Transcript

2.24.26 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of the Washington Post for Tuesday,
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February twenty fourth, twenty twenty six. As a reminder, RADIOI
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is a reading service intended for people who are blind
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or have other disabilities that make it difficult to read
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printed material. Your reader for to day is Cindy Fraser.
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To day's front page headlines from the Washington Post are
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State of the Union gives Trump a chance to reset
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in a hardened political landscape. The speech's impact could be limited. Next.
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Top General sees risk in attack on her arm. Kane
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expresses concerns to Trump munition shortfalls, waving allies sighted our
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Next headline, Trump gets legal victory on classified documents. Release
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of report on how materials were handled after first term
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is blocked. Next, is autism preventable in some cases? After all?
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Some research suggest environmental factors early may influence risk. The
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next headline, redistricting plan is all but dead. The Governor
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Moore still pushing Maryland Senate Democrats have resisted effort to
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redraw electoral Now and the final headline from today's front
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page Andrews Spiral CAUs royal generational divide. Queen Elizabeth held
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out hope for her Wayward son Charles and William fumed
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over his misconduct, and the last item on today's front
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page is a photo. The caption reads Christa Price shovel
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snow in her New York neighborhood. On Monday, a powerful
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storm rocked the mid Atlantic and Northeast, dumping up to
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twenty four inches of snow in some locations. The photo
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shows a woman on a street holding a snow shovel.
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The car behind her is piled with snow. Now, Let's
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turn to our first item, entitled State of the Union,
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gives Trump a chance to reset in a hardened political landscape.
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The speech's impact could be limited by Katzakrevski and Emily Davis.
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President Donald Trump will deliver his State of the Union
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address to Congress on Tuesday night at one of the
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most fragile moments of his second term, as he confronts
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new Supreme Court limits on his agenda, voter anger over inflation,
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and growing cracks within his MAGA coalition ahead of the
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mid terms. But during a time of hardened political device,
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shrinking attention spans, and declining television viewership, It's unlikely that
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even one of Washington's most enduring political traditions can reset
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the course of his embattled administration. According to interviews with
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Republican political consultants, historians, and communications experts, the State of
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the Union remains one of the rare moments when Trump
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is guaranteed airtime across networks to speak directly to a
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nationwide audience, and the constitutionally mandated address to the legislative
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branch remains a powerful symbol of the separation of powers.
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But in the age of algorithm driven social media feeds
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and bite sized video clips, the audience for the speech
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is increasingly fragmented and entrenched in their political positions. The
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carefully crafted speeches are more likely than ever to be
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drowned out by memes and partisan fireworks, as Americans increasingly
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experienced the speech in clips online tailored for one party's narrative,
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rather than through a more than hour long network broadcast.
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This moment used to have a huge build up to it,
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said Ron Bonjean, a Republican strategist who previously served as
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a spokesman for congressional leaders. The expectations were sky high
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for presidents to knock it out of the park. Now
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it feels like when the speech is given on that Tuesday.
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By the next day, you're talking about something else. Vice
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President j d Vance told Fox News that Trump will
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focus his speech on the economy, touting a Trump boom
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that will bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States
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and reduce energy costs for American households. The President will
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deliver that message to an increasingly skeptical public, as his
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disapproval rating hit sixty percent for the first time since
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the aftermath of the January sixth, twenty twenty one attack
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on the US Capitol, according to a recent Washington Post
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ABC News IPSOS poll. The political forces buffeting his agenda
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are expected to be on full display under the Capitol Dome.
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He is likely to come face to face with some
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of the Supreme Court justices he called quote fools and
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lapdogs following their Friday decision to strike down many of
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the broad tariffs central to his economic agenda. Some Democrats
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are planning to walk out of the address or forego
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the event altogether, part in protest of his approach to
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immigration enforcement amid a partial government shut down caused by
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a standoff over funding for the Department of Homeland Security,
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and he'll confront members of his own party who are
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increasingly critical of his agenda, especially his foreign policy moves,
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as he considers launching an extended military assault on Iran
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as soon as this week. Trump is omnipresent on television,
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but the State of the Union could still provide the
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largest single night audience that he will attract before the
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midterms of November. Trump administration officials and advisors continue to
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project confidence that people will start to feel the effects
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of their economic policies in the next few months, which
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they expect to improve the midterms map, according to a
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person closed to the White House who spoke on the
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condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations in multiple meanings
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to discuss the mid terms, officials have described the election
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as again of inches, not away, and said the results
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will come down to the strength of each individual candidate
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and their fundraising operation. In addition to the economic reality,
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recent Washington Post polling has found that Trump's worst issue
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is inflation, with thirty two percent approval for how he
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has dealt with consumer prices. That could spell political trouble
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in November for Republicans, who made President Joe Biden's handling
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of inflation central to their twenty twenty four campaign pitch.
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The Republican Party is struggling because a party lacks a
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strong contrast message to Democrats' cycle, given that they control
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the White House and Congress, said John McLoughlin, a long
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time Trump pollster. In part, some of the messaging challenge
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stems from how Americans consume news. McLaughlin said, during a
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presidential campaign, Trump travels a country to appeal directly to
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millions of people. Right now, he is spending most of
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his time managing parts of the government, so he is
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more dependent on media to amplify his talking points. But
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fewer than half of Americans consume news via right of
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center outlets. McLaughlin's polland has found the state of the Union,
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he said, is an opportunity to reach a far larger
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and more diverse audience with a sharper message to voters.
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It's not like when you had the Trump twenty four campaign,
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he said, so they have to get back into a
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campaign mode and campaign structure. An estimated thirty six point
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six million people watched Trump's address to a joint session
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of Congress last year. According to Nielsen, the event provided
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Trump one of his largest audience besides an augeration, but
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his speech was largely overshadowed by partisan theatrics. The most
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notable was a removal of Representative Algreen, Democrat from Texas,
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who was escorted out of the chamber after he stood up,
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shook his cane in the air, and shouted at Trump
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had no mandate to cut medicaid. Republicans ought to drown
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Green out by channing USA. Meanwhile, other Democrats held up
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signs that said save Medicaid and one that just read false.
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This year, more than a dozen Democratic lawmakers are planning
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to hold a rally on the National Mall to provide
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counter programming to Trump's speech. House Democrats in the chamber, meanwhile,
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will host the family of deceased Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginie Giuffrey,
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drawing attention to their continued investigation into the financier's sex crimes.
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Despite broadly declining interest in this speech, Trump, a former
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reality TV producer, has displayed a proficiency at creating viral
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moments during his annual addresses. During his twenty twenty State
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of the Union, First Lady Milania Trump awarded conservative news
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commentator Rush Limbaugh, who had recently announced he was battling
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advanced lung cancer the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The speech
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also featured a service member's rise, reunion with his wife
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and children following a deployment in Afghanistan, and a surprise
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scholarship for a Philadelphia fourth grader. This year, Trump has
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invited the US men's hockey team to attend this speech
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on the heels of their overtime gold medal victory at
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the Winter Olympics. The gold medal winning US women's hockey
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team to climb the invitation. Before the social media era,
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presidents often drew larger audiences for their first addresses or
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times of crisis or scandal. More than sixty two million
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viewers tuned in to hear President George W. Bush's justification
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for the imminent invasion of Iraq in two thousand three,
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and fifty three million watched President Bill Clinton deliver his
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address in nineteen ninety eight, a week after revelations that
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he and former White House intern Monica Lewinsky had a
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sexual relationship and that he urged her to lie about it.
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The speech is still widely treated as a political super
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bowl in Washington. Media companies deployed large staffs to cover
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the event and respond late into the night hours before
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the president arrives. Some lawmakers stake out prime seats so
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that they can greet the president as he moves through
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the U. S. House Chamber. Members of the administration and
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outside lobbyists spend weeks trying to ensure that their pet
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issues get airtime in his speech. The format of the
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State of the Union has dramatically evolved since President George
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Washington started the tradition. For more than a century, most
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presidents delivered their update on the state of the country's
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affairs to Congress in writing, including President Abraham Lincoln's famous
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eighteen sixty two address amid the Civil War. More than
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half a century later, President Woodrow Wilson broke with tradition
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and visited Congress for a speech to present his plan
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for tariffs in nineteen thirteen. All official Washington was a
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gape last night over the decision of the President, the
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Washington Post reported at the time. The Post wrote that
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the presidential addresses Ontle Hill were not to become a habit,
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but several months later he returned again to deliver his
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constitutionally mandated update. Wilson ushered in a new era of
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president's delivering addresses to Congress in person and later broadcasting
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those addresses to the American people. President Calvin Coolich was
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the first president to broadcast the State of the Union
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over the radio in nineteen twenty three, and later President
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Harry S. Truman delivered the first televised annual address. In
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an effort to expand the audiences, President Lyndon B. Johnson
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moved the address to the evening in nineteen sixty five.
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That move ushered in the modern spectacle, which has escalated
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in showmanship since the Reagan era, when he began bringing
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special guests into the address. But for more than a decade,
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the power of the president to reach a mass audience
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has been on the decline as cable and the Internet
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provide Americans with many other viewing options. During this State
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of the Union, said David Greenberg, a professor of history
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and of journalism and media studies at Rutgers University, it
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becomes much harder to expect that you're going to get
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tens of millions of people sitting in front of their
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living room TV on a Tuesday night, he said. Carntomulti
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contributed to this report. This item is accompanied by a
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photo caption reads President Donald Trump on Monday at the
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White House. The photo shows the President walking on a
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red carpet. Lining each side of the carpet are military
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members in uniforms standing at attention. Next is an item
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entitled Top General sees risk an attack on Iran. Cain
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expresses concerns to Trump munition short falls, waving allies sided
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by John Hudson and Tera Copp. As the Trump administration
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weighs an attack on Iran, the Pentagon's top general has
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caution President Donald Trump and other officials that short falls
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and critical munitions and a lack of support from allies
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will add significant risk to the operation and to US personnel.
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According to people familiar with internal discussions, General Dan Kane,
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chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, expressed his concerns
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at a White House meeting last week with Trump and
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his top aids, These people said, cautioning that any major
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operation against Iran will face challenges because a US munition
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stockpile has been significantly depleted by Washington's ongoing defense of
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Israel and support for Ukraine. Kain's remarks at the White
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House meeting have not been previously reported. Separately, in Pentagon
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meetings this month, Kain also has raised concerns about the
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scale of any Iran campaign, its inherent complexity, and the
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possibility of US casualties. One person said the General has
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said that any operation would be made all the more
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difficult by a lack of allied support. This person said,
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speaking like others, on the condition of anonymity to discuss
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private conversations. In his statement, Cain's office said that in
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his role as a president's top military adviser, the Chairman
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provides a range of military options, as well as secondary
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considerations and associated impacts and risks to the civilian leaders
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who make America's security decisions. Kin, the statement adds, provides
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these options confidentially. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said Trump
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listens to a host of opinions on any given issue
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and decides based on what is best for US national security.
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She described Kin as a talented and highly valued member
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of President Trump's national security team. Trump, after this article's publication,
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posted on social media that it is one hundred percent
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incorrect that Cain is against US going to war with Iran.
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Trump said that the general would not like to see
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a military confrontation with Iran, but that if it did happen.
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It is his opinion that it will be something easily won.
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The people who spoke to the Post about King's thinking
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directly contradicted Trump's optimistic characterization. The White House meeting on
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Tuesday included Vice President j d Vance, Secretary of State
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Marcar Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth,
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and White House adviser Stephen Miller. One person told The
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Washington Post, Kaine's views reported earlier by Axios are seen
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as highly credible by the administration because of the successful
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execution of two other major operations. He has overseen, the
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assault on Iran's nuclear sides in the summer and the
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January raid to capture Anischwelin President nicolasmo Duro. King said
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one person familiar with the conversations, will support whatever decision
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the President makes, as he did with previous operations, and
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does not want to be seen as taking any option
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off the table. The scale of an Iran campaign could
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vary significantly depending on Trump's objectives. Taking out Iran's missile
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program would require hitting hundreds of targets across the country
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more than three times the size of a rock. Those
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targets could include missile launched sites, many of them mobile
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supply depots, air defense systems, and the transportation networks used
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to move those weapons. A former defense official told the Post,
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if the objective is to overthrow Iran Supreme leader Ayetola
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Ali Khamene, as Trump has mused publicly, the target set
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would expand dramatically to thousands of sites, including command and
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control modes, security services, and key buildings tied to Kamenee.
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Such a campaign could extend for weeks or months, require
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much more munitions, and expose U S forces to more
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intense retaliation. The former defense officials said the administration has
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assembled a massive strike force in the Middle East, and
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Trump has acknowledged that he is also weighing a limited
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strike aimed at pressuring Tehran into a deal to restrict
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this nuclear program on terms favorable to Washington. Iran has
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expressed a willingness to make a deal, but disagreements remain
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over Iran maintaining a uranium and Richmond capability, and among
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other issues. Talks between US and Iranian negotiators are scheduled
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to resume this week in Geneva. Some US officials oppose
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a limited strike because it could trigger an unpredictable cycle
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of tip for tat violence, including Iranian attacks on U
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S military and diplomatic personnel in the region, set a
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person familiar with the deliberations. Advocates for a limited strike
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point to Iran's modest response to previous US and Israeli strikes,
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including telegraphed counter strikes aimed at limiting the risk of
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U S casualties. But opponents say Trump's open deliberating about
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regime change and the growing influence of hard liners in
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Iran's military establishment may invite a more lethal response. US
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allies in the region, some of whom met with Trump
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last week to convene his Board of Peace, also worried
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that a limited strike would push Ran away from the
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negotiating table. An attack on Iran could further straining u
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S relations with its regional allies. A senior Persian Gulf
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official told The Post that Arab countries have informed Washington
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that they would not allow their bases to be used
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for a strike against Iran. Iran's threat to retaliate against
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any country that supports the U S operations has also
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raised questions about Washington's ability to secure flyover rights. One
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former Pentagon official said the lack of allied support significantly
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complicates the mission. How are we going to be able
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to do this, especially with the Arabs don't give us overflight?
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How are you going to head hundreds, if not thousands,
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of targets across the country. A former official said. Two
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munitions critical to the defense of U. S military personnel
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against Iranian launched ballistic missiles, Terminal high Altitude area defense
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or THAD interceptors and Patriot missile systems, have been extensively
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used in recent military operations in the Middle East. Patriot
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missiles also remain one of the most in demand items
19:18
by Ukraine as it defends against Russian missile attacks, but
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the US produces only several hundred of both defenses each year,
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far less than would be needed, said Ryan Gropes, deputy
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director of the Centron Military and Political Power at the
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Foundation for Defense of Democracies. The Navy, too has a
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limited supply of its standard missiles, a must have if
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the U S is going to limit risk to the
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thousands of U. S military forces that have surged to
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the region. But ship launched SM two, SM three, and
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SM six munitions have been rapidly consumed, as the Navy
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has protected vessels in the Red Sea against Iranian proxy
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forces in US Yemen and defended Israel against ballistic missiles.
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Because of their complexity and production constraints, it can take
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two years or more to produce each replacement missile, said
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Mackenzie Eagland, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
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There's no quick fix to this problem, Eagland said. The
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U S Military supply of those missiles is globally managed
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and allocated, meaning one pot is shared by commands worldwide
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depending on need. No one has everything they need. A
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US official told the Post munition stockpile levels dropped so
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low last year that the Defense Department abruptly requested almost
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thirty billion dollars from Congress to purchase a range of
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high end missiles and interceptors. The request was only partially
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fulfilled in the Pentagon budget pass last month, according to lawmakers.
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Catherine Thompson, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute who
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recently left the Pentagon, said that the U S is
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not currently prepared to resource simultaneous conflicts, and that any
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extended conflict with Iran would likely come with significant trade
21:08
offs for higher priority interests. The US has surged forces
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to the region in part to mitigate risk to US
21:15
personnel there and Israeli targets, but a dangerous numbers gain
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persists as long as Iran retains a missile arsenal. American
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and Israeli forces would have to absorb incoming fire or
21:28
destroy Iran's launch sites at scale. A former defense official said,
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that is the dynamic. This person said, as the Trump
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administration deliberates it has assembled the largest military build up
21:41
in the Middle East since the two thousand three invasion
21:44
of Iraq. On Monday, the US ordered the departure of
21:48
non emergency US government personnel and family members from the
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U s Embassy in Lebanon, amid fears that Iran's prozy
21:55
has Belah could be drawn into the conflict. Trump's Special
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ant boy to the region, Steve Woodkough, told Fox News
22:03
over the weekend that the President is quote curious why
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iron hasn't quote capitulated to US demands given the looming
22:11
threat of a military attack. Why under this pressure, with
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the amount of sea power and naval power over there,
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why haven't they come to us and said, we profess,
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we don't want a weapon. So here is what we're
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prepared to do, and yet it's sort of hard to
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get them to that place, he said. Iranian Foreign Minister
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Abbas Agrachi responded on social media, saying, curious to know
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why we do not capitulate because we are Iranian. Dan Lemouth,
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Noah Robertson, Alice Horton, and Aaron Shaeffer in Washington, and
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Suzan Haydamos in Barut contributed to this report. This article
22:50
is accompanied by photos. The first his caption, General Dan Kane,
22:55
the Joint Chief of Staff Chairman, attends the meeting at
22:58
the White House in DECEMBERT. McLean the Washington Post. The
23:02
photo is head and shoulders shot of General McCain in uniform.
23:07
The next photo is captioned the aircraft carrier USS Abraham
23:11
Lincoln in the Arabian Sea on February eleventh, Shepard Fosdyke Jackson,
23:16
U S Navy AFP Getty Images. The photo shows the
23:20
ship on a calm sea, and the final photo accompanying
23:23
this article is captained General Dan Kane joins President Donald
23:27
Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegsath for a news conference
23:31
at mar A Lago last month after the US military
23:33
raid to capture Venezuela's president, Nucolas Maduro Alex Brandon a
23:38
p The photo shows President Trump on the left, Secretary
23:43
Hegsath in the middle, and General McCain on the right.
23:48
The next article from today's from page is entitled Trump
23:51
gets legal victory on classified documents. Release of report on
23:56
how materials were handled after first term is blocked by
24:00
Perry Stein and Jeremy Roebuck. A federal judge in Florida
24:04
blocked public release of Special Counsel Jacksmith's extensive report on
24:08
the classified documents case against President Donald Trump, a resounding
24:13
victory for Trump's efforts to block public viewing of a
24:16
probably would be damaging details about his retention of classified
24:20
materials after he left the White House in twenty twenty one.
24:24
The decision Monday morning from U. S District Judge Eileen M.
24:28
Cannon resulted from litigation that has dragged on for more
24:31
than a year in her court room. Cannon ruled that
24:35
releasing the Special Council report could violate grand jury secrecy
24:38
rules and could result in impugning the presumption of innocence
24:42
for Trump and his co defendants in a case that
24:45
did not result in guilty verdicts. The ruling can be appealed.
24:50
Although Trump and the Justice Department both opposed the public
24:53
release of the report, First Amendment avacacy groups and media
24:57
outlets pushed in Cannon's court for release. Smith charged Trump
25:01
in twenty twenty three with forty counts of illegally retaining
25:05
classified defense information and obstructing government efforts to retrieve the materials.
25:10
Two of Trump's personal aids were charged with obstruction alongside him.
25:15
Cannon dismissed thus charges in a decision that broke with
25:18
legal precedent, ruling that Smith was unlawfully appointed and therefore
25:22
had no authority to bring charges. Her decision did not
25:26
touch on the merits of the case, which Trump aids
25:28
at the time believed with the strongest of the criminal
25:31
cases against Trump that were brought during the Biden administration.
25:35
Trump appealed the ruling, but dropped the appeal after Trump
25:38
won the twenty twenty four presidential election, citing federal regulations
25:43
that say a sitting president cannot be prosecuted. In her
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Monday ruling, Cannon lambasket Smith for compiling the report, even
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though she dismissed the charges in twenty twenty four, using
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the discovery in the case to complete the report a
25:57
manner to circumventing her ruling, she said. In the final
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days before Trump took office, Smith submitted the final report
26:04
to then Attorney General Merrick Garland. Garland did not push
26:08
to release it because at the time an appeal of
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Canon's dismissal order was still pending as the Justice Department
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tried to resurrect the case against Trump's two co defendants.
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To say this chronology represents, at a minimum, a concerning
26:22
breach of the spirit of the dismissal order is an understatement,
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if not an oaright violation of it, Cannon wrote. The
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Court need not countenance this brazen stratagem or effectively perpetuate
26:32
the Special Counsel's breach of this Court's own order, she continued.
26:37
Garland made public the first volume of Smith's report, which
26:40
detailed the case that prosecutors built against Trump over his
26:43
alleged attempts to obstruct the twenty twenty election results. For
26:47
one hundred thirty seven pages, Smith detailed the incriminating evidence
26:52
he says he collected against Trump over his two year investigation.
26:56
Anne said he was confident that he had ample evidence
26:59
to obtain the conviction in court. That case also never
27:03
made it to trial, with a Justice Department asking a
27:06
judge to dismiss it in the final weeks before Trump
27:08
took office for a second term. The second volume of
27:12
the Special Council Report was expected to similarly detail the
27:15
incriminating evidence Smith collected against Trump and reveal what would
27:20
have been the Special Council's strategy at court. Prosecutors already
27:24
said that some of the documents found in the FBI
27:27
search of mar Lago Trump's Florida home and private club
27:31
contained information about top secret US operations so closely guarded
27:36
that many senior national security officials were kept in the
27:39
dark about them. Trump and his attorneys first asked Canon
27:43
to block the release of the report before he was
27:46
inaugurated for a second term. Canon temporarily blocked the release
27:50
on January seventh, twenty twenty five, about two weeks before
27:53
Trump took office. Once Trump regained the presidency, the Justice
27:58
Department said it opposed release in the report. Trump, in
28:01
his personal capacity, also fought requests in Cannon's court to
28:05
block the release. Canon previously denied requests from two legal groups,
28:10
the Night First Amendment Institute and American Oversight, that have
28:14
sought to present arguments in favor of disclosure. The groups
28:17
had already asked the US Court of Appeals for the
28:20
Eleventh Circuit to intervene, an appeal that remains pending, with
28:24
arguments tentatively scheduled for June. Judge Cannon's ruling continues a
28:29
troubling pattern of decisions that shield the president from public
28:32
scrutiny and play secrecy above the public's right to know.
28:36
Chioma Chukwu, Executive director of American Oversight, said in his
28:40
statement Monday. Scott Wilkins, Senior council for the Night Institute,
28:45
call Cannon's decision impossible to square with the First Amendment.
28:50
A defense attorney for Trump, Kenjer Wharton, celebrated Cannon's decision
28:54
on Monday, calling Smith's report illegal. Jack Smith was un
29:00
constitutionally appointed, and his unlawful investigation was improperly funded with
29:05
tens of millions of US taxpayer's hard earned dollars. Forton
29:08
said in his statement, any and all fruit of Smith's
29:11
poisonous tree should be treated accordingly and should never see
29:14
the light of day. Smith has testified to Congress in
29:18
recent months about his cases against Trump. He has said
29:21
that he is limited in what he can reveal, in
29:24
part because of Cannon's prohibition on releasing the report. It
29:28
is common practice for special counsels to release reports even
29:32
if their investigations do not result in guilty verdicts. Special
29:36
Counsel Robert K. Hurr, for example, released a report in
29:40
twenty twenty four detailing his investigation into whether President Joe
29:44
Biden unlawfully retained classified materials after his vice presidency. The
29:49
damaging report explained why her opted against charging Biden. Canon
29:55
attempted to differentiate the release of Smith's report from other cases,
29:59
saying that there was no precedent for releasing a report
30:01
in a case in which the charges have been dismissed
30:04
and that the defendants maintain their innocence. The lack of
30:07
precedent existed largely because Cannon's order dismissing the case on
30:11
the grounds at Smith's apartment was unlawful was itself unprecedented.
30:17
The court strains to find a situation in which a
30:19
former special council has released a report after initiating criminal
30:24
charges that did not result in a finding of guilt.
30:26
At least not in a situation like this one, where
30:29
the defendants contested the charges from the outset and still
30:32
proclaim their innocence. Canon wrote. This article contains a photo
30:38
captioned Special Counsel Jack Smith and U S District Judge
30:41
Eileen M. Cannon from left Tom Brenner for the Washington
30:45
Post Southern District of Florida. The photo shows a headshot
30:49
of Jack Smith on the left and a headshot of
30:51
Judge Cannon on the right. The next article from today's
30:55
front page is entitled is autism preventable in some cases?
30:59
After all? Some research suggests environmental factors early may influence risk.
31:05
By Ariana Enjung cha Obstragition, Jean Conry has long paid
31:10
attention to the thirteen hundred day window, the months before
31:14
conception through a child's second birthday. Studies show nutrition and
31:19
lifestyle during this period can shape pregnancy outcomes and the
31:23
long term health of the babies. Conry began to wonder
31:26
if such factors could also influence autism. She is now
31:30
helping lead an educational push aimed at alerting women to
31:34
their exposure to toxins, stress, and infection during this narrow
31:38
and consequential window, guided by the idea that what happens
31:42
then may subtly shape eggs or sperm, and in turn
31:46
influence a child's development long before pregnancy begins. The more
31:52
we research, the more we see links between different chemical
31:55
exposures and autism. So if we reduce those links, we
31:59
will ideally reduced cases. Conry said, for years, movements like
32:04
this existed on the fringes, but recent studies are giving
32:08
it new weight, raising a provocative question that was once
32:11
almost taboo. Could some cases of autism actually be preventable?
32:17
One peer reviewed paper generating buzz in the autism research community,
32:21
published in December, argues that a staggering number more than
32:25
half of autism cases could be prevented with the right interventions.
32:30
It proposes a quote three hit theory, suggesting that genetic susceptibility,
32:36
combined with environmental exposure and prolonged period of physiological stress
32:41
contribute to autism. Separately, two recent studies found that parents
32:46
with the highest levels of an unusual sensitivity to everyday substances,
32:50
even at low levels as measured by self reported symptom
32:53
patterns and validated questionnaires, were two times to five point
32:58
seven times more likely to report having a child with autism,
33:02
prompting researchers to urge couples trying to conceive to minimize
33:06
environmental exposures in their homes. Both lines of research rest
33:11
more in hypothesis than on settled evidence. The science linking
33:15
environmental exposures to autism remains preliminary, defined by suggestive correlations
33:21
rather than demonstrable causation. Still, the ideas are helping fuel
33:26
a broader cultural focus on preconception help on Instagram and TikTok,
33:31
a growing number of wellness influencers have embraced what they
33:34
call quote trimester zero, advising women, often mixing science backed
33:40
guidance with largely unproven claims to stop wearing nail polish,
33:44
take specific supplements, meditate, and work to lower corticel levels
33:49
before conceiving books with titles like The Fertility Formula, The
33:54
Preconception Revolution and nine Months is Not Enough promote the
33:58
idea that women are more in control of the health
34:01
of their fetuses than they might think. The new interest
34:05
in the preconception period comes amid renewed national attention to
34:08
environmental explanations for autism. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Junior,
34:14
has drawn widespread criticism for claiming that an environmental toxin
34:18
is responsible for rising autism rates and for describing the
34:22
condition as a preventable disease. Many autism researchers disputed those assertions,
34:28
arguing that increases in prevalence are more plausibly explained by
34:32
expanded diagnostic criteria and greater awareness, and that autism is
34:36
not a disease at all, but a form of human diversity.
34:41
The idea of prevention does not merely promise scientific clarity.
34:45
It also assigns responsibility if autism is shaped not only
34:49
by biology, but by environmental conditions that governments and institutions
34:54
can influence. Uncomfortable ethical questions inevitably follow. At Beversdorf University
35:01
of Missouri, professor who studies autisman's stress supports a major
35:05
medical society's recommendation that obgyn's council patients on diet and
35:10
fitness before conception, but he is wary of extending that
35:14
routine guidance to broad warnings about environmental exposures, citing limited
35:19
evidence and the risk of impractical or counter productive advice.
35:25
We don't have the evidence yet to say what you
35:27
need to do. That pushes the advice into scare things.
35:31
He said, I'd be nervous going that far. Thirteen hundred days,
35:36
the roughly three years spanning the months before conception, pregnancy,
35:40
and early infancy are uniquely sensitive period in human development
35:45
when that can change a person's lifetime health trajectory. Research,
35:50
much of it funded by the National Institutes of Health,
35:52
has linked habits and exposures during this period to obesity, asthma,
35:57
childhood cancers, decreased intel diligence and working memory, and numerous
36:02
other issues. One of the studies that has drawn a
36:05
lot of attention recently is by Robert Naveaux, a researcher
36:09
at the University of California and San Diego known for
36:12
his work with mitochondria the cell's powerhouses. Navaux and his
36:16
team argue for a reframing of how autism is thought of.
36:21
Instead of almost fixed genetic conditions, they suggest it may
36:25
be better understood as a metabolic and inflammatory syndrome shaped
36:29
by both biology and environment. At the center of his
36:34
theory is the cell danger response, a temporary survival state
36:38
triggered by perceived threat. When activated, mitochondria shift from supporting
36:44
growth to signaling distress, slowing development to allow for repair
36:49
problems arise. Navau and his colleagues say when this response
36:53
fails to shut off in a three hit model, autism
36:57
risk emerges when genetic vulnerability meets an early environmental trigger,
37:03
followed by prolonged activation of the danger response during critical
37:07
periods of brain development. The stressor might be a viral
37:11
infection or inflammation due to air pollution. From this view,
37:15
autism reflects development under chronic biological stress, a brain adapting
37:20
to a world that at a cellular level never quite
37:23
feels safe. Novall believes that figuring out who might be
37:28
more susceptible to autism, perhaps by analyzing genetic variants, metabolic biomarkers,
37:34
brain scans, and early environmental exposure, could open a window
37:38
for intervention, allowing clinicians to make targeted changes before autism
37:43
fully emerges. He often draws a parallel to fenal keiton
37:47
and urea or piquayu, a rare metabolic disorder in which
37:52
the body cannot break down a particular amino acid, leading
37:55
to seizures, intellectual disability, and other serious complications before its
38:00
cause was understood. PKU is considered untreatable. Today, However, it
38:06
is routinely managed through early detection, a strict low protein diet,
38:10
specialized medical formulas, and in some cases medication. PKU is
38:16
the reason universal newborn screening exists. Noveaud noted the lesson,
38:21
he argues, is not that all children are at risk,
38:24
but that some are more sensitive than others. The key
38:28
is early identification. He said, there is a subset of
38:31
children who may be especially responsive to changes in their environment.
38:35
Chemical intolerance, a related theory of how autism can develop,
38:40
starts with the parents. Claudia S. Miller, Professor Emeritus in
38:45
the Department of Family and Community Medicine at University of
38:48
Texas Health at San Antonio, has theorized that autism may
38:52
in some cases be linked to a significant chemical exposure
38:56
experienced by one or both parents, such as toxic mold
39:00
that leads to a chronic condition known as chemical intolerance.
39:04
People with chemical intolerance, which scientists believe may be due
39:08
to immune signaling, neuroinflammation, metabolic stress, nervous system sensitization, or
39:15
a combination of the above, can develop severe symptoms, including headaches, fatigue,
39:21
and confusion when exposed to everyday substances like household cleaners,
39:25
reactions that most people do not experience. Miller suggests a
39:30
chemical intolerance involves mass cells, which serve as first responders
39:34
in the immune system. When triggered by chemicals or viruses,
39:37
these cells release inflammatory molecules that produce allergy like reactions.
39:42
She theorizes that this inflammatory response could in turn disrupt
39:47
typical brain development and lead to autism. In twenty twenty four,
39:52
Miller and her colleagues published and analysis showing that in
39:56
a group of nearly eight thousand US adults, parents with
39:59
chemical intolerance scores in the top ten percentile were five
40:02
point seven times as likely to have a child with
40:05
autism compared with those in the bottom tenth percentile. Those
40:10
findings were replicated in a study published in January twenty
40:13
twenty six in the Journal of Zenobiotics, which examined children
40:18
in five countries. In Italy, India, and the United States,
40:22
children born to parents with the highest levels of chemical
40:25
intolerance had more than a twofold increased risk of autism.
40:29
In Mexico, the risk was one point nine times higher.
40:33
No association was found in the Japanese data, though researchers
40:37
suggested cultural differences in diagnosis and awareness may have influenced
40:41
the results. Neither study establishes causation, but she said that
40:46
both raise enough questions about a possible link that in
40:49
recent years, Miller has worked alongside physicians to encourage screening
40:54
of expected parents for chemical intolerance and to offer environmental
40:58
counseling when appropriate. She notes that with tens of thousands
41:02
of synthetic chemicals present in everyday products, many introduced during
41:06
the surge of industrialization after World War II, the number
41:10
of potential triggers is fast. Our world is totally different
41:15
than when our grandparents were younger, she said, AHA moments.
41:21
Conrie is a physician outside of Sacramento who has the
41:24
International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics, of which the American
41:28
College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, one of the country's most
41:31
influential medical societies, is a member. She recounts that she's
41:36
had several AHA moments in her career when it comes
41:39
to environmental exposures and pregnancy after learning about lead contaminated
41:44
lipstick and serious birth effects in babies born to women
41:47
who live in farming communities, and has dedicated the past
41:51
few years to convening seminars, speaking at trainings, and other
41:55
events to educate doctors and patients about how to minimize
41:59
toxic exposures. Conry believes assessing exposures at home, work, and
42:04
the community should be a routine part of a fertility
42:08
consult She said the idea is not that parents can
42:11
or should engineer perfect outcomes, but that small changes made
42:16
early may shift probabilities at the margins. Helen tager Flusburg,
42:21
director of Boston University's Center for Autism Research Excellence and
42:25
the founder of a coalition of autism scientists calling for
42:28
more rigorous research, said there is little evidence that specific
42:32
interventions during the preconception window could make a significant difference.
42:37
She cautioned that focusing on this period is premature and
42:40
possibly harmful given the current limits of the science. She
42:45
pointed to the past when both researchers and the public
42:49
wrongly blamed so called refrigerator mothers who were cold or
42:53
emotionally distant and their parenting for autism. For decades now,
42:58
we've done too much as aci society to make women
43:01
feel the burden is on them, she said. She said
43:04
the best advice for women considering pregnancy hasn't changed for decades.
43:09
Take prenatal vitamins with folic acid, eat a healthy diet,
43:13
stay fit, and avoid drugs, alcohol and smoking. Tiker Flusburg
43:18
said there is stronger evidence for other autism risk factors,
43:22
one being several high impact genes have put some kids
43:25
at risk for a more severe form of the condition,
43:28
should women be allowed to screen for them in the womb,
43:31
She said, the links between parental age and autism are
43:35
far stronger than those found for exposures such as BPA,
43:39
valdes and other environmental factors. In theory, the medical community
43:44
could advise women to have children in their twenties and
43:47
men before their late thirties or early forties to reduce
43:50
autism rates, but she noted that such guidance raises broader
43:53
societal concerns about reproductive autonomy, gender equality, economic realities, as
44:00
as well as a risk of stigmatizing older parents. These
44:03
are new territories, she said, and we are not ready
44:06
as a society to be thinking about them. This article
44:10
is accompanied by a photo captioned a young boy works
44:14
on his sentences as he identifies what takes place in
44:16
a photo during his therapy session on October fifteenth, twenty
44:20
twenty five, in Auburn Hills, Michigan Joshua Lotte The Washington Post.
44:25
The photo shows a portion of a blurred profile of
44:29
a boy and a tablet that he's working with. Our
44:34
next article is entitled Redistricting plan is all but dead,
44:38
but Governor Moore still pushing Maryland's Senate Democrats have resisted
44:43
effort to redraw electoral map by Aaron Cox. While Maryland
44:48
Governor Wes Moore, a Democrat, spent last week in verbal
44:52
combat with President Donald Trump over a sewage spill, he
44:55
was also quietly losing his biggest political battle at home.
45:00
Moore's months long fight to redraw Maryland's congressional maps and
45:04
oust its lone Republican member of Congress produced zero movement
45:08
among Democrats in the Maryland Senate, despite a public pressure
45:12
campaign without modern precedent in this deep blue state, which
45:16
typically resolves inter party fights behind closed doors. Tuesday's unofficial
45:21
deadline to act on mid cyco redistricting ahead of the
45:25
twenty twenty six midterms will come and go without fellow
45:29
Democrats heeding Moore's demand for a vote. The window of
45:32
opportunity is closed. For twenty six, said Maryland Senate President
45:36
Bill Ferguson, Democrat Baltimore City, who refuses to redistrict, arguing
45:42
that the state's Democrats have already gerrymandered as much as
45:45
possible and that further attempts will backfire. The apparent loss,
45:50
which more vehemently does not concede, draws a sharp contrast
45:54
between himself and another potential twenty twenty eight Democratic presidential contender,
46:00
Alifornia Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, who swiftly persuaded his
46:04
stage legislators and voters to redraw five more Democratic leaning
46:08
seats in retaliation for Republican jerrymandering done at Trump's behest
46:13
in Texas. Other potential twenty twenty eight presidential candidates also
46:18
did not push through redistructing, but Moore stands alone as
46:21
a Democrat who vowed to fight Trump with a redistricting
46:24
scheme but failed to achieve it. Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker,
46:29
another potential twenty twenty eight contender, cast redistricting in his
46:33
state as a potential CounterPunch to GOP map drawing in
46:36
neighboring Indiana, for example, but it was a punch he
46:40
never threw because Indiana's redistruting failed. Moore rejects the conventional
46:46
wisdom that Maryland must pass a map before Tuesday, the
46:49
candidate filing deadline, after which new congressional districts would require
46:54
shifting the entire election schedule. These are artificial deadlines. These
46:59
are deadlines that are made by politicians, Moore said in
47:02
an interview, noting that they can be changed by simple vote.
47:06
I will never stop fighting for democracy. I never have before,
47:10
and I'm not going to start now. His staff is
47:13
also developing a Plan B, according to someone with direct
47:17
knowledge of the plans who spoke on the condition of
47:19
anonymity to discuss the strategy. The loss on anti Trump
47:23
policy follows a week in which Moore burnished his national
47:26
reputation as an anti Trump combatant, with his ongoing feud
47:31
with the president spanning days of news coverage. Democratic strategists
47:35
say that by the time the twenty twenty eight presidential
47:37
election rolls around, voters are more likely to remember the
47:41
brand more staked out against Trump than the fact that
47:44
he couldn't get redistructing passed. The twenty twenty eight presidential
47:48
election isn't going to be decided on who won a
47:51
redistricting fight in twenty twenty five or twenty twenty six.
47:55
Voters assess a candidate's entire profile, not just one moment,
47:59
said Democratic strategist Liz Smith, who helped Pete Boudajeedge launch
48:03
his national profile. David Axelrod, Barack Obama's former political strategist,
48:09
said that there's going to be a lot of water
48:11
under the bridge between now and then. Newsom will get
48:15
credit for winning a redisserting battle, but it's not clear
48:18
Moore will suffer from losing his Axelrod said, Obviously, it's
48:23
a defeat when you can't get solidarity among your own party,
48:26
and questions will be raised about whether you should have
48:29
known that before you went down that road. But he's
48:32
got enormous strength as well, Axelrod said. Being singled out
48:36
by Trump for the Democrats who will be motivated by
48:38
this has its own cachet. Earlier this month, Trump disinvited Moore,
48:44
the lone black governor of a US state, from a
48:47
White House dinner Saturday night, and called Moore not worthy
48:51
and foul mouthed. The President also accused More of mismanaging
48:55
a massive sewage spill in the Potomac River. Moore, in
48:59
turn accused the President of ignorance. The Environmental Protection Agency
49:03
has oversighted this bill, not Maryland. And a nationally televised
49:08
town hall, Moore called Trump unhinged, and when asked whether
49:12
he thought Trump is racist, Moore responded, I think the
49:16
question of is he racist should be posed to him,
49:19
but frankly, I think his actions probably give the answer
49:22
before he even has a chance to answer himself. Republicans
49:27
have been eager to challenge Moore's redistricting effort in court
49:30
because they thought they could save the state's only congressional
49:33
Republican House Freedom Coccus Chair Andy Harris and possibly even
49:38
pick up a seat Wes. Moore's failure is a stunning
49:42
display of his inability to work with a supermajority of
49:45
his own party, said delicate Kathy Sliga, Republican Baltimore County,
49:49
who would have been the GOP's lead plaintiff challenging a
49:52
new map. Democrats hold thirty four out of forty seven.
49:56
Merrily it sentenced seats Senate President Bill Ferguson saved him
50:00
from national embarrassment, Shliga said, adding that Moore has spent
50:04
more time courting the national press than the senators in
50:07
the Maryland Senate. Moore said his motivation on redistricting comes
50:12
from two places, harms to his state and his perspective
50:16
as a black man. Maryland has been hit harder than
50:19
any other place in this country, Moore said in an interview,
50:23
referring to federal layoffs, denial of Federal Emergency Management Agency aid,
50:28
and threats of deploying the National Guard among the ways
50:31
he argues that Trump has used the federal government to
50:34
target Maryland. There is a bigger obligation that I do feel.
50:38
More said, and I feel it as the only black
50:41
governor in this country. Moore has labeled redistricting political red
50:46
lining since its September speech to the Congressional Black Caucus,
50:49
calling new congressional boundaries at oust black and brown officials,
50:53
akin to discriminatory housing practices that for generations made it
50:57
more expensive to buy homes in black neighborhood. Prominent black
51:01
leaders represented as Emmanuel Cleaver, the second Democrat for Missouri,
51:06
and James E. Clyburn, Democrat South Carolina, for example, will
51:10
face difficult, if not impossible, reelection bids. As a result
51:15
of GOP redistricting. I use the words political red lining
51:19
very intentionally because we are watching how political lines are
51:23
being drawn to diminish power black leadership the same way
51:28
that residential lines were used to diminish black wealth. And
51:31
you cannot look at this assault that is taking place
51:34
from this administration and not see how the political leadership
51:38
is also just part of a much larger plan, Moore said,
51:42
noting the disproportionately skyrocketing unemployment rate for black women. Maryland
51:48
has a solemn obligation to understand the larger game that
51:52
is going on and the larger role that we have
51:54
to play to be able to combat it, he said.
51:58
The White House did not respond to a requests for comment.
52:02
Moore has deployed his rhetoric in private meetings with lawmakers
52:05
and dozens of national interviews since October, and repeated his
52:09
plea in this month's Stated the State Address, casting Maryland
52:12
as a critical player in undermining Trump's effort to secure
52:16
GOP power in the House of Representatives. The governor orchestrated
52:21
Democratic Party stars to sell his case, including a six
52:25
page letter from Representative Jamie Raskin, a plea from influential
52:29
black pastors and visits to Annapolis last week from former
52:33
Attorney General Eric Holder, chairman of the National Democratically Distributing Committee,
52:38
and House Minority Leader Jakim Jeffreys, Democrat from New York.
52:43
None of it has swayed Maryland Senate to move nor
52:46
did quick passage of the legislation in the House of Delegates.
52:50
After a private meeting with the Senate President that lasted
52:52
more than half hour, Jeffreys told reporters Bill Ferguson authentically
52:57
believes that the votes don't exist in the States Senate
53:00
to move forward. The only way to find out is
53:03
to allow an immediate up or down vote. Ferguson flatly
53:07
refused for the umptien's time in the Senate. We generally
53:10
do not bring things to the floor that don't have
53:13
the votes to pass, he said, pointing out that chambers
53:16
debate procedures can suck up a large amount of time
53:19
without leading to a vote. He argues that a new
53:22
map would not survive a legal challenge, and if it failed,
53:26
courts could draw new districts that would elect more Republicans.
53:30
The map that we have today is our best option.
53:32
Providing the instance Trump administration Ferguson said, what is happening
53:37
in the Midsaco redistricting is horrifying, and there is an
53:41
active effort to disenfranchise black elected officials. It's unconscionable, it
53:46
is unbelievable. Ferguson added, But what we have to do
53:50
in Maryland is protect Marylanders. So Mictor Cheryl C. Kagan,
53:55
Democrat from Montgomery, an early and steadfast more supporter, such
54:00
she doesn't believe the votes are there, so indulging the
54:02
governor's request would waste limited time in a ninety day session.
54:07
Other important legislation addressing critical issues would die when we
54:11
ran out of time, she said. Other senators cast out
54:14
on that argument. We've never had a debate on the issue,
54:18
not even in the back rooms, said Senator Arthur Ellis,
54:21
Democrat from Charles. I believe if we have an honest
54:24
debate on this issue, it will pass on the floor.
54:27
Moore said he has no plans to relent. Democracy means
54:31
we debate, Democracy means we test ideas, democracy means compromise,
54:37
and then democracy means that we vote. That is the
54:40
basis of democracy, he said, and what we are seeing
54:43
right now from the Maryland Senate is not democracy. What
54:47
we're seeing from the Maryland Senate is the hiding behind
54:50
archaic rules and almost this bost mentality that I think
54:54
people don't like about politics. Yasmin Abuteleb and Marianna Sotomayor
55:00
contributed to this report. This item is accompanied by a
55:03
photo captured Maryland Governor Westmore attends a breakfast for US
55:07
Governor's Friday at the White House Peter W. Stevenson, The
55:11
Washington Post. The photo shows that Governor Moore talking to
55:15
an individual one could only see the back of the
55:18
individual's head. And the final item from today's front pages,
55:23
entitled Andrew's spiral caused royal generational divide. Queen Elizabeth held
55:28
out hope for her wayward sign Charles and William fumed
55:32
a risma's conduct by Carla Adam from London, as sordid
55:38
allegations engulfed Prince Andrew, the middle of her three sons.
55:41
Queen Elizabeth displayed the eternal hope of a mother, Charles,
55:46
heir to the throne, showed the cold impatience of a sibling,
55:50
and William the embarrassed dismay of a nephew. Countless families
55:55
deal with a difficult relative in the House of Windsor.
55:58
He was the not so grand and Duke of York,
56:01
now reduced to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor after being stripped of
56:05
his royal titles over his ties to convicted sex offender
56:08
Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew has long been a thorn in the
56:12
royal family's side as he denied allegations with sexual misconduct,
56:16
and yet again and again new evidence revealed his ties
56:20
to Epstein were far closer and went on far longer
56:23
than he admitted. But the three generations of the royal
56:27
family each confronted the challenge differently, reflecting their own personal
56:32
stake in Andrew's downward spiral. Last week, after Mountbatten Windsor
56:37
was arrested in connection with potential misconduct during his time
56:40
as a trade envoy, King Charles the Third issued a terse,
56:44
first person statement, extremely rare for a British monarch. Let
56:49
me stay clearly, the law must take its course. Charles
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said it was a clear move to place institutional distance
56:56
between the monarch and his beleaguered brother, who, if charged
57:00
with a cry, would present his brother's realm For the
57:03
extraordinary spectacle of the crown prosecuting one of its own.
57:08
Royal commentator Craig Prescott saw the moment as emblematic of
57:12
a broader ship. Charles didn't prevaricate about this. His statement
57:17
was released very quickly, Prescott said, adding, you get the
57:21
sense that William would have gone much further, much earlier.
57:25
Each generation, in other words, has less and less tolerance
57:29
for Winzard's wayward sun. The late Queen Elizabeth the second,
57:33
by contrast, moved with characteristic restraint. Andrew had always insisted
57:38
no wrongdoing, but the horizon has been darkening for years.
57:43
In twenty eleven, eleven years before Elizabeth's death, photographs surfaced
57:48
of Andrew's strolling through Central Park with Epstein, already a
57:52
convicted sex offender. Virginia Giffree, one of Epstein's trafficking victims,
57:57
later accused Andrew of having sex with her when she
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was seventeen. A photograph of Andrew with his arm around
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Jeffree's bear midriff became an indelible image of the scandal,
58:08
and yet the royal gates remained open, as Elizabeth refrained
58:12
from acting against her son, not after the photographs, not
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after the allegations, not for years. It was only after
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Andrew's disastrous twenty nineteen appearance in an interview on the
58:25
BBC's Newsnight that she moved. Four days after the broadcast,
58:30
Buckingham Palace announced that Andrew would step back from public
58:33
duties for the foreseeable future. To the constraints of time,
58:37
will be unable to complete this item. This concludes the
58:40
reading of the Washington Post for today, Tuesday, February twenty fourth,
58:45
twenty twenty six. Your reader for today has been Cindy Fraser.
58:49
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions concerning this program,
58:53
please feel free to call us Study five nine four
58:56
two two six three nine zero. Thank you for listening,
58:59
and now please stay tuned for continued programming on Radio
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