Bruce Springsteen heads to Cleveland on Friday at yet another political inflection point.

State of play: The concert at Rocket Arena is part of the Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour, with the anti-Trump rallying cry "No Kings" splattered across promotional posters.

What they're saying: "We will be rocking your town in celebration and in defense of America — American democracy, American freedom, our American Constitution and our sacred American dream," Springsteen said in a statement.

• "All of which are under attack by our wannabe king and his rogue government in Washington, D.C."

It isn't the first time Springsteen has brought advocacy to Cleveland. Here's a look back at his most incendiary Northeast Ohio moments.

🏭 "Youngstown" (1995)

The moving song from Springsteen's album "The Ghost of Tom Joad" is set in Ohio and follows a family of factory workers who served their country but have little to show for it.

• The song has become a mainstay at The Boss' politically charged Northeast Ohio appearances.

🇺🇸 John Kerry (2004)

Springsteen made two stops in Cleveland in support of presidential candidate John Kerry in 2004, starting with the Vote for Change Tour at Gund Arena on Oct. 2.

• The second was an election-eve (Nov. 1) rally with Kerry on Cleveland's Mall, where Springsteen performed "No Surrender" in honor of the senator.

🫡 Obama rally (2008)

Springsteen returned to Cleveland's Mall two days before the 2008 election in support of then-candidate Barack Obama.

• The Nov. 2 rally drew 80,000 people and saw Springsteen play "The Rising" and debut the song "Working on a Dream."

🗳️ Get out the vote (2012)

On Oct. 18, 2012, Springsteen and former President Clinton endorsed Obama during a rally at Cuyahoga Community College's Western Campus in Parma.

• The Boss performed a six-song set that included "We Take Care of Our Own," which Obama used as a campaign anthem.

After pressure from Cleveland City Council members and activists, Mayor Justin Bibb on Monday said the administration would seek council approval for an extension of the city's contract with Flock Safety for automated license plate readers.

Why it matters: Bibb has drawn the ire of council — especially the vocal safety committee chair, Mike Polensek — for extending contracts through the city's Board of Control, sidestepping council approval.

Flashback: Bibb extended the city's $850,000 contract with SoundThinking — the vendor of the gunshot-detection technology ShotSpotter — last month through an identical maneuver.

What they're saying: "It's called oversight, and I don't give a frick or frack who doesn't like it," Polensek told Signal Cleveland this week.

• He was reasserting council's authority after Safety Director Wayne Drummond asked for his blessing to renew the Flock contract without a council vote.

Zoom in: Bibb's letter warned that letting the Flock program lapse could hinder homicide and carjacking investigations, reduce stolen-vehicle recoveries and weaken efforts to locate missing people.

Friction point: Council's longstanding opposition to administrative spending has been reinforced in this case by broader public skepticism about Flock Safety, especially in light of recent revelations in Shaker Heights.

• A local activist group discovered, through public records requests, that hundreds of immigration-related searches had been conducted on Shaker Heights' Flock network by agencies outside Ohio.

Zoom in: An open letter from another activist group, the "Flock No Cle" campaign, criticized Bibb's "backchannel mechanism" for approving the extension and disputed claims about Flock's effectiveness.

• "We are told that Flock is an indispensable tool for solving crime, but the reality is, functioning democracies don't use dragnets to collect information indiscriminately on their residents," the letter reads.

The other side: Bibb appears to have heard at least part of the message.

• His letter to council said a legislative approach "appropriately honors the oversight role of council and ensures the community has a meaningful opportunity to weigh in on this public safety tool."

Yes, but: He nevertheless conveyed the "urgency of required action to prevent operational impact."

What's next: The legislation may not get a full vetting at today's safety hearing, but members of "Flock No Cle" have mobilized to attend and address council via public comment.

🏀 The Cavs blew a 22-point fourth quarter lead in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, losing in overtime to the Knicks 115-104. (ESPN)

📊 Baiju Shah, the president and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Partnership, says a moratorium on data center construction is a mistake that could cut Northeast Ohio off from future development. (Crain's Cleveland Business 🔐)

🏡 A Cleveland pilot program that housed 90 families displaced by lead hazards is in jeopardy as the pandemic-era federal funding runs dry. (Signal Cleveland)

🏫 The father of Mackenzie Shirilla has been put on leave from his teaching position at Mary Queen of Peace School in Cleveland after his appearance in the Netflix documentary "The Crash." (Cleveland 19)

Americans are spending more time at home, yet many have become strangers to their neighbors — especially young Americans.

Why it matters: Without casual conversations with neighbors — who are often from other races, or have different religions and political ideologies — people risk becoming more isolated and more dependent on superficial, algorithm-driven digital communities.

By the numbers: In 2012, 51% of young Americans regularly engaged with neighbors, according to a new AEI report. Today, that number has plummeted to 25%.

• By contrast, 56% of seniors socialize with neighbors, a seven-point drop since 2012.
• More broadly, 59% of Americans chatted with neighbors a few times per week in 2012. In 2025, that number is 41%.

What they're saying: Daniel Cox, head report researcher and director of the Survey Center on American Life at AEI, tells Axios that technology deserves some of the blame.

• "In the previous generation, if you sat around your apartment long enough, you started to go stir crazy, and that would often compel people to go out," he said.

Read the full story