Quote of the Day: For Catholics, He Is a Holy Father. For the World, He Is a Robust Voice.
REV. DR. WILLIAM J. BARBER II, of the Yale Divinity School, on how the papacy remains a global platform, even for non-Christians, so the issues Pope Leo XIV chooses to focus on can resonate far beyond the church.
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Community rallies around LA teen detained by Ice while walking dog
A southern California community is calling for the release of a high school student whom US immigration agents arrested earlier this month while he was walking his dog. Benjamin Marcelo Guerrero-Cruz was supposed to be starting his senior year of high school at Reseda charter high school this month. But just days after his 18th birthday, masked Ice agents detained him as he walking his dog in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Van Nuys in what his family described as a kidnapping. The agents allowed his dog to run loose, and treated Guerrero-Cruz like a criminal and joked while arresting him, his family said in a GoFundMe. 'He is more than just a student – he is a devoted son, a caring brother, a loyal friend, and a valued member of our community,' the family wrote, adding that he helps care for his younger brothers. 'He is a good student, with a kind heart, who has always stepped up for his family.' Educators and advocates are expected to hold a rally and press conference in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday afternoon to call for Guerrero-Cruz's release. A former teacher who recently visited the teen is expected to share an update, ABC7 reported. The arrest comes as Donald Trump's crackdown on immigrants continues to unfold across southern California, where thousands of people have been arrested this summer at workplaces, at stores and near schools. Related: Inside the neighborhood patrols watching for Ice: 'They thought they could scare us – but this is LA' Los Angeles Unified school district, which has nearly 800 schools across the county, has adopted new strategies to protect students and 'ensure that schools remain safe, supportive spaces for all children and families – regardless of immigration status'. 'Schools are safe spaces,' Alberto M Carvalho, the LAUSD superintendent, said in a statement. 'Immigration enforcement near schools disrupts learning and creates anxiety that can last far beyond the school day.' Carvalho has said he is in communication with Guerrero-Cruz's mother, who has alleged that the boy was being held with dozens of men, receiving water only once a day and insufficient food, in a space that doesn't have enough room for everyone to sit or lie at the same time. The teen was reportedly being held at a detention center in Adelanto, where people have reported filthy conditions and not having access to clean clothes and towels for days at a time. His sudden arrest has sparked outrage in his community. Fellow soccer players said it was 'heartbreaking to see him taken from us like this, and we'll truly miss not just the player, but the person he was'. The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement to the Guardian that Guerrero-Cruz was being detained pending his 'removal' from the US. moval' from the US. 'Benjamin Guerrero-Cruz, an illegal alien from Chile, overstayed his visa by more than two years, abusing the Visa Waiver Program under which he entered the United States, which required him to depart the United States on March 15, 2023,' the agency said. Solve the daily Crossword
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Why Texas Democrat Nicole Collier is sleeping at the state Capitol after refusing to submit to Republican demands
GOP leadership required Democrats to consent to a police escort in order to leave the building. Collier chose to stay instead. Texas Democrat Nicole Collier made headlines earlier this month when she, along with dozens of her colleagues, refused to come to the state Capitol as part of an effort to block Republicans from passing new congressional maps. Now, a day after returning to the Legislature, Collier is drawing attention because she won't leave. The 52-year-old native Texan, who represents parts of Fort Worth in the Texas House of Representatives, slept in the House chamber Monday night after refusing to accept a police escort that Republicans had required as a stipulation for being allowed to exit the building. All other Democrats conceded to the rule. Collier did not. 'When I heard the order, I was like, 'Hell, no.' Why should we bow down to what they want?' she said in a video from inside the chamber posted by Texas House Minority Leader Gene Wu on Monday night. Wu and Democratic Rep. Vince Perez joined Collier as a show of solidarity in sleeping at the Capitol overnight, despite being free to leave if they chose to. 'This is civil disobedience, right? What we're doing right now,' Wu said. 'Everybody can find their own way to do this. Don't get yourself in trouble maybe, but good trouble.' On Tuesday morning, Collier posted an image of herself resting in an office chair with her feet propped up and a sleep mask on her face, along with the caption 'This was my night, bonnet and all.' Wu and Perez had similar sleeping arrangements, she said. Collier has asked a judge to intervene to end what she calls her 'detention' at the hands of Republican House leadership. A handful of Democratic supporters were arrested outside the House chamber Monday night for refusing to leave in protest of the restrictions that had been imposed on Collier. Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows, a Republican, released a statement saying that Collier is 'well within her rights' to remain inside the Capitol if she continues to decline a police escort, but said he would spend his time focusing on other issues that 'Texans care about.' Collier, Wu and Perez were among the dozens of Democrats who left Texas earlier this month in order to prevent Republicans from being able to consider a new redistricting plan that could secure the GOP up to five more seats in Congress in next year's midterms. They successfully kept the House from meeting for two weeks, but chose to return to the state in order to prepare for a court battle over what they argue are illegally gerrymandered maps. They were back at the Capitol on Monday, which allowed the House to meet briefly before adjourning with a plan to reconvene on Wednesday. One Democrat who did accept the police escort, Rep. Sheryl Cole, said that the officer assigned to follow her around threatened to arrest her and 'made a scene' after losing track of her during her morning walk. 'I remain undeterred by this intimidation tactic by House Republicans to have a 24/7 state police presence to intimidate me and my colleagues,' she wrote on social media Tuesday. This is also why I stand with my colleague [Nicole Collier], who has refused to go along with this charade.' On Tuesday afternoon, several more Democrats announced that they had changed their minds about submitting to police escorts and would be joining Collier in the House chamber overnight. 'I was wrong. She was right. I'm with Nicole,' Rep. Morales Shaw said told reporters. 'There is no legal basis … for what is being done.' Texas House Democrats have been running a livestream of the House floor since early Tuesday morning. Collier, Wu and the rest of the Democrats reportedly intend to remain in the chamber until the House session resumes. The GOP's redistricting plan is expected to be the only bill that will be brought up for a vote on Wednesday. Solve the daily Crossword
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FACT FOCUS: Trump says he has ended seven wars. That's not accurate
President Donald Trump has projected himself as a peacemaker since returning to the White House in January, touting his efforts to end global conflicts. In meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders Monday, Trump repeated that he has been instrumental in stopping multiple wars but didn't specify which. 'I've done six wars, I've ended six wars, Trump said in the Oval Office with Zelenskyy. He later added: 'If you look at the six deals I settled this year, they were all at war. I didn't do any ceasefires.' He raised that figure Tuesday, telling 'Fox & Friends" that 'we ended seven wars.' But although Trump helped mediate relations among many of these nations, experts say his impact isn't as clear cut as he claims. Here's a closer look at the conflicts. Israel and Iran Trump is credited with ending the 12-day war. Israel launched attacks on the heart of Iran's nuclear program and military leadership in June, saying it wanted to stop Iran from building a nuclear weapon — which Tehran has denied it was trying to do. Trump negotiated a ceasefire between Israel and Iran just after directing American warplanes to strike Iran's Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites. He publicly harangued both countries into maintaining the ceasefire. Evelyn Farkas, executive director of Arizona State University's McCain Institute, said Trump should get credit for ending the war. 'There's always a chance it could flare up again if Iran restarts its nuclear weapons program, but nonetheless, they were engaged in a hot war with one another,' she said. 'And it didn't have any real end in sight before President Trump got involved and gave them an ultimatum.' Lawrence Haas, a senior fellow for U.S. foreign policy at the American Foreign Policy Council who is an expert on Israel-Iran tensions, agreed the U.S. was instrumental in securing the ceasefire. But he characterized it as a 'temporary respite' from the ongoing 'day-to-day cold war' between the two foes that often involves flare-ups. Egypt and Ethiopia This could be described as tensions at best, and peace efforts — which don't directly involve the U.S. — have stalled. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile River has caused friction between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan since the power-generating project was announced more than a decade ago. In July, Ethiopia declared the project complete, with an inauguration set for September. Egypt and Sudan oppose the dam. Although the vast majority of the water that flows down the Nile originates in Ethiopia, Egyptian agriculture relies on the river almost entirely. Sudan, meanwhile, fears flooding and wants to protect its own power-generating dams. During his first term, Trump tried to broker a deal between Ethiopia and Egypt but couldn't get them to agree. He suspended aid to Ethiopia over the dispute. In July, he posted on Truth Social that he helped the 'fight over the massive dam (and) there is peace at least for now.' However, the disagreement persists, and negotiations between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan have stalled. 'It would be a gross overstatement to say that these countries are at war,' said Haas. 'I mean, they're just not.' India and Pakistan The April killing of tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir pushed India and Pakistan closer to war than they had been in years, but a ceasefire was reached. Trump has claimed that the U.S. brokered the ceasefire, which he said came about in part because he offered trade concessions. Pakistan thanked Trump, recommending him for the Nobel Peace Prize. But India has denied Trump's claims, saying there was no conversation between the U.S. and India on trade in regards to the ceasefire. Although India has downplayed the Trump administration's role in the ceasefire, Haas and Farkas believe the U.S. deserves some credit for helping stop the fighting. 'I think that President Trump played a constructive role from all accounts, but it may not have been decisive. And again, I'm not sure whether you would define that as a full-blown war," Farkas said. Serbia and Kosovo The White House lists the conflict between these countries as one Trump resolved, but there has been no threat of a war between the two neighbors during Trump's second term, nor any significant contribution from Trump this year to improve their relations. Kosovo is a former Serbian province that declared independence in 2008. Tensions have persisted ever since, but never to the point of war, mostly because NATO-led peacekeepers have been deployed in Kosovo, which has been recognized by more than 100 countries. During his first term, Trump negotiated a wide-ranging deal between Serbia and Kosovo, but much of what was agreed on was never carried out. Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo Trump has played a key role in peace efforts between the African neighbors, but he's hardly alone and the conflict is far from over. Eastern Congo, rich in minerals, has been battered by fighting with more than 100 armed groups. The most potent is the M23 rebel group backed by neighboring Rwanda, which claims it is protecting its territorial interests and that some of those who participated in the 1994 Rwandan genocide fled to Congo and are working with the Congolese army. The Trump administration's efforts paid off in June, when the Congolese and Rwandan foreign ministers signed a peace deal at the White House. The M23, however, wasn't directly involved in the U.S.-facilitated negotiations and said it couldn't abide by the terms of an agreement that didn't involve it. The final step to peace was meant to be a separate Qatar-facilitated deal between Congo and M23 that would bring about a permanent ceasefire. But with the fighting still raging, Monday's deadline for the Qatar-led deal was missed and there have been no public signs of major talks between Congo and M23 on the final terms. Armenia and Azerbaijan Trump this month hosted the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan at the White House, where they signed a deal aimed at ending a decades-long conflict between the two nations. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called the signed document a 'significant milestone,' and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev hailed Trump for performing 'a miracle.' The two countries signed agreements intended to reopen key transportation routes and reaffirm Armenia's and Azerbaijan's commitment to signing a peace treaty. The treaty's text was initialed by the countries' foreign ministers at that meeting, which indicates preliminary approval. But the two countries have yet to sign and ratify the deal. Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a bitter conflict over territory since the early 1990s, when ethnic Armenian forces took control of the Karabakh province, known internationally as Nagorno-Karabakh, and nearby territories. In 2020, Azerbaijan's military recaptured broad swaths of territory. Russia brokered a truce and deployed about 2,000 peacekeepers to the region. In September 2023, Azerbaijani forces launched a lightning blitz to retake remaining portions. The two countries have worked toward normalizing ties and signing a peace treaty ever since. Cambodia and Thailand Officials from Thailand and Cambodia credit Trump with pushing the Asian neighbors to agree to a ceasefire in this summer's brief border conflict. Cambodia and Thailand have clashed in the past over their shared border. The latest fighting began in July after a land mine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers. Tensions had been growing since May, when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a confrontation that created a diplomatic rift and roiled Thai politics. Both countries agreed in late July to an unconditional ceasefire during a meeting in Malaysia. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim pressed for the pact, but there was little headway until Trump intervened. Trump said on social media that he warned the Thai and Cambodian leaders that the U.S. would not move forward with trade agreements if the hostilities continued. Both countries faced economic difficulties and neither had reached tariff deals with the U.S., though most of their Southeast Asian neighbors had. According to Ken Lohatepanont, a political analyst and University of Michigan doctoral candidate, 'President Trump's decision to condition a successful conclusion to these talks on a ceasefire likely played a significant role in ensuring that both sides came to the negotiating table when they did.' ___ Associated Press reporters Jon Gambrell, Grant Peck, Dasha Litvinova, Fay Abuelgasim, Rajesh Roy, and Dusan Stojanovic contributed. ___ Find AP Fact Checks here: Solve the daily Crossword
