Transcript

2.6.25 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of the Washington Post for Thursday,
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February six, twenty twenty five. As a reminder, radiois a
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reading service intended for people who are blind or have
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other disabilities that make it difficult to read printed material.
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Your reader today is Mark Webster. Today's front page headlines
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from the Washington Post are six. The first one is
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white House softens parts of Trump's pitch for Gaza. Second
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proposal to remove all Palestinians draws swift backlash and Arab
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World three in immigrant's fate hinges on one day. Four
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order aims to ban trans athletes from female teams, five
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Musk team taking over Corps public operations, and then last,
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Beijing digs in eyeing a grand deal for TikTok. First article,
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white House tries to soften Trump's mass displacement proposal for Gaza.
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Press Secretary Caroline Levitt said Wednesday that President Trump has
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not committed to sending troops to war torn Gaza and
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that he will not spend US funds rebuilding it. Trump's
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comments suggesting otherwise the previous day inflamed the region. There's
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a photograph of President Trump departing after signing an executive
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order banning transgender athletes from participating in women's sports in
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the East Room of the White House yesterday. Here's the article.
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The White House on Wednesday tried to soften the most
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extreme elements of President Donald Trump's declaration that he wanted
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to take ownership of Gaza, floating a more limited vision
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of US involvement in the region. Press Secretary Caroline Levitt
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told reporters at the White House News briefing that Palestinians
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would be displaced temporarily rather than permanently, as Trump had
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said a day earlier. She said he made no US
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troop commitments, despite his vow that the United States would
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dismantle bombs and clear out the territory, and she said
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that no US tax dollars would be spent in the
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year's long reconstruction effort, despite Trump's statement the day before
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that quote, the US will take over the Gaza strip
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and will do a job with a two. We'll own
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it close the quote. Levitt's explanation did little to appease critics,
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including a wide array of US allies and Palestinians themselves,
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who condemned what they said would amount to an involuntary
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displacement of more than two million Gosins from their territory.
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Levitt also did little to add clarity about exactly what
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Trump wants to do, but, together with the president's remarks
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the day before, the episode fit a pattern of swagger
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and unpredictability that Trump has infused back into the national
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and diplomatic discourse. The president's proposal of a sweeping US
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takeover of Gaza made headlines around the world, a result
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that he typically relishes, but his apparent retreat Wednesday suggested
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that he hadn't fully anticipated such widespread censure, not only
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about a potentially forced displacement of millions, but also that
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it would also that it would almost certainly pull Washington
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deeply into the sort of Middle East conflict he vowed
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to avoid. The confusion about Trump's intentions for a burning
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conflict that he has vowed to end was the first
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sign of how he may pursue international disp diplomacy in
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his second term, With a mixture of shock tactics, extreme proposals,
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and shifting visions that destabilized friends and foes alike. It
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still wasn't clear whether he was offering an opportunity, whether
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he was offering an opening gambit in what would be
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a broader negotiation about Gaza future, or conjuring a vision
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he hoped would come fully to fruition. Trump has already
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caused similar whiplash. In his first two weeks back in
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the White House, he threatened to impose tariffs on Mexico
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and Canada, only to withdraw them for at least a
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month after each country made some concessions to his satisfaction.
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He initially ordered a freeze on federal grants, only to
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rescind it amid widespread confusion that disrupted Medicaid payments, senior meals,
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and housing stypens. In each case, including the current Gaza proposal,
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White House officials have denied any inconsistency, saying they were
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further fleshing out his ideas rather than retreating from them.
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It's been made very clear to the President that the
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United States needs to be involved in this rebuilding effort
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to ensure the stability in the region for all people.
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But that does not mean boots on the ground in Gaza.
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It does not mean that tax American taxpayers will be
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funding this effort. Unquote, Levitt told reporters on Wednesday, quote
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it means Donald Trump, who is the best dealmaker on
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the planet, is going to strike a deal with our
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partners in a region. Close the quote. Trump said the
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previous day that he wanted the United States to take
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over Gaza and rebuild it, proposing a mass displacement for
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a quote all unquote the Palestinians who live there. Trump
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said he would send troops to Gaza quote if it's necessary.
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Close the quote. Levitt on Wednesday said Palestinians in Gaza
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would need to be quote temporarily relocated unquote, despite Trump's
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suggestion Tuesday after an Oval Office meeting with Israeli Prime
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Minister Benjamin nettan Yahoo that the displacement would be permanent.
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She said Trump has been quote socializing and thinking about
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unquote the proposal quote for quite some time unquote. Trump,
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who has rarely missed an opportunity to talk to reporters,
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paused briefly as he left the East Room after signing
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an executive order that aims to ban transgender athletes from
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competing in women's and girls' school sponsored athletics, as a
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group of journalists attempted to ask him about Gaza and
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what would happen to Palestinians located there, he walked past
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without answering. Saudi Arabia's government on Wednesday declared its quote
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unequivocal rejection of attempts to quote displace Palestinians from their land.
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In a statement that did not refer directly to Trump,
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it said the Kingdom would quote not establish diplomatic relations
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with Israel without an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem
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as its capital, directly contradicting statements by Trump on Tuesday
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that Riod is no longer demanding a quote two state
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unquote solution in the conflict, and UN Secretary General Antonio
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Guterres warned against quote any form of ethnic cleansing unquote.
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He added in an address to the United Nations Committee
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focused on Palestinian rights that quote, in the search for solutions,
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we must not make the problem worse unquote. German Foreign
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Minister and Alina Baerbach meanwhile said in a statement that
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quote expelling the Palestinian civilian population from Gaza would not
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only be unacceptable in contrary to international law, it would
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also lead to new suffering and new hatred. Close the quote,
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Also without mentioning Trump by name, Levitt said that The
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Gaza takeover plan was an idea that the president had
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been discussing for some time, and she said he had
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previewed it for Natan Yahoo before their news conference on Tuesday. Quote.
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This was not a decision or an announcement that he
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takes lightly unquote, she said. She said he had spoken
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with the leaders of Bahrain, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, but
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it was unclear whether he was whether he has floated
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his proposal to them. Trump will meet next week with
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Jordan's King Abdullah the second quote. He has made it
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very clear. He's been very vocal that he expects our
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partners in the region, particularly in Egypt and Jordan, to
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accept Palestinian refugees temporarily so that we can rebuild their
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home unquote. She said. Leaders of both countries have flatly
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rejected the proposal several times. She displayed images on television
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in the briefing room of Fox News footage from Gozam. Quote.
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This is an uninhabitable place for human beings unquote, she said.
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Quote do you really think that families can live their
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dream in a region that looks like this with no
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running water, no electricity? Closed the quote. Even some of
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Trump's Republican allies suggested that they weren't comfortable with what
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he proposed on Tuesday. Quote. I fear putting American troops
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on the ground now in the midst of a raging
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Middle East will yield the same results as it did
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in nineteen eighty three unquote, when two hundred and forty
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one US service members were killed in the bombing of
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a US Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, wrote Senator Lindsey Graham,
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Republican of South Carolina on x Trump's Mid East envoy,
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Steve Whitcoff, delivered a presentation to Senate Republicans over a
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private lunch meeting on Wednesday, after some of them raised
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objections to the possibilities of a new military occupation overseas.
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Quote Witcoff said that the President doesn't want to put
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any troops into Gaza, and he doesn't want to spend
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any US money on Gaza. Unquote, said Senator Josh Holly,
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Republican of Missouri, quote, which is good. Unquote, Holly added, quote,
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so maybe I might have misunderstood the president last night unquote.
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But Whitcoff did not suggest that Trump had abandoned his idea.
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One participant in the lunch said, quote, he painted a
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scenario of a Gazen family moving back into tenths thinking
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I'm going to get back into a dwelling in five years,
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and that is just not going to happen. It is
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a wasteland of rubble unquote, said one Republican Senate who
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spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe Whitcoff's private presentation.
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Arab states, which have so far reacted in anger to
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Trump's remarks, would have to take the Palestinians, Whitcoff told them.
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The senator said, other Arab governments could be enticed with
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the offer of treaties and deals that would provide quote
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hundreds of billions of dollars to their economy in unquote
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in exchange for resettling Palestinians. Quote. It's clear to me
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the administration believes there's a win win situation with some
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Arab countries where it would be would become so financially
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attractive to them to accept these displaced gossins unquote, the
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senator said. Three Defense officials, speaking on the condition of
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anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said the
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president's comments were unexpected. At the Pentagon, no planning to
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send US troops to Gaza was under way, they said,
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and most see the idea as highly unrealistic and unlikely.
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One official said the idea prompted joking in some offices,
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with some wondering who would need to pack their bags
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for the mission. Some Arab American supporters of Trump also
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expressed discomfort with his proposal, which, if made permanent, would
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probably render impossible a two state solution for Palestinians. On Wednesday,
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the organization formerly known as Arab Americans for Trump changed
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its name to Arab Americans for Peace, a shift its
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leaders had planned to make eventually but expedited doing in
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light of Trump's comments about relocating people in Gaza. Basharababa,
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the organization's national chair and former associate director of Harvard
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University's Middle East Institute, said his organization remains hopeful that
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Trump will change course, but want it to be clear
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that they quote Adam adamantly oppose the notion of transferring
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Palestinians out of historic Palestine for any reason unquote. He
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noted that Trump has not met with key Arab leaders,
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including the Palestinian president, to discuss the matter. Quote we
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stand for peace. We don't stand for division. Unquote, Baba said,
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quote we don't stand for outlandish ideas. Close the quote
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and that's the end of the first article. We'll now
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go back to the second article. Proposal to remove all
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Palestinians draws swift backlash in Arab world. Trump proposal to
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displaced cousins draws swift backlash in the Arab world. Egypt, Jordan,
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and Arab nations in the Palestinians in the Persian Gulf
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were quick to respond, reiterating their opposition to the mass
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displacement of Palestinians from Gaza. There's a photograph with that
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and the caption says, Palestinians walk along the street among
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the rubble of destroyed buildings in right in southern Gaza's
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trip last month. Here's the article. US foes and allies
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alike condemned on Wednesday, President Donald Trump's proposal that the
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United States take over Gazen and remove its residence en Mass,
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a suggestion world leaders and analysts said could inflame conflict
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in the region, alienate long standing Arab allies, and, if implemented,
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amount to the forced displacement of a civilian population, a
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crime under international law. Trump in recent weeks had floated
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the idea of moving Palestinians out of Gaza and into Egypt, Jordan,
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or other countries while the enclave, which had been devastated
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by war, was rebuilt. The proposal drew sharp rejections in
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both Cairo and Aman, but his comments Tuesday from the
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White House, alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin nit Yahoo, took
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an already controversial and unpopular idea further quote further, Palestinians
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should leave Gazm, which has been quote very unlucky for
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them unquote, and moved to a quote good, fresh, beautiful
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piece of land unquote. He said the United States would
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take a quote long term ownership position unquote over the territory,
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potentially with the involvement of US troops, and developed the
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strip into a utopian quote riviera unquote of the Middle
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East where people from quote all over the world unquote
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will live in peace, he added, and he suggested it
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would all be compatible with what he and Natean Yahoo
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both viewed as the crown jewel in a year's long
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plan to reshape the region. Saudi Arabia's normalization of relations
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with Israel. Trump administration officials on Wednesday sought to clarify
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or walk back some of the president's comments, with Secretary
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of State Marco Rubio calling the proposal quote generous unquote
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quote no other country in the world has stepped up, unquote,
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said Rubio, insisting that it was quote not meant as
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a hostile move. At the same time, White House Press
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Secretary Caroline Leavitt said Trump does not intend for the
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United States to pay for the reconstruction of Gaza, nor
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has the President committed to sending US troops, but his
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remarks represented a stunning departure from decades of US foreign
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policy orthodoxy. The United States has traditionally sought to avoid
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direct military intervention in the Israeli Palestinian conflict at all costs,
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and it has supported the two States solutions with the
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West Bank and Gaza as part of a future Palestinian state.
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Expressions of delight from the Israeli far right, which has
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long pushed for the expulsion of Palestinians and the re
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establishment of Israeli settlements in Gaza, came quickly. Quote we
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have a huge opportunity and we must not miss it unquote.
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Ijamar ben Gever, a far right former minister who quit
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Naityahu's governing coalition and i opposition to the Gaza Cees
16:01
fire deal, set on Israeli radio Wednesday. The backlash, too,
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was swift and much more wide reaching. Within hours of
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Trump's news conference, Saudi Arabia released a statement saying the
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Kingdom will quote continue its relentless efforts to establish an
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independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and
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will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without that unquote
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a stronger articulation of Saudi Arabia's conditions for normalization than
16:33
officials had offered in the past. Again and again, during
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comments to the news media on Tuesday, Trump conveyed his
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beliefs that Palestinians, around two point two million of whom
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live in Gaza, would voluntarily relocate to another location if
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given the choice. He dodged a question about what would
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happen to those who refused, and when asked how many
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Palestinians should leave, Trump responded quote. Leaders around the world
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interpreted his comments as a threat to displace the entire
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population quote, the civilian population of Gaza must not be
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expelled and Gaza must not be permanently occupied or repopulated unquote,
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German Foreign Minister and Alina Berbach wrote in a statement Wednesday,
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without mentioning Trump by name. France's Foreign ministry also warned
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against quote any forced displacement of Gaza's Palestinian population unquote,
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which it said would be a quote grave violation of
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international law. US allies, including the United Kingdom and Australia,
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asserted their country's positions that the conflict could be resolved
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only through the creation of an independent Palestinian state along
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the boundaries laid out in international resolutions, as did US
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adversaries China and Russia. The specter of the mass displacement
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of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from what is now
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Israel in nineteen forty eight, known as the quote Nakba
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quote catastrophe unquote in Arabic, looms large in the Palestinian
18:14
collective memory. The determination to hold onto Palestinian territory constitutes
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a cornerstone of the population's identity. Despite the dire circumstances
18:25
of Gaza after fifteen months of war, colossal destruction, unsanitary conditions,
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a lack of adequate food, and water. Many still want
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to stay, concerned that if they leave, they won't be
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allowed back. You and officials and international law experts warn
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Wednesday that multiple aspects of Trump's plan could violate international law.
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It's unclear how Trump would assert US control over Gaza.
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If he were to seize the territory by force, that
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would breach quote the fundamental principle of international law, which
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is the prohibition of aggression. According to Janina Dill, a
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professor of Global security at the Blavotnic School of Government
19:07
at the University of Oxford, moving people against their will
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as a crime unless it is for a quote imperative
19:14
military necessity unquote, or because the safety of the people
19:17
necessitates it. Dial added quote Neither one of these excuses
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would be available here, because clearly the goal behind the
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population transfer is the seizure of the territory unquote, she said.
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Stefan Dujarik, spokesman for UN Secretary General Antonio Guitaris, told
19:36
reporters Wednesday that quote any forced displacement of people as
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tantamont to ethnic cleansing unquote. Palestinians leaders Palestinian leaders across
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the political spectrum decried Trump's remarks and insisted Palestinians will
19:51
remain on their land. The militant group AMAS and Palestinian
19:56
Islamic Jihad vowed they would resist any efforts to displace that.
20:01
Trump's inceniary comments came as negotiations over the second phase
20:06
of a ceasefire deal in Gaza were supposed to get underway.
20:10
Israel and Amas agreed to an initial forty two day
20:14
truce that is held since January nineteenth and brought about
20:18
several rounds of exchanges of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners.
20:24
Israel has delayed the start of discussions over the next
20:28
phase of what mediators intend to be a three stage
20:31
path to a peace settlement, and it remains unclear how
20:34
Trump's proposal could affect the ceasefire. Officials in Jordan and
20:39
Egypt reiterated their opposition to displacement of Palestinian Palestinians outside
20:45
of Gaza, a red line for both countries, which share
20:49
an existential angst about the prospect of such a mass
20:52
relocation to their territories. Egypt, the only country apart from
20:57
Israel that borders Gaza, has won throughout the conflict, that
21:00
the displacement of Palestinians there into the Sinai Peninsula would
21:05
jeopardize its nineteen seventy nine peace treaty with Israel. The
21:09
Egyptian gobent is sensitive about Sinai, where it recently wound
21:14
down a ten year counter surgety operation against Islamic militants.
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Cairo fears that any Palestinian militants who are displaced with
21:23
gosens would end up launching attacks on Israel from Egyptian territory,
21:28
potentially sparking a direct military confrontation, and it views Islamist
21:33
groups such as AMAS as threats to the regime stability.
21:38
Public opinion in both countries is stauntly in support of
21:42
the Palestinian cause. For Jordan, Trump's plan, if implemented, could
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lead to domestic unrest. A fifth of Jordan's inhabitants are
21:50
registered Palestinian refugees, and some estimates put people of Palestinian
21:55
descent at more than half of Jordan's population. That demographic
22:00
opposition as long posed fraught questions about the Hashimike Kingdom's
22:04
identity and longevity, particularly as right wing Israeli politicians have
22:10
suggested for years that Jordan could serve as the independent
22:13
Palestinian state demanded by the international community, but both Egypt
22:19
and Jordan rely heavily on US support. Egypt, the second
22:23
largest recipient of American military aid after Israel, received about
22:27
one point three billion dollars in security assistance from Washington annually.
22:31
Jordan receives more than one billion dollars in economic and
22:35
security assistance. Egyptian officials believe Trump could be quote testing
22:42
the waters unquote said they are in a quote weight
22:45
and see modequote worried but skeptical that the proposal will
22:50
come to fruition. And a diplomat in the region familiar
22:53
with Cairo's position, speaking on the condition of anonymity to
22:57
discuss sensitive diplomacy quote, as far as Egypt is concerned
23:02
and as far as Jordan is concerned, these relations are crucial,
23:05
strategic and they don't want to risk having a confrontation
23:09
that will become detrimental to the interest of both unquote,
23:13
said Hesham Musef, a former Egyptian diplomat for the Arab
23:19
States in the Persian Golf. Calibrating a response will require
23:23
walking a fine line between safeguarding their national security interest
23:28
and not upsetting the generally warm relations that they have
23:32
cultivated with Trump, Analysts and diplomats said, quote, they are
23:36
still trying to understand how serious President Trump is about this,
23:40
or if it's a negotiation strategy to push regional actors
23:44
into making financial and political concessions unquote. Ibrahim A. Lasil,
23:49
a senior fellow with Middlelys Institute, said of the Persian
23:53
golf countries, but he said if Trump pushes ahead with
23:56
plans to displace large numbers of Palestinians from God, it
24:00
would probably cause irreparable damage to his relationship with the
24:04
golf monarchies. Quote. The golf countries do want good relations
24:08
with the United States, but they are also part of
24:11
this region and this would threaten their national security directly.
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They can't just overlook it, Asial said. The United Arab
24:20
Emirates Foreign Ministry emphasized in a statement Wednesday, quote its
24:24
categorical rejection of any infringement on the Palestinians unailable rights
24:29
and any attempt of displacement unquote. Riod's message, meanwhile, was unambiguous,
24:35
said Abdul Khalek Abdullah, a Dubai based political professor. An
24:40
analysts quote, they didn't have to deliberate on this very much.
24:44
Saudi Arabia made this clear from minute one that this
24:48
is a no go dead un arrival unquote. He said,
24:51
if this was quote, if this was bargaining, it wasn't
24:54
intelligent bargaining. Unquote. He added a Trump's proposal quote. This
24:58
really just shocked everybody. This is not the way to
25:02
get stability in the region. Close the quote and that ends.
25:06
That article. Will go back down. Pick up the third
25:08
article and immigrants fate hinges in one day. And this
25:12
article is in the very center of the front page
25:14
of the Washington Post. It's under a very large photograph.
25:20
The caption says, Ulosio Hernandez Box ponders his future in
25:26
the kitchen of his home in Dover, Ohio, as his
25:28
son washes the dishes. The headlines after twenty four years,
25:33
an immigrant's fate is upended in Trump's first week. He
25:36
came to the US as a teenager. Now he's a
25:39
target of the Trump administration's deportation push. Here's the article.
25:44
Ulosio Hernandez Box lit a candle at the altar in
25:47
his living room in Nelt the Prey. In the pre
25:50
dawn darkness. All was quiet in the small house with
25:54
white siding. His wife was already working for a regular
25:57
factory shift that started at five am. His four sons,
26:01
aged sixteen, fifteen, ten, and nine, were still asleep. It
26:04
was early on January twenty two. Two days earlier, a
26:07
new president had taken office, promising to deport millions of
26:11
people who were in the country illegally. Eulosio was one
26:16
of them. He had arrived as a teenager in two
26:18
thousand and one, leaving behind his village in Guatemala. In
26:22
the years since, he had worked hard and provided for
26:24
his children. Now he was thirty nine. After twenty four years,
26:29
his ability to remain in the country would come down
26:32
to a check in later that day at an Immigration
26:35
and Customs enforcement office outside Cleveland. Eulosio dressed carefully jeans
26:40
and a belt with a large silvery buckle. A dark
26:44
green polo shirt from a men's spiritual retreat he helps
26:47
lead each year. Around his neck. He wore a Saint
26:50
Benedict's crucifix on a black cord. Before leaving home, he
26:55
blew out the flame and went to hug his sleeping children.
26:57
Quote see you in the afternoon, quote he wished to
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each of them. The truth was he might not be
27:02
coming back. For an administration determined to ramp up deportations.
27:07
People like Eulosio were easy targets. They were already subject
27:11
to deportation orders, but under President Joe Biden, they were
27:15
not considered priorities for removal because they did not represent
27:18
a threat to public safety. They number in the hundreds
27:21
of thousands. Eulosio's only offense had been a traffic stop.
27:26
If Eulosio could tell Donald Trump anything, it would be
27:30
to have mercy for families like his. The country was,
27:34
of course for people who were born here, he said,
27:37
but he added, for God, there are no immigrants. There
27:42
are several photos of the family. I won't read the
27:44
caption continuing outside, the air was frigid, so cold that
27:49
school was canceled. Eulosio climbed into the passionate seat of
27:52
a Greyhound a CRV. Father Tomas Carvajo Bosto, a priest
27:58
of the local Catholic church, was driving. The pair set
28:01
out north on Interstate seventy seven, the highway blasted white
28:05
by road salt. Eulosio's first job in the United States
28:08
at age fifteen, wasn't far from here. He worked at
28:11
Gerber's Poultry, he said, under a name that wasn't his.
28:16
His first task was picking up plucked chickens that had
28:19
dropped from a choot into a box and flinging them
28:23
into a larger box, which, when full, was taken to
28:26
the freezer. He was so young he treated like a game.
28:30
An older brother had arrived in the United States first,
28:32
a few years after the end of Guatemala's brutal civil war.
28:36
He sent word back to his siblings in Aldea Chech's,
28:40
the mountainous village where they were born, saying there was
28:43
work in Ohio in the in checks, I mispronounced it.
28:48
It's pronounced shesh chesh. Families spoke Keeche, one of dozens
28:53
of indigenous Mayan languages. Eulosio's parents, like nearly everyone else
28:58
he knew, grew corn, tended hens and sheep, and cut
29:02
trees to sell his lumber in Agua Catan, the nearest town.
29:07
The first place Eulosio's brother took him when he arrived
29:10
in Dover, a city of thirteen thousand south of Canton,
29:14
was Walmart. He needed choose pants a jacket. Quote, I thought, quote,
29:18
this is luxury. Unquote Eulosio said, laughing, it's the same
29:23
Walmart where his wife now does their grocery shopping. Ten
29:27
years went by at the poultry plant, sorting chickens, cutting chickens,
29:31
packing chickens, entering orders into a computer. Other jobs followed,
29:36
pouring concrete, installing plumbing, ten months with an oil company
29:40
in Ulrichsville, constructing a four floor hotel in Youngstown, building
29:47
new homes in Madonna, gutting houses and renovating them. Eulosio
29:52
only learned later that he might have qualified for an
29:55
Obama era program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals are DACA,
30:02
which provides work permits in a measure of protection from
30:07
deportation to people brought to.
30:10
Speaker 2: The country as children. To be eligible for DACA, though
30:14
he would have had to finish high school, how could
30:17
he have known within When he arrived in the United States,
30:22
he owed sixty thousand quinzalis nearly eight thousand dollars for
30:26
the journey. He needed to work, not study. He married,
30:30
had children, bought a house. In twenty ten, he was
30:34
pulled over and fined for driving without a license and misdemeanor.
30:38
He went on to file an asylum claim but a
30:40
judge rejected it, saying it was not corroborated. Eulosio appealed
30:44
the decision and lost. During the first Trump administration, Eulosio
30:48
brought sought sanctuary in a church in Cleveland to avoid
30:52
being deported.
30:53
Speaker 1: He spent a year there, his children visiting when they could.
30:58
Under Biden, people like people who had not committed serious crimes,
31:03
who had lived here for years, who had us born
31:05
children were not a priority for deportation. ICE agents told
31:09
Eulosio he could remain in the country on the condition
31:12
that he'd show up for an annual check in last year.
31:15
His ICE appointment in the Cleveland suburb of Brooklyn Heights
31:18
was uneventful. He returned home by midday and slipped back
31:22
into the rhythms of family life. Dinners at the table
31:25
in the kitchen, readying his kids for school in the morning,
31:29
Sundays at a church where his sons served as altar boys.
31:33
This time would be different. Elosio and Caravaal Bostow pulled
31:37
up to a glass and steel office building just outside Cleveland,
31:41
Elizabeth Ford, Eulosio's lawyer, would meet them there. Carvajo Bosto
31:47
was originally from Mexico and recently became a US citizen.
31:51
He liked to tease Eulosio, a devout parishioner, about almost
31:54
being laid to mass despite living around the corner from
31:57
the church. As they waited to enter the build, Eulosio
32:01
watched a video on his phone from the men's spiritual
32:04
retreat that he helps organize each year. He makes a
32:07
point to invite people who are struggling, he said, because
32:10
they're sad, or unwell or drinking too much. At the
32:14
culmination of the retreat, the men walked in a procession
32:17
into the church, their voices raised in the song. Elosio
32:21
sang softly quote no no istoi solo no kwando in
32:26
mivida say presenta um problema mas close the quote no
32:30
I'm not alone. No when another problem appears in my life,
32:35
it was time for his check in. Elosio carried a
32:38
battered FedEx envelope that contained his paperwork and walked up
32:43
the stairs to the second floor. Inside was Ford, wrapped
32:46
in a coat and carrying more files. Ford, Carvajo, Basto,
32:51
and Ulosio passed through a metal detector and sat down
32:54
in a row of black chairs. Eulosio was thinking about
32:58
Trump and how he had promised to deport everyone who
33:01
was in the country illegally. He wasn't sure how that
33:04
would work. Could Trump just give an order and had
33:08
it already been an effect? It was eight forty six am.
33:12
At the far end of the room, a full wood
33:14
door opened and a bearded man in a hoodie came out.
33:17
Ulsio Hernandez. He said, Lozio and Ford stood up. Quote
33:22
vah is starbm Mio unquote. Carva Hall Busto said quietly,
33:28
you're going to be okay, son. The man at the
33:31
door recognized Ford a regular presence at the Ice office.
33:34
Quote coming in hot unquote, he said, quote bringing the
33:37
big guns unquote. Quote I'm just here for support unquote.
33:41
Ford replied. The door closed behind them. It reopened sixteen
33:46
minutes later, you Losio. Following Ford, they stepped outside in
33:50
the freezing parking lot to talk. Quote they want him
33:53
to purchase a ticket, unquote, Ford said. Carvajo Basto made
33:57
a noise of dismay. Ford explained that the Ice officer
34:01
said he was ready to detain Elosio immediately and put
34:04
him on the next deportation flight. To Guatemala, but she
34:08
suggested they could save the taxpayer the expense of detaining
34:11
him and flying him home if they allowed him the
34:14
time to do it himself. The officer ordered Elosio to
34:18
return to the office in two weeks to present an
34:20
airline ticket for Guatemala, departing in February. If not, they
34:24
would come to find him. Ford tried to emphasize the positive. Quote,
34:29
we don't have an arrest today unquote, she said. Quote
34:32
if it was another officer, I think that is what
34:34
would have happened. Unquote. Elosio and Carvajo Basto got back
34:39
in the car. It's better not to be detained, the
34:42
priest remarked. Elosio agreed. Quote, as long as you're alive,
34:46
there are solutions, unquote, he said, looking out the window
34:49
at the rutted streets, he knew his wife, Sylvia was
34:52
anxiously awaiting news. He typed out a text in Spanish, quote,
34:57
I'm coming home, love, quote thank you unquote, she wrote
35:00
back immediately quote un happy for you. Take care of yourself,
35:04
love unquote. On the drive home, Eulosio thought through his
35:08
options again. There are more photographs here. One shows Eulogio
35:14
walking into his back door at home, passing a Nativity scene.
35:18
But I won't go into the other photographs, continuing, how
35:22
do you wrap up twenty four years he didn't know.
35:25
His mind went to practical matters. He would transfer his
35:28
house and his Honda minivan into someone else's name, someone
35:32
he trusted. His two older boys, both football players, would
35:36
have to get part time jobs to help with expenses.
35:39
He shot away from the enormity of what they were facing,
35:42
the end of his life in the United States, the
35:44
end of their life together. His children were American. They
35:48
would stay here with Sylvia. This cold place in the
35:52
middle of the country was all they knew in school
35:55
and football fields. It's Chipotle and McDonald's outlets, its malls
35:59
and churches chesh Meanwhile, was an abstraction that existed somewhere
36:05
between the haziness of childhood memories and the hyperreality of
36:09
the Internet age. When Eulosio was a kid, the village
36:13
didn't even have electricity. Now he could see drone footage
36:16
of the place on his phone, trace the road and ridges,
36:19
see the craggy peaks that towered in the distance. He
36:23
walked up the short path to his front door passed
36:26
a Nativity scene half covered in snow. He pushed open
36:30
the front door. A line of school backpacks hung neatly
36:33
on the wall. His younger sons, John ten and Jose nine,
36:37
were sprawled under fleece blankets on the couch watching YouTube
36:41
videos on television. When John saw Eulosio, he sat straight
36:46
up with pleasure. Quote puppy unquote, he exclaimed. The whole
36:51
day distracted by worry about Eulosio's check in, Sylvia had
36:55
been unable to focus on her work. It was a
36:58
good job with nobody yelling or for her to rush.
37:01
She earned sixteen dollars an hour reloading a machine filling
37:04
tubes on an assembly line. When she saw Ulosio's text,
37:08
her heart flooded with relief. She arrived home a few
37:12
hours later at two pm. Quote what did they tell you? Unquote?
37:15
She asked him. The news was bad. Ulosio replied he
37:19
had to return to Ice with a ticket in two weeks.
37:22
Sylvia crumple. Quote what are we going to do? Unquote?
37:26
She didn't have legal status here either. How could she
37:29
cope on her own working and taking care of the kids.
37:33
Quote right now, I can't think unquote, she said, her
37:36
voice hitching with tears. Her son John gently slipped a
37:40
pair of flip flops on to her feet as she cried.
37:45
Ulosio was in contact with an immigration activist who promised
37:48
to use whatever time they had to fight the deportation,
37:51
but Ford said there were no legal avenues left. Perhaps
37:55
Ulosio thought he could seek satguary in a church again,
37:58
although one of the Trump administration's first moves was to
38:01
rescind the policy that made places of worship quote protected
38:05
areas unquote from immigration enforcement. Meanwhile, he would have to
38:10
present a ticket. He found a flight for February twenty two,
38:13
Cleveland to Miami, Miami to Guatemala City. A little before
38:18
seven pm, the family got into their minivan for the
38:21
short drive to the House of Prayer, a humble space
38:24
with an unfinished ceiling and painted cinderblock walls where the
38:28
Guatemalan community gathered to worship according to their customs. As
38:32
people filled in, they heard Eulosio playing guitar in a
38:36
five person band. His son John tapped a steady beat
38:40
on the drums. A friend delivered the welcome in Quichet,
38:44
Sylvia led the rosary in Spanish, kneeling for half an
38:47
hour on the hard floor, her eyes red with tears.
38:50
The next morning, Elosio would be back at work, gutting
38:54
and remodeling a house, his face and hands caked with grit.
38:58
Each day was one day closer to farewell. But for now,
39:01
before time ran out, there was prayer and music, songs
39:04
of faith and sacrifice. That's the end of that lengthy article.
39:09
Will now go to the fourth article to read order
39:12
aims to ban trans athletes. The caption says Trump's new
39:18
ban on athletes his latest attack on transgender policies. President
39:22
Donald Trump signed an executive order that aims to ban
39:25
trans athletes from women's sports, the latest shakeup for schools
39:29
navigating the new rules. There's a photograph of President Trump
39:35
with over I guess two dozen schoolgirls. The caption says
39:40
President Donald Trump was surrounded Wednesday as he signed an
39:43
executive order that seeks to ban transgender girls and women
39:47
from female sports teams. Here's the article. President Donald Trump
39:52
signed an executive order Wednesday that aims to ban transgender
39:56
athletes from competing on girls and women's sports teams by
40:00
denying federal funds for schools that allow it. Delivering on
40:03
another contentious cultural war promise, the order directs the Education
40:08
Department to reform schools that allowing transgender athletes to compete.
40:15
We'll put them in violation of Title line, the federal
40:18
law banning sex discrimination in schools. Under the law, schools
40:22
that discriminate based on sex are not eligible for federal funding.
40:26
It's the latest salvo in Trump's attack on transgender rights,
40:30
another in a series of moves ricocheting through school districts
40:34
and college campuses across the country. Quote from now on,
40:38
women's sport will be only for women unquote, Trump said
40:42
Wednesday before a cheering crowd in the East room of
40:44
the White House. Quote the war on women's sports is
40:48
over close the quote. He said the order was part
40:53
of a quote sweeping effort to reclaim our culture and
40:56
our laws unquote. Since Trump took office, his allies in
41:01
the States have used the directives from the White House
41:04
to try to push local policies to the right when
41:07
it comes to transgender students. School districts have ranged widely
41:11
in their responses, from acquiescence to defiance, and there's been
41:15
plenty to respond to. On the first day of his presidency,
41:19
Trump signed in order declaring that only two genders exist.
41:23
On the eighth day, his Education Department announced it was
41:25
opening an investigation into a Denver school district over its
41:29
all gender bathroom, and on the ninth, Trump signed another
41:33
order penalizing teachers who helped students quote socially transition unquote.
41:39
School districts are working to understand what the shifting legal
41:43
and political landscape means for them. Some are considering falling
41:47
in line with the president's orders, at least in part
41:50
through policy changes. Others remained defined, reassuring anxious students and
41:55
parents they intend to keep school safe and welcoming for
41:59
lgb BTQ children. Quote Here's what I know. Our schools
42:04
will continue to support and welcome every single child who
42:06
walks on our door. That includes, of course, our LBGBTQ
42:11
identifying students unquote, said Phil Kim, president of the San
42:15
Francisco School Board. Quote That commitment is not changing regardless
42:20
of the national backdrop unquote. Trump's orders representing a sharp
42:25
assertion of presidential power, in particular his threat to pull
42:29
federal funding from districts that teach about gender as well
42:33
as race in ways he doesn't like curriculums fall under
42:38
the authority of school districts, guided by their state education departments.
42:43
Advocates on both sides of the issue expect legal battles.
42:49
Some conservatives are urging parents to complain to their school
42:52
boards about pro trans policies, citing Trump's order that there
42:57
are only quote two sexes unquote in New Jersey, as
43:00
substock writer popular in conservative circles issued a call to
43:05
action January twenty four, offering an email template that parents
43:09
can use to lobby their school's superintendents. Quote how will
43:13
the district ensure it is not exposing itself to legal
43:17
challenges for failing to comply with his federal mandate? Unquote?
43:21
The template read reads quote this will empower parents to
43:25
speak out more quote, said Sean Hyland, director of the
43:29
conservative New Jersey Family Policy Center. Quote. The President and
43:33
the White House are on their side. Now. That's going
43:36
to be a game changer unquote. While transgender athletes are rare,
43:41
the issue is a top target for conservatives. Last month,
43:44
the House passed legislation to ban transgender athletes from women's sports,
43:49
one of the first actions of the new Congress. Though
43:52
the bill faces an uncertain path in the Senate. Opponents
43:56
argue that trans girls and women provide unfair competition to
44:01
cist gender girls and women, and say their involvement presents
44:04
safety concerns. LGBTQ advocates say that opponents are fear mongering
44:11
and that trans students deserve the same opportunities as others.
44:15
Research has found that some trans girls and women do
44:18
not have competitive advantages. The latest order directs the Education
44:22
Department to withhold federal funds from schools that do not
44:26
comply with Trump's interpretation of the law, and to prioritize
44:30
investigations of schools that do not comply. It also seeks
44:34
to use the bully pulpit to persuade sports associations governing
44:38
non scholastic sports to adopt similar rules, and it directs
44:43
the State and Homeland Security departments to review visa policies
44:47
for foreign athletes coming to the United States for competitions
44:50
to make sure they do not represent themselves as women
44:54
if their sex was mal at birth. The order was
44:57
signed on national Girls and Women in Sports DEA. In
45:01
more than two dozen states, trans athletes are banned already.
45:05
In others, they are required to present doctor's notes and
45:08
undergo a year of hormone therapy, and in others there
45:11
are no requirements at all. On the college level, Since
45:14
twenty twenty two, the NCAAA has struck has stuck with
45:18
sports specific policies that defer to the eligibility rules set
45:22
out by each sport's national governing body. The NCAAA additionally
45:27
requires transgender female athletes to have undergone at least one
45:30
year of testosterone suppression treatment before competing in a women's sport.
45:37
On Wednesday, the NCAA indicated it may adapt its policies
45:41
in light of the order. Quote. The NCAAA Board of
45:43
Governors in reviewing the executive order and will take necessary
45:48
steps to align NCAA policy in the coming days, subject
45:52
to further guidance from the Administration. Closed the quote. NCAA
45:56
President Charlie Baker said anual policies meant to protect transgender
46:02
students or on the books in close to twenty states
46:05
and thousands of local school districts. A Washington Post analysis
46:08
found the regulations include allowing trans students across to bathrooms
46:13
excuse me access to bathrooms, allowing them to join sports teams,
46:18
and requiring educators to use pronouns and names matching students
46:22
gender identity. Last year, a trans high school student in
46:26
Washington State became the first in state's history to win
46:29
a championship after she placed first in the four hundred
46:32
meters sprint. Her win prompted criticism nationwide, but she has
46:36
continued to compete in cross country. Ahead of Trump's signing,
46:41
Katie Paine, a spokesperson for the state Department of Education,
46:45
said her office had not yet seen the memo, but
46:48
she pointed to Washington state law, which prohibits discrimination on
46:52
the basis of gender identity or gender expression. Quote. Discriminating
46:57
against trans youth break straight law unquote, she said, And
47:01
on Wednesday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta Democrat, said he
47:05
would consider a lawsuit challenging the order. Quote. I think
47:09
we would be very eager to protect trans athletes and
47:12
make sure their rights aren't violated unquote, he said in
47:16
an interview. Resistant to Trump's stance is already playing out
47:20
in Maine. Days after Trump took office, the state's education
47:25
department reiterated its protection for LGBTQ students, saying in a
47:31
website update that regardless of messaging from Washington, schools are
47:35
expected to follow state law, which barres discrimination on the
47:39
basis of gender identity. The post prompted more than two
47:44
dozen Republicans state legislators to fire back a letter demanding
47:48
the department recind such guidance. The letter, which extolled the
47:51
wisdom of Trump's move to promote the quote biological reality
47:55
of two sexes quote, asserted that failure to comply could
47:59
cast government for funding and lead to federal lawsuits. Representative
48:03
Katrina Smith, the assistant Republican leader in the Main House
48:07
who organized the letter, said the state needs to come
48:10
into compliance with Trump. Quote, Let's fall in line with
48:13
the federal government unquote, she said. It's the dilemma schools
48:17
across the country now face, said Geneva Walters. Genevra Walters,
48:22
former superintendent at Kankakee School District one one one at
48:26
our south of Chicago, who now consults with districts. How
48:31
educators respond will depend on whether and how the Trump
48:35
administration follows through on threats to cut off federal dollars,
48:39
she said. In the end, school's ability to keep transgender
48:43
protections might divide along financial lines. Walters predicted quote, if
48:49
you're in an extremely wealthy district, you're in a very
48:52
different position than a struggling district with a lot of
48:55
poverty and not a lot of wealth. Unquote, she said.
48:58
Quote a district that is not dependent on federal funding
49:02
as much as another would have more flexibility in terms
49:05
of community decisions around how they operate. Close the quote.
49:10
Schools may know more of their fates once Trump's pick
49:13
for Education secretary is confirmed. Per in Executive Order, one
49:17
of the new secretary's first task will be to develop
49:20
within ninety days a plan to withhold federal funds from
49:24
disobedient districts. It's a radical departure from how President Joe
49:28
Biden governed. Under Biden, the Education Department told schools that
49:32
Title nine, the federal law that bars discrimination based on sex,
49:36
should be interpreted to prohibit the discrimination based on gender identity.
49:40
The agency cited at twenty twenty Supreme Court ruling in
49:44
Bostock versus Clayton County, which found sex discrimination employment includes
49:49
discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. The Biden
49:54
administration's interpretation meant that schools were required under federal anti
49:58
discrimination law to transgender students access to bathrooms and locker
50:04
rooms that correspond with their gender identity and to respect
50:08
their preferred names and pronouns. The Trump administration is now
50:12
telling schools districts the opposite, while relying on the same
50:17
law tie line for justification. In Trump officials view, allowing
50:21
transgender girls to use the same bathrooms as other girls
50:24
constitute sex discrimination against the cis gender female students. The
50:30
new administration is arguing that the Bostock decision does not
50:33
apply to schools. This week, a conservative law firm, American
50:37
First Legal, filed a complaint with the Education Department's Office
50:41
for Civil Rights, alleging that five Northern Virginia school districts
50:45
are violating federal anti sex discrimination law by allowing students
50:49
to access facilities corresponding to their gender identities. America's first
50:55
senior Vice president, Reed D. Rubinstein, said in a statement
50:59
that firm that the firm is taking action now because
51:02
it has a quote powerful partner in its fight to
51:05
protect our children unquote Trump. America's first argument is broad.
51:10
It does not allege any harm to other students, but
51:13
asserts that simply allowing transgender students access to bathrooms matching
51:17
their gender identities automatically violates the rights of cisgender students. Ultimately,
51:25
the Supreme Court will have to settle the matter, experts said.
51:28
Quote what I can promise you is there will be litigation, unquote,
51:32
said Jenny Peiser, chief legal officer of Lambda Legal and
51:37
LGBTQ legal advocacy group. The Trump administration's flurry of orders
51:43
is already reshaping policies and lives. In Colorado, the Woodland
51:48
Park School Board cited Trump's order in passing a resolution
51:51
last month that directed the superintendent to update all school
51:54
rules to reflect that, quote there are only two sexes,
51:57
male and female unquote. The resolution, which took effect immediately,
52:03
says the superintendent must quote ensure restrooms and locker rooms
52:07
separate males and females, and ensure males are not competing
52:11
as females and sporting events uote. Elsewhere the same state,
52:18
the Denver Public School District is sticking with its gender
52:21
inclusive policies and now must contend with a federal investigation.
52:26
The Education Department's Office of Civil Rights notified Denver's superintendent
52:30
in late January that it was opening an investigation into
52:34
weather by converting a female restroom at East High School
52:38
into an all gender one. The district was quote discriminating
52:42
against students on the basis of sex and violation of
52:44
Title nine unquote. It cited local news stories and apparent
52:50
school board testimony as inspiration for the investigation. This Denver
52:55
District spokesperson Scott Pribble said schools will continue to respect
52:59
the needs of all students. The Education Department declined to
53:03
comment on an ongoing investigation. Other schools are also loudly
53:08
proclaiming their defiance, even promising to punish teachers who don't
53:12
do enough to protect LGBTQ students. The day after Trump
53:18
took office, school leaders in Portland, Oregon sent a letter
53:21
to families referencing district policy that permits transgender students to
53:26
choose their names and pronouns and to access restrooms and
53:29
locker rooms that align with their gender identities. The letter
53:33
said teachers could be disciplined if they failed to understand that. Quote.
53:39
Any staff member who violates a student's right to confidentiality
53:42
or engages in transphobic behavior e g. Refusing to use
53:46
the correct name in pronouns may be subject to disciplinary
53:50
action unquote. The letter said, amid the back and forth.
53:53
Transgender students at school are struggling. A gender queer lesbian
53:59
sixteen year old in Colorado said things have changed at
54:02
school since Trump's inauguration. The teen, who uses they them
54:06
pronouns and spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear
54:10
of harassment, said they are facing increased harassment from peers
54:14
who repeatedly questioned their sexuality. One classmate told the teen
54:18
that being gay is against his religion. Quote They're all
54:22
emboldened by Trump unquote, the teen said. The teen has
54:26
avoided reading about Trump's ordered targeting transgender rights at school. Still,
54:32
when they went to get a driver's license a few
54:34
days ago, they decided not to select quote ax unquote
54:37
as their gender, even though it was an option right now.
54:41
They felt it was safer to hide. That's the end
54:44
of the article, and we'll go to the last article,
54:46
which we only have a couple of minutes, so we'll
54:49
cut this off. This one says Trump wants a TikTok deal,
54:54
China may pull the plug. There's a photo of women
54:57
in Beijing walking past the headquarters for byte Edance, the
55:01
apparent company of TikTok. Here's the article TikTok's Chinese owner
55:07
appears to be slow rolling negotiations for a safe for
55:11
a cell while waiting for a green light from the
55:14
Chinese government, even as corporate allies of President Donald Trump
55:18
raised to broker a deal to sell the app to
55:21
an American bidder. According to three people familiar with the
55:24
talks who spoke on the conditions of anonymity to discuss
55:28
private business transactions, but Beijing is increasingly likely to take
55:33
a hard line approach, letting TikTok's US operations die rather
55:37
than approving a cell, as it holds out for a
55:40
quote grand deal quote with the Trump administration that includes
55:44
larger concessions on trade and tech policy. According to one
55:48
of the people and analysts, the move comes as tensions
55:53
between the nations have escalated into a trade war, with
55:56
Trump drawing and emergency economic powers to pose sweeping tariffs
56:01
on imports from China. This week, Beijing retaliated with its
56:04
own set of restrictions, including limits on exports of minerals
56:08
used to make high tech products and an anti trust
56:11
investigation of Google. Well. This concludes the two part readings
56:16
of The Washington Post for Today, Thursday, February sixth, twenty
56:20
twenty five, Your reader today has ben Mark Webster. If
56:23
you have any questions, comments, or suggestions concerning this program,
56:27
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