's deployment of National Guard troops to LA protests

President Donald Trump says he's deploying 2,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles to respond to immigration protests, over the objections of California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

It's not the first time Trump has activated the National Guard to quell protests. In 2020, he asked governors of several states to send troops to Washington, D.C., to respond to demonstrations that arose after George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police officers. Many of the governors he asked agreed, sending troops to the federal district. The governors that refused the request were allowed to do so, keeping their troops on home soil.

This time, however, Trump is acting in opposition to Newsom, who under normal circumstances would retain control and command of California's National Guard. While Trump said that federalizing the troops was necessary to “address the lawlessness” in California, the Democratic governor said the move was “purposely inflammatory and will only escalate tensions.”

Here are some things to know about when and how the president can deploy troops on U.S. soil.

Generally, federal military forces are not allowed to carry out civilian law enforcement duties against U.S. citizens except in times of emergency.

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Trump's new travel ban set to take effect amid escalating tension over immigration enforcement

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's new ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens from 12 mainly African and Middle Eastern countries is set to take effect Monday amid escalating tension over the president's unprecedented campaign of immigration enforcement.

The new proclamation, which Trump signed on Wednesday, 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.

Haitian-American Elvanise Louis-Juste, who was at the airport Sunday in Newark, New Jersey, awaiting a flight to her home state of Florida, said many Haitians wanting to come to the U.S. are simply seeking to escape violence and unrest in their country.

“I have family in Haiti, so it’s pretty upsetting to see and hear,” Louis-Juste, 23, said of the travel ban. “I don’t think it’s a good thing. I think it’s very upsetting.”

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Alcaraz produces another major comeback to win French Open final in five-set thriller against Sinner

PARIS (AP) — Bad starts in Grand Slam finals are nothing new for Carlos Alcaraz, and each time it's happened he has won the tournament anyway.

But not in such dramatic style as Sunday's French Open final, when the Spaniard rallied from two sets down and saved three match points to beat top-ranked Jannik Sinner 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (10-2) for his fifth major title in as many finals.

It was Alcaraz's second straight French Open title with a comeback, after trailing 2-1 in sets to Alexander Zverev in last year’s final, and a third major title from behind, following his five-set win against Novak Djokovic in the 2023 Wimbledon final.

“When the situations are against you, then you have to keep fighting. It's a Grand Slam final, it's no time to be tired, no time to give up,” Alcaraz said. “Do I enjoy that? The real champions are made in those situations."

In producing one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the clay-court tournament on Sunday, he emulated Djokovic’s feat from the 2021 final at Roland-Garros — when the now 24-time major winner fought back from two sets down to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas.

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'Purpose' makes Tony Awards history for Kara Young and wins best play

NEW YORK (AP) — The best new play trophy at Sunday's Tony Awards went to “Purpose,” Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ drawing-room drama about an accomplished Black family exposing hypocrisy and pressures during a snowed-in gathering.

It caps a remarkable year for Jacobs-Jenkins, who in addition to winning back-to-back Tonys — his “Appropriate” won best play revival in 2024 — earned the Pulitzer Prize for “Purpose.” (That win came the day of the Met Gala, where he served on the host committee.)

Jacobs-Jenkins becomes the first Black playwright to win for best new play since August Wilson took home the trophy in 1987 for “Fences.” He urged Tony viewers to support regional theaters; “Purpose” was nurtured in Chicago.

Kara Young — the first Black female actor to be nominated for a Tony Award in four consecutive years — became the first Black person to win two Tonys consecutively with the featured actress in a play trophy for her work in “Purpose.” Young thanked her parents, Jacobs-Jenkins, her cast and director Phylicia Rashad.

“Theater is a sacred space that we have to honor and treasure, and it makes us united,” she said.

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Palestinians say Israeli fire kills 12 near aid sites. Israel says it fired warning shots

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli fire killed at least 12 people and wounded others as they headed toward two aid distribution points in the Gaza Strip run by an Israeli and U.S.-backed group, Palestinian health officials and witnesses said Sunday. Israel's military said it fired warning shots at people who approached its forces.

The past two weeks have seen frequent shootings near the new hubs where thousands of Palestinians — desperate after 20 months of war — are being directed to collect food. Witnesses say nearby Israeli troops have opened fire, and more than 80 people have been killed, according to Gaza hospital officials.

In all, at least 108 bodies were brought to hospitals in Gaza over the past 24 hours, the territory's Health Ministry said. Israel’s military said it struck dozens of militant targets throughout Gaza over the past day.

Eleven of the latest bodies were brought to Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis. Palestinian witnesses said Israeli forces fired on some at a roundabout around a kilometer (half-mile) from a site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or GHF, in nearby Rafah.

Israel's military said it fired warning shots at approaching “suspects” who ignored warnings to turn away. It said the shooting happened in an area that is considered an active combat zone at night.

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'Not just a party:' World Pride celebrations end with defiant politics on display

Washington (AP) — After the raucous rainbow-hued festivities of Saturday's parade, the final day of World Pride 2025 in the nation's capital kicked off on a more downbeat note.

Thousands gathered under grey skies Sunday morning at the Lincoln Memorial for a rally and protest march, as the community gathers its strength for a looming fight under President Donald Trump's second administration.

“This is not just a party,” Ashley Smith, board president of Capital Pride Alliance. “This is a rally for our lives.”

Smith acknowledged that international attendance numbers for the bi-annual World Pride were measurably down, with many potential attendees avoiding travel to the U.S. due to either fear of harassment or in protest of Trump's policies.

“That should disturb us and mobilize us,” Smith said.

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Russia awaits Ukraine's confirmation on a planned exchange of dead fighters, officials say

Russian officials said Sunday that Moscow is still awaiting official confirmation from Ukraine that a planned exchange of 6,000 bodies of soldiers killed in action will take place, reiterating allegations that Kyiv had postponed the swap.

On the front line in the war, Russia said that it had pushed into Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region.

Russian state media quoted Lt. Gen. Alexander Zorin, a representative of the Russian negotiating group, as saying that Russia delivered the first batch of 1,212 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers to the exchange site at the border and is waiting for confirmation from Ukraine, but that there were “signals” that the process of transferring the bodies would be postponed until next week.

Citing Zorin on her Telegram channel, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova asked whether it was Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's “personal decision not to take the bodies of the Ukrainians” or whether “someone from NATO prohibited it."

Ukrainian authorities said plans agreed upon during direct talks in Istanbul on Monday were proceeding accordingly, despite what Ukraine’s intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, called Russian attempts to “unilaterally dictate the parameters of the exchange process.”

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Trump officials are vowing to end school desegregation orders. Some parents say they're still needed

FERRIDAY, La. (AP) — Even at a glance, the differences are obvious. The walls of Ferriday High School are old and worn, surrounded by barbed wire. Just a few miles away, Vidalia High School is clean and bright, with a new library and a crisp blue “V” painted on orange brick.

Ferriday High is 90% Black. Vidalia High is 62% white.

For Black families, the contrast between the schools suggests “we’re not supposed to have the finer things,” said Brian Davis, a father in Ferriday. “It’s almost like our kids don’t deserve it,” he said.

The schools are part of Concordia Parish, which was ordered to desegregate 60 years ago and remains under a court-ordered plan to this day. Yet there’s growing momentum to release the district — and dozens of others — from decades-old orders that some call obsolete.

In a remarkable reversal, the Justice Department said it plans to start unwinding court-ordered desegregation plans dating to the Civil Rights Movement. Officials started in April, when they lifted a 1960s order in Louisiana’s Plaquemines Parish. Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the department’s civil rights division, has said others will “bite the dust.”

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Chinese hackers and user lapses turn smartphones into a 'mobile security crisis'

WASHINGTON (AP) —

Cybersecurity investigators noticed a highly unusual software crash — it was affecting a small number of smartphones belonging to people who worked in government, politics, tech and journalism.

The crashes, which began late last year and carried into 2025, were the tipoff to a sophisticated cyberattack that may have allowed hackers to infiltrate a phone without a single click from the user.

The attackers left no clues about their identities, but investigators at the cybersecurity firm iVerify noticed that the victims all had something in common: They worked in fields of interest to China's government and had been targeted by Chinese hackers in the past.

Foreign hackers have increasingly identified smartphones, other mobile devices and the apps they use as a weak link in U.S. cyberdefenses. Groups linked to China's military and intelligence service have targeted the smartphones of prominent Americans and burrowed deep into telecommunication networks, according to national security and tech experts.

News from © The Associated Press, 2025