Transcript

11.10.25 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of The Washington Post for November
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tenth of twenty twenty five. As a reminder, RADIOI is
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a reading service intended for people who are blind or
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have other disabilities that make it difficult to read printed material.
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Your reader today is NIA. Our first article from the
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front page of today's edition is titled Late Night. Senate
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deal opens path to ending shutdown, but splits Democrats with
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the sub padding. The deal doesn't extend expiring ACA subsidides.
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If a bill passes the Senate, it needs the House
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to approve and President Donald Trump on board. By Theodooric Meyer,
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Riley Began and Marianna Alfaro, A key group of Senate
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Democrats joined Republicans on Sunday night to advance an agreement
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to end the longest government shutdown in US history. After
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bipartisan negotiators struck a deal during rare weekend session, seven
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Democratic senators and Senator Angus King, who's a Senator from Maine,
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voted with almost all of the chambers Republicans to take
1:03
the first step toward reopening the government. Sunday's vote, which
1:08
needed sixty votes to pass, is the first of many
1:11
that will be necessary to pass the agreement in the
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upper chamber, but the deal split the party. Senate Minority
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Leader Charles E. Schumer in parentheses D New York and
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House Minority Leader Hikeen Jeffreys in parentheses D New York
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came out against it. Quote this health care crisis is
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so severe, so urgent, so devastating for families back home,
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that I cannot mean good faith support this cr end quote,
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Schumer said on the Senate floor, referring to the bill
1:42
known as a continuing resolution. Most rank and file Democrats
1:47
also opposed this deal.
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Speaker 2: Quote. I think it's a terrible mistake. End quote.
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Speaker 1: Senator Elizabeth Warren in parentheses D Massachusetts told reporters as
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she left a closed door meeting of Senate Democrats that
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lasted more than two hours Sunday evening.
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Speaker 2: Quote.
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Speaker 1: The American people wants us to stand and fight for
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health care, and that's what I believe we should do.
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Speaker 2: End quote.
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Speaker 1: The Bipartism compromise combines a three full year funding measures
2:17
into one package with a stopgap funding bill that would
2:20
reopen the government through January thirtieth, but the deal would
2:24
not extend Affordable Care Act subsidizes set to expire at
2:28
the end of the year, which Democrats have worn will
2:31
cause health insurance premiums to skyrocket for millions of America Americans. Instead,
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Senate Majority Leader John Thune in parentheses are South Dakota
2:43
committed to holding a separate vote on legislation to extend
2:46
the subsidized by the second week of December after the
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government reopens. Quote after forty long days, I'm hopeful that
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we can finally bring the shutdown to an end, Thoon
2:57
said Sunday night on the Senate floor. The promise to
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vote on ACA subsidies at a later date is unlikely
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to be enough for most House Democrats, who have demanded
3:07
that Republicans agree to extend the subsidies before they agree
3:10
to reopen the government. House Speaker Mike Johnson in parentheses
3:15
are Louisiana has not committed to holding a vote on
3:19
a bill to extend the subsidides, which many Republicans would
3:22
prefer to see expire. While some Republicans have said they
3:27
are open to negotiating on extending ACAS subsidides once Democrats
3:32
agree to end the shutdown, President Donald Trump has appeared skeptical.
3:37
He proposed over the weekend to redirect funding away from
3:40
health insurers and toward average Americans. The agreement aims to
3:45
reverse more than four thousand federal layoffs the Trump administration
3:49
attempted to implement earlier in the shutdown. It also includes
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language that would prevent future layoffs through January thirtieth, in
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a federal workforce reeling from tens of thousands of layoffs
4:00
earlier this year. Lawmakers would also appropriate funding for this
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supplemental Nutrition Assistance program, also known as SNAP or food stamps,
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through September twenty twenty six. Democratic Senators Catherine Cortes Mastow
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from Nevada, Tim Kaine from Virginia, Dick Durban from Illinois,
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John Fetterman from Pennsylvania, Maggie Hassen from New Hampshire, Jackie
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Rosen from Nevada, and Jean Shadon from New Hampshire voted
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to support the deal, as did King, an independent who
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caucuses with Democrats.
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Speaker 2: Quote.
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Speaker 1: I understand that not all of my Democratic colleagues are
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satisfied with this agreement. Charlene, who negotiated the deal with
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King and Hassan, told reporters but waiting another week or
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another month wouldn't deliver a better outcome it would only
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mean more harmful for families in New Hampshire and all
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across the country. King acknowledged that it did not give
4:59
Democrat everything they wanted, but he told reporters he believed
5:03
there was no possibility that Republicans would agree to extend
5:07
the ACA subsidides as long as the government remained shut down,
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while there was perhaps a fifty to fifty chance of
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negotiating an extension once the government reopened. Quote, I would
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take reasonable chance against no chance any day, quote King said. Kane,
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who pushed for the provisions to reverse federal layoffs, said
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he did not reach a final agreement with the Senate
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Republicans on language barring the administration from firing federal workers
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en mass until about five forty five p m.
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Speaker 2: On Sunday.
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Speaker 1: Quote there are a lot of resistance, but they needed
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my vote, Kane told reporters earlier Sunday. He said the
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legislation would quote protect federal workers from baseless firings, reinstate
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those who had been wrongfully terminated during the shutdown, and
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ensure federal workers received back pay as required by a
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law I got passed in twenty nineteen. End Quote The
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White House did not immediately respond to a request for
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comment on whether Trump would support the deal, but Trump
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suggested the proposals could end the shutdown. Quote it looks
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like we're getting close to the shutdown ending, Trump told
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reporters Sunday night. We'll know very soon.
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Speaker 2: End quote.
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Speaker 1: It could take days for a final bill to move
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through the Senate. The House has been out of session
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since since September nineteenth, and would also need to come
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back to Washington and vote on the measure. Republicans controlled
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the Senate fifty three to forty seven, but needed the
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support of the Democrats to reopen the government. It takes
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sixty votes to break a filibuster, meaning at least eight
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Democrats needed to vote yes, because Senator Ran Paul, who's
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from Kentucky, voted no. As news began to break that
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a deal was in the works, Jeffreys and other House
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Democrats began to voice opposition to the agreements, framing quote,
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we will fight the GOP bill in the House of Representatives,
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where Mike Johnson will be compelled to end the seven
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week Republican taxpayer funded vacation end quote, Jeffrey said in
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a statement Sunday evening.
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Speaker 2: Quote.
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Speaker 1: A deal that doesn't reduce health care costs is a
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betrayal of millions of Americans counting on Democrats to fight
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for them.
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Speaker 2: End quote.
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Speaker 1: Representative Greg Kaiser in prevces D, Texas, chairman of the
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Congressional Progressive Caucus, wrote on x quote Accepting nothing but
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a pinky promise from Republicans isn't a compromise, It's a capulation.
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Speaker 2: End quote. Costs for healthcare.
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Speaker 1: Insurance offered through healthcare dot gov and state run market
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places under the Affordable Care Act have risen since open
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enrollment started November first, because these subsidies will expire at
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the end of the year, but the Republicans might not
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need Democratic votes to get the.
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Speaker 2: Bill through the House.
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Speaker 1: Republicans will control the House two hundred nineteen to two
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hundred and fourteen when represent Representative elect Adelita Gujava in
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Privacies D Arizona is sworn in. Schumer said Friday that
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his caucus would vote to reopen the government in exchange
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for a one year extension of the subsidides, a proposal
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Republicans rejected. Meanwhile, Trump and the White House Budget Director
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Russell Vaut have shifted money to pay troops and law
8:23
enforcement officers, which experts say appears to run a foul
8:27
of Congress's constitutional purview over spending. Americans are starting to
8:33
face more pressure points as the shutdown drags on, as
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it has put millions at risk of food insecurity and
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disrupted flights nationwide. The Trump administration over the weekend ordered
8:46
states to stop distributing full food assistance benefits for November
8:50
to the forty two million low income Americans at the
8:53
risk of food insecurity, stretching out an ongoing fight between
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the federal government and the states. Thousands of federal workers
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have been left without pay for nearly six weeks, and
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helplines at Social Security Administration and Eternal Revenue Service have
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gone silent as those workers are furloughed, with field offices
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that provide services for small business owners, farmers and ranchers,
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and veterans shuttered. More Americans blame Trump and congressional Republicans
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for the shutdown than they do the Democrats, according to
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a Washington Post ABC News Ipsy's poll conducted in late October.
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Last week, Trump blamed bruising election losses for the GOP
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partly on the ongoing shutdown, saying the GOP should do
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what it can to get the government open as soon
9:40
as possible, including abolishing the filibuster in the Senate, but
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he continued to try to post blame on Democrats for
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the government being shuttered. Our next article from the front
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page of today's edition is titled these exhibits took years
9:57
to plan their gathering dust during the show down, with
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the subheadline the National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian
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worked on major shows of Australian, Indigenous and Korean art.
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They're ready to go once the government is funded again.
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By Kelsey Ables. On a Wednesday evening in downtown Washington,
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Daniel Soma sat alone in a brightly wit converted retail
10:23
space surrounded by Australian Indigenous artworks. Dot paintings, sculptures and
10:29
other works filled the pop up art gallery, which was
10:32
wedged between a bank and a men's workware store. Looking
10:36
through the glass window to the quiet street, Soma, the
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creative director at the Sydney based Michael Reid Gallery, asked, quote,
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is DC always like this?
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Speaker 2: End quote?
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Speaker 1: The temporary exhibition was seeing just four to five visitors
10:51
a day, Soma said, lower than the gallery hoped when
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it started planning the show. Over a year ago when
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sending thirty First Nation artworks to a lobby district on
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the other side of the planet made sense. Washington's National
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Gallery of Art was expected to open what it was
11:07
calling the largest exhibition of Australian, Aboriginal and Tory Strait
11:12
Islander art outside of the continent on October eighteenth, and
11:16
quote the whole intention for our exhibition was to sort
11:20
of ride on the coattails and shadow this major opening
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end quote, said Toby Mager, the gallery's managing director. They
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had big plans the network. At the National Gallery of
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Art's black tie dinner, they'd connect with North American collectors
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as they showcased their own slate of First Nations artists.
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They even titled the exhibition quote the Stars before Us,
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all a twist on the National Gallery's now portentious steaming
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title The Stars We Do Not see. Indeed, no one
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has seen the stars. The US government shut down on
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October first, and the NNGA, which operates in partnership with
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the government, closed it stores days later. The Smithsonian follow
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soon followed suit. When they heard about the shutdown, it
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was too late to cancel, Megher said, so they came
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to Washington anyway, bringing with them Regina Pillwock Wilson, a
12:15
renowned Indigenous artist in her seventies who traveled from a
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remote region in Australia's Northern Territory with hopes of visiting
12:23
not just the National Gallery but also the National Museum
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of the American Indian too, Both remained shuttered. Megher said
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they had some success with their pop up, reaching people
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they might not have had the bigger exhibit exhibition been on. Still,
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he said, they're looking to open a business in North
12:43
America quote, and stuff like this definitely erodes confidence in
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the platform. He also described a broader lost opportunity when
12:52
the National Gallery show opened, quote, it won't open with
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the same intended events and enthusiasm that was planned end quote.
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He said, it will open with a whimper, not with
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a bang. At a time when the Trump administration is
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cutting arts funding and seeking to influence content at the Smithsonian,
13:10
the shutdown, now the longest in the nation's history, is
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adding further uncertainty to d c's already rattled museums. The
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Australian Indigenous Art Show is one of two major international
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exhibitions that have been derailed. The other called Korean Treasures Collected, Cherished,
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and Shared was expected to open Saturday at the Smithsonian's
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National Museum of Asian Art and is said to be
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the large exhibit of Korean art in the museum's history.
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Delays are especially complicated with such international shows, which take
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years of planning, involve dizzying layers of cross continental logistics,
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and are often as highly anticipated in their home countries
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as they are in the United States. Both Australian and
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Korean media have covered the delays despite lost time. Both
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shows are traveling, so neither could be extended without having
14:01
to entirely rethink their tours. The Korean show will next
14:05
head to Chicago, and the Australian show to Denver. The
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National Gallery of Art did not respond to a request
14:11
for an interview. Chase F. Robinson, director of the National
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Museum of Asian Art, said that the Korean Art show
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is essentially ready to go when the government starts running
14:21
again and the museums can reopen. Quote it's a big,
14:24
complex show, and it is no small thing that we're
14:27
in a position to open, he said, describing quote herculean
14:31
efforts by staff members, many of whom are privately funded
14:34
and are able to work through the shutdown. The show,
14:38
which includes more than two hundred works and a dozen
14:41
Korean national treasures, draws primarily from three different museums in
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South Korea. To outsiders, quote three seems like a small
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number end, quote, said J. Keith Wilson, a curator on
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the show. But quote getting coordination between the three of
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them is not always easy. Quote We purposely, kind of
15:00
innocently did not limit ourselves to small light objects. We
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wanted to ask for some especially dramatic objects, he added,
15:08
noting that the show includes a more than five hundred
15:11
pounds bill used in Buddhist temples. One of Korean One
15:16
of Korean's art curators, Sunwo Hwang's favorite pieces in the
15:20
show is a line shaped drums drum stand that ended
15:24
up being much heavier than they anticipated, also some five
15:28
hundred pounds. For Hawaang, the show has a very special
15:33
meaning because it's the first she's worked on as the
15:36
inaugurabal Curator of Korean Art and Culture at the museum.
15:41
When the art for the show arrived from overseas, the
15:43
museum's loading dock was closed as a result of the shutdown. Quote,
15:47
so getting the schedule of receiving the objects, making sure
15:50
security was in place was all a little bit more
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complicated than it would be under normal operating circumstances. And
15:56
what Wilson said, and the Korean couriers that came with
16:01
the works were quote really concerned about what this means
16:04
for a government to be shut down and what it
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means for a museum to be shut down, Wilson said,
16:10
noting such a thing does not happen in Korea. Quote
16:13
we had to be both candid but very diplomatic in
16:15
the way that we explained what to expect in this
16:18
reality to the best of our knowledge, because you know,
16:21
it's an evolving reality for.
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Speaker 2: Us too, end quote. He said.
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Speaker 1: The National Museum of Asian Art was also required to
16:28
arrange travel for the director of each Korean museum and
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some staff members. They had plane tickets book booked, hotel reservations,
16:36
even a five day schedule arrange for their time in Washington,
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all of which had to be canceled. Quote it's a
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bit of a nightmare, Wilson said. Still quote we're really
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excited with the idea of them seeing the show. He added,
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I think there's great interest in how their objects are
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presented in an American museum for American audiences, which will
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be presumably very different from how they would be presented
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in Korea end quote. Christopher Hodges, director of Utopia Art Sydney,
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a leader in presenting indigenous art, expressed a similar interest
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in the National Gallery show quote important shows like this
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one are quote spearheads into the American consciousness.
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Speaker 2: He wrote in an email.
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Speaker 1: It would have been good to quote it would have
17:23
been good to attend the Washington National Gallery. But with
17:27
things as they are, it's very difficult to contemplate travel
17:30
to the US at the moment, Hodges said. Miles Russell Cook,
17:35
who curated the show The Stars We Do Not See
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when he worked at the National Gallery of Victoria, where
17:42
the show is traveling from, went ahead with his trip
17:45
to the US at his own expense, despite the shutdown,
17:48
having already coordinated with friends and family to travel there.
17:53
The touring exhibition has been in the works for four
17:56
or five years, he said, describing a quote very long,
17:59
very deep research project end quote that involve consultations with
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Aboriginal communities, tribal leaders and traditional custodians around in Australia.
18:09
He's especially excited for visitors to eventually see quote some
18:13
of the big spectacular masterpieces end quote that have made
18:16
the journey, such as Emily km clinoire is Maddam Opus,
18:21
more than a twenty six foot long painting called quote
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Anne will er Agnady or Big Yam Dreaming. Russell Cook
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says the show is quote fully set up at the
18:33
museum and called the delay quote heartbreaking.
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Speaker 2: Quote.
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Speaker 1: It's a very strange experience to have all this work
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that we've done, in these incredible, beautiful pieces of art
18:42
that we just want to share with the world not
18:44
able to be seen.
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Speaker 2: End quote.
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Speaker 1: Our next article from the front page of today's edition
18:54
is titled Trump Administration order estates to pause paying full
19:00
SNAP benefits, with the subheading. As the shutdown dragged on,
19:05
the USDA demanded that the States quote immediately undue end
19:09
quote any steps they have taken to send full November
19:12
payments to SNAP recipients. By Mariana Alfaro. The Trump administration
19:20
over the weekend ordered states to stop distributing full food
19:23
assistance benefits for November to the forty two million low
19:27
income Americans at risk of food insecurity, stretching out a
19:32
fight between the federal government and states. As the government
19:34
shut down near the forty day mark. A memo from
19:38
the Agricultural Department's Food and Nutrition Services issued late Saturday
19:43
night order states to quote immediately undo any steps taken
19:47
to issue ut full payments to recipients of the Supplemental
19:52
Nutrition Assistance Program, often called food stamps and abbreviated as SNAP. Instead,
20:00
the White House is demanding that states issue partial payments
20:04
of about sixty five percent percent of a usual monthly benefit.
20:08
The USDA memo Warren states that if they do not
20:11
comply with the order, they will face consequences, including the
20:15
cancelation of federal funding that the states need to cover
20:18
some administrative expenses. The federal government pays for all SNAP benefits,
20:23
but states administer the program to residents. SNAP is a
20:28
vital lifeline for millions of people, mostly children, the elderly,
20:32
and adults with disabilities, who rely on it to afford groceries.
20:37
Speaker 2: The funding hold up.
20:37
Speaker 1: Caused by the government's shutdown has left families across the
20:40
country in agonized uncertainty as they stretch budgets while waiting
20:44
for aid. Late Sunday, the Senate was expected to advance
20:49
a bipartisan deal to end the longest government shutdown after
20:53
a group of Democrats joined Republicans.
20:55
Speaker 2: On the vote.
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Speaker 1: That proposal includes money to fund SNAP through September twenty twenty.
21:01
The Senate vote, however, is the first of many steps
21:05
necessary to pass the agreement in the upper chamber. It's
21:08
also not clear if the House would support all the
21:11
changes introduced in the compromise, and the plant also does
21:14
not include money for subsidies for the Affordable Care Act
21:18
healthcare premiums, which have been at the heart of the
21:21
impasse in Washington. Consumers are also seeing other pressure points.
21:26
The Trump administration has reduced the number of flights to
21:30
cut strain on the country's air traffic controllers, most of
21:33
whom are working mandatory overtime six days a week during
21:36
the shutdown without pay. That's leading to headaches for travelers
21:40
across the country, a problem officials say is quote only
21:43
going to get worse end quote the longer the shutdown continues.
21:48
The latest upheaval over food stamps came after a Rhode
21:51
Island judge on Thursday directed the Trump administration to release
21:55
November SNAP benefits in full by Friday. At first, the
22:00
Trump administration said Friday it was working to release the
22:04
benefits to comply with the judge's order, suggesting that the
22:07
money would be dispersed at the same time, the administration
22:12
appealed that decision to the Supreme Court. Late Friday, Justice
22:17
Cantajie Brown Jackson temporarily blocked the Rhode Island judge's order
22:21
to allow time.
22:22
Speaker 2: For the U. S.
22:23
Speaker 1: Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to issue its
22:26
ruling on the lower court's order. Some states, like Wisconsin
22:31
and Maryland, have begun dispersing benefits Friday following the Rhode
22:35
Island ruling, leaving them scrambling to respond over the weekend.
22:40
In Wisconsin, where nearly seven seven hundred thousand residents received
22:44
their SNAP payments Friday, government Tony Evers in parentheses deep
22:50
said his state had legally loaded benefits to cards after
22:56
we did so. The Trump administration assured Wisconsin and other
22:59
states that they were actively working to implement full SNAP
23:02
benefits for November and would quote complete the process is
23:07
necessary to make funds available end quote. They have failed
23:10
to do so to date, ever, said in a statement Sunday.
23:15
Efforts and several other governors and state attorneys general are
23:18
asking the Appellate Court to reject the administration's effort to
23:22
stop full snap payments. Soon after the letter from state
23:26
leaders was filled, the USDA sent state states the latest
23:31
memo ordering them to stop the disbursement of false snap benefits.
23:36
Speaker 2: Quote.
23:37
Speaker 1: Our administration is actively in court fighting against the Trump
23:40
Administration's efforts to yank food assistants away from Wisconsin's kids, families,
23:45
and seniors, and we are eager for the court to
23:48
resolve this issue by directing the Trump administration to comply
23:51
with court orders ever statements, said Carl Tobias, the Williams
23:57
Chair in the Law in Law at the Universe City
24:00
of Richmond's Law School, said it will not be quote
24:03
lawful for the USDA to claw back benefits that it
24:07
had earlier provided without grunting due process. But Tobias acknowledged
24:12
that the USDA memo could have a chilling effect on
24:15
state's efforts to continue providing benefits in people in November.
24:20
In his Thursday order, the Rhode Island Judge John J.
24:23
McConnell Junior, admonished the Trump administration for opting to make
24:27
partial snap payments, saying the administration knew this would further
24:32
delay getting aids of people. He ordered the administration to
24:35
tap into a twenty three billion dollar fund for school
24:39
launch into child nutrition programs to pay for full SNAP
24:42
benefits in November. The USDA, however, has repeatedly refused to
24:51
tap into that money, arguing that it is separate from
24:54
SNAP and that the government does not have funds because
24:57
of quote unquote congressional failure to appropriate new money. In
25:02
court papers, the administration said it would not quote rate
25:06
in an entirely different program end quote because it could
25:09
lead to a shortfall in funding school meals. In a
25:12
statement Sunday, Massachusetts Governor Mara Healey in parentheses d said
25:18
residents who have already received SNAP money on their cards
25:21
quote should continue to spend it on food end quote.
25:26
Those funds, she said, were following guidelines the administration issued
25:30
after the Rhode Island Court decision and before the Supreme
25:33
Court order.
25:35
Speaker 2: Quote.
25:35
Speaker 1: If President Trump wants a penalized state for preventing Americans
25:39
from going hungry, we will see him in court end quote.
25:42
Speaker 2: Healey said.
25:44
Speaker 1: For their part, Trump officials are standing firm on their
25:47
position of holding back on providing all SNAP benefits, which
25:51
costs about nine billion a month to fund the administration
25:55
is quote very carefully studying the law and trying to
25:58
get as much money out the door as is legal
26:00
end quote. Kevin Hassett, Trump's longest serving economic advisor told
26:05
CBS News quote face the nation on Sunday. Quote We're
26:09
really very glad that we found a way to get
26:13
a lot of the snap money out. But it's really
26:15
really pushing the boundaries of the law, which is why
26:18
the Supreme Court had to take the ruling from Rhode
26:20
Island and put it on hold. Hassett said, the President's
26:24
job and all of our jobs is to uphold the law.
26:27
Speaker 2: End quote.
26:31
Speaker 1: The next article from the front page of today's edition
26:35
is titled from Table Tennis to Darts, Small sports draw
26:39
big bets and corruption, with the sub headline as sportsbook
26:44
books offer more bets on more niche sports. Officials and
26:48
athletes fear corruption by Albert Semaha. One day last year,
26:55
is Akinyemi Wilson lost an opening round match at the
26:59
World Table Tennis Contender Tournament in Lagos, Nigeria. It was
27:04
an obscure contest on the far flung outskirts of professional sports,
27:08
but five thousand miles away in New Jersey four gamblers
27:12
were keeping a close eye on it.
27:15
Speaker 2: The betters, who had rarely.
27:17
Speaker 1: Bet on table tennis, had staked more money than they
27:20
usually wagered, and they'd all placed their bets on Wilson's opponent,
27:24
a heavy underdog. That was enough for a New Jersey
27:27
sports book to flag those bets as quote suspicious, setting
27:31
in motion a process that would derail Wilson's career as
27:34
authorities investigated whether he quote through the match. The gravest
27:38
sin in sports. As the betting industry booms and scandals
27:43
in Gulf, major leagues, sports books in the United States
27:46
and around the world have expanded their menus, enabling big
27:49
money betters to converge on small money sports newly available
27:53
on gambling apps, from international table tennis and lower division
27:58
soccer to darts and surfing. That expansion has left a
28:01
widening pool of players vulnerable to match fixers fueled and
28:05
the uptick in bets flagged as suspicious and sparked a
28:09
flurry of painstaking investigation that often end with uncertain conclusions.
28:14
According to a Washington Post review of suspicious betting records
28:17
and interviews with athletes, regulators, sportsbook managers, and league officials,
28:23
the risk of corruption is heightened. Officials said in sports
28:26
where the salaries and prize funds are lower than what.
28:29
Speaker 2: Match fixers can offer. Quote.
28:32
Speaker 1: If you are receiving ten times your salary, how can
28:34
you not take it?
28:35
Speaker 2: End quote?
28:36
Speaker 1: Said Yusuf Mossy, president of the Burundi Football Federation's Competition Committee.
28:43
The number of wagers on table tennis matches flagged as
28:46
suspicious rose from five worldwide in twenty nineteen to thirty
28:50
six and twenty twenty four, according to data collected by
28:53
the International Betting Integrity Association or IBIA, a Belgium based
28:59
nonprofit that distributes suspicious betting information to sportsbooks, leaves, leagues,
29:04
and regulatory agencies around the world. The number of suspicious
29:09
bets on soccer matches in Africa and South America rose
29:12
from seven to twenty nineteen to thirty four and twenty
29:14
twenty four, and last year, for the first time since
29:17
the IBIA began keeping track in twenty nineteen, the combined
29:22
number of suspicious wagers on sports played in Asia, Africa
29:26
and South America exceeded the number in Europe, which reached.
29:30
Speaker 2: Its lowest level on record.
29:33
Speaker 1: The IBIA data, while not comprehensive represents the betting records
29:38
of more than one hundred sportsbooks, including the biggest companies,
29:41
and offers one of the most expansive snapshots of the
29:43
industry available In interviews, officials said the volume of suspicious
29:48
bets inevitably rises as countries and the industry do more.
29:52
Speaker 2: Than detect match fixing.
29:54
Speaker 1: Corruption allegations that might damage a fan's faith in a
29:58
sports integrity should do the ob opposite, they said, providing
30:01
proofs that afford authorities are cracking down. But cracking down
30:06
is complicated and can't have consequences regardless of whether investigate
30:10
investigators find corruption or coincidence. For leagues, the betting boon
30:16
ushered in new sponsorship deals and new fans, as well
30:20
as new threats to police. For smaller sports like table tennis,
30:23
the challenge can be especially daunting quote given significant betting
30:29
on the sport is only a recent phenomenon, The International
30:34
Table Tennis Federation is constantly assessing the levels of investment
30:39
required to tackle the threat, quote, said Kevin Carpenter, head
30:43
of the ITTF's Integrity Unit, which investigates match fixing allegations.
30:48
Within hours of New Jersey, betters placing winning wagers on
30:52
the Lagos the Lagos Table Tennis tournament. Sports books in
30:58
multiple countries flag bets on Wilson's match as suspicious, then
31:02
relayed that information to the I b i A, which
31:05
alerted its members in an e mail. The International Table
31:08
Tennis Federation opened an investigation. The fate of Wilson's career
31:13
hung in the balance. Wilson was twelve when he first
31:17
saw people playing table tennis on a wooden board along
31:20
the road near his home in Lagos. Entranced by the
31:24
game's speed and rhythm, he used his lunch money to
31:27
buy a paddle and began his pursuit of a pro career,
31:30
defying his parents, who worked as a cook and carpenter
31:33
and preferred he complete his apprentice apprenticeship screen printing shirts.
31:38
Quote I couldn't get table tennis off my head end quote,
31:41
said Wilson, who is now twenty one. After school, he
31:45
practiced at a club that top local players frequented, including
31:49
some who went on to play professionally in Britain. He
31:52
found a coach, Taywo Adelaile, who was impressed by his
31:56
commitment and covered his entry fees for competition. Quote he's
32:01
always working hard end quote, said adol Aio de Le
32:06
Armed with a strong back hand, Wilson won a local
32:08
tournament and reached the semi finals in another, getting enough
32:12
of a reputation to earn money training younger players. Though
32:16
table tennis has become popular across Nigeria in recent decades,
32:21
the sport serves more as affordable recreation than a path
32:24
to riches. The country hosts few competitions each year, none
32:28
more important than the annual w T T Contender Lagos,
32:32
which pays six fifty dollars six hundred fifty dollars for
32:35
advancing to the second round and up to five thousand
32:38
dollars for the champion.
32:40
Speaker 2: Quote.
32:41
Speaker 1: The money is not big money, said o La lken
32:45
okusan an i T t F official based in Lagos.
32:49
Speaker 2: Quote.
32:49
Speaker 1: Most people who play table tennis professionally are from poor homes,
32:53
while fier people put their kids to play football or
32:55
basketball end quote. But when Wilson was sixteen, his beloved
33:00
sport suddenly draw a new passionate audience gamblers. It was
33:05
twenty twenty and the pandemic had shut down most professional
33:08
sport leagues. Table tennis, though resumed in parts of Eastern Europe.
33:13
Before many other sports with players competed in rooms outfitted
33:18
with little more than a table and a camera to
33:21
live stream. Betting on table tennis boomed and it hasn't flowed.
33:26
In Oregon, one of two states that publicizes data on
33:31
table tennis, betting wagering tripled from twenty twenty two to
33:34
twenty twenty three, Record Show, and by late twenty twenty
33:37
four it was the second most popular sport to bet
33:40
on based on the amount wagered. In Colorado, table tennis
33:45
was the fourth most popular sport to bet on in
33:47
early twenty twenty five, out a volume five times higher
33:51
than in twenty twenty. Most better stick to the most
33:55
popular sport leagues, including the English Premier League, the Football
34:00
League or the NFL, and the National Basketball Association or NBA,
34:05
fueled by endless advertising and ready made parlays and prop bets.
34:09
To take those bets, though, sportsbooks need fast, accurate data
34:13
from top flight leagues, and access to that data collected
34:17
through exclusive rights deals by multi billion dollar companies such
34:21
as Sports Radar and Genius Sports, is expensive, but across
34:26
the vast sporting landscape, lay untabbed reservoirs of competition to
34:29
entice betters. When Brazil opened applications for online betting licensed
34:34
last year, conglomerate sportsbook conglomerate sportsbooks bet MGM, Caesar's and
34:41
FanDuel's parent company flutter All jumped in. So rather than
34:46
compete for mainstream audiences, ray Do Pitaco, a smaller Brazilian sportsbook,
34:52
and deployed an in house team of analysis to design
34:55
vets for quote fans who support crazy teams from the
34:58
third division end quote, said CEO and co founder Kiko Augusto,
35:03
who noted that only at URDP can you make prop
35:06
parlay wagers on lower league Brazilian soccer matches. Quote That's
35:10
how we differentiate ourselves end quote. A California based firm,
35:14
Alt Sports Data specializes in staking claims on sports that
35:19
haven't yet reached an online gambling market. Its founder, Todd Ballard,
35:25
said he pitches leagues on the idea that his firm
35:27
can unlock a sports potential as a betting destination. In
35:32
exchange for a league's live event rights and a fee
35:34
for development costs, Alt offers profit shares and the opportunity
35:38
to reach wider audience.
35:40
Speaker 2: Quote.
35:40
Speaker 1: A more engagement, war fans, more.
35:43
Speaker 2: Revenue end quote. Ballard said.
35:47
Speaker 1: More than two dozen leagues have signed on, he said,
35:50
including the X Games, Power Slap, the World Jai Alai League,
35:55
the Disc Golf Pro Tour, and Major League Table Tennis.
35:59
For any sport, the firm starts with the same question,
36:02
Ballard said, quote what can you do to gamify it
36:05
in a way that.
36:06
Speaker 2: Keeps people interested? End quote.
36:08
Speaker 1: He envisioned the World Surf League bets like quote is
36:11
the next wave gonna go left or right?
36:13
Speaker 2: End quote. He saw great.
36:15
Speaker 1: Promise and bets targeting Supercross Championship fans who quote field
36:19
major stadiums and discuss competitions through a language of probability
36:24
and odds that leaves into their narrative end quote. He
36:27
said he deems the NHRA drag racing the quote perfect
36:31
betting sport. Two cars going three hundred miles per hour
36:35
for three seconds end quote. Alt's products have mostly appealed
36:40
to smaller sports books seeking quote a whole pond, no
36:43
one's fishing and end quote, Ballard said, quote they need
36:46
something different to trying to go head to head with
36:48
the big guys end quote. He sided deals with underdog
36:53
state and bet three sixty five, and he said sportsbooks
36:56
in Australia and Brazil have found quote massive audiences quote
37:00
for alt surfing bets.
37:02
Speaker 2: Quote.
37:03
Speaker 1: Some sports are really good at engaging new fans and
37:05
bringing new fans into the ecosystem. And other sports are
37:08
great at serving a purpose for the betting community looking
37:11
for things to bet on when it's not football season
37:13
end quote. Bower said, quote that's how table tennis got
37:17
big end quote. With a point to bet on every
37:21
few seconds, table tennis offers the sports betting equivalent of
37:24
a slot machine quote like a casino game.
37:27
Speaker 2: End quote.
37:27
Speaker 1: Ballard said Today most major sports books and many smaller
37:31
ones take table tennis bets, and sport Raider has a
37:35
data rights deal with the largest tournament organizer, World Table Tennis,
37:39
which operates under the Switzerland based ITTF. The wider at
37:43
sportsbooks selection, the closer it can get to supplying live
37:46
bets every minute of every day, across time zones and seasons.
37:50
Speaker 2: Oh couson the table.
37:52
Speaker 1: Tennis official in Lagos said that the sports boom the
37:56
sports boom early in the pandemic, He's been encountering more
38:00
Europeans in the stands at Nigerian tournaments. Quo they sit
38:03
down in the middle, he said, you find out they
38:05
are just people trying to bet end. In sports big
38:09
and small, the proliferation of betting, especially prop bets based
38:13
on player stats, has made it easier than ever for
38:16
a single athlete to swing a wager. Top division soccer
38:20
players in Spain, Italy, England, Australia and Brazil have been
38:25
under investigation this year over suspicious yellow cards. Two MLB
38:30
or Major League Baseball pitchers were indicted this month on
38:33
charges that they conspired with betters who wagered on the
38:37
speed or location of their pitches. The National Basketball Association
38:42
has investigated at least three current and former players over
38:46
suspicious prop bets, including one John tay Porter, who pleaded
38:51
guilty to federal conspiracy charges, and another, Terry A. Rosier,
38:55
who was indicted last month. And those are athletes in
38:59
leagues big enough to see their scandals splashed across social
39:02
media around the world. Officials say athletes and smaller sports
39:06
increasingly weighed sure profits against the incalculable risk of tanking
39:10
their careers and possibly going to prison. In twenty twenty three,
39:15
retired table tennis player Adam Michael Green was convicted in
39:19
Australia of paying players to affect the outcome of dozens
39:22
of matches in Eastern Europe, waiting nearly five hundred thousand
39:25
dollars on one thousand, one hundred and seventy bets. This year,
39:31
four British players, including a member of the Olympic national team,
39:35
were suspended for match fixing. Every year since twenty twenty,
39:39
the Ibia has tallied more suspicious bets on table tennis
39:43
than any sport except soccer and tennis. From twenty nineteen
39:47
to twenty twenty two, tennis had top the list before
39:50
a match fixing crackdown by the sport's governing bodies led
39:53
to a steep drop in suspicious bets. In each of
39:57
the two full years since then, soccer has had he
40:00
had the most suspicious bet alerts, totaling around one hundred
40:03
and forty nearly half sixty four in total, came from
40:07
games in Asia and Africa, far away from the top
40:11
flight leagues of Europe. The first time Festo Omukoto was
40:16
approached by match fixers came in twenty nineteen, when he
40:20
was a twenty three year old midfielder in Kenya's top
40:23
soccer league. According to an account published by a players union,
40:27
he said he turned down their proposal but didn't report
40:30
them because he was afraid of quote what would happen?
40:32
Speaker 2: End quote.
40:34
Speaker 1: But when those match fixers got arrested, they implicated him
40:37
along with seven other players, and he was suspended for
40:40
four years. Omukoto did not respond to interview requests. Shortly
40:45
after he returned to the league, he wrote another group
40:48
of men approached him about fixing a match. This time
40:52
he worked with law enforcement to gather evidence that ultimately
40:55
led to three arrested Naobi, including of a vetter from Russia.
41:00
Quote the pay the players received from playing, even in
41:02
the first division is very low, he wrote in his account.
41:07
Quote players are tempted to make more money.
41:09
Speaker 2: End quote.
41:11
Speaker 1: That case was part of a wave of similar incidents
41:13
across East Africa. In Uganda last year, thirteen players, coaches
41:18
and referees were suspended. Last September, the Ibia issued a
41:22
suspicious bet alert when a sportsbook in Arizona flagged fourteen
41:26
accounts that collectively wagered fifteen thousand dollars fifteen thousand and
41:32
five hundred dollars on a Burundi league. A matches on
41:36
a single day. The Ibia shared the information with FIFA
41:41
or FIFA in African soccer officials. The Burundi Football Federation,
41:46
as it turned out, was already leading an investigation working
41:50
with local police in interpal after a team's manager suspected
41:53
that their players had intentionally underperformed. According to investigative documents
41:58
obtained by the Post, a goalkeeper admitted to accepting two
42:03
thousand and seven hundred dollars in Burundi and francs from
42:06
a match fixing network and distributing money to other players
42:09
participating in the scheme. According to the documents, the match
42:14
fixing network and its funds traced to the United States
42:17
and Europe. According to Mossi, the president of the Burundi
42:21
Football Federation's Competition Committee, INTERPOL, the Ibia and the Kenya
42:26
National Police declined to discuss the investigation on the record.
42:32
The Burundi Football Federation issued fines in five year bands
42:35
on six players and one team director, but the ringleaders
42:38
of the match fixing network had evaded capture and continued
42:42
to operate from a hub in Nairobi, targeting soccer leagues
42:45
across the region. Mosey said, at the center of the enterprise,
42:49
he said, are Americans and Europeans trying to use our
42:52
Burundian diaspora in America and Europe to contact local players
42:57
here and permit these people to operate, He said, our
43:02
football league will be completely destroyed.
43:04
Speaker 2: End quote.
43:06
Speaker 1: The big tournament in Lago's last year offered Wilson a
43:09
chance to earn his biggest pay day yet and to
43:11
boost his ranking enough to qualify for higher level competitions
43:15
with even more prize money. But just a few hits in,
43:18
he realized his timing was off.
43:19
Speaker 2: He said.
43:20
Speaker 1: He felt flustered as his usual precision eluded him. He said,
43:23
and the match quickly spir spirallled away in a hail
43:26
of errors.
43:28
Speaker 2: Quote.
43:28
Speaker 1: As a professional, there are some points you should not lose,
43:31
he said, So when you lose those points, it's always
43:34
very painful quote end quote. He lost in straight sets.
43:40
Speaker 2: Quote. I was so sad with my.
43:41
Speaker 1: Performance that day, he said. If I play him today,
43:44
I would win.
43:45
Speaker 2: End quote.
43:46
Speaker 1: He said he had no idea better is from far
43:48
away countries. One money from his defeat. The bets against
43:52
him were part of a long shot parley tied to
43:54
another match which the New Jersey Gamblers also successfully predicted
44:00
staking a sum of money that quote went beyond regular
44:03
expectations end quote, and displayed quote the utmost confidence the
44:08
sports book reported to the IBIA. By the following morning,
44:12
the IBIA had reviewed the bets and issued an analysis
44:15
that it sent to the International Olympic Committee, the International
44:19
Table Tennis Federation, and sportsbooks around the world.
44:23
Speaker 2: Quote.
44:24
Speaker 1: While odds compilation can be difficult for matches of this nature,
44:29
the extent of the betting activity witnessed by the ibia's
44:32
members and the changing customer behaviors was such to deem
44:36
it suspicious rather than attribut tribute the betting activity to
44:40
generous odds end quote.
44:41
Speaker 2: The IBIA stated.
44:44
Speaker 1: The ITTF informed the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation, the sports
44:48
governing body in the country, that it was investigating Wilson
44:52
and other players linked to suspicious betting on the tournament.
44:55
Within days of Wilson losing one of the biggest matches
44:59
of of his career, his name had swiftly spread as
45:03
a suspected match fixer. Yet he had no idea, he said.
45:08
For a year, he said he didn't know his career
45:10
was in jeopardy. Then he tried to sign up for
45:12
the twenty twenty five WTT Contender tournament. An official denied
45:16
Wilson entry signing the ITTF's open investigation into his twenty
45:20
twenty four match.
45:22
Speaker 2: Quote.
45:22
Speaker 1: I was so confused, Wilson said, Why would this be
45:25
happening to me?
45:26
Speaker 2: End quote.
45:27
Speaker 1: The Nigeria Table Tennis Federation made the decision to quote
45:31
not to encourage him and under others under investigation end quote,
45:35
said des Moolah Oio Ohoy, the NTTF official who broke
45:43
the news to Wilson. The four players can still compete
45:45
in local tournaments, oh bo I said, but they were
45:50
blocked from the international WTT event to protect quote the
45:54
integrity of the federation unquote.
45:57
Speaker 2: Oh wait I.
45:58
Speaker 1: Said that this was the first match fixing in investigation
46:00
targeting table tennis players in Nigeria. Sixteen months after the
46:06
match was flagged as suspicious, Wilson said he still hasn't
46:09
heard from investigators.
46:11
Speaker 2: Quote.
46:11
Speaker 1: It's just like I wasted a year, he said, and
46:13
they've not been telling me anything end quote. He was
46:17
the subject of a halting investigation that reflected the complicated
46:20
task for leagues probing for evidence of match fixing. Investigators
46:24
have to distinguish self sabotage from honest mistakes, and assess
46:28
whether a better bet big because of a criminal conspiracy,
46:32
because a sports book set foolish odds, or something else. Altogether,
46:37
the IBIA counted two hundred and nineteen suspicious bet alerts
46:41
across its neckwork in twenty twenty four, and at least
46:44
one hundred and eighty each year since twenty nineteen. Most
46:47
investigations find no conclusive evidence of manipulations. Last year, the
46:52
IBIA identified thirty three cases of sporting events proved to
46:56
have been fixed. In interviews, industry investigator expressed that the
47:01
global regulatory system was by and large working as intended.
47:06
An ITTF investigation starts with obtaining footage of the match
47:10
in question and convening a panel to look for a
47:12
quote anomalies end quote, said Carpenter, the Integrity Unit investigator.
47:18
Speaker 2: Quote.
47:18
Speaker 1: Obviously, this is most difficult in sports where the margin
47:22
of error is very small end quote. It falls to
47:24
league's and law enforcement to prove if a suspicious bet
47:27
is corrupt. Anything short of a confession, industry investigators said,
47:31
requires phone and bank records. In Brazil, two years ago,
47:36
prosecutors busted a match fixing ring, targeting three Second Division
47:40
soccer games at Wageredom the first stage in an operation
47:43
that resulted in one player banned for life, nine players suspended,
47:47
and eight Serie A games called in question. Israel's Soccer
47:51
Association suspended the entire third Division early this year after
47:56
finding evidence that more than half of its teams were
47:59
complic character and match fixing. The International Tennis Integrity Agency
48:05
suspended six pro tennis players this year from manipulating matches
48:09
for a syndicate based in Belgium. Over the past year,
48:13
the Darts Regulation Authority has issued sanctioned on four players
48:17
for match fixing, with at least one investigation triggered by
48:21
suspicious bet alert. Many war probes stay below the surface
48:27
and end without proof of wrongdoing, either converting innocence or
48:30
leaving an air of mystery. FanDuel, for instance, reported that
48:35
three customers in Maryland have placed unusually large bets on
48:38
an upset in Sweden's basketball league in twenty twenty three,
48:42
including one better who appeared to have been at high
48:45
school teammates with a current player end quote on the
48:48
team they were betting against, according to IBIA records, But
48:52
the IBIA analysis noted the sportsbook had set odds that
48:55
failed to consider something. Betters could have known from looking
48:58
at the standings that the Faiver team was going to
49:01
rest top players because it had already clinched a playoff spot.
49:06
Some investigations linger. The inquiry into the June twenty twenty
49:10
four table tennis matches and legos remains ongoing. According to Carpenter,
49:15
Wilson said he has never manipulated his performance in a match,
49:19
nor been asked to. Quote this is my whole career
49:23
end quote. He said the ITTF policy gives its integrity
49:28
unit four years to bring a case to tribunal for
49:30
final ruling. Carpenter declined to discuss the investigation publicly, citing
49:35
the ITTF policy, but said match fixing inquiries are quote
49:39
highly complex and therefore resource intensive end quote. The boom
49:43
and table tennis betting hasn't translated into more resources to
49:47
inspect it. Carpenter is the Integrity Union's only full time employee,
49:52
overseeing dozens of cases. He works alongside one part time
49:55
staffer and sometimes contracts private investigators. Wilson said he hopes
50:01
the investigation concludes before next year's WTT Contender Tournament of vagos.
50:06
Speaker 2: Quote there is nothing.
50:08
Speaker 1: I can do, he said, so they should carry on
50:10
with the investigation. Our final article from the front page
50:18
of today's edition is titled ACA Healthcare premiums are rising.
50:23
These eight Americans showed us how much. With the subheading
50:27
Premiums for health insurance sold through Affordable Care Act are
50:30
soaring because of the expiration of enhanced subsidies at the
50:34
heart of the government shut down. By Paige Winfield Cunningham,
50:40
Americans are coming face to faces with the rising health
50:43
insurance costs at the center of the longest government shut
50:46
down in history, and what it means for their pocket
50:48
books next year. Since open enrollment started November first, they've
50:53
been able to buy health plans for twenty twenty six
50:55
on healthcare dot CoV and state run market places created
50:59
by the Able Care Act, nearly all our finding they
51:03
will have to pay more, some significantly more for their
51:06
monthly premiums. Costs are sowing because health insurance is getting
51:10
pricier and enhanced subsidides Congress approved nearly five years ago
51:14
are going away. The government is shut down because Congressional
51:19
Democrats won't vote for a spending bill unless it extends
51:22
subsidides beyond their December thirty first expiration date. Senate Minority
51:27
Leader Charles E. Schumer in parentheses D New York said
51:32
Friday that his caucus would vote to reopen the government
51:35
in exchange for a one year extension of the subsidides,
51:38
but Republican leaders dismissed the proposal. The stakes of this
51:42
standoff are now apparent to Americans looking to buy health insurance.
51:46
Although income based subsidies remained, they will revert to the
51:50
lower levels to set under the ACA, not the more
51:53
generous ones offered during the COVID pandemic to help people
51:56
without workplace or government insurance to afford private pace insurers
52:02
say that there is one reason they are raising the
52:04
base monthly costs. They anticipate healthier people believe the marketplaces
52:08
when their options become more expensive. Their situation is drowing
52:13
fresh attention to an affordability problem the landmark health Bill
52:17
did not fully resolve. Health insurance is really expensive, especially
52:22
if you're older, and the changes in monthly premiums do
52:25
not account for the high deductibles and copays that can
52:28
leave insured people stuck with steed medical bills. Enrollment in
52:31
the marketplaces sword once they offered enhanced subsidides, and the
52:35
subsidized expiration is hitting older Americans with higher incomes the hardest.
52:41
The ACAE initially cap the percentage of annual income a
52:45
person can spend on insurance purchase through the law for
52:50
anyone earning up to four hundred percent of the federal
52:53
poverty level or about sixty sixty two thousand dollars for
52:58
a single person and one hundred and twenty nine thousand
53:01
dollars for a family of four. Nearly five years ago,
53:05
Congress extended the cap to all enrollees, a provision that
53:08
also expires at the end of the year. Fewer than
53:11
ten percent of marketplaces of marketplace enrollees will lose access
53:16
to spending caps, according to the KFF, a health policy
53:19
Resource organization, but the sticker shock is hefty, especially for
53:23
those in their fifties or sixties, since insurers are allowed
53:27
to hike premiums up to three times as months based
53:30
on a person's age. Cost increase for smaller cost increase
53:35
are smaller for people earning less than one hundred and
53:37
fifty percent of the federal poverty level around two twenty
53:41
three thousand dollars for an individual and forty eight thousand
53:45
dollars for a family of four. People earning between one
53:48
hundred and fifty percent and four hundred percent of the
53:50
federal poverty level will also see their monthly payments rise,
53:54
depending on their income and plan. Adding the underlying spike
53:57
in insurance costs, and some America will pay thousands of
54:01
dollars more a year. The increase in prices varies by state.
54:06
The Washington Post spoke to people across the country who
54:09
have learned their monthly premium costs will spike dramatically next year.
54:15
Here are some of their stories. Gary Epperley, aged fifty nine,
54:19
from San Jose monthly payments rising from four hundred and
54:23
ninety two dollars and sixteen cents to one thousand, two
54:27
hundred and sixty dollars, and he says, quote, given all
54:30
the headlines recently, I was expecting a fairly big jump,
54:34
but one hundred and fifty six percent is still shocking.
54:36
I didn't expect it was going to be that much
54:38
end quote. Robert Vnderberg, age fifty one, and Gretchen Kowinski,
54:44
age fifty, from Chicago, whose monthly payments are rising from
54:48
one thousand, three hundred and nine dollars to two thousand,
54:52
three hundred and fifty nine dollars.
54:54
Speaker 2: Quote.
54:55
Speaker 1: I don't think I can count on the marketplace anymore.
54:58
We were working with one thousand, three, one hundred and
55:00
nine dollars before. It's not cheap, but we pinched and
55:03
we made it work. But this is absolutely not doable.
55:06
This is expiring conversations like quote, Hey, I guess what
55:10
we need to move to Canada? End quote from Kewinsky.
55:14
David Pardo, aged thirty seven, from Denver, whose monthly payments
55:17
are rising from seventy nine dollars to one hundred and
55:20
fifty one dollars. Quote right now, paying nine hundred dollars more,
55:25
poor years and annoints. I know I'm one of the lucky ones,
55:27
even though my premiums have double end. Quote Matt Hornberger,
55:33
sixty one, from Altoona, Pennsylvania, whose monthly payments for a
55:37
couple are rising from six hundred and seventy dollars to
55:41
two thousand and fifty four dollars.
55:44
Speaker 2: Quote.
55:45
Speaker 1: Between the high deductible and the twenty five thousand dollars
55:47
in premiums, this is forty percent of our income. I'm
55:51
just trying to live a life here and be able
55:52
to go to the doctor when you need to go
55:54
to the doctor. It's just upseeing what politicians have allowed
55:57
to happen. End.
55:58
Speaker 2: Quote Noel Rezel, age.
56:00
Speaker 1: Twenty eight, from Phoenix, whose monthly payments are raising from
56:03
two hundred and ninety two dollars to four hundred and
56:05
sixty eight dollars.
56:07
Speaker 2: Quote.
56:08
Speaker 1: I want to chase my dreams and go after building
56:10
my photography business.
56:12
Speaker 2: I would rather, in my opinion.
56:13
Speaker 1: Make less money and be happier doing what I love
56:16
than find a way to make it work than be
56:18
miserable at a nine to five and have insurance. I
56:21
think unfortunately, I'm just going to have to weigh the
56:24
pros and cons. This might be my best option to
56:27
pay nearly five hundred dollars a month end quote Diane Swintle,
56:31
aged sixty three, from Irving, California, whose monthly payments are
56:35
rising from seven hundred and two dollars to one thousand,
56:38
two hundred and eleven dollars. Quote, I'm definitely going down
56:43
to a bronze plan. I have to one thousand, two
56:46
hundred bucks is not something I can pay each month
56:48
end quote Brett Insco, age fifty one and Mike Baker,
56:52
age fifty three, from Washington, whose monthly payments are rising
56:56
from one thousand, six hundred and four dollars to one.
56:58
Speaker 2: Thousand, eight hundred mine dollars. Quote.
57:02
Speaker 1: I was all in favor of the ACA because I
57:04
want everybody to have health care. I never thought much
57:06
about it until I had to think about it. Once
57:09
I got onto the DC Marketplace site and looked at
57:11
the premiums, I was just shot. This is bare bones,
57:14
lowest plan there is end quote. Douglas Macombs, aged sixty three,
57:19
in Kiki Yablon, age fifty six, from Chicago, monthly payments
57:23
rising from one thousand, two hundred and sixty nine dollars
57:25
to two thousand, seven hundred and forty six dollars.
57:31
Speaker 2: Quote.
57:31
Speaker 1: Property taxes have recently skyrocketed. As skyrocketed as our neighborhood
57:36
has become popular. Our house needs and repairs which will
57:39
likely have to wait. We also have cars made in
57:41
two thousand and eight in twenty fourteen, each with one
57:44
hundred thousand miles on them, and I was hoping to
57:47
replace one of them this year.
57:48
Speaker 2: That will not likely be possible. End quote.
57:53
Speaker 1: This concludes the reading of the Washington Post for today
57:57
your reader. Today has been Naya. Thank you for listening,
58:00
and now please stay tuned for continued programming on RADIOI