Transcript

1.13.26 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of the Washington Post for January thirteenth,
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two thousand twenty six. As a reminder, Radio I is
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a reading service intended for people who are blind or
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have other disabilities that make it difficult to read printed material.
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Your reader for today is Patrick Lelucas. To day's front page.
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Headlines from the Washington Post are can this trans girl
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stay on the team? Border area blames Musk launches for
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fishing woes. Regulator pushed to go after Powell. A young
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lawmaker comes of age in a grieving city. Justice division
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left off inquiry. Top deputy is fired from US Attorney
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office in Virginia, and the first article a West Virginia
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teenage trans athlete's case goes to the Supreme Court. The
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Supreme Court is to hear arguments about a teenage trans
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athlete competing despite a state law that bans transgender women
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and girls from women's sports teams. By Julian Mark. Right
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before Becky Pepper Jackson sets up a shot put, she
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always taps her left foot on a board at the
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edge of the throwing circle. The ritual helps her focus
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on her form amid the pressure of the track and
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field competition. Not to mention the additional pressure of spectators
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wearing T shirts that say things like quote protect women's
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sports in quote, which pepper Jackson says, are warned specifically
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for her. The fifteen year old is the sole transgender
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student athlete in West Virginia, according to her attorneys, and
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her bid to continue playing competitive sports is in the
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hands of the Supreme Court. The justices are scheduled to
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hear arguments Tuesday about whether pepper Jackson should continue competing
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considering that a state law band's transgender women and girls
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from playing on women's sports teams. Quote I'm really nervous,
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obviously in quote she said in an interview quote hopeful,
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but still nervous.
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Speaker 2: Quote.
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Speaker 1: Pepper Jackson's lawyers argue that the band discriminates against her
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for being transgender and violates her constitutional equal protection rights.
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The state counters that the ban is necessary to preserve
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fairness in women's sports, and that pepper Jackson should receive
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no exceptions. Trans women have an unfair physical advantage no
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matter their age, because the athletes were designated male at birth,
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the state argues, adding in its brief thatt quote biological
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males are on average bigger stronger and faster than biological females.
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Although the Supreme Court in twenty twenty found that trans
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workers were covered by federal anti discrimination laws, it has
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recently handed defeats to advocates for transgender rights. Last year,
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the High Court's conservatives upheld a Tennessee law that bans
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gender transition care for miners. They also sided with a
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group of parents who sued to opt their kids out
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of lessons featuring LGBTQ storybooks. Poles show that two thirds
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of Americans agree with bands on trans women playing on
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transports teams. The science concerning the biological advantages of trans
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female athletes remains hotly debated. While there's no comprehensive tallly
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of trans athletes nationally, and estimated three hundred thousand, one
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hundred transgender youth between the ages of thirteen and seventeen
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live in the United States, according to the Williams Institute
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at the UCLA School of Law. The Human Rights Campaign
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in the lgbt Q advocacy Group has estimated that fourteen
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percent of trans boys and twelve percent of trans girls
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play on a sports team. Pepper Jackson was designated male
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at birth. Heather Jackson Pepper Jackson's mother has testified that
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she noticed early that there was a difference between her
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youngest child and two older sons. Pepper Jackson had typically
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female feminine preferences, gravitating toward dresses and asking her mother
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why their bodies were not alike. Eventually, she was diagnosed
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with gender dysphoria, the medical term for the distress of
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person feels when their gender identity and their assigned sex
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are misaligned.
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Speaker 2: Quote.
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Speaker 1: I knew that this was not a phase for her
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and that there was something different happening in quote, Jackson
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wrote in a twenty twenty one declaration recounting her daughter's
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early years. In the third grade, Pepper Jackson began to
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socially transition, taking her current name. She later began taking
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puberty delaying medication so she would not undergo male puberty.
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At the end of the sixth grade, she started taking
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estrogen to undergo female puberty. Because treatment, pepper Jackson never
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underwent male puberty. According to her legal brief. Pepper Jackson's
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lawyers argued that this fact is crucial. She has quote
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physiological musculoskeletal characteristics of CIS gender girls, and none of
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the testone induced characteristics of sis ginger boys, they wrote
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in a brief to the court. Being from a family
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of runners, pepper Jackson wanted to run cross country, but
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in twenty twenty one, her middle school principal told her
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mom that pepper Jackson couldn't join the team. Only months earlier,
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West Virginia had passed a ban on trans women playing
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on women's sports teams. Pepper Jackson and her mother sued,
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and lower court rulings have allowed her to compete as
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her case plays out. The Supreme Court plans to hear
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pepper Jackson's case at a time when twenty nine states
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ban trans women from playing on women's sports teams. Pepper
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Jackson says West Virginia's band violates her equal protection rights.
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She also can intends that the ban violates Title nine,
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a federal civil rights statue that prohibits sex based discrimination
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in education. The state argues that the ban honors the
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intent of Title nine, which was enacted to give women
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equal opportunity in education and scholastic sports. In the case
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of athletics, sex must be taken into account and sports
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competitions must be separate by sex to preserve fairness and safety.
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The state's lawyers say the Justices will hear the pepper
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Jackson case alongside a separate case brought by Lindsay Heacox,
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a twenty five year old Boise State University student who
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says a similar ban in Idaho violates the Constitution's equal
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protection clause. But Heacocks has asked the High Court to
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dismiss her case, saying she stopped playing sports and wants
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to graduate free of the quote unquote extraordinary pressures of litigation.
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The Justices have nonetheless ordered arguments to proceed. Their scientific
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consensus that the high levels of circulating testosterone insists gender
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men primarily give them an advantage in sports. According to
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Joshua D. Safer, executive director of the Mount Sinai Center
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for Transgender Medicine and Surgery and a key witness for
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pepper Jackson, before puberty, there's quote minimal or no differences
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in athletic performance in quote between sis gender boys and girls,
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largely because of low levels of toosterone in both groups.
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Safer testified in twenty twenty one. The State of Virginia
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counters by saying transgender girls have inherent physical advantages no
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matter their age. Attorneys for this State cite a twenty
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twenty four study that concluded non transgender men perform better
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at all ages. The study found that boys between the
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ages of seven and twelve ran about four percent faster
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and jumped about seven percent farther than girls of the
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same age group. But during middle school, pepper Jackson ran
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near the quote back of the pack in quote in
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cross country. According to her brief, her track and field
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coach toto that she would not make the team as
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a runner, so the coach suggested she tried shot put
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and discuss quote. I was not the best, obviously, but
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I fell in love because of the community around it.
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In quote, pepper Jackson said in an interview, quote everybody
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was just so kind and really supportive. Everybody just wanted
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everybody else to do their best in quote. At her
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first meet in twenty twenty two, pepper Jackson placed thirty
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six out of forty five in shotput, according to a
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legal brief. At a subsequent meat, she placed fifteenth out
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of twenty five in discus. She gradually improved during the
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twenty twenty four season. She placed first in shot put
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in six consecutive meets, often out distancing her closest competitors
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by several feet, according to her athletic records. Pepper Jackson
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says her success was a result of hard work and practice,
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but lawyers for West Virginia say she quote unquote, improved
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faster than her teammates because she had an unfair physical advantage.
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Her quote participation displaced hundreds of girls and prevented some
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from competing an end of season championship meets. In quote,
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lawyers for the state wrote. Now a sophomore in high school,
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pepper Jackson continues to perform well in both discus and
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shot put on the varsity team. Though she placed first
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several times during the twenty twenty five season, she was
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also frequently beaten by other girls. In April, she placed
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ninth in shot put and an invitational event, finishing behind
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a mix of seniors, juniors, and a freshman competitor. She
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scutes competing and even winning can be a bittersweet experience.
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She says she sees protesters at every track meet. During
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a twenty twenty four meet, students from a rival school
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declined to participate in a match against pepper Jackson. After
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the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit allowed
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her to continue competing. During a West Virginia meet in May,
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a high school senior who won a running event wore
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a shirt that read, quote, men don't belong in women's sports.
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In quote quote it's really hard to get used to
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being constantly judged and silently looked at like your monster.
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In quote, Pepper Jackson said, quote I try not to
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let this bother me, but it's a shock every time.
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In quote, win or lose, she said. Bringing a case
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to the Supreme Court quote starts conversations, and it brings
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more of these issues to the public eye. End quote.
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And the next article, Caught between Trump and Musk's rockets,
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a Mexican village despairs the Uaga of Plaia, Baghdad, just
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over the border from a SpaceX launch pad, highlights the
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unintended environmental and social impacts of the global space race
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by Terence McCoy, Matamoros, Mexico. The first time Daniel Santiago
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saw one of Elon Musk's superrapet rockets blast off, he
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thought it was the most magnificent thing he'd ever witnessed.
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An animalistic roar or one dough shattering trimmer, then fire
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and steel arcing into the skies over Plaia Baghdad, on
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Mexico's northeastern tip. But then came the next launch, and
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the one after that, and soon Santiago was broken, fearful
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of going hungry. Mexican officials and environmentalists warned that the
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test launches have inflicted ecological damage, and Mexican fishermen like him,
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suspected they were seeing evidence.
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Speaker 2: Of it out at sea.
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Speaker 1: By early twenty twenty five, community members said the fish
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had all but vanished off the coast of Playa Baghdad,
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just a few miles over the border from Starbase, Texas,
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where since April twenty twenty three, SpaceX has been testing
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the world's large rocket. Though scientific research has shown that
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space launches have resulted in quote unquote fish kills in
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the past, no causal link has yet been established between
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the SpaceX launches and the reported disappearance of fish along
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the stretch of Mexican coast line. Finding one could take years,
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scientists caution, and will be a particular challenge in a
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region where overfishing is common and the movements of marine
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life are driven by myriad factors. But quote, some environmental
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impact would be expected given the noise, explosions and trash
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in quote generated by the SpaceX launches, said Felix Gutierrez Villanueva,
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an oceanographer at Mexico's Autonomous University of tamaulipathless pardon me
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on that one who was studying the issue in coordination
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with local environmentalists. Santiago wasn't a scientists, but he knew
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he couldn't earn a living the way he once had,
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and soon he was venturing deeper and deeper into the
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Gulf of Mexico in search of something to catch, until
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he found himself ensnared in a dragnet, this one cast
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by the Trump administration. On April seventeenth, Santiago and three
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other fishermen were fourteen miles north of US Mexico maritime
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border when they were busted by the U. S Coast
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Guard inside the speedboat. According to court documents, the men
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had twelve hundred hooks and nearly seven hundred pounds of
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red snapper worth around four thousand, one hundred dollars. In
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the past, US authorities say they probably would have released
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them in but last year, the Justice Department announced it
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had stiffened pittalties from Mexican fishermen caught in American waters.
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Quote I didn't want to go that day, quote said Santiago,
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twenty two quote, but I couldn't make ends meet in quote.
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The men were charged with unlawfully transporting fish and sent
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to prison, an outcome hailed as a quote unquote first
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by federal prosecutors in Texas. Santiago, who pleaded guilty, spent
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the next five months behind bars. In the months since,
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locals say many other pli of Bagdad fishermen have wound
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up in the grasp of U. S. Law enforcement. Neither
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SpaceX nor the U. S. Attorney's Office for the Southern
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District of Texas responded to requests for comment. The saga
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of this small fishing village highlights the unintended environmental and
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social impacts of the global space race and how they
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could transcend national lines. As companies and countries attempt more
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launches every year, researchers are beginning to study little discussed
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dangers mounting space debris, maritime pollution, disruptions to animal patterns,
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and sound the alarm on the limited efforts to mitigate them.
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Speaker 2: Quote.
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Speaker 1: We've got a proliferation of rocket launches in s Andrew,
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said Andrew Birching, now a senior official with the United
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Nations International Maritime Organization. Quote, and there's a regulatory gap
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here a short distance from the ramshackle clappered homes in Pliabaghdad.
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SpaceX's testing the Starship and super Heavy Booster, which it
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describes as the quote most powerful launch vehicle ever developed
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in quote. The eleven test launches, witnesses say, have been
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accompanied by massive explosions, sonic booms, and far flung debris.
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The company is now reportedly planning to significantly increase its
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launch schedule, but there has been little, if any attempt
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to get age the fallout in Mexico, said Jared Margolis,
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a senior attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, a
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nonprofit group that works to protect endangered species.
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Speaker 2: Quote.
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Speaker 1: No federal agency has considered or studied or taken into
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account the cross border impacts end quote, he said. Environmentalists
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and fishermen in Tamlupus State alleged that the launches have
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contributed to a die off of marine life, including fish,
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sea turtles, and dolphins. In June, after a SpaceX Starship
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exploded ahead of an engine test, scattering debris for miles
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across the region's beaches. President Claudia Shinbaum announced the government
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had found environ quote unquote contamination in Mexico and would
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consider legal action. In a statement at the time, SpaceX
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denied that its launches posed any hazard to the borderlands.
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Quote Previous independent tests conducted on matials inside Starship, including
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toxic City analyses, confirmed they pose no chemical, biological or
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toxic logical risks. In quote, SpaceX said, quote, we have
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requested local and federal assistance from the government of Mexico
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in the recovery of anomaly related debris, offering resources and
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assistants in the cleanup, and I sought validation of space
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exist right to conduct recovery operations in The company did
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not provide copies of the tests reference in its statement
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or respond to the Washington Post's requests for review of them.
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Mexico's Foreign Ministry set in a statement to the Post
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that the United States is liable for all damage incurred
14:26
in its launches, citing the nineteen sixty seven Outer Space Treaty.
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Each launch that might impact Mexican territory, the statement said,
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requires the quote unquote express authorization of Mexican authorities, but
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quote we've received no direct formal information from the company.
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In quotesa at Christopher Gonzales Baca, a senior Mexican environmental
14:48
official who oversees the protected lands around Plaia Baghdad. Quote,
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the only information we have is what they put online.
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Speaker 2: Quote.
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Speaker 1: In November, fisherman Martin Pablo Zapata, forty eight, looked out
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at the sea flat and gray and shook his head.
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They were up against Elon Musk, whom he called quote
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the world's most powerful man. In quote, any worried the
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future of their village was at stake. Quote we have
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no hope, Zapata said. A fragile ecosystem, a coastal ecosystem
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surrounding the US Mexico border is considered one of North
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America's most sensitive, used by migratory birds from across the Americas,
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and home to the critically endangered Kemp's Ridley turtle. Both
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nations have established reserves and wildlife refuges across the area
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intended to preserve its unique and threatened ecology. But the
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original pitch by SpaceX, one of America's largest companies and
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a frequent recipient of large government contracts to build a
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launch site in close proximity to protected lands stirred only
15:46
modest pushback. State officials viewed as a way to bring
15:49
jobs to one of the country's poorest regions, where nearly
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one in three people live below the poverty line. According
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to the twenty fourteen environmental impact statement by the Federal
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Aviation Administration, the company's plan each year was to launch
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only around a dozen Falcon rockets, which is SpaceX's most
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established model and required no further experimentation. Within a few years,
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though the plan changed to realize Musk's vision of colonizing Mars.
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SpaceX wanted to begin testing a mammoth rocket that would
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be entirely reusable and large enough to carry dozens of
16:20
people into deep space. Boca Chica, the coastal area around Brownsville, Texas,
16:26
seemed like an ideal location. Quote We've got a lot
16:29
of land with nobody around, and so if it blows up,
16:31
it's cool in quote must set in twenty eighteen. In
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twenty twenty two, over the objections of environmentalists, the FAA
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granted SpaceX authorization to proceed following an expedited review without
16:43
publishing an additional impact statement.
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Speaker 2: Quote.
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Speaker 1: The FAA analyzed all available information and determined Starship Super
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Heavy launch operations would not significantly affect the quality of
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the human environment. The agency told the Post in a statement, quote,
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the preparation of the environmental impact statement is not required.
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Critics of the decision suspected that Musk's political influence was
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at play. The plan for starbas quote was supposed to
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be one thing, and then you have someone with a
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lot of power and influence, and it gets a lot
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bigger in quote, said Eric Rosche, an environmental compliance analyst
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who had been monitoring the SpaceX launches.
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Speaker 2: Quote.
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Speaker 1: The long term environmental impacts have never been studied or disclosed.
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Neither Musk nor the FAA responded to questions about Musk's
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alleged influence on the process. In August, President Donald Trump
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gave his blessing to the streamlined process, ordering the Transportation Department,
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which oversees the FAA, to quote unquote eliminate or expedite
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environmental re reuse related to space launches. In an interview
17:42
with the Post, Temlupis Governor Americo Villa Reale Anya said
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he's been told that SpaceX wants to begin weekly launches,
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and he's grown increasingly troubled by the potential consequences for Mexico.
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Quote perhaps we hadn't grasped the scale of the impacts
17:57
that could end up affecting the ecosystem in this region.
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In quote, he said to Elias Ibarra, a veterinarian who
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founded the non governmental organization Conybo Global, the effects of
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the launches are already clear. For months, he's been scouring
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the beaches with a small crew of activists, posting images
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of what they allege is large space debris, including tanks
18:16
for flammable liquids, a large metal drum half the size
18:19
of a truck, and charred cylinders. Quote we only have
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ten people on our team, he said. Quote we've only
18:25
been able to clean one percent of the area that's
18:27
been affected. He set his organization in partnership with researchers
18:31
from the Autonomous University of Tamalupias have also identified the
18:36
location where they believe one of SpaceX's massive rocket motors
18:39
may have splashed into Mexican waters near Playa, Baghdad after
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a failed launch, leaving a deep indentation in the seafloor.
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If accurate Ibarra speculated the vibrations from the booster could
18:49
have been powerful enough to drive away marine life. When
18:52
he visits play A, Baghdad, now he sees a community
18:55
in despair. Many of the houses are dark and shuttered.
18:57
Quote there are no more fish in quote, he said.
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A fractured family. Guadalupe Perez Reez twenty six could tell
19:06
that her husband was worried. He'd once returned with halls
19:09
of Corvina, trout, sierra and wahoo enough to support his
19:13
mother and their two young children, but after the SpaceX launches,
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Roberto Moralese Amador twenty seven was just as likely to
19:21
return with nothing at all. The couple and some researchers
19:25
believed the launches were probably to blame. Quote When the
19:28
launches aren't successful, the rockets explode and it creates a
19:30
lot of debris that falls into the ocean, and that's
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what causes the impact on fisheries in quote, said Patrick
19:36
Patrick Schroeder, a sustainability researcher at Chatham House who is
19:40
studying the dangers of space debris. The night the young
19:43
fisherman went out with Daniel Santiago, her husband didn't say
19:46
anything about where he was going. She knew he didn't
19:48
want her to worry, but she did anyway.
19:50
Speaker 2: Quote.
19:50
Speaker 1: They were taking risks in quote, she said, quote there
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wasn't enough fish here to support our family. In quote,
19:56
her husband climbed into twenty five foot fishing boat and
19:59
disap peered into the night. Normally he was gone for
20:02
one day to it most, but this time, after being
20:04
convicted of illegal fishing, he was away for more than
20:07
eight months. During his time in US custody, Perez said
20:10
she tried to adjust to her family's new life in
20:12
the shadow of one of humanity's most audacious technological endeavors.
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Quote we're trying to get used to this. In quote,
20:19
she said, weeping one day in November, a few weeks
20:21
before her husband's return. Quote I can't tell you how
20:25
in quote. The next test launch of the starship has
20:27
been tentatively planned for early this year, but Perez says
20:30
she has no plans of moving.
20:32
Speaker 2: Quote.
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Speaker 1: This is where my kids are in quote, she said,
20:35
quote this is where I am in quote and the
20:39
next article the campaign to persuade Trump to investigate the
20:43
Federal Reserve chief. The White House denies prior knowledge of
20:46
the investigation by Andrew Ackerman, Natalie Allison, and Salvadore Rizo.
20:52
Housing Finance regulator Bill Poulti met recently with President Donald
20:57
trumpet mar A Lago and shared a prop resembling a
21:00
quote unquote wanted poster he had made up featuring Federal
21:03
Reserve chair Jerome H.
21:04
Speaker 2: Powell.
21:05
Speaker 1: According to a person with knowledge of the meeting, Pulty
21:08
laid out scenarios that included investigating Powell, and Trump liked
21:11
the idea. The person said. It's not clear how the
21:14
inquiry into Powell was approved, but an official with the
21:17
Justice Apartment said it launched a criminal probe into Powell
21:20
in November and Pulty was not a factor in the inquiry.
21:23
The extraordinary investigation of a sitting FED chairman was disclosed
21:27
by Powell himself late Sunday. The President on Sunday denied
21:30
having any previous knowledge of the investigation. White House officials,
21:34
including Press Secretary Caroline Levitt, denied that Trump directed prosecutors
21:39
to investigate Powell. Trump said December twenty ninth, during a
21:42
news conference as Marlago estate in Florida, however, that he
21:46
was considering legal action against Powell, and as far back
21:49
as a public appearance in July, Trump raised concerns that
21:52
the cost of a FED renovation project was ballooning while
21:55
touring the construction site with Powell. Pulty, an outspoken critic
21:59
of Powell, who oversees the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which
22:02
is pivotal to the mortgage market, also denied any involvement
22:05
in the probe on Bloomberg TV on Monday. Paulty did
22:08
not initially respond to requests for comet. After this story published,
22:12
he posted on Exit the mar A Lago meeting didn't happen.
22:15
By the time Paulty met with Trump, the US Attorney's
22:18
Office in DC had already launched an investigation, according to
22:20
a person briefed on the situation. Powell has characterized the
22:24
probe as an unprecedented attack intended to undermine the Central
22:28
Bank's independent. Trump has spent the past year arguing that
22:31
the Central Bank should sharply cut interest rates, while contemplating
22:34
openly that he might fire Powell, whom he nominated during
22:37
his first term in twenty seventeen. Prosecutors aimed to reconcile
22:42
apparent discrepancies between the renovation contractor's statements and the filings
22:45
to the National Capital Planning Commission with Powell's testimony to
22:48
Congress about the renovations. US Attorney Janine Pirot's office first
22:53
sent an email to fedstaff in December to request a
22:55
meeting or phone conversation. Receiving no response, the staff sent
22:59
another email mail about ten days later, the official said,
23:02
speaking on the condition of anonymity, to discuss an ongoing investigation.
23:06
The FED had not responded as of Thursday, and subpoenas
23:09
authorized by Grand Jury were served to the FED the
23:11
next day, the official said. Late Monday night, Pierrot posted
23:15
a statement on x saying, quote, the word indictment has
23:18
come out of mister Powell's mouth, no one else's. None
23:21
of this would have happened if they had just responded
23:22
to our outreach en quote. The Federal Reserve received two
23:26
emails from a Justice official, but there was no sense
23:29
of urgency to the messages, and the messages to the
23:31
FED didn't mention a criminal investigation, According to a person
23:34
familiar with the emails, who spoke on the condition of
23:36
anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the correspondence.
23:40
De escalation marked the most significant confrontation yet between Trump
23:44
and Powell, whose relationship has been straying for years by
23:47
Trump's repeated attacks on the Fed's interest rate decisions and
23:50
Powell's leadership of the Central Bank. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant
23:54
months ago had worked to quell Poultice's push to go
23:57
after Powell, but he believed the matter had been resolve
24:00
and did not realize that there was a renewed effort
24:02
by Pulty in recent weeks to do so. Set A
24:04
person close to Bessant, speaking on the condition of anonymity,
24:07
to discuss the sensitive situation. When the Justice Department served
24:11
Powell on Friday, Bessant was angry, according to the one
24:14
person close to the Treasury secretary, quote, of course, he
24:20
tried to stop it in quote. The person set of
24:21
Bessant's earlier efforts to block Pulty's anti Powell crusade. A
24:26
Treasury Department official said that there was quote zero daylight
24:29
between Secretary Vessant and President Trump in quote, and that
24:32
sources do not speak for the Treasury Secretary, referring further
24:36
questions to the Department of Justice, and White House Communications
24:39
Director Stephen Chung said in his statement that Pulti is
24:42
quote one of the President's most loyal and important advisors,
24:44
who is doing a great job leading fh FA. Quote
24:49
efforts by the fake news to sew division inside of
24:51
President Trump's all star administration will not work, and our
24:54
pathetic attempt to distract from all of the victories being
24:57
delivered for the American people in quote Chung Ad. News
25:01
of the probe reverberated immediately, rattling markets in early trading
25:04
Monday and pushing up the price of gold, which tends
25:06
to increase during periods of political and economic instability. But
25:10
the stock market ended up for the day, in part
25:12
because investors believe the administration probably would back off its probe.
25:16
Market analysts said. Several former Fed officials said they believed
25:20
the criminal probe probably would backfire, potentially leading Powell to
25:24
consider remaining on the board. Passed the expiration of his
25:27
term as chair in May to deprive the president of
25:29
a crucial seat on the seven member board.
25:31
Speaker 2: Quote.
25:32
Speaker 1: The odds are vanishingly small in light of yesterday's announcement
25:35
that he chooses to vacate his seat one moment earlier
25:38
than absolutely necessary under the law, said David Wilcox, a
25:41
senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and
25:44
the Director of US Economic Research at Bloomberg Economics. After
25:49
BISINT learned of the investigation into Powell, the Treasure's secretary
25:52
made his displeasure known to Trump, telling the President that
25:54
Powell was now unlikely to give up his position. The
25:57
President meanwhile shrugged off the concern. The person close to
26:00
the secretary said in a sign that the probe could
26:03
backfire against Trump. At least three key Senate Republicans spoke
26:06
out against the matter. In a post on ex Senator
26:09
Tom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina, said he would oppose
26:12
any nomination for Powell's successor until the legal matter is resolved.
26:16
Speaker 2: Quote.
26:16
Speaker 1: If there were any remaining doubt whether advisors within the
26:19
Trump administration are actively planning to end the independence of
26:22
the Federal Reserve, there should now be none, he said.
26:26
Tillis's concerns were significant because he holds an effective veto
26:30
on the Senate Banking Committee, where Republicans have a narrow edge.
26:33
His concerns were echoed to varying decrees by Senators Lisa Murkowski,
26:38
Republican of Alaska and Kevin Kramer, Republican of North Dakota.
26:42
Some allies of Cavin Hassett, a top economic advisor to
26:46
Trump seen as a front runner to replace Powell as
26:48
FED chair, now believe his prospects have been harmed.
26:51
Speaker 2: Quote.
26:52
Speaker 1: The Senate's not going to give Trump a FED director
26:54
that he can control after he went after Powell in quote,
26:56
said a person close to the White House who was
26:59
backing Hasset for the busy Zician spoke on the condition
27:01
of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the
27:03
matter openly. The investigation originated from criticism of the Central
27:07
Bank's two point five billion dollar renovation of its headquarters
27:10
along the National Mall, which has been fanned by Pulti,
27:14
who has led the charge to oust Powell. Poultice Agency
27:17
also played a central role in accusations of mortgage fraud
27:20
against Senator Adams Shiff Democrat of California and New York
27:23
Attorney General Letitia James, Democrat, to high profile Trump adversaries.
27:28
When the Federal Reserve submitted its final proposal for the
27:31
first large scale renovation of its headquarters since it was
27:33
built in the nineteen thirties, the contractors leading the project
27:36
used lofty terms to describe the quote vegetated roofs, garden terraces,
27:41
private dining rooms, and an extension of the Governor's private elevator,
27:45
as well as fountains and marble touches. Later, the project's
27:48
costs ran over budget, and those renovation features became fodder
27:51
for Trump's allies, including Pulty, to attack Powell for building
27:55
a marble palace they said would rival Versailles. In a
27:59
video statement posted to its website Sunday, the Federal Reserve
28:02
confirmed it had received subpoenas relating to Powell's Senate testimony
28:07
about renovations to its headquarters. In response, Powell accused the
28:12
administration of using criminal proceedings to pressure the Central Bank
28:15
to lower interest rates, a challenge to its independence. Quote
28:18
the threat of criminal charges as a consequence of the
28:20
Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment
28:24
of what will serve the public, rather than following the
28:26
preferences of the president. In quote, Powell said the forceful
28:30
pushback came after years of generally avoiding directly responding to
28:33
the President's attacks, even when some top officials within the
28:36
Fed system pushed for a more aggressive posture. The Washington
28:39
Post has previously reported. In response to the probe, Democrats
28:42
accused administration officials of weaponizing the Justice Department to undercut
28:46
the Central Bank's independence. Senator Elizabeth Warren Massachusetts, the top
28:51
Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee, accused Trump of trying
28:54
to remove Powell and install another quote sock puppet to
28:57
complete his corrupt takeover of America's Central Bank. End quote
29:02
and the next article. Justice experts on police shootings left
29:05
out of Minneapolis probe. The Civil Rights Division typically leads
29:08
shooting investigations, but so far has not been activated by
29:12
Perry Stein. The Justice Department division that regularly handles investigations
29:17
of police shootings has not been brought into the probe
29:19
of an immigration officer's fatal shooting of a woman in Minneapolis.
29:23
According to multiple people familiar with the matter, the decision
29:27
so far to not involve the Civil Rights Division's criminal
29:30
Section provides a window into the unusual way the Trump
29:32
administration has handled the investigation. The move has deepened doubts
29:36
already raised by Minnesota officials about whether the shooting will
29:39
receive affair and scrupulous examination quote. When you put that
29:44
together with the state authorities being excluded from even access
29:46
to the evidence like shell casings the car. I don't
29:50
have any confidence that a use of force investigation is
29:52
actually even happening when it comes to the death of
29:54
Renee Good in quote, said Keith Ellison, the Democratic Attorney
29:58
General of Minnesota. I don't know for certain that they
30:01
are not doing anything because they have been amazingly uncommunicative,
30:05
but they are not telling us what they are doing.
30:08
President Donald Trump, Vice President J. D. Vance, and Homeland
30:11
Security Secretary Christy L. Nom have all declared the shooting justified,
30:15
despite an investigation not being completed and video footage that
30:19
challenges parts of their narrative. The fatal shooting last week
30:22
of thirty seven year old Renee Good has ignited protest
30:25
nationwide and sharp disagreements between the administration and local and
30:28
state authorities about what happened. Administration officials have said the
30:33
FBI would be investigating the killing. State leaders said last
30:36
week that federal law enforcement had blocked local officials from
30:39
accessing evidence. Local, state, and federal officials typically worked together
30:43
on high profile probes. Vance last week ruled out any
30:47
involvement by state or local officials in investigating the officer
30:50
who shot Good. Saying that quote the idea that Minnesota
30:53
Governor Tim Waltz and a bunch of radicals in Minneapolis
30:55
are going to go after and make this guy's life
30:57
miserable because he was doing the job that he was
30:59
astd to do is preposterous. Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension
31:04
said last week that it was quote open to conducting
31:07
a full investigation of the incident, should the U. S.
31:09
Attorney's Office and FBI reconsider their approach and express a
31:13
willingness to resume a joint investigation. Law enforcement officers are
31:17
rarely charged for using lethal force. The law provides significant
31:21
lee way for officers to decide when use of force
31:23
is needed. A robust federal investigation could determine that the
31:27
officer was justified in shooting Good. Legal experts noted such
31:30
a conclusion can only be accurately reached if law enforcement
31:33
officials examine all relevant state and federal laws and their
31:36
application to the facts in the case. They said, a
31:39
thorough investigation, for example, might conclude that the officers first
31:42
shot Good was justified, but that the next two were not.
31:47
The Civil Rights Division is typically involved in such investigations
31:50
because the federal law that enables the Justice Department to
31:53
probe whether officers used excessive force is a civil rights
31:56
statue that prohibits law enforcement from denying a person their
31:59
rights under quote unquote color of law. The officers responsible
32:03
for the killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Tyre
32:07
Nichols in Memphis, for example, were tried by Civil Rights
32:10
Division prosecutors and convicted by juries under this law, generally
32:14
referred to as Section two forty two for its place
32:17
in the US Criminal Code. Federal regulations do not require
32:20
Civil Rights Division prosecutors to participate in such investigations. The
32:24
head of the division, Harmeet K. Dillon, would need to
32:27
be involved, however, if the Justice Department decided to pursue
32:30
civil rights charges. Legal experts said that it was possible
32:33
that the U. S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota could handle
32:37
such an investigation on its own, but that would be
32:39
highly unusual not to involve the expertise of the Civil
32:42
Rights Division. They also said that in the beginning stages
32:45
of probes, its common practice for FBI agents to be
32:47
on the ground at the shooting scene and lead the investigation,
32:50
but that agents typically consult Civil Rights Division prosecutors from
32:53
the start to ensure that all relevant factors are being
32:56
looked into. Civil Rights Division prosecutors would typically work alongside
33:00
FBI agents to guide investigatory strategy on the case. Prosecutors
33:05
would also be needed in the early investigatory stages to
33:07
help with the legal process, including with grand jury subcreenas
33:11
and appearances. The Justice Department did not respond to request
33:14
for comment and would not say whether the U. S.
33:16
Attorney's Office is meaningfully involved in the investigation. US Attorney's
33:20
offices often announce involvement in a high profile investigation.
33:24
Speaker 2: Quote.
33:24
Speaker 1: It is highly unusual for the Civil Rights Division not
33:27
to be involved from the outset with the FBI and U. S.
33:30
Attorney's Office in quote, said Venita Gupta, the head of
33:33
the division during the Obama administration and the Associate Attorney
33:37
General during the Biden administration. Quote, I cannot think of
33:40
another high profile federal agent shooting case like this when
33:44
the Civil Rights Division was not involved. Its prosecutors have
33:46
the long standing expertise in such cases. In quote, she added.
33:51
Several former law enforcement officials who reviewed video footage of
33:54
the moments surrounding the shooting and spoke to Washington Post
33:57
faulted the actions taken by the IC officer, identified through
34:01
court records as Jonathan Ross, an employee of the agency's
34:04
Enforcement and Removal Operations Division. The officials said that Ross
34:08
placed himself at needless risk by stepping in front of
34:10
goods vehicle, escalated the situation and went against best law
34:14
enforcement practices. Law enforcement officers should not position themselves in
34:18
front of vehicles, and they need to try to de
34:20
escalate confrontations and must generally avoid shooting into moving vehicles,
34:24
those officials said. The videos show that goods vehicle did
34:27
move toward the IC agent as he stood in front
34:29
of it. The footage also shows that he was able
34:32
to move aside and fire at least two of his
34:34
three shots from the side. According to a Washington Post analysis,
34:38
under Dylan, the Civil Rights Division has dramatically changed its
34:41
mission and the workforce has been reduced, with the majority
34:44
of its sections nearly four hundred attorneys having left since
34:47
Trump began his current term in office. The division changed
34:50
mission statements across its sections to focus less on racial
34:53
discrimination and more on fighting diversity initiatives. Some of the
34:57
sections within the division are so understaffed that they cannot
35:00
effectively complete their workloads, people familiar with the section said.
35:03
But while the Civil Rights Division Criminal Section has also
35:06
seen widespread departures, people familiar with the section said it
35:09
still has the expertise to respond to cases such as
35:12
the Minnesota one. The section's chief and deputy are both
35:15
career attorneys who served in those positions during the Biden administration.
35:19
Some of the most notable changes of direction by the
35:21
Civil Rights Division have involved police use a force. In May,
35:25
the administration removed to abandon an agreement that would force
35:29
changes within the Minneapolis Police department. Federal officials also say
35:33
they were backing out of a similar agreement in Louisville.
35:35
In July, the Civil Rights Division requested that a Louisville
35:39
police officer convicted in connection with a raid that resulted
35:42
in Breonna Taylor's death be sentenced to one day in prison,
35:45
far less than what federal guidelines recommend. Administration lawyers suggested
35:49
in an unusual sentencing memo to a judge that the
35:52
Biden administration should not have prosecuted the officer on the
35:54
civil rights charges on which a jury convicted him. And
35:59
our next article, Trump officials fire high ranking prosecutor in
36:02
Virginia amid turmoil. Robert McBride, recently appointed as the second
36:07
highest ranking official in the Eastern District of Virginia, was
36:10
abruptly dismissed by Salvador Rizzo, Perry Stein, and Steve Thompson.
36:16
A veteran prosecutor who was recruited to help run a
36:18
key US Attorney's office in Virginia, was abruptly dismissed last
36:22
week after disagreements with the Trump administration, According to two
36:25
people with knowledge of the firing, Robert K. McBride was
36:29
first Assistant U s Attorney in Eastern District of Virginia
36:33
for about two months, starting after President Donald Trump and
36:35
his administration perched the top prosecutors in the office and
36:38
ordered the criminal charges be filed against two of the
36:40
president's perceived political opponents, former FBI Director James B. Comy
36:45
and New York Attorney General Letitia James. McBride had been
36:49
second in command to Lindsay Halligan, the Trump administration lawyer
36:53
who leads the office, but who was disqualified from her
36:55
position by a judge in late November. His ouster provides
36:58
the latest sign of a peas in what has long
37:01
been regarded as one of the most prestigious US Attorney's
37:03
offices in the country, and which has seen a raft
37:06
of firings and resignations After the Comie and James prosecutions.
37:10
A federal judge dismissed indictments against both last year after
37:13
finding that Halligan was not lawfully appointed. McBride had been
37:17
a federal prosecutor in Kentucky for more than fifteen years
37:19
before moving into private practice. He was recruited last year
37:22
to the Virginia Prosecutor's office as a seasoned legal hand
37:26
who could assist Halligan, who had no experience as a prosecutor,
37:29
and managing about three hundred lawyers and support staff dealing
37:32
with national security issues, leaks of classified information, and international
37:37
terrorism cases. McBride could not be reached for comment Monday.
37:41
His firing followed several disagreements with Halligan, including over how
37:44
to proceed with the Comby case after the indictment against
37:47
him was dismissed. According to the people familiar with the ouster.
37:50
The people spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss
37:52
a personnel issue. Halligan and a spokesman for the US
37:55
Attorney's Office did not respond to emailed questions about why
37:59
McBride was dismissed. McBride's dismissal coincided with the hiring of
38:03
Patrick Hopple, who was most recently an attorney for the
38:06
Department of Homeland Security at its d C headquarters. Hopper
38:09
will be working on the executive floor of the U
38:11
S Attorney's Office alongside Halligan. According to a person familiar
38:14
with the matter, under the Federal Vacancy's Reform Act, McBride
38:19
automatically would have been the acting US Attorney General if
38:22
Halligan vacated her position. In addition to the ruling disqualifying
38:26
her from holding the job, Halligan could be forced to
38:29
resign within the statutory limit on her one hundred and
38:31
twenty day appointment passes next week. In November, U S
38:35
District Judge Cameron McGowan Curry ruled that Halligan's appointment as
38:39
interim U S Attorney was invalid because of her usual
38:42
maneuver the Trump administration used to install her. Trump had
38:46
previously appointed an interim prosecutor to leave the office, Eric S. Cybert,
38:50
at the start of his term in January twenty twenty five.
38:53
Cybert was forced out in September, after declining to seek
38:56
charges against Comy and James. Career prosecutors had recommended against
39:00
pursuing the two cases because of insufficient evidence of wrongdoing.
39:03
Curry ruled that under federal law, the power to appoint
39:06
the U. S. Attorney shifted to the federal judges in
39:08
the Eastern District of Virginia after Cybert's one hundred and
39:11
twenty day appointment concluded. The Justice Department has appealed the ruling,
39:15
but it never requested a stay, meaning that the ruling
39:17
disqualifying Haligan remains in effect for now. Nonetheless, she has
39:21
continued to represent herself as the US attorney in court filings,
39:24
a stance that has drawn sharp questions from federal judges
39:26
in her district. Last week, US just District Judge David
39:31
Novak and Richmond ordered Halligan to explain in writing by
39:34
Tuesday why she has continued to use the U. S.
39:36
Attorney title despite Curry's ruling. Novak, who was nominated to
39:40
the bench by Trump, suggested that Halligan may be making
39:42
false or misleading statements to the court. US District Judge
39:46
Leoni M. Brinkhama, who supervises the Alexander of Virginia Courthouse
39:51
also had pointed words at a hearing Friday. Quote, I
39:54
want to ask the government why, in light of Judge
39:57
Curry's orders and now Judge Novak's orders, you're continuing to
40:00
include the name of miss Halligan on pleanings where at
40:03
this point there's no legal authority for her name to
40:05
be on them. Brinkama asked an assistant US to attorney.
40:08
According to a court transcript, the prosecutor responded that the
40:12
officer's position was that Curry's order was not applicable outside
40:15
of the Comy and James cases. Brinkhamo ordered Halligan's name
40:19
struck from court filings. Quote, as you know, I am
40:22
on the record saying she should resign from the position
40:24
at this point in quote, the judge said. McBride's firing
40:28
continues a pattern of confusion that prosecutors and government lawyers
40:31
in the office, known as EDVA have been privately fretting
40:35
about for months. The former first Assistant US Attorney, Maya D. Song,
40:40
was demoted and then fired last year, along with the
40:43
chief of the office's National Security Unit, Michael P. Benari.
40:48
Both had served in the officer more than a decade.
40:50
Two well regarded supervisors also have left their post in
40:54
recent months. Brian Samuels, who has been serving as Chief
40:56
of Offices Criminal Division, was demoted last year. Alexander Blanchard,
41:01
who had led the Major Crimes Unit, resigned for a
41:03
job at a law firm. And our next article, a
41:07
young lawmaker comes of age in Minneapolis, a city that
41:10
keeps grieving. State Senators ze Nab Mohammed's life and career
41:14
have been shaped by George Floyd's death, school shootings, a
41:18
political assassination, and a deadly IC crackdown by Caroline O'Donovan Minneapolis.
41:26
In the volatile hours after an IC officer shot and
41:29
killed a woman in her vehicle last week, state Senators
41:32
Zeinab Mohammed stood shoulder to shoulder with the Chief of
41:35
Police as they moved through the crowd near the scene.
41:38
Tensions were high, and both the law enforcement veteran and
41:41
the woman eighteen years his senior were concerned that rippling
41:43
anger could ignite into something dangerous. That's when Chief Brian
41:47
O'Hara asked Mohammed and the small group of young female
41:51
elected officials she was with to help convince the crowd
41:53
that Minneapolis police weren't there to work with ic quote,
41:57
they'll listen to you, guys. In quote, Mohammed rect called him, saying.
42:01
Mohammed twenty eight, is an increasingly high profile lawmaker with
42:05
an expanding social media reach, whose family fled Somalia nearly
42:09
twenty years ago in hopes of leaving political violence behind.
42:12
Over the past half decade, her adopted hometown has suffered
42:16
searing local traumas that reverberated nationally. Police killings, political assassinations,
42:22
and now a fatal immigration crackdown. These events bruise the
42:25
collective psyche of this deeply purple state while molding Mohammed's
42:29
life as Minnesota's youngest state senator. She says that she
42:33
has tried to maintain focus on serving her constituents directly
42:36
and communicating with the public transparently, and believes action is
42:40
the anecdote to the kind of despair that can seep
42:42
in after shared crises. For her, that means organizing food drives,
42:47
delivering diapers to immigrant families, attending protests, and documenting it
42:50
all on Instagram and TikTok, while also speaking at news
42:53
conferences and carrying out her legislative duties.
42:56
Speaker 2: Quote.
42:57
Speaker 1: For the first time, I feel the weight of the job, Mohammed,
43:00
a Democrat, said Thursday during a break between protests over
43:03
the IC shooting of Renee Good.
43:06
Speaker 2: Quote.
43:06
Speaker 1: I have to work on policies that bring trust back
43:09
to the system in integrity. I have to work hard
43:11
to make sure Democrats win Minnesota because that's important to me.
43:16
And I have to fight for community and be a
43:18
person young people can look at who is comfortable in
43:20
her own skin. I have to be strong for them.
43:22
Speaker 2: In quote.
43:24
Speaker 1: Quote it's been a difficult few years. In quote, she continued, quote,
43:27
let's hope this is the last of the tragedy.
43:29
Speaker 2: In quote. Mohammad came to the.
43:32
Speaker 1: US in two thousand and seven when she was nine
43:34
years old, along with nine brothers and sisters, fleeing a
43:37
civil war that had ravaged their East African country. She
43:40
learned to read English and Somali alongside her mother, who
43:42
never went to school. Her father's job is setting up
43:45
for events at hotels. Her mother has worked in the
43:47
same mashed potato factory since she arrived in high school.
43:50
An internship program started by a former Minneapolapolis mayor helped
43:55
Mohamed land a gig at US Bank. She was drawn
43:58
by the idea of a job where hard work were
44:00
correspond with regular raises and promotions. Then in May twenty twenty,
44:04
George Floyd was killed. Mohammed still remembers watching the video
44:07
on her phone in bed quote the human part of
44:09
him screaming, screaming for his mom.
44:11
Speaker 2: Quote.
44:12
Speaker 1: She spent much of that summer in the streets marching
44:15
and got a job with the Council on American Islamic Relations,
44:18
helping coordinate rallies, print flyers, and convenient news conferences.
44:22
Speaker 2: Quote.
44:22
Speaker 1: People were just outside angry in quote she recalled when
44:26
she was first asked to run for office at the
44:28
end of that year, she demured, but she was frustrated
44:31
by what she saw as the lack of communication between
44:34
institutions and the community, and the lack of transparency from
44:37
people in power, and the tragedies kept coming. Daunte Wright
44:41
was shot and killed by a police officer in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota,
44:44
in April twenty twenty one. Then a protester died in
44:47
a car ramming.
44:48
Speaker 2: In June.
44:48
Speaker 1: The same month, police shot and killed Winston Smith on
44:51
the roof of an uptown parking garage. When a state
44:54
senator representing the South Side said she wouldn't seek reelection
44:56
in twenty twenty two, Mohammad decided it was time. She
45:00
and two other candidates became the first black women elected
45:02
to the Minnesota State Senate. The first two years of
45:05
her term were appeared of relative calm for the city.
45:08
That ended in June twenty twenty five when a man
45:10
in a fake police uniform shot two Minnesota lawmakers and
45:14
their spouses, killing State represented Melissa Hortman, her husband Mark,
45:18
and their dog. The killer, police later learned, had plans
45:22
to shoot dozens of other public figures, including Mohammed. A
45:25
call from police woker at four a m that day,
45:28
quote you're told don't leave your home, don't open the door,
45:31
even if it's a police officer, she recalled. Then just
45:35
two months later, another shooting, this time in her district,
45:38
killed two children at Annunciation Catholic Church and injured more
45:41
than a dozen others. Speaking to reporters, Muhammed addressed the
45:44
onslaught of gun violence, saying, quote, yesterday it was kids
45:47
in church. Who will it be tomorrow. Muhammed has written
45:51
a bill banning assault rifles in a high capacity magazine
45:54
she hopes to pass this year. It faces long odds
45:57
and a state with vast rural districts where some let's st.
46:00
S eight legislators carry firearms to work in the capitol.
46:03
She knows she will also have to reckon with a
46:05
massive fraud scandal interstate, which involved child care providers from
46:09
the Somali community and has triggered weeks of criticism from
46:12
President Donald Trump and the Republican Party government. Governor Tim Waltz,
46:16
a fellow Democrat, said last week that he would not
46:19
seek reelection, in part because of conservative attacks on him
46:22
for not doing more sooner to address the misuse of
46:25
federal funds.
46:26
Speaker 2: Quote.
46:27
Speaker 1: There are clearly loopholes in the agency in quote, said Mohammed,
46:30
who sits on the Health and Human Services Committee in
46:33
the state Senate. Quote, and I think the next section
46:35
we have a lot of work to do in closing
46:37
some of those.
46:38
Speaker 2: In quote.
46:39
Speaker 1: Mohammed, who says she has no aspirations for higher office,
46:42
faulted Trump for deriding all Somali's as quote unquote scammers
46:45
and saying they should quote go back to where they
46:47
came from in quote quote. When he does that, he
46:51
taps into an audience that doesn't really know anything about us.
46:53
In quote, Mohammed said, quote, a lot of people would
46:56
never even have met a Somali person, and their only
46:59
perspective on the case community is exactly what he says.
47:01
It's very harmful. In early December, Trump ordered an IC
47:06
surge to Minneapolis, ostensibly to round up undocumented Somalis, even
47:10
though the vast majority of the eighty thousand Somalis in
47:13
Minnesota are US citizens or permanent legal residents. Somali, Latino, Lao,
47:18
and Mung immigrants without legal status have been arrested. Mohammed
47:22
has marched in opposition to IC's operations, which according to
47:26
the DHS, have resulted in the arrests of fifteen hundred people.
47:30
As in other cities, the operation led to clashes between
47:32
observers and law enforcement. One video from December shows an
47:36
IC agent pushing a woman to the ground and the
47:38
snow face first, then dragging her by the hood of
47:40
her jacket. Then came the shooting of Renee Good. Before
47:45
last week, Mohammed was mostly focused on mundane but essential
47:48
services for her constituents, delivering cheerios and water to immigrant families,
47:52
tracking reports of ice activity, and organizing a food drive
47:56
at a local high school. She documented her efforts through
47:59
daily TikTok updates. Quote, Hey y'all, it's one pm, and
48:03
this is your update for the day. In quote, she said,
48:05
breezily one day in December, before turning the camera on
48:08
volunteers pouring beans, backing rice, and stacking diapers. Some, she said,
48:12
needed the food because their family's bread winter had been arrested,
48:15
Others because they were skipping work to avoid ice. Many
48:19
were simply afraid to go to the grocery store.
48:21
Speaker 2: Quote.
48:21
Speaker 1: Beneath all the problems coming from Washington, people here just
48:24
want to help their neighbors in quote, she said. Quote
48:27
and I've just been leaning into that with my videos
48:30
in quote. Her focus dramatically shifted on Wednesday, when Mohammed
48:35
first heard about Goods shooting from her cousin, a police officer.
48:38
In the hours that followed, she urged protesters to remain
48:41
calm and counseled not only to send the state National
48:44
Guard to the city, which she feared would only anger
48:46
residents further. At city Hall on Friday morning, she praised
48:50
Good thirty seven for her humanity and compassion. Quote unquote
48:53
and emphasized the need for a fair investigation of the
48:56
shooting that has divided the nation and pitted law enforcement
48:59
officials against state and local officials. Quote this federal government
49:03
has given us too many reasons to not trust them
49:05
to do the right thing. And quote, Mohammad said, quote
49:07
leaders have used every opportunity since this tragedy to lie
49:10
about the fact, to lie about Renee, and to blame
49:13
her for her own murder. In quote, once again, she
49:16
finds herself addressing a national audience on a tragedy that
49:19
hit too close to home. But as dark as the
49:22
past year has been, she reminds herself, quote things could
49:25
always be worse in quo quote A lot of my
49:28
childhood memories my family going to village trying to escape
49:31
US civil war. In quote, she said, she counts herself
49:34
lucky to have found that legal paths to see US
49:36
citizenship and feels an obligation to help those who weren't
49:39
as fortunate.
49:40
Speaker 2: Quote.
49:40
Speaker 1: I could sit around and worry about how tough life
49:42
has been this past year in quote, she said, but quote,
49:45
but I'm healthy and young and privileged to help people.
49:48
That's my purpose in quote, and our next article, Trump
49:52
picks up the phone and calls Senator Elizabeth Warren. The
49:55
unlikely conversation came after years of antipathy between the two politicians,
50:00
including the President's derogatory use of the nickname Pocahontas to
50:03
describe her by Matt Visser and Liz Goodwin. It was
50:07
a typical speech for Senator Elizabeth Warren. The Massachusetts Democrat
50:12
blamed President Donald Trump for rising costs that she said
50:14
or hurting Americans. She called him a quote unquote wannabe dictator.
50:18
She accused him of quote unquote doing not one damn
50:21
thing to lower housing costs, and ridiculed him for not
50:24
actively supporting legislation that would encourage more construction. Quote where
50:28
is Donald Trump as he lifted a finger to move
50:31
that bill forward in the House of Representatives? In quote
50:33
she asked, Monday morning and an appearance of the National
50:35
Press Club. Quote he sure knows how to get on
50:38
the phone when he doesn't like what they're doing over
50:40
at the Epstein Files.
50:41
Speaker 2: Quote.
50:42
Speaker 1: Then Trump got on the phone with her. The two
50:45
erstwhile foes discussed housing legislation and the proposed cap on
50:48
credit card rates. It was a quote unquote good call
50:52
that occurred spontaneously. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt said,
50:57
quote he heard about the speech and said, let me
50:59
call her. Quote Levitt said, quote President Trump is shown
51:02
a willingness to pick up the phone and talk with
51:04
anyone in quote. This was, however, the first time Trump
51:08
has called Warren, according to an aid to the Senator.
51:10
More typically, he has disparaged her left leaning politics and
51:13
derisively called her Pocahontas, reveling in the nickname as recently
51:17
as last month as a way to mock her claims
51:19
of Native American heritage. So was it a one off
51:23
moment of geniality or a more lasting attempt by Trump
51:26
to forge yet another unusual political alliance. It is unknown
51:30
whether they came to any agreement or whether Trump will
51:32
help push the housing or credit card legislation. Warren is backing.
51:36
The antipathy between Trump and Warren goes back years. During
51:39
an event in the Oval office in August, he called
51:41
her quote a mean, horrible human being in quote, and
51:45
claimed her policies had destroyed financial institutions and put farmers
51:48
out of business.
51:49
Speaker 2: Quote.
51:50
Speaker 1: She's a liar and a mean person. She's a nutjob.
51:52
In quote, he said, quote, I watched her the other night.
51:55
She's all hopped up endorsing a communist in New York City,
51:58
and she was all excited in jumping up and down.
52:01
She's got to take a drug test, really, she does.
52:03
She's got to take a drug test. There's no way
52:05
somebody can act that way and be normal.
52:07
Speaker 2: In quote, Trump.
52:09
Speaker 1: That day was referring to her endorsement of his Oran Mandani,
52:12
who went on to win New York's mayoral race and
52:15
who had a cordial meeting in the Oval Office with
52:17
Trump in December. In her remarks Monday, Warren criticized Trump
52:21
for not doing more to help working families lower housing
52:24
costs and cap credit card interest rates. Warren said in
52:27
a statement that she delivered the same message to Trump
52:29
after he called her. Quote, I told him that Congress
52:32
can pass legislation to cap credit card rates if he
52:34
will actually fight for it. In quote, she said, I
52:37
also urged him to get House Republicans to quote pass
52:40
the Bipartisan Road to Housing Act, which passed the Senate
52:43
with unanimous support and would build more housing and lower costs.
52:46
In quote in a question an answered segment after the speech,
52:50
Warren was asked what she thought of Trump's proposal to
52:52
cap credit card interest rates at ten percent. Quote, let's go.
52:56
I'm ready In quote, she said, quote I have that
52:58
one written out. You are ready to move that one
53:00
in Congress on the Democratic side? And where has President
53:03
Trump been missing an action?
53:05
Speaker 2: In quote.
53:06
Speaker 1: Warren also criticized Trump for not doing more to push
53:09
forward a bill to encourage more housing construction that passed
53:11
the Senate last year. The House, under Republican Speaker Mike
53:15
Johnson of Louisiana has not picked up the road to
53:17
housing legislation. Warren said Trump has a quote unquote credibility
53:22
problem on the issue of affordability that Democrats will run
53:25
on in the twenty twenty six mid term elections. Quote
53:28
He's just shooting out one idea after another and not
53:30
doing one damn thing to actually lower the cost of
53:33
housing for the American people in quote.
53:35
Speaker 2: She said.
53:36
Speaker 1: Much of Warren's speech was focused on the future of
53:38
the Democratic Party, as she urged party leaders to embrace
53:42
an economic populist message and to stop quote sucking up
53:45
to the rich and powerful in quote by watering down
53:48
calls to tax the rich and ran. In the power
53:50
of large corporations, but she also called Trump a quote
53:53
unquote wanna be dictator in quote not long after he
53:57
was on the phone.
53:58
Speaker 2: In our next article.
54:00
Speaker 1: While launches first in the nation trial that lets AI
54:02
renew your prescription, Utah said that its new AI prescription
54:06
drug chatbot it wants to free up doctors to focus
54:09
on patient care and make medicine more accessible and affordable.
54:12
By Daniel Wu, need to top up your prescription for
54:16
asthma medication if you're in Utah, you can do it
54:19
in minutes from your web browser for a four dollars
54:21
fee without talking to a doctor. Utah residents can now
54:24
use an artificial intelligence chat box to renew some commonly
54:27
used prescription drugs under a first in the nation pilot program.
54:31
Regulators say the experiment could inform the future of AI
54:34
driven healthcare in the state. The AI service Doctronic, can
54:38
process thirty, sixty or ninety day renewals for certain medications
54:42
that have already been prescribed by a licensed provider. According
54:45
to the Utah Office Office of Artificial Intelligence Policy, the
54:48
service will not issue new prescriptions or handle refills for
54:52
controlled or addictive substances. The program's goal is to help
54:56
free up doctors to focus on patient care and make
54:58
medicine more accessible and affordable. The AI Policy Office said
55:03
several AI companies have made forays into providing healthcare advice,
55:06
but the Utah pilot marks the first time a state
55:08
regulator has empowered a chatbot to handle prescriptions, a role
55:12
long reserved by licensed healthcare providers. The Utah Department of
55:16
Commerce announced the pilot Tuesday, after it quietly launched in December.
55:20
A few hundred people in the state have already used
55:23
Doctronic for prescriptions, according to the company's founders. Quote, this
55:27
is a major milestone to demonstrate how AI can improve
55:30
access to care and health outcomes in quote, Doctronic co
55:33
founder Matt Pavel said in a statement, quote we hope
55:36
other states follow Utah's leads.
55:39
Speaker 2: In quote.
55:40
Speaker 1: Margaret Bussy, the executive director of Utah's Department of Commerce,
55:44
said that the state is quote unquote proceeding cautiously and
55:47
approved the trial after months of research, and that her
55:49
office wants to encourage AI innovation.
55:51
Speaker 2: Quote.
55:52
Speaker 1: We know we have a giant crisis of affordability and healthcare,
55:55
and if we don't allow technology to be able to
55:56
help settle it in ways that can really help. We're
55:59
never going to see the bends in quote, Bussy said.
56:02
Physician organizations oppose the move. The American Medical Association CEO
56:06
and executive vice president John White cautioned against automating health
56:09
care processes. Physicians should quote remain at the forefront of
56:13
decision making and to validate AI outputs to ensure accuracy
56:16
and patient safety. In quote, he said. In his statement
56:20
and part way through the article that concludes the reading
56:22
of the Washington Post for Today, January thirteenth, twenty twenty six.
56:27
Your reader today has been Patrick Lee Lucas. If you
56:30
have any questions, comments, or suggestions concerning this program, feel
56:34
free to call us at eight five nine four two
56:36
two six three nine zero. Thank you for listening, and
56:39
now please stay tuned for continued programming on RADIOI