Foreign
Senator Ousted After Crashing DHS Secretary’s Conference

California Gov. Newsom calls incident ‘dictatorial’ while blaming Trump administration for Padilla’s detention
A California senator was quickly rushed away from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem after allegedly “lunging” at her during a press conference addressing the Los Angeles anti-ICE riots.
After loudly speaking over Noem and approaching the podium where she was standing, Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., was pushed out of the room by authorities as they ordered him to put his hands up.
The incident happened shortly after Noem said the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was “staying here to liberate this city from the socialist and the burdensome leadership that this governor and this mayor have placed on this country and what they have tried to insert into this city.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Padilla did not initially identify himself as a senator, and was not wearing his Senate security pin.
However, footage captured by Fox News shows him saying, “I’m Senator Alex Padilla, I have questions for the secretary,” as he was escorted out of the room.
Noem told The Story’s Martha MacCallum that Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) personnel began handcuffing the senator in the hallway, at which point he identified himself, and they ceased action.
“Senator Alex Padilla was detained by members of the U.S. Secret Service assigned to Secretary Noem’s detail when he became disruptive while formal remarks were being delivered,” an FBI spokesperson told Fox News. “Secret Service Agents were assisted by FBI Police who are in Los Angeles at this time. Senator Padilla did not identify himself and was not wearing his senate security pin. Senator Padilla was subsequently positively identified and released.”
‘Completely inappropriate’: Kristi Noem opens up after Democratic senator removed from eventVideo
Noem said the pair later met in a private room, where they spoke privately for about 15 minutes and exchanged phone numbers.
She said the senator had concerns about ICE operations, and they opened up a line of communication, noting things were OK between the two of them.
However, Padilla later spoke to the media, claiming he was “forced to the ground.”
“If this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question, if this is how the Department of Homeland Security responds to a senator with a question, you can only imagine what they’re doing to farm workers, to cooks, to day laborers out in the Los Angeles community and throughout California,” he told reported. “We will hold this administration accountable.”
A DHS spokesperson said Padilla was told “repeatedly” to back away, and “did not comply” with officers’ commands.
“[Secret Service] thought he was an attacker and officers acted appropriately,” the spokesperson said.
Sen. Alex Padilla escorted
U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla is pushed out of the room as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem holds a news conference regarding the recent protests in Los Angeles on Thursday, June 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
Noem fired back after Padilla’s public remarks, calling his statement “absolutely ridiculous.”
“This man burst into a room, started advancing toward the podium, interrupting an opening statement, elevating his voice, [and] shouting questions. People tried to stop him from interrupting the press conference. He refused and continued to lunge towards the podium,” Noem said. “That is when he was removed from the room. The way that he acted was completely inappropriate.”
She added Padilla’s behavior was not becoming of a senator or public official.
“Perhaps he wanted the scene … but I think the American people are sick of this kind of action,” Noem said. “I think the American people are tired of this. They just want the truth, and they just want to know what’s happening, and that’s what we were trying to provide.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom took to X to comment on Padilla’s outburst, placing blame on the Trump administration for his temporary detainment.
“@SenAlexPadilla is one of the most decent people I know,” Newsom wrote in the post. “This is outrageous, dictatorial, and shameful. Trump and his shock troops are out of control. This must end now.”
Less than 24 hours prior to the incident, Padilla was pulled out of the Congressional Baseball Game in Washington, D.C. Wednesday night to fly home to Los Angeles because of the riots.
He was slated to start at first base.
Foxnews.com
Foreign
Tell Trump This: Primate Ayodele Sends Warning To Donald Trump In New Prophecy

The Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, has warned that the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, may be stoned.
In a statement signed by his media aide, Osho Oluwatosin, Primate Ayodele noted that the president will face attacks in an Arab country and that some nations will gang up to cause chaos in America.
“Donald Trump may be attacked and stoned in an Arab country; he needs to be very careful, and I also see some nations coming together to cause chaos in the USA The president must be watchful about this.”
He made it known that the policies of the president will destroy America and that if he continues, things will not go well in the USA.
“The USA will not be the same again because of Trump’s policies. His administration needs to be careful to avoid things going otherwise in the country.
“Trump needs to do better to make the world a better place; otherwise, America will pay for the damages even after his administration”
Primate Ayodele urged Trump to do better before it’s too late, as he foresees some problems befalling the nation very soon
“Trump needs to adjust so many things before it’s too late. A problem is coming, and something will happen which won’t favour the USA. Trump needs to reorganise and look into many things to avoid putting America into jeopardy; if not, they will regret voting for him.”
Foreign
Treason Trial Begins For South Sudan VP Machar As ‘Unity Government’ Breaks

South Sudan has started holding a trial for First Vice President Riek Machar, who has been sacked by his decades-long rival, President Salva Kiir, and charged with murder, treason and crimes against humanity in relation to rebellion and an attack by a militia linked with ethnic tensions.
Machar and seven others who have been charged alongside him, including Petroleum Minister Puot Kang Chol, were seen sitting inside a barred cage in the court on Monday during a live broadcast on national television.
Machar has been held in house arrest at his residence in the capital, Juba, for months following investigations by the government of his allies.
Earlier this month, a decree read on state radio said Kiir suspended the first vice president due to charges stemming from his alleged involvement in attacks by the White Army against federal forces in March.
The White Army, a loose band of armed youths, attacked a military base in Nasir, northeastern South Sudan, and killed more than 250 soldiers on Machar’s orders, according to the government.
Edmund Yakani, executive director of South Sudan activist group Community Empowerment for Progress Organization, told local media that the trial must be transparent and fair to build up trust in the judicial system.
He urged both leaders and their parties to “adhere to the principle of resolving political misunderstanding through dialogue” rather than violence, which would benefit no one.
Machar’s party, Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-in Opposition (SPLM/IO), has called the charges “fabricated” and said its members were arrested illegally. Machar’s lawyer on Monday said “an incompetent court” that lacks jurisdiction is judging him.
Fears of a return to ruinous civil war
After the vice president’s arrest, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) called on all parties to exercise restraint and warned that they risked losing the “hard-won gains of the past seven years” and returning to a state of civil war.
In 2013, two years after the country gained independence from Sudan following decades of war, oil-producing South Sudan descended into a civil war.
The devastating conflict, which scarred the country and left some 400,000 people killed, pitted Kiir and his allies from the ethnic Dinka group against Machar, who is from the Nuer, the second-largest ethnic group in South Sudan.
More than four million people, or about one-third of the population, were displaced from their homes before a 2018 peace deal saw the pair form a “national unity” government.
But they never fully saw eye-to-eye, leaving the country in a state of limbo.
Both leaders held on to their armed factions that were never fully integrated and unified despite agreements, while reforms were delayed, and presidential elections were repeatedly postponed.
Armed clashes have erupted in several parts of the country over the past months, with both sides accusing each other of breaking ceasefire agreements.
Authorities in South Sudan are, in the meantime, plundering billions of dollars in public funds as the impoverished country also deals with a deepening food crisis, according to the UN.
“The country has been captured by a predatory elite that has institutionalised the systematic looting of the nation’s wealth for private gain,” the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan said last week.
Foreign
UN Calls Out South Sudan’s ‘Reckless’ Charges Against Machar

South Sudan’s First Vice President Machar faces charges of treason and other serious crimes, local justice authorities said, as fears grow that the east African country could edge toward a return to civil war.
The United Nations body for human rights in South Sudan has called the government’s charges of treason against opposition leader Riek Machar “reckless.”
South Sudan’s First Vice President Machar faces charges of treason and other serious crimes, local justice authorities said Thursday, as fears grow that the east African country could edge toward a return to civil war.
Machar has been under house arrest since March after the transitional government he is a part of accused him of subversive activities against President Salva Kiir, who said Thursday that he was suspending Machar as his deputy because of the criminal allegations.
Pro-government troops have been fighting militias and other armed groups that they say are loyal to Machar, who has served as his country’s No. 2 under the terms of a delicate peace deal signed in 2018.
That agreement has not been fully implemented, with presidential elections repeatedly postponed.
In addition to treason, Machar and seven others face charges of murder, conspiracy, terrorism, destruction of public property and military assets and crimes against humanity.
The charges stem from a violent incident in March when a militia known as the White Army overran a garrison of government troops, killing its commanding officer and others. The justice ministry said in a statement Thursday that the attack in Nasir, Upper Nile state was influenced by Machar and others via ”coordinated military and political structures.”
Bringing criminal charges against Machar is likely to further destabilize South Sudan, whose government faces pressure from regional leaders to reach a political agreement that prevents a return to full-blown war.
It was not immediately clear when Machar would be presented in a courtroom. His precise whereabouts in South Sudan are unknown, and his political supporters have long called for his freedom.