Latest news with #MarineCorps'
Korea Herald
a day ago
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Ex-spy chief appears for questioning by special counsel in Marine death probe
Former National Intelligence Service Director Cho Tae-yong appeared before a special counsel team Tuesday for questioning over allegations of government interference in an initial probe into the 2023 death of a Marine. Cho arrived at special counsel Lee Myeong-hyeon's office in southern Seoul as a suspect in the case over power abuse allegations in connection to the Marine Corps' investigation in 2023. As he entered the building, the former NIS director said he would "diligently" take part in the session but did not respond to reporters' questions. Cho was one of the senior officials in attendance at a meeting in July 2023 where then President Yoon Suk Yeol allegedly flew into a rage upon hearing the preliminary probe results that found a senior Marine commander responsible for the death of Cpl. Chae Su-geun. Chae died earlier that month while on a mission to search for torrential rain victims. The former NIS director, who served as the national security adviser at the time, is believed to have been one of two people Yoon kept behind at the meeting before placing a call to then Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup. He is also suspected of having called the then defense minister days later when the Marine Corps' investigation team sent the preliminary probe results to the police in defiance of orders from superiors not to do so. The case centers on allegations the investigation results were later changed to clear the initial suspects of responsibility. Cho is expected to be questioned about Yoon's reaction to the initial probe results and whether he was directly involved in the alleged instructions to change its results. The special counsel team raided Cho's home earlier this month and confiscated his cellphone, among other items. (Yonhap)
07-07-2025
2 U.S. Servicemen Arrested in Okinawa for Assault
News from Japan Society Jul 7, 2025 09:42 (JST) Naha, Okinawa Pref., July 7 (Jiji Press)--Two U.S. servicemen have been arrested in the southernmost Japan prefecture of Okinawa over the weekend for allegedly assaulting Japanese nationals. The Okinawa prefectural police on Saturday arrested Tomas Salazar, a 25-year-old airman who belongs to the U.S. Air Force's Kadena base in the prefecture, on suspicion of assaulting his girlfriend at a parking lot in the city of Okinawa. He allegedly knocked down the woman in her 20s and punched her in the face several times around 3:30 a.m. Saturday, causing an injury to her mouth. Salazar has denied the allegations, saying that he did not beat his girlfriend. Gabriel Monize, a 21-year-old private 1st class who belongs to the U.S. Marine Corps' Camp Hansen in Okinawa, was arrested Sunday on suspicion of slightly injuring an unacquainted Japanese man, 40, by putting his hands around the latter's neck in the victim's car on a street in the city of Okinawa around 12:10 a.m. the same day. According to the Okinawa police, the Japanese man was in his parked car when Monize suddenly entered the vehicle and assaulted him from behind. Monize has denied the allegations while refusing to take an alcohol test. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
California asks court for restraining order to block Guard, Marine deployments in L.A.
California on Tuesday asked a federal court for a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration's deployment of both state National Guard forces and U.S. Marines to Los Angeles amid mass protests over sweeping federal immigration enforcement efforts. The request was filed in the same federal lawsuit the state and California Gov. Gavin Newsom filed Monday, in which they alleged Trump had exceeded his authority and violated the U.S. Constitution by sending military forces into an American city without the request or approval of the state governor or local officials. California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, whose office is handling the litigation on behalf of both Newsom and the state, said the restraining order was necessary to bring an immediate stop to the deployments, which local officials have contended are not needed and only adding to tensions sparked by sweeping immigration detentions and arrests in communities with large immigrant communities. "The President is looking for any pretense to place military forces on American streets to intimidate and quiet those who disagree with him," Bonta said in a statement Tuesday. "It's not just immoral — it's illegal and dangerous." Newsom, in his own statement, echoed Bonta, saying the federal government "is now turning the military against American citizens." "Sending trained warfighters onto the streets is unprecedented and threatens the very core of our democracy," Newsom said. "Donald Trump is behaving like a tyrant, not a President." The state's request Tuesday asked for the restraining order to be granted by 1 p.m. Tuesday "to prevent immediate and irreparable harm" to the state. Absent such relief, the Trump administration's "use of the military and the federalized National Guard to patrol communities or otherwise engage in general law enforcement activities creates imminent harm to State Sovereignty, deprives the State of vital resources, escalates tensions and promotes (rather than quells) civil unrest," the state contended. The request specifically notes that the use of military forces such as Marines to conduct domestic policing tasks is unlawful, and that Trump administration officials have stated that is how the Marines being deployed to Los Angeles may be used. "The Marine Corps' deployment for law enforcement purposes is likewise unlawful. For more than a century, the Posse Comitatus Act has expressly prohibited the use of the active duty armed forces and federalized national guard for civilian law enforcement," the state's request states. "And the President and Secretary Hegseth have made clear—publicly and privately—that the Marines are not in Los Angeles to stand outside a federal building." At Trump's direction, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth mobilized nearly 2,000 members of the state's National Guard on Saturday after Trump said L.A. was descending into chaos and federal agents were in danger, then mobilized another 2,000 members on Monday. The Pentagon approved the deployment of 700 U.S. Marines from the base in Twentynine Palms to the city Monday, with the stated mission of protecting federal buildings and agents. Hegseth said the deployments would last 60 days, and the acting Pentagon budget chief said the cost would be at least $134 million. He told members of the House appropriations defense subcommittee that the length of the deployments was intended to "ensure that those rioters, looters and thugs on the other side assaulting our police officers know that we're not going anywhere." Local officials have decried acts of violence, property damage and burglaries that have occurred in tandem with the protests, but have also said that Trump administration officials have blown the problems out of proportion and that there is no need for federal forces in the city. Read more: All of L.A. is not a 'war zone.' We separate facts from spin and disinformation amid immigration raids Constitutional scholars and some members of Congress have also questioned the domestic deployment of military forces, especially without the buy-in of local and state officials — calling it a tactic of dictators and authoritarian regimes. L.A. Mayor Karen Bass questioned what Marines would do on the ground, while Police Chief Jim McDonnell said the arrival of military forces in the city without "clear coordination" with local law enforcement "presents a significant logistical and operational challenge for those of us tasked with safeguarding this city." Bonta had said Monday that the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution limits federal power around such deployments, that the deployment of National Guard forces to quell protests without Newsom's consent was "unlawful" and "unprecedented," and that the deployment of Marines would be "similarly unlawful." On Tuesday, he said the state was asking the court to "immediately block the Trump Administration from ordering the military or federalized national guard from patrolling our communities or otherwise engaging in general law enforcement activities beyond federal property." Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter. Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond, in your inbox twice per week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
California asks court for restraining order to block Guard, Marine deployments in L.A.
California on Tuesday asked a federal court for a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration's deployment of both state National Guard forces and U.S. Marines to Los Angeles amid mass protests over sweeping federal immigration enforcement efforts. The request was filed in the same federal lawsuit the state and California Gov. Gavin Newsom filed Monday, in which they alleged Trump had exceeded his authority and violated the U.S. Constitution by sending military forces into an American city without the request or approval of the state governor or local officials. California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, whose office is handling the litigation on behalf of both Newsom and the state, said the restraining order was necessary to bring an immediate stop to the deployments, which local officials have contended are not needed and only adding to tensions sparked by sweeping immigration detentions and arrests in communities with large immigrant communities. 'The President is looking for any pretense to place military forces on American streets to intimidate and quiet those who disagree with him,' Bonta said in a statement Tuesday. 'It's not just immoral — it's illegal and dangerous.' Newsom, in his own statement, echoed Bonta, saying the federal government 'is now turning the military against American citizens.' 'Sending trained warfighters onto the streets is unprecedented and threatens the very core of our democracy,' Newsom said. 'Donald Trump is behaving like a tyrant, not a President.' The state's request Tuesday asked for the restraining order to be granted by 1 p.m. Tuesday 'to prevent immediate and irreparable harm' to the state. Absent such relief, the Trump administration's 'use of the military and the federalized National Guard to patrol communities or otherwise engage in general law enforcement activities creates imminent harm to State Sovereignty, deprives the State of vital resources, escalates tensions and promotes (rather than quells) civil unrest,' the state contended. The request specifically notes that the use of military forces such as Marines to conduct domestic policing tasks is unlawful, and that Trump administration officials have stated that is how the Marines being deployed to Los Angeles may be used. 'The Marine Corps' deployment for law enforcement purposes is likewise unlawful. For more than a century, the Posse Comitatus Act has expressly prohibited the use of the active duty armed forces and federalized national guard for civilian law enforcement,' the state's request states. 'And the President and Secretary Hegseth have made clear—publicly and privately—that the Marines are not in Los Angeles to stand outside a federal building.' At Trump's direction, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth mobilized nearly 2,000 members of the state's National Guard on Saturday after Trump said L.A. was descending into chaos and federal agents were in danger, then mobilized another 2,000 members on Monday. The Pentagon approved the deployment of 700 U.S. Marines from the base in Twentynine Palms to the city Monday, with the stated mission of protecting federal buildings and agents. Hegseth said the deployments would last 60 days, and the acting Pentagon budget chief said the cost would be at least $134 million. He told members of the House appropriations defense subcommittee that the length of the deployments was intended to 'ensure that those rioters, looters and thugs on the other side assaulting our police officers know that we're not going anywhere.' Local officials have decried acts of violence, property damage and burglaries that have occurred in tandem with the protests, but have also said that Trump administration officials have blown the problems out of proportion and that there is no need for federal forces in the city. Constitutional scholars and some members of Congress have also questioned the domestic deployment of military forces, especially without the buy-in of local and state officials — calling it a tactic of dictators and authoritarian regimes. L.A. Mayor Karen Bass questioned what Marines would do on the ground, while Police Chief Jim McDonnell said the arrival of military forces in the city without 'clear coordination' with local law enforcement 'presents a significant logistical and operational challenge for those of us tasked with safeguarding this city.' Bonta had said Monday that the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution limits federal power around such deployments, that the deployment of National Guard forces to quell protests without Newsom's consent was 'unlawful' and 'unprecedented,' and that the deployment of Marines would be 'similarly unlawful.' On Tuesday, he said the state was asking the court to 'immediately block the Trump Administration from ordering the military or federalized national guard from patrolling our communities or otherwise engaging in general law enforcement activities beyond federal property.'
Kyodo News
10-05-2025
- Business
- Kyodo News
Kyodo News Digest: May 10, 2025
KYODO NEWS - 5 hours ago - 09:03 | All, Japan, World The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News. ---------- Japan PM rules out consumption tax cut amid inflation, tariff relief TOKYO - Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has no plans to reduce the consumption tax rate to help soften the blow from inflation and U.S. tariffs, sources with knowledge of the matter said Friday, brushing aside calls for relief from the opposition and even some ruling party lawmakers ahead of a national election. Ishiba has already informed senior government officials of his intentions, the sources said, apparently reflecting concern that a tax cut would constrain the government's fiscal space. ---------- Trump says lowering tariffs on China to 80% "seems right" WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that lowering his administration's hefty tariffs on China to 80 percent "seems right" ahead of a high-level trade meeting this weekend in Switzerland. Trump also wrote on social media that China should open up its market to American products as senior officials of the two countries are set to meet in-person for the first time since he raised U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods to at least 145 percent. ---------- U.S. military, Okinawa hold 1st safety forum after sex assault cases NAHA, Japan - Representatives of U.S. forces in Japan and Okinawa authorities held their first meeting Friday under a new forum to discuss joint safety measures, following alleged sexual assault cases involving American service members in the southern island prefecture. In closed-door talks at the U.S. Marine Corps' Camp Foster, the U.S. military outlined its existing preventive measures, while both sides agreed to work toward holding a regular joint community patrol, like the one conducted in April in the city of Okinawa, and expanding it to other parts of the prefecture, according to a local government official. ---------- Trump has no plans to change 10% baseline tariff for all countries WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump has no plans to change his new 10 percent baseline tariff rate for imports from all countries, the White House said Friday. "The president is determined to continue with that 10 percent baseline tariff. I just spoke to him about it earlier," White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told a press briefing. ---------- Senior N. Korean military officers greet Putin on WWII anniversary MOSCOW - Senior North Korean officers greeted President Vladimir Putin following a military parade at Red Square in Moscow on Friday to celebrate what Russia observes as Victory Day, the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Kim Yong Bok and Ri Chang Ho, deputy chiefs of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army, embraced Putin and shook hands with him. The two close aides to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are believed to have previously visited Russia to supervise the Asian country's troops dispatched to support Moscow in its war against Ukraine. ---------- Myanmar junta chief meets with China's Xi, 1st time since 2021 coup YANGON - The chief of Myanmar's military-led government held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday in Moscow, the junta said, marking their first meeting since the coup occurred in the Southeast Asian country in February 2021. Xi told Myanmar's Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing that Beijing will continue to provide aid to help those affected by a major earthquake in Myanmar in March, and the general expressed his gratitude, according to the Myanmar authorities. ---------- Panasonic to lay off 10,000 employees globally amid restructuring OSAKA - Panasonic Holdings Corp. said Friday it will lay off 10,000 domestic and overseas employees, or just under 5 percent of its total workforce, as part of restructuring its business. The firm said the job cuts will target 5,000 workers in Japan and 5,000 overseas, with some employees to be offered early retirement. As of March, Panasonic had a workforce of 207,548 people. ---------- 2 arrested in Tokyo for fake residence IDs, may have made thousands TOKYO - Two Chinese men have been arrested for allegedly making and selling fake residence cards for foreigners, Tokyo police said Friday, suspecting the pair may have been involved in producing thousands of counterfeit identity documents. Du Jingjiang, 35, and Li Long, 36, both living in Tokyo's Ota Ward, allegedly conspired with other individuals to create 30 counterfeit residence cards around April 8, using computers at home. They took orders via social media. Video: Osaka Week performances at 2025 World Expo
