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Top headlines
Lead story
President Donald Trump on Monday ordered 700 Marines to Los Angeles to defend federal law enforcement officers and property and doubled the number of National Guard troops deployed there since Saturday. Those moves amplified the standoff between the federal government and California officials, who say the deployment of the military to quell relatively small protests was unnecessary, inflammatory and a breach of foundational American law and policy that the military is not to be used domestically – except in rare instances. California sued the Trump administration on Monday evening to stop its deployment of National Guard members.
There are a few arcane laws that give the president the legal right to deploy military troops on U.S. soil, but it has been done only a handful of times in U.S. history − and always with the aim of protecting Americans. I asked William C. Banks, a scholar of the military’s role in domestic affairs, whether there are any legal roadblocks that could stop the president from sending U.S. troops to Los Angeles.
“The short answer to this question is no,” Banks said.
In today's top story, Banks explains the legal basis for deploying American troops on American soil and why “it has rarely been done in the U.S. as a way of responding to a civil disturbance.”
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Amy Lieberman
Politics + Society Editor
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National Guard members watch protests in Los Angeles on June 9, 2025.
Luke Johnson/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
William C. Banks, Syracuse University
American troops may be used inside the country, but it is an extraordinary exercise of authority to deploy them domestically, says an expert on the domestic role of the military.
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Health + Medicine
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Nathaniel M. Tran, University of Illinois Chicago
When LGBTQ+ patients can be open with their providers about their identity, they are much more likely to get essential care.
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Science + Technology
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Dylan Thomas Doyle, University of Colorado Boulder; Jed R. Brubaker, University of Colorado Boulder
End-of-life planning today includes making sure your loved ones have access to digital photos, email archives and social media accounts.
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Rob Coyne, University of Rhode Island
As the universe expands, it feels like it must be spreading out from some initial point. But a physicist explains why that’s not how it works. Hint: space-time is involved.
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International
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Linggong Kong, Auburn University
A rare Trump–Xi phone call briefly eased US–China trade tensions. But future talks may increasingly play to Xi’s advantage.
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Ethics + Religion
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Christina Littlefield, Pepperdine University
How has white Christian nationalism changed since the Gilded Age? A religion scholar compares the Social Gospel with the Christian right today.
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Economy + Business
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Jay L. Zagorsky, Boston University
Tipped workers are more likely to see modest gains than a tax-free windfall.
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Environment + Energy
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Daniel Cohan, Rice University
Some technologies could rapidly cut emissions, while others do little to fight climate change. The House bill favors the latter while nixing support for the former.
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Stewart Edie, Smithsonian Institution
Not everything dies in a mass extinction. Sea life recovered in different and surprising ways after the asteroid strike 66 million years ago. Ancient fossils recorded it all.
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Arts + Culture
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Stefan Szymanski, University of Michigan
Soccer’s global governing body has long sought – and failed – to wrestle club competition dominance away from Europe.
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