Politics and views in the United States

Trump defends fighting the deepening Iran war, House Republicans fold a version of his voting bill into a budget plan, and a judge stops Paramount from buying Warner Brothers.

Transcript

Welcome to 2026 Talks, where we're following our democracy in historic times.

This is a far bigger job that we're doing.

We were doing a little job at stopping them from having a certain capability.

Now we're just ending it.

So it's really not the same thing.

President Donald Trump defends fighting the expanding Iran war.

17 Americans and thousands of Iranians have died so far, and both sides are escalating.

The Strait of Hormuz is essentially closed, and Tehran's allies in Yemen, the Houthis, say they are also blockading Saudi oil exports via the Red Sea.

Average U.S. gas prices are back over $4.

New Republican South Carolina Senator Darlene Graham says she'll run for the seat once held by her late brother Lindsey.

Next month's special GOP primary in the ruby red state will include a close Trump ally, Congressman Russell Frye, a hard-right representative, Ralph Norman, and businessman Mark Lynch.

Democrat Georgia Senator John Ossoff is criticizing Health Secretary Robert F.

Kennedy Jr. for ending a federal parasite tracking program last year.

Ossoff says that probably weakened the response to the growing cyclospora outbreak, now at more than 1,600 cases.

Health officials say one test tying the parasite to shredded lettuce was a false positive, but the company is moving ahead with a separate voluntary recall.

House Republicans are folding key parts of Trump's Save America Act into a must-pass budget bill.

They want to include $10 billion to help states adopt stricter voter ID and proof of citizenship requirements into legislation which is immune from a filibuster.

That's been panned by Senate Republicans, but Speaker Mike Johnson rallied the audience at a conservative public event in Washington.

We're facing challenges right now that are greater than at any time in our lives because the foundations are under direct assault.

ICE raids are expanding in Maine and immigrant advocates say more young people are getting caught up.

Lisa Parricio with the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project says agents are now detaining young people previously protected as juveniles.

We have just seen, you know, and heard so many reports from families, young people of working age who are afraid to go to work, afraid to seek higher education, afraid to just start their lives.

A pro-publica analysis of court records found more than 10,000 young people with that legal status are being detained and deported a month, three times the rate of Trump's first term.

Trump says the Qatari gifted Air Force One will spend about a month undergoing major security upgrades, saying it will be, quote, maxed out.

So far, the Air Force spent $400 million retrofitting the aircraft.

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the $8 billion merger of Paramount and Warner Brothers.

Twelve states argue the deal would reduce competition.

Separately, ProPublica found Paramount gave FCC commissioners event tickets worth a quarter million dollars after the agency approved the deal.

I'm Joe Ulory for Pacifica Network and Public News Service.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.