Crossroads with Joshua Philipp

“Crossroads” host Joshua Philipp gives updates from overnight reporting in Los Angeles, where riots continued. Protesters and agitators set fire to vehicles and looted businesses, while political battles continued over President Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard.Also in this episode, we travel to the U.S.–Mexico border for updates on the border wall, military operations, and the status of the immigrant processing facilities.Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and guests, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is slowly creeping into daily life. And it’s not just people using it for work. Some people are turning to it for therapy, while others are looking to it for medical diagnoses. Some are starting to regard it as a replacement for talking to a friend. This is all raising concerns over whether AI could lead to a new type of social pathogen that could even deepen the darker parts of human nature.Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and guests, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

The U.S. justice system is being remade, former prosecutions are being investigated, and key figures are being pardoned. This is being done against the backdrop that weaponization of the justice system allegedly played a role in many of the cases, and it’s possible that, as the investigations continue, many previous convictions could be overturned through pardons.Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and guests, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

The new administration is working to remake the federal government. In a recent announcement, Assistant FBI Director Dan Bongino said he and FBI Director Kash Patel are working on “important cultural changes” within the agency. Among these is an effort to remove employees who have “violated their oaths, and those who invited partisanship into the workplace.”In addition to this, the Trump administration is also creating a new program for government employees to educate them about the U.S. Constitution. The new class being created under the Office of Personnel Management aims to help government officials follow their duty to protect and uphold the Constitution.Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and guests, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has established a broad network inside American universities. This allows them to monitor and use Chinese students, and also ties them in with a broader system of CCP subversion that includes the consulates, front organizations, and sources of funding.Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

The United States is moving to uphold free speech globally, and this could even impact foreign leaders. The State Department announced it will begin restricting the visas of any foreign national involved in censoring, or even trying to censor, the protected expressions of anyone within the United States. And alongside this announcement, the United States has also deployed a team to carry out investigations in Europe of how censorship laws have impacted the rights of even non-U.S. citizens.Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and guests, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

All student visa applications to the United States are officially on hold. The Trump administration gave orders to all U.S. embassies to freeze all student visa applications. This happens while President Donald Trump is looking to stop government funding to Harvard, and just after a federal judge blocked his ability to stop Harvard’s ability to enroll foreign students.In other news, COVID-19 is back. A new variant of the virus has now been detected among people at U.S. airports, as cases begin to rapidly increase in parts of Asia.Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

Close to 13 million people could soon lose access to Medicaid and Obamacare, although this only applies to two main groups: illegal immigrants, and able-bodied Americans under 64 years old who refuse to work at least part-time. The change of policy was just approved in a House vote under the “Big Beautiful Bill,” but will now have to make its way through a Senate vote before becoming law. We’ll discuss this topic and others, in this episode of Crossroads.Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

The World Health Organization has now officially passed a controversial pandemic accord. The international agreement is legally binding. What this agreement does is create a new program for the global sharing of pathogen data and samples, on anything that could potentially spark a pandemic. It also makes it so that any pharmaceutical manufacturer that's part of this system now has to give 20 percent of its products for “equitable” distribution.In other news, President Donald Trump met with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa during a press event at the White House. During the talks, Trump raised his concerns that the government in South Africa has not taken strong enough actions to prevent the land seizures and killings of white farmers.Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and guests, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

Retailers are warning that high costs from U.S. tariffs are about to hit. Some of them are planning to shoulder the extra costs themselves. Others are saying that they will increase prices. Walmart is one of the bigger examples of this and the message from the Trump administration to the company to “eat the tariffs.”In other news, a member of Congress is now facing criminal charges over an incident at an immigration facility. Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) is now facing charges for allegedly assaulting, impeding, and interfering with a law enforcement officer.Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and guests, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

The U.S. Supreme Court has now made its determination on President Donald Trump’s policy to mass deport Venezuelan illegal immigrants. The administration is cleared to remove their temporary protection status, which could lead to hundreds of thousands being deported. In other news, there could soon be criminal charges over the so-called “Russiagate” scandal. FBI Director Kash Patel and Assistant Director Dan Bongino say that new evidence has been uncovered and that justice could be incoming.Views expressed in this episode are opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

There are allegations that the Trump administration is collaborating on a new reality TV show where immigrants compete for a prize of U.S. citizenship. And the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has now responded. In other news, the U.S. Supreme Court has effectively blocked part of Trump’s plans for mass deportations under the Alien Enemies Act. The case is being sent back to a lower court, and could open the door for illegal immigrants facing deportation to challenge the orders.Views expressed in this episode are opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

A recent discovery is raising concerns over whether America’s electricity could be shut off by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) at a moment’s notice. The United States is now investigating solar panels from China, after rogue communication devices were recently found. The issue raises something bigger as well, going back more than a decade, of suspicious Chinese parts and components in everything from U.S. military airplanes to our missile defense system.Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

Money sent home by illegal immigrants in the United States could soon be taxed by the U.S. government. Remittances are a top incentive for many illegal immigrants looking for work in the United States, and there are broad systems set up to help them send money to their families in the countries they came from. But a new bill could put that money up for taxation.Views expressed in this episode are opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

President Donald Trump is on a three-day tour of the Middle East that can potentially rewrite U.S. relations in the region. His statements during events in Saudi Arabia have sparked new debates over globalism, previous wars, and a potential new way forward for relations. This also included major investments and new agreements on defense. In addition to Trump’s other plans to visit Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, he’s also offering diplomatic fresh starts to Syria and even Iran.In other news, the United States welcomed a group of 59 South African farmers under a refugee program. Communist organizations in South Africa have been carrying out a genocide against the farmers. The incident is also sparking some debate around race politics, given that the farmers are white.Views expressed in this episode are opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

Americans have been shouldering the cost of medicines, while the rest of the world has received a discount, according to the White House. And now, the Trump administration says it’s putting an end to the practice. The president’s new executive order is expected to reduce the costs of medications in the United States while causing the costs to rise in other countries.In other news, the Trump administration is now negotiating a trade deal with the Chinese regime. After meetings over the weekend, it was announced that both countries would temporarily lower their tariffs, and that this will last around 90 days while talks continue.Views expressed in this episode are opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

The Supreme Court could have the final say over whether judges across the nation can continue putting orders from the president on hold.A case that will be heard this Thursday will focus on whether district judges have the authority to place nationwide injunctions on President Donald Trump’s executive orders. And this case could be pivotal in determining the divisions of power between the different branches of the government.Views expressed in this episode are opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

The new pope has been selected. Robert Prevost will now become the first-ever American pope, and he’ll now be known as Pope Leo XIV.In other news, the United States has reached a new trade agreement with the United Kingdom. UK representatives met with President Donald Trump and other key members of the administration in the White House to finalize the deal, and it could signal the way other international trade deals could play out.Views expressed in this episode are opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

A controversial research program is now again being restricted. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on May 5 about “Improving the Safety and Security of Biological Research.” The order takes aim at practices including gain-of-function research, where scientists add new capabilities to existing pathogens. And in particular, it also addresses taxpayer-funded research programs in other countries where restrictions may not be as strong.Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

Alcatraz could soon be reopened as a prison. The facility on a small island in San Francisco was closed as a prison in 1963 and has since been turned into a tourist destination. But President Donald Trump says he wants the facility reopened to house the most dangerous criminals. And while some have suggested the prison is not feasible because of its limited space and high maintenance costs, Trump says it will act as a symbol of law and order.Views expressed in this episode are opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

Two very different agendas are now at odds over the return of American manufacturing. One trend was that of so-called deindustrialization. The concept refers to the destruction of a nation’s manufacturing industry, with a shift to other forms of employment, primarily in the service industry. This trend was evident in the United States over the past few decades, with manufacturing industries heading offshore to countries such as China. Now, however, a new agenda is being declared: reindustrialization. And the return of American industry could again change the global economic order.Views expressed in this episode are opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

While the last four years saw the adoption of policies in line with DEI, or “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” the emerging culture is going in the opposite direction. The Pentagon declared in a recent video that the focus is no longer on DEI but instead on the idea of the “American warrior.” Troops are now being pushed to lose weight and become stronger. And many recent videos from official military accounts are posting videos with high firepower and that demonstrate some of the U.S. military’s emerging capabilities.Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

There are growing debates over whether President Donald Trump could suspend habeas corpus as a way to bypass judges blocking deportations. Doing so would be regarded as a more extreme method of carrying out his agenda, and in a recent interview, Trump suggested that while he may have this type of capability, he’d rather not use it.Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

A secret brainwashing experiment was conducted on Reddit by unauthorized researchers. These researchers from the University of Zurich used artificial intelligence (AI) to see if they could sway the opinions of regular people, and the results are raising concerns over the potential uses of AI.Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been using the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) as a tool for transnational repression. In a recent case, Alibaba cofounder Jack Ma was implicated in a CCP campaign to export its abuses into other countries. Yet this is just the latest of many instances in which INTERPOL, an organization with 196 member countries, has been manipulated by China’s communist regime to work as its very own global police force.Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

Do states have the right to not cooperate with federal authorities on deportations of illegal immigrants? Can the federal government cut funding to states that don’t cooperate? We could soon get answers to both of these questions. President Donald Trump is now signing an executive order targeting the so-called sanctuary cities, and this comes on the heels of legal challenges that blocked his federal freeze on cities with sanctuary policies.Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

There’s a legal battle taking place over the push for large-scale deportations. On one side, there are calls for due process. On the other, there are allegations that the problem is so large that it would never be resolved if each deportation were challenged in court. And now, President Donald Trump is calling for a kind of “courageous justice” in the face of legal challenges.Views expressed in this episode are opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

The UK is moving forward with experiments to dim the sun, carrying out controversial programs on what’s known as solar geoengineering. These are being developed with the goal of fighting “global warming” by reducing the amount of sunlight that reaches the Earth.–Views expressed in this podcast are opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

A new conflict is emerging in the White House, and this time it’s between the various news outlets being allowed into the briefings. Seats for “new media” have now been opened. Many of these are conservative outlets, and this is creating some tensions with the media that used to hold those seats.—Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

The Trump administration is reportedly considering a “baby bonus.” This would be a $5,000 bonus to mothers in a bid to increase birth rates. The plan comes amid dwindling birth rates in most developed countries, which is considered a long-term threat to the future of the United States.—Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

The Department of Defense has been authorized by the Trump administration to take nearly 110,000 acres of land along the southern border from the Department of the Interior. This not only allows the United States broader control over border security, but could also result in additional criminal charges against illegal immigrants.—Want to support independent journalism? Follow our podcast!Views expressed in this podcast are opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

President Donald Trump is moving to reclassify around 50,000 government employees from civil servants to political appointees under Schedule F. This would remove civil service protections from these positions, making it easier for these federal workers to be fired. In a public statement, Trump said this will help him “root out corruption,” and have the government “run like a business.”—Support independent journalism by giving us a 5-star rating.Views expressed on this podcast are opinions of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

Harvard University could lose about $2.2 billion in grants and tens of millions of dollars in contracts. The federal government is now freezing the university’s funds, after its heads refused to follow policies that would get rid of diversity programs and put some restrictions on student protests regarded as anti-Semitic. Harvard argues that this is about protecting constitutional rights, while the Trump administration says it’s about upholding civil rights laws.—Enjoyed Crossroads? Give this podcast a follow.

The Trump administration has been criticized for the accidental deportation of an illegal immigrant from El Salvador. Allegations against the administration say the man was called a gang member when he was not, and many news outlets alleged that the Trump administration was ignoring a court order to return the man to the United States. And now, a very different story is coming out. During their meeting at the White House on Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele clarified why the man was arrested, his gang membership, and details on the court order that news outlets are now accused of misrepresenting.

Through the use of tariffs, reduced foreign aid, and renegotiated trade deals, the Trump administration is forcing a change in global politics. The latest chapter has involved the trade war between the United States and the Chinese communist regime. There are also new U.S. trade policies that require global changes on identity politics and a new push for other countries to drop forms of online censorship. When taken together, the policies represent a new form of American diplomacy using financial power as its tool.

The impact of the new U.S.–China trade war is becoming clear, and it seems that quality of life for Americans is suddenly improving. President Donald Trump has now clarified that with all actions combined, the total tariffs on China are now 145 percent, while tariffs on other countries are now around 10 percent. And contrary to some expectations, consumer prices are now going down, and inflation is dropping as well.

The stock market has suddenly boomed. Trump has paused tariffs on all countries looking to make a deal, and he’s shifting his focus to fight a global trade war against the Chinese Communist Party. This is as the White House is saying that China has walked into its tariff trap.

It could soon be expensive to be an illegal immigrant in the United States. A law from 1996 is now being enforced by the Department of Homeland Security, which can fine illegal immigrants up to $998 each day they refuse to leave the country, and can also allow the government to seize their assets. In addition to this, the White House is promoting a hotline for immigration enforcement, where anyone can anonymously report illegal immigrants to authorities. And alongside this, the Trump administration has now won a Supreme Court case on the enforcement of the Alien Enemies Act. 

The stock market has begun to surge after days of record drops. This follows an announcement from the European Union that it's ready to negotiate with the United States, and the deal on the table is “zero-for-zero” tariffs on industrial goods. Yet, while the EU is now willing to negotiate, the Chinese communist regime is doing the opposite, and President Donald Trump is now threatening to expand tariffs against China.

Conflicting events are sweeping the United States over the “Liberation Day” tariffs. On one side, large-scale protests against President Donald Trump’s policies were organized across the country. On the other side, Trump’s approval ratings in some polls have gone up, and analysts are raising questions on whether the impact to the stock market may not reflect on the wealth of average Americans.

President Donald Trump carried through with his global tariffs for what he deemed “Liberation Day.” This includes sharp tariffs against many countries in the world, while offering a way out if they drop their tariffs and trade barriers against the United States. The day after, the stock markets saw a huge selloff, in what some framed as an attempt to short the market. Yet already, many countries are saying they’re ready to negotiate.

The leading presidential candidate in France is now ineligible to run for political office. Marine Le Pen was expected to come out on top in the French presidential elections, but she has now been found guilty of embezzlement and was sentenced to four years in prison. After the verdict was announced, she alleged the case was politically motivated, and critics pointed out that her case fits in with a broader pattern. Populist leaders around the world are facing similar legal attacks, and some allege these are part of a campaign to keep the new parties out of politics.

“Liberation Day,” as President Donald Trump calls it, has now arrived. April 2 was slated as the day when the administration’s large-scale tariffs on other countries would take effect. In response, many countries from Europe, to the Americas, to Asia are now looking to form new trade alliances to work around the United States. Trump is saying they’ll be back and that he intends to fight on the issue even if it takes all summer.

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has gone from cutting government spending to shrinking the size of government overall. Now, the agency’s head, Elon Musk, is detailing what DOGE has uncovered in fraud, overspending, and gaps in the system.

Police officers in Rochester, NY are being accused of violating sanctuary city rules for helping border patrol agents. And now, border czar Tom Homan is weighing in behind the officers, saying “help is coming.” In other news, the White House just declared what it called “MAGA Madness.” It gave a nod to "March Madness" and the NCAA basketball tournament, but went further to declare the administration’s vision for the United States.

A lawsuit filed over the Signal chat leaks has gone to a judge overseeing several other Trump cases. Judge James Boasberg will oversee the lawsuit, in addition to cases on blocking Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act and deportation flights, among others.

 President Donald Trump has now changed the election laws across the United States. The March 25 executive order includes changes such as proof of citizenship to vote in U.S. elections. Critics argue the order will have the effect of changing the process of how people register to vote and say it could disenfranchise voters. And already, there are groups saying they will challenge the election law changes in court.

The latest political storm in Washington surrounds a Signal chat that included Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Their communications on plans to attack Houthi terrorists were leaked to the press, and it turned out that someone had inadvertently added a journalist to the secure chat. The incident has now turned into a debate on the security of government communications and whether laws could have been broken. But what’s being left out of the discussion is that Signal is actually approved for government and even some military communications.Meanwhile, 23andMe is going bankrupt, and now there are warnings that the DNA data could get sold off.

The attacks on Tesla are being taken seriously. The FBI has now reportedly launched a special task force looking into an anarchist group involved in the attacks. This follows public comments from President Donald Trump and recent arrests by the Justice Department, and could now be aimed at organizations behind the incidents. In other news, the DHS has revoked legal protections on another wave of illegal immigrants, this time it's those on parole.

The actions of President Donald Trump have been regularly stalled or blocked by court actions. Many of these are in turn brought about by lawsuits from various agencies. And now, Trump is taking action to prevent attorneys and law firms from blocking the actions of the president.