LA protests live updates: LAPD authorizes use of 'less lethal munitions' as Highway 101 is blocked
Authorities revealed Sunday afternoon that rioters had shut down the 101 Freeway both southbound and northbound after they stormed the road en masse.
Extraordinary photos shows at least 2,000 protesters as they commandeered both sides of the road, grinding traffic to a complete halt as they march down the streets waving flags and holding signs high above their heads.
Motorists stuck on the unmoving freeway are being instructed to turn around in an effort to clear the traffic, as even more rioters gather on overpasses and ramps.
Los Angeles erupts in anarchy as protesters storm major highway
Horrifying scenes of violence have stretched into a third day and sparked a political war of words between Trump and California Governor Gavin Newsom.
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- Reuters
Lawmakers want US tech CEOs to address concerns about submarine cables
WASHINGTON, July 21 (Reuters) - Three Republican House lawmakers on Monday asked the CEOs of Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab, Facebook-parent Meta (META.O), opens new tab, (AMZN.O), opens new tab and Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab if the tech firms have adopted adequate safeguards to address growing concerns about China and Russia on submarine communications cables. Washington has been raising alarm about the network of more than 400 subsea cables that handle 99% of international internet traffic. The letter signed by Representative John Moolenaar, who chairs a House panel on China and two other Republicans, raised concerns that entities affiliated with China "such as SBSS, Huawei Marine, China Telecom, and China Unicom, have continued to provide maintenance or servicing to cable systems in which your companies maintain direct or indirect operational involvement or ownership."
North Wales Chronicle
12 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Officers considering legal action against Police Scotland over Trump visit plans
The Scottish Police Federation (SPF), which represents 98% of all police officers in Scotland, said the force has already breached health and safety standards in the run up to the visit by the US president. Thousands of officers are expected to be involved in what Police Scotland has described as a 'significant policing operation'. The White House confirmed Mr Trump will visit his golf courses in Aberdeenshire and Ayrshire between July 25 and 29. He will meet the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and the First Minister John Swinney during his private trip. The visit is likely to result in widespread protests, following similar demonstrations during his last visit to Scotland. David Kennedy, general secretary of the SPF, suggested planning for the visit has already put officers at risk. He said: 'We currently have workforce agreements in place to protect police officers and provide minimum standards of Health and Safety at work. 'Sadly, we have seen these agreements breached in the days leading to the arrival of Potus (President of the United States) and as such we are seeking legal advice regarding potential legal action against the service.' Speaking to STV News, Mr Kennedy said he had 'major concerns' about the plans to police Mr Trump's trip. He told the broadcaster: 'We do not have enough police officers in Scotland. 'Anyone that says we do, I don't know where they get those figures from. 'We know what police officers have to do day in, day out and we need more officers in Scotland. 'When these events come along that puts those officers that are here under so much pressure.' Police Scotland said earlier this month it would seek help from the Scottish and UK Governments over the 'considerable' cost of policing the visit. It has also asked for support from Northern Ireland's police force, the PSNI. There had been speculation the King would host the American leader in Scotland after a meeting was suggested at Balmoral or Dumfries House, in a letter he wrote to Mr Trump in February inviting him to make the state visit. But it is understood that both sides will wait until the president's official state visit later this year. Police Scotland's Assistant Chief Constable Emma Bond said: 'We are working closely with the Scottish Police Federation to address any concerns they may have.' A spokesperson for the PSNI said: 'There are well established processes for any UK-based police services to request support from other services at times of peak demand. 'These requests are managed via the National Police Co-ordination Centre (NPoCC) and we can confirm that PSNI have received a request to provide mutual aid to Police Scotland which we are currently assessing. 'The decision to provide officers under the mutual aid process will be considered against our own demands, ensuring that we retain the capacity to respond effectively to local issues and maintain our own operational competence.'
The Independent
12 minutes ago
- The Independent
Redskins and Indians and Obama (Oh, my): How Trump is deflecting from his Epstein Files bungle using MAGA greatest hits
Donald Trump's efforts to shift his base's focus away from the so-called Epstein Files fallout continued over the weekend as the president dove headfirst back into the culture war and leaned into his own favorite topic: the supposed Deep State's efforts to persecute him. Ahead of a trip to Scotland this week, Trump is desperate to move the news cycle off of accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and a declaration by the Justice Department that a list of the convicted pedophile's co-conspirators did not exist within the files of the DOJ's investigation — despite his dutiful Attorney General Pam Bondi having said she had such files 'sitting on my desk.' What happened next was a wildfire that engulfed the president's online MAGA base and even spread into the broader podcasting 'manosphere.' As explanations from his supporters ranged from confusion to outright accusations of a cover-up, the president fumed privately and in a since-deleted Truth Social post that his 'PAST' supporters refused to move on from the issue. Epstein was known to cultivate relationships with powerful men and institutions, and speculation has swirled online for years around whether any of those men (including Trump, former President Bill Clinton and Britain's Prince Andrew) knew of his crimes or participated themselves during excursions to his private island or other properties. No public evidence exists definitively linking anyone besides Epstein and his society-girl lover Ghislaine Maxwell to the crimes, though evidence of his close friendships with Trump and others is extensive. Epstein's death was ruled a suicide after he was found in a New York City jail cell on Aug. 10, 2019, sparking further cries in MAGA circles of a mass conspiracy. On Thursday, the picture of that relationship between the president and a man who would later be found hanged in his jail cell awaiting trial for sex trafficking of minors and women changed considerably. The Wall Street Journal, a Rupert Murdoch-owned publication, published an article revealing the stomach-churning contents of a supposed 50th birthday card Maxwell curated for her boyfriend in 2003. The card included messages from friends of Epstein including, according to the WSJ, Donald Trump. The paper reports that Maxwell 'collected' a letter from Trump for the card, which alluded to a hidden 'secret' shared by the two men, concluding with Trump allegedly wishing Epstein a happy birthday — all done on top of a marker-drawn bawdy image of a naked woman. The White House and the president directly denied all parts of the Journal's report, including the authenticity of the note. But the president also redoubled his efforts at misdirection, and launched a slew of new efforts to that aim. First came the lawsuit against Murdoch and the Journal — as well as other independent reporters who circulated the story. This was unquestionably where the president saw the most success in the immediate term: turning the issue into a Trump vs. the media fight provides a unifying bogeyman for the right. Supporters including Steve Bannon dialed back their calls for Trump to provide transparency as the reaction to the Journal's reporting clarified that Democrats and Trump's critics see the issue as a political opportunity. Second was the resumption of Trump's war with Barack Obama, who more than any other Democrat has long held the president's political focus. His entrance into national politics during the Obama era began with a racist campaign aimed at questioning the birthplace of the nation's first Black president, and after his first election victory in 2016 Trump accused his predecessor of directing the FBI to spy on his campaign. Trump reignited those accusations this week, with the aid of Tulsi Gabbard, his director of national intelligence. Gabbard published a memo accusing the Obama administration of changing intelligence assessments to support political conclusions, but the crux of her own declaration was centered around a false conflation of the intelligence community's (IC) conclusion that Russia had not attempted to hack directly into voting systems with what the IC actually did conclude: that Russia used bot farms and other means including materials stolen during the verified hack of the Democratic National Committee's servers to influence public opinion. Not satisfied with picking one old fight, Trump picked two others. On Sunday, the president declared on Truth Social that he may attempt to gum up the approval process for the Washington Commanders stadium in the nation's capital if the team did not return to its old name, abandoned for its racist connotations about Native Americans in 2020. He likely does not have any power to actually carry out that threat, given that federal funding isn't involved in the stadium deal. The same could be said about his resumption of hostilities with another nemesis: comedian Rosie O'Donnell. Trump threatened in a separate Truth Social post to strip her citizenship, something the president legally cannot do. All of this is to say: Trump is throwing everything against the wall to see what sticks in a very obvious manner. On Monday, there were signs that many on the right were still unconvinced by the bluster. 'So…the Democrats left all the files implicating themselves in Russia Gate but destroyed all the Epstein Files?' one conservative influencer, Kelly McCarty, snidely asked on X. A number of Democrats have rallied behind a resolution with bipartisan support aimed at forcing the release of the DOJ's entire investigation into Epstein. Those members were undeterred on Friday when Attorney General Pam Bondi moved to ask a court to unseal grand jury testimony regarding Maxwell and Epstein, which they note is just a small part of the evidence collected by federal law enforcement. It also remains the case that much of the uproar was fueled by the Trump White House itself. MAGA supporters and others in the chorus of voices calling for evidence including the 'client list' to be released point to how right-wing influencers were summoned to the White House to receive 'phase 1' of 'The Epstein Files' in February. Vice President JD Vance, before that, fueled the speculation in repeated appearances on Theo Von's podcast, including during the 2024 election. Months later, no one else has faced accountability for associations with Epstein and the extent of his crimes remains unknown to the public.
