Politics and views in the United States

The Kennedy Center will close amidst a fight over renaming it, a DHS whistleblower’s claims have been partially confirmed in a new court filing and new data says ICE detention centers aren't economic drivers.

Transcript

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

Every time there's an issue that comes up, it has been connected.

We will consider to do this, but or unless it has Donald Trump's name on the building.

Ohio Democratic Representative and non-voting board member Joyce Beatty says the Kennedy Center is being held hostage by an ongoing effort to rename it for President Donald Trump.

Donations and ticket sales have fallen and both staff and artists have abandoned the center since Trump took control of the board.

The center is slated to close for repairs for two years, but Trump is threatening to cancel renovations unless his name is added to the building.

A federal court ruled any name change would have to be approved by Congress.

The majority of the board insists associating it with Trump could draw crowds and aid in raising funds for the much-needed repairs.

Seven months into the Iran war, Congress is again debating limits on the president's military authority.

The House is considering another war powers resolution, and sharp administration critic Kentucky Republican Thomas Massey has gone so far as introducing eight articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseff.

Secretary of Defense Peter Hegseff, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to the Constitution if allowed to remain in office and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with his duties and the rule of law.

Iran backed Houthis in Yemen or damaging Saudi oil production and threatened to close the strait at the mouth of the Red Sea.

That could block 7% of world oil supplies and more than a tenth of overall global trade.

The Strait of Hormuz on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula remains at risk.

A Homeland Security whistleblower is alleging federal agents violated state laws by using personal data to illegally access voter registration files on state election websites.

That's partially confirmed by a new Justice Department court filing saying DHS agents use Social Security data as part of the Trump administration's largely fruitless search for voter fraud.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says they're endangering basic civil rights.

We are weeks from the midterms.

Americans should not have to fear being targeted by their own government because of how they're registered to vote.

Attorney General Todd Blanche says the administration will abide by the Supreme Court's ruling against its mail-in voting restrictions.

But he says the administration will continue to make sure there are, quote, free and fair elections without specifying how.

A Pennsylvania county is finding a new migrant detention center is hardly the economic boom it was promised.

The Moe Shannon Valley Processing Center has brought 400 or fewer jobs through ICE contracts around 1% of the county's total employment.

Naysom Murtaza is with Keystone Research Center.

The promise of prisons and detention centers being these recession-proof employment machines hasn't really been true given they haven't insulated Clearfield County from the shrinking labor force issues that area of Pennsylvania is facing.

The facility opened as a conventional private prison in 2006 but closed in 2021.

The Biden administration reopened it later that year as an ICE detention center.

The GEO Group, which operates it, says more than 90% of its employees live in or near the county.

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

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.