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WASHINGTON — President Trump signed a bill into law on Wednesday that gives his immigration and deportation agenda a nearly $70 billion boost for the rest of his time in the White House.

The bill provides $38 billion for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and $26 billion for the Border Patrol. An additional $5 billion would cover unforeseen costs, according to the White House.

Trump signed the legislation in the Oval Office a day after House Republicans pushed the measure through by a 214-212 vote over the objections of Democrats. His signature ended a nearly six-month fight over Department of Homeland Security funding that began with shooting deaths of deaths of two U.S. citizens, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, in January during federal immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis.

Democrats began demanding changes to immigration enforcement after the shootings, creating an impasse — and resulting in the longest agency in history — that ultimately led Republicans to go it alone on the funding.

The agencies will be funded through the next three years. The new law front-loads routine annual funding, ensuring a virtually uninterrupted flow of money as the Trump administration seeks to deport some 1 million people per year.

The legislation had become sidetracked over $1 billion for White House security, including for Trump’s new ballroom, and a $1.8 billion fund to compensate his allies who claim to be victims of political prosecution. Both proposals became politically toxic and were scrapped.

The bill as passed focused exclusively on immigration enforcement, a topic that Republicans have treated as a defining issue between the two major political parties and one the GOP hopes will carry it to victory in November’s midterm elections.

Superville and Binkley write for the Associated Press.

SACRAMENTO — State Treasurer Fiona Ma and former California Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero have been declared the two winners of a crowded primary election for lieutenant governor, securing themselves spots on the November ballot.

Ma is a Democrat. Romero is a former Democrat who said she registered as a Republican after splitting with Democrats over the push to oust President Biden as the party’s presidential nominee in 2024.

Both were declared as the top-two winners by the Associated Press. Under California’s primary system, the first and second place finisher advances to the November general election, regardless of their political affiliation.

Ma is a certified public accountant serving as state treasurer. She previously sat on the California Board of Equalization and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. She also served three terms in the California Assembly.

Romero is an adjunct professor at Pepperdine School of Public Policy. She served as a Democrat in the Assembly and state Senate, becoming the Senate’s first woman majority leader in 2005.

Other notable candidates included former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs and Josh Fryday, a member of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s cabinet. Both are Democrats.

The position is largely ceremonial. The lieutenant governor serves on various boards that oversee the University of California, California State University and community college systems, and can be called upon to break a tie in the state Senate. If the sitting governor dies, resigns or is removed from office, the lieutenant governor would assume the role.

Ma and Romero have offered some similar viewpoints. Both candidates previously expressed support for the death penalty and opposition to the state’s plan to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035.

Neither candidate supports the controversial Billionaire’s Tax Act. Romero, however, has further vowed to shun all potential tax increases.

Ma and Romero will now face off in November. The winner will replace Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, who is finishing her second term and could not seek reelection. Kounalakis instead ran for state treasurer.

The Director’s Guild of America has struck a tentative deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, completing the negotiation cycle for Hollywood’s major unions.

SAG-AFTRA ratified its contract last week, the Writers Guild approved its deal back in April, and the DGA has similarly landed on a new contract, after nearly a month of negotiations. The latest deal with major film and TV studios was announced on Tuesday, but its terms have not yet been disclosed.

The Directors Guild, led by its president Christopher Nolan, reportedly entered negotiations in hopes of improving conditions to create new jobs, bulk up its health fund, and increase protections against generative AI.

“The tentative agreement will be presented to the DGA National Board for approval,” the DGA said in a statement. “Consistent with the Guild’s longstanding practice, terms of the agreement will not be released publicly until the National Board has completed its review.”

Negotiations started on May 11, and the current contract is set to expire on June 30. Once the DGA National Board approves the new contract, it will be sent to its members for a ratification vote. The union represents nearly 20,000 helmers, assistant directors, associate directors, unit production managers and stage managers.

The studios said they were pleased to have reached this latest tentative agreement with DGA.

“We appreciate the hard work and commitment of our guild partners in achieving a fair deal that helps advance a stable and successful entertainment industry,” AMPTP said in a statement.

The DGA’s tentative contract marks the last few steps of the current Hollywood union negotiation cycle. The previous one in 2023 was marked by the industry-stopping strikes from SAG-AFTRA and WGA, and the industry is still feeling the impact from them. But this year’s bargaining season was much quieter and uncontroversial. SAG-AFTRA and WGA will reconvene with the studios for bargaining in 2030, as they all signed four-year contracts.

June 4 (UPI) — The Somalian military and opposition militias opposed to an extension of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s term by the country’s parliament skirmished Thursday in its capital.

After the opposing sides set up positions within Mogadishu late Wednesday, gunfire and fighting broke out in the city ahead of planned demonstrations today, The Guardian and The New York Times reported.

Mohamud was due to leave office May 15, but the country’s parliament voted to extend his term by one year, prompting opposition leaders — including former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and former Prime Minister Hassan Khayre — to announce demonstrations against what they said is a constitutional crisis.

Ahmed said that government forces had targeted his home intending to kill him because he has spoken out against the extended term and is leading resistance to it.

Ahmed and Khayre each have their own security, as do other clans throughout the country, and the alleged targeting of the leaders by government military forces led to ongoing skirmishes that have left Mogadishu residents fleeing for their safety.

Ahmed, in a video statement, said that government forces had “encircled and attacked my house.”

“I am never scared of their aggressive attack — I will fight back,” he said.

Khayre said in a statement that the government had deployed anti-tank weapons and drones in the attack, endangering civilians in the area.

At a press conference Thursday, Col. Mahdi Omar Mumin said that government forces staged “an operation in which security agencies neutralized armed militia members who yesterday attacked police forces in the Hodan District,” Somalia’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement on X.

“The militia had caused harm to Somali civilians and disrupted security in the capital,” the ministry said.

Mohamud and members of the parliament who support him said the effort is to move from indirect elections to individuals voting specifically for their chosen candidates.

Opposition members have said they fear the change could prevent many people in the country from having a voice in the government and potentially enable greater power for Mohamud.