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President Donald Trumprevived calls to ramp up the federal government'smilitary crackdown in Chicagoafter a 14-year-old was killed and eight other teenagers were wounded during weekend shootings in the city's bustling downtown corridor.

Ina Nov. 22 Truth Social post, Trump described "massive crime and rioting" in downtown Chicago and argued Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson were "refusing Federal Government help for a situation that could be quickly remedied."

"The people are chanting, BRING IN TRUMP!!!" he said.

National Guard members arrive in Illinois despite governor, Chicago mayor objections

Gunfire erupted Nov. 21 around 10 p.m. local time just two blocks from Millennium Park, where the popular "Cloud Gate" sculpture sits. Hours earlier, thousands had gathered in the park to watch fireworks and listen to live music during the city's Christmas tree lighting ceremony.

Johnsonsaid the shots appeared to ring out during a "teen takeover" that brought large crowds of young people into the city. Officers nearby saw a "large group on the sidewalk" that began to scatter after the shots were fired, the Chicago Police Department said in an email to USA TODAY. They are still investigating the cause.

When they arrived to the scene, authorities found seven teenagers, aged 13 to 17, wounded. Less than an hour later, officers found two other teenagers with gunshot wounds blocks away.

One of them, 14-year-old Armani Floyd, died of his injuries, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.

"Incidents like last night set us back as a city, and it evokes fear," Johnson said of the violence duringa Nov. 22 news conference. He described the shooting as "emotional whiplash" from the cheerful mood downtown during the tree lighting.

Trump's second term:What a federal crackdown looks like in 5 US cities

"Our young people have to understand that they should not attend these unauthorized events that have been advertised on social media," Johnson said of the teen takeover. The event was promoted on social media a week before the deadly incident, and police had been monitoring the conversation, Johnson told reporters.

He said the city placed 700 extra police officers and violence intervention specialists in the streets around the expected gathering place, but admitted the precautions "did not do enough."

"I'm the first person to recognize that we have more work to do in this city to provide safe spaces for our young people," Johnson said. "When we have a setback like this, it just reminds us of the long road we have to build the city we all want to live in."

Operation Midway Blitz

Trump's comments come days after the Pentagon withdrew some National Guard troops the president sent to Chicago and Portland, Oregon, as part of hisnational crackdown on illegal immigration and crimein Democratic-led cities.

The withdrawal of troops was part of a strategy to ensure "long-term presence in each city," theU.S. Northern Command saidin a post on X.

Trump initially deployed troops to Chicago in September when he launched what he called "Operation Midway Blitz." During clashes with residents, federal agents used pepper balls and tear gas, and hit journalists, a pastor, and officers with the Chicago Police Department, according to reports and a lawsuit.

Trump called for thearrests of Pritzker and Johnsonfor "failing to protect" ICE agents. In one incident, a Border Patrol agent shot and wounded a U.S. citizen.

See aftermath from large-scale ICE raid in Chicago apartment building

In late September, federal agentsrappelled from Black Hawk helicoptersinto an apartment complex in the dead of night to search for Venezuelan migrants. They arrested 37 immigrants and said they had captured two members of the gang Tren de Aragua.

Federal prosecutors had not filed criminal charges against any of those arrested and have not presented evidence showing two of the people detained belonged to Ten de Aragua, according toa ProPublica Investigation.

A U.S. District Judge reviewingconditions at an immigration enforcement facilityoutside of Chicago called detainees' accounts of the living situation, including reports of sleeping next to overflowing toilets, "disturbing" and "unconstitutional."

The Department of Homeland Security says more than 1,500 immigrants have been arrested in connection with the blitz.

Contributing: Michael Loria, Eduardo Cuevas, Christopher Cann, Jack Armstrong, Suzette Hackney, and Terry Collins; USA TODAY Network

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Trump says Chicago is refusing federal help after deadly violence

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Thousands of revelers descended on theboardwalk in Copacabanafor Rio de Janeiro's annualPride paradeon Sunday, with many celebrating the previous day'spreemptive jailingof Brazilian former President Jair Bolsonaro who is notorious for homophobic remarks.

Demonstrators addressing crowds from trucks shouted: "He's in prison!" and "Out with Bolsonaro!" to raucous cheers from rainbow-clad members of theLGBTQ+ community, who were a frequent target of the embattled far-right politician throughout his career.

"It's very gratifying," said Emy Mateus Santos, a 25-year-old arts, theater and dance professor who was wearing a T-shirt with the colors of the Brazilian flag, a symbol that has frequently been used byBolsonaro supporters.

"It shows that fighting hate is worth it and that the future is possible for people like us," she said, adding that she was wearing yellow and green to claim the colors back from Bolsonaro's movement.

Bolsonaro once described himself as a "proud homophobe" and said he would rather have a dead son than a gay son.

In September,Bolsonaro was sentencedto 27 years in prison in September for attempting a coup to remain in the presidency after his2022 electoral defeat.

He had been under house arrest, but on Saturday Supreme Court JusticeAlexandre de Moraesordered the 70-year-old leader's preemptive jailing, arguing that he is a flight risk. Bolsonaro admitted Saturday to using a soldering iron on hisankle monitor, but said on Sunday that his actions resulted from anervous breakdownand hallucinations.

Some participants of the Pride march inRiobore "No amnesty!" stickers, in reference to a bill Bolsonaro's allies are trying to push through Congress to lessen sentences for those convicted of attempting a coup.

Revelers collectively carried a huge rainbow flag. Trucks bore messages such as "without lesbians, rights are not human" and "Rio without LGBTIphobia."

Rio's Pride march 30 years ago was the first inBrazil, according to organizers. That history was referenced in this year's theme titled: "30 years making history: from the first struggles for the right to exist to building sustainable futures."

"Thirty years ago we had to make 1000 masks out of papier-mâché for people who didn't want to be recognized for fear of losing their jobs, of being kicked out from their families," said Cláudio Nascimento, a longtime organizer of the march.

"Now we use masks to bring joy and to celebrate our existence," he told journalists.

While life has improved for LGBTQ+ people in Brazil compared to 30 years ago, they continue tosuffer from violence.

At least 291 LGBTQ+ Brazilians were victims of violent deaths in 2024, 34 more deaths than the previous year, according to the activist group Gay Group from Bahia.

"As long as these statistics are still a reality, Pride marches will still be necessary," said Flávio Salgueiro, a 34-year-old lawyer who lives in Sao Paulo and was at the march in Rio.

"It's really important to show that a united community exists in a society which has a project to erase us," he said.

Many activists say Bolsonaro's anti-gay rhetoric incites or legitimizes violence against LGBTQ+ people.

"As a politician,Bolsonarogreatly reduced public policies aimed at protecting, supporting and promoting diversity," Dani Balbi, the first trans woman to be elected at Rio's state assembly, told The Associated Press.

"Seeing Bolsonaro imprisoned and then immediately having LGBT trucks out on the street is a celebration in the hope that politicians like him never return," she said.

Follow the AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean athttps://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Fifty of the303 schoolchildren abducted from a Catholic schoolin north-centralNigeria'sNiger state have escaped captivity and are now with their families, the school authority said Sunday, as the pope called for the immediate release of those still missing.

The schoolchildren, aged between 10 and 18, escaped individually between Friday and Saturday, according to the Most Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Niger state and the proprietor of the school.

A total of 253 schoolchildren and 12 teachers are still being held by the kidnappers, Yohanna said in a statement. "We were able to ascertain this when we decided to contact and visit some parents," he added.

Meanwhile, 38 worshipperskidnapped during a deadly church attackin central Nigeria's Kwara state have regained their freedom, Kwara Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq said in a statement.

Gunmen had attacked the Christ Apostolic Church in Kwara's Eruku town on Tuesday, killing two people and taking others hostage. Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu, in a separate statement, attributed the freedom of the worshippers to "the efforts of security agencies" without giving further details.

Nigeria has been reeling from a spate of attacks in the past weeks, raising tension in the West African nation grappling with widespread insecurity.

Five officers were also killed in Nigeria's northeast region after gunmen ambushed a tactical team responding to a farmer-herder conflict, police said on Sunday. Two other police officers sustained injuries.

The ambush occurred on Saturday in Sabon Sara village located in the Darazo area of Bauchi state, police spokesperson Ahmed Muhammed Wakil said in a statement.

Pope 'deeply saddened'

The Niger state pupils and students were seized together with their teachers by gunmen who attacked the St. Mary's School, a Catholic institution in Niger state's remote Papiri community, on Friday.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the abductions and Nigerian authorities have not shared any update on rescue efforts. It was not immediately clear where the Niger state children were being held or how they managed to return home.

The Niger state school is located near a major road linking the towns of Yelwa and Mokwa, and is in a region of Nigeria where armed gangs often operate out of vast forests that connect different states and conflict hot spots.

"As much as we receive the return of these 50 children that escaped with some sigh of relief, I urge you all to continue in your prayers for the rescue and safe return of the remaining victims," Yohanna said.

Pope Leo XIV called for the immediate release of the schoolchildren and staff of the school, saying at the end of a mass in St. Peter's square on Sunday that he was "deeply saddened" by the incident.

"I feel great sorrow, especially for the many girls and boys who have been abducted and for their anguished families," the pontiff said. "I make a heartfelt appeal for the immediate release of the hostages and urge the competent authorities to take appropriate and timely decisions to ensure their release."

Kidnapping for ransom

School kidnappingshave come to define insecurity in Africa's most populous nation, and armed gangs often see schools as "strategic" targets to draw more attention.At least 1,500 studentshave been seized in Nigeria since the famous kidnapping of the Chibok schoolgirls more than a decade ago, and many of the children were released only after ransoms were paid.

The Niger state attack happened four days after25 schoolchildren were seizedin similar circumstances in neighboring Kebbi state's Maga town, which is 170 kilometers (106 miles) away.

Both states are in a northern region of Nigeria where dozens of armed gangs have used kidnapping for ransom as one way of dominating remote communities with little government and security presence.

Niger state hurriedly closed down all schools after Friday's attack, while some federal colleges in conflict hot spots across the region were also closed by the Nigerian government.

'I will not relent'

The kidnappings are happening as U.S. President Donald Trump has made claims of "Christian persecution" in the West African country. Attacks in Nigeriaaffect both Christians and Muslims. The school attack earlier this week in Kebbi state was in a Muslim-majority town.

Arrests are rare and ransom payments are common in many of the hot spots in northern Nigeria.

Confidence McHarry, a security analyst at Lagos-based consultancy SBM Intelligence, said that while there's little evidence that Trump's comments might have inspired the gunmen to launch more attacks in the hope that more attention would bring higher ransoms, "the absence of consequences is what is fueling these attacks."

In a statement welcoming the freedom of some of those kidnapped in Niger state and Kebbi state, Tinubu said his government will not relent until every hostage is freed.

"Every Nigerian, in every state, has the right to safety," he said. "And under my watch, we will secure this nation and protect our people."

Associated Press journalist Francesco Sportelli in Rome and Dyepkazah Shibayan in Abuja contributed.

Aroyal biographerhas claimed thatPrince Philiponce issued astark warningtoPrince Harryahead of his marriage toMeghan Markle, a moment now resurfacing amid speculations about the couple's relationship.

The claim emerged alongside new reports describing Meghan appearing visibly distressed during a recent outing in California, fueling fresh concerns about marital tensions. Insiders have claimed that the couple had been struggling privately over boundaries surrounding their children and their public presence.

Prince Philip reportedly warned Harry that marrying Meghan may bring complications

Image credits:Chris Jackson/Getty Images

According to royal biographer Andrew Lownie in his bookEntitled, Prince Philip allegedly cautioned Harry that his marriage to Meghan would come with challenges the young royal might underestimate.

"One steps out with actresses, one doesn't marry them," the Duke of Edinburgh allegedly told the Duke of Sussex when he and theSuitsstar got engaged in 2017.

Interestingly enough, Lownie's claims in his book are pretty similar to those of royal author Ingrid Seward in her 2024 book,My Mother and I, Philip.

Image credits:Ben STANSALL – WPA Pool/Getty Images

According to Seward, Philip was "one of the very few wary" of the actress when Harry and Markle started dating in 2016, according toPage Six.

The Duke of Edinburgh's reservations about Markle reportedly continued, even when the pair were married at Windsor Castle in May 2018.

Grant Harrold, a former royal butler, claimed that Prince Philip told Queen Elizabeth II "Thank f**k that's over" after they left the chapel.

Image credits:The Royal Family

While Harry and Meghan Markle initially served as senior members of the British Royal Family, the couple announced in January 2020 that they were stepping back from their royal duties. They also moved to North America.

Since then, Harry and Meghan have welcomed two children: Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4.

Philip reportedly refused to have a say in Harry and Meghan's move to North America, at one point even telling Elizabeth that he would "be soon out of it."

Image credits:HarperCollins

Royal biographer Gyles Brandreth, however, claimed that the Duke of Edinburgh still believed that "people have to lead their lives as they think best," even if he personally did not agree with Harry and Meghan's decisions.

Despite stepping away from his family, Prince Harry has attended several key royal events without Meghan

Prince Harry gave up some of his titles when he andMeghandecided to move away from the Royal Family.

While Prince Harry and Meghan Markle still kept their Duke and Duchess of Sussex titles, they are no longer addressed as His or Her Royal Highness (HRH). Harry also had to give up his military titles, according to theBBC.

With the coronation of King Charles, Harry and Meghan's children officially became Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet of Sussex.

Harry is still fifth in line to the British throne.

Harry has sincesoftenedhis comments about his family, even telling the media that he "would love a reconciliation" with his father and the rest of the Royal Family.

He has come back to the UK for a number of important events. He attended King Charles' coronation in May 2023, though Meghan was not with him at the time.

Image credits:Max Mumby/Pool/Indigo/Getty Images

In February 2024, he also flew to the UK to meet with his dad. This was around the time when Buckingham Palace announced that the King had cancer.

Harry also flew back home to take part in a service for the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games in May 2024.

The games, a sporting competition for injured servicemen, are an important project for the Duke of Sussex, having served as one of its key patrons.

Image credits:USA Network

In August 2024, Harry also attended a memorial service for his uncle, Lord Robert Fellowes.

Meghan Markle returned to the UK with Prince Harry in June and September 2022, for Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee and funeral.

Recent reports have suggested that Meghan Markle might be feeling the strains of her marriage, and she may be pondering an exit strategy

Prince Philip's resurfaced warning has taken on renewed meaning as a recent report fromRadarOnline, citing an eyewitness account, alleged that Meghan was "fighting back tears" and looked "overwhelmed" while visiting a bookstore near Montecito.

"She's an actress and can put on a brave face, but the mask was slipping," the publication's source claimed.

One of the biggest points ofstrainappeared to revolve around disagreements about their children's privacy.

Insiders claimed that Meghan and Harry had been "butting heads" over how much of Archie and Lilibet should appear on social media.

The issue reportedly escalated after Meghan shared a Halloween-themed Instagrampostthat briefly included partial images of the children.

Even though their faces were obscured, the photos reportedly displeased Harry.

Image credits:meghan

"Harry is upset about it because, obviously, he grew up in the spotlight. He knows what it's like," the publication's source claimed.

Amid reports of potential marital issues, Meghan has reportedly returned to acting, most recently filming a cameo in the comedyClose Personal Friends.

Sources said the new project might be more than a creativeopportunityfor the actress. "Acting could be her attempt to gain independence in case they pull the trigger on their marriage," one insider claimed.

Image credits:meghan

"It could be her saying, 'I need to go back to my roots. I need to go back to my own kind of thing.' It's her backup plan in case she exits."

Experts have estimated that a divorce could leave Harry down roughly $60 million unless the pair had a prenup that "no one knows about," according to famed L.A. attorney Louis J. Shapiro.

Netizens shared their thoughts on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on social media