(WASHINGTON) — Fresh jobs data on Friday showed a continued hiring slowdown in the first such release since a dismal jobs report last month prompted President Donald Trump to fire the top official tasked with compiling labor statistics. The reading fell well short of economists’ expectations.
The U.S. added 22,000 jobs in August, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That figure showed a sharp decrease from 79,000 jobs added in the previous month. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.3%, but it remained at a historically low level.
A previous jobs report showed a sharp slowdown of hiring over the summer, eliciting concern among some economists about a possible recession.
The U.S. added an average of about 28,000 jobs over three months ending in July, which marked a major cooldown from the roughly 196,000 jobs added on average over the previous three-month period, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data showed.
The jobs report on Friday included a downward revision for the month of June, saying the U.S. labor market had lost 13,000 jobs that month, much lower than a previous estimate of 14,000 jobs added. It marked the first monthly job loss since December 2020.
The latest jobs data holds implications for a widely expected interest rate cut when top Federal Reserve policymakers gather in two weeks.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell recently said the central bank would “proceed carefully” but he hinted at the possibility of an interest rate cut, appearing to indicate greater concern for flagging employment growth than rising prices.
The lower-than-expected reading on Friday could cement a potential interest rate cut, which would amount to the first interest-rate adjustment since last year.
Late Thursday, investors pegged the chances of a quarter-point rate cut this month at 97%, according to CME FedWatch Tool, a measure of market sentiment. As of Friday morning, the odds of a a quarter-point cut had risen to 99%.
Hours after the release of the weak jobs report last month, Trump removed BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer. The jobs report featured downward revisions, prompting Trump to suggest without evidence that the job statistics had been “manipulated.” The BLS routinely revises estimates of jobs added in previous months.
McEntarfer, a Biden appointee who was confirmed by the Senate in 2024, had served in the federal government for two decades.
“It has been the honor of my life to serve as Commissioner of BLS alongside the many dedicated civil servants tasked with measuring a vast and dynamic economy,” McEntarfer said in a social media post after her dismissal. “It is vital and important work and I thank them for their service to this nation.”
William Beach, a former commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, who was appointed by Trump, condemned McEntarfer’s dismissal.
“The totally groundless firing of Dr. Erika McEntarfer, my successor as Commissioner of Labor Statistics at BLS, sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the statistical mission of the Bureau,” Beach posted on X.
McEntarfer did not respond to an earlier ABC News request for comment.
As a replacement for McEntarfer, Trump nominated E.J. Antoni, chief economist at the conservative-leaning Heritage Foundation. Antoni is a longtime critic of the BLS and a contributor to the conservative policy blueprint Project 2025.
“Our Economy is booming, and E.J. will ensure that the Numbers released are HONEST and ACCURATE,” Trump said of Antoni in a social media post.
(ELLABELL, Ga.) — United States immigration authorities have arrested at least 450 people in a raid on a Hyundai manufacturing site in Georgia, federal officials confirmed Friday.
The Hyundai facility, located in Ellabell, Georgia — approximately 30 miles west of Savannah — was raided “as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into allegations of unlawful employment practices and other serious federal crimes,” according to a statement from a public affairs officer with the Department of Homeland Security.
“This operation underscores our commitment to protecting jobs for Georgians, ensuring a level playing field for businesses that comply with the law, safeguarding the integrity of our economy, and protecting workers from exploitation,” the statement continued.
Hyundai released a statement regarding the raid, saying it was aware of the incident and “closely monitoring the situation and working to understand the specific circumstances.”
“As of today, it is our understanding that none of those detained is directly employed by Hyundai Motor Company,” Hyundai said.
In a press briefing on Friday, the South Korea’s foreign ministry said it has conveyed its “concerns and regret” to the United States over the raid on a Hyundai-LG battery plant, “urging special attention to ensure that the legitimate rights and interests of our citizens are not violated.”
“The economic activities of our companies investing in the U.S. and the rights and interests of our nationals must not be unfairly violated,” a spokesperson for the foreign ministry said.
Consular officials were sent to the plant and local diplomatic missions were told to set up a task force to address issues related to the raid.
“This investigation is focused on ensuring accountability for those who violate the law and upholding the rule of law,” the DHS spokesperson said.
Federal officials are planning a press briefing to release more information “regarding a recent criminal search warrant and enforcement actions to combat illegal employment practices in the state of Georgia,” according to DHS officials.
Members of the National Guard and members of Federal Law Enforcement Agencies stand outside the main hall of Union Station, on September 04, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Some Washington, D.C. residents fanned out across the halls of Congress on Thursday, urging lawmakers to end President Donald Trump’s federal law enforcement surge in the nation’s capital.
The demonstrations came the same day the U.S. Army extended orders for the Washington, D.C., National Guard to remain on active duty in the nation’s capital through Nov. 30, two U.S. officials told ABC News.
In small groups of five, demonstrators carried a letter from advocacy group “Free DC” to congressional offices calling on lawmakers to “do everything in your power to end the occupation of Washington, D.C., as swiftly as possible.”
The letter, obtained by ABC News, described Trump’s declaration as “an ongoing and increasing danger to D.C. residents” and a “direct threat to democracy in the United States and the governing power of the U.S. Congress.”
“This is an active military takeover of the capital. It is a textbook indicator of backsliding democracy and intensifying authoritarianism,” the letter stated. “This might come off as alarmist, but in the last 100 years of history, the pattern is clear and we are witnessing it in real time.”
White House Spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement to ABC News on Thursday, “Cracking down on crime should not be a partisan issue, but some Democrats and activists are trying to make it one.”
“It’s bizarre that these liberal activists would protest the significant drops in violent crime in DC thanks to President Trump’s historic effort to Make DC Safe Again,” Jackson said.
The activists also pressed lawmakers to reject nearly a dozen Republican-backed bills that would expand federal power in the District. Some D.C. residents paired up with seasoned organizers to knock on doors and meet congressional staffers.
“I just feel like our democracy is slipping away,” said Michelle Castro, who has lived in D.C. for 24 years but said she stepped inside the Capitol for the first time Thursday.
Castro, the daughter of an Air Force veteran, joined the advocacy group Free D.C. after the deployment of armed troops. “As a military family, seeing the troops in the streets is very upsetting,” she told ABC News. “To see our military being used as political tools is just wrong. It’s not American. It’s not why they signed up.”
Castro said she had attended rallies before but never lobbied lawmakers. For many D.C. residents, the nation’s capital can feel like two separate cities, one for politics and federal workers, and another where locals live without voting representation in Congress beyond Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton.
“As a D.C. resident, just feeling like there’s no one, I don’t have a person to go to their office or to call,” Castro said. “Whenever they’re like, ‘Call your reps,’ I’m like, who do I call?”
For others, the deployment stirred painful family memories. Julie Cruz, who said her great-grandparents were murdered by the Nazis, said she grew up visiting relatives in East Germany and seeing Russian soldiers with machine guns on the streets.
“I personally find it very traumatizing to see troops occupying our city,” she said. “They should be going home to their families and their communities.”
Not everyone is protesting the law enforcement surge in the District.
“D.C. became one of America’s most dangerous cities because of failed, soft-on-crime policies that devastated innocent families while coddling the very criminals terrorizing our states and it made our capitol unsafe for residents, for visitors, for members of Congress, and unfortunately, even for our interns and our staff,” said Republican Rep. Ron Estes.
In June, one of Estes’ interns, 21-year-old Eric Tarpinian-Jachym of Granby, Massachusetts, was fatally shot.
“We’re having to turn our attention in Congress on doing what the District of Columbia, its mayor and their leadership should have done long ago, and that’s to keep the city safe,” the congressman said.
Tarpinian-Jachym’s killing remains unsolved. Authorities have offered a $40,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.
“President Trump has rightfully exercised his authority to restore law and order here over the last few weeks, and what a tremendous job our federal law enforcement officers have done for this city,” he said. “This is what happens when you have leadership that actually cares about public safety,” he added.
The D.C. Police Union, which represents the members of the Metropolitan Police Department, welcomed Trump’s move, saying the department hit a 50-year low in staffing and needed the federal help.
Union chairman Gregg Pemberton said the federal surge has made D.C. officers’ jobs “easier.”
“You have more law enforcement officers, you have less work, you have less crime,” he said.
He added, “We want to get back to a place where MPD is doing 100% of this job.”
Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, whose careful rhetoric has drawn both Trump’s praise and activists’ scorn, has been negotiating with the administration as she tries to protect the city’s limited autonomy.
On Tuesday, Bowser released a new order, which she called a plan for exiting the crime emergency declared by Trump. The mayor’s plan calls for continuing the work of the “Safe and Beautiful Emergency Operations Center,” which Bowser’s office says will manage the city’s response after the initial 30-day lapses.
“My 100% focus is on exiting the emergency and that’s where all of our energies are,” Bowser said. “I think in creating the EOC, we mean to demonstrate … that we are organized to best use our own public safety resources and any additional public safety resources, and I think that’s the message for the Congress.”
Still, tensions are high. Several residents have circulated a “no confidence” letter targeting Bowser’s leadership, while local activists and even some councilmembers blasted her for thanking Trump for the surge of federal law enforcement, which brought down crime.
On Wednesday, D.C.-based politicians met privately with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who pledged to help with their efforts in the Senate. Maryland Democratic Rep. Glenn Ivey, recalling Washington’s violent crack epidemic in the 1990s, said federal intervention was not the answer.
“When I first became a prosecutor here in Washington, D.C., it was 1990, that was the height of the crack fight, 450 to 500 homicides per year,” Ivey said. “They called it Dodge City. We fought against that, and under home rule, the leadership turned it around. Now we’ve got some of the lowest crime rates in 30 years.”
Councilmember Robert White called D.C. “ground zero for saving democracy.”
“It is clear the president has said he is doing this in Maryland and New York and California, now in Louisiana,” White said. “So democracy will be stripped away everywhere, not just in D.C. We just happen to be ground zero. That is why we must stop it now.”
Councilmember Janeese Lewis George urged unity: “We need to be strong, and we need to be united. Home rule in the District is what we are fighting for. That is all of our North Star.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul arrives for a press conference on federal cuts to healthcare at Lincoln Hospital on August 18, 2025 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Thursday that she will sign an executive order allowing pharmacists to prescribe and administer COVID-19 vaccines, saying it will allow New Yorkers to make “their own healthcare decisions.”
The announcement comes after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced a grilling before the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers.
“In the wake of relentless uncertainty and political attacks on science coming out of Washington, Governor Hochul is taking action to protect New Yorkers. She will sign an Executive Order allowing pharmacists to prescribe and administer COVID-19 vaccines, so families who want protection can get it quickly, safely, and close to home,” a statement from a spokesperson of Governor Hochul said. “This temporary order will ensure seamless access while the Governor works with the Legislature on a long-term solution to safeguard access to preventive care and vaccines.”
On Thursday during his hearing, Kennedy claimed that anyone can get COVID-19 vaccines at their pharmacy for free, however, pharmacies are being selective due to the limbo of federal regulations.
The FDA has approved the updated shots for only older and high-risk Americans, and the CDC vaccine panel is set to meet to discuss potential recommendations in a few weeks.
Amid the regulatory uncertainty, some pharmacies have said that access to the shots may vary state-by-state and may require a prescription.
“By signing this EO, Governor Hochul is making it clear that when Washington Republicans play politics with public health, New Yorkers will still be able make their own health care decisions and get the care they need from trusted providers in their community,” Governor Hochul’s spokesperson said.
Kennedy’s hearing, which lasted nearly three hours, was often contentious as he was grilled on everything from vaccine availability to his staffing shakeups at the CDC. Several Republicans on the panel expressed concern on vaccines, while Democrats accused Kennedy of breaking pledges he made during his confirmation hearing back in January.
(LONDON) — Russia’s Foreign Ministry again warned that Moscow will not accept the presence of any Western troops in Ukraine as part of a future peace deal, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met a group of top European leaders in Paris on Thursday.
“Russia does not intend to discuss unacceptable foreign intervention in Ukraine in any form whatsoever,” spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in comments published by the Foreign Ministry on Thursday. “Western war instigators view Ukraine as a testing ground for their military developments,” she said.
Moscow has repeatedly rebuffed proposals for Western forces to be deployed to Ukraine in any capacity as part of a deal to end Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor, which began in February 2022.
Nonetheless, the prospect is still under discussion by NATO leaders and the Ukrainian government as an element of the security guarantees Kyiv says are needed to facilitate any U.S.-brokered peace deal.
Zakharova said Thursday that the protections under discussion “are not security guarantees for Ukraine, they are guarantees of threat to the European continent.”
The remarks came before Zelenskyy gathered with European leaders — the so-called “Coalition of the Willing” — for further talks in Paris on Thursday. The group also spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump, who called into the meeting, the White House said.
“President Trump emphasized that Europe must stop purchasing Russian oil that is funding the war — as Russia received €1.1 billion in fuel sales from the EU in one year,” a White House official said following the call. “The president also emphasized that European leaders must place economic pressure on China for funding Russia’s war efforts.”
European and Canadian leaders finalized a plan outlining potential security guarantees for Ukraine, with 26 countries expressing readiness to take direct action, French President Emmanuel Macron announced following the meeting. Macron said several countries are prepared to contribute “on land, in the sea or in the air” to “reassure the people of Ukraine and maintain the ceasefire once it’s implemented, and maintain and guarantee peace.” “The plan will now be taken to the U.S. with the intention of formalizing it in the coming days,” Macron said.
Other European leaders who attended Thursday’s talks in Paris included European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Several other European leaders joined the meeting virtually.
Trump also spoke with Zelenskyy on Thursday following the coalition meeting, with the Ukrainian president calling it a “long and very detailed conversation.”
Zelenskyy said they discussed various ways to “push the situation toward real peace,” with the “most important thing” being strong economic measures.
“The key to peace is depriving the Russian war machine of money and resources,” Zelenskyy said. “We also talked about maximum protection of Ukrainian skies. Until there is peace, Ukrainians must not be dependent on constant Russian attacks; Russian missiles and drones must not take lives. Ukraine proposed that the U.S. consider a special format for protecting Ukrainian skies.”
Speaking with journalists on Wednesday, Trump pushed back on one reporter’s suggestion of his “lack of action” on Russia in response to its continued offensive operations and long-range attacks in Ukraine, despite his repeated threats of further sanctions and tariffs on Moscow.
“How do you know there’s no action? Would you say that, putting secondary sanctions on India, the largest purchaser outside of China, they’re almost equal, would you say there was no action that costs hundreds of billions of dollars to Russia? You call that no action?” Trump said.
The president was referring to the recent imposition of 25% tariffs on all imported Indian goods in response to New Delhi’s purchases of Russian energy goods and military equipment.
“And I haven’t done phase two yet,” Trump continued. “Or phase three. But when you say there’s no action, I think you ought to get yourself a new job. Because if you remember, two weeks ago, I did — I said, if India buys, India’s got big problems. And that’s what happened. So don’t tell me about that.”
Trump and Putin met in Alaska nearly three weeks ago. After that event, Trump suggested that a bilateral meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy should be the next step in the negotiations process.
The Kremlin has given no indication of its willingness to support such a meeting, though Putin suggested this week that a meeting could take place in Moscow.
Kyiv quickly dismissed that proposal. Foreign Minister Andri Sybiha said in a post to X, “Putin continues to mess around with everyone by making knowingly unacceptable proposals.”
Trump told reporters on Wednesday he had “no message” for Putin. “He knows where I stand, and he’ll make a decision one way or the other whatever his decision is will either be happy about it or unhappy and if we’re unhappy about it, you’ll see things happen.”
“We’ve taken very strong action, as you know, and in other ways we’ve taken very strong action,” Trump continued. “But I’ll be speaking to him over the next few days and we’re going to see with him. I’m going to know exactly what’s happened.”
ABC News’ Tom Soufi Burridge, Hannah Demissie, Will Gretsky, Yulia Drozd, Somayeh Malekian and Morgan Winsor contributed to this report.
Stock photo of a person taking LSD. Diy13/STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Once a symbol of 1960s counterculture, the drug lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD, is emerging from research labs as a possible treatment for anxiety.
Preliminary trial results published in the medical journal JAMA suggest that a single dose of MM120, an oral pharmaceutical formulation of LSD, can significantly reduce symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), offering a potential alternative to daily medications.
However, experts caution that these are early results, and many treatments that show promise in preliminary trials don’t always succeed in later studies.
Dr. Maurizio Fava, chair of the department of psychiatry at Mass General Brigham and Slater Family professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, was a senior author on the study. He contrasted MM120 with existing medications.
“All the treatments we currently have for generalized anxiety require daily medication, which means daily side effects,” Fava told ABC News. “Here, we see a single administration with side effects largely limited to the day of dosing, followed by benefits that last for weeks.”
Fava serves as an adviser to MindMed, the company that sponsored the trial, but said he receives no direct funding from the company.
Harriet De Wit, PhD, professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at the University of Chicago, praised the rigor of the research.
“It’s a very impressive study. It has four dose conditions, plus placebo, in a large number of subjects with well-balanced groups. The investigators are experts at clinical trial design, and I was very struck by the results,” she said.
The study enrolled 198 adults with moderate to severe anxiety at 22 sites across the U.S. Participants received either one dose of MM120 at different strengths or a placebo, and their symptoms were tracked for 12 weeks with a standard anxiety scale.
The strongest improvements came at the 100 and 200 microgram doses, with patients improving by about five to six points more than placebo. Benefits lasted up to three months after just one treatment.
Fava pointed out that the study was designed in a way that made it harder to show a benefit, because participants knew there was a good chance they would get LSD, which likely increased the placebo effect.
“Despite a significant placebo response, there was still a clear, robust difference at the higher LSD doses,” he said.
Unlike most psychedelic studies, this trial deliberately excluded therapy alongside the medication.
“What’s most remarkable about this study is that it did not involve any significant psychotherapy. That suggests the drug itself has long-lasting anti-anxiety effects,” De Wit said.
At the higher doses, most people had brief hallucinations or visual distortions, along with some nausea and headaches. Serious side effects were rare.
“All 40 people assigned to the 200-microgram dose reported perceptual changes. That may be part of the therapeutic effect — we don’t know. But it wasn’t necessarily an adverse effect,” De Wit said.
Still, LSD’s long duration — often eight to twelve hours — poses challenges for clinical use.
“For safety reasons, I feel very strongly that drugs with psychedelic properties should be administered in a healthcare clinic, not at home,” Fava cautioned.
For decades, LSD was regarded primarily as a risky hallucinogen, but attitudes are shifting as evidence builds for its potential medical uses, De Wit noted.
“It’s very impressive that a single administration had effects lasting eight or even 12 weeks. But these participants were carefully screened. We need to know how safe it is in broader populations,” she said.
Fava stressed the need for larger trials to confirm the study’s results and noted that phase 3 trials are already underway.
Meanwhile, De Wit praised the current research as a step in the right direction.
” … there should be more studies like this,” she said.
Christian S. Monsalve, M.D is a Psychiatrist and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit.
Dr. Lisa Gwynn says Florida’s vaccine decision will create ‘perfect storm’ for diseases. ABC News.
(FLORIDA) — A top Florida pediatrician warned Thursday that the state’s plan to eliminate all vaccine mandates could lead to outbreaks of preventable diseases and put vulnerable populations at risk.
Dr. Lisa Gwynn, a former president of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Florida chapter, told ABC News that removing vaccine requirements for public school children could endanger not just students, but also “newborn infants, elderly populations, and people with compromised immune systems, including those undergoing chemotherapy.”
The warning came a day after Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced the state would become the first in the nation to remove all vaccine mandates, including those for common childhood diseases like polio, measles, chickenpox, and tetanus. Currently, all 50 states and Washington, D.C., require certain vaccinations for school attendance.
“It’s not just about parental choice,” Gwynn explained to ABC News. “When children are in close contact in classrooms, that’s a perfect storm for these types of diseases to spread.”
Gwynn argued that existing exemption policies already provide options for parents who oppose vaccination.
“There are other ways parents can achieve choice for their children,” she said. “As pediatricians, we work together with parents so they can make informed decisions.”
She also raised concerns about health equity, noting that removing mandates could create a “case of the haves and have-nots.” Children from under-resourced communities who lack access to regular medical care might enter school unvaccinated not by choice, but due to healthcare barriers, she explained.
School entry vaccination mandates are determined by each state. All states allow medical vaccine exemptions, and most states already have exemption policies in place for people with strong religious objections, in an effort to balance the need for public health with the ideal of individual freedom of choice. Some states allow exemption based on personal belief alone.
Florida’s decision to end vaccine mandates comes amid broader changes in national health policy. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared before the Senate Finance Committee Thursday to discuss the administration’s healthcare agenda, following recent shake-ups at both the FDA and CDC.
“These changes were absolutely necessary adjustments to restore the agency to its role as the world’s gold standard public health agency with the central mission of protecting Americans from infectious disease,” Kennedy said.
Ladapo defended the decision to end mandates on Wednesday, calling them “an immoral intrusion on people’s rights” during his announcement at Grace Christian School in Valrico, Florida.
Gwynn countered this view, pointing to decades of research supporting vaccination programs.
“Public health measures have saved millions of lives,” she told ABC News. “School vaccination requirements have been the best public health achievement of this century.”
A spokesperson for the Florida Surgeon General’s Office did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
(LONDON) — Another earthquake has hit eastern Afghanistan as the death toll from Sunday’s powerful earthquake climbed to 2,205, with another 3,640 people injured, a Taliban government spokesman said Thursday.
The Thursday earthquake was a moderate 5.6 magnitude, according to the U.S. Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center. It was still unclear whether the new quake caused further damage.
Search and rescue efforts from the initial quake are ongoing in the affected areas, according to Taliban spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat, who provided the updated casualty numbers via social media.
“Tents have been installed for displaced families in multiple locations,” he said, “and the organized distribution of primary and urgent humanitarian assistance is currently underway.”
The 6.0 magnitude quake struck just before midnight on Sunday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
A series of aftershocks struck amid rescue efforts, including a 5.2 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday about 20 miles northeast of Jalalabad, according to the USGS.
Members of the National Guard are seen standing near the Washington Monument, on September 02, 2025 in Washington, DC. Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — The Army is extending orders for the Washington, D.C., National Guard to remain on active duty in the nation’s capital through Nov. 30, two U.S. officials told ABC News Thursday.
President Donald Trump could still cut the mission shorter than Nov. 30 if desired — or extend the deployment past that date, the officials noted. That essentially leaves the deployment open-ended for now.
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll signed off on the plan on Wednesday, enabling Brig. Gen. Leland D. Blanchard II, commanding general of the D.C. National Guard, to update the initial orders.
The Nov. 30 plan for the estimated 950 members of the D.C. Guard, which has not been previously reported, does not apply to the other 1,300 troops deployed to D.C. from other states, including Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, South Carolina, and West Virginia. Those troops remain under the control of their governors with many of them already under orders to remain through the end of December, one of the officials said.
Blanchard alluded to the plan in a video message on X released Thursday.
“Our mission is not complete,” he said. “I’ve made the decision to extend the encampment as we continue to work to ensure everyone that walks these city streets is safe.”
Trump mobilized the D.C. National Guard last month to address what he insisted was “out of control” crime.
Since then, troops have been seen hanging out around the National Mall and other low-crime areas, often posing with tourists or spreading mulch as part of Trump’s “beautification” project.
According to the latest update provided by the Guard, troops have cleaned roadways, collected more than 677 bags of trash and disposed of five truckloads of plant waste in coordination with the U.S. National Park Service.
The decision to extend the Guard through Nov. 30 was a practical one, sources told ABC News. Instead of reupping orders every 14 to 29 days as is typical, the troops can plan on the extended stay.
National Guard troops typically leave other full-time civilian jobs during the deployment, and this would allow their employers to make other arrangements, officials say.
The plan also ensures there would be no gap in pay or benefits, which can happen when tours of duty need to be reapproved several times.
A spokesperson for Joint Task Force-DC told ABC News that all Guards members who are deployed to D.C. have already been extended beyond initial orders — some which would have lapsed on Sept.10 — in order to secure their eligibility for benefits including pay and health care.
(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Justice is suing Southern California Edison over the Eaton Fire, seeking tens of millions of dollars in damages for alleged negligence it claims led to the deadly fire.
The January fire, one of the most destructive in California history, killed 19 people and burned over 14,000 acres, including nearly 8,000 acres of land in the Angeles National Forest, officials said.
A cause remains under investigation, according to Cal Fire. However, the DOJ alleges that the fire was ignited “from faulty power infrastructure owned, maintained, and operated” by Southern California Edison.
The Justice Department is also suing the utility company for damages caused by the 2022 Fairview Fire, which killed two people and burned over 28,000 acres, including nearly 14,000 acres within the San Bernardino National Forest, officials said.
State fire officials determined the fire started after a SoCal Edison power line came into contact with a Frontier communications messenger cable, creating an arc and causing sparks to fall and ignite the vegetation below.
“The lawsuits filed today allege a troubling pattern of negligence resulting in death, destruction, and tens of millions of federal taxpayer dollars spent to clean up one utility company’s mistakes,” acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement. “We hope that today’s filings are the first step in causing the beginnings of a culture change at Southern California Edison, one that will make it a responsible, conscientious company that helps — not harms — our community. Hardworking Californians should not pick up the tab for Edison’s negligence.”
The DOJ said it is seeking over $40 million in damages from the Eaton Fire for costs incurred by the U.S. Forest Service, including fire suppression and rehabilitation. It is seeking to recover some $37 million for damages from the Fairview Fire, it said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
