Transcript

4.15.25 · Washington Post

0:01
Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of the Washington Post for Tuesday,
0:04
April fifteenth, twenty twenty five. As a reminder, Radio I
0:09
is a reading service intended for people who are blind
0:12
or have other disabilities that make it difficult to read
0:15
printed material. Your reader for to day is Cindy Fraser.
0:19
Today's front page headlines from the Washington Post are Pakistan's
0:23
militants wielding U S arms. Weapons left behind in Afghanistan
0:28
give fighters edge over security forces. Next, tariffs grow uncertainty
0:34
for farmers. Tromps levers threatened to sow a rift with
0:37
a key constituency in North Carolina, a swing state. The
0:42
next headline, but caller reject's return of Maryland. Van Salvadoran
0:47
leader visits Oval office. Trump fluts deporting criminal U S
0:52
citizens Our next headline, man charged in governor's mansion, fire
0:58
denied bail. Susk said he planned to beat Pennsylvania Shapiro
1:02
with hammer. Police say. Next, Beijing targets increasing obesity, with
1:09
over half of Chinese considered heavy. Top officials Loan's three
1:13
year offensive, and the final headline from today's front page
1:18
plan would merely have budget for state Department MEMMAA outlines
1:23
dramatic cuts to funding for UN global health and more.
1:28
Our first AUM today is entitled Pakistan's Militans wielding US
1:33
arms Weapons left behind in Afghanistan Gift Fighter's Edge over
1:37
Security Forces by Rick Noak, Alex Horton, hak Nowas Khan,
1:44
and Chayi Kusain from Peshawar, Pakistan. On January ninth, twenty eighteen,
1:50
an M four A one carbine rifle left the Colt's
1:53
manufacturing plant in Connecticut bound for Afghanistan. Last month, it
1:59
was recovered in the aftermath of a deadly trained hijacking
2:03
by millicents in Pakistan. The banged up rifle, bearing serial
2:08
number W one hundred forty three forty and stamped with
2:12
a Colt logo, was among billions of dollars worth of
2:15
U S military equipment provided to Afghan forces, much of
2:20
which was abandoned after withdrawal of American troops in twenty
2:23
twenty one. Many of the weapons wound up across the
2:27
border in Pakistan, at arms bazaars and in the hands
2:31
of insurgents, illustrating how the consequences of America's failed war
2:35
continued to reverberate years after the fall of Kabul to
2:39
the Taliban. After a decade of progress against militants, Pakistan
2:45
is now struggling to contain multiple insurgencies, from jihadis in
2:49
the north to Baloch separates in the southwest, fueled in
2:53
part by American weapons. US assault rifles, machine guns, and
2:59
night vision golds, originally meant to help stabilize Afghanistan, are
3:04
now being used by the Pakistani Taliban or t TP
3:08
and other groups to wreak havoc across this nuclear armed nation.
3:13
According to militants, weapons traders, and government officials, they had
3:18
the latest American made weapons, said Alma Hussain thirty five,
3:22
a Pakistani's Special Forces constable who was critically injured in
3:27
a targeted nighttime attack in northwestern Pakistan last year. They
3:32
could see us, he said, but we couldn't see them.
3:37
In May, Pakistani officials gave the Washington Post access to
3:41
dozens of weapons that they said were seized from captured
3:45
or killed militants. After months of inquiries, the U. S.
3:49
Army and the Pentagon confirmed to the Post that sixty
3:53
three weapons that were shown to reporters had been provided
3:56
by the U. S. Government to Afghan forces. Most were
4:01
M sixteen rifles, alongside several more modern M four carbine models.
4:06
Pakistani officials also displayed a handful of p B S
4:10
fourteen night vision devices, which are used throughout the American
4:14
Armed Forces, but could not be independently verified as former
4:18
U S. Government property. After the March eleven train attack
4:23
by the local militants, which claimed at least sixteen lives,
4:27
Pakistani officials provided serial numbers for three U S rifles
4:31
allegedly used by the attackers. At least two came from
4:35
U S stocks that had been provided to Afghan forces,
4:39
According to records obtained by the Post through the Freedom
4:42
of Information Act, the presence of U S. Advanced weapons
4:47
has been an issue of profound concern for the safety
4:50
and security of Pakistan, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry wrote in
4:55
a statement in late January. President Donald Trump has threatened
4:59
to permanently cut suspended day to Afghanistan unless the Taliban
5:04
returns US provided military equipment. We left billions, tens of
5:09
billions of dollars worths of equipment behind, all the top
5:12
of the line's stuff, Trump said during his first cabinet
5:16
meeting in February. I think we should get a lot
5:19
of that equipment back. His remarks have reignited hope in
5:23
Islamabad that the United States will move more decisively to
5:27
account for its missing military gear, but most believe it
5:30
is already too late to stem the flow of illicit arms.
5:35
They are now the property of Afghanistan. Zaba Hula Mushahid,
5:39
the Taliban led government's chief spokesman, said in response to Trump,
5:44
no one can take them away from US. Michael Kuleman,
5:48
a South Asia annalyst, said that Pakistan risks falling back
5:52
into that terrible period between two thousand nine and twenty fourteen,
5:56
when the country was a major magnet for terrorism, a
6:01
treasure trove for the Taliban. When the Taliban took control
6:05
of Afghanistan in August twenty twenty one, more than seven
6:09
billion dollars in US provided military equipment was still in
6:13
the country. A report by the Special Inspector General for
6:16
Afghanistan Reconstruction, or CIGAR, estimated in twenty twenty three the U.
6:22
S Military had an uneven record of keeping track of
6:25
weapons provided to the Afghans. CIGAR concluded, which was exacerbated
6:31
by its quote abrupt and uncoordinated withdrawal under President Joe Biden.
6:37
U S. Officials refused to accept responsibility. The Defense Department
6:41
provided weapons and equipment after quote careful end user considerations,
6:46
including risks of enemy capture, the Pentagon said in the
6:50
September statement, and had no intention of recovering them. The
6:54
material could have been captured by the Taliban and then
6:57
utilized or transferred elsewhere. The agency acknowledged once transferred to
7:02
the Afghan government, they were the Afghan government's property and
7:06
its responsibility. A senior defense officials sad and a statement
7:10
to the Post. The Pentagon declined to the close official's
7:15
name or justify why they could not provide it. The
7:18
weapon seized by Pakistan comprised a minuscule portion of the
7:22
total we bought for the Afghans over more than a decade.
7:26
The official added, more than a quarter million rifles were
7:29
left behind. Cigar estimated enough to arm the entire U. S.
7:34
Marine Corps, as well as nearly eighteen thousand night vision goggles,
7:38
which could outfit the Army's eighty second airborne goggles worn
7:42
by insurgents undercut the technological advantages of modern militaries, which
7:48
use infrared lasers and strobs to co ordinate, attax and
7:52
keep track of friendly troops. Those devices are invisible to
7:56
the naked eye, but are illuminated by night vision. Just
8:01
after the Taliban take over, the latest night vision devices
8:05
were sold at a scrap rate, said Raj Muhammad sixty,
8:09
a Pakistani weapons trader. Around August twenty twenty one, the devices,
8:15
which retail for about two thousand dollars, were being sold
8:18
for less than three hundred dollars. He estimated. Insurgents have
8:22
paired night vision and thermally equipment with small drones to
8:26
attack troops with more precision. Since Ahir Hassan, a major
8:30
in the Pakistani army, the battle has become much more dangerous,
8:34
said Hassan, who was injured in an attack last year.
8:39
Verification requests from the Post revealed occasional slapdash record keeping
8:44
in an defense department database attract small arms and light weapons.
8:49
Among the recovered weapons were three M two O three
8:52
grenade launchers that were incorrectly listed as rifles in the database.
8:57
The launchers attached to the underside of rifles, and someone
9:01
may have confused the two serial numbers when documenting them,
9:05
officials said. Among the other items recovered by Pakistani authorities
9:10
and shown to the Post, were two sets of U
9:13
S body armor and piles of ammunition. The Pentagon left
9:17
behind millions of rounds Cigar found, including ammunition for heavy
9:22
weapons that can penetrate vehicles and bring down aircraft. A
9:28
few of the displayed weapons appeared to come from non
9:31
US sources. At least one rifle reviewed by the Post
9:35
was an Arienko c QA, a Chinese made clone of
9:39
the N four soar. In demand. Along Pakistan's poorest border
9:45
with Afghanistan, illicit weapons bazaars have long done business with
9:49
militants and other criminals. One of the oldest markets is
9:54
in Dara Adamkov, a town south of Peshawar. Vendor say
9:59
the market dates back to the First Anglo Afghan War
10:02
in the mid nineteenth century, when this part of Pakistan
10:05
was contested between Afghan forces and the British. But the
10:10
market's most dramatic days, at least in recent memory, were
10:14
prompted by the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. The market was
10:18
flooded with American weapons recalled Roz Muhammad. Demand was high,
10:23
said Kadi Chayi Bajari, a senior TTP member, adding that
10:28
his fighters benefited from plummeting prices and abundant supplies. He
10:33
noted that the boom began even before the US had
10:36
fully withdrawn from Afghanistan, as a growing number of cities
10:40
fell to the Afghan Taliban. The market has maintained its
10:45
signature smell of gunpowder and shots often echo from the
10:48
surrounding mountains, but its busiest days are over as Pakistani
10:54
militants used the weapons to escalate their insurgency. Security forces
10:59
raided reachis and arrested vendors. The few m fours on
11:03
sale here are hidden away and prices have skyrocketed, but
11:09
Bajari said the TTP is still easily able to source
11:13
illicit gear, giving it an edge over Pakistan's military. Recently
11:18
released propaganda material shows TTPED militants with US made night
11:23
vision devices, en fours with thermal optics, and rifle mounted
11:28
infrared lasers. A United Nations report last year concluded that
11:33
Afghan Taliban rank and file directly supplied the group with
11:37
weapons and equipment. The TTB and the Afghan Taliban have
11:41
denied the claims. An unsettled border, the wave of violins
11:47
along Pakistan's restive northwestern border with Afghanistan has led to
11:52
a severe deterioration in relations between the two countries. In
11:56
late December, Pakistani air strikes killed forty six people in
12:00
eastern Afghanistan, but Pakistan, once accused of sheltering Afghan Taliban
12:06
leaders and providing US made weapons when surgeons in Indian
12:10
controlled Kashmir, has struggled to persuade Washington and other foreign
12:15
players to more aggressively back its counter insurgency efforts. The
12:20
Afghan Taliban has responded angrily to Islamabad's request to rein
12:25
in the TTP and to Trump's threats that future aid
12:29
is dependent on the return of US provided military equipment.
12:33
The weapons are in the control of the security forces
12:36
and well guarded in the depot. Abdul Latin Khani, a
12:39
spokesman for the Taliban run Interior Ministry, wrote on x
12:44
Pakistani officials are pinning their hopes on the Trump administration,
12:49
despite concerns that the freezing of foreign a and the
12:53
suspension of the U s refugee admissions program could fuel
12:57
further instability in the region. The Bibe administration left the
13:02
weapons there, and we believe you as should do something
13:05
about it, whether they buy them from the Afghan Taliban
13:09
or do something else, said a Pakistani Foreign Ministry official,
13:13
speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not
13:16
authorized to common publicly. Hussain, the Special Forces constable who
13:21
was injured by militants last year, blamed the United States
13:25
as much as the militants who shot him. Both are responsible,
13:30
he said. Wharton reported from Washington, Hussang from Islamabad, and
13:35
Nawaz Khan from Daral adamkiv Our. Next item is entitled
13:41
Tariffs grow uncertainty for Farmers. Trump's lovey threatened to sew
13:46
a rift with a key constituency in North Carolina, a
13:50
swing state by Cleave R. Woodston Junior from Ferbe, North Carolina.
13:56
For John, ashe the start of growing season is always
14:00
a math problem, a complex calculus of educated guesses as
14:05
he tries to extract every cent from his farm in Reedsville,
14:09
near the Virginia North Carolina border. The fifty seven year
14:13
old has been farming all his life. Every year he
14:17
must changes recommended by the tobacco companies, considers competition from
14:21
Brazilian soibing farmers, and ponders how much labor he needs
14:25
to hire to eke out enough profit to keep everything going.
14:30
But this year, his biggest numbers challenge has been the
14:33
tariff policies of President Donald Trump. It's always been a
14:38
guessing game here on the farm, but I think it's
14:41
more of a guess now than has ever been in
14:43
my lifetime, ashe said on Wednesday, as he alternated between
14:48
trimming tobacco seedlings in his greenhouse and checking his phone
14:52
for tariff updates. The plants will go in the ground
14:55
this month, but his anxieties center on it is soon
14:58
to be sown crop of soybeans. Most years, a large
15:02
portion of his harvest would be exported to China, which
15:06
is the top target in an escalating trade war started
15:10
by the President. I don't really understand how Trump feels
15:14
he can do this all across the country, said ashe,
15:17
who voted against Trump in the past three presidential elections.
15:21
He scoffed at the president's admonition that Americans be strong, courageous,
15:26
and patient. This is not a thing where we can
15:30
wait three months, ashe said, this is a critical time.
15:34
It's going to be critical until harvest. It's amazing to
15:38
me how some farmers are still proud of him for
15:40
doing this midway through spring planting season. Farmers in a
15:45
state whose electoral votes went to Trump in the past
15:48
three elections, are struggling with the unpredictability of his tariffs,
15:53
which threaten their access to foreign markets, and at a
15:56
heavy dose of uncertainty to an already capricious undertakes. The
16:01
presidential complications are simultaneously logistical, economic, and political. In a
16:08
state whose voters are highly coveted by both political parties,
16:12
politicians and political observers have begun to question whether the
16:16
fallout from the tariffs could upset the GOP's grip on
16:20
federal elected offices in this battleground state and beyond depressing
16:25
voter turnout among groups that lean Republican, like farmers and
16:30
the agricultural communities they support. Agriculture and agribusiness contributed more
16:36
than one hundred eleven billion dollars to North Carolina's economy
16:40
in twenty twenty four, according to the NC Chamber, making
16:44
up one to six of the state's overall income. According
16:48
to the Chamber, Trump, who has long said that the
16:51
United States is on the losing end of international trade
16:54
agreements imposed with the White House labeled reciprocal terifts on
16:59
seventy five country last week, sending proxysms through the global economy.
17:04
Amid the economic shockwaves, Trump largely reversed course, although he
17:10
is still standing by a historic tariff of ten percent
17:13
for most imports, along with Lev's on Chinese goods that
17:17
stood at one hundred forty five percent at the end
17:20
of the week. Chinese has vowed to fight to the
17:24
end and raise terrafs on US imports to one hundred
17:28
twenty five percent. Trump said he decided to reverse course
17:32
on most of the terraffs after watching the bond market
17:35
and seeing that people were getting a little bit queasy.
17:40
The roller coaster has force companies and at times entire
17:44
industries to shift overnight, and increased fears that the nation
17:48
is headed toward a recession would have economic as well
17:51
as political consequences. North Carolina's Democrats have had some success
17:57
in gaining statewide offices, winning eight of the last nine
18:00
goodbernatorial races, but have been largely out maneuvered when it
18:05
comes to sending politicians to Washington. Since nineteen sixty four,
18:10
only two Democratic presidential candidates have won the state's electoral votes.
18:15
Michael Bitzer, a professor of politics and history at Catawa College,
18:19
in Salisbury, said the state's Democrats have long nursed hopes
18:23
that the other side shoots itself in the foot. Will
18:26
the terror for be the gun that damages Republican turn out.
18:31
Senator Tom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who is up
18:34
for reelection next year, joined a growing chorus of Trump
18:38
allies voicing those concerns at a Semi Finance Committee hearing
18:43
last week that included a grilling of US Trade Representative
18:47
Jamison Greer. Tillis said he's skeptical that the terroriffs will
18:52
produce the promised economic windfall for his constituents and wondered
18:56
if Republicans like him will be punished at the ballot
19:00
for administration decisions. Everything we need to do to know
19:05
what the political environment is going to be about next
19:07
year has got to be done by February of next year,
19:10
he said, maybe not the president, but I intend to
19:14
run for re election. I'm just trying to figure out
19:17
if voters are going to feel good about this. Tillis
19:21
is one of seven Republican senators who sign on to
19:24
the legislation sponsored by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley,
19:28
Republican from Iowa, and Senator Maria Cantwell, Democrat from Washington,
19:34
that would seek to check Trump's taiff authority. He told
19:38
The Washington Post on Thursday that there's still a chance
19:41
a trade war with China and other tariffs will damage
19:45
the North Carolina economy. I'm hoping if China says they're
19:49
going to fight to the end, I hope that end
19:52
is fairly short. Otherwise it's going to be a real
19:56
stressor in the economy in North Carolina, Tillis, said one
20:00
Democrat trying to unsea Tillis mentioned the senator's support of
20:04
Trump's terraffs in his campaign launch video. Senate Minority Leader
20:09
Charles E. Schumer, Democrat New York, accused the president of
20:14
governing by chaos in remarks at a Senate Democratic Leadership
20:17
news conference Thursday. Quote, Donald Trump is feeling the heat
20:22
from Democrats and across America about how bad these tariffs are.
20:27
He is reeling he is retreating. Jamie Ager, who grows beef, chicken,
20:33
and pork on a century old family farm in Fairview,
20:36
southeast of Ashville, said his customers and colleagues are already
20:41
feeling the stress. Some of the restaurants that buy. His
20:44
beef and poultry are raising their menu prices because of
20:48
the increasing costs of seemingly everything. Fellow farmers are worried
20:53
that their crops will be tapped out of overseas business,
20:56
he said. Ager, a fifth generation farmer who runs Hickory
21:00
Nutgap's farm, which produces grass fed beef, poultry, and pork,
21:06
said his greatest fears have not been realized in his
21:08
segment of the industry, but he worries about the market
21:12
for high end meat and poultry he produces if the
21:15
US flips into a recession. The Trump administration has already
21:20
cost him some business. His family's farm provided grass fed
21:24
beef to nearby schools, but the program was stopped when
21:28
Trump halted a raft of Biden era initiatives soon after
21:31
his inauguration. The school lunch program didn't have a large
21:36
impact on the company's bottom line, but it was a
21:39
point of pride to provide healthy food to local students.
21:42
Aders said, now he wonders what other impacts he'll see.
21:47
I think it's more like unknowns, you know, like we
21:50
just don't know what's going to happen. He said. That's
21:54
generally what these tariffs do, right it just causes these unintended,
21:58
weird ripple effects all through the system, and that's what's disconcerting.
22:04
His brother, Air Cagor, who is a Democratic state representative,
22:08
said farmers in both the eastern and western parts of
22:11
the state have been hit by a string of difficulties
22:14
in the past year, from Hurricane Helene, which drenched and
22:19
washed away some western farms, to drought which hit commodity
22:23
farms in the east. Trump's escalating trade war following that
22:28
already difficult agricultural year was sparking doubts among the expanded
22:33
coalition of people who had put him in the White
22:35
House because they had economic fears about his predecessor. The
22:40
state lawmaker said, I don't think there's anything Trump would
22:44
do that would move the diehard supporters. He said, then
22:48
there's that other group of Trump voters who certainly believed
22:52
that from an economic perspective, Republicans would do a better job,
22:56
and I think those folks are starting to question where
22:59
we're headed. The political implications of that question are significant
23:03
in North Carolina, a state that has seen a long
23:07
stretch of largely Republican wins in federal election but whose
23:11
evolving demographics put it in tantalizing the close reach of Democrats.
23:17
Democrats have not won a U. S. Senate seat or
23:20
given the electoral votes to the party's presidential nominee since
23:23
two thousand and eight, Barack Obama's first victory. That nearly
23:28
two decades stretch is frustrating for the state's Democrats, who
23:32
see their state as similar to their more purple neighbor
23:35
of Georgia. Demographically, if not electorally, North Carolina Democrats routinely
23:42
win statewide elected office. The state has a Democratic governor,
23:46
and for the ten statewide elected offices are held by Democrats.
23:52
Former Governor Roy Cooper, term limited from running for a
23:55
third term, was briefly on Kamala Harris's short list of
23:59
potential runningmates. Both Harris and Trump spent the waning days
24:03
of the twenty twenty four campaign in North Carolina. Trump
24:08
ultimately beat Harris by more than one hundred eighty three
24:10
thousand votes in the state, winning fifty point eighty six
24:14
percent of the electorate and improving his margin over Biden
24:18
in twenty twenty ashe the swimming farmer from Reedsville who
24:23
voted against Trump all three times he ran, said the
24:26
President hasn't done much to make him regret his choice.
24:31
The tariffs hurt, but they have been compounded by cuts
24:34
of the U. S. Department of Agriculture as Trump and
24:37
Elon Musk's U S Doage Service try to scale back
24:41
the size of government. Ashe said, those cuts have reduced
24:45
staff at Farm Service agency offices in several of the
24:48
state's royal counties, making it harder for farmers to get
24:52
assistants with support and subsidy programs. The fork of the
24:56
road singing with doge I guess I'm pronouncing it right
25:00
is claimed havoc with USDA, he said, And that's the
25:04
avenue for farmers to communicate with the federal government for
25:07
reporting problems. That's supposed to be our lifelime to get
25:11
some kind of help at a time like this. But
25:14
they've got their own blood bath over there. Theodoric mayor
25:18
in Washington, contributed to this report. Our next Island is
25:23
entitled Bouclay rejects return of Maryland Man Cell of Adoron
25:28
leader visits OBL office, Trump flows supporting criminal U S
25:32
citizens by Dan Diamond and Cleve R. Woodston, Junior sell
25:37
of Adorton, President NAU Bucalay said Monday that he does
25:41
not plan to return a Maryland man whom the Trump
25:44
administration mistakenly deported to his country as a U. S.
25:48
Judicial system barrows toward a potential constitutional crisis over the standoff.
25:54
How can I return him to the United States, Buclay
25:57
said in an Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump,
26:00
responding to a reporter's question, I smuggle him into the
26:04
United States. Of course, I'm not going to do it.
26:07
The question is preposterous. How can I smuggle a terrorists
26:11
into the United States? Kilnar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran immigrant
26:16
who is married to a US citizen, was deported last
26:19
month La Salvador's brutal Megaprison Seacot. His case has become
26:25
a focal point of the Trump Administration's attempt to deport
26:28
more than one million immigrants from the United States, and
26:32
the court battles over the legality of that campaign. The
26:36
Supreme Court on Thursday back to the lower court order
26:39
there requires a White House to quote facilitate the release
26:43
of Abrego Garcia, but the justices stopped short of saying
26:47
a lower court judge could order the administration to quote
26:51
affectuate his return. Trump officials suggested Monday that the administration
26:57
was not bound to follow court orders to return Abrigo
27:00
Garcia from Alsalvodor. No court in the United States has
27:05
a right to conduct the foreign policy of the United States,
27:09
Secretary of State Marcorrubio said during the Oval Office meeting,
27:13
but the administration in court proceedings also has conceded that
27:18
Abrico Garcia's removal was a result of an administrative error.
27:23
Democrats said they were a goss that Trump picked this
27:26
moment to host Bucelet, criticizing the Salvadorans president's authoritarian leadership style,
27:33
and demanded that the administration moved immediately to expedit Abrigo
27:37
Garcia's return. The United States should call out Bucelet's contemptuous
27:42
and anti democratic behavior rather than celebrate and be complicit
27:47
in it, Senator Tim Kane, Democrat from Virginia, said in
27:51
a statement criticizing Trump for quote cozying up to an
27:55
aspiring dictator. Trump officials on Monday repeated that arguments that
28:00
Abrigo Garcia is a member of a criminal gang m
28:04
S thirteen that Trump has declared a foreign terrorist organization,
28:09
allowing for his deportation. Abrego Garcia's lawyers have denied the claim.
28:14
A US distruct Judge Pala Zennes, who has ordered the
28:18
Trump administration to return Abriga Garcia from Alsavodor, has said
28:23
there is no evidence Abrigo Garcia is a gang member.
28:27
The claims day to twenty nineteen, when Abrigo Garcia and
28:31
other day laborers seeking construction jobs at a home depot
28:35
were detained by police and question about gang activity, Abrigo
28:40
Garcia said he wasn't in a gang. A US immigration
28:44
judge that year shielded Abrigo Garcia from deportation to Al Salvodor,
28:50
concluding that he was likely to face persecution there by
28:53
a local gang that tried to extort his family and
28:57
then recruit him into its ranks before he thought the country.
29:01
The Trump administration did not appeal that decision, known as
29:05
a withholding of removal order. Muse Off R. Kishti, a
29:10
senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute, said the Trump
29:14
administration's argument that the withholding of removal order cannot apply
29:19
is a totally new development. The first question is why
29:23
didn't they assert that before, Kishti said, adding that the
29:27
declaration of whether Abrigo Garcia is a foreign terrorist, and
29:31
whether that effects the withholding of removal order should fall
29:35
to an immigration judge or potentially to the Justice Department's
29:38
Immigration Appeals Board. Just because the government is asserting that
29:43
someone was a member of the terrorist organization is the
29:47
final word. That cannot be the government's. The final word
29:50
on that has to be an immigration judge. Trump also
29:54
told reporters Monday that he was open to deporting US
29:58
citizens if they had committed violent criminal acts. If it's
30:03
a homegrown criminal, I have no problem, Trump said, in
30:05
the Oval Office, we're studying the laws right now, Pam.
30:10
That is BONDI the Attorney General is studying. If we
30:14
can do that, that's good. Immigration experts have said there
30:19
is no legal way for a person with US citizenship
30:22
to be deported. The President has previously raised the idea
30:26
of sending US citizens who have been convicted of some
30:29
crimes to prisons in other countries. Of Bredo Garcia was
30:34
subject to removal proceedings because he crossed the Southern boardy
30:37
illegally as his sixteen year old in about twenty eleven. Bugulay,
30:42
whom Trump has hailed Monday as when head of a
30:45
president has emerged as a key player in the Trump
30:48
administration's plans to conduct vast importations of undocumented immigrants. The
30:55
two presidents struck a deal that has allowed Assalvador to
30:58
accept more than two one hundred Venisubans deported for the
31:02
United States. Since Trump's inauguration in January. The White House
31:07
and the Salvadoran government have circulated videos and pictures of
31:11
the purported gang members kneeling hands behind their backs, clothes
31:16
pulled open to exposed tattoos, being processed into the prison.
31:22
A top immigration and Customs enforcement official conceded in the
31:25
court filing that quote many of those deported do not
31:29
have criminal records in the United States. Lawyers and relatives
31:34
of many of the men have disputed the Trump administration's
31:37
claim that they are members of criminal gangs. Buclay has
31:42
described the agreement as an opportunity for America to quote
31:46
outsource part of its prison system, saying that his country
31:50
was willing to accept convicted criminals, including convicted U S citizens,
31:55
and place them in its megaprison in exchange for a fee.
31:59
You are helping out and we appreciate it. Trump told
32:02
Buclay on Monday. He also praised Al Salvoor's president for
32:06
constructing the Seacock prison complex. I said, can you build
32:10
some more than please, Trump said, suggesting that he wanted
32:14
to ramp up deportations to Al Salvoor. Bucley responded that
32:19
it was an honor to participate in Trump's mass deportation efforts,
32:23
saying the initiative would help protect other US citizens. To
32:28
liberate three hundred and fifty million people, you have to
32:30
imprison some, Buceley said, you have to imprison them so
32:34
you can liberate three hundred and fifty million Americans that
32:37
are asking for the end of crime and the end
32:40
of terrorism. The Opreco Garcia case has become a major
32:45
point of contention in Trump's mass deportation efforts, and the
32:49
nuanced order from the Supreme Court has given the government's
32:52
lawyers an opening to push back onsin US. The district
32:56
court judge overseeing the case in Maryland with non answer,
33:00
shifting claims and a defiant tone. The Trump administration had
33:06
acknowledged in court proceedings that Abrigo Garcia was subjected to
33:10
a withholding order forbidding his removal to the Al Savodor
33:14
and that the removal to al Salvador was therefore illegal,
33:19
but government attorney said Sunday night that the administration is
33:23
not required to engage Alsavodoro's government in efforts to facilitate
33:27
Abrigo Garcia's return, arguing that he quote is no longer
33:32
eligible for the protection from deportation that should have prevented
33:36
him from being sent to Alsavodre in the first place.
33:40
Abrigo Garcia's attorneys say he is the victim of a
33:43
Kofcasque mistake. They also warn he's in danger of being
33:48
tortured and killed in the Megaprison. And I've told this
33:51
that the Trump administration should be held in contempt for
33:55
failing to detail its efforts to repatriate their client. Bukella
34:00
has risen in power as he has tempered widespread violence
34:03
in what had been one of the world's most dangerous
34:06
gang infested countries. The forty three year old skirted a
34:10
constitutional ban on successive terms for a president, jokingly referring
34:15
to himself as the world's coolest dictator. But those inroads
34:20
against crime and gangs have come at a humanitarian cost.
34:24
About eighty five thousand people have been imprisoned in alsavoor
34:28
since Buceley declared emergency rule in twenty twenty two, one
34:33
of the highest incarceration rates in the world. Most don't
34:37
have access to an attorney and has not been tried
34:40
in court. Instead, they are caught an illegal and at
34:44
times fatal black hole. Almost four hundred people have died
34:48
in the unsanitary, overcrowded prisons, according to human rights groups. Bukele,
34:54
who has aspired for a larger presence on the global stage,
34:58
has set an ally and a trumpet aministration, searching for
35:01
novel ways to fulfill the president's immigration related promises. He
35:06
had soaked up praise from Rubio and other US officials,
35:10
and this week he received red carpet treatment in the
35:13
United States, welcomed by an honor guard at the White
35:16
House before sitting down in the Oval Office with the
35:19
most powerful person in the world. His visit also raised
35:23
anxiety among Democrats, who questioned why Trump was hosting Alesavodorre's
35:28
leader while the Trump administration was refusing to share information
35:33
about people it had deported to that country. Senator Chris
35:38
sunhalan Democrat from Maryland, on Sunday requested an urgent meeting
35:43
with Pokele saying he needed answers on this status of
35:47
Abrago Garcia a constituent. I have met with mister Abrago
35:52
Garcia's wife, mother, and brother, and as you can imagine,
35:57
they are extremely worried about his health, safety, and continued
36:01
illegal confinement. As am I. When Holland wrote in a
36:05
letter to Melena Majorga as Alvaro's ambassador to the United States,
36:11
a vain. Holland's spokesman said Monday morning that the embassy
36:14
had confirmed receipt but had not yet scheduled a meeting.
36:19
Speaking with Bukeley in the presence of reporters, Trump initially
36:23
avoided in booking Abrigo Garcia's detention, riffing instead on topics
36:28
such as transgender athletes participating in sports. He also mocked
36:33
the CNN reporter who raised a question of whether the
36:36
US would ask Bukeley to return Abrigo Garcia. The President
36:41
was more enthusiastic about another question, regarding artificial intelligence chip
36:45
maker Navidia's announcement that it will start producing a supercomputers
36:50
entirely in the US. The White House on Monday hailed
36:54
the announcement as evidence of the president's policies and action.
36:58
Now that's the question I like Trump, said. Mariam Levaine,
37:03
Anne Merrimau, and Maria Sacchetti contributed to this report. Next
37:09
as an item entitled man charge in Governor's mansion fire
37:13
denied bail. Suspect said he planned to beat Pennsylvania Shapiro
37:17
with hammer, police say by Justine McDaniel, Amber Ferguson and
37:23
Annabel Timsop, But then charge was setting fire to the
37:27
official residence of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Democrat, told authorities
37:32
he walked more than an hour from his home carrying
37:35
beer bottles filled with gasolene before scathing the fence, breaking
37:40
into the mansion and setting a room ablaze. Police have
37:44
accused thirty eight year old Cody Baumer of Harrisburg of
37:47
seeking to harm Shapiro. He allegedly told police he planned
37:52
to beat the governor with a hammer if he encountered
37:54
him and his family as they slept upstairs. He was
37:58
denied bail at an arrangem at Monday and did not
38:01
enter a plea. The attack is the most recent on
38:05
an elected US official since last year's apparent assassination attempts
38:09
on now President Donald Trump while he campaigned. There have
38:13
been several instances of attempted violence against politicians of both
38:17
parties in recent years, including a kidnapping plout against Michigan
38:22
Governor Gretchen Wilmer, a Democrat, a hammer attack on the
38:25
husband of Representative Nancy Pelosi, Democrat from California, and an
38:30
attempted assault of Representative Lee Zelden, a Republican from New York.
38:36
Shapiro on Sunday called the attack on his home, which
38:39
came hours after he and his family held a passively
38:42
saider targeted. The incident marked a disturbing escalation in the
38:47
country's tense political climate, said Shawn Westwood, a professor of
38:52
government at Dartmouth College who has studied political violence. The
38:57
crime committed against Shapiro strikes me as one of the
39:00
more severe incidents of political violence and stands with assassination
39:04
attempts of Donald Trump. Westwood said the attack left unanswered
39:09
questions about why Balmer may have sought to harm Shapiro,
39:13
a high profile governor who was in contention last year
39:17
to be the Democratic vice presidential nominee, and how Balmer
39:21
might have carried out a security breach that people familiar
39:24
with the residents said must have been tactically difficult and
39:28
physically challenging. Some time after being taken into custody, Balmer
39:33
was hospitalized because of a quote medical event that had
39:37
no connection to the fire or his arrest. Pennsylvania State
39:40
Police said he was later released and arraigned on charges
39:44
of attempted homicide, aggravated arson, burglary, reckless endangerment, terrorism, loitering,
39:53
and two counts of aggravated assault. On Monday, details about
39:58
Balmer's background began to emerge. From two thousand four to
40:02
twenty ten, he repaired construction equipment in the Army Reserve
40:06
and had no deployments, according to US Army spokeswoman Heather Hagen.
40:12
In twenty fifteen, Balmer faced his first known criminal charge.
40:16
He pleaded guilty to forgery after being accused of attempting
40:20
to cash a check that belonged to someone else. Court
40:23
records show Balmer was charged with assault in twenty twenty three,
40:28
accused of hitting his ten year old stepson, stepping on
40:31
the boy's broken leg, punching his wife and a thirteen
40:35
year old family member, and injuring his wife's hand. According
40:39
to court records, he was arrested and released on bail,
40:43
which court records show was granted to make it easier
40:46
to co parent. He has not entered a plea in
40:48
the ongoing case. Amid calls from Jewish Democrats and others
40:54
to forcefully condemn the attack on Shapiro's home, Trump on
40:58
Monday told reporters that such violence should not be permitted,
41:02
while speculating on the unrelated idea that Balmer was quote
41:06
not a fan of Trump. I understand, just from what
41:10
I read and from what I've been told, the attacker
41:13
basically wasn't a fan of anybody. Trump said, He's probably
41:17
just a whack job, and certainly a thing like that
41:20
cannot be allowed to happen. Shapiro remained resolute and is
41:24
focused on his family, said Representative Madeline Dean, Democrat from Pennsylvania,
41:29
who has known him for more than twenty years and
41:32
texted with him Sunday. Former Pennsylvania Governor Mark Schwyker, a
41:36
Republican who also texted with Shapiro after the attack, said
41:41
the governor had added a sentimental message in a reply
41:44
to Schweiker, hug your kids. The governor's mansion spans twenty
41:50
nine thousand square feet and backs up to the Susquehanna River.
41:54
It's protected by fencing, security cameras, and guards, and state
41:58
police are a saw to the governor's security detail. Police
42:03
on Monday declined to provide details about the security set
42:06
up at the residence at the time of the attack.
42:10
Three sides of the home would be difficult for an
42:12
intruder to cross, said Schweiger, who served from two thousand
42:15
and one to two thousand three. The fourth is the
42:19
three Balmer allegedly entered from, which Schweker described as an
42:23
alleyway where he scaled the outer fence. According to an
42:26
affidavit of probable cause, one has to be quite athletic
42:31
and be able to leave that or motivated, Schweiker said.
42:36
Balmer allegedly told police sat before the attack, he had
42:40
poured gasoling from the lawnmower into honeken beer bottles, then
42:44
carried the makeshift explosives and a hammer as he walked
42:47
to the Governor's residence. After climbing the fence, Balmer allegedly
42:52
broke her first floor window and threw a Molotov cocktail inside.
42:56
He then broke another window, climbed into the house and
43:00
through another home made fire starter when he reached the
43:03
dining room. According to the AffA David, he kicked open
43:06
that room's door and left the house, walked off the property,
43:10
and climbed back over the fence before running away. Police said.
43:14
Security footage showed former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, a Democrat
43:20
who was in office from two thousand three to twenty eleven,
43:24
expressed surprise that Balmer was allegedly able to scale the
43:27
fence twice and so quickly moved through the house. That's
43:31
an amazing thing for him to do it and not
43:34
be caught. Rendell said the attack left the first floor
43:38
dining room and piano room, stately spaces where governors often
43:42
entertain a whole events, burned and blackened. Shapiro and his
43:47
family were awakened round two a m By a state
43:50
trooper assigned to their security detail. They and their guests
43:54
were evacuated. Slacker recalled holding meetings and events in the ornate,
43:59
spacious dining room. Anne said the first floor held valuable
44:03
and historic pieces of art and furniture. The governor's family
44:07
lives on the second floor, while public business is conducted
44:11
on the first floor. He said, Stainkily said they had
44:15
been notified that a fire had occurred at the governor's
44:18
residence and obtained security camera footage showing a person climbing
44:22
over the fence and breaking in. While officers investigated, they
44:27
were contacted by a woman who identified herself as Balmer's
44:30
ex girlfriend and said Balmer had confessed his actions and
44:34
wanted her to notify authorities. According to the affidavit, soon after,
44:39
Balmer allegedly approached an officer outside Stapolice headquarters in Harrisburg
44:44
and said he had started the fire and wanted to
44:47
turn himself in. Officers searched his home and found items
44:51
that matched those scene on the surveillance footage, including a
44:55
black bag, a small sledge hammer, and a jacket. The
44:58
affidavit said, Dean, who has visited the governor's residence under
45:03
various administrations, called the photographs of the damage devastating. To
45:08
light that space on fire where they had held their
45:11
satyr is absolutely staggering to me, she said Monday. We
45:16
take our differences to the ballot box. She added, we
45:19
don't take them with molotov cocktails and a hammer to
45:23
somebody's home where his family is sleeping favernas. Amasun Dharam
45:28
and Alex Wharton contributed to this report. Our next article
45:33
is entitled Beijing target's increasing obesity With over half of
45:38
Chinese considered heavy, Top officials launched a three year offensive
45:43
by Lyric Lee. Across China, authorities are bussing their humps,
45:48
trying to get people to shrink their waistlines. Their promoting
45:52
light menus tweaked for regional tastes. They released weight management
45:56
themed emoji for messaging apps. Neighborhood officials and surveillance volunteers
46:02
have been enlisted to educate residents with doorder tour visits
46:06
on the health risks of obesity. Hotels are even installing
46:10
scales and rooms to encourage travelers and businessmen, in particular
46:14
to pay attention to the pounds. Local government officials in Guangdong,
46:19
a province of one hundred twenty seven million people thus
46:22
home to manufacturing and tech slience, are urging companies to
46:26
implement mandatory workout breaks, set up sports scenes, and find
46:31
ways to motivate employees to keep fit. And Southern University
46:35
of Science and Technology in Shenzhen has launched a competition
46:40
to see who can lose the most weight in a
46:41
month through exercise and a balanced diet, both increasingly uncommon
46:47
among beleaguered students, especially STEM majors. Our undergrad students are
46:53
getting heavier each year, and the proportion who are overweight
46:56
is rising among juniors and seniors, said dongru Home, director
47:01
of Physical education at the university. We need to get
47:04
everyone moving and staying in shape. The winner will get
47:08
a prize worth several hundred dollars, including headphones and a
47:12
massage gun and bonus university credits. More than one thousand
47:17
students and staff members have signed up. The weight loss
47:21
drive is not exactly new in a country where watlines
47:25
have been rapidly expanding, but it has been turbocharged since
47:29
the Chinese Communist Party made healthy rates a key priority
47:33
at its National People's Congress last month. China has kickstarted
47:38
a three year campaign to raise public awareness about obesity,
47:43
with top health officials urging more hospitals to offer weight
47:46
management services. Among other measures. Lifestyle intervention, including promoting exercise
47:52
and a healthy diet, will be critical to reverse the
47:55
rising occurrence of cancer and other chronic diseases associated with obesity.
48:01
Le Haichau, director of the National Health Commission said during
48:05
China's most important annual political meetings. While it may take
48:10
time to deliver results, the anti obesity campaign will be
48:14
helped by coordinated efforts from the government, businesses, and the public.
48:19
Lee added, it's very PRC style, said Jennifer buy, chair
48:24
of the Department of International Health at George Chown University,
48:28
using the abbreviation for China's official name. The government is
48:32
in the role of a parent and uses political and
48:35
population sized movements to fight quote social ill. Obesity is
48:41
a relatively new but fast growing headache in a nation
48:44
that has long struggled to feed its people. When the
48:48
US National Institutes of Health declared obesity of disease in
48:51
nineteen ninety eight, more people in China were undernourished over
48:56
ten percent of the population than obese, around eight percent
49:00
for adults. As China shifted to a high protein, high
49:04
fat diet during three decades of strong economic growth, more
49:08
than half of adults in China became overweight or obese,
49:12
according to the National Health Commission. Without proper intervention, the
49:17
rate could exceed seventy percent by twenty thirty. The Commission
49:21
estimated approaching the proportion of people in the United States
49:25
considered overweight. That could cost China's healthcare system more than
49:30
fifty eight billion dollars a year, or more than a
49:33
fifth of the country's total annual medical expenditure. In China,
49:38
people with a body mass index of over twenty four
49:41
are considered overweight and obese if they're over twenty eight.
49:46
The US standard is over twenty five for overweight and
49:50
over thirty for obesity. China has a stricter measurement because
49:54
East Asians have a higher percentage of body fat and
49:58
higher risk of cardio metabolitty disease, even at relatively low
50:02
BMI levels, said pandiong Fei, a professor at Shi Schwan
50:06
University affiliated Hospital who studies the effect of noncommunicable diseases.
50:13
But Chinese authorities have to overcome some recent history to
50:16
change mindsets. As many as thirty million people died during
50:21
the famine caused by the Great Leap Forward agricultural reform
50:24
policies introduced in nineteen fifty eight. As China developed in
50:29
the nineteen nineties, being fat came to be associated with
50:33
being wealthy. Even today, Chinese men with a spare hire
50:38
don't have a beer belly, they have the belly of
50:41
a general. In some areas, predate women are still advised
50:46
to maximize the nutritional intake and minimize physical activity. While
50:50
chubby children are often considered a symbol of family prosperity.
50:55
They means Beijing must drive home the message that obesity
50:59
is a disease, not a symbol of wealth and good health,
51:03
Pans said. From a cultural and social perspective, this whole
51:08
discussion about weight management can also in a way rectify
51:12
some dated notions about overnutrition and physical activities, he said.
51:18
The message delivered in the grand political halls of Beijing
51:22
quickly made the rounds around social media platforms. A hashtag
51:27
the Country's calling you to drop those pounds topped the
51:30
trending topics and spurred a flood of memes on Wiba,
51:34
the microblogging site. Institutions around the country have quickly got
51:39
on board, especially universities in the southwest province of Yunnan.
51:45
Ninety two colleges will issue a certificate of good health
51:48
to graduates who get an average score of eighty percent
51:51
in PE class. According to Jinhau News Agency, health authorities
51:57
issued local guidelines for weight loss science A recommended summer
52:01
menu for people in China's southwest, known for their love
52:05
of spicy and sour food, includes dishes like steamed egg
52:09
and skim milk for breakfast, raised eel for lunch, and
52:13
small chicken stew and mashed potatoes for dinner. There are
52:17
seven versions for different regions, but they have something in
52:21
common moderate use of oil, salt, and sugar, and with
52:25
a daily intake of no more than one thousand, six
52:28
hundred calories. Venna's influencers are having a field day. Magic Club,
52:34
a weight loss boot camp that builds itself as China's
52:37
largest wasted no time in announcing new packages, complete with
52:42
customized meals, private trainers, and five star hotels days a
52:47
program prized at one thousand, eight hundred dollars excluding accommodation.
52:52
Plains of participants can easily lose twenty two pounds in
52:56
twenty eight days, but the biggest winners might pharmaceutical companies
53:01
that make weight loss drugs. Novo Nordisk has not released
53:05
sales figures since releasing Migovie in China last year, but
53:09
says it is seeing a significant unmet medical need in
53:13
the prevention and treatment of obesity. In China. Moving forward,
53:18
we will continue to bring global innovative products and treatments
53:21
into China so that more patients will benefit from our medicines,
53:26
the company said in an email statement. The company's other
53:31
main weight loss offering, Ozempic, accounted for almost three quarters
53:35
of the Chinese market at the end of last year.
53:39
Basine likes the solution that can target multiple problems, said
53:43
Bowie of Georgetown, and this one could help boost the
53:46
insipid economy as people start spending more on gyms and
53:50
weight loss drugs. Highlighting the obesity trend might help boost
53:55
domestic consumption on lifestyle changes, she said, but the government
53:59
can probably reflects social controls on gender norms and might
54:04
also reinforce the mainstream beauty standards of being slim, she added.
54:09
Min Miang, a twenty year old college student in Guangzhao
54:13
who has weighed more than one hundred seventy six pounds
54:16
since middle school, has been taking wee Goby since November,
54:20
after failing to keep the weight off with her previous
54:22
efforts low carved dieting, intermittent fasting, daily gym trips, and
54:27
even acupuncture. She has lost twenty four pounds and is
54:32
confident she would be able to bring her BMI down
54:35
from thirty one to below twenty four. People can be
54:39
whatever body shape, and we shouldn't judge. The look that
54:43
I feel most comfortable with happens to be not too
54:46
fat and not too thin, Ling said. And the final
54:50
item from today's front page is entitled plan would nearly
54:55
have budget for State Department. Memo outlines dramatic cuts to
55:00
running for UN, global health and more. By Adam Taylor
55:05
and John Hudson. The Trump administration proposed cutting the budget
55:10
of the State Department and what remains of the US
55:12
Agency for International Development by almost half, according to an
55:16
internal memo circulated last week, with funds for humanitarian assistance,
55:21
global health, and international organizations facing dramatic reductions. The memo,
55:28
reviewed by The Washington Post, says that cuts contained in
55:31
an early proposal from the White House Office of Management
55:34
and Budget for the next fiscal year would leave a
55:37
total budget of twenty eight point four billion dollars for
55:40
all activities carried out by the State Department and USAID,
55:45
a separate agency the Trump administration has sought to dismantle.
55:49
That represents the decline of twenty seven billion dollars, or
55:53
forty eight percent from funding levels approved by Congress for
55:57
twenty twenty five. Under the proposed budget described in the memo,
56:02
which remained subject to deliberations within the administration and crucially
56:07
on Capitol Hill, USAID is assumed to have become fully
56:12
a part of the State Department. Humanitarian assistance would face
56:16
cuts of fifty four percent, while global health funding would
56:19
fall by fifty five percent. The memo says there would
56:23
be particularly seep cuts to support for international organizations, with
56:28
just under ninety percent of this funding eliminated in the proposal.
56:33
Funding for the United Nations, NATO, and twenty other organizations
56:38
would be ended, the memo states, while targeted contributions to
56:42
a handful of organizations, including the International Atomic Energy Agency
56:47
and the International Civil Aviation Authority would remain. The memo
56:52
also describes a total cut in funding for international peacekeeping missions,
56:57
citing recent mission failures, without providing details. It is unclear
57:03
whether such steep cuts as outlined in the memo would
57:06
secure approval and the Republican controlled Congress. President Donald Trump's
57:11
aggressive bid to cut government spending and drastically reduced the
57:15
federal workforce, including through the work of tech billionaire Elon
57:19
Musk's US DOE Service, which led the dismantling of USAID,
57:23
has faced strident opposition in some GOP districts, though few
57:28
Republican lawmakers have publicly challenged the president. The proposed funding
57:33
cuts coincide with Trump's attempt to reorient the United States
57:37
relationship with the world, with Washington abruptly pulling back from
57:41
its history of membership in international organizations and use of
57:46
humanitarian assistants to build and maintain alliances. The State Department
57:51
did not respond to her request for comment. That department,
57:55
led by Secretary of State Marcarubio, a former U S
57:58
senator with a record of touting foreign engagement, is preparing
58:02
its own balan sizing plan that includes laying off tens
58:06
of thousands of the department's eighty thousand employees and closing
58:10
numerous US consulates and facilities. Sub officials familiar with the matter,
58:15
they spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss those plans,
58:19
and due to the constraints of time, will be unable
58:22
to complete this item. This concludes the reading of the
58:25
Washington Post for to Day, Tuesday, April fifteenth, twenty twenty five.
58:30
You're reading for to day has been Cindy Fraser. If
58:34
you have any questions, comments, or suggestions concerning this program,
58:38
please call us at eight five nine four two two
58:41
six three nine zero. Thank you for listening.