Politics and views in the United States.

The federal megabill healthcare cuts remain central to the ongoing budget stalemate. The Dallas sniper acted alone and used ICE agent tracking apps and former FBI Director James Comey is indicted for obstruction of justice and false statements.

TRANSCRIPT

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

It increased the child tax credit.

It meant that we're going to increase take-home pay by about $10,000 over the four years of the Trump administration.

It means that if you're working on tips or if you're working an overtime shift, the government is going to take less of your money.

At a North Carolina rally, Vice President J.D. Vance outlines the benefits of the one big beautiful bill, including a big increase in a child tax credit for millions of families "but highly unpopular mega bill cuts "are expected to mean more than 10 million people "will lose Medicaid and children's health insurance by 2034.

"Those cuts and Democratic demands "to extend ACA insurance plan subsidies "are central to now stalled negotiations "over the federal budget.

"Brett Woodhouse with the nonprofit Protect Our Care "says these Obamacare subsidies were massively successful "and if they expire, millions of people "are in for health insurance sticker shock."

During the Biden administration, when he left office, we had the lowest uninsured rate this country has ever seen.

So we have more people having American healthcare, more people having coverage, more people sharing the risk, a healthier population, that's in everyone's benefit.

Republican leaders say they want to continue current funding levels with a temporary stopgap and come back later to address the cost of insurance.

Critics argue that would let premiums spike.

If a deal isn't reached by midnight Monday, the government starts to shut down.

Instead of the typical employee furloughs, the Trump administration is ordering agencies to consider permanent mass layoffs.

Meanwhile, the sniper who fired at an ICE detention center in Dallas was targeting agents, not detainees.

According to notes he left behind, authorities confirmed 29-year-old Joshua John of Dallas ICE detainee and critically wounded two others.

Marcos Charles with Immigration and Customs Enforcement says he did so by using an app that tracks ICE agents to help migrants avoid detention.

It's a casting call to invite bad actors to attack law enforcement officers.

It's no different than giving a hitman the location of their intended target, and this is exactly what we saw happen in Dallas.

Former FBI Director James Comey is being indicted on charges of doing false statements and obstruction of justice relating to the investigation into whether President Donald Trump's first campaign colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election.

Attorney General Pam Bondi says the indictment reflects that no one is above the law.

She initially doubted the case's merits.

Trump specifically told Bondi to ensure Comey is charged.

Comey's a bad person.

He's a sick person.

I think he's a sick guy, actually.

He did terrible things at the FBI.

The Department of Justice is also pressing prosecutors to investigate the foundation of wealthy civil society donor George Soros, a regular target of right-wing conspiracy theories.

A department memo lists potential charges including arson and material support of terrorism.

A new report finds Massachusetts is home to some of the most censored campuses in the nation.

The latest college free speech rankings give schools like Harvard and Boston University failing grades for free speech.

This comes as student protests over the war in Gaza led the Trump administration to withhold funding and the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk ignited debates over the limits of free speech.

Sean Stevens with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE, says conservative students are increasingly joining their liberal peers in supporting censorship.

We're siweling ourselves, and it's not just at the college level, we're siweling ourselves society-wide in these kind of political camps.

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

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.