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  • How Israel’s Iran attack could open ‘Pandora’s box’ for the Middle East — and the U.S.

    How Israel’s Iran attack could open ‘Pandora’s box’ for the Middle East — and the U.S.



    There are American bases in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain.

    Trump has not shied away from the U.S.’s close ties to Israel’s military.

    The “United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come,” he posted on Truth Social on Friday.

    Even before Israel’s strike, President Donald Trump announced some personnel were being moved out of the region because “it could be a dangerous place.”

    Afterward, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad reminded Americans across the Middle East of the “need for caution” and to “know the location of the nearest shelter in the event of hostilities.”

    The U.S. has made a clear attempt to distance itself from the attacks, saying Israel acted alone and insisting it will still attend Sunday’s talks with Iran in Oman aimed at limiting its ability to build a nuclear bomb, something Tehran denies pursuing.

    Even so, Trump did not shy away from the incident in a post on Truth Social, lamenting the lack of progress in these talks.

    “Iranian hardliners spoke bravely,” he wrote. “They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse!”

    Iran did sign a landmark nuclear agreement with the U.S. and others in 2015, which many Western analysts said successfully hindered Iran’s progress toward a bomb. That was, until Trump tore up what he termed “one-sided deal” in 2018 and Iran began to increase its enrichment again.

    Despite saying Thursday that the latest round of nuclear talks was “fairly close to a pretty good agreement,” Trump warned that the lack of progress could result in a “massive conflict.”

    Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meanwhile, said the U.S. was not involved in strikes.

    Iran said it does not buy Washington’s assurances, and that the attack was impossible without Washington’s “coordination and approval,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.

    That view is shared by Vali R. Nasr, a professor of Middle East studies and international affairs at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, in Washington.

    “It is difficult to believe that Israel would and could have attacked at this scale without U.S. knowledge and green light,” Nasr, a former senior adviser to Washington’s special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, posted on X.



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  • David Beckham receives knighthood in King Charles’ birthday honors list for services to sport

    David Beckham receives knighthood in King Charles’ birthday honors list for services to sport


    LONDON — British soccer legend David Beckham, a sporting icon and one of the world’s most recognizable faces, has received a knighthood from King Charles III for services to sport and charity, Buckingham Palace announced on Friday.

    The award, the highest Britain’s antiquated honors system can bestow, seems inevitable given Beckham’s success as a player and his contribution to the country’s culture. For years, Britons have wondered how he has not already been elevated to Sir David.

    He gets the “gong,” as it’s known in British parlance, as part of the king’s birthday honors list, which rewards notable people from across British society.

    David Beckham speaks with King Charles III at the Chelsea Flower Show on May 20, 2025 in London, England.
    David Beckham speaks with King Charles III at the Chelsea Flower Show on May 20 in London, England. Paul Grove / Getty Images

    The move also means his famous wife, Spice Girl-turned-fashion mogul Victoria, will now be known as Lady Beckham. Their marriage in 1999 made them Britain’s most famous couple and a near permanent fixture in tabloid newspapers and magazines, an obsession that has lasted into the age of social media.

    Beckham, 50, rose from an unremarkable east London upbringing to reach sporting glory with his beloved Manchester United, before going on to star for several of Europe’s elite teams. He played more than 100 games for the English men’s national team, many as captain, and scored at three World Cups.

    David Beckham
    David Beckham at Wembley in London in 1998.Shaun Botterill / Getty Images file

    He was part of the famous “Class of 92,” a supremely talented group of young players who signed professional deals in 1992 and went on to form the basis of United’s imperial phase of dominance in the 1990s and early 2000s. This culminated in the club winning an unprecedented “treble” of titles in 1999: the Premier League, the European Champions League, and the English FA Cup, under manager Alex Ferguson.

    Beckham won 19 major trophies in his career and became the first English player to win major titles in four different countries.

    An elegant player, Beckham’s intelligence made up for his lack of pace and trickery. He was famous for his long passes that opened up defenses and for devastating free kicks, which, according to former teammates, he spent countless hours perfecting.

    His career took him to the United States in 2007, where he played for the LA Galaxy and helped to build soccer’s profile in the country.

    Beckham has been an ambassador for Unicef, the United Nations’ children’s fund, since 2005. Ten years later, the organization launched a fund in his name.

    Beckham’s post-playing career was shaped in part by media entrepreneur Simon Fuller, formerly manager of the Spice Girls. Fuller was instrumental in putting a clause in his contract that would give him a stake in an MLS franchise for $25 million when he finished playing.

    As a result, he is now president and co-owner of the Inter Miami MLS franchise, currently home to Argentine legend Lionel Messi, who is regarded as one of the greatest players in the sport’s history.

    Queen Elizabeth II meets David Beckham at Buckingham Palace on June 26, 2018 in London, England.
    Queen Elizabeth II meets David Beckham at Buckingham Palace in 2018 in London, England. John Stillwell / Getty Images file

    Beckham has maintained a higher profile than any footballer of his generation. From waiting for hours in the miles-long line to see Queen Elizabeth’s coffin (apparently without asking for special access) in 2022 to a four-part Emmy-winning docuseries on Netflix last year, his star profile remains huge.

    In 2017, it looked like a knighthood was a long way off when leaked emails allegedly written by Beckham were highly critical of the honors system. A spokesperson for the Beckhams said at the time that the stolen emails were “hacked and doctored.”

    While awarded by the king, or at least a senior royal, honors are actually decided by committees of politicians, civil servants, and leading business figures. The overall process is managed by 10 Downing Street, the private office and residence of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who received a knighthood in 2014.



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  • Four detainees at Newark ICE facility are missing, senior officials say

    Four detainees at Newark ICE facility are missing, senior officials say



    Four people detained at an immigration detention center in New Jersey have gone missing, according to two senior officials.

    The detainees were being held at the Delaney Hall facility in Newark, where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been holding individuals who are facing possible deportation. The four people were unaccounted for Thursday night, and federal authorities were looking into whether they were still on the grounds of the facility, or had somehow escaped, senior officials said.

    Chopper 4 was over the scene Thursday afternoon showing law enforcement and ICE agents canvassing the area.

    The wife of one detainee told NBC New York she rushed over to Delaney Hall after she got a call from her husband about a lockdown in his pod and a protest about inhumane conditions at the detention center. The wife of that detainee said she was worried about her husband’s safety.

    A search was ongoing.

    Local and state authorities were notified of the missing detainees, and some additional resources were called in to assist with the situation, according to the senior officials.

    Delaney Hall made headlines in May after protests broke out at the 1,000-bed, privately owned facility.

    Democratic U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver was charged in a criminal complaint with two assault charges stemming from a May 9 visit to the center. She was indicted on Tuesday; The indictment includes three counts of assaulting, resisting, impeding and interfering with federal officials.

    By law, members of Congress are authorized to go into federal immigration facilities as part of their oversight powers, even without notice. Congress passed a 2019 appropriations bill that spelled out the authority.

    McIver said in a statement that she had “serious concerns about the reports of abusive circumstances at the facility,” and that her office had reached out to ICE for answers.

    At the same visit that resulted in McIver’s charges, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested on a trespassing charge, which was later dropped. Baraka later filed a lawsuit against acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba over what he said was a malicious prosecution.

    In a statement, Baraka expressed concern for what had transpired at Delaney Hall on Thursday, “ranging from withholding food and poor treatment, to uprising and escaped detainees.”

    The mayor went on to say the situation “lacks sufficient oversight of every basic detail — including local zoning laws and fundamental constitutional rights. This is why city officials and our congressional delegation need to be allowed entry to observe and monitor, any why private prisons pose a very real problem to our state and its constitution…We must put an end to this chaos and not allow this operation to continue unchecked.”



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  • Mel Brooks announces ‘Spaceballs’ sequel with video

    Mel Brooks announces ‘Spaceballs’ sequel with video



    The Schwartz will be with us again.

    Mel Brooks will reprise his “Spaceballs” role as Yogurt in the upcoming sequel to the hit 1987 “Star Wars” spoof that will be released in theaters.

    The comedy legend, 98, hyped the new movie in a post on X on June 12.

    “I told you we’d be back,” Brooks captioned the post.

    The clip features words scrolling on the screen, “Star Wars”-style, with music underneath.

    The video begins by poking fun at how many “Star Wars” movies have been made in the years since “Spaceballs” came out in 1987. It goes on to joke about the high volume of films and TV series in other franchises, including “Dune,” “Jurassic Park,” “Avatar,” Marvel, DC Comics, “The Lion King,” “Harry Potter,” “Star Trek,” “Alien,” “Predator” and even the Beatles, as well as “Oppenheimer.”

    “But in thirty-eight years there has only ever been one … ‘Spaceballs.’ Until now …” the text reads before Brooks appears wearing a sweatshirt that says “‘Spaceballs’ the sweatshirt,” a nod to the merchandising jokes that run throughout the original film.

    “After 40 years, we asked, ‘What do the fans want?’ But instead, we’re making this movie,” Brooks says at the end of the video before a giant Dark Helmet head appears with the words, “The Schwartz awakens in 2027.”

    “May the Schwartz be with you,” Brooks then says as the clip draws to a close.

    “While the title, plot details, and rest of cast are being kept under wraps, the film has been described by those who have not yet read the script as ‘A Non-Prequel Non-Reboot Sequel Part Two but with Reboot Elements Franchise Expansion Film,’” Amazon MGM Studios said in a statement.

    Josh Greenbaum will direct the film, which will be written by a team of writers, including Josh Gad, who teased the sequel last year.

    Gad shared Brooks’ video while expressing his excitement about joining the “Spaceballs” universe.

    “I was that child who saw ‘Spaceballs’ before I ever saw ‘Star Wars’ and then wondered why anyone would do a dramatic remake of the Mel Brooks classic,” he wrote on Instagram on June 12. “It is therefore the greatest gift of my life to now help take the reins and work alongside Mel and this incredible group to do a sequel to the movie that first inspired George Lucas.”

    Deadline reports Bill Pullman and Rick Moranis will return for the “Spaceballs” sequel to reprise their roles as Lone Starr and Dark Helmet, respectively. Moranis has not appeared in many movies over the last three decades after being a staple on the big screen in the ‘80s and early ‘90s.

    Keke Palmer is also set to star in the movie, according to Deadline, as is Lewis Pullman, the Emmy-nominated son of Bill. TODAY.com has reached out to Amazon MGM Studios for comment on the casting.





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  • The extraordinary escape of the lone surviving passenger of the Air India crash

    The extraordinary escape of the lone surviving passenger of the Air India crash



    Viswashkumar explained that he and his brother had been staying in India for the last eight or nine months and he was bound back home to London, where his family lived.

    Viswashkumar told Reuters in Hindi that within a minute after takeoff, the plane felt like it came to a standstill in the air and the green and white cabin lights turned on.

    “I could feel engine thrust increasing to go up but it crashed with speed into the building,” he told Reuters.

    He explained that the side of the plane he was on landed on the ground floor of the hostel.

    “I could see that there was space outside the aircraft, so when my door broke I tried to escape through a little space and I did. On the opposite side (of plane) was the building wall, so nobody could have escaped. The plane crashed there. There was some space where I landed,” he said.

    “I don’t know how I managed to escape. It was in front of my eyes that the air hostess and others (died),” he added.

    Viswashkumar’s left hand was burned by a fire. An ambulance took him to a hospital where he remains in recovery.

    He is “doing well” but “psychologically disturbed” by the event, according to the medical director of the Civil Hospital, where he is being treated.

    Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Viswashkumar in the hospital on Friday.

    Viswashkumar summed his extraordinary survival up in a few words: “It’s miracle, everything,” he told DD News.

    Nayan Kumar Ramesh, Viswashkumar’s brother in the U.K., told Sky News, NBC News’ international partner, that “this is a miracle that he survived.”

    “But what other miracle for my other brother?” he said, referring to their third brother who was on the flight with Viswashkumar.

    In total there were 230 passengers and 12 crew members on board, Air India said, and 241 were killed. Among the passengers were 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, a Canadian national and seven Portuguese nationals.

    The plane had crashed into a hostel for the B.J. Medical College and Civil hospital (BJMC). As a result, four students at BJMC died, six relatives of resident doctors died and 24 are undergoing treatment, the Federation of All India Medical Associations (FAIMA) Doctors Association said Friday.



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  • Oil prices surge, stocks tumble in the wake of Israel’s strikes on Iran

    Oil prices surge, stocks tumble in the wake of Israel’s strikes on Iran



    Oil prices surged and stocks tumbled Friday in the wake of Israel’s strikes on Iran’s top military officials and nuclear sites.

    U.S. oil benchmark prices climbed approximately 8% to about $74 a barrel, the highest level since early April. Major stock indexes fell more than 1% in premarket trading, though they pared heavier losses as investors assessed that wider fallout from the conflict was initially limited. Tech stocks like Nvidia and Tesla moved lower, while shares in oil and defense-industry firms like Chevron and Lockheed Martin traded up.

    Gold prices also reached a new monthly high, rising more than 1% to as much as $3,440 an ounce. The price of bitcoin fell almost 1% to less than $105,000. U.S. bond prices were little changed.

    Israel launched strikes on Iran early Friday local time, a dramatic escalation of long-running tensions between the two countries. Israel officials have warned of a “lengthy operation,” while President Donald Trump said there was “much more to come” from Israel and that Iran should make a deal. Iran has so far retaliated by launching drones toward Israel while also threatening U.S. assets in the region.

    While spiking oil prices usually signal higher gasoline prices for consumers in the coming days and weeks, experts said there was no need to rush out to the pump.

    “Higher gas prices are coming. But it will not be insane, and ultimately gas prices remain affordable vs income,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at price tracker GasBuddy, said in a post on X.

    Higher oil prices could stoke inflation, complicating the Federal Reserve’s calculations as it continues to weigh a weakening job market against fears of the price impact from Trump’s tariffs.

    Before the strikes, stocks appeared heading for a wining week after the Trump administration signaled renewed interest in a rapprochement with China over trade concerns. The president said he planned on stabilizing import duties on Chinese goods at 55%, while those on U.S. goods into China would be set at 10%.



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  • ‘No Kings’ Protests Planned Ahead of Trump’s Military Parade

    ‘No Kings’ Protests Planned Ahead of Trump’s Military Parade



    As preparations continue for President Donald Trump’s military parade in Washington, D.C., which honors the Army’s 250th anniversary and falls on the president’s 79th birthday, several groups are organizing protests across the country, including one called No Kings which denounces what they call “corruption in government.” NBC’s Gabe Gutierrez reports for TODAY.



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  • Israel and Iran’s airstrikes and National Guard deployment rulings: Morning Rundown

    Israel and Iran’s airstrikes and National Guard deployment rulings: Morning Rundown


    Israel targeted Iran’s nuclear sites in an attack escalating the conflict between the two countries. An appeals court allows Trump’s authority over National Guard troops in L.A. to remain for now. And the sole survivor in an India plane crash that killed everyone else on board isn’t sure how he escaped, his family said.

    Here’s what to know today.

    Israel strikes Iran’s nuclear sites in major attack

    The Israeli military launched a series of airstrikes against Iran on Friday in a dramatic escalation of their long-running conflict, raising fears of another war in the Middle East.

    Among those killed in the strikes was Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, Iran’s most senior military official, multiple Iranian state news outlets reported. Hossein Salami, the commander in chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, was also killed in an attack at the Tehran headquarters, as well as a top IRGC official and at least two nuclear scientists, Iranian state media reported.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strikes were aimed at “Iran’s main enrichment facility” and scientists working on Iran’s nuclear program, as well as targets associated with the country’s ballistic missile program. Netanyahu claimed Iran posed a “threat to Israel’s very survival” and that its operation would continue “for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.”

    The U.S. said it was not involved and was not providing assistance to Israel in the attacks. In fact, the Trump administration had been urging Israel to hold off on an attack as it continues talks with Iran on its nuclear program. Now, Israel’s move appears to be a significant break with the Trump administration. And despite the U.S. denying its involvement in the attack, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi suggested the attack couldn’t have happened “without the coordination and approval of the United States.”

    Read the full story here, and follow our live blog for the latest updates.

    This is Morning Rundown, a weekday newsletter to start your day. Sign up here to get it in your inbox.

    Legal battle ensues over Trump’s National Guard deployment

    President Donald Trump, for now, can keep control of the thousands of National Guard troops he deployed in response to immigration protests in Los Angeles, an appeals court ruled last night, pausing a lower court’s order that found his actions to be unlawful. The decision from a three-judge panel in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals came hours after U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer issued a temporary restraining order that had been set to go into effect today, saying Trump’s deployment of the troops was unlawful. While Breyer’s order did not apply to the deployment of 700 Marines to L.A., the appeals court ruling does. The appeals court hearing on the matter is scheduled for Tuesday.

    The legal battle over the federalization of National Guard troops in California comes nearly a week after ICE raids in the city sparked days of protests and stoked tensions between Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. After the lower court’s ruling, Newsom said Breyer’s decision showed Trump is not a “monarch” and “should stop acting like one.” Justice Department attorneys framed Breyer’s ruling as an attack on Trump’s presidential powers. Read the full story here.

    Meanwhile, tensions between the Trump administration and California leaders were also on display earlier Thursday when Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla of California was forcibly removed during Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s media event in L.A. related to immigration. “I am Sen. Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,” Padilla told Noem, which prompted several men dressed in plainclothes to push him out of the room. Once taken to a hallway, Padilla was pushed onto the ground and handcuffed.

    Noem falsely said in an interview on Fox News that Padilla did not identify himself and he was “lunging toward the podium.” Padilla, in an interview with NBC News correspondent Jacob Soboroff, disputed her account.

    “They said I wasn’t wearing my pin. My polo says ‘United States Senate,’” Padilla said. “There was no threat. There was no lunging. I raised my voice to ask a question, and it took, what, maybe, half a second before multiple agents were on me.” Read more and watch Padilla’s interview.

    More politics news:

    • The incident involving Padilla forced the Trump administration to go on the offensive, politics reporter Natasha Korecki writes in an analysis, capping a week in which the Democratic Party seems to have finally found its voice.
    • The Republican-led House voted to pass a rescissions package that codified cuts proposed by DOGE and clawed back $9.4 billion in previously approved funding for foreign aid, NPR and PBS.
    • Trump is set to host a major military parade tomorrow celebrating the Army’s 250th anniversary. It also happens to be his 79th birthday. Here’s everything to know about the event.

    1 survivor, 241 killed in Air India plane crash

    More than 240 people died — and one passenger survived — after an Air India plane crashed in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff Thursday. The London-bound Boeing 787-8 aircraft struck a building where medical students were sitting down to lunch shortly after it took off around 1:38 p.m., local time. Video showed the plane’s landing gear was still down when it crashed and created a ball of flames.

    There were 230 passengers and 12 crew members on board, Air India said in a statement; 241 people were killed.

    The survivor, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, is “doing well” but “psychologically disturbed” by the event, according to the medical director of the Civil Hospital, where he is being treated. Ramesh’s family told NBC News’ European partner, Sky News, that Ramesh was dazed and that he said he couldn’t find his brother or any other passengers after the crash. “It’s a miracle that he survived,” said Ramesh’s brother Nayan Kumar Ramesh. “But what other miracle for my other brother?” Here’s what else we know.

    Read All About It

    • The retrial of Harvey Weinstein ended abruptly in a mistrial when the jury foreperson refused to join deliberations on the remaining rape charge involving former actor Jessica Mann.

    Staff Pick: ‘We’re fighting for my girl’s life’

    A 10-year-old girl recovering from brain cancer, from the United States was deported with her undocumented parents last month.
    A girl recovering from brain cancer from the U.S. taken to Mexico when her parents were deported in February. Texas Civil Rights Project

    An 11-year-old girl and U.S. citizen who is recovering from a rare brain tumor is now in Mexico after her undocumented parents were deported four months ago. In an exclusive interview with reporter Nicole Acevedo, the girl’s mother said her condition has worsened without the specialized care she was getting in Texas. They’ve filed for humanitarian parole, hoping they can come back to continue her treatment. “She’s not going to be cured overnight,” the mother said. “It takes time.” Sandra Lilley, NBC Latino editorial director

    NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified

    For renters who want a simple way to upgrade their space, try the Poplight Sconce, a rechargeable light with an easy installation. Plus, if you’re running a marathon or playing sports for hours, electrolyte powders are a fast and convenient way to stay hydrated.

    Sign up to The Selection newsletter for hands-on product reviews, expert shopping tips and a look at the best deals and sales each week.

    Thanks for reading today’s Morning Rundown. Today’s newsletter was curated for you by Elizabeth Robinson. If you’re a fan, please send a link to your family and friends. They can sign up here.



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  • Democrats make a mark in their rowdy pushback to Trump

    Democrats make a mark in their rowdy pushback to Trump



    All week, officials in the Trump administration hailed the images of protests against their deportation campaign in Los Angeles, saying their opponents were playing right into their hands.

    But on Thursday, the administration was put on the defensive.

    A video of Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., forced to the ground and handcuffed after he interrupted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at a news conference in Los Angeles on Thursday, immediately ricocheted across social media platforms and cable news, shifting the narrative to warnings about overreach by the White House.

    It capped a week when the Democratic Party seemed to finally find its voice, in ways big and small, to push back against the administration. From California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s questioning President Donald Trump’s acuity to Padilla’s move to interrupt Noem to mini-rebellions playing out at the nation’s capital, Democrats began to break the hold Trump usually has on the news cycle.

    It comes after months of Democratic intraparty squabbling over how to move forward after a bitter loss in the presidential election. In that time, Democrats have been unable to come up with coherent, unified messaging to rebut Trump and instead have been mired in fighting about issues like whether activist David Hogg should remain part of the Democratic National Committee and who was to blame for Joe Biden’s refusal to walk away from the Democratic presidential nomination earlier amid concerns of his mental decline.

    Last week, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told NBC News he was employing a flood-the-zone strategy with messaging and urging other members to do the same.

    And this week, the DNC voted overwhelmingly to hold a new election for Hogg’s vice chair post, prompting him to quickly announce he would walk away from the position.

    A strategist said the resistance to Trump was a necessity after the events in Los Angeles, which Democrats say are overreach by the administration.

    “Voters have been looking for this, and the circumstances have arrived,” said Mary Anne Marsh, a Democratic strategist. “And while many people will say it should have happened sooner, given the series of events — this week alone — everyone had to step up. There was no choice.”

    Nationwide protests planned for Saturday also threaten to overshadow Trump’s upcoming military parade in Washington.

    On Thursday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., demanded a bipartisan investigation into the Padilla incident as Democratic senators took turns sounding off about what they called overbearing tactics by the Trump administration that undermined democracy. When House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., stood before cameras in the Capitol to call Padilla’s actions “wildly inappropriate,” shouting could be heard interrupting him: “That’s a lie!”

    At a hearing Thursday of the House Oversight Committee, where three Democratic governors of so-called sanctuary states were hauled before the panel, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul got salty at one point with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.

    “You stated that you’re a proud registered Democrat?” Greene asked.

    “Yes, I did,” Hochul shot back. “Is that illegal now, too, in your country?”

    At another point in the hearing, Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., interrupted and repeatedly asked whether Republicans would subpoena Noem. He irritated committee chair James Comer, R-Ky. to the point that Comer snapped: “Just shut up!”

    That all followed relentless pushback from Newsom since last week. Newsom went on his own messaging campaign to rebut a barrage of insults that Trump and his deputy chief of staff and key immigration official Stephen Miller have fired at him and his California.

    Trump federalized the National Guard and deployed Marines to California after protests broke out in response to arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The White House repeatedly pointed to burning cars and protesters’ throwing rocks as the impetus for sending troops to the state, with Trump proclaiming that if he had he not, Los Angeles would be “burning to the ground.”

    Most of the protests, however, have taken place only in a few blocks downtown. The Los Angeles police chief said this week that the force was equipped and experienced enough to handle the events in the city on its own and did not ask for assistance from the National Guard.

    Democrats have pointed to Trump’s deployments as a vast overreach of presidential powers and an attempt to militarize blue cities.

    Amid the upheaval, Newsom delivered remarks this week saying Trump was trying to install an authoritarian regime. He has taken to podcasts and sat for countless news interviews while he and his office regularly rebut Trump administration statements on X.

    On Thursday, he went further, raising concerns about Trump’s mental acuity.

    In an interview on The New York Times’ podcast “The Daily,” Newsom charged that Trump “starts making up all these things he claimed he told me about, which honestly starts to disturb me on a different level.” He was referring to Trump’s comments that he had a phone call Monday with Newsom that Newsom said did not happen.

    “Maybe he actually believed he said those things and he’s not all there. I mean that,” Newsom added.

    White House spokesman Steven Cheung shot back in a statement: “The attacks on President Trump are rich, coming from Gavin Newsom, who in this past election tried to gaslight and lied to the American public about Joe Biden’s decline. Gavin Newsom will never be president, even as he tries to peddle these lies.”

    Noem and others in the administration said they did not know who Padilla was during the news conference and thought a stranger was lunging at her as she spoke. Noem contended that Padilla did not identify himself, but video showed otherwise.

    I am Sen. Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,” Padilla called out, interrupting Noem. Padilla was forcibly removed from the room, and video showed him being forced onto his stomach and cuffed.

    “If this is how the Department of Homeland Security responds to a senator with a question, you can only imagine what they’re doing to farmworkers, to cooks, to day laborers out in the Los Angeles community and throughout California and throughout the country,” Padilla told reporters. “We will hold this administration accountable.”

    From the Senate floor, Warren tried to make a larger point about the incident.

    “Every day, DHS agents are throwing people to the ground while they are not resisting,” Warren said. “Every day Donald Trump is making this nation look more and more like a fascist state. … We all have to ask: How far will they go? How violent will they get?”



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  • What to know ahead of Saturday’s event

    What to know ahead of Saturday’s event



    President Donald Trump on Saturday is set to host a major military parade in Washington celebrating the Army’s 250th anniversary.

    The event is expected to cost tens of millions of dollars, according to defense officials, and will feature thousands of soldiers, hundreds of vehicles and dozens of military aircraft.

    The president, who will be celebrating his 79th birthday on Saturday, is scheduled to deliver remarks during the parade, which will take place in the evening in the nation’s capital.

    Here’s everything you need to know about Saturday’s event.

    When is it happening?

    The parade is expected to kick off at 6:30 p.m. ET Saturday and is expected to last for over an hour, broken into celebrations of the Army’s eras: the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War I, WWII, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the Global War on Terror, the modern Army and the future.

    The parade will take place along the National Mall, along Constitution Avenue NW, between 15th and 23rd streets.

    While the parade is the main event of Saturday’s celebration, the Army is hosting a variety of other events that day in the nation’s capital, including a birthday festival on the National Mall in the morning.

    The festival opens at 11 a.m. ET and is free to the public. It will feature live music, meet-and-greets with former NFL players, rock walls and military demonstrations. The Army is billing it as a “family friendly” event.

    The festival will include an Army fitness competition in the morning featuring 14 teams competing for victory.

    Trump will also deliver remarks later in the evening. His speech will touch on the Army’s “significant achievements” and “enduring legacy.”

    After the parade wraps up, the Army says, the event will conclude with a concert and fireworks.

    Who’s organizing it?

    The parade is being organized by America250, a bipartisan initiative created by Congress after the passage of the United States Semiquincentennial Commission Act of 2016.

    The members of America250’s commission include Cabinet secretaries and lawmakers, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.; Lisa Murkowksi, R-Alaska; Alex Padilla, D-Calif.; and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.

    Trump signed an executive order in January that added several administration officials to the group working with America250. The executive order also made Trump chair of White House task force and Vice President JD Vance the vice chair.

    What’s in the parade?

    Around 6,600 soldiers will march in the parade, plus 50 military aircraft and 150 vehicles, according to defense officials. Nearly three dozen horses and two mules are also expected to march in a section of the parade dedicated to the Army’s history. Soldiers will wear costumes and carry weaponry representative of each period.

    The parade will also include an extensive air show and flyover, featuring helicopters, historic aircraft and a demonstration by the Army’s Golden Knights parachute team.

    Military equipment and vehicles arrived near the nation’s capital beginning early this week. In Jessup, Maryland, where some equipment was unloaded Monday, Col. Kamil Sztalkoper, the director of public affairs for the U.S. Army’s III Armored Corps, told reporters that the equipment was delivered by train, with “fifty-one rail cars overall.”

    How can people watch it?

    Members of the public are allowed to attend the event and will be able to watch the parade from the National Mall, including on screens that will be set up near the Washington Monument. The president and over 100 other notable guests will sit and watch the parade from a viewing box constructed on Constitution Avenue between 15th Street and 17th Street.

    Major broadcast networks, including ABC, CBS and NBC, will cover the parade on their respective streaming channels. NBC News Now will begin coverage of the parade Saturday evening.

    How much will it cost?

    The parade is expected to cost the military as much as $45 million, with up to $16 million of that cost accounting for the price of repairing Washington streets damaged by tanks.

    In an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press” in May, Trump defended the cost of the parade, saying that the millions of dollars were “peanuts compared to the value of doing it.”

    “We have the greatest missiles in the world. We have the greatest submarines in the world. We have the greatest army tanks in the world. We have the greatest weapons in the world. And we’re going to celebrate it,” he added.

    In the same interview, Trump disputed that the parade was a birthday celebration for his 79th.

    “My birthday happens to be on Flag Day,” he said. “I view it for Flag Day, not necessarily my birthday. Somebody put it together. But no, I think we’re going to do something on June 14, maybe, or somewhere around there. But I think June 14. It’s a very important day.”

    Are protests expected?

    In Washington and in all 50 states, pro-democracy, labor and liberal activists are planning protests that will coincide with the military parade.

    Several progressive groups are joining forces to host a series of “No Kings” protests around the country, with over 1,500 rallies expected Saturday. But the organizers decided against a Washington, protest, instead holding the flagship event in Philadelphia.

    The Women’s March group is hosting “Kick Out the Clowns” rallies in several cities.

    In Washington, several groups will host events throughout the day, including the group Refuse Fascism, which will host a “nonviolent march” before the parade, and the Free D.C. Project, which plans to host a “D.C. Joy Day.” The latter group isn’t billing the event as a counterprotest, but rather a community day that will serve as counterprogramming to Trump’s parade.

    The planned demonstrations come a week after protests broke out in Los Angeles against the administration’s immigration raids. Clashes between protesters and law enforcement prompted Trump to deploy thousands of National Guard members, and later hundreds of Marines, in response.

    Trump’s decision to send the military to quell protesters, which California officials sued to block, sparked further outcry across the country.

    On Tuesday, Trump warned protesters against disrupting the military celebration, saying they would be met with “heavy force.”

    “If there’s any protester that wants to come out, they will be met with very big force,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “I haven’t even heard about a protest, but you know, this is people that hate our country, but they will be met with very heavy force.”

    Asked Wednesday if Trump would support peaceful protests in the area, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “Of course the president supports peaceful protests. What a stupid question.”

    How will it affect those living in and traveling to Washington?

    Washingtonians will have to navigate several days of road closures near the parade route, which will be along Constitution Avenue, on the north side of the National Mall, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. Dozens of streets will also have emergency no-parking measures in effect.

    On Saturday, the Metro will still be running in the nation’s capital, with just one entrance to one station — the northwest entry/exit for the Smithsonian Metro — expected to close, according to the Army.

    Due to the expected flyovers during the parade, Reagan National Airport in northern Virginia, which serves travelers to the Washington area, will stop flights from taking off and landing, a move that could affect over 100 incoming and outgoing flights.



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