--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: From the New York Times, it's the headlines. Today's Wednesday, June 11th.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: The protests over President Trump's immigration crackdown have expanded. Demonstrators in at least two dozen cities across the country are pushing back against raids from immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
--:-- [Sound of chanting: Move ICE! Get out the way! Get out the way! ICE! Get out the way!]
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: From New York to Chicago to Austin, Dallas, Atlanta, San Francisco. Abolish! Abolish!
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: And in Los Angeles, after days of protests, local officials declared a curfew for downtown. If you do not live or work in downtown L.A., avoid the area. Law enforcement will arrest individuals who break the curfew, and you will be prosecuted.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: The protests around the country have been largely peaceful and contained to small sections of cities. But since Friday, at least 350 demonstrators have been arrested across five cities. Many were charged with failing to disperse, though some have been accused of looting, harassment, and throwing Molotov cocktails.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: These are insurrectionists. They're agitators or troublemakers. At a minimum, they're troublemakers.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: Trump has promised a harsh response to the demonstrations and deployed almost 5,000 federal troops to Los Angeles. California sued the administration over those deployments, arguing that they're illegal. And officials there, including Governor Gavin Newsom, say the president has only inflamed tensions.
--:-- [Sound of Governor Gavin Newsom speaking]
--:-- Gavin Newsom: Donald Trump's government isn't protecting our communities. They're traumatizing our communities. And that seems to be the entire point.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: And as protests escalate around the country, one U.S. official told The Times the administration is considering deploying troops to other cities. That could force more clashes with Democratic governors. But at least one state leader is on board.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: In Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott announced he would deploy National Guard troops to quell protests himself. Just over a dozen demonstrators in Texas have been arrested in the protests.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: Meanwhile, the ICE raids at the heart of the protests have continued this week. And last night, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that in Los Angeles, members of the National Guard are assisting ICE in those efforts. ICE posted images on social media of its officers detaining people as armed National Guard troops stood by.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: Today, 700 Marines are expected to join the National Guard in protecting ICE agents and federal buildings in Los Angeles.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: The Times has been looking into a growing number of Washington lawmakers who've held onto their seats despite showing signs of physical and cognitive decline. This current Congress has the most members above the age of 70 in modern history.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: When this session of Congress was convened in January, there were nearly 120 members who were 70 or older. Three of them, all House Democrats, have died this year. And the House's oldest member, Democrat Eleanor Holmes Norton of Washington, D.C., turns 88 this week.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: The civil rights leader said on Tuesday that she would run for re-election, only to slightly walk back the comment hours later. Questions about her political future come as sources tell The Times that, in recent years, Norton has become frail and has struggled to do her job.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: I even have some lawmakers on the record being willing to say, with all respect to her legacy and her achievements, it's time for a new generation at this critical moment to take over.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: My colleague Annie Carney covers Congress. What I heard was just across the board, concerned about her ability to do the job at this point. She sometimes doesn't recognize people she's known for years. She needs staff to remind her where she is sometimes.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: And someone I spoke to who recently met with her described themselves as shell-shocked at how much her staff had to fill in the blanks for her.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: This is not an original story at all on Capitol Hill. I mean we seen just in the past few years the exact playbook play out with Senator Dianne Feinstein a lion in her prime like a really forceful lawmaker who refused to let go of her seat even when it was clear she could not function in that job.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: And she eventually died in office in 2023 at the age of 90. So it is a problem with aging lawmakers who cannot see their own condition and who do not want to leave.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: The Southern Baptist Convention, one of the country's most powerful evangelical organizations, has officially declared one of its next political targets, same-sex marriage.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: The denomination has long opposed gay marriage, but on Tuesday, its members voted for the first time as an official body to work towards legally ending it in the U.S.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: The decision was heavily influenced by the decades-long campaign against abortion. Conservative Christians spent years on lobbying, messaging, and advocating for anti-abortion judges.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: And after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade three years ago, Southern Baptist strategists saw a potential blueprint for gay marriage.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: Many Southern Baptists acknowledge that gay marriage has widespread support across the country, and that for many Americans, the issue is effectively settled.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: But the vote shows that evangelicals have long-term ambitions and are willing to put in the time.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: As Denny Burke, the president of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, put it, quote, We know that we're in a minority in the culture right now, but we want to be a prophetic minority.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: Austria suffered one of its deadliest attacks in modern history on Tuesday, when a gunman opened fire in a high school in the city of Graz, killing 10 people.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: The gunman was then found dead in a school bathroom, in what authorities are calling an apparent suicide.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: So far, Austrian police aren't releasing much information about either the victims or the shooter. They have said that the gunman was a 21-year-old former student at the school who they say never graduated.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: He had two guns with him during the shooting both of which were obtained legally. It one of Europe worst school shootings in years.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: Mass shootings of any kind are rare in Europe likely due to the low prevalence of guns.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: Though Austria is one of the most heavily armed countries in the world, its civilian firearm rate is just a quarter of that of the United States, where shootings like these are far more common.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: And finally... K-pop fans rejoice because two of its biggest stars, singers RM and V, both members of the wildly popular boy band BTS, have been discharged from South Korea's mandatory military service.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: This means the band's three-year-long hiatus is one step closer to ending. The two singers emerged from a military base to cheering fans.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: Despite their record label pleading with people to stay home and not make a spectacle out of it V carried a bouquet of flowers. While RM came out with a saxophone that he used to give an impromptu performance.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: Four of BTS' seven members have now concluded their national service. Two more, Jimin and Jungkook, will be discharged later today.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: The final member, Suga, is scheduled to end his service at the end of next week. After their time in service, members of the band will soon head back to the studio to make music once again for the other ARMY, their rabid online fan base.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: Those are the headlines. Today on The Daily, a look inside an ICE operation as the Trump administration tries to boost its deportation numbers.
--:-- Michael Simon-Johnson: That's next in the New York Times audio app or listen wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Michael Simon-Johnson. We'll be back tomorrow.
