The Latest: Trump intensifies promises of federal law enforcement action in Chicago
By The Associated Press
President Donald Trump has amplified his promises to send National Guard troops and immigration agents to Chicago by posting a parody image from “Apocalypse Now” featuring a ball of flames as helicopters zoom over the nation’s third-largest city.
“‘I love the smell of deportations in the morning,’” Trump wrote on his social media site. “Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.”
The weekend post follows Trump’s repeated threats to add Chicago to the list of other Democratic-led cities he’s targeted for expanded federal enforcement, including Los Angeles and Washington — marking the latest flashpoint in a broader national struggle over how far the federal government can push local authorities to cooperate with its immigration agenda.
Details on the expected intervention have been sparse, including its focus and when exactly it’s expected to begin, though Trump’s border czar Tom Homan said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that federal law enforcement action will come to Chicago this week.
Here’s the latest:
Religious leaders urge the Chicago public not to fear Trump’s promised federal intervention
Religious leaders urged Chicago residents on Monday not to fear an expected federal intervention in the nation’s third-largest city, saying they should resist, record any interactions and rely on their faith instead.
Clergy members from several faiths spoke out Monday in downtown Chicago. Among them was Imam Gregory Abdullah Mitchell, who said people of all faiths should be be united in fighting back.
The Trump administration has said it will send immigration agents and the National Guard to Chicago to crack down on immigration enforcement and crime. Details about the operation have been limited.
Trump says new guidance on school prayer is expected soon
The president made the announcement Monday during remarks at a meeting of the White House Religious Liberty Commission. He said the Education Department will issue new guidance “protecting the right to prayer in our public schools.”
Public schools have been barred from leading students in classroom prayer since 1962, when the Supreme Court said it violated the First Amendment. But the Education Department has long promoted guidance saying students can pray together during lunch and other free times.
Trump issued revised guidance on the topic in 2020 that largely mirrored what was already on the books. Former President Joe Biden’s administration made minor changes in 2023, saying schools can take “reasonable steps” to ensure students aren’t pressured to participate in prayer.
During his campaign in 2023, Trump said he would support “bringing back prayer to our schools.”
Democrats’ changing attitudes toward capitalism and socialism
A new Gallup poll finds that while U.S. adults overall are more likely to have a positive view of capitalism than socialism, Democrats feel differently. Only 42% of Democrats view capitalism favorably, while 66% have a positive view of socialism.
The results show a gradual but persistent shift in Democrats’ support for the two ideologies over the past 15 years, with socialism rising as capitalism falls. The shifts underscore deep divisions within the party about whether open support for socialism will hurt Democrats’ ability to reach moderates or galvanize greater support from people who are concerned about issues like the cost of living.
Supreme Court lifts restrictions on LA immigration stops set after agents swept up US citizens
The Supreme Court cleared the way Monday for federal agents to conduct sweeping immigration operations in Los Angeles, the latest victory for President Trump’s administration at the high court.
The justices lifted a restraining order from a judge who found “roving patrols” were conducting indiscriminate arrests in LA. The order had barred agents from stopping people solely based on their race, language, job or location.
Trump’s Republican administration argued the order wrongly restricted agents carrying out its widespread crackdown on illegal immigration.
U.S. District Judge Maame E. Frimpong in Los Angeles had found a “mountain of evidence” that enforcement tactics were violating the Constitution. The plaintiffs included U.S. citizens swept up in immigration stops. An appeals court had left Frimpong’s ruling in place.
▶ Read more about immigration stops in Los Angeles
Trump administration announces ‘America Prays’ initiative
During the president’s speech, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Scott Turner detailed plans to infuse prayer with celebrations of the United States’ 250th anniversary next year.
He said the “America Prays” initiative would try to get 1 million people a week to pray for the country.
“This about the miracles that would take place over the next year,” Turner said.
When Turner finished, Trump finished his speech and said “we will never apologize for our faith.”
Thune says Senate will change the rules to push through Trump’s blocked nominees
Senate Majority Leader John Thune says he’s ready to change the chamber’s rules to allow quick confirmations of dozens of President Trump’s executive branch nominees, moving this week to speed up votes after months of Democratic delays.
Thune says he’ll start the process of changing the rules when the Senate goes into session Monday afternoon, with a final vote likely coming later this week.
“We must return to the Senate’s traditional confirmation process that existed before this unprecedented blockade,” Thune said in an op-ed published on Breitbart.com Monday morning.
Republicans have been talking about options for changing the rules since early August, when the Senate left for a monthlong recess after a breakdown in bipartisan negotiations over the confirmation process. Democrats have blocked nearly every single one of Trump’s nominees, forcing majority Republicans to spend valuable floor time on procedural votes and leaving many positions in the executive branch unfilled.
▶ Read more about nominations in the Senate
US sanctions online scam center operators in Southeast Asia
The U.S. Treasury Department and the State Department on Monday imposed financial and diplomatic sanctions on a network of people and firms across Burma and Cambodia allegedly involved in a scam center hub in Burma operating under the protection of the already sanctioned Karen National Army.
The network is accused of using forced labor and violence.
In Cambodia, workers are forced to carry out virtual currency investment scams against victims in the U.S., Europe and China, according to the State Department.
“These sanctions protect Americans from the pervasive threat of online scam operations by disrupting the ability of criminal networks to perpetuate industrial-scale fraud, forced labor, physical and sexual abuse, and theft of Americans’ hard-earned savings,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.
Trump praises Mayor Bowser on DC cooperation
The president, in a meandering speech at the Museum of the Bible, praised D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser for working with the federal government on the crime crackdown in her city.
Trump noted that Bowser has been good to work with although “that’s not her ideology and now I think it maybe is her ideology.”
“She’s taking a lot of heat, too, from the radical left,” he said. “You know, they don’t like that she’s allowing it. But look, she’s going to either allow it or we’ll just do it.”
Trump cheers West Point alumni group canceling award ceremony to honor Tom Hanks
The president called the famous actor “destructive” and “WOKE.”
Hanks was scheduled to receive the 2025 Sylvanus Thayer Award on Sept. 25, but the U.S. Military Academy’s alumni association canceled the ceremony last week, according to news reports.
“Important move!” Trump said in a post on his social media network Monday. “We don’t need destructive, WOKE recipients getting our cherished American Awards!!! Hopefully the Academy Awards, and other Fake Award Shows, will review their Standards and Practices in the name of Fairness and Justice.”
West Point, its alumni association and a representative for Hanks did not immediately respond to messages and calls seeking comment Monday.
Chief Justice John Roberts let Trump remove a member of Federal Trade Commission
It’s the latest in string of high-profile firings allowed for now at the Supreme Court.
Trump moved to fire Rebecca Slaughter in the spring, but lower courts ordered her reinstated after she sued because the law only allows commissioners to be removed for problems like misconduct or neglect of duty.
The Justice Department has argued that the FTC and other executive branch agencies are under Trump’s control and the Republican president is free to remove commissioners without cause.
▶ Read more about Trump and the Federal Trade Commission
Trump gives family Bible to museum
The president says he has “personally delivered” his family Bible to the Museum of the Bible to be displayed.
The Bible was given to him by his mother and used to swear him in at both of his inaugurations, Trump said.
“It will now be displayed right in the heart of our nation’s capital, right here,” Trump said during his remarks at the museum Monday morning. “And that’s an honor.”
Trump criticizes the Smithsonian
Speaking at the Museum of the Bible, Trump turned his attention to Washington’s most famous network of museums.
He said he had a “little problem with the Smithsonian” because he wanted “a little more positivity” about the country.
“What about the good things we’ve done?” Trump said. He’s previously complained on social media that Smithsonian museums focused too much on “how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was.”
“Big changes are being made at the Smithsonian,” he said.
Trump opens speech on religion
The president is speaking to the Religious Liberty Commission, which he established earlier this year to advise the White House.
“America was founded on faith,” Trump said.
He added that “we’re defending our rights and restoring our identity as a nation under God.”
Appeals court upholds E. Jean Carroll’s $83.3 million defamation judgment against Trump
The federal appeals court upheld a civil jury’s finding that Trump must pay $83.3 million to E. Jean Carroll for his repeated social media attacks against the longtime advice columnist after she accused him of sexual assault.
In a ruling issued Monday, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Trump’s appeal of the defamation award, finding the “jury’s damages awards are fair and reasonable.”
The $83.3 million defamation judgment was awarded by a civil jury over Trump’s repeated attacks on Carroll, who accused him of sexually assaulting her in a department store in the 1990s.
A separate jury also awarded Carroll in $5 million in a 2023 sexual assault and defamation verdict.
Trump’s lawyers had asked for a new trial.
▶ Read more about the defamation suit against Trump
Noem says roundup of Koreans at Hyundai plant in Georgia won’t deter investment in the US
That’s because such tough actions mean there’s no uncertainty about the Trump administration’s policies, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Monday.
The detention of 475 workers, more than 300 of them South Korean, in the Sept. 4 raid has caused confusion, shock and a sense of betrayal among many in the U.S.-allied nation.
“This is a great opportunity for us to make sure that all companies are reassured that when you come to the United States, you’ll know what the rules of the game are,” Noem said at a meeting in London of ministers from the “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing partnership focused on border security.
“We’re encouraging all companies who want to come to the United States and help our economy and employ people, that we encourage them to employ U.S. citizens and to bring people to our country that want to follow our laws and work here the right way,” she told reporters.
▶ Read more about the security meeting in Britain
Trump asks Supreme Court for emergency order to keep billions of dollars in foreign aid frozen
The Republican administration filed its appeal Monday.
The crux of the legal fight is over nearly $5 billion in congressionally approved aid President Trump last month said he wouldn’t spend, invoking disputed authority last used by a president roughly 50 years ago.
Justice Department lawyers told a federal judge last month that another $6.5 billion in aid would be spent before the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Amir Ali ruled the administration’s decision to withhold the funding was likely illegal.
▶ Read more about the administration and foreign aid money
South Koreans feel betrayed after hundreds detained in Georgia plant raid
South Korea’s foreign minister departed for the U.S. on Monday to finalize steps for the return of several hundred South Korean workers detained last week in a massive immigration raid in Georgia, as the incident caused confusion, shock and a sense of betrayal among many in the U.S.-allied nation.
The Sept. 4 raid on a battery factory under construction at a sprawling Hyundai auto plant in Georgia led to the detainment of 475 workers, more than 300 them South Koreans. Some of them were shown being shackled around their hands, ankles and waists in video released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
South Korea announced Sunday the U.S. agreed to release the detained workers, saying it would send a charter plane to bring them home once final administrative steps are completed.
President Trump, who earlier backed the raid, said Sunday night that the U.S. could work out an arrangement with South Korean workers to train U.S. citizens to do work such as battery and computer manufacturing.
▶ Read more about the immigration raid in Georgia
Potential federal intervention poses challenges for Chicago police on the ground
For the Chicago Police Department, the challenge is acute. The force must preserve public safety in a city already under strain while avoiding the appearance of working hand-in-hand with federal immigration authorities, a stance that could erode community trust and ignite new protests.
The same balancing act has confronted other big-city departments in recent months. Local police in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., were drawn into fraught arrangements with federal agencies that experts say left residents wary and, at times, undermined public confidence in their police.
Now, Chicago finds itself on the same path, with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker objecting to any National Guard deployment and city officials bracing for how the added federal presence could reshape the dynamic on the ground. The outcome, policing experts warn, may determine whether Chicago police can maintain credibility in immigrant communities likely to be targeted by a president determined to show force.
▶ Read more about how federal intervention could affect Chicago police
Jury selection begins in the trial of the man accused of trying to assassinate Trump in Florida
The court has blocked off four weeks for the trial of Ryan Routh, but attorneys are expecting they’ll need less time.
Jury selection is expected to take three days, with attorneys questioning three sets of 60 prospective jurors. They’re trying to find 12 jurors and four alternates. Opening statements are scheduled to begin Thursday, and prosecutors will begin their case immediately after that.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon signed off in July on Routh’s request to represent himself but said court-appointed attorneys need to remain as standby counsel. Cannon confirmed during a hearing last week that Routh would be dressed in professional business attire for the trial. She also explained to Routh that he would be allowed to use a podium while speaking to the jury or questioning witnesses, but he would not have free rein of the courtroom.
▶ Read more about Ryan Routh’s trial
Chicago churches urge calm resistance ahead of expected federal intervention
The Rev. Marshall Hatch urged congregants of a prominent Black church on Chicago’s West Side to carry identification, stay connected to family and protest as the city readied for an expected federal intervention.
“You need to start telling people about your whereabouts, so you don’t disappear,” Hatch said during Sunday services at New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church. “We’re not going to despair. We’re not going to feel threatened. We’re not going to give up and give in to fascism and authoritarianism.”
As Chicago braced for an immigration enforcement crackdown and a possible National Guard deployment, churches across the city turned up their response from the pulpit. Some worked to quell fears about detention and deportation while others addressed the looming possibility of more law enforcement on the streets of the nation’s third-largest city.
▶ Read more about Chicago’s response the Trump’s comments
Republicans in Congress are eager for Trump to expand his use of the military on US soil
National Guard troops patrolling the streets of U.S. cities. Weapons of war deployed against international gangs suspected of drug trafficking. Military bases and resources redirected to mass immigration enforcement operations.
President Trump is swiftly implementing his vision of the military as an all-powerful tool for his policy goals. It’s ground presidents have hardly ever crossed outside times of war, and experts say it’s remaking the role of the most powerful military in the world and its relationship with the American public.
Yet as Trump has dramatically stepped up his use of military force, fellow Republicans in Congress — where authorization for such actions is supposed to originate — have done little but cheer him on. That’s giving the president significant leeway as he raises plans to send troops next to Chicago, Baltimore and New Orleans.
▶ Read more about Republicans and Trump’s use of the military
