LOS ANGELES (AP) — About 90 members of the California National Guard and over a dozen military vehicles like Humvees are helping protect immigration officers Monday as they carry out a raid in a Los Angeles park, defense officials said.
The operation in MacArthur Park, which is in a neighborhood with a large immigrant population about 2 miles west of downtown LA, includes 17 Humvees, four tactical vehicles, two ambulances and the armed soldiers. It comes after President Donald Trump deployed thousands of Guard members and active duty Marines to the city last month following protests over previous immigration raids.
Trump has stepped up efforts to realize his campaign pledge of deporting millions of immigrants in the United States illegally and shown a willingness to use the nation’s military might in ways other U.S. presidents have typically avoided.
The officials told reporters that it was not a military operation but acknowledged that the size and scope of the Guard’s participation could make it look like one to the public. That is why the officials spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details about the raid that were not announced publicly.
“It’s just going to be more overt and larger than we usually participate in,” one of the officials said.
Federal agents stage at MacArthur Park Monday, July 7, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass stands in front of a border patrol federal agent at MacArthur Park Monday, July 7, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass talks on her mobile phone next to a border patrol federal agent at MacArthur Park Monday, July 7, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass arrives at MacArthur Park, where federal agents were staging, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
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Federal agents stage at MacArthur Park Monday, July 7, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
The primary role of the service members would be to protect the immigration enforcement officers in case a hostile crowd gathered, that official said. They are not participating in any law enforcement activities such as arrests, but service members can temporarily detain citizens if necessary before handing them over to law enforcement, the official said.
The operation is occurring at a park in a neighborhood with large Mexican, Central American and other immigrant populations and is lined by businesses with signs in Spanish and other languages that has been dubbed by local officials as the “Ellis Island of the West Coast.”
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Sprawling MacArthur Park has a murky lake ringed by palm trees, an amphitheater that hosts summer concerts and sports fields where immigrant families line up to play soccer in the evenings and on weekends. Authorities routinely clear encampments and medical outreach teams tend to unhoused residents.
The officials said the officers enforcing immigration laws were planning to wear a dark blue top to differentiate them from troops. The officers would still be wearing camouflage pants.
More than 4,000 California National Guard and hundreds of U.S. Marines have been deployed in Los Angeles since June — against the wishes of California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Last week, the military announced about 200 of those troops would be returned to their units to fight wildfires.
PAMPLONA, Spain (AP) — Thousands of daredevils ran, skidded and tumbled out of the way of a stampeding group of bulls at the opening run of the San Fermín festival Monday.
It was the first of nine morning runs or “encierros” during the famous celebrations held in the northern Spanish city of Pamplona.
The bulls pounded along the twisting cobblestone streets after being led by six steers. Up to 4,000 runners take part in each bull run, which takes place over 846 meters (2,775 feet) and can last two to four minutes.
Most runners wear the traditional garb of white trousers and shirt with red sash and neckerchief. The expert Spanish runners try to sprint just in front of the bull’s horns for a few death-defying seconds while egging the animal on with a rolled newspaper.
Revelers run with bulls from Fuente Ymbro ranch during the first day of the running of the bulls at the San Fermín fiestas in Pamplona, Spain, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)
Revelers run with bulls from Fuente Ymbro ranch during the first day of the running of the bulls at the San Fermín fiestas in Pamplona, Spain, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)
Revelers run with bulls from Fuente Ymbro ranch during the first day of the running of the bulls at the San Fermín fiestas in Pamplona, Spain, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)
Attendees wait on their balconies as rain begins to fall during the first day of the running of the bulls, at the San Fermín fiestas in Pamplona, Spain, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)
Animal rights activists, their bodies covered in blood, take part in a protest ahead of the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona, northern Spain, on Saturday, July 5, 2025. The activist dressed as the Virgin Mary holds a placard reading ”Bullfighting is a sin”. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)
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Revelers run with bulls from Fuente Ymbro ranch during the first day of the running of the bulls at the San Fermín fiestas in Pamplona, Spain, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)
While gorings are not rare, many more people are bruised and injured in falls and pileups with each other. Medics rush in to treat the injured and take the seriously hurt to a hospital.
On Monday, Spanish newspaper El País reported that a few revelers had been injured, but it wasn’t clear if their injuries were from gorings.
Unofficial records say at least 15 people have died in the bull runs over the past century. The deadliest day on record was July 13, 1980, when four runners were killed by two bulls. The last death was in 2009.
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The rest of each day is for eating, drinking, dancing and cultural entertainment, including bull fights where the animals that run in the morning are slain in the bull ring by professional matadors each afternoon.
The festival isn’t without its detractors. On Saturday, animal rights activists marched through Pamplona wearing horns and splotched with fake blood in protest against the San Fermin bull runs. Some held up signs saying “bullfights are a sin.”
The festival was made internationally famous by Ernest Hemingway’s classic 1926 novel “The Sun Also Rises,” about American bohemians wasting away in Europe.
City Limits rounds up the latest housing and land use-related events, public hearings and affordable housing lotteries that are ending soon.
The 2025 New York City Charter Revision Commission at a public hearing the Bronx last month. The Commission will hold its last input session in Manhattan Monday night. (New York City Charter Revision Commission)
Welcome to City Limits’ NYC Housing Calendar, a weekly feature where we round up the latest housing and land use-related events and hearings, as well as upcoming affordable housing lotteries that are ending soon.
Know of an event we should include in next week’s calendar? Email us.
Tuesday, July 8 at 9:30 a.m.: The Landmarks Preservation Commission will meet. More here.
Tuesday, July 8 at 10 a.m.: The NYC Council’s Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Sitings and Dispositions will meet regarding landmark applications for the 993-995 Union Avenue ANCP Cluster in the Bronx and the Modulightor Building Apartment Duplex in Manhattan. More here.
Monday, July 14 at 10:30 a.m.: The NYC Council’s Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Sitings and Dispositions will meet. More here.
Monday, July 14 at 10:45 a.m.:The NYC Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises will meet. More here.
Monday, July 14 at 11 a.m.:The NYC Council’s Land Use Committee will meet. More here.
Monday, July 14 at 1 p.m.: The City Planning Commission will hold a review session. More here.
NYC Affordable Housing Lotteries Ending Soon: The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) is closing lotteries on the following subsidized buildings over the next week.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former federal officials and outside experts have warned for months that President Donald Trump’s deep staffing cuts to the National Weather Service could endanger lives.
After torrential rains and flash flooding struck Friday in the Texas Hill Country, the weather service came under fire from local officials who criticized what they described as inadequate forecasts, though most in the Republican-controlled state stopped sort of blaming Trump’s cuts. Democrats, meanwhile, wasted little time in linking the staff reductions to the disaster, which is being blamed for the deaths of at least 80 people, including more than two dozen girls and counselors attending a summer camp on the banks of the Guadalupe River.
The NWS office responsible for that region had five staffers on duty as thunderstorms formed over Texas Thursday evening, the usual number for an overnight shift when severe weather is expected. Current and former NWS officials defended the agency, pointing to urgent flash flood warnings issued in the pre-dawn hours before the river rose.
“This was an exceptional service to come out first with the catastrophic flash flood warning and this shows the awareness of the meteorologists on shift at the NWS office,” said Brian LaMarre, who retired at the end of April as the meteorologist-in-charge of the NWS forecast office in Tampa, Florida. ″There is always the challenge of pinpointing extreme values, however, the fact the catastrophic warning was issued first showed the level of urgency.”
Officials are seen in the Guadalupe River as they assist in recovery efforts after a flash flood swept through the area Sunday, July 6, 2025, in Hunt, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Military personnel carry a camp trunk salvaged down river from Camp Mystic along the Guadalupe River after a flash flood swept through the area Sunday, July 6, 2025, in Hunt, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
President Donald Trump leans in to hear a question from the media before boarding Air Force One, at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, N.J., Sunday, July 6, 2025, en route to Washington after a weekend in New Jersey. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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Officials are seen in the Guadalupe River as they assist in recovery efforts after a flash flood swept through the area Sunday, July 6, 2025, in Hunt, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Questions remain, however, about the level of coordination and communication between NWS and local officials on the night of the disaster. The Trump administration has cut hundreds of jobs at NWS, with staffing down by at least 20% at nearly half of the 122 NWS field offices nationally and at least a half dozen no longer staffed 24 hours a day. Hundreds more experienced forecasters and senior managers were encouraged to retire early.
The White House also has proposed slashing its parent agency’s budget by 27% and eliminating federal research centers focused on studying the world’s weather, climate and oceans.
The website for the NWS office for Austin/San Antonio, which covers the region that includes hard-hit Kerr County, shows six of 27 positions are listed as vacant. The vacancies include a key manager responsible for issuing warnings and coordinating with local emergency management officials. An online resume for the employee who last held the job showed he left in April after more than 17 years, shortly after mass emails sent to employees urging them to retire early or face potential layoffs.
Democrats on Monday pressed the Trump administration for details about the cuts. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer demanded that the administration conduct an inquiry into whether staffing shortages contributed to “the catastrophic loss of life” in Texas.
Meanwhile, Trump said the job eliminations did not hamper any weather forecasting. The raging waters, he said Sunday, were “a thing that happened in seconds. No one expected it. Nobody saw it.”
Former officials warn that job cuts could hamper future forecasts
Former federal officials and experts have said Trump’s indiscriminate job reductions at NWS and other weather-related agencies will result in brain drain that imperils the federal government’s ability to issue timely and accurate forecasts. Such predictions can save lives, particularly for those in the path of quick-moving storms.
“This situation is getting to the point where something could break,” said Louis Uccellini, a meteorologist who served as NWS director under three presidents, including during Trump’s first term. “The people are being tired out, working through the night and then being there during the day because the next shift is short staffed. Anything like that could create a situation in which important elements of forecasts and warnings are missed.”
After returning to office in January, Trump issued a series of executive orders empowering the Department of Government Efficiency, initially led by mega-billionaire Elon Musk, to enact sweeping staff reductions and cancel contracts at federal agencies, bypassing significant Congressional oversight.
Though Musk has now departed Washington and had a very public falling out with Trump, DOGE staffers he hired and the cuts he sought have largely remained, upending the lives of tens of thousands of federal employees.
Cuts resulted from Republican effort to privatize duties of weather agencies
The cuts follow a decade-long Republican effort to dismantle and privatize many of the duties of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the agency within the Commerce Department that includes the NWS. The reductions have come as Trump has handed top public posts to officials with ties to private companies that stand to profit from hobbling the taxpayer-funded system for predicting the weather.
Project 2025, the conservative governing blueprint that Trump distanced himself from during the 2024 campaign but that he has broadly moved to enact once in office, calls for dismantling NOAA and further commercializing the weather service.
Chronic staffing shortages have led a handful of offices to curtail the frequency of regional forecasts and weather balloon launches needed to collect atmospheric data. In April, the weather service abruptly ended translations of its forecasts and emergency alerts into languages other than English, including Spanish. The service was soon reinstated after public outcry.
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NOAA’s main satellite operations center briefly appeared earlier this year on a list of surplus government real estate set to be sold. Trump’s proposed budget also seeks to shutter key facilities for tracking climate change. The proposed cuts include the observatory atop the Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii that for decades has documented the steady rise in plant-warming carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere from burning fossil fuels.
“Removing data from the defense satellite is similar to removing another piece to the public safety puzzle for hurricane intensity forecasting,” said LaMarre, now a private consultant. ”The more pieces removed, the less clear the picture becomes which can reduce the quality of life-saving warnings.”
Trump officials say they didn’t fire meteorologists
At a pair of Congressional hearings last month, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called it “fake news” that the Trump administration had axed any meteorologists, despite detailed reporting from The Associated Press and other media organizations that chronicled the layoffs.
“We are fully staffed with forecasters and scientists,” Lutnick said June 4 before a Senate appropriations subcommittee. “Under no circumstances am I going to let public safety or public forecasting be touched.”
Despite a broad freeze on federal hiring directed by Trump, NOAA announced last month it would seek to fill more than 100 “mission-critical field positions,” as well as plug holes at some regional weather offices by reassigning staff. Those positions have not yet been publicly posted, though a NOAA spokesperson said Sunday they would be soon.
Asked by AP how the NWS could simultaneously be fully staffed and still advertise “mission critical positions” as open, Commerce spokesperson Kristen Eichamer said the “National Hurricane Center is fully staffed to meet this season’s demand, and any recruitment efforts are simply meant to deepen our talent pool.”
“The secretary is committed to providing Americans with the most accurate, up-to-date weather data by ensuring the National Weather Service is fully equipped with the personnel and technology it needs,” Eichamer said. “For the first time, we are integrating technology that’s more accurate and agile than ever before to achieve this goal, and with it the NWS is poised to deliver critical weather information to Americans.”
Uccellini and the four prior NWS directors who served under Democratic and Republican presidents criticized the Trump cuts in an open letter issued in May; they said the administration’s actions resulted in the departures of about 550 employees — an overall reduction of more than 10 percent.
“NWS staff will have an impossible task to continue its current level of services,” they wrote. “Our worst nightmare is that weather forecast offices will be so understaffed that there will be needless loss of life. We know that’s a nightmare shared by those on the forecasting front lines – and by the people who depend on their efforts.”
NOAA’s budget for fiscal year 2024 was just under $6.4 billion, of which less than $1.4 billion went to NWS.
Experts worry about forecasts for hurricanes
While experts say it would be illegal for Trump to eliminate NOAA without Congressional approval, some former federal officials worry the cuts could result in a patchwork system where taxpayers finance the operation of satellites and collection of atmospheric data but are left to pay private services that would issue forecasts and severe weather warnings. That arrangement, critics say, could lead to delays or missed emergency alerts that, in turn, could result in avoidable deaths.
D. James Baker, who served as NOAA’s administrator during the Clinton administration, questioned whether private forecasting companies would provide the public with services that don’t generate profits.
“Would they be interested in serving small communities in Maine, let’s say?” Baker asked. “Is there a business model that gets data to all citizens that need it? Will companies take on legal risks, share information with disaster management agencies, be held accountable as government agencies are? Simply cutting NOAA without identifying how the forecasts will continue to be provided is dangerous.”
Though the National Hurricane Center in Miami has been largely spared staff reductions like those at regional NWS offices, some professionals who depend on federal forecasts and data greeted the June start of the tropical weather season with profound worry.
In an unusual broadcast on June 3, longtime South Florida TV meteorologist John Morales warned his viewers that the Trump administration cuts meant he might not be able to provide as accurate forecasts for hurricanes as he had in years past. He cited staffing shortfalls of between 20% and 40% at NWS offices from Tampa to Key West and urged his NBC 6 audience in greater Miami to call their congressional representatives.
“What we are starting to see is that the quality of the forecasts is becoming degraded,” Morales said. “And we may not know exactly how strong a hurricane is before it reaches the coastline.”
