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Pentagon Reportedly Working on Plans for Military Deployment in Chicago

FILE PHOTO: US President Donald Trump wears a 'Trump Was Right About Everything!' hat, as he makes an announcement on the 2026 FIFA World Cup, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, August 22, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: US President Donald Trump wears a 'Trump Was Right About Everything!' hat, as he makes an announcement on the 2026 FIFA World Cup, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, August 22, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo
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Pentagon Reportedly Working on Plans for Military Deployment in Chicago

FILE PHOTO: US President Donald Trump wears a 'Trump Was Right About Everything!' hat, as he makes an announcement on the 2026 FIFA World Cup, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, August 22, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: US President Donald Trump wears a 'Trump Was Right About Everything!' hat, as he makes an announcement on the 2026 FIFA World Cup, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, August 22, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo

The Pentagon is working on plans to deploy the US military to Chicago as President Donald Trump says he is cracking down on crime, homelessness and undocumented immigration, the Washington Post reported on Saturday.

The Defense Department planning, in the works for weeks, involves several options, including mobilizing at least a few thousand members of the National Guard as soon as September, the Post reported, citing officials familiar with the matter.

"Chicago is a mess," Trump, a Republican, told reporters on Friday, deriding its mayor as he continued his attacks on cities run by Democratic politicians. "And we'll straighten that one out probably next."

The Pentagon said in a statement late on Saturday: “We won’t speculate on further operations. The department is a planning organization and is continuously working with other agency partners on plans to protect federal assets and personnel."

The White House did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment on the Post report.

JB Pritzker, the Democratic governor of Illinois, which includes Chicago, said in a statement the state had received no outreach from the federal government on whether it needed assistance. He said there was no emergency warranting a National Guard or other military deployment.

"Donald Trump is attempting to manufacture a crisis, politicize Americans who serve in uniform and continue abusing his power to distract from the pain he is causing working families," Pritzker said.

A spokesperson for Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Friday Johnson said the city had grave concerns about the impact of any unlawful deployment of National Guard troops.

"The problem with the President's approach is that it is uncoordinated, uncalled for and unsound," the mayor said, adding that over the past year, homicides in Chicago have fallen by more than 30%, robberies by 35% and shootings by almost 40%.

At Trump's request last weekend, the Republican governors of three states said they were sending hundreds of National Guard troops hundreds of miles to Washington, D.C.

The president has portrayed the nation's capital as a city awash in crime, although Justice Department data shows violent crime hit a 30-year low last year in Washington, a self-governing federal district under the jurisdiction of Congress.

In June, Trump ordered 700 Marines and 4,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles, against the wishes of California's Democratic governor, during protests over mass immigration raids by federal officials.

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World

Ebola Deaths Exceed 300 in DR Congo, Say Heath Authorities

Healthcare workers disinfect a stretcher after transporting a patient suffering from the Ebola virus disease from an ambulance at the Ebola Treatment Center (ETC) in Bunia, Ituri, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo on June 23, 2026. (AFP)
Healthcare workers disinfect a stretcher after transporting a patient suffering from the Ebola virus disease from an ambulance at the Ebola Treatment Center (ETC) in Bunia, Ituri, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo on June 23, 2026. (AFP)
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Ebola Deaths Exceed 300 in DR Congo, Say Heath Authorities

Healthcare workers disinfect a stretcher after transporting a patient suffering from the Ebola virus disease from an ambulance at the Ebola Treatment Center (ETC) in Bunia, Ituri, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo on June 23, 2026. (AFP)
Healthcare workers disinfect a stretcher after transporting a patient suffering from the Ebola virus disease from an ambulance at the Ebola Treatment Center (ETC) in Bunia, Ituri, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo on June 23, 2026. (AFP)

The Ebola epidemic has claimed more than 300 lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a little over one month after it was declared, health authorities said on Friday.

The deadly viral disease, which spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids, can cause severe bleeding and organ failure.

A total of 304 people in the DRC have now died of the virus, from 1,115 confirmed infections since the outbreak was detected on May 15, giving a mortality rate of 26.3 percent, the National Public Health Institute (INSP) said.

This is a jump from the 202 deaths confirmed on June 18 by the African Union's health agency, from 875 confirmed infections -- a mortality rate of 23 percent.

The Red Cross warned last week that the outbreak of the haemorrhagic fever has yet to peak and could take up to a year to contain.

In some rare good news, the DRC authorities announced in early June that several Ebola patients had been treated and cured.

Responders to the epidemic, the 17th to hit the vast, unstable central African country, face towering challenges.

No approved vaccines or treatments exist for the Bundibugyo strain of the virus responsible for the latest outbreak to hit the DRC, which is one of the world's poorest countries.

The three affected provinces in eastern DRC -- Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu -- have been plagued for three decades by conflict and mass displacement, complicating the response.

The outbreak has spread to neighboring Uganda, where containment measures have been effective.

Kampala has reported 20 confirmed cases nationwide, including two deaths since May 15. Most of those infected are Congolese nationals who have travelled to Uganda.

On Wednesday, France reported the outbreak's first confirmed case of Ebola outside Africa -- a Congolese doctor who was working in the DRC for the international medical aid NGO ALIMA.

The World Health Organization says there is minimal risk of the virus spreading in Europe and there is no need for travel restrictions.

Air France, on which the doctor flew back to France, has nevertheless suspended all flights to Kinshasa for several days.

- Ituri -

The vast majority of cases in the DRC have been detected in Ituri.

The mineral-rich province is plagued with unrest from a string of rival armed groups, and frequent population movements favour the spread of the disease.

More than 91 percent of all infections have been registered in the provincial capital, Bunia, and more than 82 percent of all deaths.

Efforts to contain the virus have been ratcheted up in Ituri.

But healthcare facilities -- which often operate with limited resources -- still lack basic equipment and supplies, such as personal protective equipment and chlorine.

Many clinics set up by the WHO and aid agencies are close to full, the country's public health agency said.

At least 78 healthcare workers have been infected with the virus, and 18 have died, it added.

Medical and aid workers also have to contend with deep mistrust from some local communities.

Some families have demanded that hospitals hand over the bodies of the deceased, not realizing that touching the body puts them at risk of contamination.

The reluctance of some families to allow post-mortem examinations on the victims is also leading to an underestimation of the number of cases, officials said.

World

Trump Foe Bolton Pleads Guilty in Classified Files Case

Former White House national security adviser John Bolton arrives at the US District Court for the District of Maryland, in Greenbelt, Maryland, US, June 26, 2026. (Reuters)
Former White House national security adviser John Bolton arrives at the US District Court for the District of Maryland, in Greenbelt, Maryland, US, June 26, 2026. (Reuters)
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Trump Foe Bolton Pleads Guilty in Classified Files Case

Former White House national security adviser John Bolton arrives at the US District Court for the District of Maryland, in Greenbelt, Maryland, US, June 26, 2026. (Reuters)
Former White House national security adviser John Bolton arrives at the US District Court for the District of Maryland, in Greenbelt, Maryland, US, June 26, 2026. (Reuters)

John Bolton, who served as Donald Trump's national security advisor before becoming an outspoken critic of the US president, pleaded guilty Friday to one count of retaining classified documents.

The 77-year-old veteran diplomat entered the plea in federal district court in Maryland as part of a deal in which prosecutors would recommend he serve no more than five years in prison.

Asked by judge Theodore Chuang if he was guilty, Bolton replied: "I am, your honor, and I'm sorry for it."

He will also have to pay a fine of $2.25 million.

Bolton, one of several Trump foes to be hit with criminal charges since the Republican president returned to the White House, was indicted in October on 18 counts of transmitting and retaining top secret national defense information.

He was accused of sharing classified files by email with two "unauthorized individuals" who have not been identified but are believed to be his wife and daughter.

The material was allegedly later used in a book that Bolton wrote, "The Room Where It Happened," that was highly critical of the Trump administration.

Bolton, who served as Trump's national security advisor during his first term, frequently appears on television news shows and in print to condemn the man he has called "unfit to be president."

Trump has repeatedly lashed out at his former aide and withdrew his security detail shortly after returning to the White House in January of last year.

The Trump Justice Department has sought to bring cases against other prominent critics of the president, including New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI director James Comey.

Sentencing has been scheduled for October 28.

World

German Court Tries Two Men over Alleged Iran-backed Anti-Jewish Plots

The two men were remanded in custody in Germany following their arrest last year in Denmark and subsequent extradition. (Reuters - file photo)
The two men were remanded in custody in Germany following their arrest last year in Denmark and subsequent extradition. (Reuters - file photo)
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German Court Tries Two Men over Alleged Iran-backed Anti-Jewish Plots

The two men were remanded in custody in Germany following their arrest last year in Denmark and subsequent extradition. (Reuters - file photo)
The two men were remanded in custody in Germany following their arrest last year in Denmark and subsequent extradition. (Reuters - file photo)

Two men went on trial in Germany on Friday accused of planning attacks on prominent pro-Israel public figures and spying on Jews on behalf of Iranian secret services.

Danish national Ali S. is charged with espionage, attempted murder, attempted arson and sabotage, while his alleged Afghan accomplice, Tawab M., is accused of attempted murder, AFP reported.

Ali S. allegedly spied on the head of the German-Israeli Society, the former Greens MP Volker Beck, as part of plans to assassinate him, according to prosecutors.

He is also accused of spying on the president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, as well as two Jewish grocers in Berlin as part of plans to carry out arson attacks.

Prosecutors say Ali S. in early 2025 took orders from the Quds Force, the foreign operations branch of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The two men were remanded in custody in Germany following their arrest last year in Denmark and subsequent extradition.

Volker Beck was in the public gallery at the opening of the trial, accompanied by police protection, Marayke Frantzen, a spokeswoman for the court in Hamburg, told AFP.

Both defendants exercised their right to remain silent after the indictment was read out, Frantzen said.

When the charges were announced in May, Beck called on Berlin to expel the Iranian ambassador as well as consular officials.

"Jewish life and a commitment to the Jewish and democratic state are repeatedly threatened with murder and attacked by the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran on German soil," he said.

In July 2025, the foreign ministry summoned Iran's ambassador to Germany to protest following Ali. S's arrest in Denmark.

When the two men were charged last month the Iranian embassy in Berlin released a statement rejecting what it called "unfounded allegations made at the behest of Iran's enemies".