Politics and views in the United States.

Kentucky loses federal solar funds as households brace for higher costs, Colorado's immigrants run community trainings in the face of deportation sweeps, Montana service workers navigate the tax break on tips and Ohio's Sherrod Brown launches a comeback bid.

TRANSCRIPT

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

Another goal was to provide jobs and trainings in renewable energy and to create a workforce that is ready.

So, huge setback.

Julia Finch with the Kentucky Sierra Club says canceling $60 million in funding for the Solar for All program will slow job training and make it harder for low-income households to cut their bills.

The state's coal industry praises the EPA cancellation, but consumer advocates point out that with the power rates rising sharply, wind and solar are now cheaper than fossil fuels.

Finch says Louisville and eastern counties had also planned community solar to aid disaster resilience.

Immigrants in Fort Morgan, northeast of Denver, are turning to their community as asylum becomes harder to get and deportations ramp up.

American Friends Service Committee organizer Guadalupe Lopez says she herself was detained, but now she's running trainings to help people navigate daily life.

Coming out of the trainings, people feel empowered and clear.

Those tools are invaluable to people because it reduces their fear in their everyday life, driving their kid to school or the health clinic.

The Montana restaurant industry is helping employees learn how to deduct their tips.

A provision in the Big Beautiful Bill lets servers deduct what could be a huge portion of their income.

Brad Griffin is with the Montana Restaurant Association.

You still have to report all of your tips under federal law, but you will be able to deduct the first $25,000 off the top line as you file your income taxes.

Griffin says the biggest challenge is making sure their employees know they can claim it.

The deduction expires in three years.

Former Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown has launched a comeback bid running against Republican John Husted, who was named to replace now Vice President J.D. Vance.

Brown says bad economic and health care conditions made worse by the GOP tax and budget mega-bill pushed him back into the race.

I didn't really ever expect to run for office again.

This rig system got worse.

490,000 Ohioans will lose health insurance.

A huge tax cut driving a $3 trillion hole in the federal budget and prices has kept going up."

The race is expected to draw national attention and heavy outside spending, with Senate control possibly on the line.

Following a social media post by President Donald Trump, the Justice Department is opening an investigation into whether Washington, D.C. police manipulated crime data.

In response to Trump federalizing district policing, the mayor and others cite data showing crime at a 30-year low.

That takeover and aggressive Republican redistricting is sparking "fight the Trump takeover" protests in multiple places. 2040 current and former national security officials have had their security clearances revoked by the Trump administration.

Many investigated Russian interference in the 2016 election.

I'm Farah Sidiqi for Pacifica Network and Public News Service.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.