Transcript

4.21.26 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of the Washington Post for Tuesday,
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April twenty first, twenty twenty six. As a reminder, Radio
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I is a reading service intended for people who are
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blind or have other disabilities that make it difficult to
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read printed material. Your reader for today is Cindy Fraser.
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Today's front page headlines from The Washington Post are Talks
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clouded by ship seizure, US Iran claim, Hormu's control tensions
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rise ahead of Wednesday deadline. Next, Pakistan emerges as unlikely
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peacemaker in war nuclear armed power that doesn't recognize Israel
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one Trump's trust Our next headline, Labor secretary will vacate position.
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Chavez de Ramier's departure comes amid allegations of misconduct. Next,
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higher fuel costs could push needle away from Republicans in
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mid terms. Next, Louisiana gunman masked his rage before rampage.
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And the final headline from today's front page Fuente's rise
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to be a prophet profiteer of online hate speech. Hundreds
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of thousands of dollars from donors fuel extremist empire. Let's
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turn to our first story, entitled Talks claddened by ships
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seizure U s Iran claim Hormu's control tensions rise ahead
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of Wednesday's deadline by Susannah George and Sammy Westfall from Islamabad, Pakistan.
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A second round face to face peace talks between the
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United States and Iran planned for this week in Pakistan
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remain on shaky footing after Iranian officials threatened not to
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attend following the US seizure of an Iranian flag vessel
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near the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend. The US
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around ceasefire is set to expire Wednesday, and while both
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sides have expressed support for the goal of a negotiated
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end the war, they have continued to escalate a standoff
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in and around the Strait of Hormuz, the critical waterway
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that has emerged as a central issue in peace talks.
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So far, we have not made any decisions regarding the
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next round of negotiations, as Smail Bakt, spokesman for Iron's
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foreign ministry, said at a news conference Monday. Bakey said
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the seizure of Iranian flagship and the continued US blockade
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of Iranian ports were violations of the ceasefire agreement. The
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Trump administration has confirmed its delegation would attend peace dooks
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in Pakistan this week. Trump initially said talks would occur Tuesday,
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but that the date could be pushed back. The United
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States said it was sending Vice President j D. Vance,
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Middle East Special Envoy Steve Whitcock and Trump's son in law,
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Jared Kushner. As of late Monday morning, Vance had yet
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to depart for Pakistan. Set a person familiar with his plans,
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speaking on the condition of anonymity to share sensitive information,
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the US delegation plans to travel to Islamabad soon, The
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person said. The US seizure of the Tuska was the
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first time US forces boarded a ship since the blockade
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took effect April thirteenth. The U s Military said the
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Iranian flag cargo ship was seized for attempting to bypass
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the blockade. The Tuska is owned by an Iranian company
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that the United States has accused of procuring material for
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a Tehran's ballistic missile program. Oil prices jumped by five
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percent overnight into Monday, while stock markets in Europe were
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down after a weekend of uncertainty and escalating tensions. Even
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before the seizure of the ship, Iranian officials were threatening
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not to attend the talks. Iranian state media reported Sunday
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that Tehran had rejected the second run of talks and
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set its absence at the talks was because of Washington's
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excess of demands and ongoing naval blockade. It was not
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immediately clear whether that decision was final. Arraignian officials made
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similar statements in the lead up to the first round
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of negotiations, also held in Pakistan. The tone of Trump's
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public statements and the ongoing U S blockade were the
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two most serious issues threatening talks, said an Iranian official,
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who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was
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not authorized to brief the news media. He said the
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two sides were largely agreed on the outlines of a deal,
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but Trump's public maximalism risked scuttling the diplomatic progress. Mediators
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in Pakistan have conveyed similar messages to Trump, warning against
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such strong public rhetoric and encouraging the US president to
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allow for the talks in Islamabad to appear as a
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win win for Iran and the United States. According to
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a Pakistani official who spoke on the condition of anonymity
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to share sensitive des details. On Friday, both Trump and
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Iran were celebrating the reopening of the strait, whose closure
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has left some twenty thousand seafarers stranded on idle ships
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for more than seven weeks. Trump said Friday that Iran
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has agreed to never close the Strait of Hormuz again,
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but only a day later, Tehran said it was closed again,
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citing a continued US naval blockade of Iranian ports that
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Trump is using to pressure Tehran. On Saturday, Iranian forces
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reportedly fired on at least two ships in the strait,
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according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center uk
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mto a monitoring agency that is part of the British
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Royal Navy. US forces have been preparing for the possibility
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of seizures for days, said an official, who spoke on
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the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the operation.
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The Marines are with a thirty first Expeditionary Unit of Okinawag,
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which arrived in the region aboard a three ship naval
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task force in March. U S forces were searching shipping
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containers aboard the Tuska on Monday, the official said, u
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S Central Command said its move to seize the vessel
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came after six hours of warning to the Tuska to
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turn back and its later warning to evacuate the engine room.
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In an overnight post to social media, Central Command released
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video showing the operation to take the Tuska after its
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engine room was hit and disabled by rounds fired Sunday
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from the destroyer USS Ruins. Marines from the Okinawa, Japan
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based thirty first Marine Expeditionary Unit then flew by helicopter
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from the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli and repelled onto
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the deck of the Tusca and took the ship into
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US custody. The Iranian crew refused to listen, so our
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navy ships stopped them right in their tracks by blowing
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a hole in the engine room. Right now, US Marines
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have custody of the vessel, Trump wrote Sunday. In a
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truth social post, Iran's tap military headquarters catam al Anbilla
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said Iranian armed forces will soon respond to and retaliate
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for this act of piracy. Despite a possible second round
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of peace talks, the one around continues to impact the
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U S economy. U S gas prices at the POMP
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remain high. They were above four dollars per gallon on
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average Monday, according to Triple A. Energy Secretary Chris Wright
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told CNN on Saturday that gas prices might not drop
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back below three dollars until next year because of the
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disruption caused by the war. I don't know that could
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happen later this year. That might not happen until next year,
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Wright said. On Monday. Tromp said Wright was totally wrong.
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Gas prices will drop as soon as it ends, Trump
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told a reporter for The Hill in a brief phone interview.
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Westfall reported from Tel Aviv Tera Copp and Natalie Allison
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in Washington. Siham Zamalaka in Cairo, and Shahiq Husain in Islamabad,
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Pakistan contributed to this report. This atom is accompanied by
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a photo caption. A billboard depicting Iran Supreme Leader Mosha
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Kamayee overlooks an intersection in Tehran on Monday Atakonari a
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f P Getty Images. Next is an item entitled Pakistan
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emerges as an unlikely peacemaker in war nuclear armed power
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that doesn't recognize Israel one Trump's Trust by Susannah George
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from Islamabad, Pakistan, the country hosting talks to end the
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Iran War, was not a likely mediator. Pakistan does not
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formally recognize Israel, one of the key countries involved. It
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became a nuclear power in secret, as the US and
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Israel have accused Iran of seeking to do, and it
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did not start off on the right foot with President
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Donald Trump, who in his first term said Pakistan had
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given Washington nothing but lies and deceit. But over the
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past year, a focused campaign to win Trump's favor appears
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to have paid off. For months, Pakistan's leaders wooed the
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Trump administration with flashy deals and public praise. We read
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him right, said Mushaid Hussain Sayed, the former chairman of
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the Pakistani Senate's Defense Committee. He said Pakistan recognized Trump's
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transactional approach to diplomacy early. We delivered, and we delivered
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big time, Sayad said. We gave him the three Seas, crypto,
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critical minerals, and counter terrorism. With peace talks between the
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United States and Iran set to return to Islamabad this week,
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another round of high profile mediation offers Pakistan the opportunity
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to draw closer to Trump. Early in Trump's second term,
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Pakistan tracked down one of the people behind the deadly
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attack on US service members in Kabul as U S
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forces were withdrawing from Afghanistan. In August twenty twenty one
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months later, Pakistan's government signed a critical minerals deal with
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the US, and this year, the Ministry of Finance signed
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a deal with the firm connected to the Trump's family,
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crypto company. Other Pakistani outreach to the Trump administration includes
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repeated public thanks to Trump for securing a ceasefire with
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India after a four day conflict last May, while India
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denied there was a U S role, the Pakistani Prime
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Minister's nomination of Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, and
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Pakistan's decision to join Trump's Board of Peace. By October,
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Trump was calling General Asmir Munir, who as Army Chief
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and Field Marshal, is the most powerful man in Pakistan,
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his favorite Field Marshal. Because Pakistan's role in the Iran
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talks is largely facilitating communication, Sayatsi said, what matters is
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that Pakistan has the trust of both the United States
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and Iran. He said Pakistan's status as a nuclear power
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adds to its prestige, and he said the fact that
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the country doesn't recognize Israel doesn't complicate mediation because Iran
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and Pakistan believe if a deal is secured with the
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United States, Trumpell pressure Israel to abide by it. Israel
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is a proxy of the US and we are negotiating
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with the mother country, he said. Coverage of the Iran
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talks in Pakistani media, most of which is tightly controlled
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by the country's military, has been ecstatic in tone, vibrant diplomacy,
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and remarkable achievements, a talk show panelist on the Ary
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television news channel said. Another panelist on the same network said,
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who could have imagined that the Pakistani Prime Minister would
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do a post on x and that would be reposted
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by the US President. Malaya Lodhi, a prominent Pakistani diplomat
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who served as Pakistan's ambassador to the United States and
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High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, said the country is
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right to be proud of the delicate diplomacy that was
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necessary to balance ties with both Iran and the United States.
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It's a feel good moment, yes, absolutely no question about it.
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It elevates the image and standing of the country, she said,
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but most Pakistanis will watch it on TV and then
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the next day they will move on to the new story.
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She said. What will affect them is if the government
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is able to address Pakistan's structural economic problems, hosting peace
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talks does nothing zilch zero. In the past year, Pakistan
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has faced mounting security challenges twice, coming into all out
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conflict with its neighbors India last year and Afghanistan in
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recent months as tensions with the Taliban flared. Meanwhile, the
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country's currency has plummeted in value, triggering a cost of
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living crisis that Pakistan's leadership has struggled to respond to,
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most recently relying on bailouts and loans from Saudi Arabia
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and the United Arab Emirates. Previously, Pakistan looked to the
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International Monetary Fund to prop up its economy. The war
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in Iran has only aggravated the crisis. More than ninety
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percent of Pakistan's fuel imports comes through the Strait of Hormuz,
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and its near total closure by Iranian forces has forced
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the government to dip into reserves and take the deeply
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unpopular step of increasing fuel prices. Securiting the country is
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also fragile after Iran's Supreme leader was killed in US
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and Israeli strikes in late February. Clashes that broke out
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in several parts of Pakistan left twenty two people dead
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and one hundred twenty injured, including in Karachi, where a
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mob attempted to storm the UNSUS consulate. We are extremely
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happy Pakistan was chosen for this honor of hosting the
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Iran talks, said Lea Kot Khan, a fifty one year
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old waiter at a simple Pakistani restaurant in central Islamabad
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selling sandwiches and flatbreads called parathas, just over three miles
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from the luxury hotel where US and Iranian delegations are
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set to meet this week. But everyone got very worried
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after the first round of talks failed, fearing prices of
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gasoline and cooking gas would continue to rise. The economic
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pain of working class Pakistanis is beyond your imagination, said
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Khan's manager, said Jad Abasi, forty. But he said the
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talks are only making things worse with the citywide shutdowns
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the government here imposes that force shops to close for
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days when the delegations arrive. They are the latest thing
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to add to our woes, he said. Joshua White, who
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served at the White House says Senior Advisor and Director
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for South Asian Affairs as a National Security Council, said
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Pakistan recognized the opportunity in Trump's personality driven style of
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diplomacy and lack of a structured policy process in the
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United States, but so far, he said, Pakistan's leadership doesn't
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appear to be using the warmer relations to improve the
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lives of Pakistani people. Drawing closer to Trump, he said,
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is another example of the country's leadership reaching out to
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other wealthier countries to paper over serious structural problems. The
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critical minerals deal is unlikely to materialize, and the crypto
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deals are probably mostly smoke and mirrors, he said. Critics
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of Pakistan's current leadership see the country's expanded moves on
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the global stage as aimed at consolidating control domestically. Hussein Nadin,
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who served as a policy official in the government of
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Pakistani Prime Minister Imrad Khan, who was asked in twenty
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twenty two and is now affiliated with George Washington University,
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said Munir and Pakistan's political leadership are trying to enhance
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the country's geopolitical profile to distract from their political opponents.
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They don't really care about peace and Iran. All of
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this geopolitics comes down to domestic political wins. This item
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is accompanied by a photo captioned Vice President J. D. Vance, center,
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with Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir left and Pakistani Foreign
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Minister ishak Dar on April eleventh in Islamaban Jacqueline Martin
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AFP Getty Images. The next item from today's from page
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is titled Labor Secretary will vacate position. Chavez Streamer's departure
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comes amid allegations of misconduct by Lauren Carey Gurley and
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Meryl Cornfield. Laura Chavez Streamer, President Donald Trump's Labor secretary
16:57
is resigning from her position amid professional miss conduct allegations,
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becoming the third cabinet member to depart during Trump's second term.
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White House Communications Director Stephen Chung posted on ex on
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Monday that Chavez Dreamer would leave the cabinet to take
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a position in the private sector, though he did not
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say where she was going. Chung said the Deputy Labor Secretary,
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Keith Saunderling, would become the acting head of the agency.
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Accusations of Chavez Dreamer had engaged in misconduct, including personal
17:29
travel during taxpayer funded trips, surfaced in a complaint filed
17:33
with the Labor Department's Inspector General that was first reported
17:36
by The New York Post. The complaint led to the
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suspension of several top aides and surfaced sexual misconduct allegations
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against Chavez Dreamer's husband, Shawn Dreamer. Chavez Dreamer, in her
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own post, brought on as it has been an honor
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and a privilege to serve in this historic administration and
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worked for the greatest president of my lifetime. She said
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that she is looking forward to what the future has
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in store as I depart for the private sector. The
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Labor Department referred the post to Chavez Dreamer's post on X.
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The White House did not immediately respond to a request
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for comment. Chavez Dreamer's resignation follows a New York Times
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report from last week that she and her top aids,
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as well as her father and husband, sent personal messages
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to young staffers, which has been under investigation by Labor
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Department Inspector General Anthony Desposito. The outlet also reported that
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Chavez Dreamer and her aid asked employees to bring them
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wine during work trips. Desposito told his employees in an
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email after news of the investigation broke that the office
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takes all allegations of fraud, waste abuse, and misconducts seriously,
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and that the compliant against Chavez Dreamer was likely to
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be of interest to our many stakeholders. Chavez Dreamer's resignation
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marks the latest shake up in Trump's cabinet since he
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route took the White House in January twenty twenty five.
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Trump ousted Attorney General Pambondi in April, about one month
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after removing Christy L. Nome from her post as Homeland
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Security Secretary. Overall, though, the president, who has been eager
19:14
to avoid the cabinet chaos of his first four years
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in office, has surrounded himself in his second term, mainly
19:20
by loyalists who do not challenge him. By many accounts,
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Chavez Dreamer has shown fierce loyalty to the President and
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his agenda, installing a massive banner of Trump's face on
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the side of the agency's Washington headquarters in the fall.
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She invited him to see his quote, beautiful face on
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a banner in front of the Department of Labor, because
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you are really the transformational President of the American Worker.
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Chavez Dreamer had also sought to further the administration's immigration
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enforcement priorities by embarking on a campaign to root out
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alleged misuse of a highly skilled visa program and launching
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a social media campaign that depicts a nearly all white workforce.
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Trump has in recent months defended Chavez Dreamer, as White
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House Press Secretary Caroline Levett told reporters in January that
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Trump thought she was doing a tremendous job at the
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Department of Labor on behalf of American workers. After Nome
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and Bonnie's Ousting's, Trump has considered making more changes to
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his administration's leadership, though White House spokesman Davis Ingell told
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The Post that Chavez Dreamer was a patriot who as
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Trump's full confidence. Chavez Dreamer's attorney, Nick Oberheiden, said that
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his client had resigned, but that it did not result
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from legal wrongdoings. Secretary Chavez Dreamer has made the decision
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to step down from her role in order to best
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serve the interests of the American people and ensure that
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the important work of the Department of Labor continues without distraction.
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Oberheiden said in a statement. During her tenure as Labor Secretary,
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Chavez Dreamer had largely been on the road, According to
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business lobbyist and agency staffers, in March, she completed a
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fifty state America at Work tour, where she has met
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with workers, employers, and union members. Her deputy, Saunderling, a
21:14
long time ally of business leaders, now leading the agency,
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had already been directing policy and personnel related decision making
21:21
in Washington. They said Chavez Dreamer's nomination to run a
21:26
cabinet level agency marked an unusual nod for the labor movement.
21:31
She is a moderate Republican who had served on bipartisan
21:34
congressional caucuses and supported pro union legislation. Her nomination was
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opposed by many business leaders, but Chavez Dreamer tempered her
21:44
backing of pro union legislation in her confirmation hearing and
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ultimately received bipartisan support from the Senate with a push
21:52
from the Team Search union, which also lobbied Trump. Since
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Chavez Dreamer's Senate confirmation in twenty twenty five, the business
22:00
community in Washington has been largely pleased with the Labor
22:03
Department's direction. In particular, business leaders have praised the department's
22:08
emphasis on deregulation, investments and apprenticeships, and guidance in the
22:13
form of opinion letters on how laws apply to specific workplaces. However,
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Chavez Dreamer's relationship with labor unions has been strained. Labor
22:23
advocates say the administration, especially during the u S Doze services,
22:27
cutting of regulations, dismantled key workplace protections, and many labour
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leaders in Washington have had minimal contact with Chavez Dreamer,
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including the president of the afl CIO, the country's largest
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federation of labor unions. The two last spoke a year
22:45
ago at a meeting about Doge's cuts to the agency.
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One outlier has been the Teamsir's Union. The union's president,
22:53
Sean O'Brien recently said his office maintains a personal relationship
22:58
with the labor Secretary, and a union spokesperson said she
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has been the most engaged labor secretary we've had under
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a Republican administration. That relationship had been seen as useful
23:10
for Trump's coalition in securing working class support for Republicans
23:14
in future elections. Employees within the department's headquarters said the
23:19
Chabez Dreamer had been noticeably less present in the building
23:23
than past secretaries, according to three employees within the department's headquarters,
23:27
who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they had
23:31
not been granted permission to speak to the media, she
23:34
had not held an all hands meeting and does not
23:36
share her schedule with staffers as her predecessors did. They said,
23:41
we need a labor secretary who understands working people and
23:45
will work to make our lives better, not just be
23:48
a rubber stamp for corporations, whistless and gut the protections
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we count on, said Liz Schuler, president of the fl CIO,
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the nation's largest federation of labor unions in a state.
24:00
Responding to Chavez Dreamer's resignation, Senator John Neely Kennedy, Republican
24:06
from Louisiana, whose tough questioning of g Nome during a
24:09
committee hearing helped Lee Trump to oust her last month,
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said he thought Chavez Dreamer was right to step down.
24:16
I think the Secretary demonstrated a lot of wisdom in resigning,
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and I think she read the room, Kennedy told reporters.
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Chavez Dreamer was confirmed by a wider margin last year
24:27
than most of Trump's cabinet members. Seventeen Senate Democrats joined
24:31
Republicans in voting to confirm her. Two Republicans, Senators Ran
24:36
Paul from Kentucky and Mitch McConnell from Kentucky, voted against her.
24:41
Theodoric Meyer contributed to this report. This item is accompanied
24:47
by a photo captioned Lourie Chavez Dreamer during her confirmation
24:51
hearing on February nineteenth, twenty twenty five Dmitrius Freeman. The
24:56
Washington Post. Next adam entitled higher fuel costs could push
25:03
needle away from Republicans in mid terms by Riley. Begin
25:07
from Valley Cottage, New York. At five a m. Marvel
25:11
Produces trucks load up with stacks of fresh mangoes, cucumbers, cauliflower,
25:16
and tomatoes, and begin their deliveries passing by a gas
25:20
station advertising diesel for six dollars sixty cents a gallon.
25:25
The hike since Iran War began means Marvel is spending
25:28
over twenty five percent more to fuel at seventeen delivery trucks.
25:33
The produce the company is buying from all over the
25:35
country costs more too. Diesel costs have forced a small
25:39
wholesaler to increase what it charges restaurants, caterers and hotels
25:44
across the Tri state area. I would say this is
25:48
the worst year in my career besides COVID in two
25:51
thousand and eight, said Mike Shikatano, a thirty year veteran
25:54
of the industry who co owns Marvel Produce. He doesn't
25:58
consider himself political and stresses that his views are his own,
26:03
but said the war and ensuing fuel costs have exacerbated
26:06
his dismal view of Washington. Darrys Anara Shikatano, Mike's wife
26:11
and another co owner, said she is considering voting in
26:14
the mid term elections for the first time because we
26:18
need change, starting with ending the war and bringing fuel
26:21
prices down. The Shikatanos are among millions of businesses and
26:26
households across America feeling pinched by rising gasoline prices, now
26:31
averaging four dollars five cents a gallon nationwide. Since President
26:35
Donald Trump launched strikes against Iran, a crucial shipping path
26:39
or oil has been mostly closed for seven weeks, and
26:43
it's uncleared when it might fully reopen. These higher costs
26:47
are adding to voters concerns about affordability weighing on Republicans
26:52
running in competitive U. S. House districts that could determine
26:55
control of the Chamber next year. New York seventeenth Congression District,
27:00
one of seventeen toss up districts Democrats or targeting is
27:04
on the front lines. It is one of only three
27:07
districts where voters chose Vice President Kamala Harris for President
27:11
and a Republican for Congress in twenty twenty four, in
27:14
this case, incumbent Michael Lawler. In conversations with nearly two
27:19
dozen people across the district, many expressed frustration with the
27:23
Trump administration over the war. Some said that they have
27:27
faid that prices will come back down and that the
27:30
war hasn't affected their political preferences, but almost all said
27:35
increased gas prices have affected their monthly budget. Stephen Jamison,
27:40
seventy eight, stopped by the Suneco gas station in New
27:43
York to buy a Lotto ticket on his way to
27:45
work as a crossing guard for Clarkstown. He drives twenty
27:49
miles a day between home and work, and the increased
27:52
gas prices have cost him around fifty dollars more Over,
27:56
the past month than usual. Jamison supported trumpet twenty twenty
28:00
four in the hopes that he would send out another
28:03
stimulus check, but he said he feels as if Trump
28:06
doesn't care since gas prices have risen, is costing everybody
28:11
more money. He said, Republicans already faced daunting odds before
28:16
the war began. The president's party often loses ground in
28:19
midterm elections. Now the cost of gas clear to consumers
28:24
and slow to recalibrate, threatens to make that even more challenging.
28:29
It's the most visible sign of inflation in the economy.
28:32
People drive by gas price signs every day and fill
28:36
up their tanks every week. There's a direct correlation between
28:40
presidential approval ratings and gas prices, said Alex Conant, a
28:44
veteran Republican strategist, and mid terms tend to be referendums
28:49
on the White House. Lawler has said that bringing down
28:52
the cost of living is his top priority, touting his
28:56
support for the Republican tax law that has resulted in
28:59
bigger funds on average this year, and his successful efforts
29:03
to increase a state and local tax deduction that most
29:06
of his party opposed. He supports the war, which he said,
29:10
is necessary to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon.
29:14
People want to see prices come down. That's what we
29:17
have been focused on throughout my time in Congress, Lawler
29:20
told The Washington Post. Prior to March first, gas prices
29:24
were below three dollars for the first time in five years.
29:28
The short term volatility in the oil markets because of
29:30
the war obviously has caused a spike, but as the
29:34
war gets resolved, the gas prices are going to come down.
29:38
The Democrats running to replace Lawler have argued he should
29:41
challenge Trump on the war. They have also highlighted other
29:44
economic impacts of the Republican tax bill, such as cuts
29:48
to Medicaid and food stamps. Army veteran Kate Connelly said
29:52
the administration has shown America no longer works for working people,
29:57
and Rockland County Legislator Beth Davidson said people want us
30:01
to stand up and fight for them in whatever capacity
30:04
we can. The United States is nearing the end of
30:08
a two week ceasefy with Iran. Oil shipments have been
30:11
blocked in the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping run
30:14
through which twenty percent of the world's oil travels Iran
30:18
said Friday that it would allow traffic to resume, causing
30:22
the price of oil to plunge more than ten percent,
30:25
only to close a straight a day later. As the
30:27
US naval blockade of Iranian ports remains in place, gas
30:32
prices could return to pre war levels within two months
30:35
in the best case scenario, if peace talks were successful
30:39
and the war ended quickly, said Pavolo Mochanov, an energy
30:43
analyst at Raymond James. Trump told Fox Business on Wednesday
30:48
that he expects gas prices would be somewhere around where
30:52
we were, maybe even lower, by the mid terms, and
30:55
argued the economy is doing so well. Trump is committed
30:59
to maintain hating Republicans majority in Congress to continue delivering
31:03
winds for the American people. White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers
31:07
said in a statement, the President has been clear that
31:10
these are short term disruptions which administration has taken several
31:14
significant actions to mitigate. On Wednesday, Trump said the war,
31:19
which began in late February, is very close to over.
31:23
On Sunday, he said US officials were heading to Pakistan
31:26
to resume peace talks. Ray Solano, president of a Republican
31:31
club in Somers, a town in northern Westchester County and
31:35
the owner of a small business that sells and services
31:37
stare lists for the elderly and disabled, said he has
31:41
had to raise prices for service calls because of the
31:44
increased gas prices. The price hikes haven't changed how he
31:47
feels about Trump or Lawlor. It just gives us justification
31:52
that we have to generate our own fuel in the US, Solano,
31:56
fifty eight, said as he walked into Lawlers town Hall
31:59
April twelve. Trump campaigned in twenty twenty four on bringing
32:04
down inflation, which had peaked under President Joe Biden after
32:07
the COVID nineteen pandemic, marking the quickest rising prices in
32:11
roughly forty years. He pledged to bring gas prices below
32:15
two dollars per gallon if elected. Gas prices remained relatively
32:20
steady through twenty twenty five, before dropping below three dollars
32:23
per gallon in December, January, and February. According to Triple A.
32:28
Sixty percent of Americans disapprove of the U. S military
32:32
strikes on Iran, according to an IPSOS poll conducted in
32:35
late March, and fifty six percent said they believe the
32:39
war will have a negative impact on their own financial situation.
32:43
Trump's overall approval rating has remained around thirty eight percent,
32:47
though his approval rating for the economy hit a low
32:50
of thirty one percent in late March, according to a
32:53
poll by CNN and SSRs. Danielle Sefuni, forty two, was
32:59
on the phone with her sister when she pulled up
33:02
to the pump in New York City. Oh my god,
33:04
she said, it's five dollars forty five cents per gallon.
33:09
Sefuni owns two playable franchises in Bronxville and the Bronx
33:14
Her margins for Asai bulls are shrinking as the cost
33:17
of shipping in fruit has skyrocketed and she can't raise prices.
33:21
She has voted for both Trump and Lawlor, but said
33:24
she is not sure how she will vote this fall.
33:27
She wants the federal government to focus more on domestic issues,
33:31
to be the superpower and make sure everybody else is good.
33:34
Of course, I believe in that, But if I can't
33:37
pay my bills, that's crazy, she said. I know so
33:40
many people now that are living paycheck to paycheck, who
33:43
are making twice three times the amount of money that
33:45
our parents made. Rafael Fabier, sixty four, is on a
33:50
fixed income since he retired from his job as a
33:53
manager of a Kaye jeweler's. He and his wife have
33:55
cut down on expensive grocery items like steak and seafood
33:59
and stopped eating out to save money since gas and
34:02
other expenses have gone up. He usually votes straight Democrat
34:06
and said he is motivated to vote in the midterms
34:08
this year. Democrats and Congress should kick out Trump if
34:12
they were gained control. He said, every time Republicans are
34:16
in they make us poor. Leana Alfaro contributed to this report.
34:21
This autumn is accompanied by photos. The first is captioned
34:26
Republican representative of Michael Lawler greet supporters during a town
34:30
hall last week in Mahopak, New York. Eduardo Munos Alvarez
34:34
Getty Images. The photos shows Representative Lawler on a stage,
34:39
crouching down as he speaks to a man standing next
34:42
to the stage. Two other individuals can be seen on
34:45
the stage in the distance behind Representative Lawler. The next
34:50
autumn is captured an employee works in Marvel Protus's refrigerated
34:54
warehouse in Valley Cottage, New York. The company's fuel bill
34:58
has gone up around twenty five percent since the war started.
35:01
Riley began, The Washington Post. The next photo is captioned
35:07
Stephen Jamison stopped at the Seneco gas station in New
35:10
York City, New York, on his way to work as
35:12
a crossing guard. He says fuel prices are costing him
35:15
fifty dollars more per month. Riley began The Washington Post.
35:20
The photo shows mister Jamison wearing a reflective vest, standing
35:23
in front of the door of the gas station. The
35:27
next photo is captioned a protester pickets outside Lawler's town
35:31
hall and Mahopek Eduardo Munoz Alvarez Getty Images. The photo
35:37
shows a man holding a sign saying, your Congressman Mike
35:41
Lawler at today's town hall has lied, evaded a question
35:46
or constituent mocked ninety nine times so far. The photo
35:51
shows a woman appearing to read the sign as other
35:54
individuals are standing nearby. The next photo is captioned President
35:58
Donald Trump speaks reporters about the war in Iran alongside
36:03
Defense Secretary Pete Hexath at the White House on Abril sixth,
36:07
Maxen Wallace, The Washington Post. The next item is entitled
36:11
Louisiana Gunman masked his rage before rampage by Molly Hennessy, Fiske,
36:17
Daniel wou, Danielle Paquette, and Chris Hacker from Shreveport, Louisiana.
36:24
Two days before killing eight children, most of them his own,
36:28
in a rampage that shocked the country. Shamar Elkins shared
36:32
on Facebook what looked like a sweet moment took my
36:36
oldest on a lil one on one date, he captioned
36:39
a photo of his daughter biting into a sandwich. The
36:42
doting post gave no clue that the thirty one year
36:45
old Louisiana Army National Guard veteran was on the brink
36:49
of a mass shooting early Sunday that authorities described as
36:53
an execution style attack. The violence took the lives of
36:57
the children, ages three to eleven, and left two women
37:00
their mothers, with multiple bullet wounds in the hospital. It
37:04
was the deadliest mass shooting in America this year. Elkins
37:08
did not spare his oldest child. He made no social
37:12
media mention of his pending divorce, which he told relatives
37:15
had been troubling him, or that he was scheduled to
37:18
appear in court to address a custody dispute. The stress
37:22
that had led to his hospitalization three months ago for
37:25
mental health issues was not evident to family living with him.
37:30
The public image doesn't necessarily align with what women and
37:34
children are experiencing behind closed doors, said Catherine Spearman, an
37:38
assistant professor at Penn State who studies the intersection of
37:42
domestic violence and child abuse. Now, Elkins's community in Shreveport
37:47
is struggling to untangle how someone who had also posted
37:51
about taking his kids to church for Easter service quote
37:54
what a blessed Day could end their lives as they
37:58
slept in their beds using a pistol that operated like
38:02
an assault style weapon. Police said he shot the mother
38:06
of four of his children nine times, before proceeding to
38:09
the home of another woman with whom he had children
38:12
and shooting her. After stealing a car, Elkins led police
38:17
on a chase that ended in gunfire in Bossier City.
38:21
Elkins died, though it is unclear whether he was shot
38:24
by police or killed himself. Authorities are still investigating how
38:28
Elkins obtained the weapon. Police said. Troy Brown, forty six,
38:34
lost his ten year old son. I wish I could
38:37
have seen it coming, said Brown, whose sister was married
38:40
to Elkins, as he sat on the couch in his
38:43
cousin's nearby house, where he's been saying since the shooting,
38:47
I just couldn't catch it. He blames himself for not
38:51
stopping Elkins, and also for not protecting his children. His son,
38:56
Markaydon kay Bug, was an active child who loved to
39:00
run around outside and have nerf gun fights. Brown's wife
39:04
and twelve year old daughter were injured as they escaped
39:07
the gun fire by jumping from the roof of the house.
39:10
The girl had tried to save her brother and held
39:13
his hand after he'd been shot. Brown said she was
39:17
covered in his blood. Elkins, who served in the Louisiana
39:22
Army National Guard and worked loading trucks for ups, went
39:26
to the local Veterans Administration Hospital in mid January, where
39:30
he stayed for a week and a half for a
39:31
mental health evaluation. Brown said the shooter's wife and mother
39:36
of four of his children, Shaniqua Pugh, thirty four, had
39:40
told him she was seeking a divorce. They were due
39:43
to appear in court Monday, the night before the bloodshed,
39:47
when Brown was leaving to work a night shift, Elkins,
39:50
who lived with them, was right there joking around. Nothing
39:54
seemed wrong. He had his head on straight, talking about
39:58
the things he was going to do right, being good Dad,
40:00
Brown said. The massacre was the second lethal case of
40:05
domestic violence to receive national intention in four days. On Thursday,
40:10
justin Fairfax, a former lieutenant governor of Virginia, murdered his
40:14
wife and mother of their two teenaged children before killing himself.
40:19
The perpetrators exhibited similarities that researchers have identified as red flags.
40:25
Elkins and Fairfax both possessed a gun, both were in
40:29
the middle of a contentious divorce proceedings. Both expressed depressive
40:33
thoughts to confidants. Those close to them told reporters it's
40:38
too easy to dismiss these warning signs as part of
40:41
a messy divorce or custody battle. Said Spearman, the domestic
40:45
violence researcher, such traits should trigger alarm bells, no matter
40:50
how loving a parent or spouse appears to be. In
40:53
public systems need to recognize these patterns as risk factors,
40:58
Spearman said. One way to prevent tragedy, she said, is
41:02
training more judges, clerks, family lawyers, police officers, and health
41:07
care providers on how to identify someone in danger with
41:11
tools such as the Danger Assessment. Other red flags include
41:16
previous acts of violence, substance use, and controlling behavior. Professionals
41:21
who spot these not always obvious patterns should connect at
41:25
risk family members to safety planning resources, Spearman said, so
41:30
they can find a secure place to stay and learn
41:33
how to obtain a domestic violence protection order, which enables
41:36
courts to confiscate a firearm from a potentially predatory partner.
41:41
Women in the United States are more likely to be
41:44
killed in their homes than anywhere else. Research shows the
41:48
killer is usually a man and the weapon is usually
41:51
a gun. If mothers are at risk, meanwhile, so are
41:55
their children. Intimate partner violence is a leading cause of
41:59
death for American kids. In family related mass killings, offenders
42:04
most frequently target their own children or stepchildren. A Washington
42:08
Post analysis of mass killings since two thousand and six found.
42:13
Next in this item is a bar graph entitled children
42:17
are most common victims in family related mass killings. Among
42:21
mass killings perpetrated by family members of the victims, the
42:24
most common victims are children two hundred eighty five kids
42:28
who were children or stepchildren of the offender were murdered
42:32
in mass killings since two thousand and six. Next parent
42:36
or step parent eighty eight, A sibling eighty three, spouse seventy,
42:42
in law fifty six, niece or nephew forty one, former
42:46
relative or in law thirty seven, ex dating relationship twenty nine,
42:51
dating relationship twenty five, ex spouse twenty four, cousin twenty three,
42:58
and uncle twenty three. Other familiar relationship nineteen, grandchild thirteen,
43:04
grandparent eight Source the Washington Post mass killings tracker Chris Hacker.
43:11
The Washington Post, family related incidents accounted for nearly half
43:16
of all mass killings in the United States and claimed
43:19
more than one thousand lies since two thousand six, according
43:22
to the Post's analysis. Another red flag is a criminal record.
43:27
In March twenty nineteen, Elkins was arrested after firing a
43:31
handgun in the direction of a middle school. According to
43:34
police documents, he told an officer that he shot at
43:37
the driver of a vehicle as they drove away after
43:40
the driver pointed a gun at him. Elkins was roughly
43:44
three hundred feet from the school fence as children played outside.
43:47
An officer wrote he pleaded guilty to an illegal use
43:51
of firearm. Soon after Elkins killed his children, when of
43:55
Troy Brown's cousins received a frantic phone call from Kiyosha Pew,
43:59
the of the ten year old nephew who was killed.
44:02
She was yelling in the phone saying he done shot
44:05
the kids. He killed the kids, recalled the cousin, Crystal
44:09
brown Page. The slain victims were Jaela Elkins three, Braylin
44:14
Snow five, Sheila Elkins five, Caele Pew six, gidar and
44:20
Snow six, Leyla Pew seven, Markaian Peugh ten, and Sriah
44:27
Snow eleven. According to the Cattow Parish Corner's office, all
44:32
three of the women who lost children, Chaniqua Pew, Christine Snow,
44:36
and Kosha Pew, remain in the hospital. The conditions of
44:39
the women were not available. Chanequa Peugh has been asking
44:43
about her kids. Brown Page said they're limiting the number
44:47
of people who go in because they're trying to keep
44:49
her calm. She said. Charlie Hill, seventy seven, resides a
44:54
few doors down from the single story house that he
44:57
said Snow has rented for the past year. Hill would
45:00
see Snow with her three children, and he recently saw
45:03
Elkins visit in a hatchback car, but he never spoke
45:06
to them. Early Sunday morning, Hill heard gunfire when he
45:11
shot her. The woman screamed, he recalled. She was hollering
45:15
for the police. An ambulance took her away. Shootings have
45:19
been happening daily in the neighborhood in recent months, he said,
45:23
but nothing this deadly. Liza Deming, a fifty year old
45:27
school bus driver who lives two doors down from the
45:29
house on seventy ninth Street where the children were shot,
45:33
has three security cameras facing right, left and center in
45:36
front of her house. She shared footage that shows a
45:39
blue truck leaving Elkins's home, then gunshots, and Alkins fleeing
45:44
the house on foot toward nearby Harrison Street about six
45:48
a m. Deming said the cameras didn't record any argument
45:52
or other sounds before the shooting. She said the young
45:56
victims used to play with her eleven year old son
45:58
and nine year old daughter on her backyard trampoline. Elkins
46:02
could be strict. Security video showed him reprimanding several of
46:06
his kids last Friday for playing in the dirt, vowing
46:10
to spank them, but Deming, who also spanks her children,
46:13
said she had not seen or heard Elkins's fight with
46:16
his wife or otherwise become violent. There was no sign
46:20
anything was going on, she said, crying. City officials, still
46:26
visibly shaken, called the shooting one of the worst days
46:29
in Shreveport history in a Monday news conference that opened
46:33
and closed with a prayer. It takes the wind out
46:36
of your sails, said James Green, a city councilman, and pastor.
46:41
Authorities are still investigating how Elkins obtained the weapon. Officials
46:46
repeatedly stressed tackling domestic violence, which Councilman Grayson Boucher called
46:51
an epidemic in Shreveport. That concern has persisted since last summer,
46:57
when advocates held a form a Shreveport Police had quarters
47:00
to highlight a rise in domestic violence calls and killings.
47:04
In March, the Shreveport City Council scrapped legislation to open
47:08
a domestic violence resource center in the city over concerns
47:12
with its staffing. According to city records and a Shreveport
47:15
Bossier City Advocate report, the council committed to finding a workaround,
47:20
but council members agreed the pause was frustrating. Sometime in
47:25
the next month, We're going to see a death from
47:27
domestic violence in the city of Shreveport, Boucher said at
47:31
the March twenty fourth meeting. Just over a week ago,
47:35
the Cattle Parish Sheriff's office announced the opening of a
47:38
domestic violence unit. I don't believe any of us could
47:41
have imagined that only days later our community would be
47:45
shaken by the most heartbreaking tragedy that we have ever witnessed,
47:50
Sheriff Henry Whitehorn said, Brown, who works nights cleaning parking lots,
47:56
said goodbye to his two children and his nieces and
47:58
nephew's Saturday at about nine p m. When I left,
48:02
everything was good. Kids were on their phones or tablets
48:05
or TV, doing what they normally do, he recalled. Elkins
48:09
moved his truck to let Brown pull his car out.
48:12
He said his brother in law seemed to be in
48:14
a good mood, choking. His wife would later say that
48:18
Elkins opened fire on the first floor at her and
48:21
the children. Shinikwa Shelley Pew thirty four, fled through a
48:26
side door. Brown's wife, Kyosha, was on the second floor,
48:30
where her children initially fled, then climbed with her out
48:33
a side window to the roof. Alerted by his cousin,
48:37
Brown rushed home to find the place cordoned with police tape.
48:41
Blood streaked the doors. When he heard the children had
48:44
been shot, he collapsed. His wife, he said, had shouted
48:48
at their son, Marcaden, to jump off the roof too,
48:51
but Elkins came up from behind him and opened fire.
48:55
Scrolling through photos of the children on Monday, Brown choked
48:59
up had to breathe deep. I'm never gonna hear gunkle.
49:03
Can I have a nana? He said. He was preparing
49:07
Monday afternoon to visit his wife and daughter at the hospital.
49:11
Both are expected to recover from their injuries. His girl
49:14
had mostly scrapes and scratches. He worries about the emotional
49:18
toll of the trauma. When he saw his daughter's Sunday,
49:22
she didn't want to talk about the shooting. I already
49:25
said up counseling, he said, because we're all going to
49:28
need it. Hennessy Fisk reported from Shreveport. Paquette Wou and
49:33
Hacker reported from Washington. Razana Glawi contributed to this report.
49:39
This item is accompanied by photos. The first is captioned
49:43
people attend a vigil to mourn eight children shot in
49:46
a reported domestic violence incident in Shreveport, Louisiana, on Monday
49:51
are Fad Barbach Reuter's. The photo shows many individuals holding
49:56
lighted candles aloft. The next is captioned Troy Brown forty
50:02
six shows a photo of his ten year old son,
50:05
Mark Hayden Molly Hennessy Fisk d w P. The photo
50:09
shows mister Brown holding up his phone to display a
50:12
photo of his son. The next photo is captioned a
50:18
woman holds a stuffed unicorn upon arriving at the scene
50:21
of the shootings Gerald Herbert a FP. The final photo
50:26
accompanying this item is captioned city officials addressed the media
50:30
in Shreveport Barbach Reuters in the final item from Today's
50:36
from Pages entitled Fuentes rise to be a prophet profiteer
50:40
of online hate speech hundreds of thousands of dollars from
50:45
donor's fuel Extremist Empire by Drew Harwell and Jeremy B. Merrill.
50:51
Christine Kabacchynski's donation appeared on viewers' screens four hours into
50:55
the live stream of Nick Fuentes, the far right influencer
50:59
she often called her second son. I prayed daily for
51:03
your safety, she wrote one night last August, sending Fuentes
51:07
a fifty dollars digital gift. I would become a Charles
51:10
Braunson vigilante to anyone who harmed you. Keep up the fight.
51:15
For seven years, Kapachinsky had binged Fwente's near knightly monologues
51:19
from her home in Lorain, Ohio, watching as a college
51:22
student from suburban Illinois grew into one of the most
51:26
prominent torch bearers for an increasingly radicalized online right. The
51:31
fifty seven year old Air Force veteran believed Fuente's furious
51:34
talk about the dangers of a diversifying America and worried
51:38
that it placed him in danger. On many nights, she
51:41
sent paid messages known as superchat, to tell him about
51:45
her own moments of personal crisis and to encourage him.
51:49
Dipping into the little money she made serving chicken paprikash
51:52
on a Polish food truck, she doubted Fwente's was making
51:56
much money, no more than fifty thousand dollars a year,
51:59
said her son, Stephen Ryan, who watched fwentes together with
52:03
his mom on a sixty five inch TV screen. We
52:06
were barely making it, but we wanted to help him
52:09
because we saw what he was struggling with, Ryan said
52:12
in an interview. But by the time of her prayer message,
52:16
Fuentes was already generating a sizeable income. Since the start
52:21
of last year through the end of last month, roughly
52:24
eleven thousand donors has sent Flentes nearly nine hundred thousand
52:28
dollars in super chats. A Washington Post analysis found the
52:33
Post analyzed more than one thousand, four hundred hours of
52:35
Huente's streams using artificial intelligence to tally the donations, which
52:40
flicker on screen in real time. Fwents twenty seven has
52:44
been kicked off most mainstream social networks because of his
52:48
viral provocations and extreme bigotry. He has said that Audolph
52:52
Hitler is awesome, that most black people should be imprisoned,
52:56
that organized jewelry has corrupted society, and that women should
53:01
be locked in breeding gulags and serve only as mothers,
53:05
whar's or nuns. But he has become an increasingly influential
53:10
and disruptive force in the American conservative movement thanks to
53:14
a shadow economy of loyalists who cut and promote viral
53:17
clips from his hours long streams in pursuit of their
53:20
own online clout. Through his superchats, twentes has funneled that
53:25
attention into a lucrative financial engine, fueled by the handouts
53:30
of hard core fans. He said he also makes money
53:33
selling swastika imprinted T shirts and one hundred dollars a
53:37
month subscriptions to a private chat room where he talks
53:40
with devotees. Next in this autumn is a bar graph
53:44
entitled Fuente's monthly revenue from superchats has grown January twenty
53:49
twenty five eighteen thousand, eight hundred dollars, February twenty twenty
53:54
five thirty five thousand, six hundred dollars, March twenty twenty
53:59
five thirty thousand, six hundred dollars, April twenty twenty five,
54:04
thirty thousand, six hundred dollars, May twenty twenty five, twenty
54:08
eight thousand, one hundred dollars, June twenty twenty five, sixty
54:12
six thousand, seven hundred dollars, July twenty twenty five, sixty
54:17
seven thousand, five hundred dollars, August twenty twenty five, seventy
54:21
nine thousand, one hundred dollars, September twenty twenty five sixty
54:26
two thousand, eight hundred dollars, October twenty twenty five sixty thousand,
54:31
nine hundred dollars, November twenty twenty five one hundred four thousand,
54:36
three hundred dollars, December twenty twenty five eighty four thousand,
54:40
two hundred dollars, January twenty twenty six, seventy two thousand dollars,
54:45
February twenty twenty six, seventy thousand, two hundred dollars, in
54:49
March twenty twenty six, eighty two thousand, eight hundred dollars.
54:54
Source Washington Post analysis of one Day's videos were an
54:58
invisible empire, replied to one donor's message during a January stream,
55:03
We're building a cadre of professionals, money people, bureaucrats, and
55:08
we need them to all be waiving the flag, but quietly, ideologically, loyally,
55:14
we've got to be underground. Fuente. Superchat Revenue throws a
55:19
spotlight on the crisis now engulfing American right, where some
55:23
leaders fear a new blitz of agenda setting online firebrands
55:27
will alienate more modern voters or empower a platform of
55:31
racist and misogynist rule. His critics in the Republican Party
55:35
have said they believe Fuente's popularity would fade as more
55:39
Americans learned his repugnant views, but the superchats show he
55:43
has instead found a still relatively small but die hard
55:47
audience eager to support him, extending him a financial incentive
55:51
to build his following even more. The funding also shows
55:55
how fringe online platforms have helped create perpetual hate machines
56:00
for the social media era, allowing provocateurs whose work is
56:04
too controversial for mainstream platforms or too noxious to advertise
56:08
around to reap the rewards of online outrage. Fwentes frequently
56:13
uses his streams to advertise his Quote America First plus
56:17
chat room, membership club, and merchandise store, where he sells
56:21
thirty nine dollars ninety nine cent shirts depicting him holding
56:24
a flaming katana and sixty nine dollars ninety nine cent
56:28
sweatshirts model after One Warm by Jeffrey Epstein. Fuentes has
56:33
defended the late sex offender by saying age of consent
56:36
is a feminist artifact that the gynocracy has used to
56:40
stop men from pursuing teenage girls, but he spends more
56:44
time promoting viewer donations, which he reads out loud in
56:47
a rapid fire Superchat segment at the end of each
56:50
of his America First shows. He streams roughly four nights
56:54
a week, sometimes for five straight hours from his home
56:57
studio in Illinois. His videos on Rumble, the alternative platform
57:01
that hosts is broadcasts, have been viewed more than one
57:05
hundred million times. Twentes is largely supported by donations from
57:09
a small cadre of sympathizers. Just ten accounts were responsible
57:13
for giving him a total of about seventy seven thousand dollars,
57:17
while the top five hundred accounts provided almost half of
57:20
a superchat income more than four hundred thousand dollars. The
57:24
Post analysis found the rest comes from much smaller donors,
57:29
most giving thirty dollars or less. Many of the donors
57:33
are anonymous and use account names such as anti Semitic
57:37
Cat and Woman negro Crusher nine thousand that reference edgy memes,
57:42
profane language, or inside jokes, making it difficult to verify
57:47
the names or other details of the donors shown on
57:49
twente streams. Individual donors could also have given money from
57:54
multiple accounts, or multiple donors could have used the same
57:58
user name. Megan Squire, a researcher who has studied online
58:03
extremism at the Southern Poverty Law Center, said the growth
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of superchats and other micropayments has helped insulate influencers like
58:11
Fuentes from the constraints that once made open racism a
58:15
difficult business. Some donors see their superchats as a form
58:19
of participatory politics that will help spread their beliefs and
58:22
show their loyalty, Squire said. Others just pay for the
58:25
status symbol of seeing their message and use their name
58:28
on the screen. She said, a way to prove oneself
58:30
in an insular group brought together by the hatred of outsiders.
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Due to the constraints of time, we will be unable
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to complete this item. This concludes the reading of the
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Washington Post for to Day Tuesday, April twenty first, twenty
58:44
twenty six. Your reader for to Day husband Cindy Fraser.
58:48
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions concerning this program,
58:52
please feel free to call us at eight five nine
58:54
four two two sixteen nine zero Ah