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  • A Judge Says She’ll Rule That the US Still Cannot Force States to Provide Data on SNAP Recipients

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    President Donald Trump’s administration cannot force states to hand over detailed information on people who have applied for or received aid from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, a judge said in a tentative ruling Friday.

    San Francisco-based U.S. District Judge Maxine Chesney last year blocked the U.S. Department of Agriculture from requiring states to provide the data, including on the immigration status of people who receive benefits and applicants, after 22 states sued over the policy.

    The department kept pushing for it, telling states in December that it would stop paying state administrative costs for the program if they didn’t comply. It also issued new protocols for securing the data, which the states rejected.

    The federal government said the previous ruling did not apply to its latest demands.

    Chesney said during a hearing Friday that she intends to issue an order that says the federal government cannot act on its letters to the states from last year.

    The Trump administration contends that the information is needed to stamp out fraud and waste, which it asserts is a major problem in the nation’s biggest food aid program.

    The states argued that the Agriculture Department could share the data with immigration enforcement authorities, which they say would be illegal.

    SNAP is a major part of the U.S. social safety net, helping about 42 million Americans, about 1 in 8, buy groceries. People in the country illegally are not eligible for benefits.

    Most states, including one that sued — Nevada — have complied with the federal government’s request. Kansas has not complied, but also has not joined the lawsuit. All the states involved in the lawsuit, besides Nevada, have Democratic governors.

    The administration has not released detailed information on the data submitted by states, but says it shows higher levels of fraud than previously believed.

    The battle over SNAP records is one of several areas where the administration has sought to cut off some federal funding to states led by Democrats, often in the name of preventing fraud.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – Feb. 2026

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  • Federal Troop Deployments to US Cities Cost Taxpayers $496M and Counting

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    President Donald Trump has justified sending National Guard troops into U.S. cities as part of an effort to combat crime and support local law enforcement. Critics of the move argue the deployments undermine state and local authority and exceed the president’s authority under the Constitution.

    The CBO published the new data estimating the costs associated with the federal deployments of National Guard and active-duty Marines after a request from Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., who is the ranking member on the Senate Budget Committee.

    “The American people deserve to know how many hundreds of millions of their hard-earned dollars have been and are being wasted on Trump’s reckless and haphazard deployment of National Guard troops to Portland and cities across the country,” Merkley said in a statement about the CBO report.

    Factored into the estimates are troop deployments to Chicago, Memphis, Portland, as well as Los Angeles in June, when protesters took to the streets in response to a blitz of immigration arrests. The CBO said continued deployments to those cities would cost about $93 million per month.

    The estimate excludes the military’s December deployment to New Orleans.

    For further possible deployments down the road, the CBO estimates deploying 1,000 National Guard personnel to a U.S. city in 2026 would cost $18 million to $21 million per month, depending on the local cost of living.

    National Guard troops are expected to remain deployed in Washington throughout 2026, according to a memo reviewed by The Associated Press earlier this month.

    The troop deployments have provoked legal challenges from local leaders, and some have been successful. A California federal judge in January ruled that the Trump administration “willfully” broke federal law by sending National Guard units to the Los Angeles area.

    A White House representative did not provide an immediate comment on the estimates.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

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  • Virginia’s New AG Jones Fights DOJ on In-State Tuition for Immigrant Students

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    Days after taking office, Attorney General Jay Jones (D) is reversing his predecessor’s position on the Trump administration’s fight against in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants.

    Yesterday (Wednesday), Jones filed a motion to withdraw from an agreement that former Attorney General Jason Miyares (R) made with the U.S. Department of Justice in a bid to invalidate the Virginia Dream Act of 2020.

    The Justice Department challenged the Virginia law, which allows undocumented immigrants to receive in-state tuition, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on Dec. 29. A day later, Miyares joined the DOJ in seeking to have the court declare the law invalid and prevent it from being enforced.

    “On day one, I promised Virginians I would fight back against the Trump Administration’s attacks on our Commonwealth, our institutions of higher education, and most importantly – our students,” Jones said in a statement. “Virginians deserve leaders who will put them the first, and that’s exactly what my office will continue to do.”

    The DOJ declined to comment to ARLnow on Jones’ action, citing the pending litigation.

    The Virginia Dream Act of 2020 provides in-state tuition rates to higher education students meeting Virginia high school attendance requirements, regardless of their immigration status. The DOJ alleges that this discriminates against out-of-state U.S. citizens who cannot receive the same in-state tuition rates as undocumented immigrants living in Virginia.

    “This is a simple matter of federal law: in Virginia and nationwide, schools cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi in a news release announcing the litigation. “This Department of Justice will not tolerate American students being treated like second-class citizens in their own country.”

    Several groups, including the Legal Aid Justice Center, ACLU of Virginia and Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, filed motions to intervene in the lawsuit after the consent judgment.

    “These are Virginia students who grew up in the Commonwealth, graduated from our high schools, contribute to our communities, and made life-altering decisions for their futures relying on a state law that has existed for years,” said Rohmah Javed, the director of the Immigrant Justice Program at the Legal Aid Justice Center. “They are Virginians in every way that matters, and they deserve someone to stand up and fight for them.”

    The DOJ has pursued similar in-state tuition lawsuits in Texas, Kentucky, Illinois, Oklahoma, Minnesota, and California.

    This story was originally published by ARLnow and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

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  • Letter Writing Enjoys a Revival as Fans Seek Connection and a Break From Screen Time

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    At a time when productivity means optimizing every second and screens blur the line between work and home, some people are slowing down and disconnecting by looking to communication devices from the past.

    “I feel as though my pen pals are my friends. I don’t think of them much differently than if I were chatting with a friend on the phone, in a coffee shop or at another person’s house,” said Melissa Bobbitt, 42, a devoted letter-writer who corresponds with about a dozen people from her home in Claremont, California, and has had up to 40 pen pals at one time. “Focusing on one person and really reading what they are saying, and sharing what’s on your heart is almost like a therapy session.”

    Ink, paper and other tools that once were the only way to send a message from afar are continuing to bring people together from around the world. Below, some of them explain the appeal of snail mail and give recommendations for getting started.

    In a society shaped by constant availability, hands-on hobbies like writing letters and scrapbooking require focus and patience. The act of picking up a pen, sealing an envelope with wax and laying out pages may yield aesthetically pleasing results, but it also creates a space for reflection.

    Stephania Kontopanos, a 21-year-old student in Chicago, said it can be hard to put her phone and computer away, especially when it seems all of her friends and peers are on social media and her classes and personal life revolve around being online.

    “There are times when I’m with my friends and at dinner, I’ll realize we are all on our phones,” Kontopanos said, adding that she tries to put her phone down at those moments.

    Kontopanos also unplugs consciously by sending postcards to her family and friends, scrapbooking, and junk journaling, which involves repurposing everyday materials like tickets and receipts to document memories or ideas. She says going to the post office has become an activity she does with her mother back home in Kansas and includes sharing stories with the postal workers, people she would not have routinely encountered.


    Nostalgia can foster community

    Writing and sending letters is nostalgic for KiKi Klassen, who lives in Ontario, Canada. The 28-year-old says it helps her feel more connected to her late mother, who was a member of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, which represents mail carriers and other postal employees.

    In October 2024, Klassen launched the Lucky Duck Mail Club, a subscription-based monthly mail service that sends participants a piece of her art, an inspiring quote and message. She says her membership includes more than 1,000 people across, at most, 36 countries.

    “When I sit down, I’m forced to reflect and choose my words carefully,” Klassen said. “It also lends itself to vulnerability because it is easier to write down how you are feeling. I’ve had people write me back and I’ve cried hearing so many touching stories. I think for a lot of people paper creates a safe space. You write it down, send it off and don’t really think about it after.”

    For Bobbitt, who has corresponded by mail for years, there is a “grand excitement” when she opens her mailbox and finds something that is not a bill or advertisement. “If we all filled each other’s mailboxes with letters, we would all be kinder and, at the very least, won’t dread checking our mailboxes,” she said.

    Bobbitt says she first joined a pen pal club in second or third grade and later was connected to more writers through Postcrossing, an online project that partners people around the world to send and receive postcards. She says some of the postcards turned into letters as friendships grew between her and some other regular writers.

    It’s a similar feeling of connection that inspired DJ Robert Owoyele, 34, to create CAYA, a monthly “analog gathering” in Dallas. Owoyele launched the event less than a year ago and has since organized evenings with letter writing, coloring, vinyl listening sessions and other activities.

    “We live in a digital age that fosters a false sense of connection, but I think true connection happens in person,” he said. “When we are able to touch or see something, we are more connected to it naturally. These analog activities are a representation of that.”

    While writing letters and engaging in other vintage pursuits might seem accessible, it is not always easy to get involved. For many people, carving out time to slow down can feel like another obligation in a schedule filled with to-dos.

    Kontopanos says she decided it was important for her to reprioritize her time. “The older I get, the more I realize how much time had been wasted on my phone,” she said. Creating space to explore allowed her to discover the hobbies she loved doing enough to make them a priority, she said.

    There are many hobbies to consider, some of which don’t require expensive tools or hours of free time. Frequenting spaces where communities centered around these hobbies gather can be a way to learn about the different activities. For example, participating in typewriter clubs such as Type Pals, attending events like the Los Angeles Printers Fair hosted by the International Printing Museum in California, and engaging with social media communities like the Wax Seal Guild on Instagram and The Calligraphy Hub on Facebook.

    Klassen says that based on posts she’s seeing on her social media feeds, reviving vintage writing instruments and small tactile pleasures might be on the verge of becoming trendy.

    “The girls are going analog in 2026,” she said.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

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  • Cities Designed 1-Way Streets to Speed up Traffic. Now They Are Scrapping Them to Slow It Down

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    Excessive speeding was so common on parallel one-way streets passing a massive electronics plant that Indianapolis residents used to refer to the pair as a “racetrack” akin to the city’s famous Motor Speedway a few miles west.

    Originally two-way thoroughfares, Michigan and New York streets switched to opposite one-way routes in the 1970s to help thousands of RCA workers swiftly travel to and from their shifts building televisions or pressing vinyl records. But after the RCA plant closed in 1995, the suddenly barren roads grew even more enticing for lead-footed drivers — until last year, when city officials finally converted them back to two-way streets.

    “The opening and conversion of those streets has just been transformative for how people think about that corridor,” said James Taylor, who runs a nearby community center.

    Embracing the oft-repeated slogan that “paint is cheap,” transportation planners across the U.S. — particularly in midsize cities — have been turning their unidirectional streets back to multidirectional ones. They view the step as one of the easiest ways to improve safety and make downtowns more alluring to shoppers, restaurant patrons and would-be residents.

    Dave Amos, an assistant professor of city and regional planning at California Polytechnic State University, said almost no major streets in the U.S. originated as one-way routes. Two-way streets were the standard, before mass migration to the suburbs prioritized faster commutes over downtown walkability.

    “One-way streets are designed for moving cars quickly and efficiently,” Amos said. “So when you have that as your goal, pedestrians and cyclists almost by design are secondary, which makes them more vulnerable.”

    But the propensity to speed isn’t the only reason one-way streets are viewed as less safe.

    Wade Walker, an engineer with Kittelson & Associates who has worked on street conversion projects in Lakeland, Florida; Lynchburg, Virginia; and Chattanooga, Tennessee, said there is a misperception that one-way streets are safer because people on foot only have to look one direction to see the incoming traffic. The confusion arises when one-way streets combine with two-way streets to form a city grid, he said.

    Pedestrians crossing a signalized intersection of two-way streets can expect to encounter vehicles in a certain sequence: those turning left on green, traveling straight, and turning right on red. But when one-way streets are included, there are 16 potential sequences depending on the type and direction of the roads that intersect, Walker said.

    “It’s not the number of conflicts, it’s the way those conflicts occur,” he said.


    One way to divide a community

    Louisville, Kentucky, about two hours south of Indianapolis, has been restoring one-way streets to their original two-way footprints. The state is leading an ongoing project to reconvert a stretch along Main Street that passes such landmarks as the Louisville Slugger Museum, the KFC Yum! Center arena, and a minor-league baseball stadium.

    One of the city’s biggest redesigns is happening this year in the predominantly Black western part of the city, where many roads changed to one-way routes in the 1970s to feed a new interstate bridge over the Ohio River. However, it decimated neighborhoods and cut off the once-thriving community from downtown.

    “All those mom-and-pop shops and local businesses over time kind of faded because that connectivity got taken away,” said Michael King, the city’s assistant director of transportation planning. “It just feels more like, ‘This is a road to get me through here pretty quickly.’”

    Within three years after some of Chattanooga’s two-way streets were transformed into unidirectional ones, business vacancies skyrocketed and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga became “landlocked” to prevent students from having to cross a dangerous road, Walker said.

    In 2022, almost two decades after the road was redesigned, he returned to find the college campus had expanded across it and business construction had surged.


    Converting streets and skeptics

    When Lynchburg, Virginia launched a long-discussed plan to change its downtown Main Street back to two ways, Rodney Taylor voiced concerns that it would doom his restaurant by blocking delivery vehicles. After the city completed the section in 2021, he acknowledged the fears were unfounded.

    “An important thing to do is to admit when you’re wrong,” he said. “And I was just flat-out wrong.”

    Many residents also changed their tune in Austin, Texas, when the city began reconverting some of the one-way streets in its urban core, said Adam Greenfield, executive director with Safe Streets Austin.

    “It just worked,” said Greenfield, who is now lobbying the city to do away with all its one-way streets. “That’s what you’ll find with these conversions — they’ll be done and then instantly people will be like, ‘Why didn’t we do this 20 years ago?’”

    After Chicago went the opposite direction last year and suddenly changed some of its two-way streets to one-way in the busy West Loop restaurant district, a politician representing an adjacent area got numerous calls from confused constituents.

    “Even if this was the right move to make these streets one-way, it certainly doesn’t make sense to not ask the opinion of the neighbors,” Alderman Bill Conway said.


    Opportunity in Indianapolis

    Now that Indianapolis has finished the redesigns for Michigan and New York streets, there are 10 other conversions on tap next, said Mark St. John, chief engineer for the city’s Department of Public Works. The total cost for those projects is estimated at $60 million, with around $25 million of that from a 2023 federal grant.

    James Taylor, who runs the community center near the old RCA plant, said it is too early to know the full impact. Some business owners, however, have signaled construction plans along the redesigned streets, which Taylor says still feel a little strange.

    “I’ve been driving around that neighborhood for 30 years,” he said. “It’s all kind of familiar, but you’re coming at it from a whole different perspective.”

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

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  • Democrats Propose State Laws to Limit ICE After Minneapolis Shooting of Renee Good

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    MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democrats across the country are proposing state law changes to rein in federal immigration officers and protect the public following the shooting death of a protester in Minneapolis and the wounding of two people in Portland, Oregon.


    Democratic bills seek to limit ICE

    Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul wants New York to allow people to sue federal officers alleging violations of their constitutional rights. Another measure aims to keep immigration agents lacking judicial warrants out of schools, hospitals and houses of worship.

    Oregon Democrats plan to introduce a bill to allow residents to sue federal agents for violating their Fourth Amendment rights against unlawful search and seizure.

    New Jersey’s Democrat-led Legislature passed three bills on Monday that immigrant rights groups have long pushed for, including a measure prohibiting state law enforcement officers from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement. Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy has until his last day in office Tuesday to sign or veto them.

    California lawmakers are proposing to ban local and state law enforcement from taking second jobs with the Department of Homeland Security and make it a violation of state law when ICE officers make “indiscriminate” arrests around court appearances. Other measures are pending.

    “Where you have government actions with no accountability, that is not true democracy,” Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener of San Francisco said at a news conference.


    Democrats also push bills in red states

    Democrats in Georgia introduced four Senate bills designed to limit immigration enforcement — a package unlikely to become law because Georgia’s conservative upper chamber is led by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a close Trump ally. Democrats said it’s still important to take a stand.

    “Donald Trump has unleashed brutal aggression on our families and our communities across our country,” said state Sen. Sheikh Rahman, an immigrant from Bangladesh whose district in suburban Atlanta’s Gwinnett County is home to many immigrants.

    Democrats in New Hampshire have proposed numerous measures seeking to limit federal immigration enforcement, but the state’s Republican majorities passed a new law taking effect this month that bans “sanctuary cities.”

    In Tennessee, instead of considering a Democratic measure that would limit civil immigration enforcement at schools and churches, Republican House Speaker Cameron Sexton said he was working with the White House on a separate package of immigration-related bills. He hasn’t said what they would do.


    Trump administration sues to stop laws

    States have broad power to regulate within their borders unless the U.S. Constitution bars it, but many of these laws raise novel issues that courts will have to sort out, said Harrison Stark, senior counsel with the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin Law School.

    “There’s not a super clear, concrete legal answer to a lot of these questions,” he said. “It’s almost guaranteed there will be federal litigation over a lot of these policies.”

    That’s already happening.

    California in September was the first to ban most law enforcement officers, including federal immigration agents, from covering their faces on duty. The Justice Department said its agents won’t comply and sued California, arguing that the laws threaten the safety of officers who are facing “unprecedented” harassment, doxing and violence.

    The Justice Department also sued Illinois last month, challenging a law that bars federal civil arrests near courthouses, protects medical records and regulates how universities and day care centers manage information about immigration status. The Justice Department claims the law is unconstitutional and also threatens federal officers’ safety.


    Targeted states push back

    Minnesota and Illinois, joined by their largest cities, sued the Trump administration this week. Minneapolis and Minnesota accuse the Republican administration of violating free speech rights by punishing a progressive state that favors Democrats and welcomes immigrants. Illinois and Chicago claim “Operation Midway Blitz” made residents afraid to leave their homes.

    Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin accused Minnesota officials of ignoring public safety and called the Illinois lawsuit “baseless.”

    Associated Press writers John O’Connor in Springfield, Illinois; Sophie Austin in Sacramento, California; Mike Catalini in Trenton, New Jersey; Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee; Anthony Izaguirre in Albany, New York; Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon; and Jeff Amy in Atlanta contributed.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

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  • Winter Storm Packing Snow and Strong Winds to Descend on Great Lakes and Northeast

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    A wild winter storm was expected to bring strong winds, heavy snow and frigid temperatures to the Great Lakes and Northeast on Tuesday, a day after a bomb cyclone barreled across the northern U.S. and left tens thousands of customers without power.

    The storm that hit parts of the Plains and Great Lakes on Monday brought sharply colder air, strong winds and a mix of snow, ice and rain that led to treacherous travel. Forecasters said it intensified quickly enough to meet the criteria of a bomb cyclone, a system that strengthens rapidly as pressure drops.

    Nationwide, more than 153,000 customers were without power early Tuesday, more than a third of them in Michigan, according to Poweroutage.us.

    As Monday’s storm moved into Canada, the National Weather Service predicted more inclement weather conditions for the Eastern U.S, including quick bursts of heavy snow and gusty winds known as snow squalls.

    New York Gov. Kathy Hochul warned that whiteout conditions were expected Tuesday in parts of the state, including the Syracuse-metro area.

    “If you’re in an impacted area, please avoid all unnecessary travel,” she said in a post on the social media platform X,

    Snow piled up quickly in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula on Monday, where as much as 2 feet (60 centimeters) fell in some areas, according to the National Weather Service. Meteorologist Ryan Metzger said additional snow was expected in the coming days, although totals would be far lighter.

    Waves on Lake Superior that were expected to reach 20 feet (6 meters) Monday sent all but one cargo ship into harbors for shelter, according to MarineTraffic.com. Weather forecasting on the lakes has improved greatly since the Edmund Fitzgerald sank in 1975 after waves were predicted at up to 16 feet (4.8 meters).

    The fierce winds on Lake Erie sent water surging toward the basin’s eastern end near Buffalo, New York, while lowering water on the western side in Michigan to expose normally submerged lakebed — even the wreck of a car and a snowmobile.

    Kevin Aldrich, 33, a maintenance worker from Monroe, Michigan, said he has never seen the lake recede so much and was surprised on Monday to spot the remnants of old piers dating back to the 1830s. He posted photos on social media of wooden pilings sticking up several feet from the muck.

    “Where those are at would typically be probably 12 feet deep,” he said. “We can usually drive our boat over them.”

    Dangerous wind chills plunged as low as minus 30 F (minus 34 C) across parts of North Dakota and Minnesota on Monday. And in northeast West Virginia, rare, nearly hurricane-force winds were recorded on a mountain near Dolly Sods, according to the National Weather Service.

    In Iowa, after blizzard conditions eased by Monday morning, high winds continued blowing fallen snow across roadways, keeping more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) of Interstate 35 closed. State troopers reported dozens of crashes during the storm, including one that killed a person.

    On the West Coast, the National Weather Service warned that moderate to strong Santa Ana winds were expected in parts of Southern California through Tuesday, raising concerns about downed trees in areas where soils have been saturated by recent storms. Two more storms were forecast later this week, with rain on New Year’s Day potentially soaking the Rose Parade in Pasadena for the first time in about two decades.

    Associated Press writers Julie Walker in New York; Corey Williams in Detroit; Margery Beck in Omaha, Nebraska; Susan Haigh in Norwich, Connecticut; and Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska, contributed.

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – December 2025

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  • Civil Rights Leader Jesse Jackson Leaves Hospital After Treatment for Neurological Disorder

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    SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Rev. Jesse Jackson has been released from a Chicago hospital where he was treated for a rare neurological disorder, his son said Tuesday.

    The 84-year-old civil rights leader was discharged Monday from Northwestern Memorial Hospital, his son and family spokesperson Yusef Jackson said.

    In 2013, Jackson, who now receives round-the-clock care at home, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. The diagnosis was changed last April to progressive supranuclear palsy, or PSP, a neurodegenerative disorder which can have similar symptoms to Parkinson’s.

    Yusef Jackson thanked “the countless friends and supporters who have reached out, visited and prayed for our father,” as well as the medical and security staff at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

    “We humbly ask for your continued prayers throughout this precious time,” Yusef Jackson said.

    A protégé of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., the two-time presidential candidate and internationally known founder of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition was hospitalized Nov. 14.

    Visitors included former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, fellow civil rights leader the Rev. Al Sharpton and television court arbitrator Judge Greg Mathis.

    After announcing his Parkinson’s diagnosis in 2017, Jackson continued to work and make public appearances, including at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. In 2023, he stepped down as leader of Rainbow/PUSH, which he began as Operation PUSH in 1971, but continued going to the office regularly until a few months ago.

    His family says that Jackson uses a wheelchair, struggles to keep his eyes open and is unable to speak. Relatives, including his sons, Illinois U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson and Jesse Jackson Jr., a former Illinois congressman seeking reelection, have been caring for him in shifts.

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – Nov. 2025

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  • Aftermath of Chicago’s Intense Immigration Crackdown Leaves Lawsuits, Investigations and Anxiety

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    CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago has entered what many consider a new uneasy phase of a Trump administration immigration crackdown that has already led to thousands of arrests.

    While a U.S. Border Patrol commander known for leading intense and controversial surges moved on to North Carolina, federal agents are still arresting immigrants across the nation’s third-largest city and suburbs.

    A growing number of lawsuits stemming from the crackdown are winding through the courts. Authorities are investigating agents’ actions, including a fatal shooting. Activists say they are not letting their guard down in case things ramp up again, while many residents in the Democratic stronghold where few welcomed the crackdown remain anxious.

    “I feel a sense of paranoia over when they might be back,” said Santani Silva, an employee at a vintage store in the predominantly Mexican neighborhood of Pilsen. “People are still afraid.”


    Intensity slows, but arrests continue

    Armed and masked agents used unmarked SUVs and helicopters throughout the city of 2.7 million and its suburbs to target suspected criminals and immigration violators. Arrests often led to intense standoffs with bystanders, from wealthy neighborhoods to working-class suburbs.

    While the intensity has died down in the week since Bovino left, reports of arrests still pop up. Activists tracking immigration agents said they confirmed 142 daily sightings at the height of the operation last month. The number is now roughly six a day.

    “It’s not over,” said Brandon Lee with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. “I don’t think it will be over.”

    Bearing the brunt of the operation has been Broadview, a Chicago suburb of roughly 8,000 people that has housed a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center for years.

    Protests outside the facility have grown increasingly tense as federal agents used chemical agents that area neighbors felt. Broadview police also launched three criminal investigations into federal agents’ tactics.

    Community leaders took the unusual step of declaring a civil emergency this week and moving public meetings online.

    Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson said the community has faced bomb threats, death threats and violent protests because of the crackdown.

    “I will not allow threats of violence or intimidation to disrupt the essential functions of our government,” Thompson said.


    Questionable arrests and detentions

    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has touted more than 3,000 arrests, but the agency has provided details on only a few cases where immigrants without legal permission to live in the country also had a criminal history.

    The Trump administration takes to social media to posts photos of supposed violent criminals apprehended in immigration operations, but the federal government’s own data paints a different picture.

    Of 614 immigrants arrested and detained in recent months around Chicago, only 16, less than 3%, had criminal records representing a “high public safety risk,” according to federal government data submitted to the court as part of a 2022 consent decree about ICE arrests. Those records included domestic battery and drunken driving.

    A judge in the cases said hundreds of immigrant detainees qualify to be released on bond, though an appeals court has paused their release. Attorneys say many more cases will follow as they get details from the government about arrests.

    “None of this has quite added up,” said Ed Yohnka with the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, which has been involved in several lawsuits. “What was this all about? What did this serve? What did any of this do?”


    Investigations and lawsuits

    The number of lawsuits triggered by the crackdown is growing, including on agents’ use of force and conditions at the Broadview center. In recent days, clergy members filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, alleging they were being blocked from ministering inside a facility.

    Federal prosecutors have also repeatedly dropped charges against protesters and other bystanders, including dismissing charges against a woman who was shot several times by a Border Patrol agent last month.

    Meanwhile, federal agents are also under investigation in connection with the death of a suburban man fatally shot by ICE agents during a traffic stop. Mexico’s president has called for a thorough investigation, while ICE has said it did not use excessive force.

    An autopsy report, obtained by The Associated Press this week, showed Silverio Villegas González died of a gunshot wound fired at “close range” to his neck. The death was declared a homicide.

    In October, the body of the 38-year-old father who spent two decades in the U.S. was buried in the western Mexico state of Michoacan.

    Many of the once bustling business corridors in the Chicago area’s largely immigrant communities that had quieted down were seeing a buzz again with some street vendors slowly returning to their usual posts.

    Andrea Melendez, the owner of Pink Flores Bakery and Cafe, said she has seen an increase in sales this week after struggling for months

    “As a new business, I was a bit scared when we saw sales drop,” she said. “But this week I’m feeling a bit more hope that things may get better.”

    Eleanor Lara, 52, has spent months avoiding unnecessary trips outside her Chicago home, fearful that an encounter with immigration agents could have dire consequences.

    Even as a U.S. citizen, she is afraid and carries her birth certificate. She is married to a Venezuelan man whose legal status is in limbo.

    “We’re still sticking home,” she said.

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – Nov. 2025

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  • Potential Presidential Candidates Are Less Coy About 2028 Plans: ‘Of Course I’m Thinking About It’

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    NEW YORK (AP) — There was a time when presidential hopefuls played coy about their ambitions, crisscrossing the country under the guise of helping other candidates and deflecting when pushed on their obvious plans.

    Not so for some Democrats considering running in 2028. With no clear party leader and Democratic voters raring for a fight, some could-be candidates are being far more transparent about their intentions, doing away with pretensions as they try to gain maximum visibility at a time when authenticity is in high demand.

    “Of course I’m thinking about it. I haven’t ruled it out,” New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker recently told Fox News during a trip to early-voting New Hampshire, even as he stressed that his focus is on 2026, when he will be up for reelection.

    To be sure, many Democrats remain circumspect.

    Of the dozen potential 2028 candidates The Associated Press requested interviews with to discuss the changing dynamic, none was immediately available. Some Democrats deflect questions and say their attention is elsewhere even as they campaign for others in early-voting states.

    On the Republican side, an entirely different dynamic is brewing under the surface. Potential candidates are keeping low profiles amid expectations that President Donald Trump will play kingmaker in choosing his would-be successor.

    Presidential campaign strategists say the Democrats’ less guarded approach makes sense given the wide-open 2028 field and sheer number of candidates competing for attention. Among the others who have said they are considering a run: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who also was a White House chief of staff, and Hawaii Gov. Josh Green.

    “Old rules just don’t apply to anything anymore,” said Jess O’Connell, a Democratic strategist who advised Pete Buttigieg’s 2020 presidential campaign. She said the change was a good thing for the party.

    “You’ve got to be out there every single day fighting and sharing your vision,” she said. “And I think the more runway they have to talk to people in this moment and to communicate about meeting the needs of the future,” then the better.

    Alex Conant, a veteran of the presidential campaigns of Republicans Marco Rubio, a former Florida senator who is now Trump’s secretary of state, and Tim Pawlenty, a former Minnesota governor, said the dynamics of the emerging Democratic primary, with no clear front-runner, have changed the calculus for candidates.

    “I think the Democratic primary is going to be the longest primary of our life. It’s hard to recall a field that is this wide open. And the Democratic base is so hungry for someone to take on Trump and win back the White House,” he said. “The more crowded it is, the more important it is to start early.”

    Candidates, he noted, are also “immediately more relevant if you might be the next president,” adding to the incentive to say the quiet part out loud.

    Voters these days are also turned off by the kind of politician-speak that was once the norm.

    “One of the takeaways from Trump is that people want authenticity,” Conant said. “Voters are rejecting candidates who sound like politicians, so the rhetorical tricks that politicians have used for decades to avoid answering questions now just irritates voters.”

    Not everyone has embraced the approach.

    Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker played coy on stage during a recent interview with journalist Kara Swisher, repeatedly dodging her questions about his expected timeline.

    “Blah, blah,” she responded as he tried to pivot to talking about the strength of the Democratic bench.

    Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has been equally circumspect, refusing to acknowledge any White House ambitions or even commit to running again for governor, even as the shadow of 2028 follows him everywhere he goes. But during an appearance on “The Breakfast Club” podcast last month, as he reflected on the arson attack on his official residence, he sounded like someone who is eager to remain in the arena.

    “I love public service,” he said. “You can’t walk away now, with everything that’s on the line. … This is not a time to quit.”

    His perceived national ambitions have become a frequent attack line for his potential GOP rival for governor, state Treasurer Stacy Garrity.

    “We need somebody that is more interested in Pennsylvania and not on Pennsylvania Avenue,” Garrity said recently on a conservative radio show in Philadelphia.


    There are risks for candidates

    That is one of the risks for candidates, said Mike DuHaime, a longtime GOP strategist who advised the presidential campaigns of Chris Christie, John McCain, Rudy Giuliani and George W. Bush.

    In 2013, he noted, Christie’s opponent in the New Jersey governor’s race often tried to use his national buzz as a campaign issue against him.

    Candidates, DuHaime said, also need to strike a balance and make that they are not distracting from midterm races by funneling money or attention away from candidates who need them.

    “I think it makes sense not to be so coy because people kind of get it, but they still should be careful about putting themselves in front of the country cause it could backfire,” he said. They “have to be careful that they still look a little bit like team players.”

    In other cases, candidates have genuinely not made up their minds, and may be lured by party leaders in early-voting states eager to draw rising stars to their events, DuHaime said.

    “It’s very intriguing and exciting for candidates and would-be candidates to be asked,” he said, with some deciding, “Let’s go experience it, the national circus. Let’s be part of that.”

    Along with potential legal considerations, O’Connell, the Democratic strategist, also noted that many of those expected to run have day jobs they need to balance. While picking fights with Trump certainly puts them in the spotlight, it could have ramifications for constituents if the Republican president retaliates, meaning that candidates will need to choose their moments wisely.

    “You have to fulfill your obligations to the states that you’re in,” she said. “It’s not so much that you’re playing a game, it’s that I think that there are some practical considerations.”

    “I think we’re going to see people struggling with that,” she added.

    She also urged candidates to embrace what she called a “Beyonce-Taylor Swift strategy,” referring to the pop stars’ boosting the economies of the cities where they performed on tour.

    “What I would advise anyone who wants to be president in 2028,” she said, “is to roll up your sleeves and help.”

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • Chicago Civil Rights Leader Jesse Jackson Hospitalized for Rare Neurological Disorder

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    CHICAGO (AP) — The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who has been receiving around-the-clock care at home, has been hospitalized with a rare neurological disorder, according to his Chicago-based organization.

    The civil rights leader was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease over a decade ago. But his Rainbow/PUSH organization said late Wednesday that the 84-year-old was under observation for progressive supranuclear palsy, or PSP, a neurodegenerative disorder he has been “managing for more than a decade” and received a diagnosis for in April.

    “The family appreciates all prayers at this time,” the statement said.

    It is not clear if Jackson has both Parkinson’s and PSP, which have similar symptoms, or solely the PSP that was confirmed this year. A Rainbow/PUSH spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for clarity on Thursday.

    The elder Jackson has been using a wheelchair and continued going into the office regularly until months ago, family members said.

    In recent months, his relatives, including sons U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson and Jesse Jackson Jr., a former Illinois congressman seeking reelection, have been providing 24-hour care in shifts.

    The reverend has struggled to keep his eyes open and is unable to speak. But he has found ways to communicate with family and friends who visit, his son Jesse Jackson Jr. told The Associated Press last month.

    “He’ll squeeze your hand,” he said.

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  • Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker Worries That Trump Will Go to Extremes to Distract From Epstein Files

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    “My great fear, of course, is that with the release of that information, which I think will be devastating for Trump, he’s going to do everything in his power to distract,” Pritzker told The Associated Press in a wide-ranging interview on Wednesday. “What does that mean? I mean, he might take us to war with Venezuela just to get a distraction in the news and take it out of the headlines.”

    Pritzker, widely seen as among the top potential Democratic presidential contenders in 2028, also directed some of his sharpest criticism at members of his own party. He said the decision by seven Democratic senators and one independent to side with Republicans in a Senate vote to end the government shutdown was an “enormous mistake” that played right into Trump’s hands.

    “I’ve been on team fight from the very beginning,” Pritzker said. “And I don’t appreciate when we’ve got Democrats who are caving in and doing basically what the Trump administration wants.”

    Pritzker did not join calls for Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer to step aside, which has come from some Democrats who think he should have fought harder. “I’m not sure this is the one thing that people should focus on to put them over the edge about it,” the governor said.

    He was instead more critical of the group of Democratic senators who voted for the deal, which included Sen. Dick Durbin, his own state’s senior senator.

    “We were winning,” said Pritzker, pointing to resounding Democratic wins in elections across the country last week. “I do not understand why people caved when we were on the verge of getting real change.”

    Since Trump’s reelection, Pritzker — an heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune — has been among the president’s fiercest Democratic critics. On Wednesday, he described Trump as “a narcissist” and said he believed the president “has dementia.”

    Pritzker’s comments about Trump’s use of the politics of distraction came as newly released documents reignited scrutiny of Trump’s relationship with Epstein. In a 2019 email to a journalist, Epstein wrote that Trump “knew about the girls,” but what he knew — and whether it pertained to the sex offender’s crimes — is unclear. The White House accused Democrats of selectively leaking the emails to smear the president.

    But few governors have witnessed Trump’s use of force as directly as Pritzker, who has seen federal agents descend on Chicago and its suburbs in recent months as part of “ Operation Midway Blitz.” More than 3,300 people suspected of immigration violations have been arrested since September, with some raids involving helicopters, tear gas and nighttime operations.

    “This is part of the militarization of our American cities that Donald Trump is engaging in,” Pritzker said. “And it’s dangerous. It shouldn’t happen, but he’s got a purpose behind it. And it’s to affect our elections in 2026.”

    Pritzker said the large immigration crackdown seen in Chicago would soon expand to other states, saying that he had spoken recently to North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein after reports that the administration might send federal forces into Charlotte.

    “I’m hoping that the pushback will finally lead them to ratchet down their efforts,” said Pritzker.

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  • More Than 80 Nonprofits Receive $250M for Global Women’s Health From Melinda French Gates

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    More than 80 organizations that provide health care for women all over the world received grants Wednesday totaling $250 million from Melinda French Gates after a year-long application process.

    “It will be instructive for the world to see what it looks like when organizations like this aren’t so chronically underfunded,” French Gates said in written responses to The Associated Press, which receives funding from Pivotal for news coverage.

    The grants, which range between $1 million and $5 million, were awarded through a competition that was open to nonprofit organizations from most countries. French Gates said the point of holding such an open call is to learn about organizations that aren’t already known to major funders. The Chicago-based nonprofit Lever for Change ran the application process and said more than 4,000 organizations from 119 countries applied.

    “This seems to be a topic that resonates,” said Cecilia Conrad, CEO of Lever for Change, of global women’s health. “So I’m excited about helping to uplift and elevate the profile of these organizations with other funders.” Her organization often provides donors, both large and small, with advice about what organizations to support, drawing from the list of finalists who have applied to the grant competitions they run.

    This is the second largest funding competition that Lever for Change has hosted, after MacKenzie Scott gave $640 million to community-based nonprofits in the U.S. in March 2024.

    For the Likhaan Center for Women’s Health based in the Philippines, the $5 million grant represents 10 years of funding at their current annual budget.

    “I could not contain the joy of people in the room,” said executive director Junice Melgar when she and her staff learned they had been selected.

    For 30 years, Likhaan has provided primary care to very poor communities and advocated for policy changes to reflect community needs. Beyond the money, Melgar said the recognition affirms the effectiveness and sustainability of their community-based model.

    The investment in global women’s health organizations is part of a $1 billion commitment that French Gates made to support women’s rights over two years. She also gave $20 million each to 12 individuals to distribute to nonprofits of their choice and has pledged $150 million to boost gender equity in workplaces.

    Lisel Lifshitz, the executive director of the small nonprofit Mujeres Aliadas, which also received a grant, said her organization makes “magic” with every dollar they receive. Located in Michoacán, Mexico, Mujeres Aliadas trains midwives and provides education to women and teens about sexual and reproductive health.

    “You don’t know what it takes to be very creative in more rural and complicated contexts, talking about security, about poverty, about the many, many things that are missing here,” she said.

    For 16 years, her organization has advocated for greater recognition and acceptance of midwives, who blend traditional knowledge and local beliefs with professional training. The funding comes at a critical moment. In 2025, she said two grants they were expecting did not come through because of foreign aid cuts and other policy changes.

    “Having this kind of trust-based and unrestricted funding means the world to us,” Lifshitz said.

    Since 2000, many gains have been made globally in reducing the number of women who die in child birth, increasing access to contraception and decreasing cases of HIV among women, according to a 2024 report about sexual and reproductive health from the United Nations Population Fund. But the report also found that profound inequalities in health outcomes for women remain within countries and between countries.

    Rahel Nardos, director of Global Women’s Health at the Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility, University of Minnesota, said the historic exclusion of women from medical research and a lack of research into issues that impact women specifically, like menopause, contribute to women’s poor health.

    From her own practice as a specialist in treating pelvic floor conditions, Nardos said she also sees women prioritizing family members and delaying care for themselves, despite living with extreme health problems. Additionally, violence and instability have contributed to stalling progress on maternal mortality, she said, even as it is well-known what combination of treatments and approaches work to prevent these deaths.

    Some recipients of Pivotal’s funding are developing new tools to reach women who have been left behind. Sabine Bolonhini and Adriana Mallet, cofounders of SAS Brasil, use telemedicine and mobile clinics to provide specialized care to patients in Brazil, who otherwise would have to travel long distances.

    For example, in partnership with a university, they have been training an artificial intelligence model to identify likely cases of cervical cancer from images. Bolonhini said that she hopes French Gates’ giving will inspire wealthy families in Brazil to also give more to organizations like hers.

    “For us, it’s also using (the funding) responsibly and being a good role model for how this money can find solutions that no one else has found yet,” Bolonhini said.

    Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and non-profits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

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  • Infant Botulism in 10 US States Linked to Formula Being Recalled

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    Federal and state health officials are investigating 13 cases in 10 states of infant botulism linked to baby formula that was being recalled, authorities said Saturday.

    ByHeart Inc. agreed to begin recalling two lots of the company’s Whole Nutrition Infant Formula, the Food and Drug Administration said in a statement.

    All 13 infants were hospitalized after consuming formula from two lots: 206VABP/251261P2 and 206VABP/251131P2.

    The cases occurred in Arizona, California, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas and Washington.

    No deaths were reported. The FDA said it was investigating how the contamination happened and whether it affected any other products.

    Available online and through major retailers, the product accounted for an estimated 1% of national formula sales, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    People who bought the recalled formula should record the lot number if possible before throwing it out or returning it to where it was purchased, the CDC said in a statement.

    They should use a dishwasher or hot, soapy water to clean items and surfaces that touched the formula. And they should seek medical care right away if an infant has consumed recalled formula and then had poor feeding, loss of head control, difficulty swallowing or decreased facial expression.

    Infant botulism is caused by a bacterium that produces toxins in the large intestine.

    Symptoms can take weeks to develop, so parents should keep vigilant, the CDC said.

    A ByHeart spokesperson did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Saturday.

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  • Illinois Congressman Forgoes Reelection With Eyebrow-Raising Move to Place Chief of Staff on Ballot

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    CHICAGO (AP) — U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia confirmed Thursday that he won’t seek a fifth term, days after the Illinois Democrat backed a quiet effort to get his chief of staff to replace him on the March primary ballot.

    Garcia, a progressive Democrat who has made immigrant rights a signature issue, becomes the fifth U.S. representative from Illinois to forgo 2026 reelection, leaving one of the highest number of open congressional seats in state history. All five are considered safely Democratic, along with a seat left open by retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin.

    Garcia, 69, turned in his nominating petitions for the primary ballot on Monday, Oct. 27, the first day of the Illinois State Board of Elections filing period. A week later on the last day of filing, his chief of staff, Patty Garcia, who is not related to the congressman, submitted her own to enter the 4th District race after a furious weekend effort to gather 2,500 signatures.

    The congressman didn’t announce the plan publicly, opting for sporadic interviews with local media outlets. He said the decision to leave politics culminated from a confluence of health and family concerns during the “most stressful” week of his life.

    He said his wife, who has multiple sclerosis, suffered a medical setback and asked him not to run. Then his doctor raised concerns about his heart health. In the same time frame, the couple finalized the adoption of their 8-year-old grandson. They have been raising grandchildren after the death of their daughter, Rosa, in 2023.

    “My cardiologist, the first day that I filed my petitions, told me that I need to take care of myself and I need to find something else to do,” he told The Associated Press on Thursday. “It was a hell of a week.”

    Still, the political maneuver immediately fueled criticism about Chicago-style politics with the congressman essentially anointing his chief of staff to public office.

    Patty Garcia submitted her petitions at 5 p.m. on the final day of the nominating period, according to state election board data, guaranteeing that no other candidate would have the chance to run in the primary as a Democrat.

    Garcia called the criticism fair.

    “I totally get why some people have come to that conclusion. I found myself in a very difficult position. I had to scramble,” he said. “I had to make sure there was someone on the ballot who was going to be a champion for immigrants, someone who understands the district and small businesses and someone who would be hitting the ground running.”

    The congressman said he’ll withdrawn his petitions. He intends to serve out his term, which ends in January 2027.

    The situation also prompted déjà vu as Garcia was first elected to Congress in 2018 under similar circumstances. His predecessor, former U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez announced in the waning days of the 2017 filing period that he was dropping out and backing Garcia, then a Cook County commissioner who had served as a state legislator and Chicago City Council member.

    Born in Mexico, he came to the U.S. as a child. He was a college activist, organizing sit-ins for establishing a Latino cultural center. He later helped found community groups and served as a water commissioner under the city’s first Black mayor, Harold Washington.

    The mild-mannered politician — highly recognizable for his trademark mustache — has remained popular in his district, which includes Latino and immigrant-heavy areas. Most recently, he’s made headlines for calling for reforms at a suburban Chicago immigration processing center.

    As congressman, he’s touted bringing back more than $50 million in funding back to his district dozens of projects, including school programs, a suburban flooding project, a library expansion and funding a clinic for low-income residents.

    Garcia said he does not intend to run for public office again.

    “I am not stepping out. I am stepping back,” he said. “This doesn’t mean that I will disappear or cease to be active. I intend to be a mentor, someone who shares the history and struggles.”

    Patty Garcia, 40, has worked for the congressman since he took office. She did not respond to requests for comment this week.

    The congressman said his departure, along with others from the Illinois congressional delegation, would be a good thing.

    “I think we need new blood, new energy in Congress.”

    Four other representatives have said they won’t seek reelection next year. U.S. Reps. Jan Schakowsky and Danny Davis are retiring, while Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly are running for Senate.

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  • Judge Will Order Federal Agents in Chicago to Restrict Using Force Against Protesters and Media

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    CHICAGO (AP) — A federal judge said Thursday she will order federal agents in Chicago to restrict using force against peaceful protesters and news media outlets, saying current practices violate their constitutional rights.

    The preliminary injunction came in response to a lawsuit alleging federal agents have used excessive force in their immigration crackdown in the Chicago area.

    U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis ‘s ruling, which is expected to be appealed by President Donald Trump’s administration, refines an earlier temporary order that required agents to wear badges and banned them from using certain riot-control techniques, such as tear gas, against peaceful protesters and journalists. After repeatedly chastising federal officials for not following her previous orders, she added a requirement for body cameras.

    Ellis, who began Thursday’s hearing by describing Chicago as a “vibrant place” and reading from poet Carl Sandburg’s famous poem about the city, said it is “simply untrue” that the Chicago area is a violent place of rioters. A day earlier, attorneys for both sides repeatedly clashed in court over the accounts of several incidents during the immigration crackdown that began in September, including one where a Border Patrol commander threw a cannister of tear gas at a crowd.

    “I don’t find defendants’ version of events credible,” Ellis said.

    Ellis said agents will be required to give two warnings before using riot control weapons and that agents are restricted from using force unless it is “objectively necessary to stop an immediate threat.”

    She described protesters and advocates facing tear gas, having guns pointed at them and being thrown to the ground, saying “that would cause a reasonable person to think twice about exercising their fundamental rights.”

    The preliminary injunction stems from a lawsuit filed by news outlets and protesters who say agents have used too much force during demonstrations.

    In court, an attorney representing the federal government said senior Border Patrol official Greg Bovino, has a body-worn camera after Ellis required him to get one and complete the training for using it at a previous hearing.

    A message left Thursday for the Department of Homeland Security wasn’t immediately returned.

    During Wednesday’s eight-hour hearing, witnesses gave emotional testimony when describing experiencing tear gas, being shot in the head with pepper balls while praying, and having guns pointed at them when recording agents in residential streets.

    Ellis questioned witnesses about how these experiences impacted them and if they prevented them from protesting again. One after another, witnesses described their anxiety about returning to protests or advocacy work.

    “I get really nervous because it just feels like I’m not safe,” Leslie Cortez, a youth organizer in the Chicago suburb of Cicero, told Ellis. “And I question my safety when I go out.”

    Attorneys also played footage of a five-hour deposition, or private interview, of Bovino where he defended agents’ use of force and dodged questions about Border Patrol tactics in the nations’ third-largest city.

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  • Criminal Case Against Boeing Over Deadly 737 Max Plane Crashes Is Dismissed by a US Judge

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    A federal judge in Texas has agreed to dismiss a criminal conspiracy charge against Boeing in connection with two 737 Max jetliner crashes that killed 346 people.

    In a written decision issued Thursday, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor approved the federal government’s request to dismiss its case against Boeing as part of a deal that requires the aircraft maker to pay or invest an additional $1.1 billion in fines, compensation for the crash victims’ families, and internal safety and quality measures.

    The ruling came after an emotional hearing in early September when relatives of some of the victims urged O’Connor to reject the deal and instead appoint a special prosecutor to take over the case.

    All passengers and crew members died when the planes went down off the coast of Indonesia and in Ethiopia less than five months apart in 2018 and 2019. Prosecutors had alleged that Boeing deceived government regulators about a flight-control system that was later implicated in the fatal flights.

    The long-running case has taken many twists and turns since the Justice Department first charged the American aerospace company in January 2021 with defrauding the U.S. government, including a failed deal that would have required Boeing to plead guilty. That plea agreement fell through after O’Connor did not approve it.

    Airlines began flying the Max in 2017. After the Ethiopia crash, the planes were grounded worldwide for 20 months while the company redesigned the flight-control software.

    The Justice Department had said it believed the latest agreement served the public interest more effectively than taking the case to trial and risking a jury verdict that might spare the company further punishment. It also said the families of 110 crash victims either support resolving the case before it reaches trial or did not oppose the deal.

    Meanwhile, more than a dozen relatives spoke at the Sept. 3 hearing, some of whom traveled to Texas from as far as Europe and Africa. They are among nearly 100 families who opposed the agreement.

    Catherine Berthet, who traveled from France, had asked the judge to send the case to trial.

    “Do not allow Boeing to buy its freedom,” she said. Her daughter, Camille Geoffroy, died when a 737 Max crashed shortly after takeoff from Ethiopia’s Addis Ababa Bole International Airport.

    The yearslong case centers around a software system that Boeing developed for the 737 Max, which began flying in 2017.

    In both of the deadly crashes, that software pitched the nose of the plane down repeatedly based on faulty readings from a single sensor, and pilots flying for Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines were unable to regain control. After the Ethiopia crash, the planes were grounded worldwide for 20 months.

    Investigators found that Boeing did not inform key Federal Aviation Administration personnel about changes it had made to the software before regulators set pilot training requirements for the Max and certified the airliner for flight.

    Associated Press writer Jamie Stengle in Dallas contributed to this report.

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  • Excessive Force Allegations Will Be the Focus of a Chicago Court Hearing

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    The preliminary injunction hearing stems from a lawsuit filed by news outlets and protesters who say agents have used too much force, including tear gas, during demonstrations.

    U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis has already ordered agents to wear badges and banned them from using certain riot-control techniques, such as tear gas, against peaceful protesters and journalists. After repeatedly chastising federal officials for not following her previous orders, she added a requirement for body cameras.

    The hearing comes after Ellis questioned senior Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino at a public hearing last week, where she took the rare step of ordering him to brief her each evening on the federal immigration crackdown in Chicago. That move was swiftly blocked by an appeals court.

    On Tuesday, Bovino appeared in court yet again for a deposition — a private interview — with lawyers from both sides. Parts of the videotaped deposition will be played in court Wednesday, according to court filings.

    Attorneys may also call to the stand a pastor who was hit in the head by a container containing a chemical agent while praying outside a federal immigration facility in the west Chicago suburb of Broadview, local officials detained during protests outside the facility, and a protester who alleges she was hit by a flash-bang grenade that caused temporary hearing loss, court records show.

    Court filings released late Monday night shed light on a previous deposition by Bovino in which he acknowledged tossing tear gas and being hit by a rock in the predominantly Mexican-American neighborhood of Little Village last month. Bovino also testified that he has “instructed his officers to arrest protesters who make hyperbolic comments in the heat of political demonstrations,” court records show.

    Meanwhile, a federal judge is expected to rule Wednesday afternoon after a group of detainees filed a class-action lawsuit against federal authorities, alleging “inhuman” conditions at a Chicago-area immigration facility.

    On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman called the alleged conditions “unnecessarily cruel” after hearing people held at the facility detail overflowing toilets, crowded cells, no beds and water that “tasted like sewer.” He called for the hearing to reconvene at 4:15 p.m. local time Wednesday so that he can issue a temporary restraining order to address the conditions.

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  • US Marine Arrested and Accused of Kidnapping Girl With Intent to Sexually Assault Her, FBI Says

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    An active-duty U.S. Marine has been arrested on accusations of kidnapping a 12-year-old girl from Indiana with the intent of sexually assaulting her, the FBI said Thursday.

    William Richard Roy, 24, who was stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, flew to Chicago last week, met the girl in a park and then took her to a hotel overnight before boarding a bus to Durham, North Carolina, the FBI said in a statement.

    The girl’s grandmother first reported her missing on Friday, according to the statement.

    The FBI arrested Roy when he arrived in Durham on Sunday and the girl was “safely recovered,” the agency said.

    Roy faces three charges, which entail enticing and transporting a minor across state lines for an illicit sexual act.

    Public records listed one working number that appeared to be associated with Roy, but the person who picked up declined to comment.

    The U.S. Marine Corps did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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  • US Army Corps of Engineers Approves Enbridge Plan to Encase Aging Great Lakes Oil Pipeline

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    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Wednesday approved energy company Enbridge’s plans to encase a segment of an aging oil pipeline that runs beneath a Great Lakes channel, pushing past its own findings that construction could ruin the environmentally sensitive area.

    The corps initially planned to issue a permitting decision early next year. The agency fast-tracked the project in April after President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to identify energy projects for expedited emergency permitting.

    “The approval of the Enbridge Line 5 reroute application is a great success and will advance the President’s energy dominance agenda for America,” Adam Telle, assistant secretary of the Army for civil works, said in a statement.

    The corps released an environmental analysis in May that concluded tunnel construction would protect the pipeline but the work could destroy wetlands and archeological sites, harm bat habitats, disturb aquatic life, mar lake vistas and potentially trigger an underwater explosion.

    The corps still issued Enbridge a permit, saying Wednesday that the application complied with all applicable federal laws and regulations.

    Calgary, Alberta-based Enbridge did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

    Enbridge now needs only a permit from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy to begin the $500 million-plus project. Environmentalists have been pressuring the state to deny the application.

    Enbridge has been using the Line 5 pipeline to transport crude oil and natural gas liquids between Superior, Wisconsin, and Sarnia, Ontario, since 1953. Roughly 4 miles (6 kilometers) of the pipeline runs along the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac, a channel linking Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.

    Concerns about the segment rupturing and causing a catastrophic spill have been growing since 2017, when Enbridge officials revealed that engineers had known about gaps in the segment’s coating for three years. A boat anchor damaged the line in 2018, further stoking fears.

    Enbridge officials maintain the segment is structurally sound. Still, they reached a deal with then-Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration in 2018 calling for the company to build a protective tunnel around the segment.

    Conservationists and a number of Native American tribes have balked at the proposal, calling it too risky and demanding Enbridge simply shut down the pipeline. The project has become entangled in multiple lawsuits.

    Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, sued in 2019 seeking to void the easement that allows Enbridge to operate the pipeline in the straits. The U.S. Supreme Court is currently weighing whether the case belongs in federal or state court.

    Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, ordered her regulators in 2020 to revoke the easement allowing the segment to operate in the straits. Enbridge filed a federal lawsuit that same year seeking to invalidate the order. Trump has inserted himself into that dispute, too. His administration filed briefs in September arguing Whitmer interfered with U.S. foreign policy when she revoked the easements.

    The Michigan Public Service Commission issued permits in 2023, prompting another lawsuit from environmental groups and tribes. A Michigan appeals court upheld the permits this past February.

    AP reporter Steve Karnowski contributed to this story.

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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