Politics

A shooting outside a Jewish preschool in Southwest Portland on Wednesday has reignited concerns over the safety of Jewish institutions across the country. The incident involved an armed security guard at The Gan – Portland Jewish Preschool, who shot a man after an alleged confrontation in the adjacent Fanno Medical Clinic parking lot.

President Donald Trump has abruptly terminated Dr. Carla D. Hayden, the Librarian of Congress, continuing his administration’s removal of federal officials linked to progressive policies. The dismissal was delivered Thursday evening via a brief two-sentence email from the White House Presidential Personnel Office, effective immediately.

The Denver City Council is weighing a nearly half-million-dollar pay raise package for 12 top city officials appointed by Mayor Mike Johnston, with increases ranging from $6,800 to over $80,000 per year. The total increase, set to cost taxpayers $492,913, is intended to keep city leadership salaries competitive with other major U.S. cities.

Spokane city officials warned Thursday that a growing budget crisis could balloon into a $137 million shortfall by 2030 unless immediate corrective action is taken. The alarm was sounded during a City Council briefing, where budget analysts cited underperforming revenues and escalating expenses as the primary threats to fiscal stability.

Russian occupation authorities have unveiled a bust of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin in the Ukrainian city of Melitopol, marking the first such monument erected in seized territory since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in 2022. The unveiling took place Thursday as part of Russia’s Victory Day celebrations, commemorating its role in defeating Nazi Germany during World War II.

Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) voiced hope Friday that newly elected Pope Leo XIV will use his platform to speak out against mass deportations under President Donald Trump’s administration. Her comments came during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Chris Jansing Reports,” where she praised the pope’s past social media activity as aligned with pro-migrant positions.

Newly elected Pope Leo XIV is signaling a major shift in tone from his predecessor by describing mass migration as a “huge problem,” marking a break from the unqualified pro-migration advocacy of the late Pope Francis. The comments, made by then-Cardinal Robert Prevost during a Catholic Mass, reflect a more balanced and realistic approach to one of the most pressing challenges facing modern nations.

San Francisco’s Friday morning came to a halt as the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system suffered a complete shutdown due to a computer network failure, underscoring the vulnerability of outdated American infrastructure—even after the Biden administration poured billions into it. Tens of thousands of commuters were stranded during rush hour in one of the nation’s most liberal strongholds, as the transit system that services over 150,000 daily riders ground to a halt.

President Donald Trump has dismissed three Democrat commissioners from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), continuing his efforts to overhaul key federal agencies. The firings target Richard Trumka Jr., Mary Boyle, and Alexander Hoehn-Saric—each originally appointed by former President Joe Biden.

Mayor Ras Baraka of Newark, New Jersey, has been arrested for trespassing at an ICE facility.