Transcript

8.16.25 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of Today's Washington Post for Saturday,
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August sixteenth of twenty twenty five. Your reader is Alastaana,
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with a reminder that RADIOI is a reading service for
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those blind or with difficulties in holding a readed printed material.
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And I will start at the top left of the
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Washington Post. Smith to remain chief as judge holds off
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federal control of DC Police pushback on takeover, but mandate
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to cooperate with Ice. Likely to stand by Megan Flynn,
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Salvador Rousseau, arissaou Jeremy Roebuck, and Olivia George to the
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right of that, and in Boulder print and higher capitals,
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no deal as summit wraps early. And there is a
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picture of Vled, Vladimir Putin and President Trump walking and
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talking on Friday in Anchorage, Alaska at Elmendorf Air Force
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Base before their high stakes meeting. And then below the
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picture Trump hosts Putin in Ukraine war talks. Leaders take
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no questions, say little about progress. By Michael being Baum,
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kat Zyikovski, Francesca Ebel, and Catherine Belton out of Anchorage.
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To the left of that is a small picture of
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a Ukrainian machine gun operator preparing to take infantry soldiers
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to a frontline position north of the key city of
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pok Krov, and it says ky of races to reclaim
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land lost in war, less US demand even more for
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peace by Shaubyn O'Grady and Sarah Kablochuk. And to the
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left of that picture of this Ukrainian soldier and below
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the smith to remain as chief name lives rent free
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in home meant for Coastguard leader by Mary Ann Levine
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lives Goodwin and Dan Lamartha. And then at the very
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bottom ice files reveal plans for break neck growth in
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detention space agency aims to double the number of beds,
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including for families by Douglas McMillan in Kirkpatrick and Lydia Siddham.
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And to the right of that US position helps sink
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talks on treaty to reign in plastics and this is
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bout Chico Harlan out of Geneva. Trump Putin break off
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summit with no Ukraine deals as talks and early President
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Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin took no questions
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after they broke off talks earlier than planned. Michael Birnbaum,
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kat Zakaruski, Jessic, Francesca Ebel, and Catherine Belton. This is
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out of anchorage. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir
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Putin broke off a high stakes meeting on Friday that
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aimed to end the bloodiest European war since World War II,
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in a historic visit that boosted the Russian leader but
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did not immediately deliver the peace in Ukraine that Trump
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so hotly seeks. The two leaders said they had made progress,
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that they offered no deals. In a brief appearance with reporters,
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Putin seized the moment to deliver a bristling history lesson
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about the root causes of the conflict in Ukraine, code
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for demilitarizing the country and blocking its entry to NATO,
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as Trump stood by his side. It was a sign
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of the Russian leader's continuing unwillingness to make concessions in
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his long quest to neutralize Kiev's efforts to stand free
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as a sovereign nation, and of the limitations so far
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of Trump's diplomacy by flattery playbook. It was a good
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day for Putin, who came in from the cold to
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be treated to a b tooth stealth Obama flyover a
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brief ride in Trump's armored limousine, and it chanced to
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show his own people that he was received as a
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peer by the world's most powerful man. Russian state media
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gleefully replayed clips of the red carpet reception and contrasted
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it with Trump's fiery handling of Ukrainian President Volodomiya Zolenski
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in February, when he booted the leader from the White House.
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Trump told reporters that he would brief European leaders and
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Zolensky about the talks, but that there's no deal until
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there's a deal. The president, who usually relisihous thrust in
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perry with journalist, took no questions, a rare moment of restraint.
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Speaker 2: That was a.
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Speaker 1: Measure of a meeting that likely yield fielded nothing immediately
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positive to report. We had an extremely productive meeting and
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many points were agreed to. There are just a very
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few that are left. Some are not that significant, one
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is probably the most significant. But we have had a
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very good chance of getting there, and we didn't get there,
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but we have a very good chance of getting there.
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Trump said later he grated the meeting a ten in
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the Since We Got Along Great. In an interview with
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Foxes Sean Hannity, Putin reeled Dolph points that were similar
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to ones he has offered since twenty fourteen, when he
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first grabbed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula. Putin said terms that he
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has often used to complain of, in terms that he
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has often used to complain about Ukraine's desire to integrate
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with the European Union and stand firmly independent from Moscow.
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He said, we are convinced that in order to make
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the settlement lasting and long term, we need to eliminate
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all the root causes of the conflict. But even as
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he stood firm on Ukraine issues, he sought to flatter Trump,
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who is often declared that if he had been in
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office in twenty twenty two, Putin never would have launched
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his full scale invasion. Today, when President Trump is saying
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that if he was president back then there would be
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no war, I am quite certain it would be so
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I can confirm that, he said, smiling towards his counterpart.
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Speaker 2: It was an.
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Speaker 1: Abrupt end to a historic meeting that started with pomp, pageantry,
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and warmth between the two leaders. Trump has been fascinated
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by the Russian strong man since long before he entered politics,
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and he has boasted that he could achieve breakthroughs because
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of what he says is his understanding of the former
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KGB spot. He has also declared his determination to win
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a Nobel Peace Prize and cease solving the bloody war
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in Ukraine as his ticket. Ahead of the meeting, Trump
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has said for the first time publicly that he was
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open to the possibility of security guarantees for Ukraine along
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with other European countries. That was good news to the
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ears of many leaders in European capitals, but they were
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holding their breath all the same, nervous that once Putin
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and Trump are in the same room, the outcome could
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veer sharply in Russia's favor. In a change to initial
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plans for the summit that provided some measure of calm
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to Kiev in Europe, Trump and Putin scrapped a plan
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one on one meeting in favor of a small gathering
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that included Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Envoy Steve
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Whitkof and two top Russian aids in addition to the leaders.
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In some of Trump's first term summits with Putin. Top
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Whitehouse aides worried that the Russian leader had used one
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on one meetings to promote Kremlin narratives with little pushback
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from the US side.
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Speaker 2: But the leaders had.
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Speaker 1: A brief, unusual first interaction on the tarmac that showed
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the warmth between the two men and inspired knots of
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anxiety in Europe. Trump clapped briefly for Putin as the
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Russian approached on the red carpet after exiting the presidential
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illusian jet. The two men shook hands, appeared to joke, chuckled,
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and stood on a riza as a B two stealth
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Mama flew overhead. Then Putin entered the Beast, the famous
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presidential armored car, continuing to speak to Trump directly and
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appearing not even to use an interpreter, an unusual breach
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of security and diplomatic protocol. The chemistry was unusually warm
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for both men, who can be reserved with their counterparts.
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Despite that warm start, European leaders breathed the desire of
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relief after the summit ended abruptly with little to show
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for the effort. At least Trump didn't give in. That's
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a good thing. One senior European diplomat said, speaking on
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the condition of anonymnity to talk candidly about internal reactions,
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Putin had a host of issues he wanted to talk
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about with Trump during his first meeting with the US
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president since twenty twenty one, just ahead of his February
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twenty twenty two full scale invasion of Ukraine. If he
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had been able to split Trump's focus away from purely
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Ukraine related issues, he might have succeeded in ending some
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of his international isolation and free his hand on economic
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and security matters. With the blessing of the US president,
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hopes were high on the Russian side that the United
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States could eventually start issuing visas again for Russian citizens,
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restart flights between the two countries, and even begin lifting sanctions,
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said Sergei Markov, a pro Kremlin political analyst. In return,
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Russia is considering agreeing to limited ceasefire on air strikes,
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a so called air truce, as well as potentially agreeing
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to a meeting to discuss a full seasefire between Putin,
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Zelensky and Trump.
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Speaker 2: Markov said, but.
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Speaker 1: There was a little immediate indication that they had reached
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that deal of Friday. Putin may be seeking to offer
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Trump just enough to buy himself time to continue to
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press his advantage in eastern Ukraine, where his troops have
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been making gains in recent weeks. Has raised the idea
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of land swaps, a trade of territorial control within Ukraine's
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sovereign borders that could buy a peace while accepting some
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form of Russian control of the parts of its neighbor
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that it has captured. Putin's decision to bring a host
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of business leaders, even though Trump has declared that the
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meeting would be focused exclusively on Ukraine issues, was an
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indication of his strategy. The Russian leader also floated the
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possibility of discussing arms control and other issues over the
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course of what his spokesman said would be six to
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seven hours talks on Friday. Instead, they spoke for little
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more than three hours. Putin hadn't stepped foot in the
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United States since two thousand and seven, apart from a
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visit to the United Nations in New York. Trump on
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Friday expressed appreciation that Putin brought along the business leaders,
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even though the US president has threatened to increase sanctions
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and other economic punishments amid the ongoing war. They want
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to do business, but they're not doing business until we
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get the war settled, Trump said. Trump also spoked spoke
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to Belarusian President Alexander Lakashinko from Air Force one as
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he traveled to Alaska. An extraordinary high level reached to
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a leader who spent most of his three decade rule
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of his nation isolated from the West. Trump wrote on
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tooth social that he had a wonderful conversation with a
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highly respected Lakashenko in what appeared to be the first
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publicly confirmed conversation between a US president and the Belarusian leader.
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Speaker 2: I look forward to meeting.
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Speaker 1: President Lukashenko in the future, Trump wrote. But even as
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Trump and Putin sat down for their meetings, the Russian
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military continued to carry out air strikes on Friday across
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Ukraine's eastern and southern regions, including a strike on the
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central market in Sumi. Zelensky said in an evening address,
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there is not only no order, but also no signal
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from Moscow about preparing to end this wall on the
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day of negotiations. They are also killing, and that says
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a lot, Zelensky said, continuing about the Ukraine, Ukraine scrambles
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to roll back Russian eastern advance as summit takes place.
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The timing of Russia's advance is a calamity for Kiv,
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which already fears its most important ally will abandon it.
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As Trump floats exchanging territories to end the wall. Robin
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O'Grady and sarahil Korolchuk Dansk Region, Ukraine, Ukrainian troops are
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racing to clawback a key stretch of land on the
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Eastern Front after a surprise Russian advance bolstered Moscow's position.
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As President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met
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in Alaska, Ukraine rushed elite troops to try to seal
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the disastrous breach. After small groups of Russian foot soldiers
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exploited weak points on Ukraine's flanks and pushed more than
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nine miles toward the eastern city of Doblarbiya in rapid
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gains that threatened the security of the entire contested region.
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If Russia cements its hold on the territory, it will
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damage Ukrainian supply lines and bring Moscow closer to its
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goal of seizing the eastern city of Karamotorsk. Putin has
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already claimed the whole Dansk region as his own and
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is pushing Ukraine to seed all of the dmvas, which
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includes Dansk and Luhansk regions, as part of any deal
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to end the war. Many Ukrainian civilians, sensing impending crisis,
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are rushing to evacuate the area. And there is a
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map showing the Luhansk and Dambas area in the eastern
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portion of Ukraine with Russian advances on the southern end
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of it since July fourteenth in bright red, and that's
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going towards Drobopiya and Kamortorsk, and there are alliance of
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the Russian it's in pink, and then the Ukraine area
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is selt of a crew tan. Russian President Volodimir Zolensky,
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not Russian. Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky, who is shot out
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of the Alaska summit, said this week, you will never
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agree to give up more territory because if it only
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serve as a springboard for future Russian attacks against Ukraine.
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Despite Ukraine's insistence that it will not retreat, the timing
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of Russia's advances undeniably a climaty for Kiev, which already
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fears its most important ally will abandon it as Trump
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floats exchanging territories to end the war. Every end of
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the Dansk region that Kiv loses brings Russia closer to
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its goal of fully claiming the territory, either on the
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battlefield or through negotiations. Time is playing against us, said Maksim,
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a sergeant commanding more than one hundred and thirty troops
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in Ukraine's eighty second Air Assault Brigade, which is among
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those tasks with pushing the Russians back before Moscow moves
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in artillery and drone units. Ukraine has since captured and
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killed several of the estimated sixty Russian troops who initially
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broke through, but the rest are holding onto their gains
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as they await reinforcements. About Thursday evening, Mosksam said Ukraine
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had forced Russians back as far as three miles in
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some places. He was confident they would retake even more
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land by the time Trump and Putin met Friday, but
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acknowledged that conditions would become more difficult in villages where
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the complex terrain typically slows advances. Kiev needs us to
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finish this as soon as possible, he said of the
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urgent mission to push back the Russian troops. He spoke
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from a fortified base that one month ago saturby twenty
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four miles from the contact line and is now only
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thirteen months away. Behind him, massive flumes of smoke rose
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over fields of sunflowers and corn. His newest recruits, who
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will soon deploy to the front, sat on the ground
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outside and practiced assembling their assault rifles. I don't feel fear,
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mostly just anger towards the units adjacent to us that
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they are not maintaining the same level of defense as
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we are, said Maxim, who spoke on the condition that
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only his first name be used in keeping with military rules.
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He added, we saw the breach of the positions we
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heard the Russian commander giving in order to go all in.
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There's a picture of a field of sunflowers and military
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vehicles driving past it.
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Speaker 2: Manpower woes.
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Speaker 1: The avoidable Russian breakthrough laid bare Ukraine's persistent military vulnerabilities
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that have long obstructed its ability to advance. Lack of manpower,
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lack of ammunition, and at times lack of co coordination
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and motivation among exhausted soldiers who are often expected to
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hold trenches for a month or more without rotations. The
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Russian gains just ahead of the summit have intensified fears
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over Putin's upper hand as he met with an unpredictable
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US president who has repeatedly changed his position on Ukraine.
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The fact we lost territories so fast, so rapidly, is
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because we are not adjusting to Russian tactics, said Captain
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Artem Kaluchevich forty, a drone commander in the eighty second Brigade.
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The Russian troops who launched the surprise assault this week
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were unskilled, he said, but they got past more experienced
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Ukrainian soldiers whose reconnaissance teams failed to detect him in
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tree lines. I have a tense feeling about it, he
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said about the summit and he dealed to in the war.
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He added, must not leave us lowering our eyes when
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we see war widows in ten years. We must be
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able to explain it to our kids and not be ashamed. Nearby,
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drone operators from Ukraine's sixty eighth Jacob Brigade, stationed south
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of the key city of Pokrosk, were homing in on
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Russian troops in a base near the front commanders watched
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on the screens as the drones picked off the man
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one by one. The Russian troops bodies left in the
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destroyed landscape of abandoned Ukrainian homes. Volodomir forty nine, a
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battalion leader, said his brigade has tried to hold this
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key part of the front line by maintaining it as
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a kill zone that protects infantry by killing the foot
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soldiers before they reach Ukrainian positions. But his most urgent need,
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he said, his people, and as he waits for recruits,
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Russia is staging new offense. Trump said on August eighth
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that he would introduce new sanctions. He clearly understands he's
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giving Putin more time to free up her sauces. He
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said if he imposed sanctions within a few months, Russia
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would come begging to him for a deal to end
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the war, rather than hosting Putin in Alaska. He said
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he wished the US would have arrested him as a
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war criminal. Vatali forty six, a unit commander in the battalion,
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said he was hit last week by a Russian drone,
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but had the sharpnel removed and returned to the fight
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because he feared abandoning his troops.
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Speaker 2: His men are holding the line.
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Speaker 1: South of Vrovsk, which pushed Russia to find weaknesses elsewhere.
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The fight has left his soldiers exhausted and in desperate
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need of reinforcements.
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Speaker 2: They just don't have. We lack people.
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Speaker 1: Betali zed, but the brigade still manages to kill about
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thirty Russian troops per day. If Ukraine seeds that land,
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he said, Russia will use the people and resources from
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the occupied land to fight against Ukraine. Retreat, he added,
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is not an option. I have been wounded three times.
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I can only partially fight now. But I came into
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this war as a soldier, he said, and I continue
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to fight into the darkness. On Thursday night, in a
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small clearing next to a sunflower field, six soldiers from
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the eighty second Brigade made final checks on their supplies
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days of food and water, hand held shovels to dig trenches,
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sleeping mats, rifles, ammunition, helmets covered in strips of green
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fabric to help blend into the summit landscape. Two climbed
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onto the roof of the US made Striker armored vehicle
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that would take them to the front and adjusted the
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roof mounted machine gun used to shoot down incoming drones.
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The body of the eight wheeled fighting vehicle was covered
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in a metal cage, a Ukrainian touch on the US
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design to protect the precious vehicle from constant attacks by
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small drums. None of us are safe. We don't full
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understand from which direction they can come toward us, but
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we already are prepared to face any scenario, said Makola,
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aged twenty five. There is a worrid feeling, but our
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mission is to go to the position and hold the position,
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he added. The team leader, a forty two year old
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former tractor driver who goes by the called signal Tudo,
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said he was very very nervous to travel to the
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new front line after the Russian advance. The scariest part
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is to go to the Pians and returned from them
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because my wife and kids are waiting for me, so
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I want to come back, he said. Chiudo spent more
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than a year under Russian occupation in his home village
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of olus Kaseba into the Kirson region. He eventually escaped
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with his family and was mobilized last year to fight.
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The village remains under Russian control. Cheeto hadn't heard that
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Pudin and Trump planned to meet in Alaska on Friday,
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but he said that whatever decision the leaders reached, he
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would never accept a deal that meant he could not
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one day return to his village in Kirson, where he
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once led a simple, peaceful life growing tomatoes and watermelons.
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I'm fighting for my land, he said, clutching his rifle
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as he boarded the Striker. The doors shut like a trap,
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and the vehicle pulled out of the wooded line and
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moved down the dusty lane and into the darkness which
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hid the smoke rocks in from the place the men
26:01
were headed to defend. Christ Nome is living rent free
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in home used by Coast Guard commandant. A DHS spokeswoman
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said no must live on the military base because she
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has been so horribly doxed and targeted that she is
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no longer able to safely live in her own apartment.
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And there is a picture of the Department of Homeland
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Security Christy L. Nome, who is living in the US
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Coast Guards Commandant's home or headquarters, a highly unusual arrangement,
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and she is speaking to Coast Guard personnel by Mary
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and Levine, Liz Goodwin, and Dan Lemouth. Department of Homeland
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Security Secretary Christy L. Nome is living for free in
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a military home typically reserved for the US Coast Guard's
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top admiral. Officials familiar with the matter said the highly
27:03
unusual arrangement has raised concern within the agency and from
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some Democrats, who described it as a waste of military resources.
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Nome recently moved into Headquarters I, a spacious waterfront residence
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a joint base Anacostia Bowling in Washington, where the Coast
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Guard commandant typically resigns. She did so because of concerns
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over her safety. After The Daily Mail, a British tabloid,
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published photographs in April of the area around Nome's residence
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in Washington's Navy Yard neighborhood. A DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said.
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McLaughlin described Nome's time at the commandant's residence as temporary.
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She did not specify how long the setup would last
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or how long Nome is lived there. Nome pays no
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rent to live in the commandant's house, according to an
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official familiar with the matter, who, like others, spoke on
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the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.
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That's a departure from how other cabinet secretaries have handled
28:11
similar arrangements. Other cabinet officials, including during both Trump administrations,
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had paid to use military housing that otherwise would be
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occupied by top generals and admirals. Nomes housing has raised
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oberws among current and retired Coastguard officials, as well as Democrats,
28:29
who warn that Nome risks creating the perception that she's
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exploiting the perks of her position as DHS Secretary, in
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which she supervises the Coast Guard. They say her decision
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could set off a chain reaction that could displace other
28:45
senior members of the service in a situation with limited hosing.
28:50
Current and former Coastguard members have also cited Nome's frequent
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use of a Coastguard Gulf Stream aircraft as a point
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of tension. Agency guidelines require the DHS Secretary to use
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a plane with secure communications for both personnel or personal
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and professional business, though they are required to reimburse the
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government for personal travel. McLachlin said Nome had reimbursed tens
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of thousands of dollars for the air travel after publication
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of this story. Nome faced scrutincy for her expenses when
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she served as governor of South Dakota. She spent sixty
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eight thousand dollars in taxpayer money to refurbish the governor's
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mansion with the sauna, chandelier and other amenities. The Sioux
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fALS Argus Leader reported in twenty twenty one, and South
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Dakota picked up the tab for at least one hundred
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and fifty thousand dollars in campaign and personal travel for
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Nome related to her security when she was governor. The
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Associated Press reported this year. Nome's housing arrangement could create
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the impression that she is exploiting her position of authority
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over the Coastguard to accrue perks for herself, said Cynthia Brown,
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Senior Ethics Council at Citizens Or Responsibility in Ethics in Washington,
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a left leaning watchdoor nonprofit. What are the optics? Brown said,
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and is this taking advantage of your individual position as
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a government official to benefit unduly. McLaughlin defended nomes living
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arrangement in an email to The Washington Post, saying it
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was necessary because the secretary had been so horribly doxed
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and targeted. That she is no longer able to safely
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live in her own apartment. She added that it was
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sad for a Post reporter to suggest a rancher should
30:50
have to pay a second rent because of a reporter's
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irresponsible decisions to docks where she lives. If you cannot
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find humanity in another um human safety and security, I
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invite you to find it here, she said, including a
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link to Washington's National Cathedral. Nome earns more than two
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hundred thousand dollars in annual salary as secretary, and Forbes
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recently estimated her net worth at five million dollars, mostly
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due to her husband's business and real estate holdings in
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South Dakota. McLaughlin said Nome continues to pay rent for
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her Navy Yard residents. The Daily Mail first reported in
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July that Nome had moved to the commandant's home. The
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Post is the first to confirm that Nome has been
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living in the commandant home rent free. President Donald Trump's
31:41
pick to lead the Coast Guard, Admiral Kevin E. Lunday,
31:45
the number two officer currently serving as acting Commandant, has
31:49
yet to be formally nominated and confirmed by the Senate.
31:53
Lunday lives in a nearby home one base, according to
31:57
two people familiar with his living arrangement. A White House
32:00
official said they expected nominations to be sent to the
32:04
Senate soon. When asked about the status of Lundy's nomination,
32:09
McLaughlin didn't address whether Lunde would move into the commandant's
32:13
host once confirmed. Before Nome moved in, the residence was
32:17
vacant following the administration's January firing of Admiral Linda Fagan,
32:22
the last commandant. The host is usually and occasionally used
32:28
to host Coastguard events and dignitaries. Unusual arrangement. Former administration
32:36
officials and members of the Coastguard described nomes limiting situation
32:40
as unorthodox, and said the arrangement could affect other senior
32:44
military officials given that there is limited hosing on the base.
32:48
Some Defense secretaries, including the current when peak Headseth, have
32:53
lived in military hosing, following a federal law allowing hosing
32:58
for their role, but indic kating they must pay for it.
33:01
No such statue exists for other top presidential aids, including
33:06
cabinet secretaries. J Johnson, who led DHS under President Barack Obama,
33:13
told the Posts that until now, no dh secretary has
33:17
lived in government housing. He expressed concern about the message
33:22
that sends down the line in the career military community.
33:28
I recall visiting the commandant's host in twenty fourteen. I
33:32
thought then it was very nice waterfront host, but I
33:35
had no impulse to want to move there. Most likely,
33:39
if a Cabinet secretary takes a government host, there's a
33:42
chain reaction in people very senior are getting displaced, Johnson
33:47
said in an email. Retired Coast Guard Admiral Paul Zucknef,
33:53
who served as commandant during the first Trump administration, said
33:57
the service typically has four homes for its time admirals
34:00
at Anacostia Bowling. If Noe resides in one, he said,
34:04
that would displace another Coastguard leader in what amounts to
34:08
brinkmanship of musical quarters. Quarters wine has been used exclusively
34:14
by the current serving commandant since we entered into agreement
34:17
for this quarter circa twenty ten, Zupnuff said in an email.
34:23
The arrangement is drawing scrutiny from Democratic lawmakers who oversee
34:27
the Coast Guard. Senator Chris Murphy Connecticut, the top Democrat
34:33
on the Senate Appropriation Subcommittee on Homeland Security said that
34:37
the commandants is not a vanity residence and that Gnome
34:42
is essentially taking that property from the military. It's a
34:47
real insult to the brave men and women who are
34:50
protecting our sures that she thinks that host belongs to
34:53
her instead of the Coastguard, Murphy said in a statement.
34:58
McLaughlin said that the need for heightened security for Secretary
35:02
Nome should make sense even to a reporter, given she
35:06
has DHS going after the worst of the worst that
35:09
includes hundreds, if not thousands, of members of international cartels
35:13
and terrorist organizations. McLaughlin did not discrosse what specific threats
35:19
of violence Gnoma has faced following the Daily Mail story,
35:23
though she pointed to the fact that her security detail
35:26
had to be increased, especially outside her living space. The
35:31
publication toted that story as an exclusive and included pictures
35:36
of the building and of Curry Landowarski, NUM's longtime political
35:42
adviser and chief adviser at DHS, outside the complex. The
35:48
Daily Mail did not immediately respond to her request for comment.
35:53
In April, nomes gucci purse was stolen from a downtown
35:57
Washington restaurant along with her passport. DHS security badge and
36:01
about three thousand in cash federal officials had at the time.
36:05
She was not targeted for her role as DHS secretary.
36:10
During the first Trump administration, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
36:14
came under scrutiny after seeking housing a Potomac Hill, a
36:19
Navy controlled facility in Washington where several senior military officers live.
36:25
A Navy lawyer assessed that it would be problematic if
36:30
Pompeo moved into the home, citing a shortage of housing
36:34
for top Navy and Marine Corps offices, according to a
36:38
memo obtained by the nonprofit American Oversight. The memo added
36:43
that Congress clearly and explicitly identified only the Secretary of
36:49
Defense as an eligible resident in housing usually reserved for
36:52
military personnel, and that grant was unquestionably exclusive to the
36:57
Secretary of Defense. That statute seems to relot similar treatment
37:03
to other members of the president's cabinet, the lawyer concluded.
37:08
Pompeiio ultimately moved into the Army headquarters at Joint Base
37:12
Meyer Henderson Hall nearby in Virginia and paid fair market
37:16
value for it. His staff at the time, said members
37:20
of the military, including the Coastguard commandant receive a hosing
37:25
allowance that is based on their rank, the city they
37:28
live in, and their dependence. It is common for members
37:31
of the Coast Guard to use the funding to pay
37:34
for a lease, including in the host when nim is resigning.
37:39
According to a person familiar with Coastguard hosing policy, previous
37:44
commandants have paid the leasing company directly for the headquarters,
37:47
they said. Nonetheless, DHS leadership does not typically live on
37:53
military basis.
37:55
Speaker 2: There have been exceptions.
37:57
Speaker 1: Don Teen, who served as Deputy's secretary from twenty twenty
38:00
one to ten twenty three, lived at joint based Anacostia
38:05
Bowling as a retired US Army colonel. He paid three
38:09
thousand a month for a four bedroom condominium, according to
38:13
a former DHS official, senior Gulfstream Jet. The Coast Guard,
38:20
established in its modern form in nineteen fifteen, is the
38:24
only one of the six branches of the US Armed
38:27
Forces that is not controlled by the Defense Department. Charged
38:31
with providing maritime law enforcement and protecting ports and waterways,
38:36
and conducting search and rescue operations, the agency has about
38:41
forty thousand active duty personnel and thousands more civilian employees.
38:46
And an operating budget of ten point four billion dollars
38:50
this year. As DHS head name oversees the Coast Guard
38:57
and twenty one other federal agencies, and had has assumed
39:00
a high profile role spearheading the president's mass deportation campaign.
39:06
She has focused much of her attention and messaging on
39:10
immigration enforcement, drawing scrutiny and criticism amid souring public approval
39:17
of Trump's handling of the issue. Nome has featured the
39:21
US Coast Guard on DHS social media accounts and her
39:24
personal feeds, with posts that show her posing in front
39:28
of a helicopter, with service members riding in the Coastguard
39:32
boat and at the controls of an agency plane. The
39:36
agency has enjoyed some benefits under her leadership, including a
39:40
boost of nearly twenty five billion dollars in funding in
39:43
the tax and spending bill Congress approved last month, money
39:48
that is expected to help pay for infrastructure, helicopter's, aircraft, icebreakers,
39:53
and vessels. Nome's frequent use of the Coastguard plane has
39:57
also created tension with military brains officials, given that two
40:02
Coast Guard planes are reserved for admirals and senior officials
40:06
at DHS senior civilian officials at DHS. In the spring,
40:13
Nome requested fifty million dollars to pay for a new
40:16
gulf Stream V jet that would replace one of two
40:19
Coast Guard planes.
40:21
Speaker 2: A DHS officials.
40:23
Speaker 1: Said at the time that the new jet was substitute
40:27
for the one in service for more than two decades,
40:29
which is well beyond operational usage hours for a corporate aircraft.
40:36
Like her DHS predecessors, Nome generally travels on Coast Guard
40:41
planes equipped with secure communications capabilities so that she remains
40:46
in touch with the federal officials in case of emergencies.
40:51
The Coastguard commandant also typically flies in a military jet
40:55
with similar.
40:58
Speaker 2: Equipment.
41:00
Speaker 1: He has used the jets to travel home to South
41:02
Dakota at least nine times as of mid July, according
41:06
to publicly available flight tracking information. The jets have made
41:10
trips to and from Watertown Regional Airport in southeast in
41:14
eastern South Dakota, which is close to Castlewood, near which
41:18
Nome has a ranch. The Secretary has given special dispensation
41:24
to use Coastguard aircraft for both official and unofficial travel,
41:28
so long as he or she refunds the government the
41:30
cost of a regular coach seat on a commercial aircraft
41:34
for personal travel according to the federal policy. GNOME has
41:39
also been particular about the service on the planes, and
41:43
once this incident, she and her staff grew irritated when
41:47
a weighted blanket she often uses on trips was not
41:50
provided to her, an issue that was escalated within the service,
41:55
according to one person familiar with the incident. McLaughlin did
41:59
not answer question from the Post about the incident. In
42:02
her statement, she confirmed that gnomis among the required users
42:07
of the two aircraft landmark. Plastic talks collapse with the
42:14
US opposing key production limits. The multi year attempt to
42:20
curb global plastic pollution is at an impasse, with the
42:24
US set against the production limits that many nations see
42:28
as the main solution. And there is a picture of
42:33
plastic pollution in a mangrove in Panama City, Panama, in
42:39
December of twenty twenty four.
42:41
Speaker 2: And all you.
42:42
Speaker 1: See plastic soccer ball, plastic and tin and bottles, and
42:50
I mean is just you don't see the watar because
42:53
you see this floating on top of it. Out of
42:56
Geneva by Chico Harlan, after spurning other global environmental efforts.
43:02
The United States showed up enforced in Switzerland for land
43:06
to Mark plastic treaty talks, seeking a deal the Trump
43:10
administration said, but opposing the production limits that many other
43:14
nations saw as the main solution. That position was just
43:19
one of the many factors that helped sink the talks,
43:22
which broke apart early Friday morning after eleven tense days,
43:26
and left the multi year attempt to curb the world's
43:29
plastic pollution at an impasse. Though the country's in attendance
43:34
had hoped to strike the most important environmental treaties since
43:38
the Paris Agreement, they instead wound up fighting over contradictory
43:43
red lines as a draft text was endlessly revised, never
43:47
coming even close to an agreement. Some participants before heading home,
43:53
said they could see faint signs of progress, but others
43:56
questioned whether the consensus based internationals system, increasingly shaped by
44:02
the zero sum negotiating approach to President Donald Trump, could
44:07
rather entrench divides and lead to a zeal to a
44:10
deal in the current political circumstances. It's really tough, said
44:17
Ian Fry, a negotiator from the Pacific island of Tuvalu,
44:22
speaking about the US. He said there was not a
44:25
lot of room for them to move, and added it's
44:29
unprecedented this transcendence. As talks broke up, Kate Lynch, Australia's
44:36
lead negotiator, told other countries that characterizing any of our
44:42
discussions in terms of winners and losers only makes us
44:45
all losers. The next step, though uncertain, could include a
44:49
future negotiating session. Before the talks, the US under Trump
44:55
had largely pulled back from global in environmental efforts, exiting
45:01
the Paris Agreement, skipping an Ocean Protection summit, and deriving
45:06
globalist sustainability goals, but the Plastic Treaty negotiations touched on
45:12
direct interest. The US is the world's second largest plastics producer,
45:18
and fossil fuels are a central component of that production.
45:23
A State Department statement later at the US position Washington
45:28
opposed any explicit limits on plastic production and objected to
45:32
any potential restrictions on plastic additives or productions. Such measure,
45:37
as the US statement said, would increase the cost of
45:42
plastic products. That stance put the US in step with
45:47
the likes of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, around in Russia and
45:51
in opposition to them many African nations, Caribbean and Pacific islands,
45:56
as well as the European Union. So much of the
46:00
fight unfolded in the arcane language of United Nations drafting.
46:05
It exposed underlying fault lines over how to handle one
46:09
of the world's most pressing environmental crisis, Perhaps the biggest dibad.
46:15
Should a global solution focus on better waste management or
46:20
also on producing far less plastic in the first place,
46:25
We cannot mop the floor while the pipe is gushing,
46:28
Juan Carlos Monterey Gomez, panama'sley negotiator, told the other countries.
46:35
The world now produces four hundred and sixty million tons
46:39
of plastic annually, compared with two million in nineteen fifty,
46:45
and only about nine percent is recycled. The rest ends
46:49
up in landfills, burned in toxic pounds in global South megacities,
46:55
or in the ocean and on beaches. A tiny percentage
46:59
in the fall of microplastics even winds up in our
47:02
food and bodies in growing concentration. As plastic usage surges,
47:09
people are outraged, They are worried. Inger Anderson, the executive
47:15
director at the UN Environment Program, said as the negotiations began,
47:21
and rightly so. Plastic use at the current trajectory is
47:25
producted almost triple by twenty sixty according to the Organization
47:29
for Economic Cooperation and Development. That projected boom has turned
47:35
plastics into a crucial growth market for fossil fuel companies
47:39
at a time when solar power and electric vehicle uptake
47:42
is expected to eat into demand. The American Chemistry Council,
47:48
whose members include Exxon, Mobil, and Dow, had encouraged the
47:52
Trump administration to be engaged in the plastics negotiations, said
47:57
Matthew Kastner, a spokesman for the group. Environmental groups note
48:03
that the US position in Geneva echoed arguments from the
48:07
petrochemical industry associations. The State Department, in its statements, said
48:13
the US did not support onerous restrictions on producers that
48:18
would harm US companies and the nearly one million American
48:22
workers employed in plastics and related industries. It added that
48:28
plastics play a critical role throughout every sector of every economy,
48:34
such as food packaging, medical devices, it, aerospace, and auto production.
48:41
Last week, Reuters reported that the US had sent letters
48:45
to at least a handful of countries, framing the treaty
48:50
talks as a last ditch effort and clarifying its red lines.
48:54
In the memo, which was obtained by The Washington Post,
48:58
the US warned other countries that maximlomist positions here would
49:05
likely derail this process. Countries have been trying for three
49:11
years to get closer to a treaty, and the work
49:13
has been fraught. Even before Trump took office last July,
49:18
under President Joe Biden, the US had released a report
49:22
saying the government was ready to take unprecedented action on
49:26
all aspects of plastics, including a global target for production.
49:32
That move was cheered by many environmental groups. But four
49:36
months later, four months later, with Biden still in the
49:40
White House but Trump as President elect, the US position
49:44
was mushir as negotiators met in South Korea with the
49:48
hopes of clinching a treaty. One former US government official
49:53
familiar with the negotiations, who spoke on the condition of
49:57
amninimnity to discussed closed doors liberations, said the US had
50:02
gone to South Korea willing to address reduction goals were
50:06
the outbinding obligations. Other countries wanted firmer language that contributed
50:12
to talks reaching an impasse, and the treaty work was
50:15
printed to Geneva.
50:18
Speaker 2: Under Trump, the US.
50:19
Speaker 1: Stance has gone from here are carefully caveated, worded caveats
50:25
to know, the former official said. For Geneva, the US
50:30
paired back the size of its delegation, reducing the number
50:34
of representatives from more science oriented agencies. According to a
50:39
comparison of participant list, still there were plenty of holdovers
50:44
career civil servants who had been leading the work under Biden.
50:49
Day after day in Geneva, those US officials received letters
50:53
to their work email addresses from John Josvar, Greenpeace's Oceans campaigned.
51:01
Josavar said they were meant to be provocative. We have
51:05
not always or even usually agreed, but in the past
51:08
it is felt that we have made some progress together
51:11
and that there were some areas of alignment. That is
51:15
no longer the case. He wrote to them during the talks.
51:19
So I can only assume that some of you are
51:22
thinking of colleagues that are no longer working for the
51:24
federal government and wondering whether you should have left as well.
51:29
The State Department did not respond to a request for
51:33
comment about the letters. None of the US recipients wrote
51:37
back to him, who Kosovar said. Kosavar said that the
51:42
shift of the US dance between administrations, however nuanced, had
51:47
made an incredibly challenging treaty process nearly impossible. Made me
51:53
think of the movie The Graduate, of which the big
51:57
word was plastics. I don't have time to finish this,
52:02
but Kennedy's Center drop's family that made Honor's medallions for
52:07
forty seven years, the Arch Center has contacted the jeweler
52:13
Tiffany and Company to redesign the award by Janey Kingsbury
52:19
and Travison Andrews. For more than forty seven years, the
52:23
DC area family has made the medals for the Kennedy
52:26
Center Honors gold plated medallions outfitted with satin ribbons in
52:31
rainbow colors and presented to luminaries including Alpaccino, Johnny Cash, Oprah, Remfrey, Bruce, Springsteel,
52:38
and The Grateful Dead. James Baturin, an eighty six year
52:43
old retired marketing or marking device manufacturer, said he his wife, Miela,
52:50
and their two kids assembled more than two hundred and
52:52
fifty five awards, mostly from the kitchen countertop of their
52:56
home in Bethesda, Maryland, since the Kennedy Center Honors began
53:01
in nineteen seventy eight. That relationship abruptly ended earlier this month,
53:07
just days before President Donald Trump announced the first class
53:11
of Kennedy's Senner Honouresa under his leadership of the Arts Complex,
53:15
which will go to glam metal band Kiss, Broadway and
53:19
West End star Michael Crawford, country music legend George Strait,
53:25
actress Di vest So, The Alone, and singer Gloria Gaynor.
53:30
In a letter reviewed by The Washington Post, the Kennedy
53:32
Center thanked the veterans for their partnership and craftsmanship, and
53:36
said that the Senate would move in a different direction.
53:40
As the Kennedy Center looks forward toward the future and
53:43
embarks on a new chapter, we will be transitioning to
53:47
a new partnership for the creation of the honors medallions.
53:51
According to the letter, which was dated August sixth and
53:54
signed by Matthew Weiner, a winner the Senior Director of
53:58
Broadcast Media and Special Programs, the letter did not elaborate
54:03
on a new vision or vendor for the awards. As
54:06
The Post reported Tuesday, the Sinner had contacted the jeweler
54:10
Tiffany and Company to redesign the medallion, which hasn't changed
54:14
since it was designed for the first Honors by New
54:17
York artist Ivan chermhow it is unclear what changes the
54:21
Center hopes to make to the medallions. Tiffany and Company
54:25
and the Kennedian Center did not immediately respond to request
54:28
for comment. In a statement the Post, Wunna, who has
54:32
since left the Kennedy Center, acknowledged the contributions of the
54:36
Burutans and said preserving the medallion design was essential to
54:40
the legacy of the Honors. Jimmy m Alias artistry became
54:46
a cherished part of that legacy, and I'm deeply grateful
54:49
for their chare, dedication, and partnership.
54:52
Speaker 2: Winners said.
54:53
Speaker 1: Honorees valued these medallions not only for their beauty, but
54:57
because they are rare kind symbols of a singular contribution
55:02
to the arts. Changing that design would be disappointing, as
55:07
it would diminish the history, tradition, and legacy these medallions
55:11
have represented for generations of artists.
55:15
Speaker 2: The news didn't come as.
55:16
Speaker 1: A surprise, Burton said, we suspected something would happen as
55:20
soon as the President decided he was going to take
55:23
over the Kennedy Center. Since Trump's takeover of the arts
55:27
institution in February, the Kennedy Center has faced waves of
55:31
backlash and boycotts from performers, arts leaders, and patrons, while
55:36
suffering staff resignations and layoffs. The news of the veteran's ooster,
55:42
which began circulating on social media earlier this week when
55:46
family members spoke out, produced yet another wave of criticism.
55:51
This is my cousin, Jimmy Grammy Award winning singer Melissa
55:55
Manchester wrote Wednesday in a post on Threads. I can
55:59
graduate him for his important part in serving our country
56:03
by helping to pay tribute to the wonderful variety of
56:06
artists representing the best of the US. Each year, the
56:11
Kennedys Senna names five individuals or groups to honour for
56:15
their lifelong contributions to the arts in a multi day
56:19
event that concludes with a ceremony where fellow artists toasts
56:23
them with speeches, songs, videos, and performances. The simple, elegant
56:28
medallions presented to honorees include a necklace of rainbow ribbons
56:32
decorated in the front by three twenty two point five
56:36
carrot gold plates over top gra gravers engravers brass. One
56:41
is inscribed with the words Kennedy Senna Ana with the
56:46
date of the ceremony, and one with the name of
56:48
its respective Honoorreing. Months of work goes into their creation,
56:53
Veteran said, from receiving the announcement of Honor's recipients usually
56:58
around July, to the livery of the finished medallions between
57:02
late November and early December. Before the ceremony, the process
57:06
begins with the construction of the necklace's individual parts, which
57:11
are made and cut by machine and then finished by hand.
57:15
We made every part of it, he said. These ribbons
57:18
were all alike and they had to be perfect, and
57:20
that's what we tried very hard to do. Mielas said,
57:24
their children Evn forty one and Jesse thirty five, had
57:27
been involved in the process since they were babies. We
57:30
had hopes for this to be part of our family's legacy.
57:35
The medallion's rainbow ribbon is often mistaken for representing LGBTQ
57:40
plus Pride. Indeed, the rainbow flag debuted at the San
57:44
Francisco Gay Pride Day Freedom Day Parade in nineteen seventy eight,
57:49
but in the case of the medallion, the colors are
57:52
meant to represent the spectrum of Billy's skills within the
57:55
performing arts, singing, dancing, and so on. Designer Shermoff told
58:01
the Post in two thousand and eight, they're hefty pieces
58:05
of Joey that stand out on a black tuxedo odress,
58:09
which Cherman said was intentional. And with that I end
58:14
the reading for to Day's Washington Post of August the
58:18
sixteenth of twenty twenty five. Stay cool, please continue listening
58:24
to programming on Radio I.
58:26
Speaker 2: I'll be back next Thursday. Bye.