Transcript

9.14.26 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Good morning everybody and welcome to the reading of the
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Speaker 1: Washington Post for this Monday, September 14th. As a reminder,
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Speaker 1: Radio Eye is a reading service intended for people who
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Speaker 1: are blind or have other disabilities that make it difficult
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Speaker 1: to read printed material. Your reader for today is Rod Brotherton.
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Speaker 1: Let's look at the headlines for today. Park officials pushed
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Speaker 1: for a Grand Canyon Trail to remain closed. And then
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Speaker 1: the floods came. Before a deadly flash flood tore through
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Speaker 1: the Grand Canyon at the end of August, several National
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Speaker 1: Park Service officials repeatedly pressed for parts of the fire-damaged
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Speaker 1: trail to be closed, according to four current and former
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Speaker 1: agency officials, calling out the heightened risk of runoff and
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Speaker 1: rock slides that could endanger people. But leaders above them
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Speaker 1: ultimately decided to reopen the North Kaobab Trail Time for
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Speaker 1: peak tourist season, said two former National Park Service officials
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Speaker 1: with knowledge of the situation and one former and one
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Speaker 1: current official briefed on the matter. Those decisions were made,
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Speaker 1: they said, amid ongoing pressure from lawmakers to keep the
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Speaker 1: park open and fully operational. There were a lot of
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Speaker 1: us at the boots on the ground level, the people
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Speaker 1: who were kind of really looking at it, really have
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Speaker 1: some concerns, said Robert Parrish. who served as Chief of Planning, Environment,
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Speaker 1: and Projects at the Grand Canyon from December 2020 through
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Speaker 1: early October 25. But then once those got filtered up
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Speaker 1: and we were getting the political pressure that was filtered down,
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Speaker 1: it was quite evident that the political pressure was going
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Speaker 1: to win. On July 4, 2025, the Dragon Bravo fire
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Speaker 1: ignited within the Grand Canyon National Park and burned nearly 150,000 acres,
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Speaker 1: including 106 structures and portions of the North Kiabab Trail,
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Speaker 1: which the Park Service built in the 1920s to attract
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Speaker 1: more tourists. The trail is a key part of the
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Speaker 1: increasingly popular Rim-to-Rim Hike. Parrish, who was part of the
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Speaker 1: Grand Canyon leadership team when some of these discussions took
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Speaker 1: place in August and September of last year, said he
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Speaker 1: and others advocated for the North Kaibab Trail to remain
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Speaker 1: closed through the season. Other current and former officials spoke
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Speaker 1: on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution or
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Speaker 1: because they were not authorized to speak with the media.
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Speaker 1: In a statement, Interior Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Peace said the
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Speaker 1: decision to reopen the trail was not simply whether to
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Speaker 1: keep the trail open. The trail had been closed. following
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Speaker 1: the Dragon Bravo fire. The trail was reopened only after
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Speaker 1: crews completed assessments and the work identified as necessary to
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Speaker 1: make the trail safe as reasonably as possible for the
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Speaker 1: public use in a wilderness environment, he said. The damage
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Speaker 1: from the fire brought down trees and led to rock slides,
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Speaker 1: prompting land management teams across multiple agencies to to produce
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Speaker 1: a Burned Area Emergency Response, or BAER, plan, according to
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Speaker 1: a copy reviewed by the Post. The team completed that
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Speaker 1: detailed analysis on September 2, 2025, nearly a year before
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Speaker 1: August's late summer monsoon that drove the deadly flash flood
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Speaker 1: that hit parts of the fire-scarred canyon. Reports recommended extensive repairs,
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Speaker 1: stabilization work, and removal of slide debris, as well as
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Speaker 1: installing an early warning system and hazard signs. While it
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Speaker 1: is unclear whether the Park Service completed all the work,
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Speaker 1: the agency installed a flash flood warning network, according to
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Speaker 1: an internal presentation from this past spring reviewed by the Post,
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Speaker 1: which also predicted the possibility of up to a three-fold
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Speaker 1: increase in runoff potential in the north Kaibab parts of
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Speaker 1: the burn area. The park also added some signage. A
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Speaker 1: photo from a hiker obtained by the post showed bright
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Speaker 1: yellow hazard warnings. Burned area, flash floods, fallen trees, rock
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Speaker 1: and debris. The sign reads with the image of a
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Speaker 1: person running from falling boulders. It's not yet clear exactly
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Speaker 1: how the fire's aftermath exacerbated the speed and power of
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Speaker 1: last month's flooding, which killed at least two hikers and
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Speaker 1: forced the rescue of about 80 others. Response crews are
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Speaker 1: still searching for one missing person. Experts have said that
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Speaker 1: when torrential rain falls quickly on fire-scarred land, it increases
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Speaker 1: erosion and intensifies debris and water flows. While flash flooding
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Speaker 1: has always been a part of the Grand Canyon, rock
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Speaker 1: and debris have shaped and reshaped the massive expanse A
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Speaker 1: sweeping wildfire such as Dragon Bravo intensifies this process, said
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Speaker 1: Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California
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Speaker 1: Agriculture and Natural Resources. Such a blaze makes it so
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Speaker 1: that the landscape is less able to absorb rapid accumulation
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Speaker 1: of rainfall, he said, adding that it might be the
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Speaker 1: same amount of water, but more of it runs off
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Speaker 1: more quickly. In an interview with radio station KTAR News
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Speaker 1: shortly after the flood, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum described the
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Speaker 1: risk to the landscape when a flood follows a fire.
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Speaker 1: A forest is alive that holds water, and you have
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Speaker 1: a forest that is burned through and you get a
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Speaker 1: lot of runoff and a lot of mud that occurs,
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Speaker 1: Burgum said, adding that even a year or two after
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Speaker 1: a major fire, flash flooding is a concern. that those
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Speaker 1: professional foresters and we have had going into this. In
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Speaker 1: the Interior Department's statement, Peace acknowledged that the Grand Canyon
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Speaker 1: is a dynamic environment where conditions can rapidly change because
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Speaker 1: of weather, flooding, rockfall, and other natural processes. In multiple meetings,
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Speaker 1: including some specifically about the BAER report, Park Service officials
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Speaker 1: with land and safety expertise raised concerns about reopening the
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Speaker 1: North Kaibab Trail, the four current and former National Park
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Speaker 1: Service officials said. Some recommended that it be closed for
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Speaker 1: about a year to allow the grounds to recover. I
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Speaker 1: was hearing from safety officers, people in search and rescue,
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Speaker 1: people in law enforcement, the trails manager, and that they
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Speaker 1: are seeing risks that really should be seriously considered. said
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Speaker 1: one former member of the Grand Canyon's leadership team, and
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Speaker 1: they were not. Based on meetings and conversations with safety
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Speaker 1: and resource experts, this former official said there were a
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Speaker 1: number of things that they could have done to reduce
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Speaker 1: the danger, including closing the trail and better educating visitors
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Speaker 1: about the risk. Parrish and another former senior official said
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Speaker 1: that Grand Canyon Superintendent Ed Keeble who was a key
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Speaker 1: decision-maker in whether to reopen the trail, added some of
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Speaker 1: these meetings and heard those concerns. The officials said the
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Speaker 1: risks were certainly calculable and were known by leadership, and
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Speaker 1: recalled that Keeble, appointed by President Trump in 2020, initially
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Speaker 1: discussed keeping the North Kiabab Trail closed before his tone
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Speaker 1: changed significantly. Keeble referred questions to the Interior Department. Park
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Speaker 1: staff recommended continuing that closure through the winter while necessary
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Speaker 1: work was completed and the superintendent agreed. Peace, the Interior
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Speaker 1: Department spokeswoman, in her statement said, Representatives from the Grand
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Speaker 1: Canyon National Park did not respond to a request for
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Speaker 1: comment by the time of publication. Several politicians, including some Democrats,
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Speaker 1: lobbied to reopen the trail last year, as a way
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Speaker 1: to retain tourism revenue. Last September, Senator Mark Kelly, the
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Speaker 1: Democrat of Arizona, wrote a letter to Bergara. I urge
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Speaker 1: the National Park Service to reopen key viewpoints and trails
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Speaker 1: wherever it is safe to do so, he said, citing
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Speaker 1: that the park generates roughly $ 1 billion in economic activity
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Speaker 1: every year. He specifically cited the North Kiobab Trail, calling
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Speaker 1: it one of the cornerstones of the Grand Canyon experience.
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Speaker 1: In April of 2025, Bergram directed that any national park
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Speaker 1: closures or reductions, including individual trails and campgrounds, would need
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Speaker 1: review by the National Park Service Director and the Assistant
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Speaker 1: Secretary of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife, and parks to
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Speaker 1: ensure all national parks remain open and accessible to visitors.
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Speaker 1: The order put final closure decisions, previously made locally by
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Speaker 1: park superintendents, in the hands of officials based in Washington.
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Speaker 1: Peace said the order should not be characterized as requiring
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Speaker 1: parks to keep an area open when conditions were unsafe.
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Speaker 1: A month after Kelly sent a letter to the Interior
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Speaker 1: Department Representative Elijah Crane, Republican of Arizona, he introduced a
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Speaker 1: bipartisan bill to fast-track the rebuild of the Grand Canyon's
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Speaker 1: north rim after the fire. Crane joined NPR station KNAU
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Speaker 1: in January. for an interview about the North Rim Restoration Act.
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Speaker 1: Based on conversations with local businesses, Crane told the station,
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Speaker 1: there is just a sense of urgency to get the
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Speaker 1: area back into shape. He said once the fire was out,
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Speaker 1: conversations quickly transitioned to what can we do about it
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Speaker 1: as the North Rim is so vital to Arizona's small businesses,
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Speaker 1: local economies, and communities. In a statement, A spokesperson for
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Speaker 1: Kelly said that he remains focused on ensuring safe access
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Speaker 1: to public lands and that the priority now must be
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Speaker 1: on quickly remediating damage from the Dragon Bravo and White
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Speaker 1: Sage fires. Crane did not respond for requests for comments
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Speaker 1: by the time of publication. The desire to get the
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Speaker 1: iconic Grand Canyon back up and running after a major
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Speaker 1: wildfire underlines a push and pull follows when extreme weather
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Speaker 1: causes devastation in national parks, particularly in regions where the
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Speaker 1: local economy depends on them. Nearly 5 million people visit
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Speaker 1: the canyon every year. However, only about 1% make it
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Speaker 1: down to the banks of the Colorado River, according to
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Speaker 1: the National Park Service. It notes that the North Kaibab
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Speaker 1: Trail is challenging for day hikers as well as rim-to-rim hikers.
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Speaker 1: Parrish noted that given the relatively low North Rim visitation
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Speaker 1: compared with other areas of the canyon, the economic losses
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Speaker 1: to the park would have been temporary. Still, it's a
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Speaker 1: tough balance to strike, said Dave Worthington, a veteran federal
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Speaker 1: land management official, who retired at the end of May
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Speaker 1: of 2025 from his role as the Grand Canyon's Chief
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Speaker 1: of Science and Resource Management. Allowing enough time for recovery
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Speaker 1: after a disaster, can hamper businesses that employ hundreds of workers,
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Speaker 1: and mom and dad shops that need tourism to survive,
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Speaker 1: he said. It's a huge impact on the park and
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Speaker 1: the community. The park is shut down, said Worthington, who
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Speaker 1: lived in the park during the Dragon Bravo fire. At
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Speaker 1: the same time, he said, you don't want to put
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Speaker 1: resources and people in danger. Last September, The Grand Canyon
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Speaker 1: National Park leadership team of about 10 members gathered at
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Speaker 1: the South Rim headquarters for a discussion about trail conditions.
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Speaker 1: Deputy Superintendent Brian Drapeau was running the meeting in Keeble's absence,
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Speaker 1: said Parrish and other former officials who were also in attendance.
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Speaker 1: Adam Gibson, the trail's manager for the Grand Canyon program,
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Speaker 1: gave a presentation there on the status of the North
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Speaker 1: Kaibab Trail sharing his firsthand observations as well as photographs
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Speaker 1: he took. He proposed not reopening the trail for the
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Speaker 1: 2026 season, the former official said. Twelve news in Arizona
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Speaker 1: first reporting the meeting, which was one of the several
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Speaker 1: where park service experts raised concerns about the integrity of
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Speaker 1: the land, Parrish and the former official said. Gibson and
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Speaker 1: other park leaders also worried that putting staff out in
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Speaker 1: that environment could be risky. There were still toxic remnants
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Speaker 1: from the fire and many dead hazardous trees. From his
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Speaker 1: point of view, there was rockfall, tree fall, a lot
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Speaker 1: of damage. There was concern about mudslides, Parris said about
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Speaker 1: Gibson's presentation. Gibson did not respond to requests for comment.
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Speaker 1: On March 3rd, Gibson appeared on a popular podcast, the
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Speaker 1: Grand Canyon Hiker Dude Show. In the episode, Gibson said
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Speaker 1: he was alarmed after hiking in the area the month
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Speaker 1: before to assess the conditions. Debris flowed with such momentum
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Speaker 1: and in atypical areas that it took out whatever was
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Speaker 1: in its path. That was a bit of an eye-opener,
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Speaker 1: he said on the podcast. It's not going to be
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Speaker 1: a good place to be if you find yourself in
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Speaker 1: the upper north Kaibab and you get an inch of
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Speaker 1: rain an hour. He said he was working with leadership
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Speaker 1: on his recommendations for reopening the trail, but the decision
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Speaker 1: to close or reopen a trail is ultimately the responsibility
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Speaker 1: of the superintendent. That is really going to be a
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Speaker 1: decision for senior management, and I will respect their decision,
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Speaker 1: he said. On March 4th, a portion of the North
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Speaker 1: Kaibab Trail was back in use. In mid-March, Crane's bill
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Speaker 1: passed unanimously. The park reopened the full north rim to
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Speaker 1: the public shortly afterwards on May 15th, just in time
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Speaker 1: for peak season. Hikers should anticipate temporary trail closures or
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Speaker 1: delays while crews continue to repair the trail. Post-fire hazards
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Speaker 1: and weather events may also result in additional closures. The
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Speaker 1: Park Service cautioned in its announcement as it celebrated the
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Speaker 1: iconic landscape. The problem, Parrish said, is that a lot
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Speaker 1: of people go into our national parks thinking they're all
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Speaker 1: like Disneyland. They often forget the Grand Canyon is the wild,
15:51
Speaker 1: he said, with its heat, sudden storms, exposed in narrow
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Speaker 1: depths and punishing ascents. The canyon has many conditions and
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Speaker 1: situations that will kill you, Parrish said. The canyon and
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Speaker 1: nature are is going to do what it's going to do.
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Speaker 1: And no matter how much money or whatever Congress or
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Speaker 1: the politician want to do, the environment is still going
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Speaker 1: to do what it is going to do. Our next story.
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Speaker 1: Al Qaeda regroups in Afghanistan 25 years after 9-11. Al-Qaeda's
16:35
Speaker 1: plans for the September 11, 2001 attacks took root in dusty,
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Speaker 1: mud-walled compounds in Afghanistan that served for years as terrorist
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Speaker 1: training camps. A quarter century later, despite decades of U.S.
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Speaker 1: military and counterterrorism operations aimed at eradicating those strongholds, Al-Qaeda
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Speaker 1: is once again operating training camps in Afghanistan. according to U.S.
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Speaker 1: and Western intelligence officials and a United Nations organization responsible
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Speaker 1: for monitoring terrorist networks. The terrorist organization and its offshoots
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Speaker 1: have set up at least eight training sites over the
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Speaker 1: past three years, taking advantage of the Taliban's return to
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Speaker 1: power in Kabul and the security void created by the
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Speaker 1: 2021 U.S. military withdrawal according to UN reports and security officials.
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Speaker 1: Other terrorist groups, including an affiliate of the Islamic State,
17:42
Speaker 1: al-Qaeda's main rival, also have set up new training sites,
17:47
Speaker 1: officials said, giving militant Islamist groups a foothold in at
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Speaker 1: least 14 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces. These officials and others
17:58
Speaker 1: in this article said, spoke on the condition of anonymity
18:02
Speaker 1: to discuss intelligence matters. Because the Taliban has again provided
18:08
Speaker 1: a permissive environment, a U.N. report said, al-Qaeda has been
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Speaker 1: able to consolidate with the presence of safe houses and
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Speaker 1: training camps across Afghanistan. There are notable differences from the
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Speaker 1: pre-9-11 period, officials and counter-terrorism experts said. The group is
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Speaker 1: now training in Afghanistan. seem more focused on regional fights
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Speaker 1: than mounting elaborate plans against the United States or its allies.
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Speaker 1: They appear to be constrained by Taliban hosts wary of
18:41
Speaker 1: again drawing the wrath of global powers. And with top
18:45
Speaker 1: al-Qaeda leaders still believed to be hiding in Iran or elsewhere,
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Speaker 1: no Osama bin Laden-like figure has emerged to galvanize followers.
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Speaker 1: Even so, The reappearance of training camps is a cause
18:59
Speaker 1: of growing concern. They're not following the pre-9-11 game plan
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Speaker 1: of going after the far enemy, said Bruce Hoffman, a
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Speaker 1: counterterrorism expert at Georgetown University. But I think they hope
19:14
Speaker 1: that with local and regional gains, they can start to
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Speaker 1: rebuild momentum. They haven't forgotten us. The U.S. 's failure
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Speaker 1: to dismantle the al-Qaeda training camps in the 1990s, still
19:29
Speaker 1: looms as one of the major missed opportunities to prevent
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Speaker 1: the September 11th attacks. The idea of flying hijacked planes
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Speaker 1: into U.S. buildings was first proposed by 9-11 mastermind Khalid
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Speaker 1: Sheikh Mohammed in 1996 at an al-Qaeda complex in Tora, Bora, Afghanistan,
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Speaker 1: according to the U.S. 's 9-11 Commission. Bin Laden later
19:56
Speaker 1: approved the operation at a site near Kandahar. Before storming
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Speaker 1: the cockpits of four transatlantic flights, All 19 of the
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Speaker 1: hijackers had spent time at al-Qaeda camps or safe houses
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Speaker 1: in Afghanistan. U.N. and other security officials said they had
20:16
Speaker 1: recently investigated claims that al-Qaeda was seeking to reestablish her
20:20
Speaker 1: presence at Tarnak Farms, a sprawling compound near the Kandahar
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Speaker 1: Airport where one of the first CIA predator drone surveillance
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Speaker 1: flights caught in a pre-9-11 glimpse of bin Laden. A
20:34
Speaker 1: Washington Post examination of satellite imagery found no visible sign
20:39
Speaker 1: of resumed activity at Tarnak. The new camps are being
20:44
Speaker 1: used to train fighters on weapons, explosives, and guerrilla tactics
20:49
Speaker 1: that would be familiar to the thousands of recruits who
20:53
Speaker 1: passed through al-Qaeda camps in the 1990s, officials said. But
20:57
Speaker 1: they also indicated indications of instructions on the use of encryption,
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Speaker 1: artificial intelligence, drones, and other technologies that were in their
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Speaker 1: infancy in 2001. The number of militants in Afghanistan considered
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Speaker 1: part of the core al-Qaeda, the parent group that spawned
21:16
Speaker 1: affiliates and imitators, is probably 100 or fewer, said Colin Smith,
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Speaker 1: coordinator of a UN monitoring team that tracks the threat
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Speaker 1: posed by terrorist groups and oversees international sanctions on them.
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Speaker 1: Instead of spearheading operations, We've seen al-Qaeda acting in a
21:36
Speaker 1: consulting service for other groups, Smith said, giving them advice
21:42
Speaker 1: and training on things like covert operations and information security.
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Speaker 1: The arrangements has put core al-Qaeda in a supporting role
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Speaker 1: to larger affiliates, including Tariq al-Taliban Palestine, or TTP, a
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Speaker 1: group that seeks to overthrow the government in Pakistan and
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Speaker 1: establish an Islamic state. A U.N. report in 2024 said
22:09
Speaker 1: that al-Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan's Kunar province are conducting suicide
22:14
Speaker 1: bomber training for TTP. The Pakistan-focused group is believed to
22:20
Speaker 1: have as many as 7,000 fighters in Afghanistan, Smith said. U.N.
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Speaker 1: reports said that TTP had established camps in at least
22:31
Speaker 1: four Afghan provinces in with al-Qaeda and Taliban involvement, and
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Speaker 1: that the group has carried out hundreds of cross-border attacks
22:40
Speaker 1: on Pakistani military outposts and other targets. Al-Qaeda's main rival
22:47
Speaker 1: has also worked to establish a foothold in Afghanistan. An
22:51
Speaker 1: Islamic State affiliate known as Islamic State Khorasan for the
22:56
Speaker 1: historical region of Khorasan has attracted about 2,000 recruits and
23:02
Speaker 1: used northern Afghanistan as its main hub for training and
23:06
Speaker 1: planning operations across Central Asia, according to officials and UN reports.
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Speaker 1: Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State remain fierce rivals, fighting for
23:18
Speaker 1: dominance of the jihadist movement and overseeing splinter groups that
23:23
Speaker 1: compete with one another, officials said. Both groups, seemed focused
23:28
Speaker 1: mainly on recruiting operatives from within Afghanistan or neighboring states,
23:33
Speaker 1: unlike in the 1990s, when al-Qaeda attracted thousands of foreign
23:38
Speaker 1: fighters from Saudi Arabia, where 15 of the 19 9-11
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Speaker 1: hijackers were from, and other Middle Eastern countries. What I've
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Speaker 1: seen from al-Qaeda media suggests that they're not really looking
23:52
Speaker 1: for foreign fighters right now, said Sarah Harmouch. a terrorism
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Speaker 1: expert at George Washington University, who tracks the group's propaganda
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Speaker 1: and social media messaging. They don't want eyes on them
24:08
Speaker 1: as they try to rebuild these capabilities. The U.S. and
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Speaker 1: other security officials said that their ability to monitor the
24:16
Speaker 1: new training camps has been hampered by a drawdown in
24:19
Speaker 1: CIA personnel and other U.S. intelligence capabilities that accompanied the
24:25
Speaker 1: 2021 military withdrawal. The U.S. has since shifted resources to
24:31
Speaker 1: the war in Iran and other priorities. Even so, the
24:36
Speaker 1: killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri, who succeeded bin Laden as al-Qaeda's
24:42
Speaker 1: leader in a 2022 drone strike in Kabul, showed that
24:46
Speaker 1: the U.S. has intelligence and strike capabilities that survived the
24:50
Speaker 1: chaotic pullout of U.S. forces. Al-Qaeda is now led by
24:55
Speaker 1: Saif al-Adel, an Egyptian who spent years helping to run
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Speaker 1: training camps in Afghanistan after his 1988 arrival. But al-Adel
25:07
Speaker 1: is believed to remain in hiding in Iran, officials said,
25:11
Speaker 1: underscoring the organization's concern about security in its former stronghold.
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Speaker 1: Terrorist watch lists, travel surveillance, and other security measures adopted
25:23
Speaker 1: after 9-11 that would likely put any visitor to Afghanistan's
25:27
Speaker 1: training camps under intense scrutiny, officials said. Instead, al-Qaeda and
25:34
Speaker 1: the Islamic State have sought to recruit operatives online and
25:39
Speaker 1: urged sympathizers in Western countries to stay in place for
25:43
Speaker 1: lone wolf operations. Many of these plots have been disrupted.
25:49
Speaker 1: In a recent case, A 35-year-old woman in Albany, New York,
25:54
Speaker 1: was arrested last month and charged by the Justice Department
25:59
Speaker 1: with pursuing an ISIS-inspired terrorist plot to bomb the state capitol.
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Speaker 1: And next, here are 20 easy ways to save money.
26:12
Speaker 1: For several years, American consumers' finances have been squeezed. by
26:16
Speaker 1: surging household costs, climbing grocery bills, and costs for insurance, utilities,
26:22
Speaker 1: and child care that have increased faster than wages. Since 1976,
26:28
Speaker 1: Consumer's Checkbook's research has found that most families spend more
26:32
Speaker 1: money than necessary, often because marketplaces are designed to make
26:37
Speaker 1: overpaying easy and comparison shopping hard. Ready to make some
26:42
Speaker 1: changes and start saving? Well, here are 20 ways to
26:46
Speaker 1: do that. Number one, buy less stuff. Retailers and brands
26:53
Speaker 1: spend billions of dollars conditioning American consumers for spring for
26:58
Speaker 1: the latest, most hyped products. The dopamine hit from a
27:02
Speaker 1: new purchase is real, but short-lived. It leaves many in
27:06
Speaker 1: long-term debt. Before clicking buy or heading to the mall,
27:12
Speaker 1: ask yourself or your family, Do I actually need that?
27:18
Speaker 1: Waiting a day or two often provides clarity. Two, shop
27:24
Speaker 1: around for the best price and don't get fooled by
27:26
Speaker 1: fake sales. Over the last 50 years, our researchers have
27:31
Speaker 1: collected more than a million prices from every sort of
27:35
Speaker 1: home service and retailer. We nearly always find enormous differences
27:39
Speaker 1: for the exact price and same work or product. And
27:43
Speaker 1: don't let a sale price short-circuit your comparison shopping. Last year,
27:49
Speaker 1: Checkbook's researchers spent six months tracking prices at 25 major
27:54
Speaker 1: retailers and found that 21 advertised sale prices more than
28:00
Speaker 1: half the time just meant the discount is usually just
28:03
Speaker 1: the regular price. Three, hey, buy it used or get
28:09
Speaker 1: it free for furniture. Kids gear, tools, bikes, sports equipment, books,
28:15
Speaker 1: and clothing used is usually just good enough and often
28:20
Speaker 1: costs far less. Try Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, eBay, and thrift stores.
28:29
Speaker 1: But don't overlook gifting networks like the Buy Nothing Project
28:33
Speaker 1: and Freecycle.org. Next, avoid purchases that sound reasonable but aren't.
28:42
Speaker 1: That includes extended warranties for appliances and electronics, air duct cleaning,
28:49
Speaker 1: home warranties, credit monitoring services, and vehicle service contracts. Checkbook's
28:56
Speaker 1: research has identified dozens of products, services, and add-ons widely
29:01
Speaker 1: marketed as smart buys that are almost always bad deals. Next,
29:08
Speaker 1: don't upgrade your phone until you must. Skipping even one
29:14
Speaker 1: upgrade cycle saves you thousands and hundreds and lets you
29:19
Speaker 1: avoid trading in a perfectly good device at a fraction
29:23
Speaker 1: of its values. Keep your car longer. The average new
29:28
Speaker 1: car now sells for more than $ 50, 000. More than one
29:33
Speaker 1: in five new car loans in recent years have been
29:35
Speaker 1: for 84 months or longer. A longer loan means paying
29:39
Speaker 1: far more interest and staying underwater owing more than the
29:42
Speaker 1: car is worth for years. Every year you drive a
29:47
Speaker 1: paid-off car is thousands of dollars saved on payments, depreciation,
29:53
Speaker 1: and insurance. Next, try to pay your bills on time.
29:58
Speaker 1: Stay out of high-interest debt. and seek help if you
30:01
Speaker 1: need it. A growing number of Americans are finding it
30:05
Speaker 1: difficult to pay their bills. Nearly half of all credit
30:09
Speaker 1: card holders carry balances from month to month, with many
30:13
Speaker 1: paying more than 25% interest. Debt is no longer a
30:19
Speaker 1: background concern, but a daily struggle for many families, said
30:23
Speaker 1: Bruce McCleary, Vice President of the non-profit National Foundation for
30:27
Speaker 1: Credit Counseling. people are having to make some really tough decisions.
30:33
Speaker 1: Should they buy certain types of groceries or get their medication?
30:38
Speaker 1: Should they pay one bill on time and let another
30:40
Speaker 1: one slide? Digging out from credit card debt might seem impossible,
30:47
Speaker 1: but with hard work, discipline, and guidance from a certified
30:52
Speaker 1: credit counselor, it can be done. To find a counselor,
30:56
Speaker 1: visit nfcc.org or call the toll-free number 800-388-2227. Avoid for-profit
31:11
Speaker 1: debt relief and debt settlement companies, which often leave clients'
31:15
Speaker 1: finances worse off. Next, if you carry credit card balances,
31:23
Speaker 1: the card you use matters a lot. Airline miles cards,
31:29
Speaker 1: hotel cards, and other reward cards typically carry interest rates
31:35
Speaker 1: of 25 to 30 percent. If you're not paying your
31:40
Speaker 1: balance in full every month, the interest charges will be
31:44
Speaker 1: far more expensive than the value of any points you earn.
31:49
Speaker 1: If you have high interest credit card debt, a personal
31:53
Speaker 1: loan from a bank or credit union, usually will be
31:57
Speaker 1: a better deal. Consolidating a $ 10, 000 credit card balance into
32:03
Speaker 1: a personal loan at 10% interest will save you hundreds
32:07
Speaker 1: of dollars each year and give you a reasonable payoff date. Next,
32:14
Speaker 1: shop around every year or two for car and home insurance.
32:20
Speaker 1: Our research shows that most policyholders and save more than
32:26
Speaker 1: $ 500 a year by switching to a lower-priced auto and
32:30
Speaker 1: or home insurance company, with some saving $ 1, 500 and more. Next,
32:38
Speaker 1: choose your health insurance plan carefully each year. Most people
32:44
Speaker 1: stick with the same plan year after year. That can
32:49
Speaker 1: be costly. During your next open enrollment period, Do an
32:54
Speaker 1: audit of your needs and choices. The goal is to
32:58
Speaker 1: match what you're paying for with what you use. The
33:02
Speaker 1: savings can be significant. Next, maximize your employer benefits. FSAs, HSAs,
33:14
Speaker 1: 401k matching, free counseling through EAPs, tuition reimbursement, legal plans.
33:21
Speaker 1: Most employers leave lots of money on the table each
33:24
Speaker 1: year by not paying close attention enough during open enrollment.
33:29
Speaker 1: A 401k match alone, if you're not fully capturing it,
33:35
Speaker 1: is money left behind. Then shop around for prescription drugs.
33:41
Speaker 1: Drug prices vary wildly among pharmacies. Sometimes by a factor
33:48
Speaker 1: of 10 or more for the same medications. Paying out-of-pocket
33:53
Speaker 1: with a discount service like GoodRx or Cost Plus Drugs
33:57
Speaker 1: can be significantly cheaper than your insurance copay. Also, always
34:03
Speaker 1: ask your doctor whether a generic is available and suitable
34:07
Speaker 1: for you. Then, of course, take care of your health.
34:13
Speaker 1: The best way to reduce health care costs? Take preventative measures.
34:19
Speaker 1: Annual physical. Well-woman visits, mammograms, flu shots, colonoscopies. Both health
34:27
Speaker 1: service insurance plans minimize out-of-pocket costs for these typical services.
34:33
Speaker 1: To save even more, select In-Network Providers and double-check your
34:39
Speaker 1: medical bill for errors. Then, switch to a lower-cost grocery store.
34:46
Speaker 1: Food prices continue to soar. But our valuations of grocery
34:51
Speaker 1: store prices find that most shoppers can save by taking
34:56
Speaker 1: advantage of low-cost supermarket options. Compared to most conventional chains, Aldi, Lidl, Walmart,
35:05
Speaker 1: and Wegmans offer big savings. For a family that spends
35:11
Speaker 1: $ 300 a week at the supermarket, a 15% price differential
35:15
Speaker 1: totals savings of $ 2, 350. $ 40 a year. Next, cook more
35:24
Speaker 1: and break up with those delivery services. Cooking simple meals
35:29
Speaker 1: at home a few more times a week can save
35:32
Speaker 1: a typical household $ 150 to $ 200 a month compared with
35:37
Speaker 1: restaurant meal costs. When you get takeout, pick up your
35:42
Speaker 1: own food. Delivery apps are brutally expensive. Once you add fees, tips,
35:48
Speaker 1: and menu markups. Then, get multiple bids on home repair
35:54
Speaker 1: and improvement. Checkbook research shows the price you pay has
35:59
Speaker 1: almost nothing to do with the quality of work. For
36:03
Speaker 1: any significant job, get at least three to five fixed
36:08
Speaker 1: price bids. And be especially wary of companies that pressure
36:12
Speaker 1: you to sign the same day. Next. audit your subscriptions.
36:19
Speaker 1: The average American now spends more than $ 1, 000 a year
36:25
Speaker 1: on subscriptions. Most households pay for several things they've forgotten about.
36:32
Speaker 1: Set aside 30 minutes and go through your credit card
36:36
Speaker 1: and bank statements and ax anything you haven't actively used
36:41
Speaker 1: in the past month. Next, Use your library. Most people
36:49
Speaker 1: pay for services they can get for free with their
36:52
Speaker 1: library card. Books and audiobooks through the Libby app, streaming
36:59
Speaker 1: movies through Canopy, logins for paywalled websites, and discounts on
37:05
Speaker 1: museum passes. Before paying for a streaming service, an audiobook
37:11
Speaker 1: subscription or digital magazine, Check what your library offers. Next,
37:20
Speaker 1: take advantage of free government and nonprofit resources. Many local
37:27
Speaker 1: governments offer programs residents don't know about. Recreation centers, youth
37:35
Speaker 1: sports leagues, and in some areas, subsidized broadband. Free tax
37:41
Speaker 1: preparation is available to many Americans, through the IRS free
37:46
Speaker 1: file and VITA sites. And finally, don't get scammed. American
37:55
Speaker 1: consumers lose tens of billions of dollars to fraud every year.
38:02
Speaker 1: Never send money via wire transfer or gift cards in
38:07
Speaker 1: response to an urgent request, no matter how convincing the story. Never.
38:15
Speaker 1: Give remote access to your computer or phone. Verify any
38:20
Speaker 1: urgent financial request, even one that appears to come from
38:25
Speaker 1: a family member, by calling them back on a number
38:29
Speaker 1: you already have. Get free monitoring on your credit reports
38:36
Speaker 1: at annualcreditreport.com and place a free freeze of security on
38:43
Speaker 1: your accounts with Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion to prevent new
38:49
Speaker 1: accounts from being opened in your name. And our next
38:54
Speaker 1: story is an interesting one from the world of energy.
38:58
Speaker 1: How lasers from space could help solve the world's energy shortage.
39:04
Speaker 1: In a laboratory amid Northern Virginia's sprawling data centers, A
39:10
Speaker 1: group of scientists is looking very far outside the box
39:13
Speaker 1: for a solution to overwhelmed power grids. They want to
39:18
Speaker 1: harness the sun's rays and shoot a kilometer-wide laser, they
39:22
Speaker 1: refer to the term power beam, down from satellites in
39:26
Speaker 1: space to solar panels on Earth. The idea is to
39:31
Speaker 1: overcome solar power's biggest weakness. It stops working when there's
39:36
Speaker 1: no sunlight. If all goes according to plan, a big if,
39:42
Speaker 1: as this is a vision inventors and innovators and investors
39:47
Speaker 1: have been chasing for decades. Those beams could turn the
39:51
Speaker 1: energy industry on its head. They would enable off-the-shelf solar
39:55
Speaker 1: panels to generate electricity even at night and could more
40:00
Speaker 1: than triple the amount of energy produced by a conventional
40:02
Speaker 1: solar farm. As the scientists at Ashburn, Virginia, tinker with
40:07
Speaker 1: photovoltaic films, infrared rays, and heat-resistant metals, a large wall-mounted
40:16
Speaker 1: digital clock counts down toward January of 2028. That's the
40:21
Speaker 1: deadline their four-year-old startup, Overview Energy, has imposed for beaming
40:26
Speaker 1: its first batch of power from space. If we really
40:30
Speaker 1: believe that we are able to provide utility-scale power with
40:33
Speaker 1: this technology, said co-CEO Darko Filippi, he estimates that his
40:39
Speaker 1: company could supply a quarter the new energy the United
40:43
Speaker 1: States will need over the next decade with no new
40:46
Speaker 1: construction on land. But not everyone is convinced that the
40:51
Speaker 1: answer is in the stars. Space solar energy has long
40:56
Speaker 1: been dismissed as too impractical, too dangerous, and too expensive.
41:01
Speaker 1: The technology may work, said Amory Lovins, a Stanford physicist
41:06
Speaker 1: and co-founder of the energy think tank, RMI. But I
41:11
Speaker 1: have serious doubts the economics do. He said other technologies
41:16
Speaker 1: can provide abundant, even around-the-clock clean power for much cheaper.
41:21
Speaker 1: The outlook for the renegade space solar industry, though, is
41:25
Speaker 1: unchanged and has changed markedly in recent months. Like fusion
41:30
Speaker 1: power plants, which are tiny nuclear reactors, and other sci-fi-worthy
41:35
Speaker 1: ideas that were largely written off years ago. but this
41:39
Speaker 1: one has come roaring back as tech companies and investors
41:43
Speaker 1: grasp for solutions to a power crunch that threatens to
41:47
Speaker 1: stymie the growth of artificial intelligence and chill the U.S. economy.
41:52
Speaker 1: Meta has signed a contract to secure the first gigawatt
41:56
Speaker 1: of capacity Overview helps generate for its data centers. Big
42:02
Speaker 1: solar manufacturers are scurrying to design new products that could
42:07
Speaker 1: be used by a growing constellation of firms looking to
42:10
Speaker 1: make energy in space with an array of technologies. The U.S.
42:15
Speaker 1: Department of Energy is invested in helping space solar startups
42:19
Speaker 1: and university labs speed up development. The science underpinning Overview's
42:24
Speaker 1: business plans dates back to NASA's study of power beaming
42:28
Speaker 1: in the 1970s as a possible solution to that era's
42:32
Speaker 1: energy crisis. The system. would be built around thousands of
42:37
Speaker 1: satellites orbiting thousands of miles above Earth, collecting energy from
42:43
Speaker 1: uninterrupted sunlight and sending it down as invisible, near-infrared light.
42:50
Speaker 1: Solar farms would be equipped with beacons that could guide
42:54
Speaker 1: a beam their way. A beam could be pointed toward
42:57
Speaker 1: any such beacon at a given time. An overview shows
43:02
Speaker 1: would be able to constantly move power to areas most
43:05
Speaker 1: in need, as determined by its tech company and utility
43:09
Speaker 1: company clients. Overview's executive maintained that the beams would not
43:14
Speaker 1: be concentrated enough to be dangerous to humans on the ground.
43:19
Speaker 1: If you can stand in the sun, you can stand
43:23
Speaker 1: under this, said Abdullah al-Shakarachi, the company's other CEO. There's
43:29
Speaker 1: no chance this could be used as a weapon. We
43:32
Speaker 1: have military folks come through and sometimes ask, can this
43:35
Speaker 1: be used as a weapon? And the answer is always, no.
43:41
Speaker 1: The executives say that by the mid-2030s, they could generate
43:46
Speaker 1: electricity at prices lower than the gas plants currently used
43:51
Speaker 1: to keep the power grid stable in times of high demand.
43:55
Speaker 1: It's a heady projection, and one that draws some industry skepticism,
44:01
Speaker 1: in the face of daunting engineering challenges and huge potential
44:05
Speaker 1: costs to make the technology operational. Building the satellites, each
44:12
Speaker 1: the size of roughly two football fields, and catapulting them
44:18
Speaker 1: into orbit would be a massive undertaking. It's one thing
44:24
Speaker 1: to do some experiments with this technology, said Henry Hertzfeld,
44:29
Speaker 1: a research professor of space policy at George Washington University.
44:34
Speaker 1: And it is another to send lots of these things
44:37
Speaker 1: into space. There are real questions about whether the launch
44:43
Speaker 1: capability will be there. Company officials acknowledge that it will
44:48
Speaker 1: be expensive to generate the first megawatts of power that
44:53
Speaker 1: would come from the planned 2028 demonstrations. But Overview is
44:58
Speaker 1: betting that launch costs could be plummeted over the next
45:01
Speaker 1: decade as companies such as SpaceX and its competitors can
45:06
Speaker 1: now accommodate an explosion of space-bound energy infrastructure. SpaceX itself
45:15
Speaker 1: is building factories to produce solar panels for use in orbit.
45:20
Speaker 1: Others in the space industry are not so confident about
45:23
Speaker 1: launch prices going down. They note that demand for satellite
45:28
Speaker 1: launches from all manner of industries is expected to soar.
45:34
Speaker 1: Herzfeld said he is also unconvinced that all safety questions
45:39
Speaker 1: have been answered. Even if it is not meant to
45:42
Speaker 1: be used as a weapon, it could still interfere with
45:45
Speaker 1: communications or flight navigation or other things, he said. Meta
45:51
Speaker 1: is willing to bet the obstacles can be overcome. technology
45:56
Speaker 1: were to be a success, it could cure some of
45:58
Speaker 1: the company's biggest headaches. Silicon Valley firms are struggling to
46:04
Speaker 1: lock down the power they need to fuel data centers.
46:08
Speaker 1: Their plans for developing more capacity are meeting intensifying resistance
46:13
Speaker 1: in communities across the country as the environmental impact and
46:18
Speaker 1: the cost associated with the AI build-out trigger a fierce backlash.
46:25
Speaker 1: The idea that the energy equivalent it takes to power
46:28
Speaker 1: entire large cities could be generated without building anything on
46:32
Speaker 1: Earth is enticing. Space solar has the potential to deliver
46:39
Speaker 1: uninterrupted energy to the grid by building on the existing
46:43
Speaker 1: solar infrastructure, and this means no new land, no fuel,
46:49
Speaker 1: and solar at night. That's Salstrom. met his vice president
46:54
Speaker 1: of energy and sustainability, said in an email statement. Some
46:58
Speaker 1: potential customers may prefer to wait and see if it
47:01
Speaker 1: all works out. For them, Al-Shakarichi has a marketing line ready.
47:09
Speaker 1: In our early years, we are only going to be
47:12
Speaker 1: able to provide this energy to a limited number of customers,
47:15
Speaker 1: he said. If you are not in our queue today,
47:21
Speaker 1: and it will be a long time before you are
47:24
Speaker 1: able to see this energy. That's an advantage that you
47:28
Speaker 1: are ceding to the companies you are competing with. Overview
47:33
Speaker 1: is not the only option. It's among several space solar
47:37
Speaker 1: startups jockeying to show that they can use space technology
47:42
Speaker 1: to produce clean energy at competitive prices. The methods of
47:46
Speaker 1: harnessing sun power may vary widely, and some envision using
47:50
Speaker 1: it to power data centers floating in space. The markets
47:56
Speaker 1: see space as the next growth area, said Danielle Merfield,
48:02
Speaker 1: Global Chief Technology Officer at QCILS, one of the largest
48:06
Speaker 1: solar panel manufacturers in the U.S. Our investors are definitely
48:11
Speaker 1: expecting space will be the next frontier for solar. The
48:16
Speaker 1: company has entered a partnership with Georgia Tech to advance
48:20
Speaker 1: space-based solar power research, and it has launched a new
48:25
Speaker 1: space solar research and development team near Atlanta. There are
48:30
Speaker 1: still a lot of challenges for space solar, but we
48:33
Speaker 1: are also now seeing the pathway for solving them, said
48:37
Speaker 1: Ali Hajjimiri, the co-director of the Space-Based Solar Project in Caltech.
48:45
Speaker 1: He has been working for 13 years on satellite systems
48:49
Speaker 1: that would beam microwaves down to Earth. Microwaves can cut
48:54
Speaker 1: through clouds and precipitation in ways that overviews infrared lasers cannot.
49:00
Speaker 1: But there's a catch. They can't generate power through conventional
49:05
Speaker 1: solar panels already on the ground. Existing solar farms would
49:09
Speaker 1: need to be retrofitted entirely, adding to the project's potential costs.
49:15
Speaker 1: Hajmiri argues it can all be done economically. resulting in
49:20
Speaker 1: abundant electricity and prices competitive with energy from conventional technologies.
49:27
Speaker 1: The open question is whether existing technologies anchored to the
49:31
Speaker 1: Earth will be quicker than any space-based invention to solve
49:36
Speaker 1: the economic and environmental challenges of unleashed by a worldwide
49:40
Speaker 1: surge in energy demand. The cost of storing solar and
49:45
Speaker 1: wind energy in giant industrial-scale batteries continues to plunge, Levin said.
49:51
Speaker 1: At the same time, the solar industry is working with
49:56
Speaker 1: communities on designs that are more efficient, less land-intensive, and
50:00
Speaker 1: built to integrate with agricultural operations rather than displace farmland.
50:07
Speaker 1: Lovin suspects advancements in the batteries that turn solar energy
50:11
Speaker 1: from an unpredictable, intermittent technology into one that can boast
50:15
Speaker 1: the reliability of coal or nuclear could make space solar
50:19
Speaker 1: obsolete for creating energy on Earth before it even makes
50:23
Speaker 1: it to the mainstream. Like so many other advancements in energy, though,
50:29
Speaker 1: space solar is driven not just by cost and climate concerns.
50:33
Speaker 1: There's also the China factor. Beijing is rapidly scaling up
50:40
Speaker 1: its extraterrestrial solar industry, raising concerns that this will become
50:46
Speaker 1: yet another crucial sector that was innovated here and then
50:50
Speaker 1: ceded to our rival. Such concerns are top of mind
50:55
Speaker 1: for Trump administration officials, which a couple of weeks ago
50:59
Speaker 1: announced it would invest $ 12 million to accelerate product development, universities,
51:06
Speaker 1: and space solar firms. President Trump has branded solar power
51:11
Speaker 1: part of the scam of the century, along with wind power.
51:15
Speaker 1: But as China races ahead with technologies that harness the
51:19
Speaker 1: sun's power from space, the Department of Energy has declared
51:24
Speaker 1: the promise of near-constant power from space-based solar, a development
51:30
Speaker 1: that could further the Trump administration's space superiority. agenda. And next,
51:38
Speaker 1: the Kennedy Center could close as early as Tuesday and
51:42
Speaker 1: warns of bankruptcy documents show. Leaders of the Kennedy Center
51:47
Speaker 1: for the Performing Arts, installed by President Trump, says the
51:51
Speaker 1: Center is on the brink of bankruptcy and argued that
51:55
Speaker 1: putting the president's name on the facade and thus ensuring
51:57
Speaker 1: his fundraising efforts may be the only way to avoid
52:01
Speaker 1: imminent certain fiscal collapse according to documents obtained by the
52:06
Speaker 1: Washington Post. The bleak assessment is laid out in a
52:11
Speaker 1: 57-page document distributed to the Center's Board of Trustees ahead
52:15
Speaker 1: of the special meeting on Tuesday when the Trump-led board
52:19
Speaker 1: is scheduled to consider two resolutions aimed at addressing twin
52:23
Speaker 1: crises confronting the National Performing Arts Center, one financial and
52:27
Speaker 1: the other physical. Center officials say they could be unable
52:31
Speaker 1: to make payroll pay routine maintenance contracts within a matter
52:35
Speaker 1: of weeks and argue that publicly recognizing Trump could help
52:40
Speaker 1: secure his raising enough funds and money to keep the
52:44
Speaker 1: institution afloat. Center officials are also recommending that the board
52:49
Speaker 1: close its main building immediately, warning that reopening and maintaining
52:53
Speaker 1: it open would endanger lives. Board approval, which seems likely,
52:58
Speaker 1: means the center could close as early as Tuesday. presentation
53:03
Speaker 1: made it clear that Trump's supporters hinges on getting public
53:07
Speaker 1: credit for his involvement. The financial resolution says Trump has
53:11
Speaker 1: offered to raise the necessary funds to keep the center
53:13
Speaker 1: from bankruptcy. While the building undergoes a sweeping re-innovation, but
53:19
Speaker 1: it says Trump is unlikely to provide a fundamental oversight
53:22
Speaker 1: of the project or lead a financial rescue without appropriate
53:25
Speaker 1: recognition of his role. Together, the two proposals represent a
53:30
Speaker 1: remarkable new phase in Trump's takeover of the Kennedy Center,
53:34
Speaker 1: which has been engulfed by financial turmoil, leadership upheaval, and
53:39
Speaker 1: litigation since he installed himself as chairman last year. Trump
53:44
Speaker 1: and his allies have repeatedly portrayed his leadership and his
53:48
Speaker 1: name as essential to rescuing the institution, even as ticket
53:53
Speaker 1: prices and fundraising have plummeted under their stewardship. Trustees are
53:59
Speaker 1: being asked to choose among 10 texts that could be
54:01
Speaker 1: placed on the building's exterior beneath its name, including one reading, Renovation, Restoration, Endowment,
54:11
Speaker 1: overseen by President Donald J. Trump and the Trump-Kennedy Center Fund.
54:17
Speaker 1: Lawyers for Representative Joyce Beatty, the Democrat of Ohio, a
54:21
Speaker 1: Kennedy Center trustee, who has sued to keep Trump's name
54:25
Speaker 1: off the building, blasted the new proposal. This constant effort
54:30
Speaker 1: to add Donald Trump's name to the Kennedy Center facade
54:34
Speaker 1: is the definition of insanity, lawyers Norm Eisen and Nathaniel
54:40
Speaker 1: Zelensky said in a statement. This is now the third
54:44
Speaker 1: attempt to deface this sacred memorial and turn it into
54:48
Speaker 1: a vanity project for one man's ego. Worse still, now
54:54
Speaker 1: Trump is taking the center's hostage and threatening, in effect,
54:57
Speaker 1: to kill it. unless he gets his way. This has
55:00
Speaker 1: to stop. The proposal comes less than a month after
55:04
Speaker 1: the board approved a similar plan to inscribe restored and
55:08
Speaker 1: renovated by President Donald J. Trump on the facade, and
55:12
Speaker 1: a U.S. District Judge, Christopher Cooper, who ruled in May
55:16
Speaker 1: that only Congress can rename the Kennedy Center and ordered
55:20
Speaker 1: Trump's name removed, is considering a legal challenge to the proposal.
55:25
Speaker 1: The centers start new financial assessment is also a dramatic
55:30
Speaker 1: departure from the turnaround its leaders touted publicly for much
55:34
Speaker 1: of Trump's tenure. Internal budgets and forecasts obtained by the
55:38
Speaker 1: Washington Post earlier this year showed ticket sales and fundraising
55:43
Speaker 1: plunging after the board added Trump's name to the building
55:46
Speaker 1: in December. By May, officials projected the center would collect
55:51
Speaker 1: about $ 124 million of the $ 220 million in revenue from
55:56
Speaker 1: It had budgeted for the fiscal year, leaving a roughly
55:59
Speaker 1: $ 23 million deficit after substantial spending cuts. A center spokesperson
56:05
Speaker 1: blamed the problems on financial mismanagement by previous leadership and
56:10
Speaker 1: said Trump's name had attracted new donors. A second resolution
56:14
Speaker 1: before Trustees Tuesday would address that management as it described
56:19
Speaker 1: as an increasingly urgent threat from the deteriorating building itself.
56:25
Speaker 1: Executive Director Matt Floka, who was installed by Trump in March,
56:30
Speaker 1: told trustees that during a severe storm on September 4th,
56:35
Speaker 1: a roughly four-by-five-foot section of ceiling plaster broke loose in
56:39
Speaker 1: the grand foyer and fell about 60 feet, scattering debris
56:44
Speaker 1: near the concert hall entrance. No one was injured, and
56:48
Speaker 1: inspectors found at least seven other locations with visible water-related
56:54
Speaker 1: deterioration according to the board packet. Separately, engineers examining the
57:01
Speaker 1: outside of the building found widespread corrosion in structural components
57:05
Speaker 1: of the soffit panels that formed the underside of an
57:09
Speaker 1: overhang wrapping around the center, Floka said in a two-page
57:14
Speaker 1: memo to trustees. Of roughly half of the building's 278
57:17
Speaker 1: panels examined, 46 had severe structural corrosion and another 93
57:25
Speaker 1: had mild to moderate erosion, he said, adding that the
57:29
Speaker 1: engineers projected about one-third require immediate replacement. The board said 2,500-pound
57:36
Speaker 1: ceiling assemblies hang roughly 60 feet above public walkways. A
57:42
Speaker 1: draft resolution, says Floca, and Delta Consulting Group, which has
57:47
Speaker 1: reviewed the center's renovation plans, determined that the building is
57:51
Speaker 1: unsafe for continued occupancy and that delayed renovations could pose
57:56
Speaker 1: further danger to employees and the public. Tuesday's resolution would
58:02
Speaker 1: go considerably further in ordering the main building closed immediately.
58:06
Speaker 1: Management says repairs cannot safely be performed around audiences and
58:10
Speaker 1: employees because of structural work, electrical shutdowns, and construction that
58:16
Speaker 1: would affect interconnected systems and public areas throughout the building.
58:21
Speaker 1: The REACH's new center's Expansion would remain open, while performances
58:27
Speaker 1: and other programming would continue in other venues. And this
58:32
Speaker 1: concludes the reading of the Washington Post for today, Monday,
58:35
Speaker 1: September 14th. Your reader has been Rod Brotherton. Thank you
58:40
Speaker 1: for listening, and now please stay tuned for continued programming
58:45
Speaker 1: right here on Radio Eye.