Transcript

6.2.25 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Good morning, everybody, and welcome to the reading of the
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Washington Post for this Monday, June second. As a reminder,
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radiois a reading service intended for people who are blind
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or have other disabilities that make it difficult to read
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printed material. Your reader for today is Rod Brotherton, and
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as you know by listening request on Mondays, we begin
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by reading Paul Prather's weekly column from the Lexington Herald Leader.
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This week's article is titled the drop in people going
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to Church may have stabilized. Now, over the past few years,
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I've written occasionally about a well documented drop in church
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attendance and affiliation among Americans. There are indications that free
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fall may have stabilized. In February, the Pew Research Center
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released its third religious landscape study, the Mammoth Project, that
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over seventeen years, has sampled more than thirty five thousand
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randomly selected respondents each time it's been conducted. The Pew
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Center reported that in the period it studied most recently
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seven months in twenty twenty three and twenty twenty four,
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sixty two percent of US adults I identified as Christians.
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That's a sixteen point drop since the first study in
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twenty oh seven. However, it marked the stabilization. Between twenty
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nineteen and twenty twenty four, the Christian share of the
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adult population hovered between sixty percent and sixty four percent. Similarly,
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the share of religiously unaffiliated population called nuns those who
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identify as atheists, agnostics, or nothing in particular as plateaued
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at twenty nine percent of the population after a long
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perce period of dramatic growth. Pew said, if like me,
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you take these newer numbers as welcome news, well not
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so fast. This stabilization probably is a brief pause before
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another plummet. Older Americans are generally more religious than younger ones,
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who are also proving less likely to bring their own
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kids up with traditional religious beliefs and practices, so as
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baby boomers pass from the scene, they will be replaced
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by generations of less churched folks, another big hit for religion.
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Reading all this, I always find myself pondering the mystery
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of faith itself. Where does faith come from? Why do
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some people have it and others don't? Why do some
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abandon it and others hold fast despite ill wins. I've
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been thinking about my friend Kenny, who passed away in
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twenty twenty two. We used to laugh about the first
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time we saw each other back in the nineteen eighties.
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He showed up at church where I was a pastor.
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As I recalled, his wife had dragged him there against
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his will. They were having marital problems, and she told
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some of us in the congregation beforehand that her husband
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could benefit from a good dose of Jesus. That first service,
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I noticed Kenny glowering at me the whole time I
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preached and made a mental note, Okay, this guy's trouble.
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Later Kenny insisted he hadn't been glowering. He was trying
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to figure out what the heck I was talking about.
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He wasn't raised in church and never had felt a
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need to attend one, and I didn't have a clue
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what point OUT was trying to make. It was all
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mumbo jumbo to him, but something piqued his interest because
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he kept coming back. His wife quit coming, but he
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kept on. They divorced, but he kept showing up at church.
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He was a home builder and a weekend bass player
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in a rock and roll band. At some point he
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volunteered to play in the church's worship band. He was transformed.
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If I've ever seen anybody transform. For thirty five years,
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he was a church every time. The door's open, Sunday morning,
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Sunday nights, Wednesday night Bible studies, Friday night Bible studies, revivals,
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work days on the grounds. He owned the biggest widescreen
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TV any of us had ever seen. Whenever there was
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a Super Bowl or Championship fight march madness, half the
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guys of the congregation would pile into his den, occupying
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every stick of furniture and sitting knee to knee on
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the floor, devouring pizzas and shouting at the gargantuan screen
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that took up a whole wall. He he was in trouble.
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He was a sweetheart, and he loved him some Jesus.
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Twenty years in he'd still go get so animated in
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Bible study over a passage of scripture that he could
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barely stay in his chair. We couldn't shut him up.
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Sometimes go to let somebody else talk. It was comical.
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He had every opportunity to give up. The housing crash
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of twenty oh White wiped out his business. His dad died,
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his mom developed dementia, and he was the only one
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left to take care of her. Which he did four years.
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The same week she was buried, he learned he had
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terminal esophageal cancer. None of it diminished his faith. Even
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cancer couldn't keep him out of church for long. He
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was able to drive and stand on two feet. He
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was on stage stump in that base. That's the mystery
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under again and again. There are so many for whom God, religion,
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and the church appear to be ephemeral, if there is
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anything at all, They never see a need for any
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of it, or they embrace it a while, but the
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least gust of adversity blows them away. Yet sitting right
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beside them as a Kenny, somebody for whom faith becomes everything.
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Faith transforms them, it centers them. I always get the
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feeling they've been something mighty and unmistakable. They can't unsee.
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God has become a real to them as the breath,
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they and their lungs. Why them, Why one or not
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the other? I'd like to know what ineffable thing sets
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such people apart. Maybe God just picks out a Kenny
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once in a while and says, hey, I'm going to
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manifest my grace through you. You're going to enjoy this
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ricke and as you know Paul Pray through his pastor
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of the Bethesda Church near Mount Sterling. You can email
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him at prtpd at yahoo dot com. Now let's go
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today's to Today's Washington Post and the first headline, Ukraine
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attacks Russian air bases in far reaching drone strikes. On
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the eve of bilateral peace talks in Istanbul, Ukraine's security
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services offered and launched a massive drone strike against five
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air bases inside Russia. Officials in both countries and Sunday,
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and one of the most penetrating assaults of Russian territory
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by Ukrainian forces since the war began. The Security Service
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of Ukraine claimed responsibility for the attack, which saw Ukrainian
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drones smuggled into Russia before striking strategic airfields and remote areas,
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including Siberia for the first time. President Vladimir Zelenski hailed
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the assault as brilliant and perfectly prepared. He said Ukraine
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used one hundred and seventeen drones to take more than
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a third of Russia's cruise missile carriers and had safely
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transported those who helped with the attacks out of Russia
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before the strikes began. These are Ukrainian actions that will
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definitely be in the history books, he wrote on telegram
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On Sunday, Russia's Defense minister called the operation a terrorist
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attack and confirmed in a statement published by Russian State
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Newswires that airfields had been attacked by drones in the
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murmansk It, trusk Ivanovo, Raizan and Emui regions. Several units
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of aircraft caught fire. The statement read, Russian warplanes carry
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out daily attacks on Ukrainian cities, and Kiev has long
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limited that it has been unable to thwart such bombardments,
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in part because its partners have imposed restrictions on using
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Western supplied weapons for deep strikes inside Russia. The operation
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Sunday demonstrated that Ukraine has in the meantime found a
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way to deploy its own weapons to reach previously unattainable targets.
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According to a Ukrainian intelligence official who spoke on the
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condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic,
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KIV conducted the operation cone name Spider Web, using first
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person view fp V drones armed with explosives that were
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smuggled into Russia and concealed inside trucks and beneath the
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roofs of houses. Those sites were then remotely opened, the
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official said, allowing the drones to fly up and attack
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their targets. The operation was prepaired for over eighteen months
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under the personal supervision of Zelensky. The official sid video
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filmed by a Ukrainian reconnaissance aircraft and shared by Ukraine's
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security services appear to show one Russian airfield in flames
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and drones attacking several planes. The attacks may have dealt
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a significant blow to Russia's aerial crews missile strike capability,
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revealing the vulnerability of major military assets thousands of miles
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from the front lines. They have also exposed weaknesses in
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Russia's powerful security apparatus to prevent sabotage operations deep within
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its territory. Russian TU ninety five and A fifty aircraft
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or among those that the official in Ukraine's security services
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listed as destroyed Sunday. TU ninety five bombers have been
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used extra instantly since Russia's twenty twenty two invasion. Each
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can carry eight guided missile cruise missiles. The weapons have
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a range of thousands of miles, which allow the aircraft
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carrying them to stay well inside Russian airspace. The A
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fifty detects enemy aircraft missiles and works in conjunction with
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Russian fighter jets, feeding intelligence on targets and directions. Local
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Russian officials confirmed that drone attacks had hit remote Russian regions.
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The governor of Russia's Etrusk region in southeastern Siberia, igor
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Ivanovitch Kobzev, said drones launched from a truck attacked military
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unit in the village of Sredny in the telegram post Sunday.
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He said it was the first such attack to target
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Siberian territory. In Russia's northwest, Murmansk, which borders Finland, regional
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governor Andre Chibis said drones of the enemy had attacked
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unspecified targets. Hehurged residents to remain called telegram channels. List
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linked to Russia's security services reported that f p V
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drones had attacked Russian long range aviation bases at Olana
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Air Base in the Kola Peninsula near Mermontsk and Belaya
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Air Base in the Ekrusk region three thousand, four hundred
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miles east of Ukraine. Videos shared on social media by
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residents in Usolye Seberskoy appeared to show drones buzzing overhead,
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massive explosions and plumes of billowing smoke. Is this the
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eleventh the drone we've seen? I have no idea what
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is happening over there? A person can be heard saying
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in one video. Before Russian officials and state media commented
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on the attack, the country's influential z community, pro war bloggers,
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military journalists and propagandists described Sunday's assault as Russia's pearl harbor,
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with some calling for retaliation. We hope that the response
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will be the same as the US response to the
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attack on their pearl harbor, or even harsher. Military blogger
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Roman Akhene wrote on his telegram channel, which has one
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hundred and seventy four thousand subscribers, this is not just
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a pretext. This is a reason to launch nuclear strikes
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on Ukraine, wrote the author of the telegram channel Two Majors. Rebar,
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a pro Kremlin channel with links to Defense Ministry, described
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the attacks as a very sensitive blow to Russia's nuclear shield.
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It is impossible to restore these losses, Bar added. The
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attack followed the sudden collapse the two bridges in western
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Russia that derailed a freight train and a passenger train,
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killing seven people and injuring at least seventy six others.
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Local governor Alexander Boromaz said the train had three hundred
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and eighty eight passengers aboard when three of its carriages derailed.
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The bridge collapses occurred within hours of each other overnight
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Sunday and Russia's Cursk and Bryancek regions, both of which
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border Ukraine. Photographs from the scenes showed a large rescue
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operation underway Sunday morning at the sight of the explosion,
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with debris strown widely across and under a collapsed highway bridge.
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It was not immediately clear whether the collapses were linked
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to each other. Russia's top investigative body said it was
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treating both bridge collapses as criminal acts, and an earlier
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statement later amended without explanation, had said explosions had caused
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the bridges to collapse. Russian officials have blamed Kiev for
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the collapses. Asked by The Washington Post if Kiev was
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involved in the explosions, a spokesperson for Ukraine's intelligence service
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said no comment. On Sunday, Aleksee Kutznyov, assistant to the
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Russian health minister said fifty five people injured in the
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Bryansk collapse or being treated in the hospital. Four of them,
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including one child, are in serious condition. He said. Sunday's
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drone attacks come a day before Ukrainian and Russian officials
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are due to meet in Istanbul for US backed direct
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peace talks. On Sunday, Zelensky confirmed Ukraine's attendance, which had
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been thrown into doubt after the Ukrainian leader blasted Russian
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President Vladimir Putin in recent days for failing to provide
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a memorandum outlining Russia's conditions for peace. Zelenski said that
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Ukraine's delegation would again be led by Defense Minister Rustim Umarov,
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that Russia had received his peace terms already. The first
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is a complete and unconditional ceasefire, the second is the
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release of prisoners, the third is return of stolen children,
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and in order to establish a reliable, lasting peace, to
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prepare a meeting at the highest level, he said. Russia meanwhile,
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has said a draft of its memorandum will not be
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made public, according to State Newswires, On Sunday, Secretary of
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State Marco Rubio also spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei
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Lavrov at Russia's request. According to the State Department, Rubio
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reiterated President Trump's call for continued direct talks between Russia
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and Ukraine to achieve a lasting peace. Spokeswoman Kemmy Bruce
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said key issues can only be resolved by leaders. Zelenski added,
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and next. Supreme Court allows Trump to cancel protected status
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for Venezuelans for now. The Supreme Court said Monday that
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the Trump administration can cancel temporary protections for up to
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three hundred and fifty thousand Venezuelans, a major undoing of
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a Biden administration decision that allowed those migrants to live
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and work in the United States for humanitarian reasons. Immigrant
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advocates said the move could have devastating effects on large
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communities of Venezuelans, some of whom have lived in the
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US for many years. Advocates said they thought deportation efforts
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could begin immediately for the next few weeks as a
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as is typical when they act on emergency requests. The
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justices did not explain their decision, which will remain in
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effect while a legal fight over rescinding protected status plays
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out in the Lower courts. The court, which ruled against Trump,
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and of two other recent emergency cases that involved summary
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deportations without due process, said some Venezuelans who lose protected
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status might initiate their own legal challenges if the government
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tries to deport them. Justice Katani Brown Jackson was the
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only justice to say she would have kept in place
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a lower court decision that blocked the Trump administration from
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removing protected status while litigation continued. The Biden administration created
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protected status for Venezuelans and extended it shortly before he
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left office because officials felt the political and economic turmoil
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under the regime of President Nicholas Maduro made it too
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risky to deport immigrants to their home country. But the
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administration of President Trump moved to Council of Protections, saying
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they were not in the national interest and arguing that
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migrants presented a public security risk and were a drain
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on resources. Trump officials also said conditions had improved in Venezuela.
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The federal judge in Northern California said the administration's decision
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to end protected status appeared to be motivated by racial animus.
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Monday's ruling directly affects Venezuelan immigrants and migrants granted protection
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status in twenty twenty three. Protection for another group of
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approximately two hundred and fifty thousand Venezuelans granted in twenty
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twenty one, expires in September. Trump is also seeking to
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roll back other Biden era protections that have allowed millions
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of immigrants to remain in the United States while their
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immigration cases play out, including Temporary Protected Status for migrants
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from Afghanistan, Haiti, and Cameroon Ilhan Aurujanatham, when the lawyers
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challenging the cancelation of TPS for Venezuelans, said the immediate
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affected the decision was somewhat unclear Monday. The order doesn't
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explicitly say whether the group of about three hundred and
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fifty thousand Venezuelan TPS holders have already lost their legal
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status and work permits, or whether some or all might
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have some additional time. This is the largest single action
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stripping any group of non citizens of immigration status in
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modern US history, said Ajanthan, the co director of the
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Center for Immigration Law and Policy at the UCLA School
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of Law. That the Supreme Court authorized this action a
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two paragraph order with no reasoning is truly shocking. Hornhei Marquez,
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a Venezuz whalen oil engineer from Houston who has connections
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to the anti Majuro groups, receive protected status that will
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expire in September. He and his wife have a U
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S citizen daughter, from whom they would be separated if
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they faced deportation unless she left the country with them.
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Our Keys said the conditions that led the US government
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to offer protection status to Venezuelans are still in place,
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and argued that removing the status will have a significant
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economic impact for the US. This will have damaging effects
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socially on mixed status families, but also economically all those
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businesses we created or industries boosted by hiring TPS recipients.
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Marquees said the Homeland Security Secretary can designate immigrant groups
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for protected status at natural disasters, armed conflict, or other
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extraordinary but temporary conditions raise fears for migrant safety if
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they are returned to their homelands. The program is intended
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to end when conditions improve. Officials approved the extension of
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TPS in the waning days of Biden's presidency that would
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have kept the protections in place through October of twenty
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twenty six. Homeland Security Secretary Christy L. Num rescinded that
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extension in February, alleging that the Venezuelans were a strain
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on local resources. Trump officials have also accused some Venezuelans
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of being members of the trend Aragua gang. In February seven,
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Venezuelan migrants and the National TPS Alliance sued the Trump administration.
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US District Judge Edward M. Chin paused Trump's actions, saying
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there was no evidence that Venezuelan temporarily placed status holders
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are members of the trendy Aragua and have connections to
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the gang or commit crimes. The Secretary's actions threatens to
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inflict irreparable harm on hundreds of thousands of persons whose lives, families,
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and livelihoods will be severely disrupted, costs the United States
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billions in economic activity, and injure public health and safety
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in communities throughout the United States, the judge wrote in
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his opinion, which was upheld by the US Court of
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Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. At the same time, the
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government has failed to identify any real countervailing harm in
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continuing TPS for Venezuelan beneficiaries. The harm here is particularly
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pronounced because the Secretary determined that an eighteen month extension
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would harm the United States national security, public safety, while
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also straining police stations, city shelters, and aid services in
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local communities that had reached a breaking point. The government
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wrote in its filings with the High Court, the emergency
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appeal is one of at least eighteen that have reached
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the High Court over Trump administration initiatives, including eight that
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deal with immigration issues. The Migrants and the TPS Alliance
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argue in their filings that Venezuela is still unsafe and
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the cancelation of the TPS program was motivated by bias.
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The Secretary explicitly relied on false negative stereotypes, like the
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myth that Venezuela emptied its prisons to send migrants here
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to justify both the vocatur and termination decisions. The petitioners
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wrote her statements conflated Venezuelan TPS holders with dirt bags,
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gang members, danger's criminals. Amy McLean, one of the attorneys
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on the case who works for the ACLU in Northern California,
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said that while the order to doesn't mention other TPS recipients,
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it does not bode well for Venezuelans whose protection expires
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in September, or for other groups that the Trump administration
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is targeted. The Trump administration has also scaled back a
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Biden era extension of temporary protections for Haitian migrants that
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puts about five hundred and twenty thousand at risk for
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deportation as early as August. The Trump administration this month
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asks the High Court to clear the way for it
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to deport more than five hundred and thirty thousand migrants
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from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela have been allowed to
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stay in the US while asylum and removal proceedings play out.
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That request is pending, and next after key vote, Trump
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to urge House Republicans to back budget bill. President Trump
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will meet with House Republicans on Capitol Hill on Tuesday
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in an effort to unite his party behind his tax
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and immigration agenda. According to three people who spoke on
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the condition of anonymity to describe Trump's plans, Trump's massive
26:11
tax and immigration bill narrowly passed the House Budget Committee
26:15
late Sunday after a revolt from GOP hardliners concerned about spending.
26:21
This week. House Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, and
26:25
his leadership team will try to unite the conference around
26:28
the One Big Beautiful Bill. Trump's in person advocacy shows
26:34
a commitment to keep the bill on track and potential
26:37
holdouts in line. The stakes for him are high. He's
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been bragging about the pace of his Golden Age agenda.
26:45
The face's head winds, including economic nerves over tariffs, legal challenges,
26:50
and now divisions over the bill and press briefing Monday morning,
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White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt said the Republicans who
26:59
have pose the bill would be siding with Democrats and
27:02
raising taxes on Americans if it does not advance in
27:06
the House later this week. Passing this bill is what
27:09
voter sent Republicans to Washington to accomplish, Livet said, and
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that's why it's essential every Republican in the House and
27:17
Senate unites behind President Trump and passes this popular, essential
27:22
legislative package. The message echoes the argument House Republican leaders
27:27
have been making to wavering lawmakers for months. It's Trump,
27:32
not House Republicans who earn this majority, so it's time
27:36
for lawmakers to step up and vote through plans. The
27:39
massive tax and immigration bill is central to Trupt's agenda
27:43
and hesitance some members of his party, represents a sizable
27:48
early test for his administration. Trump and Johnson must muscle
27:52
his agenda through the house historically narrow majority. They can
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lose only three Republicans for a successful vote. Dozens of
28:01
House Republicans remain unconvinced by the bill in its current state.
28:05
Members of his far right flank of his party remained
28:09
concerned that the legislation would balloon annual budget deficits, while
28:14
moderate spear changes that lurched the bill to the right
28:17
could jeopardize their re elections and their paper thin majority.
28:23
Four fiscal conservatives initially blocked the bill in a committee
28:26
vote Friday, in a rebuke of both Trump and Johnson.
28:30
The holdouts, all of whom belonged to the ultra conservative
28:34
House Freedom Caucus, spent Sunday afternoon huddling in Johnson's office
28:38
with House leaders and White House officials, but the week
28:42
end negotiations yielded only enough progress for hardliners to vote
28:47
present to advance the bill to the House Rules Committee
28:50
late Sunday night, signaling the wide disagreement that persists among
28:55
the House GOP conference unless changes are made. Johnson has
28:59
kept Trump fully abressed to the ongoing negotiations, but the
29:03
President has yet to call lawmakers directly to whip them.
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According to two people involved in the negotiations who spoke
29:11
on the condition of anonymity to discuss private talks, he's
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been very involved. He always says he's willing to pick
29:19
up the phone when he's asked to. Levitt said so,
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He'll continue to be very engaged in this process with
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both House members and his friends on the Senate side
29:29
as well. GOPA leadership has always planned to use Trump
29:33
to whip votes. Being bringing Trump into this early to
29:37
meet with lawmakers shows how eager leaguer leaders are to
29:42
get holdouts in line. Lawmakers are hoping that Trump could
29:46
resolve policy disagreements if he publicizes his preference. House GOP
29:53
leader lads say that the sticking points remain on when
29:56
Medicaid work requirements should kick in, when Biden era energy
30:01
tax credit should be repealed, and how high to cap
30:05
state and local taxes to appease blue state Republicans. The
30:10
demands on those issues made by fiscal hawks over the
30:13
weekend need to be shopped around other ideological factions, for
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Johnson can decide how to properly tweak the bill. If
30:22
Trump opines on the matter, that could help expedite the process.
30:27
GOP lawmakers and AID say one issue where moderates remain
30:32
unconvinced is on raising the cap on the federal deduction
30:37
of state and local taxes called SALT, which sets at
30:40
ten thousand dollars. GOP leadership has offered a raised cap
30:45
to thirty thousand dollars, but six Republican lawmakers from the
30:49
Blue States remain firmly opposed. Finding solutions on SALT and
30:56
other policy issues could still pose a problem for ultra
31:00
conservative hardliners, who four years have demanded that Republican backed
31:06
spending bills must substantially reduce the deficit. The Committee for
31:12
a Responsible Federal Budget has estimated that making the spending
31:17
cuts in the House version of the bill permanent would
31:20
add more than four trillion dollars to the debt over
31:23
the next ten years, including interest. Stephen Myron, chairman of
31:29
the White House Council of Economic Advisors, told reporters Monday,
31:33
that Trump is a driving force behind the critical provisions
31:37
that are going to boost the economy in this bill.
31:41
I expect him to bring it home, because that's what
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he does, Miron said. The White House on Monday released
31:48
an analysis that estimated the bill could add or save
31:53
up to seven point four million jobs and that it
31:56
could raise gross domestic product by up to five point
31:59
two percent over the next four years. The White House's
32:03
projections came just three days after Moody's Rating downgraded the
32:09
United States credit rating as the Republican budget bill is
32:12
projected to add more than two and a half trillion
32:15
dollars to the federal deficit over the next decade, according
32:18
to non partisan experts and budget experts. Maron said moody
32:23
S is backward looking tends to be laid on these things.
32:28
Miron claimed that DOGE cuts and revenue from tariffs would
32:33
help bring the deficit down, but the White House keeps
32:37
changing its tear policy and DOGE has fallen far short
32:42
of its initial goal to slash two trillion dollars in
32:45
federal spending. Miron said the White House was working both
32:50
this bill and via other measures to bring down federal deficits.
32:55
I do want to assure everyone that the deficit is
32:59
a very big concern for this administration. He said, we
33:04
are determined to bring it down and undo the fiscal
33:08
damage that was brought by the Biden administration. The next story,
33:14
Trump Putin talk as Ukraine and Europe pushed for immediate
33:18
seas fire. A rare and hotly anticipated conversation between President
33:25
Trump and Russian President Putin aimed at ending the war
33:30
in Ukraine, yielded no major breakthroughs on Monday, even as
33:34
both leaders emphasized their personal chemistry. Trump has said that
33:39
the only way to resolve the conflict is through direct
33:42
talks between him and Putin. He praised the tone and
33:46
spirit of the call on Monday, and held out the
33:49
possibility of large scale trade with Moscow after the fighting.
33:55
But he appeared to accept Putin's demand to postpone the
33:58
cease fire until after agotiations, and there was a little
34:02
indication Russia had abandoned demands that Ukraine finds unacceptable, including
34:08
that Kiev handover even more territory as part of a settlement.
34:14
Ukraine and Russia will continue direct talks that began last week,
34:18
Trump said, But after a massive week in barrage of
34:22
Russian drones against Ukraine, it didn't appear that a breakthrough
34:26
was imminent, despite what Trump said was an offer by
34:29
Pope Leo the fourteenth to host additional talks at the Vatican.
34:35
Putin praised Trump after the call, which lasted more than
34:38
two hours, and said in televised remarks that it was
34:42
meaningful and quite frank in my overall view, and it
34:46
was very useful. The Russian leader said that he had
34:49
thanked Trump for his support of the resumption of direct
34:52
negotiations between Moscow and Kiev, but he gave only qualified
34:58
support to a politici for a potential ceasefire and peace deal.
35:04
He said that the main thing for us is to
35:07
remove the root causes of the conflict, language that suggested
35:11
he remains resolute in his effort to force Kiev into
35:15
a more pro Russian position. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, and
35:21
Trump's urging, has expressed his willingness to implement a thirty
35:25
day cease fire immediately, but Putin gave no indication he
35:29
was ready to do so. The two sides took pains
35:33
to praise each other, a lavishing of kindness that extended
35:37
Trump's track record of reconciliation toward Putin, who invaded Ukraine
35:42
in twenty twenty two, with an aim to subjugate it.
35:45
The tone and spirit of the conversational excellent. Trump posted
35:49
on truth Social Russia wants to do large scale trade
35:54
with the United States when this catastrophic blood bath is over,
35:57
and I agree. A top Kremlin aid, Yuri Yushikov, told Tasks,
36:04
a Russian state news agency, that the Russian leader has
36:08
congratulated Trump on the birth last week of a grandson.
36:12
That the two leaders had addressed each other during their
36:15
call by their first names. He said that neither side
36:19
wanted to end the conversation when it came time to
36:22
hang up, but there was no indication that Putin had
36:26
relented on some of the key demands that are hindering
36:29
progress toward any sort of deal. Vice President JD. Vance
36:35
has said that Russia has been asking for too much,
36:38
including the push for Kiev to seed even more territory
36:42
in eastern Ukraine. He has expressed frustration about the pace
36:47
of the talks. We're more than open to walking away.
36:51
Vance told reporters on Air Force two on Monday, ahead
36:54
of the Trump Putin conversation. We want to see outcomes.
37:00
Trump focused on trade because he's sought a resolution to
37:04
the crisis, as he has had in other parts of
37:07
the world, including during the first major international trip of
37:11
his term last week. There is a tremendous opportunity for
37:16
Russia to create massive amounts of jobs and wealth. Its
37:21
potential is unlimited, he said. He said after the call,
37:27
he had briefed Zelensky alongside the leaders of the European Commission, Germany, France,
37:34
Italy and Finland. That call lasted an hour, official said.
37:40
Zelensky told reporters in Kiev that in a brief, separate
37:44
one on one call with Trump ahead of the Putin conversation,
37:47
he had urged the US leader not to make a
37:50
decision about Ukraine without Ukraine. He said that Russia needed
37:56
to demonstrate that it was really ready to stop, which
38:01
he said meant first to cease fire, then in exchange
38:04
of prisoners and a release of Ukrainian children who have
38:08
been taken to Russia into Russian territory during the conflict,
38:13
and he indicated no willingness to concede to Putin's demand
38:18
that Kiev retreat from its own territory as part of
38:22
a peace deal. Asked whether he thought Trump would agree
38:26
to the Russian request that Zelensky said was with the
38:30
highest respect to Trump. This isn't about Trump. We are
38:34
not going to remove our troops from our territory. That
38:38
is my constitutional obligation. European leaders said they were ready
38:44
to dial up sanctions on Russia to increase pressure on
38:48
Putin to come to a deal. Europe and America are
38:53
very united on this point. We will closely accompany Ukraine
38:58
on its path to a cease fire. Europe will increase
39:02
pressure on Moscow through sanctions. We agreed on this with
39:07
at Potus after his conversation with Putin, German Chancellor Fredrich
39:12
Mertz wrote on x The call with Putin came after
39:18
one of Russia's largest dron assaults on Ukraine nearly four
39:22
hundred launched over the weekend, and a flurry of diplomacy
39:27
as Ukrainian and European officials sought to convince the Trump
39:30
administration of the need for an immediate, unconditional ceasefire and
39:35
to ramp up pressure on Russia to take serious steps
39:39
toward resolving the conflict. On Friday, Russia and Ukraine held
39:45
their first direct talks since the early weeks of the war.
39:49
Aside from a prisoner swap, they agreed only to continue
39:53
negotiation over a possible ceasefire. Trump endorsed the talks, but
39:58
then diminished their importance before they began, declaring that nothing
40:03
would be resolved until he and Putin spoke directly. But
40:07
following Monday's conversation, Trump suggested that Ukraine and Russia need
40:12
to find a path during the war. The conditions for
40:15
that will be negotiated between the two parties, as it
40:19
can only be because they know the details of a
40:23
negotiation that nobody else would be aware of, he said.
40:28
Despite concessions from the Trump administration, Putin has repeatedly brushed
40:33
off pressure of an unconditional thirty day seas fire, and
40:38
Ukraine has prepared for the likelihood that Putin would continue
40:42
to drag out the process, pushing for condition that Kiev
40:45
sees as unacceptable. Ukrainian officials have said that this was
40:50
Trump's third public conversation with the Russian leader this year.
40:55
White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt said before the call
40:59
that Trump has grown weary and frustrated with both sides
41:03
of the conflict, a stance that may lead to foot
41:06
dragging on the part of the Kremlin. Since Kiev's ability
41:10
to resist will weaken if US military aid comes to
41:14
an end. Russia targeted Ukraine with at least one hundred
41:19
and twelve drones overnight Sunday. In the Monday following the
41:22
largest drone attack since twenty twenty two on the previous night,
41:26
when Russia fired two hundred and seventy three drones, killing
41:30
twenty seven year old Hannah Ufimko as she shielded her
41:36
four year old son, Marco was also injured in the
41:39
town of Yastliv, southwest of Kiev. Trump and other US
41:44
officials a threatened tougher sanctions against Russia. Putin shows he
41:49
has no genuine interest in peace, but the Trump administration
41:53
has so far done little to increase the pressure on Russia,
41:57
instead pressing Ukraine to give up to territory occupied by
42:02
Russia and to accept that it will not be able
42:05
to join NATO. Putin has set tough restrictions, including halt
42:10
to Western arms and deliveries to Ukraine and a bar
42:12
on Kiev recruiting for its military. These demands would give
42:17
Moscow a major advantage, including the potential to rebuild its
42:21
own military capacity before possibly resuming hostilities. Russia has recently
42:27
massively boosted its military recruitment, and its factories continue to
42:32
pump out weapons and ammunition. As part of the diplomatic
42:36
efforts over the weekend, Vance and Secretary of State Marco
42:41
Rubio met Zelensky in Rome on Sunday. Ukrainian Presidential chief
42:46
of Staff Andrea Yermak said they had a very sustinative conversation.
42:53
Before last week's talks in Istanbul, European officials had been
42:57
hoping that their diplomatic efforts could be waid the Trump
43:00
administration to give Russia an ultimatum except a thirty day
43:04
cease fire or face fresh sanctions. Zelensky and European leaders
43:12
believe that Trump was leaning toward new sanctions if the
43:14
Kremlin rebuffed US calls for an immediate sea's fire last week,
43:18
according to three European diplomats who spoke on the condition
43:22
of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter. But Friday's ultimately
43:27
inconclusive talks in Istanbul, called for by Putin and backed
43:31
by Trump, sidetracked those plans and the next story. Biden
43:39
diagnosis draws well wishes and questions and conspiracies theories when
43:45
a former president receives a serious medical diagnosis, the traditional
43:49
response has been aside political differences, offer warm praise in
43:55
which the individual is speedy recovery and complete return to help.
44:00
In many cases, that's exactly what happened after former President
44:04
Joe Biden's closed that he has an aggressive form of
44:06
prostate cancer. President Trump, who has repeatedly attacked Biden since
44:11
taking office, wished Biden a fast and successful recovery, but
44:16
in a reflection of today's harsh political environment and reignited
44:20
questions over Biden's health during his reelection campaign. In his
44:24
inner circle's handling of the situation, some Republicans and right
44:28
wing activists wasted little time asserting without evidence that Biden
44:33
had his circle covered up the diagnosis. Trump, speaking from
44:38
the Oval Office Onlody, said the diagnosis was very sad, actually,
44:42
and he felt badly about it. But he also questioned
44:45
why it wasn't caught earlier. That test is standard to
44:50
pretty much anybody getting a physical, a good physical, He said.
44:54
We have the doctors at the White House and over
44:56
at Walter Reed, which is a fantastic hospital. I do it.
45:00
I did a very complete physical, including cognitive tests. Trump
45:04
and accurately referred to Biden's diagnosis as stage nine, apparent
45:09
reference to a mythology report. Give me his cancer a
45:12
Gleason score of nine on a scale that rises to
45:15
ten and indicates an aggressive cancer. Trump also questioned Biden's
45:20
cognitive ability. If you take a look, it's the same
45:24
doctor that said Joe was cognitively fine, there was nothing
45:27
wrong with him. Trump said, if it's the same doctor
45:31
who said there was nothing wrong there, that's being proven
45:34
to be a sad situation. The doctor said he's just fine.
45:39
It turned out that it's not. So it's very dangerous, unbelievable,
45:45
this was missed. But the truth of this, his physician
45:48
was more concerned about assisting with the political political cover
45:52
up than providing world class medical care. Representative Ronnie Jackson,
45:58
Republican of Texas, posted on social media Sunday night. Jackson
46:03
was himself White House position of President Obama as well
46:07
as Trump. He drew attention in twenty eighteen for an
46:11
effusive report on Trump's condition, saying the president had done
46:15
exceedingly well on a cognitive exam and had incredible genes.
46:20
The varying messages emerged as Biden thanked Americans on Monday
46:24
for their love and support. Cancer touches us all, Biden
46:29
wrote on X in his first public comment about his diagnosis,
46:33
Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned
46:37
that we are the strongest in the broken places. Thank
46:40
you for lifting us up with love and support. Biden
46:46
shared a picture of himself seated with former First Lady
46:48
Jill and their cat Willow. His cancer diagnosis renewed debate
46:55
about who should receive annual screenings and at what age
46:59
for signs of the disease. Prostate cancer specialists told The
47:04
Washington Post that it is not unusual for someone Biden's
47:08
age to skip screening for prostate specific antigen the PSA,
47:13
which when elevated, can indicate a higher risk of prostate cancer.
47:19
The US Preventative Services Task Force, which makes medical recommendations
47:24
about preventative services such as screenings, explicitly recommends against PSA
47:31
screening and men seventy years and older. For men ages
47:35
fifty five to sixty nine, the decision should be an
47:38
individual one, it says. The guidelines note that many men
47:43
will experience potential harms of screening, including false positive results
47:48
that require additional testings and possible prostate biopsy, over diagnosis, overtreatment,
47:55
and treatment complications such as incontinence and erectile helda's function.
48:02
Biden's prognosis depends on many factors that are not known widely,
48:05
said William Dahout, chief scientific officer at the American Cancer Society.
48:11
That includes the degree to which the cancer has spread
48:14
into the bones and whether it has reached organs such
48:17
as the liver, Dahoute said. Ezekiel J. Emmanuel, a noncologist
48:23
and professor at the University of Pennsylvania who served on
48:27
a COVID nineteen advisory board for Biden, said on MSNBC
48:31
on Monday that Biden probably had the cancer at the
48:35
start of his presidency in twenty twenty one, because the
48:39
former president did not develop it in the last one
48:42
hundred to two hundred days. Manuel said later in an
48:46
interview with The Post, that was the point he was
48:49
trying to make, is that the kind of cancer Biden
48:52
had was present during his time in office, because this
48:55
kind of cancer doesn't develop overnight. Say that there was conspiracy,
49:01
Emmanuel said, I was very clear that he did have cancer,
49:05
and that's a fact that he knew or didn't know.
49:09
I don't know, and they don't know. Manuel added that
49:12
he should have clarified that this his point doesn't mean
49:16
the president knew he had cancer. Oncologists specializing in prostate
49:23
cancer said even aggressive cancers can appear suddenly or without symptoms.
49:28
It's certainly possible for more aggressive advanced cancers to develop
49:32
in a setting with low PSA, or develop and spread
49:36
rather quickly on the order of less than a year,
49:40
said Jason ste Fontieu, a prostate radiation oncologist at Mass
49:46
General Brigham. Biden's life and political career has been defined
49:52
by both tragedy and Triumph's long time made and confident
49:56
Ted Kaufman has often described him as the luckiest and
49:59
un luckiest person I've met, and the News on Sunday
50:03
reverberated around the universe of former Biden aides. The first
50:09
thing he wants to know was when was I diagnosed?
50:12
Was I happy with my doctors? Was I getting the
50:15
advice I needed? Said TJ. Duckblow, a Biden aide who
50:19
during the twenty twenty presidential campaign was treated for stage
50:22
four lung cancer. He right away jumps at that. Many
50:28
of the responses Sunday and Monday from Republicans and Democrats
50:31
alike were in a supportive vein this is certainly sad news.
50:36
The Johnson family will be joining the countless of others
50:39
who are praying for the former president. In the wake
50:41
of the diagnosis, House Speaker Mike Johnson posted on Sunday night,
50:46
but some took a different tone. Donald Trump Junior, the
50:50
president's son, posted an accusatory message just hours after Biden's
50:55
diagnosis became public, suggesting the Biden family hid his condition.
51:00
What I want to know is how did doctor Jill
51:03
Biden missed five stage five metatastic cancer or is this
51:09
yet another cover up? He wrote. Former First Lady Jill
51:13
Biden has a doctorate in education, but he's not a
51:16
medical doctor. Trump's supporters often mocked her for using honorific
51:21
when the Biden's were at the White House. Some of
51:24
the criticism was focused on Biden's last medical report as
51:27
president in February of twenty twenty four, when his physician
51:32
declared Biden in good health and cited no prostate issues.
51:37
Some conservatives say that exam should have picked up Biden's cancer,
51:42
so either it wasn't performed or the White House is
51:46
covering it up. Is Team Biden accused of the White
51:50
House physician of malpractice or just lying again? Conservative radio
51:57
He'll host Hugh Hewitt, wrote on Social White House Press
52:02
Secretary Caroline Levitt on Monday reiterated Trump's supportive comments about
52:08
Biden from Sunday night. She said that the two men
52:11
had not spoken, but that Trump would be open to
52:15
doing that. Asked whether Trump was concerned about the quality
52:19
of White House physicians and whether they should have caught
52:22
the diagnosis sooner, she said not as far as President
52:25
Trump is concerned. The White House physician we have here
52:29
is phenomenal, to the best of my understanding. Levin added, Trump,
52:34
who's seventy eight, is regularly screened for prostate cancer, and
52:38
his medical evaluations it Layst report released in April, included
52:43
a prostate specific antigen level of point one nanograms per
52:50
milli leader, well below any levels indicating a prostate cancer risk.
52:55
For years, Trump and some of his prominent allies have
52:59
been quick to embrace the spread conspiracy theories about political opponents,
53:05
giving them a particular residence with his supporters, said Joseph Yusinski,
53:10
a political scientist at the University of Miami. People who
53:14
have a conspiratorial worldview or don't like Biden for whatever reason,
53:19
will not trust information about Biden, and they will come
53:22
up with their own explanations, said Yusinski, who studies conspiracy theories.
53:28
But the situation has been complicated by renewed accusation that
53:31
Biden's team covered up his cognitive decline as he pushed
53:35
ahead with reelection. That charge has leveled in several new books,
53:40
including Original Sin, President Biden's Decline, Its cover Up, and
53:44
Its Disastrous Choice to run Again, by Jake Tapper and
53:48
Alex Thompson. Original Sin. It's scheduled to be published Tuesday,
53:53
but now it will appear in a sudden altered landscape.
53:58
The last few days have mounted to a striking sequence
54:01
of events for the eighty two year old Biden was
54:04
in the twilight of a long career after seating the
54:07
White House four months ago to an arrival whose ouster
54:10
was his slated reason for running for president. Biden received
54:15
the diagnosis of aggressive prostate cancer on Friday, Is Off
54:18
the Sid. That evening, Axios published an excerpt from Biden's
54:23
twenty twenty three interview with special counsel Robert Khurr in
54:27
which Biden speaks haltingly, including a digression about Bo's death.
54:33
In twenty seventeen. Beau had passed, and this is personal.
54:37
Biden can be heard saying, you know, you're all close
54:42
with your sons and daughters, but Bou was like my
54:45
right arm. Hunter was my left. Hunter is Biden's younger son.
54:51
Biden's official announcement of his diagnosis on Sunday night, saying
54:55
it represents a far more aggressive form of cancer, but
55:00
appears to be sensitive to hormone therapy, allowing for effective management.
55:05
Some Republicans on Monday were trying to find a balance
55:08
between wishing Biden well and continuing their attacks on his Party.
55:13
Vice President JD. Vance said he wished Biden the best
55:16
of health, but argued it was still fair to question
55:19
whether his advisors hid his condition. Whether the right time
55:24
to have this conversation is now or at some point
55:26
in the future. We really do need to be honest
55:30
about whether the former president was capable of doing the job,
55:33
Advance told reporters on board Air Force two. You can
55:38
separate the desire for him to have the right health
55:41
outcome with the recognition that whether it was the doctors
55:45
or whether there were staffers. I don't think he was
55:49
able to do a good job for the American people,
55:52
he added, and now finally, no booze, no flowers. Chinese
55:59
officials told to tighten their belts. China's ruling Communist party
56:04
has ordered officials to reduce government waste with a range
56:08
of new rules. Expensive alcohol, cigarettes, gourmet dishes can no
56:14
longer be offered at work related meals, Guests should not
56:18
be seen off at airports, and conferences will no longer
56:22
feature lavish flower arrangements. As China faces economic headwinds from
56:28
a continued trade war with the United States and slower
56:31
growth at home, it has ordered officials to tighten their
56:34
belts and lead the way in living a frugal life.
56:38
Austerity guidelines issued by the State Council, the equivalent of
56:42
the country's cabinet, detailed how government funds should be used
56:46
for an array of expenses, including travel and office space.
56:50
Furniture should be used as long as possible. Practicing thrift
56:56
and opposing waste are the glorious tradition and fine stuff
57:00
isle of our party, the Official People's Daily said Monday
57:03
in an article hailing the regulations, which were released the
57:06
previous day, an editorial in the paper A Shanghai outlet
57:12
said the campaign would help create a culture in which
57:15
waste is seen as shameful and frugality as honorable. But
57:20
the campaign is also about Chinese leader Xijin Ping and
57:23
his control over the party at a time of uncertainty.
57:26
Analysis said President Trump's tariffs and efforts to contain China
57:32
could complicate Z's efforts to transform his country into a
57:36
technological powerhouse. Campaigns like this one are always about power
57:41
and legitimacy, about the leadership demonstrating control and discipline, rather
57:45
than really establishing rules of clean governance and accountability, said
57:50
David Badirski, director of China Media Project, which studies Communist
57:55
party discourse. And this concludes the reading of the Washing
58:00
and Post for today, Monday, June second. Your reader has
58:03
been Rod Brotherton. Thank you, and if you have any questions,
58:07
comments or suggestions concerning the program, please feel free to
58:11
call us at A five nine four two two sixty
58:14
three ninety. Again, thank you for listening, and now please
58:19
stay tuned for continued programming right here on Radio I