News For Reasonable People

In the first three months after the City of Denver converted a hotel in Denver's Central Park neighborhood to a shelter for the homeless, calls for police and first responders rose 2,900% compared to the previous three months when it served as a hotel, according to city data obtained by CBS News Colorado.

In a controversial move, Toronto Police have suggested that residents leave their car keys readily available to thieves to prevent potential home invasions and violence. This advice, met with widespread ridicule and disbelief, underscores a growing concern over crime rates and the effectiveness of law enforcement strategies in urban areas. Critics argue that such measures encourage criminal behavi...

A migrant TikToker with a 500,000-strong online following is offering his comrades tips on how to “invade” unoccupied homes and invoke squatter’s rights in the United States. Venezuelan national Leonel Moreno, who appears to live in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio, said in a recent video that under US law, “if a house is not inhabited, we can seize it.” He appeared to be referring to adverse possession...

Wealthy Los Angeles residents are increasingly seeing their luxury goods stolen by bands of “burglary tourists” who are exploiting the US visa system to enter the country and break into mansions before fleeing to their home countries with the loot, police have warned. The burglars from Chile, Ecuador, Colombia and Peru are allegedly responsible for 94 burglaries in just one section of the city in...

The Biden administration has released "over 300,000" unaccompanied immigrant children into the United States after they crossed the border illegally, the head of the Department of Health and Human Services admitted to concerned House Republicans Wednesday. Republicans grilled HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra for details on the extent to which immigrant children have come over the border and...

A pair of vigilantes allegedly tried to forcefully evict three alleged squatters from a million-dollar Queens home after the homeowner was arrested when she changed the locks and tried to remove them. Two unidentified men driving a black pickup truck pulled into the driveway of the Flushing home searching for the tenants Tuesday afternoon, according to the Daily Mail. “We are looking to get this g...

A federal judge in Illinois appointed by President Barack Obama ruled that the Constitution protects the rights of noncitizens who enter the US illegally after a Mexican immigrant living in Chicago was found in possession of a handgun. US District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman ruled earlier this month that a federal ban on undocumented immigrants owning firearms is unconstitutional, and dismissed c...

The Washington State Supreme Court has ruled that the bar exam is no longer a requirement for prospective lawyers. On Friday, The Bar Licensure Task Force explained that the bar is “minimally effective for ensuring competency” and “disproportionally and unnecessarily blocks marginalized groups from becoming practicing attorneys.” According to The Spokesman-Review, after appointing the task force i...

Beverly Grove Place, a small outpost of Beverly Hills, is becoming a popular address for the rich and famous. Basketball superstar LeBron James is building a house there, and celebrity couple Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck bought a $61 million compound there last year. Yet a bunch of squatters lived right down the street from James' new home at 1316 Beverly Grove Place from October 2023 to Feb...

In a controversial move, Colorado is considering legislation that would remove caps on the number of unrelated roommates allowed in a single dwelling, a policy shift aimed at addressing housing affordability but raising significant concerns among residents. Critics argue this could exacerbate existing issues in cities like Denver, where the mayor has already faced backlash for handling the migrant...

In a stark revelation, nearly half of downtown Pittsburgh's office spaces are predicted to be vacant by 2028, posing a significant challenge not only to the city’s economic landscape but also to its social fabric. This downturn is attributed to the rising risks of foreclosures and a dramatic shift in workplace dynamics, with remote work diminishing the need for physical office spaces. The situ...

In Las Vegas, private security teams are tackling an escalating squatter crisis in apartment complexes, exacerbated by rising evictions. Protective Force International, led by CEO Jonathan Alvarez, is at the forefront, servicing over 300 properties besieged by unauthorized occupants. The situation has deteriorated to the point where a specialized task force is now deployed to address this challeng...

Oakland police issued a new warning and new statistics this week about thieves smashing and grabbing car windows while you're still in the driver's seat. Police said there has been a recent increase in smash-and-grab robberies citywide, specifically targeting people in cars. As of March 10, burglaries have decreased by nearly 50% in Oakland, with 1,853 incidents compared to the same period...

The company that runs the Fulton Center mall told the MTA last month it wants out of its lease because of crime and homelessness issues. Westfield signed a 20-year lease with the MTA, but wants to exit operations at Fulton Center more than 10 years before the end of the deal, according to a lawsuit the New York City Transit Authority filed days after receiving the news from the mall operator. The...

San Francisco city officials plan to pull its offices from a downtown building near City Hall due to high rent and a bad real estate market, The San Francisco Standard reported Friday. The 11-story building in downtown San Francisco was initially leased to city and county officials back in 1999 and has over the years served as office space for many municipal departments like the San Francisco Publ...

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs says her office is working with city and county governments, nonprofits, and Customs and Border Protection officials in an effort to avoid what could soon become a crisis: a flood of asylum-seekers released onto the streets with no place to go. “We are at a crucial juncture,” said Hobbs on Thursday. Earlier in the week, she sent a letter to the chairpersons of the Sena...

Washington residents without permanent legal immigration status will soon be able to get professional licenses for jobs once closed to them. Gov. Jay Inslee on Wednesday signed House Bill 1889, which allows the use of individual tax identification numbers — often used by immigrants without legal status to file taxes — instead of social security numbers on professional license applications. Some pr...

An FBI agent was attacked outside of San Francisco’s federal courthouse earlier this month when a woman hit the agent twice before threatening that she would expose his identity to the neighborhood’s drug dealers so they would kill him, according to federal court records obtained Wednesday. The incident is the latest attack on a federal employee in San Francisco, where many have said they feel uns...

The Minneapolis City Council voted to override Mayor Jacob Frey’s veto, effectively increasing the pay floor for rideshare drivers, despite threats from Uber and Lyft that would leave the region as a result. In a 10-3 vote, the city council reversed the mayor’s veto and increased pay for rideshare drivers. Uber and Lyft say they are following through on their threat and leaving town on May 1, when...

In a bold move addressing the migrant crisis, New York City has initiated a program to alleviate the strain on its overwhelmed shelter system by offering migrants free plane or bus tickets to sanctuary cities of their choice. Despite these efforts, the plan faces significant resistance from migrants reluctant to leave, citing challenges in starting anew elsewhere. Amid rising concerns, Mayor Eric...

Seattle City Council members were briefed on the Seattle Police Department’s (SPD) recruitment project on Tuesday. Some council members criticized the department for losing more officers than were hired in recent years. (A PDF of the project’s specifics can be viewed here.) Council member Rob Saka, District 1, said it was unsettling to see the low staffing numbers. “I am personally alarmed and dis...

The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police has made major changes to its operation as it battles staffing shortages - including no longer responding to 'in-progress emergencies' and limiting the number of officers on the night shift. Police Chief Larry Scirotto announced in February that during the earlier morning hours there will be fewer officers on staff and lower priority calls will get sent to a...

In Washington State, a contentious situation unfolds as King County Sheriff Patricia Colt Tindle directs deputies not to enforce a new city ordinance aimed at managing homeless encampments near schools, libraries, and daycare centers. This defiance comes in the wake of the ordinance's introduction in Burien, aimed at curbing the visibility and impact of homelessness around sensitive areas. Tin...

In a striking turn of events, migrant protesters recently stormed a Seattle City Council meeting, clamoring for housing assistance for refugees, a demand that highlights a deeper controversy within the city's approach to immigration and public funding. Despite Seattle's significant financial contributions towards immigrant aid, the protesters, not actually residents of Seattle but from sur...

In a striking development, California legislators considered a bill that would allocate grant funds to illegal immigrants charged with violent crimes, sparking widespread controversy and debate. The bill aimed to use taxpayer dollars to prevent the deportation of illegal immigrants convicted of violent offenses, expanding the program nationwide for those expressing intent to reside in California....