Transcript

2.26.26 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of Today's Washington Post for Thursday,
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February the twenty six of twenty twenty six, and we
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only have two more days left in this month of February.
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Speaker 2: Sunday is the first of March, and your reader.
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Speaker 1: Is Alice Stainer, with the reminder that RADIOI is an
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organization for those blind with other inabilities to hold or
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read printed material. And I start with the front page
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of Today's Washington Post. On the far left, Treasury's Hurley
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to exit post amid clash he raised objections over targeting
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of alleged fraud in the Somali community by Andrew Ackerman,
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Jeff Stein, Natalie Allison, and Ellen Nakashima. In the middle
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is a picture right smack in the middle of a
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young lady by the name of Marina Kadzimininsky who is sixteen,
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and she's working with an assault rifle last year during
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a Protecting Ukraine course in.
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Speaker 2: Bidon.
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Speaker 1: I can't read that until I get to the article,
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but she is in a sweater over jeans at a
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table that looks like she is the instructor or either
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a student at a table which is anomaly. A plant
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stand on both sides of her with beautiful plants, and
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then a wainscot of wood that goes across the back
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of her neckline and painted above that in green to
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offset the pretty green of the will not offset to
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enhance the green of the flowers. The title is As
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war with Russia drags on, the children of Ukraine learn
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to fight back with threats expected to last for years.
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Teenagers enroll in defense course by Chaubin O'Grady, Anastasia Galuchika
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and Serti Morganov.
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Speaker 2: And this is in Ukraine. To the right of that.
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Speaker 1: Cuba four killed on US vessel Havana says crew intended
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terror tenor board were Cuban nationals, The Ministry said. This
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is by Samantha Schmidt, Adam Taylor, Karen Deyong and Christine Amario.
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Below the picture of the young lady is an article
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in the middle US Ran nuclear talks ratchet up as
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clock ticks down to war. Tehran expected to offer proposal
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under threat of Trump's military arma by Karen Deyong and
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Noah Robertson and on. The Surgeon General nominee grilled on
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vaccines pesticides means draws criticism and praise from Both Sides
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of the Owl by Lauren Webber and Rachel Rubin. And
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there's a picture of US Surgeon General nominee Casey means
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she's in blue and she's a health entrepreneur and online personality.
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When she's holding hands with her partner Brian Nickerson Wednesday
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at her Senate Committee hearing, both of them are in blue.
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Speaker 2: He has a.
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Speaker 1: Bolo tie on and long hair with glasses, and she
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has on blue with a waistline belt and also long hair.
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And behind them are various and sundry people and it
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looks like a Supreme Court justice in the background. He
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has his robes on, so oh maybe not. Maybe he's
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just a coat and a sweater. Take that back, it's
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a coat and a sweater beneath it with a tie
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on and gentleman in the background. And the last article
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on the far right, Trump solicits and considers bids to
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revamp Dellas Airport by Dan Diamond. I'll start with the
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first article, Cubans attempted to infiltrate island on US speedboat
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Havana says the crew of the Florada registered vessel opened
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fire on border agents. Cuba Interior ministry said Cuban forces
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returned to fire, killing four by Samantha Schmidt, Adam Taylor,
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Karen de Young, and Chris deine Armario. The American speed
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devote that Cuban officials said opened fire on border agents
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Wednesday was carrying ten armed Cubans who were attempting to
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infiltrate the country in quotes for terrorist purposes. The country's
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Interior ministry said Cuban authorities seized assault rifles, handguns, molotov cocktails,
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body arma and fatigues from the Florida registered vessel. The
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ministry said in a statement late Wednesday, the men on
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board were Cuban nationals who had been living in the
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United States. The ministry said the speedboat was less than
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anuto coal mile off of Villa Clara Province on Cuba's
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northern coast Wednesday morning, when Cuban border agents approached and
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asked for identification, the ministry said earlier, the men on
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the speedboat opened fire on the Cuban vessel, the ministry said,
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wounding its commander. The Cuban forces returned to fire, the
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ministry said, killing four men and aboard the speedboat and
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wounding six. The wounded were evacuated to receive medical attention.
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Cuban authorities named the six survivors and one of the
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four who were killed. They were working to identify the
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other three deceased. Maria de Jesus Galindo, the daughter of
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one of the men identified by Cuba as a detained
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member of the speedboat crew, Conrado Galindo Sool, said she
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had no idea her father was traveling to Cuba until
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she saw his name on the list released by the
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Cuban government. She thought he had been working his usual
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job delivering packages for Amazon in areas just outside Miami.
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The twenty two year old last saw her father three
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days ago and hadn't been in touch with him. On Wednesday,
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She said her father, a Cuban national in his fifties,
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had been living in the US for years and had
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not been back to Cuba since. It was a total surprise,
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she said, I in shock. I never would have expected this.
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The Washington Post could not independently confirm Cuba's version of events.
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was traveling in the Caribbean,
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said earlier Wednesday that the United States would conduct its
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own investigation rather than rely on the account of the
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Cuban government. We will verify that independently as we gather
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more information, Rubio told reporters in Saint Kitts and Nevis,
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adding and will be prepared to respond accordingly. In response
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to a reporter's question, Ribo said no US government personnel
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were involved. The Cuban ministry said the border agents acted
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in defense of the nation in the face of current challenges.
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Cuba reaffirms its determination to protect its territorial waters based
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on the principle that national defense is a fundamental pillar
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of the Cuban state in safeguarding its sovereignty and ensuring
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stability in the region, the ministry said earlier Wednesday. The
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Trump administration has been blowing up private vessels in the
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Caribbean and the Eastern East Pacific Ocean since September. US
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authorities have reported forty two strikes on boats that they
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say it were smuggling drugs, killing at least one hundred
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and forty three people. US forces have also boarded and
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seized ships that officials say it were carrying Venezuelan oil.
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Tensions between one Washington and Hamana have escalated in recent
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weeks as President Donald Trump's effective oil embargo in the
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communist nation worsens a year long humanitarian crisis. After capturing
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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a surprise military raid on
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January third, the Trump administration took control of Venezuela's oil
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exports and banned petroleum deliveries on which Cuba relied. In
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an executive order last month, Trump declared the Cuban government's policies, practices,
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and actions an unusual, an extraordinary threat to US national security,
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and threatened to impose tariffs on all goods from any
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country that supplied it with oil.
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Speaker 2: Rubio was in Saint Kitts to.
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Speaker 1: Attend a meeting of the Caribbean Community or at Carricom
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when he learned of the attacks. He said the US
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Coastguard was informed by its Cuban counterpart, Suffice it to say,
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it is highly unusual to see shootouts in open sea
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like that. It's not something that happens every day. It's something, frankly,
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that hasn't happened with Cuba in a very long time,
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Ribio said. US Southern Command reported striking three vessels in
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the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific on one day. Last week,
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killing eleven people. Ribio, the Miami bown, son of Cuban immigrants,
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has said the administration hopes its economic choke hold will
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help topple what he has called the illegitimate regime in Havana.
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Stephanie Dujaik, spokesman for the UN Secretary General Antonio Gutrez,
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warned this month that the administration's moves could precipitate a
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humanitarian collapse and urged dialogue. In a shift, the US
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Treasury Department issued new guidance Wednesday loosening some restrictions on
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the fuel. Washington has maintained an embargo on most trade
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with Cuba since nineteen sixty, the year after the communist
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revolutionary Fidel Castro overthrew the government of US all for
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Legenzio Baptista and cut diplomatic relations in nineteen sixty one.
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President Barack Obama and what old Castro, Fidield's brother and successor,
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restored tires in twenty fifteen, but the thaw was brief.
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During Trump's first term, he canceled much of the diplomatic
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outreach and ramped up pressia on Havana. His tariff threat
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against potential oil suppliers is backed up by US war
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ships deployed in the Caribbean. Mexico quickly canceled shipments, but
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Russia has sent a tank loaded with two hundred thousand
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gallons of fuel to the island, where it is expected to.
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Speaker 2: Arrive in the coming week.
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Speaker 1: Trump and Rubio, a former senator, have both depended on
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Cuban American voters who opposed the government and Harmana for
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electoral success in Florida. Trump has said that the administration
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is talking to the highest people in Cuba, although he
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has not indicated what he wants from its government. Cuban
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officials have said they are open to conversations and that
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messages have been exchanged, but no significant talks have taken place.
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We have always been willing to maintain a serious and
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responsible dialogue with the different governments of the United States,
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including the current one, Cuban President Miguel Diez can Now
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wrote on X last month, but such talks must be
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based on sovereign equality, mutual respect, principles of international law,
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and mutual benefit, without interference in internal affairs, and with
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full respect for our independents. Andy Gomez, former director of
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the University of Miami's Institute for Cuban and Cuban American
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Studies said the best word to encapsulate the current moment
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in Cuba's history is uncertainty. You have an old castro
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who is going to be ninety five years old in
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a couple of months, and then we have a president
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of the United States that operates on whims, Gomez said.
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Trump Treasury official to exit after objecting to Minneapolis crackdown,
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John Hurley's exit follows internal disputes over the White Hose
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in fact push to target alleged fraud in the Somali community.
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And there's a picture of Treasury Department Under Secretary for
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Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John Hurley seen in November.
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Speaker 2: He's in the signature blue suit with a red tie
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in front of a microphone.
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Speaker 1: In the background bird a US flag against a blue
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backdrop by Andrew Ackerman, Jeff Stein, Natalie Addison, and Ellen Nakashima.
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A top Trump official, is leaving his post after privately
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raising objections to Whitehouse backed plans to crack down on
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alleged fraud within the Somali immigrant community in Minnesota. According
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to seven people familiar with the Madam John Hurley, a
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donut to President Donald Trump, who is serving as the
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under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, began telling associates
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in recent weeks that he was leaving his post. Hurley
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had recently conveyed his concerns to Treasury Secretary Scott Descent
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about a project to enhance federal monitoring of international payments
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from the Minneapolis area. According to people who spoke on
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the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, his departure
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underscores has some Trump allies in the federal government are
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uneasy with the extent of white host directives to deploy
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law enforcement tools against Minneapolis's Somali community. Two of the
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people said he raised data privacy concerns over the plans
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in question. Hurley's internal objections to the Somali fraud plan
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haven't previously been reported. His departure is the latest senior
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level exit at the Treasury Department, which has seen the
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departure of two chiefs of State under assent, as well
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as the resignation of his top deputy in August. Hurley
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denied the premise of this article, but Treasury officials declined
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to make him available for an on the record interview.
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In a statement, Hurley praised the work of his team
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as the tip of the spear pushing back to stop
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Somalia fraud in Minnesota. Anyone who has told you I
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do not proudly support these America First efforts is either
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uninformed or malicious, he said. Trump has directed cabinet officials
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to prioritize the issue of cracking down on fraud after
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it was reignited by viral videos in federal charges this
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fall against Somali men accused of running fordulent safety net programs.
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Two of the people said the issue has captured the
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President's Marca base in particular, which has demanded accountability and
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consequences for those involved in the alleged fraud schemes. During
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his State of the Union speech Tuesday, Trump said that
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members of the Somali community in Minnesota had pillaged billions
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of dollars from the federal government. This is the kind
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of corruption that shreds the fabric of a nation, and
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we are working on it like you wouldn't believe.
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Speaker 2: Trump said.
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Speaker 1: Bassett has been committed to taking action that demonstrates the
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Treasury Department is taking the directive seriously. One of the
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people and administration officials said but some Treasury Department officials
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have bulked at the speed and aggressiveness with which the
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administration has wanted to move. According to the administration official, Hurley,
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who is a little more by the book, disagreed with
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the suggestion approach. The tension was the latest in a
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series of differences in style with other top Treasury officials
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since he took the post. The same official said the
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White House had issued marching orders on cracking down in
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Minnesota as a part of an administrative wide priority. The
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official added. The official emphasized that the disagreement over the
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Minnesota initiative was not the only reason Hurley was leaving
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the job, that he had mutually agreed with Pscent that
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the role was not the right fit for him, and
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that Hurley is still in good standing with the White
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House for other potential administration rules. BACENT is under a
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lot of pressure from the White House to show some
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interim results that Trump ally said Trump needs something for
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twenty twenty six on Somalia. On January thirteenth, Percent announced
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several new initiatives to combat fraud in Minnesota, held a
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round table toscussion with victims, and announced new reporting requirements
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to target international transactions from businesses in Minnesota. Bassen also
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released a video and to statement saying that all entities
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in the administration will be pursuing this so that we
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can get the biggest recoveries possible, and we will see
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and we are going to leave no stone unturned. One
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new Treasury Department initiative requires banks and other firms to
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collect additional information on payments of three thousand dollars or
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more going overseas, such as the physical address, email address,
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and birth date of the recipient. The order goes beyond
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what banks would typically collect about the recipient of a
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crossboarder payment, including whether the money is tied to a
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government benefits program. Career officials involved in formulating the Minnesota
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Minneapolis order also raised objections and generally resisted the requirements,
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viewing them as clumsy and an inefficient way that rude
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out potential fraud, said four people familiar with the internal deliberations.
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Some officials also viewed the order as an overtly partisan
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use of Treasury of resources, according to one of the people.
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Hurley shared at least some of the career officials' concerns
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about the order, but they were effectively overruled by others
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in the administration, fueling tensions with the Treasury Secretary and
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others in the administration, two of the people said. One
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of the people familiar with the administration's thinking, who spoke
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on the condition of anonimnity to discuss internal deliberations, described
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Hurley as having been on than ice with the White
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House for not getting the career officials more in land
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with the administration's views on using a Treasury office known
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as finn SIN that's FI Capital CN or the Financial
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Crimes Enforcement Network more aggressively to target suspicious payments. Officials
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were working to keep Hurley within the administration and are
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said to be considering him for a top ambassadorial job
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in Europe. Though Hurley had initially turned down an opportunity
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to serve as ambassador to Germany, Hurley was more open
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to the idea as of last week, two people said,
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John Hurley is in discussions with the White House for
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an important new role in which we expect he will
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continue to faithfully serve in the Trump administration. A senior
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official administration officials head in a statement which added that
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Hurley and Bessent have a great working relationship Secretary of
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Bassent is working tiresly to execute on President Trump's agenda
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and safeguard American taxpayers from the crime and corruption enabled
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by the radical left, a Treasury spokesman said in a statement,
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adding the United States Treasury.
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Speaker 2: Is committed to stamping at.
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Speaker 1: The rampant Somali fraud occurring in Minnesota, as well as
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all of the financial across America. The controversy represents an
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abrupt turner bate for the former Hedge Fund executive and
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decorated Army veteran who had given extensive financial donation to
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Trump's re election campaign. Hurley had been serving in the
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top Treasury role since his Senate confirmation in July. Beyond
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the political fallow, critics say the Minneapolis policy itself could
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have sweeping consequences beyond its intended targets. Every family, privately
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held company, a nonprofit in Minneapolis risks being swept up
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in the so called Geographic Targeting Order or GTO, including
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non immigrants. According to Julie Siegel, whose served as a
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senior Treasury official in the Biden administration and is now
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a non resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, a
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Washington based think tank, Siegel said GTOs are really important
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tools for law enforcement and national security investigations. Using them
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like this in broad, untargeted ways diminishes their ability to
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be used in targeted, useful ways and undermines the trust
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of American people in finsen and in their financial institutions
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in ways that have long lasting effects that are hard
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to foresee. To underman trust in those tools and potentially
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lose those tools is a.
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Speaker 2: Big deal, Siegel added.
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Speaker 1: Rob Johnson, a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice,
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a libertarian public interest law firm, acknowledged that the Minneapolis
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order carries a higher dollar thresholder than two earlier orders
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targeting counties along the US Mexico border. Still, he characterized
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the order as a form of blanket surveillance that violates
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constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. The root problem
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here is that surveillance is being imposed without any individual suspicion,
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just because people live in a geographic area. Johnson said
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That's not how the Fourth Amendment is supposed to work.
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Johnson has helped successfully litigate challenges to two earlier gto's
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targeting border states. The administration is now appealing those rulings.
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Banks have also expressed reservations about the Minneapolis order, warning
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that international payments could be delayed or canceled until they
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can collect all the additional information requied. Tired of the order,
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bank executives, who had hoped for a reprieve from the
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additional reporting requirements, embracing for the order to be replicated
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in other cities and for the administration to order banks
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to collect more information about their customers, such as immigration status,
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that they view as needlessly burdensome. People familiar with their
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thinking said. The administration is said to be considering an
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executive order that would impose such heightened requirements on banks.
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The Washington Post reported this week the latest move by
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the administration to crack down on illegal immigration. Some executives
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also questioned the rationale for the enhanced monitoring in Minneapolis,
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noting that the administration has simultaneously embraced cryptocurrencies as an
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alternative to the traditional financial system, a fast growing sector
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that remains riffed with fraud and acts comparable guardrails against
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money launering and other illicit activity. Going inside, Trump floats
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new retirement benefit for fifty four million workers. The White
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House does not have the legal authority to do what
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the President suggested, and some experts are skeptical of the
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proposed legislation by Jeff Stein. President Donald Trump and his
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Date of the Union address Tuesday night suggested a major
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new retirement benefit for tens of millions of American workers,
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embracing an economic policy that proponents say could bolster the
26:44
federal retirement safety net. Speaking to congressional lawmakers, Trump pledged
26:51
to extend to private sector workers the same type of
26:54
retirement plan already available to federal employees. He also said
26:59
the government would kick in up to one thousand dollars
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per year to their accounts, presumably in matching benefits. Roughly
27:08
fifty four million workers in the private sector have no
27:12
workplace retirement benefits and do not benefit from stock market gains,
27:17
according to research cited by the Economic Innovation Group, a
27:21
Washington based think tank. As part of what some experts
27:25
have termed a retirement crisis in America, half of all
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of working Americans still do not have access to a
27:35
retirement plan with matching contributions from an employer, Trump said,
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adding to remedy this gross disparity, I am announcing that
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next year, my administration would give these often forgotten American workers,
27:51
great people, the people that built their country, access to
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the same type of retirement plan offered to every federal worker.
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We will match it's your contribution with up to one
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thousand dollars each year. The announcement was celebrated by Trump
28:06
supporters as a major new economic policy heading into the
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twenty twenty six mid term elections, but critics pointed at
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some problems with Trump's pledges and are skeptical it will
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substantially boost savings for working class Americans. The most obvious
28:23
challenge is that it's not clear how much Trump can
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do on his own. Under existing authorities, the administration can
28:31
create portable retirement accounts modeled on the thrift savings plan
28:37
used by federal employees and make them available to workers
28:40
who currently lack a workplace plan.
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Speaker 2: But the government cannot compel.
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Speaker 1: Employers or workers to automatically enroll, nor can it unilaterally
28:51
appropriate funds to provide a universal thousand dollars match to
28:55
all eligible workers. Instead, the administration can facilitate take up
29:02
of a benefit that already exists. The bipartisan Secure two
29:07
point zero Bill, sound by President Joe Biden in twenty
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twenty two created a SAVERS match, a federal contribution of
29:18
up to one thousand dollars annually for qualifying workers who
29:21
put two thousand dollars in an eligible retirement account. One
29:26
problem has been that many eligible workers have had nowhere
29:30
to put their contributions. Trump executive action could create an
29:34
additional account infrastructure, but eligibility would still be constrained. Only
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workers who make less than twenty five thousand dollars per
29:44
year or roughly forty one thousand dollars per couples are eligible.
29:51
More impactful would be if Trump's comments spur congressional action.
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A White House official suggested that the administration will support
30:00
bipartisan legislation to automatically enroll eligible workers in federal accounts,
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provide one thousand dollars federal match for low and moderate
30:10
income workers, and make those accounts portable across jobs. One
30:16
bill is backed by a coalition that spans Charles Schwab, Aarp,
30:22
Door Dash, and Ubu Whiose. Economist Kevin Hassett has backed
30:28
a similar kind of approach of the more than two
30:32
hundred billion dollars in annual income tax expenditures related to
30:37
retirement savings, less than one percent flows to workers in
30:41
the bottom income quinto According to the Economic Invenovation Group,
30:48
this would move some of those benefits down the income distribution.
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Since we've had the four oh one K system, this
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has always been the problem. A huge stare of the
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worker force has not been participating and does not have
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access to those benefits. Closing that gap is a big
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first step, said John Lettieri, co founder of the Economic
31:13
Innovation Group. He said it's a long run exercise to
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get people into the market, engaged in long term savings
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and investment behavior with matching benefits. That's a proven way
31:26
of building wealth over time, including for low income savers.
31:32
That said, there are reasons to date that even the
31:35
legislation being debated in Congress would do much to increase
31:39
retirement security for low income workers. Low income Americans often
31:44
do not have enough to live on already, much less
31:47
than extra two thousand dollars per year to put into
31:50
retirement accounts, said Matt Bruneig, bounda of the People's Policy Project,
31:56
a left leaning think tank. The Survey of Consumer Finances
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suggest that fewer than twelve percent of people who earn
32:05
below forty three thousand dollars safe for retirement. Almost no
32:11
low income people have retirement accounts. This is not because
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they are disallowed from having them, through Niggs said, it's
32:19
because they can barely pay their bills. Nothing in the
32:22
president's plans changes that. Continuing along that line, what to
32:30
know about Trump's accounts for children one thousand dollars per kid.
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The President's one thousand dollar investment accounts for children are
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part of a new federal program by Riley Began. President
32:44
Donald Trump tied in a program during a State of
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the Union addressed Tuesday that created investment accounts for children
32:51
born during Trump's second term, seated with one thousand dollars
32:55
per child from the federal government. Republicans created the program,
33:01
officially dubbed Trump Accounts through the GOP tax in Spending
33:06
Law last summer, tax free investments accounts for every American child.
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This is something that's so special, Trump said during the speech.
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He claimed the accounts could grow to over one hundred
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thousand or more by the time the child turns eighteen
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years old. Here's what you need to know about the program.
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One young children are eligible. Children born between January one,
33:36
twenty twenty five, and December thirty first, two thousand and eight,
33:40
twenty eight are eligible for the accounts, which are a
33:44
type of traditional IRAA that allows for investments in index funds.
33:50
They must be US citizens and have a valid Social
33:53
Security number. The account would receive a one time contribution
33:57
of one thousand dollars. Children born before January first, twenty
34:03
twenty five, but who are not yet eighteen years old,
34:06
can also open accounts, but they would not receive the
34:10
federal seed money. Secretary Treasurer Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said
34:16
last week that families had already applied to open some
34:19
three million accounts, though the program doesn't officially began until
34:24
this summer.
34:26
Speaker 2: Two.
34:26
Speaker 1: How they work. Parents can file to open the accounts
34:30
beginning this tax filing citizen using IRS Form forty five
34:35
forty seven, named for Trump's presidential terms. The AUTHICE and
34:41
Authentic Authentication Process. Authentication process begins in May, and the
34:49
administration says the seed money would be available in accounts
34:53
July fourth. The child would own the account, while the
34:57
parent can act as a custodian until they turn eighteen.
35:02
Withdrawals would be taxable until they reach retirement age, unless
35:06
the beneficiary is using the money for education, a first
35:10
time home purchase, birth or adoption costs, or medical expenses.
35:16
Speaker 2: Three who can contribute.
35:19
Speaker 1: In addition to the federal seed money, any adult can
35:23
contribute to the accounts up to five thousand dollars annually.
35:27
Employers can also contribute to their employees' children's accounts up
35:32
to twenty five hundred per year per employee as part
35:36
of the five thousand dollars annual limit, but states, local
35:41
governments and nonprofit organizations can also contribute to the accounts,
35:46
and doing so does not count toward the annual cap.
35:51
Trump calls them billionaires and companies to give. That's number four.
35:56
Late last year, the administration called upon ultra wealthy people
36:00
to donate to the program. Dell Technologies founder and CEO
36:05
Michael Dell and his wife Susan have said they would
36:08
contribute six point twenty five billion dollars. Billionaire investor Ray
36:13
Dalio has said he would contribute two hundred and fifty
36:17
dollars per account for babies in his home state of Connecticut,
36:21
and approximately seventy five million dollar donation. Blackrock, the world's
36:28
largest asset manager, as well as bn y Charles schwab
36:33
Sofar and Charter Communications have also announced programs to match
36:38
employees' contributions to the account and the new deportation policy.
36:46
Trump Administration's third country deportation policy unlawful. Judge finds the
36:54
ruling can make it more difficult for the government to
36:56
send migrants to countries that are not their own. By
37:01
David Nakamoro, a federal judge in Boston, ruled Wednesday that
37:06
the Trump administration's policy of deporting undocumented immigrants to countries
37:11
where they are not citizens is unconstitutional, saying the government
37:16
must provide more time for people to legally challenge their
37:20
immobiles over concerns that they could face imminent danger. U
37:25
S District Judge Brian E. Murphy's final decision invalidates a
37:30
policy memo last spring from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement
37:35
that allows enforcement officers to deport migrants to countries that
37:40
are not their own with as little as six hours notice.
37:45
The ruling could make it more difficult for the administration,
37:48
which immigration experts has said has sent thousands of migrants
37:53
to so called third countries, to continue to use the
37:56
practice as widely as authorities seek to speed up President
38:02
Donald Trump's mass deportation program. In an eighty one page ruling,
38:09
Murphy said the administration must give migrants meaningful notice before
38:14
removal to any third country and allow them time to
38:19
raise a country specific objection. The judge criticized the government
38:23
for implementing a policy that relies on vague assurances that
38:29
the migrants will not be persecuted or harmed once they
38:32
arrive in the third countries. This new policy, which purports
38:38
to stand in for the protections Congress has mandated, fails
38:42
to satisfy due process for a raft of reasons, not
38:46
least of which is that nobody really knows anything about
38:50
these purported assurances, Murphy wrote. The judge did not define
38:57
how much advanced notice the administration must before seeking to
39:01
deport migrants to countries where they are not citizens. He
39:06
stayed his decision for fifteen days to allow the administration
39:10
to seek an appeal, which government lawyers have said they
39:13
are likely to do. The ruling is the latest legal
39:17
decision in a case that has stretched on for nearly
39:20
a year. Last spring, Murphy certified a class action lawsuit
39:25
challenging the administration's third country removal policy, and as the
39:30
legal fight, Plato temporarily in joined the government from moving
39:35
forward without issuing a written notice and meaningful opportunity for
39:40
the migrants to challenge their deportations. The Supreme Court later
39:45
set aside his injunction, allowing the administration to resume its
39:49
rapid third country deportations. Murphy's final ruling on the merits
39:55
of the case Wednesday is a forceful statement from the
39:59
court that the the administration's third country policy is unconstitutional,
40:07
said Trina Rio Muto, executive director of the National Immigration
40:13
Litigation Alliance, which is helping represent the plaintiffs. She said,
40:18
under the government's policy, people have been forcibly returned to
40:22
countries where US immigration judges have found they would be
40:25
persecuted or tortured. In a statement, a Department of Homeland
40:30
Securities spokesperson noted the Supreme Court's previous rulings in the
40:34
case and said the agency is confident it will prevail
40:38
if the case reaches the High Court again. The spokesperson
40:43
said DHS must be allowed to execute its lawful authority
40:49
and remove illegal aliens to a country willing to accept them.
40:54
The Trump administration spent more than forty million dollars last
40:58
year to send hundreds of migrants to at least two
41:01
dozen countries that are not their own, according to a
41:05
report this month from Senate Democrats. The thirty page analysis
41:10
from the minority members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
41:14
accused the administration of entering into opaic financial agreements with
41:18
foreign governments, including some of poor records on corruption and
41:22
human rights, to rapidly expand a program for third country
41:26
removals once that once had been reserved.
41:30
Speaker 2: For exceptional circumstances.
41:33
Speaker 1: Its office contend that the State Department has failed to
41:37
conduct sufficient oversight to ensure that payments to those countries
41:41
are not being misspent and that migrants transferred to their
41:45
custody are not being used or mistreated. Administration officials have
41:51
said they have no choice but to partner with foreign
41:54
governments that are willing to accept undocumented immigrants whose native
41:58
nations do not agree to take them back. In most cases,
42:02
the migrants have criminal histories, authorities said, the public records
42:07
have shown that some have not been convicted of crimes
42:10
in the United States. The report from Senate Democrats, which
42:14
provides the most comprehensive look at the administration's third country
42:18
removal program, found that the US government has sent migrants
42:23
to two dozen third countries. The analysis focused primarily on
42:28
five nations El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, s Sawatini, and Palau,
42:37
with which the Trump administration is ended into direct financial
42:42
payments totaling thirty two million dollars. Trump reframes America in
42:50
two acts. The President delivered his speech that tried to
42:54
reshape the dark reality many Americans say they are feeling.
42:58
According to poles by Karen Tumulti, It's an analysis. President
43:05
Donald Trump on Tuesday night delivered what was effectively not one,
43:10
but two State of the Union addresses. In one, he
43:14
tried to paint a new reality for the majority of Americans, who,
43:18
according to polls, said they are dissatisfied with what he
43:21
has done in the first year of his second presidency.
43:25
Trump's disapproval ratings students sixty percent in a new Washington
43:29
Post ABC News IPSOS poll, the highest it has been
43:34
since shortly after January sixth, twenty twenty one attack on
43:38
the US Capitol by a mob of his suppoters. Because
43:43
midterm elections are almost always a referendum one of president's performance,
43:48
that number is daunting for the Republicans who hold control
43:51
of both hoses of Congress, the host by a raise
43:55
of thin margin. Our nation is back, eager, better richer,
44:01
and stronger than ever before. Trump said at the outset
44:05
of his speech that stretched past one hour and forty
44:08
five minutes, breaking the record for the longest presidential address
44:12
to a joint session of Congress that Trump himself set
44:16
last year. He hailed the first year of his second
44:19
presidency as the Golden Age of America and a turnaround
44:24
for the ages. With his showman's theatricality, Trump then orchestrated
44:31
a parade of heroes. The gold medal winning US men's
44:36
hockey team streamed into the gallery. He awarded Coastguard rescue
44:41
officer Scott Ruskin with the military's prestigious Legion of Merit
44:47
for having brought one hundred and sixty five people to
44:49
safety during last year's floods in central Texas. He cited
44:54
the World War II heroism of ninety nine year old
44:58
George Buddy Taggert, who beamed from the gallery. Andrew Wolfe,
45:03
one of two National Guard members shot in downtown d
45:06
C shortly before Thanksgiving, received a purple heart and First
45:11
Lady Milania. Trump put a medal of honor around the
45:14
neck of Royce Williams, a retired Navy captain, for his
45:19
actor's actions during the nineteen fifty two Korean War mission,
45:24
in which he downed four Soviet Meg fifteen jets. But
45:29
as Trump pivoted to issues such as immigration, gender, and
45:32
election security, he made hair pan rhetorical turns, from gliding
45:38
his own achievements to vilifying the democratic side of the
45:42
from gilding his own achievements to vilifying the democratic side
45:47
of the host chamber, where many seats were empty. You
45:51
should be ashamed of yourself, he chastised, when the opposition
45:55
party sat silently as he called for them to stand
45:58
up if they believed the government its first duty is
46:01
to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens. Trump called the
46:08
Democrats sick people and said of them, I'm telling you
46:12
they're crazy.
46:13
Speaker 2: Boy. Oh boy.
46:14
Speaker 1: There, We're lucky we have a country with people like this.
46:17
Democrats are destroying our country, but we've stopped it just
46:20
in the nick of time. Despite efforts by Host minority
46:25
leader Haikim Jeffreys, Democrat of New York to discourage it,
46:28
there was sporadic heckling for Democrats throughout the address, Representative
46:34
Al Green, Democrat of Texas, was escorted from the chamber
46:37
for holding a sign that read black people aren't apes,
46:41
referring to a racist video that Trump posted this month
46:45
that featured the images of Barack and Michelle Obama portrayed
46:48
his apes. Green was ejected from Trump's speech last year
46:53
for shaking his cane and yelling you don't have a mandate. Unsurprisingly,
46:59
Trump all so leveled criticism at the US Supreme Court
47:02
for what he said was a very unfortunate ruling last
47:07
week that struck down most of the tariffs that had
47:10
been his preferred instrument of economic and foreign policy. Of
47:15
the four justices present, three were among the six who
47:19
ruled that Trump had overstepped his authority. All four sat
47:24
silently as he rebuked the High Court, and those members
47:28
of the Supreme Court are pictured as Chief Justice John
47:32
Roberts and Justices Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanagh, and Amy Coney Barrett.
47:41
Trump tends to defy tradition with his speeches, and he
47:44
did so again Tuesday, dispensing with the typical list of
47:48
policy goals or even a broad outline of what he
47:51
wishes to accomplish for the American people. The handful of
47:55
proposals he offered involving data centers, congression, stock trading rules
48:01
and curbs and corporations buying private homes may end up
48:05
being popular, but they are unlikely to serve as directional
48:09
guideposts the many Republicans had hoped to become an electoral
48:14
agenda on the looming question of threatened military action against Iran.
48:20
He continued to make the case for it, but provided
48:23
little clarity on precisely what the objectives would be. Trump
48:28
once again dismissed the public's concern about high prices, which
48:32
is considered a central issue in this year's midterm elections.
48:37
He suggested that affordability is no more than a slogan
48:42
confected by Democrats. Or, as he put it, or they
48:46
just used it. Somebody gave it to them, knowing full
48:49
well what they caused and created the increased prices that
48:53
all of our citizens had to endure. They knew their
48:58
statements were alive, knew it, Trump continued, They knew their
49:02
statements were a diurney rotten light. Their policies created the
49:06
higher prices. Their policies are rapidly ending them, we are
49:10
doing really well. However, that is not the view widely
49:15
shared in the Washington Post ABC News if Soo's polled,
49:19
about forty eight percent of Americans compared with twenty nine
49:23
percent said the economy had gotten worse, not better, since
49:27
Trump's inauguration. While the US Constitution stipulates that the President
49:34
shall from time to time report to Congress on the
49:38
state of the Union, these speeches are rarely memorable. Even
49:43
the most effective of them tend to nudge the president's
49:46
poll numbers only slightly and temporarily, Especially in recent years,
49:53
the words of the speech are often subsumed into the
49:56
dramatics in the host chamber.
50:00
Speaker 2: All of which means.
50:01
Speaker 1: That while it is not yet known whether Americans are
50:04
favorably or uninfavorably impressed by what Trump had to say
50:07
on Tuesday, it is unlikely to affect a midterm trajectory
50:12
that has Republicans deeply worried. And I don't have time
50:17
to read this whole article, but I will start. Supreme
50:21
Court will hear case on Trump's ban on birthright citizenship.
50:27
The announcement sets up a test of a controversial policy
50:30
that could redefine who is considered an American and there's
50:35
a huge sign boarded by blue in black and red letters.
50:42
If you are born in the USA, you are an
50:48
American citizen. Born USA American citizen are in red. This
50:57
is outside the Supreme Court last May fifteenth, by justin juvenal.
51:02
The Supreme Court said Friday it will hear a case
51:05
examining the legality of President Donald Trump's ban on birthright citizenship,
51:10
a high stakes test of the controversial policy that could
51:14
redefine who is considered an American. The Justices have yet
51:19
to set a date for arguments, but the High Court
51:22
has taken the case in time to render its decision
51:25
by June or July, when the current term ends. The
51:29
Trump administration asked the Justices to take up the case
51:32
on an expedited basis in September after lower courts found
51:37
the policy, a key component of the president's anti immigration agenda,
51:42
unconstitutional and blocked it. On the first day of his
51:46
second term, Trump instructed government agencies to stop issuing citizenship
51:51
documentation to children born to parents who were in the
51:56
country illegally or visiting temporarily. We have challenged the long
52:01
subtle view that the Fourteenth Amendment confers citizenship on any
52:07
child born on US soil, solicited.
52:11
Speaker 2: General D.
52:12
Speaker 1: John Sower wrote in a filing with a High Court
52:14
that reading was mistaken and the President was attempting to
52:19
restore the original meaning of the constitutional amendment, which was
52:24
ratified in eighteen sixty eight after enslaved people were freed
52:29
following the Civil War. The amendment provides that those born
52:36
in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof
52:41
are US citizens. It overturned the Supreme Court's infamous dread
52:45
Scott decision, which denied citizenship to black people. The citizenship
52:53
clause of the fourteenth Amendment was adopted to grant citizenship
52:57
to newly freed slaves and their children, not to the
53:01
children of temporary visitors or illegal aliens, Saua wrote. Sauras
53:07
said birthright citizenship is a powerful incentive for illegal migrations,
53:13
presents national security concerns because some people illegally enter the
53:18
United States to carry out hostile acts, and facilitates birth
53:23
tourism foreigners traveling to the United States to have babies
53:28
so their children can be US citizens. Most legal experts
53:34
reject the Trump's administration interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment. In
53:38
a landmark eighteen ninety eight case, the Supreme Court ruled
53:42
Wong Kim arc, a man born to Chinese immigrants in
53:46
San Francisco, was a US citizen under the fourteenth Amendment.
53:51
Day after Trump issued his executive order in January, Washington
53:56
State and three other states challenged it in court. Judge
54:00
issued a preliminary injunction against the band, which was later
54:04
upheld by an appeals court. In June, birthright citizenship reached
54:10
the Supreme Court in a separate case. At that point,
54:13
the Trump administration did not ask the Justices to rule
54:17
on the substance of the policy, but rather on the
54:20
narrower or question of where the lower courts could issue
54:23
nationwide injunctions. In as six y three ruling, the Justices
54:28
sided with Trump officials limited to the orders. Soon after,
54:35
a group of individuals represented by the ACLU filed a
54:38
class action lawsuit against the birthright Citizenship policy in New Hampshire.
54:44
A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction in that case,
54:48
but before an appeals court could render a verdict on
54:51
that ruling, Trump officials petitioned the Supreme Court to hear
54:54
the case. The New Hampshire case is the one the
54:57
Supreme Court decided to heal. Cecilia Wang, ACLU's national legal director,
55:04
said in a statement, we will look forward to putting
55:07
this issue to rest once and for all. No president
55:10
can change the Fourteenth Amendments fundamental promise of citizenship. For
55:15
over one hundred and fifty years, it has been the
55:18
law and our national tradition that everyone born on US
55:22
soil is a citizen from birth. Wang said roughly two
55:27
hundred and fifty thousand babies were born to mothers who
55:29
are in the country illegally or on a temporary basis
55:33
in twenty twenty three, the latest figure year figures were available,
55:38
according to the Center for Immigration Studies, which aims to
55:42
curb immigration. Margot Slanger, a law professor at the University
55:47
of Michigan, said the Trump administration faces long odds of
55:50
winning the case. The court talks a lot about textualism
55:54
and original meaning, and the original meaning and the text
55:58
don't support the Trump's administration argument. Schlanger said. The pertinent
56:03
President won kim ark is very adverse to them. This
56:08
is an issue that has been settled for a long time.
56:11
The Supreme Court has set up a blockbuster term, agreeing
56:14
to hear a handful of cases on policies central to
56:18
Trump's agenda. In November, the Justices appeared skeptical of the
56:22
legality of the president's sweeping tariffs. On Monday, the High
56:26
Court will hear a major challenge to the president's bid
56:29
to fire a Democratic member of the Federal Trade Commission,
56:33
which could reshape the executive control over roughly two dozen
56:38
independent agencies. In January, the Justices will examine the legality
56:43
of Trump's move to fire Democrat Liza Cook from the
56:46
Federal Reserve, which occupies the central role in setting interest
56:51
rates and guiding the economy. The Trump administration has overwhelmingly
56:57
been overwhelmingly successful in winning ten limporary orders from the
57:01
Supreme Court upholding Trump's policies in recent months, many coming
57:06
on immigration related issues. The Justices have allowed Trump to
57:11
strip deportation protections from hundreds of thousands of migrants and
57:15
lifted limits on immigration raids in the Los Angeles area
57:19
post by lower courts. They have also allowed the administration
57:22
to deport migrants to countries where they are not citizens.
57:27
The Supreme Court has pushed back on some immigration policies
57:31
it ordered the administration to facilitate the return of the
57:35
wrongly deported Salvadoran immigrant Kilmar Abrago Garcia, whose case generated
57:42
wide spread attention, And with that end the reading of
57:47
Today's Washington Post for Thursday, the twenty sixth of February
57:52
of twenty twenty six. Please continue staying tuned to RADIOI
57:58
throughout the day.
57:59
Speaker 2: A good one, Baye.