DOGE
, which has laid
off thousands of federal workers in an effort to drastically reduce federal bureaucracy, claims on its website
to have saved taxpayers an estimated $105 billion. Enten, on “CNN News Central,” said he thinks Americans are supportive of the cuts because they largely feel DOGE is targeting waste
rather than essential programs.
WATCH:
“This, to me, was one of the more shocking figures that I saw. Made me go, ‘Wait a minute, hold on one second, whoa!’ Americans on Trump and DOGE efforts, Musk and DOGE should influence government spending and operations: Look at this, 54%, the majority say that he and they should,” Enten told host Kate Bolduan, citing a February CBS News/YouGov poll
. “How about approve of Trump trying to cut staff at government agencies? Again, you get a majority here, 51%.”
“So, yeah, Elon Musk might not be that popular, but these cuts and the idea of spending cuts, at least within the federal government and cutting at government agencies, that actually has majority support,” he continued. “I was truly surprised by this, Kate. But the numbers are the numbers.”
Bolduan asked Enten what Americans believe Trump and DOGE are “cutting” in the federal government.
“What do they think they’re actually cutting? Democrats want to argue that the type of spending that Musk is cutting is mainly necessary programs, but that comes in at just 36%,” the data reporter answered. “The wasteful spending actually wins the plurality here at 42%, according to a recent Washington Post/Ipsos poll.”
“And I think that is the reason why you see that when it comes to … Musk and DOGE, you see, in fact, the majority believe he should have some influence, because they believe, the plurality believe that he is cutting wasteful spending, not necessarily programs that Democrats are arguing,” he added.
Moreover, Democratic Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett asserted
in February that she does not believe there is substantial waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government.
CNN anchor Pamela Brown said
in February that her network confirmed DOGE had cut “gender-affirming health care
in Guatemala, teaching people in Kazakhstan to fight back against internet trolls, voluntary male circumcisions in Mozambique, creating work opportunities for young LGBTQI+ people in Serbia.”
City officials began the painstaking process Wednesday of finding apartments for about 30 people living at a contentious Gompers Park homeless encampment. For Calixto Rodriguez, a resident who clutched a postcard listing available resources, it was a welcome plan.
“I want to get a place where I can rest, sleep, take a shower,” he said.
Others are hopeful as well after the city hosted an “accelerated moving event” for about five hours Wednesday for residents of the Northwest Side encampment, a site that has led to heated debates
over safety and whether the city should clear it out.
Residents met individually with caseworkers and ate a meal. They virtually toured available apartment units, completed housing applications, could potentially meet with landlords, and chose furniture options for their new apartment, according to Maura McCauley, acting commissioner of the Department of Family and Support Services.
A DFSS spokesperson said most of the 29 people who had registered for the event showed up, and were matched with caseworkers who will “continue to support their journey.”
On Thursday, the spokesperson was able to say that 27 “enrolled with a housing provider and are proceeding with the unit selection process.”
“DFSS is grateful to its delegate agencies for their tireless support and compassionate handling of this important outreach and housing placement work, and we will continue to connect with and support the Gompers Park encampment residents going forward,” the spokesperson said.
The move-ins cost the city about $30,000 per household, with most money going toward rental subsidies, McCauley has said.
However, officials have cautioned
that the move-in process can take about 30 to 90 days after an accelerated moving event, or AME. Chief Homelessness Officer Sendy Soto said Wednesday that residents can still live in the park if they choose to, and they won’t be forced to move.
“This is completely optional,” she said. “We hope that they do take advantage of this opportunity — it’s a rare opportunity that we can offer given our resources. So this is for them to choose to take it or not.”
For months, the encampment has divided the community. Some neighbors have called on the city to clear out the encampment, citing quality of life and safety concerns for parkgoers and encampment residents. Meanwhile advocates for those living there say the only solution for homelessness is permanent housing. If that cannot be offered, then they say those who are homeless should be able to take an offer of shelter or remain where they are camping until it can be provided.
Maura McCauley, first deputy commissioner with the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services, left, and Sendy Soto, Chicago’s chief homelessness officer, talk to reporters during a DFFS “accelerated moving event” for residents of Gompers Park’s homeless encampments on March 5, 2025. (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune)
Ald. Samantha Nugent, 39th, said she’s “thrilled” about the AME, and that it’s something the community had wanted for a long time. She’s said the encampment in Gompers Park is a safety issue, with more than three dozen Fire Department service calls since last year.
“I’m very happy that the AME finally came to fruition,” she said. Originally scheduled for last month, the event was pushed back
about a week due to the possible freeze of federal funds.
Nugent said she’s willing to work with the move-in time frame if it “truly provides permanent, stable housing and services for the folks most in need.” She cited an August 2023 audit by Inspector General Deborah Witzburg that found that 94% of encampment residents who attended an accelerated event secured housing, and 83% retained that housing.
Ryan Johnson, president of the Gompers Park Athletic Association, also said he’s “hopeful” that the AME will be the “solution that everyone’s really looking for.” As the spring baseball and softball season approaches, Johnson said he has fielded safety concerns from parents of the more than 600 players who use the youth baseball diamond near the encampment and who are worried about fires and pit bull attacks.
“We’re all optimistic that this is going to end well,” he said. “We’re hoping that the residents find housing, and that the kids are able to play there on time.”
He said the first game on the field will be April 21, and the first practice would be around April 15. While the group is prepared to move to other fields if needed, he said they’re hoping to stay put.
When asked if the rehousing event was in response to complaints or concerns from neighbors, Soto said in her position the “first priority” is the homeless residents at the park.
A sign saying “Parks Are for the People,” is hung on trees near the tents during an accelerated moving event on March 5, 2025, hosted by the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services for residents of Gompers Park’s homeless encampments. (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune)
“We’re not in the position to maneuver what the general public might necessarily say,” she said. “We certainly want to hear them out. We want to be supportive of their needs, and we want to build community cohesion. But our priority is the people who are unhoused.”
Peter Marchwiany, who has lived in Gompers Park since July, said Wednesday that he’s hoping he’ll be able to move into an apartment. However, he said he doesn’t want to leave the Northwest Side or live in a shelter, so he had some doubts at Wednesday’s event. The 50-year-old lifelong Chicago resident said he moved to the encampment because he knew a few people there and was previously sleeping on the Blue Line.
“If I had an apartment I could go back to work. I do plumbing,” he said. “If I have an apartment where I can go home, change, shower, keep moving, I’ll be back on my feet within two months.”
DFSS has found housing for about 740 people through 34 accelerated moving events since 2020, McCauley added.
While an AME is a great step, Adam Gianforte, a member of the progressive group 39th Ward Neighbors United, said he wants the neighborhood to know that it isn’t a “silver bullet” that will end homelessness overnight. He said during the event some volunteers offered to watch over residents’ tents so they felt comfortable leaving.
“At the end of the day, what we really want is for all our neighbors, whether they have housing or not, to be treated with dignity and respect,” he said. “It’s important that public spaces are available for people without housing until they’re able to find housing and get on their feet.”
Soon after Trump began his buoyant recap of his momentous first 43 days back in office, he eyed his scowling detractors. “I look at the Democrats in front of me, and I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud. Nothing I can do.”
Once again, Democrats validated Trump’s prediction. They continuously sat
on their duffs and frowned as Trump delivered good news, and Republican
lawmakers leaped up and cheered.
“I have stopped all government censorship and brought back free speech in America,” Trump said.
Democrats sat still.
“ISIS terrorists killed 13 American service members and countless others in the Abbey Gate bombing during the disastrous and incompetent withdrawal from Afghanistan
,” Trump remarked. “Tonight, I am pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity. And he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice.” (Sure enough, Mohammad Sharifullah
, handcuffed and flanked by camouflaged FBI agents, landed at Washington Dulles International Airport on Wednesday morning.)
Democrats stayed put.
President Joe Biden
barely lifted a finger while Russia held American history teacher Marc Fogel hostage for 3-1/2 years. “I promised his 95-year-old mother, Malphine, that we would bring her boy safely back home. After 22 days in office, I did just that. And they are here tonight,” Trump said, welcoming Fogel and his near-centenarian mom, who sat in the House Visitors Gallery
.
Democrats waved paddles that read “False” and “Musk steals.”
Trump discussed Jason Hartley, a high-school senior, also in the gallery. “Jason tragically lost his dad, who was also a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy, when he was just a boy,” Trump explained. The varsity athlete with a 4.46 GPA—“that’s good”—itches to attend West Point. “That’s a hard one to get into,” Trump said, “But I’m pleased to inform you that your application has been accepted. You’ll soon be joining the Corps of Cadets.” Hartley beamed at this pleasant surprise.
Democrats fiddled with their smartphones.
Devarjaye “D.J.” Daniel, 13, was diagnosed with Stage 3 brain cancer in 2018 and given five months to live. Six years later, he wants to become a police
officer, and 908 law-enforcement agencies
have made him an honorary cop. In Tuesday’s most emotional moment, Trump said: “Tonight, D.J., we’re going to do you the biggest honor of them all. I am asking our new Secret Service director, Sean Curran, to officially make you an agent of the United States Secret Service.” The young man’s eyes grew as wide as coasters as Curran handed him Secret Service credentials. D.J. gave a smiling Curran a hug—something seldom seen among those intrepid federal agents. Americans from coast to coast cried, not least yours truly.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 5, 2025
Also in the gallery: the mother and sister of Laken Reilly, the 22-year-old Georgia nursing student beaten and killed by an illegal alien, and Alexis Nungaray, whose 12-year-old daughter, Jocelyn, was kidnapped, assaulted for two hours, and killed, reportedly by two Venezuelan illegals.
“One thing I have learned about Jocelyn is that she loved animals so much. She loved nature,” Trump said. “Across Galveston Bay, from where Jocelyn lived in Houston, you will find a magnificent national wildlife refuge, a pristine, peaceful, 34,000-acre sanctuary for all of God’s creatures, on the edge of the Gulf of America. Alexis, moments ago, I formally renamed that refuge in loving memory of your beautiful daughter, Jocelyn.”
Laken’s and Jocelyn’s survivors wept, and so did the nation.
Democrats were their most morally repugnant when they neither stood nor applauded the mothers and sisters of two young women killed in cold blood by the illegal aliens, who Democrats cherish so dearly.
“They don’t stand for anything humane
,” Alexis Nungaray said. “They don’t stand for us as citizens. They don’t stand for our security.”
To be fair, not every Democrat sat and pouted through these opportunities for national unity.
Rep. Al Green of Texas stood up early on. The 77-year-old interrupted Trump’s speech, berated him, and shook his cane at the president. After Green ignored House Speaker Mike Johnson’s command to sit down, the sergeant-at-arms booted Green from the House floor.
“You have no mandate!” Green hollered at Trump, who won 312 electoral votes, the popular vote, and all seven swing states
. (The House voted Thursday morning 224-198 to censure
Green. Ten Democrats joined all 214 Republicans present to punish Green for his outburst.)
Other Democrats walked out on Trump and posted on social media as they did so. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., brought a wheelchair-bound constituent as her guest. Pressley grew enraged with Trump, fled the House chamber, and left the disabled woman behind
.
Democrats relentlessly accuse Trump of being mean and divisive. And yet they rejected multiple occasions to join him in applauding news that every American should relish and embracing those who are enduring unthinkable tragedies. Instead, Democrats wallowed in their anger, marinated in their bitterness, and stewed in their hatred of Trump and his 77 million voters.
All of this disappointed nonpsychotic Democrat John Fetterman. Pennsylvania’s senior U.S. senator called these protests “A sad cavalcade of self owns
and unhinged petulance.” He added via X: “It only makes Trump look more presidential and restrained. We’re becoming the metaphorical car alarms that nobody pays attention to—and it may not be the winning message.”
A sad cavalcade of self owns and unhinged petulance.
It only makes Trump look more presidential and restrained.
We’re becoming the metaphorical car alarms that nobody pays attention to—and it may not be the winning message. pic.twitter.com/hNgX7ouLjX
— U.S. Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) March 5, 2025
And how!
A Feb. 19 Quinnipiac survey
of 1,039 registered voters
found that 40% approve of congressional Republicans, a record-high, while 52% disapprove. A record-low 21% approve of congressional Democrats, while 68% disapprove. This week’s antics will plunge Democrats’ dismal numbers even deeper.
Democrats did not display leadership Tuesday night. They exhibited yet another spastic gasp in the death rattle
of a dying political party.
We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal.
The American Jewish Committee and Anti-Defamation League (ADL) condemned deputy Pentagon press secretary, Kingsley Wilson, over social media posts they described as antisemitic.
“Anyone who posts antisemitic conspiracy theories lifted right out of the neo-Nazi playbook should not be in public office,” the American Jewish Committee wrote in a Wednesday post
on the social platform X.
“Kingsley Wilson, newly appointed @DepPressSecDOD, is clearly unfit for her role,” they added.
The comments from the committee and ADL come after Wilson criticized the ADL for their decision to condemn the lynching of Leo Frank, a Jewish man who the ADL says was falsely convicted for the murder of a 13 year old in 1913.
“Leo Frank raped & murdered a 13-year-old girl. He also tried to frame a Black man for his crime,” Wilson wrote
in August of last year.
“The ADL turned off the comments because they want to gaslight you,” she continued.
The organization did not respond to her comments publicly but did condemn her post as a “false conspiracy theory,” urging her to retract the remarks.
“We are deeply disturbed that any public official would parrot these hateful and false conspiracy theories and we hope Kingsley Wilson will immediately retract her remarks,” the ADL said in a statement to Jewish Insider
when asked about her posts.
The White House and the Pentagon did not respond to The Hill’s requests for comment.
Wilson has denounced the Pentagon’s decision to send troops to Lebanon in an effort to ease tensions between Israel and Hezbollah in addition to blasting the Biden administration
for their financial support of Ukraine in their war against Russia. She has also urged the U.S. to stay out of “foreign ethnic conflicts
.”
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have disapproved of Wilson’s rhetoric online.
““I’m not gonna tell them who to hire, but I do know that [President Donald] Trump doesn’t believe any of the things she’s talking about, and I’ll leave it up to them to determine if they think she’s the right spokesperson,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told Politico
.
“If what you say about these posts are true, then she’s completely off-script with President Trump,” he continued.
Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres (N.Y.) described Wilson’s words as “historical revisionism.”
“Kingsley Wilson, the Deputy Press Secretary for the Department of Defense, is shamefully attempting to delegitimize Kosovo, which has been the single greatest American ally in the Western Balkans,” Torres wrote on X
.
“No amount of historical revisionism can change the fundamental fact that Kosovo is and will always be an independent democracy.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, used the inaugural episode of his new podcast to break from progressives by speaking out against allowing transgender women and girls to compete in female sports.
Newsom made his declaration in an extended conversation with conservative activist Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old who built the influential Turning Point USA organization that helped President Donald Trump increase his support last fall among the youngest generation of voters. Kirk, like Trump, has been a vocal opponent of allowing transgender women and girls to participate.
“I think it’s an issue of fairness, I completely agree with you on that. It is an issue of fairness — it’s deeply unfair,” Newsom told Kirk on “This is Gavin Newsom.”
“I am not wrestling with the fairness issue,” continued Newsom, who played varsity baseball as a college student. “I totally agree with you. … I revere sports. So, the issue of fairness is completely legit.”
The governor’s comments are the latest in Democrats’ efforts to reconcile a 2024 election that returned Trump to the White House and gave Republicans control of both chambers of Congress. Among the disagreements since November is how much cultural issues – as opposed to economic policy and other matters – explain the party’s losses. Overall, polling suggests that allowing transgender female athletes to play on women’s teams isn’t broadly popular. Even most Democrats — around 7 in 10 — oppose allowing transgender female athletes to participate in women’s sports, according to a January New York Times/Ipsos poll
. A 2023 Gallup poll
also found that Democrats were divided on whether transgender people should be able to play on sports teams that match their current gender identity.
Newsom, who has long positioned himself as a social progressive, drew sharp rebukes from LGBTQ advocates.
“Sometimes Gavin Newsom goes for the Profile in Courage, sometimes not,” said California Assemblyman Chris Ward and state Sen. Carolina Menjivar, who lead the state’s LGBTQ legislative caucus. “We woke up profoundly sickened and frustrated by these remarks.”
The lawmakers insisted that “all students deserve the academic and health benefits of sports activity.” They said playing on a team consistent with one’s gender hasn’t been a problem “until Donald Trump began obsessing about it.”
There is less public support for broader restrictions on transgender rights and issues like medical care for transgender people, particularly among Democrats. According to AP VoteCast, 55% of voters in the 2024 election said support for transgender rights in government and society has gone too far, while about 2 in 10 said it’s been about right and a similar share said it hasn’t gone far enough. Voters were also slightly more likely to oppose than favor laws that ban gender-affirming medical treatment, such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy, for minors who identify as transgender.
But Republicans have nonetheless sought to capitalize on the distinctions in public opinion on competitive sports.
Trump regularly hammered Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, Newsom’s fellow Californian, for supporting LGBTQ+ rights. Trump’s campaign spent tens of millions of dollars on television and digital ads with the searing summation: “Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.”
“Boy, did I see how you guys were able to weaponize it,” Newsom told Kirk, before yielding to Kirk’s protest and saying instead that the ads were an effective “highlight” during the campaign.
Kirk, not Newsom, brought up the overall issue during their hour-plus conversation as the two men discussed how Democrats can rebuild a broader coalition of voters. Kirk pressed Newsom on whether he would speak out in opposition to transgender women athletes in competition.
The governor attempted to mitigate his comments, saying the discussion is about more than the rules of competition.
“There’s also a humility and a grace that these poor people are more likely to commit suicide, have anxiety and depression, and the way that people talk down to vulnerable communities is an issue that I have a hard time with, as well,” Newsom said. “So, both things I can hold in my hand. How can we address this issue with the kind of decency that I think is inherent in you but not always expressed on the issue and at the same time deal with the unfairness.”
Still, Newsom’s approach marks a different political tack than he took on same-sex marriage more than two decades ago. As San Francisco mayor in 2004, Newsom drew national attention for the first time by directing the city clerk to begin issuing same-sex marriage licenses.
The move prompted legal action that led to a 2008 ruling from the California Supreme Court legalizing same-sex marriage in the nation’s largest state. That decision came seven years before the U.S. Supreme Court established same-sex marriage as a national right. —
Barrow reported from Atlanta. Associated Press polling editor Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux and AP writers Michael Blood and Tran Nguyen contributed reporting
Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo grilled Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) on Thursday over how the GOP will find spending cuts to offset President Donald Trump’s tax cuts. Bartiromo, a close ally of Trump, even went so far as to challenge the House Republican to look at making cuts to mandatory spending like Medicaid inorder to achieve an significant cuts to government spending.
“The work that Elon Musk is doing has obviously been a very important and a surprise to many people, particularly all those people in the Social Security roles who are over 100 years old. It’s just absolutely unacceptable. But you’re going to have to really cut more than, you know, just waste, fraud, and abuse to actually pay for what you are talking about in President Trump’s agenda. Can you identify some offsets here in terms of what you’re looking at in this reconciliation package?” Bartiromo asked.
“Yes. So we’re looking at 4 to $4.5 trillion worth of tax cuts, perhaps more. And that’s being offset by a mixture of economic growth, which as you know, tax cuts stimulate the economy. These are very pro-growth, as well as at least $1.5 trillion of spending cuts. And let me tell you, you get $800 billion right off the bat from repealing the Green New Deal,” Gill replied, adding:
That’s something that Republicans have run on. That’s half your spending cuts right there. What we’ve been seeing with DOGE, and this is something that we will be cycling into this. And it’s like I said, $4 billion every single day in savings.
We have been seeing savings across the board. Repealing welfare for illegal aliens, going after some of the most egregious forms of waste and uses of our taxpayer dollars. So, frankly, Maria, I don’t think that we’re going to have a problem finding offsets for these tax cuts.
“Congressman, I mean, with all due respect, you haven’t given me one offset. Okay? You say that you’re not going to have a problem finding an offset. And so for all I’ve heard you talk about is Elon Musk’s fraud, waste, and abuse cuts, as well as eliminating climate change rules. Again, 76% of the money is going to mandatory spending,” replied Bartiromo, adding:
You know that better than anyone. I’ve got the numbers in front of me. You’ve got $36 trillion in debt. Isn’t it time to start looking at the mandatory spending and trying to figure out how you’re actually going to cut? I mean, I know nobody wants to say this, but you’ve got to cut stuff like Medicaid, don’t you?
“Well, listen, I actually did just give you an offset. I gave you $800 billion for over a ten-year window for Green New Deal subsidies. That directly impacts the reconciliation process. We’ve got about another hundred billion related to welfare for illegal aliens,’ Gill replied, adding:
I agree with you. We are going to have to find some rationalizations. In Medicaid, for instance, job requirements for welfare. So there is a slew of of offsets that we have in this reconciliation package that we’re going to be that we’re going to be looking through. These are the details we’re working through right now. We’ve only just given the instructions to the various committees. But I just gave you about a billion, excuse me, about $1 trillion worth of offsets right off the top of my head.
“$1 trillion in offsets. We got $4.5 trillion that you need to pay for in tax cuts,” pressed Bartiromo.
“We’ve got $1.5 trillion of spending cuts that are per the reconciliation instructions. And then we’ve underwritten $2.5 trillion worth of economic growth that comes from these tax cuts. As you know, whenever you reduce the individual income tax rate, the corporate tax rate that is very positive for– that is stimulating economic growth. So you have a significant amount of offsets right there,” Gill replied.
“Unfortunately, the Atlanta GDP is expecting a contraction
in the first quarter, not growth,” pushed back Bartiromo
.
“Well, listen there are various GDP measures. And what we’ve done on the committee is we’re not taking CBO’s numbers. We’re not taking necessarily any particular outside groups. We’re doing our own analysis here. And we’ve underwritten about a 2.6% GDP growth, which is consistent and I think conservative relative to historical averages,” Gill replied.
“All right, Brandon Gill, we appreciate your work. We’re watching you work. You’re on the budget committee and important work. So thanks very much for being here this morning,” Bartiromo concluded.
As it has done for the last several years, St. Hugh of Lincoln Episcopal Church in Elgin offered Christians a unique way to start the Lenten season by dispensing ashes via a drive-thru lane rather than during a church service.
The Rev. Marion Phipps provides the Ash Wednesday services and offers each recipient a prayer.
It was something she went into with some skepticism when the idea initially came up five years ago, she admits.
“I wasn’t sure if it was meaningful to just come to a church, get your ashes and leave,” said Phipps, who has been a pastor at the 36W957 Highland Ave. church for 15 years.
A seminary friend convinced her to try it, she said.
“He was going to a train (station) to give people ashes and asking people if he could pray for them,” Phipps said. “He found it very meaningful. I thought it was worth giving it a shot.”
Thirty-six people participated in the first year, and it’s grown steadily since then. Last year, 56 people chose to receive their ashes that way, Phipps said.
“People were really appreciative,” she said. “I was surprised how well it went over. I became a believer.”
The Rev. Marion Phipps dispensed ashes to parishioner Fay Kitchin during a drive-thru Ash Wednesday event offered by St. Hugh of Lincoln Episcopal Church in Elgin. (St. Hugh of Lincoln Episcopal Church)
The practice of placing ashes on the forehead in the shape of a cross is a symbolic reminder that Christians need to repent their sins and remember that “you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” The ashes typically come from burned palm branches used in the previous year’s Palm Sunday celebrations.
St. Hugh’s mission is “to know God, to share God and to glorify God,” Phipps said. By offering drive-thru ashes, “it’s a way of sharing God with our neighborhood.”
A few members of St. Hugh’s congregation choose the option if they can’t attend the Ash Wednesday service, she said, but most people aren’t part of the church. She has no idea what denomination they are or church they attend, she said.
“I don’t ask. I offer ashes and ask if there is anything else I can pray for for them and go on to the next car,” Phipps said. “I’m aware these are holy moments with people.”
St. Hugh’s also provides recipients with a prayer card and a pamphlet about the church, including its service times.
Lent — the 40-day period leading up to Easter — is observed with fasting and prayer. There’s no right or wrong way to do Lent, Phipps said.
“It’s an opportunity to renew our relationship with God,” she said. “I look at Lent as a season we can be renewed and grow with our Father.”
A line of cars wait to take part in St. Hugh of Lincoln Episcopal Church’s drive-thru event for Ash Wednesday. The program has been offered by the Elgin church for several years. (St. Hugh of Lincoln Episcopal Church)
In the Bible’s New Testament, a passage in the book of James says, “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you,” she said. The message is especially relevant today, she said.
“I always say the world is a mess. It feels messier than usual (right now),” Phipps said. “We are so divided because we are looking at each other and being judgmental. (But) we are all made in the image of God. … I can still have love for (someone with whom I disagree) because they are God’s beloved.”
Sharing her faith, even if it means dispensing ashes outside in cold, rainy weather, is important, she said.
“I will spend my life sharing Jesus with anyone who wants to,” Phipps said.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
U.S. and Ukrainian officials are talking to set up a meeting next week in Saudi Arabia aimed at structuring the framework for a ceasefire with Russia and a peace agreement, President Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff told reporters on Thursday.
The meeting signals a thawing of relations between the U.S. and Ukraine, which ruptured abruptly following an explosive Oval Office confrontation between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“We are now in discussion to coordinate a meeting with the Ukrainians in Riyadh or even potentially Jeddah,” Witkoff told reporters outside the White House.
“So the city is moving around a little bit, but it will be Saudi Arabia. And I think the idea is to get down a framework for a peace agreement and an initial ceasefire as well.”
Zelensky said Wednesday that discussions were taking place to set up a meeting next week with American officials. Andriy Yermak, Zelensky’s top aide, talked with National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.
Zelensky has sought to repair relations with Trump following the Oval Office debacle, the fallout including Trump halting military assistance to Ukraine and cutting off intelligence sharing with the Ukrainians, harming Kyiv’s ability to hit high-value Russian targets.
Zelensky sent a letter to the president and posted on social media overtures to the power of the U.S. and his intent to sign a minerals deal with the president that was shelved in the aftermath.
“I hope we get things back on track with the Ukrainians and everything resumes,” Whitkoff said, but said the decision rests with Trump.
“I think those are all decisions of the president, but I think he felt that Zelensky’s letter was a very positive first step.”
Witkoff also held back commitments to reviving the minerals deal.
“I think Zelensky has offered to sign it, and we’ll see if he follows through,” Witkoff said.
Primrose Schools, a national early childhood education franchise, has opened a new location on the far East Side of Aurora.
The new location, which opened Monday at 3181 North Aurora Road in Aurora, can hold up to 190 children and is enrolling kids from 6 weeks to 5 years old, according to a press release from Primrose Schools.
The new facility has 12 classrooms and three playgrounds, officials said. It’s expected to employ about 40 people, and is currently hiring for teachers and staff.
There are more than 500 Primrose schools in 34 states and Washington, D.C., the release said. Each location is
independently owned and operated by franchise owners, according to past reporting.
The local franchise owners, Hayley and Theo Williams, are residents of the Chicago suburbs, and will oversee the location on Aurora’s far East Side, the release said.
The new Aurora site is the franchise’s ninth location in the Chicago area, according to the release. Primrose already operates in Naperville at 2915 Reflection Drive in Naperville Crossings, according to past reporting. In February, plans for a second Naperville location at 471 E. 75th St. were reviewed
by the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission.
