America's Talking

(The Center Square) – Gov. Greg Abbott announced a new agenda for a special legislative session to begin July 21. After the regular legislative session concluded in May, Abbott vetoed 26 bills and called a special session to address six legislative priorities, The Center Square reported. After the historic July 4 flooding and catastrophic loss of life, he announced a revised session agenda that prioritizes emergency preparedness and many other issues. The session will convene at noon July 21 and last for 30 days with the possibility of being extended by another 30 days. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxx [https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxx] Full story:  Gov. Abbott revises special session agenda to include emergency preparedness [https://www.thecentersquare.com/texas/article_dd839963-85c5-4d61-bf58-d62df31b4a94.html] Texas Hill Country death toll reaches 119, with 173 missing statewide [https://www.thecentersquare.com/texas/article_b45518af-a35c-481c-85af-ca37a07da139.html] Meteorologists debunk 'cloud seeding conspiracy theorists' [https://www.thecentersquare.com/texas/article_41c34233-199d-41da-a73a-cf977186ad52.html]

(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump traveled to Florida Tuesday to visit ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ the new, quickly constructed immigrant detention center that will hold up to 5,000 foreign nationals facing deportation. “Very soon, this facility will house some of the most menacing migrants, some of the most vicious people on the planet,” Trump said at a panel Tuesday. The facility – which might ultimately look more like a deportation camp – is the nearly 40-square-mile Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Miami-Dade County. Nestled amidst the wetlands of the Big Cypress National Preserve and with a nearly 11,000-foot runway, it was selected to be quickly transformed into a deportation site. It is typically used for military training.   Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxx [https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxx] Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/national/article_7908ce1e-4815-4e6e-ad2a-353ff30e71d3.html [https://www.thecentersquare.com/national/article_7908ce1e-4815-4e6e-ad2a-353ff30e71d3.html]

(The Center Square) – Against all odds, U.S. House Republicans finally united around the Senate-revised “big, beautiful bill” and passed it in a 218-214 vote Thursday afternoon, sending the multitrillion-dollar budget reconciliation package to the president’s desk. The bill’s passage marks yet another herculean feat by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who not only persuaded – with President Donald Trump’s help – the most recalcitrant GOP holdouts to vote for the bill as is, but also passed it by a self-imposed July 4 deadline. The $3.3 trillion megabill, formerly titled the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, hikes the debt ceiling by $5 trillion and implements the bulk of Trump’s tax, energy, border and defense agenda.  Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxx [https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxx] Full story:  https://www.thecentersquare.com/national/article_0000b183-fc4d-4f26-b600-3dd62984e978.html

(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump heads home from the NATO summit in the Netherlands touting a slew of international successes, including the member nations committing to more than doubling their defense spending. NATO partners, comprised of 32 member nations, agreed to Trump’s demands that the countries increase their defense spending to 5% of GDP. The proposal initially had been met with resistance, given that the current spending threshold is 2%. However, in recognition of Russian aggression and terrorism threats on member nations, the leaders agreed to increase their spending by 2035 substantially.  Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxx  Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/national/article_0e44637e-c752-476f-95f5-713c05ab3d5b.html

(The Center Square) – Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Thursday that the U.S. gained nothing from its strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. Khamenei, in his first public comments since a ceasefire with Israel on Tuesday, said the U.S. "gained no achievements" from strikes on Fordow, a key nuclear site in Iran. U.S. President Donald Trump has said the strikes "obliterated" Iran nuclear facilities. On Wednesday he assessed Iran's nuclear program was destroyed.  Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxx Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/national/article_743ba3d3-b5f8-4858-9442-2810641cb4b5.html