Russia and Ukraine exchange hundreds more prisoners
Volodymyr Zelensky and Russia's defence ministry confirmed the second prisoner exchange, a day after each side released a total of 390 combatants and civilians.
'Among those who returned today are soldiers from our army, the State Border Service, and the National Guard of Ukraine,' Mr Zelensky said on his official Telegram channel.
'We expect more to come tomorrow,' he added. Russia's defence ministry also said it expected the exchange to be continued, though it did not give details.
Images released by Mr Zelensky's office showed freed Ukrainian service personnel arriving in buses at a rendezvous point inside Ukraine, where they hugged each other and draped themselves in blue and yellow Ukrainian flags.
At least one of the released servicemen was in tears and was being consoled by a woman in military uniform. People assigned to greet the soldiers handed them cellphones, so they could call relatives. 'I can't believe I'm home,' one man said.
A short video released by the Russian defence ministry showed Russian service personnel disembarking from buses and posing with the Russian flag, as well as the flags of the Soviet Union and the Russian empire.
The exchange came hours after Russia launched a major drone and missile attack on Kyiv that left at least 15 people injured.
Overnight, the Kremlin's forces attacked Ukraine with 14 ballistic missiles and 250 Shahed drones, officials said, adding that Ukrainian forces had shot down 6 missiles and neutralised 245 drones.
Thank you for following our live coverage. The blog is now closed.
A large-scale project is under way in Russian-occupied Crimea to rename schools in honour of Russian 'heroes' who have fought in the war against Ukraine.
Local activists have said that over 200 schools in Crimea have been renamed, according to a report by Krym.Realii (Crimea.Realities).
'The Russian occupation authorities in Simferopol, Sudak, Dzhankoi, Kirovskyi, Rozdolne and Chornomorskyi districts are the most actively involved,' an anonymous source said.
'In Simferopol, the Russian-installed city council decided to rename 27 schools. For example, school number 38 was renamed in honour of Vladislav Dorokhin, a so-called 'hero of the special military operation'. Memorial plaques, memory corners, historical displays and museums are being established in schools, and 'patriotic clubs' are being organised,' they added.
The activist said that Russian authorities aim to expand the project to more schools
Germany may consider reintroducing military conscription from as soon as next year if it does not attract enough volunteers for its armed forces, defence minister Boris Pistorius told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung on Saturday.
Part of the Nato alliance, Germany is looking to enhance its military strength following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but looks likely to fail to attract enough recruits. An additional 100,000 soldiers are needed in the coming years to meet Nato obligations, its armed forces have said.
Its Conservatives, which lead a coalition in which Pistorius' Social Democrats are junior partners, have revved up military spending and signalled openness to a compulsory service in the armed forces, which was abandoned in 2011.
'Our model is initially based on voluntary participation,' Mr Pistorius said in an interview.
'If the time comes when we have more capacity available than voluntary registrations, then we may decide to make it mandatory,' he added.
A new bill to that extent could come into force as soon as January 1, 2026, he said.
Russia will send Kyiv its proposals for a memorandum to resolve the war in Ukraine 'in the coming days', according to Konstantin Kosachev, the deputy chairman of the Russian Federation Council.
'Work on the memorandum is underway. Firstly, it is in the final stage. Secondly, I expect that Russia's proposals will be sent to the Ukrainian side in the coming days. I have this information,' said Kosachev, reported by the RBC, a Kremlin-aligned Russian news outlet.
Russian troops have executed Ukrainian prisoners more than 150 times, Kyiv's military intelligence agency said on Saturday.
The agency reported multiple instances in which Russian troops received 'direct orders to kill' prisoners of war, and said there had been a sharp rise in executions since 2024.
According to intelligence officials, these acts are 'not isolated incidents' but part of a deliberate and systematic policy of the Russian leadership.
In March, the United Nations also reported increasing numbers of cases in which Russian forces deliberately killed or maimed Ukrainian soldiers who had surrendered or attempted to surrender.
The agency's statement came hours after Russia and Ukraine completed the first stage of a prisoner exchange which, if completed, would be the biggest swap since the start of the conflict.
Both sides received 390 people in the first stage and are expected to exchange 1,000 each in total over the coming days.
Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed that another 307 prisoners of war have been returned to Ukraine.
'Another 307 Ukrainian defenders are home. Today is the second day of the 1,000-for-1,000 exchange that we managed to negotiate in Türkiye. In just these two days, 697 people have been brought home. We expect the process to continue tomorrow,' Mr Zelensky wrote on social media.
'Among those who returned today are warriors from our Armed Forces, the State Border Guard Service, the National Guard of Ukraine,' he added.
The European Union is considering disconnecting more than 20 banks from SWIFT, the international payment system, and lowering the price ceiling on Russian oil and banning the Nord Stream gas pipelines as part of a new package of sanctions aimed at increasing pressure on Moscow to end the war against Ukraine, Bloomberg has reported.
The EU is also weighing additional transaction bans on about two dozen banks and some €2.5 billion ($2.84 billion) worth of fresh trade restrictions.
The European Commission is consulting member states over the plans, according to people familiar with the matter. EU sanctions require the backing of all member states.
Russia and Ukraine have swapped 307 prisoners of war with each other, the Russian defence ministry said on Saturday.
'Another 307 members of the Russian military were returned from territory controlled by the Kyiv regime. In exchange, 307 Ukrainian prisoners of war were transferred over,' the ministry said in a statement.
The exchange will continue, the ministry added.
Volodymyr Zelensky has described a 'difficult night for all of Ukraine' after Russia launched a 'massive' overnight attack involving 250 strike drones and 14 ballistic missiles.
'The Odesa, Vinnytsia, Sumy, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Kyiv, Dnipro regions suffered damages. All strikes targeted civilians. There are fatalities. My condolences to the families and loved ones,' the Ukrainian president said.
Russian troops have captured the settlements of Stupochki, Otradne and Loknia in Ukraine's Donetsk and Sumy regions, the Russian defence ministry said on Saturday.
The reports could not be immediately verified.
Russia attacked the port infrastructure of Odesa last night, the Odesa Oblast prosecutor's office said, and an investigation has been launched.
'Under the procedural guidance of the Odesa regional prosecutor's office, a pre-trial investigation has been launched into the fact of committing war crimes,' the office said.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that new international sanctions were needed to force Russia to agree a ceasefire, after Russian drone and missile strikes on Kyiv overnight injured 15 people.
'Only additional sanctions targeting key sectors of the Russian economy will force Moscow to cease fire,' he said on X, adding that 'the cause of prolonging the war lies in Moscow'.
The overnight attack on Kyiv came hours after Russia and Ukraine began a major prisoner exchange of hundreds of soldiers and civilians, the first phase of a swap agreed on by the two sides at a meeting in Istanbul last week.
Volodymyr Zelensky said the first phase of the deal brought home 390 Ukrainians, with further releases expected over the weekend, which will make it the largest swap of the war. Russia's defence ministry said it received the same number of people from Ukraine.
The swap took place at the border with Belarus, in northern Ukraine, according to a Ukrainian official.
The released Russians were taken to Belarus for medical treatment, the Russian defence ministry said.
Russia launched dozens of attack drones and ballistic missiles at Kyiv overnight in one of the biggest combined aerial attacks on the Ukrainian capital of the three-year war, damaging several apartment buildings and injuring 15 people.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said in a social media post it had been a 'tough night' for Ukraine, and called for new international sanctions to pressure Moscow into agreeing to a ceasefire.
The Kyiv city military administration and the police reported damage in six districts of the Ukrainian capital, and a total so far of 15 people wounded.
Russia attacked Ukraine with 14 ballistic missiles and 250 Shahed drones, officials said, adding that Ukrainian forces shot down 6 missiles and neutralised 245 drones — 128 drones were shot down and 117 were thwarted using electronic warfare.
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Newsweek
15 minutes ago
- Newsweek
D.C. Mayor Calls Trump Takeover 'Un-American'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The mayor of Washington, D.C., has condemned the Trump administration's federal intervention in the city's policing, describing the deployment of troops to the capital as unpatriotic. "American soldiers and airmen policing American citizens on American soil is #UnAmerican," Mayor Muriel Bowser wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter. Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment via email outside office hours. Why It Matters It comes after President Donald Trump said at a press conference on Monday that the city "has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people." Trump's intervention marks an unprecedented federal involvement in the local governance of the District of Columbia, using emergency powers that city officials and critics describe as a political power play. The deployment has sparked backlash over constitutional limits and home rule rights. Critics argue it breaches democratic principles and could set a dangerous national precedent, while supporters frame it as a necessary measure for public order. Members of the District of Columbia National Guard patrol outside Union Station in Washington, D.C., on August 16, 2025. Members of the District of Columbia National Guard patrol outside Union Station in Washington, D.C., on August 16, 2025. Jose Luis Magana/AP What To Know On Tuesday, 800 National Guard troops arrived in Washington following an order from Trump. The deployment, aimed at addressing crime in the city, stands out as one of the most forceful federal actions in local policing in decades, even as crime rates have fallen to their lowest point in 30 years. Violent crime has plummeted by 26 percent this year compared with the same time last year, according to data from the Washington, D.C., police. Federal agents have been deployed in busy areas across the city, while National Guard troops patrol key locations such as the National Mall and Union Station. Washington officials filed a lawsuit against the administration in a bid to stop the federal takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), according to court documents. Lawyers representing the Trump administration and Washington, D.C., reached a deal on Friday to partially roll back U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi's directive that placed the city's police department under federal control. According to the new agreement, the D.C. police chief will continue to lead the Metropolitan Police Department, replacing Bondi's earlier decision to hand full authority to Terry Cole, the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration. On Saturday, three Republican-led states announced plans to deploy hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., to assist with the federal government's plans, according to statements released by the respective state governors. West Virginia said it would send 300 to 400 troops, South Carolina pledged 200, and Ohio announced it would deploy 150 troops in the coming days, representing an increase in the federal presence in the city. Hundreds of Washington, D.C. residents gathered in Dupont Circle on Saturday to protest Trump's federal takeover of local policing, marching 1.5 miles to the White House while carrying banners that read "No fascist takeover of D.C." In March, Trump signed an executive order titled "Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful." This directed Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum to instruct the National Park Service to remove and clean up all homeless encampments located on federal land within the city that falls under the National Park Service's authority. The Trump administration's crackdown on homelessness in Washington, D.C., has led to the dismantling of numerous encampments across the city. What People Are Saying A White House spokesperson told Newsweek on August 16: "The National Guard will protect federal assets, create a safe environment for law enforcement officials to carry out their duties when required, and provide a visible presence to deter crime." D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser in an open letter to city residents: "Over the course of a week, the surge in federal law enforcement across D.C. has created waves of anxiety. President Donald Trump, on Truth Social: "I'm going to make our Capital safer and more beautiful than it ever was before. The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY. We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital." White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, at a press briefing: "Homeless individuals will be given the option to leave their encampment, to be taken to a homeless shelter, to be offered addiction or mental health services. If they refuse, they will be subjected to fines or jail time." What Happens Next Legal challenges to the federal takeover may be ongoing as the city attempts to wrestle control back from the president.
CNN
42 minutes ago
- CNN
Despite Trump's tough tone now, things were much worse in Washington when National Guard was rolled out in 1968
Donald Trump Federal agencies US militaryFacebookTweetLink Follow Fear in the streets. Buildings burning. Law enforcement struggling to tamp down violence and control chaos. It's the kind of scene that has brought a federal military response to US cities in the past. And it's a vision of Washington, DC, that President Donald Trump is invoking to bring the military to the city's streets today. 'It's becoming a situation of complete and total lawlessness,' Trump said in a news conference last week, announcing his plans to federalize law enforcement in the capital – including the deployment of 800 National Guard troops. While the government has announced some arrests this week – many of them immigration offenses – the scene in Washington has been a far cry from the description Trump gave when announcing the federal law enforcement takeover, saying the District 'has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals.' Since their arrival this week, members of the guard have spent much of their time posted near landmarks and standing next to armored vehicles, amiably obliging tourists who request selfies. It's a noticeably different situation than the chaotic one that prompted the biggest military callup in Washington since the Civil War – the 1968 riots following the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., in Tennessee. 'You saw smoke, and you saw flames. And you see cars speeding by. 'There's a riot! The city's burning!'' said Brig Owens in a 2014 interview for an oral history project. Owens, who died in 2022, was a player for Washington's NFL team who was called up for active duty with the guard during the riots. 'It was as if war had come to the city. At least for a small kid, that's the way it felt,' Washington, DC, historian John DeFerrari, who was 10 years old at the time, told CNN. 'I remember being out and playing in the front yard of our house and seeing a military Jeep come by on patrol. Two soldiers there. A machine gun mounted.' To hear the president tell it, the situation in Washington is just as dire today. 'People are so happy to see our military going into DC and getting these thugs out,' Trump said. But many local elected officials are expressing less enthusiasm for the federal action and the impression the president is giving of the District. 'One thing that has everybody pretty mad, especially me, is the characterization of our city and our residents,' responded Mayor Muriel Bowser. 'We don't live in a dirty city. We don't have neighborhoods that should be bulldozed.' After spiking in 2023, violent crime in Washington has been on the decline, according to Metropolitan Police Department records. 'He's painted this dystopian vision, and it just doesn't track with the facts on the ground,' DC Councilmember Charles Allen told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Thursday. The National Guard was last mobilized in DC in 2020 during Black Lives Matter protests. Guard mmembers famously helped to clear out demonstrators as President Trump made his way across Lafayette Square to hold a Bible in front of a vandalized church. There has been a dispute over whether the guard was already planning to move protesters away from the White House or was specifically clearing a path for the president's photo opportunity. Before 2020, the guard and its predecessor – the DC Militia – were placed on federal active duty only 10 times in the District, according to the Congressional Research Service, including a multiyear deployment during the Civil War. The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis on April 4, 1968, was a shock to the world. But it was felt as a shattering blow in Washington, which had the highest percentage of Black residents of any major US city at the time, according to The Washington Post. Paul Delaney, cofounder of the National Association of Black Journalists, was a reporter for The Washington Star newspaper at the time and knew the bottled-up rage of the community – already dealing with 'white flight' and underinvestment – could explode at the news. 'I drove up and sure enough, groups of protestors had formed on 14th Street near Pitts Motel,' Delaney, who is now 92 years old, told CNN. 'They began marching to U Street and began breaking windows, looting, etc. I marched with them, hiding my notebook so they wouldn't think I was a cop or some kind of spy. This went on through the night.' Within hours, businesses were in flames. Hundreds would ultimately be looted or torched, The New York Times reported, as fury over King's death expressed itself in the devastation of the several neighborhoods, including the historically Black community of Shaw. By the weekend, the DC National Guard was part of a deployment of more than 13,000 soldiers – most of them full-time Army and Marines – trying to bring the emotionally exhausted city under control. 'You had little mobs throughout the city, and you have to be aware of what those consequences could be if you get caught up in that mob,' Owens said. In contrast to the current administration, President Lyndon B. Johnson was reluctant to immediately bring the federal military onto the streets of the nation's capital, waiting a full day before invoking the Insurrection Act to mobilize troops. 'But then you had lots of destruction, lots of fires going on. Firemen were being harassed to some degree by the rioters,' said DeFerrari. 'So, the local police chief and the mayor said listen, we need federal help to control this situation.' Before calm was restored to the community after four days, more than 6,000 people were arrested, according to the National Archives, and 13 were dead. Most of the victims died in burned or collapsed buildings, The Washington Post reported. 'You had to be very careful walking through the various neighborhoods, and you didn't know if someone was going to throw something at you or if someone was going to take a shot at you,' Owens said. 'Very intense time.' After the violence was brought under control, President Johnson toured the damage from the air, Secret Service agent Clint Hill, then head of the president's protective detail, told The Washington Post in 2018. 'It was quite a sight to behold. It was unbelievable. A major portion of the city had actually burned, and it's something I'll never forget,' said Hill, who was was tragically familiar with witnessing tragic events. Only five years earlier, Hill had rescued Jacqueline Kennedy in a moving limousine after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in a Dallas motorcade. '(The riots) left this pall over the community,' said DeFerrari. 'Devastation and a sense of the old community being lost, and what is the replacement of that?' It is the second time this year President Trump has posted guard members on the streets of a city whose leaders didn't ask for it. The president federalized 4,000 California National Guard troops in June in response to immigration protests in downtown Los Angeles that had turned confrontational with federal agents. Gov. Gavin Newsom sued the Trump administration, contesting Trump's legal ability to take over the state guard without an open 'rebellion' against the government. A judge is considering whether to declare that the president's action illegal following a three-day bench trial. But circumstances are much different in Washington, a federally controlled district that does not have the same constitutional protections as states. 'Yes, the president can deploy the National Guard in DC, and they are allowed to perform law enforcement functions,' said CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig. Still, even the president does not have unilateral control over the city. By law, Trump cannot extend his 30-day takeover of DC law enforcement without the approval of Congress, which is on its summer recess, unless he declares a national emergency. The District's attorney general, Brian Schwalb, filed suit against the Trump administration Friday, arguing the president has already exceeded his authority by trying to force the Metropolitan Police Department to accept a new 'emergency commissioner,' something Schwalb called a 'hostile takeover' of the department. It took decades of redevelopment and gentrification, but the communities left in ruins after the 1968 uprising now show no visible signs of the violence that upended the city. DC's Shaw neighborhood is now billed by the city's marketing organization as filled with 'cool local shops, foodie restaurants, concert halls and African American history.' Row houses in what were once considered dangerous streets now sell for more than a million dollars. For those who have seen the devastation and rebuilding of the city up close, the decision to call in the military now is especially troubling. 'I think there very clearly is not an emergency in many Washingtonians' minds,' said DeFerrari. 'I think many Washingtonians think that this is quite unnecessary.'
CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
Despite Trump's tough tone now, things were much worse in Washington when National Guard was rolled out in 1968
Donald Trump Federal agencies US militaryFacebookTweetLink Follow Fear in the streets. Buildings burning. Law enforcement struggling to tamp down violence and control chaos. It's the kind of scene that has brought a federal military response to US cities in the past. And it's a vision of Washington, DC, that President Donald Trump is invoking to bring the military to the city's streets today. 'It's becoming a situation of complete and total lawlessness,' Trump said in a news conference last week, announcing his plans to federalize law enforcement in the capital – including the deployment of 800 National Guard troops. While the government has announced some arrests this week – many of them immigration offenses – the scene in Washington has been a far cry from the description Trump gave when announcing the federal law enforcement takeover, saying the District 'has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals.' Since their arrival this week, members of the guard have spent much of their time posted near landmarks and standing next to armored vehicles, amiably obliging tourists who request selfies. It's a noticeably different situation than the chaotic one that prompted the biggest military callup in Washington since the Civil War – the 1968 riots following the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., in Tennessee. 'You saw smoke, and you saw flames. And you see cars speeding by. 'There's a riot! The city's burning!'' said Brig Owens in a 2014 interview for an oral history project. Owens, who died in 2022, was a player for Washington's NFL team who was called up for active duty with the guard during the riots. 'It was as if war had come to the city. At least for a small kid, that's the way it felt,' Washington, DC, historian John DeFerrari, who was 10 years old at the time, told CNN. 'I remember being out and playing in the front yard of our house and seeing a military Jeep come by on patrol. Two soldiers there. A machine gun mounted.' To hear the president tell it, the situation in Washington is just as dire today. 'People are so happy to see our military going into DC and getting these thugs out,' Trump said. But many local elected officials are expressing less enthusiasm for the federal action and the impression the president is giving of the District. 'One thing that has everybody pretty mad, especially me, is the characterization of our city and our residents,' responded Mayor Muriel Bowser. 'We don't live in a dirty city. We don't have neighborhoods that should be bulldozed.' After spiking in 2023, violent crime in Washington has been on the decline, according to Metropolitan Police Department records. 'He's painted this dystopian vision, and it just doesn't track with the facts on the ground,' DC Councilmember Charles Allen told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Thursday. The National Guard was last mobilized in DC in 2020 during Black Lives Matter protests. Guard mmembers famously helped to clear out demonstrators as President Trump made his way across Lafayette Square to hold a Bible in front of a vandalized church. There has been a dispute over whether the guard was already planning to move protesters away from the White House or was specifically clearing a path for the president's photo opportunity. Before 2020, the guard and its predecessor – the DC Militia – were placed on federal active duty only 10 times in the District, according to the Congressional Research Service, including a multiyear deployment during the Civil War. The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis on April 4, 1968, was a shock to the world. But it was felt as a shattering blow in Washington, which had the highest percentage of Black residents of any major US city at the time, according to The Washington Post. Paul Delaney, cofounder of the National Association of Black Journalists, was a reporter for The Washington Star newspaper at the time and knew the bottled-up rage of the community – already dealing with 'white flight' and underinvestment – could explode at the news. 'I drove up and sure enough, groups of protestors had formed on 14th Street near Pitts Motel,' Delaney, who is now 92 years old, told CNN. 'They began marching to U Street and began breaking windows, looting, etc. I marched with them, hiding my notebook so they wouldn't think I was a cop or some kind of spy. This went on through the night.' Within hours, businesses were in flames. Hundreds would ultimately be looted or torched, The New York Times reported, as fury over King's death expressed itself in the devastation of the several neighborhoods, including the historically Black community of Shaw. By the weekend, the DC National Guard was part of a deployment of more than 13,000 soldiers – most of them full-time Army and Marines – trying to bring the emotionally exhausted city under control. 'You had little mobs throughout the city, and you have to be aware of what those consequences could be if you get caught up in that mob,' Owens said. In contrast to the current administration, President Lyndon B. Johnson was reluctant to immediately bring the federal military onto the streets of the nation's capital, waiting a full day before invoking the Insurrection Act to mobilize troops. 'But then you had lots of destruction, lots of fires going on. Firemen were being harassed to some degree by the rioters,' said DeFerrari. 'So, the local police chief and the mayor said listen, we need federal help to control this situation.' Before calm was restored to the community after four days, more than 6,000 people were arrested, according to the National Archives, and 13 were dead. Most of the victims died in burned or collapsed buildings, The Washington Post reported. 'You had to be very careful walking through the various neighborhoods, and you didn't know if someone was going to throw something at you or if someone was going to take a shot at you,' Owens said. 'Very intense time.' After the violence was brought under control, President Johnson toured the damage from the air, Secret Service agent Clint Hill, then head of the president's protective detail, told The Washington Post in 2018. 'It was quite a sight to behold. It was unbelievable. A major portion of the city had actually burned, and it's something I'll never forget,' said Hill, who was was tragically familiar with witnessing tragic events. Only five years earlier, Hill had rescued Jacqueline Kennedy in a moving limousine after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in a Dallas motorcade. '(The riots) left this pall over the community,' said DeFerrari. 'Devastation and a sense of the old community being lost, and what is the replacement of that?' It is the second time this year President Trump has posted guard members on the streets of a city whose leaders didn't ask for it. The president federalized 4,000 California National Guard troops in June in response to immigration protests in downtown Los Angeles that had turned confrontational with federal agents. Gov. Gavin Newsom sued the Trump administration, contesting Trump's legal ability to take over the state guard without an open 'rebellion' against the government. A judge is considering whether to declare that the president's action illegal following a three-day bench trial. But circumstances are much different in Washington, a federally controlled district that does not have the same constitutional protections as states. 'Yes, the president can deploy the National Guard in DC, and they are allowed to perform law enforcement functions,' said CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig. Still, even the president does not have unilateral control over the city. By law, Trump cannot extend his 30-day takeover of DC law enforcement without the approval of Congress, which is on its summer recess, unless he declares a national emergency. The District's attorney general, Brian Schwalb, filed suit against the Trump administration Friday, arguing the president has already exceeded his authority by trying to force the Metropolitan Police Department to accept a new 'emergency commissioner,' something Schwalb called a 'hostile takeover' of the department. It took decades of redevelopment and gentrification, but the communities left in ruins after the 1968 uprising now show no visible signs of the violence that upended the city. DC's Shaw neighborhood is now billed by the city's marketing organization as filled with 'cool local shops, foodie restaurants, concert halls and African American history.' Row houses in what were once considered dangerous streets now sell for more than a million dollars. For those who have seen the devastation and rebuilding of the city up close, the decision to call in the military now is especially troubling. 'I think there very clearly is not an emergency in many Washingtonians' minds,' said DeFerrari. 'I think many Washingtonians think that this is quite unnecessary.'
