Transcript

1.8.25 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of Today's Washington Post for Thursday,
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January the eighth of twenty twenty six. Your reader is
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Alice Stayner, who is just back from a wonderful vacation
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with her entire family for a whole week. We have
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not been together at all for five years, so it
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was a great, great time. So I will continue with
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the fact that RADIOI is an organization for those blind
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with disabilities making it difficult to read printed material, and
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I will start with the front page of Today's Washington Post.
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On the left side, woman is fatally shot by Ice
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in Minnesota. Agency says officer acted in self defense. Some
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in Congress call it murder. By Caroline O'Donovan, Maria Sisetti,
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Jonathan Baron, Aaron Davis, and Annie Gowan. In the middle,
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there is a picture of Border Patrol agents using chemical
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irritants to disperse the crowd Wednesday in Minneapolis at the
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scene of that shooting by the woman of the woman
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by the ICE agent. To the far right, more tankers
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seized by us n's chase of ship flying Russian flag.
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Officials claim efforts disrupt NARCO terrorism by Terra cop Meg
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Kelly and Joyce Soullan Lee. Below the picture of the
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patrol agents using the irritants on Musk's x a I
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generated sexualized images proliferate by Tatum. Users have been asking
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chatbox growke to undress women and children. And then below
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the article on ice. On the left side, new dietary
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advice favors whole milk and red meat, guidelines worn against
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processed food, artificial sweeteners added sugar by Rachel Rubin. In
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the middle are pictures of two people. Janique Spriggs, who
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was serving with DC police during the US Capitol riot,
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recalled worring are we going to get out? And she's
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on the left in a white shirt or an off
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winter white shirt with a gold chain and pretty long hair.
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And then on the right hand side Charlton Wilhoyt, the
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third mother of DC officer who left the force for
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the Peace Corps. It looks like a man, huh. Anyway,
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Five years after the riot, scars linga that was January sixth,
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today is January the eighth. In their own words, officers
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tell of the day's violence and its lasting effects by
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Darnee Belenchedar, Eli Silverman and Amy Britton. And on the
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very far right, the last front page article Europe draws
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a red line on threats to Greenland. After a year
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of trying to pacify Trump, leaders join in forceful rebukes.
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By Stephen Hendrix out of London, I'll start with the
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US seizes two tankers as Venezuelan oil blockade intensifies. In
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separate operations, a Russian flagged vessel was boarded in the
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North Atlantic and another ship was apprehended near the Caribbean.
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And there's a picture of a tanker. It's large, with
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its typical stains and rust on the ends. I do
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not see a flag flying on this one. And there's
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a big sign on the bridge no smoking. And this
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is the Tanka Maririna, seen in March of twenty twenty
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five by Terra Copp, Meg Kelly and Joyce sullian Lee.
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In separate military operations, Wednesday, US forces seized a Russian
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flagged Tanka after a week's long pursuit across the Atlantic Ocean,
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and apprehended a second vessel near the Caribbean Sea, marking
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the latest enforcement of President Donald Trump's blockade of Venezuelan
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oil exports. The Russian flags tank of Mariana was boarded
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by US forces in the North Atlantic, officials said after
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evading the blockade in mid December. The seizure near Iceland
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was condemned by Moscow, which said no state has the
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right to use force against ships properly registered in the
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jurisdiction of other states. There is a map of the
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globe showing paths of two ships, one leaving Venezuela leaving
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Iran in late November and headed to Venezuela on December seventeenth,
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and the other seized in off the coast of Iceland
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on January seventh. US military officials said the second vessel,
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named the Sofia, was conducting illicit activities at the time
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it was boarded in the international waters, though they didn't
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not provide specifics. The U s Coast Guard, which had
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led in both operations, Wednesday, was escorting the ship to
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the United States for final disposition. Officials said both ships
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were seized as the Trump administration has asserted that the
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US now controls Venezuela's oil supply and will determine whose
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stands to benefit from its sales. Following the capture of
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President Nicolas Maduro over the weekend. The operation has in
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Bolden Trump, who over the last few days has suggested
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similar military operations may follow to achieve desired changes in Cuba, Columbia,
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and Mexico, and possibly a US takeover of Greenland. Homeland
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Security Secretary Chris D. L nome, in announcing the ship's seizures,
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portrayed both actions is necessary to disrupt the funding of
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narco terrorism. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on social media
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that the illegal transport of Venezuelan oil is tenement to
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stealing from the Venezuelan people, and suggested the seizures we
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continue against any exports not approved by the United States.
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It's also about potentially vos sums of money. For now,
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any financial gains realized by US control of the effort
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to rebuild Venezuela's oil industry, boastered by a significant presence
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of warships in the Caribbean and an aggressive inner agency
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effort to seize vessels that seek to girt the US blockade,
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will be for the benefit of the American people and
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the Venezuelan people, at the discretion of the United States government.
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White House Press second Terry Caroline Levett said Wednesday. Mark Montgomery,
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a retired Navy Rear Admiral who was his senior fellow
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at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said President Trump,
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at least in terms of oil distribution, he is running Venezuela.
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In mid December, Trump ordered a total and complete blockade
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of all oil tankers under US sanctions from entering or
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leaving Venezuela in what was seen as further escalation to
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get Maduro to vacate his office. Meduro is now in
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US custody facing charges in the Federal Court in New York,
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and Trump is pledged to keep the blockade in place
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to put further pressure on Venezuela's interim government to carry
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eight the blockade. The US Coast Guard, in conjunction with
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the military, has been intercepting commercial vessels it says are
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part of a dark fleet of ships that carry Venezuelan
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oil for export using false paperwork in an attempt to
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skirt US sanctions on those sales. In December, the Coastguard
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sees the Yana flagged vessel Skipper and escorted it into
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the Gulf of Mexico. The tanker is currently near the
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port of Galveston, according to ship tracking data. The Justice
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Department has alleged it was part of a network supporting
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Iranian backed terrorist activity. The Trump administration has faced questions
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about the legality of shipsheezers and whether they could provoke
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intervention from Russia or other countries. In a statement to
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state media Wednesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry urged Washington to
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ensure the humane and dignified treatment of Russian crew aboard
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the ship. The statement said the US should not hinder
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the prompt return of Russians from the ship. The US
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lacks legal authority to board a vessel if in fact
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it is clearly Russian flag and there is no question
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about its status. Mark Nevitt, an associate professor at Emory
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University and expert in the law of that sea, wrote
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in an email, adding, but the US may be claiming
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that the vessel is operating under multiple flags, which would
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provide legal authority to board under the law of the sea.
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The ship had been sailing under a false flag claiming
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to be from Guyana, according to Equesis, a global shipping database.
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It switched to a Russian flag around New Year's Day,
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nearly two weeks after US forces started pursuing it. The
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vessel also changed its name from Bella to the Marine
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AIRA satellite imagery from mid December viewed by tankertrackers dot com,
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an independent oil tracking firm, suggests the vessel was not
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carrying oil because of how high it was above sea level.
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Bella one is one of the least at least five
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tankers involved in the Venezuelan oil trade that have changed
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to the Russian flag since US forces seized the skipper
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on December tenth. According to a Washington Post examination of
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data provided by tankertrackers dot com, a legitimate flag change
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typically takes several weeks, involving testing, inspections and certification of
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tracking equipment with the new flag. Maritime experts told the
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Post the rapid timing of the Bella's flag change suggests
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that the standard checks had not occur. They said, I
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believe there was an expectation that the US would not
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board a Russian flagged vessel, said Gonzalo, says, a research
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fellow covering sanctions at the Royal United States Institute. The
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seizure sends a message to the international community that the
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US is willing to board any vessel, regardless of the flag,
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says added. And since that article spoke of Greenland. I
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will read the next article. Europe draws redline on Greenland
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after a year of trying to pacify Trump. While many
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European leaders' reactions to the Venezuelan raid were muted, there
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have been forceful rebukes of the Trump administration's greediness on Greenland.
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And there's a picture in front of their flags of
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Greenland Prime Minister Jean Frederick Nielsen, who's in a dark
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blue suit with a light blue open collared shirt, and
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Danish Prime Minister Met Frederiker's son who's in sort of
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a light gray jacket or suit jacket with a pretty
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plant blouse underneath. And this picture is taken in April
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by Steve Hendrix out of London. For the past year,
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European friends turned frenemies of the United States have delicately
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navigated one shock after another, hoping for the best. As
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Donald President Donald Trump threatened to lay waste to the
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global auum. When Trump's Golden NATO allies lambasted Ukraine's president,
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laid on tariffs and framed ratified treaties as conditional deals,
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the go to play by European leaders was to placate
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with military spending pledges trade concessions and disciplined summits in
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language scrubbed of morality or judgment. It wasn't always elegant
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or dignified, but the policy of strategic acquiescence seemed to
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be working sort of. US arms kept flowing to Ukraine
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and all out trade war was averted, and Trump deigned
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to say some nice things about NATO. Then came the
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strikes that rocked Caracas, explosions that echoed in capitals around
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the world. Governments that spent years preaching restraint, legality and
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multilateralism found themselves scrambling for words to express unease without
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triggering Trump's fury. The precarious strategy of managing Trump rather
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than confronting him, looked more exposed when the President and
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his inner circle revived their talk of getting Greenland, even
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floated the idea of military action. To European ears, it
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sounded less like bluster than a retrograde worldview now backed
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by unfurnished American might power over process, leverage over law,
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loyalty conditioned on utility. It's approaching a full on existential crisis,
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said Mejutaba Rahman, Managing director for Europe at Political Risk
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consultancy Eurasia Group. It could be far greater than Russia
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invading Ukraine because Russia is an adversary. Now, it's the
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guarantee of European security, undermining European security. Where many European
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leaders' reactions to the Venezuelan or Venezuela A raid were muted, caveated,
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or at sourced to legal abstractions about the United States
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Nations Charter, European leaders on Tuesday came out with unc
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commonly forceful rebukes of the Trump administration's greediness on Greenland.
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The Prime Minister of Denmark, a NATO member, said the
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US action on Greenland, a territory of the Kingdom of
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Denmark for more than three hundred years, would be the
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end of the Alliance. Leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland,
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Spain and Britain closed ranks, with Copenhagen issuing a joint
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statement that Greenland's future is a matter for Denmark and
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Greenland and them only. Denmark and Greenland have stated emphatically
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and repeatedly that the huge Arctic territory, sparsely populated with
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fifty seven thousand mostly indigenous residents, and boasting potentially rich
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deposits of rare earth minerals is not for sale. Greenland
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is officiallyinated as an autonomous region, and residents said they
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have no intention of living under the yoke of a
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new colonial ruler. Trump posting on truth social on Wednesday,
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seemed to bristle it suggestions that he was endangering NATO,
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boasting that he had pressured allies to raise spending. Everyone
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said that could be done. But it could because beyond
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all else, they are all my friends, Trump wrote, Russia
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and China, this is all in capitals. Russia and China
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have zero fear of NATO without the United States, and
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I don't NATO would be there for us if we
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really needed them. Everyone is lucky that I rebuilt down
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military in my first term and continue to do so.
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We will always be there for NATO, even if they
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won't be there for us. That last sentence was not
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in caps Trump said. NATO in fact sprang to America's
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aid after the September eleventh, two thousand and one terrorist attacks,
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invoking its collective Defense mechanism within twenty four hours for
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the first and only time in its history. NATO nations
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also deployed tens of thousands of troops to Afghanistan to
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support Washington's war, and the Alliance has generally regarded the
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US as its leader on Greenland. However, conflicting signals from
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Washington have only heightened the anxiety. Secretary of State Marco
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Rubio on Wednesday told lawmakers in the closed briefing that
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Trump's goal is to buy Greenland from Denmark, playing down
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military action. On Wednesday, host speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana,
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also discounted the likelihood of force. Johnson told reporters the
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US always has military options for everything. I think with Greenland,
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it's very clear that we are working got that out
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through diplomatic channels. When asked Wednesday, while Trump would not
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rule taking Greenland by military force, White House Press Secretary
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at Caroline Levitt said such a pledge would not be
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something this president does. A potential offer to buy Greenland
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is being actively discussed by the President and his national
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security team, levitthold reporters, adding that a US acquisition of
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Greenland is not a new ideal. All options are on
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the table, she said, but Trump's first option always has
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been diplomacy. Rubio told reporters Wednesday that US and Danish
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officials would meet to discuss Greenland next week, without offering details.
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The State Department did not immediately respond to a request
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for more details. The Danish embassy in Washington declined to comment.
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Europe had been writing at Trump's shocks, betting there would
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be limits to many. Those bets now look much riskier.
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NATO has survived clashing allies before. Greece and Turkey notably,
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had been in a standoff since Turkish forces occupied northern
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Cyprus in nineteen seventy four. But as Roman noted, the US,
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NATO's wealthiest and most powerful member, was instrumental in mediating
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that rift. Now it is causing it. He said, NATO
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can't survive a forceful annexation. The alliance would be meaningless
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even if it continues to exist on paper. Tensions over
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Greenland status were already escalating even before the Venezuela raid.
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In December, Trump appointed Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, Republican, as
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his Special Envoy to Greenland, a post Denmark and Greenland rejected.
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Landry embraced the goal of working to make Greenland a
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part of the US. The Danish government called in US
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diplomats to personally object to Laundry's comments, this second time
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in recent months. In Denmark summoned American officials for a
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face to face riskslap as it reached for Greenland. After
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the Caracas operation, the rhetoric grew edgier and following Trump's
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effective takeover of a sovereign neabor far more believable. White
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House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Millis said Wednesday that
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the former position of the United States is that Greenland
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should be American for national security reasons, and that essentially
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it was Trump's for the taking. Nobody's going to fight
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the United States militarily over the future for Greenland, Millis said.
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Miller's wife posted an image of the American flag superimposed
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on a map of Greenland with the caption in capitals. Soon.
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It's clear that some people in and adjacent to the
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administration felt empowered by the success of the operation, said
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Heather Hurlbert, an Associate fellow in the America's Program at Chathamhouse,
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a London based think tank. Herlbert cited a retired US
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general who viewed the White House move in Venezuela and
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its fixation on Greenland as reminiscent of teenagers playing the
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gas strategic board game Risk, Geo strategic board game Risk.
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My children played Risk. Once you start down the road
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of the Monroe doctrine or the don doctrine, or whatever
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we're saying. Now, you look at a map of the
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Western Hemisphere, and there is Greenland, Herbert said. Whether it's
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gaming or grasping, European leaders face unpalpable choices. One is
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to stick with the unified hardline that emerged in recent days,
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making clear that any move on Greenland could trigger a
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response by European allies, not against Russia or China, but
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unthinkably against the United States, invoking the NATO's treaty Collective
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Defense clause known as Article five, under which an attack
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on one member is regarded as an attack on all
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requires the unanimity of all thirty two allies. The United States,
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of course, would reject any plan for help by Denmark,
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effectively neutering the treaty. Article five did not anticipate that
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the invading country would be a member of NATO. Senator
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Chris Murphy Democratic Connecticut told reporters asking about a bill
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in Congress to prohibit Trump from acting in Greenland. Military
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experts say Denmark and Greenland would stand no chance against
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the American military might. In reality, that is a non
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starter in every way. Political analysts across the board agree
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with Miller that no one will go to war over Greenland.
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Europe is too dependent on the US militarily and economically
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to risk a true break. But the mere prospect of
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such conflict only highlights how much more difficult it is
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now for US allies to toe the line with Trump.
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That too, could lead to a drastic deterioration of the
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Transatlantic Alliance, if not its end analysis, say Ramin, said,
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many European countries are still seeking to ride both the
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European and an American horse. That may become impossible. Another
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option would we make a deal on Greenland, a sale
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or lease with expanded access to minimal rights and a
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US role in security. In the event of a crisis,
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the rest of Europe will lean on Denmark to make
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some kind of arrangement with the US. Ramen said a
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Louisiana purchase style transaction may be the least likely. Danish
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law recognizes Greenland as as people with the right to
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decide their own future, meaning Copenhagen cannot borrow the island
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away even if it wanted to. Any change in sovereignty
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would first require Greenland to choose independence a separate legal
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electoral process, before it could negotiate anything with Washington. Politically,
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there is a deep public resistance in both countries to
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any transfer of sovereignty. Yugov poll for The Guardian last
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year found that seventy eight percent of Danes are prose
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selling the unto the US, while eighty five percent of
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Greenland residents said in a separate survey that they do
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not want to be part of the US. The office
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of Danish Prime Minister Met Fredrickson said declined to come in.
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Some European officials are arguing quietly that the pushback coming
26:19
from European capitals may be counterproductive. A flat no never
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sits well with Trump, they point out, and his most
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hardline supporters to light in turning up the volume whenever
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the White House is challenged. This administration, when provoked, doubles down,
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said the European diplomat, who spoke on the condition of
26:40
anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy. The diplomat added, that's a
26:47
bit dangerous at the moment, we should be saying there
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are indeed serious security concerns in the Arctic, and how
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do we go about addressing them together. European militris largely
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agree with Trump that the icy northern reaches of the
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Atlantic are going to be a strategic hot spot in
27:07
coming decades, an obvious pathway for Chinese missiles and Russian submarines.
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Many say there would be little resistance to any US
27:16
plans to beef up its presence around the territory, which
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is already covered by NATO and numerous bilateral agreements between
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Washington and Denmark, and where the US already has a
27:28
military base. Their fear, which has spiked since the White
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House delivered its object lessons in Venezuela, is that the
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old protocols really may be out the window, and the
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bigger fear may simply be what comes next. My next
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article is new dietary guidance pushes whole milk, warns against
27:55
processed food. The guidelines also promote red meat and lower
28:00
consumption of grains, while warning against added sugars and artificial sweeteners.
28:08
In my personal opinion, I have stopped adding sugars and
28:13
never used artificial sweeteners. I do not like granola, but
28:20
I do eat grains like oatmeal, and I don't eat
28:25
a lot of red meat, but I like red meat,
28:27
and I've always drunk two percent milk. There is my personal,
28:32
non interesting reasoning for why I did lose weight a
28:37
long time ago. This is by Rachel Rubin. The Trump
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administration released new dietary guidelines Wednesday that called for Americans
28:47
to limit highly processed foods, such as those high and
28:52
added sugars and sodium, and that endorsed products that had
28:56
once been discouraged by many nutritionists, such as whole milk, butter,
29:01
and red meat. The recommendations emphasizing eating whole foods such
29:07
as fruits and vegetables in their original forms, and foods
29:11
rich in protein and wold grains. They call for avoiding packaged,
29:17
prepared are other ready to eat foods that are salty
29:20
or sweet, such as many chips, candies, and cookies, as
29:25
well as staying away from sugar sweetened beverages like sodas,
29:29
fruit drinks, and energy drinks, and some artificial sweeteners. Under
29:35
the guidelines, Americans should eat three servings of dairy products
29:40
a day and include full fat without added sugar. A
29:44
shift from decades of advising Americans to favous skim and
29:49
low fat options over whole milk. They should eat ample
29:53
protein from animal and plant sauces, including red meat's. Nutritionists
29:59
had long told Americans to limit they should have no
30:03
more than ten grams of added sugar per meal, a
30:07
more specific limit and an effort to make it easier
30:10
to understand than previous guidance advising less than ten percent
30:15
of daily calories from added sugars. The guidance comes as
30:20
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Has made overhauling the
30:24
nation's food supply a priority of his Make America Healthy
30:29
Again agenda aim at addressing chronic disease in childhood illness.
30:35
He has claimed the industry is mass poisoning this generation
30:38
of children, and his messaging around food has found broad appeal.
30:43
Unlike his handling a vaccination policy. Nutrition experts generally praise
30:51
some of the main changes, such as the move away
30:53
from processed foods, while a few raised concerns about promoting
30:58
some fatty foods. The guidance also generally received a warm
31:03
reception from some major MAHA allies. My message is clear,
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Kennedy said, at a White House press briefing Wednesday, Eat
31:14
Real Food. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans are updated every
31:19
five years to recommend what people should eat and are
31:22
considered a cornerstone of federal nutrition policy. The document to
31:27
promote health is written by the Department of Health and
31:30
Human Services and the Agriculture Department. The guidelines influenced federal
31:36
nutrition programs and the food served in school lunches and
31:40
the members of the military, official said Wednesday. Kennedy has
31:45
often criticized the food pyramid, an iconic visualization of dietary
31:50
guidelines that was introduced more than thirty years ago and
31:54
has since been replaced with the symbol of a plate
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showing how much of various fears groups should be eaten
32:01
in a meal. The administration released an inverted revised pyramid
32:07
with images of steak, a block of cheese, and a
32:11
carton of whole milk at the top, showing Americans should
32:14
prioritize proteins, dairy, healthy fats, and produce in their diets.
32:20
Grains are now represented a small portion of what the
32:24
government recommends Americans should eat, instead of consisting of the
32:29
highest number of servings in past iterations. And there's a
32:33
picture of that inverted pyramid with the top healthy dairy
32:38
and healthy protein, dairy and healthy fats, and it shows cheese, turkey, broccoli,
32:44
frozen peas, fruits and vegetables of steak, hamburger meat, whole milk, oil,
32:51
green beans, squashed tomatoes and carrots, lettuce, blueberries, tomatoes, eggs, avocado, bananas,
33:03
and at the very bottom, bread and grains. Peanuts and
33:09
nuts are at the very bottom along with bananas. Shrimp
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is sort of a little bit less than halfway down.
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The American Medical Association, which this week fiercely criticized Kennedy's
33:23
moves to upend the childhood vaccination schedule, praise the dietary
33:28
guidelines as offering clear direction. Some nutrition experts have applauded
33:34
the idea of encouraging Americans to move away from hyper palatable,
33:38
industrially produced food products, which previous federal guidelines were more
33:44
cautious to call out. Federal data shows more than half
33:48
of the calories Americans consume come from ultra processed foods,
33:53
which studies have identified as risk factors for obesity, heart disease, cancer,
33:58
and diabetes. For these guidelines to recommend their consumption be
34:04
reduced as a ground shaking change in how USDA and
34:09
HHS have approached the guidelines, said Duriusch Mazafaryan, a cardiologist
34:17
and director of tufts In University's Food is Medicine Institute.
34:23
In December twenty twenty four, an advisory committee of health
34:26
and nutrition experts that typically helped shape the dietary Guidelines
34:31
did not take a hard stance against ultra processed foods,
34:35
saying there was limited data and the products lack a
34:38
clear definition. Some nutritionists criticized that approach. Marian Nessley, a
34:45
retired professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health at
34:49
New York University, called it accessibly cautious. Some nutritionists have
34:55
said there's been confusion over the term ultra processed, which
34:59
has led to demonizing products that contained some healthy nutrients,
35:03
including certain breads and yogurts. Kennedy's health agencies, along with USDA,
35:10
are working to establish a uniform definition for ultra processed foods.
35:16
The American Heart Association commended the guidelines for its focus
35:21
on whole foods and reduction of processed ones, but the
35:25
group expressed concern over recommendations that include red meat, urging
35:30
the prioritization of plant based proteins, seafood, and lean meat,
35:35
and also encouraged Americans to rely on low fat and
35:38
fat free dietary products. The Guidelines had previously endorsed and
35:44
continued to endorse whole milk for babies and young titles
35:48
to help meat, calcium, potassium, and other nutrition needs, but
35:53
they had encouraged older children and adults to avoid whole
35:56
milk because of concerns over saturated fat. Whether to change
36:02
the approach to saturated fat has been among the most
36:06
contentious issues with the revisions to the Nutrition Guidelines. Some
36:13
top health officials have argued that saturated fats, which nutritionists
36:18
have longed warned Americans to minimize, citing evidence of negative
36:23
health effects, have been unfairly disparaged. Kennedy said Wednesday that
36:28
the government is ending the war on saturated fats. The
36:34
Guidelines are not changing their recommendation to limit saturated fats
36:38
to less than ten percent of daily calories. Instead, the
36:42
Trump administration is calling from a research to determine which
36:46
types of fats are beneficial in the long term. The
36:50
administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to
36:54
discuss private deliberations, said Kennedy's mandate was to follow all
37:00
of the best available science. It was not the intention
37:04
to do anything activists in this document, the person said,
37:08
adding and where there are issues where we have personal
37:12
disagreements or frankly there's scientific disagreements, we are welcoming a
37:17
conversation with researchers. But health officials presented a more forceful
37:23
descent of saturated fats while announcing the new guidelines and
37:27
conceding the current cap was not changing. We are telling
37:33
young people, kids schools, you don't need to tiptoe around
37:37
fat and dairy, Marty Mackery, the head of the Food
37:42
in Drug Administration, said Wednesday. Here are other takeaways from
37:47
revisions to the guidelines. One, when cooking with fat, Americans
37:55
should prioritize oils with essential fatty acids such as olive oil,
38:01
and can use butter or beef tallow despite their high
38:04
fat content. The previous guidelines said Americans should cook with
38:09
oils higher in pollaians saturated and monosaturated fat, such as
38:16
canola corn and olive oil, rather than butter. Kennedy and
38:20
other MAHA allies have often toted beef tallow and railed
38:24
against seed oils, the latter of which were not mentioned
38:28
in the ten page guidelines. Two. When Americans consumed dairy,
38:35
the guidelines call for incorporating full fat products without added sugars.
38:40
For decades, Americans have been told to favor low fat dairy,
38:44
but some researchers have grown skeptical of that advice, citing
38:48
studies showing the fats and dairy carry their own health benefits.
38:53
Three Americans should consume no more than ten grams of
38:58
added sugar per meal, but no amount is recommended. Kennedy said.
39:03
The government is declaring war on added sugar, which previous
39:08
guidelines warned against. Added sugars often appear in labels under
39:12
various names, such as high fructose corn syrup, rice syrup, sucrose,
39:18
and cane sugar. A cup of sugary breakfast cereals such
39:22
as honeynot cheerios, can include twelve grams of added sugar,
39:27
while a twelve ounce can of Coca cola has thirty
39:30
nine grams of added sugar. Four Americans should limit low calory,
39:37
non nutritive sweeteners such as aspar tame and saccharin the
39:43
previous guidelines said Those sweeteners may reduce calorie intake in
39:48
the short term and add in weight management, yet questions
39:53
remain about their effectiveness as a long term weight management strategy.
40:00
Five Americans should limit consumption of food and drink containing
40:05
artificial flavors, petroleum based dyes, and artificial preservatives. Kennedy has
40:11
made targeting the dyes one of his signature initiatives and
40:15
secured pledges from a slew of food companies to remove
40:18
them from their products. Six Americans should significantly reduce the
40:25
consumption of highly processed refined carbohydrates such as white bread, flour, tortillas,
40:32
and crackers, and eat two to four servings of whole grains,
40:36
which include oatmeal and brown rice a day. Previous guidance
40:41
stated that at least half of total grains consumed should
40:45
be whole grains. I think I'm on. Seven. The guidelines
40:50
endorse fermented foods such as sarakraut, kimchi, kiefer, and miso,
40:57
alongside produce and high fiber foods to support microbiome gut health.
41:02
The previous guidelines did not reference fermented foods on microbiome health. Eight,
41:10
the guidance is calling from one point two to one
41:13
point six grams of protein per kilogram of body weight
41:17
per day, and increase from what some scientific bodies had
41:21
previously recommended. My Farrian said he did not believe the
41:26
recommended protein should be increased without a person adding in
41:31
strength training for exercise, and administration officials said the changes
41:37
well within the scientific consensus and nine the guidance call
41:42
for consuming less alcohol for better overall health. The previous
41:47
iteration included a specific limit for those who choose to
41:51
drink of two weeks or two drinks or less a
41:55
day for men, and one drink or less for women.
42:02
Five years after January sixth, officers described the toll of
42:07
defending the capitol. In his first day in office, Trump
42:11
pardoned nearly sixteen hundred people in the January sixth Capital riot.
42:16
The country has moved on, but for some the day
42:19
still looms large Barderini belenchandar Elie Silverman and Amy Britton.
42:27
After the tear gas cleared and the glass was swept
42:30
up and the blood and feces were scrubbed off the walls,
42:34
the capital returned to the business of democracy, and most
42:38
of the officers who had defended it on January sixth
42:41
twenty twenty one went back to work. Some were bruised, scratched,
42:47
and sprayed with chemicals. Several were knocked unconscious. Some suffered
42:52
traumatic brain injuries and underwent surgeries. Some were diagnosed with PTSD.
43:00
Many kept showing up to work with nerves that felt
43:02
jangled and bodies that hurt in ways they hadn't before.
43:07
Five years after the capital attack, most of the officers
43:11
injured that day have never widely shared their experience. To
43:15
understand the effects of one of the most effsive days
43:19
in American history on the people who lived it, the
43:23
Washington Post, referencing a database from the Chicago Project on
43:27
Security and Threats, contacted fifty eight current and former officers
43:32
from DC Police, US Capitol Police, Metro Transit Police, Arlington
43:38
County Police, and Prince George's County Police. Many officers never
43:45
reported their injuries, the Post learned, the most frequently cited
43:49
number of injured officers, one hundred and forty, is probably
43:53
an undercount. The Office of Government Accountability has talent at
43:58
least one hundred and seven fall Many stayed in law enforcement,
44:03
but some retired early. Others moved away, one as far
44:07
as New Zealand. To avoid reminders of being attacked, they
44:12
left for psychology education the Peace Corps. Some were too
44:16
injured to work. Most did not respond or declined to
44:21
be interviewed, with some saying they wanted to avoid the harassment.
44:24
Based by others who have spoken up the Many stories
44:28
are preserved in victim impacts, statements, and court records. Some
44:35
of these are I lost a lot of the will
44:38
to even want to do the job at that point,
44:41
a lot of the desire to even get up out
44:43
of bed. I had a concussion, a back injury, a
44:48
deviated septum, a broken tooth. My eye continued to burn
44:52
for a week. I knew we were there to protect
44:57
the capital, but it went from protecting the capit protecting
45:01
my life. As I kind of straightened my finger, I
45:07
could see tendons between the sections of bone. I am
45:12
a Republican. These are my fellow Republicans, and I've had
45:16
people that I've known all my life that don't want
45:18
to have anything to do with me now. Some said
45:25
they've moved on like the country. For others, it hasn't
45:28
been so simple. Here are some of their stories in
45:31
their own words, edited for length and clarity Fredrico Ruez,
45:37
fifty two, former Capital Police officer. I feel like I've
45:42
given enough for this country. I joined the military, and
45:45
September eleventh happened. We were there. The Pentagon was on fire.
45:50
We went in trying to see if we could save anybody.
45:54
The people in the building and certainly the people on
45:56
the plane were cremated because of the jet fool that
45:59
was burning. We were looking for the remains. I never
46:03
spoke about my experiences in the Pentagon to anybody. It
46:07
took a toll. I ended up getting divorced. I was
46:10
not able to stop crying in private. People found it
46:14
difficult to be around me. I got counseling. Every time
46:18
I looked at the Pentagon, I still saw it with
46:20
a hole on the side of the building. I joined
46:25
the Capitol Police Department and went up the ranks became
46:28
a sergeant. It was the best time of my life
46:31
being a sergeant because I got to do what I
46:33
was doing in the military, which is being a mentor
46:37
and training people. Then January sixth came around. I got assaulted.
46:44
This guy was on a raised platform and decided to
46:47
do some wwe move where he jumped and clotheslined me.
46:51
He landed on top of me. I started to feel
46:55
a lot of pain in my back and neck and
46:58
my knee and in my whole right side, but I
47:01
pushed on and didn't tell anybody. I didn't want to
47:04
be on light duty. The summer after January sixth a
47:09
school aged group was walking up on King Street that's
47:14
in Alexandria, Virginia, and they all had mega hats on.
47:19
I looked at a teenager and my first thought was
47:21
to punch him in the face, to assault this kid.
47:24
Just start punching all these kids with these maga hats.
47:28
I was like, what am I thinking? Man, I really
47:31
need help. I started seeing a counselor. After that. The
47:36
tone change, especially from the Republican Party from insurrectionists to
47:41
protesters that hurt the most. I started to realize that
47:44
the earth of office that I took as a police
47:47
officer to defend Congress, I wasn't able to honor it anymore.
47:51
I cannot protect people that use other people as pawns
47:55
in their political game. I can't give my life or
47:58
attempt to give my life for them anymore. I decided
48:02
to retire early, and the injuries I received from January
48:06
sixth were getting worse and worse so much that working
48:10
after that have become kind of impossible. As soon as
48:13
I wake up, I can already feel pain. It's always
48:17
on my right side. It shoots down from the neck
48:19
all the way down to my lumbar. It dumbs my
48:23
arm and my leg and then my knee and ankle
48:26
are always in pain. I have to walk carefully, really gingerly.
48:31
Sometimes people will say, oh, you're limping. It comes and goes. Now.
48:36
I can't go up on Capitol here with a feeling
48:38
like something's going to happen. I avoid crowds. I avoid
48:42
large gatherings. I tend to flinch when I see anybody
48:46
wearing maga gear. I live off my pension. Right now,
48:51
I can't really function in society. Janique Spriggs, former senior
48:58
officer for DC Police. The racial disrespect that day was
49:04
unbelievable on a different level. I've heard about it, I
49:08
just never experienced it. There were four white men across
49:12
the street from where I was heckling my partner and me.
49:15
When they didn't get a response, they walked across the
49:18
street closer to us and said two black moved it
49:22
so that was the tone that particular day kind of
49:26
mentally took me back to what my mom dealt with,
49:29
what I read and researched on racial disparities, and what
49:33
I saw in documentaries. My mom was born in nineteen
49:40
fifty two, so she was there for the sixties riots
49:43
and protests. She was in Southwest d C. Southeast d C.
49:49
She was sixteen. My mother went around the corner to
49:52
warn the neighborhood the police were coming when glass shattered
49:55
and it got into her thigh. It was more of
49:58
a gash because it needed stitches. I don't want to stay.
50:03
I understand one more than the other. I don't understand
50:07
January sixth at all. There was a shooting at the capitol.
50:11
While we were there. Officers were getting injured. They were
50:15
being overtaken. We had to switch out because they were exhausted.
50:19
When officer had a gash in the back of his head,
50:22
his head was wrapped up in toilet paper in my
50:25
pardner and I let him out of the hot zone
50:27
to seek medical treatment. The insurrectionists came equipped with zip ties,
50:32
bear mace, duct tape, knives, and guns. They were spending
50:37
free seas on the statues and urinating on the statues.
50:40
We were totally caught off guard. Are we going to
50:44
get out? Are we not? Are these the people? For real?
50:47
Is this happening? My daughter called me on FaceTime because
50:52
she saw the news and she had never seen me
50:54
dress that way, helmet all my gear on. In her
50:58
ten year old mine, I can only imagine what was
51:01
going on. I never prepared for January's I never prepared
51:06
her for a January sixth. My day to day it
51:09
was investigations and not in patrol. I just told her
51:13
everything is going to be fine. I'm like, okay, I've
51:18
been on this job since I was nineteen, started out
51:21
as a police cadet. No way I'm going to go
51:24
at like this. I'm just not My surapinius was torn.
51:30
I'm still dealing with that injury. I didn't report that
51:34
to the job because I didn't want them to not
51:36
renew my contract as a senior police officer for being
51:40
too long. I retired in August twenty twenty after thirty
51:44
years in MPD, and then I went back as a
51:47
contractor in September. I had just come back, and January
51:52
sixth did it for me. I knew it was time
51:55
to go. I was an angrier after that day, but
51:59
I had to process differently because I had a ten
52:01
year old that was watching me. My daughter wrote a
52:05
letter and I sent it to the chief of police
52:07
at the time. It says I experienced God every day,
52:12
and on January sixth, twenty twenty one, I needed God
52:15
to help my mother. I prayed to God that them
52:18
my mother would be okay and that she would not
52:20
get hurt. I said the sign of the Cross. I
52:24
said one our Father and three Hail Marys. Then I
52:27
just talked to God from my heart, God keep her safe.
52:31
I need my parents. Jesse Leisure, thirty nine, DC police officer.
52:39
Police were trying to hit us in the face, throwing
52:43
People were trying to hit us in the face, throwing furniture,
52:47
anything they could get their hands on, smoke grenades, amateur fireworks, pipes,
52:52
broken pieces of scaffolding, a ladder. I was having a
52:55
hard time breathing. I had pepper spray burns like my
52:59
face was skin was on fire. I was drenched in
53:02
that stuff, and they had bare spray. It feels like
53:06
where your eyelids meet your eye, daggers and needles along there.
53:10
It feels like someone's rubbing sand paper across your eyes.
53:14
Hot sand paper. And if you've ever gotten like a
53:17
first degree burned, and the skin is very sensitive and
53:20
you put it near something hot, it feels a thousand
53:23
times hot up. Just imagine your entire face has a
53:27
first degree burn and you're sticking it in an oven.
53:30
I couldn't believe what was happening. They were yelling, USA,
53:35
these are my views, not the views of the department.
53:39
Half of our entire platoon had gone to the hospital
53:42
are called in sick the next day because they were
53:44
so burned out and exhausted. Everybody was walking wounded. I
53:49
should have called him sick. I had no permanent damage
53:52
to my body, whereas a lot of my coworkers got
53:55
concussed and had some serious injuries. And the work is done.
54:00
He keeps going, why would I leave? I get paid
54:04
very well. It allows me to live in a comfortable life,
54:08
and on top of that, I get a decent retirement.
54:11
But more than that, I get to help people every day.
54:14
And it may sound kind of stereotypical, but that really
54:17
does mean something to me. Especially after January sixth, the
54:22
Department's paying more attention to mental health we're doing a
54:25
much better job of erasing the stigma of seeking help.
54:29
They were seeing it more as a holistic We need
54:33
to take care of these min people's mental health so
54:35
they can do their job properly, especially with the suicides
54:39
that we had with people who were suffering from PTSD
54:42
and depressive disorder. I was having anxiety attacks even before
54:47
January six, and it took me a long time to
54:50
seek help for that. I was really miserable for a time.
54:54
I was kind of keeping quiet about it because I
54:57
was always afraid of losing my job. I felt more
55:00
comfortable coming out and talking about mental health. I finally
55:04
started seeking help. I was able to get it under control.
55:08
We just need to do our jobs. I try to
55:11
help people the best I can. I don't always succeed,
55:15
but it's those little victories that you have that make
55:19
the job worth doing. And from Carlton Reilhoyt, the third
55:24
thirty five former DC police officer. We just heard people
55:28
shouting enemy of the State and stormtroopers. I had bruises
55:33
to my forehead. I had some hair that was pulled out.
55:36
I had to call my mom just to let her know.
55:39
Like I don't know how this is going to play out.
55:41
I just want to let you know that I love you.
55:44
And it was one of those things that I constantly
55:47
thought about and I constantly lost sleep about. With policing,
55:51
I was becoming checked out. It was hard to get up.
55:54
It was like, all right, here we go, let's pull
55:57
it on this uniform. It wasn't that excitement that I
56:00
felt before. Probably around five thirty to seven thirty in
56:04
the morning, I would park my vehicle near this park
56:07
in my district. It's a quiet time where you can
56:10
catch up on your reports, you can read the DC code.
56:14
Some people would use that time to get coffee. I
56:17
was thinking what should I do, What would be my pivot,
56:22
what would be my fresh start? I was constantly thinking
56:25
about that over and over. I knew it was time
56:27
to go. My family has a huge background in agriculture, farming, hunting, fishing,
56:33
and I also went to school to study environmental science.
56:37
I just felt the need to switch careers and I
56:39
decided to apply to the Peace Corps. I got accepted.
56:43
I was an agricultural extension volunteer in West Africa. In Guinea,
56:49
people would stay up all hours at night just chatting
56:52
or even sleeping outside on their front porch. In my village,
56:55
I had cows roaming around, goats and chickens, even had
56:59
my own chickens before someone stole them. It wasn't like
57:03
the hustle and bustle nine to five. It's not like
57:06
this rat race. It was a slower way of life,
57:10
but it was a quality way of life. You appreciated
57:13
every single thing that you had, and especially the food
57:16
that you had because of how difficult it is sometimes
57:19
to secure food, especially during the dry season. My problems
57:25
were do I have enough water to last me the
57:27
next two days? Do I need to go to the
57:30
water pump? The anxiety, the loss of sleep, and all
57:33
of that stuff kind of dissolved. We had an option
57:37
to attend this bee keeping intensive training and then from
57:40
there it started to be one of my favorite hobbies.
57:43
The bees that I worked with were native African bees.
57:47
I would say anywhere between forty to sixty thousand bees.
57:52
I like the sense of community that bees office, its organization,
57:56
its structure. They had their own little ecosystem, and yet
58:00
outside of the things that they do for one another,
58:02
there's still one of the top pollinators that we have
58:05
on the planet. So in order for us to have
58:08
our fresh fruits and vegetables, we need pollinators such as bees,
58:12
and I just felt a sense of peace doing it.
58:15
And with that, I end today's reading of The Washington
58:19
Post for Thursday, the eighth of January of twenty twenty six.
58:25
Have a good day. I'll be back on Saturday. Please
58:30
continue listening to programming on RADIOI bye.