Transcript

2.5.25 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of Today's Washington Post, Thursday, February
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the fifth, twenty twenty six. I am Alistaina with the
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reminder that RADIOI is an organization for those blind or
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with other disabilities making it difficult to read a whole
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printed material. And I will start with the front page
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of Today's Washington Post with a picture on the left
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hand side top on a paradise I Pacific Island mess
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and HIV epidemics rage. And this picture is basically of red.
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And there is a woman wright who is a community
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leader part of an initiative to teach safe needle use,
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and she is talking to a sex worker in Fiji's capitol.
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And that article is from Fiji by Shibani Matani in Suba, Fiji.
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To the right of that in bigger bold letters, dueling
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demands on ICE could spur another shutdown. Funding for DHS
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is set to expire February thirteenth. Parties at odds or
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limits on agents sanctuary cities Theodoric Maya and Aralis R.
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Hernandez and below that article on the right hand side
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us to pull seven hundred officers from the Minneapolis area.
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ICE in c BP draws down leaves twenty three hundred
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agents for immigration crackdown by Maria Sanchetti, and then to
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the left of that, California voting matt passes high court muster,
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Democrats answer to expected GOP gains in Texas still faces lawsuit,
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and then below that, on the left, Newsom tells of
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a death and a Sun's way forward. California governor recounts
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a mother's assisted suicide, his views on the practice by
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made Resting, and then to the right of that, a
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picture of a deluge in Portugal. It's a building with
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a green door with two windows open and two nuns
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looking out of each portal of the door. It's not
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a window, it's a door portal that opens and that
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is all white with a yellow line, and then water
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and sandbags, and it's two nuns behind san bags. Look
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at a flooded street Wednesday in Alcadero, sal a municipal
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municipality in southern Portugal. After storm Leonardo unleashed up to
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fourteen inches of rain in twenty four hours, forcing thousands
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of people from their homes, shutting schools and counseling trains.
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And then on the far right, the last article below
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the fold Trump insists ballroom will be as tall as
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White House. Jonathan Edwards and Dan Diamond Today's first article.
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Standoff over ice tactics could trigger another partial government shutdown.
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Democrats have demanded that Republicans agree to a range of
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accountability measures to rein in personnel from US Immigration and
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Customs Enforcement and the agencies. By Theodoric Maya and Aurelius R. Hernandez,
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Congress is staring down another partial government shut down in
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ten days unless Democrats strike a deal with President Donald
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Trump and Republicans over new restrictions on federal immigration authorities,
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and some key lawmakers in both parties are not optimistic.
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Democrats have demanded that Republicans agree to a range of
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accountability measures terrain in personnel from US Immigration and Customs
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Enforcement and other agencies. Following outrage over the killing of
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Alex Petty last month in Minneapolis. Democratic lawmakers are seeking,
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among other things, tighter rules governing these of warrants, independent
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investigations of alleged misconduct, a ban on masks for federal
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immigration agents dents, and a requirement for them to wear
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body cameras. Senate Democrats threatened to block funding for the
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Department of Homeland Security once it expires at the end
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of the day on February thirteenth. If Republicans do not
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embrace the restrictions, Trump signed a funding bill into law
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Tuesday that ended a brief partial shutdown, but lawmakers on
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both sides of the outs and negotiations over the measures
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Democrats are seeking could trigger another partial shutdown. Republicans, who
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control both the House and Senate, said they are open
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to negotiating, but some have already rejected most of democrats
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commands demands some Republicans have their own demands, including cracking
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down on sanctuary cities, which are an ananthema to Democrats.
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Senate Majority leader John Theuing, publican of South Dakota, said
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it would be impossible to strike a deal and then
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act it before DHS's funding runs next week. We'll see
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if there's a path forward, June told reporters, adding there
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may be not be, and if there is, it may
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be a while longer than what Democrats allowed for. Senate
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Minority Leader Charles Z. Schuman, Democrat of New York, said
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Wednesday that Democrats could make a detailed offer to Republicans
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by Thursday morning, but the parties have started trading blame
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over another potential government shutdown, which would be the third
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in less than four months. If Republicans refuse to make
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the changes the American people are demanding, they are forcing
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a Republican shut down of DHS. Senator Patty Murray of Washington,
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the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, told reporters
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Republicans and Democrats can even agree on whose leading negotiations.
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Schumer said last week that he expects to negotiate with Dune,
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but Dune told reporters Tuesday that negotiations would be chiefly
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between Senate Democrats and the White House. Senator Katie Boyd Britt,
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Republican of Alabaut, who is representing Senate Republicans in the negotiations,
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warned Wednesday that the timeline is really too compressed to
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be able to have the conversation and also be able
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to get things across the finish line. The House would
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also need to sign off on any deal. House Minority
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Leader Hakim Jeffreys, Democrat of New York, has said House
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Democrats will not support any legislation without bold and meaningful change,
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and a shutdown would affect only the Department of Homeland Security,
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which includes ICE as well as Customs and Voler Protection,
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the agency whose agents fatally shot pretty in Minneapolis. But
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immigration enforcement agencies would be able to keep running largely
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uninterrupted if funding lapses, because Republicans sent them tens of
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billions of dollars in extra money last year as part
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of Trump's One Big, Beautiful build. Instead, the brunt of
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the impact would fall on other DHS agencies, including the
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Federal Emergency Management Agency, which helped states respond to disasters,
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and the Transportation Security Administration, which provides a passenger screening
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at US airports. Republicans have signaled that they will blame
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Democrats of funding for those agencies run out. The only
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thing that would be shut down is the Coastguard tsa
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secret service FEMA. Senator Josh Harley Hawley, Republican of Missouri
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till reporters, adding, so nobody is going to get disaster
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relief and no Americans going to be able to fly.
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Democrats say that they are pushing to reign in federal
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immigration agents who have killed US citizens and trampled on
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the rights of legal immigrants in Minneapolis and elsewhere in
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their drive to deport as many undocumented immigrants as possible.
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Democrats have argued that Republicans will be to blame for
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any shutdown if they fail to agree to their proposals,
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which do not go as far as some Democrats would prefer.
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Those changes include an end to roving immigration patrols in
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Minneapolis and elsewhere, a uniform code of conduct for agents,
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and requiring them to carry clear identification. There are common
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sense reforms, ones that Americans already know and expect from
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law enforcement. If Republicans refuse to support them, then they're
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choosing chaos over order, Schumer said. Some former officials who
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worked on border policy and immigration in Democratic administrations endorsed
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the ideas, even if they do not go as far
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as some Democrats would like. Some changes like taking off
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masks and body cameras are important, but I don't think
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they are getting at the root of what's happening, said
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Claire Trickla MacNulty, a former senior ICE official in the
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Biden administration. There's no short term victories when it comes
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to reforming ICE or cpp c BP, said Andrea Flores,
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who worked on an immigration border policy in the Obama
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and Biden administrations, adding, but there are meaningful things that
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will keep Americans in immigrants safer. Oh Speaker Mike Johnson,
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Republican of Louisiana, said he suspected some of the changes
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Democrats are seeking will be codified in the law. Some
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Republicans have suggested they are open to considering some ideas,
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but others have come out against them, arguing they would
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hamstering federal immigration agents. Senator John coryan Republican of Texas,
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said he opposed Democrats pushed to require immigration agents to
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get a warrant from a judge instead of an administrative
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warrant because it would add more bureaucracy to the process.
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He described borring agents from wearing masks as frankly insulting.
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Senator Mark Wayne Mullen, Republican of Oklahoma, said most of
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the proposals were nonstaughters. Democrats planted a flag on something
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they can't win, Mullen told reporters. DHS distributed one page
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memos to House offices this week defending its use of
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administrative warrants, according to a copy obtained by The Washington Post,
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but Trump is not weighing publicly on the ideal. Asked
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by a reporter in the Oval Office on Tuesday about
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heightening rules surrounding Lawrence. Trump deferred to Senator Lindsay Graham,
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Republican of South Carolina, who called it the most ridiculous idea.
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Graham acknowledged that Democrats have some good ideas, but said
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his priority in the negotiations would be cracking down on
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sanctuary cities, which limit their cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
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If you've got reforms that make ICE better more professional,
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talk to me, but you should embrace what I'm suggesting,
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Graham said. I hope you're going to press that very hard.
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Trump told Graham. Senator Eric Schmidt, representative of Missouri, has
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also demanded restrictions on sanctuary cities as part of any deal.
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Voters trust Republicans more than Democrats on immigration and the book,
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he said, giving the party an advantage in negotiations. This
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is a home gain for US, Schmidt said. But recent
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polls show that most Americans have concerns about ISI's tactics
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and support some of the Democratic proposals to reign in
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the agency. An economist slash u gov Pole conducted after
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Pretty's killing found eighty four percent of Americans support requiring
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federal immigration agents to wear body cameras with eight percent opposed,
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sixty nine percent support requiring agents to obtain judicial warrants
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to in a homes with nineteen percent opposed, and fifty
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five percent support banning agents for marrying face masks with
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thirty three percent opposed. A Pew Research Center poll conducted
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late last month found that sixty one percent of Americans,
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including thirty two percent of Republicans, said it was unacceptable
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for federal immigration officers to wear face coverings that had
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their identities while working. Thirty eight percent said it was acceptable.
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If Republicans believe that there are on strong ground violating
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people's constitutional rights. I think they're really savvy, mistaken. That's
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a very separate issue from voter security and immigration reform,
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Senator Chris van Holland, Democrat of Maryland, said Still, Van
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Holland said he was unsure that Trump would accept the
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restrictions that Democrats are seeking. I think it's going to
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be really difficult based on the attitude of this White House,
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he said. Continuing with ICE, information borders are Tom Homan
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says seven hundred ICE and c b P officers are
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being Minneapolis. The reduction is a significant scaling back of
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the Department of Homeland Security's presence in Minnesota and comes
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after two US citizens were fatally shot by Maria Sacchetti.
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President Donald Trump's Border czar Tom Homan said Wednesday that
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seven hundred Immigration and Border agents are departing the Minneapolis
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area after weeks of violent confrontations and the fatal shootings
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by officers of U two US citizens. Homan said the
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departing group includes agents and officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement,
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as well as Customs and Border Protection. The withdrawal shrinks
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the federal footprint from about three thousand agents to twenty
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three hundred, a significant scaling back, but still a much
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larger number than the eighty who were in the Minneapolis
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area before Operation Metro Surge began December first. According to
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court records, the reduction in offices is effective immediately, he said.
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Homand said one reason for the reduction enforces that a
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number of law enforcement agencies in Minnesota had expressed interest
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in allowing ICE to arrest immigrants for devotation inside jails
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after they had already been arrested for a crime, though
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the state and several counties already offered that cooperation. Trump
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officials said they decided to raid the Minneapolis area because
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it did not. The operation is the Trump administration's largest
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immigration crackdown yet. My goal, with the support of President Trump,
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is to achieve a complete draw down and end this
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surge as soon as we can, Homand said. The partial
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withdrawal comes a day after an emotional forum on Capitol
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Hill on the use of force by federal agents involved
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in Trump's mass deportation campaign. The forum included testimony from
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the brothers of Renee Good, who was shot and killed
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on January seventh by an ICE officer. On January twenty fourth,
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ICU nurse Alex Priddy was fatally shot by a Border
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Patrol agent and a c b P officer. Good and
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Pretty were among those demonstrating against the growing presence of masked,
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armed immigration officers in this city. Though Homan says the
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officer's target criminals, many of those arrested had no records,
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some were young children. The Department of Homeland Security said
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Wednesday that it has arrested more than four thousand immigrants
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as part of Operation Metro Surge, including people convicted of murder,
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sex offenders, and other crimes. Officials have not relieved leased
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a complete list, however, and it is unclear how many
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had criminal convictions. Holman's remarks drew skepticism from Minnesota, where
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officials have demanded an immediate end to the surge. They
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say officers have endangered communities by smashing car windows, snatching
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people from their homes without warns, and deploying tear gas,
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and violation of protesters' First Amendment rights. Many a border
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patrol agents sent from far flowing areas such as Texas.
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Mayor Jacob Fry of Minneapolis, the state's largest city, said
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in a statement on social media that two thousand federal
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agents isn't a de escalation. My message to the White
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House has been consistent. Operation Metro surge has been catastrophic
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for residents and businesses. It needs to end immediately, Frey
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said on a Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who filed
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a lawsuit last month seeking to sharply restrict the surge
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of officers in estate with far fewer immigrants than other states,
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called the drawdown inadequate immigration. Fewer federal immigration agents on
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as streets harming Minnesotans would be a step in the
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right direction, but the surge needs to end, Ellison said,
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in a statement on lad, adding it has left two
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Minnesotans dead. Countless more of our neighbors have been unlawfully detained, assaulted, harassed,
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and intimidated. DHS and its immigration and VODA agencies did
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not respond to questions about whether it had broken any
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new agreements with state and local enforcement to aid in
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immigration roundups. Homann has said such cooperation would be key
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to ending the sur urge. He also expressed a willingness
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to compromise that he did not say so directly. In
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the past, he has pushed jails to Anna Eis Detainers,
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which asked Jala's to hold immigrants up for at least
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to forty eight hours after judges have ordered them released
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in their criminal cases. Minnesota's attorney general agrees that an
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illegal considers that an illegal re arrest. Homan said federal
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officers would not ask Minnesota authorities to hold people past
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their release dates, but he sat arresting them inside jails
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or communicating more openly would require few officers and meet
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the administration goals of arresting criminals. Richardson Richard Hodge Hodson
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Hodges Dune General counsel from the Minnesota Sheriff's Association said
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in a phone interview Wednesday that many of the roughly
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eighty county jails are probably interested and contracted with ICE
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to detain immigrants, but he said officials have generally agreed
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to share information about the immigration status of people in
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their jails. If the perception of cooperation is willingness to
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share information, it's always been available, he said. Homann, a
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plane spoken former acting ICE director who has been one
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of the administration's enforcement cheerleaders, said officials will continue to
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enforce immigration laws. Since Trump returned to the White House,
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officials have unapologetically detained and deported families, long time residents,
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the sick, and children. Federal officers also have been accused
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of targeting people because of the color of their skin
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or accents, but on Wednesday, Homan struck a more subdued tone.
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Following significant blowback to the administration surge and grief over
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the death, Trump dispatched him to Minnesota. After the administration's
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initial response to Pretty's fatal shooting generated more outrage, Homeland
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Security Secretary Christy L. Non and White House adviser Stephen
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Miller disparaged Pretty and attempted to portray him as the aggressor.
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Miller described Petty on social media as a domestic terrorist
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in DHS, alleged he wanted to do maximum damage and
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massacre law enforcement. Multiple polls in recent days have signaled
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sharp criticism of the Trump administration's enforcement tactics. A Quinnipak
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University poll released Wednesday showed that about six and ten
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voters said Trump's treatment of undocumented immigrants is too harsh.
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A clear majority favored firing, known most said pretty shooting
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was not justified. An economist slash Yugo poll found that
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a slightly a slight majority of Americans did not believe
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the administration's account of his death. Almost half said there
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should be a joint federal and state investigation into it,
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though the federal government has said it will run the investigation.
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Polling also showed support for demonstrators, and a Pew Research
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Center poll conducted in late January, seventy four percent of
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adults said it's acceptable for people to record video of
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immigration officers making arrest, while fifty nine percent said it's
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acceptable to publicize locations where agents are making arrest. Roughly
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six and ten said agents shouldn't wear face coverings. Homan
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said the Trump administration were planned to make body warn
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cameras available nationwide and immediately in the Minneapolis area, saying
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the failure to use them had been unacceptable. Homan did
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not acknowledge the DHS had proposed gutting the Ice body
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camera program this physical year, or that a Trump administration
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official said it had opposed making cameras mandatory in the
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DHS budget that passed the House last month. Supreme Court
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clears way for California voting map that Bolster's Democrats. The
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ruling is a major victory for the party as it
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seeks to offset a nationwide Pushwebber, Republicans and Trump to
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redraw congressional maps to gain advantage in this year's midterm
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elections by justin juvenial, the Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed
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for now a new California voting map that could help
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Democrats gain up to five seats in Congress, the latest
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twist in a national fight between liberals and conservatives seeking
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advantage in this year's midterm elections. The justices cleared the
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slate to use a map pushed by California Governor Gavin Newsom, Democrat,
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and approved by voters that was intended to offset a
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redistricting effort by Republicans in Texas sought by President Donald Trump.
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The Texas map connect the GOP up to additional five seats.
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The high courts ruling will remain in effect while a
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lawsuit challenging California's map works its way its way through
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the courts. The Supreme Court ruled in December that the
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Texas map was constitutional, so many legal experts expected the
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justices to approve the California map as well. The Justices
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did not provide a rationale for their decision in the
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brief order. There were no noted descents Democrats and Republicans.
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In nearly two dozen states have taken or explored the
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unusual step of redrawing congressional voting maps mid decade to
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try to secure partisan advantage during the twenty twenty six elections.
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The high stakes efforts could determine control of the narrowly
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divided House of Representatives. Typically, states alter congressional boundaries only
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after the census once every ten years. The mid decade
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pushed this year is the largest since the eighteen hundreds.
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The Supreme Court's majority rejected an argument by California Republicans
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that the state improperly relied on race to draw the
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map in violation of the Constitution. The state GOP claimed
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Democrats tried to increase Latino voting power in the Central
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Valley to curry political support. The Landmark Voting Rights Act
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prevents states from drawing maps that dilute the power of
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minority voters, but states also can't draw map apps explicitly
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based on race because that would violate the Constitution's Equal
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Protection clause. It can be a tricky needle to thread.
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Republicans urged the court to rule quickly because candidates can
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begin submitting their paperwork to run in California's new districts
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this coming Monday. They said the court should require the
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state use a twenty twenty one map drawn up by
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the independent, nonpartisan Citizens Redistricting Commission that is normally tasked
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with drawing maps in the state. The map already yielded
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a heavily Democratic congressional delegation, but Republicans were able to
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win nine of the state's fifty two districts in twenty
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twenty four. The new map was designed to yield a
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forty eight four split. Even when a state claims it
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is engaged in a partisan rather than racial geremandering. It
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may not use race as a proxy for politics. Regrettably,
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California has done precisely that. California Republicans wrote in a
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court filing. The state counted that it gerrymando was strictly
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a political move to gain Democrats more seats, which is
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allowed by law. They said, State Republicans had no evidence
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that race was a motivating factor in redrawing the map.
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Texas made almost identical arguments about partisanship versus race in
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successfully defending its map. It would be strange for California
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to undertake a mid decade with districting effort with the
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predominant purpose of benefiting Latino voters, and then in acting
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new map that contains an identical number of Latino majority districts,
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state officials wrote and a Supreme Court filing after Texas
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lawmakers approved that state's new map in August, at the
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urging of Trump, newsoon announced California would try to count
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of the effort. California will not sit idle and his
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Republican lapdog shred our country's democracy before our very eyes,
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Newsom said in a statement at the time. In November,
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the state's voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition fifty, which would allow
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the state to temporarily bypass the redistricting Commission. The move
29:27
was seen as a major political victory for Democrats and Newsom,
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who could run for president. Republicans sued a divided panel
29:36
of district court judges refused to block the new map
29:40
before the state. Republicans filed an emergency appeal to the
29:44
Supreme Court. The Trump administration backed California's GOP. Other states
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have also jumped into the redistricting fray, including Missouri, Ohio,
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North Carolina, and Utah, which enacted new map favoring Republicans.
30:02
Blue states, including Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, are working on
30:06
their own redistricting plans. In late January, a Virginia judge
30:11
ruled the process Democrats used to create a constitutional amendment
30:16
to decrease Democratic seats in Congress was illegal. Democrats voted
30:22
to appeal to increase Democratic seats in Congress was illegal. Course,
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the redistricting will is only one legal factor that could
30:34
influence the outcome of this year's midterms. The Supreme Court
30:39
is also considering the legality of the last remaining pillar
30:42
of the Voting Rights Act, which requires states to draw
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maps under certain circumstances that allow minority voters to elect
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Democrat candidates of their own choice. The Justices seemed inclined
30:58
to limit or strikedown section two during arguments in the
31:01
case in October. Such a ruling could touch off a
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nationwide redistricting scramble that could result in roughly a dozen
31:10
black legislators losing their seats, mostly in the safe The
31:15
case is also part of a busy term at the
31:18
Supreme Court, which is dealing with election and voting related issues.
31:22
The Justices are weighing whether to restrict laws that allow
31:26
states to count mail in ballots that arrive after polls
31:30
closed as long as they are postmarked by election day.
31:34
In another case, the Justices cleared the way for an
31:38
Illinois congressman to challenge the state's mail in ballot law.
31:42
Trump supporters have targeted mail in ballot rules in a
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number of states after the president falsely claimed he lost
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the twenty twenty election because of voting fraud. In a
31:55
third case, the Justices will decide whether to knock down
31:59
restort dirictions on coordinated campaigns spending between political parties and
32:05
federal candidates. Trump digs in on ballroom size, saying height
32:13
will match that of White House. Review panels and a
32:17
federal judge have asked if the project can be made smaller.
32:22
Historic preservationists say the planned ninety thousand square foot edition
32:27
will overshadow the mansion by Jonathan Edwards and Dan Diamond.
32:33
President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the planned White House
32:37
Ballroom will be the same height and scale as the
32:40
existing mansion, signaling his ambitious plans for the project, despite
32:45
concerns from a federal judge, members of two review panels,
32:50
and historic preservationists that it will be too big and
32:54
will spoil the century's old symbol of American power and democracy.
33:00
Ninety thousand square foot edition, which Trump has said is
33:04
necessary to host VPHEA events, represents the most significant change
33:09
to the White Hose complexes in decades. In a truth
33:13
Social post Tuesday, he defended its appearance and size. It
33:20
is totally in keeping with their historic White House. This
33:24
beautiful building will be, when complete, dot the greatest of
33:28
its kind ever built, Trump wrote in the roughly one
33:32
hundred and thirty word post. Trump also unveiled an architect's
33:37
rendering of the building, a towering Neo Classical structure adorned
33:41
with stately columns and an imposing pediment. The triangular structure
33:46
above the portico, whose apex, according to Trump, matches the
33:50
main mansion's north portico. The rendering was prepared by Shalombrane's associates,
33:57
the firm handling the project. According to the White House,
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Trump's announcement came as construction crews continued their work on
34:05
the underground infrastructure needed support a building of that size,
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and as opponents awaited a decision from US District Judge
34:15
Richard Leon on whether to order that work to stop.
34:20
The president's administration is also in the middle of a
34:23
nine week push to win approval for the project from
34:27
two federal review committees. The goal is a green light
34:31
by early March and to start to above ground construction
34:34
as early as April. This space will serve our country
34:39
well for hopefully centuries into the future. Trump wrote, with
34:45
Historic Preservation as saying they worried the ninety thousand square
34:49
foot structure will overshadowed the iconic main mansion. Leon and
34:53
members of the two committees have asked whether the administration
34:56
can reduce the building size. Asked about Trump's post the
35:01
White House referred to pass comments made by Schalm Bahrains,
35:05
the project's lead architect, who said last month that the
35:09
two buildings heights would match exactly. Bahrains has also said
35:15
that the ballroom's design was intended to maintain the visual
35:19
primacy of the White House. Particularly important is that the
35:23
building's primary facade on Pennsylvania Avenue is set back approximately
35:28
ten and a half feet from the White House's primary
35:31
north facade on the Avenue. Bahrains said it a building
35:35
of the Commission of Fine Arts in January. In October,
35:39
Trump ordered the demolition of the east wing to clear
35:42
space for his planned ballroom, drawing criticism from Democrats, watchdog groups,
35:48
and some conservatives who argued the administration should have sought
35:52
public input before offering a building known as the People's House.
35:58
Work has also started on the project underground components, with workers,
36:02
heavy equipment, and a tower crane on site. Administration officials
36:08
say the work is needed to ensure the president's security.
36:12
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a non profit charged
36:17
by Congress with safeguarding historic buildings, sued the Trump administration
36:22
in December, arguing it failed to conduct legally required reviews
36:27
or obtain congressional approval for the project. The nonprofit is
36:31
asked Leon too halt construction until those reviews are completed,
36:36
contending that each day of work further entrenches the project.
36:41
The Justice Department has argued that Trump has brought authority
36:44
to ultra White House grounds. It also submitted testimony from
36:48
an engineer working on the ballroom building who said the
36:51
project could still accommodate substantial design changes. The National Trust
36:57
counted with testimony from architect William Bates, a former president
37:01
of the American Institute of Architects, who said in a
37:05
sworn statement that underground infrastructure largely dictates what can be
37:09
built above it. Altering these conditions after the fact would
37:14
require major demolition and redesign. Bates wrote in December, Leon
37:21
and employtee of President George W. Bush, seemed skeptical of
37:25
the administration's arguments. Last month in court during the hearing,
37:30
the judge passed Justice Department lawyers beca During the hearing,
37:37
the judge pressed Justice Department lawyers to explain how Trump
37:41
could legally fund the project with hundreds of millions of
37:44
dollars in private donations, publicly identified donors, including Amazon, Google,
37:50
and Lockheed Martin collectively hold billions of dollars in federal
37:55
contracts before the administration, and in peran, Amazon found that
38:00
Jeff Bezos owns the Washington Post and perm The Justice
38:05
Department on Tuesday said in court filings that it is
38:08
prepared to immediately appeal if Leon orders a halt to
38:13
the project. Meanwhile, the two federal committees charged with reviewing
38:18
the ballroom, the State Capitol Planning Commission and the Commission
38:22
of Fine Arts, are now led by Trump appointees after
38:26
the president removed members installed during the Biden administration. Whiteose
38:31
officials have said they want to secure approvals by March,
38:35
and the panels leaders have indicated support for the project.
38:41
Rodney Mims Cook Junior, a Trump appointee who chairs the
38:45
Fine Arts Commission, said at a meeting last month that
38:50
the panel's role was to take care of what the
38:54
President wants us to do. But even Cook expressed concerns
38:59
about the projects scope, repeatedly pressing the architect on whether
39:03
the ballroom's immense pediment could be reduced. In the front page,
39:11
Gavin Newsom sat by his mother during her assisted suicide
39:16
and came to terms with anger and grief. The governor
39:21
and potential presidential candidate spoke about his mother's controversial decision
39:26
to end her life and the impact it had on
39:29
his political beliefs by maybe reston. It was the spring
39:35
of two thousand and two when Gavin Newsom's mother, Tessa,
39:39
dying of cancer, stunned him with a voicemail if he
39:44
wanted to see her again, She told him it would
39:47
need to be before the following Thursday, when she planned
39:51
to end her life. Newsom, then a thirty four year
39:56
old San Francisco supervisor, did not try to dissuade her.
40:00
He recounted in an interview with The Washington Post. The
40:04
fast rising politician was racked with guilt from being distant
40:08
and busy as she dealt with the unbearable pain of
40:12
the breast cancer spreading through her body. Newsom's account of
40:16
his mother's death at the age of fifty five by
40:19
assisted suicide and his feelings of grief and remorse toward
40:24
a woman with whom he had a loving but complex relationship,
40:28
is one of the most revealing and emotional passages in
40:32
the California governor's book, Young Man in a Hurry, a
40:37
memoir of discovery, which will be published February twenty four. Newsom,
40:43
a potential Democratic candidate for president, has seldom spoken of
40:48
the chapter in his family's life, which is likely to
40:52
generate controversy if he enters the race. Assisted suicide at
40:57
the time was illegal in California and remained means illegal
41:00
in all but twelve states in DC, according to the
41:04
Avasi group Death with Dignity. When that Thursday in two
41:09
thousand and two arrived, Newsom and his sister Hilary did
41:13
as his mother asked and sat by her bedside in
41:16
Pacific Heights. Newsom said in an interview this week he
41:21
wanted her to suffering to end, he said, but it
41:25
would be years before he could forgive her for asking
41:28
him to be there. I hated her for it to
41:32
be there for the last breath for years, he said
41:35
in an interview in San Diego this week. I want
41:39
to say it was a beautiful experience. It was horrible.
41:43
Forty five minutes before the courageous doctor arrived to administer
41:48
the medicine that would end her life, Newsom and his
41:51
sister gave their mother her regular dose of painkillers to
41:55
keep her comfortable, he said. When the doctor arrived, Tessin
42:00
Newsom lucidly answered his questions and told him she was
42:04
sure of her decision. Gavin Newsom said, her labored breathing
42:09
and the gravity of the moment became too much for
42:11
Newsom's sister. She left the room. Newsom stayed. Then I
42:18
sat there with her for another twenty minutes after she
42:21
was dead, he said, his voice breaking briefly and his
42:24
eyes swelling as he told the story. My head on
42:28
her stomach, just crying, waiting for another breath. And there's
42:33
a picture of Tessa Newsom hugging young Gavin Newsom in
42:37
an undated photo. He looks like he could be about oh,
42:41
maybe ten to twelve years old, maybe a little younger.
42:47
Despite his painful memories, Newsom said that he believes assisted
42:51
suicide should be legal nationally, that people should have the
42:56
freedom to make that decision themselves. California legalized the practice
43:02
in twenty fifteen with the End of Life Option Act,
43:06
six years after voter has approved the practice and two
43:09
years after he became governor. In twenty nineteen, Newsom signed
43:13
a second bill that reduced the waiting period for a
43:16
drug suicide from fifteen days to forty eight hours, and
43:20
eliminated a requirement for a formal written declaration of intent
43:25
at the end of the process. Last year, Knewsom signed
43:28
a third bill that eliminated a sunset clause in the
43:31
twenty fifteen bill, making assisted suicide legal in California indefinitely.
43:39
When the bill came up in the California legislature, Knewsome
43:43
heard objections not only from churches and religious groups, but
43:46
also from the old Irish Catholic side of my family.
43:51
They were up in arms about that bill, and obviously
43:54
by extension, by what my mom did, he recalled. But
43:58
Newsom said his only experience with his mother strengthened his
44:02
support for the bill. I watched the physical deterioration, the
44:06
mental deterioration, just the cries of pain she would have
44:10
just suffered, he said this week. Last year an interview
44:15
on the Diary of a CEO podcast, Newsom said he
44:19
had no regrets about his rule. If you want to
44:22
come after me, come after me. She needed to do it,
44:25
he said. Tessa Newsom worked three jobs to support her
44:30
two children after her husband left. Newsom wrote in his book,
44:34
his father, William Newsom, an attorney who became a judge,
44:39
was the best friend of the billionaire Gordon Getty and
44:42
had for a time helped manage the Getty Trust. Their
44:46
father's relationship with the Gettys, which began in high school,
44:50
created what Newsom described as a surreal double life for
44:54
the two Newsom children, who joined their father and the
44:57
Gettys during summer vacations that in involved private jets, resorts,
45:02
and liimonine limousines. Tessan Newsom, a quiet, predominant force who
45:07
shaped his work ethic, he said, did not approve of
45:10
Newsom's political ambitions. She urged him to stay immersed in
45:15
his business, the Plump Jack Group, a wine and hospitality
45:19
company that he founded in nineteen ninety two. Get out
45:23
before it's too late, Tessin Newsom told her son after
45:27
he had become a San Francisco supervisor in nineteen ninety
45:31
seven and was considering a two thousand and three run
45:35
for mayor of San Francisco, which had been his father's dream.
45:39
She never fully explained the admonition, but William Newsom had
45:44
also harbored political ambitions for a time, running for the
45:48
San Francisco Board of supervisors and for state senator, and
45:52
the younger Newsom learned years later through an oral history,
45:56
his father recorded that his elector failures and subsequent debt
46:01
had led to the unraveling of his parents' marriage, Newsom
46:04
said in an interview with a Post and in his book. Newsom,
46:09
a father of four who is married to Jen Sable,
46:13
a documentary filmmaker, said his mother's warning still haunts him.
46:18
I think about it any time when things are really
46:21
going down. That she was right, he said with a laugh.
46:25
And while many people don't believe that. Newsom is still
46:28
wrestling with whether he will run for president, his mother's
46:32
warnings are part of the quandary, he said. I don't
46:35
think people are taking me as literally as they should.
46:39
We'll see what happens, he said of a potential presidential run.
46:45
Every day I just try to get better and be
46:47
a better husband, be a better father. I've got to
46:50
take care of them. I can't do what my father did.
46:55
And inside on page one, at plans to install Christopher
47:02
Columbus statue outside White House, the president has worked to
47:07
recognize the explorer, saying Italian Americans should remember his efforts
47:13
when they go vote. By Dan Diamond and Olivia George.
47:18
President Donald Trump is planning to install a statue of
47:22
Christopher Columbus on the White House grounds, according to three
47:25
people with knowledge of the pending move, in his latest
47:29
effort to remake the presidential campus and celebrate the famed
47:33
and controversial explorer. The statue is set to be located
47:38
on the south side of the grounds, by E Street
47:41
and north of the Ellipse, two of the people said,
47:44
although they cautioned that plans could change. The three people
47:48
spoke on the condition of anonymity to recur private discussions.
47:53
The piece is a reconstruction of a statue unveiled in
47:57
Baltimore by President Ronald Reagan and dumped in the city's
48:01
harbor by protesters in twenty twenty as a racial reckoning
48:05
swept the country. A group of Italian American businessmen and politicians,
48:10
working with local sculptures, obtained the destroyed pieces and rebuilt
48:15
the statue with financial support from local charities in federal
48:19
grant funding. Bill Martin, an Italian American businessman who helped
48:25
to recover the remnants of the original sculpture and organized
48:28
a campaign to rebuild it, said the statue is expected
48:32
to be transferred from a warehouse on Maryland's eastern shore
48:36
to the Trump administration in coming weeks. The White Host
48:40
declined to comment on its plans, but praised the fifteenth
48:44
century explorer in this White House. Christopher Columbus is a hero,
48:50
spokesman Davis Ingall said in a statement, and he will
48:53
continue to be honored as such by President Trump. And
48:58
there is a picture of Ronald Reagan in front of
49:01
this statue in nineteen eighty four while he addressed his
49:05
ceremony in Baltimore. Pieces of the Christopher Columbus statue were
49:10
retrieved from the Inner Harbor in July twenty twenty after
49:13
protesters pulled it down and threw it in the water.
49:17
As Columbus statues became something of a battleground in the
49:21
broader tug of war over the nation's history, Trump has
49:24
repeatedly positioned himself as a staunch defender of a legacy
49:28
he says has been dishonored by left wing arsonists. Trump
49:33
included Columbus in the twenty twenty one Executive Order of
49:37
Historical Figures for his proposed National Garden of American Heroes,
49:42
showcasing those who embody the American spirit of daring and defiance,
49:47
excellence and adventure, courage and confidence, loyalty and love. The
49:53
Italian explorer is long celebrated for his forage in fourteen
49:57
ninety two to the Americas up trade routes with Europe
50:02
and setting the stage for colonization and enslavement. Some US
50:07
states now recognize Indigenous People's Day instead of Columbus Day.
50:12
Joe Biden in twenty twenty one became the first president
50:15
to mark the holiday. Trump campaigned in twenty twenty four
50:20
and promises to celebrate Columbus Day, and in October he
50:24
signed a President of ploclamation to recognize Columbus as the
50:29
original American hero and mark the annual holiday. We're back Italians, Okay,
50:36
we love Italians, Trump said after signing them proclamation. He
50:41
later said that we should help the Republican Party in
50:44
the upcoming midterm elections. The Italian people are very happy
50:49
about it. Remember when you go to the voting booths.
50:52
I reinstated Columbus Day, Trump told reporters at the White
50:56
House last month. Meanwhile, his administration and pushes to scrub
51:01
federal institutions of corrosive ideology, recognizing historical sexism and racism,
51:08
and to leave its mark on the nation's capital. In
51:10
a sweeping effort that has drawn complaints in lawsuits, the
51:14
president rapidly demolished the East Wing annex last year to
51:19
build his planned four hundred million dollar ball room, paved
51:23
ovo the Rose Garden to make room for a patio,
51:26
has imposed his vision on numerous internal fixtures and rooms,
51:30
including the Lincoln Bathroom. Historic preservationists have called on Trump
51:35
to go through federal review panels before making further changes
51:40
to the White House grounds. In his first term, Trump
51:44
decried the destruction of Columbus statues across the country. After
51:50
administration officials learned about efforts in twenty twenty to wrec
51:54
skew the and preserve Voldemore's statue, they asked to obtain
51:59
it for possible installation on federal grounds, but the statue
52:03
was not yet ready, said Martin. The businessman. Martin estimated
52:08
that he and his allies raised and spent more than
52:10
one hundred thousand dollars for their recovery and restoration efforts,
52:14
which he said represented inspiration to the Italian American community.
52:20
It's not about Columbus discovering America. It's about the Italian
52:24
immigrants who came here and looked to Columbus as a hero,
52:27
Martin said. Nino Maggione, a Republican member of the Maryland
52:33
House of Delegates, was also involved in efforts to recover
52:36
the statue, and he praised Trump's plan to install it
52:39
at the White House. It is such an honor for
52:43
the Italian American community. This proves that gangs, thugs and
52:48
people of that ilk didn't or don't control things by
52:51
mob rule. In America. The people rule and our voices
52:55
are head, van Joni wrote in an email. The Columbus
53:00
statues planned arrival in d C. Comes on the heels
53:04
of the administration's reinstallment in October of a statue of
53:08
a Confederate general that protesters had toppled and torched five
53:13
years prior. Albert Pike is now back on his plinth
53:18
in a small federal park about a mile east of
53:20
the White House, the only Confederate leader memorialized with an
53:25
outdoor statue in Washington. A fun piece to show age
53:31
is just a number. Grandma's first trip to Disney World
53:36
is social media gold. You never forget your first time
53:40
at disney World, especially if you're seventy eight and there's
53:45
a picture of Grandma Sue also known as Suzanne Warnick,
53:49
waiting for a parade at Disneyland with her daughter and
53:53
four granddaughters during a July trip, and they all have
53:57
on pink t shirts with Grandma Adventure in blue. But
54:03
in between a picture of Grandma riding in a tea
54:08
cup at disney World. I think it's I can't read
54:14
Wild Adventure, Grandma's Wild Adventure with a picture of Grandma
54:19
and a tea cup in front of the Princess's Palace
54:24
with wild in the middle, and she's in a mobile
54:28
cart like a grocery store cart. By Hannah Sampson The
54:33
Disney World First time, I waved at a tigger, grinned
54:37
for photos with Cinderella and face down strong Troopers on
54:41
a Star Wars ride. Just two princesses living their best
54:45
lives in disney World, wrote Caitlin Dott on a video
54:50
she made of the October trip. I love you, Happy
54:54
seventy eighth birthday, Grandma. Parents have long taken their going
55:00
children and kids grandkids on theme park vacations, navigating tantrums
55:05
and naptimes, picky appetites, and stroller parking. Now those adult
55:10
grandkids are flipping the script, planning meals where grandparents can
55:14
meet characters, rides that meet their thrill tolerance, and plenty
55:19
of photo opportunities. In videos on social media, grandmas and
55:24
a couple of grandpas cheered during fireworks, dabb tears while
55:28
meeting snow White Bean during parades, dance with Pinocchio, laugh
55:33
on roller coasters, and chew off mostier headbands. Commentators confessed
55:39
to sobbing. I would give anything to be able to
55:42
experience this with my grandma, one person wrote in response
55:46
to a video of a teary grandma declaring her trip
55:50
the best time I've had in a long time. She
55:53
became a kid. Suzanne Warnick, eighty two, had chaperoned high
55:58
school marching band trips at Disneyland when her daughters were teens,
56:03
but hadn't visited in decades. When one of her granddaughters
56:07
dropped an idea in a group chat with her sisters,
56:10
I really just want to go to Disneyland with grandma, Sue.
56:14
A few months later, in July, Warnick and her daughters
56:18
and four granddaughters left spouses and kids behind and road
56:23
tripped from Utah to southern California. They made tea shirts
56:27
for the occasion, a woman who looked like Grandma Sue
56:31
sitting in an oversized tea cup with the phrase Grandma's
56:35
Wild Adventure. That's the pink t shirt. Before the trip,
56:39
Rachel Dragon, one of the granddaughters, worried how her grandma
56:43
would do on rides. Warnick had to figure out a
56:46
solution to her portable oxygen needs, a necessity since she
56:51
underwent radiation treatment for breast cancer. The family wondered how
56:55
Warnick would do in a scootero. They needn't have worried.
57:00
We had our hands full with her, Dragon said, laughing.
57:04
Warnick went on just about every ride available, including a
57:08
log flume with a fifty foot drop, a bumpy roller coaster,
57:12
and an attraction that includes free falls. Dragon took videos
57:17
of Grandma's Wild Adventure, including efforts to keep up with
57:20
the scooter, a simulated hang gliding experience that her grandma
57:24
did not enjoy, and the group's hysterics while getting soaked
57:28
on a water ride that ruined Warnick's fresh perm. This
57:33
is literally the best thing in my life. Dragon, thirty
57:36
one said a travel agent, as she content creator, an
57:40
Etsy content creator and Etsy shop owner. She's my last
57:45
grandparent remaining and so i just wanted to get all
57:48
of the time that I can with her, and Warnick
57:52
said the trip was the highlight of my senior year's.
57:56
Her husband died in twenty nineteen and she has dealt
57:59
with health health challenges in recent years, and with that,
58:03
I hope my grandchildren will love me enough to do
58:06
something like this. They all live in so many different places.
58:11
Thank you for listening. Please continue listening to radio programs,
58:15
and stay warm. It was a cold ten degrees in
58:18
my host this morning. Bye