Month: March 2025

The U.S. Secret Service shot an adult male near the White House in Washington, D.C., shortly after midnight on Sunday who brandished a firearm leading to an “armed confrontation” with law enforcement.  The encounter happened near the intersection of 17th and F Streets near the northwest corner of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building of the White House.

The agency said that local police had reported on Saturday that a “suicidal individual” possibly traveling to D.C. from Indiana. Secret Service personnel later located the individual’s vehicle parked near the intersection an intersection on the western perimeter of the White House, and the man who matched the description was found on foot about a block north on foot.

The agency’s spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement: “Secret Service personnel were involved in a shooting following an armed encounter with a person of interest shortly after midnight on March 9 at 17th and G Streets NW. Media staging area will be at 17th and Pennsylvania. As officers approached, the individual brandished a firearm, and an armed confrontation ensued, during which shots were fired by our personnel.”

The Secret Service said the man was taken to a local hospital and his condition is unknown, adding that no injuries were reported among Secret Service personnel, and that the incident was under investigation. President Trump was not at the White House at the time, as he is visiting his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida. The man’s motivation for traveling to Washington are not currently known.

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At least eight people were injured Saturday after a customer plowed their vehicle into a CarMax store in Inglewood, California (located about 10 miles southwest of downtown Los Angeles). Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesperson Jonathan Torres said that two people were critically hurt at the dealership, while the other six had minor injuries.

Police were dispatched to the store on the 8600 block of S. La Cienega Boulevard at around 2:03 p.m. local time, after a customer exited the building, entered a vehicle and drove into the business.  Per the Inglewood Police Department, the incident is being investigated as an intentional act, with police noting that a “business dispute” may have been the driver’s motive.

Video of the crash circulating on social media shows a silver Subaru SUV backing into the business via a doorway before the vehicle pivoted in a lobby area and drove out of the opposite end of the building. Police say the unidentified driver left the store following the crash and turned himself in to the Los Angeles Police Department at a police academy on Manchester Avenue. He was arrested and is being detained. The suspect faces multiple counts, including assault with a deadly weapon.

In a statement, CarMax said the suspect was a customer who was having his vehicle appraised: “The safety of our associates, community and customers is our top priority. We are deeply saddened by this event and our hearts go out to everyone impacted. We appreciate the authorities’ swift response to this terrible event.” The company said it has ‘a plan of action in place’ and is “working with the authorities on the investigation.”

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The House voted on Thursday to censure Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) for protesting and disrupting President Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, which prompted his removal from the House chamber. The censure resolution dubbed Green’s display “a breach of proper conduct.”

In a 224-198 vote with two members voting present (one of them being Green), the House approved a censure resolution against Green; 10 Democrats joined all Republicans in favor of the move.

Green spoke on the House floor Wednesday to explain his outburst, acknowledging that he spoke out “with intentionality ..The president indicated that he had a mandate. I said to the president you do not have the mandate to cut Medicaid. I have constituents who need Medicaid. They will suffer and some will die if they don’t get Medicaid. I think that on some questions, questions of conscience, you have to be willing to suffer the consequences.”

Per CBS News, Green is the 28th lawmaker in U.S. history to be censured by the House. After the vote, Green was ordered to stand in the well of the chamber while the resolution was read aloud by Speaker Mike Johnson. Green and other Democrats supporting him gathered around him as they sang “We Shall Overcome” — which prompted the Republican side to yell “order.”

Censure is essentially a formal rebuke by the House for some form of misconduct. The punishment usually requires the censured member to stand in front of the dais in the House chamber while the resolution is read by the presiding member. It does not remove the member from office or impose any other penalties, beyond the reputational damage and historical notoriety that accompanies it.

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On Thursday, President Trump said he will issue an exemption on tariffs of. most U.S. imports from Mexico that are covered under a 2020 trade agreement, delaying levies imposed on the nation earlier this week. Trump announced after speaking with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum that Mexico will be exempt from tariffs on goods covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade treaty until April 2; the tariffs would take effect when it expires.

Mr. Trump shared the news in a social media post on Truth Social after his call with President Sheinbaum, referring to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement: “After speaking with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, I have agreed that Mexico will not be required to pay Tariffs on anything that falls under the USMCA Agreement. This Agreement is until April 2nd. I did this as an accommodation, and out of respect for, President Sheinbaum. Our relationship has been a very good one, and we are working hard, together, on the Border, both in terms of stopping Illegal Aliens from entering the United States and, likewise, stopping Fentanyl. Thank you to President Sheinbaum for your hard work and cooperation!”

The USMCA allows goods to move between the three countries tariff-free if they follow certain rules. Those rules require that a product be made entirely in North America or be substantially transformed in North America, if it is made of components from other countries. For products like automobiles, 75% of their content must be from North America. The USMCA covers the vast majority of imports from Mexico, and in a press conference Thursday, President Sheinbaum reiterated that nearly all of Mexico’s trade with the U.S. is covered under the USMCA agreement.

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The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the Trump administration’s request to keep billions of dollars in foreign aid approved by Congress frozen, and ruled that the Trump administration must follow an order by a federal judge in Washington, D.C. that had directed the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development to pay nearly $2 billion in foreign-aid reimbursements for completed work on behalf of the United States government.

In a 5-4 decision, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett sided with the three liberal justices regarding the payments without explanation regarding their conclusion, but the court did state that the district court judge who issued the order needs to better explain “what obligations the Government must fulfill to ensure compliance with the temporary restraining order,” while taking into account the reasonability of any related timelines.

In the brief unsigned opinion, the majority — consisting of Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson — wrote that “the District Court should clarify what obligations the Government must fulfill to ensure compliance with the temporary restraining order, with due regard for the feasibility of any compliance timelines.”

The majority noted that the administration had not challenged U.S. District Judge Amir Ali’s initial order, only the Feb. 26 deadline, which in any event passed last week; they told Ali to “clarify what obligations the government must fulfill to ensure compliance with the temporary restraining order, with due regard for the feasibility of any compliance timelines.”

Conservative Justice Samuel Alito wrote a scathing dissent, backed by Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh: “Does a single district-court judge who likely lacks jurisdiction have the unchecked power to compel the Government of the United States to pay out (and probably lose forever) 2 billion taxpayer dollars? The answer to that question should be an emphatic ‘No.’ But a majority of this Court apparently thinks otherwise. I am stunned.”

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Former Houston mayor and first-term Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Texas, has died Tuesday at the age of 70. Turner attended President Trump’s joint address to Congress on Tuesday night, and had just taken the oath of office in January.

The cause of Turner’s death was not immediately clear. The 70-year-old said in 2022 that he had been treated for bone cancer, but declared himself “cancer free” in an interview with the Texas Tribune later that year.

Photographs and video from Trump’s joint address to Congress show Turner seated toward the back of the chamber; shortly before the address began, he posted a video on social media with his guest, Angela Hernandez, who was advocating for her daughter who has a rare genetic disorder. Turner said in the video: “Angela is here to advocate on the importance of Medicaid. So please let people know, ‘Don’t mess with Medicaid.’”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., referenced that video in his tribute to Turner: “The House Democratic Caucus family is shocked and saddened by the sudden passing of Congressman Sylvester Turner. Though he was newly elected to the Congress, Rep. Turner had a long and distinguished career in public service and spent decades fighting for the people of Houston. Like those before him, Rep. Turner was a fighter until the end — he was present yesterday evening to ensure that the voice of one of his constituents, who relies on Medicaid, was heard. In what would be his final message to his beloved constituents last night he reminded us ‘don’t mess with Medicaid.’”

Turner graduated from Harvard Law School and worked as an at attorney in Houston, serving more than a quarter century as a state lawmaker, and as mayor of Houston from 2016-2024. After longtime Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, died of pancreatic cancer in July of last year, Turner announced he would run for her seat and was selected by local Democratic leaders to appear on the November ballot (since Jackson Lee had already won her primary that March). He easily won the seat, and was sworn in on Jan. 3.

Houston Mayor John Whitmire said in a statement posted by the City of Houston: “A remarkable public servant who impacted millions of people. He rose from poverty but never forgot where he came from. It is a terrible loss for the city and a personal loss for me. I ask Houstonians to celebrate his life.”

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said on X: “We’re saddened to hear of the sudden passing of Congressman Sylvester Turner, who represented Texas’s 18th District. He served his community faithfully, not only as a member of Congress, but as a former state legislator and a mayor of Houston. Our prayers are with his family and constituents as they mourn his loss.”

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