FEDERAL law enforcement agents will be sent to more cities. Above, local police in Portland, the scene of violence and protests (Shutterstock).

Additional federal agents will be sent to Chicago and Albuquerque, President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday, to fight violence and crime in those cities. It follows the deployment of agents of the Department of Homeland Security to Portland, Oregon.

“In recent weeks there has been as radical movement to defund, dismantle and dissolve our police department[s],” said the President, according to the Associated Press. He blamed protestors for “a shocking explosion of shootings, killings, murders and heinous crimes of violence.”

Critics of the use of federal agents to perform local policing duties have argued that the move – coming without invitation from state and city authorities – was unconstitutional and a political ploy to rally voters for the Nov. 3 election.

In Portland, DHS police were present to protect federal buildings, but news reports indicated they have been seen making arrests and detaining suspects blocks from any such structures. The agents wore unmarked uniforms.

Operations in other cities will be different, according to the U.S. Justice Department, and federal agents will work with local law enforcement.

Accused killer of George Floyd faces charges of felony tax evasion

Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer facing murder charges in the wake of the death of George Floyd in an incident that ignited a national movement against police violence, has been charged with a total of nine counts of felony tax evasion and related offenses.

According to the Minneapolis Tribune, Chauvin, 46, and his wife Kellie May Chauvin, 45, allegedly failed to report their complete joint income over several years by $465,433. She filed for divorce after her husband was fired from the police force.

He is charged with second degree murder and manslaughter after Floyd died while in his custody. In the incident count on video and broadcast nationally, Chauvin, a white man, kneeled on the neck of Floyd, a black man, for almost nine minutes.

Also in the news:  Going where (almost) no one has gone before …

• The U.S. Space Force has announced its new official logo and motto, “Semper Supra” or “Always Above.” The logo has been said by some to resemble that of Star Trek’s Star Fleet Academy.
• Infant mortality in the United States continues to fall and has reached a record low, according to the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s now at 5.67 deaths per 1,000 live births.
• China has been given a 72-hour deadline to shut down its consulate in Houston by U.S. State Department, amidst accusations of spying, according to Reuters. Additional closures are possible, said President Donald Trump.
• Tesla has chosen Texas as the location for its new Cybertruck factory, to be located near Austin. The facility – estimated to cost to $1.1 billion – would build two new all-electric trucks and two car models.
• California now has the most cases of COVID-19, passing New York, according to Johns Hopkins University. New York has many more fatalities, however, with over 32,000 in the Empire State, compared to 7,890 for the Golden State.