Transcript

6.18.26 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of Today's Washington Post for Thursday,
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June the eighteenth of twenty twenty six. Your reader is Alastainer,
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who's just returned from a wonderful visit with grandchildren graduating
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from high school and seeing family and friends. Hen come
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back to this incredible rainstorm this morning. But let's go
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to today's Washington Post front page. On the far left,
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rate stay put amid stubborn inflation signs point to a
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hike later in your in year underfed led by Walsh.
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This is by Andrew Ackerman. In the middle, there is
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a picture of President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel
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mccarnol at size incredible ballroom on Wednesday after the G
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seven summits conclusion, and this one is entitled intelligence pick
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in Limbo as Trump backtracks by Dan Diamond, Victoria krah
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and Noah Robertson in France, and it says he delays
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Clayton Hearing, leaving pult In seat for longer. On the
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far right, Trump totes his Iran pack. He also criticizes
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close ally Israel. President threatens force against Tehran if deal
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fell fails, but again by Dan Diamond, Cleave R. Woodson junior,
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Natalie Allison and Michael Birnbaum. Also a front on the
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lower left below the fold, Colleges hunt for a fix
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after a plummet in public trust by Susan's felt Luga
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in the middle. Another picture of Keith Brute looking out
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toward the ocean Wednesday in Galvelston, Texas. I ain't never
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seen anything like this before. I'm from Oklahoma and have
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seen tornadoes, but never the wind meeting the ocean and
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its first tropical storm may bring heavy rainfall by Ben Noel,
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Sarah Kaplan, and Brady Dennis. A wide swath of the
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southeast braces for dangerous floods. And on the right at
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the bottom of the front page. In primaries, a mixed
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bag for Trump's choices. His candidates win Senate runoffs, but
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he's rebuked in George's governor's race by Pravina Samadusadarum. Let's
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go with the first one of rain and storm, since
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it's a stormy morning here and it's entitled as Autha
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comes ashore seasons first tropical storm may bring worsening rain.
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The storm may bring another five to ten inches to
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the southeast, up to twenty inches in some spots, and
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there's a huge overhead picture of dangerous flooding possible through Friday.
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Satellite imagery catches a tropical disturbance lurking near Texas late Tuesday.
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The system has already caused flooding across several states by
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being Noel, Sarah Kaplan, and Brady Dennis. A wide swath
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of the Southeast braced for dangerous floods as the first
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tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season came ashore south
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of Houston on Wednesday afternoon, raising risks of bursening rains
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from Texas to the Florida Panhldem. Tropical Storm Author moved
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inland near Matagorda County, Texas. According to the National Hurricane Center,
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the storm features sustained winds of forty five miles per
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hour and is expected to bring two to four feet
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of storm surge to coastal communities. The region was already
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drenched by several days of downpours, but meteorologies stressed Wednesday
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that Author's worst impacts were likely still to come, fueled
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by the extreme moisture it is poised to dump across
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the region. Houston is in the real eye of that
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and that's where my son's family lives right there. At
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least two people have died in Texas amid this week's
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heavy rains. According to local officials, storm author is forecast
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to bring another five to ten inches to the southeast,
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with as much as twenty inches falling in some areas.
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Heavy rainfall and life threatening flash flooding remain the primary hazard,
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and it is stressed that this threat extends well away
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from the center and will persist even after AFHA dissipates,
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the Hurricane Center said in a Wednesday update. The Center
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also warned of an increased tornado threat through Thursday as
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office swhirling remnants make their way across the region. Now.
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This map shows everything from across the upper part of
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the end of Arkansas and Louisiana, all the way up
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to Atlanta and into the eastern part of Georgia down
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to the Panhandle of Florida the Pensacola area in the
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Gulf of Mexico. The wet start to hurricane season also
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comes as that Federal Emergency Management Agency grapples with the
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loss of as much as a quarter of its staff
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over the past year and a half. At a confirmation
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hearing Wednesday, Trump's nominee to lead the agency, Cameron Hamilton,
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appeared to acknowledge the cuts posed a challenge. Hamilton said,
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in response to a question from Senator Richard Blumenthal, a
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Democrat of Connecticut, Certainly, FEMA operates in a unique environment
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where there are challenges and setbacks that impact our ability
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to respond whin Bloomenthal pressed Hamilton on whether the agency's
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workforce should be increased. Hamilton praised Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne
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Mullen for bringing back three hundred and fifty positions to
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fill critical vacancies. From Wednesday night through Thursday, areas of
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prolific rainfall are forecasts to launch a lurch across southern Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama,
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and the Florida Panhandle. Then from later Thursday through Friday,
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the system will bring deluges to Georgia and South Carolina
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before moving offshore. In a video live stream, National Hurricane
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Center Director Michael Brennan emphasized that lingering heavy rainfall in
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the storm's wake could prolong the flash flood threat throughout
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the weekend. Everybody in this area needs to make sure
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you have multiple ways to receive weather alerts. He said.
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Some places in the path of the heaviest downpours as
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well as strong to severe thunderstorms include Houston, Galvelston and
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Port Oftha in Texas, Lafayette, Baton, Rouge and New Orleans
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and Louisiana, Hattisburg and Golfport in Mississippi, Mobile, Montgomery and
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Birmingham in Alabama, Atlanta, Macon and Augusta in Georgia, Pensacola
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in Florida, Columbia, Charleston and Myrtle Beach in South Carolina.
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Early impacts of the storm began to make this week,
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even before it became a tropic named tropical storm on Wednesday,
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videos showed flashed floods deluging communities from Texas to Mississippi,
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with some areas seeing up to nine inches of rain.
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At least one person was killed near San Antonio when
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fast moving waters swept her car off the road. BENDERA
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county sheriff, Josh Tigue, told local television station KSAT that
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the driver called his office early Monday morning to say
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she was trapped inside her vehicle as it was being
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carried away. Then the call became disconnected. A spokesperson for
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the sheriff's office said search crews couldn't find the car
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until the floodwaters received. Eventually, the victim, fifty three year
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old Joel Taylor, was discovered in a remote creek behind
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a subdivision in Montgomery County at Texas, about forty miles
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north of Houston. The Sheriff's office said late Tuesday that
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it was investigating the droning of a fifteen year old
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boy in a flooded retention pond. The boy had been
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playing with the teenagers near a construction roadway when he
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entered the pond and was quickly submerged by the water.
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The department said on Facebook, this incident serves as a
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solemn reminder of the dangers associated with floodwaters, particularly following
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periods of heavy rainfall. Even areas that appear shallow or
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calm can present serious and life threatening hazards, the Sheriff's
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office wrote. The storm is not expected to affect World
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Cup matches at Houston's inn Our Stadium, which has a
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retractabull roof, but the weather prompted officials to close the
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city's outdoor fan festival for parts of Monday and Tuesday.
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Hundreds of miles away in Picca Yune, Mississippi. More than
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six inches of rain fell in just a few hours Tuesday,
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overwhelming drainage systems, stranding drivers and leaving interstet Interstate fifty
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nine underwater. We went through Katrina, but I'm telling you
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that diet we didn't have the water like we had today.
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Mayor Jim Luke told a local television station. Similarities to
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other deadly storms. This slow moving water log system has
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some similarities to the deadly tropical rainmakers that flooded Texas
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and North Carolina nearly a year ago. The first tropical
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storm Bury was a weak system that hit southeastern Mexico
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before bringing deadly flooding to Texas Hill Country last July. Then,
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tropical storm Chantal made landfall in South Carolina before dumping
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a foot of rain in central North Carolina. An Almino
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event like the one that was declared this month typically
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alters wind patterns in the Atlantic, making it more difficult
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for thunderstorms to organize into hurricanes, but tropical storms like
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Berry and Chantal showed that it doesn't take a big,
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powerful hurricane to have a big powerful impact. Experts say
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the most dangerous part of the storm is not high
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winds or storm surge, but rain. It takes just six
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inches of moving water to knock an adult off their feet.
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A foot of rushing water can lift most cars and
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carry them away. Since twenty thirteen, the majority of tropical
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storm fatalities have been attributed to fresh water flooding caused
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by heavy rainfall. This thread is compounded by rising global
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temperatures caused mostly by burning fossil fuels. It is a
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basic fact of physics that walma air can hold more moisture,
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allowing any given storm to drop even more rain. The
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amount of water vapor pulsating or pulsing across Earth skies
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set a record in twenty twenty four. Now, with growing
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potential for the strongest al Nino on record and new
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temperature records in twenty twenty seven, atmospheric moisture levels are
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on the rise once more. In flood battered communities along
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the Gulf Coast offers approach put many residents on eggs.
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We haven't even recuperated from last time, said Silvia Ors,
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who lives with her husband in the small town of Satsuma, Alabama,
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north of Mobile. Her home was among several on her
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street that flooded last month after Torentia. Rains hit the area,
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the first time WATA had found its way inside their
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home in the twenty three years they have lived there.
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If it rains like it did, I'm scared it's going
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to come right back up into the house. I'm nervous.
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I'm very nervous, or so said Wednesday. All Right on
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to Iran, Trump defends his Iran deal criticizes his longtime
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ally Israel as G seven ends. In a sprawling news
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conference at the G seventh summit in France, the president
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touched the economic benefits of the ceasefire and threatened force
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if it fails. By Dan Diamond, Cleaver, R. Woodson Junior,
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Natalie Allison, and Michael Brenbaum. By Evian Lebond Frans. President
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Donald Trump issued a free wheeling defense of his Iran
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ceasefire deal at the close of the G seventh summit,
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fearing from warnings about the economic cost of war to
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criticism of Israel's campaign in Lebanon and comments suggesting a
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break with decades of US opposition to Iran's ballistic missile program.
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They have to have some because other people have some,
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Trump said, acknowledging disagreement among his advisers over his stance.
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Am I going to let Saudi Arabia have missiles, but
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Iran can't have them that dot? It doesn't work that way.
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Missiles aren't the problem. Missiles They hurt a little location,
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but they don't blow up the planet. The sprawling, nearly
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seventy minute news conference capped Trump's three day visit to
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the g seventh Summit and underscored a recurring feature of
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his presidency. Using major geopolitical moments to claim vindication, relitigate
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old grievances, and grieve quickly shaped the narrative on his
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own terms. As Trump was speaking, a US official detailed
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what was characterized as the terms of the agreement with
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Iran in a separate briefing with reporters Later in the night,
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as Trump dined at Parrisilles, he signed the agreement remotely,
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as did Iranian President Masud Posishkin, according to US and
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Iranian officials. US official previously said both Trump and Vice
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President JD. Vance had signed an electronic version of the
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agreement Sunday. A separate US official said Wednesday that Trump
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had only witnessed Vance's signing Sunday. The latest agreement, as
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explained by a US official earlier in the day, les
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at a starkly different level of US involvement and Iranian
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government van Trump has suggested at other points over the
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past three months. While Trump previously expressed interest in facilitating
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regime change in Iran, the current agreement, which is in
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effect for sixty days but can be extended, says that
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won't happen. The two sides will now agree to respect
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each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to refrain from
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interfering in each other's internal affairs. According to the document,
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if the Iranians behave the official said of the country
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seeking to do business with Iran will be permitted to
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do so. Before taking questions, the US president spoke for
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forty one minutes on a range of issues, and also
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repeatedly beered off topic to deliver insults to political rivals,
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ponder the possibility of an economic depression, and describe several
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Middle Eastern nations and their populations incrude terms. Trump mused
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on his negotiations with Iranians, crediting their genius primitive culture
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for helping them hammer at a fair deal, and insisted
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again that he had staved off war from a nuclear
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armed Iran. If they had a nuclear weapon, they would
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have used it within moments, he said, asked whether Iranians
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or askedraether Iran had won the negotiation. Trump said that
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no matter what, he would be blamed for either letting
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the war continue or reaching a deal that upsets some
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members of his base. Trump also criticized Israel, saying the
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US all had a right to defend itself, but that
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he believed they were at times too heavy handed. Israel
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and the US jointly launched strikes in on Iran on
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February twenty eighth. Since then, Israel has also fought the
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Iran backed Hesbilah military group in Lebanon and seized large
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swaths of that country. I think they could do better
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with respect to Hesbelah, Trump said, I'm not saying they
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shouldn't protect themselves. I'm saying, when two drones are shot
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into the desert and drop harmlessly, you don't have to
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knock down buildings in Berut. They could behave better and frankly,
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they could do a better job. Trump began the news
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conference talking about the fourteen point Agreement. The document was
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set to be signed in person on Friday, by Vance
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and Iran's parliament speaker Mohammed Bagir Galibev, though it was
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unclear Wednesday night whether the in person signing would still
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take place in Switzerland. Trump on Wednesday repeatedly said that
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the deal with lower prices in America and around the
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globe and ease some of the inflationary pressure that has
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impacted most of his second term and increased headwinds against
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the Republican Party in the upcoming midterm elections. All I
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know is every time we talked about the possibility of peace,
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this dock market shot up like a rocket ship never
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went down dot dot dot. Now that the oil is
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coming down, you're going to see everything followed. Everything follows
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the cost of energy, and we're going to end up
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having the lowest energy anywhere in the world. Trump said
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the Strait of Hormuz is set to open immediately, and
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Iran will be permitted to sell its oil sanctions free.
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As negotiations progress over a sixty day period and the
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final dealers completed, Iranian assets would gradually be unfrozen and
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transferred to Iran Central Bank, and remaining sanctions would be lifted,
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assuming Iran's compliance with agreements. A three hundred billion dollar
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investment fund, which the US believes would largely be financed
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by Persian Gulf states, would be established. As Trump was
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speaking on stage in France, senior US officials held a
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call with the reporters to detail the agreement with Iran
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and to read off word for word, the text of
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the memorandum of understanding. The officials stated, the memorandum of
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understanding commits us to quite literally nothing, but of course,
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if Iranians do a lot of good then we want
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to reward that good behavior and transform their relationship in
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the Middle East and the world. Many of the trickiest
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topics for discussion with Iran appear to have been reserved
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for the coming sixty days of negotiations, a notable shift
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given that the military pressure on Iran has eased for now.
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White House officials so they planned to lift sanctions on
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Iranian oil while the broader agreement was being negotiated, a
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sequencing that reduced economic pressure on Tehran at the precise
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moment that Americans are hoping to extract concession about the
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country's nuclear program. This shift was especially notable given how
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much Republican criticism of the Obama era and nuclear deal
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was focused on sanctions relief, which Trump and others said
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at the time delivered cash that fueled Ranian support for
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its regional proxies, terrorism, and other activities that were detrimental
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to US interest. Trump also made clear how concerned he
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was about the impact of the war on the stock market,
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and noted that Dwinderling goebl oiled reserves were increasingly putting
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pressure on energy prices, two reasons Iranian leaders might doubt
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his resolved to restart military operations if talks go poorly,
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but he acknowledged that there were few enforcement mechanisms in
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the deal. Doesn't have to be, he told reporters in France.
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I said, look, if you don't adhere to the agreement,
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I don't want to do that, but we're going to
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bomb the hell out of you. And I don't think
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that they're going to hear from that agreement. What else
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am I going to do? Am I going to say,
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I'm going to take you to court? I'm going inside now.
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And there's an article here it says Georgia GOP drops
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redistricting plan that would hurt black representation. Governor Brian Kemp
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had called a special session so Republicans could secure one
24:37
or more additional host seats in the twenty twenty eight elections,
24:41
but lawmakers pull the plug by Olivia George, Republican legislative
24:48
leaders in Georgia and Know It's Wednesday that they would
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not redraw the state's political maps this month, after Governor
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Brian Kemp called them into a special session to do so,
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rebuffing at least temporarily pressure from President Donald Trump to
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redraw congressional districts to GOP advantage. Kemp, Republican, called the
25:13
June session expressly so Republicans could draw a new map
25:18
intended to give them one or more additional House seats
25:21
in the twenty twenty eight elections, and in the process
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e race seats in majority black districts. Camp had already
25:30
determined that it was too late to affect this year's
25:33
House races, but lawmakers pull the plug Wednesday, ciding concerns
25:38
about moving too quickly after the recent Supreme Court decision
25:42
weakened Voting Rights Act protections for black representation. Changes to
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air district maps have the potential to impact every voter
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in Georgia, and they deserve the same thoughtful, facts driven
25:56
process that has always guided, the House Speaker John Byrne said,
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flanked by other Republican lawmakers on the steps under the
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state capital dome. The decision marks the latest twist in
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the frenzied redistricting effort ahead of the midterm elections that
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has stirred fears of a line drawing forever war and
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threatens to further divide an already polarized country. Ten states
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will have new congressional districts ahead of the November elections,
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an action in recent weeks has been especially aggressive in
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the South, where the Voting Rights Act have previously restricted
26:39
jeremandring to protect the voting power of black residents. Host
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Republicans will not be taking up congressional or legislative redistricting
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maps for the twenty twenty eight election cycle during the
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special session, Burns said Wednesday to cheers. Hundreds of protesters
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packed the state capitol to oppose the redistricting push, hoisting
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signs proclaiming hands off Georgia. The Supreme Court decision left
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no doubt that we would need to redraw new maps.
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Senate President Larry Walker, the Third Republicans, said at the
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same news conference as the crowd drowned him, with Booze,
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adding the question was when he continued, Walker said that
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it was not wise to rush the process and that
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instead Georgia lawmakers should see how legal challenges to new
27:38
maps drawn in other states play out. Democrats and voting
27:43
rights advocates welcomed the announcement but urged caution. The state
27:49
legislature made the right decision by not moving forward with
27:52
mid decade redistricting, but let's be clear, the fact they
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considered districting in the first place Remainane's alarming. So the
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underlying threat to voting rights is still a very real threat,
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said Christopher Bruce, Deputy Executive director of the ACLU of Georgia.
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The ACLU of Georgia is calling on Kemp to amend
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the special session proclamation and officially remove redistricting from its scope,
28:27
make the special session about what works best for Georgians,
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and take redistricting out of consideration altogether, Bruce said. Also inside,
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after draping White House in gold, Trump heads to the
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real deal bear side. The president was set to leave
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France until he was invited to the palace that has
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inspired his construction projects, including the White House, ballroom, and
29:02
again there's the picture of Donald Trump receiving a tour
29:06
of the Palace of Versailles from French President Emmanuel Maccral
29:10
ahead of a dinner Wednesday in Bearsailles. And you see
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the gold all over this room, the frescoes on the ceiling,
29:22
the chandeliers, the floor, the huge windows, the candelarbers of
29:28
the gold stands wrapped with people holding him. It's rather impressive.
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By Dan Diamond and Cleve R. Woodson Junior Evian le
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Bon France. For President Donald Trump, what's good is gold.
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The gold covered furnishings at his casinos and hotels, the
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golden script in trinkets that increasingly adorn the West Wing,
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the Golden era he has proclaimed for America in his
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second term as president. But on Wednesday night, Trump dined
30:08
at what he acknowledges as the gold standard Versailles, the
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enormous gilded French palace that was home to Louis the fourteenth,
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the self appointed son king whose embrace of golden grandeur
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has long fascinated the U S President. French President Emmanuel
30:29
Macro invited Trump to join him at the palace, about
30:32
fifteen miles southwest of Paris, in a bid to extend
30:36
the US president's stay in France. Trump, who arrived in
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France on Monday for the Group of seventh summit that
30:45
wrapped up Wednesday afternoon, is notorious for his abrupt departures
30:50
from international gatherings. White House officials last week said that
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it wasn't yet decided whether he would extend his trip
30:59
to dine at Versasi, but the US President told reporters
31:03
that the invitation was too alluring to pass on. I'm
31:08
a fan of beautiful places, and Versailles is not a
31:13
gold leaf. Versailles is the real deal, Trump said Tuesday
31:19
at the g seventh summit. Here the French Palace embodies
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many of the qualities that Trump has long sought to
31:29
associate with himself, wealth, prestige, and power, as he built
31:35
a personal brand designed to project luxury and command attention.
31:40
Like lou of the fourteenth centuries ago, who took his
31:43
father's hunting lodge and increasingly expanded and bedazzled it, Trump
31:49
has used golden adornments and metaphors to convince the world
31:53
of his success. The Golden Age of America begins right now,
32:00
said in January twenty twenty five, moments after taking the
32:04
oath to serve as president again. Gold themed changes to
32:09
the White House soon followed, and in his second term,
32:13
the President has embarked on his own bucket list of
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Golden Year's achievements, becoming the first sitting presidents to attend
32:22
the Super Bowl in the NBA Finals, to drive a
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lap at the d'aytona five hundred, and to win FIFA's
32:29
inaugural Peace Prize, a combination of golden statue and golden medal.
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Trump's dinner at Versailles also represents his second invitation to
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be honored at a European palace in nine months. Trump
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and his critics have frequently invoked Versailles across his long
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career in business and politics for different reasons. For the president,
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the French palace is a model for his own construction projects,
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from its Corinthian columns to its ample use of gold leaf.
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Trump's renovation of his Marie Lago estate in Florida also
33:08
included an expansive ballroom explicically inspired by the palace, he
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said in a two thousand and five interview with Florida
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Design Magazine. I modeled the interior after Versailles and is
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nothing like it in the United States, Trump said at
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the time. Two decades later, his planned White House ballroom
33:32
bears its own marks of Lewis the fourteenth influence, from
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soaring ceilings to gilded elements. Architectural critics and designers have
33:44
for years called Trump's use of gold overdone and ostentatious,
33:50
a complaint long level that Lewis the fourteenth TiO. The
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President's gilded Trump Tower penthose has been parried in pop culture.
33:59
His scent on a golden escalator to announce his campaign
34:03
for president was considered a spectacle. Ahead of his first
34:08
inauguration in twenty seventeen, some feared Trump would turned the
34:12
White House into a golden one outside of some changes
34:17
to the Oval Office that largely did not happen during
34:20
Trump's first scent in Washington, But in his second term,
34:24
the president has sought to leave his gilded mark on
34:27
the building long known as the People's House, installing gold
34:33
decorations around the Oval Office, golden script on the West
34:37
Ring walls, golden fixtures in the Lincoln Bathroom, and golden
34:42
picture frames of past presidents. He has also pursued structural changes,
34:47
such as adding an expansive ballroom and redoing the west
34:52
wing that reflects his own taste and ambitions. A wide
34:56
array of preservationist historians, designs, and politicians have charged Trump
35:02
with acting not as a duly elected representative but as
35:06
a king seeking to remake his court. During last year's
35:10
government shutdown, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Democrat, called Trump's planned
35:16
White House ballroom a knockoff for Versailles that he was
35:20
attending to rather than focusing on issues such as federal
35:26
flood assistance. Debbie Milman, chair of the Graduate program in
35:32
Branding at the School of Visual Arts in New York,
35:36
has compared Trump's planned White House ballroom to Lewis the
35:39
fourteenth extravagant vision for Versailles two. Milman wrote in The
35:45
New York Times last year, the nation's most enduring building
35:49
will be reshaped in the image of mister Trump, one
35:53
defined by over the top opulence, exaggerated scale, and a
35:58
preference for size over so as to about Trump's affection
36:04
for gold in Versailles, the White House, referred to the
36:07
President's previous comments he has spoken extensively about what shaped
36:12
his taste and ambitions, and as Trump enters his ninth decade,
36:17
he has become more reflective about the mark he has
36:20
sought to make. My father was a builder in Brooklyn
36:24
and Queens, and we built middle income and low income housing,
36:28
he said at a September twenty fifteen event in South
36:32
Carolina during his campaign for president, adding, I said, pop
36:39
dot dot dot, I want to build buildings in Manhattan
36:42
dot dot dot, And I ended up doing the Grand
36:45
Hyatt Hotel in forty second Street, and Trump Tower and
36:49
many many buildings the Trump Palace. Foreign leaders, many now
36:55
a decade into their relationship with Trump, had perfected their
36:59
appeals to the mirror curole US leader in Perenne, the
37:03
French president has said he invited Trump to dinner to
37:07
celebrate americans two hundred and fiftieth anniversary, an event a
37:11
personal significance to the US president and perend Trump has
37:18
long shown less enthusiasm for the rituals of multilateral diplomacy
37:22
than many of his predecessors. He often prefers direct leader
37:27
to leda engagement over late the negotiations and carefully crafted
37:31
joint statements, and he has repeatedly cut international gathering short.
37:37
In twenty eighteen, Trump departed the G seven summit in
37:41
Quebec before its conclusion to travel to Singapore for meeting
37:45
with North Korea and leader Kim Juan Un, then withdrew
37:50
US support for the summits Joint Community k while aboard
37:53
Air Force one. Last year, he left the G seven
37:57
in Canada a day early as a conflict between Israel
38:00
and Iran intensified, scraping planned meetings with Ukrainian President Volodimia
38:06
Zelensky and Mexican President Claudia Sinbaum. I wish I could
38:13
stay for tomorrow, but they understand, Trump said before departing.
38:18
Yet Trump's president still lends weight to the United Front
38:22
that G seven seeks to project to rivals such as
38:26
China and Russia, helping explain why organizers have gone to
38:30
unusual lengths to keep him engaged. British leaders also invited
38:35
Trump to win the Castle last year for an unprecedented
38:38
second state visit, a gesture streeped in history, symbolism, and
38:43
personal attention. Everybody knows Trump loves pageantry. Victor char president
38:50
of the Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department and career chair
38:54
at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told reporters
38:58
had a briefing last week. Macron is trying to entice
39:04
and schedule things at the Palace of Versais and other
39:06
places to try to keep Trump engaged. Jaw added. Trump
39:12
said this week that extending his schedule for a chance
39:15
to see Versi was an easy trade. I'd like to
39:19
do it. All it means is that I get home later,
39:24
and I'm not a big sleeper anyway, he told reporters.
39:31
Hillary Clinton says Joe Biden made a terrible mistake by
39:36
seeking re election. Virtually anybody else who won the Democratic
39:41
nomination could have beaten Donald Trump, she said during an
39:45
interview in New York by Gregory S. Schneider. Former Secretary
39:51
of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday that President Joe Biden
39:55
made a terrible mistake by running for re election in
39:59
twenty twenty four, adding that virtually anybody else the Democrats
40:03
nominated would have beaten Donald Trump. Clinton's comments, during an
40:08
interview in New York with New Yorker editor David Remnick,
40:11
came on the heels of the released last month of
40:15
the Democratic Party's autopsy of Vice President Kamala Harris. Has
40:20
lost to Trump in twenty twenty four the report neglected
40:24
to address Trump's Biden's decision, he made a terrible mistake
40:30
for himself, his legacy, and for the country, Clinton said.
40:35
During his twenty twenty campaign, Biden talked about being a
40:39
bridged to the next generation, a comment that Democrats saw
40:43
as a signal he planned to be a one term president.
40:46
He was eighty one at the time of the twenty
40:48
twenty four election and in fragile health. Clinton, who lost
40:53
to Trump when she was the Democratic nominee in twenty sixteen,
40:57
said Biden should have followed through on his suggestion that
41:00
he would pass the torch. I believe if he had
41:04
kept to that plan and said in the late summer
41:09
of twenty twenty three that he wasn't going to run,
41:12
that he was going to pass, you know, the torch
41:14
to the next generation, he would have had a real contest.
41:18
Clinton said, whoever emerged from that nomination fight, whether he
41:24
was the vice president or governor or senator, anybody else
41:28
would have beaten Donald Trump, she said. A spokesperson for
41:32
Biden declined to comment. Biden dropped out of the presidential
41:37
race after a disastrous performance in a June twenty seven,
41:41
twenty four debate with Trump. Harris stepped in as the
41:44
Democratic nominee, but fell short in the election after a
41:48
truncated and hastily assembled campaign. Clinton was not always so
41:54
dismissive of his second term for Biden, saying after an
41:58
appearance at the Aspen Ideas Festival in twenty twenty two
42:02
that she would endorse the idea. I would endorse our
42:05
sitting president. Yes, of course, she said at the time.
42:10
But Democrats have taken a harsh review of Biden's decision
42:14
in recent times, with former First Lady Jill Biden stirring
42:19
discord by defending her husband in a recent memoir View
42:24
from the East Wing. And today it opens, and here
42:30
is an article of Obama's new center seeks to rekindle
42:36
the hope of his presidency. The forty fourth commander in
42:41
Chief is hoping to break the mold of presidential libraries
42:45
and burnish his legacy with his Hawking Chicago Center, which
42:51
opens Thursday, that is today, And it is A two
42:55
hundred and twenty five foot granite covered tower is the
43:00
piece of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago's Jackson Park.
43:06
By Karen Tumulti nearly a decade ago, Barack Obama made
43:12
an important decision about his presidential library. It wouldn't be
43:17
a presidential library. The eight hundred and fifty million dollar
43:22
Obama Presidential Center is set to be officially own veiled
43:27
Thursday on the South side of Chicago, will be the
43:31
first of its kind. For one thing, it will host
43:35
none of his presidential documents. Those will remain with the
43:39
National Archives, with the Obama Foundation picking up the cost
43:44
to making the unclassified material available online. In part that
43:50
reflects the digital age, an estimated ninety five percent of
43:54
Obama administration documents never existed on paper. Obama began planning
44:01
the museum near the end of his second term, insisting
44:05
he did not envision anything traditional, his longtime friend and
44:09
adviser Valerie Jarrett said in an interview. Jarrett said he
44:15
wanted it to be open and engaging and interactive, and
44:20
to lift up the stories of the ordinary people who
44:23
work together to do extraordinary things. Obama did not want
44:30
the museum to begin with his presidency or even his childhood.
44:34
Jarrett added he wanted to put his presidency in the
44:38
context of the history of our country. Obama, who became
44:43
the fifth youngest president in US history. Also knew that
44:47
his post presidency, more so than most of his predecessors,
44:52
would give him an opportunity for a final act. The
44:57
thing that was most exciting for me was the idea
45:00
of creating a hub, a venue, a place, a network
45:06
in which all of these young people from every race,
45:09
in every background and every religion could start meeting each
45:13
other and seeing each other, and teaching each other and
45:16
learning from each other, Obama said soon after he left
45:21
office in twenty seventeen, at a celebritly studied two day
45:25
event in which he launched his foundation and yet to
45:29
be built center. Still, the center will be traditional in
45:34
some ways. The museum aims to shape and burnish his legacy,
45:39
as presidential museums have done for his predecessors. His Nobel
45:44
Peace Prize is there, as is a flag carried by
45:48
the seal team that staged the rage in Pakistan that
45:52
killed Obama Osama bin Laden, along with the replica of
45:57
the Oval office, But while focusing on the past and
46:03
the future, it eleades some of the harsh realities of
46:08
the president. In another break with the tradition of president
46:13
to libraries, the current president has not been invited to
46:16
the opening that's not surprising. Among other things, President Donald
46:22
Trump has basely accused Obama of treason and trying to
46:26
lead a coup against him. Still, a gallop Pold last
46:31
year found that of the five living men who have
46:34
served as US president, Obama has the highest favorable rating
46:39
at fifty nine percent, which was eleven percentage points more
46:43
positive than American's view of Trump. The urban park where
46:48
the center is located is not far from the housing
46:51
projects where Obama began his career as a community organizer
46:56
in the nineteen eighties and the downtown lake front spot
47:00
where he and nearly a quarter million people celebrated his
47:03
hope filled two thousand and eight election as the nation's
47:08
first black president. No doubt, the contrast with today, including
47:14
Trump being elected twice in part as a backlash to
47:18
Obama and the gutting of the Voting Rights Act by
47:21
the US Supreme Court, will hover over the Senate's opening
47:26
day festivities, where the forty fourth president, which offered himself
47:31
as a HeLa of the nation's divisions, they have only deepened.
47:35
But we won't be focusing on current events. We'll be
47:39
focusing on the arc of the history of our country.
47:42
Jared said, one of the first things visitors will see
47:46
in their CPA tench journey through the Senate is an
47:50
original copy of the Declaration of Independence. They will continue
47:55
through an exploration of slavery, followed by the suffrage and
47:59
civil rights movements before coming to the artifacts and exhibits
48:05
commemorating Obama's early life and is eight years in the
48:09
White House. But through it there will be stops where
48:14
visitors will be asked to imagine your impact and hear
48:19
stories of ordinary Americans who have made a positive difference
48:22
in their communities. The idea is to remind people of
48:26
their own agency. The two hundred and twenty five foot
48:33
granite covered tower that dominates the center has drawn no
48:37
small amount of criticism, with some dubbing the hulking structure
48:42
the Obamaisk, but the nineteen acre grounds are also punctuated
48:47
by lighter touches, including a branch of the Chicago Public Library,
48:52
a fruit and vegetable garden, a water terrace named for
48:56
Obama's mother, Anne Dunham, a playground, and wedding hill, the
49:01
latter being the idea from a first Lady, Michelle Obama,
49:05
who grew up nearby The Obama's decision to build in
49:09
Jackson Park was greeted with some resistance and weariness by
49:13
the surrounding community. To accommodate some concerns about the disruption
49:19
it would cause, planners moved the parking underground and created
49:24
more green space than had existed before. And there is
49:29
a picture of the urban park where the Senate is located,
49:33
which is not far from the housing projects where Obama
49:36
begained his career as a community organizer. And you can
49:40
see the Granite building is the high structure with the
49:45
background of Chicago behind it, and then this huge open
49:51
area of green space with its individual areas in it.
49:57
At the dedication of George W. Bush Is President to
50:01
Library in twenty thirteen, former President Bill Clinton jokingly congratulated
50:06
him on the latest, grandest example of the eternal struggle
50:11
for former presidents to rewrite history. But Obama Senna also
50:16
reminds visits is that they have the power to write
50:19
their own Approaching the exit, they will see a quote
50:23
from the farewell address Obama delivered in January seventh, twenty seventeen,
50:30
I'm asking you to believe not in my ability to
50:34
bring a bag change, but in yours. Obama said our
50:42
last article declaring the Strait of Hormuz open is easy,
50:48
restarting shipping traffic is not. The path to resuming traffic
50:53
through the Strait of Hormuz is long, complicated and risky.
50:58
By Evan helper. US officials are scheduled to sign a
51:02
deal of Friday to end the war in Iran, but
51:06
even if it is agreed as planned, the world may
51:09
suffer high gas prices and shortages of fertilizer and other
51:14
crucial cargo for months longer. Shipping industry officials and maritime
51:19
experts say that's the time it will take for normal
51:23
commerce to resume through the Strait of Hormuz, which, before
51:28
the war began in late February, varied a fifth of
51:31
the world's oil and gas supplies. The strait remains littered
51:37
with mines led by Iran since the conflict began, and
51:40
is jammed with hundreds of vessels stranded by the war
51:44
that will take weeks to clear. Shipping firms are also
51:49
concerned the peace deal could fracture, putting vessels and crew
51:53
at risk of attack. We still consider it very risky
51:58
for ships to commit vents transit. Jacob Larsen, chief safety
52:03
and security officer at Bimco, one of the world's largest
52:08
shipping associations, said in an email statement. Chipping giant Merksk
52:15
said in an email that it welcomed the initial peace
52:18
deal announced by President Donald Trump on Sunday, but that
52:22
it too soon to start moving ships through the Key
52:25
Trade CARDO at this stage. There are no changes to
52:29
our operations in the region, the email said. Trump said
52:34
at a Tuesday news briefing in France that the Group
52:37
of Seven summit that the Strait would be opened by
52:40
the end of the week. The ships are starting to
52:43
move now and we're going to have it fully opened
52:46
by Friday. Dot dot oil is going to go and
52:49
prices are coming down rapidly, Trump said. The global oil
52:54
benchmark rent crude fell five percent Tuesday to seventy nine
52:59
point twelve dollars of barrow, percent higher than before the
53:03
US and Israel attacked Iran in February. The Trump administration
53:09
expects the flow of energy will return to normal levels
53:12
seem prior to the start of Operation Epic Furia in
53:15
short order, said Taylor Rogers, a White Housed spokeswoman. The
53:20
war in Iran has caused pocketbook pain for consumers and
53:24
shaken businesses around the world, driving up the cost of gas, groceries,
53:29
and other necessities of life, while squeezing industries including agriculture
53:34
and manufacturing. More than five hundred ships remained stranded in
53:39
the Strait of Hormuz, according to ship tracking firm Couple
53:44
and shipping executives are eager to move them, but the
53:48
cargo traffic can't return to normal without concrete assurances that
53:52
vessels will be able to operate without their crews and
53:55
owners worrying they will be attacked or sunk. Shipping experts
53:59
said the sea mines around dropped into the waterway during
54:03
the conflict as it asserted control of the strait, one
54:07
of the largest concerns for shipping companies. Finding and detonating
54:12
the floating explosive devices is a laborious process. Mine warfare
54:18
is inherently a game of unknowns, said Scott Sevitz, a
54:23
senior engineer at Research or Organization RAND who previously worked
54:28
as a mine warfare analyst in the US Navy. You
54:32
don't know how many mines are in the water. You
54:35
don't know where they are placed. You don't know the
54:38
settings used that may govern behavior. You don't know how
54:42
effective your countermeasures will be against those mines, Sevitz said.
54:49
Clearing the mines will likely involve wood and fiberglass boats
54:53
trolling the strait, along with helicopters dragging mine clearing equipment,
54:58
Sevitz said. He added that mine hunting dolphins could also
55:04
be flown in from the United States to help. The
55:07
animals are not at risk of harm from such work
55:10
because the mines detonate when they sense the magnetic signature
55:14
of a metal boat. He said. It could take just
55:19
days to open a narrow corridor that could carry limited
55:23
shipping traffic, but possibly months to clear the strait fully.
55:28
Savitz said even in the relatively narrow waterway, there would
55:34
not be assurance every last one was gone, he said.
55:39
The Washington Post reported in April that Congress received a
55:43
classified Defense Department briefing that estimated it would take six
55:48
months to clear mines from the Straits of Hormuz. Once
55:52
company is are confident there is a passageway, clear mines
55:57
and the ceasefire is not going to collapse, the challenge
56:00
will remain getting ships that have been stuck in the
56:03
straits for months out of the area. After more than
56:09
one hundred days of disruption, the Strait does not reopen
56:12
to normal trade. It reopens into a backlog. A couple
56:16
of report published Tuesdays said the company estimated it will
56:21
take weeks to move stranded ships out of the Strait,
56:24
during which time few empty vessels are likely to come
56:28
in to pick up cargo. Companies are expected to be
56:33
slow to move vessels into the area in large numbers
56:36
until they can see evidence it's not dangerous. Many will
56:40
prefer to wait and see how the deal holds before
56:44
committing tonnage, and the market is understandably skeptical the firm's analysis,
56:51
said David Jita, a partner at Baker Bot's, a law
56:56
firm that represents large energy firms that ship fuel through
57:00
the Strait, said that larger multinational corporations that can afford
57:05
the weight are likely to initially hold back from operating
57:08
in the Strait and to watch to see how others
57:11
fail before they begin to move cargo through the area.
57:15
The players who have no other options will figure out
57:18
how to make sure they can deliver their product to
57:21
market as quickly as possible. Someone who is a more
57:25
global player will be more cautious, he said. Tito also
57:31
said that it may take weeks of shipping traffic through
57:34
the Strait without incident for bigger players to risk restarting
57:38
their own operations. Ship tracking data shows that only a
57:42
few vessels had made the journeys since the peace deal
57:45
was announced. Even once takers do start moving, oil inventories
57:51
around the world have been drawn so low that much
57:54
of the initial shipments will go toward replenishing them rather
57:57
than being sold, meaning will be slow to drop. And
58:04
with that I conclude today's reading for The Washington Post
58:09
for Thursday, the eighteenth of June of twenty twenty six.
58:13
Our storm dropped more than one and a half inches
58:17
this morning, with a lot of thunder and lightning and
58:20
all kinds of wind. So I hope all of you
58:23
all are safe and sound, and I will be back
58:28
on Saturday. Take care and please continue listening to RADIOI
58:33
throughout the day. Bye.