July 10, 2025
Real News, Told Simply.™
Since January, huge changes have been taking place in US politics. The effects of some of these changes will be felt around the world, and could last for a very long time.
NewsForKids.net has created a US Politics section to help track these changes.
Librarians at Harvard Law School have learned that they own an original version of one of the world’s most important documents – the Magna Carta. Until recently, Harvard thought that the document, which it bought for just $27.50, was a copy. Instead, It’s a valuable historical document worth millions of dollars.
This article was published about 3 years ago.
Last Wednesday, Admiral Linda Fagan took over as the leader of the United States Coast Guard, making her the first woman to lead a branch of the US armed forces. US President Joe Biden, who chose Admiral Fagan for the job, said, “It’s about time.”
Mr. Biden nominated Admiral Fagan for the position of “commandant” (Coast Guard leader) in April. His choice was approved by all members of the Senate. After Wednesday’s ceremony, Admiral Fagan became the 27th commandant of the Coast Guard, taking over from Admiral Karl Schultz.
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Last Wednesday, Admiral Linda Fagan (above) took over as the leader of the United States Coast Guard, making her the first woman to lead a branch of the US armed forces. US President Joe Biden, who chose Admiral Fagan for the job said, “It’s about time.”
Mr. Biden said he hoped that Admiral Fagan would be “the first but not the only” female leader. “We need to see more women at the highest levels of command in the Coast Guard and across every service in the armed forces,” he said.
The Coast Guard is one of the oldest branches of the US military. Some of the main jobs of the Coast Guard don’t involve fighting, but rather protecting the US and its people, especially on water, including rivers, lakes, and oceans. The Coast Guard is also involved in law enforcement.
Women first served in the Coast Guard in 1918, but it wasn’t until the 1970s that it became common for women to join. Women weren’t allowed into its special training school, the Coast Guard Academy, until 1976.
After graduating from the Coast Guard Academy in 1985, Ms. Fagan became the first female to serve on the icebreaker Polar Star, which works in the Arctic and Antarctica. In the two years she spent on the ship, she was the only woman.
Since then, many more women have joined. Now women make up about 40% of the people in the Coast Guard.
But it takes years of experience to reach many of the higher-level positions in the Coast Guard. Now, after more than 35 years of service, Admiral Fagan definitely has the experience. She has served in many different positions, and worked on all seven continents.
Last year, Admiral Fagan became the Coast Guard’s first female four-star admiral – the highest rank in the service. At the same time, she was named vice commandant of the Coast Guard, making her second in charge. She was the first woman to hold that position.
Admiral Fagan says she wants to make it easier for people in the Coast Guard to rejoin the service after taking time off to raise their families. This would make it so that women didn’t have to choose between serving their country and having children. Admiral Fagan points out that rules like these would also help men.
For most of its history, the US armed forces has been led by white men. That has been changing rapidly recently with new leaders like Admiral Fagan.
In 2020, General Charles Q. Brown Jr. became the first Black man to lead the Air Force. Last year, Mr. Biden named Lloyd Austin III, who is also Black, as the secretary of defense – the leader of all of the US armed forces.
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www.abc.net.au
www.theguardian.com
www.cnn.com
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www.npr.org
On Monday, scientists released the first pictures taken by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile. The observatory has a powerful new telescope that’s designed to take complete pictures of the southern night sky over the next ten years. It’s expected to bring huge changes to the way scientists study space.
On Saturday, President Donald Trump ordered US forces to attack nuclear sites in Iran. The move added to Israel’s continuing war with Iran. Yesterday, Iran struck back, hitting a US military base in Qatar. Despite concerns that the conflict could grow, a ceasefire between Israel and Iran was announced yesterday evening.
Los Angeles has seen three days of growing protests and conflicts with police. The protests began after an increase in arrests of immigrants by US ICE agents. The conflict grew after US President Donald Trump sent National Guard soldiers to the area.
Last Thursday, the United Kingdom signed an agreement which will return control of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. In exchange, the UK will be able to continue using the largest island as a military base for the next 99 years.
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