Category World News

National Guard troops from Texas have arrived in the US state of Illinois, ahead of a planned deployment to Chicago that is strongly opposed by local officials.

The arrival of the troops on Tuesday is the latest escalation by the administration of United States President Donald Trump in its crackdown on the country’s third-largest city, and comes despite active legal challenges from Chicago and the state of Illinois making their way through the courts.

The Guard’s exact mission was not immediately clear, though the Trump administration has an aggressive immigration enforcement operation in Chicago, and protesters have frequently rallied at an immigration building outside the city in Broadview, Illinois.

The president repeatedly has described Chicago in hostile terms, calling it a “hellhole” of crime, although police statistics show significant drops in most crimes, including homicides.

“If you look at Chicago, Chicago is a great city where there’s a lot of crime, and if the governor can’t do the job, we’ll do the job,” Trump said on Tuesday of his decision to send the National Guard to the city against the wishes of state leadership. “It’s all very simple.”

There were likely “50 murders in Chicago over the last 5, 6, 7 months”, the president has claimed – although, according to government data, Chicago saw a 33 percent reduction in homicides in the first six months of 2025 and a 38 percent reduction in shootings.

Trump has also ordered Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, following earlier deployments to Los Angeles and Washington, DC. In each case, he has done so despite staunch opposition from mayors and governors from the Democratic Party, who say Trump’s claims of lawlessness and violence do not reflect reality.

A federal judge in September said the Republican-led administration “willfully” broke federal law by putting Guard troops in Los Angeles over protests about immigration raids.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said the president’s strategy is “unconstitutional, it’s illegal and it’s dangerous”.

Illinois and Chicago sued the Trump administration on Monday, seeking to block orders to federalise 300 Illinois Guard troops and send Texas Guard troops to Chicago. During a hearing, US Justice Department lawyers told a federal judge that Texas Guard troops were already in transit to Illinois.

The judge, April Perry, permitted the deployment to proceed for now, but ordered the US government to file a response by Wednesday.

Separately, a federal judge in Oregon on Sunday temporarily blocked the administration from sending any troops to police Portland, the state’s largest city.

The Trump administration has portrayed the cities as war-ravaged and lawless amid its escalation in immigration enforcement.

“These Democrats are, like, insurrectionists, OK?” the president said Tuesday. “They’re so bad for our country. Their policy is so bad for our country.”

Officials in Illinois and Oregon, however, say military intervention isn’t needed and that federal involvement is inflaming the situation.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat, accused Trump of intentionally trying to foment violence, which the president could then use to justify further militarisation.

“Donald Trump is using our service members as political props and as pawns in his illegal effort to militarise our nation’s cities,” Pritzker said on Monday.

“There is no insurrection in Portland. No threat to national security,” Democratic Oregon Governor Tina Kotek has said.

What is the Insurrection Act, and can Trump invoke it?

When speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump made it clear that he’s considering invoking the Insurrection Act to clear the way for him to send soldiers to US cities.

“We have an Insurrection Act for a reason. If I had to enact it, I’d do that,” Trump said on Monday.

The federal law dates back to 1807 and gives the US president the power to deploy the military or federalise National Guard troops anywhere in the US to restore order during an insurrection.

Constitutional lawyer Bruce Fein told Al Jazeera that presidential powers under the act apply only in cases of major rebellion, equivalent to the US Civil War, where normal law enforcement and courts can’t function. However, Fein added that it is unclear whether a president’s declaration of insurrection can be challenged in court.

“Congress, however, could impeach and remove Trump for misuse of the act in Portland,” Fein said, adding that military law obligates personnel to disobey orders that are clearly unlawful.

He said Trump’s use of the act in Portland would be “clearly illegal” even if it cannot be challenged in court.

The Insurrection Act has been invoked in response to 30 incidents, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

A government official in Ecuador has accused protesters of attempting to attack President Daniel Noboa, alleging that a group of approximately 500 people surrounded his vehicle and threw rocks.

The attack, which unfolded in the south-central province of Canar, took place as Noboa arrived in the canton of El Tambo for an event about water treatment and sewage.

Environment and Energy Minister Ines Manzano said Noboa’s car showed “signs of bullet damage”. In a statement to the press, she explained that she filed a report alleging an assassination attempt had taken place.

“Shooting at the president’s car, throwing stones, damaging state property — that’s just criminal,” Manzano said. “We will not allow this.”

The president’s office also issued a statement after the attack on Tuesday, pledging to pursue accountability against those involved.

“Obeying orders to radicalise, they attacked a presidential motorcade carrying civilians. They attempted to forcibly prevent the delivery of a project intended to improve the lives of a community,” the statement, published on social media, said.

“All those arrested will be prosecuted for terrorism and attempted murder,” it added.

Five people, according to Manzano, have been detained following the incident. Noboa was not injured.

Video published by the president’s office online shows Noboa’s motorcade navigating a roadway lined with protesters, some of whom picked up rocks and threw them at the vehicles, causing fractures to form on the glass.

A separate image showed a silver SUV with a shattered passenger window and a shattered windscreen. It is not clear from the images whether a bullet had been fired.

Noboa, Ecuador’s youngest-ever president, was re-elected in April after a heated run-off election against left-wing rival Luisa Gonzalez.

May marked the start of his first full term in office. Previously, Noboa, a conservative candidate who had only served a single term in the National Assembly, had been elected to serve the remainder of Guillermo Lasso’s term — a period of around 18 months — after the former president dissolved his government.

Combatting crime has been a centrepiece of Noboa’s pitch for the presidency. Ecuador, formerly considered an “island of peace” in South America, has seen a spike in homicide rates as criminal organisations seek to expand their drug trafficking routes through the country.

Ecuador’s economy has also struggled to recover following the COVID-19 pandemic.

But Noboa has faced multiple protests since taking office.

In recent weeks, for example, he has faced outcry over his decision to end a fuel subsidy that critics say helps lower-income families.

Noboa’s government, however, has argued that the subsidy drove up government costs without reaching those who need it. In a presidential statement on September 12, officials accused the subsidy of being “diverted to smuggling, illegal mining and undue benefits”.

The statement also said that the subsidies represented $1.1bn that could instead be used to compensate small farmers and transportation workers directly.

But the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), the country’s most powerful Indigenous advocacy organisation, launched a strike in response to the news of the subsidy’s end.

It called upon its supporters to lead protests and block roadways as a way of expressing their outrage.

Nevertheless, on Tuesday, the group denied that there had been an organised attack on Noboa’s motorcade. Instead, CONAIE argued that government violence had been “orchestrated” against the people who had gathered to protest Noboa.

“We denounce that at least five comrades have been arbitrarily detained,” CONAIE posted on X. “Among the attacked are elderly women.”

It noted that Tuesday marked the 16th day of protest. “The people are not the enemy,” it added.

CONAIE had largely backed Noboa’s rival Gonzalez in the April election, though some of its affiliate groups splintered in favour of Noboa.

This is not the first time that Noboa’s government has claimed the president was the target of an assassination attempt.

In April, shortly after the run-off vote, it issued a “maximum alert” claiming that assassins had entered the country from Mexico to destabilise his administration.

At the time, the administration blamed “sore losers” from the election for fomenting the alleged plot.

Washington, DC – CNN commentator Van Jones has been facing backlash for making a crass joke about Palestinian children killed by Israel.

During an appearance on Real Time With Bill Maher on HBO on Friday, Jones claimed without evidence that young people in the United States are being manipulated by Iran and Qatar through social media to care about the carnage in Gaza.

“If you are a young person, you are opening up your phone, and all you see is dead Gaza baby, dead Gaza baby, dead Gaza baby, Diddy, dead Gaza baby, dead Gaza baby,” he said, as the audience erupted in laughter.

Making light of the more than 20,000 Palestinian children killed by Israel and invoking the wrapper Sean “Diddy” Combs, who has been involved in a sex abuse scandal, for comedic effect, sparked outrage against Jones.

The commentator – who has spoken at pro-Israel rallies – subsequently apologised.

“The suffering of the people of Gaza — especially the children — is not a punch line. I’m deeply sorry it came across that way,” Jones wrote on social media.

But Jones – who served as an adviser to former President Barack Obama – did not mention who is behind the suffering of Palestinians, nor did he walk back his baseless claim of a “disinformation” campaign.

Jones’s comments were the latest in a long history of efforts to dehumanise Palestinians in the US.

Al Jazeera looks at 15 statements by US politicians, commentators and celebrities since the start of the war on Gaza two years ago that called for mass violence against Palestinians, painted them as inherently evil or dismissed Israeli atrocities – including the killing of children – as a justified necessity of war:

Congressman Brian Mast: “I don’t think we would so lightly throw around the term ‘innocent Nazi civilians’ during World War II. It is not a far stretch to say there are very few innocent Palestinian civilians.”

Congressman Max Miller: “We’re going to turn that [Palestine] into a parking lot.”

Congressman Andy Ogles: “I think we should kill them all.”

Congressman Randy Fine: “Release the hostages. Until then, starve away.”

Congressman Tim Walberg: “We shouldn’t be spending a dime on humanitarian aid. It [Gaza] should be like Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Get it over quick.”

Senator Tom Cotton: “Israel doesn’t need patronising lectures about civilian casualties. As far as I’m concerned, Israel can bounce the rubble in Gaza.”

Senator Lindsey Graham: “We are in a religious war here, I am with Israel. Whatever the hell you have to do to defend yourself; level the place.”

Former President Joe Biden: “I have no notion that the Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed. I’m sure innocents have been killed, and it’s the price of waging a war.”

Former President Bill Clinton: “Hamas makes sure that they’re shielded. They’ll force you to kill civilians if you want to defend yourself.”

Former White House spokesperson John Kirby: “Being honest about the fact that there have been civilian casualties and that there likely will be more is being honest – because that’s what war is.”

Former presidential candidate Nikki Haley: “Finish them.” (Written on an Israeli bomb)

Atlantic Magazine writer Graeme Wood: “It is possible to kill children legally, if for example one is being attacked by an enemy who hides behind them.”

Singer Kid Rock: “I don’t disagree with what Israel is doing. It’s like they should just go in there and be like, ‘You know what, we want our hostages back. If we don’t have them back, the clock starts now. In 24 hours, we are gonna start bombing m************, and killing civilians, 30,000 to 40,000 a f****** time’.”

Actor and producer James Woods: “No ceasefire. No compromise. No forgiveness. #KillThemAll”.

Hamas and Israel have concluded a second day of indirect negotiations on United States President Donald Trump’s proposal to end the war on Gaza, as senior Qatari and US officials headed to Egypt to join the talks.

Speaking at the White House on the second anniversary of the start of the war, Trump said that there was a “real chance” of a Gaza deal, as Tuesday’s talks wrapped up in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh.

However, the day had opened with an umbrella of Palestinian factions – including Hamas – issuing a statement that promised a “resistance stance by all means”, stressing that “no one has the right to cede the weapons of the Palestinian people” – an apparent reference to a key demand for the disarmament of the armed group contained in Trump’s 20-point plan.

Senior Hamas official Fawzi Barhoum said that the group’s negotiators were seeking an end to the war and “complete withdrawal of the occupation army” from Gaza. But Trump’s plan is vague regarding the exit of Israeli troops, offering no specific timeline for the staged rollout, which would only happen after Hamas returns the 48 Israeli captives it still holds, 20 of whom are thought to be alive.

A senior Hamas official who spoke to Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity after Tuesday’s talks indicated that the group intends to release captives in stages linked to the withdrawal of Israel’s military from Gaza.

The official said that Tuesday’s talks had focused on scheduling the release of Israeli captives and withdrawal maps for Israeli forces, with the group stressing that the release of the last Israeli hostage must coincide with the final withdrawal of Israeli forces.

Hamas’s top negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, said the group did “not trust the occupation, not even for a second”, according to Egyptian state-linked Al Qahera News. He said Hamas wanted “real guarantees” that the war would end and not be restarted, accusing Israel of violating two ceasefires in the war on Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement to mark the anniversary of the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, that sparked Israel’s war on Gaza, calling the last two years of conflict a “war for our very existence and future”.

He said that Israel was “in fateful days of decision”, without alluding directly to the ceasefire talks. Israel, he said, would “continue to act to achieve all the war’s objectives: the return of all the hostages, the elimination of Hamas’s rule, and ensuring that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel”.

Staying flexible

Despite signs of continued differences, the talks appear to be the most promising sign of progress towards ending the war yet, with Israel and Hamas both endorsing many parts of Trump’s plan.

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said the mediators – Qatar, Egypt and Turkiye – were staying flexible and developing ideas as the ceasefire talks progress.

“We don’t go with preconceived notions to the negotiations. We develop these formulations during the talks themselves, which is happening right now,” he said.

Al-Ansari told Al Jazeera that Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani will join other mediators – including Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner for the US – on Wednesday in Egypt.

Sheikh Mohammed’s “participation confirms the mediators’ determination to reach an agreement that ends the war”, al-Ansari said.

Even if a deal is clinched, questions linger about who will govern Gaza and rebuild it, and who will finance the huge cost of reconstruction.

Trump and Netanyahu have ruled out any role for Hamas, with the former’s plan proposing that Palestinian “technocrats” run day-to-day affairs in Gaza under an international transitional governance body – the so-called “Board of Peace” – that would be overseen by Trump himself and the divisive former United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Hamas’s Barhoum said the group wanted to see “the immediate start of the comprehensive reconstruction process under the supervision of a Palestinian national body”.

Israeli attacks continue

The second anniversary of the war, which was sparked by deadly attacks on Israel that were led by Hamas on October 7, 2023, saw Israel pressing on with its offensive in Gaza, drones and fighter jets strafing the skies, targeting the Sabra and Tal al-Hawa residential areas in Gaza City and the road to nearby Shati camp.

At least 10 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza on Tuesday, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, adding to the grim toll of more than 66,600 deaths over the entire conflict. At least 104 people have been killed in Gaza by Israeli forces since Friday, the day Trump called on Israel to halt its bombing campaign.

Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary said on Tuesday that a boy had been shot in the head in eastern Gaza and that at least six Palestinians were killed in separate attacks across Khan Younis in the south of the Strip.

“Everyone’s waiting for a peace deal as the bombs continue to fall,” she said, reporting from az-Zuwayda in central Gaza. “The Israeli forces continue destroying entire residential neighbourhoods and residential areas where Palestinians thought they would go back and rebuild their lives.”

Marking the anniversary, ACLED, a US-based conflict monitor, said Gaza has endured more than 11,110 air and drone strikes and at least 6,250 shelling and artillery attacks throughout the war. Gaza’s dead accounted for 14 percent of total reported deaths from conflicts worldwide over the past two years.

The United States Supreme Court appears poised to side with a challenge against a Colorado law that bans psychotherapists from conducting “conversion therapy” on minors in an attempt to influence their gender identification or sexuality.

On Tuesday, the high court, which has a six-to-three conservative majority, heard arguments in the case, which weighs whether the ban violates the protections for free speech under the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

The complaint was brought by licensed counsellor Kaley Chiles, a Christian who claims Colorado’s law infringes on her free speech rights.

But the state has defended its law. Colorado Solicitor General Shannon Stevenson argued that the ban regulates harmful conduct, not speech.

The 2019 Colorado law prohibits licensed mental healthcare providers from seeking to change a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity with a predetermined outcome in mind. That practice, known as conversion therapy, has been often associated with religious prohibitions against gay or transgender identities.

Detractors have warned that such “therapy” is pseudoscience and can be harmful, not to mention discriminatory, for LGBTQ youth.

Justices weigh arguments

Colorado maintains that Chiles’s allegations of free-speech violations are hypothetical because the state has not actually disciplined her.

But the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative organisation representing Chiles, has argued that the danger is that professionals might censor themselves for fear of punishment.

James Campbell, a lawyer for Chiles, told the justices that Colorado’s law “forbids counsellors like Kaley Chiles from helping minors pursue state-disfavoured goals on issues of gender and sexuality”.

Conservative Justice Samuel Alito seemed to embrace that claim that Colorado’s law marginalises certain points of view.

At one point in Tuesday’s hearing, Alito told Stevenson that her state’s measure allows therapists to help a patient feel comfortable about being gay but bars them from helping a patient who seeks to “end or lessen” their same-sex attraction.

“It seems to me your statute dictates opposite results in those two situations,” Alito said, adding, “Looks like blatant viewpoint discrimination.”

Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts also pushed back on Colorado’s law and on Stevenson’s assertion that it only regulates the conduct of licensed therapists.

The court’s precedents make clear that “just because they’re engaged in conduct doesn’t mean that their words aren’t protected”, Roberts said.

Concerns from medical professionals

Colorado is one of more than 20 states in the US that have banned conversion therapy, a widely discredited practice in the medical field.

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry is one of the groups that has spoken out against the practice.

On its website, the academy warns that conversion therapy could trigger or worsen mental health conditions among minors. It also says the practice could stigmatise LGBTQ identity.

“These interventions are provided under the false premise that homosexuality and gender diverse identities are pathological,” it explains. “They are not; the absence of pathology means there is no need for conversion or any other like intervention.”

In 2019, the Williams Institute, a think tank at the School of Law at the University of California at Los Angeles, issued a report that found as many as 698,000 LGBTQ adults had undergone conversion therapy at some point in their lives. That included about 350,000 who received treatment as adolescents.

“This court has recognised that state power is at its apex when it regulates to ensure safety in the healthcare professions,” Stevenson told the justices in her opening remarks.

“Colorado’s law lies at the bull’s-eye centre of this protection because it prohibits licensed professionals from performing one specific treatment because that treatment does not work and carries great risk of harm.”

The Supreme Court’s ruling is expected by the end of June.

In recent rulings, the court’s conservative majority has largely sided with arguments that expand the concept of religious freedom, even in cases that raise questions of anti-LGBTQ discrimination.

Trump pledges US security guarantees for Gaza two years after the war started, calling for a “very close” Middle East peace agreement. Envoys from the United States are traveling to Egypt for what officials believe are the most promising talks to end the conflict.