Politics and views in the United States.

Congress debates Medicaid cuts, the FBI pledges to investigate missing Indigenous people, Illinois pushes back on a federal autism data plan, and a deadly bombing in California is investigated as domestic terrorism.

TRANSCRIPT

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

I think a lot of it is really just poor salt in the wound of the community that is still healing from that.

And so I think it's very outrageous.

Michelle Gross with Minnesota's Communities United Against Police Brutality says the White House shouldn't be ending consent decrees, especially just before the anniversary of the murder of George Floyd.

The agreements with Minneapolis and Louisville came when courts found patterns of racial problems in policing after the killings of Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

The Justice Department calls them "overbroad" and says they give power to anti-police bureaucrats.

The mayor of Minneapolis says the reforms there will go ahead anyway.

President Donald Trump made fringe claims of white genocide in a meeting with South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa, citing death chance aimed at Afrikaans farmers. from a pose a successful of a multiracial and multi coalition replied that th government policy.

A fede that eight men from vario to South Sudan were denie director Todd Lyons calls who did get their day in did receive due process. under this administration accepted a $400 million luxury jet intended for Trump's use from the government of Qatar.

A new survey shows small business owners are worried about the future, with fewer than a fifth planning to make long-term investments this year.

Former Small Business Administration Deputy Director, Dilawar Syed, says that's the worst number since the pandemic, and blames tariffs and trade unpredictability.

Two-thirds of the 35 million small businesses import, and 97 percent of all exporters are small businesses.

So folks may not think of small businesses being at the front end of the trade policy impact.

They are at the tip of the spear.

Education leaders are sounding the alarm about affordability.

Courtney Brown with Lumina Foundation says a new survey they did with Gallup found adults without a college degree think higher education is worth it, but few think they can afford it.

Almost 90 percent of adults without a degree or credential.

So these are people that either are enrolled or they stopped out they've never touched higher education.

They have a belief in the value of higher education.

Yet, only 30 percent of Americans believe that they have access to quality, affordable education.

Ohio lawmakers are advancing bipartisan legislation to give a tax break to working family caregivers.

Jenny Carlson with AARP says other states and Congress should do the same.

Family caregivers are the backbone of the US care system, providing over $21 billion worth of uncompensated care annually in Ohio.

I'm Alex Gonzalez in for Farah Siddiqui for Pacific Network and Public News Service.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.