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Donald Trump likes to show off his strongman credentials at cage fights and military parades — and over the weekend, the US president did it by sending troops into Los Angeles.The move once again showed Trump pushing presidential power to its limits, at the start of a second term that has begun with what critics say is a distinctly authoritarian edge.Trump deployed the National Guard after clashes sparked by immigration raids, marking the first time since 1965 that a president has done so without a request by a state governor. His administration said Monday it was also sending 700 active-duty Marines to America’s second largest city.The Republican has warned that troops could be sent “everywhere” — sparking fears that he will send the military out into the streets across America to crack down on protests and dissent.”It’s a slippery slope,” William Banks, a law professor at Syracuse University, told AFP. “If the president tries to do more, he’s cutting against the grain in the United States of a long history of leaving law enforcement to civilians.”The protests in Los Angeles are in many ways the showdown that Trump has been waiting for.Trump has been spoiling for a fight against California’s Democratic governor Gavin Newsom, and he is now doing so on his signature issue of immigration.Newsom has bitterly accused the “dictatorial” president of manufacturing the crisis for political gain — while Trump suggested the governor, a potential 2028 presidential contender, could be arrested.Democratic California senator Alex Padilla slammed what he called “the behavior of an authoritarian government.”Rights groups have also opposed it. Hina Shamsi of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said in a statement that Trump’s response was “unnecessary, inflammatory, and an abuse of power.”- ‘Civil war’ -Trump said Monday that he does not “want a civil war” — but the situation is a golden opportunity to appear tough to his base.Indeed, Trump has long cultivated a strongman image and has previously expressed admiration for authoritarian leaders like Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping.This weekend, Trump will spend his 79th birthday watching tanks rumble through Washington at a parade to mark the 250th anniversary of the US army.And the order to send the National Guard into Los Angeles came shortly before Trump attended a UFC fight in New Jersey — a sport he has used frequently to appeal to macho voters.Critics however fear that Trump’s actions in Los Angeles are not just for show.Since returning to office, Trump has repeatedly pushed the boundaries of presidential power to target the US bureaucracy, universities, law firms, cultural institutions and anywhere else he believes liberal ideologies linger.Trump seemed to hint at what could come next when he pinned the blame for the Los Angeles unrest — without evidence — on “insurrectionists.” It appeared to be a clear reference to the Insurrection Act, which would allow the military to be used as a domestic police force.- ‘Look strong’ -“Trump is pretty free and loose when it comes to the use of force,” Todd Belt, a political science professor at George Washington University, told AFP. “He knows it is popular with his base, and he always likes to look strong in their eyes.”Trump has talked for years about using the military against protests. Although he did not do so during his first term, his former defense secretary Mark Esper said Trump asked why Black Lives Matter protesters could not be shot in the legs.Conversely, Trump made no move to bring in the military when his own supporters attacked the US Capitol in a bid to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden.Trump would not say if he would invoke the Insurrection Act when asked by reporters on Monday, but he and his advisors have been framing the issue in increasingly apocalyptic terms.His top migration advisor Stephen Miller has explicitly framed the Los Angeles protests as a battle for the future of Western civilization against an “invasion” of migrants.”The ‘war’ and ‘invasion’ framing have helped the administration make the case for the domestic use of these laws that are normally used to put down rebellions or invasions,” said Belt.

US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday announced he was dismissing all current members of a key federal vaccine advisory panel, accusing them of conflicts of interest — his latest salvo against the nation’s immunization policies.The removal of all 17 experts of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) was revealed in a Wall Street Journal op-ed and an official press release.Kennedy, who has spent two decades promoting vaccine misinformation, cast the move as essential to restoring public trust, claiming the committee had been compromised by financial ties to pharmaceutical companies.”Today we are prioritizing the restoration of public trust above any specific pro- or anti-vaccine agenda,” he said in a statement from the Department of Health and Human Services.”The public must know that unbiased science — evaluated through a transparent process and insulated from conflicts of interest — guides the recommendations of our health agencies.”In his op-ed, Kennedy claimed the panel was “plagued with persistent conflicts of interest” and had become “little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine.”He added that new members were being considered to replace those ousted — all of whom were appointed under former president Joe Biden. ACIP members are chosen for their recognized expertise and are required to disclose potential conflicts of interest.”RFK Jr. and the Trump administration are taking a wrecking ball to the programs that keep Americans safe and healthy,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said in response. “Of course, now the fear is that the ACIP will be filled up with people who know nothing about vaccines except suspicion,” Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, a medical doctor who expressed concern about Kennedy’s track record during his Senate nomination but ultimately voted in his favor, wrote on X.”I’ve just spoken with Secretary Kennedy, and I’ll continue to talk with him to ensure this is not the case.”- ‘Silencing expertise’ -The decision drew sharp criticism from Paul Offit, a pediatrician and leading expert on virology and immunology who served on the panel from 1998 to 2003.”He believes that anybody who speaks well of vaccines, or recommends vaccines, must be deeply in the pocket of industry,” Offit told AFP. “He’s fixing a problem that doesn’t exist.””We are witnessing an escalating effort by the Administration to silence independent medical expertise and stoke distrust in lifesaving vaccines,” added Susan Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, in a statement.Once a celebrated environmental lawyer, Kennedy pivoted from the mid-2000s to public health — chairing a nonprofit that discouraged routine childhood immunizations and amplified false claims, including the long-debunked theory that the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine causes autism.Since taking office, he has curtailed access to Covid-19 shots and continued to raise fears around the MMR vaccine — even as the United States faces its worst measles outbreak in years, with three reported deaths and more than 1,100 confirmed cases.Experts warn the true case count is likely far higher.”How can this country have confidence that the people RFK Jr. wants on the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices are people we can trust?” Offit asked.He recalled that during US President Donald Trump’s first term, several states formed independent vaccine advisory panels after the administration pressured federal health agencies to prematurely approve Covid-19 vaccines ahead of the 2020 election. That kind of fragmentation, Offit warned, could happen again.ACIP is scheduled to hold its next meeting at the headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta from June 25 to June 27.Vaccines for anthrax, Covid-19, human papillomavirus, influenza, Lyme disease, respiratory syncytial virus, and more are on the agenda.

A US judge on Monday rejected a $400 million lawsuit that actor Justin Baldoni filed against former co-star Blake Lively and The New York Times after she accused him of sexual harassment and other misbehavior.Back in December the Times reported that Lively had filed a complaint against Baldoni and producer Jamey Heath for allegedly inappropriate behavior and comments during the shooting of the movie “It Ends with Us.”The complaint said Baldoni — who also directed the film — had spoken inappropriately about his sex life and sought to alter the film to include sex scenes that were not in the script and had not been agreed to.It also said Heath had watched Lively while she was topless, despite having been asked to turn away. It further said Baldoni waged a PR campaign to wreck Lively’s reputation.A lawyer for Wayfarer, the studio behind the film, said in a statement released to the New York Times at the time that neither the studio, its executives, nor its PR team did anything to retaliate against Lively.”These claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media,” lawyer Bryan Freedman wrote in December.Baldoni filed suit in January against the actress, her husband Ryan Reynolds and the Times, arguing that an article the paper ran in December defamed him.On Monday, Judge Lewis Liman of the US District Court in Manhattan dismissed the lawsuit filed by Baldoni.The judge said the Times had simply reported on Lively’s original legal filing alleging harassment on set and a retaliatory smear campaign, and that it had taken the trouble to seek a reaction from Baldoni to the actress’s allegations.The judge also rejected allegations by Baldoni that Lively, whose Instagram account has more than 43 million followers, had tried to seize control of the film and its promotion. Baldoni accused her husband, Reynolds, of wrongly describing him as a sexual predator.In a statement carried by US media, Lively’s lawyers celebrated what they called a “total victory” over Baldoni’s “retaliatory lawsuit.”Baldoni’s lawyer did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.Based on a best-selling novel by the US writer Colleen Hoover, “It Ends with Us” is a romantic drama that made more than $350 million at the box office in 2024, making it one of the biggest hits of the year.

Jurors reported getting closer to a verdict Monday in the sex crimes retrial of disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, despite tensions raising the risk of a deadlocked jury and a mistrial.”We’re making good progress,” Judge Curtis Farber read in a final note from jurors wrapping up the third day of closed-door deliberations in the New York courtroom.Farber had previously read aloud two notes sent to him by the 12-member jury.In the first note, a juror expressed a desire to talk to Farber “about the situation that isn’t very good.”In the second, jurors wrote they “request the entire definition of reasonable doubt and rules of the jury especially to avoid a hung jury.”A hung jury occurs when a judge acknowledges that jurors have been unable to reach a unanimous decision after several days of deliberations. In that case, a mistrial would be declared and a new trial may be held.On Monday morning, Weinstein, whose downfall in 2017 sparked the global #MeToo movement, looked on impassively from his wheelchair, as the judge, prosecutors and his lawyers engaged in tense discussions.The jury must decide whether Weinstein — accused by dozens of women of being a sexual predator — is guilty of sexual assaults in 2006 on Miriam Haley and former model Kaja Sokola, and of rape in 2013 of then-aspiring actress Jessica Mann.Weinstein is on trial again after a New York state appeals court threw out his 2020 convictions, citing irregularities in the original proceedings. The former movie industry titan’s 23-year prison sentence for the initial conviction was thrown out, but he remains imprisoned for separate offenses.- ‘Playground stuff’ – On Friday, one juror came forward to report tensions between his fellow panelists, alleging “people are being shunned. It’s playground stuff.”He asked to resign as a juror, but Farber denied his request.Responding to the situation, Weinstein’s lawyer Arthur Aidala called for a mistrial, but the judge refused his request.At midday Monday, another juror sought to deliver a message of reassurance that matters had calmed down.”Things are going well, the tone is very different today, we are finding headways,” she told the judge, who appeared to breathe a sigh of relief. During the trial, the three alleged victims testified for several days, recounting how the powerful movie producer had forced them into sexual relations after luring them to his apartment or a hotel room in New York.On Wednesday, prosecutor Nicole Blumberg summarized the evidence of the three alleged victims by saying simply: “He raped three women, they all said no.”The Hollywood figure had “all the power” and “all the control” over the alleged victims, which is why jurors should find him guilty, she said.”The defendant thought the rules did not apply to him, now it is the time to let him know that the rules apply to him.”Weinstein did not take the stand but conceded in an interview with FOX5 television on Friday that he had acted “immorally.” He insisted he did nothing criminal, however.Weinstein’s defense team has suggested the women accused him to score a payday from a legal settlement or criminal damages. 

Funk master and iconic music innovator Sly Stone, whose songs drove a civil rights-inflected soul explosion in the 1960s, sparking influential albums but also a slide into drug addiction, has died, his family said Monday. He was 82.Stone was the multi-instrumentalist frontman for Sly and the Family Stone — rock’s first racially integrated, mixed-gender lineup.He “passed away peacefully, surrounded by his three children, his closest friend and his extended family,” after a prolonged battle with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other health issues, Stone’s family said in a statement.”While we mourn his absence, we take solace in knowing that his extraordinary musical legacy will continue to resonate and inspire for generations to come,” it added.With his vibrant on-stage energy, killer hooks and lyrics that often decried prejudice, Stone became a superstar, releasing pivotal records that straddled musical genres and performing a memorable set at Woodstock.But he retreated to the shadows in the early 1970s, emerging sporadically for unfulfilling concert tours, erratic TV appearances and a flopped 2006 reunion on the Grammy Awards stage.An effervescent hybrid of psychedelic soul, hippie consciousness, bluesy funk and rock built on Black gospel, Stone’s music proved to be a melodic powerhouse that attracted millions during a golden age of exploratory pop — until it fell apart in a spiral of drug use.Over the course of five years, his diverse sound cooperative left an indelible impact, from the group’s debut 1967 hit “Dance to the Music” and their first of three number one songs, “Everyday People” a year later, to the 1970s rhythm and blues masterpiece “If You Want Me To Stay.”For many, Sly was a musical genius creating the sound of the future.It was “like seeing a Black version of the Beatles,” funk legend George Clinton told CBS News of his longtime friend’s stage presence.”He had the sensibility of the street, the church, and then like the qualities of a Motown,” Clinton added. “He was all of that in one person.”- Huge influence -The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducted the band in 1993, saying: “Their songs were more than danceable hits — they were a force for positive change.”But Stone struggled to contain the forces and pressures that came with fame. He slid into addiction. He missed concerts. His musical output, once bankable, became erratic.The music, though, proved extraordinarily influential, laying the groundwork for Prince, Miles Davis, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and OutKast.By 1973, the band imploded.Asked why by talk show host David Letterman a decade later, the elusive star was cryptic: “I couldn’t make all the gigs, is what happened.” Multiple drug-related arrests followed. By 2011, he was homeless and living in a van.In his 2023 memoir, Stone acknowledged he was lost in a deluge of cocaine and PCP, but that he finally went clean in 2019.Drugs gave him “confidence” and energy, he wrote.But he regretted “the way I let drugs run my life,” he added.”I thought I could control them but then at some point they were controlling me.”- Family affair – Sly Stone was born Sylvester Stewart on March 15, 1943 in Denton, Texas. His parents moved the family to San Francisco’s suburbs, and built ties with the Church of God in Christ.He was a musical prodigy; by age seven, Stone was proficient at keyboards, and by 11, he played guitar, bass and drums. He sang gospel in church with his sisters and joined high school bands.Stone studied music at California’s Solano Community College, worked as a disc jockey and became a songwriter and record producer. He played keyboards for Marvin Gaye.By 1966 Sly and the Family Stone had emerged, with brother Freddie on guitar and vocals, and sisters Rose on keyboards and Vaetta on background vocals.White musicians Greg Errico on drums and saxophonist Jerry Martini joined them, at a time when such integration was rare.Their first album fell flat. But when influential music executive Clive Davis urged Stone to make a more commercial record, the band stormed up the charts in 1968, with “Everyday People” reaching number one.”We got to live together,” Stone belted out.It was a period of tumult in America, with civil rights showdowns, Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination and anti-war riots.”I was scared. At the time it was almost too much all at once,” Stone, who is survived by a son and two daughters, once told an interviewer.In 1969, Stone and his band released the album “Stand!” It was a commercial triumph including the summer smash of the same name that became a touchstone for Black empowerment.That year, they played a frenetic post-midnight set before half a million people at Woodstock.More than a generation later, the 2025 documentary “SLY LIVES: AKA, the Burden of Black Genius” shed light on one of soul music’s groundbreaking figures.”Sly opened the floodgates for all musicians of color,” music producer Terry Lewis said in the film, “to just do whatever they felt like.”

A Chinese man pleaded guilty on Monday to exporting guns and ammunition to North Korea, the Justice Department said.Shenghua Wen, 42, who was living illegally in the United States after overstaying his student visa, was charged with violating long-standing US sanctions against North Korea.Wen, arrested in California in December, was paid $2 million by North Korea for the arms shipments, the Justice Department said.Wen and unidentified co-conspirators allegedly concealed firearms and ammunition inside containers that were shipped from Long Beach, California, through Hong Kong to North Korea.The Justice Department said law enforcement in August seized two devices at Wen’s home that he planned to send to North Korea — a chemical threat identification device and a handheld broadband receiver that detects eavesdropping devices.In September, law enforcement seized 50,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition that Wen allegedly obtained to send to North Korea, the department said.Wen also attempted to obtain a civilian plane engine from a US-based broker, it said.Wen faces up to 20 years in prison for violating export controls as well as a maximum of 10 years in prison for acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government. He is due to be sentenced on August 18.

World leaders on Monday called for strong rules to govern deep-sea mining and warned against racing to exploit the ocean floor in a thinly-veiled rebuke of US President Donald Trump.Growing anxiety over Trump’s unilateral push to fast-track deep-sea mining in international waters shot to the surface at the opening of the UN Ocean Conference in southern France.”I think it’s madness to launch predatory economic action that will disrupt the deep seabed, disrupt biodiversity, destroy it and release irrecoverable carbon sinks — when we know nothing about it,” said French President Emmanuel Macron.Imposing a moratorium on seabed mining was “an international necessity”, said Macron.The number of countries opposed to seabed mining rose to 36 on Monday, according to a tally kept by the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, an umbrella group of non-governmental organisations.Trump was not among the roughly 60 heads of state and government in the seaside town of Nice but his spectre loomed large as leaders defended the global multilateralism he has spurned.Of particular concern, his move to sidestep the International Seabed Authority (ISA) and issue permits directly to companies wanting to extract nickel and other metals from waters beyond US jurisdiction. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called for “clear action” from the seabed authority to end a “predatory race” for deep-ocean minerals.”We now see the threat of unilateralism looming over the ocean. We cannot allow what happened to international trade to happen to the sea,” he said.The deep sea, Greenland and Antarctica were “not for sale”, Macron said in further remarks directed clearly at Trump’s expansionist claims.The ISA, which has jurisdiction over the ocean floor outside national waters, is meeting in July to discuss a global mining code to regulate mining in the ocean depths.UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he supported these negotiations and urged caution as countries navigate these “new waters on seabed mining”.”The deep sea cannot become the wild west,” he said, to applause from the plenary floor.- ‘Wave of hope’ -Island nations also spoke out against seabed mining, which scientists warn could result in untold damage to ecosystems largely unexplored by humanity.”Here in Nice, we can feel that the looming threat of deep sea mining, and the recent reckless behaviour of the industry is seen by many states as unacceptable,” said Megan Randles from Greenpeace.Meanwhile, a flurry of last-minute signatures in Nice brought a treaty to protect the 60 percent of the world’s oceans outside national jurisdiction closer to law.Macron told reporters that 55 nations had ratified the high seas treaty, just five shy of the number required for its enactment.The president gave two thumbs up and a broad grin as he posed with the new signatories, and said the accord would come into force by January 1, 2026.”Today’s surge of ratifications for the High Seas Treaty is a tidal wave of hope and a huge cause for celebration,” Rebecca Hubbard, director of the High Seas Alliance, told AFP.- ‘Prove you’re serious’ -On Monday, the United Kingdom announced plans to extend a partial ban on bottom trawling in some of its protected marine areas, following a similar move by France at the weekend.Greece, Brazil and Spain took the opportunity Monday to announce the creation of new marine parks, following recent similar action from Samoa.And French Polynesia unveiled what will be the world’s largest marine protected zone, said the International Union for Conservation of Nature.Just eight percent of global oceans are designated for marine conservation, despite a globally agreed target to achieve 30 percent coverage by 2030.Macron said he hoped that coverage would grow to 12 percent by the summit’s close on Friday.Environment groups say that for marine parks to be considered truly protected they need to ban trawling and other harmful activities, and be properly funded.Wealthy nations face pressure in Nice to commit money to make that level of ocean conservation a reality.Small island states are leading the charge for money and political support to better combat rising seas, marine trash and the plunder of fish stocks that hurt their economies.”We say to you, if you are serious about protecting the ocean, prove it,” said President Surangel Whipps Jr of Palau, a low-lying Pacific nation.np-aag-fcc-fff/gv

US states that loosened their gun laws following a landmark court ruling saw thousands more childhood firearm deaths than they otherwise would have — the vast majority homicides and suicides — according to a study published Monday.Jeremy Faust, an emergency physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and lead author of the paper in JAMA Pediatrics, told AFP he was drawn to the topic as a father wondering whether today’s world is safer for children than when he was growing up.”Mortality from car accidents has fallen dramatically, but at the same time, firearm mortality rose and replaced car accidents as the leading cause of death in children over the age of one,” he said — a trend unique among peer nations.To probe this shift, Faust and his colleagues analyzed state-level data before and after McDonald v Chicago, the 2010 Supreme Court decision that extended the Second Amendment to state and local governments. The ruling sparked a wave of legislation, some tightening gun laws but much of it loosening them.The team grouped states into three categories — most permissive, permissive, and strict — and used Centers for Disease Control data on firearm deaths among children aged 0–17. They ran an “excess mortality analysis,” comparing actual deaths from 2011 to 2023 against projections based on prior trends from 1999 to 2010 and population growth.The results were stark: more than 7,400 excess pediatric firearm deaths in states that loosened gun laws — including over 6,000 in the most permissive group of states. By contrast, the eight strictest states overall saw no excess deaths. The model predicted 4,267 fatalities, while 4,212 were recorded — a near-match that bolstered confidence in the analysis.”The biggest thing people always want to know is, what’s the intent behind these?” said Faust. “And I think what surprises most people is that accidents are a very small number of these deaths — it’s mostly homicide and suicide.”While the study showed strong associations, it cannot prove causation — a key limitation.  But in a test of whether broader increases in violence might explain the trend, rather than changes to the law, the team analyzed non-firearm homicides and suicides and found no similar rise, a result that makes the findings “pretty compelling,” said Faust.Black children saw the steepest increases. While the reasons are unclear, the authors speculated that disparities in safe firearm storage could play a role.There were some exceptions. Deaths rose in Illinois and Connecticut despite tighter laws — though in the latter case, the spike was entirely attributable to the 2012 Sandy Hook mass shooting at an elementary school.”Big picture, we have a major problem in this country,” said Faust. “But we also have a handful of states that are resisting these increases and, in fact, turning the other direction.”

US President Donald Trump on Monday accused protesters in Los Angeles of insurrection and threatened they would be “hit harder” than ever if they disrespect security forces during clashes triggered by anger over immigration raids.Demonstrators in a small part of the second biggest US city’s downtown area  torched cars and looted stores in ugly scenes Sunday that saw law enforcement responding with tear gas and rubber bullets.Trump posted he had deployed National Guard troops “to deal with the violent, instigated riots” and “if we had not done so, Los Angeles would have been completely obliterated.””The people are causing the problems are professional agitators and insurrectionists,” he told reporters in Washington.On social media, he said protesters spat at troops and if they continued to do so, “I promise you they will be hit harder than they have ever been hit before. Such disrespect will not be tolerated!”California Governor Gavin Newsom accused the president of deliberately stoking tensions by using the National Guard, a reserve military force usually controlled by state governors.”This is exactly what Donald Trump wanted. He flamed the fires,” Newsom said, adding California would be suing the federal government over the deployment.Trump shot back, saying “I would do it” when asked if Newsom should be arrested.The protests in Los Angeles, home to a large Latino population, were triggered by dozens of arrests of what authorities say are illegal migrants and gang members.Trump’s border czar Tom Homan said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was targeting members of cartels in Mexico and Colombia.Many locals painted a different picture.They are “people who are here earnestly trying to improve their lives (and) deserve a chance and don’t deserve to be treated as criminals,” Deborah McCurdy, 64, told AFP at a rally where hundreds gathered on Monday.- ‘Isolated’ -On Monday morning, a heavy police presence stood watch in Downtown LA, where streets were quiet.Overnight, vandals had set fires and smashed windows, adding to the scenes of damage left after five Waymo self-driving cars were torched. Obscene graffiti was daubed over many surfaces.Despite isolated and eye-catching acts of violence, officials and local law enforcement stressed the majority of protesters over the weekend had been peaceful.Schools across Los Angeles were operating normally on Monday, while the rhythms of life in the sprawling city appeared largely unchanged.Mayor Karen Bass told CNN that in contrast to Trump’s rhetoric, “this is isolated to a few streets. This is not citywide civil unrest.”Immigration arrests were designed to stir tensions, she said, while the troop deployment was “a recipe for pandemonium.”The United Nations warned against “further militarization” of the situation, in remarks likely to anger the White House.After initial confrontations between demonstrators and federal forces on Sunday, local law enforcement took the lead, using what they called “less lethal weapons” to disperse crowds.Viral footage showed one rubber bullet being fired at an Australian TV reporter, who was hit in the leg on live television.At least 56 people were arrested over two days and five officers suffered minor injuries, Los Angeles Police Department officials said, while about 60 people were arrested in protests i San Francisco.The National Guard is frequently used in natural disasters, and occasionally in civil unrest, but almost always with the consent of local authorities.Trump’s deployment of the force — the first over the head of a state governor since 1965 at the height of the civil rights movement — was criticized by Democrats, including Kamala Harris.The former vice president and Trump’s opponent in the 2024 election called it “a dangerous escalation meant to provoke chaos.” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Monday condemned the violence, while calling on the United States to respect migrant rights.Sheinbaum urged Mexicans living in the United States “to act peacefully and not give in to provocations.”

Fresh strains emerged Monday among jurors in the sex crimes retrial of disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, raising the risk of a deadlocked jury and a mistrial.As court proceedings resumed in the New York courtroom, Judge Curtis Farber read aloud two notes sent to him by the 12-member jury deliberating behind closed doors.In the first note, a juror expressed a desire to talk to Farber “about the situation that isn’t very good.”In the second, jurors wrote they “request the entire definition of reasonable doubt and rules of the jury especially to avoid a hung jury.”A hung jury occurs when a judge acknowledges that jurors have been unable to reach a unanimous decision after several days of deliberations. In that case, a mistrial is declared and a new trial may be held.On Monday morning, Weinstein, whose downfall in 2017 sparked the global #MeToo movement, looked on impassively from his wheelchair, as the judge, prosecutors and his lawyers engaged in tense discussions.The jury must decide whether Weinstein — accused by dozens of women of being a sexual predator — is guilty of sexual assaults in 2006 on Miriam Haley and former model Kaja Sokola, and of rape in 2013 of then-aspiring actress Jessica Mann.Weinstein is on trial again after a New York state appeals court threw out his 2020 convictions, citing irregularities in the original proceedings. The former movie industry titan’s 23-year prison sentence for the initial conviction was thrown out, but he remains imprisoned for separate offenses.On Friday, one juror came forward to report tensions between his fellow panelists, alleging “people are being shunned. It’s playground stuff.”He asked to resign as a juror, but Farber denied his request.Responding to the situation, Weinstein’s lawyer Arthur Aidala called for a mistrial, but the judge refused his request.At midday Monday, another juror sought to deliver a message of reassurance that matters had calmed down.”Things are going well, the tone is very different today, we are finding headways,” she told the judge, who appeared to breathe a sigh of relief. During the trial, the three alleged victims testified for several days, recounting how the powerful movie producer had forced them into sexual relations after luring them to his apartment or a hotel room in New York.On Wednesday, prosecutor Nicole Blumberg summarized the evidence of the three alleged victims by saying simply: “He raped three women, they all said no.”The Hollywood figure had “all the power” and “all the control” over the alleged victims, which is why jurors should find him guilty, she said.”The defendant thought the rules did not apply to him, now it is the time to let him know that the rules apply to him.”Weinstein did not take the stand but conceded in an interview with FOX5 television on Friday that he had acted “immorally.” He insisted he did nothing criminal, however.Weinstein’s defense team has suggested the women accused him to score a payday from a legal settlement or criminal damages.