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Daily Mail
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
LA burns on camera: Most shocking videos of city riots show police cars pelted with rocks, van driven into crowd, a reporter getting SHOT and mindless destruction
Shocking video has shown how violent riots plunged Los Angeles into chaos, with a van seen ploughing into a crowd, protesters torching cars and throwing rocks at cops, and journalists shot with rubber bullets as authorities staged a brutal crackdown. Horrifying footage filmed by motorists showed people running for their lives as a people carrier was driven full-speed into a crowd, with reports that several protesters were injured. The driver of the vehicle - reported to be shirtless as he launched the attack - spun it around in circles and reversed it multiple times in an apparent attempt to hit people, and was later arrested. The clashes erupted between law enforcement and protesters following immigration raids across the US, with Donald Trump responding to the violence by ordering the deployment of the National Guard. Rioters were filmed driving motorcycles at cops and blockading streets, with the carnage grinding Downtown LA to a complete halt as authorities declared it an 'unlawful assembly' area. Balaclava-clad protesters waving Mexican flags were caught on camera standing on top of wrecked Waymo driverless cars, while huge infernos were seen rising from burnt-out vehicles. Footage showed how in one vicious attack, officers were forced to shelter under an overpass on the 101 Freeway as they were hammered with fiery missiles, e-scooters and other projectiles from above. The road had to be closed to traffic as police desperately tried to extinguish the fires, but thugs continued to pelt the cars and cops, with one rioter seen lighting a piece of tinder and launching it at a vehicle to cause maximum damage. Earlier in the day, authorities were filmed raining down rubber bullets and tear gas on demonstrators - the majority of whom were peaceful - as they marched against President Trump's nationwide crackdown on illegal migrants. Multiple journalists covering the riots were reportedly struck by the non-lethal bullets, with dramatic footage showing the moment a TV news reporter was hit. Video shows a car being ploughed into protesters amid the riots in Los Angeles. A man was reportedly arrested after the incident US correspondent for Australia's Nine News Lauren Tomasi was speaking to camera about the 'rapidly deteriorating' situation on Sunday evening when she was hit. 'You just f***ing shot a reporter,' a protester could be heard yelling at nearby police. A British news photographer who was hit by a non-lethal bullet while documenting the clashes later had to undergo emergency surgery to remove shrapnel from his leg. Nick Stern was shot in the thigh by a 'sponge bullet' and needed to be helped to safety by protesters before passing out from the pain, he told PA. He is now recovering in hospital. News reporters from around the world were filmed wearing helmets, bulletproof vests and even gas masks as they covered the clashes. Meanwhile, around a dozen National Guard members, along with Department of Homeland Security personnel, pushed back a group of demonstrators outside a federal building in downtown Los Angeles, video showed. Some of the most horrifying images to emerge from the carnage on Sunday came from Downtown LA, where at least five Waymo self-driving cars were set alight and vandalized, prompting an indefinite shutdown of Los Angeles St north of Arcadia, and south of Alameda amid safety concerns about the lithium batteries. Horrifying vision captured the moment these rioters set fire to the robotaxis and celebrated the carnage by dancing on the roof of cars and waving Mexican flags. 'Burn, burn, burn,' the protesters cheered. 'Burning lithium-ion batteries release toxic gases, including hydrogen fluoride, posing risks to responders and those nearby,' authorities said. One protester repeatedly smashed the driver side window of a Waymo which had been surrounded by demonstrators as flames engulfed another car nearby. Waymo was forced to halt all services in and around the under-siege protest areas in an effort to protect the remainder of the fleet. Each self driving robotaxi is estimated to be worth about $150,000. At least two officers were injured after motorcyclists ploughed through rioters and ran straight over the top of authorities. Both of the riders have been detained by police as the officers are treated by medical personnel on the scene. Elsewhere, officers were reportedly struck by fireworks as they worked to break up a violent crowd, while protesters were filmed brandishing 3D creations of Trump's severed head on a pole. US Northern Command said 300 members of the California National Guard had been deployed to three spots in the LA area. Their mission was limited to protecting federal personnel and property. Around 500 Marines were also said to be on standby. Trump earlier said around 300 National Guard troops were deployed with another 1,700 due to arrive. Meanwhile the LAPD has authorized the 'use of less lethal munitions' to regain control of the city. Cops in riot gear were seen dragging protesters away amid dozens of arrests, while one clip showed mounted officers beating a seemingly unarmed man with a stick. Demonstrators told AFP the purpose of the troops did not appear to be to keep order, with one calling it an 'intimidation tactic.' 'You have the National Guard with loaded magazines and large guns standing around trying to intimidate Americans from exercising our First Amendment rights,' protester Thomas Henning said. Riot cops armed with batons are seen lining up near protesters as smoke rises in the background Rioters have set fire to driverless cars and been pictured waving Mexican flags and anti-ICE placards in LA Police officers move to clear activists protesting immigration raids from the road near the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building in Los Angeles The conflict has sparked a war of words between Trump and California Governor Gavin Newsom, who accused him of intentionally inflaming tensions. 'Despite protests already being managed by LAPD Headquarters, President Trump is escalating the situation by threatening to deploy roughly 500 active-duty Marines to the streets of Los Angeles,' he wrote on social media. 'Los Angeles: Remain peaceful. Don't fall into the trap that extremists are hoping for.' Trump hit back at Newsom's criticism with a Truth Social post on Sunday demanding both he and LA Mayor Karen Bass apologize for the riots, insisting those involved are not 'peaceful protesters' as the duo had claimed, but instead 'troublemakers and insurrectionists.' Under siege, authorities last night declared the entirety of Downtown LA an 'unlawful assembly' area and ordered anyone in the vicinity to 'leave immediately.' 'Agitators have splintered into and through out the Downtown Area. Residents, businesses and visitors to the Downtown Area should be alert and report any criminal activity,' police said. According to reports, an officer in a police helicopter which circled the site of a protest in downtown LA could be heard announcing to people on the ground: 'I have all of you on camera. I'm going to come to your house.' Fires were lit across the city, many of which were started when Waymo self-driving taxis were targeted, with video showing pyres built up with cones and other debris. Further footage showed a man armed with a hammer smashing in the windows of a police car. Video showed a man, seemingly unarmed, being beaten with a wooden stick by a mounted police officer. Police horses were also targeted as they made their way through the streets, with rioters seen throwing projectiles. Cannisters of tear gas which police had used to disperse the crowds were instead picked up and thrown back at officers. LA Authorities were considering implementing a curfew to quell the violence and will re-evaluate if such drastic measures are necessary as the night progresses. Immigration officials, National Guard troops and the LAPD used rubber bullets and flash bangs in an effort to control the never-ending onslaught of an estimated 6,000 protesters, with 500 Marines on standby to join the defensive lines. At least 60 rioters were arrested on Sunday during skirmishes across Downtown LA which stretched into a third day, bringing the total tally of arrests for the chaotic weekend to 89. LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said demonstrators were arriving to protests armed with hammers and cinder blocks, throwing chunks of concrete or enormous rocks at officers simply doing their jobs. Asked at a news conference on Sunday night if LA needed the National Guard, McDonnell said he would have to 'make a reassessment', adding: 'Looking at tonight, you know, this thing has gotten out of control.' 'We are overwhelmed We had individuals out there shooting commercial grade fireworks at our officers. That can kill ya.' Many, he said, were wearing masks - a direct violation of Trump's 'no masks' mandate. The comments sparked a furious response from Trump, who wrote on Truth Social: 'arrest the people in face masks, now!' In another post, Trump added: 'Looking really bad in L.A. BRING IN THE TROOPS!' 'Jim McDonnell, the highly respected LAPD Chief, just stated that the protesters are getting very much more aggressive, and that he would 'have to reassess the situation,' as it pertains to bringing in the troops. He should, RIGHT NOW!!! Don't let these thugs get away with this.' Three officers were injured in the harrowing scenes amid concerns that the clashes could turn deadly as rioters used fireworks and heavy rocks to attack authorities. At the 101 Freeway, which was the epicenter of conflict on Sunday, officers were forced to hunker under an overpass as they faced a barrage of missiles from above. Extraordinary footage captured by independent journalist Cam Higby showed a small contingent of Los Angeles highway patrol officers under siege by protesters who had seized control of the overpass above them. The protesters threw tinder lit on fire in an effort to blow up the police cars below, and attacked officers with rocks and tear gas from above when they made any effort to extinguish the flames. Earlier in the evening authorities faced an uphill battle to contain violence on the same stretch of road. More than 2,000 protesters commandeered northbound and southbound traffic, grinding motorists to a complete halt as they marched with flags and signs high above their heads. Motorists stuck on the unmoving freeway were instructed to turn around in an effort to clear the traffic, as even more rioters gathered on overpasses and ramps. The freeway was briefly reopened but authorities had to shut it down once again as demonstrators began tossing missiles off the overpass. Witnesses claimed demonstrators were setting tinder alight and firing rocks from the overpass, aiming at police patrol vehicles as they passed by. As authorities in LA struggled to contain demonstrators, the carnage spread to San Francisco where vandals trashed buildings and violently clashed with police in riot gear. Trump on Sunday issued an extraordinary directive vowing to 'liberate Los Angeles' from illegal aliens which have 'invaded and occupied a once great American city.' A combined effort led by Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Attorney General Pam Bondi will restore order, Trump said. He directed his key personnel to 'to take all such action necessary to liberate Los Angeles from the Migrant Invasion, and put an end to these migrant riots. 'Order will be restored, the Illegals will be expelled, and Los Angeles will be set free,' Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday afternoon. Trump lamented the current state of the city, expressing concern that 'a once great American City, Los Angeles, has been invaded and occupied by Illegal Aliens and Criminals. 'Now violent, insurrectionist mobs are swarming and attacking our Federal Agents to try and stop our deportation operations.' But he vowed 'these lawless riots only strengthen our resolve' as images emerge of troops on the ground in the downtown area of the city ready to defend the city from more violent demonstrations. The president congratulated the National Guard on doing a 'great job' in the city in the early hours of Sunday morning, although they hadn't arrived yet. But Governor Newsom shared a very different perspective just hours later, revealing he has urged Trump to ' rescind the order [and] return control to California.' 'We didn't have a problem until Trump got involved,' Newsom said in his extraordinary rebuke. 'This is a serious breach of state sovereignty — inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they're actually needed. 'These are the acts of a dictator, not a President.' Trump issued several late night Truth Social statements in the wake of the carnage Mayor Bass echoed those statements, telling CNN: 'This sows chaos that is not warranted nor needed in the city of Los Angeles. 'It's as though troops were rolled out in a provocative manner and I do not see how that is helpful to Los Angeles right now, it's not the type of resources that we need in the city. 'We do not need to have our city under siege.' Democrat Representative Maxine Waters, a staunch critic of the president, called the deployment of National Guard troops an unnecessary escalation, asking as she stood outside Metropolitan Detention Center: 'Why are they out here with guns?'. 'Who are you going to shoot?' she asked the two dozen soldiers present. 'If you're going to shoot me, you better shoot straight.' Former Vice President Kamala Harris echoed the sentiments from fellow Democrats on Sunday, denouncing the ICE raids which sparked the civil unrest. 'Deploying the National Guard is a dangerous escalation meant to provoke chaos,' Harris wrote in a statement on X. 'In addition to the recent ICE raids in Southern California and across our nation, it is part of the Trump Administration's cruel, calculated agenda to spread panic and division.' Trump hit back with a Truth Social post on Sunday demanding both Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass apologize for the LA riots, insisting those involved are not 'peaceful protesters' as the duo had claimed, but instead 'troublemakers and insurrectionists.' Defending Trump, border czar Tom Homan described Newsom as an embarrassment to the state and warned 'it's a felony to impede law enforcement from doing their job.' Newsom quickly hit back at Homan, daring the border czar to put him in handcuffs as the conflict descended into a childish tit-for-tat despite the crisis on his doorstep. 'Come and arrest me. Let's just get it over with, tough guy. I don't give a damn,' he told MSNBC Sunday evening. 'He's a tough guy. Why doesn't he do that? He knows where to find me.' The crisis even saw Trump's friend-turned-foe Elon Musk rush to his defense, sharing several comments on X expressing horror over the scenes of violence. 'This is not ok,' he wrote alongside one image of a rioter on top of a vandalized car. Separately, he reshared Trump's Truth Social post criticizing Newsom and Bass. These riots came against the backdrop of Trump's latest immigration raid, targeting the safe haven of Los Angeles on Friday. DHS said in a statement that the recent ICE operations resulted in the arrest of 118 immigrants. Homan said those arrested included child sex offenders, gang members and national security threats. 'They arrested a lot of bad people yesterday and today,' Homan asserted. 'We're making Los Angeles safer.' Homan also remarked that ICE agents were often wearing masks as they conducted raids because they were worried about their families being doxed.
Daily Mail
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Newsom issues bold debate challenge to border czar Tom Homan
Gavin Newsom challenged Tom Homan to put him in jail as he blamed the border czar as well as Donald Trump for inciting the riots that have brought Los Angeles to its knees. The California Democrat - whom many suspect is attempting to build a following to run for president in 2028 - snapped back and dared Homan to arrest him in a stunning interview. Horrifying scenes showed Waymo cars erupting into flames and emitting toxic gases as rioters chained themselves to furniture and created blockades to grind Downtown Los Angeles to a complete halt on Sunday night as violence stretched into a third day. Trump sent in 2,000 National Guard troops and placed 500 Marines on standby, while the LAPD has authorized the 'use of less lethal munitions' to regain control of the city. Newsom slammed Trump, claiming 'we didn't have a problem until Trump got involved.' Homan has repeatedly threatened Democrat officials who test him with arrest and said the same would be on the table for Newsom and Bass, confirming he would 'say that about anybody' who broke the law, he told NBC News. On Sunday night, Newsom sent an impassioned message directly to the border czar after Homan called him 'an embarrassment to the state'. 'Come and arrest me. Let's just get it over with, tough guy. I don't give a damn,' he told MSNBC after Homan had threatened both Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass. 'He's a tough guy. Why doesn't he do that? He knows where to find me,' Newsom added. He then accused Homan of arresting children, rather than the 'worst of the worst' Trump has promised to deport. 'Lay your hands off four year old girls that are trying to get educated,' Newsom quipped. 'Lay off people who are just trying to live their lives, pay their taxes, have been here 10 years. The fear, the horror... what the hell is this guy? Come after me, arrest me, let's just get it over with,' he said, calling the border czar's 'bloviating' tiresome. He further told Homan and the rest of the Trump administration to 'grow up' and 'stop.' Later in the interview, Newsom accused rioters of giving the president exactly what he wants. 'These images are unacceptable. These people on the car. These aren't peaceful protesters,' he said. However, he still blames Trump for the violence and carnage on the streets of California's biggest city. They are playing right into Trump's hand and they need to be called out. They need to be arrested but Donald Trump is the sponsor of these conditions.' Newsom went further in a post to social media night, saying: 'Donald Trump has manufactured a crisis and is inflaming conditions. If he can't solve it, we will. To the bad actors fueling Trump's flames — California will hold you accountable.' Homan said, warning Newsom and Bass, on Sunday: 'It's a felony to knowingly conceal and harbor an illegal alien. It's a felony to impede law enforcement from doing their job.' He further called Newsom 'an embarrassment to the state' and said he had no interest in hearing from him. 'I have absolutely no respect for this governor. Criminal aliens are walking in this state every day because of his government policy. I don't care what the governor thinks of me. I'm not running a popularity contest,' he said. At least five Waymo self-driving cars were set alight and vandalized, prompting an indefinite shutdown of Los Angeles St north of Arcadia, and south of Alameda amid safety concerns about the lithium batteries. 'Burning lithium-ion batteries release toxic gases, including hydrogen fluoride, posing risks to responders and those nearby,' authorities said. One protester repeatedly smashed the driver side window of a Waymo which had been surrounded by demonstrators as flames engulfed another car nearby. Waymo has now halted all services in and around the under-siege protest areas in an effort to protect the remainder of the fleet. Each self driving robotaxi is estimated to be worth about $150,000. Earlier in the evening authorities faced an uphill battle to contain violence on the 101 Freeway, where more than 2,000 protesters commandeered northbound and southbound traffic, grinding motorists to a complete halt as they marched with flags and signs high above their heads. Motorists stuck on the unmoving freeway were instructed to turn around in an effort to clear the traffic, as even more rioters gathered on overpasses and ramps. The freeway was briefly reopened but authorities had to shut it down once again as demonstrators began tossing missiles off the overpass and damaging cars below. Witnesses claimed demonstrators were setting tinder alight and firing rocks from the overpass, aiming at police patrol vehicles as they passed by. In nearby Alameda and Temple, arrests are now underway as officers report 'people in the crowd are throwing concrete, bottles and other objects.' At least two officers were injured after motorcyclists ploughed through rioters and ran straight over the top of authorities. Both of the riders have been detained by police as the officers are treated by medical personnel on the scene. Elsewhere, officers were reportedly struck by fireworks as they worked to break up a violent crowd, while protesters were filmed brandishing 3D creations of Trump's severed head on a pole. At Los Angeles City Hall, authorities on horseback were locked in a tense standoff with even more demonstrators, sparking fears from local law enforcement officers that they were in for a 'rough night.' Further arrests have been made throughout the Civic Center area of Downtown LA. Protesters gathered outside the Metropolitan Detention Center were warned that the LAPD incident commander had approved the use of 'less lethal munitions' to break up the crowd. This came as authorities declared the area an 'unlawful assembly' and warned any protester who chose to stay would be subject to arrest. The LAPD began issuing rolling dispersal orders and declaring some of the protests acts of 'unlawful assembly' as violence ramped up on Sunday afternoon. Protesters within regions now under a dispersal order have been warned to evacuate now or face arrest. Demonstrations even reached the upscale AC Hotel Pasadena by Sunday afternoon after the arrival of emergency vehicles. While that protest had not descended into violence, those who had gathered chanted 'ICE is not welcome here' and blasted songs in Spanish in a display of solidarity. At the site of another dispersal order near Temple Street and Main Street, demonstrators are 'using chairs, garbage bins and other items to blockade the street.' Authorities issued a separate warning that the city has been placed on 'tactical alert', meaning all of the department's officers are now on notice that they could be called up for service at any given moment. Officers who are already on duty are not allowed to end their shift until they have been relieved by their commanders, and residents of Los Angeles are warned that low priority calls may go unanswered while the alert is ongoing. These officers will now join the 2,000 California National Guard troops Trump earlier deployed to Los Angeles to quell the protests, which he called 'a form of rebellion.' Trump issued an extraordinary directive on Sunday vowing to 'liberate Los Angeles' from illegal aliens which have 'invaded and occupied a once great American city.' A combined effort led by Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth , and Attorney General Pam Bondi will restore order, Trump said. He has directed his key personnel to 'to take all such action necessary to liberate Los Angeles from the Migrant Invasion, and put an end to these Migrant riots. 'Order will be restored, the Illegals will be expelled, and Los Angeles will be set free,' Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday afternoon. Trump lamented the current state of the city, expressing concern that 'a once great American City, Los Angeles, has been invaded and occupied by Illegal Aliens and Criminals. 'Now violent, insurrectionist mobs are swarming and attacking our Federal Agents to try and stop our deportation operations.' But he vowed 'these lawless riots only strengthen our resolve' as images emerge of troops on the ground in the downtown area of the city ready to defend the city from more violent demonstrations. The president congratulated the National Guard on doing a 'great job' in the city in the early hours of Sunday morning, although they hadn't arrived yet. But Governor Newsom shared a very different perspective just hours later, revealing he has urged Trump to 'rescind the order [and] return control to California.' 'We didn't have a problem until Trump got involved,' Newsom said in his extraordinary rebuke. 'This is a serious breach of state sovereignty — inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they're actually needed. 'These are the acts of a dictator, not a President.' Bass echoed those statements, telling CNN: 'This sows chaos that is not warranted nor needed in the city of Los Angeles. It's as though troops were rolled out in a provocative manner and I do not see how that is helpful to Los Angeles right now, it's not the type of resources that we need in the city. We do not need to have our city under siege.' Former Vice President Kamala Harris joined in on the Democrat pile-on on Sunday, denouncing the ICE raids which sparked the civil unrest. 'Deploying the National Guard is a dangerous escalation meant to provoke chaos,' Harris wrote in a statement on X. 'In addition to the recent ICE raids in Southern California and across our nation, it is part of the Trump Administration's cruel, calculated agenda to spread panic and division.' Early Sunday, the violence was limited to a small area in downtown Los Angeles, with the rest of the city of 4 million people largely unaffected. Since then, pockets of protests have began popping up in broader parts of the community. The arrival of the National Guard and federal reinforcements follows days of protests that began Friday in downtown Los Angeles before spreading on Saturday to Paramount and neighboring Compton. Hegseth had warned on Saturday that 'active duty Marines' were on 'high alert' as the riots created havoc on the streets. On Sunday, Noem said the National Guard would 'keep peace and allow people to be able to protest but also to keep law and order.' The troops included members of the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, according to a social media post from the Department of Defense that showed dozens of National Guard members with long guns and an armored vehicle. Governor Newsom called Trump on Friday night and they spoke for about 40 minutes, according to the governor´s office. It was not clear if they spoke Saturday or Sunday. Newsom described Trump's decision to call in the National Guard as a 'provocative show of force' that would only escalate tensions. He added that Hegseth's threat to deploy Marines on American soil was 'deranged behavior.' Rioters have also been warned that the use of non-lethal munitions has been authorized to maintain order, prompting a warning from the LAPD urging people to 'leave the area' to avoid the 'pain and discomfort' such weapons can bring. But the escalation comes in response to rioters using flaming projectiles and throwing rocks at authorities, as they set fire to cars in their path of destruction. They were met by federal agents in riot gear and gas masks. The mob was warned to leave in both Spanish and English. Tear gas and smoke filled the air as confrontations between immigration authorities and demonstrators extended into a third day. These riots were set against the backdrop of Trump's latest immigration raid, targeting the safe haven of Los Angeles on Friday. DHS said in a statement that the recent ICE operations resulted in the arrest of 118 immigrants. Trump's border czar Tom Homan said those arrested included child sexual offenders, gang members and national security threats. 'They arrested a lot of bad people yesterday and today,' Homan asserted. 'We're making Los Angeles safer.' Homan also remarked that ICE agents were often wearing masks as they conducted raids because they were worried about their families being doxxed. By Saturday night federal agents reported having arrested more than a dozen 'agitators who impeded agents in their ability to conduct law enforcement operations.
Daily Mail
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Gavin Newsom dares Trump's border czar Tom Homan to jail him as anti-ICE protesters bring LA to its knees
Gavin Newsom challenged Tom Homan to put him in jail as he blamed the border czar and Donald Trump for inciting the riots that have brought Los Angeles to its knees. Horrifying scenes showed Waymo cars erupting into flames and emitting toxic gases as rioters chained themselves to furniture and created blockades to grind Downtown Los Angeles to a complete halt on Sunday night as violence stretched into a third day. Trump sent in 2,000 National Guard troops and placed 500 Marines on standby, while the LAPD has authorized the 'use of less lethal munitions' to regain control of the city. Newsom slammed Trump, claiming 'we didn't have a problem until Trump got involved.' Homan has repeatedly threatened Democrat officials who test him with arrest and confirmed the same would be on the table for Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass Sunday, confirming he would 'say that about anybody' who broke the law, The Hill reported. The California Democrat - whom many suspect is attempting to build a following to run for president in 2028 - snapped back at Homan in an interview with MSNBC Sunday night. 'He's a tough guy. Why doesn't he do that? He knows where to find me,' Newsom said. He then accused Homan of arresting children, rather than the 'worst of the worst' Trump has promised to deport. 'Lay your hands off four year old girls that are trying to get educated,' Newsom quipped. He repeated his challenge to Homan one more time. 'Come and arrest me. Let's just get it over with tough guy. I don't give a damn.' Later in the interview, however, he accused rioters of giving the president exactly what he wants. 'These images are unacceptable. These people on the car. These aren't peaceful protesters,' he said. However, he still blames Trump for the violence and carnage on the streets of California's biggest city. 'They are playing right into Trump's hand and they need to be called out. They need to be arrested but Donald Trump is the sponsor of these conditions.' Homan said, warning Newsom and Bass, on Sunday: 'It's a felony to knowingly conceal and harbor an illegal alien. It's a felony to impede law enforcement from doing their job.' He further called Newsom 'an embarrassment to the state' and said he had no interest in hearing from him. 'I have absolutely no respect for this governor. Criminal aliens are walking in this state every day because of his government policy. I don't care what the governor thinks of me. I'm not running a popularity contest,' he said. At least five Waymo self-driving cars were set alight and vandalized, prompting an indefinite shutdown of Los Angeles St north of Arcadia, and south of Alameda amid safety concerns about the lithium batteries. 'Burning lithium-ion batteries release toxic gases, including hydrogen fluoride, posing risks to responders and those nearby,' authorities said. One protester repeatedly smashed the driver side window of a Waymo which had been surrounded by demonstrators as flames engulfed another car nearby. Waymo has now halted all services in and around the under-siege protest areas in an effort to protect the remainder of the fleet. Each self driving robotaxi is estimated to be worth about $150,000. Earlier in the evening authorities faced an uphill battle to contain violence on the 101 Freeway, where more than 2,000 protesters commandeered northbound and southbound traffic, grinding motorists to a complete halt as they marched with flags and signs high above their heads. Motorists stuck on the unmoving freeway were instructed to turn around in an effort to clear the traffic, as even more rioters gathered on overpasses and ramps. The freeway was briefly reopened but authorities had to shut it down once again as demonstrators began tossing missiles off the overpass and damaging cars below. Witnesses claimed demonstrators were setting tinder alight and firing rocks from the overpass, aiming at police patrol vehicles as they passed by. In nearby Alameda and Temple, arrests are now underway as officers report 'people in the crowd are throwing concrete, bottles and other objects.' At least two officers were injured after motorcyclists ploughed through rioters and ran straight over the top of authorities. Both of the riders have been detained by police as the officers are treated by medical personnel on the scene. Elsewhere, officers were reportedly struck by fireworks as they worked to break up a violent crowd, while protesters were filmed brandishing 3D creations of Trump's severed head on a pole. At the Los Angeles City Hall, authorities on horseback were locked in a tense standoff with even more demonstrators, sparking fears from local law enforcement officers that they were in for a 'rough night.' Further arrests have been made throughout the Civic Center area of Downtown LA. Protesters gathered outside the Metropolitan Detention Center were warned that the LAPD incident commander had approved the use of 'less lethal munitions' to break up the crowd. This came as authorities declared the area an 'unlawful assembly' and warned any protester who chose to stay would be subject to arrest. The LAPD began issuing rolling dispersal orders and declaring some of the protests acts of 'unlawful assembly' as violence ramped up on Sunday afternoon. Protesters within regions now under a dispersal order have been warned to evacuate now or face arrest. Demonstrations even reached the upscale AC Hotel Pasadena by Sunday afternoon after the arrival of emergency vehicles. While that protest had not descended into violence, those who had gathered chanted 'ICE is not welcome here' and blasted songs in Spanish in a display of solidarity. At the site of another dispersal order near Temple Street and Main Street, demonstrators are 'using chairs, garbage bins and other items to blockade the street.' Authorities issued a separate warning that the city has been placed on 'tactical alert', meaning all of the department's officers are now on notice that they could be called up for service at any given moment. Officers who are already on duty are not allowed to end their shift until they have been relieved by their commanders, and residents of Los Angeles are warned that low priority calls may go unanswered while the alert is ongoing. These officers will now join the 2,000 California National Guard troops Trump earlier deployed to Los Angeles to quell the protests, which he called 'a form of rebellion.' Trump issued an extraordinary directive on Sunday vowing to 'liberate Los Angeles' from illegal aliens which have 'invaded and occupied a once great American city.' A combined effort led by Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Attorney General Pam Bondi will restore order, Trump said. He has directed his key personnel to 'to take all such action necessary to liberate Los Angeles from the Migrant Invasion, and put an end to these Migrant riots. 'Order will be restored, the Illegals will be expelled, and Los Angeles will be set free,' Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday afternoon. Trump lamented the current state of the city, expressing concern that 'a once great American City, Los Angeles, has been invaded and occupied by Illegal Aliens and Criminals. 'Now violent, insurrectionist mobs are swarming and attacking our Federal Agents to try and stop our deportation operations.' But he vowed 'these lawless riots only strengthen our resolve' as images emerge of troops on the ground in the downtown area of the city ready to defend the city from more violent demonstrations. The president congratulated the National Guard on doing a 'great job' in the city in the early hours of Sunday morning, although they hadn't arrived yet. But Governor Newsom shared a very different perspective just hours later, revealing he has urged Trump to ' rescind the order [and] return control to California.' 'We didn't have a problem until Trump got involved,' Newsom said in his extraordinary rebuke. 'This is a serious breach of state sovereignty — inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they're actually needed. 'These are the acts of a dictator, not a President.' Mayor Karen Bass echoed those statements, telling CNN: 'This sows chaos that is not warranted nor needed in the city of Los Angeles. 'It's as though troops were rolled out in a provocative manner and I do not see how that is helpful to Los Angeles right now, it's not the type of resources that we need in the city. 'We do not need to have our city under siege.' Former Vice President Kamala Harris joined in on the Democrat pile-on on Sunday, denouncing the ICE raids which sparked the civil unrest. 'Deploying the National Guard is a dangerous escalation meant to provoke chaos,' Harris wrote in a statement on X. 'In addition to the recent ICE raids in Southern California and across our nation, it is part of the Trump Administration's cruel, calculated agenda to spread panic and division.' Early Sunday, the violence was limited to a small area in downtown Los Angeles, with the rest of the city of 4 million people largely unaffected. Since then, pockets of protests have began popping up in broader parts of the community. The arrival of the National Guard and federal reinforcements follows days of protests that began Friday in downtown Los Angeles before spreading on Saturday to Paramount and neighboring Compton. Hegseth had warned on Saturday that 'active duty Marines' were on 'high alert' as the riots created havoc on the streets. On Sunday, Noem said the National Guard would 'keep peace and allow people to be able to protest but also to keep law and order.' The troops included members of the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, according to a social media post from the Department of Defense that showed dozens of National Guard members with long guns and an armored vehicle. Governor Newsom called Trump on Friday night and they spoke for about 40 minutes, according to the governor´s office. It was not clear if they spoke Saturday or Sunday. Newsom described Trump's decision to call in the National Guard as a 'provocative show of force' that would only escalate tensions. He added that Hegseth's threat to deploy Marines on American soil was 'deranged behavior.' Rioters have also been warned that the use of non-lethal munitions has been authorized to maintain order, prompting a warning from the LAPD urging people to 'leave the area' to avoid the 'pain and discomfort' such weapons can bring. But the escalation comes in response to rioters using flaming projectiles and throwing rocks at authorities, as they set fire to cars in their path of destruction. They were met by federal agents in riot gear and gas masks. The mob was warned to leave in both Spanish and English. Tear gas and smoke filled the air as confrontations between immigration authorities and demonstrators extended into a third day. These riots were set against the backdrop of Trump's latest immigration raid, targeting the safe haven of Los Angeles on Friday. DHS said in a statement that the recent ICE operations resulted in the arrest of 118 immigrants. Trump's border czar Tom Homan said those arrested included child sex offenders, gang members and national security threats. 'They arrested a lot of bad people yesterday and today,' Homan asserted. 'We're making Los Angeles safer.' Homan also remarked that ICE agents were often wearing masks as they conducted raids because they were worried about their families being doxxed. By Saturday night federal agents reported having arrested more than a dozen 'agitators who impeded agents in their ability to conduct law enforcement operations.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Granderson: Pushing more Americans into homelessness is no way to revitalize downtowns
The first couple of years of the Reagan administration were rough on most Americans. His 1981 cuts to safety net programs led to an additional 6 million people falling into poverty between 1980 and 1983. Coupled with an unemployment of nearly 11% during his first term, Reagan ended up raising taxes more than 10 times during his presidency to try to clean up the mess his 1981 cuts made. However, elements of that economic devastation continue to haunt us today. One of the most obvious examples is the explosion of homeless encampments in the nation's downtowns, which began during Reagan's presidency and led to the first federal legislative response to homelessness, in 1987. Here we are nearly four decades later: The country has its highest number of homeless people since tracking began, and House Republicans just voted to cut safety programs. It's as if those Reagan years taught them nothing about cause and effect. Yes, we have a $36-trillion national debt, and Moody's just downgraded our credit rating. We have to draw in the purse strings for the sake of our fiscal stability. But it matters where you make the cuts. Creating a scenario that could increase poverty and homelessness is wildly counterproductive. Even setting aside for the moment the human costs, the economic case for reducing homelessness is painfully clear. The commercial real estate value of our downtowns is eroded by vacancies, with Downtown L.A. suffering a rate of more than 30%, according to a recent Cushman and Wakefield analysis. And that wealth is going to continue to flee downtown because people avoid downtown. Why? Safety concerns. Something about seeing a bunch of boarded-up buildings and tents on the streets doesn't feel comforting. A federal budget crafted to crush the most vulnerable people will push countless Americans out of their precarious housing and onto the streets. The Republicans' vision will create more encampments — certainly no way to address the public's safety concerns or revitalize downtowns. It's impossible to make America great without first taking care of her people — all of her people. All the fancy strip malls in the suburban world won't change that. In Downtown L.A. in 1983, Bullock's at 7th Street and Broadway shuttered its doors. That same year, Gimbels in New York said goodbye. And in my hometown of Detroit, the vast Hudson's — second in size only to Macy's in New York — also closed. That wasn't just a reflection of changing shopping habits. That was also a microcosm of the economic erosion that was plaguing the heart of our cultural hubs after those devastating budget cuts in 1981. A municipality's best architecture is often downtown. The best historic buildings are near courthouses and Main Streets. When America cared about its downtowns, entire cities and states thrived. We can't afford to give up on our urban centers. Local officials get that; cities perennially float plans and tweak policies in the hope of revitalizing these areas. But before elected officials focus on removing red tape from acquiring liquor licenses or offering tax breaks to would-be developers, they must help the people sleeping on the streets in front of the buildings that cities want to reopen. Until that happens, the economic potential of our downtowns will stay in limbo. Californians take this risk seriously. Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) is spearheading a multilayered initiative to revitalize struggling downtowns across California since the pandemic. For more than a year he's met with mayors and other leaders from nine cities to identify the barriers to a thriving downtown. This week Haney, who chairs the Assembly's Downtown Recovery Committee, announced a package with 13 initiatives designed to bring life back to civic centers. Three of them specifically target homelessness. As far as I'm concerned, those are the only three that matter. If the public sector can get people off the streets and into shelters, the private sector will do the rest. 'I think that the cities now have the tools and the legal clarity to effectively address encampments,' Haney told me this week. 'They can clear persistent encampments, but they also need to have places for people to go.' That last point cannot be ignored. 'Cities now are more focused on those short-term shelters and transitional housing and ensuring there are adequate placements,' he said — a crucial component given that last summer the Supreme Court endorsed the power of cities in California and the West to break up encampments, and this month Gov. Gavin Newsom has made that tactic a talking point. 'What we don't want to see is just clearing an encampment so that people then get up and move two blocks away,' Haney added. 'Nor does it make much sense to spend money to put somebody in jail solely because they're homeless. That's not going to be a solution.' His take is that the top priority for the state government and for mayors should be funding for 'homelessness response, which really is focused on being able to remove encampments and get people inside.' Obviously that's easier said than done. But if that isn't done, nothing else will work. Unhoused people will have no path out of homelessness, and our downtowns will continue their death spiral. @LZGranderson If it's in the news right now, the L.A. Times' Opinion section covers it. Sign up for our weekly opinion newsletter. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US Stocks ‘Astronomically Complacent' About Trade War, CLSA Says
(Bloomberg) -- US stock investors appear 'astronomically complacent' about the amount of damage the trade war will inflict on corporate earnings, according to CLSA's chief equity strategist. Can Frank Gehry's 'Grand LA' Make Downtown Feel Like a Neighborhood? Chicago's O'Hare Airport Seeks Up to $4.3 Billion of Muni Debt NJ Transit Makes Deal With Engineers, Ending Three-Day Strike For Alexander Redman, economic data show significant cause for concern about stock prices. US firms' capital-expenditure intentions have gone negative for only the fourth time this century; the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index is at a multi-decade low; and two-thirds of US households now believe the unemployment will be worse in 12 months' time. 'Real damage was done to corporate and household sentiment during the period that the tariffs were being applied,' Redman said in an interview, adding that it's unlikely they will 'return to where we were back in December.' Even with the trade war hanging over markets, the S&P 500 sits less than 5% off its record high from February, and close to the median year-end forecast of strategists tracked by Bloomberg. What's more, the market currently sees 10% earnings-per-share growth this year and 14% next year, versus the compound annual growth rate of about 6.7% in the past four to five decades, according to Redman, who says expectations are too high. 'The sell-side are not going to tell you this because they were uniformly discredited in 2022 and 2023 for calling a US recession that never arrived,' he said. 'They don't want to stand in front of that train again.' Redman is based in Singapore. Because of concerns about the US economic outlook, the brokerage is underweight export-driven Asian economies such as South Korea and Taiwan, and prefers markets that are more insulated from US risks, such as India and Australia. Redman remains neutral on Japan, seeing the shares as near fair value, and on China, where the outlook is constrained by tepid consumption. Why Apple Still Hasn't Cracked AI Inside the First Stargate AI Data Center Anthropic Is Trying to Win the AI Race Without Losing Its Soul Microsoft's CEO on How AI Will Remake Every Company, Including His Cartoon Network's Last Gasp ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Sign in to access your portfolio
