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Hello and welcome to the latest updates in US politics. We begin with the news that a small number of National Guard troops has begun guarding federal property in the Chicago area and assisting law enforcement in Memphis on Wednesday, according to officials.

Troop Information

An unit of two hundred Texas military personnel were working in the Greater Chicago region, as stated by a spokesperson for the US Northern Command, who communicated with 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 secure US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) buildings and other federal facilities and police officers, Northern Command stated publicly.

The forces, 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 500 troops are under the Northern Command and have been deployed for 60 days. The spokesperson wasn't able to quickly provide information about how the personnel were equipped.

Political Context

It coincides with Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the jailing of Brandon Johnson, Chicago's mayor, and JB Pritzker, the Illinois governor, charging them of failing to protect US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel.

"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 begun arriving in the Chicago area at the order of the federal administration, despite opposition from state authorities, including the governor and mayor.

Additional Developments

• Donald Trump declared that Hamas and Israel have agreed to a tentative deal to cease hostilities in Gaza, and free Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.
• News of the Gaza agreement was applauded by GOP legislators, who called on Trump to be given the peace award this week, but received with greater caution by Arab-American communities.
• During White House event, Trump appeared not to recognize the term 'legal principle' and referred to Kristi Noem. In May, the secretary gave a wildly inaccurate definition of the fundamental legal concept that requires that the government provide a public reason for detaining and imprisoning people.
• All of the participants who contributed testimony at the White House "antifa roundtable" hosted by the administration on Wednesday were identified as freelance reporters who might more accurately described as partisan conservative social media influencers. The content producers report on leftwing protests in a partisan fashion, more akin to opposition research than neutral journalism.
• Senate Republicans rejected a military authorization measure that would have checked Trump's ability to use deadly military force against alleged narcotics traffickers after opposition party tried to oppose the administration's extraordinary use of the military to destroy boats in the Caribbean.
• During the White House "political discussion" on Wednesday, at least one witness repeated Trump's false claim that large numbers of people have been killed by left-wing radicals in Portland, Oregon. The correct number of killings by self-described "antifa" radicals in Portland is: a single incident.