America's Talking

(The Center Square) – U.S. senators have left town for the weekend and will not vote again on a federal funding bill until Tuesday, meaning the ongoing government shutdown will stretch into its third week. Meanwhile, today marks the last time that over 700,000 civilian federal workers will receive a partial paycheck, leaving federal employees either furloughed or working without pay until the...

(The Center Square) – During a round table discussion with independent journalists at the White House on Wednesday afternoon, President Donald Trump said his administration would designate Antifa a foreign terror organization. The Center Square asked the president if he would designate Antifa, which he designated a domestic terror group last month, a foreign terror organization (FTO). Trump...

(The Center Square) – Despite federal pushback for diversity, equity and inclusion programs, Illinois has spent millions of dollars in the past few years for new, high-paying government jobs to increase the amount of state contracts that go to businesses owned by racial minorities, women and people with disabilities, an investigation by The Center Square found. Yet, at least on paper, the...

(The Center Square) – The results of a May executive order aiming to reform drug pricing are beginning to materialize, per an administration announcement Tuesday. Major pharmaceutical manufacturer Pfizer has agreed to slash prices on many of its drugs in the U.S. after months of negotiations with the administration. Both those involved in the discussions and observers were uncertain how they...

(The Center Square) – It’s day three of the government shutdown, and U.S. lawmakers are no closer to a government stopgap compromise, with both parties believing they’ll win the standoff. The Senate is set to vote Friday afternoon on both Democrats’ and Republicans’ competing short-term Continuing Resolutions for the fourth time, but neither is likely to pass. Democratic leaders remain staunch in...

(The Center Square) – A hard deadline has been set for Hamas to agree to a peace deal proposed by President Donald Trump and accepted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, warning this is their “last chance.” Trump told Hamas leaders that they have until 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 5, Washington, D.C. time, warning this is their last chance or “all HELL” will break loose. In a Friday Truth Social...

(The Center Square) — Before President Trump warned pregnant women to avoid taking Tylenol, three members of Congress dumped stock in the Fortune 500 company that makes the popular painkiller -- sell-offs that saved them from incurring sizable losses, an investigation by The Center Square found. The lawmakers sold $1,001 to $15,000 each in Kenvue Inc., a Summit, New Jersey-based consumer products...

(The Center Square) – With only six days until the federal government shuts down, Republicans and Democrats have yet to secure a funding deal – and the Trump administration is already planning on how to make the most of it. In a leaked memo, the Office of Management and Budget outlines plans for federal agencies that would run out of funding during a government shutdown to “use this opportunity”...

(The Center Square) – Ryan Routh was found guilty of all charges in a plot to kill Donald Trump by a federal jury that needed little time to reach a verdict Tuesday afternoon. Deciding to represent himself and getting cautions many times from Judge Aileen Cannon along the way, Routh nevertheless presented himself as incapable of the five charges prosecutors levied against him. The jury of seven...

(The Center Square) – Business leaders and corporations across the country that employ foreign workers through the H-1B visa program have scrambled to respond to President Donald Trump’s recent reform efforts. Last week, Trump announced the United States would charge companies $100,000 for each H-1B visa issued to a temporary foreign worker. The administration imposed a Sept. 21 deadline for...