And now, the top news stories of 2025

The year began with Round 2 of Trumpian politics, with Donald J. Trump this time surrounded by sycophants willing and anxious to carry out his policies, no matter how extreme. He is only the second President to serve nonconsecutive terms. (The first was Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th.)

In his second first year he dominates the news cycle, and is without question, the most activist and accessible President in history. Which does not mean all his actions were good, or will be sustained. Does anyone believe his name on the Kennedy Center will survive the first day of a Democratic President?

• The U.S. experienced massive economic shifts, in at least part due to tariffs, which were quickly imposed and just as quickly reversed in many cases. The stock market was up, gold was up, silver was up — as were inflation and unemployment. Eggs and gasoline were down.
• A $12 billion farmer “bridge” was rolled out to mitigate the impact of retaliatory trade wars. The USDA issued emergency payments to farmers affected by market disruptions sparked by tariffs.
• For many Philadelphians, the top story of the year was the Eagles embarrassing the high-flying Chiefs 40-22. Tight end Travis Kelce paid a reported $3 million for a suite from which his family, and fiancee Taylor Swift could watch the rout. (That’s just tip money for Tay-Tay.) Halftime show headliner was hip-hopper Kendrick Lamar. I still have no idea who he is.

For many Philadelphians, the worst sports story of the year was the Sixers aborted attempt to move to a Center City arena that might have blighted Chinatown. Mayor Cherelle Parker foolishly threw her political weight behind the venture, which collapsed, leaving her with egg on her face even as she claimed success. It was stunning.

• Also stunning was rapper Nicki Minaj revealing she is a fan of President Trump, so Kanye West will have company. Maybe P. Diddy, too.
• Commuting takes longer in Philadelphia than in most larger cities — news item.

More bike lanes, more bus lanes, leave fewer lanes for cars, resulting in congestion. D’uh! 

• Two top hallmarks of the Trump Administration: Shutting the border tight as a clam, also shutting down the government for a record six weeks. (Democrats get partial credit.)
• The Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency promised to cut $2 trillion in waste from the federal budget. It actually cut less than $200 billion and laid off hundreds of thousands of federal workers.
• The murder of  Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk in September shocked the nation, leading to widespread vigils and political unrest.  Trump condemned that criminality, while pardoning more than 1,600 Jan. 6 rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol.
• Increasingly loopy podcaster Candace Owens doubled down on her “reporting” that the French First Lady, Brigitte Macron, is actually a man. The Macrons are suing for defamation and are expected to win in court. Owens also speculated Kirk’s murder was an inside job, among other lunacies.
• The administration moved to enact a lot of the "Project 2025" goals, including dismantling DEI programs and restructuring the FBI. Within months, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino announced his resignation to return to spreading conspiracy theories on his podcast.

Also, in advance of 2026 midterms that are expected to return control of the House of Representatives to them, Democrats  claimed governorships in Virginia and New Jersey, not to mention the mayorship of New York City, where voters elected Democratic socialist Zorhan Mamdani. These victories were characterized as pushback against Trump.

• Philadelphia, where bad things happen, according to Trump, has not been mentioned on a list of Democratic sanctuary cities he plans to target for illegal immigration enforcement. 

That’s because Mayor Cherelle Parker has not joined in the virtue-signalling anti-Trump chorus being sung by some Democratic mayors, and others. Parker cutely refers to Philly as a “welcoming” city, rather than a sanctuary city, which it is. By smartly avoiding poking the bear, she is helping keep the national guard and heavy ICE enforcement from our door. (And so far Independence Hall has not been renamed the Trump Independence Hall.) 

But Parker suffered a public humiliation when her endorsement of a Sixers Center City arena fell apart.

• By using draconian measures to corral and deport illegals, Trump has turned a plus issue for him into a minus. Predictably, soft-hearted Americans were troubled by the sight of illegal civilians being rounded up by often-masked ICE agents. 
• In business, the proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel by Nippon Steel was blocked, while Apple committed to bringing a massive portion of its supply chain back to the U.S. over the next four years.  And TikTok reached a deal to sell the widely popular (spy?) app to American owners. 
• Then there is the rise of Artificial Intelligence, which is writing this column. (No, it is not. It probably would be better if AI were at the keyboard.)😊 The tech world shifted from "chatbots" to autonomous AI agents that can perform complex workflows, fundamentally changing the white-collar workforce.  (And will eventually replace it.)
• SpaceX and NASA increased the tempo of launches, focusing on "Space Superiority" and establishing more permanent lunar infrastructure.  
• California Dreaming becomes a nightmare with a catastrophic month-long fire in January causing more then $75 billion in damage and 30 deaths, ranking among the costliest in U.S. history. Then came the mud slides, and now the torrential rainfall dousing the torrents of homeless. No wonder Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to get the hell out.
• Not to be left out, a record-breaking January freeze dumped unprecedented snow in Louisiana and Florida, causing significant infrastructure failure.  
• Trump labeled fentanyl a “weapon of mass destruction,” justifying attacks on Venezuelan fishing boats suspected of carrying drugs.

In a semi-related move, Trump ordered missile attacks on what were believed to be ISIS sites in Nigeria, with the cooperation of Nigeria. He earlier trashed Iran’s nuclear workshop just for the hell of it.

Finally, the truce in Gaza is holding, with the next steps more difficult than the exchange of prisoners. In Europe, both sides may be moving toward a suspension of hostilities between aggressor Russia and victim Ukraine.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed, and Ukraine fully armed.