Transcript

3.17.26 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of the Washington Post for Tuesday,
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March seventeenth, twenty twenty six. As a reminder, Radio I
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is a reading service intended for people who are blind
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or have other disabilities that make it difficult to read
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printed material. Your reader for to day is Cindy Fraser.
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To day's front page headlines from the Washington Post are
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report a range regime and tact group is weakened, but
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more hard line Western officials see little hope for changing leaders. Next,
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Trumjee's summit delayed over issue of Hormuz, President PUSH's childa
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to help reopen the vital oil route blocked by Iran
0:43
Our next headline teen Sioux Musk's x A I over
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altered photos plantis and lawsuit claim Grock chap Box created
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suchual images of them. Next, plan to close Kennedy Center
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receives approval, trust use Bok's path for Trump's massive two
1:02
year renovation. The next headline, he said he didn't do
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it to the end, will the DNA test finally clear him?
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And the final headline from today's crime page, Federal judges
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ruling blocks RFK Junior's vaccines overhaul. In addition, there is
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A photo in the front page captured seeking shelter people
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walk in the rain Monday in Washington, where the weagarge
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turned out to be not as extreme as it was
1:32
across other parts of the US. Now let's turn our
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first item entitled report Iran's regime intact group is weakened
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but more hardline. Western officials see little hope for changing
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leaders by Ellin Hakashima, orn P. Strouble, and Susannah George.
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Despite more than two weeks of relentless airstrikes, US intelligence
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assessments say Unge regime likely will remain in place for now,
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weakened but more hardline, with a powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard
2:08
core security forces exerting greater control. The United States and
2:12
Israel have significantly degraded Iran's missile capability, and Navy removed
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the supreme leader, Iyotola Ali Kamanier, and wipe out scores
2:22
of military and intelligence leaders. But the war's costs are
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mounting at least twelve billion dollars so far and thirteen
2:30
U S troops killed. Iran's vice like grip on the
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Strait of Hormuz has slowed shipping traffic to a trickle
2:37
creating an historic oil disruption. Western officials and analysts whose
2:43
study Iran say they see a little near term prospect
2:46
of a regime change and to the forty seven year
2:49
old Islamic Republic or the rise of more democratic government.
2:53
The latter is a goal sighted by Israevy Prime Minister
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Minjeman Thatt Yahoo and sometimes by President Donald, who has
3:01
said he'll know the wars over when I feel it
3:04
in my bones. US intelligence assessments issued since the war
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began predict the Iran's regime will remain intact and possibly
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even emboldened, believing it stood out to Trump and survived,
3:17
according to two people familiar with the assessments, who spoke
3:21
on the condition of anonymity because of the issue sensitivity.
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US Arab allies in the Persian Gulf, meanwhile, are angered
3:28
and alarmed at being the target of retaliatory barrages of
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Iranian ballistic missiles and drones. One of your Pean officials said,
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the likeliest post war scenario is a rump IRGC regime
3:42
in Tehran that will retain some nuclear and MISO capability,
3:46
as well as support of regional prozys, though the regime
3:50
will be degraded enough that were in a better place
3:52
than we were. Trump has been receiving very sobering briefings
3:57
on the US intelligence, said one of the two few
4:00
people familiar with the assessments, and he was told of
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the likelihood of a more entrenched IRGCNE before he gave
4:07
the go ahead to joint and launch the war with Israel.
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This person said it wasn't just predictable, they said it
4:15
was predicted. He was told in advance. Some elements of
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the intelligence assessment were earlier reported by Reuters. He has
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allies in the GOLF say they are furious with the
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Trump administration as a conflict wars into a third week.
4:32
They started this war for Israel and then left us
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to face the attacks by ourselves, said a senior Arab
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official from the GOLF. In the lead up to the conflict,
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he said, Trump administration officials told allies that any military
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confrontation would be quick, but now it's clear Iran wants
4:51
to draw out the conflict to inflict pain on its neighbors.
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We don't have a plan for a long war. We
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need to finish it as soon it is possible, the
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official said. As the conflict has drawn on the rate
5:05
of Iranian retaliation has slowed, but Iran has steadily widened
5:09
targets in the region. US allies in the Gulf have
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deployed to attack helicopters and warplanes to shoot down Iranian
5:17
drones targeting their territory, but have not taken offensive action
5:21
against Iranian territory, fearful that such a move would spur
5:25
Ran to target more golf civilian infrastructure. Trump on Monday
5:30
expressed surprise at the breadth of Iran's retaliation the hate Qatar,
5:35
Saudi Arabia, Yuee Bahrain, Kuwait. He said, nobody expected that
5:41
we were shot. They fought back. Ironstrang behold on the
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Street of Hormuz is shaping up to be the decisive
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factor in the war. Royal and global energy markets overconcerns
5:53
that it could remain closed to major shipping traffic one
5:56
extended time. The White House was advised by the intelligence
6:00
community that Iran might seek to close the waterway, said
6:04
one person familiar with the assessments. The war is now
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about the status of the Strait of Hormus. Full Stop
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Eurative Group Iran analyst Gregory brew posted on Acts tapping
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a massive supply of relatively cheap drones, as well as
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a dwindling cache of missiles. Iran is exercising control over
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who can transit the Strait, Bruce had in an interview,
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Iran's strategy is to hold firm, use its leverage over
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the Strait to force the US to de escalate, and
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hope Trump does not have the stomach for a long fight.
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Trump Defense Secretary Pete Hesa and other top administration officials
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have repeatedly lauded the destruction that the US and Israeli
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militaries have inflicted on Iran's military and leadership, hitting more
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than fifteen thousand targets. As a Friday back Day, US
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forces struck powerg Island, the centerpiece of Iran's oil based economy,
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and Trump posted on social media Iran's military and all
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others involved with this terrorist regime would be wise to
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lay down their arms and save what's left of their country,
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which isn't much. And Israeli strike on the war's first day,
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February twenty eighth, kills Kamanee and other top leaders, including
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the IRTC commander and Defense Minister. The strike wounded Kamanei's son,
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Musheba according to Western officials, Musheba was later named to
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succeed his father. Iran's remaining decision makers are confused, paranoid,
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and having difficulty communicating with one another, said one Western
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security source, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss
7:47
intelligence assessments. Nonetheless, officials and analysts say there are no
7:52
overt signs of cracks or defections within Iran's power structure.
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A classified pre war intelligence assessment by the National Intelligence
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Council concluded that even a large scale sault in Iran
8:05
launched by the U S would be unlikely to outst
8:08
as entrenched military and clerical establishment. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,
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founded in nineteen seventy nine by revolutionary leader Iotolo Ruholo
8:19
Komeni to safeguard the new Islamic Republic, has steadily gained
8:23
power in recent decades, including over vast swaths of Iran's economy.
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The IRGC has got economic power, said Richard Nephew, a
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senior adviser on Iran in the Biden and Obama administrations
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who is now a scholar at Columbia University. They've got
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political power, They've got the domestic repression apparatus. They are
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essentially now the centerpiece of the power system inside the country.
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Far from Cali I r GC. The war likely has
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only stealed its resolve, he said. That's not to say
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that some months from now, the water and energy shortages
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and economic crisis in Iran don't renew the popular protests,
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but the regimes cracked down in January has demonstrated it's
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not going to let that happen the same way it
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did before. Nephew said Ali kaman Ee was the central
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figure on top of a shifting set of alliances within
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the regime. Mushtama Kamanee would likely be more of a
9:22
partner with the IRGC than a fully independent supreme leader
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like his father, said Jonathan Pennakoff, former deputy US National
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Intelligence Officer for the Near East. The best case scenario
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is that the regime is so shaken that once the
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conflict stops, there is a meaningful competition for power, said Pennakoff,
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now at the Atlanta Council think tank. I'm skeptical, he added.
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Penakoff said he sees little likelihood of a popular uprising
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in Iran at the moment, or signs of crafts behind
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the scenes in the regime, somebody with guns and eventually
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has to switch sides or stand aside. He said. The
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Trump administration has begun to press other nations to further
10:09
isolate the IRGC. In a Monday cable to all US
10:13
diplomatic posts, the State Department instructed diplomats to urge host
10:17
governments to designate the IRGC and Lebanon's Azbolah as terrorist organizations.
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Diplomats were told to deliver the message by Friday at
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the highest appropriate level, according to the cable, which was
10:31
reviewed by The Washington Post. They were also told to
10:35
coordinate with Israeli diplomats at the discretion of each mission.
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The multilateral outreach is notable for the second Trump administration,
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which has often favored unilateral foreign policy moves. The cable
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said broader international designations resulting in sanctions and visa bands
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could deter Iranian retaliation, noting Tehran is more sensitive to
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collective action than unilateral action. Trump and his top aides
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have offered shifting rationales for launching the war on Iran,
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sometimes cutting a desire to topple the Islamic Republic, sometimes
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pointing to Iran's missile and nuclear programs as a looming threat.
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Net Nyahu initially promised to remove the existential threat posed
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by Iran, but lately appears to have moderated, emphasizing the
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war's degradation of Iran's missile and nuclear capabilities, and while
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the regime is still in place, the Israrey led effort
11:34
to tople it is welcomed by some inside the country.
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One human rights activists in Tehran, communicating through an encrypted
11:42
messaging app, said that Israeli attacks on checkpoints manned by
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the Baijish, the IRGC's paramilitary force, and the killing of
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IRGC members have cheered her and her fellow activists because
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far more military personnel and regime leaders have been killed
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in this war than ordinary people. We can't imagine life
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with this regime after the war, how dreadful that could be,
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said the activist, who spunk on the condition of anonymity
12:10
out of fear of retaliation. In Saidan, regime supporters have
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grown more hard line in two weeks of war, according
12:19
to the Aliasar Chazyyan, an adviser to Aradian President Masud Pazishkian. Initially,
12:26
he said the punishing tempo of US and Israeli airstrikes
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much greater than the attacks during the twelve day war
12:33
with Israel in June was terrifying, but now people are
12:37
less afraid. You see that people are there and standing
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their ground, he said in an interview. A number of
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senior Iranian leaders, including Vazshkiyan, made their first public appearance
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since the start of the war on Friday, joining thousands
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marching in the streets of Tehran to commemorate Could's Day,
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the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadananian, speaking
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through a video conferencing app said that he was at
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a similar rally last week, a funeral for military commanders
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killed in the war. Crowds were chanting no compromise, no surrender.
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They want to fight to the end, he said. They
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may not be all of the people of Iran, but
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they are part of society. The security establishment has used
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the country's wartime footing to expand its influence. According to
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a second European official, the regime is in flames and
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the regime is still standing, he said. Internally, he said,
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arraigning retaliatory attacks against its Gulf neighbors have been celebrated
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as a sign of strength, while the arranging officials who
13:42
had supported diplomacy have been discredited. The regime was now
13:47
even more radicalized and more hardened than it was before,
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he said. Adam Taylor and Noah Robertson contributed to this report.
13:57
This item is accompanied by photos. The first is captioned
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people chant during a cold day demonstration in Tehran on Friday.
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The pro Palestinian event was created in Iran in nineteen
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seventy nine and is held on the last Friday of Ramadan,
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Maji saidi getty Images. The photo shows a crowd of
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many people, some holding photos of the late Ayatola Ali
14:22
Komeni and some holding Iranian flags. The next photo is
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captioned funerals are held for members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary GUARDPOORPS,
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and other military figures in Tehran this month, Maiji saidi
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getty Images. The photo is an aerial image which shows
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a vast crowd surrounding a very large fenced off oval
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shaped area. In the oval is an enormous Iranian flag.
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Next is a photo captioned people clear rubble from a
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house in Tehran on Sunday after it was damaged by
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missile attacks two days before, but she getting images. The
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photo shows a building with two men wearing masks looking
15:07
out of a large hole in the wall. To the
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right is draped an Iranian flag, and the final photo
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accompanying this item is captioned people hold a portrait of
15:16
the new Iranian Supreme Leader Bashaba Khamenei as a march
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during a protest against Israel and the US in Ishtambul
15:24
Francisco seco AP. The image shows people holding a very
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large photo of kaman Ae. One individual is holding a
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Turkish flag. There is one additional photo on the front
15:36
page associated with this item. It is captioned an aircraft
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prepares for landing as a smoke ploom from an Iranian
15:43
airstrike rises from a fire near Dubai International Airport on Monday.
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The photo shows a large aircraft in the air with
15:52
a smoke plum underneath it. The next sie from today's
15:56
from page is entitled Trump GI's summit delayed over issue
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of Hormuz. President pushes China to help reopen the vital
16:06
oil route blocked by Iran by Cape Padel. President Donald
16:11
Trump has delayed a trip to China this month as
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he pressures STATION and NATO allies to send warships to
16:18
help the United States reopen the strait of Hormus, throwing
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into question a long panned effort to reset relations between
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the world's two largest economies. The US campaign in Iran,
16:31
now in its third week, has unsettled global energy markets
16:34
and injected a note of uncertainty into Washington's broader foreign
16:39
policy agenda, as Trump called on allies and rivals alike
16:43
to help reopen distraint of vital artery for global oil
16:47
and gas supplies, in an apparent acknowledgment that the task
16:51
cannot be managed by the U. S Military alone. Speaking
16:55
from the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said he had
16:58
sent a request to China that the summit be delayed
17:01
by a month or so, citing the war. I'm looking
17:05
forward to being with them. We have a very good relationship,
17:08
but because of the war, I want to be here,
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he said. He added that China should be thanking the
17:14
United States for its efforts in Iran, and said he
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was surprised it was not eager to help. One Chinese
17:21
official familiar with the preparations earlier told The Washington Post
17:26
that a delay was likely and that a new day
17:28
had not been set. The official spoke on the condition
17:31
of anonymity because of the sensitive diplomacy surrounding the summit. Beijing,
17:37
unlike the White House, had not publicly confirmed the March
17:41
thirty first to April second visit, a common practice in
17:44
Chinese diplomatic planning given the potential for last minute changes,
17:49
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday that
17:53
he was urging about seven countries to send warships to
17:56
escort vessels through the Strait. At the time, Trump did
18:01
not clarify which countries he had requested support from, but
18:05
he said in a true social post on Saturday that
18:08
he hoped China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK and
18:13
others would send ships to the region. Beijing appeared to
18:17
dismiss that entreaty on Monday. China's position is very clear.
18:22
We once again call on all parties to immediately seize
18:26
military operations, avoid for their escalation of tensions, and prevent
18:31
regional instability from having a greater impact on global economic development.
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Lin Jiang, a spokespooming for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said
18:40
at a news conference in Beijing. US Treasury Secretary's hat lessened,
18:45
a key figure in negotiations before the China trip on
18:49
Monday morning, denied a connection between the Iran operation and
18:52
Trump's meeting with Chinese leader issues in pain, saying that
18:56
any potential delay would be due to logistics. If the
19:00
meetings are delayed, it wouldn't be delayed because the President
19:04
demanded that China police the strain of hormones. Besson told
19:08
c nb c's Brian Sullivan. Adelas say Besson's refirming could
19:13
be intended to dial down pressure on the potential of
19:15
Beijing talks. The Treasury Secretary, alongside U S Trade Representative
19:21
Jameson Greer, has of recent days, been involved in preparations
19:25
for the summit, including efforts to secure Chinese commitments to
19:29
buy US agricultural products. This evolution and explanation seems to
19:35
be an effort to less intentions with Beijing by providing
19:38
a more generic, non China focused reason for any postponement,
19:43
said Wendy Cutler, vice president of the Asia Society Policy
19:46
Institute and a former U. S Trade negotiator. Preparations for
19:51
the summit have already been highly compressed when negotiations of
19:55
our major outcomes not beginning in earnest until early this year,
20:00
according to US and Chinese officials familiar with the talks.
20:04
At the same time, intermittent toil political disruptions, including the
20:08
US raid to captured Fenishuena leader Nicolas Mandoro, a Chinese
20:12
ally half way over preparations. Postponement may also come as
20:17
somewhat of a relief to both sides, as when compared
20:21
to previous summits, they've had relatively little time to develop
20:24
substantive and meaningful deliverables. Cutler said Trump has hooked to
20:29
secure a political win ahead of the interm elections by
20:33
striking a deal with China on agricultural purchases, while both
20:37
sides seek to withstand a fragile trade tres After a
20:40
tumultus year marked by tensions of a Trump's tariff campaign
20:44
and Beijing's restrictions on rare earth exports. Last month, the
20:49
president said he hoped the trip would be the biggest
20:52
display you've ever had in the history of China. Energy
20:55
Secretary Chris Wright said Sunday that while there are tensions Beijing,
21:00
it will ultimately be a constructive partner in efforts to
21:04
police the Strait opening. The Strait of horm Moves is
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even more important for China than it is for the
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United States, he said. Oil China is the world's largest
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importer of crude oil and a major consumer of supplies
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passing through the Strain of Hormons. Several factors make it
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unlikely that it will yield to Washington's request to step in,
21:25
including the fact that China, unlike many other countries in Asia,
21:30
maintains massive domestic oil reserves. China has stores of around
21:34
one point three billion barrels of crude, enough to replace
21:38
around four months of seaborne deliveries. Beijing isn't panicking because
21:43
it has spent years preparing for energy disruptions. Strategic reserves
21:48
and diversified supply give China a short term buffer, so
21:53
the immediate risk is higher prices rather than physical shortages,
21:57
said Craig Singleton, Senior China Fellow at the FAT Foundation
22:00
for Defensive Democracy think tank. There are also early indications
22:05
that Tehran may be willing to selectively police the strait,
22:09
allowing some supplies through, including shipments to China, its largest
22:14
oil buyer. We've continued to see Iranian tankers transitting the
22:19
Strait of Horror moves with oil bound for China, said
22:21
Norm Raydan, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for
22:25
Nari's Policy who tracks energy and maritime risks in the
22:29
Middle East. China is in a different category because is
22:33
Iran's main oil client. They need China, she said. Radan
22:38
said that according to statistics available for February, China imported
22:43
around one billion barrels of oil a day from Saudi Arabia,
22:47
seven hundred thousand from Iraq, and four hundred thousand from Iran,
22:51
all of which has been affected by the paralysis in
22:54
the Strait. However, the Saudis have already begun efforts to
22:58
rewrap oil through overland pipelines to the Red Sea, circumanding
23:03
the strength and offering potential relief for Beijing. While Beijing
23:08
may be somewhat insulated from the immediate shortfalls and crude
23:12
pressure on broader oil prices will at some point become
23:15
painful for the world's largest economy. China may look comfortable
23:20
in the near term, but its long term exposure is enormous.
23:25
It's the largest fire of Persian Gulf oil, so sustained
23:28
disruption in the Strait threatens not just energy prices but
23:32
the stability of the supply chains that under pin China's
23:35
export economy, Singleton said Washington allies in Asia, notably Japan
23:41
and South Korea, are also vulnerable to the hormones oil shock.
23:46
Trump's requests that they send warships for taker escort comes
23:49
at a particularly awkward moment for Japanese Prime Minister as
23:53
sana A ta Aishi, who is expected to meet Trump
23:56
in Washington on Thursday and has been seeking to strengthen
24:00
ties with the White House. On Monday, she said that Japan,
24:04
which has strict constitutional check on deploying its military abroad,
24:08
has not made a decision on whether to supply vessels.
24:12
We are examining what Japan can do independently and what
24:15
can be done within the legal framework PADI, she said.
24:19
Michel Yihi Lee and Soul contributed to this report. This
24:24
item is accompanied by a photo captioning President Donald Trump
24:28
and Chinese President Xijinping at an October thirtieth meeting in Busan,
24:32
South Korea. Evan Rothstein writers. The photo shows the two
24:37
men about to shake hands in front of an American
24:40
flag and Chinese slide. The next noting from Today's front
24:44
page is entitled Team Siu Musk Xai over altered photos
24:49
platiss and lawsuit claim Groth Chapbox created sexual images of
24:53
them by Faiz Sadiki. When a mother from eastern Tennessee
24:58
asked local police how some one had created naked photos
25:02
of her teenage daughter, she recalls being told it was
25:05
a company she'd never heard of. Xai, the artificial intelligence
25:10
start up run by Tesla CEO Elon Musk Police alleged
25:14
a person arrested in December had used grock x AI's
25:18
chatbot to edit photos, including one from the teen girl's
25:22
Instagram account, removing of blue bikini from one image to
25:26
depict her without any clothes. According to a lawsuit filed Monday,
25:31
the teen is suing Xai as part of a group
25:34
of Tennessee teenagers who alleged the company's AI tools were
25:38
used to create nude images of them by editing photos
25:41
in which they were closed. The edited photos spread across
25:45
discord and Telegram in recent months, and some were bartered
25:49
for other child sexual abuse material in online chat rooms,
25:52
according to the complaint, which was first reported by The
25:56
Washington Post. The lawsuit filed in the Northern Days of
26:00
California on Monday, alleges a single perpetrator compiled images and
26:05
videos of more than eighteen girls, many of whom attended
26:08
the same school, and digitally altered some of them using AI.
26:13
It is the first action brought by alleged minor victims
26:16
of child sexual abuse material stemming from an undressing scandal
26:20
that has played XAI in recent months. The mother of
26:24
one of the teens who spoke on the condition of
26:26
annuity to maintain her child's privacy, so the incident crushed
26:31
her daughter, a social and outgoing student athlete. It definitely
26:35
put her in a little bit of a shell, which
26:37
we had never seen before, the mother said. The three plaintiffs,
26:42
including two miners, seek damages for child pornography violations and
26:46
aimed to prevent the company from allowing image editing like
26:50
that used to alter their photos. Attorney's alleged XAI fostered
26:54
an environment in which the spread of child's sexual abuse
26:57
material was inevitable as a technology, and the company's public
27:01
messaging encouraged people to create explicit images. A model that
27:07
can create sexualized images of adults cannot be prevented from
27:11
creating CSAM of miners. According to the complaint, these young people.
27:16
These children are facing a lifetime of having these sexualized
27:20
images of what appears to be a child's body out
27:23
there on the internet, said lawyer Vanessa Bair Jones, who
27:27
is representing the plaintiffs in the proposed class action suit.
27:31
It wouldn't have been possible but for this tool that
27:34
XAI released, knowing full well that this material could be generated.
27:40
Musque and XAI did not immediately respond to a request
27:43
for comment. Musk setting a January post on X that
27:47
he was not aware of any naked underaged images generated
27:50
by Grog Literally zero, the chatbot only follows you as
27:55
a request, he said, and will refuse to produce anything illegal,
27:59
adding that verserah hacking could leave the tool to act unexpectedly.
28:03
If that happens, we fixed the bug immediately, he said.
28:07
Musk said in a post on X last week that
28:11
if it's allowed in an R rated movie, is allowed
28:13
by Grock's image and video generated tool. The laws who
28:17
comes after FAI ignited a firestorm by allowing users to
28:21
undress real subjects and photos through editing features and capabilities
28:26
unlocked via its Groth Imagining tool and Spicy mode. The
28:31
capabilities allowed users to create sexual and revealing images of
28:35
real people by depicting them in garments as tiny as
28:38
a string of dental flaws. For example, The editing led
28:42
to the generation of millions of sexualized images, including what
28:46
researchers said when estimated twenty three thousand images appearing to
28:50
depict children over an eleven day periods. Authorities, including the
28:55
California Attorney General, the European Commission, and Britain's Communications Regular
29:00
later open investigations tied to the features. In January, Xai
29:06
said it had rolled back its editing tools in some
29:08
jurisdictions after a previously limiting image generation to paying users.
29:14
God's embrace of sexualized material arose as part of an
29:18
effort by Xai to attract more users to its childlot.
29:22
The Plust reported last month. The should alleges Xai committed
29:26
a range of offenses, including creating child pornography and launching
29:30
a feature riddled with defined defects, and argues the company
29:34
knowingly allowed its tools to generate sexual images of miners
29:39
as part of an effort to monetize its ai. The
29:42
complaints said that editing images of real children to create
29:45
sexualized images constitutes creating child pornography. US officials have previously
29:52
said sexually explicit computer generated depictions of children are illegal.
29:59
According to the complaint, SAI and its founder Elon Musk
30:04
saw a business opportunity, an opportunity to profit off the
30:08
sexual predation of real people, including children. The students in
30:13
Tennessee learned of the explicit images late last year after
30:16
one of them, identified in the lawsuit as Jane doe One,
30:20
received a message on Instagram. It said explicit photos of
30:24
her were spreading on the chatform Discord. The lawsuit said
30:28
that one of the child sexual abuse images of her
30:30
originated from a photo of her at her school homecoming
30:33
in September. Another depicting her topless, appeared to have been
30:38
made using a yearbook photo. The lawsuit said. She was
30:41
a minor during the operative time. The lawsuit said she
30:45
received a link to a discord server which contained images
30:49
and videos of at least eighteen other minor females, many
30:53
of whom Jane do One recognized from her school, according
30:56
to the lawsuit. According to the complaint, police last year
31:00
opened a criminal investigation into the perpetrator. He was arrested
31:04
in December, the complaint said, and police searched his phone,
31:08
but the images took on a life of their own,
31:10
circulating broadly in telegram group chats with hundreds of other users.
31:16
The perpetrator traded for CSAM file for sexually explicit content
31:21
of other miners, the lawsuit said. Attorney said they engaged
31:25
for third party experts to determine the images had been
31:28
created by AI and specifically Groth. The complaint alleges the
31:33
perpetrator turned to grock and other tools that license its capabilities,
31:38
including apps designed to undress people to manipulate real photos
31:42
of underage people. Those tools effectively serve as a middleman,
31:47
attorney said, bringing Groc's capabilities to a user who isn't
31:51
turning directly to Groq's website or the ex app. In
31:55
all instances, the real images and videos uploaded into defendant
31:59
servers were not unlawful child sexual abuse material, but only
32:03
became unlawful content after Defendant's AI morphs the files on
32:08
XAI servers to produce and distribute CSAM. According to the complaint,
32:14
by February, the two other plaintiffs, both miners, learned through
32:18
the criminal investigation that the perpetrator had used their images
32:22
to create child sexual abuse material as well. According to
32:25
the lawsuit, the consequences of the abuse are likely to
32:29
follow the students for decades, attorney said. The plaintiffs the
32:33
complaints said, will probably receive National Center from Missing and
32:37
Exploited Children notifications for the rest of their lives, informing
32:41
them that criminal defendants have possessed, received, or distributed CSAM
32:46
files depicting them. In an interview, annaka k Martin, the
32:51
lead councilor in the suit, posed questions she had asked
32:54
to the Xai founder himself as a parent, can you
32:58
imagine your child? Your child face on images of depraved
33:02
actions put in the video of grossly sexual behavior? She asked,
33:06
your child's voice on video screaming. Can you imagine that?
33:10
As a parent? Can you imagine that for your child
33:13
and feel okay with what you've done? This item is
33:17
accompanied by a photo caption. In this photo illustration, a
33:22
link to the Grock Imagine website is seen in an
33:24
expost on an iPad. Photo illustration by Joe Riddle Getty Images.
33:30
The next item for today's front page is entitled plan
33:34
to close Kennedy Center receives approval, Trustines vote Claire's path
33:39
for Trump's massive two year renovation by Jane Kingsbury and
33:43
Travis m Andrews, The John F. Kennedy Center for the
33:47
Performing Arts will move forward with President Donald Trump's plans
33:51
to shut at the institution for two years, after his
33:54
board of trustees voted Monday to approve the proposal, clearing
33:58
away for sweeping when ovations at the nation's premier performing
34:02
arts center. Meeting with the White House on Monday, the
34:06
Kennedy Center's General trustees, who were hand picked by Trump
34:09
after his takeover of the institution last year, unanimously voted
34:13
to close the complex this summer for a two year
34:16
renovation project. They also voted to install Matt Floka, who
34:20
previously ran facilities operations, to replace Kennedy Center President Richard Grenno,
34:26
whose departure was announced last week. Prior to the board proceedings,
34:30
Trump posted a news conference tutting what he called incredible
34:34
strides under his leadership to restore the center's quote true
34:38
purpose and prestige, and welcoming Flacca, who he said would
34:42
oversee the building's construction crew and planning. Matt, I'm here
34:47
to a certain extent to wish you good luck on everything,
34:50
Trump said not fifteen minutes after saying he would fire
34:53
Floka if he doesn't perform well. Trump said the Kennedy
34:57
Center had been literally on the verge of collapse both
35:00
structurally and financially when he took over. Administration has never
35:05
offered proof of such dire peril on either front, despite
35:08
dozens of requests from The Washington Post. Trump also said Grennel,
35:13
who became president in February twenty twenty five, was not
35:17
fired and praised his tenure, saying that some of the
35:20
artists that took up pounding from wreck. The board vote
35:24
cleared a major hurdle in Trump's efforts to remake the Center,
35:27
which has long claimed as engraved disrepair. Beginning with his
35:32
plans to take over the Center and make him self chair,
35:35
the president has followed a now familiar pattern in his
35:38
newfound relationship with the Kennedy Center. First, he announces a
35:42
major plan on truth social for example, taking over the center,
35:46
renaming it after himself, closing it, and only later does
35:51
the board vote on the very thing he is already announced.
35:55
Since announcing the Kennedy Center shut down in February, Trump
35:58
has shared few details about plans for the closure or
36:02
its renovation. He said the project would cost around two
36:06
hundred million dollars, which is likely to be covered by
36:09
the historically large congressional appropriation of two hundred fifty seven
36:13
million dollars from the One Big Beautiful Bill last year,
36:17
and he has insisted that he's not demolishing the building.
36:21
I'm not ripping it down. I'll be using the steel,
36:24
he told reporters last month. On Friday, he unveiled new
36:28
renderings of the building's exterior, which did not appear to
36:31
show major structural changes to the complex. In the images,
36:35
the roof and some of the windows appeared to be updated.
36:39
The renderings also reveal some landscaping changes, including new trees
36:43
along the terrace facing the Potomac, but its center last
36:46
year removed several willow trees. Despite boards support, Trump still
36:51
faces legal challenges and efforts from Democratic lawmakers to investigate
36:56
and reverse drastic changes to the Kennedy Center in the
36:59
past year. After Trump's name was added to the building's facade.
37:03
In December, Representative Joycetaty, Democrat from Ohio, an ex officio
37:09
member of the Kennedy Center, sued the board, arguing that
37:12
only Congress has the power to change the institution's name.
37:17
Earlier this month, she amended her complaint, seeking a preliminary
37:21
injunction to halt any steps toward closing, demolishing, or renovating
37:25
the Center. When Trump first announced his takeover of the center,
37:29
he appeared to be mostly concerned with the institution's programming,
37:33
which he repeatedly referred to as woke. His focus turned
37:38
to the building itself after he visited the center about
37:41
a month after becoming chair. The Kennedy Center is in
37:45
tremendous disrepair, as is a lot of the rest of
37:48
our country, Trump told reporters last March, most of it
37:52
because of bad management. This is a shame. Would I
37:55
have watched and witnessed? Former and current staffers continued to
37:59
push back on this plane. Since then, Trump and the
38:03
center's new leadership have complained of mice and broken elevators,
38:07
but have never articulated why the center would be in
38:10
need of such a dramatic reconstruction. This article is accompanied
38:15
by photos the first he's captioned President Donald Trump with
38:19
from left, Attorney General Pam Bondy, House Speaker of Mike Johnson,
38:23
Republican from Louisiana, White House chief of staff Susie Wilds
38:27
and Richard Grennell, the outgoing president of the Kennedy Center,
38:31
as he speaks Monday during the lunch with board members
38:34
in the east room, Alex Wang Getting Imagists. The photo
38:39
shows President Trump in the center of the table with
38:42
a presidential seal in front of him with a Behind
38:46
the group are three American flags and three flags with
38:49
the seal of the President of the United States. The
38:52
next photo is captioned Richard Grennell sits with Matt Floka,
38:56
who replaced him at the helm of the Arts Center
38:58
Alex Wang Getting Images. The photo shows the two men
39:02
seated at a table with nameplates in front of them,
39:06
and the final photo is captured Representative Joyce Baty, Democrat
39:10
from Ohio Las arm during Monday's lunch for the Kennedy
39:13
Center board members Annabelle brdon afp Getty Images. The photo
39:19
shows the representative seated at a table with a name
39:22
plate in front of her. Individuals can be seen behind her,
39:25
but the images are blurred. The next article from Today's
39:29
friend page is entitled he said he didn't do it
39:32
to the end? Will a DNA test finally clear him?
39:36
By Joanna Slater Over his thirty four years in prison,
39:41
Sean Tanner always maintained he was not guilty of murder,
39:44
insisting on his innocence right up until his death in
39:47
twenty twenty two. Now, a year's long legal battle will
39:51
grant his final wish for DNA testing to be conducted
39:55
on crucial evidence. In his case, the prosecutor's office had
39:59
obtained his conviction thought the testing, arguing that his death
40:03
invalidated his request and that the results wouldn't prove his
40:06
innocence anyway. His advocates disagreed, arguing that the results could
40:12
not only lead to his exoneration, but also offer a
40:15
clue in the unsolved case of an infamous serial killer.
40:19
The result a debate over whether the dead can clear
40:23
their names that eventually reached the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court,
40:27
testing legal boundaries and fundamental notions of justice along the way.
40:32
Every state now has a legal avenue where people can
40:35
request DNA testing of evidence after being convicted, but in
40:39
many cases it's not clear those statutes apply once convicts
40:43
have died, said Brandon Garrett, a law professor at Duke University.
40:48
Possumous exagerations based on DNA testing are exceedingly rare. There
40:53
are only seven such cases across the nation over the
40:56
past three decades, according to a database maintained by Garrett,
41:00
but there is always a possibility of more. Aunt Tanner's
41:04
case could help pay the way. The advent of DNA
41:07
testing upfended all these traditional notions of finality. Garrett said,
41:12
as long as it is kept in a dry place,
41:15
you can test it. Sixty days later or ten years later.
41:19
Tested was science. In nineteen eighty eight, Tanner was working
41:24
as a bouncer at a nightclub when he was arrested
41:26
for the murder of Mary Harris. Harris, a dance with
41:30
a night club, was found strangled in a motel room
41:33
in Dartmouth, a town on the southern coast of Massachusetts.
41:37
At trial, Tanner told jurors that he paid Harris for
41:40
sex the night she was killed, but he was alive
41:42
when he left. On his way out, he testified he
41:46
saw another man at the door in a similar case.
41:50
To day, DNA testing would be standard practice, with investigators
41:54
submitting evidence to state run crime labs that check for
41:57
matches in a federal database, But in nineteen eighty eight,
42:01
DNA testing was not widespread and it would not be
42:05
routinely available for a near and another decade, so prosecutors
42:09
focused on the testimony of the key witness. Stephen Almita,
42:13
a friend of Tanner's, testified that Tanner confided that he
42:17
strangled Harris with his hands and then a sock after
42:20
forcing her to have sex with him. Tanner showed him
42:23
several pieces of jewelry taken from harris army to testify
42:27
and told him the location of two other rings, which
42:30
police later recovered. A jury convicted him of first degree murder,
42:35
and a judge sentenced him to life in prison. Tanner appealed,
42:39
but in nineteen ninety four, the state's highest court declined
42:42
to order a new trial. Tanner would spend the next
42:45
twenty eight years in prison, mostly at a medium security
42:49
penitentiary in Suring, Massachusetts, working as a tanitor and attending
42:53
Catholic mass During those same years, a number of high
42:57
profile exonerations based on DNA teenis sphereheaded by the New
43:02
York based Innocence Project, focused nationwide attention on the issue
43:06
of wrongful convictions. Project states to enact new laws. In
43:10
twenty twelve, Massachusetts passed the law allowing people to request
43:15
post conviction DNA testing of evidence. In late twenty twenty,
43:20
lawyers at the New England Innocence Project took on Tennis case,
43:24
which raised several red flags, said staff attorney Laura Carey.
43:28
The prosecution relied heavily on the testimony of a single witness,
43:32
she said, and also decided to potentially misleading forensic techniques
43:37
hair and blood type analysis that have contributed to Ronnie's convictions. Meanwhile,
43:43
the events collected at the scene, including scrapings from beneath
43:47
the victim's fingernails as well as from the bed sheets
43:50
and towels, had never been subjected to DNA testing. Why
43:54
rely on when somebody said Sean told them after the murder,
43:58
When you can test it with science, carry asked. In
44:01
twenty twenty two, after a hearing, a judge granted Tenner's
44:05
motion for DNA testing, but by then Tennor had been
44:09
diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. He died in September of
44:13
that year at the age of fifty seven after being
44:16
released on medical parole. The private laboratory conducting the testing
44:20
did not receive an approval needed to start the process
44:23
from the State Crime Laboratory until twenty twenty three. That's
44:28
when it discovered that a key sample the Finanau scrapings
44:32
were missing from the materials previously sent by state police. Meanwhile,
44:37
the Bristol County District Attorney's office decided to fight the
44:41
judge's order. It filed a motion arguing that Tanner's death
44:45
meant the court no longer had any jurisdiction. The order
44:48
becomes null and void once the defendant has passed away,
44:52
a prosecutor said during the September twenty twenty three hearing,
44:56
the legal debate would escalate to the Massachusetts Supreme Duty
45:00
Addicial Court. For Tenna's family, the question is simpler. Cheryl Kirby,
45:06
his older sister, declined to answer questions about her brother's life,
45:10
saying her goal is to honor his dying wish. I
45:13
want to continue his fight, Kirby said, I want the
45:16
testing to move forward, to get to the truth turn
45:20
every pebble. It wasn't just Tanner's sister and lawyers pushing
45:25
for the testing. Among the groups have filed briefs in
45:28
the case. The relatives of women who are victims in
45:31
a notorious serial murder case in the same area that
45:35
remains unsolved. The so called new Bedford Highway killer is
45:39
believed of murdered at least nine women, many by strangulation,
45:44
starting in nineteen eighty eight, the year of Tanner's arrest.
45:48
Jill Peva's mother, Nancy, was one of the victims murdered
45:52
that year. Peva said she met with Bristol County prosecutors
45:56
last November to press for an update on the Casey
46:00
asked them why they were opposed to DNA testing in
46:02
Tanner's case, urging them to leave no stone unturned. It
46:07
doesn't matter if it's a pebble, Pever remembers, saying, you
46:10
don't know what you'll find under it if you don't look.
46:14
The prosecutors told her that they had ruled out any
46:16
connection between the serial murders and Tanner's case. Pevas said
46:21
and reiterated that the case against Tanner was strong, but
46:25
adding a pellet. Hearing late last year in Boston, a
46:28
panel of seven judges echoed Tava's query, We're dealing with
46:32
potentially evidence that everyone would care about, just as Scott
46:36
Casker said, what is the common host interest in not
46:40
finding out what's under those fingernails? David mark a lawyer
46:44
at the Bristol County District Attorney's Office said as a
46:48
hearing that no matter what the DNA testing showed, it
46:51
would not prove Tanner's innocence. This is not a case
46:55
where testing alone can produce a definitive result of his honeration.
46:59
Mark told the judges it's simply not possible on these facts.
47:05
Even if DNA results show that the third person was
47:08
present in their room, prosecutors have argued it does not
47:11
diminish the strength of the other evidence against ten, particular
47:15
Almeda's testimony. Last month, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled
47:21
in Timis's favor, saying a valid order to conduct post
47:25
conviction DNA testing does not automatically expire after a defendant's death.
47:31
It also noted there was societal interest in these results,
47:35
since there remained nine unsolved murders from the same period
47:38
and region. In a statement, the Bristol County District Attorney's
47:43
Office said it would comply with the ruling it did
47:46
not respond to for the questions. Pego welcomed the court's decision.
47:51
She said her eleven year old grandson has begun asking
47:53
questions about her mother's death. Questions that she cannot answer.
47:58
Why would someone do something that? How come they don't
48:01
know who did it? Like several of the serial Killa's victims,
48:06
Pava's mother, Nancy, struggled with drug use, but she was
48:09
a devoted and loving parent, Tava said, remembered for her
48:13
elaborate Christmas decorations and blueberry picking expeditions. Do I expect
48:18
that this is going to be a miracle. We're going
48:20
to find out who did it? No, Peva said, But
48:24
Tanner's family deserves to know, she continued. Even though he's past,
48:29
his family deserves an answer. Beside him is accompanied by photos.
48:34
The first Who's Captain Sean Tanner, who was found guilty
48:37
of a nineteen eighty eight murder, died of brain cancer
48:40
in twenty twenty two. Before his death, he asked authorities
48:44
in Massachusetts to allow DNA testing of key evidence in
48:47
his case. Courtesy of New England Innocence Project. The photo
48:52
shows mister Tanner with a medical mask hung below his chin.
48:57
The next photo is captioned case reached the Massachusetts Supreme
49:02
Judicial Court, Boston Globe Getty Images. The pheedero shows an
49:07
individual walking in front of a large building and The
49:10
final item from today's front page is entitled Federal Judges
49:14
ruling blocks or FK Junior's Vaccines overhaul by Lena H.
49:19
Sun and Rachel Rubin. A federal judge on Monday blocked
49:23
the Trump administration from implementing sweeping changes to the nation's
49:27
childhood immunisation schedule, ciding with major medical organizations that argue
49:32
howth Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Junior unlawfully altered vaccine's policy
49:37
and improperly reconstituted a federal Vaccine Advisory Panel. Under Kennedy,
49:43
the federal government has cut the number of shots routinely
49:46
recommended to children, including for flu, hepatitis A, rotavirus, and
49:52
MANINJTA cockle disease. Kennedy also dismissed all seventeen members of
49:56
the Vaccine Advisory Panel to the Centers for Disease Controlling
49:59
from mentioned last year, installing new members, several of whom
50:03
have criticized vaccines, especially COVID nineteen mRNA shots. Several groups sued,
50:10
including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Physicians,
50:14
and the Infectious Diseases Society of America. In his forty
50:19
five page opinion, Judge Brian E. Murphy slammed the administration's
50:23
approach to refamping government recommendations for how and when children
50:28
should be immunized. He said the government has undermined its
50:31
history of recognizing the importance and value of involving independent
50:36
experts in setting our national public health agenda and relying
50:40
on a method scientific in nature to make such decisions.
50:44
History is littered with once universal truths that of sins
50:48
come under scrutiny, the judge wrote. He added that even
50:51
though science is not perfect, nevertheless, science is still the
50:55
best we have. The U. S. District Court judge from Massachusetts,
51:00
he was appointed to the federal bench by President Joe Biden,
51:03
wrote that the government bypassed the CDC's that Scene Advisory Panel,
51:07
which is how vaccine recommendations have been made for decades,
51:11
to change the immunization's schedule. He called it a technical
51:14
procedural failure and a strong indication of something more fundamentally problematic,
51:20
an abandonment of the technical knowledge and expertise embodied by
51:24
that committee. The powers of the administration's actions are temporary,
51:29
as the dispute is expected to wind through multiple rounds
51:33
of appeals, raising the prospect of a drawn out court
51:36
battle over who ultimately calls the shots on the scientific
51:40
standard shaping federal vaccine recommendations. Andrew Nixon, a spokesman for
51:46
the Department of Health and Human Services, said the department
51:50
looks forward to this judge's decision being overturned, just like
51:53
his other attempts to keep the Trump administration from governing.
51:58
Government attorneys have defended this Secretary's authority to remove an
52:01
appoint advisory committee members are arguing that federal law grants
52:05
AHHS broad discretion over such panels. They also contend that
52:10
policy disagreements over vaccine recommendations do not announce to legal violations.
52:16
AAP president Enter Racine hailed the ruling, saying it was
52:20
important for such fatal vaccine recommendations to be based on science.
52:25
This decision effectively means that a science based process for
52:29
developing immanization recommendations is not to be trifled with and
52:33
represents a critical step to restoring scientific decision making to
52:38
federal vaccine policy that has kept children healthy for years,
52:42
he said. In his statement, Raccine said the ruling provided
52:46
clarity for families so they know what vaccines are being
52:49
recommended and to talk to their pediatricians for the appropriate
52:53
vaccine schedule for their children. As Health Secretary Kennedy, the
52:58
founder of a prominent anti gas vaccine group, has made
53:01
clear that he wants to overhaul the nation's immunization system
53:05
and argued the prior panel vaccine advisors was plagued with
53:09
conflict of interest. In early December, President Donald Trump ordered
53:14
federal health officials to review the childhood immunization schedule, including
53:19
recommending fewer vaccines to align with other developed countries. The
53:23
judge wrote that HSS cannot circumvent the long standing practice
53:27
of getting advised from the federal panel without offering an
53:30
explanation simply because they are following the president's orders. He
53:35
also wrote the government removed every member of the Advisory
53:39
Committee on Immunization Practices and replaced them without undertaking the
53:44
rigorous screening traditionally used to select members. The judge noted
53:48
that even under the most generous reading, only six of
53:52
the fifteen members on the panel have any meaningful experience
53:56
in vaccines. The advising panel was scheduled to meet Wednesday
54:00
and Thursday, but that meeting has now been postponed. According
54:04
to an HHS official. The judge temporarily suspended the appointment
54:09
of thirteen of the fifteen panel members, finding they were
54:12
not appointed properly. Therefore, he noted that this week's meeting
54:16
could not take place, for how can a committee meet
54:20
without nearly the entirety of its membership. The Vaccine Advisory
54:24
Panel was designed to be an independent panel of experts
54:28
that reviews data on vaccine safety and effectiveness and recommends
54:33
which shots Americans should receive and at what ages. Its
54:37
guidance has long been widely followed by physicians, shaped school
54:41
injury requirements in many states, and determines which vaccines insurance
54:46
must cover with no out of pocket costs. Under Kennedy,
54:50
the meetings of the committee had provided a platform for
54:53
those in the anti vaccine movement to so doubts in
54:56
the safety and efficacy of vaccines. At its December meeting,
55:00
committee members and presenters made at least sixty false, misleading,
55:04
or unsupported claims about vaccine safety, disease spread, and rationale
55:09
for childhood vaccination, according to the Evidence Collective, a coalition
55:14
of science and medicine researchers. In recent months, some members
55:18
of the panel had publicly questioned the safety and manufacturing
55:22
of COVID nineteen shots, such as raising a debunk theory
55:26
that DNA contaminants in the vaccine were harmful, and some
55:29
had been seeking to potentially stop recommending the mRNA shots.
55:34
The plan had recently been abandoned as some Republicans have
55:38
warned that additional overhauls to vaccine policy could be politically
55:42
risky ahead of the November midterms. The Washington Post previously
55:46
reported the judge caused all those taken by the Vaccine Advisors.
55:51
Some recent votes include moving from broadly recommending everyone six
55:55
months and older get a coronavirus shot instead advising a
55:59
MAREA reckons to first consulted clinician. The panel also voted
56:03
to drop the recommendation that all newborns receive a vaccine
56:07
for hepatitis fee, an action that has drawn swift resistance
56:11
from pediatricians, safe health departments, and major medical groups. In
56:16
court filings, the medical groups contend that Kennedy's reconstitution of
56:20
the Vaccine Panel was improper and that subsequent votes on
56:24
vaccine recommendations, including changes affecting COVID nineteen and other routine
56:29
childhood immunizations, were therefore invalid. They argued that the administration
56:36
bypassed established procedure and violated the Administrative Procedure Act, which
56:41
governs how federal agencies make policy. Government attorneys argued that
56:46
the Health Secretary's authority is far reaching. At one point
56:50
during the hearings, the judge asked them if the secretary said,
56:54
instead of getting a vaccine to prevent measles, I think
56:57
you should get a shot that gives you measles. Is
57:00
that unreviewable? The government attorney replied yes. On sub staff.
57:06
Robert Malone, the committee's vice chair and a prominent critic
57:09
of coronavirus vaccines, called the opinion a judicial overreach. He
57:15
wrote that there is a compelling case for bringing intellectual
57:18
diversity and fresh expertise to the panel and for aligning
57:22
vaccine recommendations with the practices of other nations. In the meantime,
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the administration should continue its work, he wrote. In his opinion,
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Murphy wrote that he was not dictating what the Health
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Department can say related to vaccines, but rather the procedure
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by which federal officials can change policy. Public health experts
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say the continuing legal dispute will create more confusion for parents.
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The Trump administrations many changes to immunization policy have already
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fractured the response of states. Twenty nine states and the
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District of Columbia have announced they are abandoning CDC COS
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guidance for some or all childhood vaccines, mostly in favor
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of the American Academy Pediatric Schedule. According to a tally
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by the KFA, a health policy research organization, most of
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the states that are no longer following subtle health guidance
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are led by Democratic governors, but several have Republican governors,
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including Alaska, Mississippi, New Hampshire, and Nevada. Lauren Webber and
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Aaron Shaker contributed to this report. This concludes the reading
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of the Washington Post for to Day, Tuesday, March seventeenth,
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twenty twenty six. Your reader to Day has been Cindy Fraser.
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If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions concerning this program,
58:41
please be free to call us at eight five nine
58:43
four two two sixteen nine zero. Thank you for listening,
58:47
and now please stay tuned for continued programming on Radio
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