Judge permanently blocks deployment of National Guard to Portland, saying Trump exceeded his authority
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(PORTLAND, Ore.) — A federal judge ruled on Friday that Donald Trump “exceeded the President’s authority” when he sent federalized National Guard troops into Portland.
In a 106-decision, Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut made permanent an order she issued last month blocking the deployment into the city.
“The evidence demonstrates that these deployments, which were objected to by Oregon’s governor and not requested by the federal officials in charge of protection of the ICE building, exceeded the president’s authority,” the judge wrote.
After a three-day trial, Immergut rejected the Trump administration’s argument that immigration-related protests amounted to rebellion or danger of a rebellion — the standard needed to justify a federal takeover of the National Guard.
“When considering these conditions that persisted for months before the President’s federalization of the National Guard, this Court concludes that even giving great deference to the President’s determination, the President did not have a lawful basis to federalize the National Guard” she wrote.
With Trump threatening to send the National Guard into Democratic-run cities across the country, Immergut acknowledged the magnitude of the issue in her order, writing the legal issue was bound for a higher court.
“The ‘precise standard’ to demarcate the line past which conditions would satisfy the statutory standard to deploy the military in the streets of American cities is ultimately a question for a higher court to decide,” she wrote.
In late September, Trump issued an order federalizing 200 members of the Oregon National Guard to protect federal property amid ongoing protests at a Portland ICE facility, despite objections from local officials.
The city of Portland and state of Oregon sued.
Around the same time, Trump sought to deploy Guard troops to Chicago — a move that was similarly opposed by local officials and blocked by the courts.
(NEW YORK) — A significant change in the atmosphere means the weeks after Thanksgiving could be colder and snowier than normal across portions of the United States.
It’s all thanks to a disruption in the polar vortex. Here’s what you need to know.
Why is this happening?
Our atmosphere consists of many layers of moving air; the troposphere is where our weather happens and above it is the stratosphere. Over both poles, a ring of strong mid-level winds called the polar vortex traps cold, sub-arctic air.
There are two of these polar vortexes — one in the troposphere that affects weather every winter, and one in the stratosphere that contains much colder air but only affects the surface weather during winter less frequently.
When polar vortex winds are strong, this frigid air remains near the poles. But when the polar vortex is weak and is disturbed, the frigid air can spill out from the North Pole, down south towards the surface.
Scientists are still trying to understand these disturbances and why they occur, but they can drive the most intense cold-air outbreaks and winter weather bursts in the U.S.
Sometimes, the polar vortex simply stretches out, bringing quick bursts of cold air and some wintry weather to the U.S. In more extreme cases, a phenomenon called “sudden stratospheric warming” — or SSWs — can trigger more significant disruptions to the polar vortex.
While it may seem counterintuitive, a sudden warming in the stratosphere above the poles often weakens these winds, disrupting the polar vortex and allowing cold air to spill out from the North Pole and down into places like the U.S., Europe and Asia.
These events can take weeks to unfold and can have cascading impacts. Some of these events can lead to strong cold outbreaks and snowier spells, while others have little impact near the surface.
According to Dr. Amy Butler, a meteorologist and lead of the Stratospheric Modeling & Analysis program at National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, SSWs occur once every other winter, But “there are only one to two major events in late November in the record back to 1958.”
“We have this unprecedented disruption in the polar architecture where it’s so early in the season … There’s not many past analogs to draw from and say [with confidence] about how this is going to go,” said Dr. Judah Cohen, a climatologist at MIT and the director of seasonal forecasting for Atmospheric and Environmental Research (AER) at the JANUS Research Group.
Cohen added that an SSW is not a given yet and that we could simply see the polar vortex be stretched out past Thanksgiving, but it would still result in a noticeable change to colder and possibly more wintry weather for parts of the U.S.
La Niña will also play a role in this pattern shift, as will the forecasted weather conditions for the winter ahead.
“With North America, we have a weak La Nina and other patterns in the Pacific that have a direct influence on the weather as well,” said Dr. Jason Furtado, associate professor in the School of Meteorology at the University of Oklahoma. Furtado also added that these, consequently, lead to a higher chance of a colder December.
What does it mean for the forecast?
Long-range forecasts from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center favor below-average temperatures for the majority of America from late November into December.
However, this outlook deals with average temperatures over the period, so they don’t account for short-term variations that occur over days or weeks — meaning there could be a cold snap for a few days then warmth for the rest of the period, with the average leveling out or warmer.
What does it mean for snow?
These disturbances to the polar vortex can plunge cold air south and often create more chances for snow. However, the relationship between these two is not as straightforward.
According to NOAA, this pattern change supports more winter-like conditions across the central U.S. and increase the potential for heavy snow. Specifically, the increased potential for heavy snowfalls along the Great Lakes, a region historically known for lake-effect snow.
Workers replace grass in the Utah Valley University courtyard where political activist Charlie Kirk was shot, on September 15, 2025 in Orem, Utah. (Chet Strange/Getty Images)
(OREM, Utah) — Students at Utah Valley University are returning to campus on Wednesday, one week after conservative influencer Charlie Kirk was killed while holding an outdoor event at the university.
Hope Ledkins, a first-year student at Utah Valley University, told ABC News returning to class is a “very sad, very somber feeling.”
“This doesn’t happen in Orem, Utah,” Ledkins said. “To have something like this happen, people just feel really mixed up about it.”
As students return to campus, law enforcement continues to investigate Tyler Robinson, 22, who is accused of assassinating Kirk at the university on Sept. 10.
Robinson was formally charged with aggravated murder on Tuesday, with prosecutors announcing the intent to seek the death penalty. He was also charged with felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, obstruction of justice, two counts of witness tampering and commission of a violent offense in the presence of a child, Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray announced.
Robinson made a short first court appearance on Tuesday.
Prosecutors on Tuesday offered more insight into the killing and Robinson’s alleged discussions with family and his roommate in the wake of the shooting.
After his father recognized Robinson in photographs released by authorities, the suspect met with his parents and “implied that he was the shooter and stated that he couldn’t go to jail and just wanted to end it,” the charging documents said.
His parents then asked their son why he committed this crime, to which he said “there is too much evil and the guy [Charlie Kirk] spreads too much hate,” according to the charging documents.
Exactly what Robinson was allegedly referring to by “hate” was not clear. Investigators noted that Robinson’s mom told them that her son allegedly began having a relationship with his roommate, who is transitioning, and had begun leaning to the left more politically, becoming “more pro-gay and trans-rights oriented,” but the document does not indicate the relevance of those stances nor whether Kirk’s remarks about those issues were a motivating factor.
Gray said he would let a judge determine whether the statements allegedly made by Robinson constituted a confession. On Tuesday, he declined to comment on whether Robinson has been cooperating or spoken to investigators.
Prosecutors also revealed text messages between the suspect and his roommate.
On the day of the shooting, the roommate received a text message from the 22-year-old that said, “drop what you are doing, look under my keyboard,” charging documents said.
The roommate found a note underneath Robinson’s keyboard that said, “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it,” according to charging documents.
Prosecutors also revealed additional conversations between the suspect and his roommate after the shooting.
“I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out,” one of the messages read.
Robinson’s roommate asked how long he had been planning this attack, to which he said “a little over a week I believe,” according to charging documents.
As the suspect remains in custody without bail, FBI Director Kash Patel said a “number of individuals” are currently being investigated who are linked to the suspect’s Discord, a group chat messaging platform where Robinson allegedly confessed he was the shooter two hours before he was taken into custody.
“Hey guys, I have bad news for you all…It was me at UVU yesterday. im sorry for all of this,” one of the messages read.
During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, Patel said “a lot more” than 20 people are linked to Robinson and that the FBI is looking into “anyone and everyone involved in the Discord chat.”
Robinson’s next hearing is scheduled for Sept. 29.
(NEW YORK) — Police in Kansas are asking the public for help in identifying a man taking a woman by force seen on home surveillance footage in a “possible abduction,” authorities said.
The incident happened early Sunday at approximately 2 a.m. in a neighborhood in Wichita, police said, though the circumstances that led up to the abduction are currently unclear.
The homeowner reported she had Ring doorbell camera footage “showing a female being grabbed by a male, and then forced away from the area,” Wichita Police Capt. Todd Ojile said during a press briefing Tuesday.
Responding officers canvassed the area for any other footage or witnesses, though the Ring camera video, which was released by the Wichita Police Department on social media, is the only footage of the incident, according to Ojile.
“Our main concern is the safety and welfare of woman seen in that video,” Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan said during the briefing. “Detectives have been working diligently, following every lead and tip we have received.”
A $2,000 reward is being offered for tips leading to the identification of the man or woman seen in the video, police announced Tuesday.
Authorities have checked missing persons reports filed so far this month, but did not find anything to match this incident, Ojile said.
The woman screams out in the video, though police have been unable to confirm what she said, according to Wichita Police Capt. Aaron Moses. Authorities processed the audio and reduced the background noise in hopes that someone will recognize her voice.
It is unclear if the man and woman left on foot or in a vehicle, Moses said.
Moses said police were “concerned” by the footage and “acted quickly to get that information,” and they don’t have anything to imply this is a hoax.
“Our priority here remains that female’s safety and verifying that she is safe,” Moses said. “So I would say, even if you are the female in this video and you’re concerned about calling us, please call us so that we can verify that you are safe, and then we will continue our investigation to what occurred.”
Police said they have reached out to regional and federal law enforcement partners for assistance.
