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Greetings and welcome to the current developments in US politics. We start with the report that a small number of National Guard troops has started protecting federal property in the Chicago area and supporting police operations in Memphis on Wednesday, as confirmed by authorities.

Troop Information

An element of 200 Texas Guard troops were working in the Chicago area, as stated by a representative for the US Northern Command, who communicated with the Associated Press on background basis in order to reveal operational details that have not been officially released.

The troops are in the city to protect US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities and other government properties and police officers, Northern Command said online.

The troops, along with about three hundred Illinois personnel, had arrived Tuesday at a US Army Reserve Center in Elwood, approximately 90 kilometers southwest of Chicago. All 500 troops are under the military command and have been deployed for two months. The spokesperson wasn't able to immediately offer details about how the personnel were equipped.

Background Situation

It comes as Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the imprisonment of Brandon Johnson, Chicago's city leader, and JB Pritzker, the Illinois governor, charging them of not protecting US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.

"The city's mayor should be in prison for not protecting ICE personnel!" Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker also!"

Both Johnson and Pritzker are Democrats. Trump's comments coincide with national guard troops have started deployment in the Chicago area at the order of the Trump administration, despite opposition from Illinois officials, including the governor and mayor.

Other Updates

• The president announced that the conflicting parties have agreed to a provisional agreement to cease hostilities in Gaza, and release Israeli hostages and detained persons.
• Reports about the Middle East deal was applauded by Republican lawmakers, who called on Trump to be awarded the peace award this week, but received with greater caution by Palestinian Americans.
• During White House event, Trump appeared not to recognize the term 'legal principle' and deferred to his homeland security secretary. In May, the secretary gave a wildly inaccurate definition of the core legal principle that mandates that the authorities provide a public reason for arresting and jailing people.
• All of the witnesses who provided statements at the White House "political discussion" hosted by the president on Wednesday were self-described independent journalists who might better be called partisan conservative social media influencers. The content producers cover liberal demonstrations in a highly political manner, more similar to opposition research than nonpartisan reporting.
• Senate Republicans rejected a military authorization measure that would have limited Trump's ability to use lethal armed action against suspected drug smugglers after opposition party tried to oppose the administration's extraordinary use of the armed forces to destroy boats in the Caribbean.
• During the White House "antifa roundtable" on Wednesday, at least a participant repeated Trump's inaccurate statement that large numbers of people have been killed by left-wing radicals in the Oregon city. The accurate count of fatal incidents by self-described "antifa" radicals in Portland is: one.