Residents
surround
federal
and
Border
Patrol
agents
who plan
their
escape
after an
immigrant
raid on
Atlantic
Blvd. in
Bell,
California
on June
19,
2025. |
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A
partisan
move by
Texas to
redraw
its
congressional
maps
before
the 2026
elections
to try
to
secure
five
more
Republican
seats in
the U.S.
House
has set
off a
clamor
to
replicate
the
effort
by
Democrats
and
Republicans
in other
states. |
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UPDATE:
MAJOR
POLITICAL
DEVELOPMENTS
IN
WASHINGTON
Federal
Control
of DC
Police
Sparks
Constitutional
Crisis
WASHINGTON
- The
most
significant
political
story
dominating
headlines
involves
President
Trump's
unprecedented
decision
to place
Washington
DC's
Metropolitan
Police
Department
under
federal
control
and
deploy
National
Guard
troops
to the
capital.
Trump
announced
the
federal
takeover
of DC
police
on
August
11,
citing
what he
claims
is an
out-of-control
crime
problem,
and
deployed
800
National
Guard
troops
to the
capital
city.
The move
has
generated
intense
political
controversy,
with DC
Mayor
Muriel
Bowser
stating
that the
president
is
attempting
to get
people
to
normalize
the
federal
takeover
of local
police
in
preparation
for
expanding
his
efforts
to other
cities.
Multiple
Republican
governors
have
responded
to
Trump's
call,
with
West
Virginia
Governor
Patrick
Morrisey
directing
300 to
400
Guard
troops
to
Washington
and
South
Carolina
Governor
Henry
McMaster
authorizing
the
deployment
of 200
troops.
International
Diplomacy:
Trump-Putin
Summit
On the
foreign
policy
front,
President
Trump
and
Russian
President
Vladimir
Putin
held a
summit
in
Alaska
on
August
15,
though
the
meeting
ended
without
concrete
agreements
and the
leaders
did not
take
questions
from
reporters
after
their
joint
news
briefing.
The
summit
was
described
as
Trump's
foreign
policy
facing
"its
biggest
test
yet" as
he
campaigned
on
promises
to end
the war
between
Russia
and
Ukraine.
Ongoing
Political
Tensions
As the
DC
situation
enters
its
second
week,
local
leaders
are
working
to
maintain
calm as
growing
numbers
of
National
Guard
soldiers
deploy
to the
city,
though
President
Trump
hasn't
outlined
an exit
strategy
for the
crisis.
The
unprecedented
nature
of
federal
control
over
local
law
enforcement
in the
nation's
capital
continues
to
generate
legal
challenges
and
political
opposition.
Congressional
Map
Battles
Separate
from the
DC
crisis,
protests
are
taking
place
across
the
country
as
California
and
Texas
face
battles
over
redrawing
congressional
maps,
with the
redrawn
maps
potentially
insulating
five
Democrats
in
toss-up
districts.
These
developments
represent
some of
the most
significant
federal
overreach
and
constitutional
questions
since
Trump's
return
to
office
in
January
2025,
with
implications
that
extend
far
beyond
Washington
DC's
boundaries.
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