Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will resign as prime minister and leader of Canada’s Liberal Party after a replacement is chosen. The announcement follows weeks of turmoil within the Liberal Party caucus, with many members of parliament publicly calling for his resignation amid declining poll numbers.

“I intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister, after the party selects its next leader through a robust, nationwide, competitive process. Last night, I asked the president of the Liberal Party to begin that process,” Trudeau said on Jan. 6.

Instead of calling for an immediate election as requested by opposition parties, Trudeau said he decided to ask the governor general to suspend the parliament until March 24. The Conservatives have been critical of Trudeau suspending the parliament, saying it’s meant to give the Liberals a chance to prepare for a leadership election instead of having an earlier election triggered by a vote of non-confidence later this month. (More)

The U.S. Congress on Jan. 6 certified President-elect Donald Trump’s electoral victory in the 2024 election, marking the official final step to guarantee Trump’s position as the incoming commander-in-chief.

Following in the footsteps of Al Gore and Walter Mondale, Vice President Kamala Harris oversaw the certification of her own election loss. The process confirmed that Trump received 312 electoral votes while Harris received 226. The certification was largely uneventful, with Democrats raising no challenges to any of Trump’s electoral wins.

Harris, in her role as president of the Senate, presided over the joint session of Congress, which began at 1 p.m. ET and proceeded to certify Trump’s win. Asked how she was feeling after the vote, Harris told The Epoch Times: “It’s a peaceful transfer of power. It’s a good day.” (More)

A few weeks before high school graduation, Aleysha Ortiz had some terse words for Hartford Board of Education members at their meeting in Hartford, Connecticut, last year.

“I felt like they didn’t care about my future,” she said on May 7, 2024, referring to her school. “I truly believe that you do not value me as a student and as a human being and that you do not care about my education.”

Ortiz was still awarded a diploma by Hartford High School and accepted at the University of Connecticut-Hartford despite never learning to read or write, according to a lawsuit she filed against the Hartford Board of Education in December 2024. Recent state assessment results that show low literacy scores for students across the country, along with high graduation rates, suggest Ortiz may not be an anomaly. (More)

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