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Greetings and welcome to the latest developments in US politics. We begin with the report that a limited contingent of National Guard troops has started protecting government facilities 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 operating in the Greater Chicago region, as stated by a representative for the US Northern Command, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity in order to discuss operational details that have not been made public.

The military personnel are in the city to secure US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) buildings and other federal facilities and law enforcement personnel, Northern Command stated publicly.

The forces, along with about three hundred Illinois personnel, had arrived Tuesday at a US Army Reserve Center in Elwood, approximately 90 kilometers southwest of Chicago. All five hundred personnel are under the Northern Command and have been activated for two months. The official wasn't able to immediately offer information about how the personnel were equipped.

Political Context

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

"Chicago Mayor should be in jail for not protecting ICE personnel!" Trump posted on his social media platform on Wednesday morning. "The state governor also!"

Both Johnson and Pritzker are members of the Democratic party. Trump's remarks coincide with national guard troops have begun arriving in the Greater Chicago region at the direction of the federal administration, despite opposition from state authorities, including the governor and mayor.

Additional Developments

• The president announced that Hamas and Israel have agreed to a tentative deal to cease hostilities in Gaza, and release captured individuals and Palestinian prisoners.
• News of the Middle East deal was applauded by GOP legislators, who urged Trump to be awarded the Nobel Peace prize this week, but received with greater caution by Arab-American communities.
• During White House event, Trump seemed unfamiliar with the term 'Habeas Corpus' and deferred to Kristi Noem. In May, the secretary gave a highly incorrect explanation of the fundamental legal concept that requires that the government provide a public reason for arresting and jailing people.
• All of the participants who contributed testimony at the White House "political discussion" hosted by the president on Wednesday were identified as freelance reporters who might better be called partisan conservative social media influencers. The influencers cover liberal demonstrations in a highly political manner, more akin to political investigation than neutral journalism.
• GOP senators rejected a war powers resolution that would have checked Trump's authority to use lethal armed action against suspected drug smugglers after Democrats tried to counter the government's extraordinary use of the armed forces to destroy boats in the Caribbean Sea.
• During the White House "political discussion" on Wednesday, at least one witness repeated Trump's false claim that significant amounts of people have been murdered by left-wing radicals in Portland, Oregon. The accurate count of fatal incidents by political activists in Portland is: a single incident.