This is an L.A. Times Studios podcast.

Hi, I'm Faith Pino, and this is headlines from L.A. Times Studios. Here's some of today's

top stories from the Los Angeles Times. President Trump sent what is now considered to be the

first wave of 800 National Guard troops into Washington, D.C. last week.

Terry Tang reports that now, at Trump's request, Republican governors from West Virginia, South Carolina, and Ohio are pledging hundreds more.

The move is a significant escalation in Trump's federal crackdown against what he called a crime-ridden city,

warning that he may target other black-led cities like Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Oakland next.

But leaders of those cities say the president is ignoring real progress.

Violent crime is falling after pandemic-era spikes.

In Chicago, homicides dropped more than 30% in the last year.

Los Angeles, those numbers were down 14%, while Baltimore and Oakland report historic

double-digit declines in violent crime.

Those gains, they argue, come from community programs, gun buybacks,

and youth outreach, not military patrols. Savannah Mayor Van Johnson, who leads the African-American

Mayor's Association, says Trump's narrative is false and rooted in politics, not facts.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is fighting the takeover in court

while navigating National Guard patrols on the city streets.

Other mayors are watching closely

and warning that federal crackdowns could erase the progress

their communities have already made.

Hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets Sunday night, demanding a deal

to free hostages in Gaza. The nationwide protests are the largest and fiercest the country has seen

...