WASHINGTON, March 14 (ZFJ) — The National Park Service (NPS) predicts that the cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin and National Mall will reach peak bloom between March 29 to April 1, with exact timing dependent on actual weather conditions. Peak bloom is defined as the day when 70% of the cherry blossoms are open. According to the federal announcement on March 5, the blossoms typically remain on the trees for 7-10 days.

PRINCETON, N.J., Feb. 13 (ZFJ) — Two residents of Princeton were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers on Jan. 15, 2026. According to Resistencia en Acción—a local migrant justice activist group—one of the detainees was arrested on his way to work, and the other was arrested as he was heading home after taking his children to school. “My cousin was heading to work. He was no criminal. We’d always meet for coffee in the morning but he never came; he was taken in a van.

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., Feb. 13 (ZFJ) — Multiple people were arrested in New Brunswick, N.J., within the past few weeks by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. In a press conference on Jan. 30, New Labor, an immigrant advocate organization, reported that they received about eight calls via the rapid response hotline as well as Facebook about ICE activity in the city. When rapid responders arrived, federal officers had already left.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 22 (ZFJ) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is asserting the power to forcibly enter homes without a judicial warrant, per a whistleblower disclosure released Wednesday, Jan. 21. In an internal memo dated May 12, 2025, Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons authorizes ICE officers to use the Form I-205 “Warrant of Removal/Deportation” administrative immigration warrant to enter homes to execute arrests. Form I-205 warrants are issued by immigration officers, who are part of the U.

COLLEGE PARK, Md., Jan. 18 (ZFJ) — Four suspects have been charged with the murder of Jefferson Amaya-Ayala, 14, of Washington, D.C., at a park in College Park, Md. The suspects are Jose Merlos-Majano, 18; Alan Josai Garcia-Padilla, 21; and William Cuellar Gutierrez, 19, all of Washington, D.C., and a 17-year-old juvenile from Hyattsville, Md. Amaya-Ayala’s remains were discovered by the Prince George’s County Police Department (PGPD) on Nov. 3, 2025, while searching Indian Creek Stream Valley Park as part of a missing persons investigation with D.

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., Jan. 17 (ZFJ) — Police are investigating an incident in which a Rutgers student has been hospitalized after sustaining serious injuries at a residence in New Brunswick on Oct. 15, 2025. The Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office (MCPO) said in a statement that Rutgers police responded to a disconnected 911 call at about 12:26 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 15. Responding officers found an injured and unresponsive 19-year-old Rutgers student.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 (ZFJ) — The Supreme Court denied President Donald Trump’s emergency appeal to allow him federalize the Illinois National Guard (ILNG) and deploy soldiers to Chicago on Dec. 23, 2025. Trump has sought to deploy the National Guard to Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; Chicago; Memphis, Tennessee; and Portland, Oregon. In the cases of D.C. and Memphis, he said such a deployment was necessary to stop rampant crime. In the cases of Los Angeles, Chicago, and Portland, he said it was needed to protect federal immigration operations, which have encountered significant public backlash due to federal officers’ violent tactics.

EDISON, N.J., Jan. 11 (ZFJ) — A 17-year-old juvenile male has been arrested for the murder of a 17-year-old female in Edison, N.J., on Saturday, Jan. 10. On Saturday, at 1:19 a.m., the Edison Police Department (EPD) received a 911 call reporting a shooting at a residence on Grove Avenue. Responding officers found the female with a gunshot wound at the location, and she was pronounced deceased at the scene.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 (ZFJ) — President Donald Trump’s attempt to deploy National Guard soldiers to Portland, Oregon, has been blocked by the federal courts. Trump has had longstanding grievances with Portland, labeling it a “sanctuary jurisdiction” due to Oregon state law prohibiting local and state law enforcement assistance in federal immigration operations. From June through September 2025, demonstrations took place outside of a facility belonging to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Southwest Portland following increased federal immigration enforcement activity in the city.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 2 (ZFJ) — President Donald Trump’s attempt to deploy National Guard soldiers to Chicago has been blocked by the federal courts. Trump has had longstanding grievances with Chicago, labeling it a “sanctuary jurisdiction” due to Illinois state law prohibiting local and state law enforcement assistance in federal immigration operations. Following the deployment of National Guard soldiers to patrol Washington, D.C., Trump posted on Truth Social throughout August and September to criticize the handling of crime by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, an outspoken critic of the D.