Transcript

9.22.23 · 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, September twenty second. And as
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you know, RADIOI is a reading service intended for people
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who are blind or have other disabilities that make it
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difficult to read printed material. Your reader for today is
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Rod Brotherton, and my gosh, we're gonna get some rain.
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We only had half an inch in August and we
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are way overdue. But today there's gonna be a couple
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of thunderstorms with a high of eighty and a low
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sixty seven to night where we'll have more thunderstorms. Tuesday,
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more thunderstorms, high eighty two, low sixty six. Wednesday, more thunderstorms,
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high seventy six, low sixty eight. Thursday more thunderstorms, high
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seventy five, low sixty one. And Friday there are still
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showers around with a high of seventy four and low
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fifty nine. Saturday, we'd get back to high clouds in
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good weather high seventy two, fifty eight and sunny Sunday.
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It is indeed sunny, high seventy four, low fifty eight.
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So let's enjoy this weather while we have it. Looking
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at the almanac, yesterday's high and low ninety one and
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fifty nine. Normal is seventy nine and fifty seven. Last
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year it was indeed ninety two and the low of
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sixty three. The record high was ninety six nineteen forty
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record low was forty in eighteen ninety six. Precipitation on
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Saturday nothing month to date ninety seven hundreds of an inch,
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while normal is two point twenty four. Hopefully we can
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catch up to that a little bit last year. This
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year we've had forty four point one point one normal
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thirty seven point four to three. Last year thirty five
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point seven four and the record for yesterday's date was
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three point eight inches in nineteen fifty four. For thus
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sun and the moon, the sun rose this morning at
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seven twenty six. It will set tonight at seven thirty five.
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As we inch closer to the autumnal equinox. The moon
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is coming up right about now at eight ten in
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the morning, and it will set this evening at seven
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point fifty two. And on weather trivius is what causes
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seasonal change, and of course that is the tilt of
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the Earth's axis and the movement of the sun of
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the Earth around the Sun. All right, let's go see
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what's happening in the world as we read the headlines
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from the Washington Post and the first story. Administration set
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to tie tilinol to autism risks, official say the Trump
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administration is expected to unveil new efforts money exploring how
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one medication may be linked to autism and another one
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can treat it. According to four people with the knowledge
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of the plans, who spoke on the condition of anonymity
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because the announcement was not yet public, federal health officials
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difected to raise concerns about pregnant women's use of acetamyophin,
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the active ingredient in thailanol and one of the most
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widely used medications globally. Officials have been reviewing previous research,
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including an August review by Mount Sinai and Harvard researchers
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that suggests a possible link between thaile andol use early
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on in pregnancy and an increased risk of autism and children.
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They plan to warn pregnant women against using thailanol early
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on unless they have a fever, according to the four individuals.
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In addition, the officials plan to tout lesser known drugs
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and one called leukovorin as a potential autism treatment. Lukeoverin
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is typically prescribed to counteract some medication side effects and
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to treat vitamin B nine deficiency. Early double blind placebo
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controlled trials administer sturring lukouverin to children with autism have
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shown what some scientists describe as remarkable improvements in their
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ability to speak and understand others. Officials at the Food
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and Drug Administration have recently been reviewing language that could
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apply to the drug. The findings on lukauverin have sent
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ripples through the scientific community, sparking renewed debate about the
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complex causes of autism, a condition some experts have recently
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considered predominantly genetic and therefore largely untreatable. The efforts have
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been a top priority for President Trump, those long voice
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concerns about rising US autism rates, and tasked his deputies
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this year with finding answers. The initiative has drawn in
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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Junior Food
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and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Marquay, National Institutes of Health
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Director Jay Batarachata, and other senior officials. Speaking at Charlie
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Kirk's memorial on Sunday, Trump previewed the move, which it
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is expected to be revealed at a White House news
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conference tomorrow. We're going to have one of the biggest
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announcements medically, I think in the history of our country,
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he said. I think you're going to find it amazing.
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I think we found an answer to autism. The NIH
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also is poised to announce Monday that its new Autism
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Data Science Initiative is underway, with thirteen teams receiving research
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grants related to the causes and treatment of autism, as
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well as to corroborate past studies. That effort, which has
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involved career civil servants at the NIH, is separate from
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a broader NIH report investigating autism research, which is not
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expected this week. Baticharia has told colleagues that he wants
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the review to be thorough, with career officials input and
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not be rushed to coincide with Monday's announcement. The White
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House on Sunday touted its forthcoming autism initiatives. President Trump
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pledged to address America's rising rate of autism and to
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do so with gold standard science. Spokesman Kush Decis said
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in a statement. Tomorrow's announcement will make historic progress on
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both commitments. The Wall Street Journal previously reported that the
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administration was investigating the role of thailanol and Lukovan. Guidelines
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on the use of a stameniphin from the major medical
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societies identify it as a safe pain reliever to use
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during pregnancy, but advise pregnant women to consult their health
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care providers before taking it, as with all medications during
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that sensitive period. Klinol executives have met with the administration
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in recent weeks to express their questions about the federal
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effort and discuss next steps. Pilonal did not immediately respond
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to a request for comment. Kennedy has made autism a
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major focus of his Make America Healthy Again agenda. There
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have been high level administration debates about the timing and
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content of its autism initiatives, given the political sensitivity and
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their potential to uphend the medical industry. According to two
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people with the knowledge of Monday's announcement, We've launched a
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massive testing and research effort. It's going to involve hundreds
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of scientists from around the world, Kennedy said at a
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televised cabinet meeting in April. By September, we will know
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what has caused the autism epidemic and will be able
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to eliminate those exposures. The remarks raised alarm among many researchers,
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who said conducting such research accurately requires a lengthy process.
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Since Kennedy became the nation's top health official, there has
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been speculation that his agency would link autism to vaccines,
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a connection Kennedy has referenced regularly despite decades scientific studies
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debunking the theory. Under Kennedy's leadership, HHS hired David Geyer, a
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proponent of a connection between immunization and autism whose research
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has come under intense scrutiny, to conduct the government's survey
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and study on whether they are linked. Dyer and his father,
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Mark Dyer, have published papers claiming vaccines increased the risk
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of autism, a theory that has been studied for decades
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and scientifically debunked. Autism spectrum disorder is a neuro development
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condition characterized by difficulties and social and communication skills and
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repetitive behaviors, which has been diagnosed at higher rates among
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US children in recent decades. One in thirty one eight
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year olds had autism and US communities examined by the
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention compared with about one
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in one hundred and fifty children in the year two thousand.
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The reasons behind this sharp increase remain widely debated and unclear.
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Increased testing and awareness play some part, but many researchers
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believe there are additional factors, probably something in Americans environment
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or lifestyles at play, in addition to more than one
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hundred genes that have been linked to the condition and
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the next story, It was me. The suspect and Charlie
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Kirkhi shooting appeared to confess in Discord chat. The twenty
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two year old suspect in Charlie Kirk's killing appears to
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have confessed to friends in an online chat shortly before
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turning himself in to law enforcement, according to two people
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familiar with the chat and screenshots obtained by The Washington Post,
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Hey guys, I have bad news for you all, said
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a message from an account belonging to the suspect, Tyler Robinson,
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on the online platform Discord. It was me at UVU yesterday.
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I'm sorry for all of this. The message was sent
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Thursday night, about two hours before officials said Robinson was
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taken into custody. A member of the group chat shared
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an image of the conversation with the post and confirmed
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that it came from Robinson's account. The person spoke on
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the condition of anonymity out of fear of harassment. Discord
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provided a copy of the message with the confession to authorities.
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According to a person familiar with the company's interaction with
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law enforcement, the person spoke on the condition of anonymity
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because they were not authorized to publicly discuss details of
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the investigation. The message was sent from Robinson's account to
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a small private group of online friends, the person said.
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Discord is working closely with the FBI and local authorities
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providing information about Robinson's online activities on the platform, The
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person said. Discord has said that an internal investigation found
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no evidence that the suspect planned this incident or promoted
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violence on Discord. The Utah County Sheriff's Office referred the
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post to the Utah Department of Public Safety, which did
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not respond to her request for comment. Spokespeople for the
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Utah DPS, as well as for the FBI and the
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Justice Department, also declined to comment. Robinson was arrested last
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week after a thirty three hour manhunt, accused of fatally
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shooting one of the country's most prominent conservative activists at
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a Utah Valley University event. Authorities have said one of
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the Robinson family members reached out to a friend, who
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then contacted law enforcement, saying Robinson had confessed or implied
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that he had committed the crime. Utah Governor Spencer Cox
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set over the weekend that Robinson's motive is still under investigation,
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that the suspect appears to have held a leftist ideology.
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Officials say their interviews indicate that Robinson became more political
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in recent years and had criticized Kirk. The discord conversation
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shared with the Post shows members of the group chat
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reacting to Kirk's shooting Wednesday, before the news broke that
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Robinson was allegedly involved. The group included about thirty people,
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according to the person who could who provided the screenshots.
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Charlie Kirk got shot, one friend wrote Wednesday afternoon. According
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to an image of the messages, we just saw the video.
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Holy shoot. Another user wrote about an hour and a
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half later, adding of Kirk, the road didn't deserve to
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go out like that sad. The only response from Robinson's
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account came the next day with a message announcing bad news.
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I'm surrendering through a sheriff's friend in a few moments.
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The message, posted at seven point fifty seven pm local
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time in Utah, continued thanks for all the good times
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and laughs. You've all been so amazing. Thank you all
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for everything. Robinson was taken into custody at ten pm
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that night, according to FBI director Cash Patel. No one
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responded to Robinson that night, according to the screenshots obtained
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by the post, but the next day one friend wrote
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that the apparent confession seemed to be true. The friend
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asked group members to pray for Tyler and his repentance,
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and then turned to Kirk. While Charlie Kirk's politics were
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not acceptable to some, I asked that we all say
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a prayer for him and his family during these confusing times,
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the friend added. The New York Times reported on a
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conversation in a different discord chat group earlier in the
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same day. In that conversation, Robinson joked that a doppel
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ganger was trying to get him in trouble after law
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enforcement released images of a shooter suspect who resembled Robinson.
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Cox confirmed the existence of that conversation on Sunday and
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said Robinson's friends did not believe it was actually him
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at that point. The person who provided other discord messages
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to the Post said they are from a different group
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and our next story why one in six US parents
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are rejecting vaccine recommendations. The American parents who are choosing
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to skip or delay vaccines for their children or more
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likely to homeschool their children, be white and very religious,
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identify as Republican, or be under thirty five, according to
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a wide ranging Washington Post KFF pole that sheds new
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light on what drives vaccine hesitancy. The pole, the most
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detailed recent look at the childhood vaccination practices and opinions
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of American parents, shows that one in six parents have
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delayed or skill hipped some vaccines for their children, excluding
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for coronavirus or flu. Nine percent have skipped the polio
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or measles mump's rubella MMR shots, which public health experts
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say risks large outbreaks of potentially fatal diseases that have
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been curbed through widespread vaccination. The pole find concerns about
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the vaccines themselves are driving these decisions. Parents who reject
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vaccine recommendations are primarily worried about the side effects and
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the risks of the shots, rather than facing challenges getting them.
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About half of parents overall lack faith in the federal
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health agencies to ensure vaccine safety, Mirroring the findings of
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other surveys, Several major polls have shown a decline in
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trust in childhood vaccines since the coronavirus pandemic among the
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broader public, largely among self identified Republicans. The Post and KFF,
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a health policy research and news organization, surveyed two thousand,
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seven hundred and sixteen parents this summer, providing a detailed
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breakdown of why some people are avoiding childhood vaccines. It
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also shows that the vast majority of American parents still
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support immunizations. We still have strong support for vaccines among
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parents in this country, said Liz Hamill, KFF, Vice president
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and director of Public Opinion and Search Survey Research. What
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we don't know yet is whether those slight cracks we
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are starting to see in confidence among younger parents are
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going to translate into actual decisions around vaccines compared with
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routine vaccines. Required to attend school, Parents are less likely
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to have their children receive coronavirus or flu vaccines, which
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reduce the risk of hospitalization and death but offer limited
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protection against infection and transmission. About half of parents fifty
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two percent, did not vaccinate their children for flu in
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the past year, compared with forty one percent who did.
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The pole fines The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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estimates show that a majority of children did receive flu
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shots every year since twenty ten, and that the coverage
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started declining after twenty nineteen. Roughly thirteen percent of eligible
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children received last year's coronavirus vaccine, according to federal estimates.
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The urgency around vaccination is greater for vaccines that are
18:51
very effective in preventing infections from highly infectious pathogens, such
18:56
as measles. More than ninety five percent of a community
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he needs to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity to
19:04
prevent measle's outbreaks. The CDC says ninety two point five
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percent of kindergarteners received their MMR vaccine's last school year,
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but those rates are lower in parts of the country,
19:19
including in West Texas, which expert experienced the nation's worst
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measles outbreak in more than thirty years. The number of
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parents claiming religious or other exemptions to school mandates has
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been slowly rising. Many public health experts say vaccination rates
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could decline further with the appointment of Health and Human
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Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Junior, a long time anti
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vaccine activists, as the nation's top health official. In office,
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Kennedy has taken steps to revisit and revise immunization practices
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and raise concerns about the safety of vaccines that medical
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associations and the CDC have long said we're baseless. Pediatricians,
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the CDC and medical experts say recommended vaccines are proved
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to be safe and effected through extensive research and monitoring.
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Delaying or spreading out vaccine doses leaves your child unprotected
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during the time when they need vaccine protection the most,
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the CDC rights on its website. While past polling and
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research have shown the vast majority of Americans choose to vaccinate,
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the post KFF poll offers a closer look at the
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demographics of those who do and don't. Democrats and Asian
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parents are some of the least likely to skip or
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delay any vaccine for their children besides coronavirus or flu,
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with eight percent and five percent doing so, respectively. Parents
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who homeschooled a child forty six percent and white parents
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who identify as very religious thirty six percent are most
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likely to skip or delay vaccines. More than one in
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five of both groups of parents skipped or delayed the
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MMR or polio vaccines. Anna hull Cow, thirty nine, moved
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her five children to Arizona in part for its looser
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school vaccine requirements. She could no longer send her kids
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to public school in California because they were not vax
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vaccinated against chicken pox, polio, or pertussis. Hull Cow, who
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teaches at a private Christian school, said she doesn't consider
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herself anti vaccine, as their children have received some immunizations,
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but she said she distrusts the health care system as
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profit motivated and leaves severe reactions to vaccines have gone unreported.
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After switching pediatricians a few times, she now takes her
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children to a physician who has her own children on
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a delayed vaccine schedule. She said she wonders whether her
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kids are better off gaining immunity to a disease like
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chicken pox by getting infected rather than vaccinated. I don't
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think my kids are worse off to get at first hand, halk,
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how said. Most pediatricians and public health officials say the
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childhood immunization schedule has been designed to save lives and
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protect the vulnerable. They caution against assuming that natural immunity
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is superior to vaccine induced community, which does not carry
22:57
the complications and the risks of the diseases. Before vaccination,
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chicken pox killed one hundred to one hundred and fifty
23:06
people a year and left thousands hospitalized. According to the CDC.
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Many immunizations are recommended in the first two years of life,
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when a child is at the risk at the most
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risk of severe disease and could infect others, such as
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at daycare. The post KFF poll finds side effects and
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concerns about safety are the primary reasons parents choose to
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skip or delay vaccinations, along with doubts about whether all
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recommended vaccines are necessary. Those health concerns far outweigh challenges
23:43
to access the health care system by factors of more
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than four to one. Costs and securing appointments ranks as
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the least common reasons. Ali Barlow, who has a PhD
23:57
in civil engineering, said she he believes vaccines are a
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modern day medical miracle. Kennedy's views on them are not
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research based, but the thirty one year old Arizona mother
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of two says she thinks the childhood Immunization Schedule timeline
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for which vaccine kids should receive and win, favors the
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convenience of multiple shots in a visit over allowing parents
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to minimize risk. She delayed some shots for her four
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year old daughter, including for chicken pox. She said she
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has only vaccinated her two year old son for measles
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and tetanus so far because he has a host of
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health and growth issues. Let's talk about what the actual
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documented side effects are and be honest about it, Barlow said,
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instead of being like, you have to do this if
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you're a good parent, this is what the government says.
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All vaccines have side effects. The CDC says they are
25:03
mostly minor, such as sore arms or low grade fevers,
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and must be weighed against the risks of the disease
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themselves to the child in broader community. After vaccines are
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in use, they are continually monitored for additional reports of
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complications as Kennedy and his allies reorient national vaccine policy,
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including scrutinizing the number of shots on the childhood schedule.
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Few embrace the false claims about vaccines causing autism or
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chronic disease, but at least four in ten parents say
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they don't know enough to say whether those claims are
25:41
true or false. Public health experts have expressed concerns that
25:47
people are receiving misinformation and anti vaccine rhetoric from government
25:52
officials and channels. The Pole finds forty nine percent of
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parents are confident in the CDC and the Food and
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Drug Administration to ensure the safety and effectiveness of vaccines,
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while fifty one percent are not. Six in ten Democrats
26:10
are confident of the federal health agencies overseeing vaccine safety,
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compared with forty eight percent of independence and forty one
26:17
percent of Republicans. More than half of Republican parents fifty
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four percent and thirty six percent of parents overall say
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they trust Kennedy to provide reliable information about vaccines, and
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of those, twenty two percent skipped were delayed a vaccine
26:36
for their child. Several interviewed by the Post said they
26:40
felt he was giving them a voice. Imani Shad, twenty eight,
26:45
of Las Vegas, said she believes vaccines caused her daughter's autism,
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a link promoted by Kennedy that medical experts say has
26:54
been disproved by dozens of studies as well as allergic reactions.
27:00
After losing faith in the medical establishment, she turned to
27:03
mom's groups on Facebook and followed advice to delay vaccinating
27:08
her infant. She ultimately decided to get her son, now three,
27:12
the required vaccines to attend public schools. While she doesn't
27:16
agree with everything Kennedy said, Shad says she believes this
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critique of vaccines speaks for moms like her who watched
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their autistic children regress. That created a way for people
27:30
coming out and being able to speak out about them
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about vaccines, and people have an opinion, said Shod, who
27:37
considers herself a political independent. Many parents in the poll
27:44
fall into a mushy middle on vaccines, choosing to vaccinate
27:48
their children while expressing some skepticism toward vaccines as a whole.
27:54
While about half of parents consider themselves pro vaccine or
27:57
forty eight percent, and just six percent say they are
28:01
anti vaccine, forty five percent say they're somewhere in the middle,
28:06
and those parents in the middle are more likely than
28:09
pro vaccine parents to express vaccine hesitancy, including lacking confidence
28:14
and the safety of routine vaccines, saying that there's not
28:18
enough testing and that the CDC recommends too many vaccines.
28:25
Kennedy has repeatedly stated that vaccines are not tested enough,
28:30
claim that the American Academy of Pediatrics and federal health
28:33
agencies before Kennedy's leadership said is baseless. Vaccines go through
28:39
several stages of clinical trials before approval, with thousands of
28:44
people studied before they are rolled out to the public.
28:48
The coronavirus pandemic control on Americans views of vaccinations in general,
28:54
with Gallop Poles finding sixty nine percent of Americans through
28:58
childhood vaccinations childhood vaccinations were important in twenty twenty four,
29:03
down from eighty four percent in twenty nineteen. The Post
29:07
KFF poll finds fifty six percent of parents are not
29:11
confident coronavirus vaccines are safe for children, with the lack
29:15
of confidence in coronavirus vaccines has not translated to doubts
29:19
in MMR and polio vaccines. About nine in ten parents
29:25
say it is important for children in their community get
29:29
the MMR and polio vaccines, and more than eight in
29:33
ten say they are confident that they are safe for
29:38
their children. Casey Mortenson's daughter received all of her recommended vaccines,
29:44
and he said he'll probably keep vaccinating her with forty
29:47
two year old Navy veteran from Idaho Falls, Idaho, said
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he is starting to question vaccine recommendations as he becomes
29:54
more exposed to influential critics of coronavirus vaccines. The bigger
29:58
things I've been informed formed by a couple of those
30:01
guys as the corruption and some of the bad actors.
30:03
Mortenson said, there was obviously a suppression campaign for a
30:08
little while there, but I feel like we're in a
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new age now. Despite Republican parents being more likely to
30:15
skip vaccines, seventy seven percent still follow vaccine recommendations and
30:20
eighty four percent did so from Easels and Polio. Conservative
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polling firm Privately warrened GOP lawmakers that overhauling vaccine policies
30:30
is politically dangerous, as most President Trump's voters believe vaccine
30:35
saves lives. Elizabeth Stratford, fifty five, retired in January from
30:41
her job as an ICU nurse. A Republican mother of
30:44
six says she feels strongly about vaccinating children to protect
30:48
them her mostly Republican community in Utah. She says she
30:53
feels like an outlier. She said she blames quack doctors
30:58
spreading faults and that dissuade some of her neighbors for
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vaccinating their children and believing their children can naturally fight viruses.
31:09
I've taken care of people with polio and when ruf,
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rubella and their measles in my thirty five years of nursing,
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and I don't know why anyone would ever want those diseases.
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Stratford said. If people knew what these diseases were about,
31:25
they would probably be more responsible. And the next story,
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Black communities shaken by Trump cuts feel left behind again.
31:37
The Trump administration has acted nearly two dozen projects addressing
31:43
health and environmental issues in southern black communities. A Washington
31:48
Post analysis found reversing years of work to address pollution,
31:53
sewage leaks, flooding, and more rural Alabama counties to fourteen
32:00
million dollar grant to upgrade sanitation systems so to cripit
32:05
that some residents have contracted hookworm. A historically black Virginia
32:11
neighborhood won't receive a twenty million dollar grant to stop
32:15
severe flooding. In Louisiana, multiple federal efforts have been halted
32:21
a Justice Department lawsuit against a corruption or a corporation
32:26
accused of worsening cancer risk and a predominantly black neighborhood,
32:31
the designation of one area as a National Historic Landmark
32:34
to limit industrialization, and grants from the Environmental Protection Agency
32:39
to support monitoring air quality in Cancer Rally, an eighty
32:44
mile stretch of mostly black towns and villages hard hit
32:48
by industrial pollution. The trub administration said the changes are
32:54
needed to curb government spending. Officials have also linked some
32:59
Biden era class programs to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives
33:04
that President Trump and his top aides have sent him
33:07
out to a legal discrimination. President Trump was given an
33:11
overwhelming mandate to stop spending hard earned tax payer dollars
33:16
on the left's radical climate agenda and restore common sense
33:21
to the federal government's out of control spending. Taylor Rogers,
33:25
a White House spokesman, said in a statement, Residents and
33:30
racial justice and environmental advocates say the cuts and cancellations
33:35
leave black communities without the resources to solve long term
33:39
problems and neglect that have contributed to deep racial inequities
33:44
across the region. Many of the efforts had been in
33:48
the work for years to gain steam after the twenty
33:51
twenty racial justice movement. Those who have pushed for them
33:55
say that Trump administration is unfairly dismissing the initiative as
34:00
dei old and crumbling infrastructure these Southern communities that should
34:07
keep everyone safe and healthy is not going to be
34:11
repaired or upgraded, said Jim Duggan, executive director of the
34:16
Environmental Integrity Group and advocacy Group. It's incredibly cruel and
34:22
it is lazy for the Trump administration to destroy and
34:26
tear down these programs. The Posts analysis of grant databases
34:32
and interviews with advocates and nonprofits that spearheaded the effort
34:37
identified twenty two affected projects that lost grant funding or
34:41
were undertaken by agency led lawsuits, orders, and protections. The
34:47
effort spanned several federal agencies, including the EPA and the
34:52
Department of Justice, Interior, and Agriculture. The cuts were wide ranging,
34:58
largely ceasing that sought to rectify environmental blight and health
35:03
and safety concerns. Others included building a park in Louisville
35:09
and a community garden in Richmond. Some federal notices canceling
35:14
the projects pointed to a general shift in agency priorities,
35:19
but many cited a Trump executive order to eradicate DEI programs,
35:24
which it described as racial, wasteful and amounting to forced, illegal,
35:29
and amoral discrimination. The order demands federal agencies eliminate any positions, offices, initiatives, grants,
35:38
and contracts related to DEI or environmental justice, which refers
35:43
to efforts to address disproportionate levels of pollution and poor,
35:48
often non white areas. Here's a close look at some
35:53
of the cancelations, several of which are being challenged in court.
35:58
Joy Banner and her neighbors in Wallace, Louisiana, four years
36:04
watched the industrial transformation of their region. A rural landscape
36:09
along the Mississippi River with century old sugarcane fields. Slave
36:15
people once labored and then cultivated their own crops. Once freed,
36:20
gray buildings replaced greenery. Smoke cloud of the air, pollutants
36:26
muddy the waters. Then a company announced plans to build
36:30
a four hundred million dollar grain export terminal. Community members
36:35
appeal to the National Park Service to have an eleven
36:38
mile swath of land running through their town and county
36:42
designated as a National Historical landmark that would prevent companies
36:47
from setting up shop, safeguarding residents, air, water, and land.
36:52
Banner said. After emancipation, black communities put together their resources
36:58
to purchase the land. Banner said, the plantations around us
37:03
have historic status, but we argued that it's not just
37:07
the plantations, but especially these black communities, these black villages,
37:12
free town communities that are nestled between these plantations that
37:16
are also historic. In November, the National Park Service determined
37:22
the land was eligible for federal protection, stating in its
37:27
year long study that the area presents a remarkably unique
37:31
rural historic landscape that has remained rural, agricultural, and stable
37:37
for more than three centuries. The agency said the district
37:42
also illustrates an alternative narrative to the story of sharecropping
37:47
and the Great Migration. Slave laborers eventually became landowners, remaining
37:53
in the area for generations. Four months later, after the
37:58
company behind the plan export terminal dropped its proposal. The
38:03
Trump administration rescinded the notice of eligibility at the request
38:06
of state leaders. The Interior Department said the process to
38:11
deem the area eligible as a historic landmark was moot.
38:17
I'm grateful that the Trump administration understands that states and
38:21
localities are better at determining their interest relating to clean air, water,
38:28
and developing industry than leading crucial decisions like those to
38:32
Washington Saiderrelia s Giometto, then secretary of the Louisiana Department
38:39
of Environmental Quality. Banner called the decision a political stunt
38:45
that undermines the preservation of black history. It is twenty
38:50
two thousand acres of land that would have been protected.
38:54
Now some greedy developer it's going to come in and
38:57
still be able to develop that land. Said THEI is
39:03
just an easy excuse to target vulnerable communities in Virginia.
39:09
Shelton Tucker just wants the floods to stop. Tucker grew
39:14
up in the late sixties in Hampton's Aberdeen Gardens neighborhood.
39:19
It was built by black architects for black residents under
39:22
a New Deal program that offered people coming from overcrowded
39:26
urban centers an opportunity to farm and own a home.
39:30
He recalls a childhood of playing in open green space,
39:33
running around a basketball court and picking the fruit that
39:37
grew in abundance. But in recent years, he said, every
39:41
time it rains, they're standing. Water climate experts has said
39:47
the historic Neighborhood's infrastructure wasn't built for the modern climate,
39:51
where deluges are increasing in frequency. The storm drains are
39:56
too narrow and too few and far between. Now when
40:01
it rains, roads are impassable. The flooding has paralyzed the
40:07
community at least three to four times in the past year.
40:10
Tucker sit describing water that reached the hood of his
40:14
car in some storms. We like setin ducks if we
40:18
don't address it. The EPA in December awarded the neighborhood
40:23
twenty million dollars to remedy to the dated water infrastructure.
40:28
The money came from Biden era environmental justice grants designed
40:32
to address problems created by discriminatory government policies, including segregation, redlining,
40:39
and exclusionary zoning. But the Trump administration shuddered the EPA's
40:44
Environmental Justice arm in March, saying it had been used
40:48
to fund left wing activists and didn't directly help communities.
40:53
In June, the city of Hampton received to notice that
40:57
its grant was canceled because the effort was no longer
41:00
consistent with EPA funding priorities. I'm disappointed, Tucker said, it's
41:05
putting policies over the safety of human beings. In Alabama's
41:10
Louduns County, residents fear the loss of federal grants means
41:15
that future riddled with parasites. The county is in the
41:18
heart of Alabama's Black Belt, string of mostly rural counties,
41:23
once home to cotton plantations. For decades, residents have struggled
41:28
with raw sewage coming up through the ground and pooling
41:32
on their properties. Standard private septic tank systems are no
41:37
match for the county's heavy clay soil. The sewage produces
41:41
noxious vapors, a fertile habitat for hookworms, a gastro intestinal
41:47
parasite more often found in sub Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.
41:53
Over the years, these little worms have created a full
41:56
blown public health crisis in Alabama. During the Biden administration,
42:02
the Justice Department found the state government had been unwilling
42:06
to provide Louden's county with access to public sewage systems
42:10
or assistance in installing better private systems. State officials had
42:16
previously prosecuted poor black residents who couldn't put the bill
42:20
installing more expensive systems. Alabama was aware of the issues
42:26
and the disproportionate burden and impact placed on black residents
42:29
in Louden's County, but failed to take meaningful actions to
42:34
remedy these conditions. Justice Department officials set in twenty twenty
42:38
three when they reached an agreement to work toward improving
42:41
access to adequate sanitation systems and addressing the health risks
42:46
associated with raw sewage exposure. In April, the Justice Department
42:52
announced it was terminating the agreement, citing Trump's executive order
42:56
calling for an end to DEI programs and forbidding agency
43:00
from pursuing environmental justice programs. The EPA, also citing Trump's
43:06
anti DEI stance, counciled a fourteen million dollar grant awarded
43:11
to Texas A and M University to install hundreds of
43:15
septic tanks in Louden's County and other Black Bet County
43:18
Black Belt counties. Some Louden's County nonprofits has since turned
43:24
to five million dollars in funding remaining from President Biden's
43:27
pandemic era American Rescue Plan ACT advocates say that's not enough.
43:34
They're calling for more government support. Each septic system cost
43:39
as much as seventy thousand dollars to install. The Louden's
43:44
County Unincorporated Wastewater Program has installed three private septic systems
43:50
using the pandemic funds and is working on twelve other homes,
43:54
said Carmelita Arnold, the organization's president. But there are at
43:59
least five. I have one hundred families that still need help,
44:03
she said. I just felt we had more support when
44:07
we had the dog j keeping track. Arnold said, we
44:11
feel left behind again like so many other times. And
44:17
our next story. Trump officials to ask the Supreme Court
44:22
to allow firing a Fed Governor Lisa Cook. The Trump
44:26
administration will ask the Supreme Court to allow it to
44:31
fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, an unprecedented move that
44:36
would give the president greater power over the Central Bank
44:40
and its unparalleled role in steering the US economy, the
44:44
White House said Tuesday. Cook is participating in a Federal
44:49
Reserve meeting Tuesday and Wednesday, where the Central Bank is
44:53
expected to decide how much to cut interest rates for
44:56
the first time this year amid signs of a softening
44:58
labor market. The White House did not indicate when it
45:01
would file an appeal. The President lawfully removed Lisa Cook
45:07
cause pushed to sigh. A White House spokesman said in
45:10
a statement, the administration will appeal this decision and looks
45:15
forward to ultimate victory on the issue. If the High
45:20
Court decides to hear the case on firing Cook, it
45:23
will also set up the most significant test to date
45:26
a President Trump's aggressive push to exert greater political control
45:31
over independent agencies by removing their heads and board members.
45:36
A divided federal appeals court on Monday night rule Cook
45:40
can keep her job, turning aside an appeal by the
45:43
Trump administration that sought to fire her ahead of the
45:46
Central Bank's key meeting this week. Trump has accused Cook
45:50
of mortgage fraud, a charge she denies and has sought
45:55
her dismissal, but the three judge panel said the President
45:59
violated Cook's rights by not giving her a chance to
46:02
defend herself against the accusation. The government does not dispute
46:08
that it failed to provide Cook even minimal process, that is,
46:12
notice of the allegation against her and a meaningful opportunity
46:16
to respond before she was purportedly removed, the majority wrote.
46:21
In the two to one ruling, judges Bradley and Garcia
46:25
and Jane Michelle Chiles, both appointees of President Biden, ruled
46:30
against the Trump administration. Judge Gregory G. Castis, a Trump appointee, dissented.
46:38
Castis wrote that a federal judge was wrong to grant
46:41
Cook an injunction against her removal on grounds that the
46:44
alleged mortgage fraud occurred before she was nominated to the FED.
46:49
He also said Cook did not have a right to
46:52
do process. Both holdings are mistaken, and the equitable balance
46:58
here tips in favor of the government. Cast Us route
47:02
attorneys for Cook, wrote in filings that tried to remove
47:05
her so close to this week's meeting could throw the
47:08
Central Bank's vote on interest rates into chaos and has
47:12
the real potential of impacting domestic and foreign markets. Cook's
47:16
attorneys added in a Saturday filing that allowing Trump's firing
47:20
would transform the FED from a historically independent institution into
47:24
a at will body, leaving the nation's central bank and
47:29
its monetary policy at the mercy of the White House
47:33
in its political wins. The Central Bank is expected to
47:38
side at a meeting Tuesday and Wednesday how much to
47:40
cut interest rates for the first time this year, mid
47:43
signs of a softening labor market. No president in the
47:47
one hundred and eleven year history of the Fed has
47:50
tried a governor has tried to fire a governor from
47:54
the seven member board, which is tasked with maintaining maximum
47:58
employment as well as low and stable inflation. Congress set
48:02
up the agency to act with political autonomy from the
48:06
president so it could be free to make necessary but
48:09
often unpopular decisions, such as raising interest rates. The Federal
48:15
Reserve Act allows presidents to fire governors only for cause.
48:22
Trump accused Cook of mortgage fraud in late August, saying
48:26
the alleged wrongdoing gave him reason to oust her. The
48:30
Justice Department has opened an investigation, but no charges have
48:34
been filed. On Friday, the Washington Post obtained documents that
48:38
raise questions about Trump's assertion that Cook committed mortgage fraud.
48:44
Cook has denied the allegations and sued to keep her job,
48:48
saying her removal was illegal and a pretext for Trump
48:52
to have a FED board that would accede to his
48:55
wishes with lower interest rates. Tremp Is loudly complained for
49:00
months that the Fed should lower interest rates to boost
49:04
the economy, and had previously considered firing Federal Reserve Chair
49:08
Jerome H. Powell. US District Judge Jack Cobb, of Biden appointee,
49:14
issued a temporary restraining order September now ninth, allowing Cook
49:19
to remain on the board. Cob wrote in an opinion
49:23
that the alleged Morgan fraud occurred in twenty twenty one,
49:26
before Biden nominated Cook to the FED, so Trump didn't
49:30
have good reason to fire. The best reading for the
49:34
four caused provision is that the basis for removal for
49:38
a member of the Board of Governors are limited to
49:41
grounds concerning a governor's behavior in office and whether they
49:46
have been faithful and effectively executing their statutory duties, Cob wrote.
49:52
Cob also said Trump probably violated Cook's new process rights
49:56
because the President had not given her prior notice of
49:59
his intent to fire her and a chance to defend herself.
50:04
Administration attorneys argued in a court filing Saturday that judges
50:09
did not have the discretion to review Trump's decision to
50:12
remove Cook for removal for cause is a capricious standard
50:18
that Congress has vested in the president's discretion, the attorneys wrote,
50:23
Even if the president's determination were reviewable, and over a
50:28
century if case law suggested is not, review would be limited.
50:33
If the Trump administration appeals to the Supreme Court takes
50:37
the case, it's unclear how the justices might rule given
50:40
the lack of precedent. The majority in Monday's decision said
50:45
they did not need to rule on the meaning of
50:48
for cause because Cook's due process claims had merit. The
50:54
Supreme Court showed strong support for Trump's broad assertion of
50:58
power over independent agencies in recent rulings. It is permitted
51:03
the president to fire members of boards dealing with labor issues,
51:06
consumer product safety, and federal workers as they challenge their
51:11
removals in court. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Junior also
51:16
allowed Trump to go forward with the removal of a
51:19
Democratic member of the Federal Trade Commission while the courts
51:23
considered whether to weigh in on a case challenging her removal.
51:28
The Court's conservative majority, as rule Trump could fire agency
51:32
heads without cause, even though Congress set them up to
51:36
be insulated from political interference. Because the Constitution vests the
51:42
executive power in the president, the conservative majority wrote in
51:46
one case, he may remove without cause executive officers who
51:51
exercised that power on his behalf subject to narrow exemptions
51:57
recognized by our precedents. The decisions cut against a nineteen
52:02
thirty five ruling by the High Court known as Humphrey's Executor,
52:07
that found Congress could limit the president's power to remove
52:11
the heads of independent agencies, and Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh
52:15
has indicated the Court could soon overturn or limit that president.
52:21
The justices also signaled in the case allowing Trump to
52:24
temporarily remove the members of the National Labor Relations Board
52:28
and Merit Systems Protection Board in May, that the President
52:32
does not have unlimited authority to fire governors of the
52:36
FED because it is set up differently from other independent agencies.
52:42
The Federal Reserve is uniquely structured, quasi private entity that
52:47
allows and follows in the distinct historical tradition of the
52:52
First and Second Banks of the United States. The majority
52:54
wrote the ruling kin the same night the Senate narrowly
52:59
approved the nomination of Stephen Moran, a Trump economic advisor,
53:04
to fill a separate seat on the fed's board. And finally,
53:10
a softball player eighty goes viral for heartfelt message to
53:16
his wrecked team. Nelson Bradbury was struggling to sleep nervous
53:23
about an important softball game, so the eighty year old
53:26
got up to use the bathroom and type a rallying
53:29
text to his team on his iPad around two thirty am.
53:34
I have been laying in bed for the past hour
53:36
and a half thinking about tonight's game and thinking about
53:40
the great bunch of guys I am allowed to play with,
53:42
he wrote to his teammates, all of whom are younger
53:45
than him, some by many decades. I really appreciate the
53:52
way you guys treat me as an equal, not just
53:54
as an old fart. It's all of you. You keep
53:57
me going and give me the reason to get out
54:00
of bed in the morning. He continued, writing that he
54:03
wasn't sure if he play another year in the league.
54:06
Make a joke that nothing is certain at his age.
54:10
I don't buy green bananas anymore, Bradbury wrote, but I
54:14
do know that this will be the year of ball.
54:17
I play that I will remember all because of fourteen
54:20
great people. The wife of one of Bradley's adult softball
54:25
league teammates was so touched by the text that she
54:28
posted a photo of the message on TikTok, and soon
54:31
Bradbury had millions of fans. Bradbury didn't know that TikTok
54:36
what it was, but the photo prompted thousands of strangers
54:40
who saw his text and began following his team results
54:44
in a slow pitch league in Canada's Newfoundland and Labrador Province.
54:49
Bradbury's text even inspired the squad's new nickname, the Green Bananas.
54:55
Bradbury told The Washington Post that being an instant celebrity
54:58
is no big deal. All he did was tell his
55:01
teammates how he felt. Where else do you go when
55:05
you're going to be part of a group that's going
55:07
to treat you as an equal, that's going to respect you,
55:10
it's going to make a joke with you. I mean,
55:13
other than that, I'd be home setting on the chesterfield
55:17
doing what you know, getting dead, Bradbury said, using the
55:22
term chesterfield. For so far. Bradbury, a retired accountant, pitched
55:28
and played catcher in a fast pitched softball leagues when
55:31
he was in his twenties and early thirties, before taking
55:34
a break from the sport to focus on raising his
55:36
three children, Peter, Keith and Jill. About eleven years ago,
55:41
Bradbury was at a hospital with his wife as she
55:43
was getting treated for breast cancer when he saw a
55:46
sign for a local softball league from n thirty five
55:49
and old, I'll go back to playing ball, he recalled
55:53
telling his wife Margaret. Margaret joked that he was a fool,
55:57
Bradberry said, but he stuck to his work. While Bradbury
56:01
played catcher and bat he said, some players griped about
56:05
having one of the league's handful of players older than
56:07
sixty five on their team. Bradbury returned every year, staying
56:13
in shape by lifting weights, going to batting practice, and
56:16
walking with Margaret, who ended up beating cancer. When Al Heath,
56:21
the league's president, first played with Bradbury in twenty eighteen,
56:25
he was impressed by the veteran's energy and easy going
56:28
sense of humor. Heath has tried to add Bradbury to
56:31
his team every year since, including the season which began
56:35
in May. Bradbury, who wears number seventeen blue and orange jersey.
56:40
Only plays catcher because his teammates worry he'll get injured
56:43
at another position. Bradbury bats three or four times a game,
56:48
and he's hitting around five seventy this season, and after games,
56:52
he and his teammates grabbed beer together. Some games start
56:55
at nine to thirty PM, forcing Bradbury to stay up
56:59
past his usual eleven PM bedtime. Four games, Bradbury says
57:05
he tells his teammates to play it up for the
57:07
old guy. They encourage him to. Bradbury recently tripped running
57:12
to first base. His teammates called to move his slide.
57:18
He's the one that's motivating everybody to keep going out
57:21
and win, said Heath, who is fifty five. On September ninth,
57:26
Bradbury said he struggled to sleep due to the pressure
57:28
he felt perform for his teammates that night. Feeling sentimental,
57:33
he texted the group chat. Though he started with some humor. Well, guys,
57:38
just up to my middle of the night pee, he began.
57:42
One teammate replied glad to have you, you old fart,
57:46
and another wrote, your competitive competitiveness and passion for the
57:51
game is second to none, and seeing that inspires everyone
57:55
on this team and any team was lucky enough to
57:59
have you. Now, Bradbury is focused on winning the league championship.
58:03
His team is currently in the semifinals, and when he
58:05
scouted competition at the ball field during his fifty ninth
58:08
wedding anniversary this month, regardless of the results, Bradbury says
58:13
he's a winner. I got a bunch of good guys
58:15
I play with. Bradbury says he's gonna hang a team
58:18
photo on his home office wall, and I hope be
58:22
able to get out and play with all of them again.
58:25
And this concludes the reading of the Washington Post for today, Monday,
58:28
September twenty second. Your reader today has been Rod Brotherton.
58:31
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please feel
58:34
free to call us at eight five nine sixty three ninety.
58:38
Thank you for listening, and now play you stay tuned
58:40
for continued programming right here on Radio I