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A curated guide to major news and developments over the weekend. Here’s today’s news:
L.A. PROTESTS RESPONSE
National Guard troops began arriving in Los Angeles yesterday after President Trump signed a memorandum authorizing the deployment of at least 2,000 troops to the city. Trump’s order prompted thousands of protesters to take to the streets in response. The Los Angeles Police Department late yesterday declared the entire downtown Los Angeles to be an unlawful assembly area, after law enforcement used tear gas, rubber bullets, and flash bangs to control the crowd. Elvia Limon reports for the Hill; Karina Tsui and Josh Campbell report for CNN; AP News reports.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday said he was prepared to send active-duty Marines to Los Angeles if the situation on the ground were to worsen. Eliza Collins and Nancy A. Youssef report for the Wall Street Journal.
Law enforcement authorities arrested around 60 people in San Francisco yesterday after protests outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s offices turned violent, the authorities said. Separately, the Los Angeles Police Department said that 27 protesters were arrested yesterday, in addition to 29 arrested the day before. Hanna Park reports for CNN; Karina Tsui reports for CNN; Niha Masih reports for the Washington Post.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) said he would sue the Trump administration today over the “unconstitutional” National Guard deployment, which Newsom described as a “serious breach of state sovereignty” and that Trump’s actions “created the conditions” and put “fuel on this fire every since he announced he was taking over the National Guard.” Kelly Kasulis Cho reports for the Washington Post; Niha Masih reports for the Washington Post.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
The United States believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threatened retaliation against Ukraine is likely to be a significant, multi-pronged strike that has yet to happen, according to U.S. officials. Although its timing is unclear, the attack will likely happen within days, a U.S. official added, while a second U.S. official said that the retaliation was likely to include different kinds of air capabilities. Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali report for Reuters.
Russian attacks killed at least 4 people and injured more than 60 others overnight into Saturday in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, according to local officials. Russia’s Friday night bombardment also killed three people and injured more than 20 in Kyiv. Today, the Ukrainian air force said that Russia launched 479 drones at Ukraine overnight into today in the biggest overnight drone attack of the war so far that injured one person. Constant Méheut reports for the New York Times; David L. Stern and Kostiantyn Khudov report for the Washington Post; Reuters reports; Illia Novikov reports for AP News.
The Russian defense ministry yesterday claimed that Moscow’s forces are for the first time pushing into the central Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk, an area Russia has been trying to reach for months. Ukrainian officials denied Russia’s claims. Kosta Gak and Catherine Nicholls report for CNN.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy yesterday vowed Ukraine will press on with exchanges of prisoners of war and the bodies of dead soldiers with Russia, a day after Russian officials accused Ukraine of postponing the latest prisoner swap indefinitely. Ukrainian officials said that Kyiv strictly complied with the agreements reached in Istanbul last week. Christian Edwards, Kosta Gak, and Billy Stockwell report for CNN; Reuters reports.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Israeli forces today seized a Gaza-bound aid boat and detained several activists who were on board, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. The Israeli foreign ministry said the activists “were expected to return to their home countries” and the aid would be sent to Gaza through established channels, while the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which had organized the voyage, said the activists were “kidnapped by Israeli forces.” Yesica Fisch reports for AP News.
Palestinian health officials and witnesses said that Israeli fire killed at least 12 people and wounded others as they headed to two Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid distribution points in Rafah yesterday. Separately, Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defense agency said that Israeli fire killed six Palestinians close to an aid distribution centre on Saturday. In both instances, the Israeli military said its troops fired warning shots at “suspects who approached its forces.” Wafaa Shurafa and Kareem Chehayeb report for AP News; Barbara Plett Usher and Dearbail Jordan report for BBC News.
The IDF yesterday announced the Israeli military has recovered the body of the de facto Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar from a tunnel underneath the European Hospital in southern Gaza. Oren Liebermann reports for CNN; Ronen Zvulun reports for Reuters.
Israeli security sources have recovered the body of a Thai citizen who was taken hostage during the 2023 Hamas-led attack, the Israeli military said on Saturday. According to the Israeli military’s statement, the man was killed by members of the Mujahideen Brigades, a small militant group in Gaza. Adam Rasgon reports for the New York Times.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
The State Department is considering allocating $500 million for funding of the U.S.- and Israel-backed GHF, according to a U.S. official and another source. If the plan is implemented, the United States will become the biggest donor to the foundation. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
ISRAEL-IRAN CONFLICT
Iran’s intelligence minister yesterday claimed, without offering evidence, that Tehran seized an “important treasury” of information regarding Israel’s nuclear program. The minister’s remark echoed a Saturday claim to the same effect made by Iranian state television. Jon Gambrell reports for AP News.
GLOBAL AFFAIRS
A Colombian conservative senator and presidential candidate, Miguel Uribe Turbay, remains in intensive care after he was shot in the head at a campaign event in Colombia’s capital Bogotá, Uribe’s wife said. The Colombian attorney general’s office said that the police arrested a 15-year-old in connection with the shooting. Frances Mao and Ian Aikman report for BBC News.
Officials at Russia’s domestic security agency are deeply suspicious of China and view Beijing as a security threat, according to what appears to be the agency’s internal document obtained by the New York Times. The document suggests that Moscow is collecting data from the Chinese app WeChat to track people who might be in contact with Chinese spies, and that the agency believes that Beijing is spying on Russia’s operations in Ukraine to learn about Western weapons and warfare. Jacob Judah, Paul Sonne, and Anton Troianovski report.
Rwanda on Saturday announced it is withdrawing from the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) after Equatorial Guinea blocked Rwanda’s taking up the central African block’s rotating chairman role over Rwanda’s conflict with the Democratic Republic of Congo. Paul Njie and Damian Zane report for BBC News.
An al-Qaeda affiliate militia, the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), is now the most well-armed militant force in West Africa and among the most powerful in the world, regional and Western officials say. Rachel Chason and Adrián Blanco Ramos report for the Washington Post.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a new naval strategy that aims to restore Russia’s position as one of the world’s leading maritime powers, a Kremlin aide said in an interview published today. Reuters reports.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
The Trump administration on Friday flew Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia to the United States, after months of fighting efforts to return the man from an El Salvador prison. Abrego Garcia will face federal charges of transporting undocumented migrants, according to an indictment unsealed on Friday. Devlin Barrett, Alan Feuer, and Glenn Thrush report for the New York Times.
The Homeland Security Department has requested the National Guard to assist with searching for unaccompanied children transporting minors between states, sources say. Sarah Fitzpatrick, Courtney Kube, and Gordon Lubold report for NBC News.
The Trump administration will begin enforcing its expansive new travel ban today under a policy Trump announced last week. David Nakamura and Marianne LeVine report for the Washington Post.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
The United States and China will hold their second round of economic talks today in London, Trump said on Friday, adding that the U.S. delegation will be led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Jamieson Greer, the U.S. trade representative. Alan Rappeport reports for the New York Times.
China is expanding its propaganda efforts in the wake of cuts at Radio Free Asia and other news outlets funded by the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), according to an analysis prepared for a USAGM grantee reviewed by the Washington Post. Sarah Ellison and Cate Cadell report.
Iran will soon hand over a nuclear deal counter-proposal to the United States, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson said today. Reuters reports.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday announced he would visit Greenland on June 15 with the aim of “contributing to the reinforcement of European sovereignty” over the island. Roger Cohen and Jeffrey Gettleman report for the New York Times.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
Elon Musk would “pay very serious consequences” if he were to start funding Democratic candidates, Trump told NBC News on Saturday. Trump did not specify what such “consequences” might be. Kristen Welker and Alexandra Marquez report.
The White House is struggling to find a new chief of staff and senior advisers to work for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, with at least three people already having turned down potential roles under Hegseth, according to current and former officials and a GOP congressional aide. Gordon Lubold, Courtney Kube, and Katherine Doyle report for NBC News.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon on Friday said that she is seeing “progress” from elite universities like Harvard and Columbia on the Trump administration’s demands. Vaughn Hillyard and Alexandra Marquez report for NBC News.
The White House has asked federal agencies to review a broad swath of California’s federal funding and develop rationales for the cuts, including by citing noncompliance with Trump’s executive orders targeting diversity efforts and steps to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse from the government, according to federal officials and records obtained by the Washington Post. Hannah Natanson, Emily Davies, Maegan Vazquez, and Ian Duncan report.
The Trump administration will pay $4.975 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of Ashli Babbitt, a January 6 rioter who was killed by a U.S. Capitol Police officer, according to the details released by the advocacy group that represented Babbit’s estate and family members. Ali Bianco reports for POLITICO.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Speaker Mike Johnson on Friday morning added Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) to the House Intelligence Committee, along with Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN). Johnson’s decision expanded the panel past a limit under committee rules of 25 members. John Sakellariadis and Amy MacKinnon report for POLITICO.
ABC News has suspended Senior National Correspondent Terry Moran after Moran described top Trump aide Stephen Miller as “richly endowed with the capacity for hatred” in a since-deleted social media post, the network confirmed yesterday. Avery Lotz reports for Axios.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
The Supreme Court on Friday limited a lower court directive allowing a watchdog group wide-ranging access to DOGE’s records in a lawsuit over whether DOGE is subject to the Freedom of Information Act. The majority held that “[s]eparation of powers concerns counsel judicial deference and restraint in the context of discovery regarding internal Executive Branch communications.” Josh Gerstein reports for POLITICO.
The Supreme Court on Friday also allowed DOGE staffers to access the Social Security Administration’s sensitive records of millions of U.S. residents, ruling on the Trump administration’s emergency application brought by labor unions and an advocacy group represented by Democracy Forward Foundation. Adam Liptak and Abbie VanSickle report for the New York Times.
A federal appeals court on Friday paused a lower court’s ruling that temporarily required the White House to allow journalists from the Associated Press to cover Trump’s events and travels. In a 2-1 decision, the majority held that the White House “retains discretion to determine, including on the basis of viewpoint, which journalists will be admitted” to multiple spaces in the White House complex or on the Air Force One. Zach Montague and Minho Kim report for the New York Times.
A federal judge yesterday declined to block Trump’s removal of three board members of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), ruling that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate a strong likelihood the firings were unlawful or that they would suffer irreparable harm. CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison signed a document affirming that the three members remain on the board after the ruling was made, according to a source. The court also wrote that ““Congress intended to preclude the President … from directing, supervising, or controlling the Corporation.” Sarah Fortinsky reports for the Hill.
A federal judge on Friday denied a request by the American Library Association to halt the Trump administration’s further dismantling of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, holding that recent court decisions suggest that his court lacks jurisdiction to hear the matter. AP News reports.
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