The Brief

President Trump has significantly escalated the use of the National Guard in his second term.

Over the past six months, Trump has suggested or ordered mobilizing Guard troops to nearly a dozen cities — all run by Democratic mayors and in states mostly run by Democratic governors.

The Trump administration has argued the move was necessary to reduce crime, quell protests, or safeguard federal buildings and personnel. Meanwhile, critics have called it a dangerous abuse of power.

The troop deployments have sparked court battles and protests. Here's the latest.

Oregon: Stalled in court 

After weeks of legal wrangling, U.S. District Court Judge Karin Immergut on Nov. 7 issued a permanent block against sending troops to Portland over anti-ICE protests.

In her order, Immergut wrote that federal action was not justified for the demonstrations in Portland, which she described as mostly peaceful or quickly managed by local law enforcement. The Trump administration is expected to appeal the ruling, member station OPB reported.

The Trump administration on Sept. 28 activated 200 members of the Oregon National Guard for federal duty following protests near an ICE facility in Portland. Oregon and Portland officials sued the Trump administration and later, Immergut granted a temporary restraining order blocking a troop deployment.

A week later, the Trump administration attempted to send the California National Guard to Portland without the approval of California's governor. Immergut temporarily blocked that move ahead of a trial, which began on Oct. 29 and lasted three days.

Illinois: Stalled in court 

Guard operations in Chicago have been on hold following a temporary restraining order issued last month. Now all eyes are on the nation's highest court, which the Trump administration has asked to lift the court order blocking the troop deployment. The Supreme Court has yet to rule on the emergency appeal.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth mobilized 300 members of the Illinois National Guard to Chicago on Oct. 4. About 200 members of the Texas National Guard were also deployed, according to the U.S. military's Northern Command. Troops were assigned to protect ICE facilities and personnel, as well as other federal property.

In response, the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, alleging that the troop deployment was unlawful.

Tennessee: Ongoing

In mid-October, a group of Democratic lawmakers and officials filed a lawsuit in state court against Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee and others, arguing that Memphis did not face a "rebellion of invasion" which is the standard for deploying the Tennessee National Guard under the state's constitution. A court hearing on the suit took place on Nov. 3. The case is ongoing.

Troops were activated by Lee, with support from Trump, as part of an effort to tackle crime in Memphis. Guard members are part of a task force that includes other federal agencies and they began patrols on Oct. 10. Lee previously said troops are in support roles and not tasked with making arrests.

Last month, Memphis Democratic mayor Paul Young said there were about 150 Guard troops deployed in the city. Although Young has previously questioned the use of the Guard in Memphis, he was not part of the lawsuit against the deployment. Back in September, the Memphis City Council failed to pass a resolution to formally ask the state to not send the Guard.

Washington, D.C.: Ongoing

About 2,300 troops from D.C. and several states are stationed in the nation's capital. Soldiers are largely tasked with patrols and beautification efforts like clearing trash, spreading mulch and pruning trees. Troops will remain in the nation's capital through the end of February, The Associated Press reported.

Trump sent hundreds of Guard members to D.C. on Aug. 11 alleging that the city is experiencing a "crime emergency." The District of Columbia sued over the troop deployment, accusing the Trump administration of violating the Home Rule Act by mobilizing troops to D.C. without the mayor's consent. A federal judge heard arguments on Oct. 24 and did not make a ruling from the bench.

The use of troops in D.C. has also been challenged in a state that sent them. In West Virginia, a civic organization filed a lawsuit against the state's governor, arguing that the situation in D.C. did not meet the criteria to deploy the West Virginia National Guard. On Nov. 10, a judge in West Virginia ruled that the deployment can continue, according to The Associated Press.

California: Ongoing but reduced presence 

On June 7, Trump mobilized the California National Guard to Los Angeles in response to protests over immigration raids in the city — some of which had turned into clashes with local police. In total, some 4,000 guard troops and 700 Marines were deployed. The Pentagon began withdrawing troops in mid-July.

A legal battle has since ensued, with the state of California accusing the Trump administration of exceeding its legal authority by deploying troops without the consent or input of the state's governor.

About 100 guard members remain in California for federal service, according to the U.S. Northern Command.

Next possible cities

Over the past few months, Trump has suggested sending troops to a handful of more cities, including New Orleans, New York City, Baltimore, San Francisco, Oakland and St. Louis, Mo., citing public safety concerns.

"We want to save these places," Trump said on Sept. 15 after announcing the creation of the anti-crime federal task force in Memphis.

Some Republican-led states have welcomed the support. Missouri Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe authorized about 15 members of his state's National Guard to help ICE with "administrative, clerical, and logistical duties," member station STLPR reported. The move came at the request of the Department of Homeland Security and the mission is set to last through September 2026.

In Louisiana, Republican Gov. Jeff Landry requested federal assistance to activate up to 1,000 members of the Louisiana National Guard to combat "high crime rates" — not just in New Orleans, but also in Shreveport and Baton Rouge.

NPR's Chandelis Duster contributed to this report.

The $360 million effort to turn Exposition Park’s largest parking lots into green space won’t be completed in time for the 2028 Olympics.

State leaders announced the multi-million dollar investment into the park in 2024, planning to prep the park for an Olympic close-up by replacing the warren of asphalt lots on Expo Park’s southern edge with an underground lot and green park land.

Now park officials say the 6-acre project now won’t break ground until 2028, after the Olympic torch is extinguished.

Expo Park and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum will be a centerpiece of L.A.’s Olympic image in the summer of 2028. But for residents of the surrounding South L.A. neighborhoods, the park and its facilities help fill a serious need for recreation and green space.

Andrea Ambriz, general manager of the state-run park, said the park hasn’t had an investment of this kind since the 1984 Olympic Games, but that the inspiration and funding for the park project go beyond the 2028 games.

“Whatever we do now is intended in full to support the community. It’s not just for these games,” Ambriz said.

Ambriz said park officials hit pause on project planning after realizing it would not be completed before the Olympics.

State leaders are still angling to get at least some of the park freshened up in time for the Olympics, with officials announcing in January that Gov. Gavin Newsom planned to earmark $96.5 million in proposed funds for renovations in the park.

The funding, according to the governor’s proposed budget, will be used for “critical deferred maintenance” to meet code compliance and accessibility requirements.

Ambriz said the lion’s share of the money will go to rehabbing roadways, sidewalks and ramps throughout the park to ensure safe pedestrian and vehicle access.

“This is a part of what we know we need,” Ambriz said. “It is a really significant downpayment from the state.”

How will the park affect the neighborhood? 

John Noyola is a 42-year resident of the Exposition Park neighborhood who sits on the North Area Neighborhood Development Council. For him, any major overhaul of the park still feels like an abstract concept.

He’s seen news reports about the proposed changes, but heard little more.

“It hasn’t really affected us or the community,” Noyola said.

The 150-year-old Expo Park has one of the densest collections of cultural institutions in Los Angeles, said Esther Margulies, a professor of landscape architecture just across the street from the park at USC.

Four museums, including the under-construction Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, will soon share the park with the BMO Stadium and the Coliseum.

Margulies said Grand Park, in downtown Los Angeles, has begun to fill a role as a “living room for the city” in recent years, but that Expo Park is falling short of its potential.

“People should see Expo Park as a place to begin their journey of visiting Southern California and Los Angeles,” Margulies said. “This is where you should come and there should be this energy of, like, ‘Wow!’”

Changing Expo Park, Margulies said, starts with building a space that serves its community.

In its current design, the park’s best-kept green spaces sit behind the fences of its museums, Margulies said, and large asphalt expanses act as heat sinks. Major events often come at the community’s expense.

“There’s tailgating, day drinking in the park,” Margulies said. “People don’t come to the park on those days.”

Noyola, the Expo Park resident, said his family and others in the community frequent the park recreation center, pools and fields near the intersection of Vermont Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. He worries that construction could block parking or other access to the park spaces that are available.

He remains wary of the unintended consequences of a park remodel, especially after watching traffic spike in Inglewood when SoFi Stadium and the Intuit Dome were built.

“It would be nice,” Noyola said of the remodel. “Looking at the greater vision of LA 28, it’s needed. But at what cost?”

Southern California is in for a wet week, with the potential for what the weather service is calling "widespread" impacts.

Ahead of the heavy rain, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass has issued an evacuation warning for the Palisades, Sunset and Hurst burn scar areas due to the potential for mud and debris flows.

The warning is in effect from 9 p.m. on Sunday until 9 a.m. on Tuesday.

Storm details

When is the rain coming?

Rain is expected to arrive in Ventura and Los Angeles counties Sunday night, according to the National Weather Service.

When is the rain heaviest?

Weather forecast this week for Southern California.

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Courtesy NWS

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Moderate to heavy rain is expected early Monday, with significant snow and damaging winds starting at about 3 a.m. Heaviest impacts, including the possibility of widespread flooding and thunderstorms, are expected to last until around 9 p.m.

Rain continues all week

Light rain is expected to continue Tuesday through Friday.

Upcoming weather alerts for L.A.

• A Flood Watch will go into effect on Monday, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• A Wind Advisory will go into effect Monday, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• A High Surf Advisory will go into effect Monday at 10 a.m. through Thursday, Feb. 19 at 9 a.m. for the Pacific Palisades, Playa del Rey, San Pedro and Port of Los Angeles areas. Angelenos are encouraged to avoid the ocean.
• A Gale Watch, which includes sustained surface winds near coastal areas, will go into effect Monday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. for all inner waters near the Pacific Palisades, Playa del Rey, San Pedro and Port of Los Angeles areas. Angelenos are encouraged to avoid boating until the weather is calmer.

Today, millions of Angelenos use the Central Library downtown (which turns 100 this year) and over 70 branch locations to access the Los Angeles Public Library’s collection of over 8 million books.

But this juggernaut wasn’t created overnight. What started with just 750 books in 1872 was transformed in part because of city librarian Everett Perry, a visionary who wanted books to be easy to access. Here’s a look at how his influence can still be felt today.

A library in disarray 

Perry got the job as top librarian in L.A. after working at the New York Public Library, which opened a main building during his tenure. He was accustomed to growth.

But when he arrived in 1911, the Los Angeles Public Library was struggling. With no permanent location, it had moved several times into different rented spaces, the most recent being in the Hamburger's Department Store, where patrons had to ride an elevator to check out books in between women’s clothes and furniture.

Perry aired his grievances in a 1912 library report.

Everett Robbins Perry in 1911.

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Witzel Photo

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Los Angeles Public Library Institutional Collection

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“The modern library aims to be a vital force in a community,” he wrote. “It can not perform this function, if its usefulness is limited by an inaccessible location.”

This is an early look into his ethos as librarian. Perry was part of a progressive crop of librarians, whose ideas were shifting about how books should be stored and used by the public.

His goal was to create a library system focused on great service and that rivaled the very best on the East Coast. With others, he pushed for a central library to be built, funded by a $2 million bond measure. Voters passed that in the 1920s, which led to the creation of the impressive Art Deco building that still stands downtown.

But what was perhaps even more impressive was how he infused the building with novel ideas about how to make reading more accessible.

One key example was his decision to set up subject departments. For decades prior, libraries stored books on fixed shelves (these couldn’t be adjusted), so they were usually sorted by size or acquisition date. Libraries had only recently moved to the not-very-user-friendly Dewey decimal system.

By grouping books under subjects, Perry made it much easier for people to find what they wanted. His idea was so successful that it eventually spread to other libraries across the country.

Another innovation was where you could read the books. Perry put the circulation and card catalog area in the center of the floor, which was surrounded by book stacks and reading rooms along the edges. That meant they were next to the windows and full of natural light, which according to LAPL, wasn’t customary at the time.

The reference room of the Main Library, seen circa 1913, was in an enclosed section on the third floor of the Hamburger Building, a department store.

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Los Angeles Public Library Institutional Collection

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Building a teaching program

Perry earned a reputation as a fair, iron-fist leader who wanted top-notch library practices.

He issued a rulebook for staff that covered everything from the janitor’s responsibility to make brooms last longer to requiring librarians to go with patrons to find books.

But Perry’s legacy also includes the next generation of librarians. In 1914, he revamped an aging LAPL librarian training program into a full-fledged, accredited library school that was known as the best in California.

Artist Dean Cornwell, left, shows his proposal for the Central Library rotunda murals to city librarian Everett Perry sometime in the 1920s.

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Los Angeles Public Library Institutional Collection

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The history department at the Central Library in 1926. This was one of the largest reading rooms of the library.

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Mott Studios

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Los Angeles Public Library Legacy Collection

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He aimed to professionalize librarianship by encouraging men to apply (it had commonly been women), urging all applicants to have at least some college-level education, and creating a formal internship program. The program covered technical librarian skills, as well new coursework that compared how other libraries functioned across the country.

Perry served for over two decades until his death in 1933.

His achievements were numerous. Aside from getting the Central Library built, he grew the staff from 98 to 600, helped the 200,000-book collection balloon to 1.5 million, and added dozens of more branch libraries.

In 2018 he was inducted into the California Library Hall of Fame.

Federal immigration agents have left a U.S. Coast Guard facility that's been a key staging area for them in the Port of L.A., according to U.S. Rep. Nanette Barragan who represents the area.

Since last summer, agents have been using the base on Terminal Island as a launch point for operations.

In a statement to LAist, Barragan, a Democrat, says she confirmed with the Coast Guard last night that Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol have vacated the base. She says it's unclear at this time whether the move is permanent or if agents are moving to another location in L.A. County.

Local officials and community groups are celebrating the agents' departure from Terminal Island. Volunteers with the Harbor Area Peace Patrols have been monitoring agent activity for months, tracking vehicles and sharing information with advocacy networks.

Earlier this week, the group said it received reports of the department.