Millions of Australians are invested in Trump (they don't know it)
Millions of Australians own a small portion of Donald Trump's business empire after the country's second-largest retirement fund bought a stake in the US president's Nasdaq-listed media arm ahead of his inauguration.
Australian Retirement Trust has become the first major superannuation fund to disclose a holding in Trump Media & Technology Group – the parent company of Truth Social, the president's Twitter-like social media platform.
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News.com.au
33 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Trump deploys National Guard over LA immigration protests
US President Donald Trump deployed 2,000 troops on Saturday to handle escalating protests against immigration enforcement raids in the Los Angeles area, a move the state's governor termed "purposefully inflammatory." Federal agents clashed with angry crowds in a Los Angeles suburb as protests stretched into a second night Saturday, shooting flash-bang grenades and shutting part of a freeway amid raids on undocumented migrants, reports said. The standoff took place in Paramount, where demonstrators had gathered near a Home Depot that was being used as a staging area by federal immigration officials, the Fox 11 news outlet reported. They were met by federal agents in gas masks, who lobbed flash-bang grenades and tear gas at the crowd, according to news reports and social media posts. Since taking office in January, Republican Trump has delivered on a promise to crack down hard on the entry and presence of undocumented migrants -- who he has likened to "monsters" and "animals." Late Saturday, Trump signed a memo deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen "to address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. "The Trump Administration has a zero tolerance policy for criminal behavior and violence, especially when that violence is aimed at law enforcement officers trying to do their jobs." About an hour before the White House confirmed the deployment, California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said he opposed the move. "That move is purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions," he said on social media platform X. "We are in close coordination with the city and county, and there is currently no unmet need." The protests came a day after masked and armed immigration agents carried out high-profile workplace raids in separate parts of Los Angeles, attracting angry crowds and setting off hours-long standoffs. LA Mayor Karen Bass acknowledged that some city residents were "feeling fear" following the federal immigration enforcement actions. "Everyone has the right to peacefully protest, but let me be clear: violence and destruction are unacceptable, and those responsible will be held accountable," she said on X. - Roadblocks and chants - FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said multiple arrests had been made following Friday's clashes. "You bring chaos, and we'll bring handcuffs. Law and order will prevail," he said on X. On Saturday, amid chants for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to get out, some protestors waved Mexican flags while others set a US flag on fire, the Los Angeles Times reported. Cement blocks and overturned shopping carts served as crude roadblocks. A crowd swarmed a US Marshals Service bus exiting a nearby freeway, with authorities later closing on and off ramps to keep protesters from taking over the highway and to stop new people from flowing in. The White House has taken a hard line against the protests, with deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller calling them "an insurrection against the laws and sovereignty of the United States." Los Angeles, the second-most populous city in the United States, is one of the most diverse metropolises in the country. The suburb of Paramount, home to about 50,000 people, is 82 percent Hispanic or Latino, according to US Census data. aha/acb
West Australian
an hour ago
- West Australian
Los Angeles riots: National Guard deployed as protesters and police clash after immigration raids
The White House will deploy its National Guard to intervene in the Los Angeles protests as furious demonstrators continue to clash with federal agents and riot police. 'President Trump has signed a Presidential Memorandum deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen to address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester,' White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced. This comes after US President Donald Trump addressed the extraordinary scenes on his Truth Social account. 'If Governor Gavin Newscum, of California, and Mayor Karen Bass, of Los Angeles, can't do their jobs, which everyone knows they can't, then the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!,' Mr Trump wrote. Chaotic scenes erupted across seven locations on Friday night (local time) in response to raids led by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The sweep led to the arrests of at least 44 people on alleged immigration violations. Protests escalated on Saturday in the Paramount area in southeast Los Angeles, resulting in security agents engaging in a tense confrontation with demonstrators. It's been reported that one protester was seen waving a Mexican flag, and some covered their mouths with respiratory masks. The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that '1000 rioters surrounded a federal law enforcement building and assaulted ICE law enforcement officers, slashed tires, defaced buildings, and taxpayer funded property'. A senior White House aide Stephen Miller wrote on X that the demonstrations were 'an insurrection against the laws and sovereignty of the United States'. The protests pit Democratic-run Los Angeles, where a significant portion of the population is Hispanic and foreign-born, against Mr Trump's Republican White House, which has made cracking down on immigration a hallmark of his second term. Mr Trump has pledged to deport record numbers of people in the country illegally and lock down the US-Mexico border, with the White House setting a goal for ICE to arrest at least 3000 migrants per day. But the sweeping immigration crackdown has also included people legally in the country, including some with permanent residence and has led to legal challenges. Television news footage earlier on Friday showed unmarked vehicles resembling military transport and vans loaded with uniformed federal agents streaming through Los Angeles streets as part of the immigration enforcement operation. The Democratic mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, condemned the immigration raids. 'I am deeply angered by what has taken place,' Ms Bass said. 'These tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city. We will not stand for this.' The LAPD did not take part in the immigration enforcement. It was deployed to quell civil unrest after crowds protesting the deportation raids spray-painted anti-ICE slogans on the walls of a federal court building and gathered outside a nearby jail where some of the detainees were reportedly being held. The Department of Homeland Security criticised Democratic politicians, saying their anti-ICE rhetoric was contributing to violence against immigration agents. 'From comparisons to the modern-day Nazi gestapo to glorifying rioters, the violent rhetoric of these sanctuary politicians is beyond the pale. This violence against ICE must end,' said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. - With AAP
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Liberals concede tax cut stance a 'strategic mistake'
The coalition's new finance spokesman has conceded campaigning against tax cuts was a significant error, promising to push for lower rates in the next term of parliament. James Paterson said the coalition's position against Labor's two-part tax cuts, which would be a reduction of more than $500 a year from July 2027, had cost votes at the May election. While a review of policies was being carried out after the election loss, Senator Paterson said lower taxes would be a significant part of the platform. "We made a strategic mistake at the last election by opposing a tax cut and taking to the election repealing of that tax cut, and that's not a mistake we'll repeat," he told ABC's Insiders program on Sunday. "It's certainly in the Liberal Party's DNA to argue for and advocate for lower taxes whenever they can be afforded and whenever they are achievable." It comes as the coalition has come out against Labor's policy to double the tax rate on superannuation balances above $3 million. The tax rate would increase to 30 per cent in a bid to limit the number of people using their super balances for tax deductions, rather than their retirements. Senator Paterson said the policy was a grab for revenue. "We're never going to make that easier for the government, and we're fighting this because we're opposed to it in principle and we're proud to do so," he said. The median super balance for 60 to 64-year-olds is roughly $200,000 for men and $150,000 for women, with the vast majority of retirees unlikely to feel the impact of Labor's proposal. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday said the changes would make the superannuation system fairer. Opposition industrial relations spokesman Tim Wilson said the government had broken trust with voters on the proposal. "Many people walked into the polling booth at the last election didn't think that the government was going to impose a new tax on unsold assets that was going progressively creep into the superannuation balances of millions of Australians," he told Sky News.
