St. Paul Parks and Rec is hosting a free “Yappy Hour” for dogs and their people 4-6 p.m. Wednesday at its newest dog park downtown.

The city last month fenced in a modest off-leash dog park at Kellogg Mall Park. Parks and Rec public service manager Clare Cloyd said residents for years have asked the department to carve out a space for dogs.

“Yappy Hour is our way of promoting the new dog park, which is there for residents and visitors,” she said.

The event offers free nail trimming by Howliday Pet Spa. For humans, there will be music by Will Effertz, food by Cheeky Chicks Food Truck and games such as table tennis and cornhole.

Yappy Hour is part of the parks department’s “Kick it at Kellogg Mall Park” promotional series.

Activities planned through August include free coffee, food trucks, kids story time, yoga and concerts. For more information, visit kelloggmallpark.com.

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By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN and BEN FINLEY

GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — The U.S. government would initiate deportation proceedings against Kilmar Abrego Garcia if he’s released from jail before he stands trial on human smuggling charges in Tennessee, a Justice Department attorney told a federal judge in Maryland on Monday.

The disclosure by U.S. lawyer Jonathan Guynn contradicts statements by spokespeople for the Justice Department and the White House, who said last month that Abrego Garcia would stand trial and possibly spend time in an American prison before the government moves to deport him.

Guynn made the revelation during a federal court hearing in Maryland, where Abrego Garcia’s lawyers have expressed concerns that he would be denied due process once more by the Trump administration before it likely tries to expel him again from the U.S.

Guynn said that U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement would detain Abrego Garcia once he’s released from jail in Tennessee and send him to a “third country” that isn’t his native El Salvador. However, Guynn said he didn’t know which country that would be.

Abrego Garcia became a flashpoint over President Donald Trump’s immigration policies when he was deported in March to a notorious megaprison in his native El Salvador. The Trump administration violated a U.S. immigration judge’s order in 2019 that shielded Abrego Garcia from deportation to El Salvador because he likely faced persecution there by local gangs that terrorized his family.

Facing increasing pressure and a Supreme Court order, the Trump administration returned Abrego Garcia to the United States last month to face federal human smuggling charges. Abrego Garcia’s attorneys have characterized the case as “preposterous” and an attempt to justify his erroneous deportation.

A federal judge in Nashville was preparing to release Abrego Garcia to await trial. But she agreed last week to keep Abrego Garcia behind bars at the request of his own attorneys. They had raised concerns the U.S. would try to immediately deport him, while citing what they say were “contradictory statements” by the Trump administration.

For example, Guynn had told U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland on June 26 that the U.S. government planned to deport Abrego Garcia to a “third country” that isn’t El Salvador. But he said there was no timeline for the deportation plans.

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Later that day, DOJ spokesperson Chad Gilmartin told The Associated Press that the Justice Department intends to try Abrego Garcia on the smuggling charges before it moves to deport him.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson posted on X that day that Abrego Garcia “will face the full force of the American justice system — including serving time in American prison for the crimes he’s committed.”

Abrego Garcia’s attorneys have asked Xinis to order the government to take Abrego Garcia to Maryland upon release from jail in Tennessee, an arrangement that would prevent his deportation before trial. Abrego Garcia lived in Maryland outside of Washington for more than a decade, working construction and raising a family with his American wife.

Xinis is still considering his lawyers’ request to send him to Maryland if he’s released. Meanwhile, Xinis ruled Monday that the lawsuit against the Trump administration over Abrego Garcia’s mistaken deportation can continue.

Finley reported from Norfolk, Virginia.

By TARA COPP and DAMIAN DOVARGANES

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.

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.

Copp reported from Washington.

By MIGUEL OSES and JOSEPH WILSON

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.

Thousands of spectators watched from balconies and wooden barricades along the course. Millions more follow the visceral spectacle on live television.

The festival kicked off Sunday with the traditional “chupinazo” firework blast after which revelers doused one another with red or sparkling wine.

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.

Wilson reported from Barcelona, Spain.