Guard

Sept. 4 (UPI) — The District of Columbia has filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump for bringing in National Guard soldiers to police its streets.

The suit alleges that “the President has launched an unprecedented assault on the District’s sovereignty.”

“We are suing to defend D.C. home rule and stop the unlawful deployment of the National Guard,” said Washington, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb in an X post Thursday. “Our nation was founded on the fundamental principles of freedom and self-governance that are stake in this case.”

Schwalb posted several times to explain the situation.

“The National Guard deployment does not only undermine public safety,” he wrote in a separate post. “It also hurts D.C.’s economy — depressing vital industries like restaurants, hotels, and tourism.”

“And critically, it infringes on D.C.’s sovereign authority and right to self-governance under the Home Rule Act,” he added.

Schwalb went on to state that more troops arrived in the district this week and noted that President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order last week that “directs the creation of a dedicated D.C. National Guard unit to ‘enforce Federal law.'”

That order titled “Additional Measures to Address the Crime Emergency in the District of Columbia,” tells the Secretary of Defense to create “a specialized unit within the District of Columbia National Guard” that would be deputized to do as Schwalb described.

Around 2,300 National Guard troops have been deployed in Washington, D.C., since mid-August, who have joined with other federal agents and the District’s Metropolitan Police Department to ramp up patrols throughout the city.

Schwalb further declared that Trump’s use of the National Guard in the district is illegal under the Posse Comitatus Act, which bans the use of any part of the Army or Air Force to execute law enforcement unless authorized by the Constitution or an act of Congress.

“Yet the Administration launched a massive, indefinite law enforcement operation in DC under direct military command,” Schwalb wrote. “This is plainly illegal, and it threatens our democracy and civil liberties.”

He also declared that the deployment denies the District of the local autonomy granted by the Home Rule Act, under which the elected Council of the District of Columbia adopts laws and approves the District’s annual budget in conjunction with the District’s mayor.

The lawsuit comes at a time when House Republicans are considering legislation to remove Schwalb, who was elected to his post in 2022, and replace him with a presidential appointee, according to a Thursday report by The Washington Post.

WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia on Thursday sued to stop President Trump’s deployment of National Guard during his law enforcement intervention in Washington.

The city’s attorney general, Brian Schwalb, said the surge of troops essentially amounts to an “involuntary military occupation.” He argued in the federal lawsuit that the deployment, coinciding with an executive order Aug. 11, that now involves more than 1,000 troops is an illegal use of the military for domestic law enforcement.

A federal judge in California recently ruled that Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles after days of protests over immigration raids in June was illegal.

The Republican administration is appealing that decision and Trump has said he is ready to order federal intervention in Chicago and Baltimore, despite staunch opposition in those Democrat-led cities. That court ruling, however, does not directly apply to Washington, where the president has more control over the Guard than in states.

The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment to the new lawsuit.

Members of the D.C. National Guard have had their orders extended through December, according to a Guard official. While that does not necessarily mean all those troops will serve that long, it is a strong indication that their role will not wind down soon.

Several GOP-led states have added National Guard troops to the ranks of those patrolling the streets and neighborhoods of the nation’s capital.

Schwalb’s filing contends the deployment also violates the Home Rule Act, signed by President Richard Nixon in 1973, because Trump acted without the mayor’s consent and is wrongly asserting federal control over units from other states.

The city’s attorney general, an elected official, is its top legal officer and is separate from Washington’s federal U.S. attorney, who is appointed by the president.

The lawsuit is the second from Schwalb against the Trump administration since the president asserted control over the city’s police department and sent in the Guard, actions that have been with protests from some residents.

Trump has said the operation is necessary to combat crime in the district, and Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, has pointed to a steep drop in offenses such as carjackings since it began.

Violent crime has been an issue in the capital for years, though data showed it was on the decline at the start of Trump’s intervention.

Whitehurst writes for the Associated Press.

Cardi B has prevailed in a civil lawsuit brought against her by a Beverly Hills security guard after two days of testimony from the rapper that was sometimes colorful and drew laughter from jurors.

Emani Ellis sued Cardi B for $24 million, accusing her of assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress in the aftermath of a confrontation in a hallway outside of an obstetrician’s office. Ellis claimed that, during the set-to, the rapper scratched her with a long nail extension, leaving a facial scar.

The hip-hop star was found not liable on all counts by jurors after less
than an hour of deliberations.

“I swear to God, I will say it on my deathbed, I did not touch that woman,” Cardi B said outside the courthouse following the conclusion of the trial. She added that she had missed her kids’ first day of school because of the civil trial.

“I want to thank my lawyers,” she said, “I want to thank the jurors, I want to thank the judge, and I want to thank the respectful press.”

Cardi B, whose real name is Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, testified that she never touched, scratched or spat at the security guard, who she believed was taking video of her with her cellphone. The rapper was four months pregnant and had an appointment on the day of the incident — Feb. 24, 2018.

Ellis worked as a security guard at the Beverly Hills building where Cardi B had her medical appointment, and she testified that she was doing her rounds when she saw the celebrity exit the elevator. She testified that she was overcome with excitement and declared, “Wow, it’s Cardi B.”

Ellis alleged that the performer then turned to her and said, “Why the f— are you telling people you’ve seen me?” Cardi B then accused her of trying to spread news about her being at the doctor’s office, she testified during the four-day trial.

Cardi B cursed at her, used the N-word and other slurs, called her names, threatened her job, body-shamed her and mocked her career, Ellis said. She alleged Cardi B spat on her, took a swing at her and scratched her left cheek with a 2- to 3-inch fingernail.

But jurors believed Cardi B’s version of events, which was that Ellis was the aggressor.

The rapper blasted the plaintiff in an Alhambra courtroom, saying she was looking for a payout. Cardi B said the pair went chest-to-chest and exchanged angry words but nothing more.

She told jurors that she said to Ellis: “B—, get the f— out of my face. Why are you in my face? Why are you recording me? Ain’t you supposed to be security?’

“I’m thinking to myself, ‘Girl is big!’” she testified.” “She’s got big black boots on. I’m like, ‘D—, the hell am i gonna do now?’”

The rapper said that she’s 5 feet 3 and was 130 pounds and pregnant at the time of the incident. She wouldn’t have tried to fight the guard, who was far larger, she said.

Asked if she was “disabled” during the incident, Cardi B’s comments drew laughter in the courtroom: “At that moment, when you’re pregnant, I’m very disabled,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “You want me to tell you the things I can’t do?”

Tierra Malcolm, a receptionist for Dr. David Finke, with whom Cardi B had an appointment that day, told jurors that she saw Ellis corner the celebrity. The receptionist said she then got between them, and the guard reached for the rapper. Malcolm said she ended up with a cut on her own forehead.

Finke testified that he saw the guard cause that injury and also hit the receptionist’s shoulder. He further said that Ellis had no injuries. Both testified they never saw Cardi B hit Ellis.

During closing arguments on Tuesday, Ellis’ attorney, Ron Rosen Janfaza, told jurors, “Cardi B needs to be held accountable.” “There was no video camera … so really it comes down to one thing — do you believe, Ms. Ellis, a guard with a good record? She is a model citizen,” he told jurors.

Rosen Janfaza noted that, under cross-examination, the rapper acknowledged that she and Ellis were chest-to-chest as expletives were exchanged, and that alone is an unwelcome touch and battery on his client, he said. He told jurors that the receptionist and doctor did not see the 40 to 50 seconds where Cardi B labeled his client fat, spat on her and took a swing at her.

He said his client suffered for seven years, and “this was a violent attack.”

Cardis B’s attorney, Peter Anderson, said jurors needed to employ common sense to reject the security guard’s story and that the preponderance of evidence showed his client did nothing more than yell and curse, and “that isn’t something you can sue over.”

“The question is whether Cardi ever struck the plaintiff,” Anderson said. And the evidence is overwhelming that she did not, he said. Anderson said that the guard testified that she never made a police report, did not seek immediate medical attention, did not even use a Band-Aid on the scratch, but went home and took a nap.

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that President Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles was illegal, which the sane and democracy-loving among us should applaud — though of course an appeal is coming.

During the trial, though, a concerning but little-noticed exchange popped up between lawyers for the state of California and Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman, who was in charge of the federalized National Guard forces in L.A. It should have been an explosive, red-flag moment highlighting the pressure our military leaders are under to shake off their oath to the Constitution in favor of fealty to Trump.

Sherman testified that he objected to National Guard involvement in a show-of-force operation in MacArthur Park, where Latino families often congregate.

That action, Sherman said, was originally slated for Father’s Day, an especially busy time at the park. Internal documents showed it was considered it a “high-risk” operation. Sherman said he feared his troops would be pushed into confrontations with civilians if Border Patrol became overwhelmed by the crowds on that June Sunday.

Gregory Bovino, in charge of the immigration efforts in L.A. for the Border Patrol, questioned Sherman’s “loyalty to the country,” Sherman testified, for just showing hesitation about the wisdom and legality of an order.

It’s the pressure that “you’re not being patriotic if you don’t blow by the law and violate it and just bend the knee and and exhibit complete fealty and loyalty to Trump,” California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said Tuesday. And it’s a warning of what’s to come as Trump continues to press for military involvement in civilian law enforcement across the country.

For the record, Sherman has served our country for decades, earning along the way the prestigious Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star and the Meritorious Service Medal among other accolades.

The MacArthur Park operation, according to the Department of Homeland Security, was itself little more than a performative display of power “to demonstrate, through a show of presence, the capacity and freedom of maneuver of federal law enforcement within the Los Angeles,” according to agency documents presented in court. It was dubbed Operation Excalibur, in honor of the legendary sword of King Arthur that granted him divine right to rule, a point also included in court documents.

But none of that mattered. Instead, Sherman was pushed to exhibit the kind of blind loyalty to a dear leader that you’d expect to be demanded in dictatorships like those of North Korea or Hungary. Loyalty that confuses — or transforms — a duty to the Constitution with allegiance to Trump. Military experts warn that Sherman’s experience isn’t an isolated incident.

“There’s a chilling effect against pushing back or at least openly questioning any kind of orders,” Rachel E. VanLandingham, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, told me. She’s former active duty judge advocate in the U.S. Air Force who now teaches at Southwestern Law School and serves as a national security law expert.

VanLandingham sees the leadership of our armed forces under pressure “to not engage in the critical thinking, which, as commanders, they are required to do, and to instead go along to get along.” She sees Sherman’s testimony as a “telling glimpse into the wearing away” of that crucial independence.

Such a shift in allegiance would undermine any court order keeping the military out of civilian law enforcement, leaving Trump with exactly the boots on the ground power he has sought since his first term. This is not theoretical.

Through Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Trump has purged the top ranks of the military of those who aren’t loyal to him. In February, Hegseth fired the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a Black soldier who championed diversity in the armed forces. Hegseth has also purged the head of the Pentagon’s intelligence agency, the head of the National Security Agency, the chief of Naval Operations, multiple senior female military staff and senior military lawyers for the Army, Navy and Air Force. In August, he fired the head of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency after that general gave a truthful assessment of our bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites, angering Trump.

At the same time, the military is being pushed farther into civilian affairs, and not just as erstwhile cops. The Associated Press reported Tuesday that Hegseth ordered 600 military lawyers to serve as temporary immigration judges.

Not to dive too deep into the convoluted immigration system, but these are civilian legal positions, another possible violation of the Posse Comitatus Act, VanLandingham points out.

And beyond that, can a military lawyer — trained and bound to follow orders — really act as an impartial judge in proceedings where the administration’s wish to deport is clearly known?

Goodbye due process, goodbye fair trial.

That “looks like martial law when you have militarized … judicial proceedings,” VanLandingham said. “How can we trust they are making unbiased decisions? You can’t.”

And even though Sherman pushed back on a full-blown military presence in MacArthur Park, that raid did happen. Federal agents marched through, about three weeks after Father’s Day, with National Guard troops remaining in their vehicles on the perimeter. It was Hegseth himself who authorized the mission.

Sherman also said on the stand that he was told there were “exceptions” to the Posse Comitatus Act — the law being debated in the trial that prevents the military from being used as civilian law enforcement — and that the president had the power to decide what those exceptions were.

“So your understanding is that while [some actions] are on the list of prohibited functions, you can do them under some circumstances?” Judge Charles Breyer asked.

“That’s the legal advice I received,” Sherman answered.

“And the president has the authority to make that decision?” Breyer asked.

“The president has the authority,” Sherman answered.

But does he?

Breyer also asked during the trial, if the president’s powers to both command troops and interpret law are so boundless, “What’s to prevent a national police force?” What, in effect, could stop Trump’s Excalibur-inspired inclinations?

For now, it’s the courts and ethical, mid-level commanders like Sherman, whose common-sense bravery and decency kept the military out of MacArthur Park.

Men and women who understand that the oaths they have sworn are to our country, not the man who would be king.

United States President Donald Trump has reaffirmed his commitment to sending the National Guard to Chicago, Illinois, as he continues to portray Democrat-run cities as overrun by crime.

Tuesday’s remarks were some of Trump’s most direct statements on the subject so far.

In an Oval Office appearance to announce the relocation of the US Space Command headquarters, Trump was asked about the possibility of a troop deployment to Chicago, the country’s third-largest city by population.

Though he initially launched into a screed decrying crime in the city, he quickly confirmed his plans.

“We’re going in. I didn’t say when, but we’re going in,” Trump said.

“ If the governor of Illinois would call me up. I would love to do it. Now, we’re going to do it anyway. We have the right to do it because I have an obligation to protect this country.”

But the threat of military force was not the only reason Tuesday’s news conference made headlines.

Here are four key takeaways from Trump’s Oval Office appearance.

Trump teases Chicago military deployment

Trump was defiant in his Tuesday afternoon appearance, which came shortly after a federal court in San Francisco ruled that his troop deployment to Los Angeles earlier this year was illegal.

Instead, he defended his decision to use soldiers for his crime crackdown, arguing it was necessary to deal with some suspects.

“Frankly, they were born to be criminals,” Trump said. “And they’re tough and mean, and they’ll cut your throat, and they won’t even think about it the next day. They won’t even remember that they did it. And we’re not going to have those people.”

He also pointed to his deployment of troops in Washington, DC, as a model for his crime initiatives throughout the country.

“ I’m very proud of Washington,” he said. “It serves as a template. And we’re going to do it elsewhere.”

Experts, however, point out that the federal government has greater powers to deploy troops in Washington, the country’s capital, than in other parts of the country.

But the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 prohibits the use of the military for domestic law enforcement, except in rare occasions with state cooperation.

Trump is expected to face another legal challenge under that law should he deploy troops to Chicago, as he has repeatedly threatened.

Tensions have been ratcheting upwards between city officials and the Trump administration since August.

On Sunday, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said that the Trump administration would increase the presence of federal agents to support immigration enforcement in the city.

Also over the weekend, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson announced that Chicago police will not collaborate with any National Guard troops or federal agents.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, meanwhile, said on Tuesday that military “staging that has already begun started yesterday, and continues into today” in and around the Chicago area. Pritzker, a Democrat, has opposed such efforts and warned the city to brace for a situation like what Los Angeles experienced in June.

Still, Trump indicated that a troop deployment to Chicago would only be the start of a wide-reaching crackdown.

“ Chicago is a hellhole right now. Baltimore is a hellhole right now. Parts of Los Angeles are terrible if we didn’t put out the fires – I mean, the other fires, the bullet fires,” Trump said

Moving US Space Command

The focus of the Oval Office event, however, was to tout Trump’s decision to move the headquarters of the US Space Command from Colorado to Huntsville, Alabama.

Space Command falls under the Department of Defense and is tasked with overseeing military operations beyond Earth’s atmosphere.

Critics pointed out that the move appeared designed to play to Trump’s Republican base, as Alabama is a right-wing stronghold compared with the more left-leaning Colorado.

Trump, however, said the move was in the strategic interest of the US. He also emphasised that it would create 30,000 jobs in the state and “billions and billions” of dollars of investment, despite concerns over logistical issues.

Supporters have noted that Huntsville is already home to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and a major hub for defence contractors, earning it the nickname “Rocket City”.

Tuesday’s announcement reverses a 2023 decision by then-President Joe Biden to keep Space Command in Colorado, where it had been located since its founding 1985, until it was mothballed in 2002.

Trump re-established the command during his first term in 2019, with about 1,700 personnel currently working at its headquarters in Colorado Springs.

In his remarks from the Oval Office, though, Trump was blatant in his disdain for the state, which he lost in both the 2020 and 2024 presidential elections.

He repeatedly told reporters that Colorado’s policy of providing mail-in ballots to all voters fuelled the decision to move the command.

“When a state is for mail-in voting, that means they want dishonest elections,” Trump said. “So that played a big factor.”

Trump has falsely claimed that mail-in ballots lead to election malfeasance. In his remarks, he noted he had won Alabama by a wide margin in the 2024 race, joking about how that might have affected Space Command’s relocation.

“ I only won it by about 47 points,” he said to chuckles. “I don’t think that influenced my decision, though, right?”

In a statement, Colorado Governor Jared Polis said the move “undermines national security, wastes millions of taxpayer dollars, and disrupts the lives of military families”.

Speculation over health

Tuesday’s news conference was Trump’s first public appearance in days, an absence that stoked speculation over the 79-year-old president’s health.

When asked about the rumours, Trump, 79, batted them away.

“I didn’t do any [news conferences] for two days and they said, ‘There must be something wrong with him,’” Trump said.

“Biden wouldn’t do them for months, you wouldn’t see him, and nobody ever said there was ever anything wrong with him, and we know he wasn’t in the greatest of shape.”

Trump spent part of the recent Labor Day weekend playing at his Trump National Golf Course in Virginia, a fact he pointed to when confronted with questions about his health.

“I was very active over the weekend,” he added.

Media reports estimated it was Trump’s 66th visit to a golf course since he began his second term in January.

Trump is expected to be the oldest president in US history by the time he leaves office: Should he successfully complete his second term, he will be 82, edging out the current record holder, Biden, by several months.

But Biden’s seeming frailty in his final months in office has raised scrutiny about what health conditions Trump might face as he approaches a similar age.

An attack on a Venezuelan boat?

One of the surprises that emerged from Tuesday’s meandering news conference was the announcement that the US may have attacked a boat in the Caribbean Sea.

“We just – over the last few minutes – literally shot out a boat, a drug-carrying boat,” Trump said. “A lot of drugs in that boat. And you’ll be seeing that, and you’ll be reading about that. It just happened moments ago.”

The president identified the vessel as departing from Venezuela, whose government Trump has repeatedly accused of directing drug-trafficking operations, though he has provided no proof for that assertion.

Shortly after the news conference, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed on the social media platform X that the military had “conducted a lethal strike in the southern Caribbean against a drug vessel which had departed from Venezuela and was being operated by a designated narco-terrorist organisation”.

He did not provide further details.

Since returning to office for a second term, Trump has returned to his policy of maximum pressure against the government of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, recently raising the reward for his arrest to $50m.

Trump has also claimed that immigration into the US was the result of a criminal “invasion” that Maduro masterminded.

A US intelligence report declassified in May, however, failed to find proof of any such cooperation between Maduro and gangs like Tren de Aragua.

Still, earlier this year, the Trump administration designated Latin American gangs like Tren de Aragua as “foreign terrorist organisations”. The move represented a break in convention in Washington, which has a separate designation for foreign criminal enterprises.

In August, it was reported that Trump secretly signed an order authorising military action against cartels and other criminal networks, spurring concern of US intervention abroad.

Maduro has long accused Trump of interfering in his domestic politics, and Tuesday’s announcement has further piqued tensions.

A KILLER gunman has been jailed after shooting a prison officer dead. 

Elias Morgan, 35, murdered Lenny Scott after the prison guard exposed his affair with a female officer.

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Morgan attacked Lenny, 33, outside of a gym in on February 8, 2024.

Lenny, a father of three, worked at HMP Altcourse and had previously confiscated Morgan’s phone while he was incarcerated.

Upon taking the phone, he discovered that Morgan has having an affair with a prison guard – prompting the 35-year-old to begin plotting his murder. 

Lenny was shot six times by Morgan and was left for dead. 

Today, Morgan was jailed for life with a minimum term of 45 years. 

The terrifying shooting was caught on film, by a CCTV camera near to the gym. 

In the video, Lenny can be seen leaving the building with four others while a sinister man – dressed in a high-vis jacket – approaches. 

The gunman can be seen hiding behind a car, before calmly raising his gun and opening fire. 

Six shots can be heard before the shooter hops onto an electric bike and heads for a getaway van. 

Morgan was found guilty of murder, following a lengthy trial at Preston Crown Court. 

He will be spending 45 years behind bars without parole

Meanwhile, his friend Anthony Cleary, 29, was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter in court.

Jurors heard that Morgan had been having an affair with prison officer Sarah Williams and that he had offered Lenny £1,500 to “lose” the phone which contained evidence of the affair. 

Four years later, after Morgan left prison

After that, Morgan began issuing “powerfully made” threats to stop the information getting out. 

At the time, Morgan allegedly said: “I’ll bide my time, but I promise I will get you.”

Four days after the phone was seized, Lenny phoned 101 to tell police that a car had been “sat outside my house all weekend”. 

When asked by the operator about who was threatening him, Lenny replied: “Elias Morgan. He’s described my family and me to a tee, described my house.”

After Morgan was found guilty of killing Lenny, Wendy Logan – deputy head of CPS North West’s complex casework unit – described the shooter as “cold-blooded” and evil.

She said: “Lenny Scott was a devoted father who had bravely upheld his duty when working as a prison officer by reporting an illicit phone he found in Elias Morgan’s cell in 2020.

“He did so in the face of attempts at bribery and also threats and intimidation by Morgan – and his commitment to public service will not be forgotten.

“Morgan – driven by revenge and believing he was above the law – carried out a cold-blooded murder.

“We were determined to deliver justice and see Morgan brought to book for his evil crime – and our case set out in clear terms how he planned and carried out his callous act.

“Our thoughts remain with Lenny’s family – particularly his three young children – and all those who cared for him as they deal with his loss.”

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President Trump has threatened to deploy the National Guard to Chicago, New York, Seattle, Baltimore, San Francisco and Portland, Ore., to fight what he says is runaway crime. Yet data show most violent crime in those places and around the country has declined in recent years.

Homicides through the first six months of 2025 were down significantly compared with the same period in 2024, continuing a post-pandemic trend across the U.S.

Trump, who has already taken federal control of police in Washington, D.C., has maligned the six Democratic-run cities that all are in states that opposed him in 2024. But he hasn’t threatened sending in the Guard to any major cities in Republican-leaning states.

John Roman, a data expert who directs the Center on Public Safety & Justice at the University of Chicago, acknowledged violence in some urban neighborhoods has persisted for generations. But he said there’s no U.S. city where there “is really a crisis.”

“We’re at a remarkable moment in crime in the United States,” he said.

Public sees things differently

Trump might be tapping somewhat into public perception when he describes cities such as Chicago as a “killing field.” The vast majority of Americans, 81%, see crime as a “major problem” in large cities, according to a survey released this week by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, though there is much less support, 32%, for federal control of police.

The public was reminded this week that shootings remain a frequent event in the U.S. In Minneapolis, which has seen homicides and most other crime fall, a shooter killed two children attending a Catholic school Mass on Wednesday and wounded 17 a day after three people died in separate shootings elsewhere in the city.

Still, over time, the picture is encouraging, according to numbers from AH Datalytics, which tracks crimes across the country using law enforcement data for its Real-Time Crime Index.

Aggravated assaults — which includes nonfatal shootings — through June were down in Chicago, Portland, Seattle, Baltimore and San Francisco and were virtually unchanged in New York. Reports of rape were up in New York and Chicago during the first half of the year, but down in the other cities, including a 51% drop in San Francisco.

The crime index also showed that property crimes, such as theft, burglary and motor vehicle theft, were mostly down in those six cities in the first six months of 2025. Theft crimes rose from 2020-24 in four of the six cities analyzed by AP.

Cities defend safety strategies

Trump exaggerated and misstated facts about crime in Washington when his administration took over the D.C. police department and flooded the capital with federal agents and the National Guard. He referred to Baltimore, 40 miles away, as a “hellhole” during a Cabinet meeting and has said he might “send in the ‘troops.’ ”

“I’m not walking in Baltimore right now,” Trump said.

Yet Baltimore has shown drops in major crime, according to the crime index. Homicides and rapes were down 25% or more in the first half of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024. Homicides were down for three consecutive years through 2024 and were 35% lower when compared with 2018.

“Deploying the National Guard for municipal policing purposes is not sustainable, scalable, constitutional, or respectful,” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, said on social media site X.

Baltimore has found ways to reduce violence by offering mentorship, social services and job opportunities to young people likely to commit crimes, said Michael Scott, director of the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing at Arizona State University and a former police chief in Florida.

“That approach has resulted in more significant reductions in shootings and homicides than any other strategy I’ve seen in the over 50 years I’ve been in the field,” Scott said.

Vice President JD Vance told a Wisconsin crowd on Thursday that governors and mayors should ask the Trump administration for help.

“The president of the United States is not going out there forcing this on anybody,” Vance said of using the National Guard, “though we do think that we have the legal right to clean up America’s streets if we want to.”

Tales of different cities

Trump doesn’t seem to disparage big cities in states that favor Republicans. Charlotte, N.C., had 105 homicides in 2024 compared with 88 in 2023. The rate of vehicle thefts per 100,000 people more than doubled there from 2020-24. Indianapolis had a homicide rate of 19 per 100,000 residents in 2024 — more than four times higher than New York’s.

Amy Holt, 48, who recently moved to Charlotte from a gated community in northern Virginia, said someone tried to steal her husband’s car in their new city. She also found bullets on the ground while walking with dogs.

There’s no discussion about sending the National Guard to Charlotte. Holt believes most cities should be trusted to be in charge of public safety, adding that troops in uniforms would be “alarming” and “scary.”

Democratic-elected officials in cities targeted by Trump have publicly rejected suggestions that their residents need the National Guard. “Crime is at its lowest point in decades, visitors are coming back, and San Francisco is on the rise,” Mayor Daniel Lurie said.

Experts question just how effective the National Guard would be and where troops would be deployed in cities.

“It’s going to make residents think: Things must be much worse than I realize to have the military in my neighborhood. What’s going on?” Scott said. “It’s more likely to generate undue fear and apprehension than it will lead to perceptions of reassurance and safety.”

White and Keller write for the Associated Press. White reported from Detroit and Keller reported from Albuquerque, N.M. AP video journalist Erik Verduzco in Charlotte, N.C., contributed to this report.

Cardi B testified Tuesday that she never touched, scratched or spat at a security guard who is suing her over an alleged assault by the pop star outside a Beverly Hills obstetrician’s office.

The rapper, whose real name is Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, took the witness stand in the second day of the civil trial in an Alhambra court and vigorously denied assaulting Emani Ellis on Feb. 24, 2018. Cardi B was visiting the 5th-floor office of the obstetrician at the time and was four months pregnant with her first child.

“It was a verbal incident,” insisted Cardi B. “She didn’t hit me. I didn’t hit her. There was no touching. So, to me, it wasn’t no incident.”

The rapper did say that they went chest to chest in the hallway outside the doctor’s office, and that she called the guard a “b—” because she believed Ellis was recording her with a cellphone.

“Was there spitting?” the security guard’s lawyer, Ron Rosen, asked.

“Absolutely not,” Cardi B replied.

“Did you call her the N-word?”

“No,” the performer replied, noting that she considers herself “Afro-Caribbean.”

“Did you take a swing at her?” Rosen followed up.

“No,” replied Cardi B, who insisted it was a “verbal fight. … It did not get physical at all.”

Rosen delved into the difference between a fight and a verbal altercation, asking whether he and the pop star were then having a verbal altercation. Cardi B replied that they were debating, a statement that was greeted with laughter in the courtroom.

The lawyer countered, “We’re debating about whether you assaulted and battered Ms. Emani Ellis?”

“I guess so,” replied Cardi B. “But I didn’t touch her. She didn’t touch me.” The recording artist said there were no videos of the incident.

Ellis filed suit in 2020, alleging assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress as well as negligence and false imprisonment.

Ellis, who worked as a security guard at the building where Cardi B had her medical appointment, said during testimony on Monday that she was doing her rounds when she saw the celebrity get off the elevator. She testified that she was overcome with excitement and declared, “Wow, it’s Cardi B.”

Ellis said the performer then turned to her and said, “Why the f— are you telling people you’ve seen me?” Cardi B then accused her of trying to spread news about her being at the doctor’s office, she testified.

Cardi B cursed at her, used the N-word and other slurs, called her names, threatened her job, body-shamed her and mocked her career, Ellis said. She alleged Cardi B spat on her, took a swing at her and scratched her left cheek with a 2- to 3-inch fingernail.

Cardi B said when she turned around after getting off the elevator, she heard Ellis say her name and then saw Ellis with her cellphone and said, “Why are you recording me?” The performer said the guard said, “My bad,” but continued to follow her and said she had the right to follow her.

Cardi B said that they went chest to chest and that she did curse at Ellis but that she never touched the guard, who was physically larger. When the obstetrician’s receptionist finally came out, the guard alleged the singer had hit her — something that Cardi B said never happened.

The rapper conceded she never saw proof that Ellis was recording her. She said her appointment was both sensitive and confidential; she was seeing a doctor because of concerns about her pregnancy, which wasn’t yet public.

For the second day of the trial, the rapper — who is known for her daring style choices — donned a blond showgirl hairstyle that contrasted with the black short hair she wore during the first day of testimony. Under questioning, she said they were both wigs and that she had 1-inch nail extensions.

She refused to concede that she usually wore 2- to 3-inch nails, replying that sometimes she does and sometimes she doesn’t.

A unique aerial transport operation had been unfolding in the Pacific Northwest this week. The U.S. Marine Corps was prepared to sling-load a retired U.S. Coast Guard HU-25 Guardian jet (based on the French Dassault Falcon 20 business jet) from Astoria, Oregon, to Tillamook, Oregon, under the U.S. military’s most powerful helicopter — the new CH-53K King Stallion. The 50-mile journey would have delivered the retired jet from the Coast Guard Air Station in Astoria to the Tillamook Air Museum for final display. Unfortunately, this will not happen after the HU-25 was damaged during a sling-load test, but at least the jet technically took to the skies, however briefly, one last time.

The news of the aborted mission came today from the great folks from Port of Astoria Regional Airport. Marines had placed straps around the HU-25, and the CH-53K lifted it into the air to make sure the load would hold up for the 50-mile flight. Apparently, once the jet was sat back down on the tarmac, it became clear that the lift had damaged its structure significantly and it would no longer be able to make the flight to the museum. The images below show the crumpled wing root area from the test lift.

The plan was for the CH-53K and an MV-22 Osprey, both from VMX-1, the USMC’s premier air combat test and development unit, which you can read all about in our previous feature here, to both make the flight from Astoria to Tillamook, along with a Coast Guard MH-60T Jayhawk, a handful of which are based at Astoria.

The operation was seen as a valuable training and test event for the USMC, which has to do these types of recoveries both in peacetime and especially during a conflict. For a fight in the Pacific, being able to rapidly pluck stricken aircraft from remote locales will be a critical capability on many levels, for instance. The three-engined CH-53K, which just entered service in 2022, is the undisputed heavy-lift king within the U.S. military’s stable.

The HU-25 entered service with the USCG in 1983 and served for over three decades, doing everything from search and rescue to drug interdiction missions. Coast Guard Air Station Astoria was one of the type’s bases. The HU-25 in question has been at the installation since its retirement over a decade ago.

It isn’t clear if the lift will be reattempted anytime in the future. It’s possible the aircraft could be partially disassembled and delivered via roadway instead.

We will keep you updated if new info about the HU-25 airlift mission emerges.

Contact the author: [email protected]

Aug. 23 (UPI) — The Trump administration is deploying up to 1,700 National Guard troops to 19 states to assist with Immigration and Customs Enforcement activities.

The troops will assist with logistical support, transportation, case management and clerical services at facilities that are processing “illegal migrants,” the Defense Department told Fox News.

“The in-and-out processing may include personal data collection, fingerprinting, DNA swabbing and photographing of personnel in ICE custody,” a Pentagon spokesperson said in a prepared statement.

The troops will be deployed from August through mid-November amid a surge in ICE enforcement activities as the Trump administration works to meet its goal of at least 30,000 monthly deportations.

A July status change of Marine Corps personnel to National Guard status will support the 19-state deployment, which will not include law enforcement activities, according to News Nation.

The deployments will occur in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, SouthCarolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming, according to the Defense Department.

Unrelated to anti-violent crime deployments

The pending deployments are not related to the use of National Guard troops to quell violent crime in the nation’s capital or other cities, such as Chicago, according to the White House.

President Donald Trump has said the National Guard could be deployed to Chicago, New York and other cities to address violent crime after calling the Washington deployment a success.

The president deployed about 2,000 National Guard troops to the capital earlier this month, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this week authorized them to carry weapons.

The U.S. Marshals Service will approve the troops carrying sidearms, which will be 9mm Sig Sauer M17 pistols for personal protection.

New Mexico National Guard deployed to address crime

Also deploying National Guard troops to quell crime is New Mexico Gov. Michelle Grisham.

Grisham, a Democrat, recently announced a state of emergency due to crime in parts of the state and already deployed up to 70 National Guard troops in Albuquerque.

She also has issued states of emergency in Rio Arriba County, the city of Espanola and pueblos in the area after being asked to do so by respective local governments, CNN reported.

Grisham cited a fentanyl epidemic and violent crime among juveniles as “requiring immediate intervention” and in a news release said Rio Arriba County has the state’s highest rate of overdose deaths.

Local law enforcement and other resources are overwhelmed by a surge in drug trafficking, violent crime and other threats to public safety, she said.

Aug. 22 (UPI) — U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has authorized members of the National Guard who are patrolling Washington, D.C., to begin carrying weapons on duty, a Defense official said.

The new authority is expected to become effective in coming days, the person told ABC News, CNN and Fox News.

The decision paves the way for the nearly 2,000 troops mobilized in the district to expand their operations, including possible security patrols in neighborhoods that struggle with crime.

“At the direction of the Secretary of Defense, [Joint Task Force]-DC members supporting the mission to lower the crime rate in our nation’s capital will soon be on mission with their service-issued weapons, consistent with their mission and training,” the official said.

President Donald Trump visited with National Guard personnel Thursday and suggested the military would be playing a larger role in law enforcement in the city.

“You got to be strong, you got to be tough,” Trump told Guard personnel at the U.S. Park Police Anacostia Operations Facility. “You got to do your job. Whatever it takes to do your job.”

Though they will carry weapons, they will not be able to make arrests. They will still be under orders to temporarily detain people if needed before transferring them to law enforcement as soon as possible.

“The D.C. National Guard remains committed to safeguarding the District of Columbia and serving those who live, work, and visit the District,” the official added.

The move comes as other states’ National Guard members have begun arriving in Washington to be in-processed to help the D.C. National Guard.

More than 1,900 troops from multiple states have been called up as part of the mission, including from West Virginia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Ohio, Louisiana, and Tennessee, according to a release from JTF-DC on Thursday.

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered that National Guard troops patrolling the streets of Washington for President Trump’s law enforcement crackdown be armed, the Pentagon said Friday.

The Defense Department didn’t offer any other details about the new development or why it was needed.

The step is a escalation in Trump’s intervention into policing in the nation’s capital and comes as nearly 2,000 National Guard members have been stationed in the city, with the arrival this week of hundreds of troops from several Republican-led states.

Trump initially called up 800 members of the District of Columbia National Guard to assist federal law enforcement in his bid to crack down on crime and homelessness in the capital. Since then, six states have sent troops to the city, growing the military presence.

It was unclear if the guard’s role in the federal intervention would be changing. The guard has so far not taken part in law enforcement but largely have been protecting landmarks like the National Mall and Union Station and helping with crowd control.

The Pentagon and the Army said last week that troops would not carry guns. The new guidance is that they will carry their service-issued weapons.

The city had been informed about the intent for the National Guard to be armed, a person familiar with the conversations said earlier this week. The person was not authorized to disclose the plans and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Spokespeople for the District of Columbia National Guard and a military task force overseeing all the guard troops in Washington did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

Toropin writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Anna Johnson contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON — Bringing prominent White House support to the streets of Washington, Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday visited with National Guard troops at the city’s main train station as protesters chanted “free D.C.” — the latest tense interlude from President Trump’s crackdown in the nation’s capital. “We brought some law and order back,” the vice president asserted.

“We appreciate everything you’re doing,” Vance said as he presented burgers to the troops. Citing the protesters whose shouts echoed through the station, Vance said “they appear to hate the idea that Americans can enjoy their communities.”

The appearance, which also included White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, was a striking scene that illustrated the Republican administration’s intense focus on the situation in Washington and its willingness to promote an initiative that has polarized the Democrat-led city.

An estimated 1,900 troops are being deployed in D.C. More than half are coming from Republican-led states. Besides Union Station, they have mostly been spotted around downtown areas, including the National Mall and Metro stops.

An early morning accident involved an armored vehicle

The intersection of life in the city and a military presence produced another striking scene early Wednesday when an armored vehicle collided with a civilian car less than a mile from the U.S. Capitol. One person was trapped inside the car after the accident and had to be extricated by emergency responders, according to D.C. fire department spokesman Vito Maggiolo. The person was taken to a hospital because of minor injuries.

It was not immediately clear what caused the crash. A video posted online showed the aftermath of the collision, with a tan-colored armored vehicle twice the height of the civilian car with a crushed side.

“You come to our city and this is what you do? Seriously?” a woman yelled at the troops in the video.

Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi said more than 550 people have been arrested so far, and the U.S. Marshals are offering $500 rewards for information leading to additional arrests. “Together, we will make DC safe again!” Bondi wrote on social media.

City officials work to navigate the situation

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, trying to balance the constituency that elected her and the reality in front of her, acknowledged the changing situation in the city as she attended a back-to-school event with teachers and staff.

“This is not the same time, is it, that we experienced in opening school last year,” she said. Bowser said she would worry about the politics and told school employees that “your job is to love on the kids, teach them and make sure that they are prepared and to trust that I’m going to do the right thing for all of us.”

Despite the militarized backdrop, Bowser said it’s important that children “have joy when they approach this school year.” Public schools around Washington reconvene Monday.

The skewer-everyone cartoon TV show “ South Park,” which has leaned into near-real-time satire in recent years, this week made the federal crackdown fodder for a new episode. A 20-second promo released by Comedy Central depicts the character “Towelie” — a walking towel — riding in a bus past the U.S. Supreme Court building and White House, where armed troops are patrolling. A tank rolls by in front of the White House.

“This seems like a perfect place for a towel,” the character says upon disembarking the bus.

“South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone recently signed a reported $1.5-billion, five-year deal with Paramount for new episodes and streaming rights to their series, which began its 27th season this summer.

The season premiere mocked the president’s body in a raunchy manner and depicted him sharing a bed with Satan.

Whitehurst, Brown and Megerian write for the Associated Press. AP writers David Bauder and Michelle Price contributed to this report.

Aug. 20 (UPI) — As protesters chanted nearby, U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller visited National Guardsmen in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday amid what the Trump administration says is a crime crackdown.

The three Trump administration officials greeted National Guard troops at the capital’s Union Station while positioned near a table containing hamburgers for the troops, PBS News reported.

“In just the past nine days, we’ve seen a 35% reduction in violent crime,” Vance told those in attendance.

“We’ve seen over a 50% reduction in robberies,” he added. “We’re seeing really substantial effects because these guys are busting their a*****.”

Vance said he wanted to thank the National Guard troops in person and hand out some hamburgers to show his appreciation for their efforts.

Hegseth said the National Guard deployments in Washington are needed to ensure residents, visitors and those who work in the capital are safe.

“The American people, the residents of D.C., deserve a safe and beautiful city,” Hegseth said. “That’s our mission.”

He called the National Guard troops “patriots who serve the country” and want to make Washington a “beautiful, safe capital.”

The National Guard troops are “proud of this mission” and making sure “law and order is established here in the capital,” Hegseth added.

He said the Defense Department is providing the resources that the troops need and working with law enforcement partners to ensure safety in Washington.

Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered and chanted near Union Station, which drew a rebuke from Vance.

He said the protesters “hate the idea that Americans can enjoy their communities,” according to PBS News.

Vance said he went to Union Station with Hegseth and Miller because criminal activity was very high there, which local officials deny.

Miller added to Vance’s criticism of the protesters by calling them “stupid white hippies” and said they do not represent Washington, D.C.’s residents, The Hill reported.

“We are not going to let the communists destroy a great American city, let alone the nation’s capital,” Miller said.

“All these demonstrators you’ve seen out here in recent days, all these elderly white hippies, they’re not part of the city and never have been,” Miller said.

“We’re going to ignore these stupid white hippies that all need to go home and take a nap because they’re all over 90 years old,” he added.

Trump last week put the federal government in control of Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department, which has been accused of falsifying crime data. Though Trump administration officials have characterized crime in the city as out of control, in actuality, crime in the district has fallen in recent years or remained flat.

An agreement on Friday put the police department under local control, but Trump sought and received National Guard deployments from West Virginia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee and Louisiana.

About 1,200 National Guard troops are slated for deployment in the capital, in addition to 800 Washington National Guard troops who already are there, according to The Washington Post.