Transcript

6.8.26 · 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 eighth. As a reminder,
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Radio I is a reading service intended for people who
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are blind or have other disabilities that make it difficult
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to read printed material. You're reader for today's Rod Brotherton,
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and as we strike off unto this second week of June.
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Here are the headlines. Israel launches strike on Iran after
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Tehran fires missiles at them. Israel said it struck military
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targets in Iran hours after Tehran fired a barrage of
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missiles toward the country for the first time since a
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ceasefire took effect in early April. The exchange of fire
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threatened to further complicate efforts to broke or a lasting
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peace deal to end the month's long US Israel war
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with Tehran and raise the prospect of a return open conflict.
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The Israeli air force hit sites in western and central Iran,
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its military said on social media early Monday local time,
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without providing further details. Iran's attack on Sunday followed Israeli
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military strikes on what Israel said were suspected Hesbil opposition
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in Bay Roots, southern suburbs. Earlier in the day, around
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ten pm local time Sunday, the Israeli Defense Forces said
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it had identified missiles in bound from Iran. Another barrage
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was launched soon after, official said, triggering sirens across the country.
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The IDF intercepted all of the incoming missiles from Iran.
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It said, Israel will respond forcefully. An Israeli official told
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The Washington Post, speaking again on the condition of anonymity,
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the Iranian tailor regime made a grave mistake. It chose
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terror once again, IDF spokesperson if He Deferin said in
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a statement to the media. He added that the IDEF
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will continue to operate all across Lebanon. We will not
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allow fire towards Israel. Earlier Sunday, President Trump told Axios
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that he planned to call Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Natanyahu
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and urged him not to retaliate. I'm gonna call BBI
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right now and tell him not to retaliate. Each of
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them had their fun. Israel had its strike, and Ron
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had it strike. We don't need another one. Trump totally
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outlet Ron's Islamic Revolutionary Guard course that it targeted Ramat
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David Airbase in northern Israel, which it called the source
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of aggression against South Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs. According
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to a statement published by the semi official Tasnim News,
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Trumped old Fox News he was not happy about Israel
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striking Beirut suburbs and that the Iranian missile fire toward
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Israel is certainly not going to help negotiations aimed at
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ending the war. US and Iranian officials had said in
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recent weeks that they were closed to reaching a peace agreement.
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What I would suggest to Iran, You've shot your missiles.
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That's enough, get back to the table and make a deal,
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Trump told the network. Defense Minister Israel Katz said last
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week that the IDF has refrained from powerful strikes in
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Lebanon's capital except for targeted assassinations following a US request.
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He warned then that Israel would strike Daalaia, a southern
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Beirut suburb where Husbillah holds sway if Israel's northern communities
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are targeted. Israel strikes on Sunday, kill two and injured twenty,
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according to Lebanese Ministry of Health. Israel launched the attack
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days after the announcement of a US brokers ceased fire
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deal in Lebanon, a deal that was contingent on Hezbillah
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ending its attacks. Hesbilah called the ceasefire agreement a farce.
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Both sides continued their attacks after Israel's attack on Sunday,
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Chief Iranian negotiator Mohammad Bagar Gadibaf posted on social media
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then as a result of the ongoing US naval blockade
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against Iranian ports and what he alleged was America's green
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light today for Israel to strike his belah us and
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Israeli bass and assets in the region were legitimate tarates.
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Iran launched its retaliatory strikes against Israel hours later. The
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Islamic Revolutionary Guards said tonight's operation was a warning and
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if aggressions are repeated, the responses will be broader and
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will include all US Israeli targets in the Middle East.
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Its statements said. Katam Al and Bia Central Headquarters Command's
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Center of Iran's Armed Forces said in a statement that
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Iran had previously warned that if crimes continue in the
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Dalii district in Beirut, we would strike targets within Israel.
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According to the semi official FARS News agency. If Israel's
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military expanded its attacks on that region all response to
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Ron's actions, it will face more crushing and regrettable blows
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and destructive attacks that will begin against its regime and
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its supporters, the headquarters said. The Israeli military announced that
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schools will be canceled across Israel and gatherings will be limited.
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The attack marked the first time Iran launched attacks towards
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Israel since the April eighth US broker ceasefire, which followed
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forty days of strikes between Israel and Iran. After the
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US and Israel launched the war on Iran on February
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twenty eight, Iran Supreme Leader Ali Kaminet and other top
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Iranian officials were killed in the hostilities, and a consortion
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of human rights groups estimated nearly fourteen hundred and forty
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three Iranian civilians were also killed, and some twenty Israelis
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were reported killed by Iranian missiles. Earlier Sunday, NBC's Meet
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the Press aired a Friday interview with Trump in which
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he detailed the status of the ceasefire negotiations. Very close,
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he said. Trump said the US would not lift sanctions
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on Iran or unfreeze its assets up front, is any
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part of a peace deal with Tehran, and would consider
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doing so only if other conditions are met. If they behave,
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if they're doing a good job, we'll start talking, Trump
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told NBC's Kristin Welker in an interview aired Sunday. The
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question of economic relief for Iran has emerged as a
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major sticking point as the two sides pursue an agreement
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to in the war, which began February twenty eighth and
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reopened the Street of Hormuz. In recent weeks, both sides
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have signaled they are close on a deal, but no
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one has yet to emerge. Rainy and officials who spoke
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with The Washington Post late last month said an agreement
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agreed on memorandum of understanding that would open the Strait
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of Horn moves includes the first phase that would unlock
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twelve billion dollars in frozen Iranian assets and lift the
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US naval blockade of Iran's posts ports. CNN and others
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have reported that Tehran wants an additional twelve billion dollars
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to be unfrozen in a subsequent phrase. At the time,
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a diplomat familiar with the talks said that Iran's frozen
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assets would not be released until it begins giving up
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its highly enriched uranium, a key US demand. Asked by Welker,
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why Iran hasn't agreed to usca's fire terms, which include
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the removal of its highly enriched uranium, Trump said, because
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they're strong and they're proud. There are things they never
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thought they'd be doing that they're going to have to do.
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They've got no choice, he and that takes a little while.
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The Trump administration has made limiting Iran's capacity to build
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a nuclear weapon a top goal, and Tehran's openness to
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turning over its enriched uranium is another significant point of
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contention in the talks. If a deal is reached, Trump said,
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the US will work with Iran using US equipment to
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remove and destroy it's highly enriched uranium. If we make
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a deal. That's how we're friendly, and we'll all go together,
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he said. Now, if we don't make a deal, and
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then we're going to take them out militarily, very harshly,
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and we'll wait until we do that before we go in,
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in which case we'll have safety either way. He said.
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The next story why most politicians are not calling for
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data center bands despite voter's anger. In Hilliard, Ohio, Annette
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Singh in Ani Canalongo will vote in November in this
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midterm battleground with one issue at the top of their minds,
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data centers. The full time moms say their fury over
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the massive computer filled warehouses has consumed them ever since
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Amazon's Web Services broke ground on a data center site
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that stretches from the lush playgrounds their kids use close
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to the elementary school that Sings a child attends. Sing
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can no longer see deer peeking out of the trees
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and farmland that used to be a but a park.
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In Kanalongo, her friend laments that she can now hear
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the roaring Highway from her house. Their opposition to data
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centers has led Singh to collect signatures at her book
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club and in her suburban neighborhood for a long shot
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ballot initiative to ban them statewide. This campaign is hardly
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a one off. Voters across the nation are concerned that
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the centers are driving up electricity prizes and polluting their air.
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More than seventy percent of Americans opposed building the centers
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in their local area. According to a recent Gallop survey.
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It affects me personally, said Kindelano, forty six, a former teacher.
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Jeff Bezos, the executive chairman of Amazon, owns the Washington Post.
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The political energy is slowly beginning to catch up to
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voter anger. Lawmakers in both parties who have touted the
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centers as economic boons in their states are backpedaling. Ovenor
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Mike Dwine, the Republican of Ohio, paused new tax breaks
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for the centers last month after an independent report estimated
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they had cost the state more than one billion dollars
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in lost revenue last year, and Republicans and Democrats running
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for office say they want AI companies to offset their
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electricity usage to tame skyrocketing power bills, But few politicians
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are embracing grassroots demands for a pause or ban on
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data center construction, which some on the left see as
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a missed opportunity for Democrats to distinguish them show themselves
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ahead of a midterm election that they hope will hinge
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on the cost of living concerns. Democrats are divided because
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some trade unions support the centers, which create jobs, and
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because the powerful industry behind them sport millions of dollars
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into attacking political opponents. Republicans have largely supported the centers,
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spurred by President Trump's enthusiastic backing, and have only been
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raising concerns as they hear from their enraged base. The
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data Center's footprint encompasses states that are midterm battlegrounds and
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will be crucial to determining which party controls the House
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and the Senate next year. Ohio is home to more
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than two hundred data centers, the sixth most of any state,
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according to data compiled by the industry group Data Center Map. Georgia, Virginia,
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and Texas host even more of the centers. A handful
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of progressive leaders, including Senator Bernice Sanders, independent of Vermont,
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and Representative at Alexandria Cassio Cortes, the Democrat of New York,
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have pushed legislation to temporarily banned data center construction. Lawmakers
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in more than ten states also introduced bills this year
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to pause construction. Last week, residents of Monterey Park, California,
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approved the nation's first permanent ban on data centers, with
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more than eighty six percent of the voters supporting the prohibition,
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but even Sanders endorsed candidates and competitive races, including Abdul
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l Sayed in Michigan and Graham Planter in Maine, have
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not yet taken up the mantle. What I don't want
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to do is inadvertently exit the playing field and then
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seed the policy making space to folks who don't want
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to impose any limitations. L Said told The Washington Post
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on Monday, Sanders called for the creation of a sovereign
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wealth fund seated with fifty percent tax on American AIS
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company stock so that Americans would own a piece of
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the industry. Sanders in an interview, how did the policy,
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But I think it's good politics as well, he said.
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You're tapping into the concerns that the American people have,
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and you win elections when you do that. Democratic candidates
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are largely calling for spaller scale policy interventions, with many
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saying the centers should pay for their own electricity usage,
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stopped obscuring details from their developments from the communities in
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which they're built. If you need to make sure if
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data centers are going to come here and benefit, you
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need to bring your own energy. You need not to
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make all of us pay for it. Amy Acton, the
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Democrat running for Ohio governor, sat in a recent roundtable.
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Former Senator Sheared Brown, a Democrat mounting a comeback bit
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in Ohio, said he was unaware of the push to
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get a data center ban on the the state with
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data centers, we make sure the investors pay for electricity,
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not the people who live in Zanesville or Kurshocton or Cambridge.
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He said. The issue animated a may debate among the
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Democratic candidates running from Michigan's open Senate seat, with l
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said calling artificial intelligence a tsunami coming toward Americans that
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merit regulations of the same stringency as those governing public utilities.
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State Senator Mallory McMorrow touted her plan taxed the industry
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to pay for job training, and Representative Hailey Stevens, the
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most centrist Democrat in the race, says she supported building
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the centers so long as they pay for their own resources.
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I'm eager to see Michigan lead on the moonshots of
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the twenty first century, she said. Many Republican can previously
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followed the lead of Trump, who signaled and signed an
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executive order last summer to speed data center construction, but
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in recent months more are beginning to respond to grassroots anger.
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The Republican candidates for governor and Senate in Ohio, Vivik
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Ravaswami and Senator John Husted, have long history of backing
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the centers. Both have recently expressed concerns about the center's
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electricity usage and said they should offset it. The goal
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is to support America's growing technology infrastructure while helping ensure reliable,
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affordable energy for the local residents, Husted state a statement.
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The senator joined Trump for a roundtable with the technology
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companies in March to celebrate their leaders signing a pledge
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to offset their electricity costs. Former Congressman Right Rogers, the
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Republican Senate candidate in Michigan, said data centers need to
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pay for their energy. We're going to have to grapple
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with it, said Alex Trinspilu, chair of the Ohio Republican Party,
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pointing to an uptick in community level anger on the right.
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The activists pushing for sweeping change, the response has not
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been swift or substantive, substantive enough. Big corporations have money,
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and then they're donating to both sides. So it's hard
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for anybody to oppose them, said Canalongo was not organized
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for the moratorium, but supports other efforts. AI companies have
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poured tens of millions of dollars into the midterms, backing
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pro AI candidates and working to defeat those who seek
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to regulate the industry. Many unions, which have cons siderable
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leverage in the Democratic Party, also support data centers, which
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experts say create thousands of short term construction jobs but
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fewer permanent ones. These are creating good union jobs, both
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in the construction but also in keeping them secure and
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maintaining them, said Tim berga president of the Ohio AFLCIO.
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In Ohio, seventy one percent of voters set in a
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recent poll that they support a temporary reban on data centers.
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Majorities said data centers have a bad effect on the environment,
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energy prices, and quality of life of people who live
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near them. In a statement, a an Amazon spokesperson said
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the company is committed to delivering meaningful local benefits to
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the communities and has invested seventy billion dollars in Ohio
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twenty sixteen. There are folk that believe that if the
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Democratic Party would become a Party of No data centers
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that a Democratic Party could run the table, said Chris Gibbs,
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chair of the Ohio Democratic Party's rural Caucus. Gibbs said
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that would be shortsighted, however, and that the better path
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is to help communities strike better deals with tech companies
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so they benefit more financially from the center's presence. Just
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to be the Party of No all the time, I
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don't think it's good for the Democratic Party's future, Gibb said.
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For Singh and Kanalongo, the slow moving debate has been
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hard to watch. This area is so great. Sing who's
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thirty six and a political independent set of the powerful
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and peaceful Columbus suburb. I feel like this taints it
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a little bit, like puts a little black spot on it.
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I'm frustrated, she said. I want better politicians. The next story,
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the science around golp one drugs and cancer, is suddenly
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getting a lot more interesting. The story of golp one
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drugs keeps getting bigger. First they transform the treatment of diabetes,
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Then they upended the science and culture of weight loss.
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Now a growing body of research is raising another possibility
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that these drugs may help protect against cancer. At this
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year's American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago, more
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than forty studies, abstracts, oral presentations, and poster presentations examined
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the relationship between GLP one based drugs and cancer. The
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results were strikingly consistent. Taken together, they suggest that people
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taking medications such as ozimpic, we Goovi, and Manjaro may
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develop certain cancers at lower rates than comparable patients who
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are not taking the drugs, and that those already diagnosed
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may experience a slower decline and better outcomes. For oncologists,
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the act accumulation of evidence is hard to dismiss. The
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findings are super promising, said Mark Orland, a cancer researth
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sure at the Cleveland Clinic. We're really excited to be
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on the forefront of looking at the effects of these drugs.
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The studies span many of the thirteen cancers associated with obesity.
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Among the most prominent is an analysis from the University
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of Pennsylvania presented on Tuesday. It looked at data from
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more than one hundred thousand women and found lower rates
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of breast cancer among those taking the drugs. Another followed
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more than ten thousand patients and found that those taking
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the medications were significantly less likely to progress to metastatic
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disease across four solid tumors. Also drawing attention or findings
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related to lung cancer because it is not generally associated
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with weight, as well as a few studies hitting that
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hinting that golp ones could enhance the effectiveness of cancer treatments.
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Those findings have fueled a particularly intriguing possibility the golp
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ones may be acting independently of weight loss, by reducing inflammation,
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altering metabolic pathways involved in cancer development, or perhaps even
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slowing tumor growth itself. None of this proves that golp
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ones prevent cancer, and doctors said the evidence is not
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yet strong enough to recommend prescribing the drugs for that purpose.
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Most of the findings come from observational studies, which can
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identify associations but not establish cause and effect. That distinction matters.
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Patients who take golp ones may differ from those who
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do not in ways researchers cannot fully measure, even after
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statistical adjustments. Many treatments that are peer effective and observational
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data fail and randomize clinical trials where patients are assigned
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to receive a drug or a comparison treatment. Scientists point
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to that as a cautionary example. During the twenty tens,
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the diabetes drug was repeatedly linked to lower cancer risk
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and observational studies, but those benefits largely disappeared when tested
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in clinical trials. For now, the golp one findings remain
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a hypothesis rather than a conclusion, Yet the growing volume
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of evidence has turned the equation into a serious area
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of investigation. The larger question raised by the findings is
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whether medicine is underestimated how many diseases share the same
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underlying biology. Golp Ones keep forcing medicine to redraw the
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boundaries between disease that once seemed separate diabetes, obesity, heart disease,
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kidney disease, addiction, dementia, cancer. The emerging theory is that
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many of these conditions may share more than researchers appreciated.
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To Gilberto di li Me Lopez, chief of Medical oncology
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at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami,
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the cancer findings fit into a broader pattern. Golp Ones
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increasingly resemble a really interesting longevity drug, he said, one
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that may influence enough biological processes to extend life in
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ways Researchers are only beginning to understand. The potential benefit
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is real, he said, and it makes biological sense. The
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connection between obesity and cancer is one of the most
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established findings in cancer epidemiology. Excess body fat does more
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than addway to the body. The tissue is biologically active,
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producing hormones and inflammatory molecules that can influence house sales,
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including tumors grow, divide, and repair themselves. We know obesity
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is a risk factor, but we don't understand how, said
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Elizabeth McDonald, a physician and radiation professor of radiology at
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the Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania. McDonald was among
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the researchers behind one of the conferences most talked about findings.
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Like much of the new GLP one research presented, her
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study relied on analyzing existing medical records rather than a
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randomized clinical trial. She examined records from about one hundred
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thousand women ages forty five to eighty undergoing breast imaging
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and found that after accounting for differences in age, obesity, diabetes,
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and other risk factors, GLP IE users remained roughly thirty
28:08
percent less likely to develop breast cancer. McDonald said the
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findings build on years of studies in lab grown cells
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and animals, and have suggested GLP one drugs can slow
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cancer sales growth, enhance the effects of chemotherapy, and influence
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other pathways linked to cancer development. In a separate breast
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cancer study led by Jasmine Sukmar, an MD at the
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MD Cancer Anderson Research Center and also presented at the
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ASCO meeting, analyzed records from more than one hundred and
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thirty seven thousand breast cancer patients between twenty fourteen and
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twenty twenty three. In a matched analysis, women taking GLP
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one drugs had markedly better survival. Nearly ninety six percent
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were alive after five years after surgery, compared with about
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ninety percent of similar patients who were not taking the medications.
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For McDonald and Sukomar, the question is no longer whether
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the signal is interesting given the growing number of large
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studies finding similar results, they said, the next stop is
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to test the hypothesis in randomized clinical trials. We are
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nearing the ends of years of research leading up to this,
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McDonald said. Sukamar said the consistency of the findings across
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multiple studies was particularly encouraging. All the studies have slightly
29:51
different designs, and yet we are still seeing some absolute
29:55
benefits with golp one, she said. The prevention signal extended
30:01
beyond breast cancer. Studies of pancreatic cancer, acute myeloid leukemia,
30:08
and several other malignancies also found lower cancer rates among
30:13
patients taking the golp one drugs. A researcher at the
30:18
University Hospital Seedman Cancer Center and Case Western Reserve University,
30:23
Serena Hailiwaidi, reported that among patients with chronic pancreatis, a
30:29
major risk factor for pancreatic cancer, those taking golp one
30:35
drugs were more than fifty percent less likely to develop
30:39
the disease, one of the deadliest malignancies. Another study pointed
30:46
to a possible benefit in acute myeloid leukemia. Colton Jones,
30:52
a fellow at the Maze Cancer Center at the University
30:55
of Texas, found that GLP one use was siated with
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a sixty three percent reduction in risk. Jones calculated what
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such an effect might mean at a population level if
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roughly twenty million Americans are now taking golp one drugs.
31:16
He estimated the association could translate into approximately fifteen hundred
31:23
fewer leukemia cases. That's a good number, Jones said. The
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findings hold up. He added, this could revolutionize how we
31:34
prevent cancer on the whole. Orleans's work began with a
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single patient more than a year ago. He noticed something
31:44
unusual at a patient with colonel heptamotesis an intermediate potential
31:51
or CHIP, a blood disorder associated with an elevated risk
31:55
of leukemia and other diseases. After the pay began taking
32:01
that golp one drug, the number of mutant blood cells
32:05
associated with the condition declined. The case was hardly proof
32:11
of anything, but it was enough to make Orland wonder
32:16
whether the drugs were affecting cancer biology in ways researchers
32:20
had not appreciated. He and his colleagues began combing through
32:25
hundreds of thousands of medical records to test the idea
32:30
that golp ones when started after a cancer diagnosis, my
32:36
slow disease progression. To isolate the effect of the drugs,
32:43
they compared patients taking golp ones with similar patients receiving
32:48
other diabetes medications. The result published in the Journal of
32:54
Medical Oncology showed that patients taking GOLP one drugs were
33:00
thirty eight to fifty percent less likely to progress to
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metastatic diseases in four cancers lung, breast, colorectal, and liver.
33:15
The one possible explanation, Orlan said, is that the drugs
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anti inflammatory and immune modulating effects make it harder for
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cancer cells to thrive and spread. Two studies presented at
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the ASCO meeting raised a possibility that goes beyond cancer prevention,
33:38
that GOLP one drugs may improve outcomes for patients who
33:43
already have advanced cancer. In one abstract, Sheilin Rawal of
33:51
NYMC at Saint Mary's General Hospital and Saint Clair Health
33:57
examined patients with metastatic coorectal cancer receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors,
34:05
a class of drugs that help the immune system recognize
34:09
and attack tumors. Patients taking GLP one drugs had consistently
34:18
lower mortality rates than comparable patients who were not taking
34:23
the drug at three years, five years, and beyond. Researchers
34:29
said the findings suggest that GLP ones may enhance the
34:33
effectiveness of immunotherapy potentially through their anti inflammatory and immune
34:40
modulating effects. Another possibility, said Michael Moroles, a New Jersey
34:46
based on cologist who helped with the study, is that
34:50
glp ones make it easier for immune system sales to
34:56
recognize and target cancer cells. Carvamnese chavard La Vicchi of
35:04
Thomas Jefferson University led a separate analysis of more than
35:08
twenty five thousand patients with metastatic non small cell lung
35:14
cancer treated with targeted therapies known as tyrosine kinase inhibitors
35:19
or TKI's, and said patients taking golp one drugs had
35:25
substantially better outcomes, with five year survival rates of sixty
35:30
three percent compared with forty percent among non users. Although
35:36
the studies involved different cancers and different treatments, they pointed
35:41
to the same underlying hypothesis that GLP ones may alter
35:48
the bodies inflammatory and metabolic environment and ways that make
35:54
cancer therapies more affective over shared meals. Philadelphians write a
36:05
recipe for citizenship. The sound of one hundred voices speaking
36:10
various languages bounced around the Catholic School gymnasium like a basketball.
36:16
The diverse group of Northeast Philadelphia residents, some whose families
36:21
have been here for generations and others brand new to
36:24
the country, gathered for dinner to discuss how to unite communities. Conversations,
36:31
many carried out through interpreters, were designed to coincide with
36:35
the nation's two hundred and fiftieth birthday in a city
36:38
where immigrants helped build the nation and officials believe they
36:42
are needed now more than ever. We are here to
36:47
break bread together at a time when the nation is
36:50
deeply divided over immigration, diversity, and citizenship. Harris Sokoloff, the
36:57
event moderator, said a residents died on food, dined on
37:01
food from local Pakistani and Colombian restaurants. Good food leads
37:07
to good conversation. We believe that you have a say
37:11
about being a good neighbor is important. The Breaking Bread
37:17
Breaking Barriers dinner is one of twenty two community meals
37:21
scheduled in seven of Philadelphia's most diverse neighborhoods this year.
37:26
One hundred people from each neighborhood are invited to attend
37:30
three dinners in their area, plus a final event that
37:34
brings together all seven hundred participants. The Welcoming Center a
37:40
nonprofit that supports Philadelphia's immigrant community, sponsors the event, which
37:46
are funded by five hundred and seventy five thousand dollars
37:50
in city grants. The events are tied to the July
37:54
fourth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence
37:58
in the city. They are also designed to showcase Philadelphia
38:03
as an antidote to the Trump administration's immigration policies that
38:07
have made it harder for both legal and undocumented immigrants
38:11
to move to the United States. As they watched immigration
38:15
and Customs of enforcements step up arrests in US cities,
38:20
communities in Philadelphia have been on the edge, but especially
38:24
this year, a time when the city is celebrating its
38:27
history and heritage. Local leaders also want to focus the
38:31
dialogue around unity instead of division. People at each of
38:37
the ten tables at last week's dinner in Northeast Philadelphia
38:41
were asked to discuss their cultural differences as well as
38:44
how to construct a Philly flavored recipe for citizenship. Families
38:49
from China, Ukraine, Latin America, South Asia, and the US
38:56
talked about their struggles being neighborly and how to help
39:00
others feel like they belong Rashad Safak, twenty one, who
39:06
immigrated to Philadelphia from Afghanistan seven months ago, said he
39:12
came to the dinner to feel closer to the community.
39:16
Everything is new to us, he said. Jaffaqu was seated
39:21
with the Aramizi family, who arrived from Afghanistan last year,
39:27
and two people born in Philadelphia, Jack tom Zuk thirty
39:31
two and Lisa Cross Shustak, sixty one. When asked by
39:38
a moderator to describe being a good citizen, freeba Amirazi,
39:44
who spoke in Dari through an interpreter, initially thought the
39:48
question was about the naturalization process, but the moderator refocused
39:54
the question to inquire about Amizi's neighborhood in Afghanistan, and
39:58
she quickly opened up. You want to respect each other,
40:03
have good communication, and keep a clean neighborhood, she said.
40:09
Chemriz Amarisi, her nineteen year old son, added in English,
40:13
it means you need to respect the law. That resonated
40:18
with Cross Shustak, who is white and works at a
40:22
local nursing home. She and sam Mariz smiled and nodded
40:27
an agreement that respect for law and looking out for
40:30
each other were important traits of good citizens. Anuj Gupta,
40:37
the Welcoming Center's president, said it can be difficult for
40:40
strangers to talk about building community and civic engagement, which
40:44
is why they wanted to use the dinners to spark
40:47
those conversations. Food is the primary tool get people to
40:53
understand that they have a strong foundation in common with
40:56
one another. Gupta set once she was bablished that you
41:01
can collectively go into more complicated topics. Gupta said he
41:07
envisions Philadelphia becoming a model for other cities trying to
41:11
create vibrant neighborhoods where people from all different backgrounds look
41:16
out for one another. The number of people living in
41:19
Philadelphia who were born overseas is the highest it's been
41:25
in almost a century. Twenty five years ago, Gupta notes,
41:30
fewer than six percent of Philadelphia residents were foreign born. Today,
41:35
about sixteen percent of residents from other countries and are
41:39
credited with halting the steep population losses the city experienced
41:45
during the second half of the twentieth century. The influx
41:49
of new residents transformed sections of the city, creating predominantly
41:54
Spanish speaking neighborhoods in North Philadelphia and African enclaves in
41:59
Southwest Philly. Some neighborhoods, especially in Northeast Philadelphia, now ranked
42:06
as some of the most diverse areas in the country.
42:10
Students in the city's public school system come from households
42:14
where about one hundred and sixty different languages are spoken.
42:20
The community dinners have been held in a variety of
42:23
venues where participants can learn about each other's customs. One
42:28
in West Philadelphia brought residents from several countries and religious
42:33
backgrounds to a mosque where they shared a meal on
42:36
the floor. Last week's dinners in Saint Martin of Tours
42:42
Catholic School was the third of four for the one
42:45
hundred guests invited to attend. The first was considered a
42:51
foundation builder, focused on food and how ingredients and ethnic
42:56
guzines crossed many cultures. At the second, residents talked about
43:01
being better neighbors, which included lessons on the informal rules
43:06
of the winter time in the Northeast don't take the
43:09
shoveled parking spot from your neighbor after a snowstorm. As
43:16
the dinner conversations broadened to become better national citizens, Shaffock
43:21
and others at his table agreed over plates of chicken
43:24
bierani and beef impanadas that being respectful and kind, picking
43:30
up litter, and staying away from drugs or excessive alcohol
43:35
use were traits of good citizens. The next time they meet,
43:40
they'll join hundreds of residents who had similar dinners in
43:44
their neighborhoods. Suggestions from all those events will presented during
43:50
the final dinner in front of Independence Hall on September seventeenth,
43:55
Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. Until then, researchers will study
44:02
the dinners to see if they can serve as a
44:04
model for building communities in other cities. Keith R. Brown,
44:09
a sociology professor at Saint Joseph University who is leading
44:13
the research, said he was skeptical going into the project
44:17
that the dinners could yield logical outcomes. Since then, Brown
44:22
said he's become more optimistic after seeing participants desire for
44:27
building community. You really do feel like people are clamoring
44:33
to have their stories shared with each other, said Brown,
44:36
adding that he suspects residents or seeking human connections in
44:40
the post pandemic era. Still, Brown cautions that more people
44:46
across the country are self selecting their networks and isolating
44:51
themselves among those who share similar ethnic, political, or economic traits.
44:58
It's not just race, its age, its ethnicity, class really
45:05
heavily class. Brown said, there's not many spaces left where
45:09
people come together on an even playing field. Min Ju
45:16
Pearl Hunch, president of the Northeast Philadelphia Chinese Association, said
45:22
she sees that happening in her community. The dinners have
45:27
inspired her to work to build better relations with their neighbors,
45:30
she said. Beth Would, the administrator of the Catholic Charities
45:35
of Philadelphia's Northeast Service Center, said that dinners serve as
45:39
a bridge for immigrants want to assimilate, but also have
45:43
a strong desire to hold onto their own cultures, their
45:46
own ethnicities and beliefs. But Wood, who was of Italian
45:52
and Iris descent, said she still wonders whether the events
45:56
will have a lasting difference. She noted that many of
46:00
the native born residents who attend the dinners already tend
46:04
to be sympathetic to hardships immigrants often face. I think
46:10
we could try harder to get others to attend the
46:12
dinners that are not as receptive would sit. Those who
46:17
attended last week's dinner were exchanging phone numbers as they
46:21
got up from the tables. Many also grabbed two go
46:25
containers of food to take home, and some said they
46:28
planned to give it to a neighbor and the next story.
46:34
Three health benefits of marriage and an important catch relationships
46:43
where the romantic, platonic, or familial are powerful contributors to
46:48
well being. Having close social ties and support can improve
46:54
health and resilience to stress, and maybe even increase longevity.
47:00
Some research suggests that being married or being in a
47:03
partnership could come with some specific health related benefits. Married
47:09
people do tend to live longer and spend more years
47:12
healthily on average, said Shannon Marcus, an emergency physician at
47:17
Dell Seaton Medical Center at the University of Texas. Part
47:21
of that is probably because healthier people are more likely
47:24
to get and stay married, according to Marcus, but partnerships
47:28
itself can also help through social support, reduced isolation, healthier habits,
47:36
and someone telling you you should probably get that checked out.
47:41
That's not to say that you can't be perfectly healthy
47:45
without a partner, or that staying in a bad marriage
47:49
is good for you. Long term, stable marriages are associated
47:54
with lower mortality risk, but simply staying married for decades
47:59
does not automatically improve health, especially if the relationship is
48:04
chronically stressful or emotionally disconnected. Marcasent here in a few
48:10
ways relationship status affect health and wellness, how being married
48:17
might improve your health. According to for Health and Heart Disease,
48:23
people who are married have lower incidence of cardiovascular disease,
48:27
including heart attacks, strokes, and death from heart disease, compared
48:31
with those who are unmarried, including those who are divorced
48:34
to widows and Lauren J. Hessen, a cardiologist at the
48:38
Ohio State University Wexner's Medical Center. Again, this may be
48:44
because being married is a proxy for social support, and
48:48
we know that social support may buffer health related risks
48:52
and outcomes, including cardiovascular disease, said Kim Smolderden, a professor
48:58
of medicine and psychotic dietry and co director of the
49:02
Vascular Medicine Outcomes Program at the Yale School of Medicine.
49:07
Marcus recalled that early in her career, she treated a
49:11
man who had a major heart attack right outside the
49:14
emergency room door. It turned out he had been complaining
49:18
for chest pain for hours, and his wife had been
49:21
urging him to go to the hospital. The entire time,
49:23
while he insisted he was probably fine, she said. Remarkably,
49:29
she said he survived. Had he waited even a little longer,
49:35
like outcome likely would have been very different. His wife's
49:40
persistence very likely saved his life. And as far as
49:46
mental health, the fulfilling marriage can also positively impact mental
49:51
health through a companionship, emotional and financial support, increased feelings
49:57
of stability, and building a life with some you deeply love,
50:01
said Mitchell Hale, a therapist at Sittwel Psychotherapy Group in
50:06
Los Angeles. These dynamics allow for the cultivation of joy, intimacy, laughter,
50:12
and other positive emotions and experiences in our daily lives.
50:16
He explained. The ingredients that make relationships successful, which are respect, honesty,
50:23
effective communication, and emotional regulation skills, are the same in
50:28
marriages and committed relationships. Hail Si. Men seem to benefit
50:35
more from marriage when it comes to their health than women.
50:37
According to Marcus, this may be because risky factors, behaviors
50:42
and men tend to decrease when they get married, and
50:45
wives often take on more of the health monitoring and
50:49
emotional labor in heterosexual relationships than they receive. She said.
50:56
It's also worth, Noting that most of the research that's
50:59
been done on marriage and health takes only opposite sex
51:03
relationships into accounts. Molder And said more research is needed
51:08
to find out whether these benefits also occur in same
51:12
sex relationships. She added, than cancer, According to a twenty
51:19
twenty six survey, being married is linked to a lower
51:23
risk of cancer. Researchers analyzed eight years of data across
51:28
twelve states totaling one hundred and three point seven million
51:32
people to examine the connection between cancer risk and marital status.
51:39
Men and women who were never married had a higher
51:42
incidence of cancer than those who had been married at
51:46
some point. While marriage itself doesn't directly prevent cancer, it
51:51
appears to have an effect on social, behavioral, reproductive, and
51:57
health care related factors. According to studies and authors of
52:02
Palo S. Pinhario, a professor of cancer Epidemiology at the
52:07
Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Seer at the University of Miami. One
52:13
way to think about it that marriage may provide an
52:16
informal health manager, a partner who can help moderate behaviors
52:21
such as smoking or alcohol use, encourage healthier habits, and
52:26
prompt engagement with preventive care and screening. He said, cancer
52:32
such a cervical, anal, and oral showed some of the
52:36
highest differences by marital status. Pinherio said this may be
52:42
because married couples tend to prioritize preventive care, including routine
52:47
screening like PAP smears, and are more likely to follow
52:51
up on abnormal findings. Being married also probably means you
52:57
have fewer sexual partners, and Hanario said that reduces your
53:01
exposure to human papalomavirus HPV and infection that caused those cancers.
53:10
While a supportive partner can act as a biological safety
53:14
in a high conflict, one may have the opposite effect. Indeed,
53:20
there's evidence that the quality of the marriage is key,
53:23
Smoldering said, with high levels of emotional support being associated
53:28
with the better levels of cardiovascular risk markers such as inflammation,
53:32
heart rate variability, blood pressure, and heart rate. On the
53:37
other hand, marital stress is known to increase the risk
53:42
of cardiovascular disease, particularly in women. Hasten, sid dissatisfaction, and
53:49
poor marriage quality have been shown to increase the risk
53:53
of high blood pressure, heart attacks, and even cardiovascular mortality.
53:58
She added, unhealthy relationship dynamics can also take a mental
54:05
toll compared with healthy marriages. High conflict or chronically stressful
54:10
marriages are linked to poor sleep, higher rates of anxiety
54:14
and depression. Marcus sit relationships with domestic abuse carry a
54:20
higher risk of physical and mental harm and lingering trauma
54:24
symptoms and marriage can potentially increase barriers to leaving unsatisfying
54:31
or even dangerous relationships. Hail Sin. Being unpartnered could also
54:38
have some health benefits. Researchers suggest that those who are
54:42
single have more time to dedicate to exercise in sports,
54:46
which can have a positive effect on their health. Having
54:50
a good social support system, even outside the romantic context,
54:55
is also protective in terms of health moldering s Additionally,
55:02
there's a connection between happiness and longevity, so being single
55:07
and happy might even translate to living longer for both
55:12
married and unmarried people. Strong relationships, close family relationships, community involvement,
55:22
and emotionally supportive social networks are all associated with lower mortality,
55:29
better mental health, improving immune health, and greater resilience during stress.
55:35
According to Marcus So, while yes, tying the not is
55:40
associated with certain health perks, being happy with your situation
55:48
and filling your life with supportive relationships is paramount for
55:53
good health and happiness no matter your relationship status. And now, finally,
56:01
with Leo and Bad Bunny touring Madrid, the biggest star
56:05
might be the Pope. This weekend, icons of faith and
56:10
pop culture have circled each other in Madrid's capital, like
56:13
celestial bodies growing close by gravity. One the first US
56:18
born Pope and the leader of one point four billion Catholics,
56:21
and the other Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican singer whose
56:25
gospel of reggaeton has racked up more than one hundred
56:29
and twenty three billion streams on Spotify. Madrid, all of
56:34
Spain and the celebrity obsessed press have pondered the possibility
56:38
of a soup a nova encounter, with Bad Bunny having
56:42
requested to meet the Holy Father, according to one person
56:45
familiar with his interest. Either way, something special is taking
56:50
shape on Leo's the fourteenth first official trip to a
56:54
major Catholic country in the West. The stoic Chicagoan began
56:59
as the body language of an introvert displaying the markings
57:04
of his own star turn in Spain, which has grown
57:08
widely secular in recent decades and is one of the
57:11
world's most socially progressive nations. Leo drew an estimated five
57:17
hundred thousand people Saturday night for a youth concert and
57:21
prayer vigil, and one point one million for a sprawling
57:25
open air mass on Sunday that brought parts of Madrid
57:29
to a stand seal. These are some of the biggest
57:32
crowds in his thirteen month papacy, and two days into
57:36
a seven day trip, his totals far exceed the five
57:40
hundred thousand fans praying upwards of eighty dollars a pop
57:44
for Bad Bunnies ten night run of concerts in Madrid
57:49
after the start of his papacy. In his first foreign
57:51
trip to Turkey and Lebanon last year, Leo was sometimes
57:55
stiff and stilted, but the man emerged from the popemobile
57:59
in Spain, move through their crowds and pristine white with
58:03
a motive assurance, holding babies, hugging disabled people, blessing foreheads,
58:09
and he seemed transformed. And this concludes the reading of
58:13
the Washington Post for today, Monday, June eighth. Your reader
58:17
has been Rod Brotherton. You have any questions or comments
58:20
concerning the program, please feel free to call us at eight, five, nine, four,
58:24
two to sixty three ninety. Thank you for listening, and
58:27
now please stay tuned for continued programming right here on
58:33
Radio I come into his own