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Why public schools nationwide are facing a massive drop in student enrollment

LOS ANGELES — Long before the Trump administration started deporting hundreds of thousands of immigrants, many with school-age children, public schools nationwide faced a massive and accelerating drop in student enrollment caused mostly by shrinking families.

“Birth rates here in Los Angeles County have been declining for decades, which means fewer children enrolled in our schools,” said Kelly Gonez, a board member in the LA Unified School District (LAUSD), the second largest in the country, which lost more than 300,000 students over the last two decades.

LA isn’t alone. The population of children under age 18 began to fall nationwide after 2010, according to U.S. Census data, dropping by roughly 2.1 million kids through 2025. Click here to read more.

 

How Canada Inflicted Maximum Midterms Pain on Trump

A trade deal was imminent. Top negotiators from the United States and Canada were holed up in a dreary building in southwest D.C., working on the details of an agreement to finally end hostilities that had wreaked havoc on both countries’ economies and a once close diplomatic and military relationship. But then, two hours before the Aug. 22 tariff deadline, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney instructed his negotiators to walk away. That night, the U.S. responded, imposing a 50% tariff on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods like wood pulp, hockey equipment and industrial machinery.

Carney’s government had been watching the trade negotiation deadline with an eye to a different clock ticking down: two months until Trump’s constituents went to the polls. For Canadian leaders who had spent a decade testing strategies to confront an increasingly adversarial neighbor, the electoral calendar was a new source of bargaining power to explore. Click here to read more.

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Do Opportunity Zones lift up lower-income residents?

Illinois is about to lock in a new map of tax-favored neighborhoods for the next decade.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration has until Oct. 28 to identify which areas it will propose to become part of the federal Opportunity Zones 2.0 initiative. Approved areas will qualify for a federal program that allows investors to defer taxes in exchange for investing in economically distressed areas.

Congress created Opportunity Zones in 2017 to draw private money into low-income neighborhoods. Investors who sell stocks, real estate or other assets at a profit can put that money into a fund that invests in a zone. In return, they can delay paying tax on the original profit, and if they hold the investment for at least 10 years they owe no federal tax on what the new investment earns.

The new zones take effect Jan. 1, 2027, and last 10 years. Click here to read more.

Hakeem Jeffries: I’m a ‘Hard Yes’ on the Hegseth Impeachment Resolution

Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said he is a “hard yes” on impeaching Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

Host Jonathan Karl said, “Let me ask you about Pete Hegseth, because Thomas Massie, of course, a Republican, tells me that he intends to introduce a resolution of impeachment of Hegseth as defense secretary as soon as tomorrow. Are you going to support that? Will Democrats vote in favor of that impeachment resolution?”

Jeffries said, “I’m a hard yes on the Hegseth resolution. The so-called secretary of defense has abused his power, undermine our national security and engineered this reckless and costly war of choice in Iran, which has skyrocketed prices on the American people and made the country less safe. Pete Hegseth has got to go. ” Click here to read more.

 

President Trump, UFC President Dana White to discuss press secretary job Monday

President Donald Trump let the world know Saturday who he wanted to be the next White House spokesperson.

What we know:

The president posted that he offered the press secretary role to Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White but did not say if the man whose current job is running the world’s largest mixed martial arts promotion had accepted. Trump’s post also included a list of names of people the president would like White to bring with him.

Will Dana White be press secretary?

What we don’t know:

Whether White becomes the next face of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. may not be known for at least a couple of days. White is currently in London for a boxing event. He told reporters during a news conference that he would be flying to Washington for a Monday meeting with Trump. Click here to read more.

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Marshall’s economic development agency touts job growth, but numbers show a decline

The Marshall Area Economic Development Alliance touts an increase in jobs and revitalization since Ford’s Blue Oval plant was built in the city using taxpayer dollars, but the numbers do not align with the claim.

The area has lost jobs since it landed the big manufacturer with hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars, according to James Hohman, fiscal policy director at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

Hohman cautioned against focusing on a single number.

“All industries are connected and some have wider effects than others and that’s why it’s important to look at the data and the broader trends,” Hohman said.

Employment in Calhoun County is down by 2,895 people since Ford’s announcement in July 2023, a 4.8% decline, Hohman told Michigan Capital Confidential in an email. Click here to read more.

 

Prediction markets win big on election night

Prediction markets emerged as big winners of the midterms. Kalshi and Polymarket correctly called the Democratic sweep of Congress by wider margins than most polling models, as well as key battleground races, though they missed surprises like Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s loss and Democratic Senate victories in Iowa and South Carolina.

Trading volume on down-ballot elections grew nearly fivefold from the 2024 cycle to this year’s midterms to $1.8 billion, according to a Semafor analysis of the sites’ public data feeds. Sports and crypto bets still dwarf election contracts across both platforms, and the 2026 midterms attracted less trading interest than the presidential race. Click here to read more.

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Initiative banning boys from girls’ sports passes in Washington

.SEATTLE — Washington voters have approved Initiative 638, a measure that would require students to undergo a physical exam documenting sex assigned at birth before participating in interscholastic sports.

The Associated Press called the race Thursday morning, with 56.6% of voters (1,252,863) voting “yes” on the ban and 43.4% (961,810) voting “no.”

The initiative prohibits biological males from competing in school sports reserved for females. It requires students to provide a signed statement from a healthcare provider verifying their biological sex based on reproductive anatomy, genetic makeup, or natural testosterone levels. Click here to read more.

Nancy Pelosi’s Hand-Picked Successor Loses To Dem Who Wanted To Protect Sex Offenders

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) attempted to hand-pick her successor on her way out of Congress, but San Francisco voters rejected her candidate in favor of a state senator who fought a blanket ban on registered sex offenders holding office.

Connie Chan, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, conceded the election to state Senator Scott Wiener (D-CA) on Wednesday with ballots still being counted.

“After reviewing the results and the ballots remaining to be counted, while we expect the margin to narrow significantly, we do not have a clear path to victory. I congratulate Scott Wiener on his election and wish him success in serving San Francisco,” Chan said in a statement. At the time of her concession, Wiener was leading by about 11 points. Click here to read more.

 

Exclusive: U.S. Treasury Sanctions 46 Targets in Global Scam Network Crackdown

The Treasury Department announced Thursday that it is imposing sanctions on dozens of individuals and companies connected to international criminal operations accused of defrauding Americans through online scams, as the Trump administration moves to dismantle the financial networks supporting cyber-enabled fraud, money laundering, and human trafficking.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned a total of 46 targets, including four individuals and 41 entities supporting the business network of the Prince Group, which is a transnational criminal organization the United States previously sanctioned for its involvement in cyber-enabled fraud, money laundering, and human trafficking. OFAC also designated a Malaysian individual accused of operating an Africa-based scam network that defrauded Americans. Click here to read more.