Latest news with #HomeRuleact
Fox News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
DAVID MARCUS: Trump understands that safety is for every citizen, not just the lucky few
For decades, Washington, D.C. has been synonymous with crime, murder, and more recently vagrancy, but this week, President Donald Trump is taking a page from an ancient political playbook and looking to finally clean up our nation's capital. "Salus Populi Suprema Lex Est," wrote Marcus Tullius Cicero over 2,000 years ago. It roughly means, "the safety of the people should be the supreme law," and the safety of the ancient Roman citizen, at least for a while, was almost unquestioned. Trump wants Americans to feel just as safe as they live in or visit the seat of our great democracy. Democrats' immediate reaction to Trump's common-sense plan to fight crime in D.C. by surging federal resources and approaches was to play deaf, dumb and blind to the plight of residents, citing statistics that show a recent drop in an already sky-high crime rate. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., perhaps from his Whites only beach club, took to X to claim that this use of the Home Rule act was only triggered by an assault on a DOGE team member. He conveniently left out the two Israeli embassy staff workers recently murdered in cold blood, the congressional aide killed by mistake in a drive-by, and the rise of 15-year-old carjackers. Meanwhile, Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., taking time off from his TikTok movie productions, posted several examples of crime in D.C. this week with the insane comment, "Trump owns it." One of these crimes, a murder, took place on Monday, just hours after Trump's anti-crime announcement. Setting aside the congressman's heartless glee in snarking at the president over the murder of an innocent, his ridiculous attack on Trump at least admits that, yes, crime is a big problem in Washington, D.C., one that will finally be tackled. Nobody likes crime, and nobody likes being told they are just imagining it. This is yet another example of Trump's incendiary common sense, by which he does something outlandish, like taking over the D.C. police department, to outrage from opponents who a day later have to admit, OK, yeah, crime is bad. Public safety is a gut issue, and it is also the foundation of all other blessings of good government. This is why Cicero called it supreme. Everyone in D.C. either knows, or has been, a victim or witness of a crime. You can't show them statistics and pretend everything is fine. Opponents of crime prevention display graphs that say the crime rate is down 30 percent this year, but from an already staggeringly high level that has been ignored for years. This is like a guy who loses his entire year's salary playing blackjack. He can likely circle a few weekends when he won big, but he still needs to call Gambler's Anonymous. The obvious model for Trump's anti-crime action in D.C. is the success of Rudy Giuliani in the 1990s in New York City, who slashed violent crime with almost impossible speed. He accomplished this by embracing new police tactics like Compstat crime computing, stop and frisk, and broken windows policing that focuses on smaller quality of life crimes. And the benefits of this miraculous turnaround were not limited to Gotham. Indeed, other cities across America used these innovations to lower crime nationwide. Trump and his administration have the chance to do the same thing with their D.C. efforts, by actually punishing juvenile crime, by seeking to end cashless bail, and by clearing out drug users and vagrants from D.C. parks, national trends could be set. One Democrat who has taken the high road, more or less, amid this takeover by Trump is D.C.'s Mayor Muriel Bowser, who knows exactly how bad crime in D.C. is, having put in place a juvenile curfew just this week, and she has shown an open mind to the endeavor. Traditionally, the Latin word "salus," in the famous quote from Cicero above, means safety, but the word, derived from the Goddess Salus, can also mean health, well-being and prosperity, because, as the ancients knew, all of these are of a piece. Donald Trump envisages a gleaming capital city where even at 2 am one can walk freely, admiring the moon atop the Washington monument in the big skies of D.C., and not just in D.C., but in all American cities. So, let the Democrats hoot and holler a little more if they must. Most Americans are hopeful about this move by the president. Nobody likes crime, and nobody likes being told they are just imagining it. Salus Populi Suprema Lex Est, the primacy of safety is as true today as when it was coined in the days before Christ, and whether he succeeds or fails, Donald Trump is going to try to provide that safety. It should be an effort we can all get behind and support.
NBC News
4 days ago
- Politics
- NBC News
Trump considers deploying National Guard to D.C. and pressure mounts on Netanyahu: Morning Rundown
Trump is considering deploying up to 1,000 National Guard troops to D.C. after threats to take federal control of the city. Netanyahu denies starvation in Gaza amid growing backlash for his military plans. And after a model's husband is found dead in his New York City apartment, former friends and court documents shed light on their troubled relationship. Here's what to know today. Trump to hold press event on D.C. crime after threatening a federal takeover President Donald Trump is considering deploying up to 1,000 National Guard troops to D.C. and could make the announcement as early as today, according to one defense official and two U.S. officials. The number of Guard who would be assigned is still in flux, the officials say, and most of the troops would likely be pulled from the D.C. National Guard. Officials stress that the decision is not final and no orders have been signed. The president will hold a press conference this morning on this and the 'cleanliness' of the capital. Ahead of the event, he warned homeless people to leave the district 'immediately.' This is Morning Rundown, a weekday newsletter to start your day. Sign up here to get it in your inbox. It comes as Trump has intensified threats to assume federal control of D.C. and its local police force, following the assault of a well-known DOGE employee. While the president could unilaterally take control of local police, a federal takeover of the district would require an act of Congress repealing the 1973 Home Rule act, which grants D.C. limited self-governance. Over the weekend, the White House increased the presence of federal law enforcement in Washington, deploying 450 officers across the city and in high-traffic areas. The operation included 18 agencies that form part of the Task Force's Law Enforcement Working Group, according to a White House official. The agencies included D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department, the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser denied Trump's claims that crime in Washington is spiking. She also expressed concern over his statements that he might call the National Guard. 'These are men and women who leave their families to serve our country, and that is just not their primary role to enforce local laws,' she said. Despite the White House's claims that crime has reached a peak, the Metro PD's preliminary statistics show a decrease in violent crime year to date. More politics news: Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker slammed Trump as a 'cheater' and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott as a 'joke' days after welcoming Texas Democrats who fled their state in protest of GOP-led redistricting efforts. A growing number of U.S. politicians are condemning a new British law that requires some websites and apps — including some based in the United States — to check the ages of users. Your 401(k) options could change soon, after Trump signed an executive order to clear the way for Americans to invest their retirement savings in cryptocurrency and other alternative assets. Pressure mounts on Netanyahu amid ongoing starvation crisis in Gaza Five Al Jazeera journalists were killed in a targeted Israeli airstrike in Gaza, the network said. The Israeli military claimed one was a Hamas leader posing as a journalist. The news comes amid mounting criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's controversial plan to seize Gaza City. A defiant Netanyahu continued to deny there is starvation in Gaza and claimed the situation is being exaggerated. He also announced an expansion to his original takeover plan, adding the 'central camps' and Mawasi area. The camps shelter well over a half-million displaced people, according to the United Nations. Netanyahu defended the offensive, stating that Israel 'has no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas.' On Sunday, the U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting to discuss Israel's proposal, which has been condemned by Britain, France, Australia and other Western governments. During the meeting, the U.S. strongly supported Israel's 'right to defend itself.' And Netanyahu's office late Sunday said he had spoken with Trump about the plan and thanked him for his 'steadfast support.' Australia said that it plans to recognize a Palestinian state, joining a growing list of Western governments making the move over the humanitarian crisis. 'A two-state solution is humanity's best hope to break the cycle of violence in the Middle East and to bring an end to the conflict,' Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said. Model's husband was isolated for years before he was found dead, friends say Jacob Zieben and Jacob Paulson were fast friends when they met in 2013. But after two years bonded at the hip, Paulson said their dynamic quickly changed after his friend started dating model Donald Hood. 'He just vanished,' Paulson said this week in an interview. He lost all contact with his friend, so it came as a shock when just two weeks ago, Paulson learned that police found Jacob dead inside his apartment. In the days since Jacob was fatally stabbed, Paulson and seven others told NBC News they believed Donald cut them out, isolating Jacob from his friends — and potential lifelines. Joshua Baker said that shortly after Jacob met the model, he began dodging invitations, declining phone calls, and ignoring text messages. Another friend recalled that Jacob said, 'Donald was a little possessive' and 'kind of restricted who he was in touch with.' Court documents also shed light on years of alleged abuse, detailed in a series of charges against Donald on felony counts including strangulation and menacing. Those charges remain pending. Prosecutors have not charged anyone with murder or named a suspect in Jacob's death. Donald was arrested and charged with several crimes, including burglary. He is currently being held at Rikers Island. Say goodbye to an internet relic: AOL is ending its dial-up internet service on Sept. 30. At least one person is dead and 14 million are under flood watches from Kansas to Wisconsin as severe storms slam the Midwest. A Colorado prison was evacuated as one of the largest wildfires in state history continues to grow. Eva Longoria says the drama of Mexican soccer team Necaxa is 'something you can't script,' in her new docuseries, which gives viewers a look into the dream of winning Liga MX. A mysterious cartoon lizard has become TikTok's latest rising star with its catchphrase 'lizard, lizard, lizard.' Staff Pick: A new start, then a tragic end Abdul Niazi spent his life helping others — as an interpreter for U.S. troops in Afghanistan and then as an advocate for others who, like him, were settling into life in Houston as Afghan immigrants. Earlier this year, he was stabbed to death, allegedly by a fellow Afghan national who was frustrated at the slow pace of the U.S. immigration system. Months later, county prosecutors have yet to indict the suspect in Niazi's death. Reporter Tim Stelloh talks to friends, relatives and the Marines who Niazi worked with about his incredible life, his violent death and a community's outrage. — Jamie Knodel, news editor NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified Though it's tempting, do not clean your ears with cotton swabs. Here's what to do instead, according to multiple doctors. Plus, the NBC Select team rounded up the best at-home blackhead treatments, as recommended by dermatologists.
