“Boston’s Democratic Mayor Michelle Wu is taking heat from local leaders for doubling down on liberal sanctuary city laws, and insisting ‘we stand with immigrants.’ Wu has previously stated that Boston will not cooperate with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations — which she reiterated during her State of the City address Wednesday night. ‘No one tells Boston how to take care of our own, not kings, and not presidents who think they are kings. Boston was born facing down bullies,’ she said in her speech. ‘You belong here,’ she told immigrants. Wu’s speech outraged conservative local leaders who oppose shielding illegal [sic] immigrants from ICE, claiming they put Bostonians at risk. Massachusetts GOP spokesperson Logan Trupiano told Fox News that ‘there is simply no justifiable reason for her to stand in the way of this critical progress.'” (03/22/25)
“Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he’s ‘not stepping down’ from leadership in an interview aired Sunday amid mounting pressure from within his party to abandon his post. He’s remaining defiant as Democratic lawmakers and outside groups pile on calls for him to step aside. But Schumer, who dealt a key blow to former President Biden’s reelection bid, argued he’s ‘absolutely’ not making the same mistake Biden did when he hesitated to step down. … Despite Schumer’s public confidence, some House Democrats are urging their colleague Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) behind closed doors to challenge him for his Senate seat in 2028.” (03/23/25)
“A San Francisco judge has come under fire from his colleagues after he posted a highly unusual video to YouTube of himself appearing to disassemble multiple firearms inside his office. Judge Lawrence VanDyke of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit recorded the video as part of his dissent in a recent ruling that upheld California’s ban on large-capacity gun magazines. In the video, VanDyke, seated beneath an AK-style rifle mounted in his judicial office, says that he wanted to record the demonstration because his colleagues on the 9th Circuit ‘lack the basic familiarity’ with firearms. However, his colleagues on the court issued a sharp rebuke to the video. Judge Marsha Berzon, also on the 9th Circuit, called the video ‘wildly improper’ in her written opinion, saying the video amounted to VanDyke using himself as an expert witness in a case he was judging.” (03/21/25)
“A lucky group of scientists were able to explore a never-before-seen part of the Antarctic after an ice shelf broke, revealing newly exposed seafloor and a previously inaccessible ecosystem hundreds of meters beneath the surface. A team from the Schmidt Ocean Institute were aboard the ‘R/V Falkor (too)’ research vessel in January 2025 when a piece of ice the size of Chicago broke off from the George VI Ice Shelf, a floating glacier 57 miles away. … The remotely operated vehicle explored the seafloor for eight days, the institute said. It also discovered large corals and more sponges, which were supporting species including icefish, giant sea spiders and octopi.” (03/22/25)
“he southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa was engulfed in flames late Thursday after being struck by a large-scale Russian drone attack, hours after US President Donald Trump expressed optimism about ending the war and as peace talks are set to resume on Monday. … A high-rise residential building and a shopping center were among the targets, local governor Oleh Kiper said. Videos shared on social media show what appears to be civilian infrastructure on fire and huge plumes of smoke rising over the city. CNN has not been able to immediately verify the videos.” (03/21/25)
“President Trump announced the signing of an executive order that would begin the process of dismantling the Department of Education ‘once and for all.’ ‘We’re going to eliminate it, and everybody knows it’s right,’ the president said of the department at the White House Thursday. He added, ‘We’re not doing well with the world of education in this country, and we haven’t for a long time.’ … In the two months since Mr. Trump took office, the Education Department’s staff has already been slashed in half, and the administration is making plans to transfer some of its functions to other departments. Despite the president’s rhetoric, fully eliminating the Department of Education would require an act of Congress. To advance most legislation in the Senate requires 60 votes, meaning seven Democrats would need to vote for it along with all Republicans.” (03/20/25)
“The Sudanese army seized full control of the Presidential Palace in Khartoum on Friday, Sudan TV and military sources said, in one of the most significant advances in a two-year-old conflict threatening to fracture the country. The army was conducting search operations in areas around the palace in pursuit of members of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the sources said. The RSF were not available for comment. The paramilitary group quickly took the palace and most of the capital at the outbreak of war in April 2023, but the Sudanese Armed Forces have in recent months staged a comeback and inched towards the palace along the River Nile. The RSF, which earlier this year began establishing a parallel government, maintains control of parts of Khartoum and neighbouring Omdurman, as well as western Sudan, where it is fighting to take over the army’s last stronghold in Darfur, al-Fashir.” (03/21/25)
“Israeli strikes killed at least 85 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip overnight and into Thursday, according to local health officials. Hours later, Hamas fired three rockets at Israel without causing casualties, in the first such attack since Israel ended their ceasefire with a surprise bombardment of Gaza on Tuesday. The Israeli military ordered people to evacuate an area in central Gaza near Khan Younis, saying it would operate there in response to rocket fire from Hamas. Meanwhile, the Israeli military restored a blockade on northern Gaza, including Gaza City, that it had maintained for most of the war. It warned residents against using the main highway to enter or leave the north and said only passage to the south would be allowed on the coastal road. It also announced an additional ground operation in northern Gaza near the already largely destroyed town of Beit Lahiya, where strikes have killed dozens over the past 24 hours.” (03/20/25)
“Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will call a snap federal election Sunday with voting as soon as April 28, according to Thursday Canadian media reports. CTV News and Radio-Canada, citing unnamed sources, confirmed the plan to call the election but the actual voting day hasn’t been decided. It could be either April 28 or May 5. The campaign is expected to last between 36 and 55 days. Carney will ask Canada’s governor-general to dissolve Parliament and call the federal election. He faces an election campaign after having just been sworn in on March 14.” (03/20/25)
“Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes rose in February as easing mortgage rates and more properties on the market encouraged home shoppers. Existing home sales rose 4.2% last month from January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.26 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. Sales fell 1.2% compared with February last year, ending a string of five straight annual increases. The latest home sales topped the 3.92 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet. On an unadjusted basis, sales fell 5.2% from February last year, when the month included an extra day because 2024 was a leap year.” (03/20/25)
