Hello, everybody. I'm John Fawson with this Great America Show Midday Update for Friday, May 1st.

Happy Friday folks. Hopefully those April showers are going to bring May flowers, and that rain

is good as gone, at least for a few weeks. Some news today on the national debt. It's now passed

a major milestone rising above the size of the entire economy. As of yesterday, March 31st, federal debt

held by the public reached $31.3 trillion, slightly exceeding the annual GDP of roughly $31.2 trillion,

putting the debt to GDP ratio just over 100%. Now, this is the first time the U.S. has

sustained that level since the years following World War II.

The government is currently running large deficits, spending more money than it collects.

For every $1 in revenue, it spends about $1.3, with this year's deficit projected at around $1.9 trillion.

While crossing the 100% market doesn't trigger an immediate crisis,

economists see it as a clear sign that there's a growing fiscal pressure

and probably a fiscal problem.

One of the biggest concerns is interest costs, of course,

about $1 and $7 of federal spending now goes towards paying interest on the debt that share is expected

to rise if interest rates increase. Not unlike temporary spike seen during crisis such as the pandemic,

current debt levels are being driven by long-term factors. These include rising cost programs

like Social Security and Medicare, along with lower tax revenues following the recent tax cuts.

Forecast suggests the trend will continue. Some news out of the Justice Department today,

acting attorney general Todd Blanche reportedly pushed prosecutors to pursue the Comey Trump

Instagram assassination threat after Pam Bondi put it on ice. Pam Bondi, it turns out, was the problem.

She reportedly put the case on the backburner,

but Blanche revived it and urged prosecutors to pursue charges.

...