Transcript

5.19.26 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of the Washington Post for Tuesday,
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May nineteenth, twenty twenty six. As a reminder, Radio I
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is a reading service intended for people who are blind
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or of other disabilities that make it difficult to read
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printed material. Your reader for to day is Cindy Fraser.
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To day's front page headlines from the Washington Post are
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open AI gets victory over Musk in court. Judge rejects
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Tesla's CEO's claim that co founders use company for personal gain. Next.
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Trump to drop his I r S lawsuit. One point
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eight billion dollar fund created, drawing backlash, President's allies could
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receive taxpayer payouts. Next, President holds off a RON strike
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to let talks continue. Trump said he withheld planned attack
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in light of quote serious negotiations. The next headline e
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p A wants to repeat limits on forever chemicals. Proposal
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would end Biden era drinking water limits on some pfas.
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Next headline A senior year spent in protest. Teen leads
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her community's charged to block an iced detention center from
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opening near her Arizona High School. The final headline from
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today's front page is next Era set to purchase dominion
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in power merger data center surge spurs what would be
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the world's largest regulated utility. In addition to the stories
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on today's front page, there is also a photo entitled
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Abola outbreak alarms world health officials. The photo is captioned
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a border health official at the Bosunga crossing between Uganda
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and the Democratic Republic of Congo checks a traveler's temperature
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in Bundobugio on Monday. The CDC said Monday that an
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American tested positive for ebola over the weekend while working
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in Congo and was taken to Germany for treatment. The
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story is in the interior of the paper. The photo
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shows a boy washing his hands while a health worker
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points a thermometer at his forehead. Now, let's turn to
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the first story from today's from page, entitled open Ai
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gets victory over Musk in court. Judge rejects Tesla' CEO's
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claim that co founders use company for personal gain. By
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Garrett de Vink, A federal judge dismissed all of Tesla's CEO,
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Elon Musk's claims against open Ai on Monday after a
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jury found that he exceeded the statute of limitations in
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a lawsuit against the artificial intelligence company. The decision is
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an outright win for open Ai in a trial that
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pitted Musk against the maker of chat g p T
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and two of the men with whom he co founded
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the company in twenty fifteen, open AI's chief executive Sam
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Altman and his present Greg Brockman. Musk left open ai
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in twenty eighteen after a conflict with Brockman and Altman
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over who would control the organization. The Washington Post has
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a content partnership with open Ai. After a three week
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trial in Oakland, California that featured hundreds of pages of
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documents and hours of testimony from Musk, Altman, and a
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parade of former open ai executives and board members, the
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jury deliberated for just two hours. After the juror's advisory
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verdict was read, the judge, who held the ultimate authority
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to decide the case, confirmed the decision and throughout Musk's
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claims that Altman and Brockman had betrayed open AI's founding
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mission and turned the company into a for profit entity
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for personal enrichment. The decision removes a significant potential threat
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to open AI's ability to keep up in the hotly
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contested AI race. It's a major pie in the face
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for the world's wealthiest man. He had top legal counsel
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and to lose on statute of limitations grounds is extremely embarrassing,
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said Andrew Stoltman, a corporate litigation lawyer who was not
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involved in the case. Conversely, this is a massive win
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for Altman, who went toe to toe with the world's
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wealthiest man and one. Open Ai had argued in court
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that Musk's lawsuit was motivated in part by a desire
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to hurt a competitor to his own for profit AI
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venture x AI, founded in twenty twenty three. Hours after
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the verdict was read, Musk criticized the judge's decision in
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a post on x his social media platform, and said
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he would appeal. This illustrates why the ruling by the
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terrible activist Oakland judge, who simply used the jury as
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a fig leaf, creates such a terrible precedent, he wrote.
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She just handed out a free license to loot charities.
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If you can keep the looting quiet for a few years,
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Bill Sabbat, OpenAI's lead attorney, said to reporters outside the
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court house after the verdict was read, that Musk's suit
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was a hypocritical attempt to sabotage a competitor and to
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overcome a long history of very bad predictions about what
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open ai has been and what it will become. Musk's
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lawsuit also targeted Microsoft, which helped open ai become the
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AI juggernaut it is to day, with billions of dollars
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in investments. Throughout the trial, Microsoft's lawyers contended its dealings
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with the chat gept maker were perfectly legal and that
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Musk had no grounds to sue the company. The facts
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and the timeline in this case have long been clear,
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and we welcome the jury's decision to dismiss these claims
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as untimely, a spokesman for the company said. In his
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lawsuit in the U. S. District Court for the Northern
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District of California, Musk had demanded that Brockman and Altman
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step down and that all equity in open ais for
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profit entity be returned to its non profit parent company.
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That would have led to paralysis for open ai, which
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relies on billions of dollars from outside investors to pay
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its employees and continue the hugely expensive work of training
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and running AI models. Open ai is expected to go
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public later this year or early next year. For Musk,
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the decision is a rebuke of his years long campaign
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against open ai and Altman. The two men co founded
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open ai with Brockman and others in twenty fifteen to
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develop ai to benefit all of humanity as a counterweight
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to Google, which was the leader in the industry at
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the time, but the men soon realized open ai would
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need more than donations to keep up in the AI race.
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They argued over who should control the company if it
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were to take on more traditional investment, and Must left
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open Ai in twenty eighteen, saying it had no chance
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of succeeding on its own. Since then, OpenAI has taken
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billions in funding from investors, including Microsoft, and kicked off
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the AI arms race with its release of chat GPT
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in late twenty twenty two. Musk argued during the trial
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that he had become suspicious of open AI's actions during
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that period, but that it was only in twenty twenty
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three that he realized the company had fundamentally changed and
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was now enriching its leaders rather than focusing on its mission.
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Open AI's attorneys pointed to evidence during the trial that
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showed Altman keeping Musk apprize to developments at the company
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even after he left, including the investments from Microsoft. Musk
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said during his testimony that he didn't read the entirety
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of a document sent to him providing details of one
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of Microsoft's investments. Musk was present in Corp for most
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of the first week of the trial, including on days
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he did not testify. He later flew to China as
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part of the business delegation accompanying President Donald Trump during
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his visit to the country last week, despite technically still
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being required to appear again in court if called. Though
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Musk ultimately lost, the trials shown a spotlight on Altman
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and provided a new venue for claims by former colleagues
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that he was not a trustworthy business partner. Altman's investments
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in start ups that due business with open Ai were
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brought up repeatedly during the trial. The proceedings also disclosed
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new data illustrating the immense riches created by open AI's success.
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Brockmann testified that his stake in the company is worth
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about thirty billion dollars. Filings in the case revealed unflattering
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details from private messages by Musk and other tech figures,
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including Metachief executive Mark Zuckerberg. Details of Musk's private life
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were aired through the testimony of Chevan Zillis, who for
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years worked for the Tesla CEO and was his primary
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connection to open Ai, but later also became mother to
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four of his children. Is unclear whether Musk will indeed
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appeal the ruling, or whether such an appeal would be
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taken up by a higher court after the Statute of
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limitations findings. The billionaire has said in the past that
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it is important to file lawsuits out of principle, even
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if they are unlikely to win on their legal merits.
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The jury's unanimous verdict came abruptly while the judge was
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holding a hearing with the two sides to determine potential
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consequences for open AI if Musk were to win. The
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court clerk read the verdict and the judge, Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers,
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confirmed the decision seconds later. I think it's an important
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issue to be tried, Gonzalez Rogers said. It's important to
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have trials. They bring clarity. This article is accompanied by
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a photo captioned Eli attends the trial at a federal
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courthouse in Oakland. California on April thirtieth, Manuel Orbgoza Reuters.
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The next article from today's front page is entitled Trump
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to drop his IRS lawsuit. One point eight billion dollar
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fund created drawing backlash, President's allies could receive taxpayer payouts
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by Jeremy Roebuck, Mark Berman, and Perry Stein. President Donald
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Trump has agreed to drop his family's lawsuit against the
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IRS as part of a highly unusual agreement that establishes
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a nearly one point eight billion dollar fund to commensate
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those who, like him, have claimed they have been targets
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of a quote weaponized justice system. The deal, laid out
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in documents released Monday, creates what officials described as an
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anti weaponization fund with broad authority to distribute payments to individuals,
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all with limited oversight and outside of the normal process
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for negotiating legal claims against the government. It is the
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latest and by far, the most sweeping tool the president
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has aimed at financially rewarding supporters and political allies he
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asserts have been wronged by democratic administrations. Under the settlement's terms,
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the president and his family would be excluded from receiving
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any money. Official said, legal experts and ethics watchdogs quickly
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panned the fund as a product of self dealing that
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was negotiated between the President and agencies he oversees at
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taxpayer's expense. This is one of the single most corrupt
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acts in American history, said Donald K. Sherman, president of
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the non profit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
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He noted that although Trump sued the IRS as a
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private citizen, the officials representing the Internal Revenue Service and
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the Treasury Department in settlement negotiations ultimately report to him.
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Democratic lawmakers called on the judge of Receiving Trump's lawsuit
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to block the deal. She filed an order Monday dismissing
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the case. This is not justice. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer,
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Democrat from New York, said he added no president should
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be able to use the Department of Justice as a
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personal rewards program for the people who helped him attack
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our democracy. In a statement, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche
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called the fund a lawful process for victims of law
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fare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress. The
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fund's one billion, seven hundred seventy six million dollars sum
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is a nod to the year of the nation's founding.
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The machinery of government should never be weaponized against any American,
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and it is this Department's intention to make right the
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wrongs that were previously done while ensuring this never happens again. Blanche,
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a former personal attorney to the President, said the terms
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of the agreement, which were not filed as part of
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the case's public court record, portray a fund that could
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be cloaked in secrecy. Awards will be decided by a
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five member panel to be appointed within thirty days, primarily
13:13
by the Attorney General, and Trump will have the authority
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to replace any member. According to a copy of the
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agreement released by the Justice Department, payments would be reported
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quarterly to the Justice Department and subject to audits, though
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those records will remain confidential. The agreement said the fund's
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members will determine what, if anything, to disclose about their
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processes for granting or denying claims. All distributions must be
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made before December twenty twenty eight, the end of Trump's term.
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Any remaining money would be returned to the government, the
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agreement said. A Department spokesperson did not respond to questions
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Monday about whether details of the payments dispersed from the
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fund would ever be publicly reported or whether intended to
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publicly announce those he appoints to oversee the fund. The
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Department said Monday that there was no partisan requirement over
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who could file claims, each of which would be evaluated
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according to the agreement on criteria, including the strength of
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the claim supporting evidence, the time if any the person
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spent in custody, and any attorney's fees they paid. The
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fund could result in payouts to Trump allies and supporters,
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including the nearly one thousand, six hundred people charged in
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the January sixth, twenty twenty one attack on the U.
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S Capital, almost all of whom were pardoned by Trump
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in one of the first acts of his second term.
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Mark McCloskey, an attorney for several of the accused, hailed
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the announcement of the fund Monday as great news after
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several months in which he said his entreaties to Justice
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Department officials on behalf of his clients appeared to go nowhere.
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There's no amount of money that will make their lives whole,
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he said, but their hopeful this process will give them
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a start. Since Trump's return to the White House last year.
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The Justice Department separately has paid at least eight point
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five million dollars to resolve high profile legal claims brought
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by allies who alleged they were improperly targeted by federal
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law enforcement. The Washington Post has reported several hundred January
15:23
sixth accused had already filed claim seeking compensation from the
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government before the announcement of the fund Monday. Trump his
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two eldest sons, and his family business filed their suit
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against the I r S in January, seeking as much
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as ten billion dollars in damages for the theft of
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their tax filings by a former agency consultant, who then
15:45
leaked them to news organizations. The former contractor, Charles Littlejohn,
15:50
also leaked confidential tax records filed by other wealthy Americans.
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He pleaded guilty and was sentenced in twenty twenty four
15:57
to five years in prison in a case a judge
16:00
called the biggest heist in ir S history. Months before
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suing the I R S, Trump himself appeared to acknowledge
16:08
the thorny legal ethics underpinning his efforts to seek compensation
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from the government. He now leads it looks bad. I'm
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suing myself, right, he told reporters at the White House
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in October, while discussing two other pending legal claims he'd
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filed during his years out of office, seeking payouts worth
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hundreds of millions of dollars. It's interesting because I'm the
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one that makes a decision, and that decision would have
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to go across my desk, he said. It's awfully strange
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to make a decision where I'm paying myself. Concerns about
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that potential conflict of interests prompted U. S. District Judge
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Kathleen Williams, who was overseeing the I R. S case
16:49
in Miami, to question last month whether the parties in
16:53
that matter were sufficiently adverse to allow the case to proceed.
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Courts have long held they have no authort to rule
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in cases where the parties are aligned from the start
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and there is no conflict between them. Although President Trump
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aferors that he is bringing this lawsuit in his personal capacity,
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Williams wrote, he is the sitting president and his named
17:15
adversaries are entities whose decisions are subject to his direction. Williams,
17:20
an appointee of President Barack Obama, appointed six lawyers to
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advise her on the issue. They concluded in a court
17:27
filing last week that the circumstances of the case ray
17:31
suspected that the defendants and their attorneys may instead be
17:34
operating at the president's direction. Williams instructed attorneys for the
17:38
Trumps and the i r S to file legal briefs
17:41
by May twentieth explaining their stances. The announcement of Trump's
17:45
decision to withdraw the case Monday came two days before
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that deadline. Speaking to reporters at a White House event,
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Trump said he had no personal involvement in the settlement negotiations,
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which were handled by his lawyers, the Justice to Department,
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and the IRS. This is reimbursing people who were horribly treated,
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he said. In an order Monday, Williams agreed to dismiss
18:09
and close the case, but she expressed some displeasure at
18:12
the way the Trump administration had handled the issue. She
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wrote that because Trump's motion to drop the case does
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not reference any settlement or include a stipulation of settlement,
18:23
there is no settlement of record, and Williams added the
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federal agencies represented in the case by the Justice Department
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neither submitted any settlement documents, nor filed any documents ensuring
18:36
that settlement was appropriate where there was an outstanding question
18:39
as to whether an actual case or controversy existed. In
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defending the effort, as in keeping with past government actions,
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Justice Department officials cited a previous settlement from the Obama
18:51
administration that created a seven hundred sixty million dollar fund
18:55
to resolve claims of discrimination made by Native American farmers
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and ran unlike the deal announced Monday. However, that fund
19:04
was approved by a federal judge after years of protracted
19:08
legal dispute. The resolution of Trump's suit was reached within
19:12
four months of its filing, and before attorneys had even
19:15
formally entered an appearance in the case. On behalf of
19:19
the IRS, the president's attorneys said in a court filing
19:23
that they did not believe their deal with the IRS
19:26
required judicial approval. In addition to the IRS suit, the
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deal announced Monday would resolve two other legal claims the
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president has filed, seeking hundreds of millions of dollars from
19:37
the government. One was centered on the twenty twenty two
19:41
search of his Mara Lago estate as part of an
19:43
investigation of his alleged mishandling of classified documents, and the
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second was tied to the federal investigation into Russian interference
19:51
in his twenty sixteen campaign. President Trump is entering into
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this settlement squarely for the benefit of the American people,
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a spokesman for his legal team said in a statement,
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and he will continue his fight to hold those who
20:04
wrong America and Americans accountable. This item is accompanied by
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a photo which is captioned President Donald Trump speaks with
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reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday, Mark scheiffelbein ap
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The next item from today's front page is entitled President
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holds off Iran strike to let talks continue. Trump said
20:27
he withheld planned attack in light of quote serious negotiations
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by Cleve R. Woodson Junior, John Hudson, Dan LaMothe and
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Susannah George. President Donald Trump said Monday that he had
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tentatively called off plans for the United States military to
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attack Iran after the heads of three countries in the
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Middle East asked him to give negotiations more time. In
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a truth social post Monday, Trump said Katariyamir Tamin bin
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Hammad Althani, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Ahammed bin Salmon and
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United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed on Layan had
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asked him to hold off on a planned military strike
21:08
on Iran, originally scheduled for Tuesday, in light of quote
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serious negotiations on a peace deal. Based on my respect
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for the above mentioned leaders, Trump wrote, he had instructed
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U S military leaders that we will not be doing
21:23
the scheduled attack of Iran tomorrow. Trump told reporters at
21:27
a White House event a few hours after his post
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that the leaders had asked him to hold off on
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an attack for two or three days, a short period
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of time. The move was the latest sudden turn by
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Trump in the eleven weeks since the U S and
21:42
Israel launched their attack on Iran on February twenty eighth.
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In recent days, he had threatened renewed attacks. On Sunday,
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he wrote on truth Social that Iran needed to move
21:54
fast quote or there won't be anything left, and that
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quote the clock is ticking. In his latest post, Trump insisted, however,
22:04
that the US military is prepared to launch a quote
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full large scale assault of Iran on a moment's notice
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end quote if negotiations sour, and that any deal has
22:15
to include no new weapons for Iran. We've had periods
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of time where we thought we were pretty close to
22:22
making a deal and it didn't work out, he told
22:24
reporters Monday afternoon. But this is a little bit different.
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Mohsin Rosai, a military advisor to Iran Supreme leader, mocked
22:33
Trump's decision Tuesday morning, posting on social media that it
22:38
was done in the vain hope of getting Iran to surrender.
22:42
The US and Iran remained locked in a tense standoff
22:45
over the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow Persian Gulf waterway
22:48
through which twenty percent of the world's oil supply passes.
22:52
The two countries have imposed competing blockades and military restrictions
22:57
around the strait, disrupting global energy markets, driving up gas
23:01
prices and contributing to growing public anxiety about the economy.
23:05
Five months before the midterm elections, last month, in an
23:09
address to the nation, Trump declared that the war with
23:13
Iran was nearing completion, but in the weeks since, he
23:16
has offered mixed signals. In an interview with The New
23:20
York Post published Monday, Trump said Iran knows what's going
23:24
to be happening. Soon, but he declined to elaborate. In
23:28
explaining his decision to call off the attacks, Trump said
23:31
the Arab leaders told him negotiations were on the brink
23:34
of a breakthrough that will be very acceptable to the
23:37
United States and that will insure Iran doesn't have nuclear weapons.
23:42
A Pakistani official briefed on the mediation efforts said Iran
23:46
and the United States have exchanged several proposals and counter
23:50
proposals over the past week as mediators seek to avoid
23:53
more conflict. A Middle Eastern diplomat familiar with the negotiations
23:59
told The Washington Post that Trump was specifically dissatisfied with
24:03
the previous offer from Iran pertaining to limits on nuclear
24:06
enrichment and wanted to deal with more extensive restrictions. In
24:11
earlier rounds of talks, a US proposal would have banned
24:14
Iran from enriching uranium for twenty five years. Iran rejected that,
24:19
said the diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity
24:22
to discuss sensitive negotiations. A later US proposal would have
24:26
banned in Richmond for twenty years, which Iran also rejected.
24:30
The diplomat said. During recent talks, the United States said
24:34
it could consider lifting sanctions on Iranian oil exports, according
24:39
to the Pakistani official, if Tehran agreed to end support
24:43
for proxy forces in the region. Recent proposals also showed
24:47
that Iran may be willing to send a portion of
24:50
its enraged uranium stockpile abroad, the official said. However, the
24:54
official cautioned that neither issue was finalized and would probably
24:59
be contingent on other elements of the deal. With so
25:03
many issues under discussion, the deal sequencing also appears to
25:07
be frustrating progress. According to the official, Iran wants an
25:11
agreement to end the war before the announcement of a
25:14
nuclear deal. The official said, the United States wants agreements
25:18
on all issues announced at once. Among the countries urging
25:23
the US to hold off attacks was the United Arab Emirates.
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Trump said the oil rich nation is often one of
25:30
the most publicly hawkish Arab countries toward Iran, but it
25:34
has also whether the most extensive attacks from Tehran in
25:37
the conflict. Iran has targeted the UAE because of its
25:41
close security and diplomatic ties to Israel. The UAE's push
25:46
to hold off on the strike is an indication of
25:49
its own vulnerability to renewed Iranian attacks on its cities,
25:53
oil infrastructure, and military bases, the diplomat said. US Central Command,
25:59
which overset forces in the region, declined to comment Monday
26:03
on Trump's remarks. US officials have offered conflicting views on
26:07
Iran's remaining combat capability. Admiral Brad Cooper, who oversees Central Command,
26:13
told the Senate Armed Services Committee last week that the
26:17
US military has quote significantly degraded Iranian combat capability, including
26:23
sinking nearly all of the Iranian navy. Despite that, a
26:27
CIA assessment this month found that Iran can withstand the
26:32
US naval blockade for at least three to four months
26:35
before facing severe economic hardship. The Pentagon has kept significant
26:40
naval forces in the region throughout the ceasefire, including two
26:45
aircraft carriers, the USS Abraham Lincoln and the USS George H. W. Bush,
26:50
defense official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity, because
26:54
of the sensitivity of the issue, US forces also continued
26:58
to enforce a naval block against Iranian vessels to pressure
27:02
Iran to reach a settlement acceptable to the United States.
27:07
While a blockade is typically considered an act of war
27:10
in its own right. Cooper has downplayed that, saying last
27:14
week that the United States is not engaged in hostilities
27:17
with Iran at the moment. Senior Pentagon officials also have
27:22
downplayed the depletion of many of the U. S military's
27:25
high end munitions in the opening weeks of the war,
27:28
saying plenty of other weapons remain. In a separate hearing,
27:33
Defense Secretary Pete Hexath and General Dan Kine, chairman of
27:37
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, encountered criticism last week before
27:41
the House Appropriations Committee's Panel on Defense Spending. The Pentagon's
27:45
Acting Comptroller, Jules W. Hurst IID, told lawmakers that the
27:50
war has cost a Pentagon at least twenty nine billion
27:53
dollars so far, not counting the significant damage that Iranian
27:58
forces have caused a U. S bases in the region.
28:01
Any effort by the administration to launch new attacks is
28:05
likely to come under scrutiny by lawmakers, who note that
28:08
the conflict already has stretched beyond sixty days, the legal
28:12
limit a president may wage war without seeking congressional approval
28:17
according to the decades Old War Powers Act. Trump administration
28:21
officials have sought to sidestep that issue by asserting that
28:25
the pause and bombing equaled the end of the conflict.
28:29
Any resumption of hostilities would mark the beginning of a
28:32
new one, they have said. Amy b. Wang contributed to
28:36
this report. This autumn is accompanied by a photo caption,
28:40
we will not be doing the scheduled attack of Iran tomorrow,
28:44
President Donald Trump wrote on True Social on Monday, Eric
28:48
Lee Pool ftw P. The photo shows President Trump wearing
28:54
a navy blue suit without a tie and a trucker's hat,
28:58
reading USA outdoors in front of some trees. The next
29:03
item from today's front page is entitled EPA wants to
29:07
repeal limits on quote forever chemicals. Proposal would end Biden
29:12
era drinking water limits on some pfas by Jake Spring
29:16
and Brady Dennis, the Environmental Protection Agency on Monday proposed
29:21
repealing limits on four types of quote forever chemicals in
29:25
drinking water, while delaying regulations on two others, drawing swift
29:30
criticism from both environmental activists and the Make America Healthy
29:35
Again movement that has supported President Donald Trump. Shortly after
29:39
Trump took office, the EPA signaled its plans to rescind
29:43
the twenty twenty four protections against perr and polyfloralkal substances
29:48
known as pfas. More than a year later, the agency
29:52
has issued its formal proposal. We are proposing to rescind
29:56
and restart the regulation for four other pfas. Ep administrator
30:01
Lee Zelden said at an event Monday. It's not because
30:05
they don't matter. They might warrant strict standards, possibly even
30:09
stricter than what was previously regulated. Zelden said the administration
30:14
of President Joe Biden had rushed those regulations before the
30:17
end of his term and not followed procedure, leaving them
30:21
open to being struck down in court. If finalized, the
30:25
EPA's proposal would end the bidinary drinking water limits for
30:29
four toxic p f as compounds gen x, p f
30:33
h x S, p f n A, and p f
30:36
b S. The agency said in his statement that it
30:40
would evaluate those p f a s and issue new regulations,
30:44
while stating it cannot predetermine the outcome of that process.
30:49
It will also allow utilities to opt in to extensions
30:52
of up to two additional years to comply with limits
30:56
on the amounts of two other prevalent compounds, known as
30:59
p f os and PFOA. The EPA had started the
31:04
process earlier for regulating those chemicals, which are among the
31:07
most studied pfas. The signs on these two chemicals is
31:11
some of the strongest on any drinking water contaminant. We
31:14
regulate those levels are staying, Zelden said. The EPA said
31:19
that separate from drinking water standards, it will issue limits
31:23
for discharge of pfas by the chemical industry and other
31:27
sources in coming months. Pfas are used in a variety
31:31
of products like nonstick pans and firefighting foam, and have
31:35
been linked to cancer, immune system problems, and infertility. They
31:39
are called forever chemicals because they can take years to
31:43
break down in the environment. All fifty states have recorded
31:47
levels of pfas in drinking water above the EPA standards,
31:51
according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. Numerous communities around
31:56
the country, such as those in North Carolina along the
31:59
Cape Fears, had battled for years to clean up man
32:03
made chemicals in drinking water sources. When the Biden administration
32:07
finalized the first ever national, legally enforceable drinking water standards
32:12
for p fas and twenty twenty four, the EPA estimated
32:16
their regulations would reduce exposure for about one hundred million
32:20
people across the United States. It marked the first time
32:24
the agency had successfully set a drinking water standard for
32:27
a new contaminant since nineteen ninety six. Barely two years later,
32:32
the Trump administration is seeking to unravel much of that effort.
32:38
If they really cared about regulating it, then they would
32:41
keep those standards in place, said Alex Clark, a prominent
32:44
conservative wellness influencer and podcaster aligned with a MAHA movement.
32:50
I am tired of making excuses for dangerous chemicals to
32:54
continue flooding our environment and harming our kids. The administration
32:59
says the right things about tackling chemicals, but is not
33:02
following through with strong enough actions. Clark added, I don't
33:06
see how you put a positive light on this, said
33:09
David Andrews, chief science officer for the Environmental Working Group. Ultimately,
33:14
I see this as a betrayal of public health and
33:17
the mission of making America healthier. Safe and clean drinking
33:21
water should be a right for everyone in this country.
33:25
The American Chemistry Council, which represents the chemical industry, supports
33:29
the regulatory changes and emphasize that pfas are used in
33:33
critical technologies, including in defense, electronics, and energy, said Robert J. Simon,
33:40
the group's vice president for chemical products and Technology. The
33:44
American water Works Association, a non profit group whose members
33:48
include water utilities and treatment plant operators, has expressed concern
33:53
that the estimated cost to implement that biden ARA standards
33:56
could be much higher than the EPA's calculations and could
34:00
strain utilities budgets because most water systems depend on revenue
34:04
from water ratepayers, The group warned in a recent legal
34:08
filing prior to the EPA announcement, the costs of regulation
34:12
are largely borne by the system's customers. Andrews noted that
34:16
scientific evidence for the potential harms posed by pfas has
34:21
continued to grow in recent years. Exposure to the chemicals
34:25
has been linked to an increased risk of certain types
34:27
of cancer, low birth weight, high cholesterol, and negative effects
34:32
on the liver, thyroid, and immune system. Given those realities,
34:37
he said, the EPA should be speeding up implementation of
34:40
the stricter drinking water standards rather than weakening them slow walking.
34:46
This is really just going the wrong direction, Andrews said.
34:50
The EWG and Natural Resources Defense Council say the move
34:54
to repeal the regulations is also on shaky legal ground.
34:59
The EWG has said the rollback almost certainly runs a
35:03
foul of the anti backsliding provision of the Safe Drinking
35:06
Water Act, which does not allow for weakening drinking water
35:10
standards once they are in place. Eric Olsen, the NRDC's
35:15
senior strategic director for Health, said giving companies until twenty
35:19
thirty one to meet limits on pfos and PFOA also
35:24
appears to violate the laws demand that standards be effective
35:27
within five years. While pfos and PFOA have largely been
35:33
phase out of US manufacturing, they are still widely found
35:37
in the environment in the absence of federal standards before
35:40
twenty twenty four, numerous states have taken actions to try
35:44
to limit p fas contamination in drinking water, but those
35:48
guidelines and the chemicals they regulate vary. Even if courts
35:53
ultimately uphold the Biden Error regulations, it will not fully
35:57
address the much larger problem of public expres closure to pfas.
36:01
Olsen said, Beyond the six compounds in question, there are
36:05
hundreds of pfas being used in manufacturing today that are
36:09
also toxic and demand to be regulated together as a
36:13
chemical class, an idea the EPA has so far resisted.
36:18
Olsen said the Trump administration has taken smaller steps to
36:22
address public concerns about pfas. Last month, Zelden and Health
36:27
and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Junior announced that
36:32
pfas as a group would be added to the list
36:35
of non contaminants for further study and monitoring without imposing limits.
36:40
The EPA has also launched an effort to give technical
36:43
assistance and funding to communities and water systems seeking to
36:47
remove pfas from their water supply. That hasn't satisfied many
36:52
in the MAHA movement, who are demanding swifter actions to
36:56
limit chemicals. Kennedy has championed the movement, but it is
37:01
a diffuse coalition of broadly anti chemical and anti vaccine
37:05
mothers and other activists. To avoid a rupture with that constituency,
37:10
the agency has also been sitting on approvals of new
37:13
p f A s chemicals, people familiar with the matter
37:16
told The Washington Post in April. Kennedy, when questioned during
37:20
a congressional hearing in April about EPA policies, that seem
37:24
to contradict the MAHA movement said it was not his
37:28
department and to talk to Zelden. At the event with
37:32
Zelden on Monday, Kennedy said that he knew the administrator
37:36
and his staff are quote completely committed to tackling p
37:39
f as. He has highlighted efforts by the Department of
37:43
Health and Human Services to foster the development of technology
37:47
to destroy p f as and the National Institute of
37:50
Health research on the subject. The proposal will be opened
37:54
for public comment for sixty days that input will be
37:58
considered before the proposal is revised and finalized. This item
38:03
is accompanied by a photo which is captioned water samples
38:07
with quote forever chemicals are poured into a container for
38:10
research at an Environmental Protection Agency lab in Cincinnati Joshua A.
38:16
Bickett AP. The next item from today's front page is
38:20
entitled next Era set to purchase Dominion in power merger
38:25
data center surge spurs what would be the world's largest
38:29
regulated utility by Evan Halper Electricity Colossus. Next Era plans
38:35
to buy Virginia based Dominion Energy as a utility industry
38:39
struggles to build all the power needed for data centers
38:43
amid the nation's artificial intelligence boom. The all Stock deal
38:48
would create the world's largest regulated utility, bringing together Florida
38:53
based Next Era Energy, the biggest developer of renewable energy
38:58
in the United States, and a rap builder of large
39:01
natural gas plants, with the electric companies serving the world's
39:05
largest concentration of data centers. Virginia is home to nearly
39:09
a quarter of the massive computer warehouses in the US,
39:13
and the utility and state lawmakers have faced a deluge
39:16
of demands from tech companies for more power. Meanwhile, everyday
39:21
ratepayers have grown increasingly anxious about the economic and environmental
39:26
toll of the AI build out. A recent Washington Post
39:30
shar School poll found that Virginia voters, who only a
39:34
few years ago warmly welcomed data centers in their communities
39:38
have turned sharply against them. Electricity demand is rising faster
39:42
than it has in decades. Next Era as CEO John W.
39:46
Ketchum said in a statement Monday, projects are getting larger
39:50
and more complex. Customers need affordable and reliable power now,
39:56
not years from now. He said. The merger, if approved
40:00
by state and federal regulators, would enable the companies to buy, build, finance,
40:05
and operate more efficiently, which translates into more affordable electricity
40:10
for our customers. Under the terms of the deal, next
40:15
Ara shareholders would own seventy four point five percent of
40:18
the combined company, with Dominion shareholders owning the rest. The
40:22
announcement comes amid a national backlash over electricity prices, which
40:27
are soaring in several states where tech companies are aggressively
40:30
building data centers. There is heated debate among experts around
40:34
the extent of which the data centers are driving up costs.
40:38
Industry officials argue that keeping the giant projects on the
40:42
power grid, rather than pushing them to build out their
40:45
own shadow network of electricity plants, will ultimately help bring
40:50
down prices for everyone, but consumer advocates say residential ratepayers
40:55
are helping foot the bill from major infrastructure projects that
40:59
are primarily benefiting tech companies. Executives with Dominion and next
41:04
Era stressed in a conference call with investors Monday that
41:08
they believe the merger will ultimately benefit rate payers. They
41:12
pointed to two point two five billion dollars in bill
41:15
credits that Dominion is planning to give customers following a
41:19
period in which rates have increased, and the statement announcing
41:23
the merger vowed customers would also benefit over time from
41:28
the scale operating and capital efficiency this combination unlocks. On
41:33
the call, the executives said they are committed to making
41:36
sure their largest customers pay their fair share for the
41:40
electricity they use, but ratepayer advocates are already expressing skepticism,
41:46
warning that the merger would give the combined firm outsized
41:49
lobbying influence in a highly regulated industry. A pledge that
41:54
tech companies made earlier this year to pay their own
41:57
way for energy infrastructure that gets built for their datas
42:00
largely fell flat with consumer groups. These advocates argued that
42:05
the pledge was full of loopholes and does not provide
42:08
any meaningful protection for consumers. Next Era, already the nation's
42:14
largest investor owned utility, has leaned into the AI build out.
42:19
It announced a deal with Google last year to restart
42:22
the Mothball Dwayne Arnold nuclear plant in Iowa to provide
42:26
power for data centers. The one hundred ninety billion dollar
42:29
firm is also trying to meet the needs of the
42:32
tech industry by aggressively expanding its natural gas portfolio. The
42:37
combined utility would serve ten million homes and businesses across
42:42
four states. Executives said in their statement that there is
42:45
a pipeline of one hundred thirty gigawatts of large projects
42:49
planned for development for the combined company to serve. That
42:53
demand driven by data center growth is nearly the amount
42:58
of energy needed to power half of households in the US.
43:02
The merger would allow next Era to inherit Virginia's Data
43:05
Center Alley, one of the most lucrative service territories for
43:09
the energy industry, but next Era would also be inheriting
43:13
one of the most challenging areas of the country for
43:15
data center expansion. Amid a growing and increasingly sophisticated political backlash,
43:22
several states, including Florida and Virginia, are imposing regulations requiring
43:27
that tech companies pay for the power infrastructure built to
43:31
serve their data centers. The merger may put increased pressure
43:35
on Virginia lawmakers and regulators to step up those efforts.
43:39
The next Era Dominion deal is a market signal. Mark McNee,
43:43
director of Social and Sustainable Enterprises at Florida State University's
43:48
Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship, wrote on LinkedIn, the economics
43:53
of AI data center demand are large enough to drive
43:56
the biggest utility transaction on record. The economics should be
44:01
large enough to drive cost accountability at the state level.
44:05
This item is accompanied by a photo captioned a Dominion
44:08
Energy line worker in North Augusta, South Carolina in twenty
44:12
twenty four, Ardie Walker, Junior a p This shows a
44:16
worker in a hard hat standing in a bucket of
44:20
a cherry picker. And the final item from today's from
44:23
page is entitled A senior year spent in protest team
44:28
leads her communities charged to block an iced attention center
44:31
from opening near her Arizona High School. By Daniel Wu
44:35
from Surprise, Arizona. It was around midnight when Collieovers approached
44:40
the lectern in city Hall in early February. She peered
44:43
up at the diais in front of her and the mayor,
44:45
Kevin Sartor, and spoke nervously. I am a current student
44:50
at Dysert High School and the student body vice president, oversaid,
44:54
with a GPA of four point three before anybody passes
44:57
me off as young and dumb. Overs had joined the
45:01
pack City Council meeting to voice her concern about the
45:04
Department of Homeland Security's recent purchase of a warehouse in
45:08
her Phoenix suburb, which the government planned to turn into
45:11
an Emigration and Customs Enforcement detention center. The facility sits
45:16
blocks away from her high school. Overs told the mayor
45:20
she feared that federal agents would target students and families
45:23
from Dissert, where the student body is sixty percent Hispanic,
45:27
and that the detention center would bring the chaos and
45:30
violence that has surrounded other ICE facilities to her school.
45:34
Get this out of our city, she urged. In the
45:38
weeks and months that followed, Setor said repeatedly that his
45:41
hands were tied. Overs hasn't stopped asking. State and local
45:46
authorities have grappled with a new facet of the Trump
45:49
administration's deportation campaign this year, as DHS has purchased warehouses
45:55
around the country to grow its network of immigrant detention centers.
45:59
Some communities have scuttled ICE projects in their neighborhoods after
46:03
pushing back, but the battle and surprise has dragged on.
46:08
Helping sustain it has been Overs, a quiet teenager who
46:11
said she can't understand when city officials and politicians drag
46:16
their feet they're not doing their jobs. Overs told The
46:19
Washington Post in early May, on her last week of school.
46:23
Overs had envisioned the end of her senior year as
46:26
a celebration. Instead, she has spent months waging a stubborn
46:31
campaign against the planned ice detention center near her school,
46:35
becoming a fixture at city council meetings, rallying classmates for
46:39
TV interviews, and as attention increased, becoming the target of
46:44
online threats. She is lobbying her representatives in Congress to
46:48
propose legislation banning ice facilities near schools nationwide. It sometimes
46:55
feels like no one is taking her seriously, but Over's message,
46:59
earnest and carried by the frustration of a seventeen year
47:02
old coming of age in a political moment full of
47:05
tension and fear, has resonated with money in her city.
47:09
Why can't the adults stop this? The roughly four hundred
47:13
thousand square foot warehouse near Disard High School is one
47:17
of eleven buildings across eight states that DHS purchased this
47:21
year and a multi billion dollar project to expand its
47:25
network of immigrant detention centers. DHS bought it for around
47:29
seventy million dollars and has said it will hold between
47:32
five hundred and fifteen hundred detainees. According to Arizona officials,
47:38
cities and towns, even deep red ones, have bristled at
47:42
the purchases. In some places, local officials chose to push back.
47:48
Building owners halted plans to sell warehouses to ICE in
47:51
Oklahoma City and Ashland, Virginia, after residents and officials protested.
47:57
The mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, introduced to measure to
48:00
ban non municipal detention facilities for five years after learning
48:05
of ICE plans to build a detention center in January,
48:09
many in Surprise, a fast growing, largely Republican suburb, a
48:14
posey ICE facility here as well, But their mayor Sartor
48:18
had a cautious response. He was blindsided, but the city
48:22
could not regulate the federal government's purchase or use of
48:25
the warehouse, he said in a February city council meeting.
48:30
Ulversfelt her high school, located just across a border of
48:33
Surprise in the neighboring city of Elmorage, was largely being ignored. Already.
48:39
The purchase of the warehouse by DHS had prompted some
48:42
families to keep their children home for fear of increased
48:46
ice activity, students said. Elijah Perez Cardona, who just graduated
48:51
from Dysert, said his parents took away the keys to
48:54
his truck, afraid that federal agents might stop him on
48:57
a joy ride. Cardona and d Nsikierro's diser's outgoing student
49:02
body president organized car pools for classmates after their parents
49:07
began staying home out of fear of ice. The adults
49:11
in power should feel responsible, Over said at the next
49:14
city council meeting two weeks later. Dysert Unified School District
49:18
declined to comment on the detention center. Sartor and the
49:23
Surprise City Council sent a letter asking DHS to share
49:26
more information about the facility and cooperate with city leadership,
49:31
but by March they appeared to acquiesce. Sartro said in
49:35
a news conference that Surprise officials met with DHS in
49:39
Washington and were told the facility would not trigger local
49:43
immigration enforcement and that ICE agents would not operate in
49:47
Surprise schools, churches, and senior centers. DHS also said it
49:52
will reimburse the city for lost property tax. According to Sartre,
49:57
while we cannot stop a federal agency from purchasing life.
50:00
We can work to mitigate their impact to Surprise, the
50:03
mayor said. Chris Judd, a Surprise City council member, told
50:08
the Post he also feared reprisal from state legislators who
50:12
have fought complaints against an Arizona city and county for
50:15
opposing ice. Sartre did not comment on Over's criticisms. He
50:21
said in his statement that he is continuing discussions with
50:23
the HS and is committed to protecting the safety and
50:27
best interests of our community. Overs also went bigger. She
50:33
reached out to Representative paul A Gosar, Republican and Democratic
50:37
Senators Mark Kelly and Urban Diego with a bold demand
50:42
proposed legislation banning any ice facilities within a three mile
50:46
radius of a K through twelfth school. Student security is
50:50
a bipartisan, non political issue, Overs wrote in a change
50:54
dot org petition. None of the congressmen met with Overs,
50:58
she said, but staff member from their offices spoke with her.
51:02
Goser's staff did not commit to supporting her petition, while
51:05
Kelly and Gayego's offices told Overs the bill was unlikely
51:09
to pass in Congress with that Republican support she said.
51:13
Spokespeople for Kelly and Gayego, who have opposed a surprise facility,
51:17
praised overs for her efforts but did not comment on
51:20
her proposal. In March, the Senators back to bill that
51:24
would bar DHS from constructing detention centers without approval from
51:29
local officials. Gosar did not respond to a request for comment.
51:34
DHS declined to comment on concerns about the Surprise facility,
51:38
and a letter to Goser shared by the congressman the
51:41
department said ICE strives to maintain a co operative partnership
51:45
with local communities. Campaigning against the ICE facility consumed the
51:50
rest of overschool year. After class, she waded through crowds
51:54
of protesters outside city Hall to pass out pamphlets for
51:58
her petition Robert. Her school chromebook with sticky note reminders
52:02
of calls to schedule and emails to send. The meetings
52:06
left her little time to see her friends, except when
52:08
she encouraged them to join her for interviews. It wasn't
52:12
the senior year overs had envisioned. She started the year
52:16
by picking a silly kid's backpack, a disert senior tradition.
52:20
Overs chose a red one themed after the Pixar movie
52:23
cars with an image of Lightning mc queen. In the Spring,
52:27
she placed a sticker above the cartoon character that read
52:31
no Ice prison in Surprise, Any Normalcy left and Over's
52:36
senior spring shattered when insults and death threads against her
52:40
began to appear online. Rachel Owens, Over's mother said she
52:44
contacted Surprise police after someone on a neighborhood Facebook group
52:48
wrote hopefully she gets shot by an alien using a
52:52
gun emoji. Owens, forty seven, said it felt surreal to
52:57
see Collie on TV and terrified to read the anger
53:01
aimed at her. She's putting herself out there, and these
53:04
elected officials I feel like they could be doing more,
53:07
Owen said, But she added that she was proud of
53:11
Overs and her work. I don't want her to give up,
53:14
she said. The breakthrough for Overs and others protesting the
53:18
detention center came in late April, when Arizona Attorney General
53:23
Chris Mays sued DHS, alleging and violated federal immigration and
53:28
environmental laws by moving to develop the detention center without
53:32
conducting an environmental assessment. DHS declined to comment on the lawsuit.
53:38
A court date has not been set for the state's lawsuit,
53:41
and the status of the ice facility is uncertain. Days
53:45
before the state sued DHS, the department issued a stop
53:48
work order to the security contractor tasked with developing the
53:52
detention center, according to federal contract records reviewed by The
53:56
News Side Project's Salt Box. The stop work order was
54:00
rescinded in her remay, according to federal records. Asked about
54:04
the pause and construction, a DHS spokesperson said the department
54:08
was reviewing agency policies and proposals. After the appointment of
54:13
new DHS Secretary Mark Wwayne Mullen in March, DHS is
54:17
moving forward with plans to convert warehouses that purchased in
54:20
other cities, the Post reported last week. Overs who graduated Wednesday,
54:26
said she is still concerned for her friends remain at Dysert.
54:30
She has not given up on her petition for a
54:32
national ban on ice facilities near schools. I've learned that
54:36
for things to be worth it in the end, you
54:39
kind of have to struggle, oversaid. In late April, she
54:42
stood before another lectern on a dirt patch outside the warehouse.
54:46
Mays had invited her to speak at a news conference
54:49
announcing the state's lawsuit, where she faced her biggest crowd
54:52
of cameras and reporters. Overspoke more confidently this time. This
54:58
is not a political is issue, she said, this is
55:01
not a Democrat or Republican thing. It's the right thing.
55:06
It was a day before over senior probe. She stayed
55:09
for hours after the news conference to give several additional
55:12
interviews and woke up the next morning exhausted and sunburned.
55:17
That night, she decided to stay home. Douglas macmillan contributed
55:22
to this report. This item is accompanied by photo. The
55:27
first is captioned Collie overs gets a hug from Carma
55:30
Wilson as she and her friends hang out at a
55:33
Dutch Brother's coffee shop after their last day of high
55:36
school this month in Surprise, Arizona Katlin O'Hara for The
55:41
Washington Post. The next photo is captioned Dysert High School
55:46
in Elmerage, Arizona, Kaitlin O'Hara for The Washington Post. The
55:50
photo shows the exterior of the school. The next photo
55:54
is captioned Overs at home in Surprise, Arizona by Katelin
55:59
O'Hara for the wi Washington Post. The next photo is
56:02
captioned a warehouse purchased by DAHS to house an ICE
56:06
attention center in surprise Kitlin O'Hara for The Washington Post.
56:11
The photo shows the exterior of the building. The next
56:15
item is captioned Overs looks out the window at a
56:18
warehouse purchased by DHS to house an ICE attention center
56:22
after being picked up by her mother Rachel Owens Katelin
56:25
O'Hara from the Washington Post. The photo is taken from
56:29
the interior of the car from the rear seat, showing
56:32
the front seat occupants. The next photo is captioned Dana
56:37
Siquiero's holds her phone to show a photo of herself
56:41
and her friends walking out of Diced High School to
56:44
protest ICE this year. Katelin O'Hara for The Washington Post.
56:49
A sign carried by one of the protesters reads, if
56:52
Jesus was here, would Ice support him. The next photo
56:57
is captioned from left, students Wilson, Aubrey Messmer, Overs and
57:02
Joan de la Cruz order drinks at Dutch Brothers. Kaylin
57:05
O'Hara from The Washington Post. The next photo is captured
57:10
a sticker that reads no Ice prison in surprise is
57:13
stuck to Elijah Perez Cardona's phone. Kaylin O'Hara for The
57:17
Washington Post. The next photo is captured Overs and her
57:22
friends hang out at Taco Bell after their last day
57:25
of high school. Kaylin O'Hara for The Washington Post. Now
57:29
let's turn to the interior of the a section for
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an item entitled firefighter travels six hundred miles to college
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graduation a baby he helped deliver years ago. They maintained
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a special bond through the years, getting together to celebrate
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milestones like her birthdays and his retirement. By Kyle Melnick.
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Alan Kent heard a woman's scream as he arrived at
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her home in Colorado Springs. Kent, a firefighter responding to
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a nine one one call, rushed upstairs with his team
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to the woman's bed with an obstetric kit. A few
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minutes later, on that February two thousand and four morning,
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Kent helped a woman deliver a baby girl. The newborn
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fell into his arms. The mother, Stacy Huddle, visited the
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fire station a few weeks later to introduce Kent to
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the baby, she named Chloe. She thanked Kent and told
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him she wanted him to remain a part of her
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daughter's life. Kent love the idea and I made a
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deal Chloe would celebrate her birthday at the fire station
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every year. Due to time constraints, we will need to
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end this item at this time. This concludes a reading
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of the Washington Post for today, Tuesday, May nineteenth, twenty
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twenty six. Your reader for to day has been Cindy Fraser.
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If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions concerning this program,
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please feel free to call us at eight five nine
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