Podcasts about United States Senate

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp finally did it! He endorsed Republican Derek Dooley for a run for United States Senate. Dooley's name is popular but the man himself is considered "an outsider" ; "a newcomer" to Georgia politics. Kemp hopes that will be the draw to topple the Democratic incumbent, Senator Jon Ossoff. Strategists Brian Robinson and Tharon Johnson along with host Lisa Rayam talk about the "Kemp Factor" and contemplate if it is powerful enough to silence Dooley's GOP contenders--U.S Representatives Buddy Carter and Mike Collins. Also, the team talks about the candidates running for Georgia Attorney General.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, the guys sit down with Jared Hudson — business owner, nonprofit CEO, law enforcement officer, Navy SEAL veteran, and community leader. Jared recently announced his candidacy for the United States Senate in Alabama, driven by an unwavering commitment to service, accountability, and defending American values. Follow Jared Hudson: https://www.instagram.com/jaredhudson_al/ Follow Outsider: https://www.instagram.com/outsiderig/ Shop Outsider: https://www.outsider.com/   Follow Jay: https://www.instagram.com/ifjayhadinstagram/ Follow Sam: https://www.instagram.com/sammackey615/ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WeAreOutsider/podcasts Episode sponsored by: Montana Dog Food Company: https://montanadogfoodco.com/ Alpen Optics: https://alpenoptics.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chad is joined by Congresswoman Angie Craig. Chad starts the conversation with what stood out most to her yesterday when she attended the candlelight vigil held in the community that's suffering so heavily. Congresswoman Craig opens up about processing what happened through her lens as a grandmother. She then expands into her stance on banning assault rifles in our country and other pieces of legislation targeting gun violence that she's involved in on the Hill. Chad challenges the President to rally his supporters to work to do SOMETHING to address this issue. In the second segment, Chad asks about reigning in social media usage and access for young people as levels of mental health continue to plummet. Congresswoman Craig also provides her reasoning why she thinks she's the best candidate to represent the State of Minnesota in the United States Senate.

Send us a textMark Lynch is challenging the political establishment in a race that could dramatically reshape South Carolina's representation in Washington. A successful businessman who transformed his family enterprise from 5 employees to 110 while maintaining debt-free operations since 1999, Lynch brings a refreshing perspective to a political landscape dominated by career politicians.The conversation reveals Lynch's deeply held convictions about returning America to its constitutional foundations. Having invested $5 million of his own retirement funds into his campaign, Lynch demonstrates his commitment to remaining independent from special interests while mounting a serious challenge to Senator Lindsey Graham's long-held seat. His decision to run stems from years of community involvement and growing concern about the direction of the country.Lynch's platform centers around putting "God first," advocating for constitutional governance, eliminating what he views as unconstitutional federal agencies, implementing a biblical flat tax system, and enforcing immigration laws. His pro-life stance and emphasis on manufacturing revival resonate with conservative South Carolina voters. Internal polling suggests a promising path forward, with Lynch reporting that 57% of South Carolina voters say they'll never vote for Graham again, while 60% prefer a successful businessman.While acknowledging the challenge of running against an incumbent with President Trump's endorsement, Lynch remains confident that his business experience and America-first platform will ultimately win over South Carolina voters in the June 2026 primary. For those interested in supporting his campaign, Lynch invites listeners to visit Lynch4Senate.com to volunteer, donate, or learn more about his vision for representing South Carolina with integrity and conservative principles. As Lynch emphasizes throughout the conversation, this campaign is not merely political—it's a calling to restore godly leadership to the United States Senate.Support the showhttps://www.jacksonfamilyministry.comhttps://bobslone.com/home/podcast-production/

As part of BYU-Idaho's Summer Session Devotional Recommendations, we're featuring “Abide the Day" by Elder Jack N. Gerard, which was delivered on October 29, 2019. Elder Jack N. Gerard was sustained as a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on March 31, 2018. He previously served in the Sixth Quorum of the Seventy in the North America Northeast Area from 2010 to 2016. He is currently serving in the Europe Central Area Presidency. Elder Gerard has served in a number of Church callings, including full-time missionary in the Australia Sydney Mission, bishop, stake president, and—his favorite—ward nursery leader. Elder Gerard attended George Washington University, where he received a bachelor of arts degree in political science and a juris doctor degree. During his career he worked as president and CEO for several entities. He worked in the United States Senate and House of Representatives and served on multiple civic organization boards. Jack Noel Gerard was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho, on December 15, 1957. He married Claudette Neff in 1984. They are the parents of eight children.

The Senate Finance Committee launched an investigation into billionaire Leon Black's financial dealings with Jeffrey Epstein after it was revealed that Black had paid Epstein over $158 million for tax and estate planning services between 2012 and 2017—years after Epstein's conviction for sex crimes involving minors. Lawmakers expressed concern not just over the extraordinary size of the payments, but over whether they were legitimate business expenses or a cover for something more nefarious. The committee sought records to determine if Black used Epstein's offshore entities or connections to facilitate improper tax avoidance, and whether the transactions raised red flags related to money laundering or abuse of financial loopholes.The investigation intensified as Black's name continued to surface in civil litigation filed by Epstein survivors, some of whom accused him of rape and knowingly participating in Epstein's trafficking network. Senators questioned whether the payments to Epstein were part of a broader pattern of financial manipulation and whether Black had accurately disclosed these dealings to tax authorities and shareholders of Apollo Global Management, the private equity firm he co-founded. The inquiry underscored how deeply Epstein's shadow extended into the world of high finance—and how figures like Black, who claimed to have cut ties with Epstein, remained entangled long after public denials were issued.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:Lawmakers Question Bank of America About Leon Black's Payments to Epstein - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

The Senate Finance Committee launched an investigation into billionaire Leon Black's financial dealings with Jeffrey Epstein after it was revealed that Black had paid Epstein over $158 million for tax and estate planning services between 2012 and 2017—years after Epstein's conviction for sex crimes involving minors. Lawmakers expressed concern not just over the extraordinary size of the payments, but over whether they were legitimate business expenses or a cover for something more nefarious. The committee sought records to determine if Black used Epstein's offshore entities or connections to facilitate improper tax avoidance, and whether the transactions raised red flags related to money laundering or abuse of financial loopholes.The investigation intensified as Black's name continued to surface in civil litigation filed by Epstein survivors, some of whom accused him of rape and knowingly participating in Epstein's trafficking network. Senators questioned whether the payments to Epstein were part of a broader pattern of financial manipulation and whether Black had accurately disclosed these dealings to tax authorities and shareholders of Apollo Global Management, the private equity firm he co-founded. The inquiry underscored how deeply Epstein's shadow extended into the world of high finance—and how figures like Black, who claimed to have cut ties with Epstein, remained entangled long after public denials were issued.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:Lawmakers Question Bank of America About Leon Black's Payments to Epstein - The New York Times (nytimes.com)Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-epstein-chronicles--5003294/support.

Hour 4 of August 5, 2025 Jacob Townsend and Bud talk about whether Tennessee is in the wrong when it comes to season ticket price raises pushing out longtime holders. Then, a former Tennessee head coach is running for a United States Senate seat. Finally, it is time for birthdays!!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Republican leaders losing their minds in live tv as Trump is crashing the economy with the worst jobs report in recent history and Meiselas speaks with Michigan State Senator Mallory McMorrow who is running for the United States Senate seat in Michigan. Visit https://meidasplus.com for more! Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Coalition of the Sane: https://meidasnews.com/tag/coalition-of-the-sane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s episode of Political Contessa, Jennifer welcomes Scott Brown, esteemed former U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, former U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa, and a longtime public servant at both the state and national levels. Scott is recognized for his historic win of the Massachusetts Senate seat in 2010—turning a seat long held by Democrats—and for his dynamic political career, which spans local, state, and international service. He is also a decorated military veteran, dedicated musician, and proud husband, father, and grandfather. Scott has recently announced his candidacy for the United States Senate in New Hampshire, where he was born, bringing his extensive experience and bipartisan approach to the forefront in a pivotal election. This episode dives into today’s most pressing political debates, from border security and sanctuary cities to the fairness of women’s sports and government spending. Jennifer and Scott pull no punches as they examine the impact of progressive policies on law enforcement, illegal immigration, and the economic freedoms that define the so-called “New Hampshire advantage.” Scott provides candid criticism of his opponent’s stances on open borders and men competing in women’s sports and outlines concrete conservative solutions—from ending the tax on tips to expanding child tax credits. The conversation also confronts the polarization of Congress, the rise of political extremism on the left, and the dire need for fiscal reform to secure America’s financial future. This episode is packed with controversial viewpoints, clear calls to action, and Scott’s insight on the challenges and responsibilities of seeking public office in turbulent times “It takes people like me and your listeners to really get involved at this local school committee, selectmen, and do it.” ~Scott Brown Today on Political Contessa: Scott Brown is running for U.S. Senate in New Hampshire, emphasizing his extensive experience, from serving as a local selectman to Senator and Ambassador. Criticism of Democratic stances on open borders, sanctuary cities, and support for illegal immigrants over law enforcement. Strong disapproval of biological men competing in women’s sports and its impact on Title IX and female athletes. Advocacy for no tax on tips, child tax credits, and government incentives for American families and workers. Emphasis on the need for work requirements and accountability within welfare and SNAP programs. Call for fiscal conservatism, reducing government waste, and tackling the national debt through energy independence and responsible spending. An assertion that Republicans are now the party of working people and compassion, contrasted with what Brown sees as Democratic elitism and extremism. Encouragement for listeners to get personally involved, volunteer, or donate to the campaign as an act of civic engagement. Connect with Scott Brown: Scott Brown Official Campaign Website: https://www.scottbrown.com Awaken Your Inner Political Contessa Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Political Contessa. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts. Spotify I Stitcher I Apple Podcasts I iHeart Radio I TuneIn I Google Podcasts Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media. And if you’ve ever considered running for office – or know a woman who should – head over to politicalcontessa.com to grab my quick guide, Secrets from the Campaign Trail. It will show you five signs to tell you you’re ready to enter the political arena.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Article II, Section II of the United States Constitution grants numerous powers to the presidency. However, Clause II dictates the President must have the advice and consent of the United States Senate in order to exercise these powers.  What does this mean and what is the nomination and confirmation process between these two branches of government?  When specifically must the President consult with the Senate on nominations?  For whom in the executive branch does this apply and for whom does it not?  To shed light on this very important power, we are pleased to welcome Dr. Jon Schaff, Professor of Government/Director of the Center for Public History and Civic Engagement at Northern University in South Dakota.

Last week, Abdul El-Sayed sat down with Donna to discuss his candidacy for the U.S. Senate!Abdul is running for the U.S. Senate because he believes life in Michigan shouldn't be this hard — or this expensive. After a successful career of making government work for Michiganders, he wants to take his vision to Washington and make the United States Senate work for you. He was born and raised in southeast Michigan and proudly attended public schools where he captained his high school football, wrestling, and lacrosse teams. Abdul was raised by his father, Mohamed, an Egyptian immigrant, and his stepmom, Jackie, whose family has lived in Gratiot County, Michigan, since the 1800s. he graduated from the university of michigan with the highest distinction and played on the wolverines men's lacrosse team. Abdul earned his medical degree from Columbia University on an NIH-funded fellowship and a second doctorate at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. Abdul currently lives in Ann Arbor with his wife, Sarah, and their two brilliant young daughters, Emmalee and Serene.To learn more about Adbul El-Sayed and his vision for Michigan, click here.Support the showFollow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Listener call-in’s on federal benefits for illegal immigrants, the proposed Visible Act in the Senate, and presidential coups. David Strom’s piece today at Townhall, “WaPo Is a Clown Show,” on the op-ed from The Washington Post, “Donald Trump is not a clown. I should know.” from The Washington Post. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s (R) wife has filed for divorce in the midst of his run for the United States Senate.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On a pioneering task force, Bob Delaney went from New Jersey State Trooper to undercover in some of the biggest east coast Mob families. In this episode, Delaney spoke to Giovanni and Dutch about how he was recruited to work undercover, the innerworkings of how he infiltrated the Genovese and Bruno Crime Families and his transition to high-profile NBA referee. Tune in for an incredibly insightful and inspirational episode.   About Bob Delaney: Robert “Bob” Delaney rose to the top of two elite organizations — in law enforcement as a highly decorated Trooper with the New Jersey State Police and in the National Basketball Association as one of the most respected referees, having most recently served as NBA Vice President Director of Officials. In 1981 Delaney testified before the United States Senate on Organized Crime, detailing his perilous 3-year undercover operation infiltrating the Genovese and Bruno Crime Families. His NBA referee career began in 1987 (more than 1,700 regular season games, 200 playoff contests and nine Finals). Delaney worked the ‘98 and ‘11 All-Star Games, the ‘94 Opening NBA Games in Yokohama, Japan and the ‘10 NBA China games. Today, Delaney presents Leadership & Teamwork seminars.    To purchase a copy of Bob Delaney's book “Covert: My Years Infiltrating the Mob” visit https://a.co/d/idN2FEq   Produced by The Mob Museum. To watch episodes of this podcast, visit YouTube For behind-the-scenes photos, merchandise and exclusive content, visit insidethelife.org For more on the Museum visit themobmuseum.org This program is presented by The Mob Museum and includes views and opinions of independent panelists and/or interviewees that do not necessarily reflect or represent the stance of The Mob Museum. Factual statements made by panelists/interviewees have also not been vetted by the Museum, and the Museum does not assert that such statements are truthful. All statements should be understood as the individual's perspective rather than a view expressed by The Mob Museum. This program has been made available by The Mob Museum for the private, non-commercial use of its audience. Such private use is intended for informational and educational purposes only. This program is subject to copyright protection, and those seeking to utilize the program or portions thereof, for anything other than private use should contact The Mob Museum at PR@themobmuseum.org.

Donald Trump and Elon Musk are trading blows again after Musk criticised the President's ‘big, beautiful' tax and spending bill. Trump has threatened to deport the world's richest man and set his Doge 'monster' on him. So why does Musk hate the bill, and could this push him to set up a political party to challenge his new rival?This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestoryGuest: Lara Spirit, Washington Correspondent, The Times. Host: Manveen Rana.Producer: Olivia Case.Further reading: Tesla sales go into reverse in fresh blow for Elon MuskClips: Fox, New York Post, MSNBC, BBC, United States Senate, CNN, ABC, AP, WCNC. Photo: Getty ImagesGet in touch: thestory@thetimes.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The "Big Beautiful Bill" is getting tossed around the United States Senate...An update from Blois Olson and Vineeta Sawkar on the WCCO Morning News.

631. Part 2 of Thomas Patterson joining us to discuss his new book, American Populist: Huey Long of Louisiana. "Thomas E. Patterson's monumental biography of Huey Long is a profound reevaluation of his life and legacy, recognizing him as an inspirational progressive thinker, populist hero, and radical influence on the New Deal. Long transformed the politics of Louisiana by standing for the interests of citizens whom state officials had historically ignored. He eased suffrage restrictions so that more people could vote, and voters endorsed his program of more robust government services and shifting the tax burden to those better able to pay. In the United States Senate,... he advocated loudly and ceaselessly for the redistribution of wealth, expanding public works, increasing the money supply, insuring bank deposits, paying old-age pensions and veterans' benefits, delivering a minimum income for families, and funding college and vocational education. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, along with other politicians and pundits, dismissed Long's proposals as nonsense put forth by a reckless demagogue in search of votes.... Despite several biographies, acclaimed novels, and historical studies in the years since Long's death, his reputation today is mostly caricature: a spellbinding speaker, a dictator, a populist firebrand who was unprincipled and corrupt. Using previously untapped personal papers of Long and his son Russell, other primary sources, recent scholarship, and his experience as a lawyer, Patterson provides a necessary corrective as he analyzes the contours of Long's career, deconstructs the elements of his success, undercuts several myths related to his time in office, and explains the circumstances that led to his ultimate downfall. The result is the most comprehensive, balanced, and analytical study of the Kingfish to date." Thomas Patterson founded the Patterson Law Firm in Chicago, which focuses on helping businesses manages crises.  Now available: Liberty in Louisiana: A Comedy. The oldest play about Louisiana, author James Workman wrote it as a celebration of the Louisiana Purchase. Now it is back in print for the first time in 221 years. Order your copy today! This week in the Louisiana Anthology. Infelicia by Adah Isaacs Menken. Menken left New Orleans to travel the world as an actress. "I will revel in my passion. At midnight I will feast on it in the darkness. For it was that which thrilled its crimson tides of reckless passion through the blue veins of my life, and made them leap up in the wild sweetness of Love and agony of Revenge! I am starving for this feast. Oh forget not that I am Judith! And I know where sleeps Holofernes." This week in Louisiana history. June 21, 1863. The Civil War Battle of Lafourche Railroad Crossing south of Thibodaux. This week in New Orleans history. Gerald Stith was the 18th mayor of New Orleans, serving from June 21, 1858 until June 18, 1860. This week in Louisiana. Tower Trax ATV Park 10247 LA-10 Fluker, LA 70436 Trails length:40+ mi/64.3+ km Terrain:2600 ac/10522 km² Consistence: Mostly mud One of the sports that is extremely popular in Hammond and attracts a lot of dirt lovers is quad biking. The best place to ride in the mud near Hammond is Tower Trax ATV Park. It is a 2600 ac/10522 km² area, offering more than 40 mi/64.3 km of trails, mud bogs, open meadows and deep creek crossings. Loose dirt, sand, a few steep hills, many water crossings, small jumps, berms, sand/gravel pits, a few roads, and some intersections are some of the amazing characteristics that you will come across in this awesome park. You might meet some rider traffic, so be prepared. The area is mostly suitable for amateurs, some novices and a little experts, containing hazards that are marked. Postcards from Louisiana. Ludwig. "Thank God and Huey Long."   Listen on Apple Podcasts. Listen on audible. Listen on Spotify. Listen on TuneIn. Listen on iHeartRadio. The Louisiana Anthology Home Page. Like us on Facebook. 

In the same way that WE THE PEOPLE means every person, not just ‘white people', thus implying that the ‘others' are not people, Juneteenth celebrates segregation by creating two separate independence days for American citizens, black and white, in the name of freedom. In the USA it is next to impossible to find a leader who actually represents their own people and not some other people, or the interests of some lobby or foreign government. Democrats care about Muslims, Blacks, and LGBTQ while Republicans care about Jews and Whites. What about WE THE PEOPLE regardless of skin or theology? Take Ted Cruz for example, who recently admitted his dual loyalty and treason: “I came into Congress thirteen years ago with the stated intention of being the leading defender of Israel in the United States Senate.” He reasoned: “Those who bless Israel will be blessed and those who curse Israel will be cursed.” Since Israel comes from late Latin and Greek from Hebrew Yiśrā'ēl, meaning ‘he that strives with God', then all humans are God's people, not a singular master race. Thus if one were to lie about, torture, starve, bomb, and slaughter all of the ‘others' in favor of the ‘one' they would surely be incurring the wrathful curse of God, not his blessings.*The is the FREE archive, which includes advertisements. If you want an ad-free experience, you can subscribe below underneath the show description.-FREE ARCHIVE (w. ads)SUBSCRIPTION ARCHIVEX / TWITTER FACEBOOKYOUTUBEMAIN WEBSITECashApp: $rdgable Paypal email rdgable1991@gmail.comEMAIL: rdgable@yahoo.com / TSTRadio@protonmail.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-secret-teachings--5328407/support.

Thomas E. Patterson's monumental biography of Huey Long is a profound reevaluation of his life and legacy, recognizing him as an inspirational progressive thinker, populist hero, and radical influence on the New Deal before an assassin's bullet ended his life in 1935. First as governor and then as U.S. senator, Long transformed the politics of Louisiana by standing for the interests of citizens whom state officials had historically ignored. He eased suffrage restrictions so that more people could vote, and voters endorsed his program of more robust government services and shifting the tax burden to those better able to pay. In the United States Senate, during the darkest days of the Great Depression, he advocated loudly and ceaselessly for the redistribution of wealth, expanding public works, increasing the money supply, insuring bank deposits, paying old-age pensions and veterans' benefits, delivering a minimum income for families, and funding college and vocational education. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, along with other politicians and pundits, dismissed Long's proposals as nonsense put forth by a reckless demagogue in search of votes.Despite several biographies, acclaimed novels, and historical studies in the years since Long's death, his reputation today is mostly caricature: a spellbinding speaker, a dictator, a populist firebrand who was unprincipled and corrupt. Using previously untapped personal papers of Long and his son Russell, other primary sources, recent scholarship, and his experience as a lawyer, Patterson provides a necessary corrective as he analyzes the contours of Long's career, deconstructs the elements of his success, undercuts several myths related to his time in office, and explains the circumstances that led to his ultimate downfall. The result is the most comprehensive, balanced, and analytical study of the Kingfish to date.Buy the book here

The United States Senate has included in the "Big Beautiful Bill" a land sale of YOUR Public Lands. The time to fight is right now! They are planning on voting on this bill in the next few weeks. Now its not the 1.5 million acres that was included in the House version of this bill, now its 3.5 million acres of BLM land and forest service land. Call your Senator TODAY! 202-224-3121

630. Part 1 of Thomas Patterson joining us to discuss his new book, American Populist: Huey Long of Louisiana. "Thomas E. Patterson's monumental biography of Huey Long is a profound reevaluation of his life and legacy, recognizing him as an inspirational progressive thinker, populist hero, and radical influence on the New Deal. Long transformed the politics of Louisiana by standing for the interests of citizens whom state officials had historically ignored. He eased suffrage restrictions so that more people could vote, and voters endorsed his program of more robust government services and shifting the tax burden to those better able to pay. In the United States Senate,... he advocated loudly and ceaselessly for the redistribution of wealth, expanding public works, increasing the money supply, insuring bank deposits, paying old-age pensions and veterans' benefits, delivering a minimum income for families, and funding college and vocational education. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, along with other politicians and pundits, dismissed Long's proposals as nonsense put forth by a reckless demagogue in search of votes.... Despite several biographies, acclaimed novels, and historical studies in the years since Long's death, his reputation today is mostly caricature: a spellbinding speaker, a dictator, a populist firebrand who was unprincipled and corrupt. Using previously untapped personal papers of Long and his son Russell, other primary sources, recent scholarship, and his experience as a lawyer, Patterson provides a necessary corrective as he analyzes the contours of Long's career, deconstructs the elements of his success, undercuts several myths related to his time in office, and explains the circumstances that led to his ultimate downfall. The result is the most comprehensive, balanced, and analytical study of the Kingfish to date." Thomas Patterson founded the Patterson Law Firm in Chicago, which focuses on helping businesses manages crises. Now available: Liberty in Louisiana: A Comedy. The oldest play about Louisiana, author James Workman wrote it as a celebration of the Louisiana Purchase. Now it is back in print for the first time in 221 years. Order your copy today! This week in the Louisiana Anthology. Every Man a King is Huey Long's political autobiography. In it, he describes his youth in the politically progressive Winnfield, and his rise to power in politics. And his politics are more relevant today than ever. “God called, 'Come to my feast.' Then what happened? Rockefeller, Morgan, and their crowd stepped up and took enough for 120 million people and left only enough for 5 million of all the other 125 million to eat. And so many millions must go hungry and without these good things God gave us unless we call on them to put some of it back.”  This week in Louisiana history. June 15, 2015. Blaze Starr, dancer linked to Earl K. Long, dead at 83. This week in New Orleans history. Alfred Bonnabel, Jefferson Parish school director who served on the school board from 1872 through 1918, dedicated a two-room schoolhouse in Bucktown on June 14, 1908. This week in Louisiana. Check out the Andouille Trail. The River Parishes Find locations here.      The Andouille Trail is a unique culinary byway that will introduce you to our contribution to Louisiana cuisine. You'll find producers with wooden smokehouses, recipes that have been handed down for generations, and restaurants serving up andouille in traditional and inventive new ways. Download the info or check out the trail!     Andouille was born in the River Parishes as French and German culinary heritages combined. When you taste our andouille, you are tasting our culinary heritage. Be careful to not call it sausage — because of the coarseness of the ground pork, it's not considered sausage by locals, it's simply andouille. Special seasonings, the coarsesness of the grind, and the very wood added during smoking, make every producer's andouille product a unique culinary offering - you'll want to try them all! Postcards from Louisiana. Phillip Manuel sings with Michael Pellera Trio play at Snug Harbor on Frenchmen St. in New Orleans. Listen on Apple Podcasts. Listen on audible. Listen on Spotify. Listen on TuneIn. Listen on iHeartRadio. The Louisiana Anthology Home Page. Like us on Facebook. 

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on the growing backlash against Trump's policies in Iowa and Meiselas interviews Iowa State Senator Zachary Wahls who announces he will be running for the United States Senate in Iowa against Iowa's MAGA Senator Joni Ernst who has grown deeply unpopular in the state. Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Coalition of the Sane: https://meidasnews.com/tag/coalition-of-the-sane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

United States Constitution, Article I, Section 8 provides:The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;Review the origins and debate over the authority to borrow money and hold debt as set forth in Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution.Understand how the Articles of Confederation provided that the debts incurred by the states and Congress would be honored, and paying down the debt was a critical reason for adopting the Constitution.  However, the Founding Fathers universally believed that the Congress under the Articles was incapable of paying the debt, and this weakness was a major reason for the calling of the Constitutional Convention.Learn how although the Constitutional Convention originally agreed that payment of the debts was mandatory and Congress would assume the debts of the States, those provisions were omitted in the Constitution. Instead, Article I, Section 8 vests the Congress with the power to borrow funds on the credit of the United States and to pay its debts. Discover how the Constitutional Convention originally agreed to create a constitutionally created Treasurer of the United States, and then agreed to eliminate the position.Review how Anti-Federalists attacked the debt power as destructive to American liberties.Explore how the debt provisions were essential to secure the good credit of the country, to repay creditors who funded the American Revolution and the Congress afterwards, and to ensure the security of the country in the future. Its abuse is to be kept in check by the reality that we elect the Congress that incurs the debt — they are accountable to We, The People.Highlights include the Constitutional Convention, Articles of Confederation, the New Jersey Plan, the Paterson Plan, the Paterson Resolutions, the Randolph Resolutions, the Randolph Resolves, the Virginia Plan, James Madison, Shays' Rebellion, Roger Sherman, Judge John Yates, Governor Edmund Randolph, Alexander Hamilton, Gunning Bedford, Jr., Elbridge Gerry, Supreme Court Justice Oliver Ellsworth, Governor Wiliam Livingston, Roger Sherman, Dr. William Samuel Johnson, Gouverneur Morris, United States Treasurer, Rhode Island Constitutional Convention, Edward Rutledge, Virginia Constitutional Convention, Anti-Federalists, Agrippa, Brutus, John DeWitt, Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story, House of Representatives, United States Senate, and more.To learn more about the Constitution & Patriot Week, visit www.PatriotWeek.org. Our resources include videos, a TV series, blogs, lesson plans, and more.Read the entire original, unamended Constitution here: https://patriotweek.org/2021/07/27/the-original-constitution-september-17/Check out Judge Michael Warren's book America's Survival Guide, How to Stop America's Impending Suicide by Reclaiming Our First Principles and History at Amazon or other major on-line retailers.Join us!

This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, we're joined by powerhouse voices from Utah's political leadership. Congressman Mike Kennedy—a practicing physician, licensed attorney, and business owner—discusses his recent visit to El Salvador's high-security prison, his legislation to strengthen Medicaid integrity, and efforts to crack down on repeat felons who reenter the U.S. illegally. Then, Marine Corps veteran and VetComm CEO Kate Monroe shares her plan to combat veteran homelessness through transitional basecamps and weighs in on President Trump's proposal to establish a national center for homeless vets. Finally, U.S. Senator John Curtis reflects on the importance of listening in his maiden Senate floor speech, highlights Utah's leadership in energy innovation, and discusses his bipartisan forest management bill. Plus, don't miss Kiley's Corner, where she dives into the wild story of international gamblers who bought 25 million lottery tickets and won $95 million in Texas. It's an episode you won't want to miss!www.breakingbattlegrounds.voteTwitter: www.twitter.com/Breaking_BattleFacebook: www.facebook.com/breakingbattlegroundsInstagram: www.instagram.com/breakingbattlegroundsLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/breakingbattlegroundsTruth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@breakingbattlegroundsShow sponsors:Invest Yrefy - investyrefy.com4Freedom MobileExperience true freedom with 4Freedom Mobile, the exclusive provider offering nationwide coverage on all three major US networks (Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile) with just one SIM card. Our service not only connects you but also shields you from data collection by network operators, social media platforms, government agencies, and more.Use code ‘Battleground' to get your first month for $9 and save $10 a month every month after.Learn more at: 4FreedomMobile.comDot VoteWith a .VOTE website, you ensure your political campaign stands out among the competition while simplifying how you reach voters.Learn more at: dotvote.voteAbout our guest:Congressman Mike Kennedy, M.D., represents Utah's 3rd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Elected in November 2024, he assumed office in January 2025. Kennedy brings a diverse professional background as a practicing family physician, licensed attorney, and experienced legislator.Kennedy has practiced as a family physician in Lindon, Utah, with Premier Family Medical Group. He has also volunteered at the Provo Volunteer Care Clinic, providing free medical care to uninsured Utah residents.Kennedy's political journey began in the Utah House of Representatives, where he served from 2013 to 2019. He then served in the Utah State Senate from 2021 to 2025. In 2018, he ran for the U.S. Senate, winning the Utah Republican Party's convention vote but losing the primary to Mitt Romney.In 2024, Kennedy won the Republican nomination for Utah's 3rd Congressional District and subsequently defeated his Democratic opponent in the general election. He was sworn into Congress in January 2025.In Congress, Kennedy serves on several key committees, including the Committee on Natural Resources, the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.-Kate Monroe was born in Northern California. After High School, she attended Corban University. She decided fairly quickly that she needed a bigger challenge. This need for a challenge led her to pursue going into the military.She made the tough choice to go into the Marine Corps. While serving her country she was injured many times and is a 90% disabled veteran. Kate says the “Marine Corps set her up for a successful life and career.”She says that when people speak with her especially in business, when she says she was a Marine, she can leverage that and it changes the minds of those that she deals with.The entrepreneurial spirit that Kate possesses she would say she got from her father. She has owned many businesses in various vertical market areas from lending, to sales coaching, her own car dealership, and real estate coaching.Kate Had a long tenure in the Automotive business. She climbed up to the GM level and had success in both sales management and the financial aspects of the auto industry. She then became a licensed realtor in the state of Ca, so that she could switch lanes and try her hand in Time Share sales.She was the Rookie of the year for the world for Wyndham. She was then the fastest promoted Director of Sales in the history of the company. She was a strong leader in that industry as well. She learned how to motivate, train and lead others in a high stress high volume sales environment.This year alone Kate is launching two major ventures. The first is to help veterans get the disability rating they deserve. She has a mission to get a million rated. Next is her Realtor Rehab coaching course and reality TV show set for production in June 2021.Bottomline, Kate is a fierce woman with a drive to help others succeed as she has! Her mission is to ensure that she can impart her success onto you. If you need a coach to take your idea or career to the next level, she is your best choice.-In the United States Senate, John R. Curtis proudly represents the citizens of Utah, embodying the pioneer values that shaped the state into an extraordinary place to live, work, and thrive.For Senator Curtis, results matter. Guided by America's founding principles, he tackles tough issues with innovative approaches, inviting all to the higher ground of common ground. He believes that big ideas, innovation, and consensus can drive transformational change. Senator Curtis is dedicated to crafting principle-centered policies and achieving real results for Utah and America. He leads critical conversations, convenes thoughtful leaders, fosters inclusive collaboration, develops sustainable solutions, and provides a vision of what is possible.During his seven years representing Utah's Third Congressional District, then-Representative Curtis passed 28 pieces of legislation into law. His accomplishments include better public land management, combating human trafficking, reducing burdensome regulations on small businesses, and more. He founded the Conservative Climate Caucus and was ranked by the nonpartisan Center for Effective Lawmaking as the 5th most effective Republican member of Congress. In 2023, his office earned recognition as the best in Congress for constituent accountability and accessibility.Senator Curtis has built an international reputation for advancing American energy solutions that unleash U.S. clean fuels, strengthen the economy, enhance national security, ensure energy independence, and reduce global emissions simultaneously. He believes America must not only achieve energy independence but lead as an energy-dominant nation. Beyond energy, the Senator prioritizes strategic policies addressing China, fiscal responsibility, and solutions for broken social programs.Before his time in Congress, Senator Curtis was a small business owner and a proven problem solver. He served as Mayor of Provo City for eight years, earning a 94% approval rating and being named the “Top Elected Official on Social Media” in 2015. His leadership was recognized with awards such as the Silicon Slopes Community Hero, UVU's Civic Innovator Award, and Utah Valley Magazine's Person of the Year.Senator Curtis has been married to his wife, Sue, for 42 years. Together, they have six children and 17 grandchildren. Their family motto, “In Unity There is Strength,” continues to guide how he serves, works, and lives. Get full access to Breaking Battlegrounds at breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com/subscribe

Kristina Bernarducci and Joe Lynch discuss delivering the drinks: streamlining beverage transportation. Kristina is the Director of Operations at Bettaway, a privately held, family-owned Supply Chain Services company headquartered in South Plainfield, New Jersey. Kristina and the Bettaway team are big supporters of Wreaths Across America.  About Kristina Bernarducci Kristina Bernarducci isn't just building partnerships—she's building community. As Director of Operations at Bettaway and Director of Business Development at PalletTrader, Kristina brings energy, creativity, and a drive for results to the world of logistics and supply chain. Her approach blends data-driven strategy with a human touch, helping companies solve complex problems while creating space for collaboration. With over a decade of experience in operations, Kristina is known for turning opportunities into long-term growth. She's led high-impact initiatives, scaled client relationships, and helped new brands get their product to market. Kristina is a passionate philanthropist and channels her influence into causes that matter. She plays an active role in campaigns like Wreaths Across America and supports initiatives for organizations such as WeMake, which empowers adults with autism through creativity and inclusion. Whether she's hosting charity golf tournaments or hosting Rutgers University Supply Chain students with a tour of the manufacturing facility, Kristina believes business should always be a force for good. About Bettaway Bettaway is a privately held, family-owned Supply Chain Services company headquartered in South Plainfield, New Jersey. Founded in 1981, Bettaway has evolved from a local beverage distributor into a comprehensive logistics provider. The company operates five distinct entities that collaborate to deliver end-to-end supply chain services: Bettaway Traffic Systems, Inc.: Provides third-party logistics (3PL) services, offering clients a complete managed services solution. Bettaway Pallet Systems, Inc.: Offers national pallet management services, acting as a single source for pallet supply, retrieval, and tracking. Bettaway Beverage Distributors, Inc.: Operates a modern, technologically advanced fleet of 150 tractors and 900 food grade dry vans, providing dependable support to logistics and pallet divisions. Bettaway West, Inc.: Expands the company's reach with assets and an office in Buena Park, California. BevDS: equipped to handle e-commerce fulfillment, variety packing, and distribution services. Committed to community engagement, Bettaway supports various organizations, including the Douglas Developmental Disabilities Center, Rutgers University Center for Adults with Autism and Wreaths Across America. About Wreaths Across America Wreaths Across America is an American nonprofit organization established in 2007 by wreath producer Morrill Worcester, assisted by veterans and truckers. Its primary activity is distributing Veteran's wreaths for placement on graves in military cemeteries. In December 2008, the United States Senate agreed to a resolution that designated December 13, 2008, as Wreaths Across America Day. Subsequent National Wreaths Across America Days have been designated on the second or third Saturday of December. What began in 1992 with a trailer load of wreaths, decorated by volunteers and laid at the graves of fallen soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery has now become a national organization with over 3,700 participating locations – all focused on the mission to REMEMBER the fallen; HONOR those who serve; TEACH our children the value of freedom. Key Takeaways: Delivering the Drinks: Streamlining Beverage Transportation Kristina Bernarducci and Joe Lynch discuss delivering the drinks: streamlining beverage transportation. Kristina is the Director of Operations at Bettaway, a privately held, family-owned Supply Chain Services company headquartered in South Plainfield, New Jersey. Here are some challenges that Bettaway faces in streamlining beverage transportation: A Legacy Built on Beverage Expertise: For decades, Bettaway has been a leading force in transportation and logistics, carving out a specialized niche within the intricate world of the beverage supply chain. Strategic Partnership with Arizona Ice Tea: Bettaway's long-standing and crucial partnership with Arizona Ice Tea underscores their ability to handle the high-volume and specific logistical needs of a major beverage producer. End-to-End Solutions Tailored for Beverage: From managing vast inventories to ensuring timely distribution, Bettaway provides comprehensive logistics solutions that are specifically designed to support the unique demands of the beverage industry, as evidenced by their work with Arizona Ice Tea. Driving Efficiency Through Innovation: By employing advanced technology and data-driven insights, Bettaway optimizes transportation routes and streamlines warehouse operations, ensuring cost-effective and efficient delivery of products like Arizona Ice Tea. Unwavering Commitment to Quality and Compliance: Understanding the importance of product integrity, Bettaway maintains rigorous quality control and adheres to all necessary regulations, safeguarding the consistent quality of beverages like Arizona Ice Tea throughout the supply chain. Extensive North American Reach: Bettaway's robust network across North America provides the scale and flexibility required to effectively distribute high-demand beverages like Arizona Ice Tea to a wide range of markets. More Than a Vendor, a Strategic Ally: Bettaway operates as a true partner, working closely with clients like Arizona Ice Tea to understand their evolving needs and provide customized logistics strategies that contribute to their continued success. Wreaths Across America is an American nonprofit organization established in 2007 by wreath producer Morrill Worcester, assisted by veterans and truckers. Its primary activity is distributing Veteran's wreaths for placement on graves in military cemeteries. Learn More About Delivering the Drinks: Streamlining Beverage Transportation Kristina Bernarducci | Linkedin Bettaway | Linkedin Bettaway Pallet Trader Wreaths Across America Pallet Trader | Linkedin Going Private: Shippers Strengthening In-House Fleets Bettaway Enters Third Year Partnering with We Make Supporting Innovative Jobs Program for Adults with Autism Freight markets at “equilibrium” have truckers, shippers cautiously optimistic The Logistics of Logistics Podcast If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a positive review, subscribe, and share it with your friends and colleagues. The Logistics of Logistics Podcast: Google, Apple, Castbox, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM, Tunein, Podbean, Owltail, Libsyn, Overcast Check out The Logistics of Logistics on Youtube

And welcome back to the program. Well, president Trump signed an executive order today to lower pharmaceutical prices here in The United States. And, boy, that is welcome news because there's a lot about this that we don't know. Now we pay dramatically more here in this country than they do in other countries for the same pharmaceuticals. In fact, president Trump had an little bit of an anecdote about that today. I mean, I'll tell you a story. A friend of mine who's a a businessman, very, very, very top guy. Most of you would have heard of him. A highly neurotic, brilliant businessman, seriously overweight, and he takes the fat the fat shot drug. And he called me up, and he said, president. He calls me he used to call me Donald. Now he calls me president, so that's nice respect. But he's a rough guy, smart guy. Very successful, very rich. I wouldn't even know how we would know this, but because he's got comments. Said, president, could I ask you a question? What? I'm in London, and I just paid for this damn fat drug I take. I said, it's not working, they said. He said, I just paid $88, and in New York, I paid $1,300. What the hell is going on? Exactly. I love that. It's not working. That that's great. But we do we pay a lot more here than other countries do. Because you see and the big thing that they always talk about, oh, y'all, you know, we got research research and development, and we've got yada yada, and we've gotta pay for this and that, and we've gotta do well, why doesn't anybody else have to pay for it? Why isn't a a drug the same price in London as it is in The United States? Why isn't a a pharmaceutical the same price in Canada as it is here in The United States? Listen to what RFK Junior said. This is this is pretty darned amazing. It really is. Mister secretary, Trump says some prices will come down almost immediately. What is the timetable for these price cuts? Well, there's a series of escalating steps, but you know what? That that will bring them down to European levels. Right now, we spend we provide America provides 75% of the pharmaceutical revenues in the world, and we only have 4.2% of the world's population. Sure. We're paying in, in our country, the list price for Ozempic is $1,300 per dose. In London, it's $88. And Democratic and Republican politicians have been talking about for years, we gotta end these discrepancies. Nobody has had the courage to do it because of the power of the pharmaceutical lobby on Capitol Hill. K. The the and and answer your question, how soon will this happen, it it depends on how enthusiastically the drug companies cooperate. There are a series of escalating steps that we will take if they don't cooperate. But we're very you know, we've been meeting with the pharmaceutical companies. They admit that this is something that is should have ended a long time ago. And I think they're ready to figure out a way to get there. And they have advantages to this executive order, Stewart. Okay. Because we got rid of the PBMs. We got rid of the middlemen, and that's something that they've wanted themselves. Now here's the big question. Why aren't the Democrats celebrating this? I mean, after all, hey, then we just go back to Bernie Sanders. Back in 2016, Bernie Sanders ran on big pharma. Let's take a listen to what he said. Here we go. We pay in this country the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. Maybe, just maybe, it might be time for the United States Senate to stand up to the pharmaceutical industry and all of their lobbyists here and all of their campaign contributions and say we're gonna stand with the American people who are sick and tired of being ripped off by the drug companies. There there are many reasons why we pay such outrageous prices, but one reason is we continue passing laws written by the pharmaceutical industry and their lobbyists year after year after year. I believe that the American people should know that the pharmaceutical industr ...

And welcome back to the program. Well, president Trump signed an executive order today to lower pharmaceutical prices here in The United States. And, boy, that is welcome news because there's a lot about this that we don't know. Now we pay dramatically more here in this country than they do in other countries for the same pharmaceuticals. In fact, president Trump had an little bit of an anecdote about that today. I mean, I'll tell you a story. A friend of mine who's a a businessman, very, very, very top guy. Most of you would have heard of him. A highly neurotic, brilliant businessman, seriously overweight, and he takes the fat the fat shot drug. And he called me up, and he said, president. He calls me he used to call me Donald, now he calls me president. So that's nice respect, but he's a rough guy, smart guy, Very successful, very rich. I wouldn't even know how we would know this, but because he's got comments. So president, could I ask you a question? What? I'm in London, and I just paid for this damn fat drug I take. I said, it's not working, they said. He said, I just paid $88. And in New York, I paid $1,300. What the hell is going on? Exactly. I love that. It's not working. That that's great. But we do we pay a lot more here than other countries do. Because you see and the big thing that they always talk about, oh, you know, we got research and development, and we've got yada yada, and we've gotta pay for this and that, and we've gotta do well, why doesn't anybody else have to pay for it? Why isn't a a drug the same price in London as it is in The United States? Why isn't a a pharmaceutical the same price in Canada as it is here in The United States? Listen to what RFK Junior said. This is this is pretty darned amazing. It really is. Mister secretary, Trump says some prices will come down almost immediately. What is the timetable for these price cuts? Well, there's a series of escalating steps, but you know what? The that that will bring them down to European levels. Right now, we spend we provide America provides 75% of the pharmaceutical revenues in the world, and we only have 4.2% of the world's population. Sure. We're paying in, in our country, the list price for Ozempic is $1,300 per dose. In London, it's $88. And Democratic and Republican politicians have been talking about for years, we gotta end these discrepancies. Nobody has had the courage to do it because of the power of the pharmaceutical lobby on Capitol Hill. K. And and answer your question, how soon will this happen, it it depends on how enthusiastically the drug companies cooperate. There are a series of escalating steps that we will take if they don't cooperate. But we're very you know, we've been meeting with the pharmaceutical companies. They admit that this is something that is should have ended a long time ago, and I think they're ready to figure out a way to get there. And they have advantages in this executive order, Stuart. K. Because we got rid of the PBMs. We got rid of the middlemen, and that's something that they've wanted themselves. Now here's the big question. Why aren't the Democrats celebrating this? I mean, after all, hey, then we just go back to Bernie Sanders. Back in 2016, Bernie Sanders ran on big pharma. Let's take a listen to what he said. Here we go. We pay in this country the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. Maybe, just maybe, it might be time for the United States Senate to stand up to the pharmaceutical industry and all of their lobbyists here and all of their campaign contributions and say we're gonna stand with the American people who are sick and tired of being ripped off by the drug companies. There there are many reasons why we pay such outrageous prices, but one reason is we continue passing laws written by the pharmaceutical industry and their lobbyists year after year after year. I believe that the American people should know that the pharmaceutical industry has spent more than $3,000 ...

Brad Peacock is a veteran, an organic farmer, and a former candidate for the United States Senate. He's also an author who has been featured in 7 days, VT Digger, The Washington Blade, and The New York Times. He lives with his husband on land that he is rehabilitating with native plants and flowers. James Crews is the author of numerous prize-winning collections of poetry. He runs an online writing community called The Monthly Pause and also speaks and leads workshops on kindness, mindfulness, and writing for self-compassion. Brad and James live together on forty rocky acres in the woods of Southern Vermont and they recently co-edited LOVE IS FOR ALL OF US. On today's show, Brad, Annmarie, and James discuss love stories, farming, and how poetry might just be the thing that saves us all. Episode Sponsors Battenkill Books – A local, independent bookstore selling general interest, new books in the Battenkill Valley. The store offers a broad range of books from current bestsellers to the classics, and from history and romance to gardening and cooking, and more. We also have an outstanding collection of books for children. And Battenkill carries maps, gifts, toys, cards, and an eclectic selection of magazines. Stop by or shop online at battenkillbooks.com. Big Hill Books – The happiest bookstore in Minneapolis. Big Hill Books welcomes you to Bryn Mawr, one of the most charming and eclectic neighborhoods in the Twin Cities. As a general interest bookstore, we offer an engaging, inclusive inventory of titles and a bright, airy space for customers to sit, read and relax. Our feline friends, Goose and Addie, are also available for some complimentary lap time. Visit Big Hill Books and help us build a community in which "we all do better when we all do better." Find us online at bighillbooks.com. Authors and Titles Mentioned in This Episode: Love Is for All of Us: Poems of Tenderness and Belonging, edited by James Crews and Brad Peacock How to Love the World: Poems of Gratitude and Hope, edited by James Crews Healing the Divide: Poems for Kindness and Connection, by James Crews Here's a clip from G.I. Jane that includes “Self-Pity,” a poem by D.H. Lawrence.  Follow Brad Peacock and James Crews: Instagram: @theheartofafarmer AND @james.crews.poet Facebook: @brad.peacock.5836 AND @crewspoet Substack: @JamesCrews jamescrews.net **Writing Workshops and Wish Fulfillment: If you liked this conversation and are interested in writing abroad, consider joining Annmarie and co-leader Athena Dixon for a writing retreat in Italy in September, 2025. You can travel to a beautiful place, meet other wise women, and write your own stories. We'd love to help you make your wishes come true. As of this moment, we only have 2 spots left. This will sell out. Act now and join us! Or for women interested in an online Saturday morning writing circle, message Annmarie to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Send us a textIt is election Night 1992. We will be using the coverage I collected that night , mainly, from ABC News, but it will also feature segments from CNN, NBC, and CBS News. We saved some interesting interviews with political figures like South Carolina Governor Carroll Campbell, and Texas Governor Ann Richards, you will get insights from the leading reporters of the age such as David Brinkley, Peter Jennings, Jeff Greenfield, Cokie Roberts, Sam Donaldson, Lyn Sherr, Brit Hume, Chris Bury, Bernard Shaw, Judy Woodward, and countless other journalist who made up the best era in the news business. Finally, we will also see the results come in from the other race, our Host Randal Wallace, was involved with as Ernest Hollings defeats former Congressman Tommy Hartnett to return to Washington in the United States Senate for South Carolina. This is part A in our look at this historic election night and its coverage in 1992. (In an aside, this episode marks our 356th storyline episode of our podcast, this ties our show with the exact number of original episodes of our childhood favorite show "DALLAS" We are enormously proud of that and to celebrate this milestone we have special hat tip for our favorite all time t.v. Show)  Boundless Insights - with Aviva KlompasIn depth analysis of what's happening in Israel—and why it matters everywhere.Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifyQuestions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

It's Friday, April 25th, A.D. 2025. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 125 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Adam McManus Nigerian Muslims have killed 170 Christians during Lent and Easter Nigerian Muslims killed 170 Christians during the Lenten season and on Easter Sunday in Nigeria's Middle Belt region, reports International Christian Concern. In Benue State, 72 Christians were confirmed dead following a series of deadly attacks by suspected Fulani Muslim militants between April 18 and April 20. They struck multiple villages in Ukum and Logo Counties during the Holy Weekend, turning what should have been a time of solemn reflection and worship into a scene of terror. Governor Hyacinth Alia, who visited the affected areas, described the massacre as “a calculated and strategic attack on innocent Christian farmers.” He also said, “These were peaceful people observing their Holy Weekend.  The scale and timing of the violence is heartbreaking. We cannot continue like this.” Please pray Amos 5:24 -- that “God's justice would roll on like a river.” Massive Russian strike on Ukraine's capital On Thursday night, Russia attacked Kyiv, Ukraine with an hours-long barrage of missiles and drones, killing at least eight people and injuring more than 70 in its deadliest assault on the Ukrainian capital since last July, reports CBS News. The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia fired 66 ballistic and cruise missiles, four plane-launched air-to-surface missiles, and 145 Shahed and decoy drones at Kyiv and four other regions of Ukraine. On Truth Social, President Donald Trump wrote, "I am not happy with the Russian strikes on Kyiv. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5,000 soldiers a week are dying. Let's get the Peace Deal DONE!" TRUMP: “We're putting a lot of pressure on Russia, and Russia knows that, and some people that are close to it know or he wouldn't be talking right now.” In response to Russia's aggressive strikes in Western Ukraine, NATO has heightened its alert level, placing fighter jets in the "highest state of readiness," reports The Express. Former Brazilian president in ICU Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's health condition has worsened following bowel surgery nearly two weeks ago, his doctors said Thursday, reports MSN.com. The medical team said the former president “experienced a clinical decline, elevated blood pressure and worsening liver lab test results." Bolsonaro underwent a 12-hour surgery on April 13 to remove intestinal adhesions and reconstruct the abdominal wall after the assassination attempt by stabbing in the abdomen during a campaign rally in September 2018. Democrat Senator Dick Durbin, a pro-abort, will not seek re-election Democrat Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois made an announcement on Wednesday, DURBIN: “There comes a point in your career when the torch must be passed, and I've reached that point. I will not be seeking re election to this United States Senate seat.” To his shame, Senator Durbin, age 80, has consistently voted to eliminate or prevent protections for the unborn and for children born alive after failed abortions. In addition, Senator Durbin has voted to use hard-earned tax dollars to pay for abortion, including abortion travel expenses. And he has worked to allow radical abortion ideology to be inserted into every facet of the United States Government. Illinois July 4th parade shooter sentenced to life in prison On Thursday, Robert Crimo III, the gunman who killed seven people and injured dozens in a mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, during a July 4th parade in 2022, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, reports ABC News. Judge Victoria Rossetti sentenced Crimo, age 24, to seven consecutive life sentences along with 50 years in prison for each person injured, Judge Rosetti said, "This court hopes this sentence brings a sense of justice and an end to the continued horror." However, the judge ignored God's just standard articulated in Genesis 9:6 which says, “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God has God made mankind." Max Lucado got a tattoo Max Lucado, the Christian bestselling writer and pastor of Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas, took to social media to announce he got a tattoo, reports MyChristianDaily.com. Located on his forearm, he chose the word “Tetelestai” which is Greek for “It is finished!” That is what Jesus uttered from the cross when He had paid our sin debt, according to John 19:30. Lucado said, “I'm celebrating the golden anniversary of God's great grace in my life. 50 years ago this spring, grace found me. My testimony is interwoven with my favorite word in the Bible. On the cross, Christ proclaimed,  in Greek, “Tetelestai!” Among the meanings of this word is, ‘paid in full'.” He added, “Not everyone likes the idea of a 70-year-old pastor getting a tattoo. That's ok. I didn't do it for people, I did it to say thank you to Jesus who paid a debt I could not pay.” However, Leviticus 19:28 says, “Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.” How “In God We Trust” became American motto And finally, on April 22, 1864, the United States informally adopted the motto "In God We Trust."  Conceived during the Civil War, Union supporters wanted to emphasize their attachment to God and to boost morale. The fourth stanza of the U.S. national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner", adopted from the 1814 poem "The Defense of Fort McHenry", contains the line: "And this be our motto—'In God is our trust.'" “In God We Trust” was officially adopted by Congress in 1956, replacing the defacto motto of “E Pluribus Unum” which is Latin for “Out of Many, One.” Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Close And that's The Worldview on this Friday, April 25th, in the year of our Lord 2025. Subscribe for free by Amazon Music or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Or get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

This Day in Legal History: Rush-Bagot TreatyOn April 16, 1818, the United States Senate ratified the Rush-Bagot Treaty, a landmark agreement with Great Britain that fundamentally reshaped security along the U.S.-Canada border. Negotiated in the aftermath of the War of 1812, the treaty aimed to de-escalate military tensions between the two nations by significantly limiting naval armaments on the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain. Specifically, it allowed each country to maintain only a single military vessel on Lakes Ontario and Champlain and two vessels on the upper Great Lakes, each restricted in size and armament. The treaty marked a mutual commitment to demilitarization and ushered in a new era of diplomacy.The negotiations were spearheaded by Acting U.S. Secretary of State Richard Rush and British Minister to the U.S., Charles Bagot. Though initially framed as an exchange of diplomatic notes rather than a formal treaty, it was nonetheless submitted to the Senate for ratification, reflecting its constitutional significance. The Rush-Bagot Treaty laid the groundwork for what would become the world's longest undefended border. It also set a precedent for the peaceful resolution of border disputes through legal and diplomatic means rather than military force.While tensions between the two nations would persist in other areas, the Great Lakes remained largely free of armed conflict, validating the treaty's long-term effectiveness. Over time, the agreement became a model of arms control and remains in effect today, albeit with amendments reflecting evolving security concerns. Its ratification on this day helped steer U.S.-British relations toward lasting peace and cooperation, especially in North America. The treaty's enduring legacy is a testament to the power of legal frameworks in shaping geopolitical stability.The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the state of Maine, escalating tensions between the Trump administration and the state over transgender athletes' participation in girls' and women's sports. The suit alleges that Maine is violating Title IX by permitting transgender female athletes to compete on girls' teams, citing recent examples from high school track events. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the action days after the administration attempted to cut off Maine's federal school funding and school lunch programs.This legal move follows a standoff between President Trump and Maine Governor Janet Mills, who rebuffed Trump's executive order banning transgender athletes from female sports. Mills told Trump, “We're going to follow the law, sir. We'll see you in court.” The administration's Title IX-based complaint argues that allowing transgender participation undermines fairness and safety, though no specific safety threats are detailed—of course.The Department of Education had already announced the suspension of $250 million in K-12 education funding for Maine, while the Department of Agriculture sought to freeze school lunch support. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the USDA's actions after Maine sued the federal government. Maine's Assistant Attorney General, Sarah Forster, pushed back, arguing that Title IX does not prohibit schools from including transgender girls in girls' sports and criticized the federal government's lack of legal precedent.US to take legal action against Maine over Trump executive order on transgender athletes | ReutersSenate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced he will block President Trump's nominations of Jay Clayton and Joe Nocella to serve as U.S. attorneys in New York's Southern and Eastern Districts, respectively. Schumer's refusal to return the customary “blue slip” signals his opposition and sets up a potential clash over the Senate tradition that gives home-state senators influence over federal prosecutor and judge appointments. He cited concerns that Trump intends to politicize the Justice Department, accusing him of seeking to weaponize law enforcement against political enemies.Clayton, a former SEC chair, was nominated to oversee the Southern District, which includes Manhattan and is often referred to as the nation's "Wall Street watchdog." Nocella, a state judge, was tapped for the Eastern District, covering Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island. Schumer's move could provoke Republicans to eliminate the blue slip practice for U.S. attorney nominations, as they previously did for circuit court judges.While Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley had earlier indicated he planned to preserve the blue slip process for U.S. attorney picks, growing political tensions may lead to changes. The debate echoes earlier pressure on Democrats to bypass blue slips during the Biden administration for nominees in states with GOP senators. Meanwhile, other Democratic senators, like Adam Schiff, are also using procedural holds to delay nominees they find objectionable, such as Ed Martin, who previously defended January 6 participants.Schumer to Block Jay Clayton as Top US Prosecutor in ManhattanPresident Donald Trump's threat to revoke Harvard University's tax-exempt status has sparked broader concerns about the politicization of the IRS and a potential crackdown on nonprofits. His warning followed Harvard's refusal to meet administration demands tied to federal funding, prompting a freeze of over $2.2 billion in grants. Other universities like Columbia, Cornell, and Princeton also saw funding halted, amid GOP claims that schools are failing to curb antisemitism after protests over the Israel-Hamas war.Critics see Trump's move as an attempt to use federal tax authority to punish political opponents. Legal scholars warn that using the IRS in this way echoes past abuses, such as those during Nixon's presidency. Some nonprofits have already started removing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) language from websites to avoid scrutiny, with lawyers reporting a spike in “DEI audits.” Though the IRS hasn't yet changed its enforcement patterns, reduced staffing could make it more susceptible to politicized influence.A recent executive order from Trump targeting “illegal DEI” efforts has heightened fear among nonprofits that their programs, especially those aimed at underrepresented communities, could be labeled discriminatory. Meanwhile, conservative activist Edward Blum has asked the IRS to investigate several foundations for offering race-specific grants, hoping to set a precedent against such practices. Legal experts say programs must be evaluated based on whether they exclude other races, which would likely violate federal law.Trump's Harvard Threat Raises Specter of IRS Nonprofit CrackdownIn my column for Bloomberg this week, I argue that proposals to exempt college athletes' name, image, and likeness (NIL) income from state taxes undermine one of tax policy's core principles: horizontal equity. That principle holds that taxpayers with similar incomes should be taxed similarly—something these NIL exemptions blatantly violate. While some student-athletes now earn six or seven figures, their peers working long hours in campus jobs continue to pay tax on modest earnings. Exempting high-income athletes while taxing low-wage student workers creates a two-tiered system that rewards fame and marketability, not need or effort.These exemptions aren't rooted in sound tax design—they're political moves, often motivated by the desire to curry favor with voters who are fans of college sports. But when states exempt wealthy student-athletes, they're making a value judgment: that celebrity deserves more support than everyday work. Even in states where lower-income students may owe no tax, the policy distinction is stark—exempting income to prevent poverty is not the same as exempting it to boost a football program.Rather than distorting the tax code to chase athletic prestige, I propose a fairer alternative: a progressive income exemption available to all full-time students, tied to the cost of their tuition. If a student pays $12,000 in tuition, they could exempt that amount from tax—regardless of whether their income comes from NIL deals, a job in the library, or a work-study program. This model keeps relief targeted to those bearing educational costs while avoiding regressive giveaways to already well-compensated students. The tax code should reflect fairness and support for all students—not just the most marketable ones.Student NIL Tax Breaks Would Put Splashy Recruits Above Fairness This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe

This Day in Legal History: Senate Approves Alaska PurchaseOn April 9, 1867, the United States Senate voted to ratify the Treaty with Russia for the Purchase of Alaska, approving the acquisition of the territory for $7.2 million. The deal, championed by Secretary of State William H. Seward, added over 586,000 square miles to U.S. territory. At the time, many Americans viewed the icy, remote land as a barren wasteland, mocking the transaction as “Seward's Folly” or “Seward's Icebox.” Despite public ridicule, Seward pursued the deal partly to prevent British expansion from neighboring Canada and to extend American commercial interests into the Pacific. Russia, for its part, saw little strategic or economic value in Alaska and feared it might lose the territory without compensation in a future conflict.The treaty passed in the Senate by a vote of 37 to 2, reflecting support among lawmakers despite popular skepticism. Legal authority for the purchase came through the treaty-making power of the executive branch, with Senate ratification required under Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution. Once finalized, the transfer of sovereignty occurred in October 1867 in Sitka, with a formal ceremony marking Russia's departure.Criticism of the purchase subsided decades later following the Klondike Gold Rush and, eventually, the discovery of significant oil reserves. These developments drastically changed the public's perception of Alaska from frozen liability to strategic asset. The purchase also helped lay the groundwork for America's growing influence in the Pacific and Arctic regions.President Donald Trump announced that major law firms pledging $340 million in pro bono work would assist his administration with coal industry initiatives and international tariff negotiations. Speaking at a White House event, Trump said these firms—such as Paul Weiss, Skadden, Milbank, and Willkie—would provide legal support for leasing and regulatory issues in coal mining, as well as in talks with foreign countries on trade. While he didn't specify which firms would take on specific tasks, Trump emphasized their legal talent and claimed they were offering services “for the right price.”The announcement coincided with Trump signing executive orders invoking the Defense Production Act to increase coal mining and directing investments into advanced coal technology. He also said the Department of Justice would be tasked with challenging state and local regulations he views as harmful to miners. The law firm agreements came after Trump targeted several legal firms with directives that threaten their business, prompting lawsuits from Perkins Coie, WilmerHale, and Jenner & Block. Trump posted the agreements on Truth Social, stating the firms would work on causes like veterans' rights and combating antisemitism, although details on how their roles will be determined remain unclear.Trump Says He'll Enlist Big Law Dealmakers for Coal, TariffsA group of 67 former top legal executives from companies like Microsoft, Intel, and Eli Lilly filed a legal brief condemning President Trump's executive orders targeting several major law firms. They argue that the orders violate the Constitution and threaten the independence of corporate legal counsel by coercing political loyalty through federal contract threats. The brief supports a lawsuit by Perkins Coie, one of the firms impacted by the orders, which claims the directives bar its attorneys from government buildings and jeopardize its clients' federal contracts.The former general counsels contend that Trump's actions don't just punish individual firms, but undermine the principle that companies should be free to choose their legal representation without fear of political retaliation. The brief highlights how the orders signal to businesses that hiring lawyers linked to Trump's critics could lead to government sanctions. Trump issued similar orders against WilmerHale and Jenner & Block, and all three firms have secured temporary legal blocks against the measures.While some firms like Paul Weiss struck deals with Trump to avoid penalties—agreeing to provide pro bono work for causes aligned with his administration—others have pushed back. Four days prior, hundreds of law firms submitted their own brief supporting Perkins Coie. Trump's administration defends the orders as efforts to stop perceived political bias in Big Law.Former top lawyers at major companies decry Trump orders against law firms | ReutersAn immigration judge has given the U.S. government through today to present evidence justifying the deportation of Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University student and lawful permanent resident. Khalil was arrested in New York and transferred to a detention facility in rural Louisiana, sparking concern over due process and free speech rights. At Tuesday's hearing, Judge Jamee Comans made it clear that if the government cannot prove Khalil is deportable, she will dismiss the case by Friday. She also criticized delays in sharing evidence and emphasized the importance of Khalil's due process rights.Khalil's lawyer, Marc Van Der Hout, claims the deportation effort is politically motivated and violates the First Amendment, suggesting that Khalil is being targeted for speaking out in support of Palestinians. The government argues Khalil should be deported under a Cold War-era law that allows removal if an immigrant is deemed a threat to U.S. foreign policy, and also accuses him of omissions on his green card application—charges he denies.The case has drawn national attention, including a crowded virtual courtroom. A separate habeas petition is also under consideration in federal court, and Khalil cannot be deported while that process plays out. His wife, a U.S. citizen who is expecting their child this month, has been unable to visit him due to her pregnancy.US given one day to show evidence for deporting Columbia University protester Khalil | ReutersA federal judge has ordered President Trump's White House to temporarily lift access restrictions on the Associated Press (AP) while a lawsuit challenging the ban moves forward. The Trump administration had barred AP journalists from events like Oval Office briefings and Air Force One trips after the agency refused to adopt Trump's preferred term, "Gulf of America," instead continuing to refer to the "Gulf of Mexico." U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee, ruled that the First Amendment prohibits the government from excluding journalists based on viewpoint.The ruling, which takes effect Sunday to allow time for appeal, restores the AP's access to White House press events. McFadden emphasized that if some journalists are granted access, others cannot be denied for their editorial stance. The AP sued three senior Trump aides in February, claiming the restrictions were unconstitutional retaliation against protected speech and lacked due process.AP reporters testified that the ban hindered their ability to cover the president, while Justice Department lawyers argued that access to presidential spaces is a privilege, not a right. Press freedom groups and the White House Correspondents' Association welcomed the decision, calling it a win for independent journalism. The case remains ongoing, with a final ruling expected in the coming months.Judge lifts Trump White House restrictions on AP while lawsuit proceeds | Reuters This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe

It's Friday, April 4th, A.D. 2025. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 125 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Adam McManus Chinese Communists sentence pastor to 5-year prison sentence The Chinese Communists have sentenced Pastor Wan Changchun of Living Stone Reformed House Church to a five-year prison sentence, reports International Christian Concern. The church is located in the city of Bengbu in the Anhui Province in Eastern China, As reported by Bitter Winter Magazine, Pastor Changchun was arrested in April 2023 for alleged fraud connected to the operation of his house church. However, Chinese communist officials often falsely use fraud allegations and charges to accuse, harass, arrest, and ultimately imprison Christians, especially pastors, to attempt to shut down their unregistered house churches. The pastor was one of the house church leaders who signed the statement against the repressive 2017 Regulation on Religious Affairs. The Chinese government has long considered religion an existential threat to the state's authority. Despite the unjust punishment, Pastor Changchun has echoed the words of Peter who said in Acts 5:29, “We must obey God rather than men.” Democrat Sen. Cory Booker's record-breaking speech championed the Left Democratic Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey officially broke the record previously held by the late Republican Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina by delivering the longest continuous floor speech in Senate history, reports The Epoch Times. He began his speech at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, March 31st.   Here are some highlights. BOOKER: “I rise with the intention of disrupting the normal business of the United States Senate for as long as I am physically able.” The Senator talked about how liberals, who have believed the lies of the mainstream media, are quaking in their boots about Trump's re-election. BOOKER: “They're writing me letters with words like ‘fear' and ‘terror.' They're talking about staying up at night and not being able to sleep because they don't have a president that comforts them.” Senator Booker took a page from Republican candidate Ronald Reagan, who asked the American people this question in 1979 in his race against Democratic President Jimmy Carter. REAGAN: “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” After only two months into Trump's second term, following four years of Joe Biden, Booker asked this ridiculous question. BOOKER: “I ask you, ‘Are you better off than you were 72 days ago economically?' Prices are up. Stock markets down. The risk of recession is climbing. Consumer confidence is in the gutter.” Like most of the Leftists in the Democratic Party today, Booker played the class warfare card. BOOKER: “We have more billionaires than any other country. Does that speak to the greatness of our nation? No. I think the things that speak to the greatness of a nation is how do we take care of each other?” And, by taking care of each other, he was not referring to the Christian concept of helping one another out of one's own resources, but the idea of redistributing wealth of other people with tax money. BOOKER: “I've had farmers from New Jersey to Texas coming to my office about this president freezing contracts that we approved in a bipartisan manner, putting them in financial crisis. It's not right or left. It's right or wrong. It's not a partisan moment. It's an American moment. It's a moral moment.” Rejecting the premise that Americans can better determine how to spend their own heard-earned money, Booker advocated for at least maintaining the high rate of taxation. BOOKER: “You don't need more tax cuts. And we, as a society, have an obligation to each other.” As of 7:19 p.m. ET on Tuesday, April 1, Booker had spoken for 24 hours and 19 minutes, a minute longer than Strom Thurmond's 1957 filibuster of the Civil Rights Act of 1957. Most filibusters on the Senate floor are motivated by opposition to a proposed bill. In this case, he used his time to object to the entirety of the Trump agenda. Booker finally yielded the floor at 8:05 p.m. on Tuesday, April 1st, with his time on the floor clocking in at a total of 25 hours and 5 minutes. Not only had he stood the whole time, but he never took a restroom break by fasting ahead of time and by dehydrating himself.  Throughout his Senate filibuster, he took some occasional sips of water. Dow Jones drops 1,100 points a day after Trump tariff announcement The three major U.S. stock indexes dropped on the morning of April 3 after President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs of 10 percent or higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunging by 1,100 points by noon yesterday, reports The Epoch Times. Aside from the Dow Jones tumbling, the S&P 500 Index dropped by 3.5 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite slid by more than 4.7 percent at about 9:35 a.m. EST. However, advocates of the Trump tariffs believe the economic pain will be momentary, as he uses them as leverage to achieve fair trade long-term. Trump's ban on trans troops halted A three-judge panel on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a request from President Donald Trump's administration to pause a lower court's decision blocking enforcement of a ban on trans-identified military service members, reports The Christian Post.    The Pentagon argued that trans-identified soldiers compromise "military readiness." By denying the administration's request, the appellate court left in place the preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, late last month. In essence, the 9th Circuit Court ruling prevented the Trump administration from removing trans-identifying service members. ‘Angel Eye Camera' lets parents of premature babies check-in And finally, 1 in every 10 women in the United States will experience the premature birth of their child. A heroic organization is helping these women keep two eyes on their baby in the Neo Natal Intensive Care Unit, even if they are miles away, reports GoodNewsNetwork.org. Called the AngelEye System, developed by the firm of the same name, it's a camera with a remotely-accessible 24-hour feed that's mounted via a boom arm onto any of the beds or tables an infant may be placed on. It allows the parents, who may not always be able to stay with their child, to keep an eye on them whenever nerves or separation anxiety strike. Thanks to advances in medical science, premature birth is a challenge that can be reliably overcome.  Philadelphia's Lauren Walsh had to face this exact situation when her third baby, John, was born prematurely at 32 weeks, not even weighing two pounds. John required a 61-day stay in the NICU. The AngelEye Camera was a lifeline for his mom and dad who could check up on him at any point by switching the camera feed on from their phones or computers. No doubt, the presence of the AngelEye Camera lowered the parents' anxiety, making it easier to abide by the counsel of 1 Peter 5:7 which says, “Cast all your anxiety on God, because He cares for you." Close And that's The Worldview on this Friday, April 4th, in the year of our Lord 2025. Subscribe by Amazon Music or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Or get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

What if filmmakers took their cameras to space? Prepare for a world of zero-G cinematography! From weather-sealed cameras designed to handle unexpected astronaut vomit to the perpetual hum of life-support systems ruining your audio, documentary filmmaking in orbit presents unique challenges. Discover why the International Space Station's lighting is "just awful," how playing a guitar in microgravity sends you spinning in unexpected directions, and why the first task in every Mars simulation is fixing the eternally broken toilet. Explore how future space workers will need specialized trade skills—from plumbers to welders—as humanity expands beyond Earth. This thought-provoking "what if" scenario features insights from documentary filmmaker Sam Burbank and Explore Mars CEO Chris Carberry. —— Chris Carberry is the CEO and co-founder of Explore Mars, Inc. (Explore Mars), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit space advocacy organization that was created to advance the goal of sending humans to Mars by the mid-2030s. Carberry is a well-respected expert and influential director of strategic alliances in the space community as well as with non-traditional organizations. Carberry has presented oral (and written) testimony to both the United States Senate as well as the United States House of Representatives and has been active in all levels of policy engagement with both the Executive and Legislative branches of government. In recent years, he has overseen Explore Mars' annual Humans to Mars Summit, the largest annual conference focused on sending humans to Mars. He has also spearheaded dozens of programs including the Mars Innovation Forum, the annual Community Workshops for the Achievability and Sustainability of Human Exploration of Mars series, the AR/VR and Space workshop series, the ISS and Mars Conference in Washington, D.C. and in Strasbourg, France, and the Women and Mars Conference in Washington, D.C. He has also conducted programs overseas, in such countries as the United Arab Emirates, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Carberry is also the creator, and one of the senior editors, of the annual publication known as the Humans to Mars Report that was highlighted in the NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2017. In 2013, Carberry was awarded a NASA Group Achievement award. Carberry is the author of the 2019 book, Alcohol in Space: Past, Present and Future, and the upcoming book, The Music of Space (to be released in 2022). Both volumes are being adapted into documentary films.Learn more about Chris at https://exploremars.orgCheck out his books at https://www.amazon.com/stores/Chris-Carberry/author/B0CZWN4JNF?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1743558561&sr=8-1&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true Watch his film at https://www.amazon.com/Alcohol-Space-Movie-Sam-Burbank/dp/B0DJQZGLG2 —— Sam Burbank is a science-writer and science-documentary filmmaker. Mr. Burbank has worked with PBS, Discovery Channel, and has produced and written two dozen programs for the National Geographic, ranging from renewable energy to the X-Prize. Sam studied creative writing at San Francisco State University, and is a long time member of AAAS. He has spent three summers on Devon Island, near the magnetic north pole, and was a member of the founding crew of the Mars Society FMARS station in 2001. In 2002 he joined a crew at the MDRS station for the one-of-a-kind ICoMP experiment Sam loves snowboarding, journal writing, and dancing a fast 1930's swing step, the Balboa. In 1995, he and wife Linda spent their honeymoon riding a motorcycle to the arctic circle. Some notable quotes about Mr. Burbank include the following: "Sam Burbank is elevating the video-journal to an art genre." Kim Stanley Robinson, author Antarctica, Red Mars. "Sam is a true artist, who makes visible to the eye what before could only be seen by the mind." Robert Zubrin, author The Case for Mars, Entering Space. Learn more about Sam at https://www.samburbank.com/

Again, I want to thank all my dear friends who responded toour pleas for prayer for my grandson Luke and his extensive brain surgery thispast Friday! The surgery and the recovery went well, and “Praise the LORD”, hewas able to go home yesterday afternoon! Your prayers, and the Lord's miraculoushealing hand, made this possible! Thank you! Thank you! It is amazing to me how this passage in Luke 12:22-34,along with Dr. Towns devotion today for April 01, from 365 Ways to Know God,entitled: JESUS: THE LORD OF PEACE, is exactly what we needed for this periodof time, and crisis in our lives. God's timing and reminders are always exactlyon time!!!! You can always trust Him! So far in Luke 12, we have learned that we should “bewareof hypocrisy”, we should “beware of covetousness”, and we should “beware ofworry”. It is interesting to me how all of these sins are linked to each other.And for sure, hypocrisy, pretending to be something that we are not, and covetousness,lusting and desiring things that we really don't need, always lead to this incapacitatingemotion that we call worry! They “strangle” and destroy us, they deceive usinto believing a false view of life and of God. We are attempting to live a lifethat will never ever satisfy or fulfill us. Not only does worry destroy and deceive us, but it can alsodeform us. It keeps us from growing and it makes us like the unsaved in theworld (Luke 12:30). In short, worry is unchristian; worry is a sin. How can wewitness to a lost world and encourage them to put faith in Jesus Christ if weourselves are doubting God and worrying? Is it not inconsistent to preach faithand yet not practice it? The late chaplain of the United States Senate, PeterMarshall, once prayed "that ulcers would not become the badge of ourfaith." Too often they are! How do we win over worry? The first step is to realize thatGod knows our needs, so we can trust Him to meet them. We are sheep in Hislittle flock, children in His family, and servants in His kingdom; and He willsee to it that our needs are fully met. It is His pleasure to give us Hiskingdom, so will He not give us everything that we need? Romans 8:31-32 remindsus of a great promise: “What then shall we say to these things? If God isfor us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but deliveredHim up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” But God's pleasures and our treasures must go together. Wemust look at earth from heaven's point of view and make sure that we put God'skingdom first in everything. The main question is, "Where is yourheart?" If our hearts are fixed on the transient things of earth, then wewill always worry. But if we are fixed on the eternal, then God's peace willguard our minds and hearts (Philippians 4:6-9). We must "hang loose"when it comes to this world's goods and be willing even to sell what we have inorder to help others (Acts 2:44-45; 4:34-35). It is not wrong to own things solong as things do not own us. Worry always leads to fear, and that is why Jesus, in verse32 added, “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father'sgood pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Worry is proof that our “faithis little” and that we need to believe God's Old Testament promise in Proverbs3:5-6: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your ownunderstanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct yourpaths.” We are our Father's “little flock” that He dearlyloves and takes pleasure in! You can trust Him to care for you today! God bless!

11:37 - Commanders: discussion of the latest for the Commanders in free agency, including scheduled fun with comments from new Commanders interior defensive lineman Javon Kinlaw and analysis of unrestricted-free-agent edge defender Clelin Ferrell reportedly agreeing to re-sign with the Commanders, Commanders unrestricted-free-agent edge defender Dante Fowler Jr. reportedly agreeing on a one-year, $8 million contract to go back to the Dallas Cowboys and the Commanders reportedly agreeing with Pittsburgh Steelers unrestricted-free-agent guard Nate Herbig on a contract  23:38 - Guest: former United States ambassador to Belgium, lawyer, radio-show host and Commanders fan Howard Gutman, who is a good friend of and strategic advisor for Commanders limited partner Mitchell Rales, on the Commanders' renaissance 2024 season, the significance of the team retaining each of its top five offensive assistant coaches, the Commanders ranking No. 11 in the NFL via their NFL Players Association report card for player treatment, how the Josh Harris group delivered in the United States Senate's miracle passage of the D.C. Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act and what went into managing partner Josh Harris publicly declaring that the team is sticking with the name "Commanders" 01:09:44 - College Basketball: breakdowns of the NCAA Tournament games and conference-tournament results for the six Mid-Atlantic-region teams that made the 2025 NCAA Tournament in Maryland, American, Mount St. Mary's, VCU, Liberty and Norfolk State...and thoughts on the Terrapins reportedly being poised to give head coach Kevin Willard a big-money contract extension 01:24:26 - Capitals: analysis of a 5-1 win at the NHL-worst San Joe Sharks as top-line left wing Alex Ovechkin scored a third-period even-strength goal to get to just eight goals shy of surpassing Wayne Gretzky's record of 894 career NHL regular-season goals 01:29:09 - Wizards: reaction to the supposedly-tanking Wizards winning for a sixth time in ten games with a 126-123 victory at the Denver Nuggets The Nace Law Group, Accident & Injury Lawyers - 202-902-7611 and make sure that you mention that Al Galdi sent you Call Nova Fireplace And Stove at 571-513-3803, mention that Al Galdi sent you and receive $25 off any fireplace or chimney service Download the PrizePicks app and use the promo code "Galdi" for $50 instantly after you play your first $5 lineup For advertising inquiries, email TheAlGaldiPodcast@Yahoo.com Please note that time stamps may be slightly off depending on rotating national ads 

Perhaps no job in Corporate America could ever fully prepare you for a job with the federal government. Or more particularly, the United States Senate, or the Pentagon, or the white house. Someone who worked in all three of those venues in the early 2000s will tell you, it's not just a different world, it's a different Universe. Matt Latimer started his Washington career working in the US Senate – at one point working alongside Anne Coulter – before taking a job at the Pentagon as a speechwriter for then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Latimer joined the White House in 2007 as a speechwriter for President George W. Bush, a position he held until resigning a year and a half later. disillusioned with how the president and his advisors handled the financial crisis.A year later, Latimer wrote a memoir he called Speech-less. He and I met one day that fall in the cafe at our local Borders bookstore to talk about it.So here now, from 2009, Matt Latimer.Matt Latimer now heads a literary and public relations firm he co-founded in Northern Virginia.

David Urban, the newest board member for the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate and political commentator for CNN, joined Dan to discuss a variety of political key issues playing out in D.C.Listen to WBZ NewsRadio on the NEW iHeart Radio app and be sure to set WBZ NewsRadio as your #1 preset!

José Santos (Woss) Moreno is the Friends Committee on Nations Legislation's director for justice reform. He leads FCNL's work on justice reform, election integrity, and policing. He helps to lead the Interfaith Criminal Justice Coalition, an alliance of prominent national religious groups advocating to end mass incarceration. His passion for racial justice led him to help lead a coalition advocating for the human rights of Dominicans of Haitian descent facing statelessness. Before joining the Quaker community he lobbied on public health and appropriations for a large, international law firm. José started his career in public policy working in the United States Senate.. A long with Kristen Archer, and Anika Forrest, Jose' Moreno co-authored an article titled “Rooted in Restorative Justice, Violence Interrupters Increase the Peace.

President Trump has been threatening to “take back” the Panama Canal since he regained power. In this episode, listen to testimony from officials serving on the Federal Maritime Commission who explain why the Panama Canal has become a focus of the administration and examine whether or not we need to be concerned about an impending war for control of the canal. Please Support Congressional Dish – Quick Links Contribute monthly or a lump sum via Support Congressional Dish via (donations per episode) Send Zelle payments to: Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Send Cash App payments to: $CongressionalDish or Use your bank's online bill pay function to mail contributions to: Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Background Sources Recommended Congressional Dish Episodes Current Events around the Panama Canal March 5, 2025. the Associated Press. Sabrina Valle, Suzanne McGee, and Michael Martina. March 4, 2025. Reuters. Matt Murphy, Jake Horton and Erwan Rivault. February 14, 2025. BBC. May 1, 2024. World Weather Attribution. World Maritime News Staff. March 15, 2019. World Maritime News. July 29, 2018. Reuters. Panama Canal Treaty of 1977 U.S. Department of State. The Chinese “Belt and Road Initiative” Michele Ruta. March 29, 2018. World Bank Group. The Trump-Gaza Video February 26, 2025. Sky News. Laws Audio Sources Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation January 28, 2025 Witnesses: Louis E. Sola, Chairman, Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) Daniel B. Maffei, Commissioner, FMC , Professor, Scalia Law School, George Mason University Joseph Kramek, President & CEO, World Shipping Council Clips 17:30 Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX): Between the American construction of the Panama Canal, the French effort to build an isthmus canal, and America's triumphant completion of that canal, the major infrastructure projects across Panama cost more than 35,000 lives. For the final decade of work on the Panama Canal, the United States spent nearly $400 million, equivalent to more than $15 billion today. The Panama Canal proved a truly invaluable asset, sparing both cargo ships and warships the long journey around South America. When President Carter gave it away to Panama, Americans were puzzled, confused, and many outraged. With the passage of time, many have lost sight of the canal's importance, both to national security and to the US economy. 18:45 Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX): But the Panama Canal was not just given away. President Carter struck a bargain. He made a treaty. And President Trump is making a serious and substantive argument that that treaty is being violated right now. 19:10 Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX): President Trump has highlighted two key issues. Number one, the danger of China exploiting or blocking passage through the canal, and number two, the exorbitant costs for transit. 19:20 Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX): Chinese companies are right now building a bridge across the canal at a slow pace, so as to take nearly a decade. And Chinese companies control container points ports at either end. The partially completed bridge gives China the ability to block the canal without warning, and the ports give China ready observation posts to time that action. This situation, I believe, poses acute risks to US national security. 19:50 Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX): Meanwhile, the high fees for canal transit disproportionately affect Americans, because US cargo accounts for nearly three quarters of Canal transits. US Navy vessels pay additional fees that apply only to warships. Canal profits regularly exceed $3 billion. This money comes from both American taxpayers and consumers in the form of higher costs for goods. American tourists aboard cruises, particularly those in the Caribbean Sea, are essentially captive to any fees Panama chooses to levy for canal transits, and they have paid unfair prices for fuel bunkering at terminals in Panama as a result of government granted monopoly. Panama's government relies on these exploitative fees. Nearly 1/10 of its budget is paid for with canal profit. 21:25 Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX): Panama has for years flagged dozens of vessels in the Iranian ghost fleet, which brought Iran tens of billions of dollars in oil profits to fund terror across the world. 21:40 Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX): And Chinese companies have won contracts, often without fair competition, as the infamous Belt and Road Initiative has come to Panama. China often engages in debt trap diplomacy to enable economic and political coercion. In Panama, it also seems to have exploited simple corruption. 32:40 Louis Sola: The Panama Canal is managed by the Panama Canal Authority, ACP, an independent agency of the Panamanian government. The ACP is a model of public infrastructure management, and its independence has been key to ensure a safe and reliable transit of vessels critical to the US and global commerce. 33:25 Louis Sola: In contrast, the broader maritime sector in Panama, including the nation's ports, water rights, and the world's largest ship registry, falls under the direct purview of the Panamanian government. 33:35 Louis Sola: Unfortunately, this sector has faced persistent challenges, including corruption scandals and foreign influence, particularly from Brazil and China. These issues create friction with the ACP, especially as it works to address long term challenges such as securing adequate water supplies for the canal. 33:55 Louis Sola: Although the ACP operates independently, under US law both the ACP and the government of Panama's maritime sector are considered one in the same. This means that any challenges in Panama's maritime sector, including corruption, lack of transparency, or foreign influence, can have a direct or indirect impact on the operations and long term stability of the canal. This legal perspective highlights the need for diligence in monitoring both the ACP's management and Panama government's policies affecting maritime operations. 34:30 Louis Sola: Since 2015, Chinese companies have increased their presence and influence throughout Panama. Panama became a member of the Belt and Road Initiative and ended its diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Chinese companies have been able to pursue billions of dollars in development contracts in Panama, many of which were projects directly on or adjacent to the Panama Canal. Many were no bid contracts. Labor laws were waived, and the Panamanian people are still waiting to see how they've been benefited. It is all more concerning that many of these companies are state-owned, and in some cases, even designated as linked to the People's Liberation Army. We must address the significant growing presence and influence of China throughout the Americas and in Panama, specifically. 35:20 Louis Sola: American companies should play a leading role in enhancing the canal's infrastructure. By supporting US firms, we reduce reliance on Chinese contractors and promote fair competition. 36:55 Daniel Maffei: Because the canal is essentially a waterway bridge over mountainous terrain above sea level, it does depend on large supplies of fresh water to maintain the full operations. Panama has among the world's largest annual rainfalls. Nonetheless, insufficient fresh water levels have occurred before in the canal's history, such as in the 1930s when the Madden Dam and Lake Alajuela were built to address water shortages. Since that time, the canal has undertaken several projects to accommodate larger, more modern ships. In the last couple of years, a trend of worsening droughts in the region, once again, has forced limits to the operations of the canal. Starting in June of 2023 the Panama Canal Authority employed draft restrictions and reduced the number of ships allowed to transit the canal per day. Now the Panama Canal limitations, in combination with the de facto closure of the Suez Canal to container traffic, has had serious consequences for ocean commerce, increasing rates, fees and transit times. 39:30 Daniel Maffei: Now, fortunately, Panama's 2024 rainy season has, for now, alleviated the most acute water supply issues at the canal, and normal transit volumes have been restored. That said, while the Panamanian government and Canal Authority have, with the advice of the US Army Corps of Engineers, developed credible plans to mitigate future water shortages, they also warned that it is likely that at least one more period of reduced transits will occur before these plans can be fully implemented. 41:55 Eugene Kontorovich: We shall see that under international law, each party to the treaty is entitled to determine for itself whether a violation has occurred. Now, in exchange for the United States ceding control of the canal which it built and maintained, Panama agreed to a special regime of neutrality. The essential features of this regime of neutrality is that the canal must be open to all nations for transit. That's Article Two. Equitable tolls and fees, Article Three. An exclusive Panamanian operation, Article Five. The prohibition of any foreign military presence, Article Five. Article Five provides that only Panama shall operate the canal. Testifying about the meaning of the treaty at the Senate ratification hearings, the Carter administration emphasized that this prohibits foreign operation of the canal, as well as the garrisoning of foreign troops. Now, Article Five appears to be primarily concerned about control by foreign sovereigns. If Panama signed a treaty with the People's Republic of China, whereby the latter would operate the canal on Panama's behalf, this would be a clear violation. But what if Panama contracted for port operations with a Chinese state firm, or even a private firm influenced or controlled in part by the Chinese government? The Suez Canal Company was itself, before being nationalized, a private firm in which the United Kingdom was only a controlling shareholder. Yet this was understood to represent British control over the canal. In other words, a company need not be owned by the government to be in part controlled by the government. So the real question is the degree of de jure or de facto control over a Foreign Sovereign company, and scenarios range from government companies in an authoritarian regime, completely controlled, to purely private firms in our open society like the United States, but there's many possible situations in the middle. The treaty is silent on the question of how much control is too much, and as we'll see, this is one of the many questions committed to the judgment and discretion of each party. Now turning to foreign security forces, the presence of third country troops would manifestly violate Article Five. But this does not mean that anything short of a People's Liberation Army base flying a red flag is permissible. The presence of foreign security forces could violate the regime of neutrality, even if they're not represented in organized and open military formations. Modern warfare has seen belligerent powers seek to evade international legal limitations by disguising their actions in civilian garb, from Russia's notorious little green men to Hamas terrorists hiding in hospitals or disguised as journalists. Bad actors seek to exploit the fact that international treaties focus on sovereign actors. Many of China's man made islands in the South China Sea began as civilian projects before being suddenly militarized. Indeed, this issue was discussed in the Senate ratification hearings over the treaty. Dean Rusk said informal forces would be prohibited under the treaty. Thus the ostensible civilian character of the Chinese presence around the canal does not, in itself, mean that it could not represent a violation of the treaty if, for example, these companies and their employees involved Chinese covert agents or other agents of the Chinese security forces. So this leads us to the final question, Who determines whether neutrality is being threatened or compromised? Unlike many other treaties that provide for third party dispute resolution, the neutrality treaty has no such provision. Instead, the treaty makes clear that each party determines for itself the existence of a violation. Article Four provides that each party is separately authorized to maintain the regime of neutrality, making a separate obligation of each party. The Senate's understanding accompanying to ratification also made clear that Article Five allows each party to take, quote, "unilateral action." Senator Jacob Javits, at the markup hearing, said that while the word unilateral is abrasive, we can quote, "decide that the regime of neutrality is being threatened and then act with whatever means are necessary to keep the canal neutral unilaterally." 46:35 Joseph Kramek: My name is Joe Kramek. I'm President and CEO of the World Shipping Council. The World Shipping Council is the global voice of liner shipping. Our membership consists of 90% of the world's liner shipping tonnage, which are container vessels and vehicle carriers. They operate on fixed schedules to provide our customers with regular service to ship their goods in ports throughout the world. 47:15 Joseph Kramek: As you have heard, using the Panama Canal to transit between the Atlantic and Pacific saves significant time and money. A typical voyage from Asia to the US or East Coast can be made in under 30 days using the canal, while the same journey can take up to 40 days if carriers must take alternate routes. From a commercial trade perspective, the big picture is this. One of the world's busiest trade lanes is the Trans Pacific. The Trans Pacific is cargo coming from and going to Asia via the United States. Focusing in a bit, cargo coming from Asia and bound for US Gulf and East Coast ports always transits the Panama Canal. Similarly, cargo being exported from US and East Coast ports, a large share of which are US Agricultural exports, like soybeans, corn, cotton, livestock and dairy also almost always transits the Panama Canal. The result is that 75% of Canal traffic originates in or is bound for the United States. 48:55 Joseph Kramek: We've talked about the drought in 2023 and the historic low water levels that it caused in Lake Gatún, which feeds the canal locks, a unique system that is a fresh water feed, as contrasted to an ocean to ocean system, which the French tried and failed, but which is actually active in the Suez Canal. These low water levels reduced transits from 36 transits a day to as low as 22 per day. Additionally, the low water levels required a reduction in maximum allowable draft levels, or the depth of the ship below the water line, which for our members reduced the amount of containers they could carry through the canal. This resulted in a 10% reduction in import volumes for US Gulf and East Coast ports, with the Port of Houston experiencing a 26.7% reduction. 51:10 Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX): Are you aware of allegations from some vessel operators of disparate treatment such as sweetheart deals or favorable rebates by Panama for canal transits? Louis Sola: Thank you for the question, Mr. Chairman, we have become aware through some complaints by cruise lines that said that they were not getting a refund of their canal tolls. When we looked into this, we found a Panamanian Executive Order, Decree 73, that specifically says that if a cruise line would stop at a certain port, that they could be refunded 100% of the fees. And as far as I know, that's the only instant where that exists. 53:05 Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX): So Panama was the very first Latin American country to join China's Belt and Road Initiative, and right now, China is building a fourth bridge across the Panama Canal for car traffic and light rail. Chairman Sola, why should Chinese construction of a bridge near Panama City concern the United States? Louis Sola: Mr. Chairman, we all saw the tragedy that happened here in the Francis Scott Key Bridge incident and the devastation that had happened to Baltimore. We also saw recently what happened in the Suez Canal, where we had a ship get stuck in there. It's not only the construction of the bridge, but it's a removal of a bridge, as I understand it, called the Bridge of the Americas. It was built in 1961 and that would paralyze cargo traffic in and out of the canals. 53:55 Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX): Panama also recently renewed the concessions for two container ports to a Chinese company, Hutchison Ports PPC. Of course, Chinese companies are controlled by the Communist Party. How does China use control of those ports for economic gain? Louis Sola: Mr. Chairman, I am a regulator, a competition regulator. And the Chinese ports that you're referring to, let me put them into scope. The one on the Pacific, the Port of Balboa, is roughly the same size as the Port of Houston. They do about 4 million containers a year. They have about 28 game tree cranes. The one on the Atlantic is the same as my hometown in Miami, they do about 1 million containers. So where Roger Gunther in the Port of Houston generates about $1 billion a year and Heidi Webb in Miami does about $200 million, the Panama ports company paid 0 for 20 years on that concession. So it's really hard to compete against zero. So I think that's our concern, our economic concern, that we would have. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX): Commissioner Maffei, anything to add on that? Daniel Maffei: Yeah, I do too also think it is important. I would point out that you don't have to stop at either port. It's not like these two ports control the entrance to the canal. That is the Canal Authority that does control that. However, I think it's of concern. I would also point out that the Panamanian government thinks it's of concern too, because they're conducting their own audit of those particular deals, but we remain very interested as well. 56:25 Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX): Would the facts discussed here be considered violations of the neutrality treaty in force right now between the United States and Panama? Eugene Kontorovich: So I think Senator, I think potentially they could, but it's impossible to say definitively without knowing more, in particular, about the degree of Chinese control and involvement in these companies. I think it's important to note that these port operation companies that operate the ports on both sides, when they received their first contract, it was just a few months before Hong Kong was handed over to China. In other words, they received them as British companies, sort of very oddly, just a few months before the handover. Now, of course, since then, Hong Kong has been incorporated into China, has been placed under a special national security regime, and the independence of those companies has been greatly abridged, to say nothing of state owned companies involved elsewhere in in the canal area, which raised significantly greater questions. Additionally, I should point out that the understandings between President Carter and Panamanian leader Herrera, which were attached to the treaty and form part of the treaty, provide that the United States can, quote, "defend the canal against any threat to the regime of neutrality," and I understand that as providing some degree of preemptive authority to intervene. One need not wait until the canal is actually closed by some act of sabotage or aggression, which, as we heard from the testimony, would be devastating to the United States, but there is some incipient ability to address potential violations. 58:10 Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX): If the United States determines that Panama is in violation of the treaty, what is the range of remedies the United States would have for that treaty violation? Eugene Kontorovich: So I think it may be shocking to people to hear today, but when one goes over the ratification history and the debates and discussions in this body over this treaty, it was clear that the treaty was understood as giving both sides, separately, the right to resort to use armed force to enforce the provisions of the treaty. And it's not so surprising when one understands that the United States made an extraordinary concession to Panama by transferring this canal, which the United States built at great expense and maintained and operated to Panama, gratis. And in exchange, it received a kind of limitation, a permanent limitation on Panamanians sovereignty, that Panama agreed that the United States could enforce this regime of neutrality by force. Now, of course, armed force should never be the first recourse for any kind of international dispute and should not be arrived at sort of rationally or before negotiations and other kinds of good offices are exhausted, but it's quite clear that the treaty contemplates that as a remedy for violations. 1:03:20 Louis Sola: I believe that the security of the canal has always been understood to be provided by the United States. Panama does not have a military, and I always believed that there's been a close relationship with Southern Command that we would provide that. And it would be nice to see if we had a formalization of that in one way or another, because I don't believe that it's in the treaty at all. 1:05:05 Daniel Maffei: While we were down there, both of us heard, I think, several times, that the Panamanians would, the ones we talked to anyway, would welcome US companies coming in and doing a lot of this work. Frankly, their bids are not competitive with the Chinese bids. Frankly, they're not that existent because US companies can make more money doing things other places, but even if they were existent, it is difficult to put competitive bids when the Chinese bids are so heavily subsidized by China. 1:06:10 Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX): What would China's incentive be to heavily subsidize those bids to undercut American companies and other companies? Daniel Maffei: Yeah, it's not a real short answer, but Senator, China's made no secret of its ambitious policies to gain influence of ports throughout the globe. It's invested in 129 ports in dozens of countries. It runs a majority of 17 ports, that does not include this Hong Kong company, right? So that's just directly Chinese-owned ports. So it has been a part of their Belt and Road strategy, whatever you want to call it, the Maritime Silk Road, for decades. So they believe that this influence, this investment in owning maritime ports is important to their economy. 1:07:05 Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE): In 2021, Hutchison was awarded those two ports, Port Balboa and Port Cristobal, in a no-bid award process. Can you tell me, does the United States have any authority or recourse with the Panama Canal Authority under our current agreement with Panama to rebid those terminal concession contracts. And perhaps Mr. Kantorovich, that's more in your purview? Louis Sola: Senator, both of those ports were redone for 25 years, until 2047, I believe. And they have to pay $7 million is what the ongoing rate is for the Port of Houston- and the Port of Miami-sized concessions. Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE): And it can't be rebid until after that date? Louis Sola: Well, I believe that that's what the comptroller's office is auditing both of those ports and that contract. That was done under the previous Panamanian administration. A new administration came in, and they called for an audit of that contract immediately. 1:20:10 Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK): Are the companies now controlling both sides of the Panama Canal, the Chinese companies, subject to the PRC national security laws that mandate cooperation with the military, with state intelligence agencies. Does anyone know that? Eugene Kontorovich: They're subject all the time. They're subject to those laws all the time by virtue of being Hong Kong companies. And you know, they face, of course, consequences for not complying with the wishes of the Chinese government. One of the arguments -- Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK): Wouldn't that be a violation of the treaty? And isn't that a huge risk to us right now that the Chinese -- Eugene Kontorovich: That is a threat to the neutrality -- Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK): If they invaded Taiwan, invaded the Philippines, they could go to these two companies saying, Hey, shut it down, make it hard, sink a ship in the canal. And wouldn't they be obligated to do that under Chinese law if they were ordered to by the PLA or the CCP? Eugene Kontorovich: I don't know if they'd be obligated, but certainly the People's Republic of China would have many tools of leverage and pressure on these companies. That's why the treaty specifically says that we can act not just to end actual obstructions to the canal. We don't have to wait until the canal is closed by hostile military action. Thatwould be a suicide pact, that would be catastrophic for us, but rather that we can respond at the inchoate, incipient level to threats, and then this is up to the president to determine whether this is significantly robust to constitute -- Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK): So aren't we kind of walking up to the idea of a suicide pact, because we've got two big Chinese companies on both ends of the Panama Canal, who, if there's a war in INDOPACOM, Taiwan that involves us and China, these companies would be obligated to do the bidding of the Chinese Communist Party and PLA? I mean, are we kind of walking up to a very significant national security threat already? Eugene Kontorovich: Yeah, certainly, there's a threat. And I think what makes the action of the Chinese government so difficult to respond to, but important to respond to, is that they conceal this in sort of levels of gray without direct control. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK): Let me ask you on that topic, as my last question, Professor, let's assume that we find out. And again, it wouldn't be surprising. I think you can almost assume it that these two companies have Chinese spies or military officials within the ranks of the employees of the companies. Let's assume we found that out, somehow that becomes public. But I don't think it's a big assumption. It's probably true right now. So you have spies and military personnel within the ranks of these two companies that are controlling both ends of the Panama Canal for you, Professor, and Chairman Sola, wouldn't that be a blatant violation of Article Five of the neutrality treaty, if that were true, which probably is true? Eugene Kontorovich: Yeah, I do think it would be a clear violation. As former Secretary of State, Dean Ross said at the ratification hearings, informal forces can violate Article Five as well as formal forces. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK): Is there any evidence of Chinese spies or other nefarious Chinese actors embedded in these companies? Louis Sola: Senator, we have no information of that. That's not under the purview of -- Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK): But you agree that would be a violation of Article Five of the neutrality treaty? Louis Sola: I do. 1:26:25 Daniel Maffei: Senator Sullivan was talking about Hutchison Ports. That's actually the same company that runs terminals on both ends of the canal. I am concerned about that. However, if we want to be concerned about that, all of us should lose a lot more sleep than we're losing because if there are spies there, then there might be spies at other Hutchinson ports, and there are other Hutchinson ports in almost every part of the world. They own the largest container port in the United Kingdom, Felix Dow, which is responsible for nearly half of Britain's container trade. They control major maritime terminals in Argentina, Australia, the Bahamas, Germany, Indonesia, Mexico, Myanmar, the Netherlands, South Korea and Tanzania. If owning and managing adjacent ports means that China somehow has operational control or strategic control over the Panama Canal, they also have it over the Suez, the Singapore Straits, the Mediterranean Sea and the English Channel. 1:35:45 Louis Sola: The fees that I think we are looking at, or have been looked at, the reason that we went there was because of the auctioning of the slots. And so what Panama did is they had a smaller percentage, maybe 20% allocation, and then they moved it up to 30% and 40% because it became a money maker for them. So as they were doing -- Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN): Okay, let me interject here. The auctioning of the slots gives these the right to skip the queue? Louis Sola: Yes, ma'am. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN): Okay, so just for the record there. Continue. Louis Sola: So the auctioning of the slots. Under maritime law, it's first come first serve, but Panama has always put a certain percentage aside, and they started to put more and more. So we got a lot of complaints. We got a lot of complaints from LNG carriers that paid $4 million to go through, and we got a lot of complaints from agriculture that didn't have the money to pay to go through, because their goods were gonna go down. So if you look at the financial statements -- I'm a nerd, I look at financial statements of everybody -- the canal increased the amount of revenue that they had from about $500 million to $1.8 billion in the last three years just because of those fees. So this is what is very concerning to us. 1:39:20 Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN): Do you know of any instances where the United States has been singled out or treated unfairly under the neutrality treaty in the operation of the canal? Daniel Maffei: I do not. I would add that one of the reasons why saying the US is disproportionately affected by raises in Canal fees and other kinds of fees at the canal is because the United States disproportionately utilizes the canal. 1:44:55 Louis Sola: We have a US port there, SSA, out of Washington State that I actually worked on the development of that many years ago, and helped develop that. That used to be a United States Navy submarine base, and we converted that. As far as the two ports that we have, they're completely different. One is a major infrastructure footprint, and also a container port that's moving 4 million containers a year. That's really phenomenal amount. That's more than Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and you've probably got to get Tampa and a little bit of Jacksonville in there to get that type of volume. And on the other side, we have a very small port, but it's a very strategic port on the Atlantic. So how are the operations done?I don't know how they don't make money. I mean, if you want to come right down to it, if they've been operating the port for 20 years, and they say that they haven't made any money, so they haven't been able to pay the government. That's what concerns me is I don't believe that we're on a level playing field with the American ports. 1:58:50 Eugene Kontorovich: I think the charges and fees are less of an issue because they don't discriminate across countries. We pay more because we use more, but it's not nationally discriminatory. 1:59:00 Eugene Kontorovich: The presence of Chinese companies, especially Chinese state companies, but not limited to them, do raise serious issues and concerns for the neutrality of the treaty. And I should point out, in relation to some of the earlier questioning, the canal, for purposes of the neutrality treaty, is not limited just to the actual locks of the canal and the transit of ships through the canal. According to Annex One, paragraph one of the treaty, it includes also the entrances of the canal and the territorial sea of Panama adjacent to it. So all of the activities we're talking about are within the neutrality regime, the geographic scope of the neutrality regime in the treaty. 2:00:30 Daniel Maffei: I actually have to admit, I'm a little confused as to why some of the senators asking these questions, Senator Blackburn, aren't more concerned about the biggest port in the United Kingdom being run by the Chinese. Petraeus in the port nearest Athens, one of the biggest ports in the Mediterranean, is not just run by a Chinese-linked company, it's run directly by a Chinese-owned company, and I was there. So you're on to something, but if you're just focusing on Panama, that's only part. 2:01:45 Louis Sola: About a year ago, when we were having this drought issue, there was also a lot of focus on Iran and how they were funding Hamas and the Houthis because they were attacking the Red Sea. What the United States has found is that Iranian vessels are sometimes flagged by Panama in order to avoid sanctions, so that they could sell the fuel that they have, and then they can take that money and then they can use it as they wish. Panama, at the time, had a very complicated process to de-flag the vessels. There was an investigation, there was an appeals process. By the time that OFAC or Treasury would go ahead and identify one of those vessels, by the time that they were doing the appeals and stuff like this, they've already changed flags to somewhere else. So when we went to Panama, we met with the Panamanian president, and I must say that we were very impressed, because he was 30 minutes late, but he was breaking relations with Venezuela at the time because the election was the day before. We explained to him the situation. The very next day, we met with the maritime minister, with US embassy personnel and Panama actually adjusted their appeals process so to make it more expedient, so if the United States or OFAC would come and say that this Iranian vessel is avoiding sanctions, now we have a process in place to go ahead and do that, and 53 vessels were de-flagged because of that. 2:06:05 Sen. John Curtis (R-UT): Is there any reason that China can't watch or do whatever they want from this bridge to get the intel from these containers? And does that concern anybody? Louis Sola: Well, it definitely concerns Southern Command, because they've brought it up on numerous occasions that there could be some sort of surveillance or something like that on the bridges. 2:20:30 Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT): We segregate ourselves artificially in a way that they do not. We segregate ourselves. Let's talk about military. Let's talk about intelligence. Let's talk about economics. They don't. China doesn't work that way. It's a whole of government approach. They don't draw a delineation between an economics discussion and a military one. And their attack may not look like Pearl Harbor. It may look like an everyday ship that decides, you know, it pulls into the locks and blows itself up. And now the locks are non-functional for our usage, and we can't support an inter ocean fleet transfer, and our ability to defend it, as you referred to Chairman, is now inhibited by the fact that we no longer have the military infrastructure around the canal that we did just as recently as 1999. 2:21:10 Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT): So from a commercial perspective, do the shipping companies have concerns over the security of the narrow waterways? We've the Strait to Malacca, we've got the Suez Canal, we've got Gibraltar, we've got Panama. Is that a concern that's thrown around in the boardrooms of the largest shipping corporations in the world? Joseph Kramek: Senator, I think it's something they think about every day. I mean, really, it's drawn into sharp relief with the Red Sea. It was what I call a pink flamingo. There's black swans that just come up and there's pink flamingos that you can see, but you don't act. But no one really thought a whole lot that one of the most important waterways in the world could be denied, and moreover, that it could be denied for such a sustained period. The good news is that -- Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT): And denied, I might add, by a disaffected non-state actor of Bedouins running around with rocket launchers, who also managed to beat us in a 20 year war in Afghanistan. My point to saying all this is we're just debating operational control of the canal, yet it seems very clear to all of us that a very simple act can debilitate the canal and eliminate our ability to use it in a matter of minutes with no warning, and we have no ability to intervene or stop that. To me, that means we do not have operational control of the canal. 2:30:40 Daniel Maffei: I will say that certainly we need to look at other kinds of ways to get US companies in positions where they can truly compete with the Chinese on some of these things. Blaming it all on Panama really misses the point. I've seen the same thing in Greece, where Greece didn't want to give the concession of its largest port to a Chinese company, but because of its financial difficulties, it was getting pressure from international organizations such the IMF, Europe and even maybe some of the United States to do so. So I just ask you to look at that. 2:31:20 Daniel Maffei: Panamanians are making far more on their canal than they ever have before. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as long as it's going to the right place. But where they're really making the money is on these auctions, and that is why it remains a concern of mine and I'm sure the chairman's. That is where we are looking at, potentially, using our authority under Section 19 of the Merchant Marine Act where we could, if we can show that it is a problem with the foreign trade of the US, it's interfering with foreign trade of the US, there are certain things that we can do. Senate Foreign Relations Committee January 15, 2024 Clips 4:01:40 Marco Rubio: The thing with Panama on the canal is not new. I visited there. It was 2016. I think I've consistently seen people express concern about it, and it's encapsulized here in quote after quote. Let me tell you the former US ambassador who served under President Obama said: "the Chinese see in Panama what we saw in Panama throughout the 20th century, a maritime and aviation logistics hub." The immediate past head of Southern Command, General Laura Richardson, said, "I was just in Panama about a month ago and flying along the Panama Canal and looking at the state owned enterprises from the People's Republic of China on each side of the Panama Canal. They look like civilian companies or state owned enterprises that could be used for dual use and could be quickly changed over to a military capability." We see questions that were asked by the ranking member in the house China Select Committee, where he asked a witness and they agreed that in a time of conflict, China could use its presence on both ends of the canal as a choke point against the United States in a conflict situation. So the concerns about Panama have been expressed by people on both sides of the aisle for at least the entire time that I've been in the United States Senate, and they've only accelerated further. And this is a very legitimate issue that we face there. I'm not prepared to answer this question because I haven't looked at the legal research behind it yet, but I'm compelled to suspect that an argument could be made that the terms under which that canal were turned over have been violated. Because while technically, sovereignty over the canal has not been turned over to a foreign power, in reality, a foreign power today possesses, through their companies, which we know are not independent, the ability to turn the canal into a choke point in a moment of conflict. And that is a direct threat to the national interest and security the United States, and is particularly galling given the fact that we paid for it and that 5,000 Americans died making it. That said, Panama is a great partner on a lot of other issues, and I hope we can resolve this issue of the canal and of its security, and also continue to work with them cooperatively on a host of issues we share in common, including what to do with migration. 4:38:35 Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT): Now, President Trump has recently talked a little bit about the fact that there are some questions arising about the status of the Panama Canal. When we look to the treaty at issue, the treaty concerning the permanent neutrality and operation of the Panama Canal, we're reminded that some things maybe aren't quite as they should be there right now. Given that the Chinese now control major ports at the entry and the exit to the canal, it seems appropriate to say that there's at least an open question. There's some doubt as to whether the canal remains neutral. Would you agree with that assessment? Marco Rubio: Yes. Here's the challenge. Number one, I want to be clear about something. The Panamanian government, particularly its current office holders, are very friendly to the United States and very cooperative, and we want that to continue, and I want to bifurcate that from the broader issue of the canal. Now I am not, President Trump is not inventing this. This is something that's existed now for at least a decade. In my service here, I took a trip to Panama in 2017. When on that trip to Panama in 2017 it was the central issue we discussed about the canal, and that is that Chinese companies control port facilities at both ends of the canal, the east and the west, and the concerns among military officials and security officials, including in Panama, at that point, that that could one day be used as a choke point to impede commerce in a moment of conflict. Going back to that I -- earlier before you got here, and I don't want to have to dig through this folder to find it again, but -- basically cited how the immediate past head of Southern Command, just retired general Richardson, said she flew over the canal, looked down and saw those Chinese port facilities, and said Those look like dual use facilities that in a moment of conflict, could be weaponized against us. The bipartisan China commission over in the House last year, had testimony and hearings on this issue, and members of both parties expressed concern. The former ambassador to Panama under President Obama has expressed those concerns. This is a legitimate issue that needs to be confronted. The second point is the one you touched upon, and that is, look, could an argument be made, and I'm not prepared to answer it yet, because it's something we're going to have to study very carefully. But I think I have an inkling of I know where this is going to head. Can an argument be made that the Chinese basically have effective control of the canal anytime they want? Because if they order a Chinese company that controls the ports to shut it down or impede our transit, they will have to do so. There are no independent Chinese companies. They all exist because they've been identified as national champions. They're supported by the Chinese government. And if you don't do what they want, they find a new CEO, and you end up being replaced and removed. So they're under the complete control of their government. This is a legitimate question, and one that Senators Risch had some insight as well. He mentioned that in passing that needs to be looked at. This is not a joke. The Panama Canal issue is a very serious one. 4:44:30 Marco Rubio: In 2016 and 2017 that was well understood that part of the investments they made in Panama were conditioned upon Panama's ability to convince the Dominican Republic and other countries to flip their recognition away from Taiwan. That happened. Jen Briney's Recent Guest Appearances Travis Makes Money: Give and Take: Music by Editing Production Assistance

Note: This episode was recorded on December 17, 2024, and reflects the policy landscape and political context of that time. When Krista Drobac arrived in Washington, D.C., fresh out of college, she had no car, no connections, and no clear path—just a determination to make a difference in politics. What began as a leap of faith quickly turned into a lifelong mission to transform healthcare policy. Today, as a founding partner of Sirona Strategies, Krista is a driving force behind some of the most innovative approaches to care delivery—from telehealth to home-based models. Her career took root in the late 1990s, when she led a groundbreaking campaign for stem cell research, uniting patient groups to advocate for life-changing treatments. Since then, Krista has become a trusted voice in healthcare policy. She is a true leader focused on spotting growth opportunities and mitigating risks stemming from policy changes at both federal and state levels. By merging market dynamics with regulatory shifts in Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial care, she guides companies—from startups to Fortune 10 giants—in building models of care that capture new opportunities. With deep relationships across both industry and government, and a rich history in the United States Senate, the Obama Administration, the National Governors Association, and state government, she is uniquely qualified to spot trends that drive change. In addition, she founded three coalitions dedicated to ensuring patients have access to telehealth, more home-based care, and integrated social services. In our conversation, Krista takes us behind the scenes of her journey—from her early days advocating for stem cell research to her current efforts to revolutionize care delivery. She opens up about the challenges of balancing innovation with affordability, the importance of addressing the root causes of chronic disease, and why now is the time for bold, transformative ideas in healthcare. Do you have thoughts on this episode or suggestions for future guests? We'd love to hear from you. Email us at hello@rosenmaninstitute.org.

Tommy Tuberville is undeniably the dumbest human being currently serving in the United States Senate, but that might not be giving him enough credit. There's a good chance that he might actually be the dumbest person in the entire country. During an appearance this week on Fox News, he forgot that triangles existed while discussing cuts to the Pentagon, and instead suggested that we turn it into a "trigon," which is not a shape and any kindergartener could tell you that. A federal judge has ordered officials in the Trump administration to sit for depositions - which are sworn testimonies that can result in perjury charges if someone lies - to discuss the role of the Department of Government Efficiency and what they've been up to. This is a massive blow to the administration, as it could force officials to admit that sensitive data HAS been breached by the minions at the agency, and this ruling comes just days after the agency suffered a mass exodus of staffers. A top Republican pollster, Sarah Longwell, says that MAGA voters in the focus groups that she's been conducting are not happy AT ALL with what's going on with the Trump administration. She went as far as to say that many of them are already expressing buyers' remorse for putting him back in power. There have been reports of voters here and there saying this, but when a pollster is constantly running into this theme then it is clearly more widespread than we knew. Farron explains why this is such a positive sign.Text and and let us know your thoughts on today's stories!Subscribe to our YouTube channel to stay up to date on all of Farron's content: https://www.youtube.com/FarronBalancedFollow Farron on social media! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FarronBalanced Twitter: https://twitter.com/farronbalanced Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/farronbalanced TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@farronbalanced?lang=en

In today's episode, Sarah and Beth discuss Senator Mitch McConnell's announcement that he will not seek an eighth term in the United States Senate. They also discuss the potential impact of DOGE on the national debt, and, outside of politics, they talk about school snow days and how we learn at home. Topics Discussed Senator Mitch McConnell’s Legacy DOGE The US Deficit Outside of Politics: Snow Days and Non-Traditional Instruction Visit our Substack page for complete show notes and episode resources.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The U.S. Senate has shown a vested interest in obtaining the complete, unredacted flight logs of Jeffrey Epstein's private plane to identify individuals who may have been involved in his alleged sex trafficking network. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has been at the forefront of this effort. She has repeatedly requested subpoenas for these flight logs, as well as Ghislaine Maxwell's unredacted address book, aiming to uncover the identities of those who participated in or witnessed Epstein's illicit activities. Senator Blackburn emphasizes that releasing this information is crucial for delivering justice to Epstein's victims and dismantling existing sex trafficking rings.Despite these efforts, there has been resistance within the Senate. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), former Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has been accused of blocking attempts to subpoena the flight logs. In January 2025, Senator Blackburn confronted Senator Durbin over his alleged obstruction, highlighting the partisan challenges faced in pursuing transparency on this issue.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.com

In the final episode of this series, we hear how it all shakes out. The trials end. The messy love square between the Donnellys and Reeds implodes. Kansas City Mafia boss Johnny Lazia meets his maker. The Donnelly Garment Company thrives, then dies. Through it all, Nell Donnelly Reed rises to untold prominence, but still manages to keep her secrets. Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Kristin pulled from: “Nelly Gone: KCQ traces the kidnapping of Nell Donnelly,” by Kate Hill for the Kansas City Public Library The book, “More than Petticoats: Remarkable Missouri Women,” by Elaine Warner The book, “James A. Reed: Legendary Lawyer; Marplot in the United States Senate,” by J. Michael Cronan The book, “Called to Courage, Four Women in Missouri History,” by Margot Ford McMillen and Heather Roberson “First A Lady,” by Jennifer Wilding for the Kansas City Star magazine “Nelly Don's unexpected legacy,” for the Fashion Conservatory “Nell Donelly Reed,” Historic Missourians “Nelly Don's zero-waste apron design,” run-sew-read “Nelly Don: Self made in America,” seamwork.com The book, “The Snatch Racket,” by Carolyn Cox The book, “The Devil's Tickets,” by Gary M. Pomerantz Obituary for George Blair, Kansas City Star, June 10, 1977 “Causes for hate,” The Kansas City American, Dec. 24, 1931 “Mrs. Donnelly is found, safe,” The Kansas City Times, Dec. 18, 1931 “Mrs. Donnelly's chauffeur tells of the kidnappers' treatment of them,” The Kansas City Star, Dec. 18, 1931 “Link Mrs. Depew,” The Kansas City Star, Dec. 23, 1931 “Mrs. Donnelly was released last Friday,” Southwest Mail and Weekly Post, Dec. 25, 1931 “Depew speaks for Mele,” The Kansas City Times, July 16, 1932 “Paul Donnelly is dead,” The Kansas City Star, Sept 8, 1934 “Estate of Donnelly v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue,” case-law.com “Rich young widow weds,” The Windsor Star, Jan. 13, 1937 “Reed Ranch,” reed-ranch.com “The murder of John Lazia,” ganglandwire.com Are you enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Then please leave us a 5-star rating and review wherever you listen to podcasts! Are you *really* enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Well, calm down, history ho! You can get more of us on Patreon at patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast. At the $5 level, you'll get a monthly bonus episode (with video!), access to our 90's style chat room, plus the entire back catalog of bonus episodes from Kristin's previous podcast, Let's Go To Court.

James A. Reed was in federal court, about to argue his case, when a call came in from Kansas City. Nell Donnelly had been kidnapped. James panicked. To James, Nell was so much more than a celebrated fashion designer. She was his neighbor. She was his secret lover. She was the mother of his child. He'd do anything to save her – including threatening the head of the Kansas City mafia. Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Kristin pulled from: “Nelly Gone: KCQ traces the kidnapping of Nell Donnelly,” by Kate Hill for the Kansas City Public Library The book, “More than Petticoats: Remarkable Missouri Women,” by Elaine Warner The book, “James A. Reed: Legendary Lawyer; Marplot in the United States Senate,” by J. Michael Cronan “First A Lady,” by Jennifer Wilding for the Kansas City Star magazine “Nelly Don's unexpected legacy,” for the Fashion Conservatory “Nell Donelly Reed,” Historic Missourians “Nelly Don's zero-waste apron design,” run-sew-read “Nelly Don: Self made in America,” seamwork.com The book, “The Snatch Racket,” by Carolyn Cox The book, “The Devil's Tickets,” by Gary M. Pomerantz Obituary for George Blair, Kansas City Star, June 10, 1977 “Causes for hate,” The Kansas City American, Dec. 24, 1931 “Mrs. Donnelly is found, safe,” The Kansas City Times, Dec. 18, 1931 “Mrs. Donnelly's chauffeur tells of the kidnappers' treatment of them,” The Kansas City Star, Dec. 18, 1931 “Link Mrs. Depew,” The Kansas City Star, Dec. 23, 1931 “Mrs. Donnelly was released last Friday,” Southwest Mail and Weekly Post, Dec. 25, 1931 Are you enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Then please leave us a 5-star rating and review wherever you listen to podcasts! Are you *really* enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Well, calm down, history ho! You can get more of us on Patreon at patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast. At the $5 level, you'll get a monthly bonus episode (with video!), access to our 90's style chat room, plus the entire back catalog of bonus episodes from Kristin's previous podcast, Let's Go To Court.

It was 6 p.m. on the evening of Wednesday, Dec. 16, 1931. Legendary fashion designer Nell Donnelly was headed home from work. Her chauffeur, George Blair, drove Nell's lime green Lincoln through the streets of downtown Kansas City. When they arrived at her palatial home, George noticed a vehicle blocking the driveway. Two unfamiliar men stood on either side of it. George slammed on the brakes. In seconds, one of the men charged at him with a gun. Two more men came running. One jumped into the backseat with Nell. The gunman took charge of the vehicle. The other man jumped in on the passenger's side, effectively trapping George. Nell screamed. She kicked. She fought. She thought for certain that someone would hear her. They didn't. America's best, most successful businesswoman, along with her chauffeur, had just been kidnapped. Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Kristin pulled from: “Nelly Gone: KCQ traces the kidnapping of Nell Donnelly,” by Kate Hill for the Kansas City Public Library The book, “More than Petticoats: Remarkable Missouri Women,” by Elaine Warner The book, “James A. Reed: Legendary Lawyer; Marplot in the United States Senate,” by J. Michael Cronan “First A Lady,” by Jennifer Wilding for the Kansas City Star magazine “Nelly Don's unexpected legacy,” for the Fashion Conservatory “Nell Donelly Reed,” Historic Missourians “Nelly Don's zero-waste apron design,” run-sew-read “Nelly Don: Self made in America,” seamwork.com The book, “The Snatch Racket,” by Carolyn Cox The book, “The Devil's Tickets,” by Gary M. Pomerantz Obituary for George Blair, Kansas City Star, June 10, 1977 “Causes for hate,” The Kansas City American, Dec. 24, 1931 “Mrs. Donnelly is found, safe,” The Kansas City Times, Dec. 18, 1931 “Mrs. Donnelly's chauffeur tells of the kidnappers' treatment of them,” The Kansas City Star, Dec. 18, 1931 Are you enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Then please leave us a 5-star rating and review wherever you listen to podcasts! Are you *really* enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Well, calm down, history ho! You can get more of us on Patreon at patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast. At the $5 level, you'll get a monthly bonus episode (with video!), access to our 90's style chat room, plus the entire back catalog of bonus episodes from Kristin's previous podcast, Let's Go To Court.

On this Tuesday edition of Sid & Friends in the Morning, President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet nominations begin their confirmation hearings in the belly of the beast that is the United States Senate. Secretary of Defense hopeful Pete Hegseth leads things off today, before the rest of Trump's picks face the firing squad on the Senate floor in the coming days. In other news of the day, former Governor Andrew Cuomo dominates a poll for the upcoming Mayoral race here in New York City, current Governor Kathy Hochul gets ready to deliver her State of the State speech today, and New York lawmakers meet with President-elect Trump regarding the ongoing congestion pricing issue in NYC. Sharon Pfeiffer, Curtis Sliwa, Rich Lowry, Arthur Aidala, Jeanine Pirro and Joe Benigno join the program on this Tuesday installment of Sid & Friends in the Morning. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Politico reported: "Former FBI and CIA Head Prods Senate to Reject Patel, Gabbard."William Webster is the only person ever to serve as both head of the FBI and head of the CIA. But even beyond that, Mr. Webster has a deep well of experience with the FBI in particular, given his other positions as United States Attorney, federal trial court judge and federal court of appeals judge. Mr. Webster has sent a letter the United States Senate urging them to refuse to confirm Patel and Gabbard, saying, "I urge you to weigh the critical importance of nonpartisan leadership and experience . . .The safety of the American people - and your own families - depends on it."If you're interested in supporting our all-volunteer efforts, you can become a Team Justice patron at: / glennkirschner If you'd like to support us and buy Team Justice and Justice Matters merchandise visit:https://shop.spreadshirt.com/glennkir...Check out Glenn's website at https://glennkirschner.com/Follow Glenn on:Threads: https://www.threads.net/glennkirschner2Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/glennkirschner2Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/glennkirschner2Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glennkirsch...See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's a very special day on the pod, we have a returning guest and U.S. Senator from Massechusettes- Senator Elizabeth Warren! She's joining us fresh from a tour around the midwest talking to folks on the ground about the issues that matter to them this election cycle. We're in the final week before the 2024 Presidential election and we're breaking down what's left to consider before you cast your vote on November 5th. Your vote matters, and it's critical to turn out. And not just that: donations, volunteering, anything you can do to support and help MATTERS in this final stretch. Elizabeth Warren, a fearless consumer advocate who has made her life's work the fight for middle class families, was re-elected to the United States Senate for a second term on November 6, 2018, by the people of Massachusetts. Elizabeth is one of the nation's leading progressive voices, fighting for big structural change that would transform our economy and rebuild the middle class. You can find Senator Warren on Instagram @ElizabethWarren. Follow us on Instagram @CuriousWithJVN to join the conversation. Jonathan is on Instagram @JVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Find books from Getting Curious guests at bookshop.org/shop/curiouswithjvn. Our senior producers are Chris McClure. Our engineer is Nathanael McClure. Production support from Julie Carrillo, Anne Currie, and Chad Hall. Our theme music is “Freak” by QUIÑ; for more, head to TheQuinCat.com. Curious about bringing your brand to life on the show? Email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices