News Wrap: Marines in LA, Election Order Blocked, Human Smuggling Charges

Protests and Military Presence in Los Angeles

• 🇺🇸 Marines were deployed to the streets of Los Angeles amid demonstrations against ICE deportations, becoming a point of contention.
• ⚖️ A federal judge initially ruled that control of the National Guard must return to Governor Gavin Newsom, but an appellate court temporarily restored the president's deployment.
• 🗣️ President Trump stated on Truth Social that Los Angeles would have been "burning to the ground" without military intervention.

Election Order Overhaul Blocked

• 🗳️ A federal judge in Massachusetts blocked part of President Trump's executive order aimed at overhauling elections.
• 🏛️ The judge found that the constitution does not grant the president specific powers over voting, siding with Democrats.
• 📄 The blocked order would have required proof of citizenship for federal elections and barred states from accepting mail-in ballots arriving after election day.

Human Smuggling and Detention Cases

• 🧑‍⚖️ Kilmar Abrego Garcia pleaded not guilty to federal charges of human smuggling, having been mistakenly deported and then brought back to the U.S.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Supporters called for his freedom, with his wife expressing gratitude for his return home to his children.
• 🏛️ A federal judge sided with the administration to keep Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil in detention, with the government now claiming he lied on his green card application.

Smithsonian Portrait Gallery Head Steps Down

• 🖼️ Kim Sajet, the head of the Smithsonian Portrait Gallery, is stepping down two weeks after President Trump announced her firing on social media.
• 🏛️ Her departure follows a public statement by the Smithsonian asserting its independence over personnel decisions.

International News and Market Turmoil

• ✈️ Investigators in India recovered the flight data recorder from an Air India crash that killed 241 people.
• 📉 Stocks tumbled on Wall Street amid worries about increasing tensions in the Middle East, with the Dow Jones industrial average dropping nearly 800 points.