LA Protests, Federal Judges Toxic Workplaces, Housing Climate Solutions

0:02Immigration raids in LA sparked three days of protests. We cannot stay home when this kind of thing is going on. Why is the president accused of trying to provoke chaos by sending in the National Guard? I'm Leila Faldil with A. Martinez and this is Up First from NPR News. The governor of California is formally requesting that the federal government get the troops out of his state. Gavin Newsom says it's a serious breach of state sovereignty. This says Trump's immigration crackdown widens with a new travel ban going into effect today. And as federal judges serve as a check on the power of President Trump, who checks the power of those same judges in the workplace?

0:42I don't think the life tenure should protect people from any sort of repercussions for running unfair, toxic workplaces. Stay with us. We've got all the news you need to start your day.

0:59Support for this podcast and the following message come from MidiHealth. Women's midlife health issues have often been trivialized and ignored. It's time for a change. It's time for MIDI. MIDI is covered by major insurance companies, making expert care accessible and affordable. Clinicians provide one-on-one consultations where they listen to your unique needs and offer data-driven solutions tailored for you. MIDI works to make you feel seen, heard, and prioritized. Visit JoinMIDI.com to book your virtual visit. MIDI. The care women deserve. This message comes from Mattress Firm. Tossing, turning, and waking up drenched, sleeping hot can ruin your night and leave you feeling off the next day, too.

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2:19With award-winning service, low costs, and transparent advice, you can manage your wealth your way at Schwab. Visit schwab.com to learn more. In Los Angeles, anger over President Trump's mass deportation campaign has boiled over. Yeah, for three days, protesters have taken to the streets of L.A. in response to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, immigration raids. The president, in an extraordinary move, deployed the state's National Guard against the wishes of California Governor Gavin Newsom. Local and state officials are accusing the president of purposely provoking chaos. With us now is NPR's Adrian Frorido in Los Angeles.

2:58So how do these clashes between authorities and protesters escalate so quickly? Well, they started on Friday when immigration agents carried out raids at a Home Depot and at some downtown L.A. warehouses and began rounding up immigrant workers. People who heard it was happening showed up and tried to stop these arrests. They yelled at agents. They tried to block their cars. They threw rocks as they sped away. And as video of these confrontations spread, top Trump administration officials and the president himself went on social media and on TV and started attacking these protesters for interfering with ICE.

3:35On Saturday, after more of these scattered confrontations, President Trump issued a proclamation calling the protests rebellion. He invoked a rarely used presidential authority to federalize the California National Guard and said that he would bring 2 ,000 of its troops into L.A. to protect ICE agents. And those troops started arriving yesterday. Okay. And where did things go from there? Well, the protests started to grow larger. Yesterday, things started peacefully. Large crowds gathered in downtown L.A. to protest the ICE raids. Rosa Cesareti was one of them. We cannot stay home when this kind of thing is going on because it's always they say, first it's them and then it's you.

4:21As the day went on, though, things got more chaotic. Federal and local law enforcement used flashbangs, tear gas, and rubber bullets to disperse the crowds. Protesters threw cinder blocks and set a couple of cars on fire. Police arrested dozens of people, including some who blocked a freeway. Now, the governor and the mayor of L.A. are blaming the president for this unrest. What are they saying? Well, they say that Trump wants chaos and that he's instigating violence to justify a crackdown. Governor Gavin Newsom and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass said they had things under control and that Trump's decision to take over California's National Guard is only in flaming things.

5:01The last time, A, that a president deployed a state's National Guard troops without a request from the governor was 60 years ago. Governor Newsom called it a breach of state sovereignty. Yesterday, some of the first troops to arrive in L.A. were stationed at the entrances to various federal buildings. This is what Mayor Bass said at a press conference yesterday. I join with the governor in appealing to the administration to rescind the order to federalize the National Guard and allow the National Guard to come back under the control of the governor. Governor Newsom said that he is suing the president over this.

5:36The president's order says the troops will be deployed for 60 days or as long as the secretary of defense thinks it's necessary. All right. So that's what the governor and L.A.'s mayor are saying to the president. What are they saying to their constituents who are out there protesting ICE? Well, all day yesterday, they were pleading with them to remain calm and peaceful. Newsom asked people not to take the president's bait, not to give him an excuse to crack down. Trump officials say they are charging ahead with their deportation plans. So a big question going into this week is whether these protests and the federal government's response will continue to escalate.

6:09All right, that's NPR's Adrian Florido. Thanks a lot. Thanks. All right. For more on how Washington is handling the protests and the latest Trump immigration policy with us now is NPR White House correspondent Deepa Shibiram. So, Deepa, what has the president said about the protests and this decision to call in the National Guard? Yeah, the president spoke to reporters yesterday and he called the protests in L.A. a riot. And he said that he called California's governor, Gavin Newsom, and said that if he didn't take care of the violence in response to the ICE raids that he was going to send in troops.

6:40And that is, of course, what happened. Trump suggested that there were instances of protesters spitting on police officers and throwing things. Trump said he has a statement of, quote, they spit, we hit, referring to how troops will respond. And he said that he was watching to see what happens in other cities in regards to other protests against police or military members. And Trump seemed to allude to the possibility that he could send in troops to other cities. Now, this is within the president's power to call in the National Guard, but it is a rare thing. Right, exactly. So definitely rare because it happened without Newsom's consent.

7:15And like Adrian said, the last time a president stepped in to call the National Guard without consent from a governor was the 1960s. So it is a far stretch of federal power here. But I will say the president does have the authority to do this. A White House official told me that Trump used a U.S. code to call in these National Guard troops. And it isn't the first time that Trump has called the National Guard. In the summer of 2020, during the protests against the police killing of George Floyd, Trump asked governors to send troops to D.C. But that was a situation in which governors had a choice to send in National Guard members or not.

7:50In this case, over the weekend, Trump called in those guard members over Newsom's head. And how did Gavin Newsom respond? Yeah, so he's, of course, pushing back. Newsom released a letter last night addressed to the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth. He's formally requesting that Trump rescind his deployment of troops. Newsom called it a, quote, serious breach of state sovereignty and said that it was increasing tensions. Trump, though, appears to be doubling down on his actions. In a post to Truth Social yesterday, he called the protesters a, quote, violent insurrectionist mob and said that he was directing his administration to, quote, liberate Los Angeles from the migrant invasion.

8:28All right. So what's happening in Los Angeles is related to immigration policy. Now, another immigration policy took effect today, and that's the new travel ban. So, Deepa, what can you tell us about this new travel ban? Yeah. So the ban is divided into two parts. There's some countries that have a full ban, some that have a partial ban. There are 12 countries under the full ban, and those include countries such as Afghanistan, Haiti, Iran, Sudan, and Yemen. The partial ban applies to seven other countries, including Cuba, Laos, and Venezuela. The White House has said the countries named lack screening and vetting capabilities.

9:03And I'll tell you, this ban was something Trump had promised to do on the campaign trail as a continuation of the Muslim travel ban from his first term. So day one at the White House in January of this year, Trump signed an executive order that tasked federal agencies looking into, you know, which countries had what they see as deficiencies in vetting and screening that would merit this kind of a ban. So what's going into effect today has really been something that Trump started from the beginning of his second term. All right. That's NPR White House correspondent Deepa Shiveram. Thanks a lot.

9:34Thank you.

9:48Federal judges have served as a rare check on President Trump's politically charged policies and cases this year. Yeah, that's right. And those judges also have a lot of power over the people who work for them, including law clerks. NPR's Kerry Johnson has been reporting on the closed world of the federal court. So, Kerry, you've been digging in the federal judiciary for, what, more than a year now. What did you find? First of all, there's a real culture of fear. Clerks are afraid of talking about judges and what happens behind closed doors in those chambers. And there's a big power imbalance here.

10:23The law clerks are often just out of law school, and their judges may become the most powerful mentors they have for their entire career. We spoke to dozens of current and former law clerks about their experience. And we heard about problems with 50 judges across 26 states. Most of those judges are still working with little or no punishment. Okay, so what kinds of complaints did you hear from these young lawyers? These complaints range from sexual harassment and pregnancy discrimination to bullying. I also heard a judge's control over a law clerk extends to nearly every aspect of that clerk's life, from feeling forced to drink alcohol to when and how they leave their jobs.

11:05And most of the clerks who spoke to us were afraid of retribution, So we got voice actors to share the clerk's words verbatim. Here's a clerk with the initial E. Life tenure exists for a reason, but I don't think the life tenure should protect people wholly from any sort of repercussions for running unfair, toxic workplaces. E told me she spoke with investigators about her judge bullying her and making racially problematic statements. but she thinks there were no consequences after that, and the judge is still working. Wow. So what did you hear from the courts in response to your reporting? The administrative office of the court sets policy nationwide, and they say they've done a lot over the past seven years to make their workplaces better.

11:52They're considering more changes that would encourage clerks to use the internal HR system to report possible abuse. Right now, court employees are really not subject to certain civil rights laws. That means they're not able to sue like other American workers when they have problems. So this internal system is the final word. And complaints about judges there are heard by other judges. Now, Kerry, the federal courts are at the center of so many big disputes this year, hundreds of cases involving President Trump's policies and actions. How does that dynamic carry over into some of these workplaces?

12:26Judges are acting as a check on the executive branch, and that includes judges appointed by Republican presidents like Donald Trump. Judges are also facing a lot of hostile rhetoric and sometimes even violent threats because they are doing their jobs. But I heard from people who say that because the judges are playing such an important role in the democracy, that's all the more reason for the federal courts to clean up their own workplaces. Too many clerks are still really afraid of retaliation. And instead of reporting problems to the judiciary, they feel like the only fair hearing they'll get is sharing their experience with a reporter.

13:03That's NPR's Carrie Johnson. Carrie, thanks. Thanks for having me.

13:15Six months ago, wildfires destroyed entire communities in Los Angeles. The fires were a clear reminder of how climate change is increasingly affecting where we live. That's why all this week, NPR will be bringing you climate solutions related to housing. Joining me now is NPR's Julia Simon to explain more. Good morning, Julia. Good morning, Leila. OK, Julia, summer, love the weather, but it's also a season of fires and hurricanes and heat waves, and that can get people pretty worried, pretty scared. So what is this week going to offer them? As climate journalists, we're always asking ourselves, how can we build our homes and communities to be more resilient to climate change?

13:58And how can we reduce climate pollution? Because, Leila, there are hopeful stories out there. And that's what this week is all about. Not being Pollyanna-ish, but sharing stories about real housing solutions from reporters across the U.S. and the world. Which can be really useful. I'm guessing some of these solution stories involve preparing for upcoming disasters. Yes, we're going to Alabama to look at fortifying roofs for hurricanes, to New Jersey to look at elevating homes for flooding. Solutions don't just involve actions individuals take. Researchers find communities can take preventative measures too together.

14:37So we have a story from Colorado where many people worked to make multiple homes buffer against wildfires. Here's Lisa Hughes of Louisville, Colorado. By you doing it and your neighbors doing it, you're making your community safer. So community-wide climate actions is clearly a theme here. Definitely. And we have stories from Nevada and Utah about addressing heat and drought in desert communities, again, all together. But these solutions are not just about adapting to climate change. There are solutions about reducing the emissions that heat the planet. 100 % housing is a big source of climate pollution, Layla, whether that's building materials that use lots of planet-heating fossil fuels or energy-intensive heating or cooling.

15:23So we have stories about making housing more sustainable. We actually have tips to help you use less electricity in your homes, like this window shade. It's like a curtain outside of your window. Obviously, it makes sense because the heat doesn't go in. It stays out. Exactly. And that Austrian voice you just heard was Sebastian Schublach. He's a resident of Vienna. Most of the stories are from across the U.S., but we do have a few exciting solutions from Europe. Ultimately, we hope people will come out of this week, Leila, feeling empowered and knowing a lot more about housing climate solutions that are already taking place.

16:01That's NPR's Climate Solutions correspondent, Julia Simon. You can check out our Climate Solution reporting all this week and find more stories at npr.org slash climate week. And you'll hear a lot of those stories from Julia. Thank you. Thank you, Leila.

16:21And that's Up First for Monday, June 9th. I'm me, Martinez. And I'm Leila Faldil. For your next listen, check out Consider This from NPR. We here at Up First give you three big stories of the day. Our Consider This colleagues dive into a single news story and what it means to you in less than 15 minutes. Listen now on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Gigi Duban, Anna Yukoninov, Barry Hardiman, Neela Banerjee, Lisa Thompson, and Alice Wolfley. It was produced by Ziet Butch, Nia Dumas, and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Arthur Laurent, and our technical director is Carly Strange.

16:56Join us again tomorrow.

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