Protests over hardline immigration tactics ignited across the United States Wednesday after days of demonstrations in Los Angeles, as California prepared for a legal showdown over President Donald Trump’s deployment of the military.Over 1,000 people massed in America’s second biggest city for a sixth day of protests, with the crowd peaceful as they marched through the streets.A second night of curfew was in place as city leaders try to get a handle on the after-dark vandalism and looting that scarred a few city blocks in the 500-square-mile (1,300 square kilometers) metropolis.”I would say for the most part everything is hunky dory right here at Ground Zero,” protester Lynn Sturgis, 66, a retired school teacher, told AFP.”Our city is not at all on fire, it’s not burning down, as our terrible leader is trying to tell you.”The mostly peaceful protests ignited over a sudden escalation in efforts to apprehend migrants in the country illegally.Pockets of violence — including the burning of self-driving taxis and hurling stones at police — were nothing the 8,500 officers of the Los Angeles Police Department had not dealt with before.Trump won the election last year partly on promises to combat what he claims is an “invasion” by undocumented migrants.He is now seizing the opportunity to make political capital, ordering the California National Guard to deploy despite Governor Gavin Newsom’s objections, the first time a US president has taken such action in decades.”We’re going to have a safe country,” he told reporters on his way into a performance of “Les Miserables” in Washington. “We’re not going to have what would have happened in Los Angeles. Remember, if I wasn’t there… Los Angeles would have been burning to the ground.”Around 1,000 of the 4,700 troops Trump deployed were actively guarding facilities and working alongside ICE agents, said Scott Sherman, Deputy Commanding General Army North, who is leading operations.The rest — including 700 active duty Marines — were mustering or undergoing training to deal with civil disturbances, he said.The Pentagon has said the deployment will cost taxpayers $134 million.Governor Newsom, a Democrat widely viewed as eying a 2028 presidential run, has charged that Trump is seeking to escalate the confrontation for political gain.He warned Tuesday that the unprecedented militarization would creep beyond his state’s borders, claiming “democracy is under assault right before our eyes.”Lawyers for California were expected in court on Thursday to seek an order blocking troops from accompanying immigration officers as they arrest migrants.Trump administration lawyers called the application a “crass political stunt.”- Nationwide protests growing -Despite Trump’s threats to deploy the National Guard to other Democratic-run states, protesters appeared undeterred.Demonstrations were reported in St Louis, Raleigh, Manhattan, Indianapolis, Spokane and Denver.In San Antonio, hundreds marched and chanted near city hall, reports said, where Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has deployed the state’s National Guard.A nationwide “No Kings” movement was expected on Saturday, when Trump will attend a highly unusual military parade in the US capital.The parade, featuring warplanes and tanks, has been organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the US Army but also happens to be the day of Trump’s 79th birthday.- ‘Inflamed’ situation -The Trump administration is painting the protests as a violent threat to the nation, requiring military force to support regular immigration agents and police.But Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the crisis had been manufactured in Washington.”A week ago, everything was peaceful in the city of Los Angeles,” she told reporters.”Things began to be difficult on Friday when raids took place… that is the cause of the problems.”This was provoked by the White House.”Arrests by masked and armed men continued Wednesday.A pastor in the LA suburb of Downey said five armed men driving out-of-state cars grabbed a Spanish-speaking man in the church’s parking lot.When she challenged the men and asked for their badge numbers and names, they refused.”They did point their rifle at me and said, ‘You need to get back,'” Lopez told broadcaster KTLA.

President Donald Trump touted a new website for his planned $5 million US residency permit on Wednesday, saying the waiting list for the golden visa has opened on TrumpCard.gov.”Thousands have been calling and asking how they can sign up to ride a beautiful road in gaining access to the Greatest Country and Market anywhere in the World,” Trump wrote in a social media post.Trump unveiled the first such visa aboard Air Force One in April, holding a golden prototype that bore his face and promising the special permit would probably be available “in less than two weeks.”The visas are not available yet, but the website announced Wednesday allows interested parties to submit their name, desired visa and email address under a header that says “The Trump Card is Coming.” Trump previously said the new visa, a high-price version of the traditional green card, would bring in job creators and could be used to reduce the US national deficit.The announcement comes as deportation raids are being ramped up across the country, prompting protests, and as Trump’s administration faces ongoing lawsuits and accusations of rights violations over its anti-immigration blitz.Trump has said the new card would be a route to highly prized US citizenship. He said in February that his administration hoped to sell “maybe a million” of the cards and did not rule out that Russian oligarchs may be eligible.

Just blocks from where a handful of die-hard protesters faced police in Los Angeles on Wednesday, residents were enjoying lunch in the sun and shrugging off Donald Trump’s claims their city was burning.Six days after unrest began — prompting the US president to send soldiers into the streets, over the furious protests of local officials — life in the City of Angels was going on largely as normal.”Everything is hunky dory right here at Ground Zero,” Lynn Sturgis, a retired teacher who was protesting outside the federal complex that has been at the heart of the demonstrations in Downtown Los Angeles, told AFP. “Our city is not at all on fire, it’s not burning down, as our terrible leader is trying to tell you.”The demonstrations began Friday as immigration authorities carried out raids on undocumented migrants in the sprawling metropolis.They have continued each day since — mostly peacefully, but tarnished by several spectacular incidents of violence, including torched cars and sporadic clashes with law enforcement.  Trump has insisted that if he had not taken the extraordinary step of sending troops into Los Angeles over the weekend, “it would be burning to the ground right now.”- ‘Manufactured’ -“Not at all… this is very calm,” protester Ellen Carpenter, a retired federal worker who was demonstrating alongside Sturgis, told AFP.”I lived in Washington, DC for a long time, so I was part of very large protests there, you know, millions and millions of people. This is a little wimpy by comparison.””This whole thing has been manufactured by the current administration,” Sturgis said.Trump’s promises to crack down on illegal immigration helped propel him back into the White House.He seized the opportunity presented by the Los Angeles rallies to order the California National Guard to deploy along with hundreds of Marines — a move state governor Gavin Newsom called “dictatorial.”Los Angeles real estate agent Tracey, who declined to give her last name, said the deployment was a “mistake.””I don’t feel safe” with the military presence in the city, she said, even as she admitted that the protests had at times been “scary”.Retired actor Thomas welcomed the troops, however. – Not taking chances -“As soon as it gets dark, thugs come out and cause trouble,” the 69-year-old told AFP downtown. It is the National Guard that has calmed things down, he argued — “bringing in more force. That’s all they understand… You have to step in and put your foot down.”Restaurants in the streets surrounding the protest area were packed at lunchtime Wednesday. Workers cleaned graffiti sprayed by protesters on federal buildings as curious passers-by stopped to watch and snap photos. But there were some signs of apprehension as a handful of businesses were boarding up, worried that protests planned for the weekend could spiral into more violence.Trump will hold a military parade in Washington for his birthday on Saturday that coincides with planned protests in more cities across the country. “There’s lots of expensive glass behind these boards that we’re worried about, so we’re not going to take any chances,” Chis Gonzalez, who was overseeing the boarding up of one downtown business, told AFP.”Saturday, you know, seems like it’s going to be a big protest. We’re just anticipating the worst… Not saying the protests are bad, but it’s definitely scary when you have a business to protect.”

At just 39 years old, Fidji Simo is poised to become OpenAI’s second-in-command after leaving her mark at two other major tech firms, including Meta.Reporting directly to CEO Sam Altman, the move to the ChatGPT-maker represents the latest chapter in a career that has taken Simo from a fishing family in France’s Mediterranean port of Sete to the heights of Silicon Valley.As the current CEO of grocery delivery platform Instacart, she cuts a unique profile: a French woman in the male-dominated American tech landscape — who resists advice to blend in.”I can put all my energy trying to be someone else or I can be myself and pour all of that energy into what I can create,” she told CNBC in February.This philosophy will likely be on display when she appears Thursday at the VivaTech conference in Paris.Raised in Sete, Simo attended the elite HEC business school before joining eBay in 2006, first in France then in California.”People expect a very business-like story for why I decided to come to the US. It wasn’t. The American Dream was on TV every night and that was an incredibly appealing thing,” she said.- ‘Never Intimidated’ -In 2011, Simo joined Facebook, now Meta. She was given responsibility for video and monetization in 2014, a role she considers the defining moment of her career.Simo championed the company’s pivot to video, which became central to Meta’s strategy despite initial internal skepticism.”She never let herself be intimidated,” recalled David Marcus, who worked at Meta alongside Simo and now serves as CEO of online payment company Lightspark.”She had an ability to challenge Mark (Zuckerberg) and push him, when others would have hesitated.”Joining Instacart in 2021, Simo inherited a company that had been bleeding money for a decade.Under her leadership, the grocery delivery platform achieved profitability in 2022 through aggressive diversification: data monetization, expanded retail partnerships and a robust advertising business.Now Simo faces her biggest test yet. As OpenAI’s number two, she’ll free up CEO Altman to focus on research and infrastructure while she tackles the company’s operational challenges.Despite being one of history’s most highly funded startups and ChatGPT’s phenomenal success, OpenAI is burning cash at an alarming rate.The company has also weathered significant leadership turnover, including Altman’s own brief ouster and reinstatement in 2023, raising questions about management stability.But French investor Julien Codorniou, who worked alongside Simo at Facebook, said she will more than rise to the occasion.”Fidji’s arrival is a declaration of ambition by OpenAI,” he said.

Cheers but also boos met US President Donald Trump as he attended a performance Wednesday of “Les Miserables” at Washington’s premier cultural institution, which he has effectively seized control of since returning to power in January.Trump’s appearance at the opening night of the hit musical “Les Miserables” at the renowned Kennedy Center could hardly have been more politically charged.The 78-year-old Republican recently orchestrated a conservative takeover of the famed arts venue, reportedly prompting some “Les Mis” cast members to boycott the show.”I couldn’t care less. Honestly, I couldn’t. All I do is run the country well,” Trump told reporters when asked about a boycott as he arrived with First Lady Melania Trump.The show’s tale of revolutionary fervor, featuring street protesters in 19th century France manning the barricades against a repressive leader also seemed to take on new relevance as the United States itself faces fresh turbulence over Trump’s governance.When the presidential couple appeared Wednesday evening on the central balcony, emblazoned with a presidential seal, booing audience members appeared to struggle to make themselves heard over cheers and chants of “USA! USA!”- ‘Dictatorial’ behavior -Trump, who was joined by Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance at the premiere, has recently sent in troops to deal with protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles.”We’re going to have a safe country… Remember, if I wasn’t there… Los Angeles would have been burning to the ground,” Trump insisted to reporters.California officials accuse him of “dictatorial” behavior and of manufacturing a confrontation by deploying thousands of National Guard troops and US Marines.”I think the irony is probably lost on him,” Peter Loge, director of George Washington University’s School of Media, told AFP.California’s Democratic governor Gavin Newsom, who has harshly criticized Trump’s actions in his state, reacted on X to news that Trump was attending the musical with the plea: “Someone explain the plot to him.”The social injustice portrayed in Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel — coupled with songs such as “Do You Hear the People Sing?” and “I Dreamed a Dream” — has long resonated with audiences around the world. Billionaire Trump, who had announced his decision to attend “Les Miserables” before the Los Angeles protests erupted, says he too has long been a fan. – ‘Love the songs’ -The real estate tycoon has played songs from the show at his rallies and political events. “I love the songs, I love the play,” Trump told Fox News Digital last week.Asked which of the play’s characters he most identified with, however, Trump punted to his wife. “That’s a tough one… you better answer that one, honey,” Trump replied.His attendance is yet another show of strength after installing himself as chairman of the center and replacing the entire board with loyalists in February.Loge said Trump’s presence there was part of a broader effort at image-making by the reality TV star-turned-president. “Les Mis is a great spectacle. And it sounds smart. It’s not just a show, it sounds like it stands for something,” he said.Trump’s takeover of the John F. Kennedy Center faced opposition in some quarters. A historically bipartisan-supported institution, it has never been led by a US president before.Hit show “Hamilton” canceled its run there in response. Trump countered by saying he had “never liked” the rap musical, which is about the birth of the United States and its first treasury secretary.Several key figures at the Kennedy Center — including TV producer Shonda Rhimes who created “Grey’s Anatomy” and musician Ben Folds — resigned from their leadership positions. And the Vances — Usha Vance is one of the new board members — were booed by the Kennedy Center audience at a performance of the National Symphony Orchestra in March.Trump’s takeover of the Kennedy Center comes amid a broader assault on what he deems “woke” programming at cultural institutions, including the famed Smithsonian museums, as well as universities.