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Greetings and welcome to the current developments in American political affairs. We begin with the report 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 unit of two hundred Texas military personnel were operating in the Chicago area, as stated by a spokesperson for the US Northern Command, who communicated with the Associated Press on condition of anonymity in order to discuss mission specifics that have not been officially released.

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

The troops, along with about 300 from Illinois, 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 deployed for 60 days. The spokesperson 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 mayor, and JB Pritzker, the state governor, accusing them of not protecting US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.

"Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers!" Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker also!"

Both the mayor and governor are members of the Democratic party. Trump's comments coincide with 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 declared that Hamas and Israel have agreed to a provisional agreement to end the fighting in Gaza, and release captured individuals and Palestinian prisoners.
• Reports about the Middle East deal was praised by GOP legislators, who urged Trump to be given the Nobel Peace prize this week, but greeted with more trepidation 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 wildly inaccurate explanation of the fundamental legal concept that requires that the government provide a official justification for arresting and jailing people.
• All of the participants who provided statements at the White House "political discussion" 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 partisan fashion, more akin to opposition research than nonpartisan reporting.
• Senate Republicans voted down a military authorization measure that would have checked Trump's ability to use lethal armed action against alleged narcotics traffickers after Democrats tried to counter the government's unprecedented deployment of the military to destroy boats in the Caribbean Sea.
• During the White House "political discussion" 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 correct number of killings by political activists in Portland is: one.