Latest news with #UPI
UPI
28 minutes ago
- Politics
- UPI
Appeals court lets Trump control guardsmen deployed to Los Angeles
Thousands of protesters gather at City Hall to protest the policies of the Trump administration in the nationwide "No Kings Day of Defiance" demonstrations in Los Angeles on Saturday, June 14, 2025. Late Thursday, an appeals court ruled President Donald Trump may maintain control of National Guardsmen he deployed to the streets of Los Angeles. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo June 20 (UPI) -- A federal appeals court ruled late Thursday that President Donald Trump may maintain control of thousands of National Guard troops deployed to Los Angeles, a blow to the state's Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, who is fighting to keep the soldiers off his streets. The three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals was unanimous, ruling that Trump's order federalizing members of the California National Guard was likely legal. The court though disagreed with the Trump administration's argument that the president's decision to federalize the troops was insulated from judicial review but acknowledged that they must be "highly deferential" to it. "Affording the President that deference, we conclude that it is likely that the President lawfully exercised his statutory authority," the court said in its 38-page ruling, though it added "nothing in our decision addresses the nature of the activities in which the federalized National Guard may engage." The panel included two Trump-appointed judges, Mark Bennett and Eric Miller, and President Joe Biden appointee Jennifer Sung. The ruling stays a lower court's order that had directed the Trump administration to remove the troops deployed to Los Angeles streets. Trump celebrated the ruling as a "BIG WIN" on his Truth Social media platform. "The Judges obviously realized that Gavin Newscum is incompetent and ill prepared, but this is much bigger than Gavin, because all over the United States ,if our Cities, and our people, need protection, we are the ones to give it to them should State and Local Police be unable , for whatever reason to get the job done," Trump said in the post, referring to the California governor by an insulting moniker he invented. Trump -- who campaigned on mass deportations while using incendiary and derogatory rhetoric as well as misinformation about immigrants -- has been leading a crackdown on immigration since returning to the White House. On June 6, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents began conducting raids in Los Angeles, prompting mass protests in the city. In response, Trump deployed some 2,000 California National Guardsmen to Los Angeles to quell the demonstrations and to protect ICE agents performing immigration arrests. The number of troops deployed has since increased to 4,000, despite protests having abated. The deployment was met with staunch opposition, criticism of Trump for continuing an extreme right-wing slide into authoritarianism and a lawsuit from Newsom, who was initially awarded a stay ordering the troops to be removed from the Los Angeles streets. However, an appeals court hours later issued a preliminary injunction, which late Thursday was made a stay. Newsom, in a statement, expressed disappointment over the ruling while highlighting the court's rejection of Trump's argument that his decision to deploy the troops is beyond judicial review. "The President is not a king and is not above the law," Newsom said, vowing to continue to fight the deployment in court. "We will press forward with our challenge to President Trump's authoritarian use of U.S. military soldiers against citizens." The deployment by Trump is the first by a president without a governor's permission since 1965.
Miami Herald
an hour ago
- Miami Herald
CBP agents discover 3,000-foot underground tunnel
June 20 (UPI) -- U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents have discovered and closed a tunnel carved into the ground between San Diego and Tijuana that stretched more than 1,000 feet into the United States, the agency announced Thursday. The agency said the tunnel, located near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry, had an exit point near a commercial warehouse. The tunnel entrance was discovered in a residential area in the Mexican border town of Tijuana, and had been concealed with freshly laid tile, CBP said. "The investigation revealed the tunnel was equipped with electrical wiring, lighting, ventilation systems and a track system designed for transporting large quantities of contraband," a CBP release said. The tunnel stretched nearly 3,000 feet, spanning the United States and Mexico border and measured nearly 4 feet high and more than 2 feet wide. It is the latest in a long series of tunnel discoveries in the Southwest. Drug and human smugglers have used clandestine, underground tunnels along the U.S.-Mexico border for decades and routinely use them to move drugs and people into the United States. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has discovered more than 95 tunnels in the San Diego area alone since 1993. They are also routinely discovered in other border states, including Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. "Contractors will pour thousands of gallons of concrete into the tunnel, preventing the tunnel from use by Foreign Terrorist Organizations," the release continued. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
UPI
2 hours ago
- UPI
CBP agents discover 3,000-foot underground tunnel
June 20 (UPI) -- U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents have discovered and closed a tunnel carved into the ground between San Diego and Tijuana that stretched more than 1,000 feet into the United States, the agency announced Thursday. The agency said the tunnel, located near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry, had an exit point near a commercial warehouse. The tunnel entrance was discovered in a residential area in the Mexican border town of Tijuana, and had been concealed with freshly laid tile, CBP said. "The investigation revealed the tunnel was equipped with electrical wiring, lighting, ventilation systems and a track system designed for transporting large quantities of contraband," a CBP release said. The tunnel stretched nearly 3,000 feet, spanning the United States and Mexico border and measured nearly 4 feet high and more than 2 feet wide. It is the latest in a long series of tunnel discoveries in the Southwest. Drug and human smugglers have used clandestine, underground tunnels along the U.S.-Mexico border for decades and routinely use them to move drugs and people into the United States. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has discovered more than 95 tunnels in the San Diego area alone since 1993. They are also routinely discovered in other border states, including Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. "Contractors will pour thousands of gallons of concrete into the tunnel, preventing the tunnel from use by Foreign Terrorist Organizations," the release continued.
UPI
3 hours ago
- Politics
- UPI
Rubio, Britain's Lammy meet on Iranian nuclear capabilities
June 19 (UPI) -- Secretary of State Marco Rubio and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Thursday discussed the conflict between Israel and Iran and agreed that Iran should never possess a nuclear weapon, the State Department said. The meeting in Washington, D.C., comes amid speculation that President Donald Trump will join Israel in its ongoing strikes against Iran. "I may do it. I may not do it," Trump told a group of reporters after returning to the White House following a G7 summit in Canada. "I mean nobody knows what I'm going to do." Israel and Iran have been in a proxy war for years, though it exploded into the open following Tehran-backed Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Last week, the fighting intensified with Israel launching a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, crippling the infrastructure and killing several top Iran military personnel and nuclear scientists. Iran -- which does not have a nuclear weapon and states its nuclear program is peaceful -- has responded with strikes of its on. Washington-based Human Rights Activists has said that at least 639 people have died in the Israeli strikes on Iran, 263 of them civilians. Israel warned Thursday that it was targeting the area near the Arak heavy water reactor, about 155 miles west of Tehran. Israeli officials warned people on X to evacuate the area. Rubio and Lammy also discussed other issues, including ways to cooperate on ending the current three-year war between Ukraine and Russia. The pair also talked about an upcoming NATO summit and reaffirmed the importance of increased defense spending to secure peace and stability.
UPI
3 hours ago
- Business
- UPI
Eurogroup paves way for Bulgaria to adopt euro
June 19 (UPI) -- European finance ministers on Thursday recommended that Bulgaria become the 21st member of the Eurogroup, paving the way for the Eastern European nation to adopt the euro currency. The Eurogroup finance ministers agreed to Bulgaria's accession based on earlier positive assessments by the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, and the European Central Bank. "This is a well-deserved achievement for Bulgaria, Paschal Donohoe, president of the Eurogroup, said during a press conference following Thursday's Eurogroup meeting. "It is an acknowledgment of the commitment, the significant convergence process that has been undertaken and the enormous work by the Bulgarian authorities. It's also a really good signal for the strength of our monetary union." The recommendation proposes that Bulgaria introduce the euro as its currency on Jan. 1. The acceptance of the recommendation is the first step toward achieving that goal, with the EU Council now needing to adopt additional legal acts to enable Bulgaria to become a Eurogroup member. The recommendation is now set for adoption by all 27 EU finance ministers on Friday, followed by all EU leaders on June 27. Then, the European Council is expected adopt the three legal acts necessary to enable Bulgaria to introduce the euro by next month.
