Transcript

4.30.26 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of Today's Washington Post for Thursday,
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April the thirtieth of twenty twenty six. I have another
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birthday this month. Today is my brother in law's birthday.
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So April and May Octoba big months for us in
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July anyway, Today's Washington Post headlines on the very far
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left Powell to remain on board after chair stint. His
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federal governor's seat doesn't expire until twenty twenty eight, denying
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Trump a vacancy, Andrew Ackerman across the top for the
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rest of the front page, and to the right, High
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Court limits key part of Voting Rights Act. That's the
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big headline, GOP likely to redraw minority districts. Three rulings
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sets higher bar for using race in mapping. This is
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by Justin Juvenal and Patrick Marley.
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Speaker 2: Below that and.
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Speaker 1: In the middle of the paper is a picture of
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the Honorable Pete Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. A picture of
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him testifying at a hearing before the host Armed Services
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Committee on Wednesday, and he is in front of American
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flags with an audience or supporters behind him, people behind him,
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and he has a huge sign that actually covers most
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of his body up to his coli line and he's
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got water beside him. And that entitled is heg Seth
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slams Defeatist lawmakers in fiery clash. Pentagon leader rebuts Democrats
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criticism over Iran war purge of officials by Noah Robertson
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and to the right of that picture and just below
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the High Court limiting the Voting Rights Act. Justices seem
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open to ending protections. Trump seeks to counsel temporary status
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for Haitian and Syrian migrants. This is by Julian Mark
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and Maria Chetti ciys Chetti, and then below the article
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impaled remain on board, and below on the far left
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is COMI is in court briefly on charge of making threat.
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Lawyers for former FBI directors say they'll argue vindictive prosecution
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BA Salvador Rizzo, Jeremy Roebuck and Perry Stein. And to
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the right of that in taking up the rest of
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the paper below the fold video shows moment officer fired
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at media dinner suspect and is said. The article is
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by Jonathan O'Connell, Sarah Blaski, Joyce sukon Lee, Samuel Oakfood,
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and Alex Horton. And then there are four squares of
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pictures that say, These images obtained by the Washington Post
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show the moment a man attempted to run past a
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security checkpoint at the White House Correspondent's dinner on Saturday.
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Cole Thomas Allen has been charged with attempting to assassinate
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the president and transporting firearms across state lines. And I
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forgot to say that your reader today is Alice Stainer
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and that indeed RADIOI is for those blinded with disabilities
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making it difficult to reader hoole printed material. Oops, and
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I will start with today's big headline. Supreme Court limits
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key provision of the Landmark Voting Rights Act. The decision
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could touch off a scrambled by Republicans to redraw majority
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minority congressional districts, especially in the South, that could cost
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many black Democrats their seats. And there's a picture of
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Representative Cleophields, a Democrat who is representing a newly drawn
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majority black district in Louisiana.
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Speaker 2: By Justice J.
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Speaker 1: Juvenal and Patrick Marley, the Supreme Court on Wednesday sharply
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weakened the keep revision of the Landmark Voting Rights Act,
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a rule that limits the consideration of race in drawing
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voting maps and could usher in Republican.
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Speaker 2: Gains in the House.
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Speaker 1: The decision is expected to touch off a scramble by
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Republicans to redraw majority minority districts, especially in the South.
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Speaker 2: New districts could shift the balance of.
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Speaker 1: Power in Congress by imperiling the re election prospects of
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some Black Democrats, possibly as soon as November's mid terms.
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In some instances, minority representatives in state legislatures and local
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offices could also be redistricted out. The Court's conservative majority
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found Louisiana unlawfully discriminated by race when it created a
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second majority black congressional district to comply with the VRA,
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that is, the Voting Rights Act, but the Court did
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not strike down the provision, known as Section two, as unconstitutional,
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as many voting rights advocates had feared. Still, the court's
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liberal justices and voting rights experts said it was effectively gutted.
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The ruling carries a significant symbolic weight, scaling back the
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last major pillar of a sixty year old law law
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long considered one of the marquee achievements of the Civil
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rights era. The Voting Rights Act bans discriminatory voting practices
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such as literacy test and poll taxes, and has helped
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greatly increase minority representation in state and federal offices. And
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ideologically divided six to three ruling, the Conservative justices created
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a higher bar for the law's powerful provision that allow
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states to use race to draw maps that help minority
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communities elect candidates of their choice. Section two is aimed
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at combating discriminatory gerremandering that weakens the power of black, Latino,
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Native American, and Asian voters. States must walk a careful
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line when drawing maps for voting districts. The Voting Rights
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Act direct states to consider race to some degree when
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redistricting to ensure that racial minority groups have an opportunity
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to elect representatives who reflect their priorities. Explicitly drawn along
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racial lines, however, violate the equal protection clause of the
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Fourteenth Amendment and the Fifteenth Amendment ban on racial discrimination
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in voting practices.
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Speaker 2: Justice Samuel A.
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Speaker 1: Alito Junior wrote the opinion for the majorities, saying it
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was time to rework Section two given gains in ending
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racial discrimination. The use of VRA lawsuits for partisan purposes
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and advances in technology that it made it easier to
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draw legislative districts that balanced partisan interest and racial considerations.
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Alito wrote that going forward, plaintiffs would have to show
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that a state intentionally discriminated against a minority group in
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drawing a map, rather than simply showing the minority group
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did not have the opportunity to elect a candidate of
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their choice when certain circumstances are met. Alito wrote, Section
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two of the Voting Rights Act dot dot dot was
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designed to enforce the Constitution, not collide with it.
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Speaker 2: Unfortunately, lower courts.
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Speaker 1: Have sometimes applied this Court's section to precedents in a
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way that forces states to engage in the very race
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based discrimination that the Constitution forbids. The decision came over
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the sharp objections of the court's three liberals. Justice Elena
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Kagan delivered the descent from the beach bench, signaling strong disagreement.
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In her opinion, Kagan lamented that in rulings over the
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last decade, the Court's conservatives justices had carried out a
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demolition of the VRA that was now complete. She predicted
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a precipitous decline in minority representation in political Office, Kagan said,
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referring to the process of drawing maps that break up
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minority voting blocks, the consequences are likely to be far
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reaching and grave. Today's decision renders Section two all but
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a dead letter in the states where that law continues
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to matter. The states still marked by residential segregation and
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racially polarized voting minority voters can now be cracked out
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of the electoral process. The decision continues a trend by
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the Court's conservative majority to roll back race conscious efforts
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to redress discriminatory practices.
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Speaker 2: It comes two years after.
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Speaker 1: Another major decision to restrict race based affirmative action in
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college admissions. The ruling lands as a nationwide redistricting war
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has broken between Republicans and Democrats, both of which have
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taken the unusual step of redrawing district lines between senses
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to try to secure partisan advantages in this year's races
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for Congress. Republicans currently hold a slim majority.
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Speaker 2: Professor Richard L.
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Speaker 1: Hassen, an election law expert at UCLA, said Section two
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of the Voting Rights Act still stands, but is all
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but eviscerated. The opinion weakens application of the Voting Rights
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Act to make it a much weaker and potentially toothless law,
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has enrolled on his blog, saying it is hard to
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overstate how much this weakens the Voting Rights Act. NAACP
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president Derek Johnson said in his statement, the ruling is
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a major strike to minority political power. Johnson said today's
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decision is a devastating blow to what remains of the
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Voting Rights Act and a license for corrupt politicians who
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want to rig the system by silencing entire communities. The
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Supreme Court betrayed black voters, They betrayed America, and they
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betrayed a democracy. This ruling is a major setback for
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our nation and threatens to erode the hard won victories
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we fought, bled and died for. The Trump administration hailed
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the ruling in the comment This is a complete and
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total victory.
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Speaker 2: For American voters.
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Speaker 1: White Eye spokeswoman Abigail Jackson wrote, adding the color of
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one's skin should not dictate which congressional.
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Speaker 2: District you belong in.
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Speaker 1: We commend the Court for putting an end to the
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unconstitutional abuse of the Voting Rights Act and protecting civil rights.
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Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill called The ruling seismic and
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applauded it. In a statement, Murrill said the Supreme Court
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has ended Louisiana's long running nightmaire of federal courts coersing
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the state to draw a racially discriminatory map. The complicated
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dispute over the Louisiana voting district has dragged on for
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years and has been before the Court last term. The
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case began in twenty twenty two, when black voters and
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civil rights group sued Louisiana under Section two, saying a
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new voting map drafted after the twenty twenty CONSISUS shortchanged
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African American voters. The map had only one black minority
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district out of six. African Americans make up one third
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of the state's population. A federal court ruled for the
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plaintiffs and ordered the state to draw a new map
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with a second black majority district. After further legal wrangling,
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the Louisiana legislature drafted one in twenty twenty four. The
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new map, which is drawn in part to protect the
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seats of Republican incumbents, including Host Speaker Mike Johnson and
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Host Majority Leader Steve Scalise, created a black majority district
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that meanded across the state from Baton Rouge to Shreveport.
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Speaker 2: A group of.
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Speaker 1: Self described non black voters sued, arguing the new map
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was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander that violated the equal Protection clause.
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A federal district court panel ruled for the non black
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plaintiffs and put a hold on the redrawn map. The
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Supreme Court eventually allowed the map with two black majority
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districts to go into effect. For the twenty twenty four
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congressional election. Voters chose Cleophields, a black Democrat, for the
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new district. The non black voters brought their case to
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the Supreme Court once again last term. The Justices decided
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to hold off on a ruling and asked both sides
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to address where the creation of the second black majority
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district violated the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments before taking up.
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Speaker 2: The case again this term.
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Speaker 1: During arguments in October, Louisiana's to General Benjamin Agunaga told
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the justices that annie race based redistricting is fundamentally contradictory
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to our Constitution. He also said that Louisiana had changed
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in recent decades, so the need for Section two had
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been obviated. Aguinaga said, it requires striking enough members of
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the majority race to sufficiently diminish their voting strength, and
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it requires drawing in enough members of a minority race
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to sufficiently augment their voting strength. Embedded within these express
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targets are racial stereotypes that this Court has long criticized.
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Kaigan asked an attorney for black voters in Louisiana what
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impact gutting Section two would have. The results would be
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pretty catastrophic. Edge and I Nelson, the president of the
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INACP Legal Defense Fund. Nelson said we only have the
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diversity we see across the South because of litigation under
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the Voting Rights Law, adding that it had been crucial
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to diversifying leadership in Louisiana and other states.
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Speaker 2: She said no.
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Speaker 1: Black person has been elected to statewide office in Louisiana
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to date. The decision follows another by the Supreme Court
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involving Section two in twenty twenty three. In that case,
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justices ruled Alabama created electoral maps that unlawfully diluted.
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Speaker 2: The power of black residents.
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Speaker 1: That ruling surprised many court watches because the Justices have
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chipped away at the VR in recent years. In the
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most significant ruling in twenty three, the justices struck down
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section five of the BRA, which requires states with a
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history of discriminating against minority voters to get changes to
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electoral law approved by the federal government or a judge.
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Most of the states covered by the provision are in
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the South. The latest ruling is likely to contribute to
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the uncertainties surrounding the nation's electoral maps amid the unprecedented
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wave of mid decade redistricting. Ordinarily, states withdraw their lines
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at the beginning of each decade, after the US Census
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Bureau alert states to population ships. President Donald Trump, concerned
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Republicans could lose their fragile House majority, began pressing Republican
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led states last summer to draw new lines ahead of
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the midterm elections, better lines for themselves in Ohio, Missouri,
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North Carolina, and Texas that could give them strong shots
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at backing at picking up nine more seats.
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Speaker 2: In response, voters in.
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Speaker 1: California approved a new map that would give Democrats up
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to five more host seats, and voters in Virginia approved
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a plan to redraw their map. The Supreme Court turned
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aside a challenge to the California map in February. The
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Supreme Court's decision probably gives Republicans an opportunity to draw
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even more districts in their favor. The deadlines for most
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states to redraw their maps before.
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Speaker 2: The mid terms have passed, but.
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Speaker 1: It's possible some states pushed to change those rules. Either way,
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the ruling could set Republicans up for advantages. In twenty
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twenty eight and beyond, ard Republicans carved up their districts
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to give their party up to four more seats. In
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the hours after the Supreme Court decision, Senator Marsha Blackburn,
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Republican of Tennessee called on lawmakers in Tennessee to redraw
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maps to create an extra Republican seat in Memphis, and
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President of Mississippi, Governor Tate Reeves, Republican, announced he would
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call a special session to redraw the states maps. The
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Supreme Court term is shaping up as a consequential one
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for the election related law. In one major case, the
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court will decide the constitutionality of counting mail in ballots
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that arrive after an election, provided they are postmarked by
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election day. The justices also allowed a lawsuit by a
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Republican congressman from Illinois who is challenging the state's mail
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in ballot law. The justices heard arguments in December of
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whether to lift restrictions on parties spending money in coordination
21:08
with candidates, which could be the latest chance for the
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court to curtail campaign campaign finance limits.
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Speaker 2: This article has been in the news recently.
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Speaker 1: Comy's lawyers say they will challenge threat charges as vindictive.
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The former FBI director made his first court appearance after
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being indicted over a twenty twenty five social media post
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that prosecutors say was a threat to the life of
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President Donald Trump by Salvador Rizzo. Jeremy Robark, and Perry Stein,
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lawyers for James B. Comy, said Wednesday they intend to
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challenge the indictment using him of threatening the life of
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the president as in the illegal attempt to punish the
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former FBI director for his criticism of Donald Trump. Defense
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lawyers Patrick Fitzgerald and Jessica Carmichael signaled those plans during
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Comy's first court appearance in the case, which marks the
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Justice Department's second attempt in less than a year to
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convict him of a crime. Comy said nothing during the
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roughly five minute, largely procedural hearing before yes Magistrate Judge WILLIAMY.
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Fitzpatrick at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, and declined
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to comment. Afterwards, Fitzpatrick rejected a government request to place
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restrictions on Comy's release and allowed him to leave the
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courthouse pending a hearing in North Carolina where he will
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enter a plea to the charges. The judge said, I
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don't think conditions of release are necessary. They aren't necessarily,
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weren't necessarily last time, and I don't see why they'd
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be necessary this time. Fitzpatrick also presented Overcomey's initial court
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appearance in a separate case brought last year, when he
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briefly faced charges of lying to Congress. The indictment returned
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Tuesday by a federal grand jury in North Carolina, alleges
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that a photo posted on social media in twenty twenty
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five constituted a dangerous threat to the president. He is
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charged with one count of making threats against the president
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and another count of transmitting a threat across state lines.
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Though a prosecutor's Tuesday had asked Accord in North Carolina
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to issue a warrant for Comy's arrest. His surrender shortly
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before Winnesday's hearings to federal authorities in Virginia, where Komy lives.
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Where Komy lives, preempted the possible spectacle of agents seeking
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out one of the nation's top law enforcement officials and
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taking him into custody. Komy was named FBI Director by
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President Barack Obama. Trump fired Komy four years later over
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his handling of the investigation into the twenty sixteen Trump
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campaigns ties to Russia. The former FBI director has emerged
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in the years since as a vocal critic of the president.
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The new case against him centers on a photo he
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posted the Instagram nearly a year ago, depicting the numbers
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eighty six forty seven written in seashells on a beach
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with a caption cool ship.
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Speaker 2: All formation on my beach walk.
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Speaker 1: Trump and his allies quickly condemned the post as a
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call for violence against the president, noting that eighty six
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is often slag for mixing or removing something and Trump
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is the forty seventh president. Komy quickly removed the message
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after that criticism and apologized. He suggested at the time
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that he stumble on the fomation and did not arrange
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the shells himself. He said he did not know that
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eighty six could be interpreted as a threat to kill.
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I didn't realize some folks associate those numbers with violence,
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Comey said in a follow up post. It never occurred
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to me, but I oppose violence of any kind, so
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I took the post down.
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Speaker 2: Comy issued a video.
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Speaker 1: Statement after his indictment Tuesday, maintaining his innocence and denouncing
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the case as the latest attempt by the Justice Department
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under Trump to put the pursuit of presidential's personal vendettas
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over justice. This won't be the end of it, Comy said,
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nothing has changed with me. I'm still innocent, I'm still
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not afraid, and I still believe in independent federal judiciary.
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Speaker 2: So let's go.
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Speaker 1: Legal experts have questioned the strength of the indictment, noting
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that prosecutors must proved not just that Comy's post could
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be interpreted as a threat against the president, but also
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that Komy knowingly intended that way. Others have pointed to
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a past ruling from US Supreme Court that has recognized
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political rhetoric or hyperbol that does not convey an actual
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intent to do harm as protected First Amendment speech. According
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to Repota's Wednesday, Trump said he thinks of eighty six
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as a mob term that means kill him. But when
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pressed on whether he viewed Komy's post as a threat
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to his life, the President accused the former FBI director
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of a host of other crimes that had nothing to
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do with the allegations on the indictment. Komy is a
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dirty cop, Trump said, he's a very dirty cop. He
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cheated on the elections. He tried to help Hillary Clinton,
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as you know. He dismissed a lot of things that
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he should have proceeded with in court. Komi's attorneys said
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they intend to file a motion for dismissal for vinvictive
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and selective prosecution. They raised similar arguments last year when
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the Justice Department charged Komi in a separate case in Alexandria,
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alleging he lied to Congress in twenty twenty over whether
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he had leaked investigative information to the press. A judge
27:50
never ruled on Komi's motion in that earlier case because
27:54
those charges were dismissed beforehand over issues with the appointment
27:59
of the USA attorney who brought the case. The Justice
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Department continues to appeal that decision.
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Speaker 2: Comey's defense is likely to.
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Speaker 1: Bolster its arguments that prosecutors selectively chose to prosecute Comy
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found noting several instances of Trump allies using similar language
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on social media without facing similar consequences. For example, far
28:27
right activist Jack Prosebk posted a message to x in
28:32
twenty twenty two that said only eighty six forty six
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Joe Biden was serving as the forty six president at
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the time. Prosebic is a vocal Trump supporter who has
28:45
been promoted by Trump on social media and invited to
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participate in a new media briefing at the White.
28:53
Speaker 2: House during Trump's second term.
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Speaker 1: Then Representative Matt Goates, the Republican of Florida, used the
29:00
term eighty six in a post in twenty twenty four
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noting the toppling of former Host Speaker Kevin McCarthy, FORMA
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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and formal Republican National Committee
29:14
Chair Rona McDaniel.
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Speaker 2: He said, we're now eighty sixth.
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Speaker 1: Them all, and better days are ahead for the Republican Party.
29:25
Trump later announced his intent to nominate goats or guts
29:29
for Attorney General, but the congressman withdrew from consideration. Acting
29:35
Attorney General Todd Blanche rejected the suggestion that there was
29:39
any similarity between Commie's case and those other posts during
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a Justice Department news conference Wednesday, and insisted that politics
29:48
were not involved in the decision to charge the former
29:51
FBI director. Still, Blanche stopped short when asked whether he
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was confident the Justice Department's case will result in a conviction.
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Blanche said, I know that a grand jury returned to
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two count indictment. I know that this case was investigated
30:11
for the past year. I do not know what a
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jury of his peers will do at trial that will
30:18
come at some point in the future. And now the
30:23
top left article. Powell will remain on FED board after
30:29
term ends as chair, denying Trump a vacancy. The Federal
30:36
Reserve also on Wednesday left interest rates unchanged for its
30:41
third straight meeting amid higher energy costs by Andrew Ackerman.
30:47
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell said Wenesday he would
30:51
remain on the Fed's board as its governor amid President
30:55
Donald Trump's legal attacks on its independence. Bang Trump the
31:00
opportunity to fill another vacancy at the Central Bank. Poll's
31:07
term is chair expires May fifteenth, and he said he
31:11
would step aside once Kevin Walsh, Trump's pick to replace
31:15
him is confirmed, but Poll's governor's seat doesn't expire until
31:21
early twenty twenty eight. He said he intends to continue
31:26
to serve while the FED is battered by legal threats.
31:32
My concern is really about the series of legal attacks
31:36
on the FED, which threatened their ability to conduct monetary
31:40
policy without considering political factors. A plan to keep a
31:46
low profile as a governor, Pals said at a news
31:50
conference after the FED announced it would leave rates unchanged.
31:55
It is the first time since nineteen forty eight that
32:00
i FED chief has remained as a governor at the
32:03
conclusion of their term as chail. Powell said his decision
32:09
to stay was directly related to the Justice Department's investigation
32:14
into him and the fed's two point five billion dollar
32:17
office renovations. A bipartisan group of lawmakers and a federal
32:22
judge in d C have criticized the probe as an
32:26
abuse of Powell. US Attorney Jeanine Pirou, the top federal
32:32
prosecutor in d c on Friday said she would drop
32:36
the probe, but added the inquiry could resume if the
32:40
Central Bank's Inspected General uncovered evidence of wrongdoing. Powell had
32:46
previously said he would leave only once the investigation is
32:50
resolved with transparency and finality. I am literally staying because
32:56
of the actions that had been taken. I had long
33:00
plan to be retiring, Powell said.
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Speaker 2: Wednesday.
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Speaker 1: Trump took to his social media platform to criticize Powell,
33:09
saying he was staying at the FED only because he
33:12
can't get a job anywhere else. Nobody wants him. Congress
33:18
structured the FED to be insulated from short term political
33:22
pressure in the way it sets interest rates. That's because
33:26
presidents and other elected officials often prefer lower interest rates
33:32
to spur.
33:32
Speaker 2: Immediate growth, even if.
33:35
Speaker 1: It risks higher inflation down the line, which could ultimately
33:40
harm the broader economy. Economists saw Wednesday's move as a
33:46
deliberate act of institutional preservation. Jerome Powell is an institutionalist,
33:54
said Joe Brusuelas Chief Economists at RSM.
34:00
Speaker 2: What he does and.
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Speaker 1: What he says are carefully calibrated to preserve FED independence.
34:09
The two day policy meeting, which ended Wednesday is the
34:13
last Powell presided over as chair of the Central Bank.
34:17
He has led for eight years. The FED agreed to
34:21
hold into this rate steady, but the decision was not unanimous.
34:26
Four officials dissented, the most since October nineteen ninety two.
34:32
Three of those officials favored the pause, but objected to
34:37
language in a closely watched FED statement that suggests a
34:41
bias toward eventually resuming rate cuts. The FED has been
34:47
navigating a difficult backdrop. The roar in a war in
34:52
Iran has shut the strait of hormus, driving up energy
34:56
prices and threatening to reignite inflation as a broader economic
35:00
uncertainty clothes the outlook for growth and employment. The economic
35:07
outlook remains highly uncertain, and the conflict in the Middle
35:11
East has added to this uncertainty. In the near term,
35:15
higher energy prices will push up overall inflation, Pale said
35:21
during a news conference, adding beyond that the scope and
35:25
duration of potential effects on the economy remain unclear, as
35:30
does the future course of the conflict itself. Rising energy
35:36
prices threatened to push inflation higher, while the broader economic
35:41
followed from the conflict in Iran could slow growth in
35:45
put Americans out of work, leaving the FED caught between
35:49
its two core responsibilities and with little choice but to wait.
35:54
Speaker 2: The Central Bank's.
35:55
Speaker 3: Short term benchmark rate is important because it influences what
36:00
millions of households and businesses paid to borrow, including for mortgages,
36:05
credit cards, and other loans.
36:09
Speaker 1: Three presidents of regional FED banks, Beth Hammock of Cleveland,
36:15
Neil Kersh Kashkari of Minneapolis, and Lori Logan of Dallas,
36:22
backed the rate decision, but objected to retaining language they
36:26
described as an easing bias that signaled a future rate
36:31
cut is more likely than a hike. A fourth official, FED, Governor,
36:36
Stephen Moran, dissented in favor of a rate cut. Powell,
36:42
who was first elevated to the fed's top job by
36:46
Trump in twenty seventeen, survived an extraordinarily aggressive campaign by
36:52
the White Hose to push him out, including public demands
36:56
for steep rape cuts, threats to try to fire him,
37:01
and a Justice Department criminal investigation into brief congressional testimony
37:06
he gave last summer connected to a two point five
37:10
billion dollar renovation of the fed's Washington headquarters. A federal
37:15
judge squashed subpoenas tried to that investigation earlier this year,
37:20
ruling that the inciry lacked merit. The Justice Department has
37:26
said it will appeal at judge's March ruling that threw
37:29
out a pair of subpoenas, though Senator Tom Tillis, Republican
37:35
of North Carolina, said Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press
37:39
that he had been assured the appeal was meant only
37:42
to challenge the legal principle behind the ruling, not to
37:46
revive the investigation itself. Tillis's predicted power would remain on
37:52
the board after May fifteenth, saying he suspected Powell wanted
37:56
to see the appeal fully settled first. Earlier Wednesday, a
38:02
Senate panel approved Worsh's nomination in a thirteen to eleven
38:06
party line vote. The move all but guarantees his confirmation
38:11
by the gop led Senate after the chamber returns from
38:15
next week's recess.
38:17
Speaker 2: Powell's tenure is.
38:19
Speaker 1: Likely to be remembered for beating back the worst inflation
38:23
spike in four decades, a surge that neared double digits
38:28
in twenty twenty two, while steering the aconomy through that fight,
38:32
with eight triggering the deep recession many had feared. Even
38:38
with inflation now far below its peak, it has remained
38:42
stubbornly elevated for five consecutive years, running closer to three percent,
38:48
about a percentage point above the bed's preferred target. Worsh
38:54
once confirmed by the Senate in the coming weeks, will
38:57
inherit the long running challenge of guiding it to the target.
39:03
Supreme Court wrestles with trump effort to end temporary protections
39:09
for migrants. The Conservative justices appeared sympathetic to the administration's
39:15
contention that it can cancel whom humanitarian protections for Haitian
39:21
and Syrian nationals. And there's a picture of the Haitian
39:25
community in North Miami this week rally in support of
39:30
extending Temporary Protection Services support and that has red, white
39:40
and blue signs saying save lives. Vote to extend Haitian TPS,
39:47
deportation puts lives at risk. This is but Julian Mark
39:54
and Mariatta Sechetti, the Supreme Courts can Conservative majority on
40:01
Wednesday appeared sympathetic to the Trump administration's arguments that it
40:06
can cancel temporary humanitarian protections for Haitian and Syrian immigrants
40:12
living illegally in the United States, hearing a pair of
40:16
cases that could let the government deport hundreds of thousands
40:20
of people starting this year. The cases test a key
40:24
part of President Donald Trump's immigration agenda, which is not
40:29
only sought to deport undocumented immigrants, but also to narrow
40:34
the legal pathways for immigrants to reside in the United States.
40:39
As he campaigned for his second presidential term, Trump vowed
40:43
to revoke temporary protection status for Haitian immigrants while spreading
40:48
baseless claims that Haitian's residents in Springfield, Ohio were killing
40:53
and eating their neighbour's pets. Several of the court's conservative
40:59
justices appeared skeptical of arguments made by immigrants attorneys that
41:04
courts had the authority to review whether Christie L. Nome,
41:08
who until recently was the Homeland Security Secretary, took the
41:12
proper steps to cancel the protections.
41:15
Speaker 2: The nineteen ninety law.
41:17
Speaker 1: That created temporary protections status, said, there's no judicial review
41:22
of the secretary's determination if we apply ordinary meaning of
41:28
that term here. I really don't understand how you can prevail.
41:33
Justice Samuel A. Alito Junior told the lawyers much of
41:38
the harder questioning for the Trump administration came from the
41:41
Court's liberal justices, who probe solicited General d John Sawaw
41:46
on the TPS holder's allegations the NOME did not take
41:51
the required steps in canceling the protections. Justice Ketanji Brown
41:56
Jackson asked if under the government's theory, gnomes could make
42:01
a decision used in Ouiji board. The liberal justices also
42:07
highlighted Trump's past comments that some immigrants were poisoning the
42:12
blood of the United States, his favoring white South African
42:18
refugees over immigrants of color, and his use of expletives
42:22
to disparaged countries, including Haiti. Such comments against the administration
42:27
acted from racial animus, the immigrants' attorneys have argued, What
42:33
about poisoning the blood of Americans? Jackson asked, Before listing
42:37
other remarks, Sour said the statements referred to immigrants who
42:41
were criminals or depend on welfare, neither of which applies
42:45
to TPS holders. The potential impact of the Supreme Court's opinion,
42:50
which is expected by June, extends well beyondations to approximately
42:56
one point three million immigrants from seventeen countries who had
43:00
temporary protected status when Trump took office. Since then, the
43:05
Department of Homeland Security has sought to eliminate protections for
43:10
thirteen of those countries, including Haiti, Syria, and several others
43:16
the State Department still consider as highly dangerous. Congress created
43:22
TPS in nineteen ninety to protect immigrants in the United
43:26
States from being deported to countries engulfed in an armed conflict,
43:31
a natural disaster, or other extraordinary crisis, allowing them to
43:36
work legally in the United States for up to eighteen months.
43:40
Applicants to the program cannot have serious criminal records, and
43:45
they must pay fees and pass a background check. The
43:49
US Governor can renew the protections and has multiple times
43:53
drawing criticism for Trump for allowing provisional status to last
43:59
for years, even decades. Keep in mind, this is temporary
44:05
protected status, SAA told the court. The word temporary is
44:10
used again and again in the statute, including its title,
44:13
and we're looking at a situation where there have been
44:16
initial designations that go back to nineteen ninety one. In
44:20
the case of Somalia, attorneys for the immigrants counted that
44:25
they are entitled to a fair process. We're talking about
44:29
the power to mass expel people who have done nothing
44:33
wrong the countries that remain unsafe, said ahiln Arulan Neneatham,
44:40
an attorney who argued on behalf of the immigrants, saying
44:45
and our view as it is unlikely that a refugee
44:48
protection statue could have given that power to the secretary.
44:53
In February twenty twenty five, Known made good on Trump's
44:57
promise to limit the program, kicking off the process to
45:00
cancel temporary protections for more than three hundred and fifty
45:04
three thousand Haitian migrants. They had first received protections in
45:09
twenty ten following Haiti's devastating seven point zero earthquake, and
45:13
the protections had been extended to include those who arrived later.
45:18
Haiti has faced multiple crises, including the twenty twenty one
45:23
assassination of its president and wide spread gang violence. Although
45:29
conditions in Haiti remained concerning, no maargued last year that
45:34
hay was largely safe for TPS holders to return to,
45:38
even if they were safety concerns. She argued offering protections
45:43
to Haitians was no longer in the national interest because
45:46
the program was acting as a pull factor for illegal immigration.
45:52
In September, NOME terminated temporary protective status for a little
45:57
more than six.
45:58
Speaker 2: Thousand Syrian imigrants.
46:01
Speaker 1: They had received protection starting in twenty twelve amid the
46:04
violent crackdown by Syria's then leader Bashar al Assad. Because
46:09
the Sides regime fell in twenty twenty four and the
46:13
country's brutal civil war had subsided to sporadic, isolated episodes
46:18
of violence, nom determined that Syrians could also return to
46:23
their home country. Lawyers for the immigrants pointed to State
46:28
Department advisories that warned US citizens not to travel to
46:33
either country because of risks of terrorism, kidnapping, an armed conflict.
46:38
Speaker 2: The advisories recommend that visitors.
46:41
Speaker 1: Establish proof of life protocols in case they are taken
46:45
hostage to confirm that you were being held captive ben alive.
46:50
In light of those dangers, Lawyers for Haitians and Syrians
46:55
sued to block the terminations, arguing that NOME did not
46:58
follow requirements in the law that she assesses a country's
47:02
condition before deciding whether it is safe. They said NOMES
47:07
scarcely consulted with other agencies in identifying risks, and not
47:12
the decisions to end TPS were motivated by racial animus.
47:16
The Trump administration denies that. More of it points to
47:20
the Immigration Act of nineteen ninety, a bipartisan law that
47:24
established the Temporary Protective Status Program, which says terminating a
47:30
country's status is entirely the secretary's decision and cannot be
47:34
challenged in court. No judicial review means what it says,
47:42
the government wrote in its brief to the court. The
47:45
conservative justices were largely sympathetic to that argument.
47:50
Speaker 2: Justice Neil M.
47:51
Speaker 1: Gorsuch said he was struggling with the immigrant attorney's arguments
47:56
that a court acting to postpone nomes determination was not
48:00
an example of the juiciary stepping in. Jeffrey M. Papouli,
48:07
a lawyer for the Haitian TPS holders, responded, it's difficult
48:14
for me to answer that question without pointing out it's
48:18
difficult for me to answer that question too, Gorsch cut in.
48:24
In both cases, lower court sided with the immigrants. In
48:28
the case of the Haitians, a federal judge in d
48:31
C found that the termination was probably motivated by racial animus,
48:36
pointing to Trump's comments about the migrants in Springfield eating
48:40
dogs and cats. When the Supreme Court agreed to hear
48:45
the cases, the justices left the lower court orders in effect,
48:50
meaning Syrian Haitian immigrants still have valid work permits and
48:54
are protected from deportation for now. The prospect of Haitians
49:00
losing temporary protections has drawn concern from members of the
49:04
caregiving industry, who say that nursing homes across the country
49:09
rely heavily on nurses and nurses aids from that country.
49:15
In April, host Democrats and Republicans voted to restore the
49:19
temporary protections for Haitian migrants, voicing similar concerns. The legislative
49:26
effort faces uncertain fate in the Senate, however, and we
49:30
need Trump's signature to go into effect. In their last article,
49:36
Trump hosts artemist astronauts as he eyes more trips to
49:41
the Moon and Mars. The president has repeatedly toted the
49:47
astronaut's lunar flyby as a symbol of American ingenuity, and
49:52
there is a picture of Trump sitting in the Oval
49:55
office surrounded by the artemis two astronauts from left Bild Glova,
50:01
Christina Coke, Ronald Wiseman and Jeremy Hassen.
50:09
Speaker 2: By Dan Diamond.
50:11
Speaker 1: In his first term, President Donald Trump set his eyes
50:16
on America's next frontier, the Moon, Mars, and beyond. We
50:23
will ensure a future of American dominance in space, Trump
50:27
said in a May twenty twenty speech at NASA's Kennedy
50:31
Space Center. The first term president re established a White
50:35
House Space Council, issued directives intended to jumpstart US space policy,
50:42
and urged Congress to fully fund his planned Artemus program,
50:46
which would return American astronauts to the Moon. Now, some
50:52
of Trump's first term space goals are becoming second term realities,
50:57
thanks in part to the four year gap between his
51:00
two administrations that allowed time for the initiatives to take root.
51:06
Trump hosted the four astronauts from the Artemis two mission
51:10
in the Oval Office on Wednesday afternoon, three weeks after
51:14
the NASA Leed crew made history by flying the farthest
51:18
distance away from Earth by any humans. The President has
51:23
repeatedly toted the astronaut's lunar flyby as a symbol of
51:27
American ingenuity, as well as the stepping stone. NASA has
51:32
planned three more Artemis missions before Trump's term ends, including
51:37
two trips to the Moon in twenty eighteen. The second
51:41
of those trips is intended to begin construction on a
51:44
permanent lunar base, which Trump has said will help position
51:48
the United States to eventually land astronauts on Mars. I
51:53
like space, though, Trump said Wednesday, flanked by the four
51:57
Artemis astronauts pilot vas To, Global Commander Reid Wiseman and
52:03
mission specialist Jeremy Hansen and Christina Coke, and NASA administrator
52:09
Jared Isaacman, a model of NASA's proposed space react of
52:14
one Freedom, a nuclear powered spacecraft that would be used
52:18
to reach Mars, sat on the resolute desk in front
52:22
of Trump, and I see it in a plasticized case.
52:28
It looks like a actually like a knife. It's long
52:33
and narrowed with a tip. Looks like it's mad height
52:39
of legos. But I'm sure it's a lot more detailed
52:42
and constructive than that. The President also toted his first
52:47
term creation of a US Space Force, a distinct military
52:51
branch focused on space operations. It's going to turn out
52:55
to be one of our most important things, Trump said.
52:59
Space his politics have helped shape Trump's two terms in Washington,
53:04
and not just because of the President's ambitions. Billionaire entrepreneurs
53:09
focused on the space industry, such as Elon Musk and
53:12
Jeff Bezos, have increasingly jockeyed for influence with the White
53:16
House and sought to win major government contracts for their
53:20
rocket companies. Musk, who has spent at least two hundred
53:24
and eighty eight million dollars to help elect Trump and
53:28
other Republican candidates in twenty twenty four, was initially given
53:33
wide influence over administration policies last year before falling out
53:38
with the president. One factor in that fracture was a
53:42
fight over who would lead NASA. The president eventually acceeded
53:46
to musk wishes and picked his ally Isaikmund again after
53:51
pulling Isaacmund's first nomination.
53:54
Speaker 2: Musk has since patched.
53:55
Speaker 1: His relationship with Trump, and his company's SpaceX is working
54:00
to prove it is capable of carrying at a crude
54:03
Artemis mission to the Moon. Bezos, who owns the Washington Post,
54:08
has also mended his relationship with Trump after the president
54:12
repeatedly lambasted bezos owned companies in his first term. Since
54:17
Trump's twenty twenty four election, Bezos has joined him for
54:21
dinner at the President's Marilago estate and at several half
54:25
profile events, including Tuesday's state dinner with Britain's King Charles
54:31
the Third and Queen Camillop. Amazon, one of Bezos's company,
54:37
spent tens of millions of dollars to pay for and
54:40
promote a documentary Millennia about the First Lady. Meanwhile, his
54:45
space company, Blue Origin, has ramped up spending on lobbyings
54:49
since Trump's return to office, and last year retained Brian Ballad,
54:54
a Trump connected lobbyist, to advocate for the company's interest.
55:00
Origin is vying with SpaceX to potentially support a crude
55:04
Artemis mission to the Moon. Other countries are also increasingly
55:09
focused on growing their space programs. Part of a new
55:13
space race, China has targeted twenty thirty to land.
55:17
Speaker 2: Its own astronaut on the Moon.
55:19
Speaker 1: The space program is among the more popular initiatives of
55:23
Trump's second term, and Democrats have joined Republicans to praise
55:27
the success of Artemis to mission. A Yugov poll this
55:32
month found that fifty eight percent of Americans had positive
55:36
views of the mission, with just six percent opposed and
55:40
the remainder neutral or unsure. Three quarters of Americans also
55:45
said they had pride in the US space program, according
55:48
to an IPSOS poll this month. Democrats have been unhappy
55:53
with the Trump administration's broader stewardship of NASA, however, criticizing
55:58
decisions that led to Thoul and civilian workers leaving the
56:03
agency last year and pledging to block new plans to
56:07
cut the agency's science funding. The frustration spilled out this
56:12
week in congressional hearings with Isaacman, who was on Capitol
56:16
Hill to defend the administration's proposed budget. NASA was left
56:21
adrift in twenty twenty five with political leaders who actively
56:25
harmed NASA's missions and set the agency back years by
56:29
creating a massive brain drain. Representative Grace Ming, Democrat of
56:34
New York, told Isaacman on Monday, lamenting the Trump administration's decisions,
56:40
no one up here holds you responsible for what happened
56:44
before you were confirmed dot dot dot, but you must
56:46
clean it up.
56:48
Speaker 2: Isisiman.
56:50
Speaker 1: Isaac Mund said the administration's planned budget cuts would lead
56:54
to a more narrowly focused, efficient NASA. He also warned
56:58
that the vision of American space dominance was far from
57:01
assured to given global competition. What you saw Artemis to
57:07
pull off. You're going to see the Chinese do in
57:09
the not too distant future, Isaacman said in the Oval
57:14
Office on Wednesday. Isaacman and Trump said they were optimistic
57:18
that American astronauts could return to the Moon by twenty
57:22
twenty eight. We're back in the business of launching moon
57:27
rockets with frequency, the NASA chief said. And with that,
57:33
I am concluding the reading of Today's Washington Post for
57:38
April thirtieth of twenty twenty six. It's chilly outside, but
57:43
it's clear. Please get out and have a nice day,
57:48
and I will be back on Saturday.
57:51
Speaker 2: Bye.