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    Trump news at a glance: California’s Newsom compares Trump to a ‘dictator’ over national guard deployment

    California’s governor, Gavin Newson, is leading criticism of Donald Trump over his decision to send 2,000 national guard troops to Los Angeles, likening his actions to those of a “dictator”.National guard troops clashed with demonstrators protesting Trump’s controversial anti-immigration program on Sunday, while police fired teargas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowds. Trump and his defense chief, Pete Hegseth, have also threatened to send in the Marines.Newsom has demanded Trump rescind the order and accused the president of inciting and provoking violence, creating mass chaos, militarizing cities and arresting opponents. “These are the acts of a dictator, not a President,” he wrote in a social media post.He also shared a sharp rebuke signed by all of the country’s Democratic governors describing deployment as “an alarming abuse of power”.Here are the key stories:US national guard troops clash with demonstratorsUS national guard troops clashed with demonstrators in Los Angeles on Sunday as police used teargas and “less-lethal munitions” to disperse massive crowds of people protesting against Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.There were scenes of chaos amid tense confrontations between authorities and protesters outside the Metropolitan detention center in downtown LA, and a large group of demonstrators brought traffic to a stop in both directions of the 101 freeway. Footage captured on Sunday afternoon showed protesters holding signs on the freeway facing off against law enforcement in tactical gear as the sound of firing munitions echoed through the area.Read the full storySanders warns of authoritarianism after national guard deploymentBernie Sanders warned of the US’s slide into authoritarianism following Trump’s national guard deployment. Speaking to CNN on Sunday, the leftwing Vermont senator said: “We have a president who is moving this country rapidly into authoritarianism … My understanding is that the governor of California, the mayor of the city of Los Angeles did not request the national guard but he thinks he has a right to do anything he wants.”Read the full storyNewsom accused of ‘criminal tax evasion’ if he withholds federal taxesIn another face-off between Newsom and the Trump administration, the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent warned the California governor he would be guilty of “criminal tax evasion” if he withholds his state’s tax payments to the federal government, amid threats of a funding cut by Trump.Newsom had threatened to cut tax payments to the federal government two days ago, after reports that Trump was preparing huge federal funding cuts targeting Democrat-dominated California, including its state university system.Read the full storyTrump’s travel ban on 12 countries to go into effectA sweeping travel ban on citizens of 12 countries will come into effect at 12am ET on Monday, in a move that Trump said would protect the country from “foreign terrorists”. The ban represents one of the most ambitious attempts to reshape the US’s approach to global mobility in modern history and will potentially affect millions of people coming to the US for relocation, travel, work or school.Read the full storyUS immigration agents mistakenly detain deputy marshal in ArizonaA US marshal was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents in Arizona after being mistakenly identified as a man that agents were looking for, according to a statement from the US Marshals Service. The deputy marshal matched the “fit the general description of a subject” being sought by Ice and was detained at a federal building in the Old Pueblo in Tucson.Officials said the detainment was brief and the deputy marshal was released after his identity was “quickly confirmed” by other law enforcement officers.Read the full storyABC News suspends journalist after calling Trump and adviser ‘world-class’ hatersABC News has suspended its senior national correspondent Terry Moran after he described top White House aide Stephen Miller as “richly endowed with the capacity for hatred” and that he and Trump were both “world-class” haters.Read the full storyPope Leo criticises ‘exclusionary mindset’ of nationalist movementsWithout naming names, newly installed Pope Leo has criticised the emergence of nationalist political movements and their “exclusionary mindset”. Leo, the first pope from the US, asked during a mass on Sunday with tens of thousands in St Peter’s Square that God “open borders, break down walls [and] dispel hatred”.Read the full storyWhat else happened today:

    Senator Cory Booker says he supports anyone opposing Trump’s tax-spending bill, even Elon Musk, but confirmed he would never accept campaign donations from the tech billionaire.

    A former OpenAI board member says that US attacks on science and research are a “great gift” to China on artificial intelligence.

    Eight US states are seeking to outlaw chemtrails – even though they aren’t real.
    Catching up? Here’s what happened on 7 June 2025. More

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    Newsom says Trump is ‘hoping for chaos’ as national guard arrives in LA after protests – US politics live

    On Sunday, California governor Gavin Newsom urged protestors to stay peaceful, saying that Donald Trump is “sending 2,000 national guard troops into LA county – not to meet an unmet need, but to manufacture a crisis”.Newsom, who previously warned that Trump’s decision was for the sake of a spectacle, said:
    “He’s hoping for chaos so he can justify more crackdowns, more fear, more control. Stay calm. Never use violence. Stay peaceful.”
    Hundreds of people were spilling into the streets outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles Sunday afternoon in ongoing protest against ICE raids throughout the city.National Guard officers have doubled in size to around 50, and are no longer posing but moving toward protesters with batons and riot shields.Officers with Los Angeles Police Department were seen clearing streets by firing volleys of teargas and rubber bullets to clear the crowd.One protester with a bullhorn shouting: “We’re not afraid of you.”Detainees inside MDC were heard rattling metal bars of windows in solidarity with protestors.Donald Trump has said that LA is being “invaded and occupied” and that “violent, insurrectionist mobs” are “attacking” federal agents, adding, “these lawless riots only strengthen our resolve”.In a post on his Truth Social platform, the president said he is directing members of his cabinet to “take all such action necessary to liberate LA from the Migrant Invasion and put an end to these Migrant riots”.The president, who has already deployed the national guard to the city and when asked earlier today did not rule out invoking the Insurrection Act, did not specify what the action would entail.He wrote:
    A once great American City, Los Angeles, has been invaded and occupied by Illegal Aliens and Criminals. Now violent, insurrectionist mobs are swarming and attacking our Federal Agents to try and stop our deportation operations — But these lawless riots only strengthen our resolve. I am directing Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Attorney General Pam Bondi, in coordination with all other relevant Departments and Agencies, to take all such action necessary to liberate Los Angeles from the Migrant Invasion, and put an end to these Migrant riots. Order will be restored, the Illegals will be expelled, and Los Angeles will be set free. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
    National guard members then strike approaching protestors with batons and deploy gas canisters, prompting them to disperse in the opposite direction.Footage on Fox News shows a violent confrontation between several national guard members and a protester, which ends with the person being physically restrained on the ground and handcuffed.Protesters gathered outside the Metropolitan detention center in downtown LA are chanting “shame on you” at national guard soldiers who have created a perimeter around the federal building.Other chants include: “Donald Trump, let’s be clear: immigrants are welcome here,” “say it once, say it twice, we will not put up with Ice” and “no hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here.”The Los Angeles Times reports that the Department of Homeland Security has declared the crowd on the street outside the Metropolitan detention center in downtown LA an “unlawful assembly”.Earlier Chris Murphy, a Democratic senator for Connecticut, said in one of the most direct rebukes:
    Important to remember that Trump isn’t trying to heal or keep the peace. He is looking to inflame and divide. His movement doesn’t believe in democracy or protest – and if they get a chance to end the rule of law they will take it. None of this is on the level.
    California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, has called on demonstrators to keep protests peaceful and not “give Donald Trump what he wants”.In a post on X, he wrote:
    California — Don’t give Donald Trump what he wants.
    Speak up. Stay peaceful. Stay calm.
    Do not use violence and respect the law enforcement officers that are trying their best to keep the peace.
    The large crowd outside the Metropolitan detention center appears peaceful, with demonstrators carrying flags and signs, standing against a line of national guard soldiers wearing shields, helmets and gas masks.Last night, Newsom posted on X that the federal government sought a “spectacle” by deploying the National Guard and urged protestors not to give them one. He said:
    The federal government is taking over the California National Guard and deploying 2,000 soldiers in Los Angeles — not because there is a shortage of law enforcement, but because they want a spectacle. Don’t give them one. Never use violence. Speak out peacefully.
    This is from the Los Angeles Times:CNN reports:
    Law enforcement has launched pepper balls into the crowd outside of the Metropolitan Detention Center in an effort to disperse protestors, some of whom are seen throwing water bottles at officials and carrying signs decrying the police force, video shows.
    Protestors have been clashing with National Guard, ICE and DHS agents outside of the detention center in Los Angeles on Sunday, where demonstrators gathered in the latest iteration of protests against the immigration raids that swept across California over the weekend.
    In at least one instance earlier today, the National Guard appeared to use pepper balls, spray and tear gas to create a path for armored vehicles to enter the detention center. The crowd has spilled into the street, blocking traffic.
    National guard members deployed what appeared to be tear gas canisters at protesters on Alameda this afternoon, according to NBC News.
    Protesters had gathered around a federal building where National Guard members were deployed. The National Guard members threw canisters that let out a smoke-like material when they hit the ground. The action made the crowd disperse.
    The crowd began to slowly gather around the federal building again minutes after the incident. National Guard members have created a perimeter around the building.
    Trump’s decision to deploy the national guard to Los Angeles is a “chaotic escalation”, the city’s mayor, Karen Bass, has said.In a post on X, Bass wrote:
    This morning, President Trump deployed the National Guard into Los Angeles.
    Deploying federalized troops on the heels of these raids is a chaotic escalation.
    The fear people are feeling in our city right now is very real – it’s felt in our communities and within our families and it puts our neighborhoods at risk. This is the last thing that our city needs, and I urge protestors to remain peaceful.
    I’ve been in touch this morning with immigrant rights leaders as well as local law enforcement officials. Los Angeles will always stand with everyone who calls our city home.
    This footage is from CNN. It shows national guard soldiers moving forward and pushing protesters back in LA.NBC News reports that a group of protesters have gathered in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of LA.
    Video shows the protesters scattered in an area near National Guard vehicles. One protester is carrying a Mexican flag. National Guard members have formed a perimeter around their vehicles, and are facing the protesters.
    The protesters plan to march to downtown Los Angeles to join a rally planned for 2pm local time.
    Asked if he’s prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, Donald Trump told reporters in New Jersey: “It depends on whether or not there’s an insurrection.”Asked if he thinks there is one, Trump replied: “No, no, but we have violent people and we’re not going to let them get away with it.”In response to another journalist’s question, Trump said: “I think you’re going to see some very strong law and order.”Other lawmakers from outside California also condemning Donald Trump’s decision to send in the national guard in response to the protests against federal immigration crackdowns.In a post on X on Sunday, Vermont’s Democratic representative Becca Balint said:
    “ICE descended upon immigrant communities in LA, targeting innocent people just trying to live their lives, and when ICE was met with fierce opposition Trump deployed the National Guard. This is not ‘going after criminals,’ it’s a scary escalation meant to sow even more fear and division.” More

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    US national guard troops deployed in LA after protests over immigration raids

    US national guard troops were deployed in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday amid an immigration crackdown that saw authorities use teargas on protesters in a move that sent shockwaves though American politics.Troops were stationed outside Metropolitan detention center in downtown Los Angeles, one of several sites that have seen confrontations involving hundreds of demonstrators and federal law enforcement in the last two days, and other areas of the federal complex. Footage captured in the area showed the situation quickly escalated as authorities fired pepper balls and teargas at a growing crowd gathered there, reportedly striking protesters and journalists.California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, has sharply criticized the deployment and urged protesters to “stay peaceful”. “Don’t give Donald Trump what he wants,” he said.Donald Trump ordered the deployment of the national guard in Los Angeles late on Saturday night following days of clashes between demonstrators and US immigration authorities. The decision marked a stunning escalation in a broad crackdown on immigrants in the United States following raids across the country which have triggered protests.Trump’s federalization of the guard troops is the first time an American president has used such power since the 1992 LA riots. At that time widespread violence broke out in reaction to the acquittal of four white police officers for brutally beating Black motorist Rodney King.Trump’s move has been followed by the threat of even more escalation. Earlier Pete Hegseth,Trump’s controversial and hardline defense secretary, had raised the possibility of deploying US marines onto the streets of the Democrat-run state following the protests that erupted in the wake of raids from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) authorities in the state.“Under President Trump, violence & destruction against federal agents & federal facilities will NOT be tolerated. It’s COMMON SENSE,” Hegseth wrote on social media.“If violence continues, active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized – they are on high alert,” Hegseth said. Camp Pendleton is a large military base south of Los Angeles and north of San Diego.Newsom called the potential deployment of US marines “deranged” .“The Secretary of Defense is now threatening to deploy active-duty Marines on American soil against its own citizens. This is deranged behavior,” Newsom wrote on X.Kristi Noem, the Department of Homeland Security secretary, criticized Newsom’s stance on ABC’s Face the Nation. “If he was doing his job people wouldn’t have gotten hurt the last couple of days … Governor Newsom has proven that he makes bad decisions. The president knows that he makes bad decisions and that’s why the president chose the safety of this community over waiting for Governor Newsom to get some sanity.”The independent Vermont senator Bernie Sanders called the situation a threat to US democracy. “We have a president who is moving this country rapidly into authoritarianism,” he told CNN. “He does not believe in the rule of law.”Tensions in Los Angles had begun on Friday, when protesters clashed with law enforcement officials conducting immigration raids on multiple locations in the sprawling city’s downtown.On Saturday, US immigration authorities extended enforcement action into Paramount, a majority Latino area south-east of Los Angeles, and were met with more protests outside an industrial park.A stand-off developed between border patrol personnel in riot gear and gas masks and protesters. As demonstrations continued law enforcement deployed teargas and protesters also threw objects at them. At least one car was set alight.Trump then promised to send in the national guard – a move that many critics have feared might happen during his second administration amid fears that the US is sliding into authoritarianism.“The federal government is taking over the California National Guard and deploying 2,000 soldiers in Los Angeles – not because there is a shortage of law enforcement, but because they want a spectacle,” Newsom said later. “Don’t give them one.”On his own social media platform, Truth Social, Trump praised the national guard, even before it was reported that troops had arrived. “Great job by the National Guard in Los Angeles after two days of violence, clashes and unrest,” he said in a post filled with insults at Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass and Newsom.“These Radical Left protests, by instigators and often paid troublemakers, will NOT BE TOLERATED. Also, from now on, MASKS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED to be worn at protests. What do these people have to hide, and why???” he added.Ice officers and police have been wearing face masks during raids and arrests but Noem defended this on Sunday, saying: “It’s for the safety of those individuals.” She did not specify how law enforcement will prevent protesters from wearing masks.Nanette Barragán, who has Paramount in her constituency, said she has been told to prepare for a large presence ofIceagents in California.“We’ve been told to get ready for 30 days of enforcement. Thirty days of ICE enforcement,” Barragán told CNN, adding that their presence is “going to escalate the situation.”“We haven’t asked for the help. We don’t need the help. This is [President Trump] escalating it, causing tensions to rise. It’s only going to make things worse in a situation where people are already angry over immigration enforcement,” Barragán said.Tom Homan, Trump’s “border czar”, or the White House executive associate director of enforcement and removal operations, warned that immigration enforcement will continue “every day” in Los Angeles.“I’m telling you what, we’re going to keep enforcing law every day in LA,” Homan told NBC News. “Every day in LA, we’re going to enforce immigration law. I don’t care if they like it or not.”Homan was asked if his prior warnings to elected state and local officials to not obstruct federal immigration enforcement included Newsom and Bass. Homan said he did not believe Bass had “crossed the line yet”.But, he added, “I’ll say it about anybody. You cross that line, it’s a felony to knowingly harbor and conceal an illegal alien. It’s a felony to impede law enforcement doing their job.”Trump has long promised mass immigration raids across the US after campaigning in part last year on anti-immigrant sentiment. Since he returned to office Ice raids have increased, in particular targeting some areas traditionally left alone such as court houses where immigrants might be attending hearings. More

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    Newsom is warned of ‘criminal tax evasion’ if he withholds federal taxes

    The US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, has warned California governor Gavin Newsom that he would be guilty of “criminal tax evasion” if he withholds his state’s tax payments to the federal government amid threats of a funding cut by Donald Trump.Newsom had threatened to cut tax payments to the federal government two days ago after reports that Trump was preparing huge federal funding cuts targeting Democrat-dominated California, including its state university system.“Gavin Newsom is threatening to commit criminal tax evasion,” Bessent said in a post on X. “His plan: defraud the American taxpayer and leave California residents on the hook for unpaid federal taxes.”Bessent continued: “I am certain most California businesses know that failing to pay taxes owed to the Treasury constitutes tax evasion and have no intention of following the dangerous path Governor Gavin Newsom is threatening.”He described Newsom’s comments as “extremely reckless” and advised the governor to come up with a tax-cutting plan for California that mirrored Trump’s federal tax cutting plan, “instead of committing criminal tax evasion”.The treasury secretary’s comments came after Newsom posted on Friday that “Californians pay the bills for the federal government. We pay over $80 BILLION more in taxes than we get back. Maybe it’s time to cut that off, Donald Trump.”The California governor linked to a CNN report that the Trump administration is preparing to cancel some federal funding for California and federal agencies had been directed to identify grants that could be withheld, including the University of California and California state university systems.In a statement on Friday, the White House spokesperson Kush Desai criticized California’s energy, immigration and other positions as “lunatic anti-energy, soft-on-crime, pro-child mutilation, and pro-sanctuary policies”.“No taxpayer should be forced to fund the demise of our country,” Desai said, but he added that “No final decisions, however, on any potential future action by the Administration have been made, and any discussion suggesting otherwise should be considered pure speculation.”Newsom and Trump are accustomed to a war of words, including threats to withhold funding. The administration recently cut $126m in flood prevention funding projects, and Trump has threatened “large-scale fines” on the state after transgender athlete AB Hernandez competed in the long jump, high jump and triple jump events at the California Interscholastic Federation track and field championships.But the reported threat to cut off federal funding to California’s university system appears to have pushed California officials into threats of retaliation. Soon before Newsom made his threat, California assembly speaker Robert Rivas described the rumored grant cancellations as “unconstitutional and vindictive.”“We’re the nation’s economic engine and the largest donor state, and deserve our fair share,” Rivas wrote. “I’ll use every legal and constitutional tool available to defend CA – we must look at every option, including withholding federal taxes.” More

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    National guard deploys in downtown LA amid eerie calm after two days of unrest

    On a foggy, unseasonably cold morning in Los Angeles, the national guardsmen suddenly pressed into service by Donald Trump to quell what he called a “rebellion” against his government were nothing if not ready for their close-up.Outside a federal complex in downtown Los Angeles that includes a courthouse, a veterans’ medical centre, and a jail, two dozen guardsmen in camouflage uniforms were arrayed in front of their military vehicles with semi-automatic weapons slung over their shoulders for the benefit of television and news photographers clustered on the sidewalk.They stood with the visors of their helmets up so the reporters could see their faces. Most wore shades, despite the gloomy weather, giving them the eerie appearance of extras from a Hollywood action movie more than shock troops for the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.After two days of unrest in response to heavy-handed raids by Trump’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) in downtown Los Angeles and in the heavily Latino suburb of Paramount, the day started off in an atmosphere of uneasy, almost surreal calm.The skyscrapers and government offices of downtown Los Angeles were ringed by vehicles from multiple law enforcement agencies – Los Angeles police and parking enforcement, county sheriffs, highway patrol and private security guards.Most, though, were deployed for an entirely different event – a festival and two-mile walk organized by the non-profit group the March of Dimes to raise money for maternal and infant health.The streets around Grand Park, across from City Hall, were closed to traffic, but the police seemed less interested in sniffing out anti-Ice protesters than they were in posing for pictures next to a bubble machine with March of Dimes volunteers dressed as Darth Vader and other Star Wars characters.“We had the LAPD’s community engagement Hummer come by earlier and they told us we had nothing to worry about,” event organizer Tanya Adolph said. “They said they’d pull us if there was any risk to our safety. Our numbers are down markedly, I won’t hide that, but we’ve still managed to raise $300,000.”Local activists have called for demonstrations against the immigration crackdown; one demonstration set for Boyle Heights east of downtown and the other outside City Hall. Many activists, though, were worried about continuing Ice raids, particularly in working-class, predominantly Latino parts of the LA area such as Paramount – and worried, too, that any national guard presence heightened the risk of violence.Governor Gavin Newsom’s office reported on Sunday that about 300 of the promised 2,000 national guardsmen had deployed in the LA area. In addition to the small presence downtown, a group of them was reported to have driven through Paramount, scene of clashes between protesters and local police outside a Home Depot on Saturday.Trump congratulated the national guardsmen on a “great job” after what he called “two days of violence, clashes and unrest” but, as several California political leaders pointed out, the national guard had not yet deployed when city police and sheriff’s deputies used tear gas and flash-bang grenades to clear the streets.Both Ice and local activists estimated that about 45 people were arrested on Friday and Saturday, and several were reported to have been injured in confrontations with the police.Nick Stern, a news photographer, said he was shot in the leg by a less-lethal police round and was in hospital awaiting surgery. David Huerta, a prominent union leader with the Service Employees International Union, was also treated in hospital before being transferred to the Metropolitan detention center, the federal lockup in downtown LA.One of many slogans spray-painted on the walls of the federal complex, within eyeshot of the national guard and the news crews, read: “Free Huerta.”Others, daubed liberally on the walls of the complex around an entire city block, expressed rage against Ice and the Los Angeles police in equal measure. “Fuck ICE. Kill all cops!” one graffiti message said. “LAPD can suck it,” read another.Elsewhere in downtown Los Angeles, little seemed out of the ordinary. Homeless people slept undisturbed on a small patch of lawn on the south side of City Hall. Traffic moved unhindered past the county criminal court building and the main entrance to City Hall on Spring Street.Alejandro Ames, a Mexican American protester, who had traveled up from San Diego sat at a folding table on the west side of City Hall with a hand-scrawled sign that read: “Republic against ICE and the police”.Ames said he was a Republican and hoped this would give extra credence to his plea for restraint by the federal authorities. “I don’t want ‘em to go crazy,” he said. “I want ‘em to go home.” More

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    ABC News suspends journalist after calling Trump and adviser ‘world-class’ haters

    ABC News has suspended its senior national correspondent after he described top White House aide Stephen Miller as “richly endowed with the capacity for hatred” on social media.In a now deleted post, Terry Moran, who recently conducted an interview with Donald Trump, said that the president and his deputy chief of staff, Miller, were both “world-class” haters.An ABC News spokesperson said that Moran “has been suspended pending further evaluation”, adding: “ABC News stands for objectivity and impartiality in its news coverage and does not condone subjective personal attacks on others. The post does not reflect the views of ABC News and violated our standards.”According to a screenshot of the post, Moran said that Miller was not the brains behind Trumpism and his ability to translate the movement’s “impulses” into policy was “not brains. It’s bile.”“You can see that his hatreds are his spiritual nourishment,” Moran added. “He eats his hate.”He added of Trump: “Trump is a world-class hater. But his hatred only a means to an end, and that end [is] his own glorification.”Miller shot back, saying: “The most important fact about Terry’s full public meltdown is what it shows about the corporate press in America. For decades, the privileged anchors and reporters narrating and gatekeeping our society have been radicals adopting a journalist’s pose. Terry pulled off his mask.”The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, described Moran’s rhetoric as “unacceptable and unhinged” on Fox News. “I think this speaks to the distrust that the American public have in the legacy media,” she added. JD Vance, the vice-president, described Moran’s post as a “vile smear”.ABC News’ suspension of Moran comes nearly six months after the organisation agreed to pay $15m to a Trump presidential foundation or museum after he filed a defamation case following anchor George Stephanopoulos repeating an assertion on ABC’s This Week that Trump had been found “liable for rape” in a lawsuit filed by the columnist E Jean Carroll. He had not.The latest incident will probably deepen suspicion on the right that US mainstream media outlets are fundamentally biased against the administration.In its statement, ABC News maintained a position of neutrality, saying: “ABC News stands for objectivity and impartiality in its news coverage and does not condone subjective personal attacks on others.” More

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    Eight US states seek to outlaw chemtrails – even though they aren’t real

    Political leaders love an empty statement or proclamation, but when Louisiana’s state house of representatives moved against “chemtrails” last week, they were literally seeking to combat something that does not exist.It was an act of political symbolism that delved deep into the sort of anti-government conspiracy theories that have flourished under Donald Trump and are taking rooting in some US legislative chambers across the US.Known to less conspiratorially minded as aircraft contrails, or the white vaporous lines streaming out of an airplane’s engines at altitude, chemtrails are a longstanding conspiracy theory.Believers in chemtrails hold that the aircraft vapor trails that criss-cross skies across the globe every day are deliberately laden with toxins that are using commercial aircraft to spray them on people below, perhaps to enslave them to big pharma, or exert mind control, or sterilize people or even control the weather for nefarious motives.Despite the outlandishness of the belief and the complete absence of evidence, a 2016 study showed that the idea is held to be “completely true” by 10% of Americans and “somewhat true” by a further 20%-30% of Americans.At least eight states, including Florida and Tennessee, have now introduced chemtrail-coded legislation to prohibit “geo-engineering” or “weather modification”. Louisiana’s bill, which must pass through the senate before reaching Governor Jeff Landry’s desk, orders the department of environmental quality to record reported chemtrail sightings and pass complaints on to the Louisiana air national guard.While there are no penalties for violations, the bill calls for further investigation and documentation. Opponents fear it could be used to force airlines to re-route flights, challenge the location of airports and bring legal action against carriers.The US Environmental Protection Agency states that the plumes of aircraft exhaust vapor are a natural result of flight and pose no risk to weather patterns, while the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) has publicly denied undertaking or planning any weather modification experiments.But the theories abound, including that last year’s Hurricane Helene stalled over and devastated parts of western North Carolina as a result of government weather interference that was designed to force North Carolinians off their land and then exploit it for rare earth mineral mining. Federal emergency managers set up a webpage to dispel false information.But government weather programs have existed in the past.For two decades, from 1962 to 1983, Project Stormfury conducted experiments to release a silver iodide compound into “the belt of maximum winds” to reduce the strongest winds. And cloud-seeding occurs in western states to induce rain or snow fall.“It’s increasingly clear that humanity isn’t merely subjected to whatever weather a cloud portends – we also create and influence it through our everyday actions,” says Nevada’s Desert Research Institute. “Scientists now regularly harness their moisture and pull it to Earth, bringing water to parched communities and landscapes around the world.”Nor has the government always been entirely straightforward in its use of aerial-dispersed chemicals. The US military dropped 19m gallons of herbicide, including the cancer-linked Agent Orange, during the Korean and Vietnam wars, leading to potential long-term health problems related to exposure and spina bifida in children of veterans.Efforts to stop geo-engineering are gaining support in the administration where conspiracy-minded politicians now hold office or wield powerful influence.“We are going to stop this crime,” the health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, posted on X in August. Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said in a post before Hurricane Milton struck in October: “Yes they can control the weather. It’s ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can’t be done.” Even Donald Trump has spread the conspiracy theory that Joe Biden is dead and has been replaced by a robotic clone.A recently published book, The Ghosts of Iron Mountain, traces at least some responsibility for current conspiratorial thinking to 1960s radicals, including the 1967 anti-war satire Report from Iron Mountain by Leonard Lewin, written at the suggestion of future Nation editor Victor Navasky, which posed as a leaked government study about the necessity of continuous war for social stability.In The Ghosts of Iron Mountain, author Phil Tinline traces how a leftwing hoax was adopted by the right, absorbing much of the former’s anxieties about a military-industrial complex and elite control and repurposing it around “the deep state” with its attendant spin-offs in QAnon and militia thinking.This mischief-making, Tinline writes, acts as a “warning about the consequences that await if you don’t keep an eye on the line between your deep story and how power works, and what the facts support”.Timothy Tangherlini, a professor at the Berkeley School of Information who studies the circulation of folklore, says the chemtrails conspiracy theory has a potent history because, like all folktales, it begins with a kernel of history truth – programs like Agent Orange – and speaks to potent contemporary fears.“There are certain things that were sprayed by airplanes that did have a massive impact on the environment and on people’s health,” he says, pointing out that Vietnam veterans had fallen sick and the US was revealed as having exposed them to cancer-causing agents and then covering it up.“Fast-forward 50 years, there’s a deep suspicion of the government and things that fly,” he said.Fear of things in the sky was evident in the hysteria late last year in the panic over drones that appeared over New Jersey, close to a nuclear power station and a military arsenal, which prompted a federal investigation that has yet to release its findings.Tangherlini called the cross-fertilization of theories, whether around chemtrails, vaccination hesitancy or any number of other fringe beliefs that have made their way into the American mainstream via the internet and social media, “the wall of crazy”.“Jets flying though the air and contrails of condensed water should not in any way be linked to disease, viruses, mind control, but you look at some of the extractions we get from our mining social media, and if it wasn’t real you’d think your code wasn’t working or in hysterics.”But narratively, Tangherlini pointed out: “It’s a very interesting thing to do – you can create this totalizing threat everywhere you look. What is the strategy for dealing with it? Call the FAA. No, the FAA is in on it. What can we do to protect our health? Well, the doctors and big pharma are in on it. So there is a siege mentality.” More