Politics and views in the United States.

ICE director defends officers wearing masks during immigration raids, while the Trump administration is found to have ignored dozens of court rulings. And another push is made to abolish the death penalty in Pennsylvania.

TRANSCRIPT

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

I'm not a proponent of the masks.

However, if that's a tool that the men and women of ICE to keep themselves and their families safe, then I'll allow it.

Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Todd Lyons defends ICE agents wearing masks to CBS News.

Administration deportation raids are drawing criticism from Democrats.

They charge masked plainclothes agents often use racial profiling and detain both citizens and law-abiding migrants in raids that appear indistinguishable from kidnapping.

A new analysis from the Washington Post says the Justice Department has defied or ignored judges' orders in a third of the 160 cases where courts have ruled against President Donald Trump's administration.

Many of the cases involve immigration issues.

The Senate is about to vote on the controversial nomination of Trump's former personal lawyer and current Assistant Attorney General Emil Bovey to the federal bench, in spite of whistleblowers going public with texts from him telling staff at Justice to defy court orders.

The Supreme Court has closed an eventful term.

In Medina v.

Planned Parenthood, the court ruled that Medicaid beneficiaries can't sue the federal government over the right to choose their medical provider.

Former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance says that could leave low-income people with fewer ways to challenge the loss of health care.

These patients are being told, "You can no longer have the provider of your own choice.

Even though the law guarantees you that right, we, the Supreme Court, are going to strip away your ability to sue, to enforce it."

The court also upheld a Tennessee ban on gender-affirming care.

The administration is asking that grand jury testimony used to indict multimillionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein be made public.

The records are under seal because Epstein's co-conspirator is appealing her conviction.

The former prosecutors say unsealing them probably won't answer most of people's questions.

The White House is excluding the Wall Street Journal from the press pool for Trump's upcoming trip to Scotland.

Trump is suing the Journal for reporting that Trump sent Epstein a signed drawing of a woman for Epstein's 50th birthday.

A federal judge has ruled the administration broke the law when it took down a website that displayed how federal funds are apportioned to agencies.

The White House was given until Thursday to put the site back up.

A bipartisan group of Pennsylvania legislators are trying to repeal the state's death penalty.

It's a bill that removes death penalty as a sentencing option.

It leaves the rest of the criminal code just as it is now.

It's just that instead of saying for this crime, the sentence can be this or death, It's just taking out or death.

Kathleen Lucas is with Pennsylvanians against the death penalty.

The death penalty was enacted there 10 years ago, but currently there's a moratorium on its use.

Americans, especially younger people, increasingly oppose capital punishment.

One Gallup poll found its support at a 50 year low.

NASA employees sent a letter to the administration Monday, urging officials not to follow through with promised cuts, which they argued would threaten safety and scientific advancement.

I'm Zimone Perez for Pacifica Network and Public News Service.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.