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Where do we look for solace in these dark, anxious times? Sometimes, the answer is at the cinema

Where do we look for solace in these dark, anxious times? Sometimes, the answer is at the cinema

CBC28-01-2025

Dispatches from Dystopia is a monthly column by Peter Knegt that engages with culture and community even as the world appears to be crumbling around us. This is its first edition.
It has never felt like a more imperative time to take extra care of our poor brains. For me, just checking the news can feel like being pelted with grenades of anxiety-inducing information. Whenever I've picked my phone up over the past few weeks, it's felt like I'm handing my neurotransmitters a very legitimate reason to panic, and personally I'm finding it a bit of a challenge to keep myself from spiralling.
My mental-health game plan through last year's U.S. election cycle had originally been to moderate my news intake as much as possible. But in the weeks leading up to the election, I became a full-on junkie. I watched The View every day and MSNBC until 2 a.m. every night. I'd devour the seemingly hundreds of hours that Pod Save America released every week. I'd check for new polls every other minute, treating the information like gospel. And for a moment, I even let my coconut-pilled self indulge in a kind of precarious hope that is very dangerous for a nervous boy like me (or for any of us, really): that through "the system" things might just be OK after all.
Well, it's now extremely clear that things will not be OK after all, and I know I'm not alone when I say that I have not been taking it well. Being in a state of perpetual existential dread is certainly nothing new for most of us, but these last few months have felt pretty unprecedented. It doesn't just feel like the bad guys are winning; it feels like they've won. And considering everything from their dismantling of LGBTQ rights to their denial of climate change to whatever chaos their mishandlings of international politics and A.I. will bring, it is getting real hard not to succumb to the full-fledged dystopian pessimism of it all. I don't know about you, but this has really forced me to overhaul my strategy for (barely) getting through the day-to-day.
I am not a religious man. But in these dark times, it seems I have turned to the closest thing I have to a place of worship: the movie theatre. The night after the election last fall, I decided to resist the urge to down a magnum of wine at home while staying up watching unhinged panels debate how this all happened (and believe me, the urge was there). Instead, I found my way to an advance screening of the film Nickel Boys. Sitting still in the dark with my phone off while engaging with a challenging piece of cinema felt like the opposite of what my impulses desired (sending manic texts of doom while watching Rachel Maddow lose her mind), but I knew it was exactly the nourishment my rattled soul needed.
An adaptation of Colson Whitehead's Pulitzer Prize–winning novel, Nickel Boys follows two Black teenagers who are sent to a malevolent reform school in 1960s Florida. Director RaMell Ross has been rightfully lauded for the film's unique use of first-person point of view, which literally puts audiences in the perspective of the protagonist as he suffers through horrifying abuse. As one can imagine, this does not make for easy viewing. But it does embolden the viewer with some pretty profound empathy, particularly as a collective experience with a few hundred other people in a movie theatre. And collective empathy is perhaps the thing this world needs more of above all else.
Walking home from Nickel Boys that night, tears still streaming down my face from the film's harrowing final act, I committed myself to taking a path through the chaos ahead that was uncharacteristic of my past behaviour. After the 2016 U.S. election or at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, my tactics could generally be classified as either self-destruction or numbing out (or both at the same time), and I knew my aging brain and body simply weren't up for another round of that. What I needed instead was strength and renewal, and reminders that there still is good in this world. And while I certainly didn't think going to the movies was some overarching solution to all this, I did know it was going to be a part of it.
November is a horrible time for almost everything, but it's a great time to go to the movies. It's basically the beginning of a three-month period where 90 per cent of the films actually worth seeing get released, primarily because it's when they can capitalize on awards season. (Nickel Boys, for example, was just very deservedly nominated for an Oscar for best picture … and it's still in some theatres now, so do go see it if you can!) So instead of spending my nights spinning out to the dread of the news, I spent them at the movies — a place where, if you are behaving (which you should be), your phones are tucked away on "do not disturb" mode, unable to do any harm.
According to my Letterboxd (the only sane form of social media left!), I saw exactly 50 movies between election night and last week's inauguration, including some exceptional offerings of understanding and perspective: Mike Leigh's Hard Truths, a lacerating portrait of a deeply damaged woman struggling to simply exist; Pedro Almodóvar's The Room Next Door, a beautiful celebration of life despite being a story of a woman facing death; Walter Salles's I'm Still Here, which offers chilling insight into one woman's heroism during the military dictatorship of 1970s Brazil; Mohammad Rasoulof's The Seed of the Sacred Fig, a truly revolutionary rallying cry against the current Iranian regime that literally had to be made in secret.
There were also older movies. One of the many wonderful things about movies is that it is essentially impossible to run out of worthwhile viewing options, and one of the few wonderful things about living in the city of Toronto is that it has an incredible repertory cinema scene. I was very grateful to the TIFF Lightbox for closing out the last two months of 2024 with a retrospective of every single Pedro Almodóvar feature, allowing me to be transported to the warmth of a hyper-saturated Spain for several of early winter's darkest nights. And on the particularly grim night that followed the inauguration, I was gifted a reminder that America was, in many ways, as full of despair and hopelessness and horrible men 20 years ago as it is now when I took in the three-hour-plus extended cut of Kenneth Lonergan's staggering Margaret at the Paradise Theatre (be careful trying this at home though, because it truly is as bleak as they say).
But the most viscerally human experience I had in any cinema during these past few horrible months was a little unexpected. That's because it came via Flow: a dialogueless film about a cat. A riveting work of animation (which just became the first Latvian film to be nominated for an Academy Award) from director Gints Zilbalodis, Flow follows said cat as it assembles a chosen family of other animals so they can try and survive a giant flood together. And somehow, the wordless journey of these animals feels like it has more to say about what it means to be alive during these catastrophic times than anything I've seen recently starring actual humans.
Essentially, Flow is telling us something that I think we all need to make our guiding principle going forward: if we want to make it through all this, we must build community and we must take care of one another. And this is maybe the best thing movies can offer us. At times when things feel impossible, movies don't just comfort us with the reminder that we're not alone, but can reorient us to what really matters, recharge our belief in what's possible, inspire us to persevere. The heartbreak we feel for the world might not quite feel good in a place like this. But a few hours in a movie theatre can send us back out into the world a little less heartbroken and a little more ready to make it a better place.

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How unusual is it for the National Guard to come to LA? Here's what to know about the city's history
How unusual is it for the National Guard to come to LA? Here's what to know about the city's history

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How unusual is it for the National Guard to come to LA? Here's what to know about the city's history

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Syreeta Danley, a teacher from South Central Los Angeles, said she vividly remembers as a teen seeing black smoke from her porch during the 1992 uprisings. Danley said that at the time it seemed like law enforcement cared more about property damage affecting wealthier neighborhoods than the misconduct that precipitated the unrest. She said some people in her neighborhood were still more afraid of the police than the National Guard because once the troops left, local police 'had the green light to continue brutalizing people.' The National Guard can enforce curfews like they did in 1992, but that won't stop people from showing up to protest, Danley said. 'I have lived long enough to know that people will push back, and I'm here for it,' Danley said. Watts protests in 1965 There were deadly protests in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles in 1965 in response to pent-up anger over an abusive police force and lack of resources for the community. Over 30 people were killed — two-thirds of whom were shot by police or National Guard troops. Many say the neighborhood has never fully recovered from fires that leveled hundreds of buildings. Integration protests in the 1950-1960s In 1956, the governor of Tennessee called the state's troops to help enforce integration in Clinton, Tennessee, after white supremacists violently resisted federal orders to desegregate. President Dwight Eisenhower called the Arkansas National Guard and the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army in 1957 to escort nine Black students as they integrated a previously white-only school. A few years later, the Maryland National Guard remained in the small town of Cambridge for two years after Maryland's Democratic Gov. J Millard Tawes in 1963 called in troops to mediate violent clashes between white mobs and Black protesters demanding desegregation. Selma, Alabama, voting rights protest in 1965 National Guard troops played a pivotal role in the march often credited with pressuring the passage of Voting Rights Act of 1965, when nonviolent protesters — including the late congressman John Lewis — calling for the right to vote were brutally assaulted by Alabama State Troopers in Selma, Alabama, in 1965. Two weeks later, then-President Lyndon B. Johnson sent National Guard troops to escort thousands of protesters along the 50-mile (81-kilometer) march to the state Capitol. Johnson's decision was at odds with then-Gov. George Wallace who staunchly supported segregation. ___ Riddle is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

The Latest: California AG announces lawsuit against Trump for deploying National Guard in LA
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Trump says sending National Guard to LA protests was a 'great decision' In a post on his social media site, Trump said the city would have been 'completely obliterated' otherwise. Protests over the president's immigration crackdown spared much of Los Angeles from violence. Weekend clashes swept through several downtown blocks and a handful of other places. Trump wrote that Gov. Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass should thank him. He accused them of being untruthful for saying Guard troops weren't necessary. Indigenous community leader urges legal representation for detained workers Perla Rios, an indigenous community leader in Los Angeles, urged legal representation and due process for the dozens of workers who were detained in the city by ICE on Friday. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Rios spoke at a conference Monday morning in Los Angeles outside of Ambiance Apparel, where ICE raids set off days of tense protests in the city. Behind her stood family members of workers detained, holding up signs saying 'Immigrants make America Great,' 'Liberate them all' and 'We want justice' next to photos of their loved ones. 'What our families are experiencing is simply a nightmare ,' Rios said. Trump's border czar says Gov. Newsom was 'late to the game' in responding to protests Tom Holman defended the ICE arrests that preceded the protests and Trump's deployment of the National Guard, blaming the California governor for stoking anti-ICE sentiments and waiting two days to declare an unlawful assembly in LA. 'He's failed that state,' Holman told Fox News on Monday morning. Newsom dared federal officials to arrest him in an interview with MSNBC on Sunday, stating, 'Come after me, arrest me, let's just get it over with, tough guy.' On Fox, Holman said there was 'no discussion' about arresting Newsom. Sen. 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The quiet in the streets was in marked contrast to several days of escalating protests over President Trump's immigration crackdown. The demonstrations intensified Sunday in the country's second-most-populous city after Trump deployed the National Guard. Police cars from a smattering of Southern California cities were blocking streets in the downtown. Workers swept up debris from the streets including tear gas canisters. Crews painted over graffiti that covered downtown buildings. More demonstrations were expected in Los Angeles Monday. Latinas for Trump founder says she's disappointed by recent escalation of immigrant arrests 'I have always supported Trump, @realDonaldTrump, through thick and thin. However, this is unacceptable and inhumane,' said Ileana Garcia, a Florida state senator who in 2016 founded the group Latinas for Trump and was hired to direct Latino outreach. She posted the message on X over the weekend. 'I understand the importance of deporting criminal aliens, but what we are witnessing are arbitrary measures to hunt down people who are complying with their immigration hearings — in many cases, with credible fear of persecution claims — all driven by a Miller-like desire to satisfy a self-fabricated deportation goal.' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Garcia was referring to Stephen Miller, a key architect of Trump's immigration crackdown. Garcia also said 'this is not what we voted for.' However, Trump promised voters he would conduct the largest domestic deportation operation in American history to expel millions of immigrants in the country illegally. 1965 was the last time the National Guard was deployed without a governor's permission No president has done so since Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to protect a civil rights march in Alabama, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. Johnson, unlike Trump, invoked the Insurrection Act, an 18th-century wartime law that allows presidents to deploy military forces during times of rebellion or unrest. Trump instead relied on a similar federal law that places National Guard troops under federal command under circumstances that include the threat of rebellion. But the law also says that orders for those purposes 'shall be issued through the governors of the States' — making it unclear whether the president can activate the Guard without the order of that state's governor. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW More rallies planned for downtown LA Union leaders are planning a rally for downtown Los Angeles Monday to support a labor leader arrested during immigration protests. The Service Employees International Union said Monday that the rally at Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles is in support of its California president David Huerta. Huerta was arrested Friday and expected to appear in court Monday afternoon. The SEIU represents thousands of janitors, security officers and other workers in California. The group is also planning rallies in at least a dozen other cities spanning from Denver to New York. Los Angeles has seen three days of protests over immigration arrests. Protests intensified after President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard. Chicago leaders join immigration protests: 'This is not about immigration. This is about domination of all of our communities.' In Chicago, dozens of labor leaders, immigrant rights activists and elected officials rallied in a downtown plaza Monday in support of David Huerta, a regional president of the Service Employees International Union, who was arrested in California last week. The crowd called for Huerta's immediate release, ending speeches with chants of 'Free David!' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'He was wrongfully detained,' said Genie Kastrup, president of a Chicago-based SEIU chapter. What happened to Huerta 'is about more than a single leader. It is a direct assault on all of us.' The group also called out the Trump administration's aggressive tactics on immigration enforcement, including a travel ban and arrests last week at a Chicago office used for Immigration and Customs Enforcement check-ins. 'We're not going anywhere. This isn't about safety. This is about control,' said Democratic U.S. Rep. Jesus 'Chuy' Garcia, who was born in Mexico. 'Fear is the tactic, silence is the goal. This is not about immigration. This is about domination of all of our communities.' See where the protests took place The arrival of the National Guard followed two days of protests that began Friday in downtown Los Angeles before spreading on Saturday to Paramount, a heavily Latino city south of the city, and neighboring Compton. On Sunday, protesters clashed with the National Guard in downtown LA, blocking off a major freeway and setting self-driving cars on fire. How did we get here? Protests were triggered by ICE arrests Friday Confrontations began when dozens of protesters gathered outside a federal detention center demanding the release of 44 people arrested by federal immigration authorities across Los Angeles Friday, as part of Trump's mass deportation campaign. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is averaging about 1,600 arrests per day, according to the agency's head, Todd Lyons, who defended the tactics on June 2. Mexican president calls for due process after authorities detained 42 Mexicans in Los Angeles raids Mexican Foreign Affairs Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente said Monday that 42 Mexicans had been detained in raids in Los Angeles and that four had already returned to Mexico – two voluntarily and two via deportation. President Claudia Sheinbaum, speaking at her daily news briefing, read aloud a statement from the Mexican government about the events in Los Angeles. 'The Mexican government reiterates its unwavering commitment to the protection and defense of the human rights of Mexicans living overseas, regardless of their immigration status. In this sense, we make a respectful but firm call to United States authorities for all immigration procedures to be carried out with adherence to due process, within a framework of respect for human dignity and the rule of law.' 'We do not agree with violent actions as a form of protest. Burning police cars appears to be more an act of provocation than of resistance. We condemn violence, no matter where it comes from. We call on the Mexican community to act pacifically and not allow itself to be provoked.' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'The Mexican government will continue using all diplomatic and legal channels available to express its disagreement through its consular network with practices that criminalize immigration and put at risk the safety and wellbeing of our communities in the United States.' Gov. Gavin Newsom to sue Trump over National Guard deployment Newsom, a Democrat, told MSNBC that he planned to file suit Monday against the Trump administration to roll back the Guard deployment, which he called 'an illegal act, an immoral act, an unconstitutional act.' Trump has cited a legal provision that allows him to mobilize federal troops when there is 'a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.' But Newsom said he believed the president was required to coordinate with the state's governor before ordering such a deployment. 'We're going to test that theory with a lawsuit tomorrow,' Newsom said Sunday. The city of Glendale cancels a contract that allows ICE to house detainees in its local jail ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW The city in California is cancelling a contract that allowed federal immigration authorities to house detainees within its local jail, citing fears of undermining community trust. In a statement Sunday night, Glendale officials said the city would formally terminate its agreement with the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. '(T)he City recognizes that public perception of the ICE contract—no matter how limited or carefully managed, no matter the good—has become divisive,' the statement noted. Federal immigration authorities often enter into agreements with local police departments to house immigrant detainees. ICE's agreement with Glendale had been in place since 2007, officials said. An ICE spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Travel Ban As tensions continue to rise over Trump's immigration enforcement, the President's new ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens from 12 mainly African and Middle Eastern countries is taking effect Monday. ▶ Follow live updates on President Trump's administration Trump was awake past midnight raging against the protests in LA and calling for a crackdown ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'Looking really bad in L.A. BRING IN THE TROOPS!!!' he wrote on Truth Social at 12:16 a.m. ET. Roughly 300 National Guard members arrived in the city over the weekend, and Trump said he had authorized 2,000 members to deploy if needed, over the objections of California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The military said 500 Marines were on standby. 'ARREST THE PEOPLE IN FACE MASKS, NOW!' Trump wrote at 12:19 a.m. Trump cited Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell's recent comments to defend his response to the protests. 'Don't let these thugs get away with this. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!' Trump wrote at 12:14 a.m. 'This thing has gotten out of control,' McDonell said Sunday. 'We have great cops in Southern California here that work together all the time,' he said. But he added that 'looking at the violence tonight, I think we gotta make a reassessment.' Australian reporter hit by nonlethal round during live report from the protests An Australian television journalist was hit in the leg by a nonlethal round Sunday while reporting live from downtown Los Angeles. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Video of the incident released by 9News shows correspondent Lauren Tomasi reporting live when an officer behind her suddenly raises their firearm and fires a nonlethal round at close range. Tomasi, who doesn't appear to be wearing personal protective equipment, cries out in pain and clutches her lower leg as she and her cameraman quickly move away from the police line. 'You just (expletive) shot the reporter,' a voice off-camera can be heard shouting. The shooting came after a tense afternoon in which Tomasi and her crew were caught between riot police and protesters. At one point, she struggled to speak over the sound of clashes, while a protester grabbed the camera mid-broadcast. 'They've told people to get out of this area, and protesters have been refusing,' she reported. 'We are safe here. It's just noisy. But you can see the volatility.' Speaking later Monday to 9News, Tomasi confirmed she was safe and unharmed. Clashes escalated Sunday as National Guard troops arrived downtown Starting Sunday morning, the troops stood shoulder to shoulder, carrying long guns and riot shields as 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. Minutes later, the Los Angeles Police Department fired rounds of crowd-control munitions to disperse the protesters, who they said were assembled unlawfully. Much of the group then moved to block traffic on the 101 freeway until state patrol officers cleared them from the roadway by late afternoon. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Nearby, at least four self-driving Waymo cars were set on fire, sending large plumes of black smoke into the sky and exploding intermittently as the electric vehicles burned. By evening, police had issued an unlawful assembly order shutting down several blocks of downtown Los Angeles. Flash bangs echoed out every few seconds into the evening. Protests intensified on Sunday night in Los Angeles after Trump deployed National Guard troops Sunday's protests in Los Angeles were centered in several blocks of downtown. It was the third and most intense day of demonstrations against Trump's immigration crackdown in the region, as the arrival of around 300 Guard troops spurred anger and fear among many residents. Many protesters dispersed as evening fell and police declared an unlawful assembly, a precursor to officers moving in and making arrests of people who don't leave. Some of those remaining threw objects at police from behind a makeshift barrier that spanned the width of a street and others hurled chunks of concrete, rocks, electric scooters and fireworks at California Highway Patrol officers and their vehicles. Officers ran under an overpass to take cover. The Guard was deployed specifically to protect federal buildings, including the downtown detention center where protesters concentrated. Several dozen people were arrested throughout the weekend of protest. One was detained Sunday for throwing a Molotov cocktail at police, and another for ramming a motorcycle into a line of officers. ▶ Read more about the weekend's protests

The Latest: Gov. Gavin Newsom to sue Trump over National Guard deployment
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Winnipeg Free Press

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California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, told MSNBC that he plans to file suit Monday against the Trump administration to roll back the National Guard deployment, which he called 'an illegal act, an immoral act, an unconstitutional act.' This appears to be the first time in decades that a state's National Guard was activated without a request from its governor. Trump has cited a legal provision that allows him to mobilize federal service members when there is 'a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.' Roughly 1,000 National Guard members arrived in the city by Monday, and Trump said he had authorized 2,000 members to deploy if needed. Here is a look at the latest: Hundreds protest in Boston Hundreds of people gathered in Boston's City Hall Plaza to protest the deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles and the detainment of union leader David Huerta. Protesters shouted 'Come for one, come for all' and 'Free David, free them all.' People held signs reading 'Massachusetts stands with our neighbors in Los Angeles' and 'protect our immigrant neighbors.' 'An immigrant doesn't stand between an American worker and a good job, a billionaire does,' said Chrissy Lynch, President of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. She called on President Trump to call off any plans to deploy the service members to quell protests. 1,000 National Guard members now on ground in LA U.S. officials told The Associated Press there are currently about 1,000 National Guard members in L.A. under federal orders and more are flowing in all day. Officials said that they believe that the full 2,000 that the president has put on federal Title 10 orders will be on the ground there by the end of the day. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations details. The Guard troops are part of the new Task Force 51, under the control of Army Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman, who is the deputy commander of U.S. Army North. -By Lolita Baldor Trump supports slapping the cuffs on Newsom The California governor and the White House have been feuding over how to handle protests in Los Angeles. It started when Tom Homan, the border czar, warned that anyone, including public officials, would be arrested if they obstructed federal immigration enforcement. 'No one's above the law,' he said on Fox & Friends, although he added that 'there was no discussion' about arresting Newsom. The California governor responded in an interview with MSNBC. 'Come after me, arrest me. Let's just get it over with, tough guy,' Newsom said. Trump grinned when asked about the exchange after landing at the White House. 'I would do it if I were Tom. I think it's great,' Trump said. 'Gavin likes the publicity, but I think it would be a great thing. He's done a terrible job.' Waymo suspends its downtown LA service Robotaxi company Waymo has suspended service in downtown Los Angeles after several of its self-driving cars were set ablaze during weekend protests against the Trump administration's immigration raids. Waymo confirmed to The Associated Press on Monday that five of its robotaxis were impacted and removed from downtown Los Angeles. The company added that it would not be operating in this area of the city for the time being — citing guidance from local law enforcement. Waymo's services in other parts of Los Angeles county remain available. The city's protests are centered to several blocks of its downtown area. Footage from Sunday's demonstrations showed spray-painted messages protesting ICE on these Waymo vehicles, which brought large plumes of black smoke into the sky and exploded intermittently as they burned. Some demonstrators were also seen smashing windows of the robotaxis. Waymo began offering driverless rides in Los Angeles last year. Trump targets Newsom (again) After inspecting a site on the White House lawn for a future flagpole, Trump spoke to reporters about the protests in California. 'I like Gavin Newsom, he's a nice guy, but he's grossly incompetent,' the president said, complaining about 'the little railroad he's building' that is '100 times over budget.' It's a reference to the much-delayed high-speed rail project, which predates Newsom's tenure. Trump also criticized the protestors. 'The people that are causing these problems are professional agitators, they're insurrectionists, they're bad people. They should be in jail.' Trump says sending National Guard to LA protests was a 'great decision' In a post on his social media site, Trump said the city would have been 'completely obliterated' otherwise. Protests over the president's immigration crackdown spared much of Los Angeles from violence. Weekend clashes swept through several downtown blocks and a handful of other places. Trump wrote that Gov. Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass should thank him. He accused them of being untruthful for saying Guard troops weren't necessary. Indigenous community leader urges legal representation for detained workers Perla Rios, an indigenous community leader in Los Angeles, urged legal representation and due process for the dozens of workers who were detained in the city by ICE on Friday. Rios spoke at a conference Monday morning in Los Angeles outside of Ambiance Apparel, where ICE raids set off days of tense protests in the city. Behind her stood family members of workers detained, holding up signs saying 'Immigrants make America Great,' 'Liberate them all' and 'We want justice' next to photos of their loved ones. 'What our families are experiencing is simply a nightmare ,' Rios said. Trump's border czar says Gov. Newsom was 'late to the game' in responding to protests Tom Holman defended the ICE arrests that preceded the protests and Trump's deployment of the National Guard, blaming the California governor for stoking anti-ICE sentiments and waiting two days to declare an unlawful assembly in LA. 'He's failed that state,' Holman told Fox News on Monday morning. Newsom dared federal officials to arrest him in an interview with MSNBC on Sunday, stating, 'Come after me, arrest me, let's just get it over with, tough guy.' On Fox, Holman said there was 'no discussion' about arresting Newsom. Sen. Schumer calls Trump's National Guard order a diversion and unnecessary 'Donald Trump—in the midst of a war with Elon Musk and his ugly tax bill that would rip healthcare from 17 million people— is in desperate need of a diversion,' Sen. Chuck Schumer said in a statement Monday. 'His order to deploy the National Guard in California is unnecessary, inflammatory, and provocative. Trump should immediately revoke his command to use the National Guard, and leave the law enforcement to the governor and the mayor, who are more than capable of handling the situation.' 'Americans do not need or deserve this unnecessary and provocative chaos.' Workers sweep up debris, tear gas canisters from streets of LA The smell of fire hung in the air of downtown Los Angeles Monday morning. A series of ash piles littered Los Angeles Street with the charred remnants of cars set afire during protests over immigration. The quiet in the streets was in marked contrast to several days of escalating protests over President Trump's immigration crackdown. The demonstrations intensified Sunday in the country's second-most-populous city after Trump deployed the National Guard. Police cars from a smattering of Southern California cities were blocking streets in the downtown. Workers swept up debris from the streets including tear gas canisters. Crews painted over graffiti that covered downtown buildings. More demonstrations were expected in Los Angeles Monday. Latinas for Trump founder says she's disappointed by recent escalation of immigrant arrests 'I have always supported Trump, @realDonaldTrump, through thick and thin. However, this is unacceptable and inhumane,' said Ileana Garcia, a Florida state senator who in 2016 founded the group Latinas for Trump and was hired to direct Latino outreach. She posted the message on X over the weekend. 'I understand the importance of deporting criminal aliens, but what we are witnessing are arbitrary measures to hunt down people who are complying with their immigration hearings — in many cases, with credible fear of persecution claims — all driven by a Miller-like desire to satisfy a self-fabricated deportation goal.' Garcia was referring to Stephen Miller, a key architect of Trump's immigration crackdown. Garcia also said 'this is not what we voted for.' However, Trump promised voters he would conduct the largest domestic deportation operation in American history to expel millions of immigrants in the country illegally. 1965 was the last time the National Guard was deployed without a governor's permission No president has done so since Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to protect a civil rights march in Alabama, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. Johnson, unlike Trump, invoked the Insurrection Act, an 18th-century wartime law that allows presidents to deploy military forces during times of rebellion or unrest. Trump instead relied on a similar federal law that places National Guard troops under federal command under circumstances that include the threat of rebellion. But the law also says that orders for those purposes 'shall be issued through the governors of the States' — making it unclear whether the president can activate the Guard without the order of that state's governor. More rallies planned for downtown LA Union leaders are planning a rally for downtown Los Angeles Monday to support a labor leader arrested during immigration protests. The Service Employees International Union said Monday that the rally at Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles is in support of its California president David Huerta. Huerta was arrested Friday and expected to appear in court Monday afternoon. The SEIU represents thousands of janitors, security officers and other workers in California. The group is also planning rallies in at least a dozen other cities spanning from Denver to New York. Los Angeles has seen three days of protests over immigration arrests. Protests intensified after President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard. Chicago leaders join immigration protests: 'This is not about immigration. This is about domination of all of our communities.' In Chicago, dozens of labor leaders, immigrant rights activists and elected officials rallied in a downtown plaza Monday in support of David Huerta, a regional president of the Service Employees International Union, who was arrested in California last week. The crowd called for Huerta's immediate release, ending speeches with chants of 'Free David!' 'He was wrongfully detained,' said Genie Kastrup, president of a Chicago-based SEIU chapter. What happened to Huerta 'is about more than a single leader. It is a direct assault on all of us.' The group also called out the Trump administration's aggressive tactics on immigration enforcement, including a travel ban and arrests last week at a Chicago office used for Immigration and Customs Enforcement check-ins. 'We're not going anywhere. This isn't about safety. This is about control,' said Democratic U.S. Rep. Jesus 'Chuy' Garcia, who was born in Mexico. 'Fear is the tactic, silence is the goal. This is not about immigration. This is about domination of all of our communities.' See where the protests took place The arrival of the National Guard followed two days of protests that began Friday in downtown Los Angeles before spreading on Saturday to Paramount, a heavily Latino city south of the city, and neighboring Compton. On Sunday, protesters clashed with the National Guard in downtown LA, blocking off a major freeway and setting self-driving cars on fire. How did we get here? Protests were triggered by ICE arrests Friday Confrontations began when dozens of protesters gathered outside a federal detention center demanding the release of 44 people arrested by federal immigration authorities across Los Angeles Friday, as part of Trump's mass deportation campaign. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is averaging about 1,600 arrests per day, according to the agency's head, Todd Lyons, who defended the tactics on June 2. Mexican president calls for due process after authorities detained 42 Mexicans in Los Angeles raids Mexican Foreign Affairs Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente said Monday that 42 Mexicans had been detained in raids in Los Angeles and that four had already returned to Mexico – two voluntarily and two via deportation. President Claudia Sheinbaum, speaking at her daily news briefing, read aloud a statement from the Mexican government about the events in Los Angeles. 'The Mexican government reiterates its unwavering commitment to the protection and defense of the human rights of Mexicans living overseas, regardless of their immigration status. In this sense, we make a respectful but firm call to United States authorities for all immigration procedures to be carried out with adherence to due process, within a framework of respect for human dignity and the rule of law.' 'We do not agree with violent actions as a form of protest. Burning police cars appears to be more an act of provocation than of resistance. We condemn violence, no matter where it comes from. We call on the Mexican community to act pacifically and not allow itself to be provoked.' 'The Mexican government will continue using all diplomatic and legal channels available to express its disagreement through its consular network with practices that criminalize immigration and put at risk the safety and wellbeing of our communities in the United States.' Gov. Gavin Newsom to sue Trump over National Guard deployment Newsom, a Democrat, told MSNBC that he planned to file suit Monday against the Trump administration to roll back the Guard deployment, which he called 'an illegal act, an immoral act, an unconstitutional act.' Trump has cited a legal provision that allows him to mobilize federal troops when there is 'a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.' But Newsom said he believed the president was required to coordinate with the state's governor before ordering such a deployment. 'We're going to test that theory with a lawsuit tomorrow,' Newsom said Sunday. The city of Glendale cancels a contract that allows ICE to house detainees in its local jail The city in California is cancelling a contract that allowed federal immigration authorities to house detainees within its local jail, citing fears of undermining community trust. In a statement Sunday night, Glendale officials said the city would formally terminate its agreement with the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. '(T)he City recognizes that public perception of the ICE contract—no matter how limited or carefully managed, no matter the good—has become divisive,' the statement noted. Federal immigration authorities often enter into agreements with local police departments to house immigrant detainees. ICE's agreement with Glendale had been in place since 2007, officials said. An ICE spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Travel Ban As tensions continue to rise over Trump's immigration enforcement, the President's new ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens from 12 mainly African and Middle Eastern countries is taking effect Monday. ▶ Follow live updates on President Trump's administration Trump was awake past midnight raging against the protests in LA and calling for a crackdown 'Looking really bad in L.A. BRING IN THE TROOPS!!!' he wrote on Truth Social at 12:16 a.m. ET. Roughly 300 National Guard members arrived in the city over the weekend, and Trump said he had authorized 2,000 members to deploy if needed, over the objections of California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The military said 500 Marines were on standby. 'ARREST THE PEOPLE IN FACE MASKS, NOW!' Trump wrote at 12:19 a.m. Trump cited Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell's recent comments to defend his response to the protests. 'Don't let these thugs get away with this. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!' Trump wrote at 12:14 a.m. 'This thing has gotten out of control,' McDonell said Sunday. 'We have great cops in Southern California here that work together all the time,' he said. But he added that 'looking at the violence tonight, I think we gotta make a reassessment.' Australian reporter hit by nonlethal round during live report from the protests An Australian television journalist was hit in the leg by a nonlethal round Sunday while reporting live from downtown Los Angeles. Video of the incident released by 9News shows correspondent Lauren Tomasi reporting live when an officer behind her suddenly raises their firearm and fires a nonlethal round at close range. Tomasi, who doesn't appear to be wearing personal protective equipment, cries out in pain and clutches her lower leg as she and her cameraman quickly move away from the police line. 'You just (expletive) shot the reporter,' a voice off-camera can be heard shouting. The shooting came after a tense afternoon in which Tomasi and her crew were caught between riot police and protesters. At one point, she struggled to speak over the sound of clashes, while a protester grabbed the camera mid-broadcast. 'They've told people to get out of this area, and protesters have been refusing,' she reported. 'We are safe here. It's just noisy. But you can see the volatility.' Speaking later Monday to 9News, Tomasi confirmed she was safe and unharmed. Clashes escalated Sunday as National Guard troops arrived downtown Starting Sunday morning, the troops stood shoulder to shoulder, carrying long guns and riot shields as 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. Minutes later, the Los Angeles Police Department fired rounds of crowd-control munitions to disperse the protesters, who they said were assembled unlawfully. Much of the group then moved to block traffic on the 101 freeway until state patrol officers cleared them from the roadway by late afternoon. Nearby, at least four self-driving Waymo cars were set on fire, sending large plumes of black smoke into the sky and exploding intermittently as the electric vehicles burned. By evening, police had issued an unlawful assembly order shutting down several blocks of downtown Los Angeles. Flash bangs echoed out every few seconds into the evening. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Protests intensified on Sunday night in Los Angeles after Trump deployed National Guard troops Sunday's protests in Los Angeles were centered in several blocks of downtown. It was the third and most intense day of demonstrations against Trump's immigration crackdown in the region, as the arrival of around 300 Guard troops spurred anger and fear among many residents. Many protesters dispersed as evening fell and police declared an unlawful assembly, a precursor to officers moving in and making arrests of people who don't leave. Some of those remaining threw objects at police from behind a makeshift barrier that spanned the width of a street and others hurled chunks of concrete, rocks, electric scooters and fireworks at California Highway Patrol officers and their vehicles. Officers ran under an overpass to take cover. The Guard was deployed specifically to protect federal buildings, including the downtown detention center where protesters concentrated. Several dozen people were arrested throughout the weekend of protest. One was detained Sunday for throwing a Molotov cocktail at police, and another for ramming a motorcycle into a line of officers.

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