(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump Monday night declared a national emergency at the U.S. southwest border and issued multiple directives to implement border security. Former President Joe Biden “allowed millions of people to pour through our borders from jails, prisons, mental institutions, insane asylums, gang members to be taken off the streets of Venezuela and deposited in our country and not just Venezuela … through an open border policy," Trump said. "All over the world, they're ...
Jan 25, 2025•8 min•Ep. 323
(The Center Square) – As President Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th U.S. President on Monday, his supporters made a pilgrimage to Washington, D.C. to show their support. The Center Square joined them in the blistering cold streets of the nation’s capital to get a sense of what Trump’s base is hoping for in this administration. Per conversations on inauguration day, one theme rang loud and clear: securing the southern border. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foun...
Jan 24, 2025•7 min•Ep. 322
(The Center Square)- President-elect Donald Trump is expected to take a wide range of actions on his first day in office. They include potentially signing executive orders related to border security and immigration issues, energy and education. He also vowed to institute a range of tariffs on foreign goods shipped into the country. He also could issue pardons to some convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundat...
Jan 18, 2025•8 min•Ep. 321
(The Center Square) – For more than four hours Tuesday, Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth fielded questions regarding both his professional qualifications and personal character during a heated hearing before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee. Pam Bondi, Doug Burgum, Marco Rubio, Kristi Noem, and other nominees also began their confirmation hearings in the Senate this week. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?s...
Jan 17, 2025•8 min•Ep. 320
(The Center Square) — The nation's first congestion pricing system got underway in New York over the weekend after a last-ditch legal challenge failed to block the controversial new tolling program. New York’s new toll for drivers entering Manhattan below 60th Street began just after midnight on Sunday after a U.S. District Court judge late Friday denied New Jersey’s push to keep the plan from going into effect. Under the program, passenger cars will pay a $9 toll between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. on we...
Jan 11, 2025•8 min•Ep. 319
(The Center Square) – President-elect Donald Trump said Tuesday that U.S. economic security depends on controlling Greenland and the Panama Canal. Trump's comments came the same day his son, Don Jr., landed on the arctic island. "Don Jr. and my Reps landing in Greenland," the president-elect wrote on Truth Social. "The reception has been great. They, and the Free World, need safety, security, strength, and PEACE! This is a deal that must happen. MAGA. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!" As Trump prepar...
Jan 10, 2025•7 min•Ep. 318
(The Center Square) – Former President Jimmy Carter died on Sunday at his home in Plains, Ga. Carter on Oct. 1, 2024, became the first U.S. president to live to be 100. Commander in chief for four years after winning election in 1976 in the aftermath of President Richard Nixon's resignation followed by two years of President Gerald Ford, the Democrat is remembered for negotiating a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, the Camp David Accords, and his post-presidential work for free elections, h...
Jan 04, 2025•7 min•Ep. 317
(The Center Square) – The FBI has identified the driver of a truck that plowed into a crowd of people celebrating New Year's on Bourbon Street early Wednesday, killing at least 15 people and injuring 35. Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, a U.S. citizen and U.S. Army veteran from Houston, rented the F-150 Lightning truck, the FBI said. Alethea Duncan, an assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans field office, said the agency doesn't believe he acted alone. The law enforcement agency said i...
Jan 03, 2025•8 min•Ep. 316
The Center Square's 2024 Year in Review including the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, his ensuing political comeback, wars abroad, & more. Keep up with all of the national news in 2025 at The Center Square: https://www.thecentersquare.com/national/
Dec 26, 2024•8 min•Ep. 315
(The Center Square) – Federal officials said Tuesday that drones spotted along the East Coast over the past month do not pose a threat to national security or public safety. Four federal agencies – the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Defense – issued a statement Tuesday after weeks of reports about drone activity. In some cases, airports have been closed as a result of the drones. The Pentagon statement said ...
Dec 21, 2024•6 min•Ep. 314
(The Center Square) – The House has overwhelmingly voted against the stopgap bill presented to the House floor Thursday evening by Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., after a last-minute scramble. With 174 yeas and 235 nays, opposition from both Democrats and Republicans tanked the 116-page American Relief Act, 2025 which needed a two-thirds majority to pass. The measure would have funded the government through March, allocated roughly $100 billion in disaster relief, extended the farm bill for a year,...
Dec 20, 2024•8 min•Ep. 313
(The Center Square) – Newly released inflation data shows a rise in producer prices. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday released its Producer Price index, a key marker of inflation, which rose 0.4% in November. The November increase is part of a 3% increase in the past year, which BLS pointed out is “the largest rise since moving up 4.7% for the 12 months ended February 2023.” Much of the PPI was driven by a rise in food prices, most notably the cost of eggs. “A quarter of the Novem...
Dec 14, 2024•7 min•Ep. 312
(The Center Square) – After blaming Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for over a year for illegal border crossers inundating New York City, Mayor Eric Adams said on Thursday he now welcomes federal help to remove criminals in the city who are illegally in the country. After meeting with President-elect Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan, Adams held a news conference expressing his support for Homan’s efforts. When asked if Homan requested help from the city to target the most violent criminals illegally ...
Dec 13, 2024•8 min•Ep. 311
(The Center Square) — A leading member of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet says that Canada will bolster its border security after meeting with President-elect Donald Trump's Commerce Secretary nominee, Howard Lutnick. Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc made the comments to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation after Trump threatened broad 25% tariffs against Canada and Mexico if they do not help stop the flow of illegal immigrants into the U.S. "As everyone is aware...
Dec 07, 2024•7 min•Ep. 310
(The Center Square) – President-elect Donald Trump responded to President Joe Biden’s expansive pardon of his son, Hunter, calling it a “miscarriage of justice.” Trump’s comments were echoed by a wave of criticism following the Sunday night pardon. The president and his White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, both previously said Biden would not pardon his son. “President Biden insisted many times he would never pardon his own son for his serious crimes,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-L...
Dec 06, 2024•7 min•Ep. 309
President-elect Donald Trump’s new border czar Tom Homan is putting together an extensive deportation plan for when he hits the ground running after they are both sworn into office in January. Homan spoke to The Center Square about his priorities, illustrating a marked difference from President Joe Biden’s border czar, Vice President Kamala Harris, who repeatedly said the border was secure and she didn’t need to go to there. Under the Biden-Harris administration, the greatest number of illegal b...
Nov 26, 2024•8 min•Ep. 308
President-elect Donald Trump’s win and his subsequent creation of a Department of Government Efficiency have galvanized lawmakers to pave the way for legislation to clean out diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, staff and programs that have ballooned under the Biden-Harris administration. The Center Square was given advance copy of two bills filed Thursday by U.S. Rep. Bob Good, R-La., to end DEI practices at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The first bill, the Flexibi...
Nov 23, 2024•7 min•Ep. 307
Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s embattled pick to lead the U.S. Department of Justice as attorney general, said Thursday he was withdrawing his name from consideration to lead the federal law enforcement agency. Gaetz’ decision comes after meeting with U.S. senators, many of whom had expressed misgivings about Gaetz, who made enemies in Congress, including for his role in ousting former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The Senate must vote to confirm Trump cabinet nominees. Republicans o...
Nov 22, 2024•8 min•Ep. 306
U.S. Senate Republicans on Wednesday elected Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., to lead the party in the Senate. Senate Republicans voted via secret ballot to elect a new party leader as longtime Republican leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky,. is stepping down. Sens. Rick Scott of Florida, Thune and John Cornyn of Texas also ran for the position. "I am extremely honored to have earned the support of my colleagues to lead the Senate in the 119th Congress, and I am beyond proud of the work we have done to secure ...
Nov 16, 2024•8 min•Ep. 305
President-Elect Donald Trump named two more high-profile figures to his administration Wednesday afternoon, the latest in a flurry of presidential picks. Trump tapped U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., to serve as attorney general and former Democratic Congresswoman and Lt. Col. Tulsi Gabbard to serve as director of National Intelligence. “For over two decades, Tulsi has fought for our Country and the Freedoms of all Americans,” Trump said in a statement. “As a former Candidate for the Democrat Presi...
Nov 15, 2024•8 min•Ep. 304
Republicans are on track to control all three branches of government for the first time since former President Donald Trump took the nation by surprise with his win in 2016. Although many votes are left to be counted and Americans will not know the final results with certainty for days or possibly weeks, analysts generally agree that Republicans are favored to take the U.S. House of Representatives after already reclaiming the Senate. A big development broke Thursday evening when media outlets c...
Nov 09, 2024•8 min•Ep. 303
Former President Donald Trump is on track to potentially receive 300 electoral votes or more. He won the national popular vote by about 5 million with votes still being counted. As a result, some analysts and Republicans say Trump and the GOP have a “mandate” to aggressively push forward with their agenda. "America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate," Trump said in his speech early Wednesday morning, creating a refrain echoed by his supporters.
Nov 08, 2024•9 min•Ep. 302
Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are locked in a tight race with Election Day right around the corner. Trump hosted a rally at Madison Square Garden Sunday night, riffing off the fiery crowd and hitting on a range of topics in his typical style. The same day, Harris spoke at a lively rally of her own in Philadelphia in the key swing state of Pennsylvania. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?so...
Nov 01, 2024•7 min•Ep. 301
Of the record 14 million illegal border crossers reported under the Biden-Harris administration, more than 1.62 million are from four Countries of Particular Concern (CPC): China, Cuba, Nicaragua and Russia. The U.S. State Department has designated CPCs for their policies of “systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom,” which includes “torture, prolonged detention without charges, forced disappearance, or other flagrant denial of life, liberty, or security of persons.” U.S. d...
Oct 26, 2024•8 min•Ep. 300
One of America's top polling experts shared his "gut" prediction on who will win the 2024 presidential election, joining other notables who have shared different predictions for the tight race. With less than two weeks before voters decide between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, polling guru Nate Sliver said he thinks Trump will win, but with a caveat. "My gut says Donald Trump. And my guess is that it is true for many anxious Democrats," Silver wrote in a New Yor...
Oct 25, 2024•8 min•Ep. 299
A proposal senators from Michigan and North Carolina say could be helping victims of natural disasters was already filed before Hurricanes Helene and Milton ruptured lives in the southeastern United States. On Wednesday of the third week since Helene struck the Blue Ridge Mountains in Sen. Thom Tillis’ native North Carolina, FEMA is under attack, the Disaster Survivors Fairness Act of 2024 remains parked in committee since introduction Sept. 17, and another cold night is coming with dozens still...
Oct 19, 2024•8 min•Ep. 298
The morning after was not kind to Vice President Kamala Harris, at least not at the leading national betting books. Already the betting favorite Monday by 9.2%, Republican former President Donald Trump surged to 17.2% by midday Thursday – the biggest headlines from each happening on Wednesday in interviews rather than campaign rallies. And each happened on the home of Fox News, a network known for the conservative lean to the right. Trump, appearing with Harris Faulkner on “The Faulkner Focus,” ...
Oct 18, 2024•8 min•Ep. 297
The U.S. annual deficit is nearing $2 trillion for this fiscal year, almost double the record deficits before the COVID-19 pandemic, as federal borrowing hit more than $5 billion per day. The U.S. Congressional Budget Office reported that the federal deficit hit an estimated $1.8 trillion in fiscal year 2024, $139 billion higher than the deficit from the previous fiscal year. The troubling deficit news comes as the national debt continues to soar, drawing closer to $36 trillion. “Within the next...
Oct 12, 2024•9 min•Ep. 296
Vice President Kamala Harris holds a slight edge over former President Donald Trump in national polling less than one month from election day. The Center Square Voters' Voice poll, conducted with Noble Predictive Insights and released Wednesday, shows Harris leads Trump 49% to 47%, a tight race that's within the poll's +/-2.1% margin of error. The poll is one of only six national tracking polls in the United States. The race likely will be determined by a handful of swing states where other poll...
Oct 11, 2024•9 min•Ep. 295
Nearly 50,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association will return to work after the port workers' union reached a tentative contract agreement with the United States Maritime Alliance. "The International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance, Ltd. have reached a tentative agreement on wages and have agreed to extend the Master Contract until January 15, 2025 to return to the bargaining table to negotiate all other outstanding issues," the two groups p...
Oct 05, 2024•8 min•Ep. 294
