The year in news: 2025 edition
From nationwide “No Kings” protests to the Seattle Mariners making it to the American League Championship Series for the first time since 2001, 2025 has been a year to remember.
By Michaela Ely
January brought the inauguration of President Donald Trump for his second, nonconsecutive term, and with it a slew of executive orders that ranged from renaming the Gulf of Mexico to delaying the ban on TikTok. While TikTok was temporarily inaccessible for a short period of time in January and was later temporarily unavailable in app stores, the ban did not proceed.
One of the first mass protests against President Trump’s administration occurred in February; demonstrators across California, Texas, Indiana and more protested the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk’s involvement in the federal government and Project 2025 as a whole. This sparked the “No Kings” protest movement which have been noted to be some of the largest scale protests in the US. There have been “No Kings” protests in June and October which occurred across all 50 states.
February also brought several federal funding cuts or freezes that impacted research, higher education and more services due to an unclear Office of Management and Budget memo that directed funding for particular programs to be frozen. There have been further funding cuts for teacher training grants and a funding freeze for SNAP benefits in October and November due to the government shutdown.
Huskies on the Hill, a tri-campus lobbying effort from UW also occurred in February. Students advocated for an expansion of the Washington College Grant, a basic needs program for UWT students that would provide expanded resources for food near campus and a bill to address housing insecurity.
Pope Francis died in April due to a cerebral stroke that resulted in a coma and later heart failure, A papal conclave followed in May, and after two days, the first American pope, Robert Prevost, was elected. He took the name Leo XIV and has continued much of the former pope’s work. In his first Sunday address on May 11, he called for peace in Ukraine, an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as well as a ceasefire to the conflict between India and Pakistan that began earlier in the month.
In a campaign that went viral, Mayor-elect of New York City Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic primary on June 24 against former New York governor Andrew Cuomo.The results were officially confirmed on July 1. In the general election Mamdani ran against Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa and Cuomo, who ran as an independent. He is set to take office on Jan. 1, 2026.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act was signed into law on July 4 by President Trump. This bill created and extended various tax reductions, cut Medicaid spending, extended work requirements for SNAP benefits and increased spending for defense and border enforcement. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the budget deficit will increase by 2.8 trillion by 2034 and potentially cause millions of Americans to lose health insurance coverage.
Famine was officially declared in the Gaza Strip Aug. 22 via the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, which the Office of Human Rights stated was due to actions taken by the Israeli government. The office of Israel’s prime minister denied the findings of this report, but aid officials and other experts found that food was not making it past the border due to obstruction by Israeli officials. The International Association of Genocide Scholars also stated on Sept. 1 that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza.
There was a total lunar eclipse Sept. 7 that was visible in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and Antarctica. There was also a partial solar eclipse on Sept. 21. The next total lunar eclipse will be March 2, 2026 and will be visible in North and South America, East Asia and Australia.
In October, the Seattle Mariners made it to the American League Championship Series (ALCS) for the first time since 2001. They lost the series 4-3 against the Toronto Blue Jays. The season marked the breaking of several home run records by Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh. Raleigh broke the record for the most home runs by a catcher and switch-hitter in a single season, as well as the Mariners franchise record for home runs previously held by Ken Griffey Jr.
November brought local elections and new mayors to cities in Washington state. Progressive mayoral candidate and current mayor-elect Katie Wilson defeated incumbent Bruce Harrell by a slim margin. Tacoma elected Anders Ibsen, a realtor and former council member to the mayoral office. He will be sworn in during January 2026.
An atmospheric river in early December caused devastation all throughout western Washington, with flooding in several areas and levees that broke along the Green River and White River. Auburn and Pacific faced extreme flooding and evacuations due to the levees breaking. A major wind storm also caused widespread power outages in southern Washington and much of Oregon. California is currently experiencing another atmospheric river that is causing flooding and mudslides in the southern part of California.
Stay tuned for more local news by The Ledger.
