• The Sims franchise, a game known for creativity and self-expression, turns 25 this year. It has allowed players to build dream homes, design digital avatars, and live out endless possibilities since its release in 2000.

• The Sims 4 has become the most widely played game in the franchise’s history, with over 70 million players worldwide as of 2023.

• Creators are celebrating the milestone by re-releasing The Sims 1 and The Sims 2 for longtime fans and new players alike.

For 25 years, The Sims has been a go-to game for creativity and self-expression. The life simulation franchise lets players build dream homes, design digital selves and live out endless possibilities.

But people aren’t just playing the game anymore. In many ways, The Sims predicted how people express themselves in today’s digital world.

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On Feb. 4, 2000, The Sims introduced a simple idea — what if you could create and control an entire life? The game’s success led to four main versions, with dozens of expansion packs and re-releases keeping the franchise fresh.

Its original release, The Sims 1, included a recommended reading list in the manual featuring literature and fictional titles meant to enhance players’ understanding of the game’s themes.

The evolution of The Sims

Despite its humor, The Sims became a blueprint for something bigger.

• The Sims 2 (2004) introduced complex emotions and family dynamics.

• The Sims 3 (2009) gave players a seamless open-world experience.

• The Sims 4 (2014) offered more customization than ever, allowing players to experience everything from college life to eco-friendly neighborhoods.

The franchise kept evolving, but players wanted even more control.

Mods — short for modifications — transformed The Sims beyond what developers originally designed.

Creators introduced highly detailed custom fashion, improved emotional responses, and even supernatural storylines. Some mods changed how Sims interact, adding realism with acne, social anxiety and personality tweaks. Others introduced entirely new fantasy worlds.

“When I was in high school, I thought I’d like to go into architecture,” one player said. “So when The Sims came along, it just seemed like the best outlet for me to show my creativity.”

The Sims’ real-world impact

According to a press release from EA, The Sims 4 is the most widely played game in franchise history, with more than 70 million players worldwide.

The franchise’s influence extends beyond gaming. The Sims has shaped how people interact online. Social media, virtual influencers and AI-driven self-expression reflect many ideas first explored in The Sims.

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Players once designed characters with unique personas and controlled social lives in the game. Today, the same concept plays out in real life with AI-generated influencers and virtual identities.

Celebrating 25 years of The Sims

As The Sims enters its 25th year, EA is celebrating the game’s legacy. The company has re-released The Sims 1 and The Sims 2, allowing longtime fans and new players to experience the games that started it all.

• Migrants arrested under the Trump administration have been released into the U.S. on monitoring programs. Limited detention space and legal constraints are forcing ICE to release some individuals.
• The monitoring programs aim to ensure individuals attend their immigration hearings without resorting to detention.
• President Trump is working to secure deportation deals with non-cooperative countries.

Some migrants arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the Trump administration have been released back into the United States on a monitoring program. That’s according to NBC News, citing five anonymous sources familiar with the matter.

Just last week, Straight Arrow News reported that President Donald Trump was requesting ICE field offices ramp up arrests of migrants residing in the country illegally to between 1,200 and 1,500 per day.

However, space to house the migrants is limited, and according to law, ICE is not allowed to detain them indefinitely.

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In December, Trump’s “border czar,” Tom Homan, said ICE needed an additional 100,000 beds for undocumented immigrants who would soon be awaiting deportation.

An ICE spokesperson told NBC News that if the agency has migrants from countries that refuse to repatriate them, ICE could release them back into the U.S.

“The agency’s federal law enforcement officers do everything they can to keep our communities safe,” the spokesperson told NBC News. “In some cases, ICE is required to release certain arrested aliens from custody.”

When a migrant living in the country illegally is released from ICE custody and placed in a monitoring program, they’re subject to electronic monitoring, supervision, case management and regular phone or video check-ins. These programs aim to ensure individuals attend their immigration hearings without resorting to detention.

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Meanwhile, Trump is working to secure deals with countries that have not cooperated with U.S. deportations in the past. On Saturday, Feb. 1, Trump announced Venezuela would accept its citizens who were living illegally in the U.S.

• New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy told a progressive group that he and his wife discussed hosting a migrant in their house. It sparked criticisms from conservative media and Republicans in the state.
• Harboring a migrant in the country illegally is a violation of federal law.
• A source told local newspaper group NJ Advance Media that the comments were hypothetical, that the person being discussed has legal status, and at no point did anybody live with the governor in his home.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, faced criticism from Republicans in the state for comments he made suggesting that he either supported housing an undocumented immigrant in his home or was currently doing so.

During a conversation with the progressive group Blue Wave New Jersey, Murphy said he would open his residence to allow someone who is not a U.S. citizen to live there.

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“I don’t want to get into too much detail, but there is someone in our broader universe whose immigration status is not yet at the point that they are trying to get it to,” Murphy said. “And we said, you know what? Let’s have her live at our house above our garage. And good luck to the feds coming in to try to get her.”

Local newspaper group NJ Advance Media reported Monday that, while the governor’s office declined to comment, a source familiar with the situation told them that the person involved had legal status and that no one ever actually lived at Murphy’s residence.

The story gained attention Monday, Feb. 3, as conservative outlet Fox News and local talk radio station New Jersey 101.5 reported on the remarks, suggesting Murphy was breaking the law.

New Jersey Republican Assemblyman Erik Peterson told local politics blog Insider NJ, “The governor thinks he’s above the law. Instead of enforcing our duly enacted laws, he’s breaking them and telling others to do the same. It’s outrageous.”

President Donald Trump’s “border czar,” Tom Homan, tasked with leading the administration’s mass deportation effort, said in December that knowingly harboring someone who is in the country illegally is a violation of federal law.

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New Jersey blocks police officers, corrections officers and prosecutors from working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on cases involving non-criminal migrants following a 2018 order from Murphy’s administration.

Murphy faces term limits and will leave office in January 2026.

• President Trump will delay applying tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico after reaching agreements with the two countries. Both have committed to increasing border security.
• Canada will maintain its $1.3B border security plan (around $900,000 in U.S. dollars) and will commit more resources to fighting fentanyl and cartels, who it will give a terrorist designation.
• Mexico will send 10,000 more troops to its border with the U.S. to bolster its border security presence.

President Donald Trump said he would delay the planned tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico after talking with their leaders. Trump pointed to progress in securing commitments from Canada and Mexico to secure their borders with the U.S.

Some of the concessions build on steps the countries have already taken.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau led his X post announcing the tariff delay by highlighting the country’s $1.3 billion border security plan, around $900,000 in U.S. dollars. The plan increases its cooperation with the U.S. and focuses on stopping the flow of fentanyl.

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The deal Trudeau mentioned is one Canada announced in December when President Joe Biden was in office.

Similarly, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced plans to send troops to the Mexican side of its border with the U.S.

While Mexico already had 15,000 troops at the border dating back to commitments it made in 2019, during Donald Trump’s first presidency, Sheinbaum said 10,000 additional troops would be heading to the border.

In addition to securing more troops from Mexico, President Trump’s talks also led Canada to adopt new, previously-unannounced plans.

Trudeau said Canada would appoint a “Fentanyl Czar” to oversee its operations to combat the drug. He will also launch a new joint strike force with the U.S. to fight organized crime and list cartels as terrorists under Canadian law.

While Canada and Mexico agreed to delay the tariffs by 30 days, China did not. That means Americans will likely have to deal with new tariffs on Chinese goods. China has also filed a complaint over the tariffs with the World Trade Organization.

• Survivors and families of victims of the New Year’s terror attack in New Orleans are suing the city, police, a construction company and the French Quarter Management District for failing to protect the crowds. The lawsuit represents 21 plaintiffs impacted by the terror attack.
• The plaintiffs argue the city was aware of safety risks and failed to install permanent bollards to protect pedestrians.
• NOLA officials previously said the area is susceptible to a mass casualty event because of how busy it is.

Survivors and families of victims affected by a deadly truck rampage in New Orleans on New Year’s are taking legal action against city leaders. The lawsuit accuses them of failing to implement safety measures that could have prevented the tragedy.

The attack, which killed 14 people and injured 57 others, occurred when Shamsud-Din Jabbar allegedly drove his truck through crowds celebrating in the French Quarter.

Lawsuit names 21 plaintiffs

Two New Orleans-based law firms have teamed up to represent 21 plaintiffs, including the families of those who were killed or severely injured in the Jan. 1 attack. The lawsuit, filed last week, names the City of New Orleans, the New Orleans Police Department, a construction company, and the French Quarter Management District as defendants.

The plaintiffs argue city leaders and private companies acted negligently when they failed to provide adequate safety systems in the French Quarter despite knowing the area was vulnerable to attacks.

“They always knew they had actual notice. They knew those people were vulnerable and exposed to anybody who had the intent of driving around a lone police cruiser to cause mass carnage on that night,” said attorney Antonio Romanucci.

Among the plaintiffs are Antoinette Klima, who lost her son’s father, Reggie Hunter, in the attack. Klima said she received a call on New Year’s informing her that Hunter had not survived.

Survivors of the attack said they now live in fear of large public gatherings. They blame the city for not doing enough to protect those celebrating in the French Quarter.

Call for accountability

The lawsuit claims the safety measures, such as permanent bollards to protect pedestrians from vehicles, should have been in place before the celebrations, which included the annual Sugar Bowl college football game. The plaintiffs argue city officials were focused on completing construction in time for the upcoming Super Bowl.

The French Quarter is one of the busiest areas in New Orleans, hosting up to 20,000 pedestrians in eight hours. It makes it a prime target for mass casualty events.

City officials previously discussed safety upgrades

New Orleans officials had acknowledged the need for safety upgrades in the French Quarter, citing the potential for mass casualty events like acts of terrorism. A report in 2017 highlighted the area’s vulnerability due to its high pedestrian traffic.

The lawsuit argues New Orleans failed to prioritize the installation of permanent bollards. The lawsuit states without it left the area exposed when police say Jabbar carried out his attack.

• President Donald Trump said he will cut U.S. aid to South Africa. Although the country receives little in U.S. aid, Trump said a law allowing the government to buy and take over unused land represented anti-white racism.
• South Africa’s government said the law is similar to eminent domain in the U.S. and applies regardless of the landowner’s race.
• Over the past three decades, South Africa has been working to address inequality caused by apartheid, which required discrimination against Black South Africans.

President Donald Trump said Sunday, Feb. 2, that he plans to cut off all U.S. aid to South Africa. The president is accusing the country of confiscating land and “treating certain classes of people very badly.”

South Africa’s president said the country receives very little aid from the U.S. government. The president says the only significant program is meant to combat HIV and AIDS. However, South Africa relies on the U.S. as a trade partner, something Trump’s move would not directly affect.

South Africa is a little more than 30 years removed from its first democratic presidential election. Nelson Mandela became the country’s first Black president in 1994.

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The country previously limited voting to its white minority. It was part of a policy known as apartheid –– a set of strict segregation laws that paralleled Jim Crow laws in the American South.

But unlike the U.S., South Africa’s apartheid laws applied nationwide and, instead of targeting minority groups, blocked the majority-Black population from exercising its rights, keeping the small white population in charge.

In the aftermath of apartheid, the South African government has worked to even the distribution of land ownership. Despite its progress toward making land ownership more representative, white South Africans own roughly half of the country’s land while making up only 7% of the population.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a law allowing the government to take over land regardless of the owner’s race. This law only allows if it is not being used and would be in the public interest to acquire it.

The new law has not led to any land takeovers yet. However, most of the land the government has acquired since the end of apartheid has been the result of government purchases from willing white sellers.

South Africa’s foreign minister echoed Ramaphosa’s statement that the law is not a land grab but more closely parallels eminent domain laws in the U.S.

President Trump spoke out against South Africa during his first term. He exaggerated the effects of the land deals and said the government regularly seized land from white South Africans. He also pointed to incidents in which white farmers were killed as evidence of discrimination.

While white farmers in South Africa have been murdered, the country’s local media have concluded the claims Trump echoed were false.

Instead, they note, the killings are part of the country’s difficulty in controlling crime. Official government data shows there are 70 homicides per day and that most victims are Black.

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But there’s also one major tie to South Africa in Trump’s second administration. Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and leader of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency organization, was born and raised in South Africa.

Like Trump, Musk echoed claims South African media have concluded are false. Musk has used the killings of white farmers as evidence of a genocide against white people in South Africa.

On Monday, Feb. 3, Musk quote-tweeted a post on X by Ramaphosa and asked, “Why do you have openly racist ownership laws?”

Musk lived in the country during apartheid, which lasted from 1948 to 1994. He left in 1989, when he was 17 years old, near the end of the apartheid era. In a 2017 Musk biography, author Ashlee Vance said Musk left to avoid mandatory military service under the apartheid regime.