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Greetings and welcome to the current developments in American political affairs. We begin with the news that a limited contingent of National Guard troops has started protecting federal property in the Chicago area and supporting police operations in Memphis on Wednesday, according to officials.

Troop Information

An unit of 200 Texas Guard troops were working in the Greater Chicago region, as stated by a representative for the US Northern Command, who communicated with the Associated Press on condition of anonymity in order to reveal operational details that have not been made public.

The troops are in the urban area to protect US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities and other federal facilities and law enforcement personnel, Northern Command stated publicly.

The troops, along with about three hundred Illinois personnel, had arrived Tuesday at a US Army Reserve Center in Elwood, 55 miles southwest of Chicago. All 500 troops are under the military command and have been activated for two months. The official wasn't able to immediately offer information about how the troops were armed.

Background Situation

It comes as Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the jailing of Brandon Johnson, Chicago's city leader, and JB Pritzker, the Illinois governor, charging them of not protecting US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel.

"The city's mayor should be in prison for not protecting ICE personnel!" Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday morning. "The state governor also!"

Both the mayor and governor are Democrats. Trump's remarks come as national guard troops have started deployment in the Greater Chicago region at the order of the Trump administration, despite objections from Illinois officials, including Pritzker and Johnson.

Other Updates

• Donald Trump announced that the conflicting parties have agreed to a tentative deal to end the fighting in Gaza, and free captured individuals and Palestinian prisoners.
• News of the Gaza agreement was applauded by GOP legislators, who urged Trump to be given the peace award this week, but greeted with more trepidation by Palestinian Americans.
• During White House event, Trump appeared not to recognize the term 'Habeas Corpus' and deferred to his homeland security secretary. In May, Noem gave a wildly inaccurate explanation of the fundamental legal concept that requires that the authorities provide a public reason for detaining and imprisoning people.
• All of the participants who contributed testimony at the White House "antifa roundtable" hosted by the administration on Wednesday were identified as freelance reporters who might better be called political content creators. The influencers cover liberal demonstrations in a partisan fashion, more similar to opposition research than nonpartisan reporting.
• GOP senators rejected a war powers resolution that would have checked Trump's ability to use lethal armed action against suspected drug smugglers after opposition party tried to counter the government's extraordinary use of the armed forces to destroy boats in the Caribbean.
• During the White House "antifa roundtable" on Wednesday, at least a participant echoed Trump's inaccurate statement that large numbers of people have been killed by political extremists in Portland, Oregon. The correct number of fatal incidents by political activists in Portland is: a single incident.