Trump threatens ‘war’ on Chicago as thousands protest federal crackdown
United States President Donald Trump has threatened to unleash his newly rebranded “Department of War” on Chicago, as thousands of protesters marched in the city as well as in Washington, DC, to denounce the deployment of National Guard troops and immigration agents to Democratic-led cities. Trump’s threat, posted on his Truth Social platform on Saturday, featured a parody image from the movie Apocalypse Now, showing a ball of flames as helicopters zoom over the skyline of Chicago, the US’s third-largest city. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list “‘I love the smell of deportations in the morning,’” Trump wrote on his social media site. “Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.” The president offered no details beyond the label “Chipocalypse Now,” a play on the title of Francis Ford Coppola’s dystopian 1979 film set in the Vietnam war, in which a character says, “I love the smell of napalm in the morning”. The post from Trump follows his repeated threats to add Chicago to the list of other Democratic-led cities he has targeted for expanded federal enforcement. His administration is set to step up immigration enforcement in Chicago, as it did in Los Angeles, and deploy National Guard troops. Democratic Governor of Illinois JB Pritzker, where Chicago is located, voiced outrage at Trump’s post and said the state “won’t be intimidated by a wannabe dictator”. “The President of the United States is threatening to go to war with an American city. This is not a joke. This is not normal,” he wrote in a post on X. Thousands of demonstrators participate in the ‘We Are All DC’ national march, in solidarity with DC communities, and call for an end to Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops in the US capital [Amid Farahi/AFP] Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also denounced Trump’s threat as “beneath the honor of our nation”. Advertisement “The reality is that he wants to occupy our city and break our Constitution. We must defend our democracy from this authoritarianism by protecting each other and protecting Chicago from Donald Trump,” Johnson wrote on X. Protests in Chicago, DC In addition to sending troops to Los Angeles in June, Trump has deployed them since last month in Washington, DC, as part of his unprecedented law enforcement takeover of the country’s capital. He has also suggested that Baltimore and New Orleans could get the same treatment and, on Friday, even mentioned federal authorities possibly heading for Portland, Oregon, to “wipe ’em out”, meaning the protesters. The US president on Friday also signed an order changing the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War, saying it sends “a message of victory” to the world. The troop and federal agent deployments have prompted legal challenges and protests, with critics calling them an authoritarian show of force. On Saturday, more than a thousand protesters marched through the streets of downtown Chicago, with signs bearing slogans like “I.C.E. out of Illinois, I.C.E. out of everywhere”, referring to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). Speakers offered the crowd instructions on what to do if encountering ICE agents. They also drew comparisons between the proposed ICE crackdown on Chicago and Israel’s presence in Gaza. “We are inspired by the steadfastness of Palestinians in Gaza, and it is why we refuse to cower to Trump and his threats,” Nazek Sankari, co-chair of the US Palestinian Community Network, said to the crowd as many waved Palestinian flags and donned keffiyehs. Viviana Barajas, leader with the community organisation Palenque LSNA, promised that Chicagoans would “stand up” as Los Angeles had if Trump deployed the National Guard in their city. “If he thinks these frivolous theatrics to undermine our sovereignty will shut out the passion we have for protecting our people, this is Chicago, and he is sorely mistaken,” Barajas said. “We have been studying LA and DC, and they have stood up for their cities.” In the US capital, protesters at the “We Are All DC” march, who also included supporters of Palestinian statehood, marched behind a bright red banner reading, “END THE D.C. OCCUPATION”, in English and Spanish. They chanted slogans denouncing Trump and carried posters, some of which read, “Trump must go now,” “Free DC”, and “Resist Tyranny”. Al Jazeera’s Heidi Zhou-Castro, reporting from Washington, DC, said the protesters were “furious” of Trump’s order, and were calling him “a fascist and an authoritarian”. Advertisement She noted that Trump had deployed the 2,000 troops last month to fight what he called a surge in violent crime, but that such offences in the US capital last year had hit “a 30-year low”. Mark Fitzpatrick, a former US diplomat who has been a DC resident for about a decade, told The Associated Press news agency on Saturday that he was worried about the “authoritarian nature” in which the administration is treating DC. “Federal agents, national guards patrolling our streets, that’s really an affront to the democracy of our city,” he said, adding that it is worse for DC residents due to their lack of federal representation. “We don’t have our own senators or members of the House of Representatives, so we’re at the mercy of a dictator like this, a wanna-be dictator.” Among the protesters on Saturday was Jun Lee, a printmaker artist, who showed up with a “Free DC” sign that she made on a woodcut block. She said she came to the protest because she was “saddened and heartbroken” about the impact of the federal intervention on her city. “This is my home, and I never, ever thought all the stuff that I watched in a history documentary that I’m actually living in person, and this is why this is important for everyone. This is our home; we need to fight, we need to resist,” she said. Trump has suggested that he has nearly limitless powers when it comes to deploying the National Guard. At times he has even touched on questions about his being a dictator. “Most
Gaza war film The Voice of Hind Rajab wins 2nd prize at Venice festival
A harrowing docudrama about Israel’s killing of a five-year-old Palestinian girl during its ongoing war on Gaza has won the Silver Lion prize at the Venice Film Festival. The Voice of Hind Rajab, by French-Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania, came in second on Saturday to the movie Father Mother Sister Brother by United States indie director Jim Jarmusch. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list The film tells the true story of Hind Rajab, who was killed by Israeli forces last year, as she and her family tried to evacuate Gaza City. It uses real audio from Rajab’s hours-long call to the Palestine Red Crescent Society, in which rescuers tried to reassure her as she lay trapped in a bullet-ridden car with the bodies of her aunt, uncle and three cousins, who had all been killed by Israeli fire. The girl was then also killed, as were the two ambulance workers who went to the scene to try and rescue her. The film was the most talked-about movie on the Venice Lido and tipped by many as the likely winner after a 23-minute standing ovation at its premiere on Wednesday. Ben Hania, accepting her award, said Rajab’s story was not just that of the young girl, but tragically that of “an entire people enduring genocide”. “Cinema cannot bring Hind back, nor can it erase the atrocity committed against her. Nothing can ever restore what was taken, but cinema can preserve her voice, make it resonate across borders,” the director said. “Her voice will continue to echo until accountability is real, until justice is served.” Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed more than 64,000 Palestinians, including more than 18,000 children, cast a long shadow over this year’s festival. Jarmusch, who won the coveted Golden Lion, signalled his opposition to Israel’s continued siege and bombardment of Gaza by wearing a badge saying “Enough” at the award ceremony. Advertisement Earlier in the weekend, when he had unveiled Father Mother Sister Brother, the 72-year-old director acknowledged that he was concerned that one of his main distributors had taken money from a company with ties to the Israeli military. Jarmusch’s winning film stars Cate Blanchett, Adam Driver and Tom Waits, and is a three-part meditation on the uneasy ties between parents and their adult children. He called Saturday’s win an “unexpected honour” and thanked the grand jury for “appreciating our quiet film”. In other categories, Italy’s Toni Servillo was named best actor for his wry portrayal of a weary president nearing the end of his mandate, in La Grazia, while China’s Xin Zhilei won best actress for her role in The Sun Rises On Us All, a drama that delves into questions of sacrifice, guilt and unresolved feelings between estranged lovers who share a dark secret. The best director nod went to Benny Safdie for The Smashing Machine, which starred Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in the role of the real-life mixed martial arts pioneer Mark Kerr. The special jury award went to Italy’s Gianfranco Rosi for his black-and-white documentary Below the Clouds, about life in the chaotic southern city of Naples, marked by repeated earthquakes and the threat of volcanic eruptions. Servillo, who won best actor, was one of several award-winners to speak about Gaza from the stage, expressing “admiration” for activists on a flotilla of boats attempting to break Israel’s siege of Gaza. They “have decided to set sail with courage to reach Palestine and to bring a sign of humanity to a land where human dignity is daily and cruelly demeaned”, Servillo said. Annapurna Roy, who won the best director prize in the Horizons sidebar, a discovery section led by French filmmaker Julia Ducournau, also devoted part of her remarks to the conflict in Gaza. Roy, who is Indian, won the award for her debut feature, Songs of Forgotton Trees, about two migrant women in Mumbai. “Every child deserves peace, freedom, liberation, and Palestine is no exception,” Roy said. “I stand beside Palestine. I might upset my country, but it doesn’t matter to me any more.” Armani Beauty’s audience award winning filmmaker Maryam Touzani (Calle Málaga) also spotlighted the conflict in Gaza. “How many mothers have been made childless?” she said. “How many more until this horror is brought to an end? We refuse to lose our humanity.” The Venice festival marks the start of the awards season, and regularly throws up big favourites for the Oscars, with films premiering there over the past four years collecting more than 90 Oscar nominations and winning almost 20. Advertisement Among the movies that left Venice empty-handed were a trio of Netflix pictures, Kathryn Bigelow’s nuclear thriller A House of Dynamite, Guillermo del Toro’s re-telling of Frankenstein, and Noah Baumbach’s comedy-drama Jay Kelly. No Other Choice by South Korea’s Park Chan-wook also failed to secure an award, despite strong reviews; likewise, Bugonia by Yorgos Lanthimos, which starred Emma Stone. Adblock test (Why?)
After Bihar, will Election Commission conduct controversial SIR across India? Report says…
In the recent SIR in Bihar, 65 lakh names were deleted from the draft electoral list. The ECI said 25 lakh voters were removed for having migrated, 22 lakh have died, nearly 10 lakh were “not found” at their addresses, and seven lakh were deleted for being registered in more than one constituency.
Another cloudburst strikes Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand CM Dhami orders relief ops; WATCH video
Officials said no casualties had been reported, though several houses and vehicles were damaged due to the floods. The Delhi-Yamunotri highway was blocked after the incident, leading to traffic congestion, PTI reported. Read on to know more on this and what causes a cloudburst.
Punjab floods: Death toll climbs to 51, over 22000 rescued; Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Fazilka among worst-hit areas; check details
Punjab is reeling from the impact of relentless rainfall and overflowing rivers, with multiple villages inundated and thousands of residents struggling to access necessities. Check how many people are rescued and the death count. What are the most affected areas?
UP government issues new guidelines to manage stray dogs and feeding in urban areas
The directive builds on previous guidelines and targets municipal corporations and municipalities. It prioritises humane treatment under the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules, 2023 (ABC Rules, 2023), while emphasising public safety, particularly for children and senior citizens.
Vice President JD Vance teases 2028 bid, says it won’t be ‘given’ to him
Vice President JD Vance stopped short of confirming a 2028 White House run during an appearance on My View with Lara Trump Saturday night, but he acknowledged the possibility—noting if he does his job well, “the politics will figure itself out.” Vance, whose resilience amid an upbringing marked with family turmoil and economic hardship won over the nation, said he “doesn’t like thinking about” a potential presidential bid and insisted his attention remains on his current role. “If we do a good job in 2025 and 2026, then we can talk about the politics in 2027,” Vance said. “I really think the American people are so fed up with folks who are already running for the next job, seven months into the current one.” 2028 LOOKS LIKE TROUBLE FOR DEMOCRATS — AND REPUBLICANS ARE POISED TO CAPITALIZE The second-in-command added if he ends up running, he knows he will have to work for it. “There are a lot of great people,” Vance said. “If I do end up running, it’s not going to be given to me—either on the Republican side or on the national side. I’m just going to keep on working hard. … [This] may be the most important job I ever had, outside of being a father to those three beautiful kids. So I’m going to try to do my best job, and I think if I do that, the politics will figure itself out.” When asked specifically about potential 2028 Democratic candidates, he noted most of them “obviously have very bad records.” JD VANCE SHUTS DOWN MAGA SUCCESSION CHATTER AFTER MUSK REPORT Vance mainly focused on discussing his own ticket, praising President Donald Trump’s relentless work ethic and trusting leadership style and explaining the president “doesn’t have an off switch.” “Sometimes, the president will call you at 12:30 or 2 a.m., and then call you at 6 a.m. about a totally different topic,” Vance said. “It’s like, ‘Mr. president, did you go to sleep last night.’ … What’s made this so much fun is the president, all the time, just saying, ‘JD you go and do this,’ or ‘JD you go and talk to these leaders about this particular issue.’ That ability to delegate and trust his people has been really amazing.”
California woman facing felony charges for registering her dog to vote, casting 2 ballots
A California woman illegally registered her dog to vote and cast two ballots under the canine’s name, according to officials. Laura Lee Yourex, 62, of Costa Mesa, faces five felony charges, including perjury, procuring or offering a false or forged document to be filed, casting a ballot when not entitled to vote and registering a non-existent person to vote, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. Yourex submitted mail-in ballots under her dog’s name, Maya Jean Yourex, during the 2021 gubernatorial recall election and the 2022 primary, the District Attorney’s Office said. NONCITIZEN ILLEGALLY VOTED IN SWING STATE’S 2024 ELECTION, AUTHORITIES SAY The recall ballot was counted, but the primary ballot was rejected. The woman reported herself in October of last year to the Orange County Registrar of Voter’s Office, which reported her to the District Attorney’s Office. An investigation into the incident revealed she posted about her dog’s voting activity on social media. In January 2022, Yourex posted a photo of her dog wearing an “I Voted” sticker and posing with the ballot. In October of last year, she posted a photo of the dog’s collar and a mail-in ballot addressed to the animal, saying that Maya still received the ballot despite passing away. “Maya is still getting her ballot,” Yourex wrote. Yourex faces a maximum sentence of six years in prison if convicted on all counts. TWO MEN CONVICTED IN PENNSYLVANIA MAYORAL RACE ELECTION FRAUD CASE HIT WITH HARSHER SENTENCES THAN EXPECTED The District Attorney’s Office did not reveal how Yourex cast the fraudulent votes or which party received the dog’s votes. To register to vote in California, an eligible voter must fill out a form with identifiable information, political preference and affirm their citizenship under the penalty of perjury. Proof of residence or identification is not required for citizens to register to vote or cast a ballot in state elections, but proof of residence and registration is needed for first-time voters to cast a ballot in a federal election.
Viral photo shows Bernie Sanders, AOC and Mamdani together in NYC ahead of ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ rally
A viral photo showing Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Democrat mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani in Astoria lit up social media on Saturday. Senator Sanders is set to headline a Brooklyn town hall on his “Fighting Oligarchy” tour where he is expected to stump for Mamdani, according to reporting from the New York Times. The post went up around 3:36 p.m. and quickly drew more than 350,000 views. The three progressive figures smiled together in Queens, a shot fans cheered and critics mocked. The photo of the three arguably most recognizable faces in the modern far-left camp was simply captioned, “A perfect afternoon in Astoria.” BERNIE SANDERS, ZOHRAN MAMDANI TEAM UP TO ‘FIGHT OLIGARCHY’ IN NYC Sanders, 84, and Mamdani, 33, marched together earlier this week in Manhattan’s Labor Day parade side-by-side while holding up a “Power in Unity” banner. Governor Kathy Hochul, a fellow Democrat, also participated. Mamdani has pitched himself as a democratic socialist focused on affordability. The Assemblyman promises free buses and state-operated grocery stores funded by higher taxes on the wealthy. He capped grassroots donations at $8 million. Sanders, who grew up in Brooklyn, has used his “Fighting Oligarchy” tour to lift the voices of younger progressives like Mamdani and Ocasio-Cortez. Both remain popular with the left wing of New York Democrats. AOC, SANDERS WELCOME MAMDANI TO DC FOR HIS CAPITOL HILL DEBUT, URGING RELUCTANT DEMS TO ‘GET TO KNOW HIM’ The photo also triggered blowback. “Three millionaires talking about socialism,” one user posted. Another joked, “The last thing your money sees before it dies.” Others wrote, “3 communists walk into a bar, they demanded the workers pay for everything.” Mamdani is expected to appear on stage with Sanders at his rally, scheduled for 6:00 pm at Brooklyn College’s Leonard & Claire Tow Center for the Performing Arts. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Representatives for Zohran Mamdani did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Trump roils Chicago Democrats with ‘Apocalypse Now’ meme hinting at National Guard deployment
President Donald Trump on Saturday gave possibly his strongest hint yet that he may deploy federal troops to Chicago by posting a parody meme of himself as a commander at war with Chicago. The post drew a swift rebuke from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and other officials who said it amounted to a threat. In the image, Trump, known to provoke his opponents with his savvy use of social media, is styled as Robert Duvall’s character in “Apocalypse Now,” a Vietnam War epic about a decorated U.S. officer who has gone rogue deep in the Cambodian jungle. “I love the smell of deportations in the morning…” Trump wrote above the image, a play on the famous quote from the hit 1979 film. “Chicago is about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR,” he wrote, followed by three helicopter emoji. It came a day after he signed an executive order changing the Defense Department’s name to the Department of War. ‘SLAP IN THE FACE’: MAJOR BLUE STATE GOVERNOR SIGNS BILL OPENING FINANCIAL AID TO ILLEGALS The post appeared aimed at provoking Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who have both strongly opposed Trump’s threats to activate the National Guard in the Windy City to clamp down on crime and help enhance immigration enforcement efforts. In the image, Trump is dressed in military fatigues resembling Duvall’s character, Lt. Col. Bill Kilgore, a flamboyant and fearless air cavalry officer who leads a helicopter air assault on a Vietnamese village. Helicopters fly over the Chicago skyline in a fiery background, evoking Vietnam War scenes. The text “Chipocalypse Now” is scrawled on the bottom of the image, a riff on “Apocalypse Now,” with “Chi” referring to Chicago. Trump’s goading appeared to work. Within an hour, Pritzker shot back, with Johnson also weighing in. ILLINOIS GOV CALLS FOR MASS PROTESTS AGAINST TRUMP ADMIN: GOP ‘CANNOT KNOW A MOMENT OF PEACE’ “The President of the United States is threatening to go to war with an American city,” Pritzker wrote on X “This is not a joke. This is not normal. Donald Trump isn’t a strongman, he’s a scared man. Illinois won’t be intimidated by a wannabe dictator.” Johnson conveyed similar words of warning. “The President’s threats are beneath the honor of our nation, but the reality is that he wants to occupy our city and break our Constitution,” Johnson wrote. “We must defend our democracy from this authoritarianism by protecting each other and protecting Chicago from Donald Trump.” Another outspoken Trump critic, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., also decried the post on Saturday during remarks before a parade in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood. “This tweet this morning was disgusting to suggest that the troops are coming into Chicago or that the Department of War is going to be engaged is an embarrassment,” Durban said, according to Fox 32 Chicago. Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of deploying the National Guard in Chicago, replicating operations in Washington, D.C., which has also seen the federal government take control of the local police. National Guard units sent without state approval are generally restricted to defending federal property and personnel. When Guard troops were deployed to Los Angeles in June over anti-U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement protests, they were confined to federal buildings and escort duties for immigration agents. In Washington, D.C., which is under federal jurisdiction, Guard units have conducted armed patrols alongside local police. Chicago recorded 573 homicides in 2024, marking the 13th straight year Chicago has led the nation in total murders, according to Chicago Police Department data compiled by Wirepoints. According to the Council on Criminal Justice’s year-end 2024 update, aggravated assaults declined by 4% compared to 2023 but remained 4% higher than in 2019. The council reported that gun assaults fell 15%, though they were still 5% above 2019 levels, and that carjackings dropped 32% year-over-year, yet were 25% higher than in 2019.