Transcript

12.4.25 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of today's Washington Post. Your reader
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is Alice Stainer, and I am here with the reminder
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that RADIOIZ is an organization for those blind with other
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disabilities making it difficult to hold or read printed material.
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Today is the fourth of December of twenty twenty five.
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We only have how many more days? Twenty one more
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days until Christmas? And I hope all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
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I was with my son and his family and we
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had a delightful time seeing old friends, cousins and family
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in San Diego.
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Speaker 2: So thank you.
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Speaker 1: And here I am back today with the front page
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of today's Washington Post.
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Speaker 2: On the far left side, another.
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Speaker 3: DHS sting for New Orleans agency says it's hunting for
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criminals amid outcryt for many residents by Molly Hennessy Fisks
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and Robert Klemcoe.
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Speaker 1: In the middle there is a picture of police Gregory Bovino.
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In the center is a US Customs and Border Patrol
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commander and he's gathering with agents Wednesday in Metairie, Louisiana.
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He has his cowboy hat on there in a green
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top with Border Patrol.
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Speaker 2: Shield and emblem in yellow.
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Speaker 1: One has his face mask on with what looks like
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a huge m O patch on his chest, and the
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article is entitled how Pallentea shifted course amid ICE's deportation
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efforts by Evado and apparently it was a company that
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didn't intend to help but did help Ice. And on
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the far right, in GOP vexation growth at hag Seth
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Key panels pursued robust oversight. Pentagon faces questions over civilian
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boat strikes by Noah Robertson below the fold. On the left,
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startups want to move fast and block the sun. Private
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efforts to combat warming with technology raise serious concerns by
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Nicholas Rivero and in the middle a picture of cattle
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with the sun low in the background. Workers in Zamora,
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Mexico shepherd cattle in July at a ranch that exports
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livestock to the US. The article is entitled Parasite ravages
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cattle trail from Mexico.
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Speaker 2: A US blockade.
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Speaker 1: Due to New World screw worm disrupts domestic feed lots
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by Karen Brouilliard. And then the last article on the
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front page, Inquiry finds signal Chat breached DoD protocol by
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Noah Robertson, Dan Lamoth, and.
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Speaker 2: Katie Goba.
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Speaker 1: I'll start with Republicans begin to tighten the screws on
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heg Seth's Pentagon.
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Speaker 2: GOP.
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Speaker 1: Frustration with Trump's Defense secretary was intensified, with some lawmakers
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questioning their confidence in him as key committees pursue an
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aggressive oversight campaign. There's a picture of hag Seth in
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a blue suit with an checked red and black tie.
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Speaker 2: And he was at a cabinet meeting.
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Speaker 1: Noah Robertson and Alex Horton in a classified briefing for
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lawmakers scrutinizing the Trump administration's killing of suspected drug smugglers
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around Latin America, Topropauper Clinton's in the room appeared frustrated.
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The Pentagon, facing questions about its legal basis for attacking
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civilian vessels, sent no lawyers to the October meeting, a
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move multiple lawmakers in the room considered inexplicable. The Defense
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Department officials who did attend, those people said, were unable
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to explain the mission strategy and scope, even as President
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Donald Trump openly mused about expanding the campaign to including
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land targets inside Venezuela, representatives Mike D. Rogers of Alabama,
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chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, condemned the secrecy,
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saying Congress had gotten more information from the Pentagon during
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the Modern administration. According to two people in the room,
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like some others, they spoke on the condition of anonymity
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to describe private or otherwise sensitive conversations. A spokesperson for
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Rogers said it would be inappropriate to share details from
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classified discussions and that they wouldn't be responding to claims
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about what was said. Since then, the exasperation among Republican
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lawmakers has leapt into full view. Key lawmakers have questioned
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their confidence in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and gop led
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committees have embarked on the most aggressive oversight campaign so
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far in the former Fox News host tumultuous ten months
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leading the Pentagon. In the past week, the House and
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Senate Armed Services Committees have opened separate inquiries to determine
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whether Hegxeth or another senior official, Admiral Frank M. Bradley,
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may be culpable for orders they issued in an Operation
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September two that killed eleven people, including two who survived
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the initial US missile strike on their boat and perished
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in a follow up attack as they clung to the wreckage.
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Lawmakers and law of war experts have questioned whether a
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war crime was committed. Bradley, who oversaw that mission, is
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scheduled to meet with lawmakers on Thursday. He is expected
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to tell them that he considered the two survivors' viable targets,
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not shipwrecked defenseless mariners, said a person familiar with the matter.
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The oversight efforts stand out at a time when Republicans
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in Congress have mostly avoided openly criticizing the Pentagon, even
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as some of Hagsa's most auditious moves, including a courage
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of senior military officers and unprecedented investigation into a sitting lawmaker,
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Senator Mark Kelley, Democrat of Arizona, have properately troubled some
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lawmakers GOP, who supported his nomination over the unanimous opposition
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of Democrats. While some Republicans forcey indicated this week that
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they continue to have confidence in hag Seth's leadership, several
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members of Congress and aids interviewed for this report said
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the GOP's support for the secretary and other top Pentagon
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officials has atrophied seg Seth's ability to leave the Department,
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some people argued, could be weakened even if Congress ends
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up clearing him of wrongdoing in the boat's strike inquiries.
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A spokesperson for Hegseth did not respond to a request
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for comment. In recent days, he has sought to distance
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himself from the controversy, pointing instead to Bradley, while also
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defending the second strike. Admiral Bradley, heg Seth said, whilst
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seated beside Trump at a White House meeting on Thursday,
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made the correct decision to ultimately sink the boat and
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eliminate the threat. The Washington Post reported Friday that Hegseth
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gave a spoken order to kill the entire crew of
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the vessel before the first missile strike, the first and
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nearly twenty sex strikes by the administration to date, when
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two survivors were detected, Bradley directed another strike to comply
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with Hegseth's order that no one be left alive, people
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with direct knowledge of the matter told the Post. In
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the strikes occurring since then, the US military has rescued
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survivors or worked with other countries to attempt doing so,
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Bradley is expected to tell allmakers Thursday that US personnel
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observing that September second operation believed the survivors possessed communications
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equipment and may have been capable of calling another drugs
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other drug smugglers for help recovering the cargo on their boat,
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though it is unclear if they made contact with anyone,
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said the person familiar with the Admirald's plans. This person
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said too, that the survivors were observed dragging bundled narcotics
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back aboard of what remained of the vessel. The military assessment,
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this person said, was that the survivors appeared singularly focused
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on their goal to transport drugs, even minutes after their
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boat erupted into flames, killing.
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Speaker 2: Several other occupants.
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Speaker 1: Lawmakers are likely to scrutinize that suggestion, along with the
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extent of Hegsath's involvement, and which of the operation's core
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objectives killed.
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Speaker 2: The suspects, destroyed their boat.
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Speaker 1: And zinc It took precedence when Bradley wide his next moves,
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since there was apparent people had survived the initial strike.
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It is expected the briefing will include extended surveillance video
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of operation including the second Strike. Some of these details
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were reported earlier by the Wall Street Journal. Oakes people
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for the US Special Operations Command, where Bradley is the
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top commander, have not commented publicly on the matter. Senator
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Roger Wicker, Republican of Mississippi, who chairs the Senate Armed
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Services Committee, told reporters this week that the allegations stemming
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from the incident were very serious, not were are very serious.
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He has sought video and audio recordings, along with other
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materials documenting this and other strikes. To date, lawmakers have
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said the Pentagon has not complied with the request. Trump,
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when asked Wednesday about the video footage, said he supports
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releasing whatever they have. Bradley's meetings on Capitol Hill could
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be the first step toward a more formal investigation, lawmakers
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and congressional aids said. General dan Kin, the chairman of
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the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also is expected to attend,
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two people said on Tuesday at the White House, hag
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Seth said that he wanted to own that responsibility as
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the administration opened its military campaign in September, but that
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he had stopped watching a live video feed of the
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September Second Operation and moved on to another meeting. By
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the time that Bradley decided to strike again, I said,
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I'm going to be the one to make the call
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after getting all the information and make sure it's the
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right strike, heg Seth told reporters in the cabinet room,
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saying a couple of hours had passed before he was
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made aware of the second attack. I did not personally
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see survivors after the initial strike, he said, sighting fire, smoke,
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and what he called the fog of war. Lawmakers, including
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many Republicans, have said they are alarmed by the episode.
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You don't have to have served in the military to
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understand that that was a violation of ethical, moral, and
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legal code, Senator Tom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina, told
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reporters this week. Some in Congress have also questioned whether
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the attack breached even the Trump administration's controversial defense of
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the campaign. The administration's binding legal argument relating to the
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ongoing strikes focuses not on the people's suspected of varying drugs,
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but the tools and vessels selling them to allegedly fund
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campaigns of violence in the US and allied nations.
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Speaker 2: One lawmaker familiar with the document.
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Speaker 1: Said the boat strike increase of the latest sign of
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frustration from the House and Senate, where lawmakers say that
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under Hecseth, the Pentagon has cut them out of crucial
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decisions and withheld information it is required by law to
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disclose to Congress. Republican leaders were upset when the Defense Department,
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acting without lawmakers consent, withdrew a brigade of troops from Romania,
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where they had been shielding against a Russian incursion in
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the NATO territory. Key GOP figures also recently berated Trump's
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nominees to key Pentagon policy post, saying they'd been unresponsive
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to Congress whilst serving in acting roles. The administration is
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beginning to get a lot of pushback on a ton
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of different issues, Representative Adam Smith of Washington, the House
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Armed Services Committee's top democrat, told reporters Tuesday, adding, more importantly,
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the Republicans in the House and the Senate, they're feeling
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that heat too. Twice this week, Senate Majority Leader John Tune,
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Republican of South Dakota, has declined to say whether he
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still has confidence in Hegseth, saying others can make those evaluations.
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Tillis is among the Republicans who have shown a willingness
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to do so, urging accountability for whoever was responsible in
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the deaths of the boat strike survivors and suggesting that
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he had confidence in America's uniformed military leaders. If the
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facts play it the way they're currently reported, then somebody
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needs to get the hell out of Washington, Tillis said,
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in conjunction with the other article, The Next One watchdog
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finds Hegseth violated Pentagon protocol in Signalgate affair. The Inspected
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General inquiry centers on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's use of
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the unclassified commercial messaging app to share highly sensitive US
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attack plans by Noah Robertson, Dan Lemouth and Katie Gobo.
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The Pentagon's top independent watchdog, has determined that Defense Secretary
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Pete Hegseth violated security protocols and endangered US troops and
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objectives by using a personal device to share sensitive operational
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details on the unclassified messaging app Signal, According to people
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familiar with the findings in a forthcoming report, the Defense
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Department Inspected General Report, set to be released Thursday, appears
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certain to reignite, an issue that has dogged Hegseth for
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much of his tenure in office. The inquiry was requested
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on a bipartisan basis by top leaders in the Senate
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Armed Services Committee in March after The Atlantic magazine reported
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that then National Security Adviser Mike Walls inadvertently added a
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journalist to a digital discussion in which Vice President J. D. Bance,
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Hegseth and numerous other cabinet officials shared and discussed details
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of a bombing campaign in Yemen against Houti militants. Hegseth
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shared specifics about the strikes before they began March fifteen
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in a signal group labeled Hoody PC's Small Group, reverencing
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the Emmy Rebel Fighters and using an acron them for
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the Principal's Committee at the White House that includes other
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senior officials The Defense Secretary, at one point even texting
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members of the group chat that they were currently clean
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on opsec or operational security, despite heg Seth's sharing sensitive
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operational details in the farm. A spokesman for Hegseth, Sean Purnell,
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said in a statement Wednesday that the inspected General review
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is a total exoneration of Secretary Hegseeth and proves that
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we knew all along, no classification or no classified information
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was shared. This matter is resolved and the case is closed,
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one familiar one official familiar with Hegseth thinking acknowledged that
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the information he's sent on signal had previously been classified,
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but as Hegseth is considered an original classification authority, meaning
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he has the ability to declassify virtually anything involving the
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Department at his discretion, there was never a chance for
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this report to come out and say the Secretary put
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classified information into a signal chat, the official said, speaking
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like others interviewed for this report on the condition of anonymity,
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to describe a sensitive inquiry that was just never in
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the cards because as the original classification authority, he has
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the authority to declassify anything within the Department of Defense.
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Speaker 2: The watchdog report did not.
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Speaker 1: Wait into whether heg Seth handled the classification appropriately, people
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familiar with the matter said, but the Inspector General did
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assess that heg Seth violated Defense Department policies by using
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his personal device for official business, and recommended better training
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for all department personnel on the issue. Two people who
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reviewed the report said Hegseeth declined an interview with the
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Inspector General in July. Spokespeople on his behalf accused the
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Inspector General's team of conducting a witch hunt and asserted,
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without evidence the details from it that had been published
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in the media had been leaked by holdovers who served
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under President Joe Biden. The full classified document was shared
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Wednesday with the House and Senate Armed Services committees, as
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well as Hegsath's office. Spokespeople for the Inspector General's office
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and for hag Seth did not respond to requests for comment.
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The report's impending release was reported earlier by NBC News,
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and some findings were reported by CNN. The information Hegseth
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shared in the Signal chat derived from a classified email
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that General Michael Eric Krilla, then the commander overseeing the
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US operations in the Middle East, had sent through secure
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channels to senior defense officials, according to people familiar with
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the Inspector General's inquiry. As The Washington Post first reported
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in July, Korea's message was labeled secret slash no foreign
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all in caps, a government designation, meaning the contents were
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classified at a level at which unauthorized disclosure could be
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expected to cause serious damage to national security, and was
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not intended to be read by any foreign national, including
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close allies of the United States.
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Speaker 2: The incident became a major political.
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Speaker 1: Crisis for the Trump administration and for Waltz, who was
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removed from his White House post. He now serves as
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un Ambassador The Atlantic's disclosure that highly sensitive operations were
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discussed on an unclassified communications system raised questions about the
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Trump administration's security practices and prompted Hegseth to attack the
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publication's editor, Jeffrey Goldberg in personal terms as a deceitful
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journalist who pedals in garbage. Heg Sath has denied that
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the information he divulged over Signal was classified and said
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that his communications were authorized, including when pressed by lawmakers
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in hearings this summer.
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Speaker 2: More recently, Hegseth has made light.
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Speaker 1: Of the affair, speaking before crowd at a November event
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organized by Fox Nation, The Defense Secretary pointed Walls out
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in the crowd and said, Mike, I'll hit you up
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on a signal, later drawing both laughter and groans from
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the crowd. Too soon, heg Seth added, come on. Senator
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Mark Kelly, Democrat of Arizona, total reporters after reviewing the report,
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that it was very clearly stated that hag Seth should
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not have been using his cell phone for such work.
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It was not a surprise to see the Pentagon note
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that Hegseth, as Defense Secretary, can unilaterally unclassify information.
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Speaker 2: Kelly added.
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Speaker 1: It said that he was in violation of some DoD regulations.
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Whether that's breaking the law, you've got to figure that,
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aid Kelly said.
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Speaker 2: Senator Mark R. Warner, Democratic Virginia.
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Speaker 1: Said in his statement, an objective, evidence based investigation by
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the Pentagon's internal watchdog leaves no doubt Secretary hag Seth
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endangered the lives of American billets based aboard the USS
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Harry Truman as they prepared to launch a mission against
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terrorist targets by sharing classified operational details on an unsecured
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group chat on his personal phone. He created unacceptable risks
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to their safety and to air operational security. Two other
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people familiar with the report also said it specifically raise
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the possibility of harm to US pilots. Senator markqwain Mullen,
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a Republican of Oklahoma, declined to comment on specifics of
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the report, but he said it made clear that heg
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Seth was well within his authority.
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Speaker 2: To do what he did.
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Speaker 1: Mullen asked if he thought any Pentagon protocols were broken, responded.
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Note the release of the Inspected General's report occurs at
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a fraud moment for Hegseth, whose leadership of the Pentagon
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and is recently drawn scrutiny following the Post exclusive report
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Friday revealing his involvement in a lethal military strike on
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an alleged drug smugglers in the Caribbean. The Republican led
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House and Senate Armed Services committees have opened inquiries into
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that incident to determine whether the controversial attack, which resulted
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in the death of eleven people, including two initial survivors
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in a subsequent missile stroke strike, amounted.
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Speaker 2: To a war crime.
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Speaker 1: I'm moving into the inside of the Washington Post now,
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and I'm going to start with bipartisan deal to extend
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Affordable Care Acts subsidies looks less likely. Health insurance costs
25:51
could spike as bipartisan ACA deal looks less likely.
25:57
Speaker 2: Subsidies expire at the end of the year.
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Speaker 1: In this little movement toward a bipartisan solution in Congress
26:05
by Riley began.
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Speaker 2: Theodoric Mayer and Cadia Gobo.
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Speaker 1: Affordable Care Act subsidies that help millions of Americans pay
26:15
for health insurance, will expire in less than a month,
26:19
but raise a thin margins in Congress, Partisan division and
26:24
competing plans are making it less and less likely that
26:28
lawmakers will find a bipartisan deal to keep the assistance going,
26:33
which means some households will probably face spiking insurance costs
26:38
next year. Senate Republicans promised Democrats amid December vote on
26:45
a plan of their choice to extend the subsidies, which
26:48
were implemented in twenty twenty one to lower health care
26:52
costs during the COVID nineteen pandemic in exchange for support
26:57
from a group of Democrats to end at the government shutdown.
27:03
About twenty four million Americans use the federal marketplace to
27:07
buy insurance.
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Speaker 2: Most of those.
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Speaker 1: People now qualify for the subsidies, and the average benchmark
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monthly premium on healthcare dot gov has already gone up
27:18
about twenty six percent for twenty twenty six. With time dwindling,
27:25
Senate Democrats still haven't released their plan, which would extend
27:29
the subsidies for an unknown duration, and host Democrats a
27:34
pushing for a three year extension, but it's clear there
27:38
are not enough Senate Republicans willing to support any extension,
27:44
especially without significant changes to address GOP concerns about fraud
27:50
and whether subsidized plans will cover abortion. I can't even
27:56
get to thirteen on the back of an envelope. I
27:59
can't even get thirteen people to say they're open to it,
28:03
Senator Brian Schatz, Democrat of Hawaii said, re referencing the
28:09
thirteen Republicans who we need to join with Democrats to
28:12
get around a Senate filibuster and pass a bill. Senate
28:17
Majority Leader John Theoien, Republican of South Dakota, told reporters
28:22
Tuesday that some Republican senators want to work with Democrats
28:26
in a constructive way on something that would be a
28:29
bipartisan solution, but that hasn't landed yet. Those talks appear
28:35
to have stalled. Asked how close lawmakers are to a
28:39
bipartisan solution, Senator Jean Schine, Democrat of New Hampshire, who
28:46
has been a part of the discussion, said I think
28:49
we're not. Instead Republicans are mulling their own potential solutions
28:55
to lower health care cost. Moderates want to extend a
28:59
tweaked version of the subsidies, while conservatives are floating bigger
29:03
changes that would divert the funds to individual spending accounts
29:08
or allow people to use the money to purchase lower
29:10
cost or alternatives to marketplace plans, which ACA advocates say
29:16
would cause the system to collapse from an exodus of
29:19
healthy people from insurance pools. Some Republicans have suggested additional
29:25
policy ideas that could be included in a second party
29:29
line spending bill. Some has Republicans, mostly from swing districts,
29:36
have insisted that GOP needs to extend the subsidies. One
29:40
of them, Representative Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, said he is
29:44
preparing to release legislation this week that would extend them
29:48
for two years, with income gaps for eligible recipients and
29:52
other changes designed to get at least a majority in
29:57
the House. I feel like everyone to each other to lead,
30:02
so we're just picking the ball up and doing it,
30:06
Fitzpatrick said, adding that he is prepared to introduce a
30:10
discharge petition, which can force a vote on any bill
30:14
if two hundred and eighteen House members sign on if
30:17
House Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana doesn't bring the
30:22
legislation up for a vote. The White House planned to
30:27
release its own healthcare proposal last week. They would have
30:30
extended the subsidies, but official's candidate after pushback from Congressional Republicans,
30:36
including Johnson, Johnson is not committed to hold a vote
30:40
on Fitzpatrick's bill or a Democratic proposal should it pass
30:46
the Senate. Johnson and other House Republican leaders have indicated
30:50
that a bipartisan compromise.
30:52
Speaker 2: Is not likely.
30:54
Speaker 1: They argue that the Affordable Care Act has contributed to
30:58
rising or raising rising health care costs, and that significant
31:04
party line changes are needed. A challenging proposition in a
31:08
chamber where Republicans have only three votes to spare up,
31:13
especially with a tight year end deadline. To fix the
31:18
problems that Democrats created, We're going to have to put
31:21
up the votes on our own, majority, leader Steven Scalise,
31:26
Republican of Louisiana, said, adding, which means we're going to
31:31
meet with all of our members, build a coalition, and
31:35
then bring a bill to the floor.
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Speaker 2: And hopefully soon.
31:40
Speaker 1: Without a clear bipartisan path forward, Democrats are already signaling
31:45
they plan to hammer Republicans in the twenty twenty six
31:48
mid term elections for not extending the subsidies, which are
31:52
politically popular. We're going to get this done, Senator Amy Klobuchard,
31:58
Democrat of Minnesota, told reporters Tuesday, referring to extending the
32:02
seventy subsidies, adding we're either going to get it done
32:07
by forcing votes in the Senate, or we're going to
32:09
get it done by getting it in on some piece
32:12
of legislation, or we're going to get it done by
32:15
marching through into the midterms and winning. A dozen former
32:23
FDA commissioners condemned plan to tighten vaccine approvals in the
32:30
New England Journal of Medicine. The former leaders wrote they
32:33
were deeply concerned at how the top vaccine regulator is
32:38
raising the bar for approvals.
32:41
Speaker 2: By Rachel Rubin.
32:44
Speaker 1: A dozen formal leaders of the Food and Drug Administration
32:47
warned Wednesday that plans for a stricter approach to vaccine
32:51
approvals risk undermining the nation's ability to fight infectious diseases
32:57
and could threaten the health of vulnerable Americans.
33:01
Speaker 2: In the New England Journal of.
33:02
Speaker 1: Medicine, the former FDA commissioners wrote that they were deeply
33:07
concerned with plans the nation's top vaccine regulator, Venet Prosade,
33:14
laid out Friday in elked internal email.
33:18
Speaker 2: They argued that.
33:19
Speaker 1: His approach represents a major shift that could delay the
33:22
arrival of vaccines better matched for evolving viruses, making it
33:27
potentially prohibitably expensive for news shots to come to the market,
33:32
and slow expanded approval of vaccines.
33:35
Speaker 2: For more people.
33:38
Speaker 1: Posade is challenging long standing vaccine policy, urging the FDA
33:43
to rethink its framework for annual flu shots, examining whether
33:48
Americans should receive multiple vaccines at the same time, and
33:53
requiring larger studies to gain approval for certain shots. These
33:58
measures and the unil there being imposed, undermined the public interest,
34:04
the commissioners wrote in a piece titled a threat to
34:08
evidence based vaccine policy and Public Health Security at the FDA.
34:15
They are the latest in a series of troubling changes
34:18
at the FDA, including substantial departures of FDA's staff that
34:23
could diminish both the FDA's strength and americans health and safety.
34:29
Speaker 2: The former officials added.
34:32
Speaker 1: The warning from both forma permanent and acting FDA commissioners,
34:36
including Scott Gottlieb, Norman, Ned Sharpleis, and Brett Gerar, all
34:43
who served in the role during the President Donald Trump's
34:46
first administration, is the latest of several admonishments issued by
34:51
former health officials from both parties. Nine former leaders of
34:56
the Senners for Disease Control and Prevention raised concerns about
35:01
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Junior's leadership days after the
35:05
August firing of then CDC Director Susan Manares. Six former
35:12
surgeon generals, including Jerome Adams, who worked in the first
35:16
Trump administration, contended in an October bed that Kennedy's actions
35:23
are endangering the health of the nation.
35:29
Speaker 2: Department of Health and.
35:30
Speaker 1: Human Services officials defended Prosad's work. The fact these criticisms
35:36
are coming from FUMA FDA officials who opposed raising the
35:41
bar for vaccine science confirms we are on the right track,
35:46
HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said in a statement. Nixon added,
35:52
doctor Prisade's email lays out of philosophical framework that points
35:57
us toward that higher standard. Kennedy, the founder of a
36:03
prominent anti vaccine group has a lengthy history of disparaging vaccines.
36:08
Speaker 2: He has counted that he is simply.
36:10
Speaker 1: Seeking better data before recommending shots. Presides vaccine strategy aligns
36:16
with some changes Kennedy and his allies have sought for years.
36:21
Some Kennedy allies have previously criticized some of the former
36:25
FDA commissioners who co wrote the NEJM peace, arguing they
36:32
are part of a revolving door of agency officials who
36:37
later joined the boards of pharmaceuticals and other companies they
36:41
used to regulate any jm's do Ingle Journal of Medicine.
36:47
In his internal email, Presides said the new approach to
36:50
vaccines was necessary after his team concluded that coronavirus vaccinations
36:57
had contributed to the deaths of at least ten children.
37:01
He did not detail the evidence behind the claims. FDA
37:06
staff will be tasked with writing guidelines to reflect these changes,
37:10
and the mission of CBER will change to reflect this worldview,
37:16
Prisad wrote, referring the Center for Biological Evaluation and Research CBER.
37:26
Never again will the US FDA Commissioner have to himself
37:30
find deaths in children for staff to identify it He
37:34
added that staff who disagree with the core principles of
37:37
his new approach should submit their resignation letters. Public health
37:42
experts have called on the agency to release more details
37:45
on how it performed its review and on the planned
37:48
changes to vaccine regulation.
37:51
Speaker 2: Nixon said officials will soon.
37:54
Speaker 1: Release documents laying at that framework and data confirming how
37:58
the COVID nineteen vaccine resulted in children's deaths that previous
38:03
leadership failed to properly investigate. The former commissioners wrote that
38:10
the reports of potential vaccine deaths to federal health agencies
38:15
had been carefully reviewed by FDA staff, who drew different conclusions.
38:21
They wrote that Prosod's memo did not indicate why the
38:25
new assessment should justify the wholesale rewriting of vaccine regulation.
38:31
Speaker 2: In totality, those changes.
38:34
Speaker 1: Mean a substantially higher and more subjective approval.
38:38
Speaker 2: Bar, they wrote.
38:40
Speaker 1: Prosad argued in his internal email that the United States
38:44
vaccine regulation related to the coronavirus may have harmed more
38:49
children than we saved. This requires humility and introspection, he added.
38:58
CDC's staff of the summer presented data showing that at
39:02
least twenty five children who had COVID association hospitalizations have
39:07
died since July twenty twenty three. The number was probably
39:12
an undercount, according to staff, and of the sixteen children
39:16
old enough for vaccination, none were up to date. The
39:20
commissioners also expressed concern that the planned changes lacked transparency.
39:26
Speaker 2: Arguing that agency's.
39:27
Speaker 1: Expert, advisors and the public should have assay in major
39:31
revisions to FDA decision making. The people most affected by
39:37
the FDA's proposed framework will include older Americans and those
39:42
with weakened immune systems, who rely most on the protection
39:46
that timely and updated vaccines can.
39:49
Speaker 2: Offer, they wrote.
39:52
Speaker 1: The concerns from former commissioners represent the latest flashpoint for
39:56
an agency rocked by turmoil this year and mid layoff
40:00
and the departures of senior officials. On Tuesday, the nation's
40:05
top drug regulator, Richard Prisder, decided to retire three weeks
40:11
after taking the job, amid tensions with FDA Commissioner Marty Mockery. Presder,
40:18
who has worked at the FDA for more than twenty
40:21
five years, had privately raised concerns about the legality and
40:26
pace of agency plans to expedite DRUB approval.
40:32
Speaker 2: Decisions.
40:35
Speaker 1: Pasder had replaced George Tidmarsh, who resigned last month amid
40:40
scrutiny when his critique of a treatment made by a
40:42
company that alleged he had a vendetta against its board chair.
40:47
On Wednesday, Tracy Beth Hoague, who was a prominent critic
40:52
of broad childhood coronavirus vaccination before coming one of Marcury's
40:58
top deputies, was named the acting director of the Senate
41:01
for Drug Evaluation and Research. Over the summer, she was
41:06
involved in the investigation into reports of potential deaths from
41:10
the vaccine. White House renames building the Donald J. Trump
41:20
Institute of Peace. The change comes as Trump officials told
41:26
his peace deals and prepare to host leaders from Amanda
41:31
and the Democratic Republic of Congo to sign an accord.
41:36
And there is a picture of the Donald J. Trump
41:41
Institute of Peace, and it is on a building and
41:45
you see the deed Donald J. Trump writing on the
41:50
wall by Dan Diamond and Alec Dent. President Donald Trump
41:57
is eager to be recognized as a peacemaker. His administration
42:01
obliged Wednesday by renaming the building that houses the US
42:06
Institute of Peace in downtown d c.
42:11
Speaker 2: Donald J.
42:12
Speaker 1: Trump is now emblazoned on several in several places on
42:17
what has been often dubbed the Peace Building, According to
42:21
our witnesses and photos obtained by The Washington Post, a
42:25
White House official said the building would now be known
42:29
as the Donald J.
42:31
Speaker 2: Trump Institute of Peace.
42:34
Speaker 1: The move comes after the president's work to subtle global
42:38
conflicts this year, and ahead of his plan to host
42:41
leaders from Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo to
42:45
sign a White House broken peace steel between the two countries.
42:50
That signing is expected to take place at the USIP
42:54
on Thursday. Trump is also widely expected on Friday to
42:59
receive FIFA's inaugural Peace Prize, a new award created to
43:06
honor individuals who have helped unite people all over the
43:11
world in peace, at the nearby Kennedy Center. The administration's
43:17
decision to add Trump's name to the USIP building comes
43:22
after the President issued an executive order in February seeking
43:27
to dismantle the organization, an independent nonprofit group created by Congress.
43:34
The USIP's president was removed from the head quotas by
43:38
law enforcement, and the Trump administration fired nearly all of
43:43
the USIP's DC based staff. Some diplomats and former staff
43:49
say they are unsure what the building is used for now.
43:54
The USIP and members of its board sued the Trump administration,
43:59
arguing that the president does not have the authority to
44:02
fire the group's leadership or staff because USP was created
44:07
by Congress. A federal district judge ruled in May that
44:12
Trump had acted unlawfully.
44:14
Speaker 2: But the is stayed pending appeal.
44:17
Speaker 1: George Foot, who serves as the attorney for former USP
44:21
leadership and staff, said in his statement that renaming the
44:26
building adds insult to injury. As the legal battle over
44:31
the organization plays out, Foot said the rightful owners will
44:37
ultimately prevail and will restore the US Institute of Peace
44:42
and the building to their statutory purposes.
44:45
Speaker 2: The building's new name.
44:47
Speaker 1: Was first reported by independent journalist Mersa Cabbas. Anna Kelly,
44:53
a White Eyed spokeswoman, wrote in an email Wednesday that
44:57
USP was once a blowd useless entity that blew fifty
45:02
million dollars per year while delivering no peace.
45:06
Speaker 2: Now, the Donald J.
45:08
Speaker 1: Trump Institute a Peace, which is both beautifully and aptly
45:12
named after a president who ended eight wars in less
45:16
than a year, will stand as a powerful reminder of
45:19
what strong leadership can accomplish for global stability, Kelly added.
45:26
A person familiar with the decision said the addition of
45:30
Trump's name to the building had been in the works
45:32
for quite a while. The move was intended to recognize
45:36
Trump as a global peacemaker, said another person familiar with
45:40
the move.
45:42
Speaker 2: Both people spoke on the condition.
45:44
Speaker 1: Of anonymity to discuss internal administration deliberations.
45:51
Speaker 2: Trump has tried to craft.
45:53
Speaker 1: A reputation as an international peace maker, this term tightening
45:58
the Peace Agreement, he helped a gootiate between Israel and
46:01
Amas over the war in Gaza, and promising to bring
46:05
peace between Ukraine and Russia. As he openly lobbied for
46:08
a Nobel Priest prize. Other global leaders in evers groups,
46:15
including some seeking to curry favor of the president, have
46:19
praised his work to settle conflicts and called for him
46:22
to be honored with the Nobel Peace Prize and other awards.
46:26
Hard to believe, right, Did you ever think I was
46:29
going to be called a peacemaker? Trump said in exchange
46:33
with the Reporter in October. I did. Amazon explores cutting
46:42
ties with USPS, building its own delivery network. Amazon has
46:49
long been the Postal Service's top custom of providing more
46:54
than six billion in annual revenue to the agency in
46:57
twenty twenty five. And here is a picture of a
47:01
mail carrier, Dennis Nelson, delivering Amazon packages to a home
47:06
in remote northern Minnesota.
47:08
Speaker 2: In twenty twenty three.
47:10
Speaker 1: And the back of his jeep is packed with packages
47:14
and he is carrying a big bundle of them.
47:17
Speaker 2: By Jacob Bogage.
47:20
Speaker 1: Amazon is preparing to expand its nationwide delivery network and
47:25
give up its long standing partnership with US Postal Service,
47:30
according to three people with knowledge of the matter, a
47:33
move that could make the e commerce goliath the most
47:36
ubiquitous delivery service in the country and wreak havoc on
47:41
the Postal Agency's long term financial viability. Amazon has long
47:47
been the Postal Service's top customer, providing more than six
47:51
billion in annual revenue in twenty twenty five, said two
47:55
of the people, who, like others in this report, spoke
47:58
on the condition of a nis inimnity to share confidential
48:02
business information that would account for roughly seven point five
48:07
percent of the agency's revenue in the past year. The
48:10
Postal Service does not disclose its financial relationship with major shippers. Amazon,
48:18
whose founder Jeff Bezos owns the Washington Post, has been
48:23
in talks with the Postal Service over what the mail
48:26
agency calls negotiated service agreements, which locke in rates and
48:31
hastened delivery for its largest clients, but formal talks have
48:36
largely concluded with no new deal.
48:39
Speaker 2: The people said.
48:41
Speaker 1: Amazon is readying plans to pull the billions of packages
48:45
it sends through the Postal Service by the end of
48:48
twenty twenty.
48:48
Speaker 2: Six, The people said.
48:51
Speaker 1: The people cautioned that the plans are not final and
48:54
could change. Postmaster General David Steiner met virtually with Amazon
48:59
chief executive Andy Jasse on November fourteenth, and the company
49:05
hopes to.
49:05
Speaker 2: Reach an agreement.
49:06
Speaker 1: The people said the loss of Amazon's business could spell
49:12
disaster for the mail agency, which in recent years has
49:15
drawn more revenue from packages than paper mail. It has
49:20
posted multi billion dollar losses in nine of the past
49:24
ten years, even as it heightd prices. The people said
49:29
industry groups have begun huddling with key lawmakers to craft
49:35
a rescue package for the Postal Service, which received one
49:38
hundred and seven billion dollars in financial assistance from Congress
49:43
as recently as twenty twenty two. Partnerships with large shippers
49:48
such as Amazon are the backbone of the postal services.
49:52
Speaker 2: Co petition.
49:56
Speaker 1: Co up to co oup to Titian business model, in
50:02
which its prime competitors send certain parcels through the postal
50:06
system and deliver others independently. Amazon had sought a four
50:11
year extension of its contract. Two of the people said
50:15
its agreement expires October one, twenty twenty six. Amazon spokesperson
50:21
Steve Kelly, in a statement, called for the Postal Service
50:25
a longstanding and trusted partner and said the company remained
50:29
committed to working with the agency. The Postal Service declined
50:32
to come in. The system has benefited both sides. The
50:38
deliveries are profitable for the Postal Service, while private sectorshippers
50:43
offload shipments that would cost more to deliver.
50:46
Speaker 2: On their own.
50:48
Speaker 1: President Donald Trump frequently panned the arrangement during his first term.
50:53
He derided the Postal Service as a joke and Amazon's
50:57
delivery board. During the COVID nineteen pandemic, Trump threatened to
51:02
block emergency financial assistance for the Mail's service unless it
51:06
quadrupled its packaged prices. Congress ultimately approved additional resources for
51:12
the agency. Earlier in his first term, Trump told then
51:17
Postmaster General Meghan Brennan to double the rates for Amazon
51:21
and other shippers. Much of Trump's effort was aimed at
51:25
punishing Bezos, the Post has reported, whom Trump considered a
51:30
political enemy. Trump has largely refrained from attacking Bezos publicly
51:37
in his second term, and Bezos attended Trump's inauguration in
51:41
January along with other tag figures. A representative for Bezos
51:46
did not respond to a request for comment. Shortly before
51:50
he took office again, Trump and other top advisers discussed
51:54
attempting to privatize the Postal Service or merging it with
51:58
the Commerce Department. The negotiated package service agreements have prioritized
52:04
major corporations and other large parcel shippers rather than individual
52:09
retailers and small businesses. Steiners said at the Postal Service's
52:14
most recent public meeting that he aims to democratize these
52:18
those agreements and open them to regional shipping firms, traditional
52:23
brick and motor retailers, and mid size and small businesses.
52:28
He plans to hold a reverse auction in early twenty
52:31
twenty six. The People said, selling access to postal facilities
52:36
to the highest bitium rather than directly to Amazon, and
52:39
making the company compete with national retail brands and regional
52:44
shipping firms. That proposal largely ended the Amazon negotiations, which
52:49
had been ongoing since February. Two of the people with
52:52
knowledge of the talk said, almost to everybody nowadays does
52:58
home delivery vere internet sales, but you have UPS and
53:02
FedEx and other businesses that have a piece of that market,
53:06
said Leo Raymond, managing editor at Meyler's Hub, a postal
53:10
industry advisory firm, adding there's no business out there that
53:15
can replace Amazon for the postal service. Amazon with their
53:19
own network could hurt you PS and fed X too.
53:23
Amazon was surprised to hear the Postal Service want to
53:28
run an auction after nearly a year of negotiation, Kelly said,
53:32
adding that the agency's change in direction added uncertainty to
53:38
the company's delivery operations. We're evaluating all of our options
53:43
that would ensure we can continue to deliver for our customers,
53:47
Kelly said. The specter of the postal breakup marks new
53:52
ambitions for Amazon to dominate another facet of the us
53:56
A company. Amazon dubs itself Anything Store for its seemingly
54:02
endless product inventory and a nationwide network of hulking warehouses.
54:06
Amazon Web Services as an industry leader in web hosting,
54:11
so interwoven in global markets and consumer products that a
54:15
temporary editge in October costs snags from Wall Street to
54:19
internet connected smart beds.
54:21
Speaker 2: It has expanded its entertainment.
54:23
Speaker 1: Streaming business with live broadcasts of the NFL and the NBA.
54:29
In twenty twenty two, it acquired health service platform one
54:33
Medical for three point nine billion dollars. Of a spoke
54:37
delivery service that processes upquod of six billion packages per
54:42
year in the US would be an extentential threat to
54:46
the Postal Service. Lost revenue could throw the agency's shaky
54:51
finances into a tailspin. Experts say the mail agency posted
54:57
a nine billion dollar loss in the twenty twenty five
55:00
five physical year.
55:02
Speaker 2: I'm scared to see them leave.
55:04
Speaker 1: Said one industry executive, speaking on the condition of anonymity
55:08
to offer a candid assessment. What the postal Service will
55:12
be left with is the absolute dregs. And that concludes
55:18
the reading of Today's Washington Post for Thursday, the fourth
55:22
of December.
55:23
Speaker 2: Of twenty twenty five.
55:25
Speaker 1: Thank you for listening and keep on listening to post
55:30
readings for today's in today's radio program.
55:34
Speaker 2: I will be back on the.
55:39
Speaker 1: On Friday on Saturday, two day's away. Take care bye,
55:45
I blew it. I have a few more minutes, so
55:48
I will read. Trump pauses immigration applications for nineteen nations
55:53
on travel band list, and the nineteen nations are from
55:59
which all all immigration applications have been put on hold
56:03
are Afghanistan, May and Mar also known as Burma, Chad,
56:08
Republic of Congo, Ecuadoral, Guinea, Etria, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundei, Cuba, Laos,
56:22
Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. The list was pulled
56:29
from a presidential proclamation in June that called for partial,
56:34
a total entry restrictions for all nationals from those countries,
56:39
which have been referred to as a near total travel band.
56:43
Immigration applications will be paused for all people who were
56:47
born in these nineteen countries a hold citizenship there, DHS
56:53
said in its policy memorandum. It said this memorandum mandates
56:59
that all Aliens meeting these criteria undergo a thorough review
57:05
review process, including a potential interview and, if necessary, a reinterview,
57:12
to fully assess all national security and public safety threats.
57:17
Speaker 2: The document states.
57:19
Speaker 1: The memorandum also leaves room for the agency to reassess
57:23
individuals on other grounds of inadmissibility or ineligibility, a sweeping
57:29
clause of the Immigration and Nationality Act that allows the
57:32
President to deny applications on vague grounds. According to Todd
57:38
Palmer Lou, an immigration lawyer at Reuben PALMERLIU in Boston,
57:44
I guarantee you this will be challenged in the court
57:47
of law, probably before the ink is dry. Palmerlu said,
57:52
this is basically allowing for the targeting of people because
57:55
of their nationality, because of where they're born, who they
57:59
may is associate with, and any ideas they may have,
58:03
religions they may practice. And now I do end today's
58:08
reading of the Washington Post.
58:11
Speaker 2: Sorry,