You're listening to American Ground Radio with Stephen Parr and Louis R. Avallone. This is the full show for December 29, 2025. 

0:30 The Trump administration is making it clear that nothing is off the table — including student loans. After years of COVID-era pauses and repeated promises of mass loan forgiveness under Democrats, the Department of Education is restarting enforcement in a big way. Beginning January 7, 2026, borrowers who have been in default for at least 270 days will start receiving wage-garnishment notices, with up to 15% of their pay withheld after a mandatory 30-day warning period. This move is about restoring accountability after Washington trained millions of borrowers to believe student loans would never have to be repaid. 

Federal control of student lending exploded college costs, trapped borrowers in debt they can’t discharge through bankruptcy, and unfairly shifted the burden onto taxpayers — especially working-class Americans who paid their loans responsibly, chose cheaper schools, or skipped college entirely. Critics warn it could anger some young voters, but others see it as long-overdue fairness: if you borrowed the money, you repay it. The larger message is unmistakable — consequences are back, and the federal government may finally be stepping out of the student loan business altogether.

9:30 Plus, we cover the Top 3 Things You Need to Know. 

• The US struck a Venezuelan port over the weekend.
• The department of Justice says the suspect in the attempted bombings of both the Republican and Democratic National Headquarters in Washington D.C. on January 5th, 2021 has confessed.
• California has dropped its lawsuit against the Trump Administration for pulling funding from it's high speed train project.

12:30 Get Performlyte from Victory Nutrition International for 20% off. Go to vni.life/agr and use the promo code AGR20.

13:00 An independent journalist’s reporting is putting a harsh spotlight on  staggering incompetence and massive fraud inside Minnesota’s daycare subsidy system. YouTuber Nick Shirley released video showing dozens of state-funded daycare centers, primarily in Minneapolis’ Somali community, that are allegedly being paid to care for large numbers of children, in some cases as many as 95 per location, despite no children being visible on site. If accurate, the scale of the alleged fraud could total hundreds of millions of dollars.

While some aspects of Shirley’s approach have drawn criticism for being overly sensational, the core reporting raises serious questions the state has yet to answer. Locked doors, blacked-out windows, and empty facilities don’t automatically prove wrongdoing, but the absence of clear evidence that these centers are operating as claimed is alarming. Compounding the issue is Governor Tim Walz’s shifting response — initially dismissing calls for scrutiny as racist, only for his office later to claim the state has been investigating the issue for years. The contradiction fuels concerns that political defensiveness, rather than transparency, has defined Minnesota’s handling of the situation.

16:00 American Mamas Teri Netterville and Kimberly Burleson tackle a timeless and uncomfortable question: do people ever really grow out of being bullies? Drawing from personal experience, the Mamas reflect on how bullying doesn’t always disappear with age — it often just changes form. From middle school hallways to college campuses and even retirement communities, the same cliques, cruelty, and power plays can resurface decades later.

The conversation explores the difference between “mean girls” and true bullying, and how time and perspective can turn anger into compassion — especially for those who do the work to grow and evolve. 

If you'd like to ask our American Mamas a question, go to our website, AmericanGroundRadio.com/mamas and click on the Ask the Mamas button.

23:00 Newly declassified documents confirm what many suspected about the 2022 FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago: even the FBI did not believe it had probable cause, but moved forward anyway under intense pressure from the Biden Justice Department. Agents raised concerns about the legality and optics of the raid, yet those objections were dismissed in a single-minded effort to “get Trump,” regardless of constitutional limits or institutional damage.

26:30 We Dig Deep into new data that challenges a long-standing talking point on the left about illegal immigrant crime. According to a New York Post column by Dr. John Lott Jr., Department of Homeland Security data shows that illegal immigrants make up roughly 14 percent of those incarcerated in New York—despite representing only a small fraction of the state’s population. That translates to conviction rates nearly three times higher than those of native New Yorkers, including serious violent and sexual offenses.

Lax border enforcement sends a dangerous message that the law is optional—starting at the border and spreading everywhere else. Sanctuary policies shield criminals from ICE, driving up crime and forcing taxpayers to absorb massive costs for incarceration, healthcare, and welfare support.

32:00 Get Prodovite Plus from Victory Nutrition International for 20% off. Go to vni.life/agr and use the promo code AGR20.

32:30 Activist groups are calling on AT&T to cut ties with federal agencies like DHS, ICE, and Customs and Border Protection, as if enforcing immigration law is a moral crime. These pressure campaigns have real-world consequences. AT&T has worked with the federal government for decades and severing those contracts would likely cost American jobs with no effect on immigration enforcement itself.

36:00 New research links the decline of religious participation in the United States to a rise in what researchers call “deaths of despair,” including suicides, drug overdoses, and alcohol-related disease. According to a study published in the Journal of the European Economic Association, these troubling mortality trends began increasing in the early 1990s, following a measurable drop in faith and religious engagement.

Practices tied to religion—such as prayer, meditation, moral reflection, and community worship—help strengthen emotional regulation, resilience, and a sense of meaning. When those practices fade, they are often replaced by substitutes that offer stimulation without purpose, distraction without fulfillment, or treatment without addressing the deeper spiritual void. Faith is more than preparation for the next life. It is a source of comfort, connection, and stability in this one, and that's a Bright Spot.  

39:30 We break down Nancy Pelosi’s decision to tear up President Trump’s State of the Union address. The act was not merely a political jab at Trump, but a direct insult to the institution of the presidency, Congress, and the American people.

41:30 And we finish off with a record-breaking kiss under the mistletoe that will make you say, "Whoa!"