Politics and views in the United States.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth calls for a tougher military stance as Washington faces a shutdown standoff, advocates defend New York's youth justice reforms and survivor groups warn immigration crackdowns endanger victims of domestic violence.

TRANSCRIPT

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

Should our enemies choose foolishly to challenge us, they will be crushed by the violence, precision and ferocity of the War Department.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told an extremely unusual gathering of high-level military officials that the Pentagon is emphasizing a warrior culture and ending diversity measures.

Seth said tough physical fitness standards would apply to everyone in the military, including top officers.

Critics charged the speech hardly justified bringing hundreds of generals and admirals to Virginia, and one observer said he brought commanders in from around the world to tell them they are too fat.

Congress remains deadlocked as the clock ticks toward a government shutdown.

President Donald Trump says Democrats will face what he calls irreversible consequences if they allow funding to expire, while Democrats insist they're defending health coverage for millions.

University of South Dakota political scientist Julia Hale-Vega says people should resist the urge to tune out from the government, given the shutdown drama and intense polarization.

We might differ on the kinds of values that we have and what policy outcomes that we want to see, but we want the government to work.

She warns that walking away from voting in town halls and ignoring the news leaves decision-making to special interests.

The White House announced a deal with Pfizer to slash drug prices through a promised TrumpRx set to launch in 2026.

Administration officials say it will cut the cost of common medicines by half, though industry analysts question whether savings will reach patients or simply shift costs overseas.

Some New York officials blame a 2017 juvenile justice reform for rising felony arrests.

The Raise the Age Law shifted teens out of the adult criminal system and toward rehabilitation.

But Julia Davis at the Children's Defense Fund of New York says the strategy of investing in community-based services is working. moving away from adult prosecution, moving towards rehabilitation services programs so we don't have kids going through the revolving door of the criminal legal system. - A John Jay College report finds New York City youth crime remains lower than when Ways the Age First passed.

Advocates for domestic violence survivors say immigration crackdowns are putting migrant victims at risk by deterring them from seeking police or court protection.

Carmen McDonald with the Survivor Justice Center in Los Angeles says it's eroding years of bipartisan consensus that domestic violence protections are too important to become tangled in political fights.

This is not just the humanitarian crisis, it's a public safety crisis.

When survivors are silenced, abusers go free.

When immigrants are too afraid to call the police, everyone is less safe.

Legal experts also point out that narrowing protections under the Violence Against Women's Act has left more immigrant survivors vulnerable to deportation if their applications are denied.

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

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