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Los Angeles Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
From the Olympics to Oakland, California braces for Trump National Guard deployments
President Trump's decision to deploy hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington has California officials on high alert, with some worrying that he intends to activate federal forces in the Bay Area and Southern California, especially during the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Trump said that his use of the National Guard to fight crime could expand to other cities, and suggested that local police have been unable to do the job. Legal experts say it is highly unusual and troubling for forces to be deployed without a major crisis, such as civil unrest or a natural disaster. The Washington deployment is another example of Trump seeking to use the military for domestic endeavors, similar to his decision to send the National Guard to Los Angeles in June, amid an immigration crackdown that sparked protests, experts said. Washington has long struggled with crime but has seen major reductions in recent years. Officials in Oakland and Los Angeles — two cities the president mentioned by name — slammed Trump's comments about crime in their cities. Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee said in a statement that the president's characterization wasn't rooted in fact, but 'based in fear-mongering in an attempt to score cheap political points.' Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called it 'performative' and a 'stunt.' Trump has said he would consider deploying the military to Los Angeles once again to protect the 2028 Olympic Games. This month, he signed an executive order that named him chair of a White House task force on the Los Angeles Games. The White House has not said specifically what role Trump would play in security arrangements. Los Angeles City Councilmember Imelda Padilla, who sits on the city panel overseeing the Games, acknowledged last week that the city is a 'little nervous' about the federal government's plans for securing the event. Congress recently approved $1 billion for security and planning for the Games. A representative for the Department of Homeland Security declined to explain to The Times how the funds will be used. Padilla said her concern was based on the unpredictable nature of the administration, as well as recent immigration raids that have used masked, heavily armed agents to round up people at Home Depot parking lots and car washes. 'Everything that we're seeing with the raids was a real curveball to our city,' Padilla said during a Los Angeles Current Affairs Forum event. It dealt 'a real curveball to [efforts] to focus on the things that folks care about, like homelessness, like transportation ... economic development,' she said. Bass, appearing on CNN this week, said that using the National Guard during the Olympics is 'completely appropriate.' She said that the city expects a 'federal response when we have over 200 countries here, meaning heads of state of over 200 countries. Of course you have the military involved. That is routine.' But Bass made a distinction between L.A. Olympics security and the 'political stunt' she said Trump pulled by bringing in the National Guard and the U.S. Marines after protests over the federal government's immigration crackdown. That deployment faces ongoing legal challenges, with an appeals court ruling that Trump had the legal authority to send the National Guard. 'I believed then, and I believe now that Los Angeles was a test case, and I think D.C. is a test case as well,' Bass said. 'To say, well, we can take over your city whenever we want, and I'm the commander in chief, and I can use the troops whenever we want.' On Monday, Trump tied his action to what has been a familiar theme to him: perceived urban decay. 'You look at Chicago, how bad it is, you look at Los Angeles, how bad it is. We have other cities that are very bad. New York has a problem. And then you have, of course, Baltimore and Oakland. We don't even mention that anymore —they're so far gone,' he said. 'We're not going to let it happen. We're not going to lose our cities over this.' White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said officers and agents deployed across the District of Columbia have so far made 23 arrests for offenses including homicide, possession with intent to distribute narcotics, lewd acts, reckless driving, fare evasion and not having permits. Six illegal handguns were seized, she said. Citing crime as a reason to deploy National Guard troops without the support of a state governor is highly unprecedented, experts said. The National Guard has been deployed to Southern California before, notably during the 1992 L.A. riots and the civil unrest after George Floyd's murder in Minneapolis in 2020. 'It would be awful because he would be clearly violating his legal authorities and he'd be sued again by the governor and undoubtedly, by the mayors of L.A. and Oakland,' said William Banks, a law professor at Syracuse University. 'The citizens in those cities would be up in arms. They would be aghast that there are soldiers patrolling their streets.' The District of Columbia does not have control over its National Guard, which gives the president wide latitude to deploy those troops. In California and other states, the head of the National Guard is the governor and there are legal limits on how federal troops can be used. The Posse Comitatus Act, passed in 1878 after the end of Reconstruction, largely bars federal troops from being used in civilian law enforcement. The law reflects a tradition dating to the Revolutionary War era that sees military interference in American life as a threat to liberty and democracy. 'We have such a strong tradition that we don't use the military for domestic law enforcement, and it's a characteristic of authoritarian countries to see the military be used in that way,' said Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Berkeley Law School and a constitutional law expert. 'That's never been so in the United States, and many are concerned about the way in which President Trump is acting the way authoritarian rulers do.' Whether the troops deployed to Los Angeles in June amid the federal immigration raids were used for domestic law enforcement in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act is central in the trial underway this week in federal court in San Francisco. If Trump were to send troops to California, Banks said, the only legal lever he could pull would be to declare an insurrection and invoke the Insurrection Act. Unlike in D.C., Trump wouldn't be able to federalize police departments in other parts of the country. There are circumstances where the federal government has put departments under consent decrees — a reform tool for agencies that have engaged in unlawful practices — but in those cases the government alleged specific civil rights violations, said Ed Obayashi, a Northern California sheriff's deputy and legal counsel on policing. 'You are not going to be able to come in and take over because you say crime is rising in a particular place,' he said. Oakland Councilman Ken Houston, a third-generation resident who was elected in 2024, said his city doesn't need the federal government's help with public safety. Oakland has struggled with crime for years, but Houston cited progress. Violent crimes, including homicide, aggravated assault, rape and robbery are down 29% so far this year from the same period in 2024. Property crimes including burglary, motor vehicle theft and larceny also are trending down, according to city data. 'He's going by old numbers and he's making a point,' Houston said of Trump. 'Oakland does not need the National Guard.' Times staff writer Noah Goldberg contributed to this report.
India.com
01-08-2025
- Sport
- India.com
How Can India Qualify For LA 2028 Olympics Cricket? ICCs Continental Pathway Explained
After over a century-long absence, cricket is set to make its much-anticipated return to the Olympic stage at the 2028 Los Angeles Games. However, the road to LA won't be straightforward—especially for powerhouse nations like India, Pakistan, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka. The International Cricket Council (ICC) is finalizing a continental qualification system that could redefine Olympic cricket participation. According to recent ICC discussions, only one team per continent will qualify for the six-team men's and women's T20 competitions, aligning with the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) vision of global representation—referred to as the 'five-ring principle'. What Does the Continental Qualification Mean? This system ensures that each continent sends its top T20 side, promoting geographical diversity over traditional cricketing dominance. As a result, some Full Member nations may miss out despite high rankings. For instance, Pakistan, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka are at serious risk of exclusion if they aren't the highest-ranked team from Asia or Oceania at the cut-off date. Speaking on the development, ECB chairman Richard Thompson affirmed, 'The IOC prefers one representative from each continent. It's about global inclusion, not just fielding the top six teams.' How Can India Qualify for the LA 2028 Olympics? To book their ticket to Los Angeles, India must be the highest-ranked Asian team in the ICC T20 rankings on the designated cut-off date, which the ICC is expected to announce during its October meeting. As of August 2025, India holds the top spot among Asian nations in both men's and women's T20 formats—putting them in pole position for Olympic qualification. But with stiff competition from Pakistan and Afghanistan, India cannot afford to slip in the rankings over the next year. Key Path to LA 2028 for India: Maintain top position among Asian teams in the ICC T20 rankings at the qualification cut-off. Likely Qualifiers for LA 2028 (Based on Current ICC Rankings) If current rankings remain stable, the six-team Olympic cricket lineup is likely to look like this: Asia: India Oceania: Australia Europe: Great Britain (a combined team from England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland) Africa: South Africa Americas: USA (possible direct qualification as hosts) Sixth team: To be determined via a global qualifier or a Caribbean regional tournament The West Indies, being a collective cricketing entity rather than a single nation, may need to stage an internal qualifier among its island nations or participate in a global qualifying event. No India vs Pakistan Clash at the Olympics? Perhaps the most heartbreaking prospect for fans is the likely absence of an India vs Pakistan encounter—a fixture that commands global attention. With only one Asian team advancing, it's highly probable that only India or Pakistan (not both) will participate. This scenario reflects a trade-off between sporting meritocracy and the Olympic ethos of inclusion, sparking debates within the cricketing fraternity. While purists may lament the exclusion of top-tier nations, the IOC's model prioritizes geographical equity. What Lies Ahead: Cricket's Olympic Future Beyond LA 2028 Looking past LA 2028, the ICC is lobbying for broader participation in the 2032 Brisbane Olympics and potentially the 2036 Games, with talks of expanding the format to 8 or even 12 teams. If India wins the bid to host the 2036 Olympics, cricket could be at the forefront of the global sporting spectacle, with calls for a full-fledged tournament featuring all major cricket-playing nations. 'The hope is to expand to eight or ten teams in Brisbane, and by 2036—possibly even twelve,' said Richard Thompson, hinting at a transformative decade ahead for Olympic cricket.
New Indian Express
03-06-2025
- Health
- New Indian Express
World Boxing apologizes for naming Olympic champion Imane Khelif in sex test policy
The president of World Boxing has apologized after Olympic champion Imane Khelif was singled out in the governing body's announcement to make sex testing mandatory. Algerian boxer Khelif, who won gold at the Paris Games last summer amid intense scrutiny over her eligibility, was specifically mentioned when World Boxing released its new policy last Friday. On Monday, its president Boris van der Vorst reached out to the Algerian Boxing Federation to acknowledge that was wrong. 'I am writing to you all personally to offer a formal and sincere apology for this and acknowledge that her privacy should have been protected,' he wrote in a letter seen by The Associated Press. Van der Vorst added he hoped by 'reaching out to you personally we show our true respect to you and your athletes.' Khelif and fellow gold medalist Lin Yu-ting from Taiwan were in the spotlight in Paris because the previous governing body for Olympic boxing, the International Boxing Association, disqualified both fighters from its 2023 world championships, claiming they failed an unspecified eligibility test. However, the International Olympic Committee applied sex eligibility rules used in previous Olympics and cleared Khelif and Lin to compete. World Boxing has been provisionally approved as the boxing organizer at the 2028 Los Angeles Games and has faced pressure from boxers and their federations to create sex eligibility standards. It said there will be mandatory testing for all boxers from July 1 to 'ensure the safety of all participants and deliver a competitive level playing field for men and women.'
The Age
21-05-2025
- Sport
- The Age
Olympic Games 2028: Could $700m quarterback Patrick Mahomes be an Olympian? The NFL thinks so
Patrick Mahomes could be an Olympian in 2028 after the NFL gave its players permission to try out for the US flag football team for the Los Angeles Games. It means the $US450 million ($700 million) quarterback could add Olympic gold to his trophy cabinet, alongside his three Super Bowl rings, if the NFL's most marketable man decides to try his hand at the five-a-side game. Justin Jefferson, Tyreek Hill and Patrick Mahomes could all try out for the 2028 US Olympic flag football team. Credit: Graphic: Michael Howard, Monique Westermann Flag football will make its Olympic debut in 2028, and will consist of six men's teams and six women's team, with 10 players per squad, and five on the field at a time. The NFL has been mulling over whether to let players try out for the past couple of years, but the motion was finally passed 32-0 at a meeting on Wednesday morning (Australia time), opening the door for the likes of $US140 million wide receiver Justin Jefferson or $US90 million Tyreek Hill to participate at a home Olympics.
Asharq Al-Awsat
01-05-2025
- Sport
- Asharq Al-Awsat
American Athletes Will Relish LA Olympic ‘Home Games', Says Felix
American athletes at the Los Angeles Games in 2028 will have the rare opportunity to compete at an Olympics on home soil and those considering retirement may not be able to resist sticking around for the chance, Olympic legend Allyson Felix said. Felix, the most decorated female track and field athlete of all time, has few regrets about an Olympic career that spanned five Games but said never getting the chance to lace up her spikes in the US is one. "What I would have loved most is to have a home Games," Felix, an LA native and now an LA28 board member, told Reuters. "We've worked really hard to bring the Games back to LA and more than anything, I'm excited the athletes have this opportunity to be on full display in America. That's huge. "I'm excited for Angelinos and the rest of the world too. We get to welcome them in and they get to see the Games up close." Gymnast Simone Biles said last week she had not yet decided whether to compete in what would be her fourth Games as she picked up her Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year award in Madrid. Seven-time Olympic champion Biles saw first-hand the passionate reception French gymnasts received every time they were announced at the Bercy Arena during last year's Paris Games and it remains to be seen if the prospect of hearing roars of "USA! USA!" will entice her to return. Felix said that vision has undeniable appeal to all potential Team USA athletes. "If you can stick around to be involved in some capacity, you can't pass that up," Felix said. Felix was all smiles at a recent event with the Los Angeles Jets where she surprised members of the venerable youth track and field club with the children's snack food Danimals as part of a promotional campaign. "The Jets are such a powerhouse and a staple in the community and looking at these kids it's interesting because beyond '28, they are going to be the ones who are out there," she said. The mother of two has been a trailblazer for women in sports and said she saw glimpses of her younger self in the fresh-faced sprinters she lined up against. "We did a little relay and they wanted to race me for real," said Felix, who won 11 Olympic medals including seven golds. "I love to see that because yeah, you should!"
