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Israel carried out “preemptive” strikes against Iran on Friday, targeting its nuclear plant and military sites, after US President Donald Trump warned of a possible “massive conflict” in the region. Explosions were heard Friday morning in the Iranian capital, state TV reported, adding that Iran’s air defence were at “100 percent operational capacity”.Israel declared a state of emergency, with Defence Minister Israel Katz saying that retaliatory action from Tehran was possible following the operation.”Following the State of Israel’s preemptive strike against Iran, a missile and drone attack against the State of Israel and its civilian population is expected in the immediate future,” Katz said.Oil prices surged as much as 6 percent on the strikes, which came after Trump warned of a possible Iranian attack and said the US was drawing down staff in the region.”I don’t want to say imminent, but it looks like it’s something that could very well happen,” Trump told reporters at the White House Thursday when asked if an Israeli attack loomed. Trump said he believed a “pretty good” deal on Iran’s nuclear programme was “fairly close”, but said that an Israeli attack on its arch foe could wreck the chances of an agreement.The US leader did not disclose the details of a conversation on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but said: “I don’t want them going in, because I think it would blow it.”Trump quickly added: “Might help it actually, but it also could blow it.”A US official said there had been no US involvement in the Israeli strikes on Iran.– ‘Extremist’ –The United States on Wednesday said it was reducing embassy staff in Iraq — long a zone of proxy conflict with Iran.Israel, which counts on US military and diplomatic support, sees the cleric-run state in Tehran as an existential threat and hit Iranian air defences last year.Netanyahu has vowed less restraint since the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Tehran-backed Hamas, which triggered the massive Israeli offensive in Gaza.The United States and other Western countries, along with Israel, have repeatedly accused Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, which it has repeatedly denied.Israel again called for global action after the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) accused Iran on Wednesday of non-compliance with its obligations. The resolution could lay the groundwork for European countries to invoke a “snapback” mechanism, which expires in October, that would reinstate UN sanctions eased under a 2015 nuclear deal negotiated by then US president Barack Obama.Trump pulled out of the deal in his first term and slapped Iran with sweeping sanctions.Iran’s nuclear chief, Mohammad Eslami, slammed the resolution as “extremist” and blamed Israeli influence.In response to the resolution, Iran said it would launch a new enrichment centre in a secure location.Iran would also replace “all of these first-generation machines with sixth-generation advanced machines” at the Fordo uranium enrichment plant, said Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 percent, far above the 3.67-percent limit set in the 2015 deal and close, though still short, of the 90 percent needed for a nuclear warhead.

California’s stand-off with President Donald Trump’s administration ratcheted up Thursday, after a sitting US senator was handcuffed and forcibly removed from a press conference on immigration raids that have spurred days of protests.The shocking incident, which came after the Republican president sent troops into Los Angeles over the objections of local and state officials, was swiftly slammed by furious Democrats who said it “reeks of totalitarianism.”Video footage shows Senator Alex Padilla, a Democrat, being pushed from the room at a federal building in Los Angeles as he tried to ask Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about the raids.”I’m Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,” he said as two men grappled with him in front of journalists, including from AFP.Footage filmed by Padilla’s staff outside the room shows the senator being pushed to the ground and handcuffed.Democratic-led California is currently embroiled in battles with the White House on several fronts, with Governor Gavin Newsom branding Trump “dictatorial” as his lawyers prepared to face off with the administration over the deployment of 4,700 troops to the city.”If this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question… you can only imagine what they’re doing to farm workers, to cooks, to day laborers out in the Los Angeles community,” Padilla told reporters later at a press conference.The incident “reeks of totalitarianism,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said, calling for an investigation.”Trump and his shock troops are out of control,” Newsom posted on social media, while Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the incident “abhorrent.”The White House hit back, claiming it was a “theater-kid stunt” and claiming without evidence that Padilla “lunged toward Secretary Noem.”Noem slammed Padilla’s interruption as “inappropriate.” A Homeland Security spokesman said she later met with the senator for 15 minutes.Noem was addressing reporters after almost a week of protests in Los Angeles ignited by the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.The mostly-peaceful demonstrations have been marred by some eye-catching violence, with cars torched and rocks thrown at police officers.Trump, who has repeatedly exaggerated the scale of the unrest, deployed 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 US Marines.Critics have accused him of a power grab and a judge was set to review the deployments’ legality. Trump took credit Thursday for making Los Angeles “safe and sound.”Anger at Trump’s crackdown and the use of masked, armed immigration agents, backed by uniformed soldiers, is spreading to other cities. Nationwide protests were planned for Saturday.- ‘Fear and terror’ -A federal judge in San Francisco was set to hear arguments on whether use of the troops is constitutional, with Newsom alleging the president “is creating fear and terror.”Trump on Thursday said Newsom — seen as a contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028 — had “totally lost control of the situation” and should thank him for “saving his ass.”California also sued Trump’s administration Thursday over his move to scrap the state’s tailpipe emission rules and its drive to phase out gas-powered cars.Trump was elected last year after campaigning on a promise to launch historic mass deportations.But with his mounting crackdown rippling through industries heavily reliant on immigrant labor — such as farming, construction and hospitality — Trump said he had heard employers’ complaints and hinted at a forthcoming policy shift.”We’re going to have an order on that pretty soon, I think. We can’t do that to our farmers — and leisure too, hotels,” he said.Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum spoke up Thursday, saying she had told a visiting US official that “we didn’t agree with the use of raids to detain people working honestly in the United States.”Protests also took place in Spokane, Seattle, Tucson, Las Vegas, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Milwaukee, Chicago, Atlanta, and Boston, according to US media.A nationwide “No Kings” movement was expected on Saturday, the same day Trump attends 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 on the day of Trump’s 79th birthday.

President Donald Trump warned Thursday that Israel may soon strike Iran’s nuclear sites, but urged the key US ally to hold off as he stressed his commitment to a diplomatic solution.Tensions have soared in the region in the last two days with Trump warning of a “massive conflict” and drawing down US staff. Tehran meanwhile defiantly vowed to increase its output of enriched uranium — a key sticking point in talks with Washington — after being censured by the UN’s atomic watchdog.”I don’t want to say imminent, but it looks like it’s something that could very well happen,” Trump told reporters at the White House when asked if an Israeli attack loomed.Trump said he believed a “pretty good” deal on Iran’s nuclear program was “fairly close,” but said that an Israeli attack on its arch-foe could wreck the chances of an agreement.The US leader did not disclose the details of a conversation on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but said: “I don’t want them going in, because I think it would blow it.”Trump quickly added: “Might help it actually, but it also could blow it.”News outlet Axios reported that Trump had said the United States would not participate in any strikes.- US troops in crosshairs -Trump later appeared to want tensions dialed down in a post on social media, while insisting that Iran must “give up hopes” of developing a nuclear weapon.”We remain committed to a Diplomatic Resolution to the Iran Nuclear Issue! My entire Administration has been directed to negotiate with Iran,” Trump said on his Truth Social network.Tensions have rapidly escalated in the past few days amid growing speculation that Israel could push ahead with air strikes on Iran.Trump’s Middle East pointman Steve Witkoff is set to hold a sixth round of talks with Iran on Sunday in Oman, which has mediated efforts towards a nuclear deal so far.But Iran has also ramped up rhetorical pressure before the talks, including with a threat to strike American bases in the region if the negotiations break down and conflict erupts.”If the talks fail, the risk of military escalation becomes much more immediate,” said Hamidreza Azizi, a visiting fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.The United States on Wednesday said it was reducing embassy staff in Iraq — long a zone of proxy conflict with Iran.Israel, which counts on US military and diplomatic support, sees the cleric-run state in Tehran as an existential threat and hit Iranian air defenses last year.Netanyahu has vowed less restraint since the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Tehran-backed Hamas, which triggered the massive Israeli offensive in Gaza.- ‘Non-compliance’ -The United States and other Western countries, along with Israel, have repeatedly accused Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, which it has repeatedly denied.Israel again called for global action after the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) accused Iran on Wednesday of non-compliance with its obligations. The resolution could lay the groundwork for European countries to invoke a “snapback” mechanism, which expires in October, that would reinstate UN sanctions eased under a 2015 nuclear deal negotiated by then US president Barack Obama.Trump pulled out of the deal in his first term and slapped Iran with sweeping sanctions.Iran’s nuclear chief, Mohammad Eslami, slammed the resolution as “extremist” and blamed Israeli influence.In response to the resolution, Iran said it would launch a new enrichment center in a secure location.Iran would also replace “all of these first-generation machines with sixth-generation advanced machines” at the Fordo uranium enrichment plant, said Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 percent, far above the 3.67-percent limit set in the 2015 deal and close, though still short, of the 90 percent needed for a nuclear warhead.

The devastating Air India crash seems certain to embroil Boeing in further rounds of negative headlines at a time when it has shown progress under new leadership.Shares of the American plane manufacturer finished down nearly five percent Thursday as the pope, King Charles and the president of India expressed sorrow over the Boeing 787 Dreamliner carrying 242 people.”Our deepest condolences go out to the loved ones of the passengers and crew on board Air India Flight 171, as well as everyone affected in Ahmedabad,” said Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, adding in a statement that he told Air India’s chairman Boeing would support the probe.The calamity, the first deadly crash of a 787, comes just before Ortberg and other aerospace leaders converge at Le Bourget Airport for next week’s Paris Air Show.Prior to Thursday, industry insiders expected the focus at Le Bourget to include the aviation sector’s adaptation to trade tensions, the latest state-of-the-art flying technologies and the outlook for any improvement in the supply chain that has slowed deliveries from Boeing and rival Airbus.But the crash is also certain to be a major topic of conversation, as well as a source of speculation and sobriety.”A week from now there probably will be one or two operating hypothesis of what happened that people at the show and the public will be talking about,” said Morningstar analyst Nicolas Owens. Only time will tell what the accident means for Boeing, but Owens still expects the company to rack up additional 787 orders next week in Paris.”It’s highly improbable that people conclude that it’s a systemic problem with the engine or the plane,” he said.- MAX crashes different -Air India’s flight 171 issued a mayday call and crashed “immediately after takeoff,” the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said.British and US investigators were en route to western India for an investigation expected to involve reviews of flight data, maintenance records and the background of the crew. “When an international incident occurs, that government leads the investigation,” said the US Federal Aviation Administration.The ill-fated plane was delivered to Air India in 2014 and had more than 41,000 hours of flying time, according to consultancy Cirium.That makes Thursday’s tragedy different from the two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 that involved planes Boeing had only recently delivered to airlines.A central factor in both MAX crashes was the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), a flight handling system that badly malfunctioned, pointing to design flaws.The MAX crashes plunged Boeing into a years-long slump extended by fresh safety problems early in 2024. Boeing has reported annual losses the last six years.Since introducing the Dreamliner into service in 2011, Boeing has had to do some reworks, mainly due to assembly faults and manufacturing quality issues.The plane was also scrutinized in an April 2024 US Senate hearing that aired criticism from a whistleblower who testified that he was blackballed after reporting serious manufacturing defects on the 787 and the 777.Attorneys representing the whistleblower, Sam Salehpour, called on the FAA to release its findings about the allegations.”The FAA must assure the public that the Boeing 787 is safe,” said attorney Lisa Banks.”While it may take months or years to determine the cause of today’s tragic Air India crash, we know that there is an important report sitting on a desk at the FAA about the 787 that needs to become public.”On May 29, Ortberg told a financial conference that the recent approval by US aviation authorities to allow increased 787 output was “an important milestone” in the company’s comeback.Ortberg, who relocated to Seattle to be closer to key manufacturing operations, has generally won plaudits from aviation watchers since joining in August 2024, navigating Boeing through a labor strike and joining President Donald Trump’s Middle East delegation.Richard Aboulafia, managing director at consultancy AeroDynamic Advisory, said there is no indication of a 787 design flaw. “There’s inevitably fear,” Aboulafia said of Thursday’s stock market reaction.”It’s a tragedy but it’s unlikely to affect perceptions of the 787 because there’s nothing known at this point and it’s got a very good record,” he said.But Briefing.com called the crash “another significant blow to Boeing’s reputation as it competes fiercely with Airbus, which has outsold Boeing in aircraft orders for the past five years and could further erode investor and customer trust in the company’s ability to deliver safe, reliable aircraft.”

After protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles, President Donald Trump took the contentious step of mobilizing thousands of National Guard troops and hundreds of US Marines in response.While the use of the National Guard against the California governor’s wishes is significant, in general these military personnel are trained for rapid response to emergencies within the United States.- Military reserve force -The National Guard is a military reserve force within the United States Armed Forces, meaning that most of its members serve part-time while holding civilian jobs or conducting other activities.As a response force, the National Guard can be mobilized rapidly to address emergency situations on US soil, typically natural disasters. When needed, National Guard units can also be activated for deployments into combat zones, especially if the United States is at war.Unlike branches of the US military, the National Guard performs both state- and federal-level functions, and is organized into groupings based in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the US territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands.As a state-based force, generally it is the governor of a state or territory who activates and commands the National Guard when needed.However, in some situations the National Guard can be “federalized” by the president, bringing it under the president’s control until the specific federal mission has ended — as is the case in Los Angeles currently.The latest budget from the Department of Defense authorizes 433,000 National Guard personnel in total, split across the Air National Guard and Army National Guard.This means that compared to other components of the US military, the National Guard is second only to the US Army in terms of size.- Emergency response -National Guard members are typically deployed during emergencies such as natural disasters at the request of governors and based on specific provisions in each state’s laws.In the aftermath of events like hurricanes, wildfires, and floods, state National Guards are often called on to help evacuate dangerous areas, deliver supplies to places that would otherwise be cut off, or provide specialist equipment needed to clear hazardous debris.The largest National Guard deployment in recent years was during the COVID-19 pandemic, where troops helped construct and staff emergency care facilities, transport health supplies around the country, and coordinate other logistics.Outside of a natural disaster, deployment of the guard can be ordered in emergencies created by the breakdown of public order — the provision that Trump controversially invoked when sending troops to California.- History with protest -The use of the National Guard to manage public unrest is not unique to Trump, even if the current deployment is unusual.During the widespread Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, more than half of US states activated National Guard troops to maintain order and help enforce curfews.Before that, they were also deployed to LA in 1992 to respond to riots that occurred after police officers who had beaten motorist Rodney King were acquitted at trial.At that time, riots, looting and arson attacks had spread across the city, with dozens of people killed and thousands injured.The National Guard was deployed during the 1950s and 60s Civil Rights era to help enforce school desegregation, following the Supreme Court’s landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling.In one of the force’s darkest moments, in May 1970, members of the Ohio National Guard clashed with anti-war protesters at Kent State University. As unrest swelled, the troops opened fire, killing four unarmed students.The shootings sparked outrage, but also led to reform of the guard’s use-of-force guidelines.

US President Donald Trump’s dream of hosting a grand military parade in Washington on his 79th birthday on Saturday could be clouded by thunderstorms.Forecasters say there is a threat of lightning at the same time as nearly 6,000 troops, 50 helicopters and 150 armored vehicles are meant to roll through the capital, watched by thousands of spectators.The Republican has been unlucky with the weather before, as freezing conditions meant that his inauguration for a second term in January had to be held indoors and a parade was canceled.The White House vowed that a “historic celebration” of the US army’s 250th birthday would go on even if there were “changes” due to the weather.”Any changes to the Army Birthday Parade will be announced by the Department of Defense or America 250 Commission,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement to AFP.”No matter what, a historic celebration of our military servicemembers will take place!”The army and the America 250 Commission, which is responsible for arranging the parade, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.Hundreds of anti-Trump “No Kings” rallies are planned on Saturday in cities across the United States — although not in Washington — in protest against what critics call the president’s growing authoritarianism.- ‘Very big force’ -The rare military parade, the largest since the end of the Gulf War in 1991, comes after Trump sent National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles following protests.Trump said on a visit to an army base on Tuesday that “we want to show off a little bit” with the parade, and vowed “very big force” if protesters try to disrupt it.The army says the event could cost up to $45 million.Nearly 7,000 soldiers will take part, wearing a variety of uniforms including some that date back through all of America’s major wars since the Revolutionary War against Britain.Roaring overhead will be more than 50 helicopters including Apache gunships, giant twin-rotor Chinook transport choppers and sleek Black Hawks.Around 150 military vehicles — including 28 M1A1 Abrams battle tanks, 28 Bradley Fighting Vehicles and 28 Stryker eight-wheel vehicles — will rumble past too.The route will take them past historic landmarks including the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, ending up near the White House.The parade is meant to end with a parachute display as the army’s Golden Knights team jump in and present Trump with a US flag.- ‘Believe in democracy’ -The event is being held on Flag Day, which celebrates the Stars and Stripes — but it also coincides with Trump’s own birthday.Long fascinated with military pomp, Trump has openly envied the military spectacles seen in cities from Paris to Moscow and Pyongyang ever since his first term as president.Trump has been particularly obsessed with having a parade since his first term as president when he attended France’s annual Bastille Day parade in Paris at the invitation of president Emmanuel Macron in 2017.”One of the greatest parades I have ever seen,” Trump said shortly afterwards. “Because of what I witnessed, we may do something like that.” Back then he was put off by the huge cost — an estimated $92 million — and warnings that heavy tanks could damage Washington’s streets. But after his return to the White House in January, Trump would not be dissuaded again. This time, the army says metal plates will protect the roads from damageSuch displays of military might remain rare in the United States.”We were founded by a group of merchants and farmers who were tired of a standing army invading their streets in the name of keeping them safe,” Peter Loge, director of George Washington University’s School of Media, told AFP.”We’ve always looked down on grand military parades in Russia across Red Square or in North Korea, because we’re not like that. We’re Americans, and we believe in democracy, not in military shows of force.”

US lawmakers on Thursday approved a White House request to claw back $9.4 billion from funding already allocated by Congress in a victory for President Donald Trump as he pushes to lock in spending cuts spearheaded by tech billionaire Elon Musk.The vote in the Republican-led US House of Representatives was seen as the first test of how easily Congress could usher into law savings sought by Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — just days after his acrimonious exit from the government.But the saved funds — targeting public broadcasting and foreign aid — were unpopular in some sections of both parties, and Republicans in the House of Representatives shoehorned the bill through a razor-thin 214-212 vote.”Under President Trump’s leadership, your taxpayer dollars are no longer being wasted,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement.”Instead, they are being directed toward priorities that truly benefit the American people.”Legislation to grab back money already approved by Congress — known as a “rescissions package” — is extremely rare and no such measure had passed in decades.The vote was the first in what Johnson has touted as a potential series of packages codifying the cuts made by DOGE. Musk was tasked by Trump with leading the task force after spending $290 million helping the Republican get elected.The SpaceX boss boasted that he would be able to save $2 trillion in federal spending — but left the White House under a cloud earlier this month as he feuded with Trump over deficits and spending.DOGE acknowledges that it has saved taxpayers just $180 billion — and fact checkers even see that claim as dubious, given previous inaccuracies in its accounting. The recissions package slashes $8.3 billion in foreign aid, with much of that approved for humanitarian organization USAID, one of DOGE’s first targets. The text also eliminates $400 million in funding allocated to health programs including the lifesaving PEPFAR global AIDS program, created by then-president George W. Bush.The package also targets $1.1 billion to be taken back from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which helps fund National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), as well as more than 1,500 local radio and television stations.Conservatives often accuse PBS and NPR of bias, and Trump signed an executive order in May to cease federal funding for both networks.”For decades, Republicans have promised to cut NPR, but have never done it, until now,” Trump said on Truth Social as the vote got underway.”NPR and PBS are a Radical Left Disaster, and 1000% against the Republican Party!”Democrat Dan Goldman and Republican Mark Amodei, co-chairs of the congressional public broadcasting caucus, said cutting the funding will not meaningfully reduce the deficit, but instead dismantle “a trusted source of information for millions of Americans.”The package now moves to the Republican-led Senate, where it needs the support of only a simple majority — 51 members — rather than the 60 votes usually required.

The US Congress on Thursday passed a bill imposing harsher penalties on fentanyl traffickers, with lawmakers from both parties anxious to crack down on an opioid that has driven an epidemic of deadly overdoses.The Senate-passed bill — which delivers on a key election pledge of President Donald Trump to get tough on drug smuggling — was rubber-stamped by the House on a 321-104 vote, with Democrats providing all but one of the no votes. The Justice Department says 75,000 Americans die each year because of fentanyl, making it the number one cause of death for people between the ages of 18 and 34 in the United States.The synthetic opioid is more potent than heroin and much cheaper to produce.”More Americans die of drug overdoses each year than the number of Americans who died in the entirety of the Vietnam War,” Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune said ahead of the vote.The HALT Fentanyl Act places copycat variations of fentanyl — often sold by traffickers — on the government’s list of most dangerous “Schedule 1” drugs alongside the original substance. Lab-created fentanyl alternatives were reclassified to “Schedule 1” on a temporary basis seven years ago but the vote makes the change permanent.Trump has made halting the flow of fentanyl one of his priorities, even announcing it as a justification for import tariffs on Mexico and Canada.But opponents said the new law — rather than tackling overdoses — would simply repeat the mistakes of the so-called “War on Drugs.”The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition of more than 240 US rights organizations, said in a statement the measure would “exacerbate pretrial detention, mass incarceration, and racial disparities in the prison system.””Beginning in the 1980s, draconian drug laws with harsh mandatory minimums and their resulting enforcement under the banner of the ‘war on drugs’ fueled skyrocketing prison populations,” it said. 

A US senator from California was forcibly removed from a news conference being held by Donald Trump’s homeland security chief on Thursday, in the latest escalation of tensions over controversial immigration arrests.Senator Alex Padilla was pushed and shoved from the room at a federal building in Los Angeles as he tried to ask Kristi Noem about operations that have rocked America’s second largest city.”I’m Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,” he said as two men grappled with him in front of journalists, including from AFP.Footage filmed by Padilla’s staff outside the room showed the senator being pushed to the ground by security agents wearing bulletproof vests with  FBI logos, who then handcuffed him.Padilla, one of two Democratic senators representing California in the upper chamber of Congress, did not resist.A voice can be heard telling the Padilla staffer “There’s no recording allowed out here,” as a body moves in front of the camera, before the recording ends.The Department of Homeland Security claimed — despite video evidence — that Padilla had “lunged” at Noem.”Senator Padilla chose disrespectful political theatre and interrupted a live press conference without identifying himself or having his Senate security pin on as he lunged toward Secretary Noem,” Assistant Secretary Trisha McLaughlin wrote on social media.”@SecretService thought he was an attacker and officers acted appropriately,” she said, adding that Noem and Padilla met for 15 minutes after the news conference.Noem called Padilla’s interruption “inappropriate” and told reporters at the news conference he had not requested a meeting with her.Democratic response was rapid.California Governor Gavin Newsom called the incident “outrageous, dictatorial and shameful.””Trump and his shock troops are out of control. This must end now,” he wrote on social media.Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the episode “absolutely abhorrent and outrageous.””He is a sitting United States Senator. This administration’s violent attacks on our city must end.”Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called for an investigation into the “despicable” incident.”(It) reeks of totalitarianism. This is not what democracies do.”Senator Padilla was there legitimately in that building to ask questions of what’s going on in California, which everybody wants to know answers to.Noem’s press conference came after almost a week of protests in Los Angeles sparked by an immigration crackdown ordered by Trump officials.The mostly peaceful demonstrations have been marred by eye-catching violence, including people torching cars and throwing rocks at police. The White House responded with overwhelming force, sending 4,700 troops to the city, despite objections from local officials and the police, who said they had the manpower and ability to handle unrest that has taken place in a few city blocks.

US President Donald Trump insisted Thursday he would bring India and Pakistan to the table together after recent fighting, saying he can “solve anything.”US diplomacy last month helped bring a ceasefire that ended four days of fighting between the nuclear-armed adversaries triggered by an attack on civilians in the Indian part of divided Kashmir.Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in announcing the ceasefire that the two nations had agreed to “start talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site.”The statement was welcomed by Pakistan, which has long sought an international role over Kashmir, but India — which has a warm relationship with the United States — was more circumspect.Asked whether there remained plans for talks between India and Pakistan a month after the ceasefire, Trump said: “We’re going to get those two getting together, you know?””I told them, India and Pakistan — they have a longtime rivalry over Kashmir — I said, I can solve anything. I’ll be your arbitrator,” he told reporters.India refuses any outside mediation on Kashmir, the scenic Himalayan region which has a Muslim majority but a sizable Hindu minority.”Any India-Pakistan engagement has to be bilateral,” Indian foreign ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal told reporters on May 29.”At the same time we are clear that talks and terror don’t go together.”Gunmen on April 22 massacred 26 tourists in Kashmir, most singled out as Hindus, in the deadliest attack on civilians in decades in the region which has seen a long-running insurgency.India has accused Pakistan of backing the assailants and launched military action in response. Pakistan denies involvement and accuses India of escalating tensions.