Transcript

6.22.26 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Good morning, everybody, and welcome to the reading of the
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Washington Post for this Monday, June twenty second. As a reminder,
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Radio I is a reading service intended for people who
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are blind or have other disabilities that make it difficult
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to read printed material. Your reader for today is Rod Brotherton.
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Start off with the news. High level US Iran talks
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conclude with a roadmap for peace, mediator say. High level
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peace talks between the United States and Iran have concluded,
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Mediators said Monday, with the immediate launch of a new
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round of lower level technical discussions this week in Switzerland.
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The two sides agreed on a roadmap aimed at reaching
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a final agreement within sixty days, according to a joint
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statement by Mediator's Pakistan and Cutter. They also agreed to
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establish a de escalation working group that includes Elebanon to
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address the fighting between Israel and Hezbolade.
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Speaker 2: There.
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Speaker 1: The communications channel was also established to prevent incidents and
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misunderstandings and to ensure the safe passage of commercial vessels
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through the Strait of war moves, the mediator said, calling
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the progress encouraging. Vice President j. D Vance had begun
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the talk Sunday, expressing hope that the two sides could
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turn over a new leaf. As back in Washington, President
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Trump threatened fresh attacks on Tehran if it blocked the
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reopening of the strait. Ron's lead negotiator responded by accusing
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the United States of being desperate and warning of retaliation
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against any US aggression. Despite the belicosity, negotiators from the
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two countries, along with mediators from Pakistan and Cutter, held
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about eighteen hours of intensive talks and consultations at the
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Swiss resort of Bergenstock, according to Iranian media. Afterward, Iranian
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Foreign Minister Abbas Aragachi praised tireless Pakistani and Katari mediation,
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saying in a post on X that oil and petrochemical
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exports are waived, blockade lifted, some frozen assets released, and
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a major reconstruction and development plan launched for Iran. US
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officials had not commented on the negotiations Monday morning. The
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Bergenstock gathering dubbed the Lake Lucern sum It is part
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of a sixty day effort to build upon the recently
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announced US Iran ceasefire and establish a broader deal that
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would end the war and address concerns about Iran's nuclear program.
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The question before US now is how much more can
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we accomplish together? Can we turn over a new leave,
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Vance said at the start of talks on Sunday, we
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can change relations in the Middle East permanently or do
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we go back to doing the things the old way,
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which is not our preference, but it's certainly very much
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something that can happen. Tensions flared over the weekend after
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Iran said it was closing the Strait of horm Moves
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in response to Israeli attacks on Lebanon. US Central Command
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said Saturday the commercial vessels were still passing through the waterway,
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but it said Sunday afternoon that it had no updates.
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The safe passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of
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horn Moves is critical to bringing down global oil prices.
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Since the war began on February twenty eighth, surging oil
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prices have hurt the US economy and taken a toll
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on Trump's approval ratings amid consumer worries about higher gasoline costs.
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In a phone interview on Sunday with Fox News Trey
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yinst Trump threatened to attack Iran and take over the
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Strait of horn Moves if Tehran interfered with passage through
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the waterway. You close the straight of horr moves and
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you won't have a country, Trump said. He told Iranian
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officials inks posted on h you won't even make it
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back to your effing country. Trump also underscored the threat
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and a suit truth social post in which he urged
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Iran to stop Hezbalah militants and Lebanon from causing trouble.
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If they don't, we'll hit her on very hard again,
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just like we did last week, only harder, he said.
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Iran's lead negotiator, parliamentary speaker Mohamed Bagar Galibaf, responded they'd
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better be careful with the statements and warned on a
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post on X that such threats are ineffective. We don't
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count threats on the from Americans, he said. Iran's official
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Islamic Republic news agency described the Quadrilateral talks is entering
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a difficult phase after Trump's message. The negotiations in Switzerland
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are key to Washington's goal of preventing Iran from developing
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a nuclear weapon. Trump had cited Iran's nuclear ambitions as
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a main justification or his decision to go to war
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a memorandum of Understanding that Trump signed at the Palace
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of Versailles in France last week puts the onus on
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the US to deliver early, including by lifting sanctions, freeing
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billions and frozen assets, and dismantling a naval blockade of
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Iranian ports. The two sides established a two month timeline
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to flash out the details and settle issues that have
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plagued negotiators for years. Iran promised to let shipping traffic
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flow freely through the Strait of Horn moves. The deal
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also outlined an end to military operations in Lebanon, which
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is a core issue for Iran and requires the Trump
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administration to pressure Israel to halt at tax on Hezbalalah,
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even though Israel is not a signatory to the agreement
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and has denounced it with Hezbollah, a known terrorist organization
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bent on the destruction of Israel. Aragachi. While praising the
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progress of the talks, Monday said negotiators Lebanon deconfliction sell
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would be the royal first test of the progress. US
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intelligence agencies have warned the administration that Israeli Prime Minister
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Benjamin Netanyahu is likely to remain intent on continuing attacks
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in Lebanon, which could undermine the US's efforts to negotiate
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a long term agreement. But over the weekend, the fighting
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appeared to have eased after the Israeli government ordered its
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military Saturday to limit operations in Lebanon to defensive measures.
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On Sunday night, and net Niyahu promised that Israeli forces
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will remain in South Lebanon. Speaking at the JNS International
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Policy Summit in Jerusalem, he said the US would act
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in the same manner if Israel. If across the border
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you have an army of thousands of terrorists who pellet
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your cities and your towns with rockets and ballistic missiles
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and killer drones, you know damn well what America would do.
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It would cross the border, create a security zone, kill
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the terrorists, and protect its people until the threa is removed.
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And that is exactly what we are doing. Our next story,
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Fight or Forgive. An unusual class helped the Muslim student
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decide from Aurora, Colorado in the morning with sal Chi
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Chu hoped she would answer the question she asked herself
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days how compassionate should she be in a country where
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many lacked empathy for her? She was a Muslim teenager,
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eighteen and a freshman in college, not quite the adult
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she hoped to be, but she hadn't do it enough
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to know she would have to decide soon. Should she
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forgive everyone who discriminated against her, or she stand up
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for herself. The world felt increasingly hostile, short owned kindness.
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Most Americans believe their fellow citizens are morally bad. Trust
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is on the decline, political violence is rising, and the
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Trump administration felt especially hostile to immigrants. All of that
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brewing around her, she Chu had signed up for a
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college conference on compassion to help her decide how to be.
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Speaker 2: For now.
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Speaker 1: It was dinner time, and she looked across the kitchen
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table as her parents opened the tickout containers of halilah,
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chicken and lamb, and she chewed that her mom and
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dad had offered two opposing ways to approach the world.
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Do you remember the campus monitor, she asked them. A
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few years earlier, when Chi Chew and her older sister
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Ikram were in high school, a campus security guard had
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mocked them on camera for having to take a citizenship test,
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then posted the video online later after it went locally viral.
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He waited outside the girl's classroom and ask other students
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to fight them. I told the principal I wanted a
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restraining order to choose dead. Elideba said as he dug
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into a plate of rice, that's dangerous. He doesn't have
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a right.
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Speaker 2: To do that. But he's young.
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Speaker 1: Her mother Amina said, he was just twenty something. I
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told the principal, don't don't fire. This was the way
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she choose. Parents approached every indignity they'd faced it since
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moving to America from Morocco in twenty fourteen. Mother opened
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her arms, her father crossed his. That night at the table,
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as chi Chew prepared to find her own strategy, the
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family recounted a dozen or so examples. It was the
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girl who wouldn't hold she Choo's hand in gym class
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because she said to Chew was a dirty African monkey.
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There were the patients on Ikraum's nursing assistance shift who
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mocked her he job, the kids who called chi Chew
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a bomber. The man who almost ran over them in
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a grocery store parking lot before shouting that the family
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should go back to the Middle East. You can read
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it in their eyes. Abe de la La said they
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look at you like, yeah, you're a terrorist. Mom would
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always tell us you can't blame these people. Chi Chou said,
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that's what they've been taught. If everyone were as empathetic
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as her mom, chi Chou thought life would be peaceful
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and calm. But che Che also worried her mother's compassion
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left her vulnerable. Some nights, Amina came home crying, and
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she chew wondered if all the hatred didn't hurt her
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mother more than she let on. So tomorrow, I'm going
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to this compassion lab, she told her family as they
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finished dinner and retreated to the couch from mint tea
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and pistachios. And I want to ask the professors how
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do I be a compassionate person without creating these environments
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of hatred? Her mom raised her eyebrows, her dad leaned
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back with a smile. I want to find an answer,
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she cho said. It needs to have an answer, right.
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Chichi woke up extra early the next morning and rode
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the train from the suburbs to the University of Denver.
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By eight am, one hundred sleepy students had settled with
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coffee cake and complimentary journals to record any thoughts they
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had that day. Compassion was a relatively new subject for
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the school. A few years ago, university leaders decided that
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to produce thriving graduates, they had to do more than
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teach them how to learn. They had to show them,
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more holistically, how to be. One of the lead facilitators
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that day was Chris Teetsort, an assistant professor whose work
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had evolved from the communications department and to research on
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happiness and empathy. When teet Sort taught his first compassion
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lesson in twenty twenty three, he thought he'd help students
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relate to people who were different from them. He discovered
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that today's teenagers struggle to connect even with like minded people.
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In the ear since teet Sort and other professors caught
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courses on compassion as well as roving long hour sessions
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and departments from music to political science, the day long
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conference was new and a chance to go deep quickly.
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That morning, while the students polished off breakfast, Teetsort told
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them compassion felt more important than ever. Both people, both
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young and old, were increasingly lonely. The rates of depression
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had shot up. The country felt divided and disconnected, he said,
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and many people no longer knew how to sit and
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have a conversation. The broad question that we're asking to
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day is, given the pain and suffering, how do we
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want to be treated? Te Short said, how do we
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treat others? How is this going to look in our lives?
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Cheechu had been doodling flowers on one of the conference handouts,
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but as Teet Short spoke, she stopped. His words struck
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her as profound. He wasn't just saying that suffering is happening.
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He was inviting the students to think about their own reactions.
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How did she want to respond? How did she hope
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to be treated?
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Speaker 2: You just took a long.
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Speaker 1: Drink from a water bottle graded with stickers from Colorado
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nonprofits Compassion for Others. Tits Or told the group cannot
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exist without self compassion. Studies have shown that people who
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take care of themselves can better show up for others,
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he said. Chie Chu thought of her mom Amina did
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a great job of caring for other people, but she
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deserved compassion too. Chi Chu believed that both of Chi
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Chu's parents had worked a variety of blue collar jobs
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since they immigrated, but her mom had recently found a
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position working with special education students. A life of service
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suited her, and Chi Chu hoped to spend her adulthood
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helping people too. After college, she planned to go to
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law school and eventually run for public office. Neither of
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those careers felt particularly safe from bigotry.
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Speaker 2: Chie Chew didn't even.
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Speaker 1: Wear a huge job yet, although she longed to, because
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she worried a law school would reject her. If she did,
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maybe they'd think of isis, or maybe they'd wonder if
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she was opposed to thinking for herself. She'd seen plenty
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of TikTok videos. Were seemingly educated people suggested that the
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only reason a woman would cover her head is because
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a man made her. That couldn't have been further from
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the truth. To choose faith was of the most important
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parts of her identity, and.
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Speaker 2: That belief was her own. Not one of her parents
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ever pushed, but she'd seen.
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Speaker 1: The way people reacted to her mom and her sister's
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head scars, and she was scared. She'd already experienced harassment
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and the political world. She'd spent the last few months
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in turning for Senator Michael Bennett, the Democrat of Colorado,
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a few weeks before the conference, an Iraq war veteran
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had called for help navigating his benefits. As to Chew
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tried to find answers, man said several hateful things about Muslims.
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It had hurt to listen to him, But che Chew
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had thought of her mother and told herself the man
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probably experienced horrific things at war, and she said nothing.
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The conference broke for a mid morning break, and as
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the students lingered in the hallway, several admitted they were
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neutral on the idea of compassion. Mostly they had signed
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up for the lad because their teachers had agreed to
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give them extra credit or a week without homework. As
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far as to Chu could tell, no one who considered
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themselves hateful had signed up. Those were probably the people
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who needed a compassion conference most. But to Chu knew
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from her own friend group that sometimes even people who
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considered themselves open minded balked crossing the divide. She and
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most of her friends were liberal, but they hadn't understood
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when she'd befriended a conservative earlier that year, Why are
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you engaged with that person? They'd ask her, Why do
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you what do you see in her teens today? Wanted
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to preserve the peace. To Chew understand that often been
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building a fortress of safety away from many comments or
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opposing beliefs that might hurt them to Chew desired peace too,
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but was that all that mattered. She didn't want to
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spend the rest of her life being called a terrorist,
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but she was too curious to wall herself up. She
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wanted to reach the people who hated her. She never
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took the time to understand them. How could she ever
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change their minds? The break ended and the students headed
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off to sessions on relationships and the media. Outside, the
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temporarysure had topped eighty degrees. Young people sunbathed on the lawn.
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Chi Chew joined a dozen other students for an indoor
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meditative walk through a labyrinth. Psychology of Religion professor Danny
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McIntosh had designed the room sized fabric labyrinth with a colleague.
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He told the students that a labyrinth walking is an
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ancient tradition practiced by people all over the world. Recent
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research shows that if a group of people walk together
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with a shared intention, labyrinths can promote compassion. One way
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of thinking about the labyrinths is a mini pilgrimage.
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Speaker 2: McIntosh said there's.
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Speaker 1: Been research of pilgrims who go to the Hodge, the
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Islamic Pilgrimage. One of the effects of going to the
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Hodge is an openness to all traditions, despite all the differences,
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all the variety, heterogenitivity, and they say, well, all on
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this journey together. Ch Chu couldn't believe it. In all
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her years in America, she never heard anyone mentioned Hodge
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in a classroom setting.
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Speaker 2: But he was right.
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Speaker 1: She'd always heard the pilgrimage united people. Before they walk
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the labyrinth, McIntosh explained, they chant a shared meditation. Chi
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Choose slid off her white new balances and pulled her
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waistlength hair into a ponytail. She joined the other students
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in the circle. We recognize the suffering as part of
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being human, and for us and for others, Macintosh read,
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we allow ourselves to see it without turning away. One
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by one, the students stepped into the purple labyrinth. She
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Chew was last, and when she set her foot inside,
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she felt a kind of jolt, something close to static electricity,
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but sharper, and it made her dizzy. She rounded the outside.
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She tried to channel her mother. She meditated on other
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people's suffering. She thought about the genocide and the congo
19:41
the worn iron, and she considered the veteran who called
19:44
the Senate office asking for help. She Chew knew the
19:48
man deserved compassion, but she made her way around. She
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thought of her father. He always let people have their say,
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then he stood up for himself. He corrected them if
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they were wrong. He fought for his right to exist
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as a Muslim immigrant in America. She hadn't felt on
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the phone as if she could respond the way her
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dad might. She was at work and her job was
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to help all constituents, not interrupt them to explain her
20:17
own religion. But what of the things Titsort said about
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self compassion were true? Didn't her own suffering matter? Maybe
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she could have handled off the call to a coworker,
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and maybe should she could have taken a moment to herself.
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Chee Chew felt lost as she searched for the Labyrinth Center,
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but by the time she reached it, she knew the
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path was right for her. Wasn't her mom's or her father's,
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but something in between. She wanted to be someone who
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listens and fights for all people, including herself. By the
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end of the day, che Chew was back with her
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family in.
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Speaker 2: The living room.
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Speaker 1: Her mom brewed another Part of Me tea while the
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cat Mi Knew slinked around, trying to decide which family
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member he loved the most. Of that hour, Chiechu pulled
21:08
out the journal she'd kept during the conference, and she
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told her parents she'd had a great day. I would
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say I felt enlightened. She said, I need to be
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easier on myself, extend the same compassion to myself that
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I'm giving to other people not like me.
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Speaker 2: Her mom said quietly, you don't want to be like me.
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Che laughed and leaned over to hug her.
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Speaker 1: No, no, no, no no, she said, you are a great person,
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a great role model. Then they hugged until Minuz settled
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and the tea was ready. Chechu took her first sip,
21:43
then collapsed into the couch. I also learned I can't
21:48
wake up at seven. That's just too much. The next story.
21:54
Trump faces new hurdles after deal, Ron's leverage, Israel's attacks
22:00
in Maga's backlash. President Trump's efforts to strike a deal
22:05
with Iran faced significant head winds over the weekend, as
22:08
Tehran flexed its control of the Straight of Horn moves
22:12
Israel and has belottraded strikes, and the right flank of
22:15
Trump's party continued to accuse him of making too many
22:18
concessions to secure an agreement. The challenges underscored the difficulty
22:22
of Trump's task as he seeks to turn a fragile
22:25
ceasefire into a lasting agreement. After months of war sent
22:29
energy prices skyrocketing. Ending the fighting addressed Trump's immediate concerns
22:34
about oil prices in the stock market, but it left
22:37
unresolved the question at the heart of the conflict, what limits,
22:42
if any, Iran will accept on its nuclear program.
22:46
Speaker 2: Vice President J. D.
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Speaker 1: Vance met Sunday with senior Iranian leaders in hopes of
22:50
keeping Iran from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon in exchange
22:54
for sanctions relief. In a statement after the high level
22:58
talks concluded early Monday, Mediator's Pakistan and Cutter touted encouraging progress,
23:05
saying the two sides agreed on a road map aimed
23:08
at reaching a final agreement within sixty days. Lower level
23:12
technical discussions continue this week. Trump may have less leverage
23:17
than he did during the talks in February. Before the war, then,
23:21
Iranian leaders feared a US attack could topple the regime now,
23:26
the government has proved it can survive even after the
23:28
February twenty eighth killing of its supreme leader, Ayatola Ali Kamene.
23:33
Trump has made clear that the halt oil shipping or
23:36
out of the Persian Gulf as a pressure point, and
23:39
Tehran has shown that it can sends shocks through global
23:43
energy markets with just the threat of attacks on ships.
23:48
US officials see a breakthrough at the bargaining table must
23:51
haggle over many issues. Trump deferred to halt fighting and
23:55
reopened the straightform moves, restoring what amounted to the status
23:59
quo for the initial US strikes on February twenty eighth.
24:03
The concessions the White House has already offered to get
24:05
back to the bargaining table have become a central line
24:08
of attack for Trump's critics. Trump's no longer demanding regime change,
24:13
despite promising Iranians that help was on the way. He
24:17
says he understands why the country needs ballistic missiles, upsetting
24:21
US allies who feel threatened by those weapons, and he
24:25
has made clear he wants to avoid anything that would
24:28
derail the stock markets upward trajectory that hasn't stopped him
24:33
from continuing to issue threats, as he did Sunday and
24:36
social media message posted as many Americans were sitting down
24:40
to Father's Day brunch. Iron must immediately stop their highly
24:44
paid proxies in Lebanon for causing trouble. If they don't,
24:50
we'll hit around very hard again, just likely did last week,
24:54
only harder, Trump said, but taking alongside the president's other message,
25:00
which is a caution about restarting the war, including a
25:03
vow not to become Herbert Hoover, the president at the
25:06
beginning of the Great Depression, it wasn't clear how serious
25:10
Iran would take his warning. There's not a lot of
25:14
room now for him to go and maneuver and go
25:16
back and punch back to the Iranian, said Aaron David Miller,
25:20
an expert on the US Israeli relations who has advised
25:23
Republican and Democratic administrations on Middle East policy. Pressuring Iran
25:29
means essentially resuming the war or reimposing the naval blockade.
25:33
But those have consequences, he said, including one's. Trump is
25:36
sa easier to avoid. We have so undermined our own
25:42
deterrence with Iran, Miller said, the elder coming a long
25:46
tried to avoid a situation where the US and Israel
25:50
teamed up in a week's long campaign against Iran. Well,
25:53
guess what we lived through that They not only survived,
25:57
they found a way to.
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Speaker 2: Keep the regime coherent.
26:00
Speaker 1: Are said, the stakes for Trump and Republican Party are high.
26:05
Inflation exacerbated by the conflict has put pressure on many
26:08
of Trump's supporters, pushing him to try to get the
26:11
economy under control by the midterm elections in November. Fox
26:16
poll released last week found that fifty eight percent of
26:20
voters thought the US made the wrong decision in taking
26:22
military action against Iran in February, seventy five percent of
26:27
Republicans believed it was the right call, and thirty five
26:30
percent of voters approved of how he was hailing Heran. Still,
26:36
Advance declared optimism as he set out Saturday for meetings,
26:39
two days after they were initially scheduled. With fighting between
26:42
Israel and hesbelas training the initial agreement, It's going to
26:47
be something we're just going to have to continuously manage
26:50
to ensure that, you know, Israel and Levin are both
26:52
safe and secure. That's fundamentally the goal of this to
26:56
make the whole region Safe and Secure, danced tole reporters
27:01
Saturday before departy Washington. I think we're going to hopefully
27:05
make progress on the nuclear issue, make progress on the
27:08
Lebanon ceasefire issue, and those are the two big things
27:12
I think we're going to be focused on, he said.
27:15
In their statement Monday, Pakistan and Cutters and Negotiations agreed
27:19
to launch a de escalation work group that includes Lebanon
27:23
to address the fighting between Israel and Hesbeala Air. They
27:27
also established a communication channel to prevent incidents and misunderstandings
27:32
to ensure the safe passions of commercial vessels through the
27:35
Strait of Horn Moves. Iran's repeated declarations that it would
27:40
close the Strait of Horn Moves or a measure of
27:42
the challenges confronting the Trump administration's diplomatic efforts. Before February
27:47
twenty eighth, Iran's leverage over the narrow shipping checkpoint was theoretical.
27:52
Speaker 2: It has never been tested.
27:54
Speaker 1: Now Iran is shown that can use mines and drones
27:58
to halt traffic and includes two twenty percent of the
28:00
world's supply of oil and natural gas. Trump said last
28:04
week that his concerns about global energy prices and dwindling
28:07
oil reserves were a factor in his decision to seek
28:11
a peace deal when he did. Iron said Saturday that
28:16
it had closed straight because of its anger over Israeli
28:19
attacks on his Bellah. The US military said the waterway
28:24
was still open to traffic, and Kepper, a tracking firm,
28:28
set it at a long twenty ships crossings, down from
28:30
the one hundred and thirty daily average before the war.
28:33
Even without attacking any ships, Iran can still throttle traffic
28:38
since cautious ship captains may choose not to take chances
28:42
with Iran's military, and insurance firms may raise their premiums
28:47
or decline to cover the risk at all. Trump on
28:51
Saturday aided frustration with the situation in the strait, saying
28:54
on social media that there will be no tolls in
28:57
the Hormu Straight for the sixty days during the sea
29:00
fire period, and there will be no tolls after the
29:03
sixty day period has expired. Despite Iran's declaration that it
29:08
intends to impose new transit fees on ships passage through
29:11
the waterway, the president threatened to impose US tolls for
29:16
services rendered as a guardian angel to the countries in
29:19
the Middle East. Despite the US military having no practical
29:24
way to collect the charges. Trump and his backers say
29:31
Iran's navy has been destroyed and many of its missile
29:34
launchers have been eliminated. They argue that Iran's new leaders,
29:38
including Iatola Muntjaba Kamine, the son and successor of the
29:42
late Aleh Kamande, are more willing to make a deal
29:46
and engage in reforms, and that the country is further
29:49
from a nuclear.
29:49
Speaker 2: Weapon than it was before the war.
29:52
Speaker 1: However, Trump advance have been facing increasingly vocal criticism from
29:57
some of the same people who cheered the initial stree,
30:01
especially as both men heated up the rhetoric against Israel
30:04
last week and criticized it for not following the terms
30:08
of the deal. Israel has continued to attack what it
30:11
says or Hesbelah emplacements in Lebanon because its soldiers have
30:15
come under attack by the Iranian backed militia. US intelligence
30:20
agencies have warned Israel that it's likely to try to
30:23
undermine the deal. The inclusion of the ceasefire in Lebanon
30:28
and the deal is likely to continue to strain relations
30:31
between the US and Israel since it puts Washington in
30:35
the place of taking Iran's side over Israel on the
30:38
issue of attacks into eleven. As part of the memorandum
30:41
of understanding, Iran committed to halting Hesbelah's attacks on Israel,
30:48
but for Israeli soldiers died with Hesbelah ambush their tank
30:53
on Friday in the Lebanese town of Fertindet. If you
30:57
want Israel to go along with the plant, you should
31:00
tell them what's in the plant. They were not even
31:04
at the talks, and all of a sudden they are
31:06
roped into it. Ryan Killmead, a host on Fox and
31:10
Friends who is unusually who is usually a reliable backer
31:15
of Trump, set on Friday. It's up to Iran to
31:19
tell his Belah, who does whatever you tell them, to
31:23
knock it off, and then Israel.
31:26
Speaker 2: Will knock it off.
31:27
Speaker 1: Kill Mead, said Trump and his backers say Iran's navy
31:32
has been destroyed many of its missile launchers have been eliminated.
31:36
Speaker 2: They argue that Iran's.
31:37
Speaker 1: New leaders, including Ayatola Motujaba Khamene, the son and successor
31:43
of the late Al Kamine, are more willing to make
31:46
a deal and engage in reforms, and that the country
31:49
is further from a nuclear weapon than it was before
31:51
the war. However, Trump in advance have been facing increasingly
31:56
vocal criticism from some of the same people who cheered
31:59
the initial stranks, especially as both men heated up the
32:02
rhetoric against Israel last week and criticized it for not
32:05
following the terms of the deal. Israel has continued to
32:10
attack what it says or Hesbela and placements in Lebanon
32:13
because its soldiers have come under attack by the Iranian
32:17
backed militia. US intelligence agencies have warned that Israel is
32:22
likely to try to undermine the deal.
32:25
Speaker 2: The inclusion of a.
32:26
Speaker 1: Ceasefire in Lebanon is in the deal and is likely
32:30
to continue to strain relations between the US and Israel
32:33
since it puts Washington in the place of taking a
32:36
Ran side over Israel on the issue of attacks in Lebanon.
32:41
It's part of the memorandum of understanding. Iran committed to
32:44
halting Hesbela attacks on Israel, but for Israeli soldiers died
32:50
when Hesbelah attacked their tank and ambushed it on Friday
32:54
in the Lebanese town of Kafar Tebnitt. If you want
32:59
Israel to go along with the plan. You should tell
33:02
them what's in the plan. They were not even at
33:04
the talks, and all of a sudden they're roped into it.
33:08
Speaker 2: Brian kill Me, the host.
33:09
Speaker 1: Of Fox and Friends, who is usually a reliable backer
33:12
of Trump, set on Friday. It's up to Iran to
33:17
tell Hasbellah, who does whatever you tell them to knock
33:21
it off, and then Israel will knock it off. Our
33:27
next story for cash strapped farmers deal to in the
33:31
Iran fighting comes too late. The possible end of the
33:38
Iran war will not cure the drought that is stunted
33:40
the wheat crop. It won't secure soybean export orders caught
33:44
up in the US China trade war, and it will
33:47
do nothing to promote competition and agriculture, which would help
33:51
farmers like Jeff Tyson earn a living like other growers. Tyson,
33:56
who's fifty five, has seen costs outrun sales this year
34:00
as the rain grew scarce government policies added to his burdens. Now,
34:05
the US Iran agreement has to reopen the vital straight
34:08
of horm moves and pursue a lasting piece offers some
34:12
release to farmers seen their fuel and fertilizer bills sore
34:16
because of the combat incursion golf the diesel has not
34:19
been cheaper since mid March. Urea fertilizer in recent days
34:24
so for less than it did before the fighting started,
34:27
but financial damage.
34:29
Speaker 2: Has been done.
34:31
Speaker 1: President Trump's February decision join Israel and attacking Iran aggravated
34:35
the farm economy struggles. Soybean growers, who were already suffering
34:40
from the President's tariffs, are expected to lose money in
34:43
twenty twenty six for the fourth straight year. There's no
34:48
joy left in this farm.
34:51
Speaker 2: When you work.
34:51
Speaker 1: Sixteen hour days, you get to the end of the year,
34:55
you have to borrow money to pay your taxes.
34:57
Speaker 2: Well, there's no fun in that.
34:59
Speaker 1: It's just not worth it anymore, said Tyson, a fourth
35:02
generation farmer, long ago advised his daughters to look elsewhere
35:07
for a good life. Tough times on the farmer souring
35:11
some of the president's most loyal supporters. A little more
35:14
than four months before November's congressional electorate elections, rural voters
35:19
back to Trump's economic policies by forty five to forty
35:22
three percent early last year, but now disapprove of them
35:25
sixty one to thirty one percent, according to a Router's
35:29
Episodes poll released this month. A separate Purdue University CME
35:33
group surveyed this month showed that agricultural producers in particular
35:38
grown more downbeat from hive to seventy five percent of December.
35:43
The percentage of those surveyed saying they think the country
35:46
is headed in the right direction fell to fifty two
35:48
percent in May. Farmers represent a key constituency in states
35:53
that couldn't decide control of the US Senate, including Iowa, Texas, Ohio, Michigan,
35:59
as well as North Carolina. The President's signing Wednesday of
36:03
an agreement extends the ceasefire with Iran sixty days follows
36:08
a link the interruption to shipping through the Strait of
36:10
Horn Moves, which curtailed exports for three of the world's
36:13
top ten producers of uhea and anhydrous ammonium fertilizer, Saudi Arabia,
36:20
Cutter and Iran. We're not going to solve that just
36:24
because we opened the strait. There's still a very big
36:27
wounds going to take time to heal, said Josh Lynnville,
36:30
vice president of financial services firm stone X, who expects
36:35
prices to remain higher than usual through next spring. On Saturday,
36:40
conditions in the Strait Field remain fluid. Iranian's authorities declared
36:46
the channel once again closed in response to Israeli attacks
36:49
and Lebanon. They're scoring the fragility of the agreement signed
36:53
last week. US Central Command, though denied there was a
36:57
closure and said the shipping had increased, with fifty five
37:01
merchant ships and seventeen million gallons of oil reaching global markets.
37:06
US are on Peace talks are planned for Sunday in Switzerland, about.
37:10
Speaker 2: An hour's drive east of Raleigh.
37:12
Speaker 1: Tyson raises soybeans, cotton, sweet potatoes, tobacca, corn, and sunflowers.
37:18
He runs the operation from a small white house adjacent to.
37:21
Speaker 2: A two lane road.
37:23
Speaker 1: Several buildings and grain silos dot the property. With shoulder links,
37:28
brown hair, and a full beard. The Iceon is profoundly
37:31
disillusioned by Washington. Well funded business lobbyists and entrenched government
37:37
bureaucrats thwart the will of the people, necessitating a disruptive
37:42
figure like Trump.
37:43
Speaker 2: He said.
37:45
Speaker 1: I was involved with the American Soybean Association for sixteen years.
37:50
I thought I could make a difference.
37:51
Speaker 2: He said.
37:52
Speaker 1: I spent a lot of time in Washington and realized
37:57
that it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what you say
38:00
out here, what you do out here. Tyson remained supportive
38:04
of pumps Trump's Drained the Swamp brio the only objects
38:08
to the double whammy of import tariffs and income taxes.
38:12
Farmers have been among the biggest losers in the president's
38:15
trade wars. After China responded to Trump's first term tariffs
38:19
by purchasing soybeans from Brazil rather than the US, he
38:24
gave farmers twenty three billion dollars to offset lost export
38:27
sales last year. His April decision to raise US tariffs
38:32
to their highest mark since the nineteen thirties caused China
38:36
to again retaliate by halting purchases of American soybeans. Annual
38:42
sales slumped to just three billion dollars from a twenty
38:46
twenty two peak of nearly eighteen billion. Trump's tariffs on
38:51
steel and aluminum also translated into higher prices for tractors, combines,
38:55
and harvesters, as well as replacement parts. Separate levy the
39:00
first imposed in twenty twenty on phosphate fertilizer from Morocco,
39:04
were another irritant. Under pressure from larger harvests in South America,
39:10
soybean prices are down by roughly one third from their
39:13
twenty twenty two levels. The combination of higher input costs
39:18
and lower sale prices leave many soybean farmers needing to
39:22
borrow money for loans. In excess of one hundred thousand dollars,
39:26
farmers face interest rates of nearly seven percent, more than
39:30
twice the figure from four years ago. According to data
39:33
from the Federal Reserve Bank in Kansas City. The returns
39:37
for farmers have been really tough on the soybean side
39:40
of the past few years. They just generally haven't been
39:43
making much money since Scott Glert, chief economists for the
39:46
American Soybean Association. Earlier this month, the administration reduced tariffs
39:52
on agricultural equipment made of the steel or aluminum, such
39:56
as harvesters and combines, to fifteen percent from twenty five.
40:00
The President also sought to reassure farmers by staging a
40:04
White House e n in March, where he promised easier
40:07
environmental regulations and small business loan guarantees. By then twelve
40:13
billion dollars in farm aide designed to counter what the
40:15
administration called four years of disastrous Biden administration policies and
40:21
other nations unfair trade practices was landing in farmers bank accounts.
40:26
We're going to prove that the golden age of American
40:29
agriculture is right here and right now, Trump said. With
40:32
most consequential move came last fall, when Trump and Chinese
40:37
President Xijin Ping reached truce in the trade war. In
40:41
return for lower US tariffs, z agreed to resume purchases
40:46
of American soybeans. Almost one hundred miles west of Tyson's farm,
40:51
Michael McPherson stood in a wheat field where his son
40:54
in law and grandson bailed straw. This plot sits among
40:58
one thousand acres of soybean, corn, cattle, and hey, and
41:02
he says his family cultivate. McPherson, who is fifty seven,
41:07
was another casualty of finance on the Ira Iranian War.
41:12
The price of diesel, which powers tractors, jumped nearly fifty
41:16
percent in the weeks before his scheduled April first corn
41:19
planting Fertilizer costs rose as well. He waited a few days,
41:25
hoping the market would reset. Crops are not patient. Eventually
41:29
he had to swallow the ector expense. Been a tough year,
41:34
tough season so far. Among everything else that's going on,
41:38
we're in the worst drout we've ever had this time
41:41
of year. It's really putting us in a bind right now.
41:45
None of our crops or where there's supposed to be
41:47
this time of the year, said McPherson. Expects to realize
41:50
about half of his usual harvests from the field. No
41:54
reluctant to talk politics, he applauded the Trump administration's efforts
41:59
to secure better trade terms for US farmers, even as
42:02
he voices frustration with the Iran war. Before attacking, he
42:07
said the administration should have stockpile fertilizer spare farmers crippling
42:12
price increases. Instead, the war's costs of eroded profits and
42:16
forced him to tap his financial reserves. I don't want
42:21
to say where at crisis levels yet, Something's got to change,
42:24
he said. Gary Hendricks, working with his wife and two sons,
42:30
tills seven thousand acres of corn, cotton, soybeans, peanuts, and
42:34
wheat and Rayford, about one hundred miles east to Charlotte.
42:38
He failed to turn a profit last year and continues
42:41
to operate in the red. Production costs including seed and
42:45
fertilizer up about twenty percent, or one hundred dollars an
42:47
acre compared with the last year. His last tank of
42:51
diesel cost thirty two thousand dollars versus roughly nineteen thousand
42:57
in December. The Iran war's end would mean less expensive fertilizer,
43:02
but Hendrix worries that a small number of suppliers would
43:06
use their market power to keep prices high. One of
43:09
his biggest complaints is the agribusiness consolidation in recent years.
43:15
It doesn't matter whether I'm buying or selling. If I'm
43:18
trying to buy a tractor, if I'm trying to sell
43:20
a load of soybeans, you know I don't have many
43:22
places to go.
43:23
Speaker 2: He said.
43:25
Speaker 1: They can reserve a four seat table in any restaurant,
43:28
decide what my profit margin is going to be. Two
43:31
companies Companies Nutrient and Mosaic, account for at least eighty
43:35
six percent of the phosphate and potash fertilizer market. In March,
43:40
Bloomberg News reported that the Justice Department was investigating a
43:44
nutrient Mosaic and three other producers for potential antitrust violations.
43:50
The Federal Trade Commission last month said it had launched
43:53
a related probe. In a statement, Mosaic said fertilizer prices
43:59
are earned by a wide range of well documented market factors,
44:03
not individual companies, and Nutrient did not respond to a
44:07
request for comment. Hendrix, a registered independent, said he voted
44:12
for Trump in twenty twenty four. He's undecided about which
44:16
party he'll back in November's congressional elections, but as the
44:20
midterms drawn here, he sounds lukewarm on the president. He's
44:25
done some things that have been really a benefit to
44:28
ag Hendrick said, and he's tried some things the other
44:32
things that haven't quite worked. The next story. A pro
44:37
Trump wave has swept Latin America. Columbia appears to be next.
44:43
In one Latin American election after another, President Trump has
44:47
gotten exactly what he wanted. Right Wing pro Trump candidates
44:51
have defeated leftists across the region as the Trump administration
44:55
has pursued the most aggressive US intervention in Central and
44:58
South America. In Deca and on Sunday night, a Trump
45:03
endorsed outside Or appeared headed for a victory in Colombia's
45:06
presidential election. Alberado de la Espirella, a far right firebrand,
45:13
one at least forty nine point six percent of the vote,
45:15
according to an initial count meeting leftist Vonne Sippetta by
45:19
less than a percentage point. Colombian President Gustavo Petro A
45:24
Sepeda ally is not recognized a winner, said a formal
45:28
ballot view review process would determine the final results. If
45:32
the results hold, the Elias Sperella could be an ideal partner
45:37
and Trump's lethal war against alleged drug traffickers on land
45:40
and at sea. An ostentatious criminal defense lawyer was never
45:44
held public office, the Elias Sperella forty seven, calls himself
45:49
z It Tiger. He is vowed to build mega prisons
45:53
for drug traffickers, to bomb narcotics terrorist camps, and abandoned
45:58
Petro's efforts to broke her peace with Columbia's long standing Gorillas.
46:03
Like other tough on crime candidates, swept elections in recent
46:06
years in the region, Delaspirella has touted a playbook similar
46:11
to that of El Salvador strongman Naib Burkele's cracked down
46:16
on gangs has put more than eighty five thousand people
46:18
in prison, many of them without access to a proper trial.
46:24
Those who should be worried, afraid, even terrified by the
46:28
arrival of our government are the bandits and the criminals,
46:31
Elasparella said Wednesday in an interview with Colombia's Caracol radio station.
46:37
The rise of the right in some cases with boost
46:40
from Trump. It's a sharp swing from four years ago
46:43
when the left notched historic wins. In Argentina, president Javier Milay,
46:50
a populous Trump ally expanded his power in Congress last
46:54
fall after Trump offered the country a forty billion dollar
46:57
bailout conditioned on his party's win. In Honduras, a conservative
47:03
mayor was elected president after Trump endorsed him and threatened
47:07
to cut aid to the country off if he lost.
47:10
Trump trump friendly right leaning candidates have also defeated leftists
47:16
in Costa Rica, Chile, Bolivia, and Ecuador. The conservative Kiko
47:22
Fujimori is on track to win Peru's presidential election this week,
47:27
and Brazil's Flavio Bolsonao, son of the convicted former president
47:32
hair Boslonnaro, is challenging President Luis in Nanakio Lula de
47:37
la Silva in presidential elections this October. In Colombia, the
47:43
world's largest producer of coco. Trump has repeatedly classed with Petro,
47:49
the country's first leftist president, has been deeply critical of
47:53
the deadly US boat strikes in Latin America and has
47:56
accused Trump of meddling in Colombia's election. In return, has
48:01
called Petro a lunatic. Early this month, the Trump administration
48:06
halted a meeting it was planned between Petro and New
48:08
York Mayor Zoran Mandami, a fellow Democrats socialist. In endorsing
48:15
the Dila Esperrella, Trump described himself as being smart, strong,
48:20
and a tough leader, called his competitor Petro ally Senator
48:24
Evon Sepeda, a radical left Marxist. The results of this
48:31
election are very important to the future of Columbia and
48:33
its relationship with the United States, which, if Alberido wins,
48:37
because of his competence and love of his country, will
48:41
have a total support and strength of the United States
48:44
behind him, Trump wrote. Roger Stone, a Trump ally who
48:48
has lobbied the White House in favor of a right
48:50
wing politicians in Latin America, posted on x that Dila
48:55
Sperrella has my full support to enact the populous revolution.
49:00
A letter signed by eleven Democratic members of the US
49:03
Congress on Wednesday criticized the brazen interference by Trump another
49:07
senior US officials and endorsing a candidate with a profoundly
49:11
troubling record that appears to run counter to US interests
49:15
and potentially to US laws. The letter said Esperella has
49:20
praised the paramilitary leaders accused him of having pocketed funds
49:24
allegedly intended to be used for bribing key judicial actors.
49:29
Petro last week condemned the Trump administration for detaining a
49:33
pro Petro Columbian activist in the US, calling him a
49:37
political prisoner. He's also accused Esperella, a US citizen, of
49:43
playing a role in suggesting his detention. Elasperella has been
49:48
criticized for his abrasive, at times offensive remarks and as
49:53
a lawyer for defending controversial clients including Alex Sabba now
49:58
I have Venze Whale and strong Man Niko Maduro, who,
50:01
like Maduro, is being held in the United States. But
50:05
it's his Trumpian style straight talk that has drawn many
50:07
of his supporters around the world. Politics are being done
50:11
in new ways At Marrusio, Rihanna an analyst with the
50:14
Colombian think tank Federal Solo. That's what Albivrado has managed
50:19
to capitalize on, show the emotion, simple ideas and a
50:23
short attention span. Braggadocia is part of his brand, which
50:28
doubles as a business venture. Delas Parella has a clothing
50:31
and lifestyles brand, selling ram wine, suit jackets and other
50:34
men's wear, which is promoted as masculine style for extraordinary men.
50:40
The business also sells books by Dilasparella, including one called
50:44
Murderous Souls, and a bust of a tiger painted with
50:47
the Colombian flag listed for more than one thousand dollars.
50:51
His campaigned as an outsider, his populist message has set
50:55
him apart from the traditional conservative party of former President
50:58
alverdro Ui bee Belz, a towering figure long seen as
51:03
the most important political force in the country. Uribe and
51:06
his allies, however, appear to be losing popularity with the
51:10
younger generations not old enough to remember his leadership or
51:13
disillusioned by allegations of corruption. Maria Fernando Cabao, a right
51:19
wing former Colombian senator who in January announced her departure
51:23
from the Uribe back Democratic Center party, said the right
51:26
wing establishment shifted too close to the center in this election,
51:30
leaving a large swath of supporters in the dust and
51:33
open to backing d Espirella. He doesn't come already contaminated
51:38
by the political class or traditional politics, Cabal said. He's
51:41
someone invents himself and reinvents himself. His rival Sapada, the
51:47
sixty three year old senator whose father was killed by
51:49
a state backed arm group, played national prominence in part
51:53
by exposing ties between these parliament paramilitaries and Colombian politicians
52:00
to continue Petro's peace negotiations with armed groups. Sergio Guzman,
52:06
director of Colombia's Risk Analysis in Bogatah, said the high
52:10
levels of support for de la Espirella are a rejection
52:14
a Petro's government and reflect disminishing trust in the twenty
52:18
sixteen piece of cords. You can go to a store
52:21
to buy groceries if you know you'll be robbed of
52:24
half of it, or if you go to another town
52:26
and they detainer kidnap you, said Wardo Torres, a retired
52:30
military sergeant who gathered with Dilaspirella supporters in the central
52:34
Bogata Plaza on a recent Sunday afternoon. Without safety, you've
52:39
got nothing, and only our military and police can offer
52:42
that security. With Dila Aspirella as president, the handling of
52:48
Colombia's decades long armed conflict could change dramatically, said Tizanio Brida,
52:54
a senior analyst for the Global Conflict Monitor ac LED.
52:59
Speaker 2: Rather than focus.
53:00
Speaker 1: Negotiations, Petro has done, Esperella appears to have a more
53:04
muscular response to the illegal arms groups breed a SID,
53:08
which may open the door to potential abuses of power.
53:12
The discourse is really to mimic what the US is
53:15
doing in the Caribbean breed a SID referring to the
53:18
US strikes against alleged drug boats that have killed more
53:21
than two hundred people. In essence, shoot first, investigate later.
53:27
In our last story, today socialism is back in vogue.
53:30
Ah wait for reality to sit in. It has never
53:35
been a better time in America to be a socialist.
53:37
We aging gen xers who thought that socialism had been
53:40
decisively refuted by the fall of the Berlin Wall, had
53:43
been refuted ourselves. Democratic socialists now run Seattle and New
53:48
York City, and come January probably DC two with Jennie
53:52
Lewis George won the Democratic primary that generally decides the
53:56
district's mayor or elections. It's a heady moment for the
54:00
because Socialism's faint, tainted brand has recovered from its vivid
54:04
failures of the Soviet Union. Fully sixty six percent of
54:08
Democrats tell Gallop they view socialism favorably, while forty two
54:13
say the same capitalism. This makes the left see a
54:16
revolution marching toward victory because it can promise something that
54:20
the left center cannot, a disruptive break with an unsatisfying
54:25
status quo. The challenge is that Socialism's rise is spiky,
54:31
concentrated in blue cities were affluent but often downwardly mobile
54:35
college graduates cluster. That's a problem for the Democratic Party,
54:40
where the excesses of progressive governance are helping make the
54:43
party's brand toxic and less blue areas. But it's also
54:47
a challenge for the socialists because cities are the hardest
54:50
place to execute big plans are new taxing and spending.
54:56
That reality was less evident during the last decades urban
54:58
boom city call overflowed and services became easier to fund
55:03
as the young, affluent residents displaced, older and needier residents.
55:07
That boom is weakened, especially in DC, where the population
55:12
remains below its pre pandemic peak. Without the exuberant demand
55:16
from an oversized millennial generation, mayors are rediscovering the hard
55:20
reality of urban governance. It's much easier to leave a
55:24
city than it is to leave a state or a country,
55:27
so the tax base is more constrained and the scope
55:31
for punitive business regulations is much smaller. That's always been true,
55:36
but it's even more so in the area of remote work,
55:40
because proximity to a downtown office is no longer as
55:43
valuable as it was before we could zoom into meetings.
55:46
Even if the traditional downtown office culture hadn't changed, socialist
55:50
mayors would find it challenging to deliver truly disruptive change.
55:56
Last time socialists who were force in American politics was
55:59
a sage here we go, when government was tiny and
56:03
practically virgin tax base was ripe for the plucking. One
56:06
hundred years later, the government already does a lot, funded
56:10
with progressive tax structures that place as much of the
56:13
burden on the higher income taxpayers the socialists want to
56:17
tap to pay for their programs. Those services are often
56:21
absurdly expensive for what they deliver. American infrastructure costs, for example,
56:27
are a scandal, but every excessive cost to someone else's income,
56:32
and that's someone will fight like a cornered tiger if
56:35
you try to reduce their income by one thin dime.
56:39
This eats up fiscal capacity that might otherwise be used
56:42
to fund new services. New York, DC, Seattle, and Chicago
56:48
are wrestling with major structural budget gaps. The progressivity of
56:54
the tax code also complicates things on the revenue side.
56:58
Socialists may wax lyric about a Nordic style warfoll state,
57:02
but those states are paid for by heavily taxing the
57:05
middle class, an idea that it's unlikely to gain much
57:10
purchase with the educated base of democratic socialists in America.
57:14
Today's college educated elite is voting for more public services,
57:17
not less disposable income. Unfortunately, New York City always gets
57:23
roughly a third of its income tax from revenue from
57:26
millionaire filers. Face combined state, local, and federal marginal personal
57:31
income tax rate that can exceed fifty percent. DC also
57:37
has one of the highest combined marginal tax rates in
57:39
the country, at roughly forty eight percent. There is probably
57:43
some additional tax capacity there. How much is an opening question.
57:47
Given how easy it is to move socialist mayors get
57:51
it wrong, The first warning sign will be falling revenue.
57:55
Nor is there much likelihood of new federal funds, given
57:59
that the national debt sits around one hundred percent of
58:02
gross domestic product and Republican president sets in the White House.
58:07
New York Mayor Zora and Mamdani, Seattle Mayor Katy B.
58:11
Wilson and George Lewis are already struggling with these issues.
58:16
Mamdami has scaled back his ambitions in the fence in
58:19
the face of a five point four billion dollar deficit
58:23
it was only closed with substantial state aid, while Wilson
58:26
is pondering layoffs to patch her own budget hole. The
58:29
DC Council, where George Lewis sits, is wrestling with a
58:33
one point one billion dollar gap that will make it
58:36
tricky to deliver on her big promises such as expensive
58:40
child care subsidy. Ironically, these dismal feat fiscal realties are
58:46
part of what's boosting socialist fortunes. The parloss state of
58:49
federal finance reduces the scope for bold new national agenda
58:53
may also be contributing to higher interest rates and inflation.
58:57
It's an opportunity for socialist politician, but the reality for
59:03
those politicians is that once in office, they will find
59:06
it difficult to maintain the status quo, much less improve
59:10
on it and the way their supporters expect. And this
59:14
concludes the reading of the Washington Post for today, Monday,
59:17
June twenty second. Your reader has been Rod Brotherton. Do
59:20
you have any questions, comments, or suggestions concerning the program,
59:23
Please feel free to call Radio I at eight five
59:26
nine four two two sixty three ninety. Thank you as
59:29
always for listening, and now please stay tuned for continued
59:32
programming right here on RADIOI.