Politics and views in the United States

Investors profit from detention of migrant women and children, working class voters up for grabs in the midterms and Starbucks baristas call a nationwide boycott amid stalled living wage negotiations.

Transcript

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

For each pregnant woman thrown into Dili, there is an American company, CoreCivic, with American investors who make more money for each child, each woman, and each person who is in prison.

Democratic Congressman Joaquin Castro says kids as young as two months are being held at the for-profit Dili Detention Center in Texas.

ICE has detained a record number of migrants this summer, topping more than 50,000 each month.

Castro says dozens of children have been held there for over 100 days, far exceeding a court-ordered 20-day limit.

Activists say conditions at Dili are inhumane.

And legal observers say ICE's widespread surveillance and billion-dollar child tracking contracts will reshape enforcement for decades.

The Center for American Progress now estimates the cost of the Iran war for the average American household at over $1,200 and rising.

The average price for diesel has reached a record $5.85 a gallon, up 60 percent in a year.

That's squeezing margins for farmers ahead of harvest season.

Republican strategists say it could be a sleeper issue in rural races.

In the lead-up to the midterms, Public News Service is highlighting important polls and the people they represent.

A new survey from Politico finds working-class voters mistrustful and up for grabs.

Democrats are ahead by a narrow 6 percent, with a group President Donald Trump relied on in 2024.

Kayla Mock with the United Food and Commercial Workers in Maryland says the poll shows politicians are losing them.

They feel talked at by politicians, but not heard.

And then they certainly don't feel politicians are taking action to actually address their issues.

So it's a lot of talk with no substance.

The latest employment report says the U.S. added 160,000 jobs last month, up from the job losses the month before.

Job creation has been lukewarm but steady over the last year.

The unemployment rate remains at 4.1 percent.

The new unemployment data show the jobless rate for black women has dropped slightly to just under 6%.

Economists have separately estimated that anti-DEI policies and cuts to the federal workforce have cost 600,000 of them their jobs since Trump returned to office.

Some 12,000 unionized Starbucks workers are calling for a national boycott after five years of stalled contract negotiations.

Mina Leon, a New York City barista and member of Starbucks Workers United, says they're seeking a minimum $17 wage.

If you stop buying Starbucks, if you participate in this blackout, that's really supporting us to get this contract so that we can work with dignity.

I'm Catherine Carley for Pacifica Network and Public News Service.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.