President Joe Biden announced early Tuesday that he is running for reelection. "Every generation has a moment where they have had to stand up for democracy. To stand up for their fundamental freedoms," Biden wrote on Twitter in his announcement. "I believe this is ours. That’s why I’m running for reelection as President of the United States. Join us. Let’s finish the job." Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/america-in-focus/support...
Apr 28, 2023•9 min•Ep. 113
Republicans in the U.S. voted Thursday to pass the "Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act," the latest salvo in the ongoing battle over transgender athletes. The legislation would ban schools that receive federal funding, which is nearly all schools, from allowing biological males to compete in sports designated for women and girls. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/america-in-focus/support...
Apr 23, 2023•6 min•Ep. 112
U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said Monday Republicans will vote to cut federal spending when it agrees to raise the debt ceiling, setting the stage for a pending political struggle over growing federal debt and what to do about it. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/america-in-focus/support
Apr 22, 2023•6 min•Ep. 111
A group of liberal Democrats reintroduced the Green New Deal Thursday, the controversial environmental legislation that experts say would spike energy costs in the U.S. and cost taxpayers tens of trillions of dollars. Advocates, though, argue the changes are needed to prevent worsening climate change and get ahead of an inevitable renewable energy transition. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/america-in-focus/support...
Apr 21, 2023•8 min•Ep. 110
U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., announced Wednesday that he is launching an exploratory committee in a potential run for president in 2024. “I will never back down in defense of the conservative values that make America exceptional,” Scott said in his announcement on Twitter. “That's why I'm announcing my exploratory committee for President of the United States. This fight is personal. I want every American to have the same opportunities I had.” Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/...
Apr 16, 2023•5 min•Ep. 109
A new report ranks all 50 states from best to worst for economic conditions, showing which states have improved, and worsened, in creating an economic climate where businesses want to invest. The American Legislative Exchange Council released the state analysis, which ranks Utah as the number one state, North Carolina as second, and Arizona as third. Idaho and Oklahoma fill out the top five spots, ranking fourth and fifth, respectively. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/sh...
Apr 15, 2023•6 min•Ep. 108
Lawmakers are outraged after reports that federal COVID-relief tax dollars may have gone to wealthy hospitals while avoiding helping out poor hospitals in recovering from the pandemic. Republican members of Congress have raised this very question, asking why $17 billion of COVID-19 relief funds was used by hospitals with profits topping more than $53 billion, “while $35 billion went to hospitals that reported a loss of almost $130 billion.” Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/po...
Apr 14, 2023•7 min•Ep. 107
Gas prices continue to rise this week in the U.S., hitting the highest level in months. Now, the concerns and political ramifications for the Biden administration are starting to rise as well. "Gas prices are rising," said economist Stephen Moore. "Joe Biden is doing nothing except push a crazy green agenda that will make prices even higher. "If America went back to Trump's energy policies, we'd be producing 2 million barrels more a day." Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/...
Apr 08, 2023•6 min•Ep. 106
The National Institute of Standards and Technology, a federal and science technology office, has made race and gender speech codes for its scientists a top priority. The guidance, for example, tells federal employees not to use the words "blacklist" or "whitelist" because of the racial connotations and also cautions against "using terms that assign a gender to inanimate objects, such as male/female connectors." Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/america-in-focus/suppor...
Apr 07, 2023•6 min•Ep. 105
President Donald Trump called the charges against him unprecedented election interference in a speech Tuesday night from his Mar-a-Lago home, just hours after pleading not guilty to nearly three dozen felony charges during his arraignment in New York City. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/america-in-focus/support
Apr 06, 2023•7 min•Ep. 104
The Biden administration's collusion with social media companies and others to censor speech related to COVID-19, election integrity and other issues "was far more pervasive and destructive" than initially thought, a key witness and sitting U.S. senator testified at a Thursday Congressional hearing. Republicans on the subcommittee called it "the largest speech censorship operation in recent history." “Their censorship has extended to critical topics like how best to respond to COVID-19 and even ...
Apr 02, 2023•6 min•Ep. 103
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio blasted the Pentagon’s increasingly leftward bent as it struggles to keep up with national security interests. “The United States military is the greatest fighting force in the world, but woke activists in the Biden Administration are undermining military readiness, cohesion, and purpose,” Rubio, R-Fla., told The Center Square. “We cannot allow these left-wing crazies to hollow out our military. The world is an increasingly dangerous place and America’s security requires a ...
Apr 01, 2023•7 min•Ep. 102
Former President Donald Trump was indicted by a grand jury in New York Thursday, potentially kicking off one of the most controversial court cases in decades and the first criminal charges against a former or sitting president. The specific charges and details of the indictment have not yet been released, but prosecutors presented evidence that Trump allegedly paid hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels through a lawyer seven years ago and illegally covered it up as a legal expense before ...
Mar 31, 2023•9 min•Ep. 101
Inflation has outpaced wages for nearly two years, federal data shows. A closer look at federal wage and pricing data shows workers are making less overall as the price for all kinds of goods and services rise faster than average hourly wages. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks “real” average hourly earnings, which are wages of Americans with rising inflation taken into account. “From February 2022 to February 2023, real average hourly earnings decreased 0.3 percent, seasonally adjusted,...
Mar 26, 2023•6 min•Ep. 100
The liberal crime bill pushed by local Washington, D.C. leaders and killed by President Joe Biden has backfired, inviting fresh oversight and the clamping down of federal authority on the capital city at a time when local leaders are pushing for autonomy. The crime bill would have lessened penalties for a range of crimes even as D.C. has experienced a spike in homicides, arson, and other crimes. House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., announced an oversight hearing of Washington...
Mar 25, 2023•9 min•Ep. 99
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-Montana, is expressing concerns about “the increased human and drug trafficking, along with the dec...
Mar 24, 2023•9 min•Ep. 98
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 compromised if foreign sources have knowledge of his or his son’s alleged wrongdoing. "According to bank docum...
Mar 19, 2023•5 min•Ep. 97
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 – tolerate some inflation for a bit to see if its current series of rate hikes takes hold and pause or kee...
Mar 18, 2023•6 min•Ep. 96
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 past, that focus would have been almost entirely on women and young girls. In recent years, though, ad...
Mar 17, 2023•7 min•Ep. 95
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 from a lab. "The genome of COVID-19 is inconsistent with expectations and is unique for its group of vi...
Mar 12, 2023•5 min•Ep. 94
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 some sexual assault offenses. Late Wednesday, 33 Democrat Senators voted with Republicans to block t...
Mar 11, 2023•7 min•Ep. 93
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 said despite Biden's claims, U.S. Gross Domestic Product would increase from 98% at the end of this...
Mar 10, 2023•8 min•Ep. 92
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 another, President Biden has continued to throw fuel on the inflationary fire,” House Oversight Chairman...
Mar 05, 2023•9 min•Ep. 91
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 that the Bureau has assessed that the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic likely originated from a lab inc...
Mar 04, 2023•8 min•Ep. 90
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, addressed concerns over this policy at his recent confirmation hearing but promised lawmakers the ...
Mar 03, 2023•9 min•Ep. 89
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 Productions: America's Talking : An interview podcast hosted by Austin Berg. Guests include professors...
Feb 26, 2023•8 min•Ep. 88
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 effective in their intended goals of reducing COVID-19 cases and deaths.” Join The Center Square's Da...
Feb 25, 2023•7 min•Ep. 87
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 one-year anniversary this week, and lawmakers want to know: where has all the money gone? With $113 bi...
Feb 24, 2023•9 min•Ep. 86
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 nominee to lead the Internal Revenue Service took a slew of tough questions from lawmakers on the Senat...
Feb 17, 2023•22 min•Ep. 85
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 annual holiday for Americans full of football, food and beverages, but the recent spike in food prices ...
Feb 10, 2023•25 min•Ep. 84
