Today in History: Francis Ford Coppola's ‘The Godfather' released
Today is Saturday, March 15, the 74th day of 2025. There are 291 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On March 15, 1972, 'The Godfather,' Francis Ford Coppola's film based on the Mario Puzo novel and starring Marlon Brando and Al Pacino, premiered in New York.
Also on this date:
In 44 B.C., on the 'ides of March,' Roman dictator Julius Caesar was assassinated by Roman senators, including Brutus and Cassius, who feared Caesar was working to establish a monarchy.
In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson, addressing a joint session of Congress, called for new legislation to guarantee every American's right to vote. The result was passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
In 2012, convicted former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich entered a federal prison in Colorado, where the 55-year-old Democrat began serving a 14-year sentence for corruption. (He was released in February 2020 after President Donald Trump commuted his sentence; Trump pardoned Blagojevich in February 2025.)
Rod Blagojevich saga: From arrest to Donald Trump's pardon
In 2018, a pedestrian bridge under construction over a busy Miami highway collapsed, crushing vehicles beneath it; six people died and 10 were injured.
In 2019, a gunman killed 51 people at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, streaming the massacre live on Facebook. (Brenton Tarrant, an Australian white supremacist, was sentenced to life in prison without parole after pleading guilty to 51 counts of murder and other charges.)
In 2022, Russia stepped up its bombardment of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, while an estimated 20,000 civilians fled the desperately encircled port city of Mariupol by way of a humanitarian corridor.
Today's Birthdays: Actor Judd Hirsch is 90. Singer Mike Love (The Beach Boys) is 84. Filmmaker David Cronenberg is 82. Musician Sly Stone is 82. Musician Ry Cooder is 78. Actor Frances Conroy is 72. Rock singer Dee Snider (Twisted Sister) is 70. Baseball Hall of Famer Harold Baines is 66. Filmmaker Renny Harlin is 66. Rock singer Bret Michaels (Poison) is 62. Singer-TV host Mark McGrath (Sugar Ray) is 57. Actor Kim Raver is 56. Actor Eva Longoria is 50. Musician will.i.am (Black Eyed Peas) is 50. Actor Kellan Lutz is 40.
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Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Homeland Security seeks weapons, drones for LA immigration crackdown
WASHINGTON —The Department of Homeland Security has asked the Pentagon for help in transporting weapons from Fort Benning in Georgia and another site in Wyoming to Los Angeles, where its immigration crackdown has become increasingly militarized. The request came Monday after President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered thousands of National Guard troops and 700 active-duty Marines to Los Angeles over the objection of California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Trump and Hegseth said the troops are needed to restore order, protect federal buildings and law enforcement officials arresting and deporting migrants in the United States illegally. The request from Homeland Security, confirmed by a Defense official, also seeks 'drone surveillance support,' direction to troops on detaining or arresting 'lawbreakers,' and graduates from an organization like the Marines' School of Advanced Warfighting School for setting up a joint operation center. It's unclear what type of weapons Homeland Security officials are seeking for their immigration crackdown in California. Also unclear: who would use them and who they would be used against. Pentagon officials are reviewing the request, according to the official who was not authorized to speak publicly. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its request. On Wednesday, Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, asked Hegseth if he would authorize drones and the use of 'military forces to detain or arrest American citizens.' Reed is a member of the Senate Defense Approprations subcommittee and the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee. Hegseth did not answer directly, saying, 'Senator, every authorization we've provided, the National Guard, and the Marines in Los Angeles is under the authority of the president of the United States. Is lawful and constitutional.' Active-duty troops are generally barred by federal law from participating in law enforcement operations, based on century's old tradition separating the military from domestic policing. There is an exception under the Insurrection Act that allows the president to use the military to put down an internal rebellion. National Guard troops have fewer restrictions. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are carrying out a directive from Trump to find immigrants living in the United States without legal status. Protests have sprung up against the sweeps the agency is carrying out in various neighborhoods. News that Homeland Security officials want ammunition, drones and combat expertise follows another request it made of the Pentagon. That one seeks for the first time more than 20,000 National Guard troops for their 'support of interior immigration enforcement operations.' That could put Guardsmen far from the southern border -- where they have supported enforcement operations for years -- and thrust them into center of the administration's crackdown on illegal immigration in American cities. "DHS requested 20,000 National Guard members to help carry out the president's mandate from the American people to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens," DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. "The Department of Homeland Security will use every tool and resource available to get criminal illegal aliens including gang members, murderers, pedophiles, and other violent criminals out of our country. The safety of American citizens comes first.' More: Trump wants 20,000 troops to hunt, transport immigrants. Cost estimate: $3.6 billion It's not a given that these requests will be granted in part or in full. Pentagon officials review the proposals and decide what the military can spare without compromising its mission. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Homeland Security seeks weapons, drones for LA immigration crackdown
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Some Los Angeles families are skipping school graduation because they are afraid of ICE
At Palms Middle School in Los Angeles, the aggressive immigration crackdown that is dominating the city loomed over a joyous middle school commencement ceremony on June 10. A doleful Principal Arturo Enriquez told Angeleno families that parents and community members were stationed outside of the campus "ready to call me" if United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials showed up. "We are a melting pot of beautiful, incredible people," Enriquez said to the crowd before wiping a tear from his eye. "This incredible community, all of these students, all of these parents, guardians, friends and family, it is because of you that these young people are here ready to go on to that next step – to that high school life, to represent each of us as an incredible member of society." Some families too afraid to attend the graduation out of fear of increased presence of immigration enforcement officials across the city didn't hear the principal's message. They and many other Angeleno immigrants who live in the sanctuary city are foregoing the chance to witness their young loved ones receive diplomas or advance to the next grade at upcoming school graduation ceremonies out of fear of getting deported. "I've spoken with parents who've told me that their daughter would be the first in their family to graduate high school and they're not going to be there to witness it, because they have a fear of the place of graduation being targeted,' said Alberto Carvalho, superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, which covers the majority of the city and some surrounding areas of Los Angeles and serves more than a half of a million public school students, during a June 9 news conference. More than one-third of Angelenos are immigrants. ICE detained a Los Angeles fourth grader from Torrance Elementary School and his father in Texas on May 29. They are expected to be deported to Honduras. The young child's deportation has left a wound. 'When something like this happens, it shakes all of us in the community," Torrance Elementary PTA volunteer Ria Villanueva told The Los Angeles Times. Homeland security agents attemped to enter two Los Angeles schools in early April, but they were denied entry. Arrests of young people by Immigration and Customs Enforcement are happening nationwide in other targeted American communities, such as Milford, Massachusetts, where an 11th grader's arrest and detention by ICE has heightened anxiety among the area's immigrants, and in New York City, where educations officials say ICE have recently arrested and detained two students. 'President Trump is keeping his promise to deport illegal aliens and the law enforcement officers conducting operations do so efficiently and professionally," said Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, in response to a question from USA TODAY about the Trump administration's enforcement on immigration at and around schools. "Individuals, like the violent rioters in LA, who try to obstruct or deter operations put law enforcement officers and law abiding citizens at risk.' The Trump administration's increased immigration enforcement and related protests around LA Unified schools over the last several weeks have put parents, students and school officials on especially high alert. After law enforcement officers deployed flash-bang grenades against protesters near a Los Angeles Unified elementary school campus, the school community went into lockdown on June 6. The tensions have left the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second-largest district in the nation, at the center of the national battle on immigration deportations and family separations. Ahead of future graduation ceremonies in the district, Carvalho said he said he has directed Los Angeles Unified school police to stand at the front lines and "intervene and interfere with any federal agency who may want to take action during these joyous times that we call graduation." The Los Angeles families' anxieties come after a series of Trump administration-led anti-immigrant actions in the city, making it a national battleground for President Donald Trump's long-promised crackdown on illegal immigration. President Donald Trump and his administration have deployed thousands of National Guard members to the nation's second-largest city since June 8. The National Guard entered Los Angeles after citizens who were angry about immigration raids in the city, including one at a Home Depot, launched largely peaceful demonstrations against the administration's enforcement of illegal immigration. How did the LA protests begin? A look at the immigration raids that sparked outrage Chaos and violence have since erupted across Los Angeles, resulting in the detainment of some immigrants, destruction of city property and fear and hiding among immigrant families and children of immigrants who attend school across the region. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has vehemently objected against the immigration raids and deployment of federal guards, even filing a lawsuit against Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth alleging they deployed "members of the California National Guard, without lawful authority, and in violation of the Constitution." "Instead of focusing on undocumented immigrants with serious criminal records and people with final deportation orders – a strategy both parties have long supported – this administration is pushing mass deportations - indiscriminately targeting hardworking, immigrant families regardless of their roots or risk, " Newsom, a Democrat, said in a video posted on Instagram. There's no sign that the immigration raids will end. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on X on June 9 that they will deploy about 700 active duty U.S. Marines to Los Angeles "to restore order." Trump has also threatened to arrest Newsom for challenging the federal government. 700 Marines Heading to LA; Newsom calls move 'deranged fantasy' of Trump A third-grade elementary school teacher in the district, who asked to remain anonymous because she is worried that her school and her students will be targeted by immigration enforcement officials if she is identified, said she has felt deep fear and constant anxiety in her students about them or their families being detained by ICE officials. She said many kids in her classroom whose parents are undocumented immigrants, some of whom are newcomers from Guatemala, are worried about being deported or separated from their families. Their fears have intensified since immigration raids have occurred close to the school. Attendance was unusually low and many school bus stops were eerily quiet during the last two days of school in her classroom on June 9 and 10, she said. "I try to pretend everything's normal when everything's falling apart outside of the school," she said. Her six-year-old son, who attends the same school where she teaches, found about about the immigration raids through friends and told her, 'Mom, I'm glad you have papers so they can't take you.' Los Angeles Unified Superintendent Carvlaho said in a statement on June 6 that he is "dismayed" by the recent immigration enforcement activity occurring near district schools. "These actions are causing unnecessary fear, confusion, and trauma for our students and families – many of whom are simply trying to get to and from school and work, and to live with dignity," Carvalho said. The presence of federal immigration activity near school campuses threatens prevents schools from being a "safe haven" where students "can learn, grow, and thrive without fear of being separated from their loved ones," he said. California State Superintendent of Education Tony Thurmond called Trump's military deployment and mass immigration raids "unnecessary," "a betrayal of our American values" and "an assault on all Californians" in a statement on June 9. Thurmond said about half of California kids have at least one immigrant parent. "Innocent children should never be in handcuffs, and families should never be torn apart by our government. Our children deserve to be protected and cared for, not terrified at school or ripped from their families," Thurmond said. "Let's be clear: When the President targets our immigrant families, he harms California's children." California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Thurmond have called on Trump to end the mass immigration raids and pull back National Guard troops from Los Angeles for the safety of Los Angeles families. 'My message to President Trump is very clear: keep your hands off California's kids," Thurmond said on June 9. "The President's unchecked, unnecessary deployment of our nation's military to the city of Los Angeles is deeply dangerous for our children, for our families, and for our country." The officials' sentiments haven't calmed the widespread fear among many of the city's vast immigrant communities. Britt Vaughan, a spokesperson for Los Angeles Unified school district, said that parents and community members have been anxiously calleing into schools to report federal immigration activity in their communities. Enriquez, from Palms Middle School, told students and their families at the commencement ceremony to use the momentum of graduation as an opportunity to stand up to what he called "injustice" against their community. "Be empowered. Injustices exist in the world," he said. "Speak up. Stand up against any injustice anywhere." Contact Kayla Jimenez at kjimenez@ Follow her on X at @kaylajjimenez. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fearing ICE, some LA families skip school graduations
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Army, Trump love a $40 million parade. But nothing is planned for Navy, Marines
WASHINGTON — The Army's latest estimate for its major parade to celebrate its 250th anniversary – which falls on President Donald Trump's birthday – totals $40 million, including the cost of repairing streets in Washington, DC expected to be gnawed by tank treads. Meanwhile, the Navy, which also celebrates its 250th anniversary in October, has no plans for a similar parade, according to a spokesperson. The Marine Corps, too, has its 250th in November, and does not appear to have a parade on tap either. That leads a Democratic senator and member of the Armed Services Committee to believe that the June 14 parade featuring tanks, helicopters, warplanes and troops in period costume is as much about feeding Trump's ego as it is celebrating the Army's heritage. 'It is Donald Trump who is the focus of his own attention, and the Army birthday just happened to be a convenient excuse,' said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut. 'He might well celebrate all our military services together since their birthdays are imminent. 'I'm all in favor of celebrating the anniversaries of our services in a more appropriate way but without the extravagant expenditure of funds that are vital to our military.' More: Tanks, cannons and soldiers sleeping in DC offices: Inside Trump birthday military parade The administration insists that the Army's anniversary and Trump's birthday are a coincidence and that the parade is justified to honor soldiers' sacrifice. Plans for the June 14 parade began in earnest about a month ago. 'The President is planning an historic celebration of the Army's 250th birthday that will honor generations of selfless Americans who have risked everything for our freedom,' Domestic Policy Council Director Vince Haley said in a statement last month. Trump told NBC in May that the parade's cost was, 'Peanuts compared to the value of doing it." The Army has acknowledged that the parade is costly, but says the expense justified. Tens of millions spent on a parade 'is dwarfed by 250 years of service and sacrifice by America's Army,' spokesman Steve Warren told reporters recently. The Army's initial estimate for the parade covered a range from $25 to $45 million. But as the event nears the estimate has been refined and includes damage to streets and infrastructure anticipated from heavy armored vehicles, according to a Defense official who was not authorized to speak publicly. It's unclear how much the Army has budgeted to repair expected damage. The $40 million in taxpayer dollars will fund a parade featuring Abrams tanks, vintage World War II warplanes and thousands of soldiers marching in period uniforms to mark the nation's battles from the Revolutionary War to the present. A reviewing stand is being erected for Trump south of the White House. The Army is shipping tanks from Texas by railroad to Washington for the parade, and soldiers from other posts around the country. They will be housed downtown in government buildings transformed into makeshift barracks with thousands of cots. More: DC mayor worried tanks will chew up downtown streets in Army-Trump parade Military parades, especially France's annual Bastille Day celebration, have captivated Trump. But celebrations of military might are more common in authoritarian regimes. Every member of the Army participating in the parade, from private to general, will be expected to bunk in what the Army calls Life Support Areas, the official said. There are exceptions. Pvt. Doc Holliday being one. Doc is a blue heeler hound and 'cherished member of Horse Cavalry Detachment, according to the First Cavalry Division. Doc will be staying in a hotel with his handler, the official said. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The Army gets a $40 million parade. What about the Navy, Marines?
