Chicago mayor’s office gives inside look at ‘gift room’ after watchdog report flagged ethical concerns
The City of Chicago recently shared a video of its “gift room” after a watchdog group accused Mayor Brandon Johnson of improperly accepting valuable gifts. On Wednesday, the city also announced new protocols for receiving gifts, along with a log and video of items currently inside its “gift room.” The transparency attempt comes after the […]
How to not fall in love with AI-powered romance scammers
“Love is blind” takes on a more sinister meaning when so-called artificial intelligence (AI) becomes a tool for exploiting our deepest human emotions. Convincing AI technologies are increasingly targeting mature online daters, turning fantasies into lucrative and dangerous criminal enterprises. Romance scams have become the most common type of fraud in 2025 and have swindled […]
Trump blasts Department of Education as ‘con job,’ says he wants it closed ‘immediately’
President Donald Trump called the Department of Education a “con job,” saying he saw a report that the nation ranks 40th in the world in education but is No. 1 in cost per pupil. Trump spoke with reporters Wednesday afternoon from the Oval Office and was asked how soon he wanted the Department of Education […]
Judge restores Trump administration’s buyout offer to federal workers
A federal judge restored President Donald Trump’s deferred resignation program for federal workers in a decision Wednesday. The deferred resignation program, also known as the administration’s “fork in the road” offer, asked government workers to stay or leave after Trump required them to return to their offices shortly after his inauguration. The legal group Democracy […]
House GOP’s budget impasse thaws just as winter storm sacks Capitol
It is said that talk is cheap. And that’s why House Republicans have done so much of it as they attempted to forge an internal agreement on a budget plan to slash taxes and cut spending. It is now the middle of February. House Republicans struggled to finalize plans for what President Donald Trump terms […]
Bondi announces new lawsuits against states allegedly failing to comply with immigration actions: ‘A new DOJ’
The Trump administration has filed a lawsuit against the state of New York and its governor, Kathy Hochul, and Attorney General Letitia James, alleging a failure to comply with federal law by shielding illegal immigrants, newly sworn-in Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Wednesday. “This is a new DOJ,” Bondi announced at a news conference. “New […]
Cassopolis tabs firm for village master plan
CASSOPOLIS — The Cassopolis Village Council selected a planner for their new Village of Cassopolis Master Plan and Parks Plan at their meeting on Monday. Cassopolis has chosen Progressive Companies, with offices in Grand Rapids, as the planner for the 2025-2030 Master Plan. Progressive was one of three companies who presented options at the Jan. […]
Buchanan commissioners discuss downtown infrastructure project
BUCHANAN — Discussion about how to pay for a $1.5 million shortfall on the upcoming downtown infrastructure project was a major topic at Monday night’s Buchanan City Commission meeting. Commissioners also acted on two liquor license requests and learned about upcoming meetings on a proposed merger between SMCAS and Medic 1. A majority of the […]