Author: Reporter

The 9th U.S. Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily blocked a federal judge’s order that directed Donald Trump to return control of National Guard troops to California after he deployed them there following protests in Los Angeles over immigration raids. The court said it would hold a hearing on the matter on June 17. The ruling on June 12 came only hours after a federal judge’s order was to take effect at noon on Friday, June 13. That judge ruled the National Guard deployment was illegal and both violated the Tenth Amendment and exceeded Trump’s statutory authority. The...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered strikes on Iran’s capital on June 13, raising the potential for an all-out war between the two bitter Middle East adversaries. It appeared to be the most significant attack Iran has faced since its 1980s war with Iraq. Just hours before the attack, Donald Trump was still holding onto tattered threads of hope that a long-simmering dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program could be resolved without military action. Trump said he urged Netanyahu to hold off on any action while his regime negotiated with Iran over nuclear enrichment. “As long as I think there...

Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles to stop protests against his immigration crackdown is not the first time an elected U.S. official has sent troops to thwart unrest over civil rights. But National Guard troops are typically deployed, for a variety of emergencies and natural disasters, with the permission of governors in responding states. Trump, a Republican, sent about 1,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles despite the objections of California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, both Democrats. Confrontations began on June 6 when dozens of protesters gathered outside a...

On this small island in rural Nagasaki, Japan’s Hidden Christians gather to worship what they call the Closet God. In a special room about the size of a tatami mat is a scroll painting of a kimono-clad Asian woman. She looks like a Buddhist Bodhisattva holding a baby, but for the faithful, this is a concealed version of Mary and the baby Jesus. Another scroll shows a man wearing a kimono covered with camellias, an allusion to John the Baptist’s beheading and martyrdom. There are other objects of worship from the days when Japan’s Christians had to hide from...

Rice is essential to Japanese culture, tradition, and politics. People take pride in the oval-shaped sticky Japonica grain, which is still a staple even though total consumption has fallen over the decades. But since last summer, prices have soared as supplies have fallen short of demand. The government has long paid farmers to cut back on rice acreage, and change to other crops to keep rice prices relatively high. To cope with shortfalls this year, the government has released rice reserves. But the grain has been slow to reach supermarket shelves. Anger over that was part of the reason...