Transcript

4.24.25 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of the Washington Post. Today is Thursday,
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the twenty fourth of April of twenty twenty five, and
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your reader is Alice Stainer, with reminder that RADIOI is
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service for those blind or have other difficulties in meeting
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and holding printed material. I will start with the front
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page of Today's Washington Post. It is top left, Zelensky
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defiant as US twists his arm. Whitehouse threatens to walk
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away if he refuses to agree to concessions. By Chauvin Grady,
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Steve Hendrix and Adam Taylor at the keev Then there
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is a picture of a man just crossing over a
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small stream in what looks like the wilderness, and it
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is entitled We're just hearing nothing. La usually brims with wildlife,
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but January spires upended their natural habitats by the vault
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out of the Santa Monica Mountains in California. To the right,
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Trump softens tone on tariffs. He predicts making a deal
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with China, but levees will not be cut soon, white
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House says. By David Lynch. On the left, below the
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Zelenski article, Durban won't run opening a top spot for
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Democrats by the Doric Maya and Hammock Knowles. To the
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right of that, underneath the picture of Los Angeles heat
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is bleaching world's coral reefs at record scale, the Leos
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Sands and amnudalt ajahz Asaja Asasha. And then below that
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is a picture of a woman fainting in a mob
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area with people hats on and she is a family
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member that is overcome by grief during Wednesday during the
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funeral procession of an Indian man gunned down Tuesday when
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militants launched an ambush in Indian controlled Cashmir, a fragile
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ceasefire between India and Pakistan, both of which claimed the
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region and administers separate parts of it, is at risk
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after the indiscriminate attack on a crowd of mostly tourists,
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the deadliest on civilians in India in more than a decade.
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It's entitled risky Crossroad for nuclear armed foes. And then
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to the right underneath the article on tariffs, heg Seth
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had signal app installed on office desktop by Dan lamonth
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White House eases tone on tariffs, but China won't be
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cutting them soon. Easing tone on tariffs on China, but
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won't be cutting them soon. It says financial markets were
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up Wednesday, and there's a picture looking through a door
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of Treasury Secretary Scott Viscent, who said trade talks between
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US and Chinese diplomats have not begun. By David Lynch.
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President Donald Trump's stung by mounting backlies to his historic
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tariff plans, signaled on Wednesday that he is aiming for
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an end in the most intense period of global trade
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conflict in several decades. The President talked for weeks about
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the need for Americans to endure short term pain before
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enjoying his promised golden age of manufacturing heavy prosperity. But
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with financial markets rocking and business leaders warning of products shortages,
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Trump now is highlighting his expectations for reaching a fair
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deal with China, and his aides are toting prospects for
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other early agreements. Coupled with conciliatory remarks about Federal Reserve
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Chair Jerome H. Powell, Trump's upbeat trade talk was enough
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to spur a Wall Street rally. Secret Treasury Secretary Scott
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Vissent's public endorsement of continued US role in the International
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Monetary Fund and World Bank through conditioned on institutional changes
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added to the improved mood on Wall Street. Investors welcomed
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the apparent change of heart, sending the Standard and Poor
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five hundred index up nearly three point five percent in
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early treating wrote for it closed with a one point
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seven percent gain. So far this year, stocks are down
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more than eight percent, as Trump's promised revolution in global
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economics as clouded estimates of future earnings. This change of
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plan is good for him and good for the country.
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It was headed in a bad direction, said Timothy Keeler,
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co leader of the trade practice for the law firm
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Maya Brown. Meeting with reporters, the Cents said negotiations with
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India were moving quickly, with the two sides very close
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to an agreement. He also lowered the bar for success,
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noting that any early accord would not be equivalent to
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a traditional trade deal. United States Mexico Canada agreement signed
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during Trump's first term, for example, extends for hundreds of pages.
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A satisfactory arrangement does not necessarily mean the actual trade document.
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It means that we have reached agreement in principle, and
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then we will start implementing those Percent said, even as
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the president and his team accentuate the positive The highest
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tariffs in more than a century way on the economic outlook.
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On Tuesday, the IMF couttage estimate for global growth to
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two point eight percent this year, down half a percentage
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point from its January forecast. Trump's extensive tariffs and pervasive
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uncertainty around his policymaking were responsible for a significant downturn
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slow down fund economists said. Cent said Wednesday that Trump
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will not reduce tariffs on China without an agreement of
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both governments to de escalate their trade conflict, which is
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those global markets by all but severing the flow of
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goods between the world's two largest economies. Vacent, who said
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he is engaged in trade negotiations with more than a
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dozen nations, said talks between US and Chinese diplomats have
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not begun, but speaking at the White House, the President
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said he is actively talking to Chinese officials and predicted
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that two sides were a reaching agreement on a fair deal.
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The White House responded to her request for terrification by
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saying it maintained routine contacts with other governments on trade
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and tariffs, but the comments added to a clear softening
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in the administration's trade war messaging after several weeks of
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financial market volatility treated by investor concern about the President's plans.
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I don't think either side believes that the current CAF
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levels are sustainable. I would not be surprised if they
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went down in a mutual way, the scent said. Wall
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Street's two day rally followed a similar comforting remarks by
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the President and his team on Tuesday as markets oscillated.
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Especially notable was the president's insistence that he had no
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plans to fire Pal, the FED chief, despite criticizing him
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as a major loser in saying his termination cannot come
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fast enough. The sense endorsement of a continued US role
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in the IMF and World Bank after months of uncertainty,
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also reassured global policymakers that the administration's America First credo
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would not become a retreat into isolation music. The Wall
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Street Journal reported Wednesday that the administration is considering reducing
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US tariffs on Chinese goods by up to half of
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their current one hundred and forty five percent level. The
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stratospheric tariffs both sides now maintain on the other's products,
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effectively mounted to a trade embargo. Bescent said he spoke
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with reporters after giving an address to an Institute of
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International Finance conference in Washington. Over the past three months,
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the president has raised the average US tariff rate to
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its highest mark since nineteen oh nine, aiming to remake
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the global economy by boosting domestic production at the expense
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of foreign products. He has imposed a ten percent tax
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on almost all of the three point three trillion in
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merchandise that the United States imports each year, and he
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has drawn up plans for steep tariffs of up to
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fifty percent on goods from dozens of other countries aimed
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at narrowing the one point two triadian dollar US trade deficit.
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He suspended those higher levees to allow negotiators ninety days
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to work out new arrangements with US trading partners. On
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wassty he repeated his frequent claim that the United States
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will be making money by imposing tariffs, although they are
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at taxes paid by American importers. We are no longer
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going to be the country that's ripped off by every
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country in the world, he said. Yet, Trump in recent
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days has received his dream of top business executives at
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the White House, including many who have cautioned him about
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damaging the economy he is trying to rebuild. On Monday,
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representatives of Walmart, Target, and Home Depot warned the President
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of looming supply chain disruptions and empty shelves as trade
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with China slows to a trickle. Axias reported. Makers a
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footwear and apparel who are particularly dependent upon Chinese suppliers,
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are also send in the alarm about the tariff's impact.
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Because we get such a large portion of apparel and
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footwear from China, and because their effective date gave companies
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little opportunity to shift sourcing. These new tariff rates will
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translate soon into product shortages as orders are canceled or
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goods are held in warehouses until a trade deal can
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be worked out, said Stephen Lamar, president of the American
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Apparel and Footwear Association. Importers all year have rushed to
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bring goods into American ports to beat Trump's tariffs, but
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with taxes soaring on Chinese products, it's now too late
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to add inventory, and container ships are beginning to skip
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port calls. According to the National Retail Federation August, the
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number of shipping containers landing on US shores is expected
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to be down by roughly twenty seven percent from the
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same month in twenty twenty four.
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Speaker 2: The industry group said.
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Speaker 1: The potential impacts could include less inventory and fewer choices
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for consumers, as well as increased prices, especially at small retailers,
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said John Gold, vice president of the National Retail Federation.
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Last week, from the three largest German automakers spoke with
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the president, he's constantly soliciting views. Vescent said the administration's
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messaging shift follows escalating warnings about the outlook for the
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thirty trillion dollar US economy. On Tuesday, economists from Gold
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and Sachs said they expect both to deteriorate over the
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rest of this year as tariffs take hold. By late fall,
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the economy will be nearly dead in the water, expanding
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at an annual rate of just zero point zero five percent.
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They said. Business spending on new plants and equipments was
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doctor shreet before the end of June, the consumers will
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put back within two to three months.
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Speaker 2: They said.
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Speaker 1: Heg Seth had signal messaging app installed on an office computer.
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The move was intended to circumvent a lack of cell
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phone service in much of the Pentagon and enable easier
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communication with other Trump officials, said people familiar with the matter.
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There's a picture of Hegseth Defense Secretary mingling with military
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leaders and other officials during a White House ceremony April
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the fifteenth by Dan Lamouth. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. It
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directed the installation of Signal, a commercially available messaging app,
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on a desktop computer in his Pentagon office, said three
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people familiar with the matter, illustrating the extent to which
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he is integrated use of the unclassified communications platform at
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the center of his political troubles with the highly secure
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systems US government relies on to says hafeguard military plans
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and other sensitive information. In doing so, hag Seth effectively
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cloned the Signal app on his personal cell phone, these
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people said, speaking of the condition of anonymity to discuss
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an issue that has handed the Trump administration for weeks.
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The move followed a discussion among Hegseth and his aides
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about how they would circumvent the lack of cell phone
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service in much of the Pentagon and more quickly coordinate
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with the White House and other top Trump officials using
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the encrypted app. They added, heg Seth's decision earlier this
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year to install signal on his desktop computer in the
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Pentagon was a workaround that enabled him to use signal
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in a classified space where his cell phone and other
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personal electronics are not permitted, and communicate with ease with
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anyone of the government officials or his family who was
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outside of the imposing military headquarters. Other aids, including Joe Casper,
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Hegseth's chief of staff at the time, also voiced interest
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in music signal on Kentagon computers, but it is unclear
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how widely the apps use proliferated, said those familiar with
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the matter. It is also unclear that the Hegseth and
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his team of political advisors as it he a US
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law that would require them to preserve such messages. Sean Pronell,
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a spokesman for Hegseth, said in his statement that the
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Defense Secretary's use of communications systems and channels is classified,
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but that his office can confirm Hegseth has never used
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and currently does not currently use signal on his government computer.
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Two of the people familiar with heg Seth's work habits
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said he had signal installed on a second computer in
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his office. He also had interest in the installation of
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a program to send conventional text messages from the office.
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They added heg sas use of signal has become a
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growing crisis for the Pentagon after revelation is that the
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Defense Secretary last month used it to share sensitive details
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about a forthcoming military operation in Yemit. He did so
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in one signal group that was set up by the
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White House National Security Advisor Michael Walls, and in a
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small one that excess himself established for himself, his wife,
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his brother and personal lawyer, and several aids. Signal was
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first approved for limited use within the US governed by
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the Biden administration in twenty twenty three. A classified information
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and other highly sensitive material is not supposed to be
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shared there. The Trump administration has defended its usage of
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Signal to conduct official business, with suddenly to suggest that
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the app is now commonplace within the government. Last month,
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CIA Director John Ratcliffe total lawmakers doing a Senate Intelligence
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Committee hearing that the app has installed them some of
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his agency's computers. The usage is less common though in
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the Pentagon, where few were away. Hegseth had the program
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installed on an office computer, said those familiar with the matter.
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Signal Gate, as it's come to be known, erupted last
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month when The Atlantic magazine reported that Waltz arrantly included
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its top editor in the Signal Group to coordinate the
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administration's assault on Orind backed militants and Yemen. That chat
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included nearly twenty senior administration's officials, including Waltz, Hegseth, Ratcliffe,
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Vice President J. D. Bans, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
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The senior officials deliberated on administration policy and having earned
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Trumpet approval to conduct the operation. Hegseth divulged when the
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strikes would occur, what types of aircraft and weapons would
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be employed, and critically, the specific times US service members
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would be in harm's way. Foreman Defense officials have said
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that such information would almost certainly have been classified, undercutting
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heg Seth's claims to the contrary as emitted an increasing
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a combative campaign to stave off the Marning scrutiny and
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remain in Trumpscot graces in the aftermath. Top Republican and
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Democrat on the Senate Services Community Committee, Senators Roger Wicker,
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Republican Mississippi, and Jack Reid, Democratic Rhode Island, requested the
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Defense Department Inspector General review of Hegseth's use of signal.
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The Inspector General's office agreed this month to take up
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the case. On Sunday, New York Times report that Hegseth
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also shared similar details about the human operation in another
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signal group that included his wife Jennifer, his brother Phil,
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and his personal lawyer, Tim purlottor Jennifer Heseth has no
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relevant role in the Defense Department, while Phil Hegseth serves
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in the Pentagon as a Department of holand Security appointee. Paulator,
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a military defense attorney, recently joined the Navy with an
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assignment rejoined the Navy with an assignment to improve military
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justice issues. The scrutiny facing Hegseth has incided with infighting
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at the Pentagon. It's filled into the open last week,
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raising new questions about heg Seth's ability to manage the
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largest federal agency despite no previous executive experience in government.
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Numerous Democrats and at least one Republican a call for
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his resignation, and even some of Hegseeth's advocates have begun
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to wander how long he will keep his job. Last week,
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Hegseth fired three senior aids and has accused him of
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leaking sensitive information. Dan Caldwell, Colin Carroll, and Darren Seleti.
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Caldwell was a senior advisor to Hegsath, while Cara was
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the chief of staff to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg,
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and Slinnick was Hegseth's deputy chief of staff. The three
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FOMA aides said in a joint statement on Saturday that
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they were being slandered, a remarkable twist considering Hegseth, Caldwell,
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and Clinic were associates for years. Casper also is departing
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from his role, heg Seth acknowledged Tuesday in an interview
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on Fox News. The Pentagon has not said who will
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serve as chief of staff instead. Meg Seth has voiced
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anger and defensiveness, criticizing Caldwell, Carolyn Slinick, along with the
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news media for scrutinizing the Secretary's judgment. Speaking to Fox
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News on Tuesday, he suggested that those very same people
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keep leaking to the very same reporters to sabotage the agenda.
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If Trump and Hegseth seek to advance. Trump has defended Hegseth,
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saying this week that the former Fox News personality is
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doing a great job, but others with credibility within the
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department Defense Department continue to raise concerns about heg Seth.
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Admiral William mcgraven, the retired Navy seal officer who oversaw
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the raid that killed al Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden,
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said Tuesday and is seeing an interview that Hegseth's team
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is not handled the controversy well and clearly the information
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broadcast on signalslassified. Mcgraven urged tech Seth to accept responsibility
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for his mistakes and to lean more heavily on military
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officers and other defense officials who are trustworthy really to
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telling things he does not want to heal. You have
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to have a little swagger, and you have to have
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a little confidence, but once again, you better have a
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little humility going into a job like this, because if
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you don't, it's going to humble you pretty quickly, mcgravey said.
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Ukraine defiant on US Prussia, as Trump accuses Zelensky of boasting,
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Ukraine is insisting on a full ceasefire in order to
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negotiate with Russia. As US officials hoping for a quick
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solution backed out of London talks, Vy Sjobin, O'Grady, Steve Hendrix,
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and Adam Taylor ediv Kiev President Donald Trump and Vice
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President J. D.
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Speaker 2: Bans insisted Wensday.
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Speaker 1: That Ukraine needed to make concessions to ensure peace, prompting
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Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to push back and demand that
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Russia must accept a full ceasefire before negotiations. Trump accused
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Zolensky on Wensday of boasting after the Ukrainian leader told
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reporters the day before that Kivol never recognized Crimea as
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Russian territory. He can have peace, or he can fight
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for another three years before losing the whole country. Trump
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wrote on truth Social we are very close to a deal,
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but the man with no cards to play could now
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finally get it done. Trump's post came shortly after Bants
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warned that the United States or the White House could
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walk away from its own peace deal if progress is
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not made soon. Zelensky responded in the late evening message
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that there were many emotions throughout the day, but said
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that Ukraine was grateful for its partners. The Ukrainian leader
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added that he hoped the United States would comply with
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its past decisions, sharing a link to the declaration made
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by the first Trump administration that refused to recognize Russia's
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sovereignty of Crimea. The twenty eighteen declaration, made by then
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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called the Crimean penensula a
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territory seved spot force in the contravention of international law.
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US officials presented a proposal last week that apparently included
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leaving Russia with twenty percent of the Ukrainian land that
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now occupies oh also deny in Ukraine NATO membership and
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security grantees. Washington has also proposed US recognition of Russia's
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illegal annexation of Crimea, as well as the eventual lifting
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of sanctions on Moscow. Trump wrote Wednesday that, despite Zelenski's comments,
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Washington is not asking Ukraine to recognize Crimea as Russian
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Washington's growing rift with Kiev over its refusal to accept
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talk of territorial concessions without an initial trus truce played
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it publicly earlier Wednesday, as European officials said to meet.
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A high level Ukraine delegation in London had to downgrade
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the talks after top US officials abruptly canceled plans to attend.
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After his delegation arrived in London, Zelensky doubled down on
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the need for a full ceasefire, pointing to a Russian
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drone attack that struck a bus of factory workers in
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the countries the prose Petsuovik's region, killing nine people and
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wounding dozens of others. Zelensky and Unstone Wednesday, we in
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Ukraine insist on an immediate, full and unconditional ceasefile. We
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are also ready for an immediate ceasefire, at least for
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Savilian targets, and have already stated this. This should be
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as shared first priority with all partners saving lives. His
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comments demonstrated going willingness in Keev to push back on
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US pressure for a deal at any cost, especially after
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months of anxiety in Ukraine after Trump Advance's dressing down
26:02
of Zelensky in the Oval Office spurred great military aid
26:06
and intelligence cuts. Talk of an immediate ceasefire has ramped
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up after several major Russian attacks on civilians, including one
26:15
that hit a playground, another that struck civilians on Palm Sunday.
26:21
Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Zerodenko, who has been overseeing the
26:26
minerals deal with Trump is seeking to ink with Ukraine,
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also wrote an unwillingly strongly worded message on x on Wednesday,
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declaring that Ukraine is ready to negotiate, but not to surrender.
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There will be no agreement that hands Russia the stronger
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foundations it needs to be group in return with the
26:47
greater violence. A full cease fire on land, in the
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air and at sea is the necessary first step. If
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Russia opts for a limited pause, Ukraine will respond in kind.
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Vote She also wrote or said that Ukraine will never
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recognize Russia's occupation of Crimea and will require binding security
27:10
guarantees if NATO denies Ukraine membership. Lower level talks took
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place Wednesday in London, but the foreign minister level meeting
27:21
isn't happening, said the diplomat familiar with the talks, who
27:25
spoke on the condition of a nanimity to describe internal deliberations.
27:29
After Secretary of State Marco Rubio canceled and other following met,
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foreign ministers followed suit Ribyo had been scheduled to fly
27:39
to London on Tuesday night. Steve Whitkoff, a special envoy
27:43
in close allied Trumps who is central to White has
27:46
efforts to broker and into the Wall, also dropped a
27:50
Witkoff will travel to Moscow for meetings on Friday, according
27:53
to a person familiar with his schedule, who spoke on
27:56
the condition of an innunity to describe the envoys plans.
28:01
The State Department played down this significant of significance of
28:06
Rubio's last minute decision to skip the London meeting, made
28:09
just hours before he was scheduled to take off. Secretary
28:14
Rubio is a busy man. While the meetings in London
28:17
are still occurring, he will not be attending, but that
28:19
is not a statement regarding the meetings. It is a
28:22
statement about logistical issues in his schedule, State Department spokeswoman
28:27
Tammy Bruce said Tuesday. The meetings in London were attended
28:31
by retire Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg, Trump's special envoy for
28:36
the Ukrainian Wall. Kellogg wrote on social media that talks
28:40
had been positive and that it was time to move
28:45
forward on Trump's directive to end the war. Stop the killing,
28:50
achieve peace and put America first, Kellogg wrote. Vans, traveling
28:56
to India on Wednesday, repeated warnings that the US would
28:59
war walk away from its efforts to broke a peace
29:02
accord if Moscow.
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Speaker 2: And Kiev didn't reach an agreement soon.
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Speaker 1: We've issued a very explicit proposal to both the Russians
29:10
and the Ukrainians, and it's time for them to either
29:13
say yes or for the United States to walk away
29:16
from this process. We're going to see if the Europeans,
29:20
the Russians, and the Ukrainians are ultimately able to get
29:24
this thing over the finish line, Vance told reponers in
29:27
Ivra while visiting the taj Mahal. He said the proposal
29:32
would freeze the current battle lines where they are today,
29:35
while a long term diplomatic settlement was achieved. Both sides
29:39
would have to give up some territory they currently controlled.
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Speaker 2: Van said.
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Speaker 1: The Russians watching from the sidelines said the collapse of
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the London talk showed how far apart Ukrainian and American
29:50
officials remained on the basic contours of a police steal.
29:56
As far as we understand, it has not yet been
29:59
possible to reconcile positions on some issues, which is why
30:03
this meeting has not taken place yet, Kremlin's spokesman Dmitry
30:08
Peskov said Wednesday. He said, if we continue our contacts
30:13
with the Americans, we have no contacts with the Europeans.
30:17
We have no contacts with the Ukrainian Zetha, although President
30:21
Vldimir Putin remains open to such contacts in the interest
30:25
of reconciliation. Ukraine's ambassador to the Vatican, Andrew Yorosh, called
30:31
for high level talks to resume in Rome this weekend.
30:34
Wen Zolensky, Trump and other leaders are expected to attend
30:38
the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday, and a number
30:43
of meetings at various levels is entirely possible, Yurai said
30:47
during a television appearance in Ukraine. Ukraine's hopes for progress
30:52
on a viable ceasefire ahead of any concessions are grounded
30:56
in the unrelenting Russian attacks on the country. In addition
31:00
to the drone attack that killed the factory workers, Wednesday,
31:04
Russia attacked inner g infrastructure in Ukraine's Kirstien Reason region,
31:11
said the head of the region's military administration, Oli Zanster Prokouden.
31:17
He also called them local residents to limit their use
31:21
of electricity. As workers rushed to try to repair damage
31:25
from the strikes, the prospects of a ceasefire felt even
31:29
more distant early Thursday local time, as Russia launched a
31:34
large scale air attack on Kiev. Air raid science flared.
31:38
Then gunfire and explosions echoed throughout the city as troops
31:42
tried to shoot down missiles and drones overhead. Will's largest
31:48
leeching event on record has harmed eighty four percent of
31:52
coral reefs. Bleached coral dies when exposed to heat stress
31:57
for too long, threatening the bountiful marine ecosystem that depends
32:02
on it for survival. A Leo Sands and ammudalat A
32:07
Shajia coral reefs around the world losing their color at
32:11
an unprecedented scale as a result of rising sea temperatures,
32:16
Federal marine scientists announce this week with eighty four percent
32:20
of reefs exposed to bleaching levels of heat since twenty
32:24
twenty three, The massive blow to marine habitats reported by
32:28
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the highest share ever recorded,
32:35
comes as the planet experiences its fourth global coral bleaching event,
32:40
which occurs when bleaching is confirmed in all the ocean
32:44
spasins at once. It raises new concerns about the precarious
32:49
nature of a living network that sustains vibrant fisheries worldwide
32:54
and helps protect coral coastal communities from flooding. Noah INAA says.
33:02
The National Ocean Atmospheric Agency says the latest global event
33:07
began on January first, twenty twenty three, and mass beaching
33:11
has now been observed across at least eighty three countries
33:14
and territories, threatening marine life from Fiji to the Florida
33:19
Keys to Australia's Great Area Reef. The ongoing global coral
33:25
bleaching event is the biggest to date. Noah A scientist said.
33:31
Bleaching occurs when the heat upends the coral's metabolism metabolism,
33:37
causing it to turn white as it expels the sym
33:42
biotic algae that provide it with nutrients and color. Bleaching
33:47
doesn't mean the coral has died, but prolonged beaching, which
33:51
scientists say is made more frequent and severe arising sea temperatures,
33:56
can kill it. Bleaching becomes more severe if either of
34:00
the heat stress episodes are intense or if they last
34:04
for a longer time. George Riederman, a marine biologist who
34:09
leads the Coral Reef Laboratory at the University of Southampton
34:13
in England, said in an email Wednesday, the Earth's rising
34:17
temperatures have caused bleaching events to occur more often and
34:21
last longer.
34:22
Speaker 2: He said.
34:23
Speaker 1: The changing and mixing of ocean currents can also influence
34:27
regional water temperatures, he added, further increasing the risk of bleaching.
34:33
Since the early nineteen eighties, scientists say coral bleaching events
34:37
have increased in frequency and severity as the burning of
34:41
fossil fuels drives up the planet's temperature. Nor documented the
34:46
first global coral bleaching event in nineteen ninety eight and
34:51
the second in twenty ten. During the previous global event,
34:56
between twenty fourteen and twenty seventeen, sixty eight percent of
35:00
the world's coral reefs experienced beaching level heat stress, more
35:06
frequent bleaching events having little time for corals to recover,
35:11
resulting in the long term declan of coral reefs. Nicola Fausta,
35:16
a marine biologist at the University of Plymouth and England,
35:19
said in an email. Glass bleaching has frequently coincided with
35:24
episodes of ALMINO, a global climate pattern that usually increases temperatures.
35:31
That was the case in nineteen ninety eight, twenty sixteen,
35:34
and again last year, which was the warmest year on record.
35:39
Oceans have been steadily absorbing rising temperatures for years, but
35:43
in twenty twenty three and twenty twenty four, temperatures broke
35:47
records with spikes that have alarmed scientists. Seas are also
35:51
becoming a city as they want, which can dissolve coral
35:55
skeletons and make it harder for them to grow. In
35:58
twenty twenty three, a blistering marine heat wave off Florida's
36:02
coast caused parts of the intercontinental United States only living
36:07
coral Baria reef to bleach dramatically, stunning experts with the
36:12
trapid onset. Hot temperatures cause the coral tissue to melt
36:17
from its skeletons soquidly that the color didn't even have
36:20
a chance to drain. The bleaching was also devastating that
36:26
it prompted scientists at NOAH to introduce a new bleaching
36:31
alert scale, adding three categories to higher coral mortality rates
36:37
and bleaching levels. The new scale stretches from level one,
36:41
signifying significant bleaching, to level five, five times the amount
36:46
of level one, which means the coral is approaching mortality.
36:51
Coral bleaching is considered to begin at four degrees heating weeks,
36:56
meaning four weeks in which temperatures are one degree celsius
37:00
one point eight degrees fahrenheit above the average summer time maximum.
37:07
Last year, a fatal heat wave hit southern sections of
37:10
Australia's fourteen one hundred mile Great Barrier Reef, threatening it
37:15
with major fatalities for the first time. In twenty sixteen,
37:20
a mass bleaching event hit ninety three percent of the reef,
37:23
killing nearly fifty percent of the coral in some northern sections.
37:28
Beyond the loss of a thriving underwater ecosystem, coral death
37:32
can degrade reef structure and leave communities vulnerable to flooding hazards,
37:38
according to the US Geological Survey. In Florida, for example,
37:43
coral reefs act as a natural buffer to storm energy
37:46
that can shield coastlines from destructive forces. According to Readman,
37:52
coral reefs support a third of all marine biodiversity, either
37:57
directly or indirectly. If the corals die, this support structure
38:03
that provides food and homes is lost. Consequently, many species
38:08
will suffer as well, he said. According to a twenty
38:13
twenty study, rising sea surface temperatures and acidic waters could
38:18
eliminate nearly all surviving coral reef habitats by twenty one hundred.
38:24
Foster said, unless we address the causes of climate change
38:28
and reduce their emissions from burning fossil fuels, the future
38:32
of coral reefs and the millions of lives and livelihoods
38:35
they support is very much under threat. Still, several scientists
38:41
say coral resilans offers some reason for hope. Derek Manzillo,
38:47
and the cologist who supports NOAH coordinates noah's Core Reef
38:52
Watch program, said in an email that the chronic omnipresent
38:57
stress on corals is pushing researchers and conservation is to
39:03
consider new approaches to minimize bleaching. This is, by no
39:08
means implies that it is time to give up hope
39:11
or throw in the towel on coral reefs, as they
39:14
generate billions of dollars in ecosystem services to the US
39:19
economy every year. Menzilo said the ancestors of today's coral
39:25
survived the impact of the asteroid that wiped out the
39:28
dinosaurs on land and a lot of creatures in the sea.
39:32
So if we can mandage to decrease ocean warming, there
39:36
is always a chance for crals to recover.
39:39
Speaker 2: Edman said.
39:42
Speaker 1: Los Angeles rooms with wildlife, but fires make it harder
39:47
to survive. Besides burning thousands of homes and displacing residents,
39:52
the January fires, like earlier ones, upended the natural environment,
39:57
and there are four pictures one of a de one
40:01
of birds in a tree, one of growth on a
40:04
tree trunk, and then a little frog in the mud
40:08
are pictures of the Palace Ades. Fire destroyed entire neighborhoods,
40:14
but the disaster also four through the natural world, disrupting
40:19
fragile ecosystems that wildlife depends on. This is by rhes Siebold.
40:26
Santa Monica Mountains, California, Tuni Canyon was too quiet. The
40:31
rugged gorge on the edge of Los Angeles, overlooking the
40:35
twinkling Pacific Ocean would normally be buzzing with the sons
40:39
of life, bird song from the bushes, the powder of
40:43
paws on the hillside, the splash of noots in the
40:46
stream below. That was before the mountains burned. The January
40:51
firestorms across the southern California county torched entire neighborhoods and
40:57
displaced thousands of people, but as to also tour through
41:01
the natural world, disrupting fragile ecosystems that, despite popular imagination,
41:08
defined Los Angeles as much as its freeways and strip malls.
41:13
Roughly three months after the fires broke out, the damage
41:17
to these valuable habitats and the wildlife that called them
41:21
home is continuing to come into focus. The Palisades and
41:25
Eaton fires, the largest of the infernos, chewed through mountains
41:29
and forests on opposite signs of Los Angeles. Flames and
41:33
smoke killed coatless land animals and left in their wake
41:37
charred trees incinerated under bush brush. The loose soil that
41:43
remained later washed into waterways, choking them down to a trickle,
41:48
smothering fish and amphibians, and into the canyon. The fire
41:54
left behind an eerie silence. Right now, we're just hearing nothing.
42:00
These huge areas have been transformed, said Seth Riley, Wildlife
42:06
Branch chief at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area as
42:11
he looked over the scorched ravine on a recent mourning
42:16
The Santa Monicas are a crucial part of a larger
42:19
biodiversity hotspot. One of just thirty six world ride in,
42:25
the mountains host more than fifty threatened or endangered plants
42:29
and animals, one of the highest concentration of rare species
42:33
in the country, They offer a vital natural refuge among
42:38
a scrawling metropolis. Before the Palisades Fire earlier this year,
42:43
the Franklin Fire of twenty twenty four and the Woolsey
42:47
Fire of twenty eighteen seed large swaths of the Santa
42:51
Monica Mountains. Even though wildlife here evolved to live in
42:55
a landscape that burns, scientists say the animals are not
42:59
equippedus fires so frequent and so flocious, the byproduct of
43:04
a changing climate and encroaching human development. The blazes add up,
43:10
Riley said, fishing animals into an increasingly smaller slices of
43:15
a viable habitat an already scarce resource. Just like so
43:20
many other angelinos, they will need years to recover, and
43:24
their homes may never be the same. There's a picture
43:28
of a dead bird. They just can't escape. The most
43:33
famous species to roam these parts is a local population
43:37
of mountain lions, big cats that require big territory they
43:41
must already navigate, have the tat fragmented by highways and subdivisions,
43:46
and major fires make matters worse. If you're a mountain
43:51
lion and your area burns, one strategy is to move
43:54
to where it's not burned. Well, you can't do that
43:57
if there's a road in the way, or if the
44:00
only green space is in the neighborhood, said Beth Pratt,
44:04
the National Wildlife Federation's California Regional executive director, who has
44:09
been raising money for record breaking wildlife crossing to help
44:13
remedy to this crisis. They're out of options because of
44:18
their urban interface that animals survival strategies don't work long term,
44:24
she said. After the Wolseley fire burned half of the
44:28
available habitat for the area's mountain lions, the animals began
44:32
taking more risks. Driven off their home turf, they went
44:36
looking for interim housing, venturing across dangerous roads and ind
44:40
rival's domains. According to a study by UCLA and National
44:45
Park Service researchers, including Riley, which drew on data from
44:50
tracking College scientists had attached to the animals. One cat
44:55
P sixty one crossed the four oh five Freeway to
44:59
escape the World Fire burn zone and wound up muzzle
45:02
to muzzle with a larger lion, and encounter caught on video.
45:07
P sixty one attempted to flee back the four or five,
45:10
but he was struck and killed by a vehicle. Another
45:15
mountain lion, P sixty four, burned his paws escaping the
45:19
Wolseley fire and unable to hunt, was found a few
45:22
weeks later, dead from starvation. So far, it's not clear
45:27
whether Palisades fire has been directly responsible for the death
45:31
of any of the region's mountain lions, but National Park
45:35
Service scientists, who had been studying the animals here for
45:38
more than two decades, did recover one body in the
45:42
burn zone recently. The lion P sixty three had soot
45:46
in his nose but not in his lungs, Riley said,
45:50
ruling out smoke in elation. He bore no burn marks.
45:53
His official cause of death was unrelated liver disease, a
45:58
fire's impacting further down the food chain. Smaller animals have
46:03
a hard time outrunning the flames. They just can't escape,
46:07
Raleigh said, And unlike large mammals, there's not enough traffic
46:12
data to accurately quantify how many might have been lost
46:16
in a large burn. We have almost no knowledge other
46:20
than it's probably massive, Riley said of the toll on
46:24
smaller species. Take, for example, the dusky footed wood rat,
46:29
a native mammal that is an important source of food
46:32
for bobcats, coyotes, and mountain lions. Wood Rats build palatial
46:38
dens which can approach the size of small cars from branches, twigs,
46:42
and leaves. They pass the structures down from generation to generations,
46:47
sometimes for decades, and they scurry into their dens when
46:50
they send danger, Raleigh noted. Is not a great fire
46:56
survival strategy. Will like cameras have captured some of these
47:01
terrifying moments from a creature's a vue. One set of
47:05
images taken during the Franklin Fire, which burned over four
47:09
thousand acres in December, begins around midnight on the blaze's
47:13
second day. A rabbit is seen foraging in the canyon
47:16
a few miles north of Pacific Ghost Highway. Its ears
47:20
perked as if incensing the flames closing in. Just ten
47:24
minutes later, half the camera frame is glowing red. In
47:28
another three minutes, the bush where the rabbit was rummaging
47:31
has become a fireball. Seconds after that, the picture is
47:35
entirely scarlet and the camera's temperature gauge is skyrocketing. It
47:39
tops one hundred and forty degrees before the device burns
47:42
and goes blank. Hope in the ashes. When fires wore
47:47
off through so quickly, streams become safe havens, but only
47:51
for a time. In steeper beams like Tuna Canyon, Blackened
47:56
hillsides easily shed sediment during rain cloud waterways below. Such
48:02
debris flows turned streams into flat, uninhabitable bowling alleys of
48:07
caked mud, said Caddy Delaney, a wildlife ecologist at Santa
48:12
Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. The Amphibian. She studies newts
48:18
and tree fogs probably sheltered in the stream during the blaze,
48:22
and she hopes escaped for the rainfield debris arrived, But
48:28
just like mountain lions and other mammals, they lose access
48:33
to habitat and breathing brands for years after a fire.
48:38
The Palisade fire burned at least seven streams that Delaney
48:42
and her colleague's Monta in regular surveys where they tally
48:47
the number of amphibians living in the mountains, It'd be
48:52
pretty easy to do this year, because there's not a
48:55
whole lot to count, she said. Scientists to even Morkens
49:00
earned about the fish which canon escaped their streams, at
49:03
least not for some help. In late January, after the
49:07
most recent fires, cooled with surchased dondwaiters and splashed into
49:12
Malibu's Tepango Creek for a pair of desperate rescue missions
49:17
to save two endangered species of fish from incoming debris.
49:24
Isaac Yelchin, a biologist with the Resource Conservation District of
49:28
the Santa Monica Mountains, was part of both teams, which
49:32
saved and relocated about two hundred and seventy southern California
49:37
stealhead trout in seven hundred and sixty northern tidewater goobies
49:41
from the threatened watershed. They made it just in time.
49:45
The first rains came soon after, baring the creek in
49:49
feet of sediment, and their pictures here of the water
49:56
and the beginnings and new growth of flowers in the
49:59
can area and some tadpoles in the water. Some of
50:05
the doobies left behind a pied or who survived, Yelston
50:08
said on a recent visit to the site, but all
50:11
remaining trout, over one hundred, died in the mudflows, a
50:15
blow because the Topango Creek population was the last in
50:19
the Santa Monica Mountains. A fish can't even swim in
50:23
a half inch of water like that, Yelston said, noting
50:28
nodding toward the shallow creek bed. He and his colleagues
50:31
counseled a snorkel survey of the creek this year for
50:34
the same reason. At some point, scientists will try to
50:38
bring the rescued fish and their descendants back to the
50:41
Topango Creek and began repopulating the waterway, said Noah Rishi Khalili,
50:49
a Natural Resources program manager for California State Parks.
50:54
Speaker 2: Mountains.
50:54
Speaker 1: Wildlife is resilient, she said, but their fate is tied
50:57
to a place that is burning more often and more intensely.
51:01
If big blazes hit the same area repeatedly, the land
51:05
won't have a chance to recover and can be permanently altered,
51:09
a phenomenon known as type conversion. The landscape has a
51:15
huge capacity for self regeneration, Richie Kelly said, but can
51:20
it continue to regenerate after multiple fires across the same area.
51:25
No areas that recently burn must be protected, she says,
51:29
Otherwise the long term survival of species that depend on
51:32
specific habitats will be threatened. One high profile example is
51:37
the mark butterfly. More than one hundred marks once rode
51:41
out winters in the eucalyptus tree that towers over topang Creek,
51:46
which was initially feared destroyed in what would have been
51:49
a devastating development for an insect whose California population was
51:54
near record low levels this year. But Sadro Cadro Varga,
52:00
a conservation biologist with the Circes Society for Invertebrate Conservation,
52:06
said the site appears to have survived its burns. It's
52:11
too soon to know whether the monarchs will return next winter.
52:14
Caldra Bargarius said that she's would leave the tree and
52:18
those surround around it weren't lost, which could have led
52:21
to tight conversion and driven marnarks out of the habitat
52:24
for good. The site sits just off the Pacific Coast Highway,
52:29
where the wreckage of homes and beloved beachside haunps is
52:33
still via visible for Jauchin and Cadro Vargus to Native
52:38
Angelino's the leaves spreading it from burn tree branches and
52:43
the tree brocked tadpoles hatching in tuggles of creek water
52:46
offers something that is in short supply these days. People
52:51
were feeling hopeless, but there is hope. I believe there
52:55
is hope, Cardra Vargus said, And the last article on
53:00
the front page Dick Durbin Number two Senate Democrat won't
53:05
seek re election. Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois won't run
53:10
for reelection next year, opening up the number two slot
53:13
in Senate Democratic leadership for the first time in two decades.
53:17
There's a picture of Senator Dick Durbin in a gray
53:21
suit with a gray batsuit with a black and white
53:26
striped tie walking to a weekly luncheon in Capitol Hill
53:31
or Capitol Hill Theodoric Maya and Hannatt Rowles. Senator Dick
53:39
Durbin of Illinois said Wincy that he won't run for
53:42
reelection next year, opening up the number two slot in
53:45
Senate Democratic leadership for the first time. In two decades.
53:49
Durbin eighty was first elected to the Senate in nineteen
53:54
ninety six and has served as the Democratic whip since
53:57
two thousand and five. Is also the top Democrat on
54:01
Senate Judiciary Committee. His departure is a part of a
54:05
coming generational shift in the chamber, where the median age
54:09
is about sixty five. Dermin is a fifth Senator to
54:12
announce that he will not run for re election, along
54:15
with Senators Mitch McConnell Republican Kentucky eighty three, Gary Peter's
54:21
Democrat of Michigan sixty six, Tina Smith, Democrat of Minnesota
54:25
sixty seven, and Genie Sheehan Democratic New Hampshire seventy eight.
54:31
Durbin's decision give Democrats another seat to defend in next
54:35
year's midterm elections, but it also spares the party of
54:39
the prospect of an oldest senator running for re election,
54:42
as many Democrats klammeel for younger faces. It opens up
54:47
a rare Senate seat in a deep blue state that
54:49
has not elected a Republican to the Senate since twenty
54:53
Tendermin praised the party's strong Democratic bench ready to serve.
54:59
I truly love the job of being a United States Senator,
55:02
Durbin said in a video Wednesday morning. But in my heart,
55:06
I know it's time to pass the torch. Some of
55:09
the Illinois Democrats seriously considering a run for Durban seats
55:13
a decade younger. They include Representatives Raja Krishna moriythy fifty one,
55:20
Robin Kelly sixty eight, and Lauren Underwood thirty eight, and
55:24
Illinois Governor Juliana Stratton Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton fifty nine.
55:30
According to people familiar with the matter, who spoke on
55:33
the condition of anonymity, did discuss the planning, the primary
55:38
is the game. David axelride Along axelrod Along, Democratic strategist
55:44
in Illinois, who was the chief strategist in Barack Obama's
55:48
presidential campaigns, wrote in a text message, whommever wins it
55:52
would be a heavy favorite to take his seat. It
55:56
could be an expensive race. Krishna Morothy's had nineteen point
56:01
four million dollars in his campaign account after years of fundraising,
56:05
and Chicago is one of the country's most expensive media markets.
56:10
The wild card is Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker, a
56:14
billionaire who has spent three hundred and fifty million dollars
56:17
on two campaigns for governor with Stratton as his running mate.
56:21
Pritzker has not said whether he plans to endorse Stratton
56:25
or support her financially if she runs, but a person
56:29
committing with his thinking who spoke on the condition of
56:32
animity because Stratton has not announced a campaign, said that
56:36
Pritzker and Stratton were close and that it wouldn't be
56:39
surprising that he would back her if she runs. People
56:43
who have spoken with Underwood say she favors jumping into
56:47
the race, and she has made moves that signal her
56:49
potential aspirations, such as bringing on new political staffers, but
56:54
none of the Democrats fines has succeeded. Durbin said Wednesday
56:57
that they would run. Today is a day to celebrate
57:01
Senator Dick Durbin for his exemplary career of public service,
57:05
as well as the profound and lasting positive impact he's
57:09
had on Illinois families and our nation, Karashna Morothey said
57:13
in a statement. Stratton, Underwood, and Kelly also praised Durban's legacy,
57:19
as did Senate Minority Leader Charles z Sheila, Democrat of
57:23
New York, who once roomed with Durbin in Washington and Obama,
57:27
who served alongside durban during Obama's four years in the Senate.
57:34
That ends to day's reading of the Washington Post for Thursday,
57:39
the twenty fourth of April of twenty twenty five. Please
57:43
continue listening to programming on radio. I have a good
57:47
day by