Transcript

11.1.25 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of Today's Washington Post for Saturday,
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November the first. We only have two more months left
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in twenty twenty five, and I hope everybody had a
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nice Halloween. My husband and I were curmergeons and we
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didn't hand out candy this year. There are not enough
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kids around the neighborhood to warrant our eating all the leftovers.
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I am Alastina with the reminder that RADIOI is a
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program for those blinder that have other problems reading and
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holding printed material. So I will start with the front
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page of the Washington Post. On the far left, Park
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Police plans major expansion of DC role. It will hire
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hundreds per gold to be the city's premiere law enforcement agency.
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By Olivia George and Hannah Nattensen. In the middle, there
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is a picture that looks like a painting. It is
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a blue bottomed boat. You can tell it's a well
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used boat because the pain is scraped off in places.
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There's mud in the bottom. And along the one edge
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there's a man standing in the bow and a young
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kid leaning over the railing. On the right side. He's
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holding a bucket and you see fishing lines throughout the
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front and it is on a beach. You see the
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sand and you see a wave just coming along, and
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in the background are one, two, three, four, five boats
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bobbing in the water and this big beautiful blue sky
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with clouds in the background behind the man standing in
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the bell. But the article is US strikes, so fear
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across the Caribbean. Attacks on boats have killed scores and
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are threatening fishing, shipping and tourism. And this fisherman is
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Raikish Ramadan looking at sea from his boat on Selrose Beach,
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Trinidad and Tobago in October. That's that article and the
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right of it. Karaka seeks to shore up defenses. It
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pleads for help from Russia and China US force build
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up puts Prussia on Venezuela. By Anthony Farola, Hannah Naddison,
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Mary Lushunk Lashina, and Anna Vanessa Herberto. Below the fold
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at the Kennedy Center, thousands of empty seats, ticket sales
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plunge since Trump takeover of post analysis shows Travis M. Andrews,
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Jeremy B. Merrill, and Shelley Tan And there's a picture
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of the Grand Foyer, of which I was at many
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times when I lived in DC area. The grand foyer
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at the Kennedy Center has seen fewer visitors this fall.
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Ticketing data reveals, and you see the hanging chandeliers, the
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bright red floor carpet, the Florida ceiling windows with the
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sheer draperies hanging down, and there's a person just walking
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across the carpet. The ticket sales hit the lowest point
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since twenty twenty pandemic shut down. And it's like in
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twenty twenty five, it's they're down fifty two percent in
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this administration. During the Biden administration, it was up seventy
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three percent in twenty twenty two, thirty percent in twenty
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twenty three, and twenty two percent in twenty twenty four.
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During Trump's first term, it was down eighty percent in
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twenty twenty and twenty eight percent in twenty twenty one.
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And before that it was up twenty eight percent in
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twenty nineteen. And to the very right, the one article
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I really read on the front page snap backup funds
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should be released judges rule by Marianna Alfredo and Jacob
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Bogage and below that Royals have a storied history of
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putting crown over family by Carlo Adam that first article,
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US boat strikes spread fear across the Caribbean. The attacks,
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which have killed at least sixty one people, are threatening
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the region's fishing, shipping in tourism industries and exposing differences
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among leaders. By Amanda Coletta in Trinidad and Tobago, a
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Caribbean island nation so close to Venezuela that on a
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clear day, it's visible the second homes off the northwest
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turned coast lie empty. Fishers are staying close to the
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shore and some have stopped working at night as US
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forces launched lethal attacks on boats the Trump administration alleges
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are carrying illegal drugs to the United States and the Pentagon.
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Masses fighter jets, warships and troops off the coast of Venezuela.
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The waters on which Trinidadians have long relied for their food, livelihoods,
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and leisure no longer feel safe. Jared, a fisherman in
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the northwestern peninsula of Chagumararas, said bookings for the croaker, king, mackerel,
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and Mahi mahi fishing charters he operates have been down
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since the strikes began in early September. He spoke on
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the condition his last name be withheld for fear of retaliation.
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The journal Populace is a bit hesitant to go knowing
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that boats are being struck down, He said. They're apprehensive.
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The US attacks are sending waves across the Caribbean, explosing
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divisions between leaders on narco trafficking and raising alarms in
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a region where long history of US interventionism casts a shadow,
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even as officials acknowledge there's little they can do to
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stop them. We are facing tat da dot, an extremely
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dangerous and untenable situation in the Southern Caribbean. Peace is
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critical to all that we do in this region, and
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now that peace, that piece is being threatened. Barbados Prime
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Minister Mia Motley said Saturday the US military has blown
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up more than a dozen boats in the Caribbean Sea
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and the Eastern Pacific since early September, killing at least
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sixty one people. Administration officials have alleged, without producing evidence,
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that the boats accrued by narco terrorists who are poisoning
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Americans with legal or lethal drugs such as entoma. Legal
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analysts say the strikes violate US law and international law.
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At least half of the attacks have occurred in the
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waters between Venezuela and Trinidad, a route used to traffic
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cannabis in cocaine to West Africa and Europe, not as
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President Donald Trump has claimed ventanol to the United States.
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During the first Trump administration, a federal grand jury indicted
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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on charges of narco terrorism. Trump
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has accused the authoritarian socialist of having a narco trafficking
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gang that's attack in the United States with illicit drugs.
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Washington has long sought Maduro's ouster. Now the largest US
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military built up in the region in several decades, is
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raising fears in Venezuela of an eminent attack. Maduro has
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moved troops to the borough with Columbia, urged civilians to
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join self defense militias, and in a rare televised appeal
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in English, urged please please please no Crazy walk peace forever.
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The Caribbean Community or That's Capital's Caricom Carriycom issued a
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statement this month reaffirming that the region is a zone
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of peace and should remain free from military intervention. CARRICOM
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heads of government the bloc said remains committed to fighting
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drugs and weapons trafficking, but they underscored their efforts to
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overcome these challenges should be through ongoing international cooperation and
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international law, and reaffirmed unequivocable support for the sovereigntry and
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territorial integrity of countries in the region. Trinidad and Tobago
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alone among Carriycom's fifteen full members, reserved its position on
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the statement. Trinidbagonian Prime Minister Kamala Persad business Era has
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been a the strident backa of the US strikes. The nation,
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at one point four million, suffers one of the highest
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murder rates in the world. The government last year declared
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a state of emergency, granting itself sweeping new powers, including
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the authority to enter homes without warrants and arrest people
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on suspicion of illegal activity. The pain and suffering the
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cartels have inflicted on our nation is immense. I have
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no sympathy for traffickers. The US military should kill them
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all violently, Psada Bassara said after the first strike. Trinidad
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does not manufacture fire arms. Most are trafficked from the
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United States, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime reported
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last year, where they are often purchased through straw buyers
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In the United States with lax gun laws. Some are
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also trafficked from Venezuela. Besade Messsaar said CARICOM has called
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Caracom an unreliable partner. She has accused those who have
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warned that a war between Venezuela and the United States
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could threaten Trinidad of fear mongering. When two Trinidadian men
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were reportedly killed in a US strike, officials said they
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had no evidence they had been killed and wouldn't search
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for them. They encouraged their families to found missing people reports.
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The government's posture has drawn criticism at home. The strikes
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are disturbing because they're obviously extra judicial strikes that are
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not supported by any legal framework whatsoever. It should not
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be that the government encourages extra judicial killings. Former Attorney
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General Garvin Nicholas said the guided missile destroyer USS gravely
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docked in Port of Spain, the capital, this week, for
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joint exercises. Maduro suspended in an energy agreement with Trinidad,
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the nation he charged was acting as the aircraft carrier
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of the US Empire. In Venezuela's National Assembly declared beside
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Bassara persona non grado the prime Minister wondered aloud why
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she would want to visit to Minezuelan. No one, whether
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it is the Venezuelan government, Caracom or any other entity,
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no one will pressure my government or blackmail my government
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into retreating from the fight against drug cartels, she told
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the television program Comrach Crime Runch. The Prime Minister added,
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it is very clear that some of our carri Com
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partners have taken a different view by talking about at
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a zone of peace, but there is no zone of
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peace in Trinidad and Tobago. We have witnessed too many murders,
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too much crime, and too much drug running. Other Caribbean
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leaders say they want to curb drug and arms trafficking too,
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but they question the legality and efficacy of the US campaign.
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Many rely heavily on security cooperation with United States officials
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worry privately about the impact of the attacks on their fishing, shipping,
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and tourism industries. One Caribbean diplomat said, the backbone of
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the economies of many small island states. Like others. In
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this report, he spoke on the condition of anonymity to
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discuss the sensitive matter. He asked, everybody would like to
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see the back of narcar traffickers. But is this the
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best way to do it? And is this the best
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way doing it unilaterally and not in consultation with the
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people in the Caribbean Sea. Those are the questions the
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Caribbean is asking. But at the end of the day,
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the Caribbean is powerless to do much about this, and
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that is the reality. Bahamian National Security Minister Wayne Munro
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urged nationals to stay clear of go fast boats in Venezuela.
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If the US chooses to sail in your harbor, there's
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nothing you could do, he told Reportos this month, adding
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it would be a breach of your sovereignty and you
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could complain, but you couldn't stop them. In Haiti, a
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government official said even commenting on the US strikes would
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be madness. There are things Haiti simply cannot interfere in.
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The official said, it's the big neighbor taking action. Let
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it act. The Trump administration has retaliated against its critics.
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Colombian President Gustavo Petro has called the strikes murder and
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also ineffective. People smuggling drugs on boats, he said, are
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young and poor and don't own the product. He told
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the Post last month the attacks were only for television.
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The administration this month pose imposed sanctions on Petro and
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his family. Trump called him an illegal drug trader. He
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has not produced evidence. The government of Grenada, one hundred
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miles north of Trinidad, is considering a US request to
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host a military radar installation and people to run it.
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US intervention looms the yards over the debate. US marines
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invaded the small island in October nineteen eighty three after
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the apassination of then Prime Minister Maurice Bishop, ostensibly to
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protect some six hundred American medical students at Saint George's
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University US. It was the height of the Cold War,
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and then President Ronald Reagan had watched with dismay as Bishop,
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a socialist revolutionary, built an international airport with the help
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of armed Cuban workers. The Grenadian government said the facility
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was intended to foster tourism, but Reagan told a radio
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audience it look suspiciously suitable for military aircraft, including Soviet
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built long range bombers. That airport, now named for the
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slain leader, would be the site of the US radar installation.
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Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said this month acknowledged in the
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complexity of responding to the request, I appreciate that because
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of the history of the Maurice Bishop International Airport, because
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October in particular is tied to the history, that is
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highly a motive issue, he said on his radio calling
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program DMS with the PM. The Southern US Southern Command
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did not respond to a request for comment. Saint Vincent
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and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves a Maduro ally
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has criticized the US campaign and Trinidad and Tobago's support.
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He believes the US intends to use the radar to
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pressure the Venezuelan leader, but he has acknowledged that Grenada
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is in a tough spot. A preponderance of the islands
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tourist and the students enrolled at St. George's University, its
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largest private employer, are American. There are all kinds of
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precious which could be bought, Consalva told reporters this month,
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adding on the other side, there are principles of non intervention.
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Non interference. In Trinidad, fishers have contended with pirates, They've
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struggled with high fuel costs and now amid US military strikes.
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They fear being collateral damage. Everybody's terrified, said Gary Abaud,
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corporate secretary of the nonprofit Fishermen and Friends of the
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Sea in Port of Spain. There's no law in order
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on the sea. The Trump administration has done little to
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assuage their worries. Hell, I wouldn't go fishing right now
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in that area of the world. Vice President j D
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Vance said he told Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Jared said
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fishers are weary adventuring too close to the marine borda
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with Venezuela, not only for thee the US military, but
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also for fear of the Venezuelan military. Abad call the
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strikes uncalled for and unforgivable. What are we playing this
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game for? As if joining with the United States is
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going to solve the problems of Trinidad and Tobago, Abbond said.
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Anderson Zoe, a fisherman in the northwestern village of Taco,
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said fishers are really very much concerned. There is no
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pause or reconciliation. If you are targeted, and you are suspected,
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and you are blown out of this world. Our next article,
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Trump administration must release medians in snap funds. Judge says
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officials must act as soon as possible to avoid prolonged interruption,
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a federal judge in Rhode Island said. A Massachusetts judge
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also told the administration to consider contingency funds. And there's
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a picture of volunteers at the Lutheran Settlement House packing
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bags of groceries to distribute in Philadelphia on Thursday by
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Marianna Alfaro and Jacob Bogage. States could get partial payments
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for the nation's largest anti hunger program a few days late,
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after two federal judges ruled Friday that the Trump administration
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should use backup funds to keep food Aid running despite
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the ongoing government's shutdown. The Agriculture Department had said last
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week that it could not use a five point five
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billion contingency fund to pay for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
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program known as SNAP or food stamps, but a federal
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judge in Rhode Island on Friday ordered the administration to
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release backup funds for the program, which feeds about forty
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two million Americans a month and is set to lose
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funding Saturday. Another federal judge in Massachusetts directed the government
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to decide by Monday whether it would use the five
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point five billion in contingency funds for food aid. Despite
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the rulings, millions of Americans still won't get food assistance
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benefits on Saturday because the backup funds were not ordered
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to be released on time. States and their contractors need
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a few days notice before sending food assistants directly to
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people who rely on it. The federal government must now
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scramble to either ensure that some SNAP funding is made
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available on Monday or appeal the rulings. White House officials
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did not immediately respond to request for comment on the rulings,
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but Donald Trump posted on social media Friday evening that
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he had asked government attorneys to clarify with the courts
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how to get SNAP funds as quickly as possible, blaming
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Democrats for any delayed payments in Rhode Island. In the
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Rhode Island case, brought by a coalition of cities, nonprofits, unions,
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and small businesses, Judge Jack McConnell said USDA must distribute
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the contingency funds timely or as soon as possible for
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the November first payments to be made. The shutdown of
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the government through funding doesn't do away with snap, it
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just does away with the funding of it, said the judge,
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who was nominated to the U S District Court for
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the District of Rhode Island by President Barack Obama. There
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is no doubt and it is beyond argument, that irreparable
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harm will begin to occur if it hasn't already occurred.
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In the terror it has caused some people about the
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availability of funding for food for their family. In a
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separate case in Massachusetts, US District Judge in Deira Tiwane
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ruled Friday that the administration's refusal to release the contingency
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funds is probably unlawful. Tilwane did not also an Obama
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employee appointee told USDA that the agency appeared to be
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interpreting the law incorrectly. Tiliwane did not grant the order
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that a coalition of twenty six Democratic state attorneys generals
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and governors were looking for, which would have forced the
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administration to release contingency funds Saturday, but Tiliwane did order
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USDA to decide by Monday whether it will authorize that release.
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In her ruling, Tiliwani wrote that the Democratic state attorneys
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general are likely to succeed on their claim that USDA's
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suspension of SNAP benefits is unlawful, Tilwani said, where that
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suspension of benefits rests on an erroneous construction of the
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relevant statutory provisions, the court will allow defendants to consider
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whether they will authorize at least reduced SNAP benefits for November,
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while some interpretation in benefits is certain because the contractors
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that process loading benefits onto debit cards hadn't been able
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to begin before the start of the month as usually scheduled.
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At Hunger experts and Democratic leaders celebrated the rulings, arguing
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that millions of Americans on SNAP should now receive some
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sort of relief. Despite the Trump administration's threat to halt
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the program in November, USDA now has as no excuse
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to withhold food assistance from Americans, said Senator Amy Klobachar
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of Minnesota, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee.
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If they decide not to issue SNAP, it is purely
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a cruel political decision, not a legal one, Klobachar said
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in a statement, adding they should immediately act as the
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court is required to ensure food assistants continues to go
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to families in need. The five point five billion in
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contingency funds is not enough to pay for a full
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month of benefits. The program cost the federal government about
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nine billion dollars monthly because SNAP benefits are not released
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all at once to recipients. Though many states would be
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able to make partial November payments using the money, giving
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Americans some respite as the shutdown continues, the administration had
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argued that the shutdown ties its hands entirely. Agriculture Secretary
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Burke Rawlins told reporters at a Friday news conference alongside
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her speaker, Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, before the court rulings,
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that a contingency fund for SNAP can only flow if
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the underlying appropriation is approved. It's called a contingency fund,
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and by law, contingency funds can only flow when the
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underlying funder is flowing. She repeated, that's the contingency fund
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that we would use to send more money into the
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vulnerable communities that are harmed by a specific event like
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a hurricane. Her comments echoed a memo USDA sent to
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states last week saying that contingency money is meant to
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be held in case of natural disasters or other catastrophes
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not used to cover for a lapse in government funding.
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She's taking the position that the Department did in the
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leaflet they circulated on October twenty fourth, But there's simply
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nothing in either the Food and Nutrition Act or the
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Appropriations Act that supports that, said David Souper, a law
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professor at Georgetown University, adding it maybe reflects what a
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lay person might think of as contingency, but the reason
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they can provide more assistance to someone in an area
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hit by a hurricane is not the contingency fund. The
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government has relied on contingency funding to keep SNAP running
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in previous shutdowns, including in the most recent closure, which
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spanned from December twenty eighteen to January twenty nineteen during
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Trump's first term. Democrats, including the Attorney's General and governors
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who brought the lawsuit against USDA in Massachusetts, argue that
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with holding the contingency funds violates federal spending laws, and
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that the administration should be required to disperse the money,
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even if it covers only partial payments for the month.
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They have pointed to President noting that during the last shutdown,
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officials told states they could use the contingency funds to
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cover SNAP payments. Until a few weeks ago, USDA's website
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had a lapse of funding plan which stated that SNAP
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contingency reserves would be used to cover regular SNAP benefits.
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The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal think tank,
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noted ty Jones Cox, vice president for Food Assistants at
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the CBPP Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, told The
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Washington Post that Rollin's claim is flat lay false. The
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money in USDA's contingency fund was a pro operided by
29:00
Congress and is available to pay benefits. In November, Cox
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said in past shutdowns, indeed, under the Trump administration's own
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guidance from a few weeks ago, it was clear that
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these funds could be used to pay benefits in the
29:16
event of a lapse of funding. That is why Congress
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made them available for multiple years. Anti hunger advocates on
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Friday condemned Rollin's claims, arguing that USDA has funded SNAPPED
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through previous government shutdowns and can do so now. Anti
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hunger organizations and faith based groups Friday urged us DA
29:41
to reconsider when people and families have their benefits cut
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off at short notice. It will not only hurt them,
29:50
but also the wider community around them. Eric Mitchell, president
29:55
of the Alliance to End Hunger, said in a statement.
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Grocery stores, food banks, agriculture, transport, local economies, do dot
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everything will begin to feel these impacts. The main takeaway
30:10
for now is that the administration keeps changing its positions,
30:15
said g William Hogland, Senior vice president at the Bipartisan
30:20
Policy Center, a Washington think tank. When they put out
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their Department of Agriculture Lapse of funding plan, the language
30:29
in there is very explicit that they could use the
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contingency funds to fund the program, Hobland said, adding then
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they took it down. All I can interpret is that
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within the administration itself, there's a lot of uncertainty about
30:46
what the policy should be. Kennedy Center ticket sales have
30:53
plummeted since Trump takeover. Nearly nine months into the president's oversight,
31:00
sales for orchestra, theater and dance performances are the worst
31:04
they've been since the pandemic, according to a Washington Post analysis.
31:10
And here is a picture of the main huge concert hall.
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Huge totally empty, I mean like four rows maybe full
31:22
of people with the Washington National Symphony Orchestra playing. This
31:29
building was an iconic place to visit when families went
31:34
to DC to visit, and they'd always find something to
31:38
go to as an exciting event for visitors. This is
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Travis M. Andrews, Jeremy B. Merrill, and Shelley tann After
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President Donald Trump took over the Kennedy Center for the
31:54
Performing Arts in February, he and the executive he put
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in charge repeated accused the institution's former leadership of not
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doing the very thing they were responsible for, selling tickets.
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We had way too much on programming that doesn't bring
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in any revenue, Richard Grenell, a Trump ally and former
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ambassador to Germany, told The Washingtonian Reporter or Washington Reporter,
32:23
a conservative media outlet, in late March. According to Grannell,
32:28
the Senate had been making money. It was too woke
32:32
and niche. The new team was, in Trump words, going
32:37
to make it hot again. Nearly nine months after Trump
32:42
became chair of the Center and more than a month
32:45
into its main season, ticket sales for the Kennedy Center's
32:49
three largest performer venues are the worse they've been in years.
32:55
According to a Washington Post analysis of ticketing data from
32:59
dozens of recent shows as well as past seasons, tens
33:04
of thousands of seats have been left empty since early September.
33:09
Forty three percent of tickets remained unsold for the typical production.
33:14
That means that at most fifty seven percent of tickets
33:18
were sold for the typical production, and some tickets may
33:21
have been comps, which are given away, often to staff
33:25
members or the press. That compares with ninety three percent
33:30
sold or comped in the fall of twenty twenty four
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and eighty percent in the fall of twenty twenty three.
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The Post collected and analyzed ticket sales data from September
33:41
third to October nineteenth, which reveals and across the board
33:45
drop off in the Center's major theaters, the Opera House,
33:49
the Concert Hall, and the Eisenhower Theater. The performances included
33:55
National Symphony orchestra programs touring broad were musicals, and dance performances.
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The Kennedy Center did not respond to wear a request
34:06
for comment. Overall, the Senate could have sold tickets to
34:10
roughly one hundred and forty three thousand seats during this
34:13
time period. Of those, more than five fifty thousand remained vacant.
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The Post also analyzed internal Kennedy Center's sales figures from
34:26
past years and credit and debit card transaction data, which
34:30
underscores what patrons can see with their own eyes. Unfield
34:34
seats are now a regular feature of Washington's National Center
34:39
for the Performing Arts. According to the spending data drawn
34:43
from forty million credit and debit cards analyzed by the
34:47
consumer data and analytics company Consumer Edge, less than half
34:52
as much money was spent on tickets in September and
34:55
the first half of October twenty twenty five as during
34:59
that same period in twenty twenty four. This is less
35:03
than people spend on the Center during any other year
35:06
since twenty eighteen, except twenty twenty, when the venue was
35:10
locked down for most of the year. The drop in
35:14
ticket buying may have broader consequences. Fewer patrons and chairs
35:19
could lead to fewer donations, warned Michael Kaiser, who served
35:23
from twenty one to two fourteen as president of the
35:27
Kennedy Center, where he boasted a budget surplus every year.
35:33
Depressed ticket sales not only cause a shortfall in revenue,
35:37
they also bode unfavorably for future fundraising. Revenue, Kaiser wrote
35:42
in an email after reviewing the Post's findings. He said,
35:46
the vast majority of donors are ticket buyers who are
35:49
anxious to enhance their relationships with the organization by making
35:54
contributions in addition to paying for their tickets. We had
35:58
forty thousand generous inns individual donors by the time I
36:01
left the center in twenty fourteen. Funding from these individuals
36:06
formed the foundation for all we accomplished. It is unclear
36:11
what the Kenadi Center's overall revenue picture looks like at
36:14
the moment. The center has declined several requests from the
36:18
Post to share concrete details about its financials. Ticket sales
36:23
usually account for less than half of its revenue, according
36:26
to the center's publicly available tax records from the past
36:30
several years. The center also relies on corporate sponsorships, event rentals,
36:36
philanthropic giving, and other sources of income. Its building operations
36:41
are funded by the federal government. To compare the current
36:46
sales to those of past seasons, the Post obtained internal
36:50
all discipline reports from the past several years. These share
36:55
final ticket sales, revenue, attendance and more. For all shows
36:59
that the center from fall of twenty twenty one through
37:02
the start of summer twenty twenty five. They used to
37:05
be shared with all employees every Wednesday, but the new
37:09
leadership ended that practice this summer and across the board
37:13
drop off. Despite Grinnell's critique of the former Kennedy Center management,
37:19
swaths of empty seats were an unusual site in the
37:22
large venues before the takeover. According to the Post analysis
37:27
from September to mid October last year, on average, only
37:30
seven percent of seats were available for a typical production
37:34
on the day of the performance. In twenty twenty three,
37:37
twenty percent of seats were unsold. In twenty twenty two,
37:42
a robust year for the center, only six percent of
37:45
seats were available. In twenty twenty one, as the center
37:50
was reopening during the coronavirus pandemic, thirty four percent of
37:54
seats went unsold, a bit less than this year, when
37:58
the median production had at a forty three percent of
38:01
seats available. Given the unprecedented takeover of a nonpartisan arts institution,
38:09
combined with the inexperience and rhetoric of the new management,
38:13
expected to decline in sales. However, it is truly shocking
38:18
to see that these actions have been worse for business
38:21
at the Kennedy Semma than the aftermath of a global pandemic.
38:25
Of former staff member said be a messaging app speaking
38:29
on the condition of anonymity, a far professional blowback. These
38:35
numbers are likely more dire than they appear, as they
38:39
don't account for council productions or shows moved into smaller
38:43
theaters due to weak ticket sales. There may be multiple
38:48
reasons for the dip in ticket sales On Broadway. Musical
38:52
theater sales are down, as The New York Times recently reported,
38:56
the Trump administration's recent National Guard deployment has hurt tourism
39:01
in nightlife in Washington, and many former Kennedy's Center patrons
39:05
have pledged to boycott the institution until Trump is no
39:09
longer chailed. This turndown isn't just abate pricing of programming.
39:15
It feels directly tied to the new regime's leadership shift
39:19
in the broader political climate, said a current staff member
39:23
speaking on the condition of anonymity for Feever, a PRASO
39:27
who also said, I've heard from ticket buyers who say
39:31
they're choosing not to attend because of what the Kennedy
39:34
Center now represents. The brand itself has become polarizing, which
39:39
is unprecedented in my experience. Since twenty eighteen, in the
39:44
same forty five day period the Post analyzed, only six
39:48
shows had fewer than half of their seats filled. Five
39:52
of them, all orchestra concerts were this year. Among them
39:56
was the Legacy of John Williams and Steven Spielberg, part
40:00
of the National Symphony Orchestra's Pop Series, which typically brings
40:05
in a broader audience. During the concert, which one of
40:09
this article's reporters attended, the USh has repeatedly encouraged odia's
40:14
members to move up to more expensive seats as much
40:17
of the orchestra section was empty. The top two tiers,
40:21
which were originally available for purchase, were closed several days
40:25
before the three performance run because of low ticket sales.
40:30
Even reliable shows are struggling. We are doing the big
40:34
things that people want to see, Grenell recently said in
40:37
an interview. We are seeing a huge change because people
40:41
are recognizing that they want to be part of something
40:44
that is common sense programming. He continued, employing a phrase
40:49
he is often used while describing his plans for the
40:51
Kennedy Senna in parentheses. Brunelle has repeatedly declined interview requests
40:58
from the Post. The week after Trump announced his plans
41:04
to take over the Center, ticket sales dropped by fifty percent,
41:08
several staff members said at the time. Months later, sales
41:12
of subscriptions to the major seasons theatre, operas, etc. Were
41:18
down by thirty six percent, according to internal data obtained
41:21
by The Toast, and the numbers remained dismal. What has
41:26
changed under Trump and Grinnell. There has been an influx
41:30
of Christian programming, but many of these events have been
41:33
free to the public. Numerous programming executives have resigned or
41:37
been dismissed, part of a broader trend of layoffs at
41:41
the Center. The programming of the theater and the National
41:44
Symphony Orchestra in particular, is similar to that of previous years.
41:49
One major difference was a high dollar fundraiser that Trump
41:52
hosted to open the summer run of Les Mesurab. Another
41:57
is the numerous artists who have said they won't perform there.
42:01
Some adjustments are evident. The Center moved Parade, a Tony
42:07
winning musical that ran from August nineteenth to September seventh,
42:11
from the twenty three hundred and sixty four seat Opera House,
42:16
where it was originally slated to run, to the eleven
42:19
hundred and sixty one seat Asenhower Theater. In the last
42:23
few days of its run, forty three percent of seats
42:27
were available. The Sound of Music, which included thirty two
42:31
performances from September nine to October five, was a centerpiece
42:35
of the fall schedule. This is a beloved classic for
42:39
so many people and exactly the type of popular show
42:42
you can expect on as stages from the new leadership
42:46
Roma de Ravi, the Senator, Kennedy Center's vice president of
42:50
public relations, told The Washington Rapoto. Grinell agreed, telling that
42:55
I let we are trying to be financially responsible. Gives
43:00
shows that a common sense blockbuster hips with the public,
43:04
but it wasn't a hit. While some performance is nearly
43:08
sold out, on an average, about one third of seats
43:11
were still for sale the day of a window into
43:15
the Kennedy Center's financial health. Grinnell and other members of
43:20
the center's new leadership team have repeatedly claimed that the
43:23
center was deep in debt and paying its employees from
43:26
debt reserves and have even accused the former leadership of fraud,
43:31
which those leaders deny. Shows selling this pearly leave more
43:36
than a million dollars in potential revenue on the table
43:39
just forty five days into the season. Consider a recent
43:43
run of the National Symphony Orchestras and Evening of Beethoven.
43:48
For the three shows, more than two thousand seats worth
43:51
about one hundred and ten thousand dollars were still available
43:54
day of according to the Post analysis of listed prices
43:58
on the Kennedy Center's ticketing web site. On the morning
44:01
before each performance of a three hundred and thirty thousand
44:05
dollars worth of seats were filled, according to the listed prices,
44:10
but it is unclear how many were comps, which do
44:13
not generate revenue. Indeed, several Kennedy Center's staff members told
44:18
the Posts they've received far more free tickets than in
44:22
previous years. The Senate has, on occasion often hundreds of
44:26
comp seats for shows to paper the house or to
44:30
make it look like ticket sales are higher than they
44:33
actually are, according to one staff member with knowledge of ticketing,
44:37
speaking on the condition of anonymnity and a fear of reprisal.
44:41
All in all, it is not a sustainable situation, this
44:46
staff member said. The blowback to Trump's takeover already extends
44:52
into next year. Hamilton probably would have been the Center's
44:57
biggest show in twenty twenty six, but the produce users
45:00
pulled out this summer. Producer Jefflee Sella said at the
45:04
time that the show was incompatible with a new spirit
45:08
of partisanship dot that dot at the national treasure that
45:11
is the Kennedy Center. Hamilton was proudly performed at the
45:15
Kennedy Center in twenty eighteen during the first Trump administration.
45:19
Sella said, we are not acting against his administration, but
45:23
against the partisan policies of the Kennedy Center. As a
45:27
result of his recent takeover, Grinnell called the cancelation assigned
45:32
a political intolerance to conservative audiences. The Hamilton run in
45:38
twenty twenty two sold twenty six million dollars in tickets,
45:41
including subscriptions. The Senate paid Sellers Production Company a twenty
45:46
two point seven million dollar fee, according to tax filings,
45:51
and spent about seven hundred thousand our marketing according to
45:55
the twenty twenty two Final Old Discipline Report. That's to
45:59
say nothing of the merchandise and concession sales generated by
46:03
the more than one hundred and sixty thousand attendees. The
46:06
current leadership does not publicly acknowledge any challenges with ticket sales,
46:11
but the chairman of the board has been serving as
46:14
a pitchman in recent social truth social post. Trump praised
46:19
the building's newly painted columns and referred to the center
46:22
as the Trump Kennedy whoops, I mean Kennedy Center. He
46:29
also encouraged people to visit a building that will soon
46:32
be the finest arts and entertainment center anywhere in the world.
46:37
Come see for yourself. Trump wrote, we are remaining fully
46:41
open during construction, renovation, and beautification. Here is an article
46:48
related to to night Trump pleaded for more daylight but
46:53
Congress stalls again on Sunshine Bill. Combatants in the daylight
46:59
saving fight through their prospects were bright, thought their prospects
47:05
were bright after Trump waited in and once again the
47:09
fate of their movement is cloudy. When Donald by Dan Diamond.
47:15
When Donald Trump varied last year to end America's semi
47:18
annual clock changes, pledging the Republican Party would finally resolve
47:23
the issue. Combatants in the years long fight over daylight
47:27
saving Time thought their future was hite bright, but the
47:31
political difficulties of the matter have proved too much for
47:35
Trump and his allies to overcome, culminating in a showdown
47:39
on the Senate floor Tuesday that pitted Republican against Republican
47:43
and let the movement's future prospects cloudy. The American people
47:48
are sick and tired of changing their clocks twice a year,
47:51
said Senator Rick Scott, Republican Florida, the lead sponsor of
47:56
the bipartisan Sunshine Protection Act, which would end the clock
48:00
changes by allowing states to adopt year round daylight saving time.
48:06
With President Trump committed to finally lock the clock, we
48:09
can finally get this done. Not every human problem has
48:14
a legislative solution, counted Senator John tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas,
48:21
blocking Scott's effort and arguing that Americans would need to
48:25
live with an uneasy compromise and accept the regular clock changes.
48:31
Rolemakers have spent decades arguing over daylight saving time, whether
48:35
it's helpful or harmful, how long it should last, and
48:38
whether the nation should be changing its clocks at all.
48:42
An earlier version of the Sunshine Protection Act surprisingly passed
48:47
the Senate in twenty twenty two, before stalling in the
48:50
host where representatives said they were overwhelmed by the intense,
48:54
dueling arguments of what to do next. Cotton took credit
48:59
this week for helping stammy that bill too. The responsibility
49:04
of changing the nation's time code rests with Congress, meaning
49:08
that Trump cannot simply issue an executive order. Nineteen states
49:13
have also approved measures that would allow them to adopt
49:16
year round daylight saving time if Congress passed a bill
49:20
making it permanent nationwide, according to the National Conference of
49:24
State Legislatures. Proponents of daylight saving time argue that the
49:30
century old system remains the best way to maximize American
49:34
sunshine during the work day by shifting clocks as the
49:38
seasons change. They also point to the lawmaker's failed effort
49:43
to end the clock changes in the nineteen seventies by
49:46
adopting permanent daylight saving time, almost immediately backfired. Amid widespread
49:52
reports of children waiting in the dark for school buses
49:55
to arrive, ad acdotes about car accidents, and other frustration,
50:00
Congress rolled back the change after ten months. Health experts
50:05
have counted that the time changes are linked with Jersey
50:08
behavior linked to motor vehicle accidents and workplace injuries, elevated
50:14
risk of heart attack, and other potential hazards. The public
50:18
has long wanted to end the time changes. Polls show
50:22
just twelve percent of Americans favor of the current system.
50:25
According to an ap slash RC poll released Thursday, Another
50:31
forty seven percent oppose it, and the remainders said they
50:34
were neither posed or in fable, but there's little consensus
50:38
on what to adopt instead. Fifty six percent of Americans
50:43
said they would prefer year round daylight saving time with
50:46
more light in the evening and less in the morning,
50:49
while forty two percent what year round standard time with
50:53
more light in the morning unless at night. In AP
50:57
slash NORC found the issue has unusual politics, with lawmakers
51:03
often bound together by geography rather than ideology. States are
51:08
required to observe daylight saving time, springing forward in March
51:13
and falling back in November, although Hawaii and part of
51:17
Arizona have opted out and followed year round standard time.
51:22
Politicians from the coast have generally pushed for year round
51:25
daylight saving time, given that their time zones would allow
51:29
them to enjoy longer sunnier days. Conservative senators from the South,
51:35
such as then Congressman Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida and
51:39
Senator Tommy Tuberville Tuberville, Republican of Alabama, have joined liberals
51:45
stalwarts such as Senator as Patty Murray, Democratic Washington and
51:49
Edward J. Marky, Democratic Massachusetts to lobby for the Sunshine
51:53
Protection Act. The lawmakers from the middle of the country
51:58
have argued that they stand alut sunlight. Year round daylight
52:02
saving time would lead to sunrises that start after nine
52:05
am in cities such as Indianapolis and Detroit. Advocates such
52:11
as the American Academy of Sleep Medicine have also worn
52:15
that year round daylight saving time would be unhealthy, citing
52:19
risks such as higher rates of obesity or metabolic dysfunction,
52:24
and argued that year round standard time is a healthier option.
52:29
There appeared to be new momentum to tackle daylight saving
52:33
time when Trump turned his attention to the matter after
52:36
securing reelection his vague online post where he dismissed the
52:41
clock changes as inconvenient and very costly to our nation,
52:45
and said that daylight saving time has a small but
52:49
strong constituency gave hope to advocates on both sides of
52:53
the issue seeking to sway the incoming president to their
52:56
way of thinking. Elon Musk and Vivid Warmami, who Trump
53:01
kept to lead his Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE,
53:06
marked the concept of daylight saving time and pledged to
53:09
end it, although it was not clear if they were serious,
53:13
but Trump told reporters earlier this year that while he
53:15
supported year round daylight saving time, he had discovered, like
53:20
so many politicians go him, that it was a fifty
53:23
to fifty issue with unclear political prospects and no consensus
53:27
on what to do next. This should be the easiest
53:31
of all, but a lot of people like it one way,
53:34
a lot of people like the other way. It's very even,
53:38
the President said. In March. He soon called on Congress
53:41
to take up the legislation. The House and Senate should
53:45
push hard for more daylight at the end of the day.
53:48
Very popular, and most importantly, no more changing of the clocks,
53:52
A big inconvenience and for our government, a very costly event,
53:57
Trump wrote on truth Social in April. Congress initially appeared
54:02
receptive to Trump's entreaties, with Senator Ted Cruz, Republic of Texas,
54:06
who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, holding an April hearing
54:10
to review the Sunshine Protection Act. The committee later that
54:14
month voted to advance the bill, the first time the
54:18
legislation would ever advanced out of a committee since its
54:22
twenty eighteen intruct reduction, but not enough senators were physically
54:27
present for the vote to be officially recorded. A spokesperson
54:31
for Cruise said there were no immediate plans to revisit
54:33
the issue. The House Energy and Commerce Committee had also
54:39
planned to examine the debate over daylight saving time this fall,
54:43
but those efforts are on hold because of the government's shutdown,
54:47
said Matt Van Heift, a committee spokesman. Scott and his
54:52
allies this week tried a different tactic to seek unanimous
54:56
consent on their bill, which eliminates the need for debate
54:59
or an actual boat count if no senator ejects to
55:02
a measure. The strategy had worked in twenty twenty two,
55:06
allowing the Sunshine Protection Act to swiftly pass the Chamber,
55:10
to the surprise of some lawmakers who said they had
55:13
realized the bill was up for a boat But this
55:16
time the maneuver was stammied by Cotton, who said he
55:19
regretted not blocking it three years ago and had worked
55:22
with the host to kill the bill later in twenty
55:25
twenty two. Unless we're willing to adopt permanent standard time
55:30
and sacrifice the extra hour of evening being light in
55:34
the spring and some of for little league ball games
55:37
and summer vacations across the country, is not much to
55:41
be done, Cotton said Tuesday. The White House didn't respond
55:46
to questions Thursday abate the bill's defeat, but Scott said
55:50
Thursday that he was undeterred, arguing that Trump's support would
55:53
help him win over wirey senators. I'm going to keep working,
55:58
he told The Washington Some Democrats are keen to join him.
56:03
I don't always agree with President Trump, Senator to Sheldon
56:07
white House, a Democrat of Rhode Allen, said on the
56:09
Senate floor Tuesday, but endorsing the Sunshine Protection Act, but
56:15
I sure do agree about this, f y. The daylight
56:21
saving time fall back is tonight, So at two o'clock
56:26
in the morning, you will gain an extra hour of sleep.
56:30
So turn your clocks back to night and we will
56:33
have a little more daylight in the morning. And the
56:37
last article. I'm quickly going to just read a little
56:40
bit five times the British Royal family has been ruthless
56:44
with its own. The Royal family can move quite swiftly
56:47
against its members if it feels under threat by Carla Adam.
56:53
King Charles the Third acted briskly, as briskly as a
56:57
Windsor ever does, and rather ruthlessly dealing with his embattled brother.
57:02
The King declared he was tripping Andrew of his prince
57:05
title and that he would soon be leaving his Windsor lodgings.
57:09
The fine print that Andrew supposedly had an ironclad lease
57:14
on royal lodge, or that as the son of Queen
57:17
Elizabeth II, he was born a prince turned out to
57:20
be pesky details. After days of bruising headlines. The King's
57:25
brother would henceforth be known as plain old Andrew mount
57:29
Bountain Windsor, and would soon be vacating the Royal Large mansion.
57:34
One could almost hear the moving bands idling in the
57:37
press release. Charles is dutifully acting to preserve the monarchy
57:43
and maintain its reputation by sacrificing his brother, said royal
57:47
historian Ed Owens, who added that the monarchie could have
57:52
saved itself a lot of trouble, and had these actions
57:56
been taken after Andrew's ill fated twenty nineteen BBC and
58:01
Troup interview, it may not have been quick, but it
58:05
was classically loyal. Charles put the crown first. The British
58:09
Mornichye had endured for more than a thousand years precisely
58:12
because it has shown cold, even surgical pragmatism. Kings and
58:17
queens down the ages have demonstrated that when duty collides
58:21
with blood, the institution wins, even if it means sacrificing
58:25
one of their own. Thank you for listening to today's
58:29
reading of The Washington Post for November first, twenty twenty five.
58:35
I'll be back next Thursday. Have a good weekend by