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Political Reporting Samples

Check out my reporting on elections, local politics and community responses below!

The Center Square •

Trump threatens tariff increase against India

(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump threatened to "substantially" increase the 25% tariff rate against India in the next 24 hours.Trump cited India’s continued purchase of Russian oil and military equipment as the reason for an increase in tariffs.“They’re fueling the war machine, and if they’re going to do that, I’m not going to be happy,” Trump said to CNBC on Tuesday.“We do very, very little business with India because their tariffs are so high,” Trump said. “India has not been a goo...
The Center Square •

Report: Trump administration health assessment is 'misleading'

(The Center Square) - The nonprofit Consumer Action for a Strong Economy is criticizing the Trump administration’s “Make Our Children Healthy Again Assessment” for being scientifically unsound and "misleading."Mark Kern, a professor at San Diego State University, compiled concerns from leaders in the food industry, academic institutions, public health experts and the public to produce a report on the findings.“The MAHA report is not based on sound scientific data – often relying on biased ‘narra...
The Center Square •

Experts split over $500 million vaccine cancellation

(The Center Square) - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced on Tuesday it would cancel $500 million worth of vaccine development projects.The announcement has scientists and experts split over the benefits of messenger RNA vaccine development.Messenger RNA vaccines work by delivering a small piece of genetic code that instructs cells to produce a harmless viral protein. This protein triggers an immune response, teaching the immune system to recognize and fight the actual vir...
The Center Square •

Agriculture Department to purchase $230 million for food banks

(The Center Square) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to purchase $230 million of food from American farmers to distribute to food and nutritional assistance programs across the country.“USDA is proud to play a role in not only connecting smaller, local farmers to families, but doing its part to Make America Healthy Again,” said USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins.The Agriculture Act of 1935 gives the secretary of agriculture broad authority to increase the consumption of domestic agricultura...
The Center Square •

Trump extends Mexico trade talks for 90 days

(The Center Square) - The deadline for a trade deal between the United States and Mexico will be extended for 90 days, President Donald Trump announced on social media. "The complexities of a Deal with Mexico are somewhat different than other Nations because of both the problems, and assets, of the Border," Trump wrote on social media. Trump said the extension will still leave in place a 25% tariff against fentanyl; a 25% tariff on cars; and a 50% tariff on steel, aluminum and copper that the pr...
The Center Square •

White House crypto report doesn't address bitcoin, asset reserves

(The Center Square) - President Donald Trump almost fully embraced crypto on Wednesday, but a White House report on digital assets didn't mention bitcoin or digital assets reserves. The more than 166-page report has drawn praise from industry leaders for the approach to the industry and embrace of the cryptocurrency market. Bo Hines, executive director for the White House crypto council, said the report was focused on establishing a regulatory framework for digital assets, rather than getting in...
The Center Square •

White House pushes Congress to open up crypto opportunities

(The Center Square) – Congress should get started on regulations for cryptocurrencies, a White House report released Wednesday recommends, as President Donald Trump ordered regulators to immediately enable trading at the federal level.  The more than 166-page report is the White House's most detailed look yet at how it could embed crypto into daily life for Americans. "The Working Group endorses the notion that digital assets and blockchain technologies can revolutionize not just America's finan...
The Center Square •

WATCH: Trump announces 25% tariff on India, 'penalty' on Russian energy

(The Center Square) – India will pay a 25% tariff on goods it exports to the U.S. starting Aug. 1, President Donald Trump said in a social media post Wednesday.“While India is our friend, we have over the years done very little business with them because their tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the world, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary trade barriers of any country,” Trump wrote.Trump also said India will incur an additional penalty for buying military eq...
The Center Square •

FDA moves to ban kratom byproduct substance

(The Center Square) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration took a step to add the opioid-like psychoactive compound 7-OH found in the kratom plant to the schedule of controlled substances.The FDA plans to add the compound to Schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act, meaning the product has a high misuse potential and no medical purpose. The compound 7-OH, or 7-hydroxymitragynine, has been linked to binding with opioid receptors in the brain, according to the National Institutes of Health....
The Center Square •

HHS opens $100M hepatitis pilot program applications

(The Center Square) – The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced a $100 million pilot program on Monday to address Hepatitis C in homeless populations.The Hepatitis C elimination initiative, administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, will primarily be used to treat individuals with addiction and serious mental illness.“Through this pilot program, we are launching a comprehensive, integrated care model that not only cures HCV but also tackles cr...
The Center Square •

Federal judge blocks Planned Parenthood defunding

(The Center Square) - A federal judge in Massachusetts said Monday the federal government must continue to provide funds to Planned Parenthood through Medicaid.The judge's order temporarily blocks a provision in President Donald Trump’s tax bill preventing abortion providers, like Planned Parenthood, from receiving Medicaid funds for one year if the provider received more than $800,000 in Medicaid funds in fiscal year 2023.Government health services and grants accounted for $792 million toward P...
The Center Square •

Supreme Court to revisit transgender status, nationwide injunctions

(The Center Square) – The U.S. Supreme Court will most likely be revisiting issues of nationwide injunctions and transgender status in its next term.The Federalist Society, a law and public policy nonprofit, hosted an expert panel on Thursday to discuss the Supreme Court’s recent term and predictions for future terms.In the past term, the high court issued 56 majority decisions and 11 of those decisions were decided 6-3, along partisan lines.The experts said the emergency docket applications wer...
The Center Square •

Poll: 54% of Americans would pay more if tariffs increase prices

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The Center Square •

FDA 'rewriting' food pyramid guidelines

(The Center Square) – U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary said he is focused on overhauling long-held standards and recommendations within the agency, including “rewriting” the FDA’s food pyramid recommendations created in 1992.Makary spoke in a lecture series hosted by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., on Wednesday about the priorities of the FDA and future developments within the department.“The people I think about every day are the people who have less than 500 dollars of cash o...
The Center Square •

WATCH: Sen. Cruz slams Biden administration border policies

(The Center Square) - Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, slammed the Biden administration’s border policies during a committee hearing on Tuesday.The Senate Judiciary subcommittee on border security and immigration showcased steep political divides between attitudes of the Trump administration's efforts to increase deportations of immigrants in the country illegally.“No president has ever done what [Biden’s] administration did, which is say we don't care about the law,” Cruz said of the Biden administratio...
The Center Square •

Gabbard's report questions intelligence community's conclusions

(The Center Square) – Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s accusations that former President Barack Obama conspired to “usurp” President Donald Trump’s 2016 election victory has drawn criticism to years-long conclusions in the investigative community. On July 18, Gabbard released a 114-page document titled “Declassified Evidence of Obama Administration Conspiracy to Subvert President Trump’s 2016 Victory and Presidency." She also published an 11-page memo highlighting documents from...
The Center Square •

FDA to consider warning against antidepressants

(The Center Square) – Doctors on Monday urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to issue warnings to pregnant women against the use of certain medications to treat depression, obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety.In a panel discussion Monday, doctors across the medical field and officials at the FDA said women taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors to treat illnesses like depression can negatively impact the development of a child in the womb.“SSRIs may be unique because seroton...
The Center Square •

U.S. Forest Service to cut $391M

(The Center Square) — The U.S. Forest Services plans to cut its budget by $391 million for fiscal year 2026, according to a proposed budget request.A large portion of the cuts to the forest services budget are expected to be implemented into the new U.S. Wildland Fire Service within the Department of the Interior.Tom Shultz, chief of the U.S. Forest Service, laid out plans to integrate fire service operations within the department and highlighted its focus on a “back-to-basics approach” at a Sen...
The Center Square •

Trump's 50% tariff raises concerns over copper production

(The Center Square) - President Donald Trump announced a 50% tariff on copper sold in the United States effective Aug. 1.Trump said he made the decision after he received a national security assessment, according to a social media post.“Copper is necessary for Semiconductors, Aircraft, Ships, Ammunition, Data Centers, Lithium-ion Batteries, Radar Systems, Missile Defense Systems, and even, Hypersonic Weapons, of which we are building many,” Trump wrote.In 2024, the U.S. imported almost half of t...
The Center Square •

Trump announces 50% tariff against Brazil

(The Center Square) — President Donald Trump announced that he would impose a 50% tariff on goods imported to the United States from Brazil.Trump said in a post on social media that the tariff would take effect Aug. 1. The president has sent 21 letters to other countries so far announcing trade proposals since Monday.The 50% tariff against Brazil is the highest rate the president has announced thus far. Additionally, his letter to President Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva was formatted differently tha...
The Center Square •

Senate battles crypto regulation as 'Crypto Week' approaches

(The Center Square) - Senators clashed in a U.S. Senate Banking Committee hearing Wednesday over regulations on cryptocurrency as the House of Representatives prepares to vote on legislation regulating the digital asset next week.U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., introduced the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 in May, which would give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission oversight authority for cryptocurrency assets like blockchain and the Securities and Exchange Commission oversight fo...
The Center Square •

WATCH: Trump announces up to 30% tariffs against more countries

(The Center Square) — President Donald Trump announced tariffs of up to 30% against additional countries Wednesday morning.The tariffs will take effect Aug. 1, according to letters from the president. Originally he announced the tariffs on April 2, but then postponed them until July 9 to give countries more time to negotiate.The president signed an executive order Monday pushing back implementation of reciprocal tariffs until Aug. 1, and is in the process of sending individual letters to all the...
The Center Square •

WATCH: Rollins says dietary guidelines 'coming soon'

(The Center Square) – Brooke Rollins, secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, could not commit Tuesday to an August deadline for the release of new dietary guidelines for Americans. "There will be no commitment because we want to make sure its perfect," Rollins said. "We're working on them; they will be coming soon probably in the coming few months," Rollins said. In May, Robert F. Kennedy, the secretary of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, said the guidelines could come as...
The Center Square •

America celebrates 249 years of independence

(The Center Square) – Fireworks, parades, and military flyovers will happen across the country in celebration of 249 years since America declared its independence from England through the Declaration of Independence.In Washington, D.C., the B-2 bomber pilots who carried out the strike against nuclear missile facilities in Iran are expected to fly over the White House as part of celebrations for the holiday.President Donald Trump confirmed the bomber pilot’s appearance in a Fox News interview.Cel...
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