America's Talking

(The Center Square) – The U.S. Supreme Court gave President Donald Trump's tariff authority a chilly reception on Wednesday, with his economic agenda hanging in the balance and businesses and consumers watching for higher prices. After the president spent months talking about how much money his tariffs would generate, Trump's Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the nation's highest court Wednesday that the import duties are solely focused on regulation, not raising revenue. Even the conservative wing of the Supreme Court was skeptical.

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(The Center Square) – Spending on U.S. House of Representatives office accounts increased by more than 85% over the past three decades but nearly half of that occurred since 2020, an investigation by The Center Square found. The Members' Representational Allowance (MRA) provides each of the 435 U.S. representatives in Congress about $2 million a year to pay staff, travel, buy equipment and run their Washington, D.C., and district offices, giving members wide latitude on how to spend the money within House ethics and administration committee rules 

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(The Center Square) – Millions of Americans reliant on food stamps will not receive benefits for the month of November, due to the ongoing government shutdown. The U.S. Department of Agriculture will not issue Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits until the government reopens, with the agency saying on its website that “the well has run dry.” Federal agencies like the USDA have remained unfunded since Oct. 1, when the government shuttered after Senate Democrats blocked Republicans’ Continuing Resolution, a seven-week funding stopgap. Since then, all but three Democratic senators have continuously filibustered the House-passed CR, demanding that Republicans promise to renew a costly pandemic-era expansion of Obamacare Premium Tax Credits.

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(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump feels confident the flow of fentanyl from China will be curbed following a “great meeting” with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea. The meeting prompted Trump to cut in half the tariffs the U.S. put on China due to the flow of the deadly drug. “I've agreed, as you know, I put a 20% tariff on China because of the fentanyl coming in, it's a big tariff, and based on [Xi’s] statements today, I reduced it by 10%, so it's 10% instead of 20% effective immediately. I believe he's going to work very hard to stop the death that's coming in,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on his way back to Washington.

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(The Center Square) The number of businesses owned by racial minorities and women that are certified by Illinois plummeted in the past year, partly due to a new computer system the state bought for as much as $750,000 and was designed to help boost the number, an investigation by The Center Square found. In an annual report this year to lawmakers, the Commission on Equity and Inclusion cited its new supplier diversity management portal as one of its main accomplishments, noting that it would enhance the commission's work by "streamlining processes." 

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(The Center Square) – Senate Democrats are set to block Republicans’ government funding bill for the 12th time Wednesday, keeping the federal government shut down despite tens of millions of low-income Americans at risk of losing food stamps or early childhood education assistance. Although the U.S. Department of Agriculture will resume core Farm Service Agency financial services Thursday, the unfunded agency cannot provide money to support SNAP or WIC benefits for the month of November, which together serve up to 49 million people. 

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(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump’s plans to “restore election integrity” and prevent voter fraud include banning mail-in voting and requiring that voters present identification at the polls. The majority of Americans support the voter ID requirement but are divided on a mail-in voting ban, according to a new poll. Trump’s proposal to ban mail-in voting nationally – something he could not do via executive order but may be able to pressure some states to implement – receives support from 47% of Americans nationally, while 48% oppose it. 

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(The Center Square) – Wisconsin has paid billions of dollars in recent years for outside investors to manage most of the state's retirement funds even though it has an expansive team of highly paid investment employees, according to state data. State auditors this year urged the state of Wisconsin Investment Board to create specific plans that might shift more of that management to state employees "because external management is more expensive," a recent report by the Legislative Audit Bureau said. 

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(The Center Square) – A new poll shows that President Donald Trump’s approval rating reached 48% in October, a number mostly bolstered by Republicans. The Center Square Voters' Voice Poll, conducted by Noble Predictive Insights, surveyed 2,565 registered voters from Oct. 2-6, 2025. Half of voters surveyed objected to how Trump is handling his job as president, with 10% somewhat disapproving and 40% strongly disapproving. Nearly 30% strongly approve of his performance and 19% somewhat approve.

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(The Center Square) – In an act of defiance, Democratic senators blocked the House-passed full-year funding bill for the Department of Defense from advancing Thursday. The procedural vote on one of the 12 annual appropriations bills to properly fund the government in fiscal year 2026 failed despite Republican leaders bringing it to the floor to remedy some of the worst effects of the ongoing government shutdown. The bill would have authorized funding for the DOD and its employees’ salaries, as well as restore pay for military service members won't see their next paycheck if the shutdown drags on. The Pentagon has already dipped into untapped research and development funds in order to subsidize Oct. 15 paychecks.

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