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Hello and welcome to the latest updates in American political affairs. We start with the news that a small number of National Guard troops has begun guarding federal property in the Greater Chicago region and supporting police operations in Memphis on Wednesday, according to officials.

Deployment Details

An element of two hundred Texas military personnel were operating in the Chicago area, according to a spokesperson for the US Northern Command, who communicated with the Associated Press on condition of anonymity in order to discuss operational details that have not been officially released.

The military personnel are in the city to secure US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities and other government properties and law enforcement personnel, Northern Command said online.

The forces, along with about 300 from Illinois, had reached on Tuesday at a US Army Reserve Center in Elwood, approximately 90 kilometers southwest of Chicago. All five hundred personnel are under the military command and have been deployed for two months. The official wasn't able to quickly provide details about how the personnel were equipped.

Political Context

It comes as Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the jailing of Brandon Johnson, Chicago's mayor, and JB Pritzker, the Illinois governor, accusing them of failing to protect US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel.

"Chicago Mayor should be in prison for not protecting ICE personnel!" Trump posted on Truth Social on Wednesday morning. "The state governor also!"

Both Johnson and Pritzker are Democrats. Trump's remarks coincide with national guard troops have started deployment in the Chicago area at the direction of the Trump administration, despite objections from state authorities, including the governor and mayor.

Other Updates

• Donald Trump announced that the conflicting parties have accepted a tentative deal to cease hostilities in Gaza, and free Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.
• Reports about the Gaza agreement was praised by GOP legislators, who urged Trump to be given the peace award this week, but greeted with more trepidation by Arab-American communities.
• During White House event, Trump appeared not to recognize the term 'legal principle' and deferred to Kristi Noem. In May, the secretary gave a wildly inaccurate definition of the core legal principle that mandates that the government provide a official justification for arresting and jailing people.
• All of the participants who contributed testimony at the White House "antifa roundtable" organized by the president on Wednesday were self-described independent journalists who might more accurately described as partisan conservative social media influencers. The influencers report on liberal demonstrations in a highly political manner, more similar to opposition research than neutral journalism.
• GOP senators voted down a war powers resolution that would have limited Trump's ability to use deadly military force against alleged narcotics traffickers after opposition party tried to oppose the administration's unprecedented deployment of the military to destroy boats in the Caribbean.
• During the White House "antifa roundtable" on Wednesday, at least a participant echoed Trump's inaccurate statement that significant amounts of people have been killed by left-wing radicals in the Oregon city. The accurate count of fatal incidents by self-described "antifa" radicals in Portland is: one.