Crosstalk America

There was much news from the home front but also from other parts of the world. Hear what made headlines this week on this edition of the News Round-Up program. Here's a sample of stories that were mentioned: --Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier this week said that the U.S. condemns the radical Islamist terrorists, including the foreign jihadis, that murdered people in Western Syria in recent days. --Hamas agreed today to release the last living American hostage. --Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York has indicated that he will vote to keep the government open and not shut it down. --Russian President Vladimir Putin offered high conditional support for the proposed 30 day cease-fire deal with Ukraine. --Dalton provided audio of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reacting negatively to a question from a reporter who compared tariffs to tax hikes on the American people. --The European Union announced on Wednesday retaliatory trade action with new duties on U.S. industrial and farm products. --During his talks with European nations on Thursday, President Trump threatened a 200% tariff on wine, champagne and other alcoholic products from France and the European Union. --The hacking group, Dark Storm, reportedly known for its infiltration of highly secure systems, claimed responsibility for a cyber attack on Monday that caused periodic outages on the social media platform known as "X" (formerly Twitter). --FBI Director Kash Patel announced that the law enforcement agency, along with staff for Attorney General Pam Bondi, arrested two current U.S. Army soldiers and one former U.S. Army soldier who allegedly stole government secrets.

Julaine Appling is president of Wisconsin Faithful and President Emeritus of Wisconsin Family Council. On April 1st, Wisconsin will be holding a critical Supreme Court election. As Jim demonstrated by presenting several headlines, this election will not only affect Wisconsin, but every state in the nation. Why is that? Julaine responded to that question by noting that in 2023, the Wisconsin Supreme Court flipped from 4-3 conservative to 4-3 liberal with the election of Janet Protasiewicz. So since August 1st of 2023, the court has been acting in a liberal, judicial activist type of mode. Now we have the April election coming up where Brad Schimel is facing off against Susan Crawford in what amounts to the filling of an open seat as liberal justice Ann Walsh Bradley has decided not to seek reelection. This means that if Schimel wins, the court reverts back to 4-3 conservative and if Crawford wins, it remains 4-3 liberal. Julaine believes the reason for the national attention is that liberals like what they've been able to accomplish with this court. One item concerns the redrawing of the state legislative maps in a way that favors Democrats. Also, Julaine indicated that there's a lawsuit waiting to be filed that would challenge the legality of Wisconsin's congressional maps. If you look at the U.S. House of Representatives, Republicans have only a 4 vote majority (218-214) with 3 vacant seats. So Democrats believe if they can get the current Wisconsin Supreme Court to stay liberal, and file a lawsuit challenging the legality of our constitutional maps forcing new ones that favor liberals, that could flip at least two seats.

Chris Katulka is assistant director of North American Ministries at The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry and host of The Friends of Israel Today radio program. He is a Bible teacher, and writer for Israel My Glory magazine and is author of the book: Israel Always. From street demonstrations, to the takeover of university and college campuses, to vandalism against synagogues, physical threats and assaults, violence and death against Jews, it should be plain to everyone that such headlines highlight the rise of antisemitism. Where does such hatred come from? It's certainly not new as history records such activities, one of which is recorded in the Bible's book of Esther. Through the course of events that unfolded, a special celebration has emerged known as Purim which is being celebrated this week. Join Jim and Chris as they discuss this celebration and its significance. Considerable time is given by Chris to the story of Esther and how it wonderfully communicates God's relationship to the Jewish people, in spite of the fact that God's name is not mentioned in the text! You'll also hear discussion on the rise of antisemitism today through individuals such as Mahmoud Khalil, while listeners put a cap on this fascinating broadcast.

Reverend Jim Harden is president and CEO of CompassCare Pregnancy Services in New York. Theirs is one of many centers targeted with criminal activity including firebombs, vandalism and threats. From the American Civil War to Afghanistan, it's estimated we lost 1,122,422 lives. Take that number and multiply it by 59. Why? That's the number of deaths that have occurred during the war on the unborn. That's over 66 million purposeful deaths due to abortion and it's increasing by the second. In response, Reverend Harden has just opened two state of the art, pro-life medical offices last week into the two largest abortion hubs in America: Brooklyn and the Bronx. Why is this significant? It's because it's been reported that Brooklyn and the Bronx have the highest number of abortions of any counties in the nation. Looking at it more broadly, Reverend Harden noted that the state of New York is the abortion capital of the U.S. More abortions take place there, per-capita, than in any other state, while New York City is the headquarters for the abortion industry nationwide. It's the home of Planned Parenthood (estimated to be responsible for 40% of all U.S. abortions) and Danco Laboratories (responsible for chemical abortions). So Brooklyn is number one in terms of abortion numbers with the Bronx at number two with 11,000 abortions. Another way to view it is the fact that there are 87 abortionists in the New York City metro area. On the other hand, CompassCare's new offices in these locations represent the only pro-life, medical alternative for women.

Sitting in for Jim Schneider, Dalton Windsor presented news items from the past week that are of importance to you. Here are some of the headlines from the first half of the broadcast: --In response to a massive air offensive that was launched by Russia against Ukraine, President Trump has sent out a brief warning to Russia on Truth Social to back off. He's considering placing large scale banking sanctions and tariffs on Russia until a cease-fire and final settlement agreement on peace is reached. --Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that last week's clash with President Trump and V.P. J.D. Vance at the White House was regrettable, yet they are pledging to sign the minerals deal and hold peace talks. --American military aid to Ukraine was stopped so abruptly that planes carrying weapons were ordered to turn around in the sky. --Trump's administration is demanding a recorded, public apology from Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Fox News Peter Doocy has said that nothing will happen with the minerals deal until Zelenskyy goes in front of cameras and makes an explicit, public apology for the way he behaved in the oval office. --Ukraine's acceptance of the U.S. peace deal, instead of China's, would be a major win for the U.S., weakening Beijing's influence and setting a precedent for future defense agreements. --The Trump administration's top diplomats and national security figures will reportedly meet with a Ukrainian delegation in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, next week. --France will keep providing military intelligence to Ukraine after Washington announced that it was freezing the sharing of information with Kiev.

With each passing year, advocates of the LGBTQ+ agenda are more vocal and more aggressive in advancing their cause while denouncing those who object. As has been his custom, President Biden issued a proclamation on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex Pride Month. His proclamation stated, "Advancing equality for the LGBTQI+ community is a top priority." Is this the last word because churches are becoming more accepting, because "drag queens" are allowed to read stories to children, because world governments, or specifically, a U.S. administration, makes it a "top priority"? Instead, what we should be asking is: What does the Bible say? Joining Crosstalk to answer that question was Pastor Rick Rogers of Calvary Baptist Church in Sturtevant, Wisconsin. He's a chaplain for law enforcement, is a former director of the Alpha Women's Center and also previously served on the Board of Baptists for Life of Wisconsin. Pastor Rogers began by noting how God has ordained 3 institutions: The family (Genesis 1), human governments (Genesis 9) and the Church of Jesus Christ. These were ordained for godliness, law and order. This is where Satan has been attacking the hardest. Pastor Rogers noted that if you dismantle those three, you've dismantled the foundation of the calling we have from the Lord. In other words, it's a war against the natural order. What about those who believe this is a genetic issue? If that's the case, how can God condemn it? Pastor Rogers communicated that there are some things in genetics you just can't prove and this is one of them. We see this by the fact that no "gay gene" has been found.

Jim reviewed the president's speech from last evening before a joint session of Congress. Highlighting the review was a series of audio clips including: --Sydney Kamlager-Dove, who represents California's 37th Congressional District, said Democrats will continue to speak lies to Trump's truth, stealing and cheating. --Speaker Mike Johnson as he announced that the Sergeant at Arms was to restore order by removing Congressman Al Green. --CNN presented the results of a poll regarding the ouster of Congressman Al Green. --President Trump shamed the Democrats in attendance. --Hear the line that social media has decided was President Trump's best during his speech. --President Trump's comments on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). --President Trump's comments on biological men competing in women's sports, specifically citing how that affected former high school volleyball player Payton McNabb. Jim had much more to present as the hour moved along, while the second half of the broadcast featured input from listeners.

Andrew Arthur is Resident Fellow in Law and Policy for the Center for Immigration Studies. He began his legal career through the Attorney General's Honors Program as a clerk to an administrative law judge in the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer at the United States Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review. This past Saturday, President Trump declared that through the month of February, his first full month in office, we saw the lowest number of illegal immigrants trying to enter the U.S. in history. Then there's also the quest to deport those already here illegally, with the primary focus on those who committed heinous crimes. Sadly, there are activists who have doxed ICE agents and revealed their whereabouts. Some within the media have also become involved by providing warning. Members of Congress have provided guidelines regarding what illegals should do if they are stopped by immigration officials. Then there are the states that are fighting the Trump administration in an effort to shield those who are breaking the laws of our nation. Review this broadcast and hear how President Trump has legally been able to get control of the border in ways other presidents chose not to, the effect of migrants on America's welfare/social programs, why you can be a Christian and believe in strong border control, what responsibilities our troops have on the border, the latest on fentanyl seizures and much more, including input from callers on this important issue.

Another very active news week has passed. Listen to Crosstalk to get caught up on what you may have missed. Here's a sample of what Jim had to offer: --Sparks flew during a discussion in front of media between President Trump, VP J.D. Vance and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy over a cease-fire deal with Russia. --President Trump kicked Zelenskyy out of the White House as a press conference and lunch was canceled. The critical minerals deal that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said yesterday was a done-deal was not signed as planned. --Zelenskyy said this past Sunday that Russia launched more than 200 drones in an overnight attack, the largest of the war. --President Trump said that a lot of progress has been made in ending the war in Ukraine after French President Macron joined him at the White House for a call with G7 leaders. --The U.N. adopted a resolution, despite opposition from the U.S., that voted against the European-backed measure demanding Russia's immediate withdrawal from Ukraine, reaffirming Ukraine's territorial integrity and also strongly condemning Russia's invasion on the war's 3rd anniversary. --Israeli decision-makers plan to resume the Gaza war in 4-6 weeks with overwhelming force, sending in tens of thousands of troops to conquer the entire strip in a single, coordinated offensive against Hamas. --Hamas released 6 living hostages last Saturday. --In Buenos Aires there is a street named, "State of Israel" and another named, "State of Palestine." Following the murder of the Bibas children, Argentina has decided to rename the street, "State of Palestine" to "Bibas Family Street."

This Crosstalk featured guest Dr. David Brown. Dr. Brown is Pastor Emeritus of the First Baptist Church in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. He has a Masters in Theology and a Ph.D in History specializing in the history of the English Bible. The United States Supreme Court has upheld that the Second Amendment to the Constitution is an individual right, yet there are many questions that people have. So if you're wondering, for example, if you can be pro-gun and pro-life, you'll want to review this important edition of Crosstalk as Dr. Brown brings clarity on these and other points of concern. For example: -Was Jesus a pacifist? -How do we deal with "Thou shalt not kill"? According to the Bible, when is killing not murder? -Does Romans 12:19-21 mean that we're to just leave things up to God for vengeance every time? What is the place of law enforcement in this? -What is the difference between self-defense and vengeance? -Does carrying a gun show a lack of trust in God? Listeners had Dr. Brown answer additional questions to round out the broadcast.