
DC takeover live: National Guard hit streets of Washington as mayor attacks Trump's ‘authoritarian push'
The operation came after 850 federal agents and federalized Metropolitan Police went out on patrol the night before.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a briefing that those officers 'made a total of 23 arrests,' adding: 'These arrests consisted of homicide, firearms offenses, possession with intent to distribute narcotics, fair evasion, lewd acts, stalking, possession of a high capacity magazine... driving under the influence, reckless driving, and a bench warrant.'
Democrats have lambasted Trump for seizing control of the city's police force, rejecting his insistence that street crime is 'out of control' given that data for the last two years shows a steep decline.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser decried Trump's measures as an 'authoritarian push' on Tuesday and urged the local community to 'jump in' to 'protect our home rule.'
The president introduced his plan on Monday by declaring the capital was in need of 'liberation' from 'violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people.'
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Daily Mirror
11 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Washington Mayor slams Donald Trump's city takeover as troops flood capital
Donald Trump has hinted he will send the National Guard wing of the US armed forces to Democrat-run cities in what his supporters call a crackdown on rampant crime The Mayor of Washington DC has slammed Donald Trump's takeover of the city an "authoritarian push" as National Guard troops flood the US capital. Democrat mayor Muriel Bowser slammed Mr Trump over his crime crackdown as the US military prepares to patrol the district's streets after the Republican president branded the capital a "lawless" city. Speaking about the move on Tuesday night, she said: "This is a time when the community needs to jump in. To protect our city, to protect our autonomy, to protect our home rule. "Get to the other side of this guy and make sure we elect a Democratic House so that we have a backstop to this authoritarian push." The mayor's combative stance comes after she branded the takeover as "unprecedented," although she admitted she was not "totally surprised." It comes after Donald Trump was seen with a mystery mark in Scotland after his chronic health diagnosis. The National Guard arrived in the US capital at about 8pm on Tuesday after Mr Trump said he wanted to curb violent crime in the city. Mr Trump activated the national guard following an attempted carjacking involving DOGE employee Edward Coristine, who was beaten while trying to protect a woman. His comments are a stark contrast to his previous responses to crime in Washington DC. Following his inauguration, Mr Trump pardoned nearly 1,600 people convicted or awaiting trio for the January 6, 2021 Capitol riots with more than 600 having been convicted or pleading guilty to assault, or obstructing law enforcement and 170 of having used a deadly weapon. National Guard troops have been seen in the capital with a master sergeant telling The New York Times military Humvees parked on the National Mall was part of a "presence patrol." The Washington Post said Pentagon documents said there could be 600 troops on the ground within a single hour anywhere in the US should they be given approval. Mr Trump suggested on Monday that he could extend the takeover to other major cities in the US, such as New York City and Chicago, all Democrat-run states. Mr Trump said: "This will go further. "We're going to take back our capital…and then we'll look at other cities also." Mr Trump has the ability to send troops to Washington DC as it is not a state and is under tight federal control, his efforts to do so in states - such as California - has been challenged in the courts. While Mr Trump signalled out Democrat-run states, FBI crime statistics show four out of the five US cities with at least 100,000 residents that had the highest number of crimes against 100,000 people, were in Republican voting states. Not every agency reports to the FBI, and therefore the list is not fully complete: Memphis, Tennessee Cleveland, Ohio Toledo, Ohio Little Rock, Arkansas Peoria, Illinois Springfield, Illinois Detroit, Michigan Akron, Ohio Beaumont, Texas Rockford, Illinois Figures from Washington DC's Metropolitan Police indicates crime remains high in the capital but also suggests violent offences have fallen following a peak in 2023 and 2024. It has since reached its lowest levels in 30 years. Violent crime is down 26 per cent this year compared to the same time period last year and instances of robbery are down 28 per cent. Violent crime data is collected differently by the metropolitan police and FBI, with public data indicating a drop of 25 per cent for 2024 and a nine per cent drop, respectively. Critics have said Mr Trump's efforts are a distraction from mounting criticism over how his administration has fumbled the handling of releasing files related to the death and connections of Jeffrey Epstein. But Republicans have argued crime in major cities is out of control and has not been curbed by Democrats who run many densely populated areas of the country.


Reuters
11 minutes ago
- Reuters
Israel says Gazans free to exit while Hamas attends Cairo ceasefire talks
CAIRO/JERUSALEM, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Militant group Hamas' chief negotiator held talks with Egyptian mediators over a potential ceasefire in the Gaza war on Wednesday while Israel struck the territory's main city prior to a planned takeover and again invited Palestinians to leave. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated an idea - also enthusiastically floated by U.S. President Donald Trump - that Palestinians should simply leave the enclave housing more than 2 million people after nearly two years of conflict. "They're not being pushed out, they'll be allowed to exit," he told Israeli television channel i24NEWS. "All those who are concerned for the Palestinians and say they want to help the Palestinians should open their gates and stop lecturing us." Arabs and many world leaders are aghast at the idea of displacing the Gaza population, which Palestinians say would be like another "Nakba" (catastrophe) when hundreds of thousands fled or were forced out during a 1948 war. Israel's planned re-seizure of Gaza City - which it took in the early days of the war before withdrawing - is probably weeks away, officials say. That means a ceasefire is still possible though talks have been floundering and conflict still rages. Israeli planes and tanks bombed eastern areas of Gaza City heavily, residents said, with many homes destroyed in the Zeitoun and Shejaia neighbourhoods overnight. Al-Ahli hospital said 12 people were killed in an airstrike on a home in Zeitoun. Tanks also destroyed several houses in the east of Khan Younis in south Gaza too, while in the centre Israeli gunfire killed nine aid-seekers in two separate incidents, Palestinian medics said. Israel's military did not comment. Hamas chief negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya's meetings with Egyptian officials in Cairo on Wednesday were to focus on stopping the war, delivering aid and "ending the suffering of our people in Gaza," Hamas official Taher al-Nono said in a statement. Egyptian security sources said the talks would also discuss the possibility of a comprehensive ceasefire that would see Hamas relinquish governance in Gaza and concede its weapons. A Hamas official told Reuters the group was open to all ideas if Israel pulls out. However, "Laying down arms before the occupation is dismissed is impossible," the official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters. Netanyahu's plan to expand military control over Gaza, which Israeli sources said could be launched in October, has heightened global outcry over the widespread devastation, displacement and hunger in the enclave. About half of Gaza's residents live in the Gaza City area. Foreign ministers of 24 countries, including Britain, Canada, Australia, France and Japan, said this week the humanitarian crisis in Gaza had reached "unimaginable levels" and urged Israel to allow unrestricted aid. Israel denies responsibility for hunger, accusing Hamas of stealing aid. It says it has taken steps to increase deliveries, including daily combat pauses in some areas and protected routes for aid convoys. The Israeli military on Wednesday said that nearly 320 trucks entered Gaza through the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings and that a further nearly 320 trucks were collected and distributed by the U.N. and international organizations in the past 24 hours along with three tankers of fuel and 97 pallets of air-dropped aid. The United Nations and Palestinians say aid entering Gaza remains far from sufficient. The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Israel's offensive against Hamas in Gaza since then has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials.


The Guardian
11 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Trump to visit Kennedy Center after hinting at name change as honors announced
Update: Date: 2025-08-13T09:47:20.000Z Title: Trump at Kennedy Center same day that honors are announced Content: Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog. My name is Tom Ambrose and I will be bringing you all the latest news. We start with the news that Donald Trump will be visiting the Kennedy Center on Wednesday, the same day that the recipients of this year's honors are announced. Trump avoided the Kennedy Center Honors during his first term after artists said they would not attend out of protest. This year, he has taken over as the Kennedy Center's new chairman and fired the board of trustees, which he replaced with loyalists. In a Truth Social post Tuesday, Trump teased a name change for the performing arts center and said it would be restored to its former glory, AP reported. 'GREAT Nominees for the TRUMP/KENNEDY CENTER, whoops, I mean, KENNEDY CENTER, AWARDS,' Trump wrote. He said work was being done on the site that would be 'bringing it back to the absolute TOP LEVEL of luxury, glamour, and entertainment.' 'It had fallen on hard times, physically, BUT WILL SOON BE MAKING A MAJOR COMEBACK!!!' he wrote. It is unclear how this year's batch of honorees were chosen, though Trump had indicated he wanted a more active role. Historically, a bipartisan advisory committee selects the recipients, who over the years have ranged from George Balanchine and Tom Hanks to Aretha Franklin and Stephen Sondheim. A message sent to the Kennedy Center press office asking how this year's honorees were selected wasn't returned Tuesday. The Kennedy Center did post this on social media, however: 'Coming Soon ... A country music icon, an Englishman, a New York City Rock band, a dance Queen and a multi-billion dollar Actor walk into the Kennedy Center Opera House ...' In other developments: The DC national guard began deploying on the city's streets Tuesday night, a day after Trump ordered their arrival and took control of the city's police force, calling Washington DC a 'lawless' city, despite official crime statistics saying otherwise. A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to immediately improve conditions at a New York City immigration holding facility, acting on mounting complaints from detainees that the cells are overcrowded, unsanitary and inhumane. The Texas Senate approved a GOP-drawn congressional map that would give Republicans five more House seats ahead of the 2026 midterms. But since House Democrats continue to break quorum, the legislation isn't going anywhere. Speaker Dustin Burrows said the House will adjourn until Friday, at which point the legislature will attempt to reach quorum one more time. President Trump is due to speak with European leaders, including Volodymyr Zelenskyy, today ahead of Friday's meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin. Trump's press secretary Karoline Leavitt characterised Friday's meeting between Trump and Putin as a 'listening exercise' for the president, confirming that Zelenskyy would not be in attendance, but the president has hopes for a trilateral meeting in the future. For more on the upcoming meeting, follow our Europe live blog here. California governor Gavin Newsom says the state will draw new electoral maps after Trump 'missed' a deadline on Tuesday night in an ongoing redistricting battle between Democratic and Republican states. The Trump administration is evidently extending its control of cultural representation at the Smithsonian, the world's largest museum and research complex. In a letter posted on the White House website, the administration told the Smithsonian that it plans a wide review of exhibitions, materials and operations ahead of the US's 250th anniversary celebrations in 2026.