US markets down amid concerns over America's budget position
CommSec's Tom Piotrowski claims concerns about the US budget position have been 'bubbling away' on the sidelines as markets sink.
'It's a situation where we've alluded to it earlier in the week – concerns about the US budget position have been bubbling away on the sidelines,' he told Sky News Australia.
'The fact that the Moody's credit rating agency downgraded US debt earlier in the week as well – these have been kernels of concern ... and as a result, we've seen the US equity market sell off by a decent clip.'
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News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Trump deploys Marines as tensions rise over Los Angeles protests
President Donald Trump ordered active-duty US Marines and 2,000 more National Guard troops into Los Angeles on Monday, vowing those protesting immigration arrests would be "hit harder" than ever. Trump's extraordinary mobilization of 700 full-time professional military personnel -- and thousands of National Guard troops -- came on the fourth day of street protests triggered by dozens of immigration arrests in a city with huge foreign-born and Latino populations. California Governor Gavin Newsom slammed the move, posting on X that US Marines "shouldn't be deployed on American soil facing their own countrymen to fulfill the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial President. This is un-American." The deployment came after demonstrators took over streets in downtown LA on Sunday, torching cars and looting stores in scenes that saw law enforcement responding with tear gas and rubber bullets. Monday's demonstrations unfolded largely peacefully, however, after weekend protests triggered by dozens of arrests of people authorities said were illegal migrants and gang members. "Pigs go home!" demonstrators shouted at National Guardsmen outside a federal detention center. Others banged on the sides of unmarked vehicles as they passed through police containment lines. One small business owner whose property was graffitied was supportive of the strongarm tactics. "I think it's needed to stop the vandalism," she told AFP, declining to give her name. Others were horrified. "They're meant to be protecting us, but instead, they're like, being sent to attack us," Kelly Diemer, 47, told AFP. "This is not a democracy anymore." In the nearby city of Santa Ana, about 32 miles (50 kilometers) southwest of Los Angeles, law enforcement fired tear gas and flash-bang grenades on protesters chanting against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency as darkness fell. -'Hit harder' - Trump, speaking in Washington, branded the protesters "professional agitators and insurrectionists." On social media, he said protesters spat at troops and if they continued to do so, "I promise you they will be hit harder than they have ever been hit before." Despite isolated and eye-catching acts of violence, officials and local law enforcement stressed the majority of protesters over the weekend had been peaceful. Schools across Los Angeles were operating normally on Monday, while the rhythms of life in the sprawling city appeared largely unchanged. Contrasting Trump's descriptions of the protests, Mayor Karen Bass said "this is isolated to a few streets. This is not citywide civil unrest." Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said local authorities were able to control the city. "The introduction of federal, military personnel without direct coordination creates logistical challenges and risks confusion during critical incidents," he told reporters. At least 56 people were arrested over two days and five officers suffered minor injuries, Los Angeles Police Department officials said, while about 60 people were arrested in protests in San Francisco. Protesters also scuffled with police in New York City and in Austin, Texas on Monday. Police made several arrests after around 100 people gathered near a federal building in Manhattan where immigration hearings are held, an AFP reporter there saw, while law enforcement fired tear gas on dozens of protesters in Austin, NBC affiliate KXAN reported. Trump's use of the military was an "incredibly rare" move for a US president, Rachel VanLandingham, a professor at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles and a former lieutenant colonel in the US Air Force, told AFP. The National Guard has not been deployed over the head of a state governor since 1965 at the height of the civil rights movement. US law largely prevents the use of the military as a policing force on home soil absent an insurrection. For good reason, VanLandingham said, explaining that troops such as the Marines are trained to use lethal force, as opposed to domestic peacetime law enforcement. "What does 'protect' mean to a heavily armed Marine??? Who has not/not trained with local law enforcement, hence creating a command and control nightmare?" she told AFP via email. The Pentagon said late Monday Trump had authorized an extra 2,000 guardsmen, seemingly on top of the 2,000 he deployed over the weekend.
The Australian
an hour ago
- The Australian
California to sue Donald Trump over National Guard deployment in LA protests
Roughly 700 Marines are deploying to the Los Angeles area to protect federal buildings and personnel in the wake of weekend protests over immigration that have already led President Trump to federalise National Guard troops, defence and congressional officials said. The troops, which are assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division out of Twentynine Palms, Calif., won't engage with protesters, US Northern Command, which is responsible for U.S. military operations in North America, said in a statement. A senior administration official told reporters on Monday evening that the move came in light of increased threats against federal officers and federal buildings. The unusual decision marks the first time in more than three decades that Marines have been sent into a US city to address civil unrest. It came over the objections of California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has called the federal intervention an intrusion on state sovereignty and vowed to sue in response. 'They shouldn't be deployed on American soil facing their own countrymen to fulfil the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial President,' Newsom wrote in a message on X. The troops, which could arrive in the Los Angeles area as soon as tonight, will be under the US Northern Command, which is responsible for US military operations in North America. The Marines are among the troops Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said over the weekend were prepared to deploy on orders. It is unclear how long the Marines will deploy, what kind of weapons they are authorised to carry or their specific orders. A statement by the US Northern Command said that 2,100 National Guard soldiers and 700 Marines will protect federal personnel and property under the command of Task Force 51, the headquarters that has been assigned the mission. The forces have been trained in de-escalation, crowd control, and standing rules for the use of force, the command said. On Monday night, the president approved the deployment of an additional 2,000 California National Guardsmen in response to the protests, the Pentagon said in a post on X. Once the troops are all in place, there will be roughly 4,000 federalised National Guard members in California. A presidential order issued Saturday by Trump directed the Pentagon to use the National Guard and 'other members of the Regular Armed Forces as necessary' to protect federal 'functions and property.' The last time Marines deployed to quell civil unrest was during the 1992 Los Angeles riots, which erupted after four police officers were acquitted in the beating of Rodney King. President George H.W. Bush acted after he received a request from California Gov. Pete Wilson to help contain the violence that erupted after the acquittal of the police officers. Bush invoked the Insurrection Act, federalising the California National Guard. He then deployed roughly 2,000 Army soldiers from nearby Fort Ord and 1,500 Marines from Camp Pendleton. In this instance, Trump didn't invoke the Insurrection Act, a 1792 law that allows the president to deploy the US military domestically in some instances, such as putting down civil disorder or a rebellion, but instead appeared to authorise the deployment under the weekend executive order. National Guard troops are part-time soldiers assigned to a state and are usually under the governor's authority. Active-duty troops answer solely to the commander in chief and their focus is on defending the US Trump, who won his re-election campaign on a pledge to crack down on illegal immigration, has embraced fights with Democrats who have said his tactics go beyond his constitutional limits. Though US officials have said the role of the National Guard and Marine forces in Los Angeles will be limited, the broad nature of the order has spurred concerns that it could also be laying the foundations for future military actions against protesters elsewhere in the country. The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 bars the armed forces from law enforcement except under certain circumstances. California Governor Gavin Newsom has dared border tsar Tom Homan to arrest him as he threatened to. Picture: AP. The Los Angeles deployment also comes on the heels of other steps in which Trump has used his executive authority to push the boundaries of using troops on US soil. Those include authorising active‑duty troops to detain migrants in newly created military zones along the southern border, using U.S. bases as detention areas and flying detainees out of the country on US Air Force planes. 'This is Trump's dream,' Rep. Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts Democrat who as a Marine officer served multiple tours during the war in Iraq, said Monday. 'This is exactly what he has wanted to do: turn the military against the American people. Donald Trump has never respected what Marines do overseas, but has always wanted to use them to force his political agenda at home.' It is rare for a president to send National Guard troops or active-duty military to a state without an explicit request from a governor or invoking the Insurrection Act. President Lyndon Johnson federalised the National Guard and sent them to Alabama to protect protesters marching from Selma to Montgomery in 1965 without a request from the state's governor. Johnson invoked the Insurrection Act. Active-duty troops were used by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1957 without permission of the state's governor. They were used to uphold a Supreme Court ruling that segregated schools were inherently unequal, which enabled Black children to enrol at a previously segregated school in Little Rock, Ark. Eisenhower also relied on the Insurrection Act. Dow Jones
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Former military officers raise concerns about 700 marines deployed to LA protests
For the first time since 1992, the US Marine Corps are being mobilised by the military to respond to street protests in the United States. Tensions have been rising since President Donald Trump activated the National Guard on Saturday after protests erupted in response to immigration raids in Southern California. The decision to deploy about 700 marines to Los Angeles has been described as a further escalation. Although some marines receive training in riot response, retired military officers say it is a drastic move that raises concerns. They say it was delivering a message that may not be entirely peaceful. Thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets during the past four days, many gathering outside a federal detention centre in downtown Los Angeles where immigrants have been held. Although the scenes have been dramatic, so far, the protests have only resulted in a few dozen arrests and some property damage. California Governor Gavin Newsom has insisted the situation was "under control", slamming Mr Trump's decision to send an additional 2,000 National Guard troops along with hundreds of Marines. "Trump is trying to provoke chaos," he wrote on X. US officials said the marine troops were being deployed to protect federal property and personnel, including federal immigration agents. "Due to increased threats to federal law enforcement officers and federal buildings, approximately 700 active-duty US Marines from Camp Pendleton are being deployed to Los Angeles to restore order," defence secretary Peter Hegseth wrote on X. "We have an obligation to defend federal law enforcement officers — even if Gavin Newsom will not." Former US Marine Corps officer Gary Barthel, managing partner of the Military Law Center in California, said it was unusual to send the marines when a situation had not been officially deemed an insurrection. Since the protests first broke out, Mr Trump and his aides have repeatedly used the term "insurrectionists" to describe the demonstrators. But troops would not be able to directly participate in civilian law enforcement unless Mr Trump invokes the Insurrection Act. "They would likely be playing a similar role to the National Guard, controlling crowds or mobs, protecting or setting up barriers to certain federal properties, or keeping the riot condensed to a certain area," General Barthel told the ABC. The troops being deployed are coming from Twentynine Palms, which is a premier site for combat training in the desert. General Barthel said they might be used so they could bring in personnel carriers to help block off roads or safely transport troops to different areas. That may include light armoured vehicles that hold up to 20 marines. "If you have vehicles burning on the street or whatever, they can utilise those vehicles to get through rough areas to drop the marines off where they need to be deployed," he said. He added that it was likely the troops could be armed, but there would be "very strict policies" around the use of deadly force. "More likely they would be using non-lethal force such as rubber bullets or something else, if need be," he said. The marines being activated are with 2nd battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine division, according to US Northern Command. Retired Lieutenant Colonel Russell Worth Parker said the marines have a large scope. They were generally given training in riot control, but one of their major roles was as "shoot troops". "We say every marine is a rifleman because every marine is trained to perform that mission to an extent. But not every marine does that for a living," he said. The unit being sent was an infantry battalion, which was "a combat unit by definition", he added. They were capable of non-combat operations and trained for those scenarios, but were also trained to "locate, close with, and destroy the enemy". "If you are sending rifleman infantrymen to Los Angeles, you are sending a very definitive message about your intent. And I don't think that's a particularly peaceful message to send," General Parker told the ABC. Marines have not been mobilised within the US like they are in California now since the 1992 riots in Los Angeles. They were used for policing under the Insurrection Act after the California governor at the time asked President George HW Bush to help respond to riots over the acquittal of police officers who beat Black motorist Rodney King. More than 50 people were killed in the riots, which also caused some $US1 billion in damage over six days. This week, California sued the Trump administration to block deployment of the National Guard and the marines on Monday, arguing that it violates federal law and state sovereignty. The president has more direct authority over the marines than the National Guard, under Title 10 and in his constitutional role as commander in chief of the armed forces, legal experts said. A provision of Title 10 allows the president to deploy National Guard units into federal service if the US is invaded, there is a "rebellion or danger of rebellion", or the president is "unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States". General Barthel said we could also see this play out in the courts, given Mr Trump had gone behind the governor's back to bring in the National Guard and the marines were sent when the insurrection act had not been enacted. "The courts may come back and say he overstepped his executive privilege," he said. "This is the first time a lot of us are seeing what's going on in a situation like this. And so we'll see how it plays out."
