Transcript

6.25.26 · Washington Post

0:01
Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of Today's Washington Post for Thursday,
0:07
June twenty five, of twenty twenty six. You reader Rosales
0:12
Stina with reminder the radio eyes for those blinded with
0:16
other difficulties in holding a reading printed material. And I
0:21
start off with the front page, of which the top
0:26
half of three columns one two, three, four columns is
0:32
taken up with the picture of the construction zone in
0:37
America's front yard. That's what the picture is entitled. And
0:42
you see it all the way from something that's not
0:46
there one two, three, four, four items that are not
0:50
on the mall. Maybe the fifth is not on the
0:52
mall either, but from an archway to the Capitol, and
0:58
you see the grass, but you see an arch and
1:01
in one two three different looking buildings with arches in them,
1:06
and then a giant ferris wheel, and then you see
1:10
some construction buildings and something else. And this is along
1:16
the mall, which is in front of the Air and
1:18
Space Museum.
1:19
Speaker 2: The whole.
1:24
Speaker 1: The Rennick Galleries of the mall.
1:31
Speaker 2: I'm I'm at a loss of words.
1:34
Speaker 1: It's one hundred and ten foot ferris wheel for the
1:38
Great American State fail the Freedom two fifty transformation for
1:45
America's birthday has brought fencing and frustration to the National Mall.
1:53
I will read that story later. To the right of
1:58
that Trump puts off housing bill in flap with Senate,
2:04
he demands passage of Election Act First, unclear whether he
2:10
intends to kill bipartisan measure by Natalie Allison Marianna a Pharaoh,
2:19
Theodoric Mayor, and Gerald Dillon below that hexf swarted bid
2:27
to extend General's career.
2:30
Speaker 2: Top Warfighter is the.
2:32
Speaker 1: Latest apparent casualty in a purge of senior leaders by
2:38
Dan Lemouth below the picture, and to the left, A
2:45
singer's quest to get God to bless the USA. Lee Greenwood,
2:53
a former Vegas lounge performer, became a permanent featured entertainer
2:59
for the present by Jeff Edgers. Rocked by the Iran War,
3:07
The UAE sours on Trump by Rachel Carson. Out of Dubai,
3:15
Ebola continues deadly spread, and it says France reported its
3:22
first patient as cases in Africa topped a thousand, potentially
3:29
rivaling the largest outbreak. And the last article on the
3:33
front page, Mandami rises as kingmaker in sweep of primaries
3:40
in New York by Aaron Cox, theo Armis, Matthew Choi,
3:47
and Natalie Allison. First article, Trump abruptly counsels signing a
3:56
bipartisan bill on affordable housing. The President posted on social
4:02
media that the signing was off until the Senate passes
4:06
his bill on elections. It is unclear whether he intends
4:11
to kill the housing bill, and there's a picture of
4:15
him standing in the Capitol speaking to reporters alongside of
4:22
the Republican senators Wednesday by Natalie Allison, Marianna Alfaro, Gerald Dillard,
4:30
and Theodoric Mayl. President Donald Trump abruptly canceled an event
4:37
to sign a bipartisan affordable housing bill Wednesday, announcing the
4:43
ceremony was off as he fumed about the Senate not
4:47
passing his bill to impose new rules on elections. An
4:52
hour and a half before he was due to sign
4:55
the bill at the Capitol at noon. The President caught
4:59
law mail and some staff by surprise, declaring on social
5:04
media that a news conference and signing ceremony was hereby
5:09
I counseled until such a time as we passed the
5:12
desperately needed Save America Act, which I considered to be
5:17
a national emergency. The announcement came as Host Speaker Mike Johnson,
5:25
Republican of Louisiana, and other Host GOP leaders were toating
5:30
the housing bill at a news conference. The stage set
5:34
for the President in the National Statutory Hall, including a
5:39
table and chair to sign the legislation. Johnson's office later
5:45
confirmed that the Speaker will meet with the President at
5:49
the White House on Thursday in an effort to work
5:52
at the Republicans conference's next steps. The Housing bill was
5:57
set to be a rail by partisan policy accomplished for
6:02
the president, touching on an issue that has dogged him
6:06
in polling ahead of the midterms, addressing americas affordability concerns.
6:13
And here is a picture of Senator House Speaker Mike Johnson,
6:18
Republican of Loue, Louisiana, also at the Capitol and they
6:23
were all wearing blue suits with red ties. A senior
6:28
White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to
6:32
discuss the president's deliberations, said Trump realized Wednesday morning he
6:39
could use the Housing Bill as leverage and apply additional
6:44
pressure to move the Save America Act along. Senate Republican
6:49
leaders have repeatedly told Trump that the votes are not
6:53
there to pass his election bill, which would require proof
6:57
of citizenship to vote in federal elections, restrict mail voting,
7:03
and impose new restrictions on transgender Americans, among other provisions.
7:09
The host passed a version of the bill earlier this
7:11
year that did not include all the provisions Trump has demanded.
7:17
Multiple Senate Republicans said they had no idea Trump is
7:21
going to hold back on signing the bill, and they
7:24
were not clear of his plans moving forward. The President
7:30
doesn't want it, Senator Tom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina,
7:35
said of the Hosing legislation, adding, if it's not on
7:39
his agenda, then give us something else to address the
7:42
affordability issue that we all agree is always an issue
7:46
in elections, Tillis said, arguing that Republicans can't turn a
7:52
blind eye to rising costs. In response to questions about
7:58
whether Trump would sign the Hosing bill, privately, the White
8:01
House was fonded with Trump's truth social post. Trump could
8:06
allow the bill to become law without his signature, The
8:10
senior White House official said Trump hasn't closed the door
8:15
on signing the bill in the next ten days. Before
8:20
pulling out of the signing event, Trump posted online that
8:24
the bill is of minor importance, calling it the Elizabeth
8:31
Pocahonness Warren Concentric Housing Bill. Warren, a Democratic senator from Massachusetts,
8:39
was one of the main authors of the bill in
8:42
the Senate. Later in the Oval Office, Trump downplayed whether
8:48
the bill was necessary to help Americans with hosing. He
8:52
says that he knows hosing better than anybody may be anywhere,
8:58
and that it's more important to get the interest rates down.
9:03
Low interest rates will solve everything will solve that. Trump's
9:10
sudden announcement came as a surprise to his closest advisors,
9:14
who had spent the morning toting the hosing legislation as
9:18
a fulfillment of Trump's promises to bring down prices for
9:22
average Americans. On Wednesday morning, White House Press Secretary Caroline
9:29
Levitt called it one of the most significant pieces of
9:33
hosing affordability legislation in American history, and James Blair, the
9:39
recently departed White Host Deputy chief of staff now running
9:44
Trump's mid term operation, dubbed it a signature commitment that
9:50
President Trump laid out in the State of the Union.
9:55
Senate majority leader John Thune, Republican of South Dakota, who
10:01
is typically talkative, initially declined to comment on Trump's decision
10:06
after it was made public. I guess I would say
10:11
at this point, we don't have any observations about it,
10:15
then told reporters later then said of Trump that it
10:19
was his call to make, but noted that legislation has
10:24
been worked on for a long time. Senate Minority Leader
10:30
Chuck Schumann, Democrat of New York, urged Trump to sign
10:34
the bill and stop making such a fool of himself.
10:39
It's utterly amazing, Schumer said on the Senate floor. Trump
10:44
is running away from one of the very few accomplishments
10:47
that could actually help the American people. Johnson tried to
10:52
shrug away the last minute changed, telling reporters that he
10:55
spoke to Trump for twenty minutes earlier in the day
10:59
and that the two who agreed Congress has to pass
11:02
the Save America Act. He said he knew Trump would
11:06
cancel the signing, but waited for the President to announce it.
11:10
We're delaying this, Johnson said. He Trump has a window
11:17
of time before he has to sign a bill. Johnson
11:21
said Republicans would use that time to work on advancing
11:25
the voting bill. He then went on to praise the
11:28
housing bill as he stood next to Representative French Hill,
11:32
Republican of Arkansas, chairman of the Host Finance Services Committee,
11:37
who shepherded the housing bill through the Chamber. Hill, he said,
11:42
was disappointed Trump counseled Wednesday's signing, but said he believed
11:47
the President would still sign the legislation. Earlier in the day,
11:53
Host GOP leadership scrapped the chamber's midday votes after Representative
11:58
Anna Pauline Luna, Representative, a Republican from Florida, threatened to
12:04
shut down the Chamber if the HOST does not take
12:07
up the Save America Act. Luna said she would refuse
12:11
to vote for a rule that would have allowed leadership
12:14
to bring its next bills to the floor.
12:17
Speaker 2: Hours later, leaders scheduled around.
12:20
Speaker 1: Of votes that Luna couldn't hijack elsewhere in the Capitol.
12:26
Warren suggested that Trump's cancelation shouldn't surprise us, citing his
12:32
past comments about affordability concerns being a hoax created by Democrats.
12:40
The Host and the Senate have worked together to develop
12:42
a bill on a bipartisan basis that would help bring
12:46
down hosing costs, and Donald Trump has.
12:49
Speaker 2: Turned his back, she said.
12:52
Speaker 1: Warren and Senator Tim Scott, Republican of South Carolina, relieve
12:58
Senate negotiators for the bill, dubbed the twenty first Road
13:01
to Hosing Act, which includes more than forty provisions aimed
13:06
at increasing housing supply and lowering costs. The bill would
13:11
ban institutional investors from owning more than three hundred and
13:16
fifty single family homes in an effort to stop them
13:20
from competing with Americans that are already grappling with higher prices.
13:25
Speaker 2: It would also.
13:26
Speaker 1: Eliminate an outdated rule that requires contractors to build mobile
13:31
homes on a steel frame with wheels and an axle,
13:35
and expand federal grant programs to provide money to cities
13:40
for building new homes. Hag Seth thwarted internal efforts to
13:50
extend key Army general's career. General Christopher Donahue, seen as
13:57
a top wall fighter, is the latest apparent casualty in
14:02
a purge of senior military leaders by the Trump administration.
14:10
By Dan Lemouth, Defense Secretary Pete hag Seth stonewalled a
14:16
behind the scenes effort within the Army and on Capitol
14:20
Hill to extend the career of an influential general, people
14:24
familiar with the matters said, leading to that officer submitting
14:29
retirement paperwork and preparing to step down. General Christopher Donahue,
14:35
head of US Army Europe and Africa, will leave his
14:39
role on July second, after an usually brief eighteen month tenure,
14:46
these people said, some speaking on the condition of anonymity
14:50
to discuss personnel matters. Hagsath's move has exasperated some Army officials,
14:57
considering dona Hue's background as a a highly regarded special
15:01
operations commander and the secretary stated focus on making the
15:06
military more lethal. He's singularly our best war fighter at
15:12
every level, one retired senior Army officers said of Donahue,
15:17
the general's expected departure makes him the latest apparent casualty
15:22
in hexsa's purge of senior military leaders whom the Secretary
15:26
has deemed insufficiently loyal to the Trump administration or branded
15:32
woke for their past defense of diversity initiatives. HEXATH has
15:37
fired or otherwise removed dozens of generals and admirals, often
15:42
without specifying a reason. In April, the army's top officer,
15:47
General Randy George, and two other generals were forced into retirement.
15:52
The administration has not yet nominated anyone.
15:55
Speaker 2: For those roles.
15:57
Speaker 1: Through a spokesman, Donahue declined to comment. A spokesman for Heagseth,
16:03
Joel Valdez, referred questions to the Army. A spokeswoman for
16:09
the Army, Cynthia Smith, acknowledged in his statement on Wednesday
16:14
that Donny Hue will step down, but did not address why.
16:20
Major General Christopher Norri, Deputy Commander US Army Europe and Africa,
16:26
will perform the duties of the commanding General. Smith's statement said,
16:31
adding the Army thanks General Dona Hue for his leadership
16:36
of US Army Europe and Africa. Doniy Hue submitted retirement
16:41
paperwork after months of uncertainty about his future, and as
16:46
Hegseth's team plans to downgrade his role and many others
16:50
across the services to three star commands. The general left
16:55
the door open to taking another position, but no next
16:59
to Simon has been offered, three people familiar with the
17:02
matter said. The general's pending retirement was first reported by
17:08
the Atlantic. Advocates for Donahue have made the case that
17:13
he would be a good fit to replace George as
17:16
Army's Chief of Staff or become its number two officer
17:20
if heg Seth elevates General Christopher Lanive, a former top
17:25
military aid to the Defense Secretary who became Vice chief
17:29
in February.
17:31
Speaker 2: People familiar with the pituation.
17:33
Speaker 1: Said Lanie was nominated for that position after heg Seth
17:38
forced another officer, General James Mngus, into early retirement last year.
17:45
Speaker 2: Some also saw Donnie.
17:47
Speaker 1: Hue as a candidate to take over Army Transformation and
17:51
Training Command, an organization that oversees efforts to train and
17:55
prepare soldiers for war. Its commander, General David Hodny, was
18:01
fired by Hagseth in April along with George. Top army
18:05
leaders had considered Hunney a contender to become chief of staff.
18:10
Officials said Donahue had long been seen within the army
18:15
as a transformative leader and a potential future Chairman of
18:18
the Joint Chiefs of Staff or Army Chief of Staff.
18:23
As commander of the elite Delta Force, he played a
18:26
key role in leading operations against the Islamic State militant
18:31
group in Iraq and Syria. He went on to serve
18:34
as a top special operations commander in Afghanistan and lead
18:39
the eighty second Airborne Division and the eighteenth Airborne Corps
18:44
before taking his current role in Germany in December twenty
18:48
twenty four. But Donahue became a political target after the
18:53
chaotic and deadly US evacuation from Afghanistan under the Biden administration,
19:00
even though he was dispatched there as a commander of
19:02
the eighty second Airborne Division. Days after the US backed
19:07
government collapsed and the Pentagon decided that reinforcements were necessary
19:13
as Taliban fighters swept into the capitol, Donahue's soldiers arrived
19:18
at the airport in Cabul with weapons drawn. People familiar
19:22
with the matter said he met with Taliban leaders as
19:25
US military officials sought to get control of the airfield,
19:29
and promised them appointed warning. He later told military investigators
19:34
who examined the episode, according to documents first reported by
19:38
The Washington Post in twenty twenty two, we told them
19:44
that we would control the gates and they would push
19:47
people out, Donahue told investigators. We expressed that they will
19:52
comply because if they fight us on this, we will
19:55
be able to kill more of them than they would
19:57
ever hope to kill of us. That their tone changed.
20:03
Thirteen US troops in about one hundred and seventy Afghans
20:07
were killed in an Islamic State suicide bombing near the
20:11
end of the evacuation effort on August twenty six of
20:17
twenty twenty one. They were not under Donahue's control at
20:21
the time, officials said. Four days later, the US military
20:26
departed the airfield. The Pentagon released a widely publicized photograph
20:31
of Donahue stepping onto an aircraft as the last American
20:36
service member to exit the war, elevating the general's profile
20:42
and you can see it.
20:43
Speaker 2: It looks like a.
20:47
Speaker 1: Night goggle type of photograph with him in bright green
20:52
and other areas in green and black. That was August
20:57
thirtieth of twenty twenty one. In twenty twenty four, dony
21:04
Hue's nomination to his current role was placed on whole
21:08
by the then Senator Mark Wwayne Mullen, Republican of Oklahoma,
21:13
now the Trump Administration's Secretary of Homeland Security.
21:18
Speaker 2: Threatening the promotion, Mullen released the.
21:21
Speaker 1: Hold after days of adgacy by top army leaders and lawmakers.
21:26
At that time, critics argued that someone needed to be
21:29
held accountable for how the Afghanistan War ended. Among them
21:34
was Anthony Tata, a retired Army general who now serves
21:38
as Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. Aren't
21:43
commanders accountable? Tata wrote on social media, then under Chris
21:49
Donahue's command, thirteen servicemen and women were killed, with dozens
21:53
of others grievously wounded, not to mention the hundreds of civilians.
21:58
Many reports showed the tell was there to prevent or
22:01
mitigate the attack. Tata added in his post that hundreds,
22:07
if not thousands, of US citizens were left behind, and
22:11
that Donahue had reaped the accolades for being the last
22:15
boots on the ground, as evidenced by the stage photo.
22:19
Is this what success today looks like? Tata wrote. Doni
22:25
Hue's advocates have argued that he did not have control
22:28
of the airport's abbey gate, where the suicide bombing occurred
22:32
and brought a measure of order and security in what
22:35
became a week's long crisis.
22:38
Speaker 2: He did everything he could, said one supporter who served
22:42
with him. This is someone.
22:44
Speaker 1: Who carried out their duty even if they disagreed with
22:47
the policies behind them. Last year, Donahue was seen as
22:52
a potential nominee to become the head of US European Command,
22:56
which oversees all American military operations in Europe, but he
23:01
was bypassed by heg Seth, who nominated then Air Force
23:05
Lieutenant General Alexis Grenekwitch. Hegseeth has raised the Afghan photograph
23:12
of Donahue in some private discussions about that decision, people
23:16
familiar with the matters said before the start of the
23:20
second Trump term, Dona Hue also scoffed at assertions pushed
23:25
by Republicans in recent years that the American military had
23:29
gotten weak as a consequence of efforts to diversify its ranks.
23:34
We're focused on people war fighting and making sure that
23:38
we're prepared for the next fight, he said in twenty
23:42
twenty three. There ain't no woke here. It is unclear
23:47
whether those remarks played any role in heg Seth bypassing Donahue.
23:55
Rocked by the Iran war, the UAE sours on Trump.
24:00
We got played across the Persian golf region. The President
24:07
was viewed as a pro business ally, but his decision
24:11
to rage war on Iran and is erradic conduct. Half
24:15
tarnished his image. There's a picture of Trump International Golf
24:23
Club in Dubai.
24:26
Speaker 2: It's the golf club in Dubai.
24:30
Speaker 1: It's got palm trees and it's curved in glass, and
24:36
it's the main club. Has photographed at the international Trump
24:42
International Golf Club in Dubai by Rachel Chasen. In Dubai,
24:48
Trump International Golf Club has ornate found town fountains, striking views,
24:54
strong branding, and a good collection of hats emblazoned with
24:58
the words make America great Again. But there was a
25:03
notable absence at the property's clubhouse on a recent evening
25:07
fans of President Donald Trump.
25:10
Speaker 2: As they sipped.
25:11
Speaker 1: Their beers, Dubai residents said Trump's decision to go to
25:15
war with Iran and is often erotic conduct over the
25:19
course of it had threatened the stability of the United
25:23
Arab Emirates, a place they had come to do business,
25:26
and tarnished their view of him. Initial optimism that Trump
25:31
would be a good ally to this region, built in
25:35
part on its business friendly and steady reputation, had faded
25:39
for many.
25:40
Speaker 2: On the business side.
25:42
Speaker 1: I thought he was going to do a lot, said
25:44
Bertie Jones twenty three who is originally from Britain. But
25:48
I've lost all trust in him. And there's a picture
25:52
of all of the mega hats and golf club hats
25:57
at the golf club in Dubai, and a lady has
26:01
a stick to pull the capsule off of the shelf
26:06
with golf clubs. Publicly, officials in the UAE in across
26:12
the Persian golf region largely have avoided criticizing Trump and
26:16
said the war has only made the UAE double down
26:19
on its relationship with the United States. When he met
26:23
Trump last week on the sideline to the Group of
26:26
Seventh summit in France, UAE President Mohammad bin Sayed el
26:32
Nahyang thanked him for his support and commitment to his allies.
26:38
Trump meanwhile called the Imarati politician a warrior and joked
26:43
that Mohammed, who was known to be soft spoken, didn't
26:47
have to strain his voice by talking loudly because he
26:50
was that rich and Secretary of State Marco Ribio arrived
26:56
in the capitol Abu Dhabi this week for the first
27:00
stop of a tour of golf nations and a working lunch.
27:03
Speaker 2: With the President.
27:05
Speaker 1: Speaking to reporters upon arrival on Tuesday, evening, Rubio praised
27:10
the UAE for standing by the United States during the war.
27:14
Speaker 2: I don't know of.
27:15
Speaker 1: Anyone who's been stronger with the United States over the
27:18
last six months. They've been phenomenal, Rubio said. Analysts, however,
27:25
said the friendly public posturing belies a deep frustration in
27:29
the Gulf with Trump's decision making. Regional officials actively tried
27:34
to avoid war and counsel the US against launching it
27:39
even as administrations changed. There has been a continuation of
27:44
strategic direction between US presidents, said Mohammed Bahrun, director general
27:51
of birth, a Dubai research center. Throw a dam in
27:57
the street, he added, and you we could find the
28:01
UAE residence whose opinion of Trump had changed during the war.
28:06
Among them was Omar al Masedi, forty, a businessman who
28:12
said he felt optimistic when Trump headed to the Golf
28:15
region for the first major overseas trip of his second term,
28:19
as Trump announced a two trillion dollar in investment deals.
28:24
Over the course of opulent ceremonies in Saudi Arabia, Guitar
28:29
and the Uaz Passedi, who had studied in Florida, said
28:33
he was sure Trump would be a good ally. Then
28:38
came the war and the more than twenty six hundred
28:42
drones and missiles that are on fired at the UAE
28:45
in retaliation across the region in unprecedented attacks during the
28:50
first weeks of war around hit refineries, oil fields, ports
28:56
and hotels. Even after the United States signed a memorandum
29:02
of understanding, there is still much apprehension in the region
29:06
about the lack of SPECI specificity in the deal and
29:11
whether it will hold.
29:14
Speaker 2: I'm not going to lie. I had high hopes.
29:18
Speaker 1: Pacedes said, of Trump sitting in the coffee shop in
29:21
Dubai on a recent evening, but we got played. Pacedi,
29:26
founder of Global Possibilities Consulting, said there had been lots
29:31
of excitement about Trump and the UAE, especially for his
29:35
promise to be a no wlaw president. We believed him,
29:39
Pacedes said, adding that Trump appeared to have directly ignored
29:44
the UA's messaging on Iran, which the businessman characterizes clear
29:49
from the beginning don't poke the bay. But Trump, he said,
29:56
either miscalculated or misread the situation and lost the thrust
30:01
of many in the business community here who now feel
30:05
it would be harder for them to succeed in one
30:11
of the most public displays of golf discontent, Emmi Right,
30:15
a billionaire Khaliph l Hobtoy, went viral with a public
30:20
letter that lambasted Trump's dangerous decision to drag our region
30:27
into a wall, giving voice to the frustrations that mostly
30:31
had been expressed behind closed doors. Nasa Hassan El Shak,
30:38
of businessmen, former UAE government official and economists, said golf
30:43
leaders have little choice than to work with the US
30:47
given the security assistance offered by Washington that includes the
30:52
Patriot missile defense systems brought from the US, which the
30:56
UA uses in addition to terminal high altitude area defense systems.
31:03
In all honesty, do we have any other choice? The
31:06
US remains the leading global superpower. Shakh said. We don't
31:11
know what was going through Trump's mind when he started
31:14
this war, but we did know the potential repercussions and
31:18
we know there was no knockout, Shaq said. Sitting in
31:24
Dubai Mall on a recent day, Mohammad al kab, a
31:28
local government official from Alan, a city near Oman, said
31:33
that even though he didn't like the war or the
31:35
increase in prices of food and fuel that came with it, he.
31:39
Speaker 2: Still likes Trump.
31:41
Speaker 1: Trump loves his country, and I love anyone who loves
31:44
their country, Kabi said. Next to him, his friend Khalid
31:49
al Kabi shook his head. Since the war, the wastewater
31:53
engineer said, it had become clear Trump had only created
31:57
problems for the world then left others to solve them.
32:02
The pair said they agreed on one thing. It is
32:06
past time for the war to end, Mohammed al Kabi said,
32:10
adding that people in the UAE are not scared, but
32:14
we are nervous. His friend interjected, recalling the days when
32:18
the sound of drone and missile interceptions kept them up
32:22
at night. On a recent morning, shortly after Trump announced
32:26
the m ou Omar Ali that memorandum of Understanding Omar
32:34
Ali forty nine in air traffic controllers said no one
32:37
was sure the war was over. In an hour, it
32:40
could start again, Holly said. He and his friends said
32:44
they did not get too involved in politics, but still
32:47
had a soft spot for Trump, even if the war
32:50
made them realize he is scary, Ali added, but we
32:56
still like him. Sitting at the bar in the clubhouse
33:01
of Trump's golf course, Jones and his friends said that
33:04
most people in Dubai, a city of four million people,
33:08
ninety percent of whom of foreigners don't talk politics. Tom thirty,
33:14
who arrived from London last year and works in the
33:17
insurance sectors, said that before the war he thought Trump
33:21
would have been more popular in Dubai than in Britain.
33:26
But Tom, who spoke on the condition that he'd be
33:29
identified only by his first name because of concerns about
33:33
repercussions at work, said Trump's actions during the war, especially
33:38
his repeated false promises that an end was imminent, had
33:42
made it impossible to trust him. He's caused horrendous regional
33:47
destabilization and just made it really hard for anyone to
33:51
like him, Tom said. Finishing their beers at the bar,
33:57
Neil Rodgers fifty seven and Rich Lucking, forty two, who
34:02
are from Britain and work organizing a bens in Dubai,
34:06
said they'd never been the biggest Trump fans, but that
34:09
the war made everything worse. He escalated the war and
34:13
then it seems like he's walked away, Roger said. They
34:17
said they sometimes feel a little self conscious coming to
34:21
Trump's golf course. It feels a little questionable these days,
34:26
said Lucking, who served in the British military, but it
34:29
hasn't stopped them.
34:31
Speaker 2: The staff and the course, he said, are brilliant.
34:36
Speaker 1: Going inside, internal memo orders staff not to reveal deaths
34:43
in national parks. The Interior Department's guidance instructs park staff
34:49
not to confirm deaths, the severity of injuries, or other details.
34:56
Speaker 2: By Jake Spring.
34:58
Speaker 1: On Friday, a seventeen year old girl drowned in Sequoia
35:03
National Park after slipping into a river. On Saturday, a
35:08
twenty three year old man died after falling over a
35:11
waterfall in Yosemite. The same weekend, a body was found
35:16
in the desert at Oregon Pipe Cactus National Monument, while
35:20
a motorcycle accident killed one person in the Great Smoky
35:24
Mountains National Park. But recent internal guidance prohibits park staff
35:31
or other Interior Department employees from directly notifying the public
35:35
about the deaths. The department, which oversees the National Park Service,
35:41
had not issued any statements on this weekend's deaths on
35:45
the department website or social media as of Wednesday afternoon.
35:51
The memo, issued in December and reviewed by The Washington Post,
35:56
states that Interior employees, including parks staff and others who
36:01
communicate with the media are no longer permitted to confirm
36:05
deaths or details about severe injuries, our restriction that current
36:09
and formal rangers say breaks with the department's previous disclosure policy.
36:15
An average of about three hundred and fifty people die
36:18
in National parks each year, or about seven per week,
36:22
according to Park Service data. That represents a small fraction
36:27
of the more than three hundred million people who visit
36:30
each year, With park advocates and staff emphasizing parks are
36:34
generally safe, Interior Press Secretary Aubrey Spady said in an email,
36:43
the guidance was developed to create a more consistent approach
36:47
to incident communications across the department and is not intended
36:52
to conceal fatalities or delay information. We continue to provide
36:59
public safety the information statements, news releases, and incident updates
37:05
as appropriate, while respecting investigative processes, privacy considerations next to
37:12
ken notifications, and in some cases requests from family members
37:18
not to release identifying information, she added. Seven current and
37:24
former National Park Service staffers, however, said the policy marks
37:28
as shift from the agency's long standing approach to release
37:32
as much information as possible. The current agency employees spoke
37:37
on the condition of anninity at a fear of retaliation.
37:42
While the overall number of deaths remained small compared to
37:45
overall attendance, they said public disclosure helps keep visitors safe
37:52
by informing them about the risks they may encounter while
37:55
on public lands. The basic process was always to get
38:00
people as much information as you could give them as
38:03
soon as possible around an incident, said Dan Wink, who
38:08
served as head of operations for the park System as
38:11
well as superintendent of Yellowstone National Park. When I had
38:17
a grizzly bear killed somebody, I literally had ten uplinked
38:21
trunks trucks outside my office the next morning. And people
38:26
want facts, and they expect answers, and the intention is
38:30
to give them as much information as you can while
38:32
still maintaining the correct protocols.
38:35
Speaker 2: Wink said.
38:37
Speaker 1: While the exact procedure could vary somewhat depending on the
38:41
individual park FORMA staffers said correct protocols included making sure
38:47
families are informed before the Park Service gives out names
38:51
or identifying information about the person involved. The new internal
38:56
policy states that Interior shall not come confirm a death,
39:01
adding that it applies to all Interior bureaus and offices
39:06
and all Interior communications involving fatalities, suspective fatalities, serious injuries,
39:13
or emotionally sensitive incidents. Not or only appropriate authorities can
39:20
confirm a death, the document says, after coordinating with the
39:24
Communications office and notified next to kin. However, the memo
39:28
does not indicate which authorities are authorized to act under
39:32
these circumstances. Interior shall not confirm the severity of injuries,
39:39
it ends. Interior may state only that an individual was
39:43
transported and the method of transport. No additional medical information
39:48
may be released. Instead, staff are only allowed to confirm
39:53
that an incident occurred the general location, that Interior personnel
39:59
apart are responding, that the incidents remains under investigation, and
40:05
that additional information will be shared when appropriate. Previously, the
40:11
Park Service would often issue press releases on its website
40:14
within twenty four to forty eight hours of the deaths,
40:18
although deaths in remote a backcountry areas could sometimes take
40:21
seventy two hours, the staffer said, But days after this
40:26
weekend's four deadly incidents, the agency has not issued such statements,
40:32
the Park Service confirmed to sf Gate, which was the
40:37
first to report the possible death of a man falling
40:40
over the waterfall at Yusemite that an incident occurred there,
40:45
but the department did not post this statement publicly. Interior
40:49
has similarly not issued a statement on the death in
40:52
Sequoia National Park, which several local media outlets reported on.
40:57
Staffers pointed to a Park Service press release on a
41:01
major fire in Arizona which was caused by a fatal
41:05
aircraft accident as an example of how deaths are communicated
41:09
under the new policy. Rather than explicitly stating the pilot
41:14
has died, the Park Service said that emergency responders responded
41:19
to the scene and located the pilot, who was transported
41:22
to the local coroner's office. Before the new policy, the
41:27
Park Service made a template available for each park to
41:30
write their own crisis communications guidance that they could tailor
41:35
to their staff and circumstances. One version based on this
41:40
template advised that the staff should follow a policy of
41:44
maximum disclosure, minimum delay that gives details to the media
41:50
as quickly as possible once information is confirmed to avoid
41:55
public speculation or panic. That guidance, reviewed by the Post
42:00
advised the staff to answer questions based on what is
42:03
known without engaging in speculation. Parkstaffs historically released information over
42:11
time as certain details are confirmed. According to Bill Wade,
42:16
executive director of the National Association of Park Rangers, which
42:20
represents current and retired ranges, they typically started with the
42:25
basics that a death occurred and followed up with the cause.
42:28
Wade said, often within a day or two. Incidents like
42:32
those over the past weekend a deadly fall, drowning, or
42:36
car crash would typically be confirmed to the public would
42:41
typically be confirmed in the public quickly, said Wade, who
42:44
retired as superintendent of Shannandoor National Park in nineteen ninety seven.
42:51
Sometimes certain details would take longer because of delays in
42:55
informing next of ken or determining cause of death. He added,
43:00
despite new guidance, the agency this year still periodically issued
43:04
press releases on deaths and parks. Park staffers and advocates
43:09
said that happened because the agency is huge in word
43:13
on new policies can spread slowly and haphazardly. The current
43:18
staffers said that in some cases releases still go with
43:22
delays as staffers are confused about what the guidance means. Meanwhile,
43:27
employees at other parks may be unaware of the policy
43:30
and continue to issue statements as they have in the past.
43:35
Three of the agency's staffers say the announcement that three
43:38
people died from extreme heat in the Grand Canyon earlier
43:42
this month was also delayed by the policy. A seventy
43:46
two year old man died of extreme heat in the
43:49
canyon on June twelfth, while a couple aged sixty seven
43:53
and sixty eight also died of heat there on June sixteenth.
43:58
The deaths were only announced on June nineteenth, a staffer said,
44:02
adding that communicating that sort of basic information can make
44:06
more hikers aware of possible risks so they take the
44:09
necessary precautions. Alexandra Picavet, a board member for the Coalition
44:17
to Protect America's National Parks, said that the policy was
44:22
not as big as shift as summer, suggesting the agency
44:26
previously did not issue press releases for every fatality, and
44:30
incidents like car crashes often would not be announced unless
44:34
they resulted in a road disclosure, said Pikavet, a former
44:39
Park Service employee whose roles included handling communications at Sequoia
44:44
National Park. It is not a requirement or an edict
44:48
that every accidental death that occurs in a park gets
44:52
a press release, she said. However, Pikavet said the policy
44:57
seems disconnected from the reality of parks working in the
45:00
field and will most likely not work. There are times
45:05
when it is evident someone has passed, and there are
45:09
times where it is extremely evident what the cause of
45:12
it is, and it makes the agency look ridiculous to him.
45:16
In horror around that, she said, this type of prescriptive
45:21
and in some ways threatening guidance. The way they wrote
45:24
it was intimidating in some proportions, will not in the
45:28
long run be effective. New Orleans Hospital destroyed by Katrina
45:36
to be reborn as a science hub, while other universities
45:40
scale back research amid federal funding uncertainty. Tulane University will
45:46
lead a sweeping redevelopment of the vacant Charity Hospital. And
45:51
there's a lock to gate at the entrance of the
45:54
shuttered Charity Hospital building in downtown New Orleans. In twenty
45:58
seventeen by Susan Sebrubla, New Orleans, vines have grown through
46:07
the fence in barbed wire surrounding a tall Art Deco
46:11
building in the city's downtown, and cigarette holders and empty.
46:15
Speaker 2: Food tens lit of the tall weeds.
46:19
Speaker 1: Many windows are shuttered or shattered, or boarded over with
46:23
decaying plywood. The front doors to what was One's charity
46:27
hospital a padlock shut with a few weathered planks hammered
46:32
across for good measure. It's a desolate reminder of the
46:36
devastation Hurricane Katrina unleashed on this city nearly twenty one
46:44
years ago, and the institutional failures that followed twenty one
46:50
years ago. Now, Two Lane University wants to transform the
46:54
building into a symbol of hope. On Tuesday, Two Lane
47:00
leaders announced they would lead a sweeping redevelopment of charity,
47:03
investing five hundred million dollars to restore the massive structure
47:08
and turn it into a hub for research, education, spin offs,
47:13
and startups. The university signed a purchase and sale agreement
47:18
for the project with the original development pending final agreements.
47:23
With support from the state, city, a state enabled Economic
47:27
Development District, a family foundation, and other private philanthropy, Construction
47:33
on the one million square foot project could start this fall.
47:38
Project organizers see their effort as a catalyst that will
47:42
spark impactful science. Knit together two Lanes, growing downtown campus
47:48
diversify the city's tourist heavy economy and fill a hole
47:52
in the heart of New Orleans near City Hall, the
47:56
Superdome and the French Quarter. The plan has forged an
48:01
alliance among political leaders of different parties in Louisiana, a
48:06
rarity in a deeply divided nation and symbolizes a powerful
48:10
commitment to the power of research at a time when
48:14
federal research funding is dwinderling nationally. This is very important
48:20
to the country. I think people will recognize that over
48:24
the long run, we're not making a one year bet
48:28
or a two year bet. We're making a twenty year
48:31
bet on this, Tulane President Michael A. Fitz said in
48:36
an interview. Charity was founded in the early seventeen hundreds
48:42
to care for the poor, with this structure built in
48:45
nineteen thirty nine. Its slogan is where the unusual occurs
48:51
in miracles happen. The hospital mostly survived the initial run
48:58
of Hurricane Katrina in all August of two thousand and five.
49:02
Then the levees broke. By the morning of August thirtieth,
49:08
everything was flooded. Charity no longer had running water or
49:12
functioning toilets. The temperature rose as high as one hundred
49:17
and twenty degrees in some crowded rooms.
49:20
Speaker 2: People cut down light.
49:22
Speaker 1: Poles from a parking garage to serve as a makeshift helipad,
49:26
and slowly small helicopters began to arrive, taking one or
49:31
two patients at a time and bringing water in MRIs.
49:36
Early the following day, emergency power went out without elevator.
49:41
Staff members struggled to get patients on flat stretches down
49:45
dark staircases with sharp turns. People vililated patients by hand.
49:52
El Lee Ham, now dean of Tulane's Medical School, and
49:55
other doctors paddled a canoe to check on Charity, passing
50:00
people pushing their children in belongings through waste tiwer waters.
50:05
They found er patients lying on stretchers and mattresses in
50:09
conference room. Some died waiting for help. After Katrina, which
50:16
killed more than thirteen hundred people on the Gulf coast
50:20
and displaced thousands, Charity was shuttered. A new hospital opened nearby,
50:26
and over the years, plans to revive the giant, iconic building,
50:30
which locals referred to as Big Charity, never took We're
50:36
still living in Katrina in the Gulf South, said Douglas Brinkley,
50:40
a history professor at Rice University who was a professor
50:45
at Tulane when the storm hit and wrote a.
50:48
Speaker 2: Book about it.
50:50
Speaker 1: It's decades till a region can heal from a major
50:54
disaster like this. Charity is just a five minute walk
50:59
from the rich Carlton and the edge of the French Quota,
51:02
with its lacy iron cast balconies, antique shops and bars
51:07
crowded with tourists ordering dreams named after natural disasters. On
51:12
a recent afternoon, a restaurant had thrown open tall windows
51:15
and shutters so people enjoy a drawn at lunch could
51:19
listen to a jazz band's blistering horns in the square outside,
51:24
people stopped to dance, twirling and dipping on the flagstones,
51:29
but the building's closest to Charity, including two lanes, medical School,
51:34
School of Public Health, and other parts of its downtown campus,
51:38
seemed to be in another world.
51:40
Speaker 2: Students and staff used.
51:42
Speaker 1: Tunnel like bridges between buildings, often choosing to avoid streets
51:47
defined by vacant structures, and people sleeping or wandering barefoot
51:51
on the buckled sidewalks on the grounds of Charity. On
51:56
a recent morning, Patrick Norton, Two Lanes, chief operating Officer
52:01
and treasurer, stared at an animals linking through the reeds
52:06
just a feral cat. He and other school officials concluded
52:10
with relief. Over the years people have ventured into the
52:14
old hospital, photographing its Morgue Surgical theater, ghostly abandoned beds
52:22
and equipment now emptied, but the bones are good, Fitz said.
52:30
The project calls for cleaning and repairing the black streaked
52:33
limestone panels outside, replacing the windows, restoring the terrazzo floors,
52:40
the glazed tiled walls, glass blocks, and a frieze over
52:44
the front door by noted artists.
52:47
Speaker 2: Two Lane School.
52:48
Speaker 1: Of Public Health and part of its medical school will
52:51
move into charity to maximize synergy, and the university will
52:56
use those buildings for other things, including research and likely
53:00
clinical trials. The Tulane University Innovation Institute will help guide
53:07
promising science into startup companies with a venture fund to
53:13
invest in them.
53:15
Speaker 2: The project will also.
53:16
Speaker 1: Include some major underground stormwat abatement work, said Norton and
53:22
Jeffrey L. Benjamin, the Vice President of Facilities in Campus Development,
53:28
carrying Two Lane green umbrellas as a tropical storm barrel
53:32
toward the Gulf Coast last week. Tulane will occupy more
53:37
than two thirds of the charity building, but the project
53:41
is also expected to include hundreds of apartments, a food hall,
53:46
and a first floor open to the public with a
53:48
history of the hospital on display. Former waiting rooms could
53:53
become cafes or shops in time. Official say the neighborhood
53:59
could become a destination rather than an area to avoid.
54:06
It is truly the connecting piece, said Duke Chase, whose
54:10
grandmothers successfully reopened their stored family restaurant after Katrina. Knowing
54:16
how powerful assembly it would be, he has launched his
54:20
own creole restaurant in a vacant formal hotel that Tulane
54:25
restored for housing near the old hospital. Tulane officials said
54:31
they expect the revitalization of Charity to make a one
54:35
point two billion dollar impact on the state's economy. In
54:39
three years, they hope to have some seven hundred researches there,
54:44
making new discoveries that will power new companies and cures.
54:49
It's a stark contrast to the scaling back of research
54:52
at some US universities by federal funding cuts and uncertainty
54:57
had led to reduced hiring and fewer grad students admitted.
55:04
Twulane is doubling or tripling down on being a research university,
55:10
said Andy Coplan, president and CEO of the Greater New
55:14
Orleans Foundation, who is helping lead the effort to Booze
55:18
to bio innovation in the city's downtown. He called the
55:23
charity project a lynchpin for a district that also includes
55:28
Louisiana State University's medical and public health schools, a nonprofit
55:33
bio Innovation SENNA, and Xavier University's planned medical school. Cameron Henry,
55:41
the Republican president of the Louisiana State Senate, praised the
55:45
partnership between Two Lane philanthropic groups and public agencies.
55:50
Speaker 2: University research brings in.
55:52
Speaker 1: Federal dollars and can put schools on the map, but
55:55
it can also solve medical or other problems that will
55:59
benefit the state and the country, he said, so we
56:03
want a greater presence of that. As university president since
56:08
twenty fourteen, Fitzes leaned into community uptown. At two Lane's leafy,
56:14
close knit undergrad campus, he added high end dorms and
56:20
required students to live on campus for at least their
56:23
first three years. During the coronavirus pandemic, the school state
56:29
opened when many others went virtual. We think there's a
56:34
huge value in being together at two Lane. You see
56:38
this in research in labs, in startups, people being in
56:43
community and bouncing ideas off each other, Fitz said. J
56:48
Quincy Brown, a biomedical engineering professor from rural Louisiana, has
56:54
his lab on two Lane's uptown campus, but hopes to
56:58
move to the new Charity complex when it is complete.
57:05
And there's a picture of mister Brown and Brian Suma
57:09
demonstrating how to use a cancer screening device in the
57:14
Stephen and Jan Paul Hall for Science and Engineering at
57:19
Tulane Cancer Screening Device. On a recent day, he held
57:26
up a glass plate.
57:27
Speaker 2: With human tissue on it.
57:29
Speaker 1: Like the slides pathologists studied through microscopes to detect cancer
57:34
on a computer screen, and image of slices of a
57:38
tumor showed the cancerous area blinking red. We're trying to
57:45
develop new microscopes and algorithms to basically move the practice
57:50
of pathology closer to the patient in space and time,
57:57
Brown said, allowing doctors to deter and if they have
58:00
gotten a good biopsy's sample or removed all of the
58:04
cant'st parts of a tumor while the patient is still
58:07
in the room. Brown has already helped create a device
58:11
generated from ideas in his lab. He thinks the planned
58:15
emphasis on startups at charity will help keep companies in Louisiana.
58:20
There was a brain drain after Katrina, he said, with
58:24
people leaving the battered city, Charity sends a different signal.
58:30
Speaker 2: We birth resiliency.
58:33
Speaker 1: Brown said, these are words that people use for New
58:36
Orleans all the time, but it's absolutely true. And with
58:41
that I conclude reading Today's Washington Post for Thursday, the
58:46
twenty third of June of twenty twenty six. Please continue
58:51
listening to Radio I Bye.