America in Focus America's Talking Network

A Jewish Yale student was reportedly stabbed in the eye with a Palestinian flag during a pro-Hamas protest on campus over the weekend, the latest incident highlighting the ongoing tensions on college campuses since the Hamas terror group attacked Israel Oct. 7 and ignited an ongoing war. Amidst ongoing calls for violence, lawmakers have ramped up calls for accountability for the taxpayer-funded universities as well as groups supporting Hamas, which the State Department has officially labeled a terrorist organization.

Full story:

https://www.thecentersquare.com/national/article_01f1743e-005a-11ef-bcdc-9b5bcee28d7f.html


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U.S. Supreme Court Justices on Thursday grappled with multiple questions about what a president can and can't do as they heard oral arguments in a case that could have wide-reaching political ramifications not only for the 2024 election, but well beyond. Supreme Court justices are considering a case involving former President Donald Trump and if presidents have immunity from criminal prosecutions. Trump's attorney D. John Sauer said the president must have immunity for a functioning democracy to flourish. 

Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/national/article_3e8012f8-02a2-11ef-856b-37be46049bb5.html


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The White House Office of Management and Budget openly criticized a report from a Congressional watchdog that estimated the federal government loses up to $521 billion a year to fraud.  Jason Miller, the deputy director for management at the Office of Management and Budget, detailed OMB concerns in a 3-page letter to officials with the Government Accountability Office. He said the fraud estimate was "not plausible."



Full Story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/national/article_36e9fdba-fccb-11ee-ad77-57171fd78925.html


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U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has set up a week of controversy, political posturing and even risked his own job over federal funding for Israel, Taiwan, and Ukraine. The Senate passed a $95 billion aid package earlier this year that combined Israel and Ukraine funding that included $60 billion for Ukraine and $14.1 billion for Israel. That bill made no progress in the House so far, but the escalating tensions between Iran and Israel have pushed the issue to the forefront.



Full Story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/national/article_c40105ae-fc12-11ee-b11a-339751511969.html


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A coalition of states has filed a legal challenge to President Joe Biden’s latest executive effort to forgive a portion of Americans' student loan debt.

The lawsuit comes after Biden on Monday announced the plan, which the states in question say is an overreach of executive authority. The White House claims that Biden has so far canceled at least some of the debt for 4 million Americans, totaling $146 billion so far.

The White House said the newest effort would partially forgive debt for 30 million Americans, though independent analyses have not confirmed that figure.


Full Story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/national/article_80cc5f48-f688-11ee-82c6-93cf698c33d0.html


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President Joe Biden this week touted what he called a major drop in inflation, saying prices had fallen more than 60%. Those comments come on the heels of more federal data showing prices are on the rise, raising the question: Has inflation really fallen or is something else going on? The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Consumer Price Index, a key marker of inflation that has spiked recently. BLS found the CPI rose another 0.4% last month, part of a 3.5% increase over the previous twelve months. Soon after that data was released, Biden released a statement boasting of a drop in inflation.






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