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The Trump administration is facing backlash after ending free admission at national parks on the only two federal holidays honoring Black history — Juneteenth and Martin Luther King Jr. Day — while adding free entry on President Trump's birthday, June 14. The Interior Department also announced higher entry fees for non-U.S. residents under what it calls "America-first entry fee policies."
Denigrating Black history "can't erase the truth," says Carolyn Finney, who served on the National Parks Advisory Board during the Obama administration. "It's not going to change how we feel, not just as Black Americans, but Americans in general, about honoring our history."
We also speak with Audrey Peterman, author of Our True Nature: Finding a Zest for Life in the National Park System, who says "the entire history of America, the entire history of every racial and ethnic group in America, is in the national park system."
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The longest U.S. federal government shutdown in history has entered its 43rd day. The House of Representatives is returning to session today to vote on a short-term funding bill to end the shutdown. The Senate approved the measure on Monday after seven Democrats and one independent backed the Republican bill even though the bill did not include an extension of the Affordable Care Act subsidies, which was a key demand for Democratic lawmakers. Some Democrats in the House are now calling for Senator Chuck Schumer to resign his position as minority leader — including Democratic congressmember from California, Ro Khanna. "The President was panicking," says Khanna. "He realized that he had lost the election over this. We caved too soon." Khanna also discusses his bill to force the public release of the Epstein files, surrounding the federal investigation into the serial sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein.
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