America's Talking

Nearly 300 suspected terrorists have been apprehended attempting to enter the U.S. in the first few months of fiscal 2023 as 28 members of Congress formed a new caucus to address the crisis at the northern border, where record numbers of foreign nationals continue to illegally enter from Canada. The Northern Border Security Caucus, formed by U.S. Reps. Mike Kelly, R-Pennsylvania, and Ryan Zinke, R...

The House Oversight Committee said Tuesday that the U.S. Treasury Department is providing the investigatory committee with access to Hunter Biden’s Suspicious Activity Reports after months of delay. The revelation is the latest chapter in the committee’s ongoing investigation into the president’s son and his associates. The lawmakers concerned with the issue argue the president could be compromise...

The U.S. Federal Reserve may be less likely to use its key tool to combat inflation because of recent bank failures. The Fed has been aggressively hiking interest rates for months to help combat inflation. While inflation has slowed, it remains elevated. Given the recent bank collapses, hiking rates again may be too risky for the Fed. “The Federal Reserve is going to have to pick its poison – tole...

President Joe Biden’s 2024 budget proposal requests billions of dollars to advance his gender and sexuality agenda around the world, allocating far more taxpayer dollars to that than dozens of other spending priorities, such as stopping fentanyl from being smuggled across the southern border. Biden’s budget request for this issue in particular has more than doubled in the last two years. In the pa...

U.S. House Oversight lawmakers held a subcommittee hearing Wednesday to dig further into where COVID-19 originated and who may be responsible. Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Chairman Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, led the hearing, saying they will be investigating not just COVID’s origins, but also decisions made during the pandemic. He began by laying out evidence that the virus came fro...

The U.S. Senate voted 81-14 Wednesday to overturn the Washington, D.C. city council's plan to lower the penalties for a range of criminal offenses. Biden had expressed support for Congress stepping in. As previously reported, the bill would have reduced the maximum penalties for offenses like murders, armed robberies, armed home invasion burglaries, armed carjackings, unlawful gun possession, and...

President Joe Biden released his 2024 budget Thursday that includes a trove of tax hikes, quickly sparking pushback from critics. The White House said the budget will cut deficits by nearly $3 trillion over the next decade. Critics argued that despite those cuts, the national debt is still soaring, projected to surpass $50 trillion in the next decade. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget...

Nearly 60 House Democrats voted with Republicans in the U.S. House Wednesday to put a check President Joe Biden’s executive orders. The House voted on the REIN IN Inflation Act, which would require the Biden administration to publish the “inflationary impact” of each executive order before issuing it. The bill passed 272-148 with 59 Democrats in support. “Pushing one big-spending policy after anot...

The FBI has confirmed initial reports that the Biden administration is now saying the most likely source of COVID-19 is the virology lab in Wuhan, China. The news comes after the Wall Street Journal reported that the Department of Energy gave classified briefings to key lawmakers and the White House saying the most likely origin of the virus was the lab in China. “[FBI] Director Wray confirmed tha...

President Joe Biden's call for funding for 87,000 IRS agents to audit Americans has raised questions about whether the new rash of auditing will target poorer Americans or be politically motivated. The Inflation Reduction Act included $80 billion to beef up IRS efforts, which Biden says will more than pay for itself in new audits. Biden’s nominee to lead the Internal Revenue Service, Daniel Werfel...

A new Republican candidate threw his hat into the presidential race late Tuesday, focusing his campaign on an “anti-woke” agenda. Vivek Ramaswamy, an author, activist, and a multimillionaire businessman, announced his candidacy on Tucker Carlson tonight and with a string of Tweets. Join The Center Square's Dan McCaleb and Casey Harper on this episode of America in Focus. --- Listen to Other ATN Pr...

A slew of city-wide vaccine mandates announced in 2021 across parts of the U.S. made virtually no difference in stopping the spread of COVID-19, newly released research found. “These mandates imposed severe restrictions on the lives of many citizens and business owners,” the study, conducted through George Mason University’s Mercatus Center, says. “Yet, we find no evidence that the mandates were e...

President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Kyiv, Ukraine on Monday as the nation nears its one-year anniversary of repelling the invasion of Russian troops. Biden met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and held a joint press conference to “reaffirm our unwavering and unflagging commitment to Ukraine’s democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.” The Russian invasion of Ukraine hits its on...

Join The Center Square’s Executive Editor Dan McCaleb and D.C. Bureau Chief Casey Harper as they discuss Dr. Anthony Fauci taking criticism after his recently published paper cast doubt on the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines. The federal government released its latest inflation data Tuesday, drawing fresh fire for President Joe Biden as the cost of living continues to rise. President Joe Biden’s nom...

Join The Center Square’s Executive Editor Dan McCaleb and D.C. Bureau Chief Casey Harper as they discuss President Joe Biden touting what he said were his administration's many accomplishments since taking office during his Tuesday night State of the Union address, heralding economic gains, the bounce back from COVID-19, funding for Ukraine and more. The Super Bowl has become something like an ann...

Join The Center Square's Executive Editor Dan McCaleb and Reporter Brett Rowland as they discuss a U.S. House committee hearing made clear the total cost of fraud and waste in taxpayer-funded pandemic relief programs remains unknown. An oversight committee hearing Wednesday highlighted the cost of fraud in taxpayer-funded pandemic relief programs as federal agencies continue to tally losses. Hays...

Join The Center Square's Executive Editor Dan McCaleb and Reporter Brett Rowland as they discuss the federal government spending trillions of dollars a year on programs, but it doesn't have an inventory of all federal programs despite a 2011 law that says they must be tracked. Government report: Unemployment fraud may top $60 billion during pandemic. Classified documents were discovered at the Car...

Join The Center Square’s Executive Editor Dan McCaleb and D.C. Bureau Chief Casey Harper as they discuss the debt ceiling setting up a major battle in Congress. U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen sent a letter to Congressional leaders Thursday notifying them that the agency has begun taking “extraordinary measures” as the federal government bumps up against its debt limit of just over...

Join The Center Square’s Executive Editor Dan McCaleb and D.C. Bureau Chief Casey Harper as they discuss Attorney General Merrick Garland saying Thursday he has appointed Robert Hur as special counsel to lead the investigation into President Joe Biden after classified documents were found at Biden’s office at the Penn Biden Center and at his home in Delaware. President Joe Biden touted falling foo...

Join The Center Square’s Executive Editor Dan McCaleb and D.C. Bureau Chief Casey Harper as they discuss that after four days and 11 failed attempts to elect a Speaker of the House on Thursday, many political pundits demanded that roughly 20 Republican members give in and elect U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as House Speaker, arguing not doing so was creating a “crisis". Gunfire erupted betwe...

Join The Center Square’s Executive Editor Dan McCaleb and D.C. Bureau Chief Casey Harper as they discuss the top news stories out of the nation’s capital in the year 2022. Supreme Court allows pandemic-related border security policy to stand for now. Southwest Airlines says it's doing 33% of scheduled flights in wake of federal probe. New ‘Twitter files’ allege Biden administration worked with Twi...

Join The Center Square's Executive Editor Dan McCaleb and D.C. Bureau Chief Casey Harper as they discuss the battle over omnibus spending continues as Congress faces shutdown Friday. Biden hosts Ukrainian head as lawmakers weigh $45 billion in new war funding. Dems face backlash over FTX scandal, return millions in donations. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/america-in...

Join The Center Square’s Executive Editor Dan McCaleb and D.C. Bureau Chief Casey Harper as they discuss the state of the southern border. Congress considers omnibus as deadline approaches. Small businesses report hardship due to inflation this Christmas season. Federal inflation data: Grocery prices continue to rise nationally. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/america...

Join The Center Square’s Executive Editor Dan McCaleb and D.C. Bureau Chief Casey Harper as they discuss Arizona Senator Leaves Democratic Party, Declares to Be Independent. WNBA star Britney Griner released by Russia via prisoner swap. COVID vaccine mandate for troops may finally get the axe via military budget. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/america-in-focus/suppor...

Join The Center Square’s Executive Editor Dan McCaleb and D.C. Bureau Chief Casey Harper as they discuss Republican governors ask for end to U.S. military COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Polls: Afghanis' suffering has spiked since U.S. troop withdrawal. Inflation rose slightly in October. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/america-in-focus/support Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsW...