ReportWire

Tag: group

  • Justice Department drafting a list of ‘domestic terrorists’

    WASHINGTON — Justice Department leadership has directed the FBI to “compile a list of groups or entities engaged in acts that may constitute domestic terrorism” by the start of next year, and to establish a “cash reward system” that incentivizes individuals to report on their fellow Americans, according to a memo reviewed by The Times.

    Law enforcement agencies are directed in the memo, dated Dec. 4, to identify “domestic terrorists” who use violence, or the threat of violence, to advance political and social agendas, including “adherence to radical gender ideology, anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, or anti-Christianity.”

    Although the memo does not mention protests against President Trump’s immigration crackdown directly, it says that problematic “political and social agendas” could include “opposition to law and immigration enforcement, extreme views in favor of mass migration and open borders.”

    The memo, sent by Atty, Gen. Pam Bondi to federal prosecutors and law enforcement agencies, follows on a presidential memorandum signed by Trump in the immediate aftermath of the killing of Charlie Kirk, a prominent conservative figure, that gave civil rights groups pause over the potential targeting of political activists, donors and nonprofits opposed to the president.

    The memo also outlines what it says are causes of domestic terrorist activity, including “hostility towards traditional views on family, religion, and morality.”

    “Federal law enforcement will prioritize this threat. Where federal crime is encountered, federal agents will act,” the memo states.

    Some national security experts said the memo represents a dramatic operational shift, by directing federal prosecutors and agents to approach domestic terrorism in a way that is “ideologically one-sided.” At worst, critics said, the memo provides legal justification for criminalizing free speech.

    “I think this causes a chilling impact, because it definitely seems to be directing enforcement toward particular points of view,” Mary McCord, a former acting assistant attorney general for national security, said in an interview.

    The memo, for example, primarily focuses on antifa-aligned extremism, but omits other trends that in recent years have been identified as rising domestic threats, such as violent white supremacy. Since Trump resumed office, the FBI has cut its office designated to focus on domestic extremism, withdrawing resources from investigations into white supremacists and right-wing antigovernment groups.

    The memo’s push to collect intelligence on antifa through internal lists and public tip lines also raised questions over the scope of the investigative mission, and how wide a net investigators might cast.

    “Whether you’re going to a protest, whether you’re considering a piece of legislation, whether you’re considering undertaking a particular business activity, the ambiguity will affect your risk profile,” Thomas Brzozowski, a former counsel for domestic terrorism at the Justice Department, said in an interview.

    “It is the unknown that people will fear,” he added.

    Protesters in 1980s style aerobic outfits work out during a demonstration dubbed “Sweatin’ Out the Fascists” on Sunday in Portland, Ore.

    (Natalie Behring / Getty Images)

    Groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union have expressed alarm over the new policy, which could be used by the Justice Department to target civil society groups and Democratic individuals and entities with burdensome investigations.

    But the White House argues that Democratic appointees under the Biden administration targeted conservative extremists in similar ways.

    Members of Trump’s team have embraced political retribution as a policy course. Ed Martin, the president’s pardon attorney, has openly advocated for Justice Department investigations that would burden who Trump perceives as his enemies, alongside leniency for his friends and allies.

    “No MAGA left behind,” Martin wrote on social media in May.

    Law enforcement agencies are directed in the memo to “zealously” investigate those involved in what it calls potential domestic terrorist actions, including “doxing” law enforcement. Authorities are also directed to “map the full network of culpable actors” potentially tied to crime.

    Domestic terrorism is not an official designation in U.S. law. But the directive cites over two dozen existing laws that could substantiate charges against domestic extremists and their supporters, such as conspiracy to injure an officer, seditious conspiracy and mail and wire fraud.

    Only in a footnote of the memo does the Justice Department acknowledge that the U.S. government cannot “investigate, collect, or maintain information on U.S. persons solely for the purpose of monitoring activities protected by the First Amendment.”

    “No investigation may be opened based solely on activities protected by the First Amendment or the lawful exercise of rights secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States,” the footnote says.

    Some tension could arise when citizens report what they believe to be suspected domestic terrorism to the FBI.

    The memo directs the FBI online tip line to allow “witnesses and citizen journalists” to report videos, recordings and photos of what they believe to be suspected acts of domestic violence, and establish a “cash reward system” for information that leads to an arrest.

    “People will inform because they want to get paid,” Brzozowski said. He added that some information could end up being unreliable and likely be related to other Americans exercising their constitutional rights.

    State and local law enforcement agencies that adhere to the Justice Department directive will be prioritized for federal grant funding.

    A man dressed as a bee holds an American flag at a No Kings protest.

    A man dressed as a bee participates in the No Kings Day of Peaceful Action in downtown Los Angeles on Oct. 18.

    (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

    One of the directives in the memo would require the FBI to disseminate an “intelligence bulletin on Antifa and Antifa-aligned anarchist violent extremist groups” early next year.

    “The bulletin should describe the relevant organizations structures, funding sources, and tactics so that law enforcement partners can effectively investigate and policy makers can effectively understand the nature and gravity of the threat posed by these extremist groups,” the memo states.

    The mission will cross several agencies, with the FBI working alongside joint terrorism task forces nationwide, as well as the Counterterrorism Division and the National Threat Operations Center, among others, to provide updates to Justice Department leadership every 30 days.

    Michael Wilner, Ana Ceballos

    Source link

  • Orlando Dreamers make Orlando pitch at MLB Winter Meetings

    The Orlando Dreamers group, which has spent years pushing for MLB expansion or relocation to the region, is using the high-profile gathering to continue its pitch.The meetings, which conclude Thursday, bring together team executives, owners and league officials from across baseball.The group shared on social media that its representatives were on site this week, including Hall of Famer Barry Larkin, who serves as a partner and ambassador for the Dreamers.“Since they were in our backyard, we thought it would be a good idea to get our information out there,” Larkin told WESH 2 News.Larkin said he spent the past several days meeting with team owners, fans and MLB executives, stressing that Orlando is prepared should the league decide to expand or relocate a franchise. He added that many around baseball are noting how seriously Orlando is positioning itself.“I wasn’t really surprised by how many people didn’t realize Orlando was a true player in all of this,” he said. “It’ll be interesting now to see what cities are a potential for expansion or relocation.”Larkin said the group’s financing model could also set Orlando apart.“Another thing about this that’s very unique is that there’s financing in place, where an ownership group will not be encumbered with providing financing for a stadium,” he said.Earlier this year, the Dreamers attempted to pursue ownership of the Tampa Bay Rays before the franchise was sold to a Jacksonville-based group. Larkin said the Dreamers have continued to make progress behind the scenes as they wait for the right opportunity.“There’s only so many things that we can control,” he said. “And what we can control, I think we’ve done a pretty good job of pushing that forward.”Dreamers co-founder Kim Schnorf said conversations at the winter meetings reinforced the group’s belief that it’s now a matter of when — not if — the league is ready to move forward with expansion.For now, the group says it will continue its push as MLB weighs its next steps.

    ORLANDO, Fla. —

    The Orlando Dreamers group, which has spent years pushing for MLB expansion or relocation to the region, is using the high-profile gathering to continue its pitch.

    The meetings, which conclude Thursday, bring together team executives, owners and league officials from across baseball.

    The group shared on social media that its representatives were on site this week, including Hall of Famer Barry Larkin, who serves as a partner and ambassador for the Dreamers.

    “Since they were in our backyard, we thought it would be a good idea to get our information out there,” Larkin told WESH 2 News.

    Larkin said he spent the past several days meeting with team owners, fans and MLB executives, stressing that Orlando is prepared should the league decide to expand or relocate a franchise. He added that many around baseball are noting how seriously Orlando is positioning itself.

    “I wasn’t really surprised by how many people didn’t realize Orlando was a true player in all of this,” he said. “It’ll be interesting now to see what cities are a potential for expansion or relocation.”

    Larkin said the group’s financing model could also set Orlando apart.

    “Another thing about this that’s very unique is that there’s financing in place, where an ownership group will not be encumbered with providing financing for a stadium,” he said.

    Earlier this year, the Dreamers attempted to pursue ownership of the Tampa Bay Rays before the franchise was sold to a Jacksonville-based group. Larkin said the Dreamers have continued to make progress behind the scenes as they wait for the right opportunity.

    “There’s only so many things that we can control,” he said. “And what we can control, I think we’ve done a pretty good job of pushing that forward.”

    Dreamers co-founder Kim Schnorf said conversations at the winter meetings reinforced the group’s belief that it’s now a matter of when — not if — the league is ready to move forward with expansion.

    For now, the group says it will continue its push as MLB weighs its next steps.

    Source link

  • Pro-housing group sues Newsom over duplex ban in wildfire zones

    A pro-housing group sued Gov. Newsom on Wednesday over his decision to restrict SB 9, a housing law that allows owners to parcel up their properties, in the wake of the January fires.

    YIMBY Law, a San Francisco-based organization, alleges that Newsom’s executive order over the summer allowing cities to suspend SB 9 is a constitutional overreach and violates the California Emergency Services Act, which states that emergency powers can only be used to mitigate ongoing disasters, not potential ones.

    It’s the latest chapter in the fight over how much density should be allowed in the rebuilding of fire-stricken communities such as Altadena and Pacific Palisades.

    Proponents of SB 9, a 2021 state law that allows homeowners to split single-family lots into as many as four properties, claim it’s a valuable tool to address the housing crisis by adding density. They also claim it’s a resource for fire victims hoping to sell their properties, since land that can be subdivided is more valuable than a single-family lot.

    Critics claim that the density afforded by SB 9 would destroy the character of single-family neighborhoods, while also slowing down evacuations in fire-prone areas by packing in more homes and residents.

    Newsom sided with the critics in July, signing an executive order allowing L.A.-area governments to suspend SB 9. Many took him up on the offer immediately, including Mayor Bass, as well as officials in Pasadena, Malibu and L.A. County. All are named in the lawsuit along with Gov. Newsom.

    “SB 9 adds housing and flexibility,” said YIMBY Law executive director Sonja Trauss. “We want everyone to be able to rebuild, but suspending SB 9 devalues those properties.”

    Trauss said many fire victims are underinsured and currently deciding whether it’s financially possible to rebuild. For many, a helpful option would be to use SB 9 to divide the lot into two, then sell one and use the money to build on the other.

    She added that the move seemed out of step with Gov. Newsom’s other initiatives in the wake of the fires, including streamlining the permitting process for single-family homes and ADUs.

    “If you want to build a 3,000-square-foot house and a 700-square-foot ADU, it’s easier. But if you want to build two homes as a duplex, it’s harder,” Trauss said. “It’s baffling.”

    A spokesperson for Newsom defended the move in a statement.

    “We will not allow outside groups — even longstanding allies — to attack the Palisades, and communities in the highest fire risk areas throughout L.A. County, or undermine local flexibility after the horror of these fires,” said spokesperson Tara Gallegos. “Our obligation is to survivors, full stop. We will not negotiate that away. If defending them requires drawing firm lines, we will draw them.”

    The suit was originally supposed to be filed on Monday, Dec. 8, but was delayed after potential movement from Newsom’s office to restore SB 9 in fire areas, a spokesperson for YIMBY Law said.

    An agreement was never reached, and the suit was filed on Wednesday.

    Jack Flemming

    Source link

  • Stanislaus County official says comedian threatened him over the phone; arrest made

    A Stanislaus County official confirmed Tuesday that a comedian had threatened him. County deputies have since arrested the comedian in connection with the threat.Anthony Krayenhagen faces a charge of making threats against an elected official, the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office said. Deputies took him into custody on Nov. 20.Channce Condit, the District 5 representative for the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors, said Krayenhagen made the threat over the phone. He said the comedian reached out to his office and that he called Krayenhagen back on Nov. 12.Condit said that was when Krayenhagen threatened his life. The county supervisor called the sheriff’s office after the call, prompting an investigation.When asked if he attended one of Krayenhagen’s comedy shows a few months prior, Condit confirmed that he was with a group when someone from that group got into a back-and-forth with Krayenhagen.Condit said he was not part of the argument and that the comedy show is not connected with the threat made.See news happening? Send us your photos or videos if it’s safe to do so at kcra.com/upload.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

    MODESTO, Calif. —

    A Stanislaus County official confirmed Tuesday that a comedian had threatened him. County deputies have since arrested the comedian in connection with the threat.

    Anthony Krayenhagen faces a charge of making threats against an elected official, the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office said. Deputies took him into custody on Nov. 20.

    Channce Condit, the District 5 representative for the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors, said Krayenhagen made the threat over the phone. He said the comedian reached out to his office and that he called Krayenhagen back on Nov. 12.

    Condit said that was when Krayenhagen threatened his life. The county supervisor called the sheriff’s office after the call, prompting an investigation.

    When asked if he attended one of Krayenhagen’s comedy shows a few months prior, Condit confirmed that he was with a group when someone from that group got into a back-and-forth with Krayenhagen.

    Condit said he was not part of the argument and that the comedy show is not connected with the threat made.

    See news happening? Send us your photos or videos if it’s safe to do so at kcra.com/upload.

    See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

    Source link

  • Group opens fire on Central Florida home after attempting to break-in, deputies say

    The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office released a video showing a group of people attempting to break into a home in Deltona and then opening fire when they were unable to gain entry.The video, posted on social media, shows four individuals approaching a residence on Wainwright Street, with detectives noting that three of them appear to be carrying guns.The group tried to break into the home, and when they couldn’t, they started shooting, VCSO said.Timothy Haight told WESH 2 he lives a few hundred feet from the road where the shooting happened and heard the whole thing. Saying, “I am a night owl, so I was up at four o’clock, and my desk is right next to the back door. Just heard the gunshots like literally as if they were happening in my backyard.”VCSO said they spotted the group’s car on I-4 and followed it into Orange County before losing it.Investigators collected evidence outside the home, with evidence markers visible on the residence signifying each bullet.Neighbors reported hearing the shots around 3 a.m. Deputies confirmed that no one was hurt during the incident.The Sheriff’s Office said deputies are still pursuing leads in the case.

    DELTONA, Fla. —

    The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office released a video showing a group of people attempting to break into a home in Deltona and then opening fire when they were unable to gain entry.

    The video, posted on social media, shows four individuals approaching a residence on Wainwright Street, with detectives noting that three of them appear to be carrying guns.

    The group tried to break into the home, and when they couldn’t, they started shooting, VCSO said.

    Timothy Haight told WESH 2 he lives a few hundred feet from the road where the shooting happened and heard the whole thing.

    Saying, “I am a night owl, so I was up at four o’clock, and my desk is right next to the back door. Just heard the gunshots like literally as if they were happening in my backyard.”

    VCSO said they spotted the group’s car on I-4 and followed it into Orange County before losing it.

    Investigators collected evidence outside the home, with evidence markers visible on the residence signifying each bullet.

    Neighbors reported hearing the shots around 3 a.m. Deputies confirmed that no one was hurt during the incident.

    The Sheriff’s Office said deputies are still pursuing leads in the case.

    Source link

  • UC nurses cancel planned strike after reaching tentative deal with university

    A planned labor strike by University of California nurses has been called off after the university system and the nurses’ union reached a tentative deal on pay and benefits, both groups announced Sunday.

    The four-year deal, between UC and the California Nurses Assn., covers some 25,000 registered nurses working across 19 UC facilities. The two groups had been bargaining over a new contract since June.

    The deal follows another one announced on Nov. 8 between UC and the University Professional and Technical Employees union, which represents 21,000 healthcare, research and technical professionals across the UC system. Those groups had been negotiating a new contract for 17 months.

    The nurses’ union had planned to strike Monday and Tuesday in solidarity with a third union, AFSCME 3299, which represents patient care technical workers, custodians, food service employees, security guards, secretaries and other workers at UC hospitals and campuses.

    Kristan Delmarty, a registered nurse at UCLA Santa Monica and member of the nurses association’s board of directors and bargaining team, said the union “organized for and won important patient protections” in the deal — which she said nurses will vote to approve this week.

    “Going into this round of bargaining, it was our priority to ensure UC nurses were given the resources to care for our patients and ourselves after years of short-staffing and under-resourcing,” she said. “We achieved our goal and now we stand together with our AFSCME colleagues, whose essential work demands the same resources guaranteed by a fair contract.”

    The nurses association said thousands of its members still planned to join AFSCME picket lines “while not on work time.”

    UC officials also lauded the deal. Missy Matella, associate vice president for systemwide employee and labor relations, said it “reflects the tireless work and collaboration of UC’s bargaining team, medical center leaders, and systemwide leadership working hand in hand with our dedicated nurses.”

    “We’re grateful to the nurses and the CNA bargaining team for their partnership and shared commitment to what matters most: our patients and the UC community,” Matella said. “This strong, forward-looking deal honors the vital role nurses play in delivering exceptional care and advancing UC’s public service mission.”

    AFSCME 3299 was still planning to strike. On Sunday morning, it posted a video to social media of members readying strike signs.

    “When we show up together, we win together. This is for our families, our patients, and for the future we deserve!” the group wrote on X. “Members and allies, bring your energy, see you on the line!”

    Kevin Rector

    Source link

  • The Rev. Jesse Jackson, powerful voice for Black equality, is hospitalized

    Trailblazing civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson was hospitalized in Chicago on Wednesday due to symptoms from the neurodegenerative condition progressive supranuclear palsy.

    His hospitalization was confirmed in a statement by the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, a social justice organization founded by Jackson.

    The 84-year-old Baptist minister and political figure has been battling the neurodegenerative condition for more than a decade, according to the statement. He was initially diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, but the PSP diagnosis was confirmed in April.

    PSP is an atypical parkinsonian disorder, a group of neurodegenerative disorders that resemble Parkinson’s disease in some motor symptoms but typically have more a rapid progression and severe prognosis.

    Thea rare brain disease results from a build-up of tau protein in areas of the brain that control body movement, causing progressively degenerative symptoms including trouble balancing, inability to aim the eyes, slurred speech, loss of walking and challenges swallowing.

    Jackson was previously hospitalized in 2021 for COVID-19 along with his wife.

    The civil rights leader was born in 1941 in segregated Greenville, S.C., and rose to prominence alongside the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s.

    He advocated for corporations to hire more Black Americans through Operation PUSH and founded the Rainbow Coalition in the 1980s to unite marginalized groups and working-class voters around shared goals of social, economic and political justice as well as greater political representations. He was the first Black presidential candidate to attract major national support, winning 3.5 million votes in 1984 and 7 million in 1988.

    Clara Harter

    Source link

  • Christian missionary father and daughter died when plane bound for Jamaica crashed in Florida

    A Christian missionary father and his daughter were killed when a small plane bound for a hurricane relief mission in Jamaica crashed in a South Florida neighborhood.Christian ministry organization Ignite the Fire identified the two victims of the Monday morning crash as the group’s founder, Alexander Wurm, 53, and his daughter Serena Wurm, 22.The pair were bringing humanitarian aid to Jamaica, according to the organization, when the Beechcraft King Air plane they were flying in crashed into a pond in a residential area of the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Coral Springs, narrowly missing homes. As of Tuesday morning, investigators had not reported any other victims. In recent weeks, Alexander Wurm had helped deliver medical supplies, water filters and StarLink satellite internet equipment to Jamaica for the relief organization Crisis Response International, according to a video statement the group posted online. “He really made a difference in the lives of the people on the ground by getting the resources in that he did. He saved lives and he gave his life,” Crisis Response International founder Sean Malone added. According to Federal Aviation Administration records, the plane was manufactured in 1976 and its registered owner is listed as International Air Services, a company that markets itself as specializing in providing trust agreements to non-U.S. citizens that enable them to register their aircraft with the FAA. A person who answered the company’s phone Monday afternoon declined to answer questions from a reporter, stating “no comment” and ending the phone call.Posts by Alexander Wurm on social media in recent days suggested the evangelist had recently acquired the plane to further his missionary work across the Caribbean, describing the aircraft as “an older King Air with brand new engines,” and “perfect” to ferry deliveries of generators, batteries and building materials to Jamaica. Photos and videos on social media show Wurm posing for a picture in the plane’s cockpit and unloading boxes of supplies from the packed aircraft with teams of volunteers.The flight tracking website FlightAware shows the plane made four other trips to or from Jamaica in the past week, traveling between George Town in the Cayman Islands and Montego Bay and Negril in Jamaica, before landing in Fort Lauderdale on Friday. A powerful Category 5 storm, Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica on Oct. 28 and tied for the strongest landfalling Atlantic hurricane in history. The storm also caused devastation in Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic and prompted relief organizations to mobilize.

    FLORIDA, USA —

    A Christian missionary father and his daughter were killed when a small plane bound for a hurricane relief mission in Jamaica crashed in a South Florida neighborhood.

    Christian ministry organization Ignite the Fire identified the two victims of the Monday morning crash as the group’s founder, Alexander Wurm, 53, and his daughter Serena Wurm, 22.

    The pair were bringing humanitarian aid to Jamaica, according to the organization, when the Beechcraft King Air plane they were flying in crashed into a pond in a residential area of the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Coral Springs, narrowly missing homes. As of Tuesday morning, investigators had not reported any other victims.

    This content is imported from Facebook.
    You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

    In recent weeks, Alexander Wurm had helped deliver medical supplies, water filters and StarLink satellite internet equipment to Jamaica for the relief organization Crisis Response International, according to a video statement the group posted online.

    “He really made a difference in the lives of the people on the ground by getting the resources in that he did. He saved lives and he gave his life,” Crisis Response International founder Sean Malone added.

    According to Federal Aviation Administration records, the plane was manufactured in 1976 and its registered owner is listed as International Air Services, a company that markets itself as specializing in providing trust agreements to non-U.S. citizens that enable them to register their aircraft with the FAA. A person who answered the company’s phone Monday afternoon declined to answer questions from a reporter, stating “no comment” and ending the phone call.

    Posts by Alexander Wurm on social media in recent days suggested the evangelist had recently acquired the plane to further his missionary work across the Caribbean, describing the aircraft as “an older King Air with brand new engines,” and “perfect” to ferry deliveries of generators, batteries and building materials to Jamaica.

    Photos and videos on social media show Wurm posing for a picture in the plane’s cockpit and unloading boxes of supplies from the packed aircraft with teams of volunteers.

    The flight tracking website FlightAware shows the plane made four other trips to or from Jamaica in the past week, traveling between George Town in the Cayman Islands and Montego Bay and Negril in Jamaica, before landing in Fort Lauderdale on Friday.

    A powerful Category 5 storm, Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica on Oct. 28 and tied for the strongest landfalling Atlantic hurricane in history. The storm also caused devastation in Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic and prompted relief organizations to mobilize.

    Source link

  • Man fatally shot in Long Beach, suspect flees

    A man was fatally shot in Long Beach early Saturday after getting into a fight with a group of people at a local bar, police said.

    The shooting happened in the 100 block of La Verne Avenue before 1:39 a.m. following an altercation earlier in the evening, according to a news release from the Long Beach Police Department. The man suspected of shooting the victim during the confrontation fled the scene in a vehicle.

    Officers responded to the report of a shooting and provided medical aid until the Long Beach Fire Department arrived, but the victim died at the scene. It’s unknown whether the suspect knew the victim.

    The identity of the victim has not been released because the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner is notifying the man’s next of kin, police said.

    Anyone with information about the shootingis asked to contact homicide detectives at (562) 570-7244. Anonymous tips can be sent to “LA Crime Stoppers” by calling 800-222-TIPS (8477), downloading the “P3 Tips” app on a smartphone or by visiting www.LACrimeStoppers.org.

    Queenie Wong

    Source link

  • 4 found dead inside Fullerton home after friend reported mass drug overdose, police say

    Fullerton police said they discovered the bodies of four people inside a residence after a friend reported they had overdosed and were not breathing.

    Authorities said they were called to an apartment in the 100 block of Wilshire Avenue at 11:01 a.m. on Tuesday and the bodies were discovered.

    “There is no immediate threat to the public,” the police said in a statement.

    Two women console each other after learning of the deaths of four softball teammates.

    (KTLA-TV Channel 5)

    Detectives have launched a death investigation. Authorities have not confirmed the identities of the deceased, but a friend of the group told KTLA-TV Channel 5 that they were all part of the same softball team.

    Police did not confirm the deaths were a result of a drug overdose and could not immediately be reached for additional comment on Wednesday.

    But drug use has become a growing concern in the county in recent years.

    In Orange County, the rate of death due to opioid overdose nearly tripled from 2017 to 2021, from 7.9 deaths per 100,000 to 23.2. The largest increase occurred during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the overdose rate rising 88% between 2019 and 2020, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency.

    Hannah Fry

    Source link

  • Commentary: Trump’s AI poop post caps a week of MAGA indifference to Hitler jokes

    An estimated 7 million Americans turned out Saturday to peacefully protest against the breakdown of our checks-and-balances democracy into a Trump-driven autocracy, rife with grift but light on civil rights.

    Trump’s response? An AI video of himself wearing a crown inside a fighter plane, dumping what appears to be feces on these very protesters. In a later interview, he called participants of the “No Kings” events “whacked out” and “not representative of this country.”

    I’m beginning to fear he’s right. What if the majority of Americans really do believe this sort of behavior by our president, or by anyone really, is acceptable? Even funny? A recent Economist/YouGov poll found that 81% of Republicans approve of the way Trump is handling his job. Seriously, the vast majority of Republicans are just fine with Trump’s policies and behavior.

    According to MAGA, non-MAGA people are just too uptight these days.

    Vice Troll JD Vance has become a relentless force for not just defending the most base and cruel of behaviors, but celebrating them. House Speaker Mike Johnson has made the spineless, limp justification of these behaviors an art form.

    Between the two approaches to groveling to Trump’s ego and mendacity is everything you need to know about the future of the Republican Party. It will stop at nothing to debase and dehumanize any opposition — openly acknowledging that it dreams of burying in excrement even those who peacefully object.

    Not even singer Kenny Loggins is safe. His “Top Gun” hit “Danger Zone” was used in the video. When he objected with a statement of unity, saying, “Too many people are trying to tear us apart, and we need to find new ways to come together. We’re all Americans, and we’re all patriotic. There is no ‘us and them’,” the White House responded with … a dismissive meme, clearly the new norm when responding to critics.

    It may seem obvious, and even old news that this administration lacks accountability. But the use of memes and AI videos as communication, devoid of truth or consequence, adds a new level of danger to the disconnect.

    These non-replies not only remove reality from the equation, but remove the need for an actual response — creating a ruling class that does not feel any obligation to explain or defend its actions to the ruled.

    Politico published a story last week detailing the racist, misogynistic and hate-filled back-and-forth of an official, party-sanctioned “young Republican” group. Since most of our current politicians are part of the gerontocracy, that young is relative — these are adults, in their 20s and 30s — and they are considered the next generation of party leaders, in a party that has already skewed so far right that it defends secret police.

    Here’s a sample.

    Bobby Walker, the former vice chair of the New York State Young Republicans, called rape “epic,” according to Politico.

    Another member of the chat called Black Americans “watermelon people.”

    “Great. I love Hitler,” wrote another when told delegates would vote for the most far-right candidate.

    There was also gas chamber “humor” in there and one straight up, “I’m ready to watch people burn now,” from a woman in the conversation, Anne KayKaty, New York’s Young Republican’s national committee member, according to the Hill.

    Group members engaged in slurs against South Asians, another popular target of the far right these days. There’s an entire vein of racism devoted to the idea that Indians smell bad, in case you were unaware.

    Speaking of a woman mistakenly believed to be South Asian, one group member — Vermont state Sen. Samuel Douglass, wrote: “She just didn’t bathe often.”

    While some in the Republican party have denounced, albeit half-heartedly, the comments, others, including Vance, have gone on the attack. Vance, whose wife is Indian, claims everyone is making a big deal out of nothing.

    “But the reality is that kids do stupid things. Especially young boys, they tell edgy, offensive jokes. Like, that’s what kids do,” Vance said. “And I really don’t want us to grow up in a country where a kid telling a stupid joke — telling a very offensive, stupid joke — is cause to ruin their lives.”

    Not to be outdone, Johnson responded to the poop jet video by somehow insinuating there is an elevated meaning to it.

    “The president was using social media to make a point,” Johnson said, calling it “satire.”

    Satire is meant to embarrass and humiliate, to call out through humor the indefensible. I’ll buy the first part of that. Trump meant to embarrass and humiliate. But protesting, of course, is anything but indefensible and the use of feces as a weapon is a way of degrading those “No Kings” participants so that Trump doesn’t have to answer to their anger — no different than degrading Black people and women in that group chat.

    Those 7 million Americans who demonstrated on Saturday simply do not matter to Trump, or to Republicans. Not their healthcare, not their ability to pay the bills, not their worry that a country they love is turning in to one where their leader literally illustrates that he can defecate on them.

    But not everyone can be king.

    While the young Republicans believe they shared in their leader’s immunity, it turns out they don’t. That Vermont state senator? He resigned after the Republican governor put on pressure.

    Maybe 7 million Americans angry at Trump can’t convince him to change his ways, but enough outraged Vermont voters can make change in their corner of the country.

    Which is why the one thing Trump does fear is the midterms, when voters get to shape our own little corners of America — and by extension, whether Trump gets to keep using his throne.

    Anita Chabria

    Source link

  • ‘They smashed into me’: Activist says video shows ICE rammed his truck. Agents claim the opposite

    Video footage that appears to show federal immigration agents using their vehicle to ram into the truck of an immigrant rights activist has sparked controversy and public outrage in the city of Oxnard, an agricultural town that has been the frequent target of immigration raids.

    At the center of the controversy is a claim by federal agents that the activist was the aggressor, ramming into the agents’ vehicle.

    The incident began shortly before 8 a.m. Thursday when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents notified the Oxnard Police Department that their vehicle had been rammed by a civilian’s vehicle near the intersection of 8th and A streets, according to Sgt. Martin Cook.

    “We responded, and ICE agents detained an individual, and a crowd started to gather,” Cook said. “We were there to keep the peace and prevent any type of altercation with ICE or any other federal agency.”

    Cook said that federal agencies took control of the investigation. He did not know if the person arrested by agents requested a police report and referred all questions to the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees several agencies including ICE and Customs and Border Protection.

    VC Defensa, an immigrant rights group that has been documenting immigration raids in the region, said on Instagram that one of its volunteers, whom the group identified as Leo Martinez, had been arrested.

    The group also released video footage taken by eyewitnesses that they said showed that the allegation by federal agents against Martinez was false.

    “ICE intentionally struck Leo’s truck and blocked his exit while Leo was exercising his right to observe ICE activity,” the group stated in one of its Instagram posts.

    The video starts with a Jeep Cherokee with tinted windows tailing a dark gray truck before ramming into the passenger door on the driver’s side. The driver of the truck then pulls into a dirt lot, where the group says Martinez was arrested.

    “This shameful escalation by ICE is nothing more than an attempt to intimidate those of conscience who are standing up against Trump’s assault on immigrants,” the group said on Instagram. “We will not be deterred, and we will continue to keep our communities safe.”

    The incident is the latest controversy involving federal immigration agents that has not only sparked outrage among activists and residents but also raised questions about some of the claims agents previously have made.

    Two months ago, federal immigration officers stopped Francisco Longoria in San Bernardino. During the encounter, Longoria, who was in his truck with his 18-year-old son and 23-year-old son-in-law, said he feared for their safety after masked officers shattered his car window, then he drove off and an officer fired several rounds at the truck.

    Department of Homeland Security officials have said officers were injured during the encounter when Longoria tried to “run them down,” prompting one officer to “discharge his firearm in self-defense.”

    Attorneys for Longoria dispute that their client injured the officers or attempted to hit them and have called for an investigation of the shooting.

    In June, Arturo Hermosillo was accused of ramming his van against a federal agent’s vehicle when he was instructed by the agents to move his van back to make room for an ambulance for a woman who had been injured during an immigration sweep.

    Hermosillo was reversing when he said a federal agent standing near the vehicle pushed in his side view mirror, blocking his view; Hermosillo subsequently bumped into a vehicle behind him. Shortly after, agents pulled him out of the van.

    Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin told The Times in an email at the time that a person “rammed his vehicle into a law enforcement vehicle” during the June 19 operation

    “CBP Agents were also assaulted during the operation and verbally harassed,” she said.

    Videos of that day did not capture any assaults; they showed residents yelling at agents.

    The incident in Oxnard mirrors a level of aggression by federal agents seen on the streets of Chicago.

    A Chicago-area mayor said ICE agents used excessive force when making arrests at a cemetery. A pastor who was protesting at a detention center was shot in the head with a pepper ball. Troubled by the clashes between agents and the public, one federal judge is considering ordering agents to wear body cameras.

    The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment from The Times. In a statement to CNN, however, DHS said that claims that agency is using “harsher approaches” are “smearing” federal agents who “put their lives on the line every day to enforce the law.”

    In downtown Los Angeles on Thursday, just outside of the Metropolitan Detention Center where a crowd had gathered with “Free Leo Now!” and “ICE out of L.A.” signs, they listened to Martinez as he thanked them for their support and their work.

    “I knew I didn’ t do anything f— wrong; that’s why they released me with pending charges,” he told the crowd. “That’s what they do with pretty much a lot of our volunteers cause we didn’t do s— wrong.

    “They smashed into me,” he continued as people clapped. “And then they tried to accuse me of assaulting them, what kind of bulls— is that?”

    Ruben Vives

    Source link

  • How Israel is pitting Palestinian clans in Gaza against Hamas

    JERUSALEM — As Israel seeks to excise Hamas from Gaza, it’s empowering militias led by the Palestinian group’s enemies, assisting and providing them with military support in an attempt to present them as an alternative to Hamas’s rule in the enclave.

    The policy appears to date back to late last year, when Israel targeted local police forces in Gaza, justifying such attacks by saying that any government entity in Gaza is affiliated with Hamas; the result was chaos in parts of the Strip.

    In the ensuing security vacuum, a 32-year-old Palestinian tribesman named Yaser Abu Shabab emerged with some 100 of his clansmen to control aid routes near the Kerem Shalom crossing, a critically important aid conduit at the Gaza-Israel boundary.

    Aid organizations accuse groups like Abu Shabab’s of looting aid convoys, having ties to extremist groups and exacerbating famine in Gaza.

    In May, Jonathan Whitall, then director of the U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Territories, said in a news briefing that “criminal gangs, under the watch of Israeli forces,” have been “allowed to operate in proximity to the Kerem Shalom border crossing.”

    A month later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged his government, following the advice of security officials, had “activated” clans in Gaza to work against Hamas.

    “What’s bad about it?” he said in a video statement. “It’s only good and it only saves the lives of Israel Defense Force soldiers.”

    Abu Shabab has since styled his group into the so-called “Popular Forces.” Soon after Netanyahu’s address, Abu Shabab released a statement of his own denying receiving any arms from Israel. But other posts touting the group’s security and aid operations show him working in areas under the full control of the Israeli military, and reports from Israeli media say he has received Kalashnikov rifles from the military.

    Abu Shabab’s group may have been the first to make itself known in Gaza, but other militias have since cropped up, activists say, operating in various parts of the Strip in concert with the Israeli military.

    One of the more prominent examples is led by Hussam Al-Astal, 50, a former officer in the Palestinian Authority’s security service who was accused by colleagues in the Palestinian Authority and Hamas of collaborating with Israel in the 1990s and of assassinating a high-ranking Hamas official in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

    His group, which calls itself “The Strike Force Against Terror,” has cemented its control over Qizan Al-Najjar, a village south of Rafah, which Astal describes as a haven for those opposed to Hamas.

    “Today in my area, we have no war,” Astal said in a phone interview Friday, adding that others are expected to come and that anyone entering the area was vetted for ties to Hamas.

    “If you come here, you’ll see children playing. We have water, electricity, safety.”

    Smoke rises from buildings following heavy Israeli attacks as Palestinians continue to flee northern Gaza toward the south.

    (Khames Alrefi/Anadolu via Getty Images)

    Astal made his comments the same day Hamas announced that it will accept parts of the Trump administration plan to end the war which began when Hamas forces invaded Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Hamas agreed to release hostages and largely give up its governing role in Gaza, which it has controlled since 2007.

    In a video posted in September, Al-Astal promises to pay $50 dollars to anyone who kills a Hamas fighter.

    “Every Hamas member I will personally throw in the trash heap. Hamas’s rule is ending,” he says.

    On Friday, Al-Astal’s group was involved in one of the bloodiest instances of intra-Palestinian fighting in the enclave, when a Hamas unit attacked a neighborhood in Khan Yunis in a bid to arrest members of a prominent clan accused of collaborating with Israel.

    In the ensuing firefight, five clansmen were killed, local sources say. Al-Astal said his forces assisted in fighting Hamas “using our special methods.” He did not elaborate on what those methods were, but the Israeli military released footage later on Friday showing it targeting Hamas militants it said were attacking a neighborhood in Khan Yunis; it said in a later that it killed 20 gunmen.

    Reports on social media said 11 Hamas members were killed, and their bodies were dragged through the streets of Khan Yunis. One video taken by local activists and posted on the messaging app Telegram shows the camera lingering over bloodied corpses lined side-by-side on the ground.

    Palestinians continue to flee to the southern regions with their belongings following Israeli airstrikes and ground assaults

    Palestinians continue to flee to the southern regions with their belongings following Israeli airstrikes and ground assaults in Gaza Strip on Oct. 3.

    (Saeed M. M. T. Jaras/Anadolu via Getty Images)

    It wouldn’t be the first time Israel has tried to create alternative governance structures in Palestinian communities. Between 1978 and 1984, it formed the Villages League, which aimed to dismantle the influence of the Palestine Liberation Organization by relying on prominent Palestinians, giving them incentives in return for their cooperation as a more pliant authority. The initiative failed.

    Around the same time, Israel empowered Palestinian Islamist groups including Hamas, hoping they would serve as a counterweight to the PLO and leftist, secular Palestinian factions that were prominent at the time.

    Being seen as cooperating with Israel remains a black mark in Palestinian society. The families of both Abu Shabab and Al-Astal issued statements disowning them.

    Al-Astal refused being characterized as a traitor, saying family members, including his sister, were killed by Israeli bombs. But he makes no secret of what he called coordination with the Israeli military, from whom he has received water, food and military equipment.

    “Hamas says I’m a traitor because I coordinate with Israel,” he said.

    “What do you think I’m coordinating? How to evacuate someone who is sick; how to provide food, water and services.”

    Not all clans have been receptive to Israel’s overtures.

    Last month, said Nizar Dughmush, the head of a prominent tribe in Gaza City, he was contacted by a militiaman who claimed he was an intermediary from the Israeli military.

    “He said the Israelis wanted us to take charge of a humanitarian zone in Gaza City, that we should recruit as many of our family members as we could, and they would provide logistical support, like arms, food and shelter,” Dughmush said.

    But Dughmush refused their offer, saying his family were civilians, and that though they were not affiliated with Hamas, they had no interest in being “tools of the occupation.”

    Two days later, Dughmush said, Israeli warplanes began pounding the tribe’s neighborhood, killing more than 100 members of his clan. Dughmush claims Israeli forces entered the neighborhood 48 hours later and systematically destroyed every house.

    “All of this is vengeance against us because we refused to cooperate,” he said. Two other clans, Dayri and Bakr, were approached in a similar fashion and had their areas attacked after rejecting Israel’s offer.

    “I’m talking to you now as a displaced person, along with what’s left of my clan, all of us spread out in different parts of Gaza,” Dughmush said.

    Al-Astal, who considers himself a longtime foe of Hamas, is unapologetic in his choices, which he sees as essential in a post-Hamas Gaza.

    “There’s no place for Hamas here,” he said.

    “We’re the new administration, and we’re the future.”

    Nabih Bulos

    Source link

  • FBI cuts ties with Southern Poverty Law Center after criticism from conservatives

    FBI Director Kash Patel says the bureau is cutting ties with the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which has tracked domestic extremism and racial and religious bias for decades.It comes after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and increased attention on the group he founded, Turning Point USA. SPLC included it as a “case study in the hard right” in its report titled “The Year in Hate and Extremism 2024.”Video above details the charges against the suspect in Charlie Kirk’s death.Patel said on Friday that the FBI would sever its relationship with the SPLC, asserting that the organization had been turned into a “partisan smear machine” and criticizing it for its use of a “hate map” that documents alleged anti-government and hate groups inside the United States. Criticism of the SPLC escalated from some conservatives and prominent allies of President Donald Trump in the weeks after Kirk’s assassination. Prominent figures including Elon Musk condemned the SPLC this week for its descriptions of Kirk and the organization.Many of those political figures were also connected to the group in the Turning Point USA case study.”Charlie Kirk’s TPUSA is a well-funded, hard-right organization with links to Southern Poverty Law Center-identified hard-right extremists and a tremendous amount of influence in conservative politics,” the SPLC case study states. “While the group was previously dismissed by key figures within the Republican National Committee (RNC), Trump attended several TPUSA events across the country throughout 2024, and several of his nominees have ties to the organization.”The case study characterized the organization as “authoritarian, patriarchal Christian supremacy dedicated to eroding the value of inclusive democracy and public institutions.” It stated that Turning Point USA exploited fear and “embraced aggressive state and federal power to enforce a social order rooted in white supremacy.”The August 2025 Intelligence Project Dispatch also named a leader of Turning Point Action, stating that former Arizona Rep. Austin Smith had been charged with election fraud.Video below: Charlie Kirk’s widow vows to continue his mission after his murderA spokesperson for the SPLC, a legal and advocacy group founded in 1971 as a watchdog for minorities and the underprivileged, did not directly address Patel’s comments in a statement Friday but said the organization has for decades shared data with the public and remains “committed to exposing hate and extremism as we work to equip communities with knowledge and defend the rights and safety of marginalized people.”The FBI also cut ties with the Anti-Defamation League, a prominent Jewish advocacy organization that fights antisemitism. It faced criticism on the right for maintaining a “Glossary of Extremism.” The organization announced this week that it was discontinuing that glossary because a number of entries were outdated and some were being “intentionally misrepresented and misused.”What is the SPLC?The Southern Poverty Law Center was created by lawyers Morris Dees and Joe Levin in Montgomery in 1971.Civil Rights Activist Julian Bond was named the first president and people from across the country created the financial base for the organization, according to the SPLC website.”In the decades since its founding, the SPLC shut down some of the nation’s most violent white supremacist groups by winning crushing, multimillion-dollar jury verdicts on behalf of their victims,” the website states about the organization’s history. “It dismantled vestiges of Jim Crow, reformed juvenile justice practices, shattered barriers to equality for women, children, the LGBT community and the disabled, protected low-wage immigrant workers from exploitation, and more.”During the 1980s, the SPLC began monitoring white supremacist activity and what is now known as the Intelligence Project tracks hate and extremist groups across the country. This report is known around the world.

    FBI Director Kash Patel says the bureau is cutting ties with the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which has tracked domestic extremism and racial and religious bias for decades.

    It comes after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and increased attention on the group he founded, Turning Point USA. SPLC included it as a “case study in the hard right” in its report titled “The Year in Hate and Extremism 2024.“

    Video above details the charges against the suspect in Charlie Kirk’s death.

    Patel said on Friday that the FBI would sever its relationship with the SPLC, asserting that the organization had been turned into a “partisan smear machine” and criticizing it for its use of a “hate map” that documents alleged anti-government and hate groups inside the United States.

    Criticism of the SPLC escalated from some conservatives and prominent allies of President Donald Trump in the weeks after Kirk’s assassination. Prominent figures including Elon Musk condemned the SPLC this week for its descriptions of Kirk and the organization.

    Many of those political figures were also connected to the group in the Turning Point USA case study.

    “Charlie Kirk’s TPUSA is a well-funded, hard-right organization with links to Southern Poverty Law Center-identified hard-right extremists and a tremendous amount of influence in conservative politics,” the SPLC case study states. “While the group was previously dismissed by key figures within the Republican National Committee (RNC), Trump attended several TPUSA events across the country throughout 2024, and several of his nominees have ties to the organization.”

    The case study characterized the organization as “authoritarian, patriarchal Christian supremacy dedicated to eroding the value of inclusive democracy and public institutions.” It stated that Turning Point USA exploited fear and “embraced aggressive state and federal power to enforce a social order rooted in white supremacy.”

    The August 2025 Intelligence Project Dispatch also named a leader of Turning Point Action, stating that former Arizona Rep. Austin Smith had been charged with election fraud.

    Video below: Charlie Kirk’s widow vows to continue his mission after his murder

    A spokesperson for the SPLC, a legal and advocacy group founded in 1971 as a watchdog for minorities and the underprivileged, did not directly address Patel’s comments in a statement Friday but said the organization has for decades shared data with the public and remains “committed to exposing hate and extremism as we work to equip communities with knowledge and defend the rights and safety of marginalized people.”

    The FBI also cut ties with the Anti-Defamation League, a prominent Jewish advocacy organization that fights antisemitism. It faced criticism on the right for maintaining a “Glossary of Extremism.” The organization announced this week that it was discontinuing that glossary because a number of entries were outdated and some were being “intentionally misrepresented and misused.”

    What is the SPLC?

    The Southern Poverty Law Center was created by lawyers Morris Dees and Joe Levin in Montgomery in 1971.

    Civil Rights Activist Julian Bond was named the first president and people from across the country created the financial base for the organization, according to the SPLC website.

    “In the decades since its founding, the SPLC shut down some of the nation’s most violent white supremacist groups by winning crushing, multimillion-dollar jury verdicts on behalf of their victims,” the website states about the organization’s history. “It dismantled vestiges of Jim Crow, reformed juvenile justice practices, shattered barriers to equality for women, children, the LGBT community and the disabled, protected low-wage immigrant workers from exploitation, and more.”

    During the 1980s, the SPLC began monitoring white supremacist activity and what is now known as the Intelligence Project tracks hate and extremist groups across the country. This report is known around the world.

    Source link

  • Supreme Court says again Trump may cancel temporary protections for Venezuelans granted under Biden

    WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has ruled for a second time that the Trump administration may cancel the “temporary protected status” given to about 600,000 Venezuelans under the Biden administration.

    The move, advocates for the Venezuelans said, means thousands of lawfully present individuals could lose their jobs, be detained in immigration facilities and deported to a country that the U.S. government considers unsafe to visit.

    The high court granted an emergency appeal from Trump’s lawyers and set aside decisions of U.S. District Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

    “Although the posture of the case has changed, the parties’ legal arguments and relative harms generally have not. The same result that we reached in May is appropriate here,” the court said in an unsigned order.

    Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor said they would have denied the appeal.

    Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented. “I view today’s decision as yet another grave misuse of our emergency docket,” she wrote. “Because, respectfully, I cannot abide our repeated, gratuitous, and harmful interference with cases pending in the lower courts while lives hang in the balance, I dissent.”

    Last month, a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had overstepped her legal authority by canceling the legal protection.

    Her decision “threw the future of these Venezuelan citizens into disarray and exposed them to substantial risk of wrongful removal, separation from their families and loss of employment,” the panel wrote.

    But Trump’s lawyers said the law bars judges from reviewing these decisions by U.S. immigration officials.

    Congress authorized this protected status for people who are already in the United States but cannot return home because their native countries are not safe.

    The Biden administration offered the protections to Venezuelans because of the political and economic collapse brought about by the authoritarian regime of Nicolás Maduro.

    Alejandro Mayorkas, the Homeland Security secretary under Biden, granted the protected status to groups of Venezuelans in 2021 and 2023, totaling about 607,000 people.

    Mayorkas extended it again in January, three days before Trump was sworn in. That same month, Noem decided to reverse the extension, which was set to expire for both groups of Venezuelans in October 2026.

    Shortly after, Noem announced the termination of protections for the 2023 group by April.

    In March, Chen issued an order temporarily pausing Noem’s repeal, which the Supreme Court set aside in May with only Jackson in dissent.

    The San Francisco judge then held a hearing on the issue and concluded Noem’s repeal violated the Administrative Procedure Act because it was arbitrary and and not justified.

    He said his earlier order imposing a temporary pause did not prevent him from ruling on the legality of the repeal, and the 9th Circuit agreed.

    The approximately 350,000 Venezuelans who had TPS through the 2023 designation saw their legal status restored. Many reapplied for work authorization, said Ahilan Arulanantham, co-director of the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at UCLA School of Law, and a counsel for the plaintiffs.

    In the meantime, Noem announced the cancellation of the 2021 designation, effective Nov. 7.

    Trump’s solicitor general, D. John Sauer, went back to the Supreme Court in September and urged the justices to set aside the second order from Chen.

    “This case is familiar to the Court and involves the increasingly familiar and untenable phenomenon of lower courts disregarding this Court’s orders on the emergency docket,” he said.

    The Supreme Court’s decision once again reverses the legal status of the 2023 group and cements the end of legal protections for the 2021 group next month.

    In a further complication, the Supreme Court’s previous decision said that anyone who had already received documents verifying their TPS status or employment authorization through next year is entitled to keep it.

    That, Arulanantham said, “creates another totally bizarre situation, where there are some people who will have TPS through October 2026 as they’re supposed to because the Supreme Court says if you already got a document it can’t be canceled. Which to me just underscores how arbitrary and irrational the whole situation is.”

    Advocates for the Venezuelans said the Trump administration has failed to show that their presence in the U.S. is an emergency requiring immediate court relief.

    In a brief filed Monday, attorneys for the National TPS Alliance argued the Supreme Court should deny the Trump administration’s request because Homeland Security officials acted outside the scope of their authority by revoking the TPS protections early.

    “Stripping the lawful immigration status of 600,000 people on 60 days’ notice is unprecedented,” Jessica Bansal, an attorney representing the Los Angeles-based National Day Laborer Organizing Network, wrote in a statement. “Doing it after promising an additional 18 months protection is illegal.”

    David G. Savage, Andrea Castillo

    Source link

  • Six people who tried to hang a banner on the Hollywood sign are arrested, officials say

    Six people were arrested Sunday after they tried to hang a banner on the Hollywood sign, according to authorities.

    The group allegedly trespassed in the area of the landmark around noon and tried to hang a banner on one of the “O’s,” according to a Los Angeles Police Department Instagram post.

    The people were detained without incident, police said.

    It was unclear what sort of banner the group was trying to hang — or what message they were trying to send. A photo the LAPD shared on social media showed that the banner included what appears to be a green-and-white pill capsule, but the entire banner is not visible.

    L.A. city park rangers took over the investigation and the LAPD referred further questions to the agency, which didn’t immediately respond to a request for more information Wednesday.

    Summer Lin

    Source link

  • Photos: Black surfers ride the waves at Huntington Beach

    1

    2

    Nicole Mitchell, of Charlotte, NC, celebrates with fellow beginners after ride a wave during beginning surf lessons.

    3

    Surf instructors Mike Bennett, left, and Shanden Brutsch, right, cheer on Cassandra Winston as she rides her first wave.

    1. Surf instructors help Candace Chestnut, of Los Angeles, ride a wave for her first time as she takes lessons. 2. Nicole Mitchell, of Charlotte, N.C., celebrates with fellow beginners after riding a wave. 3. Surf instructors Mike Bennett, left, and Shanden Brutsch, right, cheer on Cassandra Winston as she rides her first wave.

    Allen J. Schaben

    Source link

  • Commentary: Who’s winning the redistricting fight? Here’s how to read the polls

    Proposition 50, the California-slaps-back initiative, is cruising to a comfortable victory on Nov. 4, a slam dunk for Gov. Gavin Newsom and efforts to get even with Texas.

    Or not.

    It’s actually a highly competitive contest between those wanting to offset the GOP’s shameless power grab and opponents of Democrats’ retaliatory gerrymander — with many voters valuing California’s independent redistricting commission and still making up their minds.

    Obviously, both things can’t be true, so which is it?

    That depends on which of the polls you choose to believe.

    Political junkies, and the news outlets that service their needs, abhor a vacuum. So there’s no lack of soundings that purport to show just where Californians’ heads are at a mere six weeks before election day — which, in truth, is not all that certain.

    Newsom’s pollster issued results showing Prop. 50 winning overwhelming approval. A UC Berkeley/L.A. Times survey showed a much closer contest, with support below the vital 50% mark. Others give the measure a solid lead.

    Not all polls are created equal.

    “It really matters how a poll is done,” said Scott Keeter, a senior survey advisor at the Pew Research Center, one of the country’s top-flight polling organizations. “That’s especially true today, when response rates are so low [and] it’s so difficult to reach people, especially by telephone. You really do have to consider how it’s done, where it comes from, who did it, what their motivation is.”

    Longtime readers of this space, if any exist, know how your friendly columnist feels about horse-race polls. Our best advice remains the same it’s always been: Ignore them.

    Take a hike. Read a book. Bake a batch of muffins. Better still, take some time to educate yourself on the pros and cons of the question facing California, then make an informed decision.

    Realizing, however, the sun will keep rising and setting, that tides will ebb and flow, that pollsters and pundits will continue issuing their prognostications to an eager and ardent audience, here are some suggestions for how to assay their output.

    The most important thing to remember is that polls are not gospel truth, flawless forecasts or destiny carved in implacable stone. Even the best survey is nothing more than an educated guess at what’s likely to happen.

    That said, there are ways to evaluate the quality of surveys and determine which are best consumed with a healthy shaker of salt and which should be dismissed altogether.

    Given the opportunity, take a look at the methodology — it’s usually there in the fine print — which includes the number of people surveyed, the duration of the poll and whether interviews were done in more than one language.

    Size matters.

    “When you’re trying to contact people at random, you’re getting certain segments of the public, rather than the general population,” said Mark DiCamillo, director of the nonpartisan Berkeley IGS Poll and a collaborator with The Times. “So what needs to happen in order for a survey to be representative of the overall population … you need large samples.”

    Which are expensive and the reason some polls skimp on the number of people they interview.

    The most conscientious pollsters invest considerable time and effort figuring out how to model their voter samples — that is, how to best reflect the eventual composition of the electorate. Once they finish their interviews, they weight the result to see that it includes the proper share of men and women, young and old, and other criteria based on census data.

    Then pollsters might adjust those results to match the percentage of each group they believe will turn out for a given election.

    The more people a pollster interviews, the greater the likelihood of achieving a representative sample.

    That’s why the duration of a survey is also something to consider. The longer a poll is conducted — or out in the field, as they say in the business — the greater the chances of reflecting the eventual turnout.

    It’s also important in a polyglot state like California that a poll is not conducted solely in English. To do so risks under-weighting an important part of the electorate; a lack of English fluency shouldn’t be mistaken for a lack of political engagement.

    “There’s no requirement that a person be able to speak English in order to vote,” said Keeter, of the Pew Research Center. “And in the case of some populations, particularly immigrant groups, that have been in the United States for a long time, they may be very well-established voters but still not be proficient in English to the level of being comfortable taking a survey.”

    It’s also important to know how a poll question is phrased and, in the case of a ballot measure, how it describes the matter voters are being asked to decide. How closely does the survey track the ballot language? Are there any biases introduced into the poll? (“Would you support this measure knowing its proponents abuse small animals and promote gum disease?”)

    Something else to watch for: Was the poll conducted by a political party, or for a candidate or group pushing a particular agenda? If so, be very skeptical. They have every reason to issue selective or one-sided findings.

    Transparency is key. A good pollster will show his or her work, as they used to say in the classroom. If they won’t, there’s good reason to question their findings, and well you should.

    A sensible person wouldn’t put something in their body without being 100% certain of its content. Treat your brain with the same care.

    Mark Z. Barabak

    Source link

  • Trump is using Tren de Aragua to justify a military buildup and strikes in Latin America

    MEXICO CITY — To help justify a sweeping deportation campaign, an extraordinary U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean and unprecedented strikes on boats allegedly trafficking drugs, President Trump has repeated a mantra: Tren de Aragua.

    He insists that the street gang, which was founded about a decade ago in Venezuela, is attempting an “invasion” of the United States and threatens “the stability of the international order in the Western Hemisphere.” Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, Trump described the group as “an enemy of all humanity” and an arm of Venezuela’s authoritarian government.

    According to experts who study the gang and Trump’s own intelligence officials, none of that is true.

    While Tren de Aragua has been linked to cases of human trafficking, extortion and kidnapping and has expanded its footprint as Venezuela’s diaspora has spread throughout the Americas, there is little evidence that it poses a threat to the U.S.

    “Tren de Aragua does not have the capacity to invade any country, especially the most powerful nation on Earth,” said Ronna Rísquez, a Venezuelan journalist who wrote a book about the gang. The group’s prowess, she said, had been vastly exaggerated by the Trump administration in order to rationalize the deportation of migrants, the militarization of U.S. foreign policy in Latin America, and perhaps even an effort to drive Venezuela’s president from power.

    “It is being instrumentalized to justify political actions,” she said of the gang. “In no way does it endanger the national security of the United States.”

    Before last year, few Americans had heard of Tren de Aragua.

    The group formed inside a prison in Venezuela’s Aragua state then spread as nearly 8 million Venezuelans fled poverty and political repression under the regime of Nicolás Maduro. Gang members were accused of sex trafficking, drug sales, homicides and other crimes in countries including Chile, Brazil and Colombia.

    As large numbers of Venezuelan migrants began entering the United States after requesting political asylum at the southern border, authorities in a handful of states tied crimes to members of the gang.

    It was Trump who put the group on the map.

    While campaigning for reelection last year, he appeared at an event in Aurora, Colo., where law enforcement blamed members of Tren de Aragua for several crimes, including murder. Trump stood next to large posters featuring mugshots of Venezuelan immigrants.

    “Occupied America. TDA Gang Members,” they read. Banners said: “Deport Illegals Now.”

    Shortly after he took office, Trump declared an “invasion” by Tren de Aragua and invoked the Alien Enemies Act, a rarely used 18th century law that allows the president to deport immigrants during wartime. His administration flew 200 Venezuelans to El Salvador, where they were housed in a notorious prison, even though few of the men had documented links to Tren de Aragua and most had no criminal records in the United States.

    In recent months, Trump has again evoked the threat of Tren de Aragua to explain the deployment of thousands of U.S. troops and a small armada of ships and warplanes to the Caribbean.

    In July, his administration declared that Tren de Aragua was a terrorist group led by Maduro. That same month, he ordered the Pentagon to use military force against Latin American cartels that his government has labeled terrorists.

    Three times in recent weeks, U.S. troops have struck boats off the coast of Venezuela that it said carried Tren de Aragua members who were trafficking drugs.

    The administration offered no proof of those claims. Fourteen people have been killed.

    Trump has warned that more strikes are to come. “To every terrorist thug smuggling poisonous drugs into the United States of America, please be warned that we will blow you out of existence,” he said in his address to the United Nations.

    While he insists the strikes are aimed at disrupting the drug trade — claiming without evidence that each boat was carrying enough drugs to kill 25,000 Americans — analysts say there is little evidence that Tren de Aragua is engaged in high-level drug trafficking, and no evidence that it is involved in the movement of fentanyl, which is produced in Mexico by chemicals imported from China. The DEA estimates that just 8% of cocaine that is trafficked into the U.S. passes through Venezuelan territory.

    That has fueled speculation about whether the real goal may be regime change.

    “Everybody is wondering about Trump’s end game,” said Irene Mia, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a think tank focused on global security.

    She said that while there are officials within the White House who appear eager to work with Venezuela, others, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, are open about their desire to topple Maduro and other leftist strongmen in the region.

    “We’re not going to have a cartel operating or masquerading as a government operating in our own hemisphere,” Rubio told Fox News this month.

    Top U.S. intelligence officials have said they don’t believe Maduro has links to Tren de Aragua.

    A declassified memo produced by the Office of Director of National Intelligence found no evidence of widespread cooperation between his regime and the gang. It also said Tren de Aragua does not pose a threat to the U.S.: “The small size of TDA’s cells, its focus on low-skill criminal activities and its decentralized structure make it highly unlikely that TDA coordinates large volumes of human trafficking or migrant smuggling.”

    Michael Paarlberg, a political scientist who studies Latin America at Virginia Commonwealth University, said he believes Trump is using the gang to achieve political goals — and distract from domestic controversies such as his decision to close the investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

    Tren de Aragua, he said, is much less powerful than other gangs in Latin America. “But it has been a convenient boogeyman for the Trump administration.”

    Kate Linthicum

    Source link

  • What to know after Trump classifies antifa as a domestic terror organization

    President Donald Trump on Monday signed an order designating a decentralized movement known as antifa as a domestic terrorist organization, though whether he can actually do that remained unclear. Trump blames antifa for political violence.The Republican president said on social media last week during a state visit to the United Kingdom that he would be making such a designation. He called antifa a “SICK, DANGEROUS, RADICAL LEFT DISASTER” and said he will be “strongly recommending” that its funders be investigated.The White House released Trump’s executive order shortly after he departed for New York, where he was addressing the annual meeting of the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday.Here are a few things to know about Trump and antifa:What is antifa?Short for “anti-fascists,” antifa is not a single organization but rather an umbrella term for far-left-leaning militant groups that confront or resist neo-Nazis and white supremacists at demonstrations.Can Trump designate it as a domestic terrorist organization?Antifa is a domestic entity and, as such, is not a candidate for inclusion on the State Department’s list of foreign terror organizations. Dozens of groups, including extremist organizations like the Islamic State and al-Qaida, are included on that list. The designation matters in part because it enables the Justice Department to prosecute those who give material support to entities on that list even if that support does not result in violence.But there is no domestic equivalent to that list in part because of broad First Amendment protections enjoyed by organizations operating within the United States. And despite periodic calls, particularly after mass shootings by white supremacists, to establish a domestic terrorism law, no singular statute now exists.The executive order did not specify how Trump would go about designating antifa as a domestic terrorist organization.What does antifa do exactly?Literature from the antifa movement encourages followers to pursue lawful protest activity as well as more confrontational acts, according to a 2018 Congressional Research Service report.The literature suggests that followers monitor the activities of white supremacist groups, publicize online the personal information of perceived enemies, develop self-defense training regimens and compel outside organizations to cancel any speakers or events with “a fascist bent,” the report said.People associated with antifa have been present for significant demonstrations and counter-demonstrations in recent years, including mobilizing against a white supremacist march in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017. They were also present during clashes with far-right groups in Portland, Oregon.Why did Trump label antifa as domestic terrorists?He says it’s a very bad and “sick” group. The executive order says antifa “uses illegal means to organize and execute a campaign of violence and terrorism nationwide” to accomplish its goal of overthrowing the U.S. government. The order calls on relevant government departments and agencies to use every authority to investigate, disrupt and dismantle any and all illegal operations, including terrorist actions conducted by antifa or anyone claiming to act on its behalf.Trump’s history with antifaIn Trump’s first term, he and members of his administration singled out antifa as being responsible for the violence at protests triggered by the killing of George Floyd, a Black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for several minutes and held it there even after Floyd stopped moving and pleading for air.Then-Attorney General William Barr described “antifa-like tactics” by out-of-state agitators and said antifa was instigating violence and engaging in “domestic terrorism” and would be dealt with accordingly.At the time, Trump blamed antifa by name for the violence, along with violent mobs, arsonists and looters.He recently began singling out antifa again by name following the Sept. 10 assassination of conservative youth activist Charlie Kirk, who was a big supporter of the president.In an exchange with reporters in the Oval Office last week, Trump said he would pursue a domestic terrorism designation for antifa if such a move had the support of Pam Bondi, the current attorney general, and other Cabinet members.“It’s something I would do, yeah,” Trump said. ”I would do that 100%. Antifa is terrible.”He previously had called for antifa to be designated as a terror organization after skirmishes in Portland, Oregon, during his first term.

    WASHINGTON —

    President Donald Trump on Monday signed an order designating a decentralized movement known as antifa as a domestic terrorist organization, though whether he can actually do that remained unclear. Trump blames antifa for political violence.

    The Republican president said on social media last week during a state visit to the United Kingdom that he would be making such a designation. He called antifa a “SICK, DANGEROUS, RADICAL LEFT DISASTER” and said he will be “strongly recommending” that its funders be investigated.

    The White House released Trump’s executive order shortly after he departed for New York, where he was addressing the annual meeting of the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday.

    Here are a few things to know about Trump and antifa:

    What is antifa?

    Short for “anti-fascists,” antifa is not a single organization but rather an umbrella term for far-left-leaning militant groups that confront or resist neo-Nazis and white supremacists at demonstrations.

    Can Trump designate it as a domestic terrorist organization?

    Antifa is a domestic entity and, as such, is not a candidate for inclusion on the State Department’s list of foreign terror organizations. Dozens of groups, including extremist organizations like the Islamic State and al-Qaida, are included on that list. The designation matters in part because it enables the Justice Department to prosecute those who give material support to entities on that list even if that support does not result in violence.

    But there is no domestic equivalent to that list in part because of broad First Amendment protections enjoyed by organizations operating within the United States. And despite periodic calls, particularly after mass shootings by white supremacists, to establish a domestic terrorism law, no singular statute now exists.

    The executive order did not specify how Trump would go about designating antifa as a domestic terrorist organization.

    What does antifa do exactly?

    Literature from the antifa movement encourages followers to pursue lawful protest activity as well as more confrontational acts, according to a 2018 Congressional Research Service report.

    The literature suggests that followers monitor the activities of white supremacist groups, publicize online the personal information of perceived enemies, develop self-defense training regimens and compel outside organizations to cancel any speakers or events with “a fascist bent,” the report said.

    People associated with antifa have been present for significant demonstrations and counter-demonstrations in recent years, including mobilizing against a white supremacist march in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017. They were also present during clashes with far-right groups in Portland, Oregon.

    Why did Trump label antifa as domestic terrorists?

    He says it’s a very bad and “sick” group. The executive order says antifa “uses illegal means to organize and execute a campaign of violence and terrorism nationwide” to accomplish its goal of overthrowing the U.S. government. The order calls on relevant government departments and agencies to use every authority to investigate, disrupt and dismantle any and all illegal operations, including terrorist actions conducted by antifa or anyone claiming to act on its behalf.

    Trump’s history with antifa

    In Trump’s first term, he and members of his administration singled out antifa as being responsible for the violence at protests triggered by the killing of George Floyd, a Black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for several minutes and held it there even after Floyd stopped moving and pleading for air.

    Then-Attorney General William Barr described “antifa-like tactics” by out-of-state agitators and said antifa was instigating violence and engaging in “domestic terrorism” and would be dealt with accordingly.

    At the time, Trump blamed antifa by name for the violence, along with violent mobs, arsonists and looters.

    He recently began singling out antifa again by name following the Sept. 10 assassination of conservative youth activist Charlie Kirk, who was a big supporter of the president.

    In an exchange with reporters in the Oval Office last week, Trump said he would pursue a domestic terrorism designation for antifa if such a move had the support of Pam Bondi, the current attorney general, and other Cabinet members.

    “It’s something I would do, yeah,” Trump said. ”I would do that 100%. Antifa is terrible.”

    He previously had called for antifa to be designated as a terror organization after skirmishes in Portland, Oregon, during his first term.

    Source link