Politics and views in the United States.

Educators worry about President Trump's education plan, as federal judges block several of his executive orders. Battles over voting rules are moving in numerous courts. And FSU students protest a state bill lowering the age to buy a gun.

TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to 2025 Talks, where we're following our democracy in historic times.

Since there's only less than 30 days for most schools in the state of Tennessee to be in service, then it would cut our after-school programs come the next year, and particularly our summer programs that augment this in-school learning and skill building.

Tanya Coates with the Tennessee Education Association says teachers are worried about President Donald Trump's threats to cut federal funds of Republic K-12 diversity, equity and inclusion programs and lesson plans.

In response to lawsuits, judges are at least temporarily blocking those administrative moves.

Coates says DEI services help low-income students and those with disabilities go to college.

As the White House is also moving to dismantle the Department of Education and shift control of its funds to the states, rural communities want Congress to reauthorize a program to support schools and roads in 700 counties.

Mark Hagerty with the Center for American Progress says the bipartisan Secure Rural Schools and Communities Act was supposed to be a stopgap to help counties that lost revenue when timbering on federal land declined.

But he says places like Washington State's Skamania County still need it.

The industry doesn't support local schools, sheriffs departments anymore.

If you just look at the way the economy actually works, it doesn't work for rural places.

A federal judge is blocking part of a Trump executive order requiring proof of citizenship to vote or register.

Non-citizen voting is already illegal for federal elections and seldom happens.

A separate federal judge is blocking the White House from defunding cities which don't cooperate with federal immigration actions.

That judge also issued a similar order early in the president's first term.

Meanwhile, Trump is directing the Department of Justice to investigate ActBlue, the Democratic Party's main fundraising platform.

The White House says the probe will look for illegal straw donations and funding by foreign individuals.

According to the New York Times, this is the third time in as many weeks where Trump has used government power to target his political enemies.

The Arkansas Secretary of State is being sued by the League of Women Voters over rules they they call unconstitutional.

The state's initiative process allows people to propose statutes or constitutional amendments, then collect signatures to get them on the ballot.

But attorney David Couch says lawmakers have acted in contradiction to that.

When you have a right to do that under your state constitution, the federal constitution protects that right.

There are free speech rights.

The United States Supreme Court has said that the right to petition is core political speech, and you can't impose any laws to restrict it unless there's legitimate purpose.

Florida State University students joined survivors of past mass shootings at the state capitol this week, demanding Governor Ron DeSantis veto a bill that would lower the gun purchasing age to 18.

The protest follows last week's shooting at the school's student union, the 79th mass shooting this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

Kane Strickland was working on an engineering lab project when alerts flashed across his phone.

He spoke moments after the campus-wide lockdown was lifted.

Campus has always been a safe place, so to see this happen is crazy.

I mean, you always hear about it happening somewhere else, other schools, you know, but You never really think it's going to happen here.

FSU had a separate mass shooting a decade ago.

I'm Edwin J. Vieira for Pacifica Network and Public News Service.

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