Inside the “Unconstitutional Invasion” of American Cities
Plus: CBS News under new (billionaire-backed) management. Government still shut, but Supreme Court is back. And how a Nobel-winning discovery could cure autoimmune diseases.
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In April I interviewed Chicago Law School professor Aziz Huq who warned that America was headed toward what he called a “dual state.” In this system, most of us live under strict enforcement of the law, while the federal government operates in what Huq describes as a “parallel zone” — free to violate laws and act with impunity.
Huq’s concept draws on legal scholar Ernst Fraenkel’s analysis of how authoritarian regimes function: they maintain normal legal systems for most citizens while creating zones of lawlessness for targeted groups. The framework helps explain what we’re witnessing today, though the comparison is about structure and warning signs, not a direct parallel to historical extremes.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has described the Trump administration’s tactics in similar terms, pointing to the deployment of federal troops against the will of state officials, the escalation of force against both citizens and non-citizens, and what he calls violations of rights without cooperation with state and local law enforcement.
Today we’re sharing the specifics of this struggle between federal forces and state authority.
It’s worth noting that while the administration has dramatically escalated its visible use of force, it has been slow to build the infrastructure needed to execute deportations at the scale it promised. The Atlantic has more on this gap between the administration’s rhetoric and its actual capacity.
Also in today’s newsletter: The Trump allies building one of the largest media empires in the world, why Republicans are refusing to confirm the newest Democrat congresswoman, what’s in store for the Supreme Court’s new term, and more. Plus News That Doesn’t Suck on the Nobel Prize in medicine.
Here Are Your Headlines
Escalation of Force: The Trump administration is escalating its use of force against Americans, sending hundreds of National Guard troops and federal agents into Democrat-run cities. They’re doing this over the protests of residents, lawmakers, and judges — terrorizing both immigrants and US citizens, especially people of color.
Illinois: Who’s Invading? A federal judge today ruled the Trump administration can deploy hundreds of Texas National Guard troops to Chicago, which Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker called an “unconstitutional invasion.” Administration lawyers said the troops will arrive Tuesday or Wednesday. Both Illinois and Chicago sued the administration earlier today to stop the deployment and prevent the federalization of Illinois’ National Guard. Pritzker compared the use of force and violation of rights to the early days of Nazi rule. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson called on Trump “to leave us the freak alone.… We’re talking about a city where our economy is rebounding, where violent crime is going down.” Trump, meanwhile, today threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows him to deploy the military for domestic law enforcement, “if people were being killed and courts were holding us up, or governors or mayors were holding us up.”
Fighting Back: Mayor Johnson today signed an executive order banning federal agents, including those with ICE, from using city property for civil immigration enforcement. The order also provides support for private property owners, tenants, and institutions to deny access to federal agents without a warrant. “The Order builds a broad civic shield that limits the reach of harmful enforcement practices,” the mayor’s office stated. “Our school parking lots are not for ICE to load their weapons,” Mayor Johnson said. “Our parks are not for ICE to set up checkpoints.” “If Congress will not check this administration,” he said, “then Chicago will.”
Attack the Block: Federal agents conducted a military-style nighttime raid on an apartment building in Chicago last week. Agents rappelled down from a Black Hawk helicopter, kicked down doors, threw flash-bang grenades, and rounded up terrified residents — adults and children, immigrants and US citizens alike. One neighbor, who said he’s “been on military bases for a good portion of my life,” described the raid as “an invasion.” Witnesses described children, some without clothes, being zip-tied and separated from their parents; US citizens having guns pointed in their face, dragged out of their homes, and left tied up outside in the dark for hours; residents bundled into U-Haul vans. (Far-right and neo-Nazi groups, including Patriot Front, have repeatedly made headlines for using U-Haul vans across the country.) “It was heartbreaking,” one neighbor said, “seeing kids coming out buck naked and taken from their mothers.” One 67-year-old resident (a US citizen) said agents broke down his door and took him outside in zip ties. “I asked if they had a warrant, and I asked for a lawyer. They never brought one.” “They just treated us like we were nothing,” another elderly US citizen said. Kristi Noem posted a dramatic video of the raid on social media with the caption, “Chicago, we’re here for you.” The DHS says the raid led to the arrest of 37 undocumented immigrants.
Oregon: Who’s Violent? A Trump-appointed federal judge blocked the president from sending National Guard troops into Portland, Oregon, not once, but twice this weekend. First, Judge Karin Immergut on Saturday blocked Trump’s federalization of 200 of Oregon’s National Guard. She said Trump’s descriptions of Portland as “war-ravaged” were “untethered to facts” and warned he was “blurring the line between civil and military federal power — to the detriment of this nation.” But then the administration did something unprecedented: it ordered hundreds of federalized troops from California and Texas into Oregon. (That is not normal.) Immergut blocked that too. Again, she was appointed by Trump. California Gov. Gavin Newsom fiercely opposed the deployment of his state’s Guard; the administration was able to do it because the troops had been federalized during the summer in response to protests in LA. However Texas Gov. Greg Abbott fully supports sending Texas Guard troops across state lines. Protests in Portland have been overwhelmingly peaceful; the administration’s response has been anything but: tear gas, smoke canisters, pepper balls, flash-bang grenades — “without any clear signs of provocation,” according to local news — with multiple drones and videographers filming the violence. Portland Mayor Keith Wilson said federal forces are, “trying to inflame a situation that has otherwise been peaceful.”
Double Standard: Last year, when Texas appeared to flout a Supreme Court order mandating the removal of deadly razor wire along parts of the Southern border, some Democrats called on then-President Joe Biden to federalize the state’s National Guard. (He didn’t.) Gov. Abbott warned that would be “the biggest political blunder that you can make” and said he was “prepared” to “continue exactly what we’ve been doing” regardless. Kristi Noem — then governor of South Dakota, now Secretary of Homeland Security — said that if Biden federalized her state’s guard, “we do have a war on our hands.”
Now Targeting Kids: ICE has launched a new operation called “Freaky Friday,” which involves encouraging unaccompanied minors in federal custody to give up legal protections and self-deport in return for $2,500. The policy director of the American Immigration Council warned that “financial incentives have often been coercive, and they’ve often been presented as the only way for people to avoid punitive and terrorizing consequences even if they have legitimate claims to legal status in the United States.” For example, the National Immigrant Justice Center warned one of those consequences could be the threat of transfer to ICE custody when unaccompanied minors in federal custody who decline the “voluntary” offer turn 18.
Why aren’t right-wing outlets covering the story of the judge who ruled against Trump whose home burned to the ground? Circuit Court Judge Diane Goodstein, who recently denied a Trump DOJ request for sensitive voter data, lost her South Carolina beach house in a fire and explosion, as reported by The New Republic. It’s a serious story — yet one side of the media has chosen silence. That silence is what Ground News calls a “blindspot.” A blindspot happens when one side of the political spectrum leaves out key stories or context. And it’s exactly why I rely on Ground News. Their app and website gives you the tools to compare coverage across the spectrum and understand the bigger picture.
Here’s why I recommend it:
See the full picture: Compare how left, center, and right outlets cover the same story.
Spot blind spots: Identify what one side isn’t reporting.
As part of the News Not Noise community, you can get 40% off their all-access Vantage subscription. To subscribe, go to groundnews.com/NNN
Under New Management: Paramount Skydance has purchased anti-woke publication The Free Press for roughly $150 million and named its founder, Bari Weiss, as the new editor-in-chief of CBS News. Weiss will reportedly answer straight to Paramount’s chief executive, David Ellison — son of Oracle founder and Trump ally Larry Ellison — instead of through traditional CBS News leadership. In her first note to CBS News staff, Weiss outlined ten “core journalistic values” emphasizing ideological balance and diverse viewpoints rather than focusing on editorial processes for reporting and transparency. The Free Press attracted an ideologically diverse audience. Conservative activist Christopher Rufo described it as a “beautiful off-ramp” for “likely converts” to his anti-LGBTQ, anti-social justice ideology. While some in the center and center-right value its perspective on topics like the Israel-Gaza conflict, critics say it is overly sympathetic to Trump and offers narrow polemical coverage. It’s yet to be seen how this will translate to editorial guidance for CBS’ storied shows, including 60 Minutes and Face the nation.
Taking Stock: The Ellisons are reportedly working on a bid to also purchase Warner Brothers Discovery, which includes CNN. Their firm, Oracle, is poised to become a major controller of TikTok. In moving to control major media outlets, the Ellisons are following in the footsteps of fellow Trump-friendly billionaires: Jeff Bezos (The Washington Post), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook, Instagram), Elon Musk (X), Patrick Soon-Shiong (The LA Times)... “It’s not a sign of a healthy democracy when billionaires are buying up all the means of cultural consumption,” one university professor warned.
Future Media: Trump posted his first TikTok of the second term today, in which he tells “all of those young people of TikTok” that he “saved” it, “so you owe me big.” In response to potential changes to TikTok’s algorithm, he said, “If I could make it one hundred percent MAGA, I would. But it’s not going to work out that way, unfortunately.”
Still Shut: Senators returned to the Capitol today to try and reach a deal to end the government shutdown. A deal seems no closer than last week, with both sides blaming the other and the GOP’s funding bill failing to gather enough votes today for the fifth time. Trump claimed the GOP is “winning” the battle, but his advisors are reportedly worried and a recent Washington Post poll found far more Americans blame Trump and Republicans for the shutdown.
Avoidant Man: Senators might be back, but Representatives aren’t. Why not? House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is refusing to call the House back in session. This allows him to avoid swearing in newly elected Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ) — whom Republicans refused to swear in before the government shut down, too. Grijalva is the final vote needed to pass a measure that would force the administration to release all federal files concerning Jeffrey Epstein.
Dark Omen: One of Trump’s recent AI-generated videos is particularly disturbing. It portrays Project 2025 alum and OMB head Russel Vought as the grim reaper, walking through a dark, empty Washington DC. Since the shutdown began, Vought has announced over $28 billion in funding pauses for Democratic infrastructure projects and Speaker Johnson is warning of sweeping “regrettable” layoffs. Vought previously said he wants “the bureaucrats to be traumatically affected by Trump’s second term.
Here We Go: The Supreme Court is back for a new term that could prove to be among the most consequential in US history. Here’s what the justices will be considering.
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