America's Talking

(The Center Square) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that U.S. talks with China in London resulted in a tentative deal that still needs China's President Xi Jinping's final approval. The president announced the deal in an all-caps post on Truth Social. "FULL MAGNETS, AND ANY NECESSARY RARE EARTHS, WILL BE SUPPLIED, UP FRONT, BY CHINA. LIKEWISE, WE WILL PROVIDE TO CHINA WHAT WAS AGREED TO, INCLUDING CHINESE STUDENTS USING OUR COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (WHICH HAS ALWAYS BEEN GOOD WITH ME!)." Tariffs will stay at levels agreed to in the deal struck in Geneva last month, an administration official told the Wall Street Journal. 

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(The Center Square) – The House barely passed a controversial rescissions package Thursday, pulling billions in already allocated federal funding from multiple foreign aid and public broadcasting programs. The Rescissions Act of 2025, compiled by the Office of Management and Budget, cancels $9.4 billion, including $8.3 billion for non-life saving foreign assistance and $1.1 billion for public broadcasting systems. Six Republicans initially opposed the package, endangering the bill’s passage since all Democrats present voted against it. But two of the holdouts — Reps. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., and Don Bacon, R-Neb., — flipped their votes last-minute, making the final vote 214-212.

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(The Center Square) – Despite the White House’s assertions that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will not add to the federal debt or deficit, four independent budget watchdogs agree that debt growth will accelerate and reach over $50 trillion by 2034, if the policy megabill becomes law. As emphasized Friday by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, the Budget Lab at Yale predicts $52.3 trillion, the Congressional Budget Office predicts $52.4 trillion, the Tax Foundation predicts $52.8 trillion, and the Penn Wharton Budget Model predicts $56.3 trillion as the national debt number a decade from now.

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(The Center Square) – The man charged in Sunday’s terrorist attack in Boulder told law enforcement that he had no regrets for his actions and would “do it again” if released. Mohamed Sabry Soliman, a 45-year-old Egyptian national illegally in the country, is being held in the Boulder County Jail on a $10 million bond. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed the attack at Tuesday's White House briefing, calling Soliman a "monster" and the attack "pure evil."

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Full story:

WATCH: Boulder attack suspect said he had no regrets, would 'do it again'

Boulder 'terror' suspect's family in ICE custody, pending deportation

Judge blocks order to deport Boulder suspect's family

Boulder attack suspect appears in court, 118 charges filed

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(The Center Square) – In another blow to Harvard University, the Trump administration has moved to cancel federal contracts with the Ivy League school. The General Services Administration announced that it is working with various federal agencies to “review” government contracts with the university in preparation to “terminate” or “transition” the contracts. The move by the independent federal government agency, funded only about 1% through congressional appropriation, comes at the behest of President Donald Trump.

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(The Center Square) – Republicans’ behemoth budget reconciliation bill still faces major hurdles after passing the U.S. House last week, with multiple senators raising concerns about the legislation’s cost. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act in its current form hikes the debt ceiling by $4 trillion and funds large swaths of Trump’s tax, border, energy, and defense agenda, including codifying President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts. The legislation consists of 11 separate House committee prints that collectively fulfill the April budget resolution’s 10-year spending and savings instructions. 

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(The Center Square) – The Trump administration is moving forward with his Golden Dome missile defense system that is similar to Israel's. The administration has selected an architecture firm for the advanced missile-defense system, and Trump’s "big, beautiful" budget bill before Congress  has allotted $25 billion for its initial construction. President Donald Trump said Tuesday the dome would cost about $175 billion in total and would be completed before the end of his term. “We will have the best system ever built. As you know, we helped Israel with theirs, and it was very successful, and now we have technology that’s even far-advanced from that,” Trump said.

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(The Center Square) – The budget bill containing many of President Donald Trump’s fiscal priorities and campaign promises narrowly passed the House of Representatives early Thursday morning in a 215-214 vote, and now the White House is “suiting up” to get the bill through the Senate. The president has been vocal about the passage of the "One Big, Beautiful Bill" for months, calling on Republicans to unite behind it. With narrow majorities in the House and Senate, Republicans need near-unanimous support for measures they want to see pass either chamber.

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Full story: White House 'suiting up' to push budget bill across Senate finish line

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(The Center Square) – Leaders in both political parties are showing former President Joe Biden their support after Biden announced he is dealing with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. Biden’s personal office released a statement Sunday saying he had prostate cancer “characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone." “Cancer touches us all,” Biden wrote on X Monday morning. “Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.” The former president has received an outpouring of support since the news was released.

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Full story: Biden receives support, questions about transparency amid cancer diagnosis

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(The Center Square) – U.S. stocks soared Monday after the world's two largest economies reached a temporary trade deal to significantly lower tariffs while talks continue. The Dow gained 2.8% to close at 42,410, above where it closed on April 2 before President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs drove markets down. The S&P 500 gained 3.26% on the day while the Nasdaq was up 4.3%, entering a new bull market by closing 20% above its April low point. On Monday morning, China and the U.S. released details of a trade pact reached over the weekend after talks in Geneva. The U.S. and China said they will cut tariffs on imports from each other by May 14.

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