Your News Talk America with Jake Smith

Daily Show Notes · Thursday, September 24, 2026

9:00 · Iran, the IRGC and the War Over Words

Iran casts itself as the victim of U.S. terrorism. Jake and Dr. Asaf Romirowsky weigh that claim against the regime's record against its own people and the toll of its proxies across the region.

• How many of its own innocent people has the Iranian regime killed, and how many more have died at the hands of its proxies?
• Reports circulating on X say armed Iranian citizens killed IRGC Brigadier General Hossein Zarifi. The IRGC said his death would not leave a vacuum in its ranks and that operations to defend Iran's borders would continue.
• Zarifi had served for more than a decade in Sistan and Baluchestan, according to Maariv.
• As coauthor of October 7: The Wars Over Words and Deeds, Dr. Romirowsky reacts to allegations that Palestinian videographer Motaz Azaiza withheld footage of local Palestinians beating and attacking kidnapped Israelis in the streets on October 7.

Source: The Jerusalem Post

Guest: Asaf Romirowsky, PhD, Executive Director of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME). A trained Middle East historian, he holds a PhD in Middle East and Mediterranean Studies from King's College London and has published widely on the Arab Israeli conflict, American foreign policy in the Middle East, and Israeli and Zionist history.

9:20 · Socialism's Rising Approval and the American Operator

A new Gallup poll finds 43% of Americans now view socialism positively, the highest level since Gallup began tracking the question in 2010. At the same time, 95% view small business positively, 55% view capitalism positively and 81% view free enterprise positively.

• Can Americans keep valuing small business, homeownership and wealth building while embracing policies that expand government's role in the economy?
• What that tension means for the next generation trying to build something of its own.
• Did government during COVID behave like socialism, and did it put more than 100,000 small businesses out of business?

Guest: William Fry, founder and CEO of American Operator.

9:35 · California's Shadow Welfare System

A City Journal investigation finds California's welfare system is not serving Californians. One of the reporters who investigated the use of taxpayer dollars for handouts to illegal immigrants joins Jake.

• California runs the nation's largest welfare system, devoting more than $180 billion annually to food, health care and other programs for the poor. To sustain it, the state imposes the nation's highest tax rates.
• In theory the programs help struggling Californians. The report finds many serve large numbers of illegal immigrants.
• California now oversees a shadow welfare system that lets noncitizens receive health care, rental assistance, college grants, tax credits, low cost car insurance and even smartphones on the taxpayers' dime.

Source: City Journal

Guest: Kenneth Schrupp, Investigative Reporter, City Journal.

9:50 · DIAL Caller Debate: White House Press Credentials

A federal judge ordered President Trump to restore White House access for journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico, saying his ban on the three outlets was likely unconstitutional.

• U.S. District Judge Tim Kelly issued the order in a lawsuit the news organizations filed contesting the ban the President announced on September 18.
• Kelly ordered the administration to immediately return the outlets' press passes and blocked officials from enforcing the ban for 14 days.

Today's debate question: How should the White House respond?

• Appeal immediately.
• Decline to take questions from the outlets, since restored passes do not guarantee access.
• Cut them off from all White House communications, official and off the record.
• Bar them from White House aircraft, since the order covers White House access only.
• Bar administration officials from appearing on the banned outlets and those that joined the boycott, including Fox News.
• Supporters stop watching and let the ratings do the talking.

Source: New York Post

On the line: DIAL producers and callers. Cast your vote and send your question on DIAL.

10:00 · The 2026 Midterms: What Is at Stake for America?

Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters said Wednesday he expects the GOP to hold its majorities in both chambers of Congress in November, predicting 220 House seats and 53 Senate seats.

• Gruters's forecast comes just after polling suggested President Trump's approval rating has dipped to a career low.
• As the midterms near, the GOP faces the war in Iran and rising living costs, with Democrats leading in recent polling on issues including health care and immigration.
• The Hill's polling partner Decision Desk HQ places Trump's approval at 37.9 percent and disapproval at 60.7 percent, and is forecasting both House and Senate majorities going to Democrats.
• Jake's warning: losing the country is far easier than taking it back.

Source: The Hill

Guest: To be announced.

10:20 · Oil at $150? Diesel, Winter and the Economy

Bank of America says oil could climb to $150 a barrel if inventories keep depleting as the war in Iran continues, and has raised its year end Brent crude forecast from $83 a barrel to $95 a barrel.

• What would that mean for the U.S. economy and the world economy?
• At the start of the war, some estimates had oil spiking to $300 a barrel. Prices have come nowhere near that.
• With winter fast approaching, diesel prices and supply are the biggest problem.
• President Trump is reportedly considering halting diesel exports. Can the United States, a leading oil exporter, keep exporting diesel?
• Many Americans are down on the U.S. economy. Why, and is it all about gasoline prices?

Guest: Dr. Julia R. Cartwright, Senior Research Fellow in Law and Economics at the American Institute for Economic Research.

10:30 · Press Access, the First Amendment and Blessed Fulton Sheen

• The Judge reacts to the White House pulling press credentials from CNN, MS NOW and Politico. Is White House access a privilege, or a right protected by the First Amendment?
• A look back: the Obama administration's open hostility toward Fox News, and the Justice Department's surveillance of Fox News reporter James Rosen, which reached phone records tied to his parents.
• Today, a media star of the early television era, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, is beatified in St. Louis, the next step toward sainthood.

“Bishop Sheen and Me”

• History yields people whose influence extends far beyond their earthly lives: teachers to generations they never met and spiritual companions to people whose names they never knew.
• For the Judge, one of those figures is Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, who had a rare gift for bringing the richness, beauty and intellectual depth of traditional Catholicism into the homes of ordinary Americans.
• Through his Emmy Award winning half hour weekly program of the 1950s, Life Is Worth Living, Sheen introduced millions of viewers to traditional Roman Catholicism. He did not dilute the faith to suit the times; he presented it with clarity, conviction, humor and warmth.
• His Catholicism was rooted in the Eucharist, the priesthood, the sacramental life, centuries of spiritual discipline, the call to evangelize, and public recognition of the Blessed Virgin Mary's role in human salvation.

Guest: Judge Andrew Napolitano, Senior Judicial Analyst, Newsmax, and host of the Judging Freedom podcast. His latest opinion piece is “Bishop Sheen and Me.”

11:00 · Visa Changes for International Students

Are American universities serving American students first? The Trump administration's attempt to cap international student visas at four years has been halted by a federal judge, reigniting debate over whether higher education should prioritize American citizens.

• Are foreign students getting preferential treatment in admissions to American universities?
• Should American citizens be prioritized when applying to American universities?
• Are U.S. colleges and universities seeing a drop in foreign enrollment? If so, why?

Guest: Simon Hankinson, senior research fellow in the Border Security and Immigration Center at The Heritage Foundation.

11:30 · Classroom Cancel Culture and the Neurodiversity Push

Florida teacher accused of trying to “cancel” an eighth grader for his conservative views

• Liz Ballard, a history teacher at Pine View School in Osprey, Florida, is accused of singling out an eighth grade student as the “conservative perspective” in her classes, then calling him a misogynist and spreading the label around the school, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said in a letter on Monday.
• The letter alleges she harassed and disparaged the student and tried to “cancel” him for his views during class debates, even after he told her his parents had expressly forbidden him to take part. She now faces calls to be fired.
• What kind of history was being taught in that classroom, and how many more like it are there in public schools across the country?

Source: New York Post

What is neurodiversity?

A report covered by The Daily Signal: School Counselor ‘Neurodiversity’ Framework Draws From Critical Race Theory, Queer Theory, Report Finds.

• As DEI and CRT face growing backlash, the report finds school counseling groups shifting to “neuro affirming” language, broad nonmedical labels, mental health screeners and identity based counseling with students.
• It points to guidance tied to the American School Counselor Association describing neuro affirming counseling as grounded in critical disability theory and building on critical race theory and queer theory.
• It can reach every student. Neuro affirming concepts are being pushed into Tier 1 programming, meaning schoolwide programs, not just services for children with diagnosed disabilities.
• Kids can be labeled without a medical diagnosis. “Neurodivergence” is used as a broad, nonclinical umbrella rather than tied to formal medical standards.
• Normal struggles can become an identity. Academic, behavioral or developmental challenges can be reframed as evidence a child is neurodivergent or being forced to conform to “neuro normativity.”
• Parents can be cut out. Informal screeners, questionnaires and counseling can happen without the parental consent required for formal special education or medical processes.
• Taxpayer dollars may be funding it. Title I, Title II and IDEA funds can be used for schoolwide screeners, social emotional materials and counselor training under the neuro affirming umbrella.

Guest: Alvin Lui, President, Courage Is A Habit.

11:50 · Salute the Troops

Today Your News Talk America honors Charles Richard Anderson, who served in Vietnam. Thank you for your service.