Videos show Waymo cars on fire amid LA protests; service reportedly suspended
Photos and videos show several Waymo self-driving cars being torched in immigration raid protests in downtown Los Angeles over the weekend.
Members of the National Guard arrived in Los Angeles on June 8 after President Donald Trump ordered troops to quell protests against immigration crackdown in the city, a move that the state's Democratic governor has called unlawful.
Footage shared on social media captured several of Waymo's driverless taxis engulfed in flames in the June 8 protests. Others were vandalized with messages against Trump and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, videos show.
The Los Angeles Police Department said around 9:15 p.m. EST that a portion Los Angeles Street had been closed indefinitely after "multiple autonomous vehicles" had been set on fire.
Live updates: Gov. Newsom blames Trump for unruly LA protests
Waymo reportedly suspended service in downtown Los Angeles after several cars were set on fire, according to NBC News.
Timeline: LA protests went from small to substantial over three days. Here's what unfolded.
A Waymo spokesperson told the outlet that the company "will not be serving any rides in the protest area until it is deemed safe."
USA TODAY has reached out to Waymo for comment.
This story will be updated.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump seeks removal from a New Hampshire lawsuit challenging his order on transgender athletes
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — President Donald Trump's administration wants to be dropped from a lawsuit in which two New Hampshire teens are challenging their state's ban on transgender athletes in girls' sports and the president's executive order on the same topic. Parker Tirrell, 16, and Iris Turmelle, 14, became first to challenge Trump's 'Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports' order when they added him to their ongoing lawsuit over New Hampshire's ban in February. A federal judge has ruled that they can try out and play on girls sports teams while the case proceeds. In a motion filed Friday, attorneys for the government say the teens are trying to 'drag the federal government into a lawsuit well under way not because of an imminent injury, but because of a generalized grievance with polices set by the President of the United States.' Deputy Associate Attorney General Richard Lawson argued that the government has done nothing yet to enforce the executive orders in New Hampshire and may never do so. 'Plaintiffs lack constitutional standing and their stated speculative risk of future injury is not close to imminent and may never become ripe,' wrote Lawson, who asked the judge to dismiss claims against Trump, the justice and education departments, and their leaders, Trump's executive order gives federal agencies wide latitude to ensure entities that receive federal funding abide by Title IX — which prohibits sexual discrimination in schools -- in alignment with the Trump administration's view a person's sex as the gender assigned at birth. Lawyers for the teens say the order, along with parts of a Jan. 20 executive order that forbids federal money from being used to 'promote gender ideology,' subjects the teens and all transgender girls to discrimination in violation of federal equal protection guarantees and their rights under Title IX. In its response, the government argues that the order does not discriminate based on sex because males and females are not similarly situated when it comes to sports. Transgender people represent a very small part of the nation's youth population – about 1.4% of teens ages 13 to 17, or around 300,000 people. But about half of the states have adopted similar measures to New Hampshire's sports ban, with supporters arguing that allowing transgender girls to play is unfair and dangerous. In interviews earlier this year, neither New Hampshire teen said they feel they hold any advantage over other players. Tirrell says she's less muscular than other girls on her soccer team, and Turmelle said she doesn't see herself as a major athlete. 'To the argument that it's not fair, I'd just like to point out that I did not get on the softball team,' Turmelle recalled of her tryout last year. 'If that wasn't fair, then I don't know what you want from me.'
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Obama's Doctor Gives Telling Update on Biden's Health Amid His Aggressive Cancer Diagnosis
Ever since former President Joe Biden announced his cancer diagnosis, there have been questions about his health. This is pretty much on par for the course; the same has happened to public figures like King Charles and Kate Middleton, too, after their own diagnosis. It's just that a lot of the conversation regarding Joe Biden's health has to do with the question of whether he should have run for a second term in office. It matters not that, in the end, Kamala Harris took over or that she lost the election anyway. Now, Barack Obama's former physician is adding to the questions surrounding Biden. Jeffrey Kuhlman said in an interview that the former President's doctor should have given him a cognitive test during his final year as president due to his age. The last report by White House physician Kevin O'Connor in February 2024 didn't include any mention of neurocognitive testing. Biden was 81 at the time. More from StyleCaster Obama Just Got Roped into Diddy's Trial in Shocking Claim King Charles Responds to Joe Biden's 'Aggressive' Cancer After Their Eerily Similar Diagnoses Related: Here are the celebrities who support Donald Trump 'Sometimes those closest to the tree miss the forest,' Kuhlman said of O'Connor, who also expressed that such a test would have given voters a clearer picture of whether Biden was up for another 4 years in the Presidency. 'It shouldn't be just health, it should be fitness,' Kuhlman said. 'Fitness is: Do you have that robust mind, body, spirit that you can do this physically, mentally, emotionally demanding job?' But Kuhlman stopped short of saying there was a conspiracy, calling O'Connor 'a good doctor' who seemed to do his best to 'give trusted medical advice.' 'I didn't see that he's purposely hiding stuff, but I don't know that,' he added. 'Maybe the investigation will show it.' This criticism comes as Republicans subpoenaed O'Connor and President Donald Trump ordered White House attorneys to determine if Biden's inner circle tried to conceal his alleged cognitive decline. Biden's diagnosis is of metastatic prostate cancer, the kind of diagnosis that sheds no light on his mental health, but reports about Biden's alleged decline have run rampant even before he stepped aside to allow his Vice President, Kamala Harris, to run. These claims were in many ways strengthened by the book published by journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, titled Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again. The book is based on interviews with Democratic insiders. Biden's response to this whole thing was telling. During a Memorial Day event, the former President said. 'You can see that I'm mentally incompetent, and I can't walk, and I can beat the hell out of both of them,' he told reporters. Meanwhile, his granddaughter, Naomi Biden, called the book 'political fairy smut.' The Republicans will continue to investigate the matter, but the facts remain that Joe Biden isn't President anymore, and he didn't even stay in the race until the end in 2024. If there was, indeed, a cognitive decline on his part, it clearly hurt the Democrats more than the Republicans and, perhaps, the party in power should be thankful for that. Best of StyleCaster The 26 Best Romantic Comedies to Watch if You Want to Know What Love Feels Like These 'Bachelor' Secrets & Rules Prove What Happens Behind the Scenes Is So Much Juicier BTS's 7 Members Were Discovered in the Most Unconventional Ways
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
L.A. immigration protests: California to sue Trump admin over National Guard deployment after dozens arrested, Waymos set on fire, freeways blocked
The Los Angeles Police Department has declared all of downtown L.A. an unlawful assembly area after protests erupted over the weekend in response to the Trump administration's intensified immigration crackdown. President Trump sent National Guard troops into California without the consent of the governor, inflaming tensions between demonstrators and law enforcement that has led to dozens of arrests. At least 44 people were arrested by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a raid at several locations around Los Angeles on Friday, including Ambiance Apparel in the garment district and a Home Depot in the Westlake District. These areas are known to have significant migrant populations and labor-focused industries. Protests then erupted in Los Angeles in response to Trump's immigration crackdown that has seen federal agents arrest a student on his way to volleyball practice and erroneously deport a man to El Salvador. Sunday marked the third straight day of protests over the wave of immigration raids. Crowds gathered in downtown Los Angeles and Boyle Heights. Protesters marched from Boyle Heights to the Metropolitan Detention Center, a federal building, in downtown L.A. This led to the LAPD declaring the area an unlawful assembly. Protesters moved from outside the federal building and walked onto the 101 Freeway, blocking it, around 3:30 p.m. local time. Police fired tear gas and other projectiles into the crowd and cleared the crowd by 5 p.m. Meanwhile, another protest started Sunday outside of Los Angeles City Hall Protesters outside the city's prison in Alameda were arrested, according to the LAPD. Around 300 National Guard troops arrived in Los Angeles County on Sunday after Trump deployed them to protect federal property and personnel, without the consent of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat with whom he often spars. As governor, Newsom would normally retain control and command over California's National Guard. The White House said the deployment was necessary to 'address the lawlessness' in the state, and initially stated that 2,000 troops were being deployed. About 500 Marines are also prepared to deploy to the area, the Northern Command said. It's the first time in nearly 60 years that a president has called in the National Guard without a state's request or consent. The last time was when President Lyndon Johnson sent the Guard to protect a 1965 civil rights march in Alabama. Newsom said California is suing the Trump administration over the federal mobilization of the National Guard. Newsom told MSNBC that Trump's federal mobilization of the National Guard was 'an illegal act, an immoral act, an unconstitutional act.' The governor also alleged that Trump is the one to blame for the escalation in California, saying, 'He's exacerbated the conditions. He's lit the proverbial match. He's putting fuel on this fire.' Tom Homan, Trump's border czar, told NBC News that anyone who obstructs immigration enforcement would be arrested. When asked if that would include Newsom or Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, he replied, 'I'll say it about anybody. … You cross that line, it's a felony to knowingly harbor and conceal an illegal alien. It's a felony to impede law enforcement doing their job.' Newsom responded to Homan's NBC interview on Sunday by saying: 'He knows where to find me.' Homan later clarified those remarks in an interview with Fox News. 'The reporter asked me, well, could Gov. Newsom or Mayor Bass be arrested? I said, 'Well no one's above the law — if they cross the line and commit a crime, absolutely they can.'' He added: 'There was no discussion about arresting Newsom.' The peaceful protests escalated into vandalism, autonomous cars set ablaze, fireworks and other objects thrown at law enforcement, police firing rubber bullets (including at an Australian journalist), and dozens of arrests by the LAPD. 'In recent days, many protests across the city have been peaceful and we thank the community for expressing their views and their frustration in a responsible manner,' LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said in a Sunday news conference. 'However, when peaceful demonstrations devolve into acts of vandalism or violence, especially violence directed at innocent people, law enforcement officers and others, we must respond firmly.' McDonnell said that a total of 39 people had been arrested — 29 on Saturday and 10 on Sunday. He also said the LAPD was not given advance notice that federal operations would occur in the area. On Sunday, several Waymo driverless vehicles were vandalized and set on fire in downtown Los Angeles. A Waymo spokesperson told USA Today Monday morning that its autonomous vehicles have been removed from the area and the company has temporarily suspended its ride-hailing service 'out of an abundance of caution.' Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told CNN on Monday that the situation has since calmed in the city. 'If you dial back time and go to Friday, if immigration raids had not happened here, we would not have had the disorder that went on last night,' Bass said. 'We do not know where and when the next raids will be. That is the concern because people in this city have a rapid response network.' 'If they see ICE, they go out, and they protest, and so it's just a recipe for pandemonium that is completely unnecessary,' Bass added.
