Latest news with #Bamba


Los Angeles Times
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Who's telling the truth? Searching for a shared reality amid L.A. protests
The notion of a shared, definitive reality remained elusive Monday in Los Angeles, as anti-ICE protests roiled the city for a fourth day. Had the city descended into lawless pandemonium, as Fox News proclaimed? Or were there pockets of havoc amid largely peaceful protests — with both concentrated in a relatively narrow geographic area, while workaday business continued as usual on a warm spring weekend across the rest of our sprawling metropolis? After spending the day in and around downtown's Civic Center, where sign-carrying demonstrators overflowed from Gloria Molina Grand Park east to various, newly graffitied federal buildings, I would argue that the latter description hews far closer to the truth. But after more than a decade as a reporter, I would be the first to admit that objectivity is in the eye of the beholder. And even then, it's largely a mirage. A few collected facts A handful of city workers began their morning outside the towering Art Deco edifice of Los Angeles City Hall, assessing the damage from Sunday night's protests. Graffiti, with one ubiquitous expletive preceding the word 'ICE' in about a dozen places, marred the granite exterior, with roughly a dozen broken windows on the south and west sides of the building. Chaos flared in other parts of downtown Los Angeles over the weekend, leaving sidewalks littered with shattered glass, and scattered buildings boarded up in anticipation of more trouble. At least 74 people were arrested across the region on suspicion of vandalism, looting, violence and more across the region, authorities said. The detritus visible Monday morning was ugly, but not dissimilar from what I saw after covering dozens of downtown protests over the years, particularly during the first Trump administration. By noon Monday, thousands of union members, immigrant rights activists and supporters filled the grassy knoll overlooking City Hall at a boisterous —but peaceful — rally demanding the release of SEIU California President David Huerta, who was arrested and injured during Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids last week. At one point, the crowd danced and sang along to 'La Bamba,' with an emcee declaring, 'I want to hear the loudest 'Bamba' ever heard in this damn town,' over a loudspeaker. Huerta was released hours later. 'I think folks are choosing to amplify images of chaos instead of images of love and solidarity and community building,' Assemblymember Isaac Bryan said Monday afternoon, standing with a gaggle of clergy outside the federal court building where Huerta was being arraigned. 'I was out in the streets yesterday, and what I saw was street vendors serving protesters who were dancing, with calls for freedom and to be safe in their own communities.' Further military escalation By late afternoon, the federal government announced that it would be sending 700 Marines to Los Angeles — another staggering and historic escalation, amid a series of staggering and historic escalations. California Gov. Gavin Newsom also said Monday afternoon that the Trump administration would be sending an additional 2,000 National Guard troops to the region, a move that Newsom characterized as 'reckless' and 'pointless.' 'This isn't about public safety. It's about stroking a dangerous President's ego,' Newsom said. The mayor's version of events Addressing the public on Monday evening from the city's emergency operations center, Mayor Karen Bass spoke to the raw panic that the surprise raids were fueling in a region where hundreds of thousands of people live without legal authorization and mixed-status families are common. 'I can't emphasize enough the level of fear and terror that is in Angelenos right now, not knowing if tomorrow or tonight, it might be where they live. It might be their workplace. Should you send your kids to school? Should you go to work?' Bass said, referring to the raids. The mayor also took aim at the dueling visions of reality at play, saying she had read a troubling description of Los Angeles as a place 'invaded and occupied by illegal aliens,' where 'violent insurrectionist mobs were swarming and attacking our federal agents. 'I don't know if anybody has seen that happen, but I've not seen that happen,' Bass declared. 'Obviously there has been violence, and the violence is unacceptable,' the mayor continued. But so were the descriptions of the 'migrant invasion' and 'migrant riots' in the city, she suggested, and the supposition that order would be restored if those same migrants were expelled. 'How is this a description? This is a despicable description of our city,' Bass said. 'Our city needs to come together now and not accept this, and not allow us to be divided.' A poem to start your Tuesday Email us at essentialcalifornia@ and your response might appear in the newsletter this week. Today's great photo is from Friends of Big Bear Valley in Big Bear Lake where Gizmo, the second eaglet of a family of eagles monitored by a 24-hour webcam, flew from its nest this weekend. Julia Wick, staff writerKevinisha Walker, multiplatform editorAndrew Campa, Sunday writerKarim Doumar, head of newsletters How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@ Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on


New Indian Express
03-05-2025
- New Indian Express
Tourists cancel Kashmir bookings, shift to Himachal after Pahalgam attack fallout
CHANDIGARH: Tourists now prefer vacationing in Himachal Pradesh over Jammu and Kashmir after the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 persons were killed. Approximately 15-20% of both domestic and international bookings have shifted from Kashmir to Himachal's popular destinations including Manali, Shimla and Dharamshala; however, the surge in footfall is not as expected as tourists have adopted a 'wait-and-watch' policy amid prevailing uncertainties and hostilities between India and Pakistan. Ashwani Bamba, president of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Kangra, told TNIE that, after the terror attack, tour operators and potential tourists inquired for booking in Himachal and Uttarakhand and that they expected the surge to be significant. "But, actually only 15-20% of tourists shifted from J&K to Himachal and the rest probably prefer to not venture out during this summer season owing to the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. Thus, the occupancy of hotels across the state at present is around 40% only, the same as last year. Bookings that were shifted were that of tourist groups traveling from Maharashtra, Gujarat and other states, not the immediate bookings in Kashmir which had gotten cancelled," he said. Bamba added that, in Himachal, Manali had the maximum number of shifted bookings at about 20%, while Dharamsala, Dalhousir and Shimla had much fewer. He said that advance bookings had already been made for the IPL matches in Dharamsala.


New Indian Express
03-05-2025
- New Indian Express
Tourists cancelled bookings in Kashmir, shifted to Himachal amid Indo-Pak relations
CHANDIGARH: Tourists now prefer vacationing in Himachal Pradesh over Jammu and Kashmir after the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 persons were killed. Approximately 15-20% of both domestic and international bookings have shifted from Kashmir to Himachal's popular destinations including Manali, Shimla and Dharamshala; however, the surge in footfall is not as expected as tourists have adopted a 'wait-and-watch' policy amid prevailing uncertainties and hostilities between India and Pakistan. Ashwani Bamba, president of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Kangra, told TNIE that, after the terror attack, tour operators and potential tourists inquired for booking in Himachal and Uttarakhand and that they expected the surge to be significant. "But, actually only 15-20% of tourists shifted from J&K to Himachal and the rest probably prefer to not venture out during this summer season owing to the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. Thus, the occupancy of hotels across the state at present is around 40% only, the same as last year. Bookings that were shifted were that of tourist groups traveling from Maharashtra, Gujarat and other states, not the immediate bookings in Kashmir which had gotten cancelled," he said. Bamba added that, in Himachal, Manali had the maximum number of shifted bookings at about 20%, while Dharamsala, Dalhousir and Shimla had much fewer. He said that advance bookings had already been made for the IPL matches in Dharamsala.


Gulf Today
15-04-2025
- Sport
- Gulf Today
Chicago hold Messi-led Miami to draw in front of record crowd
Inter Miami failed to score for the first time this season in Major League Soccer as they were held to a goalless draw by the Chicago Fire on Sunday. A club-record crowd of 62,358 packed into Soldier Field for the visit of Lionel Messi and his Inter team to witness a gutsy display from the home side. Chicago, coached by former USA boss Gregg Berhalter, limited Messi and his former Barcelona strike partner Luis Suarez to just a handful of opportunities. The best effort from Messi, who played the full game, came in the third minute when he unleashed a snap shot from outside the box which was denied by a fine, diving save from Fire keeper Chris Brady. There was no sense of Chicago being overawed by the big crowd at the stadium they share with the NFL's Bears and they went close twice in the opening half with Mauricio Pineda forcing Oscar Ustari into a full stretch save and then Philip Zinckernagel striking the outside of the post from a narrow angle. Suarez had a great chance to put Miami ahead just before the break when Noah Allen floated a ball in but the Uruguayan puts his shot over the bar. After the break, Chicago enjoyed plenty of pressure with much of the creativity coming from former Lille winger Jonathan Bamba. The Fire should have grabbed all three points in the 88th minute when Bamba's shot was parried out by Ustari but Maren Haile-Selassie put the follow-up shot wide. Bamba was denied again by Ustari moments later but in a frantic finale, Miami also could have stolen a win but, from a promising position, Tadeo Allende dragged his shot wide. Miami had looked tired after their midweek exertions in their CONCACAF Champions Cup win over Los Angeles FC on Wednesday and coach Javier Mascherano appeared relieved they had picked up a point. 'We came with a very, very big load not only physically, but also mentally. So not losing is always important, too,' he said. 'I'll take the positives, which is that we didn't concede a goal. We'd been conceding goals for three games, and today we kept a clean sheet. ... Now, luckily, we have a long week of work, which is a bit of a break for us, after the start of the season we've had,' he said. Former Miami coach Phil Neville saw his improving Portland Timbers team enjoy a 4-2 win at Sporting Kansas City with Venezuelan forward Kevin Kelsy scoring twice. Portland are unbeaten in five games and move up to fourth in the Western Conference. Agence France-Presse

Ammon
14-04-2025
- Sport
- Ammon
Messi and Miami fire blanks in front of record Chicago Fire crowd
Ammon News - Inter Miami failed to score for the first time this season in Major League Soccer as they were held to a goalless draw by the Chicago Fire on Sunday. A club-record crowd of 62,358 packed into Soldier Field for the visit of Lionel Messi and his Inter team to witness a gutsy display from the home side. Chicago, coached by former USA boss Gregg Berhalter, limited Messi and his former Barcelona strike partner Luis Suarez to just a handful of opportunities. The best effort from Messi, who played the full game, came in the third minute when he unleashed a snap shot from outside the box which was denied by a fine, diving save from Fire keeper Chris Brady. There was no sense of Chicago being overawed by the big crowd at the stadium they share with the NFL's Bears and they went close twice in the opening half with Mauricio Pineda forcing Oscar Ustari into a full stretch save and then Philip Zinckernagel striking the outside of the post from a narrow angle. Suarez had a great chance to put Miami ahead just before the break when Noah Allen floated a ball in but the Uruguayan puts his shot over the bar. After the break, Chicago enjoyed plenty of pressure with much of the creativity coming from former Lille winger Jonathan Bamba. The Fire should have grabbed all three points in the 88th minute when Bamba's shot was parried out by Ustari but Maren Haile-Selassie put the follow-up shot wide. Bamba was denied again by Ustari moments later but in a frantic finale, Miami also could have stolen a win but, from a promising position, Tadeo Allende dragged his shot wide. Miami had looked tired after their midweek exertions in their CONCACAF Champions Cup win over Los Angeles FC on Wednesday and coach Javier Mascherano appeared relieved they had picked up a point. 'We came with a very, very big load not only physically, but also mentally. So not losing is always important, too,' he said. 'I'll take the positives, which is that we didn't concede a goal. We'd been conceding goals for three games, and today we kept a clean sheet. ... Now, luckily, we have a long week of work, which is a bit of a break for us, after the start of the season we've had,' he said. Former Miami coach Phil Neville saw his improving Portland Timbers team enjoy a 4-2 win at Sporting Kansas City with Venezuelan forward Kevin Kelsy scoring twice. Portland are unbeaten in five games and move up to fourth in the Western Conference. The Columbus Crew fought back from a goal down to enjoy a 2-1 win at St. Louis City. Brazilian Joao Klauss opened the scoring for the home side before Crew defender Steven Moreira levelled with a side-footed volley.