Donald Trump promises swift action to clear homeless people from Washington
Trump distinguished between the homeless and criminals in his statement, emphasising that 'criminals' will not be relocated but instead 'put in jail where you belong.' He vowed that the actions would happen quickly, drawing a parallel to recent border enforcement successes: 'We went from millions pouring in, to ZERO in the last few months. This will be easier — Be prepared!'
The President warned there would be 'no 'MR. NICE GUY'' approach in this crackdown, stressing a firm intention to 'get our Capital BACK.'
The announcement signals a tough stance on homelessness and crime in Washington, D.C., and sets the stage for what is expected to be a major policy declaration.
Washington, D.C., ranks 15th among major US cities in homeless population, according to government statistics released last year, AFP reported. Despite this ranking, Trump has recently escalated rhetoric around homelessness and crime in the capital.
Earlier this week, Trump threatened to deploy the National Guard in Washington as part of a crackdown on what he claimed is a surge in crime—a claim widely disputed by local officials and law enforcement. The threat comes just weeks after Trump ordered the deployment of California's National Guard into Los Angeles to control protests sparked by immigration raids, a move met with strong opposition from local leaders.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
6 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Farmers, workers protest FTAs, warn of corporate takeover of agriculture
Farmer and worker unions on Wednesday staged protests against the Union government's free trade agreements (FTAs), alleging they are damaging India's agricultural sector. As part of the 'Quit Corporates' call given by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha and the Joint Committee of Central Trade Unions, farmers, labourers, tenant farmers, and agricultural workers assembled here, burning effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Donald Trump. Speakers compared the India-U.S. FTAs to earlier GATT, Dunkel, and WTO deals, claiming they favour corporate interests at the expense of farmers. They alleged the agreements allow foreign companies to dominate machinery sales and agri produce markets, citing rules such as scrapping 10-year-old tractors as exploitative. Protestors warned that these pacts could devastate farming, transfer land to corporates, and hurt aquaculture through U.S.-imposed tariffs. Their demands included scrapping Trump-era tariffs, implementing the Swaminathan Commission's MSP recommendations for all crops, waiving loans for farmers, tenants, and agricultural labourers, reversing anti-worker labour laws, and protecting public sector enterprises. The protest was addressed by Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sangham State joint secretary K. Srinivas, BKMY State vice president Bandi Venkateswara Rao, IFTU district secretary Badda Venkata Rao, Rythu Coolie Sangham leader Sheikh Basha, AIKS general secretary S.K. Ghouse, CITU district president R. Lingaraju, Congress Kisan Cell leader Rajanala Ram Mohan Rao, and AITUC district president Reddy Srinivas Dange.
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
6 minutes ago
- First Post
Trump-Putin summit: Why Russia sold Alaska to the US in 1867
US President Donald Trump will be meeting his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Alaska on Friday (August 15). The location of the high-stakes summit assumes importance as the territory was once held by Russia. It later sold it to the US for just $7.2 million. Here's why Advertisement The US bought Alaska from Russia in 1867. Wikimedia Commons United States President Donald Trump is set to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday (August 15). In a gaffe earlier this week, the American leader said on television that the high-stakes summit between him and Putin will be 'in Russia'. He would have been right if only it were over a century and a half back, when the Russian empire held Alaska. Russia sold the territory to the US in 1867. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD But why? We will explain. Russia seizes Alaska In the mid-18th century, Siberian merchants and adventurers crossed the Bering Sea to arrive in Alaska for sea otter pelts. The fur traders set up hubs in Sitka, formerly known as New Archangel, and on Kodiak Island. A merchant called Alexander Baranov strengthened Russia's hold on the region in the late 18th century. He expanded settlements and brutally suppressed resistance, including from the native Tlingit, who gave him the nickname 'No Heart', as per The Guardian. Later, Russian Orthodox priests reached Alaska, establishing missions and churches. Missionaries baptised an estimated 18,000 Alaska Natives, reported Associated Press (AP). Russian settlers forced Alaska Natives to harvest sea otters and other marine mammals for their pelts, Ian Hartman, a University of Alaska Anchorage history professor, told the American news agency. 'It was a relationship that the Russians made clear quite early on was not really about kind of a longer-term pattern of settlement, but it was much more about a short-term pattern of extraction,' Hartman said. The Russian population in Alaska was less than 400 permanent settlers, as per the Office of the Historian of the US State Department. Why Russia sold Alaska to the US Alaska became an expensive outpost for the Russian empire by the mid-19th century, which it could no longer afford. By 1867, the otters had been hunted nearly to extinction, taking a toll on the profitability of the colony. Russia's defeat in the Crimean War to Britain, France, and Turkey had left it broke. The Russian tsar did not want to negotiate with Great Britain or for Alaska to be taken over by an enemy. Amid its changing economic prospects and geopolitical concerns, Russia decided to sell its colony. It then sought the only other potential buyer, the United States. They came together by a mutual hostility toward Great Britain and similar stances on most foreign policy issues, according to a Library of Congress article. Russia first made the offer to sell Alaska, then called Russian America, in 1859. However, the sale was delayed by the American Civil War, as per the US state department website. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The US was interested in buying Alaska as it was looking to expand. In the 1840s, it took Oregon, Texas and California as its own territory. The Americans finally bought the Russian territory in 1867 for $7.2 million. What Russia-US thought of the deal In St Petersburg, the deal was criticised by some, who believed the price for the colony was insultingly low. The liberal paper Golos described the cheap sale as 'deeply angering all true Russians'. 'Is the nation's sense of pride truly so unworthy of attention that it can be sacrificed for a mere six or seven million dollar[s],' the paper wrote. In a letter to a friend in July 1867, Eduard de Stoeckl, the Russian envoy in Washington and chief negotiator of the sale, acknowledged: 'My treaty has met with strong opposition … but this stems from the fact that no one at home has any idea of the true condition of our colonies. It was simply a matter of selling them, or watching them being taken from.' The purchase of Alaska was viewed as 'Seward's Folly' in the US. American Secretary of State, William H Seward, who negotiated the treaty, was mocked for spending the sum on a frozen wilderness. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The New-York Daily Tribune dismissed the purchase as 'the nominal possession of impassable deserts of snow'. 'We may make a treaty with Russia, but we cannot make a treaty with the North Wind or the Snow King,' its editorial read. The US saw Alaska's worth in the late 1890s. Gold was discovered in the territory in 1896. Alaska became a state in 1959. In the 1950s and '60s, large oil reserves were found there. With this, it became one of US's most resource-rich territories. Upset with the cheap sale, some fringe nationalists in Russia still call for reclaiming Alaska. With inputs from agencies
Time of India
6 minutes ago
- Time of India
Ex-Diplomat Urges India to Stand Firm Against Trump's Tariff Pressure
/ Aug 13, 2025, 08:25PM IST Former diplomat Vikas Swarup has hit back at US President Donald Trump's 50% tariff move on India, calling it a deliberate pressure tactic. He cites three main triggers: India's BRICS membership, refusal to acknowledge Trump's claimed role in the India–Pakistan ceasefire, and resistance to US demands on dairy, agriculture, and GM crops. Swarup also links the tariffs to Trump's Nobel Peace Prize ambitions and frustration over stalled Russia sanctions. While he says Pakistan has briefly gained favour in Washington, India's ties with the US remain strategic. He urges New Delhi to stay firm ahead of the high-stakes US–Russia talks in Alaska.#vikasswarup #donaldtrump #ustariffs #indiausrelations #brics #indiapakistan #nobelpeaceprize #russiaukraine #pakistan #strategicautonomy #gmfoods #dairytrade #agriculturetrade #alaskatalks #uspolitics
