U.S. and world news for June 10

LA mayor says Trump’s ICE has terrified her city

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass says that her city is terrified by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). “I can’t emphasize enough the level of fear and terror that is in Angelenos right now, not knowing if tomorrow or tonight it might be where they live, it might be their workplace, should you send your kids to school, should you go to work,” she said. Local police have mobilized to keep the peace, but so have approximately 1,700 members of the National Guard who were deployed by Donald Trump, not the state’s governor. Last night, Trump ordered the deployment of another 2,000 National Guard members as well as a full Marine battalion based in Southern California. “The level of escalation is completely unwarranted, uncalled for, and unprecedented — mobilizing the best in class branch of the U.S. military against its own citizens,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said.

Anti-ICE protests spread

The LA protests, which began as a reaction to immigration raids by ICE, have sparked demonstrations around the country. Although about 150 demonstrators were arrested in San Francisco on Sunday, thousands more returned on Monday to march through the city’s Civic Center and Mission neighborhoods. Similar protests took place in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, New York, Pittsburgh, Seattle and Washington, D.C. This coming Saturday, an estimated 1,800 demonstrations throughout the country are planned to demand that the Constitution be obeyed and Trump end his power grabs.

Russia attacks Ukraine’s capital city again

Ukraine’s air defense systems stopped some but not all incoming Russian drones during overnight attacks. There were frequent explosions from the drones that got through the defenses and hours of blaring air raid sirens. Russia launched at least 315 drones at Ukraine overnight in what Ukrainian President Zelenskyy described as “one of the largest attacks on Kyiv.” The assault damaged high-rise buildings, homes and cars in seven districts of the capital and injured at least four people. Russian drones also struck the southern port city of Odesa, killing at least two people and damaging a maternity ward.

Kennedy dumps vaccine experts

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismissed the entire panel of vaccine advisers that guides the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the vaccine schedule and required coverage of immunizations. Before being confirmed to his post, Kennedy promised he would not interfere with the panel. Each of the 17 members on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices typically are experts in the field who serve in four-year cycles. Removing the entire panel as Kennedy did was unprecedented. CNN quoted one of the dismissed panel members as saying, “I’ve never seen anything this damaging to public health happen in my lifetime. I’m shocked. It’s pretty brazen. This will fundamentally destabilize vaccination in America.”Kennedy has long opposed vaccines despite scientific evidence of their effectiveness and decades of successful use.

State Department follows judge’s order in Harvard dispute

The State Department has ordered U.S. diplomatic posts around the world to “resume processing” Harvard University student and exchange visitor visas. The new guidance was announced after a judge halted President Trump’s latest attempt to block international students from attending Harvard. In recent months, the Trump administration has demanded that Harvard change its hiring and admission requirements, eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, and alter rules for on-campus protests. But the school has resisted those orders and filed a lawsuit claiming the government’s actions violate the First Amendment. On Monday, an amicus brief was submitted to the court that featured the signatures of more than 12,000 Harvard alumni in support of their alma mater. The White House did not respond to CNN’s request for comment on the brief.

Music legend Sly Stone dies at age 82

Sly Stone, the influential funk-rock star has died due to the effects of COPD, his family said yesterday. He was 82. He was born Sylvester Stewart in Denton, Texas. He rose to fame as the front man for the group Sly and the Family Stone. The group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. The group had been formed in 1966. Their hit single “Dance to the Music” rocketed the group to fame and fortune. Other hits included “Everyday People,” which hit number one on the Billboard charts and the Billboard number two hit “Hot Fun in the Summertime.”