Politics and views in the United States.

'Textgate' draws congressional scrutiny. Trump policies on campus protests and federal workforce cuts are prompting lawsuits as their impacts on economic stability and weather data become clearer.

TRANSCRIPT

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

They've acknowledged that they made a mistake and that's what they're investigating.

And they'll get to the bottom of it and they'll make sure that it never happens again.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer is deflecting criticism away from a dozen top administration security officials who used a public encrypted text app for sensitive discussions.

A journalist was included in the group chat on military action in Yemen by mistake, and one of the officials got the messages while in Moscow.

Emmer says the app was used this way previously, but a memo revealed by NPR says the White House specifically forbid its use due to vulnerabilities.

A new report by the Center for Community Solutions says federal cuts in Ohio could hurt the state's economy.

The center's Dylan Armstrong says if all the job reductions go through, it could spike the state's unemployment by nearly 40 percent.

For federal funds for the year 2021, almost $58 billion of investments through all the different federal agencies.

The state doesn't have the capacity to replace those dollars.

No one has the capacity to replace the dollars just of that magnitude.

Appalachian East Ohio gets the most federal funding, but Wright-Patterson Air Force Base employs about 20,000 people.

President Donald Trump is signing a sweeping executive order tightening federal election rules.

While Congress and the states look at similar provisions, the order will mandate proof of citizenship to register.

It will also prohibit counting mail-in ballots received after Election Day.

Critics charge the steps are designed to make it harder to vote.

Meteorologists are raising alarms over possible staffing cuts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, which could lose a fifth of its staff.

Data from the agency's National Weather Service is used by millions, including farmers, sailors and folks who want to know what coat to wear.

Bernadette Woods-Plackey with Climate Central says it's an everyday lifesaver.

Because of NOAA data, we know when to evacuate ahead of storms, fires.

We know when not to evacuate, which is also really critical because that saves a lot of money and a lot of time.

Boot camps designed to help women become forest and brush firefighters are being canceled.

Fourteen camps are being closed in the White House rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

Eva Duncan with Grassroots Wildland Firefighters says only about one in six of the firefighters are women, in part because it's a tough world to get into.

Beyond the actual required training, just having discussions about, well, how do you address hygiene?

You know, what do I do if I feel like I'm being treated unfairly?

And those kind of questions that don't get covered in a classroom setting.

Otherwise, the administration is rolling back some cuts to wildfire efforts.

University professors are suing Trump's administration, accusing it of targeting non-citizen students, and staff who protest.

Filed in Massachusetts, the case challenges deportation tactics and warns of a chilling effect on campus pro-Palestinian speech.

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

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