By Alexander Schorr

September 18, 2025 (Washington D.C.) -- President Donald Trump could render the US Treasury bankrupt. According to an op-ed by a businsess law educator published in  Newsweek, everything hinges upon whether or not the Supreme Court will side with Trump’s declared tariffs that critics have called illegal — a decision that could force the Treasury to repay half a trillion dollars to the companies that pad the import tariffs, which could set off a crescendo of failures throughout the economy at home and abroad.

Trump's alienation of U.S. allies, his inflationary policies and budget blil that sent the deficit skyrocketing are all further weakening the nation's economic stability.

Both states convene legislators expected to vote August 18 on drawing new Congressional district lines

By Alexander J. Schorr      

Miriam Raftery contributed to this report

Photos, left:  Texas Governor Greg Abbott and California Governor Gavin Newsom push dueling redistricting plans

August 17, 2025 — It's a race against the clock between California and Texas, with governors of both states striving to draw new Congressional district maps promptly, instead of waiting for the next census as is customary.

The two states have the most Congressional seats in the nation (52 and 38 respectively), so the results of reapportionment could determine which party will control Congress after the 2026 midterm elections.

Key votes in both state legislatures could occur as early as Monday, August 18. Both states seek a partisan edge, instead of utilizing independent, nonpartisan redistricting options, though California's Governor contends his effort is a necessariliy response to a partisan gerrymandering battle launched by pro-Trump Texans.

President says kids in Gaza need to be fed, while making contradictory statements about his stances on Israel 

By G. A. McNeeley 

Photo via United Nations Relief and Works Agency: a 4-year old Palestinian girl who died of starvation in 2024 (CC by SA 4.0) 

August 5, 2025 (Gaza) -- President Donald Trump acknowledged on July 28, that there is “real starvation” in Gaza, as Israel faces intense pressure to lift restrictions on aid, while hunger spreads in the besieged enclave, according to NBC News. 

By  Miriam Raftery

Photos,left:  Aerial image of No Kings rally downtown, courtesy of ECM news partner 10 News, and protestor in El Cajon, photo by Miriam Raftery.

June 15, 2025 (San Diego) – At least 60,000 people participated in “No Kings” protests in downtown San Diego, according to the San Diego Police department. Local organizers estimate even more, around 80,000. Times of San Diego has a time-lapse video of San Diego's march.

In addition, thousands more protested at No Kings events in other local communities, including East County, with around 1,000 in El Cajon and several hundred in Ramona. Photos posted on social media  show numerous other rallies with hundreds or more at each.

By Angela Hart for KFF Health News.

Broadcast version by Suzanne Potter for California News Service reporting for the KFF Health News-Public News Service Collaboration

File photo, left, by Miriam Raftery:  A homeless man living in a makeshift tent in Lemon Grove in 2024

April 26, 2025 (Washington D.C.)-- President Donald Trump is vowing a new approach to getting homeless people off the streets by forcibly moving those living outside into large camps while mandating mental health and addiction treatment — an aggressive departure from the nation’s leading homelessness policy, which for decades has prioritized housing as the most effective way to combat the crisis.

“Our once-great cities have become unlivable, unsanitary nightmares,” Trump said in a presidential campaign video. “For those who are severely mentally ill and deeply disturbed, we will bring them to mental institutions, where they belong, with the goal of reintegrating them back into society once they are well enough to manage.”

Now that he’s in office, the assault on “Housing First” has begun.

Update April 4:  The tariffs rolled out are broader and steeper than those initially proposed. Read the full list of tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on nearly every nation, which range from 10% to 99%. Noticeably absent from the list of Russia, which has zero tariffs imposed.

By Karen Pearlman

Photo by Emma Palmer: San Diego County Building Industry Association CEO Lori Pfeiler; Lucas Coleman, Director of World Trade Center San Diego; and San Diego City Councilman Raul Campillo.

March 26, 2025 (San Diego) -- One week ahead of plans by President Donald Trump to put a 25 percent additional tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada, as well as a 10 percent tariff on imports from China, San Diego City Councilmember Raul Campillo and local business leaders  warned of severe economic consequences for the San Diego County region.

By Tesa Balc, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Photo:  Rep. Sara Jacobs in her congressional office. (File photo courtesy of Jacobs’ office via Facebook)

March 24, 2025 (Jacumba) - A San Diego Democrat said Saturday that Republicans have told her they will not back President Donald Trump if he defies court orders.

"We won't be silent as anti-public education politicians try to steal opportunities from our students, our families, and our communities to pay for tax cuts for billionaires," said the head of the nation's largest labor union.

By Brett Wilkins, Common Dreams

March 20, 2025 (Washington, D.C.) - U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday afternoon directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin the process of shutting down the Department of Education.

By Chris Jennewein, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Photo:  President Donald Trump addresses Congress.  Screenshot from C-SPAN

March 5, 2025 (Washington, D.C.) - President Donald Trump told Congress Tuesday that “the American dream is surging bigger and better than ever before” and promised that new tariffs on Mexico — despite worrying San Diego businesses — will help achieve that goal.

By Chris Jennewein, Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

Photo:  Zelensky in 2022

March 2, 2025 (Washington, D.C.) - Rep. Mike Levin said President Trump effectively sided with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in the acrimonious meeting Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

East County News Service

February 27, 2025 (Washington D.C.) -- U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) joined 14 other Democratic Senators in urging senior Trump Administration officials to reverse the hiring and onboarding freeze of federal seasonal firefighters that they say threatens the safety of communities in California and across the nation. The Trump Administration’s January 20 hiring freeze of federal civilian employees inexplicably did not exempt federal seasonal firefighters, despite exempting other critical public safety personnel. 

East County News Service

February 22, 2025 (New York) -- California Attorney General Rob Bonta today released a statement after the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York's issuance of a preliminary injunction blocking the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing Americans’ personal and private information maintained by the U.S. Treasury Department.

East County News Service

Photo via 50501: thousands rallied against Trump in Washington D.C. outside Capitol

February 19, 2025 (San Diego) –  Protesters held “Not My President” rallies at state capitols in all 50 states and other locations to oppose unprecedented attacks on our democratic system’s checks and balances by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk.

By Alastair Bland, CalMatters

CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters

Photo via Calif. Dept. of Water Resources:  A drone provides a view of a section of the California Aqueduct within the California State Water Project, located near John R. Teerink Pumping Plant.

January 27, 2025 (Central Valley, Calif.) - President Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order Sunday that told federal agencies to “immediately take action” to deliver more Central Valley water and eliminate rules that stand in the way, including endangered species protections.

"This order is about administering political loyalty tests to everyday employees in the federal workforce," said the president of the National Treasury Employees Union

By Jake Johnson, Common Dreams

Photo:  Trump official portrait, 2025

January 21, 2025 (Washington, D.C.) - A union representing workers across dozens of federal agencies sued the Trump administration late Monday over an executive order stripping many career civil servants of protections designed to insulate them from political pressure.