Politics and views in the United States.

President Trump says Democratic lawmakers should be hanged for sedition. A judge is blocking National Guard deployments in Washington. The FCC warns of growing government pressure to free speech, and bi-partisan Florida groups oppose offshore drilling.

TRANSCRIPT

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

These three members of Congress leading into their credentials as former members of our military to signal To people serving under this commander-in-chief, that you can defy him, and it perhaps is punishable by law.

White House Press Secretary Carolyn Levitt is defending statements by President Donald Trump.

That a video from Democratic lawmakers represents, quote, seditious behavior punishable by death.

The members of Congress, all veterans, stated in the video that troops must refuse illegal orders, which is U.S. law.

Levitt says she's not a lawyer, but accused the lawmakers of encouraging soldiers to defy the Commander-in-Chief.

After months of patrols in the District of Columbia on Trump's orders, a federal judge is barring the current National Guard deployment in Washington.

The administration insists the Guard is needed to fight crime and says it plans to appeal.

The FAA is grounding MD-11 jets after investigators found the UPS cargo plane that crashed in Louisville earlier this month had a fractured engine support brace.

The accident killed three crew members and eleven people on the ground.

The Justice Department says it's reviewing its handling of an investigation into mortgage fraud accusations against Democratic California Senator Adam Schiff.

Administration critics charge that Trump's allies, including a federal housing official and attorneys at justice, made the allegations to attack the President's critics.

An FCC commissioner appointed by a Democrat says the agency is being used to put pressure on journalists, broadcasters, and dissenters.

Anna Gomez is traveling the country describing what she calls a coordinated effort to undermine free speech.

This administration is using the weight of government.

To suppress lawful expression because it challenges those in power and reflects views that they oppose.

And it is an administration-wide campaign.

Gomez says defunding public media for the first time in a half century is accelerating the spread of news deserts, meaning communities lose civic participation and the ability to hold power accountable.

A White House plan to open the eastern Gulf of Mexico to new offshore drilling is meeting bipartisan resistance in Florida.

Environmental and business leaders both say the move threatens difficult to negotiate protections. including a new ban on drilling in the Apalachicola River.

Adrian Johnson with Apalachicola Riverkeeper says many Republicans see that the state depends on tourism and fishing. at risk from oil spills.

Without good water quality, we don't have commercial shellfish production.

Our farms would not be able to operate.

And so A move of this sort would be devastating for the working watermen and women that depend on clean water.

Conservationists say that broad public opposition to offshore drilling has been consistent for years.

The administration argues that expanding offshore leasing is essential for energy security and economic growth.

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

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.