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Marines Poised to Move into Los Angeles as Protests Spread Across US

A LAPD officer stands behind police tape as curfew is in effect after days of protests in response to federal immigration operations in Los Angeles on June 10, 2025. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)
A LAPD officer stands behind police tape as curfew is in effect after days of protests in response to federal immigration operations in Los Angeles on June 10, 2025. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)
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Marines Poised to Move into Los Angeles as Protests Spread Across US

A LAPD officer stands behind police tape as curfew is in effect after days of protests in response to federal immigration operations in Los Angeles on June 10, 2025. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)
A LAPD officer stands behind police tape as curfew is in effect after days of protests in response to federal immigration operations in Los Angeles on June 10, 2025. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)

Hundreds of US Marines were undergoing refresher training in riot and crowd control just outside of Los Angeles and will move into the city soon, a military official said, as protests over President Donald Trump's immigration raids spread from California to other parts of the country. 

Trump's decision to dispatch National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles over the objections of California's governor has sparked a national debate on the use of the military on US soil. 

The Marines will be in Los Angeles "soon" but not on Wednesday, US Army Major General Scott Sherman, who is commanding the troops, told reporters at a news briefing. 

The governor of Texas, Republican Greg Abbott, said he will deploy the National Guard on Wednesday ahead of planned protests in San Antonio and other parts of the state, making him the first governor to take that step. Police in Austin, Texas, fired tear gas and pepper balls in a standoff with demonstrators on Monday. 

Protesters marched in New York, Atlanta and Chicago on Tuesday night, chanting anti-US Immigration and Customs Enforcement slogans and at times clashing with law enforcement, while downtown Los Angeles spent its first night under a mandatory curfew after five days of demonstrations. 

The protests are likely to expand on Saturday, when several activist groups have planned hundreds of anti-Trump demonstrations across the country. That day, tanks and other armored vehicles will rumble down the streets of Washington, DC, in a military parade marking the US Army's 250th anniversary and coinciding with Trump's 79th birthday. 

Trump says the military deployment in Los Angeles prevented the violence from raging out of control, an assertion California Governor Gavin Newsom and other local officials have decried as untrue. 

"This brazen abuse of power by a sitting president inflamed a combustible situation, putting our people, our officers and even our National Guard at risk. That's when the downward spiral began," Newsom, a Democrat widely expected to mount a presidential run in 2028, said in a video address on Tuesday. 

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the deployments were not necessary and that local police could manage the protests, which have been largely peaceful and limited to about five downtown streets. 

But the mayor imposed a curfew over one square mile of the city's downtown starting on Tuesday night after some businesses were looted. Police said multiple groups stayed on the streets in some areas despite the curfew and "mass arrests" were made. 

Newsom sued Trump and the Defense Department on Monday, seeking to block the deployment of federal troops. Trump in turn has suggested Newsom should be arrested. 

PROTECTING ICE AGENTS 

The 700 Marines and 4,000 National Guard troops that Trump has mobilized are assigned to protect government personnel and buildings and do not have arrest authority. 

The Pentagon has said the Marines, along with National Guard troops, will also be used to safeguard ICE officers during immigration raids. 

ICE posted photos online on Tuesday of National Guard troops standing guard with weapons in hand as ICE officers handcuffed apparent migrants against the side of a car in Los Angeles. 

California Attorney General Rob Bonta told Reuters that allowing federal troops to protect personnel could violate an 1878 law that generally forbids the US military, including the National Guard, from taking part in civilian law enforcement. 

"Protecting personnel likely means accompanying ICE US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents into communities and neighborhoods, and protecting functions could mean protecting the ICE function of enforcing the immigration law," Bonta said. 

Sherman, the troops' commanding officer, said they are authorized to detain individuals temporarily until law enforcement can arrest them if it becomes necessary to protect federal personnel. 

The last time the military was used for direct police action under the Insurrection Act was in 1992, when the California governor at the time asked President George H.W. Bush for help responding to Los Angeles riots over the acquittal of police officers who beat Black motorist Rodney King. 

'LIBERATE LOS ANGELES' 

The standoff in Los Angeles has become the most intense flashpoint in the Trump administration's efforts to deport migrants living in the country illegally. 

Trump centered much of his campaign last year on his promise to deport millions of immigrants living in the US illegally. 

The Department of Homeland Security, ICE's parent agency, said on Monday that ICE had arrested 2,000 immigration offenders per day recently, far above the daily average of 311 in fiscal year 2024 under former President Joe Biden. 

An immigration raid on Tuesday at a meat production plant in Omaha, Nebraska, was the "largest worksite enforcement operation" in the state during the Trump presidency, DHS said. Republican Congressman Don Bacon told local media that 75 to 80 people were detained. 

The company, Glenn Valley Foods, said it was surprised by the raid and had followed the rules regarding immigration status. 

SATURDAY PROTESTS 

A coalition calling itself "No Kings" has planned demonstrations and other events in over 1,800 locations across the US on Saturday as a counterpoint to Trump's military parade in Washington. 

Trump has warned that any protesters at the parade will be met by "very big force." Thousands of agents, officers and specialists are being deployed from law enforcement agencies across the country for the parade. 

The No Kings coalition includes over 100 civil rights and other groups and says it is planning peaceful protests against Trump and his administration's policies. 

The aim is for "a mass, nationwide protest rejecting authoritarianism, billionaire-first politics, and the militarization of our democracy," according to a No Kings press release. 

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World

Iran War as a New Catalyst...China Secretly Enters Nuclear Arms Race

China asserts that it follows a defensive strategy and is committed to the no-first-use of nuclear weapons (file-Reuters).
China asserts that it follows a defensive strategy and is committed to the no-first-use of nuclear weapons (file-Reuters).
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Iran War as a New Catalyst...China Secretly Enters Nuclear Arms Race

China asserts that it follows a defensive strategy and is committed to the no-first-use of nuclear weapons (file-Reuters).
China asserts that it follows a defensive strategy and is committed to the no-first-use of nuclear weapons (file-Reuters).

When three villagers from China’s Sichuan Province wrote to local officials in 2022 questioning why the government was confiscating their land and evicting them from their homes, they received a brief response: "It is a state secret."

An investigation by CNN revealed that this secret centers on China's plans to significantly expand its nuclear capabilities. More than three years after the citizen evacuations, satellite imagery shows their village has been leveled, replaced by new buildings designed to support some of China’s most critical nuclear weapons production facilities.

CNN reported that the expansion of these sites in Sichuan, observed through satellite imagery and a review of dozens of Chinese government documents, confirms recent allegations by President Donald Trump’s administration that Beijing is conducting its largest nuclear modernization campaign in decades.

President Trump is scheduled to visit Beijing on a historic trip next month, where he is expected to seek a dialogue on an agreement to curb Chinese President Xi Jinping’s nuclear ambitions.

Most Significant New Facilities in Sichuan Province

Among the most prominent of these facilities is a massive, fortified dome built on the banks of the Tongjiang River in less than five years. It appears to still be undergoing outfitting, suggesting it may not yet be operational.

The reinforced dome covers an area of 3,344 square meters (equivalent to 13 tennis courts). It is encased in a concrete and steel structure equipped with radiation monitoring devices and blast-proof doors, with a network of pipes extending from the facility to a building featuring a high ventilation chimney.

According to several experts, these features, along with advanced air-handling equipment, are designed to contain highly radioactive materials, such as uranium and plutonium, within the dome, indicating an expansion of the Chinese nuclear program's production capacity. The facility is also surrounded by three layers of security fencing.

No Sign of Retreat

This development comes at a time of rising international tensions, particularly following the expiration of the latest nuclear arms limitation treaty between the United States and Russia (known as "New START") earlier this year. Trump is seeking to broker a new and improved agreement with Moscow that would also include China.

However, the radical changes witnessed in Sichuan indicate that the Chinese military's nuclear weapons development shows no sign of slowing down, according to the CNN report.

In contrast, China denies the accusations; military spokesperson Jiang Bin emphasized that his country "follows a defensive strategy and is committed to no-first-use of nuclear weapons."

However, experts believe the significant changes on the ground reflect a fundamental shift in the nuclear program. Analyst Decker Eveleth said that this extensive modernization suggests a fundamental restructuring of the technology underpinning the entire system.

Renny Babiarz, Vice President of Analysis and Operations at AllSource Analysis, who reviewed the satellite imagery for CNN, also pointed to the potential development of "new processes and different types of equipment" within these facilities. He said it was clear that there are many changes happening on the ground."

This expansion coincides with directives issued by the Chinese President to accelerate the building of strategic deterrence capabilities amid escalating regional tensions, particularly regarding Taiwan.

Observers believe these moves could lead to a new nuclear arms race more complex than the Cold War era, with China emerging as a major third party. There are also concerns that the United States might overestimate China's capabilities, thereby exacerbating nuclear proliferation.

Jeffrey Lewis, a distinguished scholar in global security at the Middlebury Institute, said some in the US will argue that we need to radically expand our nuclear weapons production capacity to match China..."but we won't be matching what they are doing; we will be matching what we think they are doing. We will be matching our own nightmare. And that is extremely dangerous."

Impact of the Iran War on China’s Nuclear Program

Experts say that the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran may have strengthened China's resolve to expand its nuclear program.

"If you were Chinese and looked at what is happening, you wouldn't see that disarmament or weakening yourself makes any sense," Lewis said. He added: "One outcome of what the Trump administration is doing in Iran will not be to intimidate or subdue China, but rather to push it to build more nuclear weapons."

Lewis noted that, given these factors, the chances of reaching arms control agreements appear limited, pointing out that China may engage in "formal" dialogues to de-escalate tensions without offering substantial concessions.

World

India Says Defense Exports Hit 'All-time High' of $4 bn

India said it exported more than $4 billion of defense equipment including missiles, boats and artillery. Dibyangshu SARKAR / AFP
India said it exported more than $4 billion of defense equipment including missiles, boats and artillery. Dibyangshu SARKAR / AFP
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India Says Defense Exports Hit 'All-time High' of $4 bn

India said it exported more than $4 billion of defense equipment including missiles, boats and artillery. Dibyangshu SARKAR / AFP
India said it exported more than $4 billion of defense equipment including missiles, boats and artillery. Dibyangshu SARKAR / AFP

India's defense exports "skyrocketed" to an all-time high of more than $4 billion in the last fiscal year, as it looks to boost its arms manufacturing sector, the government said Thursday.

The figures mark a rise of more than 60 percent from 2024, the defense ministry said, and provide a shot in the arm for the South Asian country, which is determined to recast itself as a major producer and exporter of weapons, AFP said.

"India is marching ahead towards becoming a global defense manufacturing hub," the ministry quoted Defense Minister Rajnath Singh as saying.

"This big jump... in defense exports reflects the growing global trust in India's indigenous capabilities and advanced manufacturing strength," Singh said, adding that it had hit an "all-time high" in the fiscal year 2025-26 of 38,424 billion rupees ($4.15 billion).

Government defense companies produced nearly 55 percent of the exports, with the rest made by private companies.

"This milestone showcases the power of a collaborative and self-reliant defense ecosystem," Singh said.

India exports defense equipment to more than 100 countries, with the United States, France and Armenia among the top customers, according to the defense ministry.

Shipments range from missiles, boats and artillery to radar systems, rocket launchers and electronic components.

However, the country is still primarily a buyer, not a seller, and remains globally a minor player in exports.

New Delhi earlier this year announced a record $85 billion boost for its defense sector.

But India's arms purchases still make up around eight percent of all imports globally, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

 

World

Russia Repels Drone Attack on Gas Pipeline to Türkiye, Says Gazprom

File photo: Pipes at the landfall facilities of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline are pictured in Lubmin, Germany, March 8, 2022. (Reuters)
File photo: Pipes at the landfall facilities of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline are pictured in Lubmin, Germany, March 8, 2022. (Reuters)
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Russia Repels Drone Attack on Gas Pipeline to Türkiye, Says Gazprom

File photo: Pipes at the landfall facilities of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline are pictured in Lubmin, Germany, March 8, 2022. (Reuters)
File photo: Pipes at the landfall facilities of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline are pictured in Lubmin, Germany, March 8, 2022. (Reuters)

Russian forces repelled a drone attack early Thursday on part of the TurkStream gas pipeline connecting Russia and Türkiye, the pipeline's operator Gazprom said in a statement.

"The Russkaya compressor station, which ensures the reliable export of gas via the TurkStream pipeline, came under attack from three aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles," Gazprom said. "The attack was repelled and no damage was caused to the Gazprom facility."

The Russkaya compressor station is the starting point of the TurkStream pipeline. Russia has accused Ukraine of targeting it multiple times.