Parachutists glided through the air as soldiers marched and tanks groaned through the barricaded streets of Washington Saturday during a military parade long-coveted by US President Donald Trump, as a largely quiet crowd watched on. On the National Mall, enclosed within almost 20 miles (32 kilometers) of high-security fencing, nearly 7,000 soldiers and about 150 military vehicles paraded to intermittent cheers.Rain had threatened to wash out the event but it never came, much to the relief of those lining the four-lane street that runs past the White House, where Trump stood watching and frequently saluting the passing troops.The crowd was mostly quiet as soldiers in uniforms dating back to the 1700s marched past, bar the occasional shouts of “Thank you, Army!” that spurred cheers and whoops. Many wore Trump’s signature red “Make America Great Again” baseball caps, but others attending made clear they supported the Army — but opposed the norm-bending president. “Personally, I’m not a fan of Trump, but I’m a fan of the Army,” said Andrew Smith, 24, whose brother serves in the military.”I feel like we can separate politics and what we stand for, and then hopefully get along,” he added.- ‘Beat Fascism!’ -Marty Wrin echoed the sentiments expressed among the crowds of protesters gathered outside the parade area in Washington, and around the country Saturday.   “I’m proud to be American,” insisted the 56-year-old IT worker from Washington, wearing a hat saying “resist” and holding a sign saying “Go Army. Beat Fascism!””I’m proud of our democracy, and I’m worried about our democracy right now for the first time in my life,” he told AFP. Wrin said he was impressed by the parade, but did not like something he associated with dictatorships happening on US streets.”It’s the Army being used by Trump to make himself feel more powerful,” he said. With cloudy skies overhead, people stood on tiptoes to catch a glimpse of the military gear on display. Several children sat on their parents’ shoulders to get a better view and waved back to soldiers sitting atop tanks and other armored vehicles.Michele Sabat, who said she had attended several past Trump rallies, told AFP she was thrilled that she had traveled from Pennsylvania to watch the parade.”I wanted to honor the military, I feel it’s the right thing to do. They protect us, they save us, and you’ve got to respect them,” the retired 68-year-old said.She sat on a curb next to Camila Rodriguez, 30, watching as thousands of troops marched by in the largest such parade in decades. Rodriguez, an auditor from Boston, said she was impressed by what she saw. “All the troops… There’s so many of them. So anything to support them,” she said.”I will always be here for that.”

A giant orange balloon depicting  Donald Trump in a diaper towered over one “No Kings” protest Saturday, as hundreds of thousands thronged streets across the United States to decry the president’s policies.Protest organizers expected rallies in all 50 US states, calling them the largest since Trump returned to office in January, with the aim of “rejecting authoritarianism, billionaire-first politics, and the militarization of our democracy.”Wielding signs with messages like “No KKKings” and “No crown for the clown,” the protests stood in stark contrast to a massive military parade in Washington on Saturday.The parade was meant to commemorate the founding of the US Army, but also fell on the president’s 79th birthday.As thousands of soldiers marched and tanks rumbled through Washington’s streets, protesters across the country slammed Trump as a “fascist.””We have a dictator,” said Robin Breed, a 56-year-old retired nurse, in Austin, Texas, where thousands demonstrated while surrounded by hundreds of police and state troopers.”He is trampling on people’s lives, he’s militarizing our streets, he is terrorizing our communities,” he said, insisting it was important “to push back and say it’s our country, not his.”In New York, tens of thousands of people, many wearing raincoats and carrying colorful umbrellas, marched down Fifth Avenue in a downpour to the sounds of drums, bells and chants of “Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go!”Actors Susan Sarandon and Mark Ruffalo were seen getting drenched among the protesters.- ‘Outraged’ -“I’m miserable and outraged about how this administration is destroying the ideals of the American Constitution,” Polly Shulman, a 62-year-old museum employee, told AFP.Holding a sign reading “Protect the Constitution,” she said the most shocking thing was “the illegal deportations of law-abiding residents.They were “being kidnapped and disappeared and sent to torture prisons in foreign countries.”In March, the Trump administration expelled more than 250 Venezuelans to a mega-prison in El Salvador after accusing them of being members of the Tren de Aragua criminal gang, which it has declared a terrorist organization.At least four protesters in New York were arrested at a separate, smaller protest against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, police said.- ‘Mad as hell’ -“I think people are mad as hell,” said Lindsay Ross, a 28-year-old musician who urged others to show “the administration that we’re not going to take this.”Bill Kennedy, a retired psychologist from Pennsylvania, was in Washington protesting a few hours before Trump’s $45 million parade.”I’m tired of the current administration. I think they’re a bunch of fascists,” he said, describing the military parade as “ridiculous.”Suzanne Brown in Boston also lamented the money spent on the parade “for one man’s vanity.”Massive “No Kings” protests were also underway in Los Angeles, which in recent days has been rocked by demonstrations over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, as federal agents swept up even law-abiding undocumented people. On Saturday, protesters shouted “You are not welcome here” at some of the 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines that Trump dispatched to the city against the wishes of local and state authorities. With a giant orange Trump-in-a-diaper balloon towering above them, thousands filled the city streets, sporting slogans like “No faux-king way” and “Impeach Trump.”Members of Russian feminist protest and performance art group Pussy Riot held up a large banner in front of city hall warning: “It’s beginning to look a lot like Russia.” After a day of largely peaceful protests, police on Saturday evening unexpectedly began moving people away from the protest area, igniting confusion and anger among demonstrators caught off guard and unsure of where to go.Police on horseback pushed crowds back as law enforcement fired tear gas and flash-bang grenades hours ahead of an 8:00 pm (0300 GMT) curfew. A police spokeswoman said a “small group of agitators” had begun throwing rocks, bottles and fireworks at officers, prompting the decision to order the crowd to disperse.If people refused to leave, “we will make arrests,” she said, adding: “We have been patient all day.” There was unrest elsewhere, too, with at least one person “critically injured” in a shooting at a demonstration in the western US city of Salt Lake City, police said, with local media reporting the incident took place at a “No Kings” rally.In Virginia, police said a man in Culpeper “intentionally” rammed his car into a group of demonstrators as they left an anti-Trump event. No injuries were reported.

They came armed with their wit and, pieces of cardboard: US protesters used “No Kings” parades on Saturday to mock US President Donald Trump with some inventive signs.”Go to therapy Donald. Authoritarianism is not self-care,” read one placard in front of the federal building in Los Angeles, the focus of more than a week of protests over a Trump-ordered crackdown on immigration.”Trump has a mugshot, my father does not,” said one sign, a reference to Trump’s 2023 arrest in Georgia that produced one of the most famous police photographs in the world.One man in a suit stood in front of uniformed soldiers deployed by the president, wearing a big smile and carrying a sign that said: “You’re taking orders from a draft dodger.” In New York, a protester held a board referencing Trump’s infamous election debate claims — widely debunked — that migrants were consuming people’s pets.”They’re eating the checks. They’re eating the balances,” it said.In Denver, a sign said: “Elect a clown, expect a circus,” while back in Los Angeles others picked up the theme: “No crown for the clown.”In a city with a vibrant LGBTQ scene, there was no shortage of references to the community.”Yaas queens! No kings,” said one sign.Other slogans were very specific to the sprawling metropolis.”In LA, only Kobe is King,” read one placard carried by a man wearing a Los Angeles Lakers kit, in homage to legendary guard Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash in 2020.”The only ICE I want is in my matcha” and “ICE melts in California,” said others, taking aim at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers whose raids on workplaces and farms sparked anger.Some signs referenced what they claimed was creeping “fascism” in the United States, with at least one photo of Trump doctored with a mustache to make him look like Adolf Hitler.”Anne Frank wrote about this in her diary,” said one sign, a reference to the young Jewish girl who fled the Nazis and kept a journal of her life in hiding.”America, you in danger girl,” said another.Throughout the nation there were references to the United States’ birth as a republic, one that threw off the absolute power of the British monarchy almost 250 years ago.But demonstrators said they did not get rid of one king to replace him with another.”No faux-king way,” said one sign.In tiny Nome, Alaska, home to fewer than 4,000 people, a small demo was one of thousands taking place across the country.”The only king Alaskans want is king salmon,” said one demonstrator’s sign, according to pictures published on the website of the local Nome Nugget newspaper.Some protesters opted for the pithy.”NOPE,” said one sign, the letter “E” replaced by a sideways crown.”That’s enough,” said another.”I’m not usually a sign person, but GEEZ…” said one.

ChatGPT-maker OpenAI has enlisted the legendary designer behind the iPhone to create an irresistible gadget for using generative artificial intelligence (AI).The ability to engage digital assistants as easily as speaking with friends is being built into eyewear, speakers, computers and smartphones, but some argue that the Age of AI calls for a transformational new gizmo.”The products that we’re using to deliver and connect us to unimaginable technology are decades old,” former Apple chief design officer Jony Ive said when his alliance with OpenAI was announced.”It’s just common sense to at least think, surely there’s something beyond these legacy products.”Sharing no details, OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman said that a prototype Ive shared with him “is the coolest piece of technology that the world will have ever seen.”According to several US media outlets, the device won’t have a screen, nor will it be worn like a watch or broach.Kyle Li, a professor at The New School, said that since AI is not yet integrated into people’s lives, there is room for a new product tailored to its use.The type of device won’t be as important as whether the AI innovators like OpenAI make “pro-human” choices when building the software that will power them, said Rob Howard of consulting firm Innovating with AI- Learning from flops -The industry is well aware of the spectacular failure of the AI Pin, a square gadget worn like a badge packed with AI features but gone from the market less than a year after its debut in 2024 due to a dearth of buyers.The AI Pin marketed by startup Humane to incredible buzz was priced at $699.Now, Meta and OpenAI are making “big bets” on AI-infused hardware, according to CCS Insight analyst Ben Wood.OpenAI made a multi-billion-dollar deal to bring Ive’s startup into the fold.Google announced early this year it is working on mixed-reality glasses with AI smarts, while Amazon continues to ramp up Alexa digital assistant capabilities in its Echo speakers and displays.Apple is being cautious embracing generative AI, slowly integrating it into iPhones even as rivals race ahead with the technology. Plans to soup up its Siri chatbot with generative AI have been indefinitely delayed.The quest for creating an AI interface that people love “is something Apple should have jumped on a long time ago,” said Futurum research director Olivier Blanchard.- Time to talk -Blanchard envisions some kind of hub that lets users tap into AI, most likely by speaking to it and without being connected to the internet.”You can’t push it all out in the cloud,” Blanchard said, citing concerns about reliability, security, cost, and harm to the environment due to energy demand.”There is not enough energy in the world to do this, so we need to find local solutions,” he added.Howard expects a fierce battle over what will be the must-have personal device for AI, since the number of things someone is willing to wear is limited and “people can feel overwhelmed.”A new piece of hardware devoted to AI isn’t the obvious solution, but OpenAI has the funding and the talent to deliver, according to Julien Codorniou, a partner at venture capital firm 20VC and a former Facebook executive.OpenAI recently hired former Facebook executive and Instacart chief Fidji Simo as head of applications, and her job will be to help answer the hardware question.Voice is expected by many to be a primary way people command AI.Google chief Sundar Pichai has long expressed a vision of “ambient computing” in which technology blends invisibly into the world, waiting to be called upon.”There’s no longer any reason to type or touch if you can speak instead,” Blanchard said.”Generative AI wants to be increasingly human” so spoken dialogues with the technology “make sense,” he added.However, smartphones are too embedded in people’s lives to be snubbed any time soon, said Wood.