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Hello and welcome to the latest updates in American political affairs. We start with the report that a small number of state military forces has started protecting government facilities in the Greater Chicago region and assisting law enforcement 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 news agency on condition of anonymity in order to reveal operational details that have not been made public.

The troops are in the city to protect US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) buildings and other government properties and law enforcement personnel, Northern Command stated publicly.

The troops, along with about three hundred Illinois personnel, 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 activated for 60 days. The official wasn't able to quickly provide details about how the personnel were equipped.

Political Context

It coincides with Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the jailing of Brandon Johnson, Chicago's mayor, and JB Pritzker, the Illinois governor, accusing them of not protecting US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.

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

Both the mayor and governor are members of the Democratic party. Trump's remarks come as national guard troops have begun arriving in the Greater Chicago region at the order of the Trump administration, despite opposition from Illinois officials, including the governor and mayor.

Other Updates

• Donald Trump announced that the conflicting parties have accepted a provisional agreement to end the fighting in Gaza, and release Israeli hostages and detained persons.
• News of the Gaza agreement was praised by GOP legislators, who urged Trump to be given the peace award this week, but received with greater caution by Palestinian Americans.
• During White House event, Trump seemed unfamiliar with the term 'Habeas Corpus' and deferred to his homeland security secretary. In May, Noem gave a wildly inaccurate definition of the core legal principle that requires that the authorities provide a official justification for detaining and imprisoning people.
• All of the witnesses who contributed testimony at the White House "antifa roundtable" hosted by the president on Wednesday were self-described independent journalists who might more accurately described as political content creators. The influencers report on leftwing protests in a partisan fashion, more similar to political investigation than nonpartisan reporting.
• GOP senators rejected a military authorization measure that would have limited Trump's ability to use deadly military force against suspected drug smugglers after opposition party tried to counter the administration's extraordinary use of the armed forces to eliminate vessels in the Caribbean.
• During the White House "political discussion" on Wednesday, at least a participant echoed Trump's false claim that large numbers of people have been murdered by left-wing radicals in Portland, Oregon. The accurate count of killings by self-described "antifa" radicals in Portland is: a single incident.