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(LONDON) — The Nintendo Switch 2 is off to a turbo-charged start, thanks to a little help from Mario and his friends in Mario Kart World, smashing its own sales record by becoming the fastest selling Nintendo game system ever with more than 3.5 million units sold in just four days.
Nintendo sold an estimated 2.7 million units of the original Nintendo Switch in its first month when it launched in March 2017, but have now managed to move over 3.5 million units in just 96 hours, an almost 30% increase in sales in a much shorter period, the company said.
The Japanese company released the latest sales numbers on Wednesday and are aiming to sell 15 million units by March next year, putting them on track to meet or exceed expectations in the coming weeks and months. “Fans around the world are showing their enthusiasm for Nintendo Switch 2 as an upgraded way to play at home and on the go,” said Nintendo of America President and Chief Operating Officer Doug Bowser. “We are thankful for their response and happy to see the fun they are already having with Nintendo Switch 2 as they explore new features and games that bring friends and family together in new ways.”
The Nintendo Switch 2 is the next generation console for the company, its first new system release in eight years, and features a larger screen capable of full 1080p high-definition display, a faster processor that allows for enhanced graphics and performance, as well as redesigned magnetic Joy-Con 2 controllers with mouse functionality, Nintendo said. The system also debuts the new GameChat2 feature where players can voice or video chat and share game screens with friends online.
“You’ll probably see a first batch of people who can’t live without it,” van Dreunen said. “If you’re a die-hard [Switch] fan, it’s like standing in line for the new Harry Potter book or movie,” Joost van Dreunen, a professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business and writer of the SuperJoost Playlist, a games industry-focused newsletter, told ABC News last week.
“Nintendo is making a carefully calculated bet with the Switch 2 that will pay off,” van Dreunen continued. “While some might have hoped for a more revolutionary device, Nintendo’s evolutionary approach shows deep market understanding … The console’s focus on accessible and social gaming — rather than competing with Microsoft and Sony on technical specs — underscores Nintendo’s commitment to shared experiences for all ages.”
The Nintendo Switch 2 system launched alongside the first brand new Mario Kart game in 11 years called Mario Kart World, featuring an interconnected world where you can drive virtually anywhere with dynamic weather conditions, new game modes and up to 24 drivers at once — the most in the 33-year-old series history.
Nintendo is hoping to build a base, as well as excitement for its new system, ahead of next month’s launch of a new 3D platforming game starring Donkey Kong called Donkey Kong Bananza, which Nintendo says will let players “unleash their inner Kong as they smash and bash their way through a wild, mayhem-packed action adventure.”
After its global launch last Thursday, Nintendo Switch 2 is now available for the retail price of $449.99, and is also available as a bundle with a digital download of “Mario Kart World” for $499.99.
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump and his administration officials warned that the use of the military in response to protests against his immigration crackdown may not be limited to just Los Angeles, saying it could be the first “of many” — and that protesters could be met with “equal or greater force.”
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday that his administration was going to enforce its deportation policy strictly and that it would not tolerate violent protests against ICE officers.
“This is the first, perhaps, of many,” Trump said of the deployment of 4,000 National Guardsmen and 700 Marines to Los Angeles as demonstrators clash with law enforcement amid the protests.
Demonstrators have clashed with law enforcement sporadically for days, and Trump called in the National Guard, against Gov. Gavin Newsom’s wishes, in an attempt to quell the violence and allow immigration enforcement to continue.
“You know, if we didn’t attack this one very strongly, you’d have them all over the country, but I can inform the rest of the country, that when they do it, if they do it, they’re going to be met with equal or greater force,” Trump continued.
The president’s threats come as California’s leaders and 22 Democratic governors decry Trump’s show of force as a breach of the state’s sovereignty and a provocative escalation.
Trump’s words were echoed in testimony given by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a congressional hearing on Capitol Hill earlier in the day.
“So in Los Angeles, we believe that ICE, which is a federal law enforcement agency, has the right to safely conduct operations in any state, in any jurisdiction in the country,” Hegseth said. “ICE agents should be allowed to be safe and doing their operations, and we have deployed National Guard and the Marines to protect them in the execution of their duties, because we ought to be able to enforce … immigration law in this country.”
The president suggested he is open to invoking the Insurrection Act in response to the protests. The act authorizes the president to deploy military forces inside the United States to suppress rebellion or violence.
The National Guard and Marines, under Trump’s current authorization, are not allowed to act in a law enforcement capacity because of the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act.
“There were areas of Los Angeles last night where you could call it an insurrection,” Trump said.
Trump repeated claims, without evidence, that the protesters are “paid insurrectionists.” He decried some protesters who were damaging streets and targeting members of the National Guard.
Despite claims from Trump that there were fires and “bad scenes” on Monday night, there wasn’t anything all that violent. ABC News observed police moved protesters using skirmish lines and less lethal rounds around the city for a few hours, but there was no widespread violence compared to the weekend.
And although Trump claimed that Los Angeles was “under siege,” the incidents had been confined on Sunday and Monday to a relatively small area of downtown Los Angeles — about a 10-block area.
So far, the National Guard’s presence and role in handling the protests appears to have been minimal.
ABC News observed National Guard troops standing outside of a federal building and the Los Angeles Police Department and other local agencies clearing the streets and interacting with protesters.
The administration has not immediately provided details about the guardsman’s actions from Monday.
Congressional Republicans — including House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune — backed the president’s use of the military in the situation.
“Clearly, the local officials there, for whatever reason, didn’t seem up to the task of getting the job done there,” Thune told reporters Tuesday.
Although Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said “violence in the riots is outrageous,” he called Trump’s order to send in troops “provocative” and “dangerous.”
“It really threatens the bedrock of our democracy,” the New York Democrat said.
Trump said the National Guard will be in the Los Angeles area “until there’s no danger,” declining to put a timetable on ending the deployment.
“It’s easy. Look, it’s common sense. … When there’s no danger, they’ll leave,” he said.
ABC News’ Alex Stone, Lalee Ibssa, Isabella Murray and Kelsey Walsh and contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — The Smithsonian tried to affirm its autonomy from outside influences in a statement on Monday after President Donald Trump announced that he fired National Portrait Gallery head Kim Sajet for being a “highly partisan person.”
The institution, which is the world’s largest museum, education and research complex, sent the statement after a Monday Board of Regents meeting with Vice President JD Vance and Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts, according to a document the Smithsonian sent ABC News on Monday.
Board of Regent meetings are held at least four times a year. Vance and Roberts are both ex officio members, meaning they act in advisory roles.
“All personnel decisions are made by and subject to the direction of the Secretary, with oversight by the Board,” the Smithsonian said in its statement. “Lonnie G. Bunch, the Secretary, has the support of the Board of Regents in his authority and management of the Smithsonian.”
The panel is also comprised of senators appointed by the president, including Sen. John Boozman (R-AR), Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI); Representatives selected by the Speaker of the House, including Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA), Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE) and Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL); and nine Citizen Regents, according to a document the Smithsonian sent ABC News on Monday.
The Smithsonian’s statement comes after Trump’s May 30 announcement on social media that he fired Sajet, the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery director. He described Sajet as “a highly partisan person, and a strong supporter of DEI, which is totally inappropriate for her position.”
Sajet rejected artist Julian Raven’s 2016 Trump painting for submission in the National Portrait Gallery, according to a statement from a Smithsonian spokesperson on Tuesday. She is still reporting to work at the Portrait Gallery, the spokesperson noted.
“While the vast majority of our content is rooted in meticulous research and thoughtful analysis of history and facts, we recognize that, on occasion, some of our work has not aligned with our institutional values of scholarship, even-handedness and nonpartisanship. For that, we must all work to do better,” Bunch, the board secretary, said in a message to Smithsonian staff on Monday after the board meeting.
“Our institution must be a place where people feel inspired and challenged, but most importantly feel welcome. … As always, we thank the President and Congress for their steady commitment to the Smithsonian and to preserving it for our visitors and our country.”
The museum also appeared to address the Trump administration’s concerns about biased content and staff at the institution in its statement on Monday.
“To reinforce our nonpartisan stature, the Board of Regents has directed the Secretary to articulate specific expectations to museum directors and staff regarding content in Smithsonian museums, give directors reasonable time to make any needed changes to ensure unbiased content, and to report back to the Board on progress and any needed personnel changes based on success or lack thereof in making the needed changes,” the Smithsonian said in its statement Monday.
The museum did not respond to ABC News’ questions regarding deadlines for museum directors to make changes and report back to the board, and the vice president’s office did not immediately reply to a request for a statement.
Trump signed an executive order last month placing Vance in charge of supervising efforts to “remove improper ideology” from all areas of the Smithsonian and targeted funding for programs that advance “divisive narratives” and “improper ideology,” according to the Associated Press.
The president also fired members of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ board of trustees and installed himself as chairman of the institution in February.
ABC News’ Kyra Phillips, April Williams, Molly Nagle and Lalee Ibssa contributed to this story.
Maddy Marr/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Sean “Diddy” Combs was the Michael Jordan of drug-fueled sex parties — at least, according to himself.
That revelation was included in another day of testimony from Combs’ ex-girlfriend, who alleges she was forced to participate in degrading sex with male prostitutes for Combs’ voyeuristic gratification.
Testifying under the pseudonym “Jane,” the ex-girlfriend has spent four days walking a federal jury in Manhattan through a life that was funded by Combs and centered on his sexual appetites. She said she spent so much time participating in sexual encounters that Combs compared her, himself and a male escort to well-known sports stars.
A male escort they frequently hired was, to Combs, “Shaquille O’Neal.” Jane was compared and labeled “Kobe Bryant.” Combs considered himself to be “Jordan,” Jane testified.
The athletic comparisons capped off the 24th day of the rap mogul’s sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial, as defense attorneys tried to cast doubt on Jane’s claims that she was coerced to participate in the sex parties. Jane is a critical part of the authorities’ case against the onetime cultural icon, who has been locked up since his arrest last September.
Prosecutors have argued that Combs used his wealth and influence to pressure women like Jane into sex, then used his money and violence to keep them quiet to protect his reputation. Combs has pleaded not guilty and claims he has never coerced anyone into sex.
After three days of testimony about the trauma she said she endured during her relationship with Combs, Jane was challenged during a full court session Tuesday by Combs’ defense team. They repeatedly tried to highlight Jane’s apparently loving messages sent to Combs and her apparent willingness to engage in his sexual fantasies.
“I wish you were here. We can play our videos on tv and lock each other in the room all day,” Jane texted Combs. “I never c— so hard like that in my life.”
The cross examination took on a sharper tone as defense attorney Teny Geragos argued the lavish gifts undercut Jane’s allegations of trauma, coercion and force.
“No, I only got trauma,” Jane fired at Geragos when asked about Combs’ giving another girlfriend a Chanel handbag.
When Geragos asked about another luxury handbag Bottega Veneta, Jane fired at the attorney, “I’m sure you have one,”
“How much do Bottega bags run?” Geragos asked Jane.
Jane snapped: “How much does my body cost?”
The testimony is set to resume on Wednesday afternoon with additional questioning by Combs’ lawyers. Defense attorneys told the judge overseeing the case that they would likely conclude their questions for Jane on Thursday.
Jane said she believed Combs was a ‘cuckold’
Jane told jurors that she was regularly jealous of Combs for spending more quality time with other women. She said she believes Combs was “polyamorous.”
“What was hard for me was the imbalance in treatment,” Jane said. “I didn’t sign up to date a man who was in a public relationship.”
Though she said she was frustrated that the majority of her time with Combs was dominated by prolonged sexual encounters with other men that Combs observed, Jane told jurors that she sought to understand why Combs enjoyed watching her have sex with other men.
Jane explained to the jury, “I was trying to deep-dive on all the reasons why they drew such pleasure watching their woman with other men.”
She told the jury she came upon the word “cuck,” which she described as a “man who is in a relationship and is turned on by watching a woman have sex with another man.”
Geragos asked, “What did that word mean to you?”
Jane answered, “I was just like this is spot on.”
The testimony about Combs’ sexual desires comes as defense attorneys seek to highlight what they argue is Jane’s willingness to participate in sex acts with Combs by learning what he liked sexually, potentially undercutting the prosecution’s claim that she was coerced into the drug-fueled encounters she called “hotel nights.”
Jane also testified that there were parts of the orgies she enjoyed and that the evenings satisfied Combs’ sexual desires.
“I loved when we would make love and said he wanted me,” Jane said. “He would say things like he never wanted me to leave and so many nice, loving things.”
Jane distances Combs’ employees from alleged sex trafficking
Defense attorney Geragos peppered her cross examination with questions about the role of Combs’ employees during their three-year relationship, seemingly trying to distance the rap mogul’s assistants and security from the alleged illegal acts at the center of the prosecution’s case.
“It was important that none of his employees knew about the entertainers from these nights?” Geragos asked about the male escorts Combs hired for “hotel nights.”
“Right,” Jane said, emphasizing how Combs began hosting the sex parties in private residences insead of hotel rooms to ensure the events would be secretive.
Despite testifying that Combs’ chief of staff Kristina Khorram functioned as Combs’ “right brain” and was generally apprised of his activities, Jane told the jury that Combs tried to keep her out of the process for booking and paying escorts for the sexual romps.
“Did [Khorram] have any knowledge that escorts were joining the hotels?” Geragos asked.
“I don’t think so,” Jane answered.
By distancing Combs’ employees from the rap mogul’s alleged crimes, the testimony could help defense attorneys as they try to cast doubt on the prosecutors’ allegation that Combs used his business empire to carry out his crimes. To convict Combs on racketeering conspiracy, jurors would need to find that Combs relied on others, like his security guards or assistants, to commit at least two related crimes.
(LONDON and HONG KONG) — President Donald Trump said a trade deal with China “is done, subject to final approval.”
“Our deal with China is done, subject to final approval with President Xi and me,” Trump said on Truth Social, adding that the relationship between the world’s two leading economic powerhouses was “excellent.”
Trump said that the U.S. would get “a total of 55% tariffs” with China’s tariffs set at 10%.
Trump added, “Full magnets and any necessary rare earths, will be supplied, up front, by China. Likewise, we will provide to China what was agreed to, including Chinese students using our colleges and universities (which has always been good with me!).”
Chinese state media had earlier Wednesday reported that the countries had agreed to a trade “framework” during talks in London. China didn’t immediately release additional details.
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick late on Tuesday referred to it as a “handshake for a framework.” Presidents Trump and Xi Jinping will now have to approve the framework, Lutnick said. That step would appear to mean there were some concessions that both leaders did not give their negotiating teams authority to negotiate away.
“Once that’s done, we will be back on the phone together and we will begin to implement this agreement,” Lutnick said. “The two largest economies in the world have reached a handshake for framework.”
The two days of talks in London followed the first round of talks in Geneva and a phone call between Trump and Xi, all of which followed Trump’s implementation of higher tariffs on Chinese imports.
Vice Premier He Lifeng, the leader of China’s delegation, told Xinhua News Agency, a state-affiliated wire service, that disputes between the two should be resolved through “equal dialogue and mutually beneficial cooperation.”
In a Chinese-language story, He employed slightly stronger language, lecturing the American delegation.
“There is no winner in a trade war,” He reportedly said. “China is unwilling to fight, but it is not afraid of fighting.”
(LOS ANGELES) — Demonstrations have gripped Los Angeles for several days in response to Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the sanctuary city, with some protesters clashing with police.
Tensions escalated after President Donald Trump called up the National Guard over the objections of state and city leaders to address what the White House referred to as the “lawlessness that has been allowed to fester.”
Solidarity protests against ICE have broken out in other cities in the wake of the federal response, which has also included deploying hundreds of Marines to Los Angeles.
Here’s a look at how the protests began and what demonstrators are calling for.
How did the LA protests start?
On Friday, federal agents executed search warrants authorized by a Los Angeles federal judge at four businesses suspected of unlawfully employing undocumented immigrants and falsifying employment records, according to a criminal complaint.
On social media, “word quickly spread about ‘ICE raids’ taking place throughout Los Angeles,” according to the complaint.
Video showed federal agents conducting the operations, including at a Home Depot in Westlake and the clothing manufacturer Ambiance Apparel in downtown Los Angeles.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she was “deeply angered” over the raids.
“These tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city,” she said in a statement on Friday. “We will not stand for this.”
Local activists and family members of the workers showed up at the locations, confronting agents about the arrests. A prominent union leader — Service Employees International Union California President David Huerta — was arrested on Friday outside Ambiance Apparel and charged with conspiracy to impede an officer following an altercation with a law enforcement officer, according to the complaint. SEIU President April Verrett told ABC News that Huerta was “exercising his constitutional right to peacefully protest and be an observer on a sidewalk in the city of Los Angeles.”
Following the raids, protesters also gathered outside federal buildings in downtown Los Angeles that are home to an immigration court and a detention facility, holding signs that said “ICE out of LA!”
“Our community is under attack and is being terrorized,” Angelica Salas, the executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, said during a press conference in downtown Los Angeles on Friday. “These are workers, these are fathers, these are mothers, and this has to stop. Immigration enforcement that is terrorizing our families throughout this country and picking up our people that we love must stop now.”
Hours later, amid ongoing protests in downtown LA, the LAPD declared an unlawful assembly Friday evening following reports that a “small group of violent individuals are throwing large pieces of concrete,” and officers in riot gear moved in to disperse the crowd.
‘We’re going to keep showing up’
Protests against immigration raids continued into the weekend in downtown LA, as well as Los Angeles County cities including Compton and Paramount.
“We have a very beautiful community, a very strong community. And this is why we show up and we’re going to keep showing up,” Paramount demonstrator Nabil Shukir told ABC Los Angeles station KABC over the weekend. “It is an obligation and a duty for each and every one of us to be here and fight against the oppression and these kidnappings.”
On Saturday, the White House said Trump signed a memorandum deploying thousands of National Guardsmen to Los Angeles after “violent mobs” attacked ICE officers — over the objections of California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
“The Trump Administration has a zero tolerance policy for criminal behavior and violence, especially when that violence is aimed at law enforcement officers trying to do their jobs,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
The following day, some protesters were seen hurling scooters and bottles at patrol vehicles and several of the self-driving car company Waymo’s vehicles were set on fire.
Amid the protests, LAPD said officers have arrested dozens of people for failure to disperse, as well as looting. Other charges have included attempted murder with a Molotov cocktail and assault with a deadly weapon, police said.
Bass has condemned the violence while noting in a call with KABC on Monday that the majority of people protesting have been peaceful and that the more-violent protesting and vandalism were happening “late at night.” She added that she assumed violent protests weren’t being led by people supporting immigrants, but rather by “fringe groups.”
Bass has also blamed Trump for the escalation and has continued to call on the Trump administration to stop immigration raids in the city, saying the fear and uncertainty they have created have led to the unrest.
“It makes me feel like our city is actually a test case, a test case for what happens when the federal government moves in and takes the authority away from the state or away from local government,” she told reporters during a news conference Monday. “I don’t think that our city should be used for an experiment.”
Newsom has called the deployment a “complete overreaction.” He and California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced on Monday that they have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the “illegal and unnecessary takeover” of the California National Guard that has “needlessly escalated chaos and violence in the Los Angeles region.”
“Let me be clear: There is no invasion. There is no rebellion. The President is trying to manufacture chaos and crisis on the ground for his own political ends,” Bonta said in a statement.
Protests over the federal response and continued ICE raids in the Los Angeles area have been ongoing. Demonstrations have also been held at Los Angeles International Airport against Trump’s new travel ban, which went into effect on Monday and bars nationals of 12 countries from entering the U.S.
SEIU held a large rally in downtown LA on Monday in support of Huerta, who was released from federal custody on a $50,000 bond that day.
Bass said Tuesday it is unclear how many people have been detained by ICE.
“On Thursday of last week, Los Angeles was peaceful. There was nothing going on here that warranted the federal intervention that took place the very next day,” she said during a press briefing. “If we want to look at the cause of what is happening here, I take it back to raids that took place on Friday, and the uncertainty and the fear and the fact that families across the city are terrified that they don’t know if they should go to work, they don’t know if they should go to school.”
Trump on Tuesday defended his decision to send in the National Guard and Marines, saying the situation in LA was “out of control.”
“All I want is safety. I just want a safe area,” he told reporters. “Los Angeles was under siege until we got there. The police were unable to handle it.”
Trump went on to suggest that he sent in the National Guard and the Marines to send a message to other cities not to interfere with ICE operations or they will be met with equal or greater force.
“If we didn’t attack this one very strongly, you’d have them all over the country,” he said. “But I can inform the rest of the country that when they do it, if they do it, they’re going to be met with equal or greater force than we met right here.”
Why are people protesting ICE?
Since Friday, other demonstrations have broken out across the country in solidarity, protesting ICE activity in their communities and the federal response in Los Angeles. On Monday, protests were held in cities including New York, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Dallas, and, in California, San Jose and Santa Ana.
Protesters turned out in San Francisco on Sunday outside of an Immigration Services building to rally in solidarity against ICE raids and deportations.
“We’ve been watching what’s going on in LA, and we’re like, no,” protester Nancy Kato told ABC San Francisco station KGO. “The whole thing about going after immigrants and people who are undocumented, the most vulnerable of our populations, that is so wrong.”
Nellie Wong told KGO she was there “to protest the outrageous attacks on undocumented immigrants.”
“This has been going on for some time, but the events that have been going on in Los Angeles, I just find horrifying,” another protester, Amy Gray-Schlink, told KGO. “We need a united front of everyone who wants to oppose the scapegoating of immigrants.”
In San Diego County, protesters gathered near the main gate of Camp Pendleton on Sunday to stand against any military activation.
“We want to show our support to the military members that work here. We want to kind of remind them of what their duty is to us,” one of the demonstrators, Air Force veteran Patrick Saunders, told ABC San Diego affiliate KGTV. “But additionally, we want to make it very publicly known that we condemn any sort of action by the administration of using active duty or National Guard troops on U.S. citizens.”
(WASHINGTON) — A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging New Jersey Rep. LaMonica McIver for allegedly assaulting law enforcement officers outside of an immigration detention facility last month, officials announced Tuesday.
The three-count indictment charges the Democratic congresswoman with “forcibly impeding and interfering with federal law enforcement officers” at the facility, New Jersey U.S. Attorney Alina Habba said in a post on X.
“As I have stated in the past, it is my Constitutional obligation as the Chief Federal Law Enforcement Officer for New Jersey to ensure that our federal partners are protected when executing their duties,” Habba said. “While people are free to express their views for or against particular policies, they must not do so in a manner that endangers law enforcement and the communities those officers serve.”
The indictment is a standard procedural step after Habba’s office charged McIver via a criminal complaint last month.
McIver has vowed she will fight the charges and plans to plead not guilty.
“The facts of this case will prove I was simply doing my job and will expose these proceedings for what they are: a brazen attempt at political intimidation,” she said in a statement on X. “This indictment is no more justified than the original charges, and is an effort by Trump’s administration to dodge accountability for the chaos ICE caused and scare me out of doing the work I was elected to do. But it won’t work — I will not be intimidated.”
On May 9, McIver and a few other members of Congress were at Delaney Hall, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, to conduct oversight.
Tensions escalated when a federal officer ordered Newark Mayor Ras Baraka to leave a secured area of the facility or face arrest, and pushing and shoving allegedly occurred, according to prosecutors.
“During her continued attempts to thwart the arrest, McIver slammed her forearm into the body of one law enforcement officer and also reached out and tried to restrain that officer by forcibly grabbing him,” the Department of Justice said in a press release on Tuesday. “McIver also used each of her forearms to forcibly strike a second officer.”
Following the charges via criminal complaint, McIver alleged in a statement that the decision was politically motivated.
“The charges against me are purely political — they mischaracterize and distort my actions, and are meant to criminalize and deter legislative oversight,” McIver said.
Top House Democrats also released a joint statement last month defending McIver, vowing to “vigorously” respond to what they say is an illegitimate abuse of power.
“An attack on one of us is an attack on the American people. House Democrats will respond vigorously in the days to come at a time, place and manner of our choosing,” the leaders said.
If convicted, the maximum penalty for the charges in the indictment ranges from one to eight years, Habba said.
Baraka was arrested at the facility and charged with trespassing, though Habba later dropped the charge.
Hans Gutknecht/MediaNews Group/The Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — Democratic senators on Tuesday were walking a line between criticizing the White House for sending troops to put down protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Los Angeles and the violence the administration says caused it to act.
Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania called out some in his party for not condemning the violence.
“I unapologetically stand for free speech, peaceful demonstrations, and immigration—but this is not that. This is anarchy and true chaos,” Fetterman said in a post on X on Monday.
“My party loses the moral high ground when we refuse to condemn setting cars on fire, destroying buildings, and assaulting law enforcement,” Fetterman continued.
But some of his colleagues on Capitol Hill say they can support the sentiment behind the protests without condoning violence.
“We can do two things at one time. We can condemn protests that get out of control, and we can acknowledge that Donald Trump has no interest in standing up to violent protesters,” Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy told reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday when asked about Fetterman’s comment.
“He pardoned every single violent protester that tried to attack our Capitol and destroy our democracy,” he said. “The fact of the matter is, Donald Trump is not looking to create peace. He’s not looking to calm the situation. He’s looking for a fight,” Murphy continued.
Murphy and other Democrats repeated that local and state government officials in the city of Los Angeles and the state of California have said they don’t need federal help with holding protesters that have engaged in violence or property destruction accountable.
“[They] all say, ‘We’ve got this under control.’ It is unfortunate — not necessary to mobilize U.S. Marines who are trained for the Pacific, not for the streets of Los Angeles,” Democratic Sen. Chris Coons said.
“It is, of course, important that anyone who attacks police officers or sets fire to vehicles or carries out vandalism, being interrupted and arrested. I support peaceful protest,” Coons said.
Coons and Murphy said Trump’s moves are a distraction from other — perhaps more important — matters in Washington, like the “big, beautiful bill” Trump wants to get passed to fund his agenda, which Democrats are lobbying against.
“Last week, every one of you was asking me about the fight between Elon Musk and Trump, and how Musk was denouncing the ‘big, beautiful bill’ as debt and deficit and how a few nervous Republicans were recognizing that taking health care away from 16 million Americans was a really bad idea,” Coons told reporters.
“No one’s asking me about that this week. You’re only asking me about Los Angeles. It is a critical issue … I’m not diminishing the significance of the issue, but it’s a reminder that here in the Senate — what is right in front of us is the so-called “big, beautiful bill, which will have consequences for millions of Americans in terms of increasing hunger and decreasing access to health,” Coons added.
Murphy said Trump is trying to “create headlines in other places.”
Republican senators stood behind the president’s decision to send in the troops.
Sen. Rand Paul said Democrats’ reaction to the protests is “appalling” and a reason why voters don’t agree with them.
“I think it’s another reason why you’re seeing the demise of the Democrat brand around the country. You got a city on fire. You got people marching with foreign flags, people marching with a Mexican flag in L.A., resisting federal law, interfering with federal law. You have the governor and the mayor, both Democrats, saying they will interfere and will not uphold federal law,” Paul said.
Republican Sen. Rick Scott blamed Democrats’ position on immigration for the unrest.
“If you look at what’s going on in LA, it shows exactly what Biden Democrats did by opening their borders the way they did, and allowing people, millions and millions and millions of people, to come in here. They’ve caused all this,” Scott said.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, who stirred controversy in Trump’s first term in 2020 for urging him to deploy the National Guard to stop the George Floyd riots, published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday calling for “an overwhelming show of force to end the riots” and blaming Democrats for letting them happen.
“Is anyone surprised? Democrats also stood idly by or even celebrated as the Black Lives Matter riots ransacked our cities five years ago,” he wrote. “If anything, these riots are worse. At least the [Black Lives Matter] rioters didn’t wave foreign flags.”
(LOS ANGELES) — A brush fire burning near homes in Los Angeles County prompted evacuation orders Tuesday afternoon, according to authorities.
The Burbank Fire Department said Tuesday evening it managed to stop the forward progress of the Bethany Fire, which was burning near a residential area in Burbank, California.
Fire crews remained in the area for several hours cleaning up, advising people to stay clear of the area, police said.
“If you are on or near the hiking trails or in these recreation areas in the Burbank hills, please leave the area immediately,” the Burbank Police Department said.
All hiking trails remain close through the evening, police said.
(CHESTER, NY) — A 68-year-old woman is in stable condition after being rescued from a vehicle fire that engulfed her car when it flipped over during a crash on a highway in New York, police said.
The incident occurred shortly after 4 a.m. on Sunday morning when units from the Chester Police Department in New York were dispatched along with other emergency service units to “a report of a motor vehicle on Kings Highway near Knapps View Park,” according to a statement from the Chester Police Department.
When authorities arrived on scene, they discovered that the driver was still trapped in the vehicle that had been consumed by flames, police said.
“Officer Nicholas Contino was the first police officer to arrive on scene,” authorities said in their statement. “He gave his fire extinguisher to a passing motorist and worked to locate the operator in the vehicle. He was able to break the sunroof glass and free her from the vehicle. With the assistance of two passing motorists and a paramedic from Empress EMS, she was removed from the vehicle and away from the fire.”
The woman who was driving the car has not been named by authorities, but officials did say that she was a 68-year-old resident of Warwick, New York, and that she suffered burns to about a third of her body.
The woman was immediately taken to Westchester Medical Center’s Burn Unit and currently remains in stable condition.
“Officer Contino’s effort greatly increased the motorist’s chances for survival and he is commended for a job well done,” police said.
