Transcript

5.20.25 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of the Washington Post for Tuesday,
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May twentieth, twenty twenty five. As a reminder, RADIOI is
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a reading service intended for people who are blind or
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have other disabilities that make it difficult to read printed material.
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Your reader for to day is Cindy Fraser. To day's
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front page headlines from the Washington Post are Fall of
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Bassaud's in foreman state leaves Syria riven. Next High Court
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allows end to protections for Venezuelan's ruling effects up to
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three hundred fifty thousand migrants. Justices lift bar on Trump
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undoing Biden order. Next judge rules President can't dismantle Peace Institute.
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Our next headline after Biden's diagnosis, a complex outpouring well wishes,
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questions and conspiracies abound in deeply divided country. Next, Trump
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to visit Hill to whip votes for tax bill. And
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the final headline from today's front page phone call with
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Putin leaves little changed. Now let's turn to our first item,
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entitled fall of Assad's informant state leaves Syria. Ribbon by
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Louisa Lovelock, The Caaria Zecaria and Salwan George from Damascus Syria.
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The Assade regime made Syria an informant state, with surveillance
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that turned the country on itself. Neighbors and colleagues reported
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on each other in every district and workplace, what they said,
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where they went, who came for dinner. After more than
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half a century, that suffocating regime melted away over night
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in December as rebel forces marched on the capital Damascus.
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Left behind is a society divided by suspicion and perfidy,
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shadowed by the question of who among them had quietly
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contributed to the Assad's tyranny. On a single alley, the
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grievances born of betrayal are playing out. Hamdi al Barbari
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was tending to a group of nesting pigeons on his
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roof in March when he heard the first bullet whip
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past his face. He ducked, another whis passed, and he
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fell backward. As he scrambled to the stairs, he recalled
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he knew which house the shots had come from. Neighbors
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reviled his father, Abu Ayeman, a baker, labeling him an
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informant for the Assad regime during Syria's long civil war.
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Abu Ayman denies being an informer, but acknowledged in a
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recent interview that he once led security forces from the
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notorious Palestine Military Intelligence branch to the homes of people
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he knew who he said had threatened him. They died
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in custody. He and Hamdi said. Several doors down the
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alleyway from the Barbary home lived the Mograbi family, who
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said they have had long been known in the area
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as government opponents. They recalled a tide of fear unleashed
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during the war by a local Prosad militia, which included
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Abu Aiman and his oldest son Wasim Rachman Mograbi and
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his cousin Musa were detained by the force and later tortured.
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They said. The informant was Abu Eimen. Ahmed said, referring
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to his own case, he hurt our family so much.
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Abu Aiman denied he was involved in Achman's attention and
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said he had reported his fellow Syrians on only one occasion.
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Abu Aiman said he was always in favor of my
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neighborhood people. In the months since President Bashir al Assad's fall,
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the unresolved tension between these two Sunni Muslim families has
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been replicated countless times across the country, as those who
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were informed upon cress their rivances against those who allegedly
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betrayed them. These fault lines pose a major challenge for
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the new Syrian government, which is also confronting sectarian divisions
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rooted in widespread resentment against the Alawhite religious minority, where
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As'ad found much of his support. The new authorities have
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been calling for healing and national unity, but have offered
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little suggestion of how to achieve it. The Barbary and
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Magrabi families live in the Tataman district of Damascus, which
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was depicted in the Assage regimes propaganda as a model
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of social harmony. But over the course of the war,
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thousands of Tataman's residents disappeared, some into jails, others into
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shallow graves. Between the houses. The victims and the perpetrators
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often had been neighbors. In the schools, teachers filed reports
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after children let slip what they overheard at home. In
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the weeks after As'ad fell, residents recalled. One of the students,
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now a rebel fighter, returned to confront his head teacher,
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blaming her for his parents disappearance. Another woman said friends
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of her estranged husband had reported to the authorities that
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she harbored anti government sympathies. Abu Aiman Barbari had grown
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wealthy under the regime, coming to own about a dozen
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properties and several small businesses in his area of Damascus.
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After a group of residents from a nearby neighborhood tried
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to shake him down for money, he said he helped
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security forces identified those he said were responsible and led
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the forces at night to these people's homes. He said
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he had also joined a local pro government militia known
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as the National Defense Forces and YEF that patrolled the area.
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If he hadn't, he said, the militia might have seized
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any of his homes instead. Andy of militiamen erected a
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checkpoint outside Barbara's front door and randomly took patcha at
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residence in the street. Achmed Muhrabi said he was detained
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shortly after his sister was seen insulting a photograph of
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the president. His cousin, Musa was picked up several months later,
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he said, after a clash with an upstairs neighbor who
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had also joined the NDF. Plainclothes officers pulled him from
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his truck, leaving his toddler sons alone in the back seat.
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In the Palestine branch, Musa said jailers twisted cigarettes and
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glass through his limbs and hung Ahmed from his wrists
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until they broke. When members of the Mograbi family were
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fondly allowed to visit the prison, they said they did
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not recognize the cousins until they called out their names.
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Grievances irrupt as rebel forces rolled toward the Syrian capital
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on December seventh, with Asad's dictatorship in their sides, a
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terrified Hamdi al Barbari woke his father at midnight. He said,
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within a matter of panicked eyes hours, the family had
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agreed that Abu Aiman's departure might save them all. They
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said he packed some clothes and money into a bag
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outside the streets of Damascus had erupted with a grief
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and rage of the long oppressed. It was only a
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matter of time, Abu Aiman told his sons before they
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came for him. He made it to neighboring Lebanon three
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days later with his wife and son Jim. As the
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sun rose on the morning of December eighth, Musa and
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Ahman Mograbi stood stunned in the street as crowds ripped
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ASD's posters from the walls. Video show the NDF checkpoint
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was gone, and so was the terror it instilled. Musa
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allowed his children to play outside for the first time
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in years. The tensions in the alleyway erupted. Three days later,
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as Hamdi and his brothers ready the day's bread inside
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the bakery, family members said about a dozen mass men
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arrived with guns. Hamdi said pulled the men's shirts over
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their heads and force them against a wall as onlookers jeered,
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your father was involved in killing, cried one. They called
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Abu Aiman Ashabillah a regime loyalist. Please, if you're going
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to accuse him, you need to have evidence, Hamdi recalled,
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shouting he could hear his wife sobbing and begging the
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men to have mercy. In the end, they stood down.
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In his first speech as serious new president, Hakmad al Shara,
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formerly known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammed al Jolani,
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told the nation that the victory over As'ad belonged to
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the victims of his security state system. Real justice would
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come from attaining civil peace and pursuing the criminals who
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have been steeped in Syrian blood, he said, whether among
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those who have gone into hiding inside the country or
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have fled outside it. The government set up reconcis centers
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where anxious and pale faced former soldiers and intelligence agents
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formerly handed in their weapons in exchange for civilian identification cards,
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but the process was optional, and a growing number of
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a soad regime loyalists circumvented it by leaving for other
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parts of the country. In Tataman, many residents were shocked
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when news spread that the former head of the NDF,
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Floddy Soccer, had returned briefly as a free man, after
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officially reconciling with the new authorities. Some said he came
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back for a community meeting. Others alleged erroneously that he
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had toured the location of a massacre. The NDF had
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been widely blamed for residents streamed out to protest in
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the hundreds. Musa was stunned. How could this happen, he
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asked his brother. This guy's very existence means the entire
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project of toppling the regime was a failure. Scores to
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be settled across Tatamon residence reported that some of the
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known informants and regime loyalists had tried to negotiate with
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their neighbors. One man handed over his apartment to rebel
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fighters who returned with Assad's fall. The family that Musa
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blamed for his imprisonment turned up at his door to
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offer an expensive car, he said. The Moghabi family had
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been financially ruined by the detentions, they said, paying more
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than two hundred thousand dollars in bribes for information about
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Musa's whereabouts and to win his freedom. The former detainees
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struggled to sleep as their memories returned to haunt them.
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There are some crimes that cannot be forgiven, Musa said firmly.
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My wife is the one pushing me to forgive. She
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tells me that every one here has children. After the
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prisons were emptied and their surviving inmates freed, investigative journalists
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published stories describing what was revealed in the files hoarded there,
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which families had informants in their midst, and the details
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they reported that made their way into intelligence reports. Social
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media stoked the growing sense of insecurity among former Asad loyalists,
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including informants, with a steady stream of reports about vigilante
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attacks against people with real or perceived links to his
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former regime. The Barbary brothers stayed at home when they
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weren't working. A group of former rebel fighters began knocking
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at the door when they needed help with menial tasks.
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Hamdy's brother, Reid said, Hamdy completed them silently, without looking
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the men in the eye. They nicknamed him the little dog.
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In the Barbary household, the children had stopped asking when
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their uncle Wassim was coming back. Instead they were telling
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Hamdy they wanted him to go to save his life.
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By March, the young man had given up on fighting
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the allegations against his father, he said, but bore him
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no grudge. Now he just implored people to believe that
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he was different. I tell them, look, he ran away.
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You need to deal with him, not me, he said.
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But if someone's lost a brother or a father, I
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worry that all still be the one they hurt, so
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they feel that they'd done something. Homdi has not gone
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back up to his roof since his close call. He
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says he now wants to leave Syria. We didn't have
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a choice to not be with the regime. He said,
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I'm not defending my father. I'm trying to be honest.
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Next is an item entitled High Court allows end to
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protections for Venezuelans, ruling effects up to three hundred fifty
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thousand migrants. Justices lift bar on Trump undoing Biden order
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by Justin Juvenal, Sabrina Rodriguez and Arles R. Arnandez. The
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Supreme Court said Monday that the Trump administration can cancel
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temporary protections for up to three hundred fifty thousand Venezuelans,
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a major undoing of a Biden administration's decision that allowed
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those migrants to live and work in the United States
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for humanitarian reasons. Immigrant advocates said the move could have
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devastating effects on large communities of Venezuelans, some of whom
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have lived in the US for many years. Advocates said
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they thought deportation efforts could begin immediately or in the
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next few weeks, as is typical when they act on
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emergency requests. The justices did not explain their decision, which
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will remain in effect while a legal fight over rescinding
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protected status plays out in the lower courts. The Court
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which ruled against Trump into other recent emergency cases that
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involve summary deportations without due process, said some Venezuelans who
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lose protected status might initiate their own legal challenges if
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the government tries to deport them. Justice Katanji Brown Jackson
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was the only justice to say she would have kept
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in place a lower court decision that blocked the Trump
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administration from removing protected status while litigation continued. The Biden
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administration created protected status for Venezuelans and extended it shortly
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before he left office because officials felt the political and
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economic turmoil under the regime of President Nicolas Manduro made
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it too risky to deport migrants to their home country.
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But the administration of President Donald Trump moved to cancel
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the protections, saying they were not in the national interest
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and arguing that migrants presented a public security risk and
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were a drain on resources. Trump officials also said conditions
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had improved in Venezuela. A federal judge in Northern California
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said the administration's decision to end protected status appeared to
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be motivated by racial animus. Monday's ruling directly affects Venezuelan
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migrants granted protected status in twenty twenty three. Protections for
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another group of approximately two hundred fifty thousand Venezuelans granted
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in twenty twenty one expires in September. Trump is also
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seeking to roll back other Biden era protections that have
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allowed millions of immigrants to remain in the United States
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while the immigration cases play out, including temporary Protected status
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for migrants from Afghanistan, Haiti, and Cameroon. Ahilin Urulanakon, one
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of the lawyers challenging the cancelation of TPS for Venezuelans,
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said the immediate effect of the decision was somewhat unclear Monday.
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The order doesn't explicitly say whether the group of about
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three hundred fifty thousand Venezuelan TPS holders have already lost
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their legal status and work permits, or whether some or
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all might have some additional time. This is the largest
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single action stripping any group of non citizens of immigration
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status in modern U S history, said Aurulanathom, co director
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of the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at the
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UCLA School of Law. That the Supreme Court authorizes action
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in a two paragraph order with no reasoning is truly shocking.
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Jorge Marquees, a Venezuelan oil engineer from Houston who has
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connections to anti Maduro groups, received protected status that will
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expire in September. He and his wife have a U.
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S citizen daughter, from whom they would be separated if
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they faced deportation unless she left the country with them.
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Marques said the conditions that led the U. S Government
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to offer protected status to Venezuelans are still in place,
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and argued that removing the status will have a significant
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economic impact for the U. S. This will have damaging
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effects on mixed status families, but also economically on all
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those businesses we created or industries boosted by hiring TPS recipients.
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Marquees said. The Homeland Security Secretary can designate immigrant groups
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for protected status if natural disasters, armed conflict, or other
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extraordinary but temporary conditions raise fears for migrant safety if
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they are returned to their homelands. The program is intended
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to end when conditions improved. Officials approved an extension of
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TPS in the waning days of Biden's presidency that would
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have kept the protections in place through October twenty twenty six.
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Homeland Security Secretary Christy L. Nom rescinded that extension in February,
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alleging that the Venezuelans were strained on local resources. Trump
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officials have also accused some Venezuelans of being members of
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the Trendearagua gang. In February seven, Venezuelans, migrants, and the
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National TPS Alliance sued the Trump administration. U S District
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Judge Edward M. Chen paused Trump's action, saying there was
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no evidence that Venezuelan Temporary Protected Status holders are members
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of trende Arragua, have connections to the gang, or commit crimes.
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The Secretary's action threatens to inflict irreparable harm on hundreds
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of thousands of persons, whose lives, families, and livelihoods will
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be severely disruptive, costs the United States billions in economic activity,
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and injure public health and safety in communities throughout the
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United States, the judge wrote in his opinion, which was
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upheld by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
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At the same time, the government has failed to identify
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any real countervailing harm in continuing TPS for Venezuelan beneficiaries.
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The Trump administration then asked the Supreme Court to intervene.
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The harm here is particularly pronounced because a secretary determined
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that an eighteen month extension would harm the United States
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national security and public safety, while also straining police stations,
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city shelters, and aid services in local communities that had
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reached a breaking point. The government wrote in its filings
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with a High Court. The emergency appeal is one of
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at least eighteen that have reached the High Court over
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Trump administration initiatives, including eight that deal with immigration issues.
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The Migrants and the TPS Alliance argue in their filings
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that Venezuela is still unsafe and the cancelation of the
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TPS program was motivated by bias. The Secretary explicitly relied
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on false negative stereotypes, like the myths that Venezuela emptied
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its prisons to send migrants here, to justify both the
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vacator and termination decisions. Petitioners wrote her statements conflated Venezuelan
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TPS holders with dirt bags, gang members, and dangerous criminals.
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Ama MacLean, one of the attorneys on the case who
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works for the ACLU of Northern California, said that while
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the order doesn't mention other TPS recipients. It does not
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bode well for Venezuelans, whose protection expires in September, or
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for other groups that the Trump administration has targeted. The
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Trump administration has also scaled back a Biden era extension
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of the Temporary protections for Haitian migrants that puts about
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five hundred twenty thousand at risk of deportation as early
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as August. The Trump administration this month asks the High
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Court to clear the way for it to deport more
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than five hundred thirty thousand migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua,
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and Venezuela who have been allowed to stay in the
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US while asylum and removal proceedings play out. That request
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is pending. Our next of is entitled Judge rules President
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can't dismantle Peace Institute by Derrick Hawkins. A federal judge
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in Washington ruled Monday that the Trump administration exceeded its
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authority when it dismantled the U. S Institute of Peace,
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an independent, nonprofit group created by Congress to help resolve
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violent international conflicts. U S District Judge Beryl A. Howell
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said the Institute, while part of the federal government, was
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separate from the executive branch. Therefore, President Donald Trump lacked
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the power to terminate its board at will. The President's
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efforts here to take over an organization outside of those bounds,
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contrary to statute established by Congress and by acts of
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force and threat using local and federal law enforcement officers,
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represented a gross usurpation of power and a way of
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conducting government affairs that unnecessarily traumatized the committed leadership and
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employees of USIP, who deserved better, Howell wrote in a
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one hundred two page opinion. Administration officials and members of
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billionaire Elon Musk's us DOGE Service, aided by local and
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federal law enforcement agencies, seized the institute's privately owned headquarters
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in March and summarily removed its leaders soon after. They
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began terminating staff and programs, replaced the Institute's president with
22:27
a DOZE agent, and transferred its headquarters to the General
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Services Administration. Howell said Trump violated the nineteen eighty four
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law establishing the institute when he terminated the board members,
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who may only be removed because of a felony conviction
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or malfisance recommendation of the board majority or a majority
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vote of four separate congressional committees. As a consequence, Howell said,
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all the other actions dissembling the Institute were effectuated by
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illegitimately installed leaders who lacked legal authority to take these actions,
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which must therefore be declared null and void. The administration
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did not have lawful authority to enter the Institute's headquarters,
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she said, nor the authority to transfer the building in
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downtown Washington to the g SA, which oversees federal real estate.
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That transfer is thus null and void, and plaintiffs maintain
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rightful ownership of property, Howell wrote. The Institute's long time
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outside legal council, George Foot, said the ruling would allow
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the ousted leaders, the plaintiffs in the case, and staff
23:35
to resume their work and regain control of the building,
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which sits at the corner of Constitution Avenue and twenty
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third Street northwest, near the National Mall and the Lincoln Memorial,
23:47
But he acknowledged that the government has thirty days to
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appeal Howell's ruling and said he was awaiting word from
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the Trump administration about when his clients could return to headquarters.
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We're prepared to take control at a moment's notice, Foote
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said our security team is ready to go. The Justice
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Department did not immediately respond to her request for comment.
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White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly attacked Howe as a quote
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rogue judge and said her attempt to impede on the
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separation of powers will not be the last say on
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the matter. Kelly also faulted the Institute, saying it failed
24:24
to deliver peace. Trump targeted the Institute for elimination in
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an executive order that included the dismantling of several other
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non executive branch foreign aid and peacemaking agencies. Employees from DOGE,
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which stands forward Department of Government Efficiency, took over the
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building with help from the Office of the U. S.
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Attorney for the DISTITCTI of Columbia. The FBI and DC Police.
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Institute officials had tried to convince DOGE representatives that such
24:54
a takeover would be illegal given the group's status as
24:58
an independent organization and restrictions on the President's ability to
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remove board members, but officials from the U. S. Attorney's
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Office for the District of Columbia threatened those leaders with
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criminal investigations if they resisted. Several asted board members then
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filed a suit. In March. Howell denied an emergency request
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to stop Dog's take over while the lawsuit proceeded, saying
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she needed to resolve confusion about the institute's independent status.
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Trump administration lawyers argued in court papers that the Institute
25:32
was part of the executive Branch and that restraints on
25:35
Trump's ability to remove leaders amounted to unconstitutional interference with
25:40
his executive powers. Similar constitutional questions involving Trump's ability to
25:46
remove the heads of government agencies have come up in
25:49
other high profile legal challenges. Trump has broad power under
25:54
the Constitution to appoint and remove top executive branch officials
25:58
for any reason. The Congress has restricted that power over
26:02
some independent agencies, such as the National Labor Relations Board
26:07
or the Merit System's Protection Board, to insulate them from
26:11
political interference. The Institute differs even from those agencies because
26:16
it has no regulatory or enforcement authority. In her ruling,
26:22
Howell cited firmly with the plaintiffs, saying Congress created the
26:25
Institute with a clear intent that it remain independent of
26:29
the executive branch. She noted that no court had previously
26:34
addressed that question. President Ronald Reagan signed the law creating
26:39
the Institute with a mandate to help resolve violent international
26:43
conflicts and provide independent analysis to Congress and government agencies.
26:49
The Institute does not exercise governmental, let alone executive power
26:54
under the Constitution, Howell wrote. Instead, USIP supports both the
27:00
executive and legislative branches as an independent think tank that
27:05
carries out its own international peace research, education, and training,
27:10
and information services. From the outset of the case, Howell
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expressed concern about how the administration and Doege treated the
27:18
Institute's leaders and employees during the takeover of headquarters. She
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said in court that she was offended that the administration
27:27
had involved law enforcement officers, and she repeatedly questioned a
27:31
government lawyer about whether the administration could have taken less
27:35
extreme steps to accomplish its goal. Her ruling said the
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President and his subordinates used brute force and threats of
27:43
criminal process against Institute leaders. The institute's roughly six hundred
27:48
staffers are not government workers. All but a few have
27:52
been barred from the building for the past two months,
27:55
except for brief supervised visits to gather their belongings. The
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Trump administration fired about half of the staff without cause
28:04
at the end of March. Some employees said they were
28:07
offered severance and one month of health insurance in exchange
28:10
for waiving their right to sue. Other employees have found
28:14
their own lawsuit, which is still pending before Howell. On Monday,
28:19
some fired staffers gathered outside the institute's headquarters to celebrate
28:23
the ruling, even as they acknowledged that the path ahead
28:27
was unclear. There's a lot of unanswered questions. It's not
28:32
like a lights which you can turn back on, said
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one former employee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity
28:37
to avoid potential retaliation. Regardless of what happens next, it's
28:43
essential for the functioning of democracy that injustices be acknowledged.
28:48
The next item from to Day's front page is entitled
28:52
After Biden's Diagnosis, A complex outpouring well wishes, questions, and
28:58
conspiracies abound in dear, deeply divided country. By Enough Talibin,
29:03
David matt Weiser, Joel Achenbach, and Patrick Sveetik. When a
29:08
former president received a serious medical diagnosis, the traditional response
29:13
has been to set aside political differences, offer warm praise,
29:18
and wish the individual a speedy recovery and complete return
29:21
to health. In many cases, that's exactly what happens. Sunday,
29:25
after former President Joe Biden disclosed that he has an
29:29
aggressive form of prostate cancer, President Donald Trump, who has
29:33
repeatedly attacked Biden since taking office, wished Biden quote a
29:38
fast and successful recovery, but in a reflection of today's
29:42
harsh political environment and reignited questions over Biden's health during
29:47
his re election campaign and his inner circle's handling of
29:50
the situation, some Republicans and right wing activists wasted little
29:55
time asserting without evidence that Biden and his circle covered
29:59
up diagnosis. Trump, speaking in the Oval Office on Monday,
30:04
said the diagnosis was quote very sad, actually, and that
30:08
he felt badly about it. But he also questioned why
30:12
it wasn't caught earlier. The test is standard to pretty
30:15
much anybody getting a physical, a good physical, he said.
30:19
We had the doctors at the White House and over
30:21
at Walter Reed, which is a fantastic hospital. I do it.
30:25
I did a very complete physical, including cognitive tests. Trump
30:29
inaccurately referred to Biden's diagnosis as quote stage nine, an
30:34
apparent reference to a pathology report, giving his cancer a
30:37
Gleason's score of nine on a scale that rises to
30:41
ten and indicates an aggressive cancer. Trump also questioned Biden's
30:46
cognitive ability. If you take a look, it's the same
30:49
doctor that said Joe was cognitively fine, there was nothing
30:52
wrong with him, Trump said, If it's the same doctor
30:56
who said there was nothing wrong there, that's been proven
30:59
to be a sad situation. The doctor said he's just fine,
31:02
and it's turned out that's not so. It's very dangerous, unbelievable,
31:07
this was missed. But the truth is his physician was
31:10
more concerned about assisting with the political cover up than
31:14
providing world class medical care. Representative Ronnie Jackson, Republican from Texas,
31:20
posted on social media Sunday night. Jackson was himself White
31:24
House physician to President Barack Obama as well as Trump.
31:28
He drew attention in twenty eighteen for an effusive report
31:31
on Trump's condition, saying the president had done exceedingly well
31:35
on a cognitive exam and had incredible genes. The varying
31:40
messages emerged as Biden thanked Americans on Monday for their
31:44
love and support. Cancer touches us all Biden wrote on
31:48
x in his first public comment about the diagnosis. Like
31:52
so many of you, Jale and I have learned that
31:54
we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for
31:58
lifting us up with love and support. Biden shared a
32:01
picture of himself seated with former First Lady Joe Biden
32:05
and their cat Willow. His cancer diagnosis renewed debate about
32:10
who should receive annual screenings and at what age for
32:13
signs of the disease. Prostate cancer specialists told The Washington
32:18
Post that it is not unusual for someone Biden's age
32:21
to skip screening for prostate specific anigen or PSA, which
32:26
when elevated, can indicate a higher risk of prostate cancer.
32:31
The US Preventative Services Task Force, which makes medical recommendations
32:36
about preventive services such as screenings, explicitly recommends against PSA
32:41
screening in men seventy years and older. From men ages
32:45
fifty five to sixty nine. The decision should be an
32:48
individual one, it says. The guidelines note that many men
32:53
will experience potential harms of screening, including false positive results
32:58
that require additional testing and possible prostate biopsy, over diagnosis
33:03
and over treatment, and treatment complications such as incontinence and
33:08
erectotis function. Biden's prognosis depends on many factors that are
33:13
not known publicly, said William Dalhout, chief Scientific officer of
33:18
the American Cancer Society. That includes the degree to which
33:22
the cancer has spread into the bones and whether it
33:25
has reached organs such as a liver. Dalhout said. E
33:29
Is Egal J. Emmanuel, an oncologist and professor at the
33:32
University of Pennsylvania who served on a COVID nineteen advisory
33:36
board for Biden, said on m S n c B
33:39
on Monday that Biden probably had the cancer at the
33:43
start of his presidency in twenty twenty one, because a
33:46
former president did not develop it in the last one
33:49
hundred two hundred days. Emmanuel said later in an interview
33:53
with The Post that the point he was trying to
33:55
make is that the kind of cancer Biden had was
33:58
present during his time in office, because this kind of
34:01
cancer doesn't develop overnight. I didn't say that there was
34:05
a conspiracy, Emmanuel said. I was very clear that he
34:09
did have cancer. That's a fact that he knew or
34:12
didn't know. I don't know, and they don't know. Emmanuel
34:17
added that he should have clarified that his point doesn't
34:20
mean the president knew he had cancer. On Collegists specializing
34:25
in prostate cancer said even aggressive cancers can appear suddenly
34:29
or without symptoms. It's certainly possible for more aggressive advanced
34:34
cancers to develop in a setting with low p s A,
34:37
or develop and spread rather quickly on the order of
34:40
less than a year, said Jason Estatio, a prostate radiation
34:44
oncologist at Mass General. Brigham Biden's life and political career
34:49
has been defined by both tragedy and triumph. His longtime
34:53
aid and confidant Ted Kaufman has often described him as
34:57
the luckiest and the unluckiest person I've met, and the
35:01
news on Sunday reverberated around the universe of former Biden aids.
35:06
The first thing he wanted to know when I was
35:08
diagnosed was was I happy with my doctors? Was I
35:11
getting the advice I needed? Said T. J. Ducklow, a
35:14
Biden aid who during the twenty twenty presidential campaign was
35:18
treated for stage four lung cancer. He right away jumps
35:22
at that. Many of the responses Sunday and Monday from
35:26
Republicans and Democrats alike were in a supportive vein. This
35:30
is certainly sad news, and the Johnson family will be
35:34
joining the countless others who are praying for the former president.
35:37
In the wake of his diagnosis, House Speaker Mike Johnson,
35:40
Republican from Louisiana posted on Sunday night, but some took
35:45
a different tone. Donald Trump Junior, the President's son, posted
35:50
an accusatory message just hours after Biden's diagnosis became public,
35:55
suggesting the Biden family hid his condition. What I want
35:59
to know is how did doctor Jill Biden miss stage
36:02
five metastatic cancer or is this yet another cover up?
36:05
He wrote. Former First Lady Joe Biden has a doctorate
36:09
in education but is not a medical doctor. Trump's supporters
36:13
often mocked her for using the honorific when the Bidens
36:16
were in the White House. Some of the criticism has
36:20
focused on Biden's last medical report as president in February
36:24
twenty twenty four, when his physician declared Biden in good
36:27
health and cited no prostrate issues. Some conservatives say that
36:31
exam should have picked up Biden's cancer, so either it
36:35
wasn't performed or the White House is covering it up.
36:39
Is Team Biden accusing the White House physician of malpractice
36:43
or just lying again, Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt wrote
36:48
on social media. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levett on
36:52
Monday reiterated Trump's supportive comments about Biden from Sunday night.
36:57
She said that the two men had not spoken, but
36:59
the Trump would be open to doing that. Asked whether
37:03
Trump was concerned about the quality of the White House
37:05
physicians and whether they should have caught the diagnosis sooner,
37:09
she said not as far as President Trump is concerned.
37:12
The White House physician we have here is phenomenal, to
37:16
the best of my understanding, Levitt added, Trump, who was
37:19
seventy eight, is regularly screened for prostate cancer in his
37:23
medical evaluations. His latest report, released in April, included a
37:28
prostate specific antigen level of zero point one nanogram's per
37:32
milli leader, well below any levels indicating a prostate cancer risk.
37:37
For years, Trump and some of his prominent allies have
37:40
been quick to embrace and spread conspiracy theories about political opponents,
37:45
giving them a particular resonance with his supporters, said Joseph Yusinski,
37:50
a political scientist at the University of Miami. People who
37:54
have a conspiratorial world view or who don't like Biden,
37:57
or for whatever reason, will not trust information about Biden,
38:01
and they will come up with their own explanations, said Yusinski,
38:05
who studies conspiracy theories. But the situation has been complicated
38:10
by renewed accusations that Biden's team covered up his cognitive
38:14
decline as he pushed ahead with re election. That charge
38:18
is leveled in several new books, including Original Sin, President
38:22
Biden's Decline, Its cover Up, and Its Disastrous Choice to
38:26
Run Again, by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson. Original Sin
38:31
is scheduled to publish Tuesday, but now it will appear
38:34
in a suddenly altered landscape. The last few days have
38:37
amounted to a striking sequence of events for the eighty
38:40
two year old Biden, who was in the twilight of
38:43
a long career after seating the White House four months
38:45
ago to a rival whose ouster was his stated reason
38:49
for running for president. Biden received the diagnosis of aggressive
38:53
prostate cancer on Friday. His office said that Evening Axios
38:58
published an excerpt from Biden's twenty e twenty three interview
39:01
with Special Counsel Robert K. Hurr, in which Biden speaks haltingly,
39:06
including a digression about Beau's death. In twenty seventeen, Beau
39:10
had passed, and this is personal. Biden can be heard saying,
39:14
I know you're all close with your sons and daughters,
39:17
but Beau was like my right arm, and Hunter was
39:19
my left. Hunter is Biden's younger son. Biden's office announced
39:24
his diagnosis on Sunday night, saying it represents a more
39:28
aggressive form of cancer, but that it appears to be
39:31
sensitive to hormone therapy, allowing for effective management. Some Republicans
39:37
on Monday were trying to find a balance between wishing
39:39
Biden well and continuing their attacks on his Party Vice
39:44
president J. D. Van said he wished Biden the best
39:46
of health, but argued it was still fair to question
39:49
whether his advisers hid his condition. Whether the right time
39:53
to have this conversation is now or at some point
39:56
in the future. We really do need to be honest
39:59
about whether the form president was capable of doing the job.
40:02
Vance told reporters aboard Air Force two. You can separate
40:06
the desire for him to have the right health outcome
40:08
with a recognition that whether it was doctors or whether
40:11
there were staffers, I don't think he was able to
40:14
do a good job for the American people, he added.
40:17
Dan Marika and Ariana and Jung Chah contributed to this report.
40:22
Next and item entitled Trump to visit Hill to whip
40:26
votes for tax bill by Cleve R. Woodson Junior and
40:30
Marianna Sotomayor. President Donald Trump will meet with House Republicans
40:35
on Capitol Hill on Tuesday in an effort to unite
40:38
his party behind his tax and immigration agenda, According to
40:42
three people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to
40:45
describe Trump's plans, Trump's massive tax and immigration bill narrowly
40:51
passed the House Budget Committee late Sunday after a revolt
40:55
from go p hardliners concerned about spending. This week, Housepaker
41:00
Mike Johnson, Republican from Louisiana, and his leadership team will
41:04
try to unite the conference around the One Big, Beautiful Bill.
41:09
Trump's in person advocacy shows a commitment to keeping the
41:13
bill on track and potential holdouts in line. The shakes
41:17
for him are high. He has been bragging about the
41:20
pace of his quote Golden Age agenda, but faces headwinds
41:25
including economic nerves over tariffs, legal challenges, and now divisions
41:31
over the bill. At a press briefing Monday morning, White
41:35
House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt said that Republicans who oppose
41:39
the bill will be siding with Democrats and raising taxes
41:42
on Americans if it does not advance in the House
41:46
later this week. Passing this bill is what voters sent
41:50
Republicans to Washington to accomplish, Levitt said, and that's why
41:53
it's essential that every Republican in the House and the
41:56
Senate unites behind President Trump and passes the popular and
42:00
essential legislative package. The message echoes the argument House Republican
42:05
leaders have been making to wavering lawmakers for months. It's Trump,
42:10
not House Republicans who earn this majority, so it's time
42:13
for lawmakers to step up and vote through plans. The
42:17
massive tax and immigration bill is central to Trump's agenda,
42:21
and hesitance from some members of his party represents a
42:25
sizeable early test for his administration. Trump and Johnson must
42:29
muscle his agenda through the houses historically narrow majority, where
42:33
they can only lose three Republicans for a successful vote.
42:38
Dozens of House Republicans remain unconvinced by the bill in
42:43
its current state. Members of his party's far right flank
42:46
remained concerned that the legislation would balloon annual budget deficits,
42:51
while moderate's fear changes that lurch the bill to the
42:54
right could jeopardize their re election efforts and their papers
42:58
and majority. Four fiscal conservatives initially blocked the bill in
43:03
a committee vote Friday, in a rebuke of both Trump
43:06
and Johnson. The holdouts, all of whom belonged to the
43:10
ultra conservative House Freedom Caucus, spend Sunday afternoon huddling in
43:15
Johnson's office with House leaders and White House officials, but
43:19
the weekend negotiations yielded only enough progress for hard liners
43:23
to vote present to advance the bill to the House
43:26
Rules Committee late Sunday night, signaling the wide disagreement that
43:31
persists among the House up conference unless changes are made.
43:36
Johnson has kept Trump fully abreast of the ongoing negotiations,
43:40
but the President has yet to call law makers directly
43:43
to whip them. According to two people involved in the negotiations,
43:48
who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private talks,
43:52
he's been very involved. He always says he's willing to
43:56
pick up the phone when he is asked to Levett said,
43:59
so he'll continue to be very engaged in this process
44:02
with both House members and his friends on the Senate
44:05
side as well. House GOP leadership had always planned to
44:09
use Trump to whip votes, but bringing Trump in this
44:13
early to meet with lawmakers shows how eager leaders are
44:16
to get holdouts in line. Lawmakers are hoping that Trump
44:20
could resolve policy disagreements if he publicizes his preference. House
44:25
GOP leadership aids say that sticking points remain on when
44:29
Medicaid work requirements should kick in, when Biden era energy
44:33
tax credits should be repealed, and how high to cap
44:37
state and local taxes to appease blue state Republicans. The
44:41
demands on those issues made by fiscal hawks over the
44:44
weekend need to be shopped around other ideological factions before
44:49
Johnson can decide how to properly tweak the bill. If
44:53
Trump opines on the matter, that could help expedite the process.
44:57
GOP lawmakers and AIDS say one issue where moderates remain
45:02
unconvinced is on raising the cap on the federal reduction
45:06
of State and Local Taxes or SALT, which sits at
45:09
ten thousand dollars. GOP leadership has offered to raise a
45:13
cap to thirty thousand, but six Republican lawmakers from blue
45:17
states remain firmly opposed. Finding solutions on salt and other
45:22
policy issues could still pose a problem for ultra conservative
45:26
hard liners, who for years have demanded that Republican backed
45:30
spending bills must substantially reduce the deficit. The Committee for
45:35
a Responsible Federal Budget has estimated that making the spending
45:39
cuts in the House version of the bill permanent would
45:42
add more than four trillion dollars to the debt over
45:45
the next ten years, including interest. Stephen Meron, chairman of
45:49
the White House Council of Economic Advisors, told reporters Monday
45:54
that Trump is a driving force behind the critical provisions
45:58
that are going to boost the economy in this su bill.
46:01
I expect him to bring it home because that's what
46:03
he does, Miron said. The White House on Monday released
46:08
an analysis that estimated the bill could add or save
46:11
up to seven point four million jobs and that it
46:14
could raise gross domestic product by up to five point
46:17
two percent over the next four years. The White House's
46:20
projections came just three days after Moody's ratings downgraded the
46:25
United States credit rating as a Republican budget bill is
46:29
projected to add more than two point five trillion dollars
46:32
to the federal deficit over the next decade, according to
46:35
nonpartisan experts and budget experts. Miron said Moody's is backward looking.
46:41
It tends to be laid on these things. Miren claimed
46:45
that DOGE cuts and revenue from tariffs would help bring
46:47
the deficit down, but the White House keeps changing its
46:51
tariff policy and DOGE has fallen far short of its
46:54
initial goal to slash two trillion dollars in federal spending.
46:58
Miron said the White House was working in both this
47:01
bill and via other measures to bring down federal deficits.
47:05
I do want to assure everyone that the deficit is
47:08
a very big concern for this administration, he said. We
47:12
are determined to bring it down and undo the fiscal
47:14
damage that was brought by the Biden administration. Kat Zuckerzuski
47:19
and Amy B. Wang contributed to this report. In the
47:23
final article from today's from page is entitled phone call
47:27
with Putin leaves little changed. Trump adds to global pressure
47:32
for cease fire but receives no commitment. By Michael Birnbaum,
47:37
Robin Dixon, and Isabel Koshe. A rare and hotly anticipated
47:42
conversation between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin
47:47
aimed at ending the war in Ukraine yielded no major
47:51
breakthroughs on Monday, even as both leaders emphasize their personal chemistry.
47:56
Trump has said that the only way to resolve the
47:59
conflict is through direct talks between him and Putin. He
48:03
praised the tone and spirit of the call on Monday,
48:06
and held out the possibility of large scale trade with
48:09
Moscow after the fighting, but he appeared to accept Putin's
48:13
demand to postpone a ceasefire until after negotiations, and there
48:18
was little to indicate Russia had abandoned demands that Ukraine
48:21
finds unacceptable, including that Kiev handover even more territory as
48:27
part of his settlement. Ukraine and Russia will continue direct
48:31
talks that began last week, Trump said, but after a massive,
48:36
weakened barrage of Russian drones against Ukraine, it didn't appear
48:40
that a breakthrough was imminent, despite what Trump said was
48:44
an offer by Pope Leo the fourteenth to host additional
48:47
talks at the Vatican Putin praised Trump after the call,
48:51
which lasted more than two hours, and said in televised
48:55
remarks that it was meaningful and quite frank and overall,
48:59
in my view, very useful. The Russian leaders said that
49:02
he had thanked Trump for his support of the resumption
49:05
of direct negotiations between Moscow and Kiev, but he gave
49:09
only qualified support to a potential ceasefire and peace deal.
49:14
He said that the main thing for us is to
49:17
remove the root causes of this conflict. Language has suggested
49:21
he remains resolute in his effort to force Kiev into
49:25
a more pro Russian position. Ukrainian President Volodimey Zelenski, at
49:30
Trump's urging, has expressed his willingness to implement a thirty
49:34
day ceasefire immediately, but Putin gave no indication he was
49:38
ready to do so. The two sides took pains to
49:42
praise each other, a lavishing of kindness that extended Trump's
49:45
track record of conciliation toward Putin, who invaded Ukraine in
49:49
twenty twenty two with an aim to subjugate it. The
49:53
tone and spirit of the conversation were excellent. Trump posted
49:56
on Truth's Social Russia wants to do large scale trade
50:00
with the United States when this catastrophic blood bath is over,
50:04
and I agree. A top Kremlin aide Yuri Yushakov, told Tas,
50:09
a Russian state news agency, that the Russian leader had
50:13
congratulated Trump on the birth last week of a grandson,
50:16
and that the two leaders had addressed each other during
50:19
the call by their first names. He said that neither
50:22
side wanted to end the conversation when it came time
50:25
to hang up, but there was no indication that Putin
50:28
had relented on some of the key demands that are
50:31
hindering progress towards any sort of deal. Vice President j. D.
50:36
Vans has said that Russia has been asking for too much,
50:40
including the push for Kiev to see even more territory
50:43
in eastern Ukraine. He has expressed frustration about the pace
50:47
of the talks. We're more than open to walking away,
50:51
Vance told reporters on Air Force two on Monday ahead
50:55
of the Trump Putin conversation. We want to see outcomes.
51:00
Trump focused on trade as he sought a resolution to
51:02
the crisis, as he has in other parts of the world,
51:06
including during the first major international trip of his term
51:09
last week. There is a tremendous opportunity for Russia to
51:13
create massive amounts of jobs and wealth. Its potential is unlimited,
51:18
he said. He said that after the call, he had
51:21
briefed Selensky alongside the leaders of the European Commission Germany, France,
51:27
Italy and Finland. That call lasted an hour, officials said.
51:32
Zelensky told reporters in Kiev that in a brief, separate
51:36
one on one call with Trump ahead of the Putin conversation,
51:39
he had urged the U S leader not to make
51:42
a decision about Ukraine without Ukraine. He said that Russia
51:47
needed to demonstrate that it was really ready to stop,
51:51
which he said meant first a ceasefire, then an exchange
51:55
of prisoners and a release of Ukrainian children who have
51:58
been taken to Russian territory during the conflict. And he
52:03
indicated no willingness to concede of Putin's demand the key
52:07
of retreat from his own territory as part of a
52:10
peace deal. Asked whether he thought Trump would agree to
52:13
that Russian request, Zelensky said that, quote with the highest
52:18
respect to Trump, this isn't about Trump. We are not
52:21
going to remove our troops from our territory. That's my
52:25
constitutional obligation. European leaders said they were ready to dial
52:30
up sanctions on Russia to increase pressure on Putin to
52:33
come to a deal. Europe and America are very united
52:38
on this point. We will closely accompany Ukraine on its
52:41
path to a ceasefire. Europe will increase pressure on Moscow
52:45
through sanctions. We agreed on this with Potus after his
52:49
conversation with Putin, German Chancellor Friedrich Mertz wrote on x
52:54
The call with Putin came after one of Russia's largest
52:57
drone assaults on Ukraine nearly four hundred launched over the weekend,
53:02
and a flurry of diplomacy as Ukrainian and European officials
53:06
sought to convince the Trump administration of the need for
53:09
an immediate, unconditional ceasefire and to ramp up pressure on
53:14
Russia to take serious steps towards resolving the conflict. On Friday,
53:20
Russia and Ukraine had their first direct talk since the
53:23
early weeks of the war, but aside from her prisoner swap,
53:26
they agreed only to continue negotiating over a possible ceasefire.
53:31
Trump endorsed the talks, but then diminished their importance before
53:35
they began, declaring that nothing would be resolved until he
53:39
and Putin spoke directly, But following Monday's conversation, Trump suggested
53:45
that Ukraine and Russia needed to find a path to
53:47
end the war. The conditions for that will be negotiated
53:51
between the two parties, as it can only be because
53:54
they know details of a negotiation that nobody else would
53:57
be aware of, he said. Despite concessions from the Trump administration,
54:03
Putin has repeatedly brushed off pressure for an unconditional thirty
54:07
day cease fire, and Ukraine is prepared for the likelihood
54:11
that Putin would continue to drag out the process, pushing
54:14
for conditions that Kiev sees as unacceptable. Ukrainian officials said.
54:19
This was Trump's third public conversation with the Russian leader
54:22
this year. White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt said before
54:27
the call that Trump has grown weary and frustrated with
54:30
both sides of the conflict, a stance that may lead
54:33
to foot dragging on the part of the Kremlin, since
54:36
Kiv's ability to resist will weaken if U S military
54:39
aid comes to an end. Russia targeted Ukraine with at
54:43
least one hundred twelve drones over night Sunday and a Monday,
54:47
following the largest drawn attack since twenty twenty two on
54:50
the previous night, when Russia fired two hundred seventy three drones,
54:55
killing twenty seven year old Hanna Yefimenko as she shielded
54:59
her four year olds son, Marco, who was also injured
55:02
in the town of Hesilikiev, southwest of Kiev. Trump and
55:07
other US officials have threatened tougher sanctions against Russia if
55:11
Putin shows he has no genuine interest in peace, but
55:14
the Trump administration has so far done little to increase
55:17
the pressure on Russia, instead pressing Ukraine to give up
55:21
territory occupied by Russia and to accept that it will
55:25
not be able to join NATO. Putin has set tough conditions,
55:30
including a halt to Western arms deliveries to Ukraine and
55:34
a bar on Kiv recruiting for its military. These demands
55:38
would give Moscow a major advantage, including the potential to
55:42
rebuild its own military capacity before possibly resuming hostilities. Russia
55:48
has recently massively boosted its military recruitment, and its factories
55:52
continue to pump out weapons and ammunition as part of
55:57
the diplomatic efforts on the weekend. Fans and Secretary of
56:00
State Mark Rubio met Zelensky in Rome. On Sunday, Ukrainian
56:05
Presidential Chief of Staff andre Yermak said they had a
56:09
very substantive conversation. Before last week's talks in Istanbul. European
56:14
officials had been hopeful that their diplomatic efforts could persuade
56:18
the Trump administration to give Russia an ultimatum accept a
56:23
thirty day ceasefire or face fresh sanctions. Zelensky and European
56:28
leaders believed that Trump was leaning toward new sanctions if
56:32
the Kremlin rebuffed US calls for an immediate ceasefire last week.
56:37
According to three European diplomats who spoke on the condition
56:40
of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, but Friday's ultimately
56:45
inconclusive talks in Istanbul, called for by Putin and backed
56:50
by Trump, sietracked those plants. Dixon reported from Riga Latvia,
56:56
and Koshi reported from Kiev. Seray Morganov in a key
57:00
of Ukraine, Ellen Francis and Brussels, and Mary Ilishina in
57:04
Berlin contributed to this report. Also on the front page
57:10
is a photo captioned revenge poorn legislation becomes law. First
57:15
Lady Malania Trump speaks at the White House on Monday
57:18
before President Donald Trump signed a bill championed by her
57:22
that makes it a crime to post sexual images and
57:25
videos of a person online, including energy of real people
57:29
generated by artificial intelligence without consent. This concludes the reading
57:35
of the Washington Post for to Day, Tuesday, May twentieth,
57:38
twenty twenty five. Your reader to day has been Cindy Fraser.
57:43
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions concerning this program,
57:48
please feel free to call us at eight five nine
57:51
four two two six three nine zero. Thank you for listening,
57:54
and now please stay tuned for continued programming on Radio
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I