Transcript

3.29.25 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of Today's Washington Post. It is Saturday,
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March the twenty ninth of twenty twenty five, and your
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reader is Alice Stainer, with the reminder that RADIOI is
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a service for those blinder that have difficulties holding and
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reading printed material.
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Speaker 2: So I will.
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Speaker 1: Start with the front page in talking about what is
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on the front page and the top left before the fold.
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Above the fold signal chat floated. US rules say ex
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officials agency policies differ, but don't allow using app to
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share secret information. By Warren P. Strobel, Missy Ryan, and
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Hannah Nattison. Next to that and in the middle is
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a picture of a gentleman holding an earthquake survivor. Both
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are awaiting medical treatment at a hospital in Naya Palador,
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the capital of me and Ma. The lunchtime tremble killed
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at least one hundred and forty four people, according to
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the country's military hunter, which called on the world for help.
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Trimors were felt as far away as Bangkok, where building
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under construction collapsed and you can see people dressed and
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it was a seven point seven magnitude quake. To the
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right of that picture is Trump orders US aided's closure,
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unilater remove faces challenges, life saving programs will continue, Rubio
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says by Emily Davies, Abigail Hoslunder, John Hudson, and Antonio Olibyo.
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The picture of the earthquake in Mirama is an article
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Smithsonian Aura draws Condemnation, disbelief by Emmanuel rose Phransia, Kyle Swinson,
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Emma Uber and Gaya Gupta. Below the fold and on
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the left beyond the signal article RFK Junior forces out
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top vaccine regulator by Dan Domond. Then there's a picture
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of a protest organized by the Tesla takedown movement in
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Court Madeira, California, last weekend. And it's a Tesla building
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in the back with people in front with signs protesting
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fire musk.
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Speaker 2: Pequen. I can't read those, it's fair. Well, let me
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see if I can put.
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Speaker 1: I can't do that, And that is related to the
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article musk Tesla is uniting anti Trump movement. And then
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the very bottom of the page article is Researchers aim
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to take the guests work out of measuring pain by
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Mark Johnson and I'm sorry. The Tesla article is by
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Tricia Thadani and Prime su Verma the first article. Trump
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administration moves to formally abolish USAID. Secretary of State Marco
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Rubio said that the era of USAID is now over,
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but did not say whether he would seek congressional approval
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for effectively dissolving an agency created by Congress. And there
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is a picture of two employees of the U the
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US Agency for International Development, departing after being told they
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could go home on Friday in Washington, d C. And
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they are standing outside the building and the revolving glass doors.
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By Emily Davies, Abigail Houselower, John Hudson, Antonio Olivium. The
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Trump administration Friday moved to formally collapse the US Agency
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for International Development, the agency that has annually delivered billions
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of dollars of life saving food, water, and medical aid
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to millions of people worldwide, with a notification to remaining
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employees that they are for positions will be eliminated and
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that residual functions will be folded into the State Department.
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The decision to unilaterally shut down an agency established by
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Congress in nineteen sixty one is expected to draw immediate
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legal challenges. The administration told Congress of its intention at noon,
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about ten minutes before employees were notified. Congressional Aids said, Unfortunately,
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USAID strayed from its original mission long ago. Thanks to
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President Trump, this misguided and physically irresponsible era is now over,
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in his statement, shortly
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before USAID employees received an email that instructed them to
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vacate their desks by one pm. The order completes the
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dismantlement of the agency that has been at the forefront
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of tech billionaire Elon Musk's US doge service project to
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a milate alleged fraud and waste from the federal government,
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and it fulfills Musk's declaration in early February that it
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was time for USAID to die. President Donald Trump, within
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days of taking office, ordered to pause on all foreign
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assistants and subsequently deputized Musk, the world's richest man and
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the President's advisor, and his associates to foresight most of
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USAID's US based employees, order the return of hundreds of
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US Foreign Service officers working for the agency abroad, and
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shut off the funding pipeline for assistance ranging from food
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aid for war torn Sedan to a reproductive healthcare initiative
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in Afghanistan. Rubio, who is repeatedly stressed that the State
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Department is providing exemptions for humanitarian and life saving assistance,
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including for USAID's cornerstone HIV treatment program known as Pepphar
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pep Far said in his statement Friday that the US
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government would continue to provide essential life saving programs. In
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its notification to Congress, the Administration said the State Department
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would assume responsibility for certain USAID functions that a land
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with the Administration's parity by July first, and discontinue the rest.
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The announcement came hours after a seven point seven magnitude
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earthquake struck mir and mar and Thailand, killing at least
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one hundred and forty four people. Even within the Administration,
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it was unclear up whether or how the United States
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would provide to respond to provide assistance to those affected,
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a role typically filled by USAID. The United States sends
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their deepest condolences to all affected. USAID has maintained a
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team of disaster experts with the capacity to respond if
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disaster strikes, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said at a
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news conference Friday, adding that the US government was ready
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to provide immediate assistance, including food and safe drinking water
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needed to save lives if and when it receives quest
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requests for assistance. Bruce seemed unaware that Trumpet told reporters
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about an hour prior that the United States will be
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helping and that the administration has already spoken to Mayen
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Mars government. The President is going to make decisions about
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where we go and who we assist. When it comes
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to what we are waiting for here or looking for here,
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it could be different than what's happening at the White House,
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Bruce said. When a reporter asked about Trump's comments, one
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US official with knowledge of the situation in me and
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Moss said that USAID's partners in the country are saying
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that China is lining up to respond to the earthquake. Meanwhile,
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it is unclear whether USAID has any capacity to deliver
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life saving assistance, said the official, who spoke on the
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condition of anonymity to avoid retribution from the administration. Ordinarily,
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we would have purie positioned or per positioned emergency supplies
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and had existing contracts with partners that are able to
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respond wherever in the area they are needed. We would
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also stand up a disaster assist Easton's response pro team
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in Washington to coordinate human menitarian workers and former USAD
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officials blasted what they had labeled as a ham fisted
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shuttering of a crucial operation of the US government. And
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there is a picture of a Rohinga refugee girl holding
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a jar with the USAID logo at a refugee camp
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in Oxcox's Bazaar, Bangladesh on March sixteenth. It is showing
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how much USAID has provided support around the world for
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various programs. We literally built the global system that coordinates
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international search and rescue deployments after earthquakes, said Jeremy Kanyandykee,
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a former senior USAID official who now leads Refugees International,
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a nonprofit that advocates for refugees and displaced people.
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Speaker 2: He continues with.
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Speaker 1: Now the very day of the worst major quake in
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two years, the US is firing its disaster and responders
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rather than deploying them. Trump's dismantlement of USAID has drawn
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fierce backlash from Democrats, along with quieter resistance from a
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few Republicans on Capitol Hill, who have charged that the
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agency represents fundamental American values, while also countering China's influence
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in bolstering strategic US relationships and stability abroad. Opponents of
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the administration's actions have also argued that the executive branch
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does not have the authority to shutter a government agency
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or cancel millions of dollars in federal funding without congressional improvement.
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Only Congress has the right to do what Congress has created,
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said Max Steier, CEO of the Partnership for Public Service,
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a nonprofit that advocates for an effective government and federal workforce.
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Elon Musk and President Trump's illegal dismantling of USAID has
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cost Countess lives. Representative Rosa Deloreo Connecticut, the top Democrat
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on the House Appropriations Committee, which oversees federal spending, said
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in a statement Friday, adding millions have gone hungry while
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American grown food righted in storage, access to life saving
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health care and education were wiped away in a matter
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of days. Diseases we worked for decades to confront and
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eradicate our narro at risk of landing on our shores.
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The administration's move came on the same day that a
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federal appeals court panel set aside a low judges order
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that had temporarily blocked billionaire Musk and the US Doeze
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Service from dismantling USAID.
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Speaker 2: The panel for the.
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Speaker 1: US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that
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US District Judge Theodore D. Chong had aired in issuing
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an injunction in favor of more than two dozen current
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and former USAID employees or contractors who had sued over
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Doge's actions. Justice Department lawyers representing Musk and Doze in
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the lawsuit argued that USAID's own leaders, not Musk or Doze,
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were responsible for stoppages and spending and placing employees on
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administrative leave. While the employee's lawsuit will continue. Judge A.
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Marvin Quadlbaum, Junior wrote in the majority opinion that the
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employees had not offered sufficient evidence to support an immediate
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block on Doje's efforts to dismantle us Quarrelbaum wrote, while
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defendant's role and actions related to said are not conventional,
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and unconventional does not necessarily equal unconstitutional, and none of
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this is to say that platives will not be able
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to develop evidence of unconstitutional conduct. As the case progresses,
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time will tell our holding is merely that at this time,
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the record does not support the District Court's finding of
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a likelihood of constitutional violations. The State Department's announcement to
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complete its closure of the agency was consistent with an
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ongoing administration strategy to push through a rapid fire of
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executive actions and sweeping policy changes, firing tens of thousands
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of federal employees and shuttering billions of dollars in federal
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programs at pace designed to overwhelm critics and would be
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legal challengers. The Trump administration is now stating openly what
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they have been doing overtly for the past two months,
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shutting down an agency statutorially established by Congress and usurping
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the legislative branch's authority as the only ones who can
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shut it down. Short shortly after receiving the email that
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notified staff of the apparent end of their agency, USAID
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employees received a second note titled USA's Final Mission, noting
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their dismissal. Trump order launches Smithsonian and its visitors into
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confusion dismay. Current and former members of the Institution's Board
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of Regents condemned the edict, while visitors said the Trump
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administration was trying to end us history. And there is
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a picture of visitors during the Smithsonian National Museum of
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Natural History in twenty twenty two, and you see the
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huge elephant in the foreground of the building Bymmanuel Rose, Phranzia,
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Kyle Swinson, Emma Uber, and Gaya Gupta. President Donald Trump's
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sweeping executive order to eliminate what he considers anti American
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ideology from the Smithsonian Institution cast the world's largest museum, education,
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and research complex into a state of confusion Friday, just
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as dreams of tourists poured into Washington, drawn by idyllic
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spring weather and the appearance of the city's famed cherry blossoms.
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Trump's edict, issued late Thursday, marks his second recent attempt
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to mould America's cultural life, following his decision last month
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to purge the Kennedys Center Board of his predecessors appointees
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and install himself as chairman. Both acts, unprecedented in American history,
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have drawn heated condemnation from Democrats, including some current and
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former members of the Smithsonian Board of Regents. Outside some
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of the country's most beloved attractions on Friday, places such
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as the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Museum
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of African American History and Culture. There was an air
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of bewilderment tinged with anger. The Smithsonian has been preserving
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and sharing the American story for over one hundred and
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seventy five years, and I will continue to support the
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independence of this critical institution. President Trump's attempts to rewrite
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history are a weak, pathetic effort to distract from his
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disastrous plans to cut Medicaid and use tariffs to raise
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costs for middle class Americans, said Senator Catherine Cortez Masto,
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Democrat of Nevada, who sits on the Smithsonian Board, in
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a statement emailed Friday to The Washington Post. Former Senator
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Patrick J. Leahey, a Democrat from Vermont who had been
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one of the longest serving Smithsonian board members before his
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twenty twenty three retirement, set in an interview with the
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Post on Friday that Trump is trying to saw everything
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that makes us so strong and diverse. I've never seen
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anybody be so destructive in such a short time. There
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is no place like the Smithsonian, lay, he added. The
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reason there's no place like it is because it's always
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expanded knowledge Trump's sternly worded order paints the Smithsonian as
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a declining institution that was once a symbol of American excellence,
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but in recent years come under the influence of a
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devisive race scentered ideology. The Restoring Truth Insanity to American
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History Order also calls for the restoration of monuments, memorial
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statuted markers, statues at markers around the country that have
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been removed over the past five years, a period in
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which many such structures depicting Confederate figures reducemantle. It also
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directs the Interior Secretary to complete restorations and improvements to
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Independence Hall in Philadelphia, as the Trump administration gives up
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for patriotic celebrations next year the United States semi Quincentennial.
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Trump wheelds less control over the Smithsonian than the Kennedy Center.
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Presidents appoint members of the Kennedy Senators Board, but do
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not appoint members of the Smithsonian Board, which is composed
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of a mix of members of Congress and non elected officials.
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If you have to give one of these orders, it
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usually means you haven't found the exact authority that gives
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you the power to do this, said David E. Lewis,
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a Vanderbilt University professor an expert on presidential appointments. Still,
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Trump's executive order makes clear that he intends to influence
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the finances of the Smithsonian, which receives about sixty percent
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of its funding from congressional appropriations and federal grants and contracts.
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The federal government pays for operations, infrastructure, and maintaining collections,
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while exhibitions are generally funded by private donations. The order
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instructs Vice President J. D. Vance, who sits on the board,
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to work with Congress and the Office of Management and
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Budget to withhold fund for exhibits or programs that degrade
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shared American values or divide Americans based on race. In
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an email to staff Friday Lone G. Bunch I, the
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Smithsonian Secretary, sought to reassure the institution's employees amid uncertainty
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cause by Trump's autumn Bunch wrote, we remain step fast
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in our mission to bring history, science, education, research, and
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the arts to all Americans. We will continue to showcase
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world class exhibits, collections, and objects rooted in expertise and accuracy.
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We will continue to employ our internal review processes which
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keep us accountable to the public. When we air, we adjust, pivot,
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and learn as needed. Vedette Coleman Robinson, president and CEO
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of the Association of African American Museums, said in an
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email to The Post on Friday that her organizations mission
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has become increasingly crucial as the national conversation around history
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and culture evolves. Ad dedication to strengthen and advocate for
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those committed to preserving African derived cultures remains undeterred. Some
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of the confusion about Trump's AUTO stems from at least
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one statement that the Smithsonian says is false. The AUTO
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states that the American Women's History Museum, which has yet
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to be built but maintains a website, plans on celebrating
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the exploits of male athletes participating in women's sports. On Friday,
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Smithsonian spokeswoman Linda Saint Thomas told the Post, I can
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just say that's not true. We don't have an exhibit
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open or planned on the subject of, as they put
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it here, the exploits of male athletes participating in women's sports.
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While the Smithsonian leaders were trying to assuage the fears
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of their staffs, the public was trying to make sense
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of what was happening in atriums and outdoor staircases in
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front of exhibits and cafes. And there is a picture
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of visitors gathering by the Smithsonian National Air and Smith's
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Museum on Friday, and there's a long line in front
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of a sign. Do you have passes for the next hour?
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One pm? Line up here? At the American Art Museum,
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Julie and Ken Procter, visiting from Greenville, South Carolina, lamented
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the President's or that they feel would present a singular
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version of American history and art that struck both as wrong.
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It is our have to accept it. Julie sixty five said,
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it is what it is. Ken seventy replied, the victors
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do not get to rewrite history. Julie said, we can't
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let them, but I feel like that's what's happening. You
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can whitewash it if you like, but the fact is
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it happened. Ken said, we have to own it. Denying
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our history is like denying the existence of dandelions. At
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the National Museum of African American History and Culture, crowded
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with students, families, in about a dozen boys wearing Make
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America Great Again hats, Jackie Dennis and her husband Jordan Dennis,
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down from Baltimore area on their day off, said they
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weren't surprised to hear that the museum was being targeted
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for them. The museum is a crucial reminder of the
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disturbing and important parts of American history. If the country
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were to lose a museum like this, they said, Americans
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risk losing important reminders of the history's soul and moral compass.
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You can't act like history didn't happen, Jackie Dennis said.
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At the American Art Museum, John Crumbley, a forty five
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year old from Alexandria, Virginia, read about Trump's executive order
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and was mad as hell.
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Speaker 2: He said.
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Speaker 1: It was probably the twentieth the thirtieth time since January twentieth,
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Trump's inauguration day, I've been mad as hell, he said.
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But whereas with other Trump administration actions and orders that
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left him feeling helpless, Grimbley decided he could do something.
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Go to the American Art Museum and walk through the
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shape of power and exhibit. Trump's executive order accused of
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delivering a message that societies, including the United States, have
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used race to establish and maintain systems of power, privilege,
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and disentranchisement. I can see why Trump would be upset
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because this explores a deeper history than the one he
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wants to portray. This one explores the negative parts of
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how America became America, not the whitewashed one everyone learns
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in school, Crumbly said. Crumbly pointed out a piece near
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the exhibits Interest Monumental Inversions George Washington, a word glass
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and steel piece by Titus Kappa. The piece shows the
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founding father riding a horse in a black silhouette, an
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acknowledgment that Washington was an enslaver who pursued and punished
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those who attempted to escape their enslavement. That piece talks
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about the thing no one really talks about in school,
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Crumbly said. And that piece was, according to the text
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accompanying the artwork and steps away from the exit of
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the gallery, depicting the history of slavery in America. At
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the National Museum of African American History and Culture, there
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was Patresea Jones visiting from Alabama. She read the executive
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order for the first time inside the museum, and she
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said it which was worded more clearly the order charge
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at the museum has proclaimed that hard work, individualism, and
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the nuclear family are aspects of white culture. Language from
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an infographic on the museum's website that was moved in
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nineteen in twenty twenty after Donald Trump Junior criticized it
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in a social media post. On one hand, Jones was
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offended by the language attribute to the museum in the order.
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As a black Navy veteran who has also spent decades
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working in the prison, she said she certainly didn't think
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hard work was only a value of white culture. On
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the other hand, she hadn't seen any of that language
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at the museum Friday, and said the exhibits could help
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people understand the struggles black people have faced. Janes said,
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it's history, it's life, it's part of my history. So
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I don't know why the government would try to interfere
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with things that have already taken place. The things you
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see in here, you can't change what has happened, no
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matter how painful, you can't erase it. And deeper inside
28:30
the museum there was Renee Faulkner, fifty two, who'd been
28:35
heartbroken when she read Trump's orders, so she's chosen to
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go to a place that helps her remember there's always
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cycles of progress, then backlash, progress, then backlash. At the
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same museum, there were two friends, Teresa Johnson seventy three
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and Pamia Carey sixty five. When they saw the exhibits
28:57
chronicling some of the darkest moments of African American history,
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they could only do one thing. They cried, Tesla is
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uniting the anti Trump movement. Democrats are furious at the
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Trump administration, but no one is firing them up as
29:18
much as Elon Musk. And here's another picture in front
29:22
of the Tesla building stopped the corruption deport Elon nobody
29:29
voted four in a number of Musk. There are people
29:33
standing outside that Tesla unit in the dealership Saturday or
29:39
near Highway one on one in Court, Madeira, California, by
29:44
Tricia Tadani and Price schu Verma. Jennifer Cousins has a
29:49
laundry list of grievances against President Donald Trump, the dismantling
29:54
of the Department of Education, the administration's anti gender policy,
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and deep cuts to the Social Security Administration. The forty
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eight year old Florida resident was unsure where to direct
30:08
her Ayah, but an obvious outlet has emerged elon Musk's Tesla.
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Musk is a bigger threat to democracy than Trump is
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at this point, said Cousins, a long time activist who
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organized an anti Tesla rally in a deep red district
30:26
in central Florida last weekend, drawing about a hundred people.
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The goal is to make him broke. Musk has become
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the most polarizing figure of Trump's second term, overseeing dramatic
30:39
cuts and sweeping layoffs within the federal government through his
30:44
U S. Doege service. As public sentiment towards Musk has curdled,
30:49
activists have taken aim at the electric vehicle company that
30:52
undergirds much of the billionaire's wealth, transforming Tesla into the
30:57
symbol of a new anti Trump movement. A ground swell
31:01
of Tesla protests has erupted across the globe, many launched
31:06
by groups that have emerged in recent months. Activists created
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Tesla Takedown, a clearing has for smaller protests earlier this year.
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Rise and Resist, a social advocacy group started after Trump's
31:22
twenty sixteen victory, now focuses on anti Trump's Tesla action,
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offering a tool kit for organizing protest at Tesla showrooms.
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On Saturday, protests will gather at dozens of Tesla dealerships
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as part of a global day intended to stop Musque's
31:41
illegal coup. This anti test sentiment has spread online, inspiring
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videos of people defacing Tesla's with spray paint, eggs, and keys,
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and in one viral post, Marti Gars revelers throwing bees
31:57
and alcohol at a cybertron during a parade. Cousins said
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those attacking Tesla vehicles and the company's properties are not
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the same people we are rallying with, and she does
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not condone the violence. Still, the singular focus on Tesla,
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a brand that builds its popularity largely through liberal customers
32:22
concerned about climate change, is a shift from Trump's first term,
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when unrest guided across issue specific events, including the Women's March,
32:33
demonstrations against the President's Muslim band, and pro science rallies.
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But in Tesla, activists have found a catch off for
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an array of political grievances and a rare chance to
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trace impact directly through sinking car sales and company stock.
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Although Tesla stock has risen slightly in recent days, it
32:56
has fallen about thirty six percent since Trump's and North
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Tesla owners are also trading in their vehicos at an
33:04
increasing rate, and prices for used Teslas have sunk. People
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protest outside a dealership in Claremont, Florida, with signs Trump
33:14
is not above the law. Protect deport impeach or protect vets.
33:25
Deport Musk, impeach Trump. Musk is terrorizing.
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Speaker 2: We the people.
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Speaker 1: Deport Musk are signs along the highway. The Tesla dealership
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is a godsend for activists, said David S. Mayer, a
33:44
University of California at Irvine professor of sociology and an
33:48
expert on social movements. You can see them. They're tightly,
33:54
tightly associated with Musk, and it's a place where people
33:58
can assembly. Musk and Tesla did not respond to her
34:03
request for comment. Cousins was thrilled at the popularity of
34:07
the valley she hosted in Claremont, Florida, where more than
34:11
sixty percent of residents voted for Trump. As the movement
34:15
gained steam, Cousins has been founding great satisfaction. In checking
34:20
Tesla's stock price, she said, the stock has been steadily
34:24
falling and it can't just be from people being mad
34:28
and shouting at their TV screens. This has to be
34:32
the result of direct action being taken against this meglomaniac
34:36
oligarch whom nobody elected. Cousins said, let this be a warning.
34:44
Tesla was already struggling at the beginning of the year,
34:46
but analysts and shareholders are increasingly concerned that the sustained
34:51
demonstrations are causing specific harm to the stock. Dan Abs,
34:56
a senior analyst at Wedbush Securities, said Tesla is in
35:00
a dark brand crisis Tornado, calling on Musk to re
35:06
engage with the company, He wrote an investor's note, Musk
35:12
and Tesla have become a political symbol, which has been
35:15
a major overhang on the stock. Trump, whose hotel business
35:20
stock also took a hit amidst the unrest of his
35:23
first term, has attempted to summon a waive of conservatives
35:27
to the rescue. The President showcased a string of Tesla's
35:31
on the White House long this month, while Commerce Secretary
35:35
Howard Lutnik urged Fox News viewers last week to buy
35:39
Tesla's stock, an apparent violation of federal ethics rules that
35:44
prohibit executive brands officials from endorsing products or businesses. Musk
35:50
has claimed, without clear evidence, that Tesla protests are coordinated,
35:55
accusing ActBlue, a democratic fundraising tool, of funding anim that
36:00
Tuesla activist organizations. Two of the five organizations muscles do
36:07
not raise money using the tool, according to a Washington
36:11
Post review, act act Blue states on its website that
36:16
it operates as a conduit for fund raising money and
36:21
it doesn't fund raise, donate, or send text or emails
36:26
on behalf of any group. Act Blue did not respond
36:29
to an additional request for comment. In an all hands
36:34
meeting this month, Musk denounced the widespread unrest against his company,
36:40
calling images of burning Tesla's armageddon. It's like I can't
36:45
walk past the TV where they'd seeing a Tesla on fire.
36:49
Speaker 2: But what's going on this is psycho.
36:52
Speaker 1: Stop being psycho, Musk said in the meeting, which was
36:57
live streamed on x, the social media platform he owns.
37:02
Although the majority of demonstrations have been peaceful, some attackers
37:07
have lit charging stations on fire, destroyed vehicles with molotov cocktails,
37:13
vandalized doorfronts, and shot bullets through showroom windows. Trump's has
37:19
seized on these incidents, calling them acts of domestic terrorism.
37:23
And the FBI launched a task force this week to investigate.
37:29
Attorney General Pambondi announced charges last week against three people
37:34
allegedly behind violent acts against Tesla involving molotov cocktails and gunfire.
37:42
Speaker 2: Let this be a warning.
37:44
Speaker 1: If you join this wave of domestic terrorism against Tesla properties,
37:49
the Department of Justice will put you behind bars, she
37:52
said in a statement. Meanwhile, peaceful protests are increasingly being
37:58
met with force. On Saturday, a man sped his car
38:03
into a group of protesters standing outside a Tesla dealership
38:07
in Palm Beach, Florida, roughly eight miles west of mar Laco.
38:12
No one was injured, said Terry Barbera, a spokeswoman for
38:16
the Palm Beach County Sheriff's office. That same day, a
38:20
counter protest brandished a stun gun at a gathering outside
38:24
of Tesla's showman Berkeley, California, according to Jessica Parry, a
38:29
spokeswoman for the Berkeley Police Department, from wearing pink hats
38:35
to staring down Tesla drivers during a protest in northern
38:40
California this month, Patty Hoyt stood peacefully at the entrance
38:44
of a Tesla dealership with a dozen others holding signs
38:48
that said sell or seeg heel se Ohio and boycott Tesla.
38:55
When a Tesla pulled up to the dealership service station,
38:58
she took off her sunglasses instead the driver down. My
39:03
signs are meant to shame people, said Hoight, sixty three,
39:07
who organized the protest in Court. Madeira Musk is the
39:12
guy who wants to ruin everything that is good with America,
39:16
and so I would like to ruin his company. Longtime
39:20
activist Hoight flew to Washington during Trump's first inauguration for
39:25
the Women's March, while hundreds of thousands of women wore
39:28
pink knitted hats to protest the president. She organized protests
39:33
across northern California during Trump's first term, rallying against Brett M.
39:39
Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination and immigration and education issues. While
39:46
marches served as a powerful place for hoy to channel
39:49
her grief and rage, she said, the Tesla protests are
39:53
attracting a much broader swathe of people. She has met
39:57
veterans at her rallies, motivated by those which cuts to
40:00
her veteran services. Some had last attended to protest in
40:05
the nineteen sixties to object to the Vietnam War. The
40:10
diversity of the attendees reflects MUCKs ridespread impact. He is
40:16
hurting everybody, she said. There's a picture of activist Patty Hoyce,
40:23
who has been organizing protests in California since February in
40:27
cooperation with the National Tesla Take Dan movement. She has
40:32
on a hat with lots of pens around it. She
40:35
has long hair, wearing black, long hair wearing black glasses,
40:40
and her t shirts arets keep the First Amendment First.
40:46
As images of massive protests and defaced teslas go viral,
40:50
online demonstrations have also mushroomed around the world with an
40:54
aim of stigmatizing the billionaire's brand. After Most Twice madeed
41:00
gestion that resembled a Nazi salute on Inauguration Day and
41:04
supported far right British extremist Tommy robinson On, a group
41:08
of British activists formed the group Everyone Hates Elon. The
41:13
group organizes guerrilla stop protests across the United Kingdom, attempting
41:18
to use huma, cuma and legally questionable tactics to criticize Musk.
41:24
They have placed stickers on park teslas that say don't
41:27
buy a Swasti car and if hacked into London bus
41:31
stop don't buy a Swasti car and have hacked into
41:35
London bus stop displays to dispost their own ads featuring
41:40
photos of Musk and Tesla cars. The ads say Autopilot
41:44
for your car, Autocrat for your country, and another using
41:48
a vulgar British term for male gent and tilia Transport
41:53
for London, the transit body for the city said in
41:56
early March the training bus stop ads likening must to
41:59
a Nazi are not authorized.
42:02
Speaker 2: And pledged to take them down.
42:04
Speaker 1: Ed Niedermaya, author of Ludacros The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motives,
42:09
who is organizing Tesla takedown rallies in Oregon, said people
42:16
are motivated by the idea of targeting a company because
42:19
they can feel a tangible difference when they watch the
42:22
stock drop or hear people selling their vehicles. We are
42:27
using economics and the vulnerability of Tesla to exert pressia.
42:33
The one leaver we have to affect this situation is
42:36
Tesla's vulnerability, he said. R FK Junior forces at Peter Marx,
42:43
FDA's top vaccine scientist, in his resignation letter, Marx rebuked
42:49
Kennedy for seeking subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies
42:56
about vaccines by Dan Diamond, The Trump administration on Friday
43:02
prestrate Peter Marx, the nation's top vaccine regulator and an
43:07
architect of the US program to rapidly develop coronavirus vaccines,
43:12
a move that comes as Health and Human Services Secretary
43:16
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Continues his overhaul of the nation's
43:20
health and science agencies amid a worsening USA break of measles. Marx,
43:27
who joined the Food and Drug Administration in twenty twelve
43:31
and had overseen its Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research
43:37
since twenty sixteen, was offered the choance or choice to
43:42
resign or be fired. According to two people who spoke
43:46
on the condition of anonymity to describe a sensitive situation,
43:52
Marx opted to resign with an effective departure bate of
43:56
April fifth. Marx is leaving his post with a heavy heart,
44:01
he wrote in his resignation letter Friday, which was obtained
44:05
by The Washington Post. The longtime regulator wrote that he
44:09
was particularly worried about the measos outbreak in Texas, which
44:15
reminds us of what happens when confidence in well established
44:19
science underlying public health and well being is undermined. Reached
44:27
Friday night, Marx confirmed that he was leaving the FDA,
44:31
but declined to comment on the circumstances of his departure. Kennedy,
44:37
who in his years and as an anti vaccine activist
44:42
criticized measole shots and boosted vitamin A as a treatment, is
44:46
now using his government position to tote the vitamin's accepted benefits.
44:51
He has also said that receiving the measo's vaccine should
44:55
be a personal choice. Experts acknowledged that vitamin A can
44:59
be beneficial after someone has become sickened, but they say
45:03
it is not a replacement for vaccination to prevent measos.
45:09
It is unconscionable with measles outbreaks to not have a
45:14
full throated endorsement of measos vaccinations. Marx told the Post.
45:20
The FDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
45:25
A Department of Health and Human Resources official who spoke
45:29
on the condition of anonymity to discuss personal matters, said
45:33
that Marx did not have a place at FDA if
45:37
he did not buy into Kennedy's vision for the agency.
45:42
To former FDA commissioners praised Marx on Friday Night, highlighting
45:47
his work at the agency. Marx helped conceive of Operation
45:51
warp Speed, the Trump's administration's program to accelerate the development
45:56
of coronavirus vaccines, which has been credited with helping end
46:01
the threat of the COVID nineteen pandemic. A December twenty
46:05
twenty two study about the Commonwealth Fund, a healthcare foundation,
46:10
estimated that coronavirus vaccines permitted more than eighteen point five
46:16
million US hospitalizations and three point two million deaths, as
46:22
they had For the Center for Biologics Evaluation In Research,
46:26
Marx led a team of experts who were charged with
46:29
scrutinizing data on vaccines and other medical products before deciding
46:35
whether to approve them. Peter has presided over an extraordinary
46:41
period of medical progress, spearheading breakthroughs in cell and gene
46:46
therapy that helped transform the treatment of pediatric leukemia, sickle
46:51
cell disease, and certain forms of blindness, said Scott Gottlieb,
46:59
who served in FDA Commissioner during the first Trump administration.
47:05
Peter's commitment to bringing the best science and data, to
47:08
the development and availability of life saving biomedical technologies from
47:15
gene and stale therapies, to the Trump administration's Operation warp
47:20
Speed has saved countless lives, said Mark mcclennan, who served
47:25
as FDA Commissioner during the George W.
47:28
Speaker 2: Bush administration.
47:30
Speaker 1: He added, Peter's decade long leadership at the FDA is
47:34
a big reason why the FDA is a gold standard
47:38
for advancing the most innovative breakthrough medicines. In his resignation letter,
47:45
Marx also said that he had been willing to work
47:48
with Kennedy on the Health Secretary's planned efforts to review
47:52
vaccine safety. Kennedy has repeatedly suggested that there could be
47:57
a link between vaccines and autism. I claimed that it
48:01
has been repeatedly debunked and called for further study. Marx wrote, however,
48:08
it has become clear that truth and transparency are not
48:12
desired by the Secretary, but rather he wishes subservient confirmation
48:17
of his misinformation and laes HHS recently tapped a vaccine
48:23
skeptic who has long promoted false claims about the connection
48:27
between the immunizations and autism, to conduct a study of
48:31
possible links between the two, according to current and former
48:34
federal health officials, Kennedy, who was grilled on his vaccine
48:39
views by senators in his January confirmation hearings, had pledged
48:44
to lawmakers that he would restore trust in public health
48:49
and work to boost vaccine confidence if he was confirmed
48:52
as the nation's top health official. While Senator Bill Cassidy,
48:58
Republican of Louisiana, and other Republicans questioned whether Kennedy would
49:02
keep that commitment, they ultimately voted to confirm him. Gottlie
49:08
lamented the departure of Marks and other top officials from
49:11
the Health Department, worrying that he would undermine future efforts
49:14
to fight diseases and develop therapies. Gottlieb said, we're failing
49:20
to appreciate the people and institutions who propelled these remarkable advances,
49:27
undermining them with the offer incredible alternatives, and risking the
49:32
loss of future breakthroughs that many patients are counting on.
49:38
And our last article, Signal chap flirted rules on classified
49:43
intel save former defense officials, Signal's convenience and the lack
49:49
of clear agency guidelines make the commercial app a popular
49:53
choice for government officials, but transmitting sensitive information is still
49:58
prohibited by Warren P. Strobel, Missy Ryan, and Hannah Nattison.
50:05
The Yemen attack timeline the Defense sectary Pete Hegseth posted
50:10
to a Signal chap Group would have been so highly
50:13
classified under Pentagon guidelines that the details would have been
50:17
restricted to a special compartmental chalum with his own word
50:23
code word, and with tightly access limited or access tightly limited,
50:28
according to a former defense officials, heg Seth and other
50:33
senior Trump administration officials have denied that the data they
50:37
shared in the signal group, which including the timing of
50:40
weapons strikes against Yemen's Kuties and intelligence information shared by
50:46
Israel on the whaleboats of a top hooty operative, was classified,
50:51
said one of the former officials, who, like others, spoke
50:55
on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive issue.
51:00
He said, these are indeed highly detailed operational plans for
51:05
war twenty five years. I have never known them not
51:09
to be classified, and usually this operational level of detail
51:13
is further restricted to those with a need to note.
51:17
I don't care what DoD says, that's classified info. A
51:23
second former official said, current and former US defense and
51:28
intelligence officials describe the lack of operational security, which leaked
51:35
when the editor in chief of The Atlantic magazine was
51:38
inadvertently added to the chap group among President Donald's top aides,
51:43
as a potentially grievous espionage vulnerability. Russia, China and other
51:48
hostile intelligence services constantly probe US government officials communications devices
51:56
for weakness, and, as former National Security Agency in tractor
52:00
Edward Snowden revealed in twenty thirteen, the United States does
52:05
the same even with the leaders of friendly nations. A
52:10
senior NSSAY official contrasted the Trump's aide use of a
52:15
commercial app with a hyper cautious behavior of top officials
52:19
in Moscow. When his job was hacking into Russian leaders communications,
52:25
the agency would try to gain entry only to their
52:27
secure phones, knowing those individuals would not hold secret conversations
52:32
on their personal devices. This is just going to reinforce
52:38
for adversaries that they can get useful intelligence, very useful intelligence,
52:43
on these people's personal devices, he said, referring to the
52:47
Trump aids. If they're having that conversation on that device,
52:52
they're having other conversations on other devices. The former senior
52:57
NSSAY official added any officials also describe the beach as inevitable.
53:03
Encrypted commercial apps such as Signal Attempt busy tempt busy
53:07
government officials with speed and convenience not matched by most
53:11
secure government installed email and chat programs, they said, and
53:16
numerous differing internal government policies govern signals use. This is
53:22
not a Republican only problem. We're all guilty, said a
53:25
former Democratic official who dealt daily with intelligence reports. Under
53:32
Trump and during Biden administration. Top of government officials increasingly
53:37
have used signal to communicate and coordinate, often tiptoing up
53:42
to or even over the line of classified.
53:45
Speaker 2: Discussions, he said.
53:48
Speaker 1: We don't have a good quality system for communicating top secret,
53:52
sensitive compartmented information all on the run, or at least
53:57
not one that is effectively usable, said Jamal Jaffa, a
54:01
former White House and Justice Department official. People sometimes skirt
54:07
the rules to get exegen stuff done. Everyone knows it's
54:10
not necessarily appropriate, but it definitely happens, said Jaffa, executive
54:16
director of the National Security Institute at George Mason's University's
54:21
Scalia Law School. None of the individual intelligence and agency
54:28
policies allow employees to use signal for sharing secret information.
54:35
Senators Roger rickhab Republican of Mississippi and chairman of the
54:39
Senate Armed Services Committee, and Senator Jack Reid of Rhode Island,
54:44
the panel's top democrat, said this week that they will
54:47
seek an expedited report from the Pentagon's Inspector General. They
54:52
also said they want to see a full transcript of
54:54
the Yemen chat. Government officials are normally brief and security
54:59
procedures upon taking office. Former officials said that even cabinet
55:03
level offices such as the Secretaries of Defense and State
55:07
typically received training on the proper handling of classified material,
55:11
just as they undergo ethics training every year. It's unclear
55:15
what security training Hegseth and Security Advisor Michael Walls, Vice
55:21
President J. D. Vance, and others on the Yemen chap received.
55:26
According to an NSAY memorandum prepared this week and reviewed
55:30
by The Washington Post, there is no overall federal government
55:34
policy on the use of signal. It states, instead, policies
55:39
and practices vary significantly across federal, state, agencies and levels
55:44
of government. A comprehensive policy should be established at the
55:49
federal level to guide the use of commercial encrypted messaging
55:53
apps like Signaled, including to ensure compliance with federal record
55:58
keeping requirements, the memo recommends. In October twenty twenty three,
56:05
the Pentagon's chief information officer at the time, John B. Sherman,
56:09
issued a memorandom banning the use of apps such as
56:12
Signal for sharing any non public Pentagon information. The alternative,
56:18
aversion of Microsoft Teams installed on Pentagon devices, was clonky,
56:23
although another's got used to it, he wrote. Of course,
56:27
this was only for unclassified information. Sherman wrote in a
56:31
LinkedIn post this week for classified traffics, officials must used
56:36
either SIPR or jwics in similar systems, he wrote, referring
56:42
to two secure classified government networks. It is unclear whether
56:47
Pentagon policy has changed under Trump. CIA director John Radcliffe
56:53
told Congress this week that Signal was a permissible application
56:57
for work use at the spy agency. A former CIA
57:01
officials said that employees were given the ok to use
57:04
Signal on government computers and phones about a year ago,
57:08
but not for classified information. Some of the key conversations
57:14
took place on the weekend. In particular, hegsas posting of
57:17
the imminent attack timeline on Saturday, March fifteenth. Gavett has
57:22
testified she was traveling in the Indo Pacific region at
57:25
the time. One of the former's senior Pentagon officials said
57:30
he suspected there was a simple, very human reason why
57:34
Trump's team chose signal convenience. This concludes our reading for today.
57:40
Please stay tuned for continued programming on Radio I.
57:45
Speaker 2: Bye.