America's Talking

Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Tuesday to 37 counts that allege he kept sensitive military documents, shared them with people who didn't have security clearance, and tried to get around the government's efforts to get them back. Trump's arraignment at the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. Courthouse was largely procedural except for heightened security, lots of media coverage and hundreds of supporters outside the federal courthouse in Miami.

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A taxpayer-funded grant from the Department of Justice distributed $150,000 to “amplify the voices” of transgender people in New Orleans who are accusing the police of discrimination. Based on the assumption that LGBT people of color are discriminated against by police, Rutgers University researchers pledged to find 25 subjects and “conduct narrative interviews” to document their experiences. This study is one of many examples of taxpayer-funded federal research dollars going to projects tailored to progressive gender and sexuality politics.

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Republican lawmakers are raising concerns about a Biden administration official’s questionable family ties to far-left groups lobbying lawmakers. U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., chair of the Committee on Natural Resources, sent a letter to U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland this week demanding records, communications, documents and more related to allegations that Haaland’s family members may be unethically connected to anti-fossil fuel groups.

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Former President Donald Trump said on Truth Social Thursday that he had been federally indicted for his handling of classified documents. Trump reportedly faces 7 counts around refusing to give back the documents, allegedly making false statements, an Espionage Act violation, and more. The indictment is not yet public. Trump has already been indicted by a New York grand jury for a different state matter, but a federal indictment from the Department of Justice overseen by President Joe Biden, an opposing political opponent, is unprecedented ground for U.S. politics.

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Former Vice President Mike Pence will announce his 2024 candidacy for president in Iowa next week. Several media outlets broke the news Wednesday, indicating the announcement will likely come June 7 in Des Moines, Iowa. The latest polling from Morning Consult puts Pence at 5% support, behind former President Donald Trump at 56% and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 22%. Pence earned the ire of Trump and many of his supporters for refusing to back the former president’s challenge to the election results, especially after the infamous Jan. 6 Capitol protests.

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A coalition of education experts, governors and lawmakers are pushing back against the "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion" policies that have become the norm in public colleges and universities around the country. Several states have legislative efforts underway to require intellectual diversity, and professors tell The Center Square they welcome the change. Texas is the latest state to take on DEI, a broad category that employs teams of administrators to enforce equity and racial policies at the educational institution.

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The U.S. Senate voted 63-36 late Thursday to pass the debt limit deal brokered by President Joe Biden and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. “We may be a little tired, but we did it,” Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said after the vote. The legislation suspends the nation's debt limit until Jan. 1, 2025, notably after the 2024 presidential election; caps non-defense spending but also limits defense spending increases; and expands work requirements for some of those receiving food stamps, among other things.

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U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Wednesday that the White House must agree to spending cuts as part of a debt deal. "You have to spend less than you did last year," McCarthy said at a news conference. "That's not that difficult to do, but in Washington, somehow, that is a problem." McCarthy said he was hopeful negotiators would make progress although he described the two sides as "far apart."

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Wednesday evening that he is running for president. "Our border is a disaster. Crime infests our cities," DeSantis said in his announcement. "The federal government makes it harder for families to make ends meet. And the president flounders. But decline is a choice. Success is attainable. And freedom is worth fighting for." DeSantis took subtle shots at former President Donald Trump, saying he had frustration with Trump's inability to enact his agenda and blasted the "culture of losing" in the GOP.

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Will the Biden administration’s latest energy regulations force Americans out of gas vehicles and into more expensive electric cars? Lawmakers in the U.S. House held a hearing Wednesday tackling that key question. The hearing, held by the Oversight Committee’s Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs Subcommittee, focused on newly proposed Environmental Protection Agency tailpipe emission rules that the federal agency itself called “ambitious.”

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