Transcript

10.4.25 · Washington Post

0:00
Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of Today's Washington Post for Saturday,
0:06
October fourth of twenty twenty five. Your reader is Alice Dayner.
0:13
With the reminder that radioiz of service goes blind or
0:17
with other difficulties making it hard to hold and reprinted material.
0:22
So I start with the front page of today's Washington Post.
0:26
It happens to be a dear friend's birthday in Alexandria today. Oh,
0:32
actually he's living in utside of Washington, not in DC
0:36
by Alexandria anyway. Shutdown grinds on as neither sad budgets
0:44
informal talks make little progress on compromise to rate the
0:51
deadlock by Raleigh Began, Paul Cain and Theodoric Maya, And
0:57
the shutdown article is on the very left and side
1:01
of the front page. In the middle and taking up
1:05
the whole center section is a picture of a grandmother
1:09
with her daughter, and they are on a lovely long
1:13
green with a pretty white fence behind them and a tree.
1:17
And the granddaughter is in a white dress with teared
1:24
bottom just above her knees, and she's like in a
1:28
ballet position, and they are looking at each other with
1:31
the grandmother behind them. And it says an Ohio's mother's
1:37
son died of an overdose. She's raising her daughter, and
1:42
she thinks his daughter. She's raising his daughter, and she
1:46
thinks drug settlement money should help family like hers. And
1:50
underneath the picture other victims of opioids cry for help.
1:55
And it is Ablen with her grandmother and Abelin's little girl,
2:02
Deci Lewis before her May dance recital in Marysville, Ohio
2:08
by Marissa Latti. And that's in the middle of the
2:12
front page and to the right of that, hamas open
2:17
to Trump's ceasefire deal accepted, but with conditions. President urges
2:24
Israel to immediately halt bombs by Jerry Smith and Karen Deyong.
2:32
Below the fold on the very left hand side Spanburger
2:37
holds wide lead in Virginia. Governor race Pole shows Democrat
2:43
has picked up independence voters worried about jobs by Gregory S. Schneider,
2:50
Aaron Cox, Scott Clement, and Emily Guskin. Just below the
2:57
picture of Abelen Combs gets four years for prostitution related
3:05
charges by n Brannon, Samantha Cherry, Amber Ferguson and Shiney Jacobs,
3:17
and Combe says I hate myself right now, Hip hop
3:20
Mogul says in presetence Apology, and then the article on
3:26
the very bottom of the page in the middle to
3:28
the right hand side is a picture of a new
3:35
era automated system at his side of IVF clinic in
3:40
Mexico City and IVF Labs robots are making babies. Doctor
3:48
say AI could expand access success by Elizabeth Duskin and
3:58
Zoe Anne Murphy. Let's start with the shutdown. Government will
4:04
remain closed as Senate again votes down funding extension. Neither
4:11
the Host nor Senate have votes planned until Monday, pushing
4:16
the government shutdown into a second week. There is a
4:21
picture of Host Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana and
4:27
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Republican of South Dakota speaking
4:32
to reporters at the Capitol on Friday. And you have
4:37
Mike Johnson at the podium and he has his hand
4:41
out to his right and his fingers are spread wide
4:47
and he just sort of like his arm is spread
4:50
out to the right with his fingerswad and he's sort
4:52
of making a point. And John Thune is behind him
4:57
and he has his hands crossed in in front of
5:00
him and holding a paper and his as are closed,
5:04
so he's kind of looking to his right, and then
5:07
you see the bunting and the Capitol building behind by
5:12
Raley begging, Paul Caine and Theodoric Mayl. The Senate failed
5:17
again Friday to reopen the federal government, as lawmakers voted
5:22
down the same funding extensions that they've been considering all week,
5:28
all but guaranteeing that the shutdown will continue through the
5:31
weekend as there won't be more votes until Monday. White
5:36
House officials again signaled Friday that layoffs would be coming
5:41
if the government remains closed, with Press Secretary Caroline Levett
5:46
warning that the Trump administration was actively considering we had
5:52
to cut. The House, which canceled votes this week to
5:56
add pressure on Democrats to accept the GOP bill, plans
6:01
to remain out of session next week as well, leaving
6:04
no quick avenue for changing the existing proposal. More than
6:10
seven hundred and fifty thousand federal employees are fullurred and
6:15
many others are working without pays since funding laws expired
6:19
early Wednesday morning, when the new physical year began. Many
6:24
federal agencies have almost entirely halted work, though national security
6:30
and law enforcement functions are continuing. On Capitol Hill, preliminary
6:36
talks continued around how to find a compromise that could
6:40
break the deadlock. One possible option is a shorter funding
6:45
extension through October thirty first, which Democrats say could keep
6:49
pressure on Republicans to extend Affordable Care Acts subsidies originally
6:54
put in place during COVID nineteen before the open enrollment
6:59
period begins on November first. Extending the subsidies has been
7:04
one of the Democrats' primary demands. They say they cannot
7:08
vote to fund the government until Republicans negotiate with them
7:12
on health care. Republicans have said there is room for negotiation,
7:17
but only if the government is open. Senators on both
7:21
sides made clear Friday afternoon that those positions have not changed,
7:27
Butate Majority Leader John Thune, Republican of South Dakota, on
7:33
Friday again ruled out negotiating with Democrats on extending the
7:37
subsidies until the government reopens. He also suggested there may
7:42
not be enough Republican lawmakers who support extending the subsidies
7:47
for any vote on them to succeed, even if he
7:50
did want to negotiate. We can't make commitments or promises
7:55
on the COVID subsidies because that's not something that we
7:58
can guarantee that are the votes there to do, then
8:03
told reporters. But Democrats say they need more than an
8:08
empty promise, as Senator Patty Murray Washington, the top Democrat
8:14
on the Appropriations Committee, put it to negotiate on ACA's
8:18
subsidies after the government reopens if Republicans want their help
8:24
ending the shutdown. A promise to address ACA extensions in
8:29
the future means nothing unless we know for sure that
8:33
our legislation actually is going to be passed and enacted
8:37
into law as Congress has approved, she said. Behind the scenes,
8:42
lawmakers from both political parties are having informal discussions to
8:47
craft a deal that could get enough Democrats to support
8:51
a funding measure. Lawmakers involved in the conversation say they
8:56
haven't coalesced around a single plan and that they'll need
9:00
buy in from Senate leadership to make real inroads. Senator
9:07
John Hoven, Republican of North Dakota, said the conversations he's
9:12
had with Democrats this week have been modest in scope.
9:16
Hon has made the case to Democrats on the Appropriations
9:19
Committee that ending the shutdown would allow the Senate to
9:23
pass more bipartisan appropriation bills. Five Democrats who backed the
9:29
Republican funding bill in March but voted against the GOP
9:33
bill this week are on the committee, making them a
9:37
crucial block of votes. I really am trying to appeal
9:45
to the appropriators that if we can open up here,
9:48
we actually can appropriate this year, Hobn said. Publicly, the
9:54
Democrats and Republicans continue to blame each other for the
9:58
shutdown of Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, told reporters Friday
10:04
that Democrats' demands are unreasonable and that they should support
10:08
the funding extension because it does not have Republican policy
10:12
attached to it. I don't have anything to negotiate, Johnson said,
10:18
lead it, Thune and I can't take off Republican priorities
10:21
that we put in the funding bill and say, hey,
10:24
is this better? Could you vote for that, because we
10:27
didn't put them on there in the first place. Republicans
10:31
have repeatedly claimed that Democrats are seeking to provide health
10:35
care to undocumented immigrants because they have proposed reversing portions
10:40
of Republicans Tax and Spending bill passed in July. However,
10:45
undocumented immigrants were already ineligible for most federal health care benefits.
10:53
It's inherently unreasonable that Republicans continue to put forth a
10:58
debt on arrival bill that has been voted down multiple times,
11:03
as opposed to actually genuinely engaging in bipartisan discussion, his
11:09
minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York, told reporters Thursday.
11:16
Jeffries added that the issue of undocumented immigrants and insurance
11:20
benefits was brushed aside as unimportant during a bipartisan meeting
11:26
between congressional leaders and President Donald Trump in the Oval
11:30
Office on Monday. So much of what Republicans say publicly
11:37
they did not say privately. We met for over an hour,
11:41
and probably Republicans spend less than ten seconds on this
11:45
fake issue related to undocumented immigrants and healthcare. He said.
11:51
The administration kept up its promise that more federal job
11:56
cuts would be forthcoming. Trump vote on truth Social on Thursday,
12:02
that the shutdown provides an unprecedented opportunity for his administration
12:08
to make permanent cuts to the federal government, and that
12:11
he would meet with Office of Management and Budget Director
12:14
Russell Vaught to plant, which Democrat agencies to scale back.
12:21
A senior White House official said Thursday that the administration
12:24
expects to fire less than sixteen thousand federal workers. Some
12:30
senior federal officials have suggested agencies refraining from firing employees
12:36
during the shutdown, warning it could violate appropriation's law. Johnson
12:43
said Trump and Vaught took no pleasure in calling the
12:46
federal workforce, but heloned that Trump might be having some
12:51
fun mocking Democrats. Is he trolling the Democrats? Yes, Johnson
12:56
told reporters Friday, adding I mean yes, because that's what
13:01
President Trump does and people are having fun with this.
13:04
But at the end of the day, the decisions are
13:07
tough ones. Democrats say that the cuts announced in the
13:11
first days of the shutdown, including eight billion dollars in
13:15
energy projects in states represented by Democratic senators, eighteen billion
13:21
dollars for New York transportation projects, and two point one
13:25
billion dollars for Chicago infrastructure projects, have only stealed their resolve.
13:32
President Donald Trump wants to punish states like Illinois and
13:36
the people who lived there because they didn't vote for
13:38
him in the last election. This is petty, unfair, and
13:43
it's wrong. Senator Dick Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, set Friday
13:48
on the Senate floor, But some Republicans are warning their
13:53
Democratic colleagues that cuts in layoffs will only get worse
13:58
as the shutdown continues. Senator Mike Rones, Republican of South Dakota,
14:05
a close ally of Thunes total portos that Friday's crucial
14:10
vote is the last chance Democrats have to avert the
14:14
mass layoffs. That vote has been threatening. I think we've
14:19
got to be done by tomorrow or things go south
14:22
real quick, Rounds said Thursday after leaving the Majority Leader's office.
14:30
Hamas accepts Trump's plan to end the war in Gaza,
14:35
but with conditions. The plan aims to secure the release
14:40
of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip and end
14:44
a two year conflict that has reduced much of the
14:48
enclave to rubble. By Jerry she and Karen DeYoung out
14:56
of Jerusalem, Hammas said Friday, we would conditionally accept a
15:01
White House cease fire proposal, issuing a statement that President
15:06
Donald Trump said led him to believe they are ready
15:10
for a lasting peace. Trump posted the Hamas statement in
15:15
full on social media and followed with a statement of
15:18
his own. Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza
15:24
so that we can get the hostages out safely and quickly.
15:28
Right now, it's far too dangerous to do that. We
15:31
are already in discussions about details to be worked out,
15:36
Trump said. The president's positive response and insistence on an
15:41
Israeli ceasefire came as Hamas said it would release all hostages,
15:47
but set some conditions that could postpone any deal in
15:51
the short term and delay an immediate end to a
15:55
two year conflict that has reduced much of the Gaza
15:59
strip took rubble. Trump stopped short of declaring full victory
16:05
in the video recorded Friday in the Oval office and
16:08
posted on his Truth social site. This is a big day.
16:13
We'll see how it all turns out. We have to
16:16
get the final word down in concrete, very importantly. I'll
16:21
look forward to having the hostages come home, Trump said. Hamas,
16:27
which launched the October seventh, It's three days away twenty
16:32
twenty three attack on Israel that ignited the war, has
16:36
been under unprecedented political pressure after Trump's twenty point piece
16:41
plan unveiled Monday, guarded support from numerous international governments, In
16:48
its statement, Hamas signaled the willingness to release the hostages,
16:52
but also a demand for firmer commitments from Israel on
16:56
its military withdrawal and, perhaps most difficult sought for Israel
17:00
to accept a discussion about its role in a future
17:04
unified Palestinian state. US consultations with Israel early this week,
17:13
new details were added to the vague sequence and extent
17:17
of israel Defense forces withdrawal from Gaza after a ceasefire.
17:22
The document finally handed to Hamas said that the IDF
17:26
would withdraw based on standards, milestones, and time frames linked
17:33
to demilitarization that will be agreed upon among the IDF,
17:39
an International Stabilization Force, and the United States. A map
17:45
included with the final ceasefire proposal showed lines of progressive
17:50
Israeli retreat without indicating times or conditions, and a permanent
17:55
Israeli perimeter force inside Gaza's border. In its statement, HAMAS
18:02
said it agreed to release all Israeli prisoners, both living
18:08
and dead, according to the exchange formula contained in Trump's proposal,
18:13
provided the field conditions for the exchange are met. The
18:18
militant group said it was willing to immediately enter into
18:23
negotiations through the mediators, namely Guitar Egypt and the US,
18:30
to discuss details. Hamas also said that additional discussions were
18:36
needed to address how Gaza will be governed in the
18:39
future and the role the group would play as part
18:43
of a unified Palestinian movement, up which HAMAS will be
18:47
a member and to which it will contribute responsibly. The
18:52
Trump plan calls for the complete disarmament of Hamas and
18:56
says the group will have no role in future Gaza governance,
19:00
intended as an interim Palestinian executive authority overseen by an
19:06
international board headed by Trump, and an eventual government by
19:10
the West Bank paste Palestinian authority. Trump has previously indicated
19:16
that the terms of his proposal were not open to
19:19
negotiation with Amos, and both Israel and the United States
19:23
have consistently rejected any future role for the militant group
19:27
in Gaza. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahoo
19:33
released a rare overnight statement saying Israel is preparing for
19:38
the immediate implementation of the first stage of Presidents Trump
19:43
planned for the immediate release of all the hostages. Israeli's
19:49
Prime minister rarely releases official statements during the Jewish Sabbath.
19:55
The Hostage Family's Forum had earlier called on net Yahoo
19:58
to immediately begin efficient and swift negotiations to release the hostages.
20:07
Can I sit opposition leader Yaider Lapind likewise had called
20:11
on Netanyahu to join negotiations to close the last details
20:17
related to the deal. The IDF echo Netnyahu's statement early Saturday,
20:24
saying it would prepare for the implementation of the first
20:27
phase of the Trump plan to release the hostages. A
20:32
statement from Cardo's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Doha welcomes
20:38
Hamas's announcement of its acceptance of President Trump's proposal to
20:43
end the war in Gaza and confirms the start of
20:46
discussions with mediators to insure an end to the war.
20:52
An Egyptian statement expressed appreciation for Trump's efforts and said
20:56
Cairo would exert maximum effort but in accordance with all
21:01
Arabic Islamic brothers, the United States, the European side, and
21:07
the international community, to reach a permanent cease fire, alleviate
21:11
the suffering of the Palestinian people and reconstruct the Gaza strip.
21:18
At a news conference, Monday, Trump had said he would
21:21
give Israel his full backing to finish the job of
21:25
destroying the threat of Hamas if it did not accept
21:29
the terms of the twenty point police plan. He added
21:33
a day later that he would give Hamas three or
21:36
four days to decide. In a social media post early Friday,
21:41
before the Hamas response was issued, he set a deadline
21:45
of midnight Sunday, Washington time. Although Trump's plan contained substantial
21:53
elements of previous proposals submitted by Arab countries, it was
21:57
not crafted in consultation with Palace Indians and Arab officials
22:02
over the past week have hinted at their frustration that
22:05
it was modified without their input or agreement during Trump's
22:10
last minute discussions with Neta Yahu. The altered plan was
22:14
released by Trump on Monday, just after Netnyahu's visit to
22:18
the White House and before it was handed over to Hamas.
22:23
At various points over the past two years, Hamas has
22:26
said it was ready to relinquish political control over Gaza,
22:30
be giving up its weapons would be a red line.
22:33
Hamas officials have also said they would not release all
22:37
of the hostages unless Israel withdrew the entirety of its
22:42
forces from Gaza and provided guarantees that the war would
22:47
not resume. In an interview Wednesday with Al Jazeera, Katari
22:53
Prime Minister Mohammad bin Abdullah Raman al Thani said the
22:59
issue of Israeli military withdrawal requires further work and must
23:05
be negotiated further. Trump has said he hoped that an
23:09
end to the Gaza war would form the basis for
23:12
a comprehensive regional peace and expansion of the Abraham Accords,
23:17
the diplomatic normalization agreement between Israel and four Arab countries
23:23
that he negotiated during his first term in office. This
23:27
is not about Gaza alone. This is about long sought
23:32
peace in the Middle East, Trump said in his statement. Friday,
23:40
Sean Diddy Combes was sentenced to over four years. He's
23:44
what's next. I hate myself right now, Combs said during
23:49
a lengthy hearing in which he apologized to the ex
23:52
girlfriends who had accused him of sex trafficking by Anne Rannigan,
24:00
Samantha Cherry, Amber Ferguson, and Scheneiah Jacobs out of New York.
24:08
Sean Dinny Comb's was sentenced Friday to just over four
24:12
years in prison after a lengthy hearing during which Combs
24:16
apologized to the ex girlfriends who had accused him of
24:20
sex trafficking, as well as years of emotional and physical abuse.
24:25
In stern words delivered directly to Comb's judge, Arun Sabramanian
24:31
told the hip hop impressario that he had abused ex
24:35
girlfriends Cassie Ventre and a woman who had testified under
24:39
the court approved alias Jane physically, emotionally, and psychologically. Sabramanian
24:47
delivered Comb's fifty month sentence after a nearly two month
24:51
sex abuse in racketeering trial that ended in July. Jurry
24:56
had cleared Combs of the most serious charges, but convicted
25:01
him on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution
25:05
under the Man Act. He also ordered Combs to pay
25:09
a five hundred thousand dollars fine and imposed five years
25:13
of supervised release once the music producer completes his sentence.
25:19
The sentence was above the fourteen months Combe's defense had requested,
25:25
but twenty months below what the pre sentencing report had recommended.
25:31
The judge that he considered mitigating factors presented by the
25:34
defense did not directly address why he went lower than
25:39
the recommendation the government had asked for a sentence of
25:43
at least eleven years. It was an emotional day for
25:47
Combs in his family. At one point, the hip hop
25:51
mogul broke down in the Manhattan courtroom as his six
25:55
adult children pleaded for a lenient, lenient sentence. Later, an
26:00
eleven minute sizzle reel highlighted his community impact spoke. Combs
26:06
also spoke on his own behalf for the first time
26:09
since his arrest. Delivering his prepared remarks in halting sentences,
26:15
Combs offered personal apologies to Ventura, Jane, and his family members,
26:21
as well as grand ones to all victims of domestic
26:24
violence along with the black community. I hate myself right now.
26:30
I've been stripped down to nothing, Combs said. He trembled
26:34
as he leaned on the defense table to address the court.
26:38
He appeared despondent as Supermanian made clear that Combs would
26:43
not be released in the immediate future. The judge acknowledged
26:47
Comb's positive contributions to society, but said the evidence did
26:52
not depict consensual relationships with Intura and Jane, as the
26:57
defense had argued. Secutors wanted Comb's imprisoned for far longer,
27:03
arguing at trial that he used beatings, blackmail, drugs, and
27:08
his vast influence in the music industry to abuse two
27:11
girlfriends for years at freak off parties. They said that
27:16
Combe's decision to schedule speaking engagements as early as next
27:20
week before his sentence was handed down marked the height
27:25
of Huber's But the bulk of Friday's proceedings were spent
27:30
hearing from Coombe's legal team and supporters, many of whom
27:34
were tearful as they were counted his accomplishments and reforms.
27:40
The most powerful statements came from his six adult children,
27:44
who said he had completely transformed since being detained in
27:49
a Brooklyn jail in September of twenty twenty four. Please,
27:54
your honor begged daughter chance, give our family the chance
27:59
to hear together, not as a headline, as human beings.
28:05
Subermimanian thanked Combs's children for their words, which he said
28:09
were very important to hear, and later acknowledged the mogul's
28:13
many achievements and strides, but he told Combs a history
28:17
of good works does not excuse the harm he caused
28:21
his victims, the effects of which continue to this day. Ventura,
28:28
the prosecution star witness during the trial, did not appear
28:32
at the hearing, but her pleas for accountabilities submitted in
28:36
a court filing this week were repeated throughout the day,
28:39
including by the judge. I am so scared that if
28:45
he walks free, his first actions will be swift retribution
28:48
towards me and others who spoke up about his abuse
28:52
at trial. Ventura wrote of Combs during sentencing suber Myraumania
29:02
laud inventor for Jane and Jane for their braver in
29:05
speaking it against Holmes. We heard you. I know your
29:10
families are proud of you, and your children, when they're
29:13
old enough, will be proud of you. And I am
29:15
proud of you, Supermanian said. Now that the trial is over,
29:21
here's what to note. What's next for Combs and how
29:25
does his time served factor in Colmb's time served, which,
29:31
amongst a little over a year, will be credited to
29:34
his sentence. That means he'll be imprisoned for an additional
29:37
three or so years less if he qualifies for an
29:41
early release. Seth J. Zuckerman, a former prosecutor and criminal
29:47
defense attorney who represented actor Jonathan Mage's during his twenty
29:51
twenty three assault case. Told Washington Post that it will
29:55
be a couple of weeks before Combs will be sent
29:59
to a federal facility to serve at his sentence. Until then,
30:03
Combs will stay at the Metropolitan Detention Center, the Brooklyn
30:07
facility where he's been incarcerated since last September. Combe's attorney
30:13
will probably ask for him to stay at a particular facility,
30:17
Zuckerman added, one that's closest to his family, that's not
30:21
the most maximum security, one that has a good reputation,
30:25
and one where he'll probably have no safety issues. How
30:30
severe is Comb's sentence, some legal experts described Subramanian's fifty
30:36
month sentence as a compromise, longer than the famed music
30:40
producer's attorneys wanted, but far shorter than what prosecutors sought.
30:46
Colmb's five hundred thousand dollars fine isn't surprising, Suckerman said,
30:51
as the defense didn't argue against it and Combs wouldn't
30:55
struggle to afford it. Mark Chikow, a former federal process
31:00
secutor who has represented sex trafficking survivors, said that although
31:04
Combs was acquitted on racketeering, conspiracy, and sex trafficking charges.
31:10
The evidence associated with those charges was still factored into
31:14
his sentence. A sentencing hearing is not held to the
31:18
same standard as a trial, Jerick Cart said. Chercal said
31:23
the judge could consider hearsay evidence and other sorts of things,
31:28
such as the photographs prosecutors showed of Intourre's wounds, bruises
31:32
and other injuries. The judge suggested that it was the
31:36
case while delivering his sentence. The court has to consider
31:41
all of your history here, super Romanian said. The court
31:46
rejects the defense's attempts to characterize of the Court rejects
31:51
the defense's attempts to characterize Combs's behavior towards his ex
31:56
girlfriend as sex, drugs, and rock and roll. The maximum
32:03
sentence for his conviction was twenty years ten years for
32:07
each man acts charge, though it was unlikely Combs would
32:11
receive the harshest sentence. Will Combs appeal his sentence though
32:17
he has been sentenced, Combs's case probably isn't oval outside
32:22
the courthouse. His lawyers said they planned to appeal and
32:25
think they have a strong basis. After the judge repeatedly
32:29
mentioned coercion in his sentencing despite Comb's not being convicted
32:34
of coercion related charges. We think that's unconstitutional. Combs's lawyer
32:41
Mark Agnifilio said his defense team could file an appeal
32:48
for his conviction, his sentence, or both. Jacko said, and
32:53
that appeal could happen as soon as in a few days.
32:57
Once an appeal is filed, he could take six to
33:00
eight months for a judge to decide whether the appeal
33:04
can move forward. Could Combs be pardoned by the president.
33:11
Theoretically yes, but based on President Donald Trump's most recent
33:15
comments on the matter, a Combs's pardon seems improbable. In August,
33:22
Trump told Newsmacs that Combs's legal team had reached out,
33:26
but he said the pardon was probably a no goat.
33:30
I was very friendly with him. I got along with
33:32
him great, and he seemed like a nice guy. But
33:35
when I ran for office, he was very hostile. Trump said,
33:39
Colmbs's terrible statements make a pardon more difficult to do.
33:44
Trump added. Nicole Westmoreland, one of Combs's lawyers, confirmed their
33:51
bid for a president to pardon in a CNN interview
33:54
a few days later, adding that Combs remains hopeful. Before
34:01
Combe's conviction. Trump seemed more open to the idea in May,
34:06
shortly after he granted clemency to wrap an inn Be
34:09
a Young Boy, and reality stars Todd and Julie Chrisley,
34:15
Trump said during a White House news conference that he
34:18
would consider pardoning Comb's I don't know. I would certainly
34:24
look at the facts, he said. If I think someone
34:27
was mistreated, whether they like me or dislike me, wouldn't
34:30
have any impact. Combs and Trump, each businessman and former
34:35
reality TV stars, were occasionally photographed together in the nineteen
34:39
nineties and referred to each other as friends in the
34:43
twenty tens. Going inside the Front section shut down DeLay's
34:50
jobs report, obscuring potential economic problems. Policymakers had been watching
34:57
for signs that a cooling job mark, rising unemployment, and
35:02
worsening inflation are weighing on the economy. By Abba Batari,
35:10
three days into the government shutdown, it's increasingly unclear where
35:15
the US economy is headed, not because of a direct
35:18
hit from the federal closures, but a lack of official data.
35:23
The absence of the Labor Department's monthly jobs report, which
35:27
was scheduled to be released Friday morning, is the first
35:31
casualty in what is likely to be a string of
35:34
delayed or missed economic data. The timing could hardly be worse.
35:40
Policymakers have been watching closely for signs that a cooling
35:44
job market, rising unemployment, and worsening inflation could be weighing
35:49
on the economy. The September jobs report was expected to
35:54
provide a much anticipated snapshot of the US labor market
35:59
after a summer of rapid cooling. It's a bad time
36:04
to be missing data, said Erica Groshen, an economist at
36:08
Cornell University who led the Bureau of Labor Statistics during
36:12
the twenty thirteen shut down. She added, we are flying
36:17
blind right as the economy could be turning. This is
36:22
what distinguishes this shut down from previous ones, Experts say.
36:27
The last time the job's report was delayed by a
36:31
couple of weeks in October of twenty thirteen, the economy
36:35
was on a clear path, with rising growth domestic product
36:39
and falling unemployment. This time round, the US economy appears
36:46
to be at a crossroads. Although growth has been strong
36:50
so far this year, hiring has slowed significantly in recent months,
36:54
raising concerns that further cooling could quickly spell trouble for
36:58
the broader economy. Data from payrolls processor ADP on Thursday
37:05
showed that unemployment at private companies dropped about thirty two
37:09
thousand in September, the largest decline in more than two years.
37:14
Another report from employment firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas showed
37:20
that companies hiring plans are at their lowest level since
37:24
two thousand and nine. The question right now is why
37:30
is the labor market week when everything else is good,
37:34
said Touristen Slock, chief economist at Apollo Global Management. Now,
37:41
not only do we not have the data, we don't
37:43
have data in a situation where there are some very
37:47
significant signals coming from the labor market. The Labor Department
37:53
has said it will stop collecting and releasing economic data.
37:56
While the government is closed the releases of economic data,
38:00
it will likely be delayed if a lapse is prolonged,
38:03
the agency said in planning documents. The ongoing shutdown could
38:07
delay other key economic data too, including inflation reports scheduled
38:12
for October fifteenth and thirty first and third quota GDP
38:17
figures on October thirtieth. The lack of data is a
38:21
particular problem for the Federal Reserve, which we'll meet later
38:25
this month to decide whether it should keep cutting interest rates.
38:29
The central Bank, responsible for keeping inflation stable without hurting
38:34
the job market, relies heavily on government data to guide
38:38
its decisions. Without updated figures to gauge the state of
38:42
the labor market or inflation, the Fed will be in
38:46
an extraordinary difficult spot, Slock said. The Trump administration has
38:54
moved quickly to slash funding to democratic land states and
38:58
make other large scale change, while Congress is divided over
39:02
funding laws. Secretary Treasury Secretary Scott Besset on Thursday told
39:08
CNBC the shutdown could lead to a hit to the GDP,
39:14
a hit to growth, and a hit to working America. Still,
39:19
government shutdowns don't typically leave a discernible mark on the economy.
39:24
Economists generally estimate that each week of a shutdown results
39:27
in a zero point two percent point decline in economic growth.
39:33
The last shutdown, from December twenty eighteen to January twenty nineteen,
39:38
costs the economy about eleven billion dollars, according to estimates
39:42
from the Congressional Budget Office, though all but three billion
39:47
of that was eventually recouped after the government reopened, but
39:52
economists says that could be different this time around. A
39:55
longer shutdown would mean a more protracted and permanent hit
40:00
to the economy. The Trump administration has also suggested it
40:05
may five thousands of federal employees instead of furloughing them,
40:09
which could lift the unemployment rate long term. The whole
40:14
question here is duration. If this shutdown lasts a week
40:18
or two, there isn't much effect, said William Beach, who
40:22
headed to b LS during the Trump's first urn and
40:25
is now a senior fellow at the Economic Policy Innovation Center.
40:30
But if it goes for us, say four weeks, then
40:33
we're talking about an increase in the unemployment rate. We're
40:37
talking about lost productivity, and even more than that, we're
40:41
talking about investors becoming spoofed about the financial future of
40:45
the United States. The stock market has so far shrugged
40:50
off the shutdown, with the S and P standed in
40:53
pull five hundred, reaching a record high on Thursday, But
40:58
for business owners across they the latest twist out of
41:01
Washington is adding that to ongoing economic uncertainty, making it
41:07
tougher for them to invest. Ohio. The US Travel Association,
41:12
a trade group that represents the tourism industry said this
41:16
week that a shutdown would cost about one billion dollars
41:19
a week in low spending. These harms ripple far beyond
41:25
airports and the parks, threatening jobs, small businesses, and economic
41:30
growth in every state. Jeff Friedman, the company's group's president,
41:36
wrote in a letter to lawmakers, the next article is
41:41
one that I'm proud to say doesn't affect me, but
41:44
it affects my faith. First woman is named Archbishop of Canterbury,
41:50
Leader of the Church of England. That's the Anglican Church,
41:53
and I am Episcopalian. Sarah Malali, previously the Bishop of London,
42:00
is the first woman to serve as spiritual leader of
42:03
the Church of England in its nearly five hundred year history.
42:08
And there she is in her purple best cross around
42:13
her neck, wonderful silvery blonde hair, and she is looking
42:21
away from a group of reporters taking her picture outs
42:25
at the Canterbury Cathedral on Friday by Carla Adam out
42:31
of London. Sarah Malali was named the new Archbishop of
42:35
Canterbury on Friday, becoming the first woman to serve as
42:39
the spiritual leader of the Church of England and of
42:43
the global Anglican community in the church's nearly five hundred
42:47
year history. The position has been vacant since November, when
42:53
Justin Welby announced his resignation after an investigation phoned he
42:58
failed to sufficiently port investigate and contain a man who
43:03
for decades ran evangelical summer camps and subjected boys to sexual,
43:09
physical and psychological abuse. A report summarizing an investigation by
43:15
the church described the man John Smith as arguably the
43:20
most prolific serial abuser to be associated with the Church
43:24
of England. The Church of England began allowing women to
43:29
become bishops in twenty fourteen. The Episcopal Church did that
43:33
long before. Malally, sixty three, has broken the areas throughout
43:38
her career. In twenty eighteen, she became the first female
43:42
Bishop of London, the Church's third most senior clerical position.
43:48
Before her ordination in two thousand and one, she worked
43:52
in nursing and, at age thirty seven, became the youngest
43:55
person to be appointed England's chief nursing officer. The Archbishop
44:01
of Canterbury is formally nominated by the British Monarch, acting
44:06
on advice from the Prime minister, who in turn relies
44:10
on advice from a Church of England Commission. Malali will
44:15
be installed as the one hundred and six archbishop at
44:18
a service at Canterbury Cathedral in March of twenty twenty six.
44:24
Britain is considered a more secular country than the United States,
44:29
both in terms of people identifying as having no religion
44:33
and in rates of regular church attendants. Yet the Church
44:37
of England still retains a large symbolic presence in national
44:41
identity and values. The Archbishop of Canterbury, for instance, plays
44:46
a central role in major state occasions such as coronations,
44:51
royal weddings and funerals. Prime Minister kir Starma welcomed Malali's appointment.
44:59
The Archbishop of Canterbury will play a key role in
45:02
their national life, Starmer said in a statement, adding I
45:06
wish her every success and I look forward to working together.
45:11
The Church of England is of profound importance to this country,
45:16
Starmer said. Its churches, cathedrals, schools and charities are part
45:21
of the fabric of our communities. In her first address
45:26
since being named archbishop, carried by the state broadcaster on Friday,
45:31
Molali spoke about major domestic and global issues. She condemned
45:36
Thursday's jam Kapoor attack on a synagogue in Manchester, which
45:41
left two people dead, and said the church had a
45:44
duty to stand with the Jewish community against anti Semitism
45:48
in all its forms. She also highlighted extreme poverty, the
45:55
ever worsening climate crisis, solidarity with our Palestinian Christian brothers
46:02
and sisters, and the horrors of war for people in
46:06
the Middle East, Ukraine, Russia, Sudan, MIHRNMAH and the Democratic
46:12
Republic of Congo. Turning to the Church's own failings, Malali
46:18
stressed the importance of preventing abuse into responding more effectively
46:23
when concerns are raised. She also noted the historic nature
46:27
of her appointment. Some will be asking what it means
46:32
for a woman to lead the Church of England and
46:34
to take on the Archbishop of Canterbury's global Roland Anglican community.
46:40
She said, I intend to be a shepherd who enables
46:45
everyone's ministry and vocation to flourish. She continued, I give
46:51
thanks for all the men and women lay and ordain, deacons,
46:56
priests and bishops who have paved the way for this moment,
47:00
and all the women that have gone before me, And
47:05
here we go with I broke chat GPT's new parental
47:11
controls in minutes. Kids are still at risk. Parents don't
47:19
just need half baked settings, they need AI companies to
47:24
bake safety into their products. And there's a picture of
47:29
a young girl in her bed under the covers, looking
47:33
at her cellphone. Jeffrey A follow wrote this under pressure
47:39
for allegedly fueling teen suicide. Chat GBT unveiled parental controls
47:46
this week. I'm the dad of a tax Sevy kid,
47:50
and it took me about five minutes to circumvent them.
47:55
All I had to do was log out and create
47:58
a new account on the same smart Kids already know this.
48:04
Then I found more problems. Chat gbt's defaulteen aunt privacy
48:09
settings don't shield young people from some potential harms. A
48:15
setting to prohibit generating artificial intelligence pictures didn't always work.
48:21
Chat GBT did send me a parental notification about a
48:25
dangerous chat that happened on my kid account, but only
48:29
about twenty four hours after the fact. At least, chat
48:33
gbt's makeup open AI is finally acknowledging the kinds of
48:39
risks AI poses to children. From inappropriate content to dangerous
48:45
mental health advice. Its limitations on harmful content performed better
48:50
in my initial test than Mark Zuckerberg's rival Chat by
48:55
Meta Ai, but that's still not good enough. Open ai
49:01
appears to be following the same failed playbook as social
49:04
media companies, shifting the responsibility to parents. AI companies themselves
49:11
should be held responsible for not making products that sext kids,
49:16
encourage eating dis disorders, and fuel self harm. Yet Open
49:22
a EYS industry library and group, is fighting against the
49:25
law that would do just that, And there's a parenthesis.
49:30
The Washington Post has a content partnership with open Ai.
49:36
Open ai says its controls were built in consultation with
49:40
experts and rooted in an understanding of teen developmental stages.
49:46
The intention behind perenthal controls rit large is to give
49:51
families choice, said Lauren Jones, open AI's head of Youth
49:56
well Being in an interview, adding, every family's perspective on
50:01
how their teens should use chat GBT is different. Family
50:06
advocacy groups have responded to chat gbt's parental controls with
50:11
simultaneous relief and resentment. It's a welcome step, but I
50:16
certainly am wary of celebrating too much as if this
50:20
is the solution for adolescent safety, mental health, and well being,
50:25
said Aaron Walsh, the co founder of the Family Education FOLKUS,
50:30
Spark and Stitch Institute. We are creating a perenial control
50:35
whack a mole experience. It has become clear the children
50:41
are major users of chat box, both for information and companionship.
50:46
As of last fall, more than a quarter of American
50:49
teens ages thirteen to seventeen said they used chat GBT
50:54
for schoolwork. According to Pew Research Symptoms for parents, any
51:00
help is better than none. Controls and content protections on
51:04
teen accounts have the potential to save teen lives, said
51:09
Robbie Tourney, the senior director of AI Programs at Common
51:14
Sense Media. His organization has published a guide for parents
51:18
and is still working on completing its own tests. But
51:22
we definitely think that open ai and other companies can
51:25
go a lot farther in making chatbots safe for kids,
51:29
Tourney said, my tests show how many holes still need
51:34
to be filled. First reality check, chat gbt's parental controls
51:40
only stand a chance if you already have a trusting
51:43
relationship with your team. Kids have to provide their own
51:47
consent by clicking a button in their account to let
51:50
their parents apply controls, and as I found, there's nothing
51:55
technically stopping them from just starting a new account their
51:58
parents don't know about. Open ais. Jonas said the system's
52:03
design encourages conversations. She added there were privacy concerns to
52:08
blocking kids from making new accounts, and teens will find
52:13
a working around for many things. Also found the default
52:17
setting on teens accounts put open AI's interest ahead of
52:22
kids unless parents know how to change it. Teens conversations
52:26
automatically feedback into chat gbt to train its AI, a
52:31
privacy setting our command even adults turn off even more
52:37
worrisome kid's accounts by default. Keep memories of chats, which
52:43
means chat GBT can reference previous conversations and build on
52:47
them to sound like a friend. This function contributed to
52:51
the chat GBT relationship of sixteen year old Adam Rain,
52:56
whose family has sued open AI claiming wrongful DEAs after
53:00
his suicide. Jonah said that memories can be useful for
53:04
teens for purposes like getting homework help, but there's currently
53:08
no way to tease just that use. We'd like to
53:13
offer granular controls, both to teens and to parents over time,
53:18
just not on day one. She said. There were other concerns.
53:24
I turned on a setting to stop my kid account
53:26
from generating AI pictures, but it sometimes made them anyway
53:31
or gave me specific instructions on how to make them. Elsewhere,
53:35
Jonah said it was not ideal behavior by the road
53:39
bot or by the bud. My chat GBT teen account
53:43
also still happily did my homework for me, including writing
53:48
an essay in the style of a thirteen year old.
53:51
It wasn't entirely bad news. When I tried having conversations
53:56
with my teen account about suicide, self harm, and is
54:00
ordered eating, chat GBT constant consistently told me it was
54:05
worried about me and pointed me to professional resources to
54:09
discuss understanding how well chat GBT gode's teens in these
54:14
dangerous conversations will take deeper testing to fully understand. In
54:20
perrinne back in parison, test of meta AIS teen accounts
54:24
have found that chatbot was even willing to help plan
54:28
suicide if the conversation went on long enough, and Pernn
54:34
in the rare cases where a child might face real harm,
54:38
chat GBT is supposed to send parents a notice. My
54:42
test child account had multiple conversations that caused chat GBT
54:47
to say it was very worried. I received an email
54:51
notifying my parent account, but not until about twenty four
54:55
hours later, and it was vague about what happened. Jonas
54:59
said those notifications are reviewed by humans before they're sent out,
55:04
and the company is looking to reduce the amount of
55:06
time to a few hours. Parent notifications have the potential
55:11
to save lives, but if they are not timely or accurate,
55:15
that is a risk as well. This is a place
55:18
where details matter to keep kids safe, said Common Sense
55:23
Media's twenty two Taking Responsibility. All the family advocates have
55:29
spoke to agreed parental controls can only be one part
55:32
of a larger solution that includes changes to company behavior
55:37
and company policy California and public policy. California Attorney General
55:45
Rob Bonta put Open AI on notice for how it
55:49
protects children. His office told me in his statement it
55:52
depreciates the preliminary steps of parental controls, but warned it
55:57
would continue to pay very close attention to how the
56:01
company is developing and overseeing its approach to AI safety.
56:05
Both in our investigation into open AIS, proposed restructuring of
56:10
its four profit subsidiary, and in our role as the
56:14
top consumer protection agency in California, why are an AI
56:19
companies libel for building child's safety into their box in
56:23
the same way companies who make other products used by
56:26
children are. We believe in sensible regulation, so the owners
56:30
is not on parents tourney, said Perenn. My colleague Shira
56:37
Ovid has a helpful roundup of ten ideas to actually
56:41
help keep SIVs safer and happier online. In Perenn, I
56:46
don't know whether he shows it or not. One California
56:50
law called AB ten sixty four would force some legal
56:54
responsibility onto AI companies that make so called companion box
57:00
that act like they're developing relationships with people, iterates signature
57:05
from Governor Gavin Newsom, Democrat, before releasing such bots. The
57:10
bill would require companies to test for and take steps
57:13
to prevent them from encouraging self harm or encouraging eating disorders.
57:18
That would be legal penalties, including given parents the right
57:22
to sue. You cannot give our children a product that
57:26
will tell them how to kill themselves, said assembly Member
57:29
Rebecca Bauer Khan that builds lead author. Tech Net, an
57:35
industry lobbying group that accounts open AI as a member,
57:39
has actively opposed the bill, introduced an ad that SAIDs
57:43
the bill would slam the brakes on AI intervention. In
57:47
a statement, open ai said, we share the goal of
57:51
this legislation, which is why we engage directly with the
57:54
bill sponsor on areas we believe could be improved. That
57:58
builds on air support for other teams safety legislation, including
58:01
California's AB ten forty three, and our ongoing work to
58:05
develop a blueprint outlining more core principles for future legislation.
58:12
Even the threat of legislation seems to be prompting some action.
58:16
Open ai said it plans to offer a default version
58:19
of chat GBT that filters content for teenagers when it
58:23
detects underage users, but is still working on technology to
58:27
figure which users are under the age of eighteen. And
58:31
with that, I end the reading of the Washington Post
58:35
for today, October fourth, of twenty twenty five. Have a
58:39
good weekend, Stay cool and hydrated. I'll be back on
58:46
Thursday and continue listening to programming on RADIOI by