By HOLLY RAMER, Associated Press

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A Brazilian woman with family ties to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt will be released from ICE custody while she fights potential deportation, an immigration judge ruled Monday.

Bruna Ferreira, 33, a longtime Massachusetts resident, was previously engaged to Leavitt’s brother, Michael. She was driving to pick up their 11-year-old son in New Hampshire when she was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Revere, Massachusetts, on Nov. 12.

Ferreira later was moved to a detention facility in Louisiana, where an immigration judge ordered that she be released on $1,500 bond, her attorney Todd Pomerleau said.

“We argued that she wasn’t a danger or a flight risk,” he said in a text message. “The government stipulated to our argument and never once argued that she was criminal illegal alien and waived appeal.”

The Department of Homeland Security previously called Ferreira a “criminal illegal alien” and said she had been arrested for battery, an allegation her attorney denied. Neither the department nor the White House press secretary responded to requests for comment Monday.

Pomerleau said his client came to the U.S. as a toddler and later enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, the Obama-era policy that shields immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children. He said she was in the process of applying for a green card.

Karoline Leavitt grew up in New Hampshire, and made an unsuccessful run for Congress from the state in 2022 before becoming Trump’s spokesperson for his 2024 campaign and later joining him at the White House.

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By JACK BROOK, Associated Press/Report for America

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Archdiocese will pay at least $230 million to hundreds of victims of clergy sexual abuse under a settlement approved Monday by a federal judge after years of negotiations.

Richard Trahant, an attorney representing victims in the case, and a spokesperson for the archdiocese both confirmed the approval of the settlement to The Associated Press on Monday.

Earlier this month, some of the survivors behind the more than 500 abuse claims testified in court, sharing painful memories that continued to affect them lives decades later.

Some recalled battling substance abuse, struggling with intimacy and wondering whether they themselves were to blame for what happened. Some said they forgave the church, others said they could not.

Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

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By ERIK VERDUZCO and ALLEN G. BREED, Associated Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina judge on Monday ordered a Honduran man to be held without bond in a non-fatal stabbing on a Charlotte commuter train that drew comments from President Donald Trump pointing out the suspect is in the country illegally.

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Oscar Solarzano, 33, wearing an orange jumpsuit and appearing via video link, listened impassively as a translator read charges of attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon and others. Mecklenburg County District Judge Keith Smith scheduled his next hearing for Dec. 30.

The public defender in the courtroom declined to comment.

Solarzano, also known as Oscar Gerardo Solorzano-Garcia, is charged with stabbing 24-year-old Kenyon Kareem Dobie in the chest during a fight Friday on the city’s Blue Line.

It was revealed in court that Solarzano — whose address listed in charging documents was a local homeless shelter — had been banned from Charlotte Area Transit Service property in October. CATS spokesman Brett Baldeck confirmed the ban, but did not have any further details. “Our security team is looking into this now,” Baldeck said.

The Department of Homeland Security says Solarzano had been deported twice and has previous convictions for robbery and illegal reentry, but details were not immediately available.

DHS, which recently conducted an immigration crackdown in Charlotte and around the state capital of Raleigh, has lodged a detainer with local authorities.

Attempts by The Associated Press to reach Dobie were unsuccessful. But he told WRAL that he confronted Solarzano for yelling at an older woman.

“I guess it’s better off that it happened to me and not an older person,” Dobie told the station.

“I wasn’t trying to be a macho man,” Dobie said in a TikTok post from his hospital room. “But what I won’t allow is you to attack random people for no reason, especially the elderly.”

The incident comes just a few months after a Ukrainian refugee riding one of the city’s trains was killed in an unrelated knife attack.

Iryna Zarutska, 23, had been living in a bomb shelter in Ukraine before coming to the U.S. to escape the war, her relatives said. Decarlos Brown Jr., has been charged with first-degree murder in state court, and was also indicted in federal court on a charge of causing death on a mass transportation system.

As with the Aug. 22 attack, President Donald Trump and others in his administration point to the incident as proof that Democratic-led cities are soft on crime.

“Another stabbing by an Illegal Migrant in Charlotte, North Carolina,” Trump commented Saturday about the latest stabbing on his Truth Social site. “What’s going on in Charlotte? Democrats are destroying it, like everything else, piece by piece!!!”

Although they have not responded directly to Trump, city officials have defended their efforts to keep the public safe.

“We have invested heavily in increasing security on our transit system and CMPD has been proactive in increasing its presence across our city, including announcing a new multi-agency effort this week,” Mayor Vi Lyles said on Saturday. “There are several aspects of public safety that are outside of the city’s jurisdiction, including immigration policy and enforcement, but we will continue to focus on public safety and ensuring a safe and vibrant community.”

Brent Cagle, CATS interim CEO, said the transit system has taken a “proactive and robust” safety approach since Zarutska’s stabbing, with extra off-duty police officers, private security and new technology.

“We will continue to work with our partners at CMPD as well as our private security team to ensure everyone rides appropriately on public transit,” he said. “We will not compromise on the safety of our customers and employees.”

Breed reported from Wake Forest, North Carolina.

“Homelessness in New York won’t be solved by denial or tough love. We’ve tried those approaches, and they’ve all failed. The Mamdani administration has a choice: repeat the failures of the past or lead with compassion, collaboration and evidence.”

The city’s homeless outreach teams in 2019. (Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

Last month, New Yorkers chose their next mayor. When Zohran Mamdani takes office, he will inherit a crisis that sees 125,000 people sleeping in shelters each night, enough to fill Madison Square Garden five times over.

Despite portrayals in the run-up to Election Day, New York’s homeless community is not a mob of violent criminals. In reality, New York’s unsheltered population is relatively small, representing less than 5 percent of the total homeless population across the five boroughs. 

While some people do struggle with mental health issues and addiction, this is a public health crisis made worse by a housing crisis, not a public safety matter. More importantly, these unfortunate caricatures belie a larger, more uncomfortable truth: Shelter beds are overwhelmingly utilized by families, students and the working poor, who access temporary services because of sudden job loss, healthcare emergency, fire or another unanticipated crisis. 

Our new mayor will soon confront this reality along with various funding overhauls by the federal government, including work requirements that will make it intentionally difficult for vulnerable populations to access social services. 

These challenges demand bold, immediate action that supports individuals with chronic healthcare conditions while not jeopardizing services for families in their moment of need. Here are five areas where the new administration can lead: 

Improve shelter facilities and fully fund programs that address the immediate needs of our city’s most vulnerable populations. My organization recently surveyed providers and found that, on average, they receive as little as $2 per meal to feed a homeless individual, which is less than half of what’s allocated for a National School Lunch program meal. It’s not about creating a culture of dependence; rather, a lack of investment in shelter residences and food quality discourage homeless individuals from seeking social services, which exacerbates an already complicated situation. 

Update street outreach programs and coordination across government entities and nonprofit organizations like mine. It’s no secret that there’s been a recent uptick in New York’s unsheltered homeless population. Current policies and programs do not reflect shifting demand, which is why policy makers should streamline a fragmented system that currently includes more than two dozen outreach teams, government agencies and data systems. 

Ensure that contracted nonprofit providers are paid on time and in full. In October 2025, my organization surveyed our nonprofit members and found that just one-third had $198 million in combined outstanding budget actions dating back to Fiscal Year 2019. We also found that multiple providers had paid more than $1 million in annual interest on lines of credit needed to keep their doors open. 

Expedite long-term housing placements and invest in affordable housing programs. The shelter system is designed to be a waystation, not a permanent solution. Even more, keeping individuals in shelters long term limits bed space for other New Yorkers who may be facing housing insecurity. There are many moving pieces to this effort but it starts by accelerating permanent placements. 

Finally, the Mamdani administration can address the homelessness crisis by bolstering workforce development programs and improving education and access to jobs. Federal Medicaid work requirements will soon kick in, which will cut off benefits for many homeless New Yorkers. We must adapt and develop new pilot programs in areas like worker training and placement, education, childcare and afterschool programs. 

Despite New York City’s extremely tight housing market and other obstacles, our members helped almost 23,000 households move into permanent housing just last year. Last winter, a mother of two showed up at a shelter run by a member organization after a fire destroyed her apartment. She had never needed public assistance before. Within five months, our member helped her secure permanent housing and find employment. Her story is reality for thousands of New Yorkers each year. 

Homelessness in New York won’t be solved by denial or tough love. We’ve tried those approaches, and they’ve all failed. The Mamdani administration has a choice: repeat the failures of the past or lead with compassion, collaboration and evidence. 

All New Yorkers deserve the latter.

Kristin Miller is the executive director of Homeless Services United, a nonprofit coalition that’s committed to ensuring every New Yorker who is at risk of or experiencing homelessness has immediate access to shelter and high-quality services.

The post Opinion: How New York’s Next Mayor Can Tackle Homelessness on Day 1  appeared first on City Limits.