Transcript

6.11.26 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of The Washington Post for June eleventh.
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As a reminder, Radio Eyes a reading service intended for
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people who are blind or have other disabilities that make
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it difficult to read printed material. Your reader for today
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is Chris Greco headline. Today's front page headlines from The
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Washington Post are Inflation hits hardest pace in three years.
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Price index jumps four point two percent in May amid
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a spike in energy costs. Truce in Iran on the
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brink return to full on war still unlikely. Sides are
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negotiating via ultimatums and attacks. Nancy Mace's South Carolina thrashing
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caps rough downfall. She places fifth and gubernatorial race, losing
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even on her home turf. Bill Gates tells Congress he
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didn't know of Epstein's crimes. Low US scores and no
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math boded ill for future workforce. Students are struggling, and
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they may prove to be unfit for high skilled jobs.
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Iran's World Cup team finds an unlikely home. Mexican City
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welcomes players as war reshapes global soccer tournament. The first
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article from the front page of today's edition is titled
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Inflation Hits highest pace in three years by Andrew Ackerman.
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The consumer price index rows four point two percent in
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May amid a jump and energy prices. Inflation crossed four
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percent for the first time in three years in May,
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exacerbating American's pain at the pump and dealing a fresh
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political blow to the White House as the Iran War's
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toll on consumers shows no sign of abating. The Labor
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Department's Consumer Price Index rows at four point two percent
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annual pace in the year ending in May, up from
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three point eight percent in April, with higher energy prices
1:57
again accounting for much of the monthly gain. Gas prices,
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which have surged roughly fifty percent since January as the
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Iran conflict disrupts oil flows through the Strait of Hermus,
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rose seven percent in May. The reading marks the third
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consecutive month in which the conflict has measurably pushed prices
2:14
higher for American consumers. Financial markets reacted poorly to the
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news of rising prices and President Donald Trump's promise to
2:23
attack Iran. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the tech
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heavy NASDAK were down more than one point twenty five
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percent Wednesday. In midday training the surge in inflation lands
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at a challenging moment for Trump, who has made lowering
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the cost of living a central promise during his campaign.
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White House officials have sought to minimize the damage, arguing
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that the inflation surge is a temporary disruption tied to
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the Iran conflict that will fade once hostilities end. But
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with the conflict in Iran heating up and no resolution
2:53
at sight, energy prices appear poised to continue climbing. Trump
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shrugged off the report hours after its release, delivering a
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line short to be featured in Democratic attack ads around
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the midterm elections of this fall. I love the inflation,
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Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Wednesday. Oil prices
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will drop like a rock once the war concludes. He added,
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the latest data showed higher energy costs or rippling through
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the food supply chain, pushing up the cost of transporting
3:23
Americans groceries. Prices for beef rose more than ten percent
3:27
over the past year, while those for tomatoes and lettuce
3:30
jump thirty two percent and twenty five percent, respectively. Airfares
3:34
were also up twenty six point seven percent. Core prices,
3:38
which exclude volatile food and energy prices, to give a
3:42
better reading of underlying inflation, were up two point nine
3:45
percent for the year overall. Wednesday's report was largely in
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line with economist's expectations. The reading marks the first time
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inflation has reached four percent or more since May of
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twenty twenty three, a span in which prices have been
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retreating from their pandemic erab peak of above nine percent,
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the highest in nearly forty years, without ever returning to
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where they were before. COVID Consumers were already frustrated with inflation.
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Consumer sentiment reached a record low this spring, according to
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the most recent University of Michigan's survey of consumers in
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twenty twenty four. Trump was elected in part because many
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voters said they were frustrated with the economy and particularly inflation.
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The paint at the checkout line comes as food banks
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nationwide or seeing an uptick in people seeking help. In Omaha,
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the Food Bank for the Heartland has recorded a roughly
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ten percent increase over the past year in the number
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of people requesting groceries each month. At the same time,
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rising food prices are cutting into the pantry's budget, which
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is receiving less support from the federal government, said Brian Barks,
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president and CEO of the organization, which serves ninety three
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counties in Nebraska and western Iowa. The result is were
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serving less food to more people services. Inflation, which includes
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shelter costs and is insulated from tariffs on goods and
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energy prices, also is running consistently above three percent, a
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sign that price pressures involve more than the obvious culprits.
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Not all economists see cause for alarm, however, Michael Strain,
5:19
director of Economic policy studies at the right leading American
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Enterprise Institute, said the underlying economy remains fundamentally sound, with
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low unemployment fueling wage and income growth, which has kept
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demand strong. Core inflation, he noted, is not worryingly accelerating,
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even if it isn't decelerating fast enough. Analysts say that
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the construction boom for AI data centers is generating its
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own inflationary pressure, driving up prices for semiconductors and consumer
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electronics in ways that could linger well into next year.
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What we are seeing is three distinct inflation waves from
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tariffs from oil and now AI kpix, layered on top
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of each other, said Krishna Guhav evercore Isi in a
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research note this week. The worry among economists is that
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another surge of inflation could eventually persuade Americans that high
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prices are simply a more permanent feature of the economy.
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That belief once widespread, trends to become self fulfilling, workers
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demand bigger raises, and businesses raise prices before their costs
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actually rise. The risk of elevated prices is made worse
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by the fact that inflation has been above the fed's
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two percent target for more than five years, long enough
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that a return to normal never quite materialized before a
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series of shocks, including tariffs last year in the Iran
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War this year, sent prices climbing again. We never completed
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the process. Joanne Zu, director of the University of Michigan
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Survey of Consumers, said in a recent interview, it's like
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taking antibiotics and quitting halfway through. It feels better, but
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you didn't actually fight off the entire infection. Bro Joe bruslesis,
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chief economist at RSM, expects inflation to keep climbing. We
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think it continues to rise slowly towards four point five percent,
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He set ahead of Wednesday's release as elevated energy, transportation, food,
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and fertilizer costs work their way through the economy. Hot
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inflation also presents an early test for Kevin Walsh, the
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new Federal Reserve chair, who faces his first policy meeting
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next week. Warsh, who replaced Jerome H. Powell's chair last month,
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had signaled openness to interest rate cuts in the lead
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up to his nomination in January, a posture that helped
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smooth his path to the job, but that rising inflation
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may force him to abandon Powells remaining on the board
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as governor, but some FED officials have already begun signaling
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that the rate increases may be back on the table
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at some point soon. FED Governor Christopher Waller, a Republican,
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said he could no longer rule out rate hikes further
7:54
down the road if inflation does not abate soon. Speaking
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at a Central Banking conference in Frankfurt last month, he
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said he would support changing the FED standing guidance released
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after each policy meeting to make clear that a cut
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is no more likely than a hike. Inflation expectations among
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consumers have been drifting upward. The University of Michigan survey
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showed five year expectations at three point nine percent in May,
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well above pre pandemic baselines. The New York FED survey
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released Monday put the figure at three percent, more muted,
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but still elevated relative to the Fed's price target. Inflation
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expectations are anchored, said Ricardo Race and economists at the
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London School of Economics, meaning most Americans still believe prices
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will eventually return to normal, but they are not as
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solidly anchored as they were in twenty eighteen. The next
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article from the front page of today's edition is titled
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Truce in Iran on the brink US Iran negotiate via
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ultimatums and attacks with ceasefire on the brink analysis by
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Karen DeYoung. The latest exchange of attacks between the United
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States and Iran may mark the end of a fragile
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ceasefire that has withstood numerous violations over the past two months.
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The bully of the Middle East is dead, President Donald
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Trump wrote early Wednesday on social media after Iranian missiles
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struck US assets in Kuwait, Bhan and Jordan. The strikes
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were in retaliation for US attacks on southern Iran near
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the Strait of Hormuz in response to what Trump has
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said had said was Iran's downing of a US helicopter
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over the Strait on Tuesday. We're going to hit them
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hard again today, he told reporters in the Oval Office.
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Later Wednesday, US Central Command said it had begun launching
9:47
additional self defense strikes against multiple targets in Iran in
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response to Iran's unwarranted and continued aggression. Shortly after the
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US announcement, Iranian media reported explosions in the southern part
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of the country. For the moment, an outright return to
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full on war still looks unlikely. United Nations Secretary General
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Antonio Gutierrez on Wednesday described the ceasefire as more like
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a lesser fire, and both sides clearly want the war
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to end, even as they seemed locked in a diplomatic standoff.
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Trump directly interceded with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin yet Yahoo
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last weekend, later claiming that he forced Israel to stop
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attacks on Iran that it said were retaliation for Iranian strikes.
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Iran said it strikes on Israel where themselves, a response
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to Israeli bombing in Lebanon that Tehran once ended as
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part of a peace deal. With the US Vice President j. D.
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Vance and a News. In a CBS News preview of
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an interview scheduled to air Sunday, repeated Trump's frequent assurances
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that a deal is quote very close and could happen
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in the next week, but Vance allowed it allowed it
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could also happen months from now. We prefer the language
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of diplomacy, Iranian negotiator Mohammed Bagar Galibov wrote Tuesday on
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social media, but we speak other languages far more fluently.
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Break your commitments and we'll switch to what we speak best.
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What remains unclear is how the two sides will find
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mutually agreeable diplomatic language that would spell an end to
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the conflict, and whether they can find it before all
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out war explodes again. We were really close to a deal,
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but they kept playing us for suckers, Trump insisted Wednesday.
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Yet there have been no known direct talks since April eleventh,
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when Vance, along with White House negotiators Steve Whitkoff and
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Trump's son in law Jared Kushner, sat down in the
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Pakistani capital with senior Iranian officials. After more than twenty
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hours of talks, Van said, we made some progress, but
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just could not get to a situation where the Iranians
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were willing to accept our terms. In recent weeks, what
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has passed for ceasefire diplomacy has been a draft memorandum
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of understanding and messages sent back and forth through intermediaries,
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with each rewriting the texts and weighs the other fires unacceptable. Meanwhile,
12:02
both sides have continued to block the strait of her moves,
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interrupting the flow of twenty percent of the world's fuel supply.
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In Islamabad in April, Vance alluded to what appears to
12:12
be Trump's bottom line. What the US had laid on
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the table, the Vice President told reporters, were the things
12:19
we absolutely needed to see in order for the President
12:21
of the United States to feel like he was getting
12:23
a good deal, a new deal with old echoes. In
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terms Trump has spelled out numerous times, a good deal
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is one that he believes is better than the two
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thousand and fifteen agreement signed by President Barack Obama. That
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accord sharply restricted Iran's ability to enrich uranium, imposed other
12:40
limits on its nuclear program, and mandated rigorous international verification
12:45
in exchange for easing US sanctions. Trump withdrew from the
12:49
agreement in twenty eighteen during his first term, calling it
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the worst deal ever and saying it put a RN
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on the path to developing a nuclear weapon. He reimposed
12:58
strict sanctions and added some new one ones. Two years later,
13:02
the Iranians ended what U S Intelligence and International Atomic
13:05
Energy Agency monitors said had been adherence to the terms
13:09
of the agreement and began installing advanced centrifuges that produced
13:12
near weapons great uranium at sixty percent enrichment, building, prohibited
13:18
new nuclear sites and dodging IAEA inspectors. Many nuclear experts
13:25
believe a similar deal as the only viable option to
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avoid a continuation of the war. The twenty fifteen JCPOA
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or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, allowed minimal enrichment at
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three point six seven per cent for fifteen years, mandated
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the removal of existing enriched uranium stockpiles, which were transferred
13:44
to Russia, and capped for a decade the number in
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type of centrifuges Iran could have, as well as their
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locations in Islamabad. Advance offered a moratorium on enrichment with
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a sunset provision of twenty years tran countered with an
13:59
offer of ten years less. There has been some optimism
14:02
in Washington that they could settle on fifteen years. The
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US contribution to the agreement was the unfreezing of some
14:09
of Iranian assets, money owed from long ago oil sales
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to American allies, or purchased weapons that were never delivered
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under US sanctions. Trump, who has harshly criticized Obama for
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delivering palace of cash that he describes as a payoff,
14:23
has indicated that some money could be unfrozen down the
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line if Iran complies with all his demands. But unlike
14:30
with the JCPOA, which was negotiated for two painstaking years
14:34
by senior officials from the US, five other countries, the
14:37
European Union, and teams of nuclear experts neither side, this
14:42
time seems. This time around seems amenable to the intricate
14:47
give and take of diplomacy or lengthy technical talks amid
14:50
mutual distrust in the pressures of domestic politics. We experts
14:55
and journalists should say that whatever Trump and his negotiators
14:59
can get iron Da to agree to will be better
15:01
than the JCPOA, said George Perkovich, Senior Fellow in the
15:05
Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
15:09
Because otherwise Trump will not end this disastrous war. They're
15:13
not going to get complete surrender, Perkovich said. And if
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Trump says that his deal would be better than Obama's,
15:19
he said, the Iranians are going to say, we have
15:21
to get a pet or payoff. Trump has vacillated between
15:24
threatening the Iranian regime with renewed bombing, including widespread attacks
15:28
on civilian infrastructure, and declaring that both sides are on
15:32
the cusp of a deal. But he has also, in
15:35
his own inimitable ways, asked the American public for patients
15:39
amid deep frustration with gas prices that have skyrocketed because
15:42
of a war of his own making, just sit back
15:45
and relax. It will all work out in the end.
15:48
It always does, he posted on social media. Hardliners at
15:52
home and abroad, Trump must also contend with the Republican
15:57
hardliners who believe tran'slameest regime must be vanquished once and
16:00
for all. Once you started, you've got to finish it.
16:04
Senator Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, told ms NOW
16:08
just days ago, I'd like to keep the blockade on
16:11
Iranian ports, and in the end, we got to finish
16:14
the job. Johnson added, whatever it takes inside Iran, the
16:18
successive elimination of government leaders during forty days of NonStop
16:22
US and Israeli bombing left the hard line Islamic Revolutionary
16:26
Guard Corps in a stronger political position with little willingness
16:30
to yield. While Tehran's previous leaders were more restrained and conservative,
16:35
the new leadership is much more of the belief that
16:37
restraint is the reason Iran ended up in war, said
16:41
Vali Nassar, an Iranian historian and professor of International Affairs
16:45
and Middle East Studies at Johns Hopkins University. Joel Rayburn,
16:50
a former diplomat who served in the first Trump administration
16:53
and as a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, said
16:56
what he considered recent Iranian escalations are aimed at undermining
16:59
the in the region and creating fractures between the US
17:03
and Israel. They are behaving as though they think a
17:05
full return to military operations is off the table for
17:08
the US. Rayburn said, both sides have declared victory on
17:12
the battlefield. Between the February twenty eighth start of all
17:15
out war and the April eighth ceasefire declaration the US
17:19
by having done tremendous damage to Iran's naval forces, air
17:23
defense and missile launchers, and Iran by retaining much of
17:26
its drone in missile arsenal and the ability to build more.
17:30
But judging by their public statements, there has been no
17:32
agreement resolving any of their differences, and no certainty about
17:36
whether the two sides are actually even talking to each other.
17:40
Early last week, Taran said it had suspended all contact
17:43
with the US because of Israel's ongoing strikes on Iran
17:46
backed Hesbalah in Lebanon. Iran warned that its hoothy allies
17:51
in Yemen also could close the Bab L Mandeb strait
17:55
leading to the Suez Canal. According to state aligned media
18:00
sequencing the ceasefire, reports that the US and Iran had
18:05
stopped communicating were false and erroneous. Trump said in a
18:08
social media post last week, the conversations between US have
18:13
been going on continuously. Where they lead one nover knows,
18:16
he wrote, But as I told Iran, it's time, one
18:19
way or another for you to make a deal. Iran
18:22
says the memorandum under discussion does not deal with its
18:25
nuclear program. Trump said last week that it must include
18:28
nuclear restrictions on Iran. The president has said repeatedly that
18:33
he has secured a pledge from a Tehran that it
18:36
will never build a nuclear weapon, but that vow was
18:39
already entrined in the JCPOA more than a decade ago
18:42
and has been voiced many times since by Iran. Verifying
18:46
that promise, however, will take negotiations over what nuclear activities
18:49
are allowed and the mechanism to monitor compliance. Trump has
18:54
also said that Tehran has agreed to allow the US
18:56
to enter the country and unearth and remove about four
18:59
hundred and seven pounds of highly enriched near weapons grade
19:02
uranium buried beneath tons of rubble from last year's US
19:06
bombing of Iranian nuclear sites. We will go in sometime
19:10
in the not so distant future to dig out and
19:13
take home the material, he told reporters last week. Iran
19:16
says it has never agreed to turn over the iranium
19:19
the uranium, and will deal with the material under a separate,
19:22
eventual nuclear agreement. Iran has also said that it will
19:26
never give up the ability to enrich low levels of
19:29
uranium for its civil use. Reactors. Secretary of State Marco
19:33
Rubio and ascended hearing last week, said Turan must make
19:36
significant concessions on what they intend to enrich. Minutes later,
19:40
he said Iran would be allowed no enrichment at all.
19:44
According to Iran, the memorandum on the table deals only
19:47
with conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz to unimpeded
19:51
international shipping. Once it is signed, Iran's nuclear program is
19:55
to be discussed during an additional sixty days of negotiations.
20:00
Last week, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs,
20:04
Kazem Gharibabadhi, gave a detailed rundown on Tehran's positions. While
20:10
Iran recognizes that straits considered international waterways are subject to
20:13
international law, the reality is the Strait of Hermus lies
20:17
entirely within the territorial waters of Iran and Oman, he said.
20:21
According to Iran's Nour News, Iran has no intention of
20:26
restricting traffic once an agreement is reached, Gheribabadi said, but
20:31
is entirely within its rights to recoup expenses for insuring
20:34
safe and secure passage. Trump and Rubio have repeatedly said
20:39
that no tolls, fees or other conditions on free traffic
20:42
through the strait will be tolerated. Another issued tied to
20:45
our interests is the release of Iran's frozen funds, Geribabadhi said,
20:51
at a minimum, he added, Iran insists that fifty percent
20:54
of its frozen assets, a total of about twenty four
20:57
billion dollars held by the US and its allies, be
21:00
made available immediately upon the signing of the Memorandum of understanding,
21:04
with the remainder released after a reasonable period. Trump has
21:08
said he will not consider releasing any money until all
21:10
US demands are met and a final nuclear deal is signed.
21:15
We insist that any text must address war damages and
21:17
provide compensation to Iran. Giacobabadi said this must be included
21:22
in the text. The format, amount, and financial mechanisms for
21:26
payment will be determined through negotiations, including the sixty day
21:30
negotiation period following the signing of the memorandum. While both
21:35
sides are examining the draft, he said, the US may
21:37
send messages requesting revisions, which can lengthen the review process.
21:41
We have also requested revisions to certain parts of the text.
21:50
The next article from the front page of Today's edition
21:52
is titled Nancy Mace's South Carolina Thrashing caps Rough Downfall
21:59
by Natalie I. Ellis Representative. Nancy Mace's trouncing and Tuesday
22:05
South Carolina gubernatorial primary built a blunt defeat to a
22:08
once rising GOP starr, a politician who has basked in
22:12
national attention during her dramatic political transformation. Mace had real
22:18
political talent and promise, but her downfall in isolation followed
22:22
years of brazen political opportunism, a hunger for media attention
22:25
at any cost, rejecting adviser's council and turning on many allies.
22:30
More than a dozen former aides, colleagues, and supporters in
22:33
both South Carolina and Washington said in interviews. She finished
22:38
fifth in the contest according to unofficial returns, solidly losing
22:42
even her own home county and district. Mace arrived in
22:46
Congress after flipping a Charleston area district in twenty twenty
22:49
and built a reputation as a moderate who appealed to
22:52
swing voters. She voted to codify same sex marriage rights,
22:56
called herself pro transgender rights, and urged her party to
22:59
meet in the middle with Democrats on abortion. By last year,
23:03
Mays had begun repeatedly mocking transgender people as trannies and
23:07
disparaged gay relationships on social media. In recent days, May
23:11
suggested a Republican opponent in the governor's race came from
23:14
a slum in India. Her relationship with Donald. With President
23:18
Donald Trump was similarly mercurial. She distanced herself from him
23:23
soon after taking office, survived his attempt to oust her
23:26
in twenty twenty two, rebranded herself as a Maga warrior,
23:30
defied Trump on the Epstein files, and sought his endorsement
23:33
in the governor's race, only to watch him back arrival.
23:37
No high profile Republican endorsed her campaign. The spectacle of
23:42
Mace's transformation often unfolded on the cameras she gravitated toward
23:46
in television interviews, selfie videos posted on social media, and
23:50
dramatic exchanges in committee hearings. Her public appearances grew increasingly
23:55
combative and bizarre. The only thing I hope is she
23:59
gets the help she needs. Former Republican House Speaker Kevin
24:03
McCarthy told The Washington Post, saying he watched as her
24:06
political and personal life unraveled. In recent years. Mace, whom
24:11
McCarthy had helped to unseat Democrat Joe Cunningham in twenty twenty,
24:15
cast an unexpected vote for his ouster as a speaker
24:17
in twenty twenty three, joining right wing hardliners and Democrats
24:21
as she abruptly turned on him. She later walked around
24:25
the Capitol wearing a large scarlet a on her shirt
24:27
because she said she had been demonized for that vote.
24:31
I helped her win, but I just watched her change
24:33
along the way, said McCarthy, who supported an unsuccessful primary
24:37
challenge to Mace in twenty twenty four. Some people warned
24:41
when she was an early candidate, watch out, She's not
24:45
all there. I didn't, former staff, said Mace, embrace stories
24:51
about her being a caucus of one on a lonely
24:53
political island. Mace and her campaign did not return request
24:57
for comment. She previously accused her of former staff of
25:00
mismanaging money and spying on her, and has dismissed criticism
25:04
that she has overly focused on getting attention. I will
25:07
always be grateful for the people of South Carolina who
25:09
trusted me, fought with me, and refused to look the
25:12
other way. Mace posted on social media after her lost
25:15
Tuesday evening, This isn't the end of the fight, It's
25:18
just the end of this chapter. Public outbursts, Mace raised
25:23
eyebrows in Washington year after year for drawing attention to herself,
25:27
such as wearing an arm sling after accusing a foster
25:29
care activist of trans violence during a handshake, having him
25:33
rested on assault charges, only for prosecutors to drop the case.
25:37
Her behavior in the months preceding her gubernatorial run became
25:40
even more confounding to those observing it. In the throes
25:44
of her split from her ex fiancee, Mace in February
25:47
twenty twenty five, spoke on the house floor for nearly
25:50
an hour, accusing him and three other men of rape
25:53
and other sex crimes, which the men denied during a
25:56
congressional hearing on surveillance. Months later, she showed a naked
26:00
silhouette photo of herself, saying it was taken without her consent.
26:04
In April twenty twenty five, Mace posted a video she
26:07
took at a make up store where she repeatedly cursed
26:10
out a constituent who had asked when she planned to
26:12
host her next town hall. A week and a half later,
26:16
Mace confronted her nephew, John Mace McGrath as he sat
26:19
next to a local elected official during Vice President J. D.
26:23
Vance's visit to a steel plant in Hugar, South Carolina.
26:26
She stood over him and pointed her finger in his
26:29
face as she unbraided upbraided him for accepting an endorsement
26:32
in a local party chairman race from state Attorney General
26:35
Alan Wilson, whom she had also criticized during her lengthy
26:39
House floor speech and would later run against her for governor.
26:44
You eft up, you efed up taking Allan's endorsement, and
26:48
you're going to pay for that someday, Mace said to
26:50
the twenty six year old, According to two people who
26:52
witnessed the May first, twenty twenty five scene, which has
26:56
not previously been reported, the people spoke on the conditions
26:59
of an inn, saying they did not want to attract
27:02
any additional wrath from Mace. After conceding Tuesday, Mace endorsed
27:06
Wilson in the gubernatorial runoff, despite repeatedly accusing him in
27:10
the last year of being a pedophile protector. The highest
27:14
profile eruption took place on October when officials at Charleston
27:17
Airport reported that Mace had berated airport staff and police
27:21
after a misunderstanding about her security escort preferences. A police
27:25
report of the encounter described an expletive lace tie rade,
27:28
which she called airport police effing incompetent. Dozens of local
27:34
elected officials in her districts signed a letter condemning her behavior,
27:37
and the state's Republican senators Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham
27:41
criticized her actions. Mace refused to apologize, threatening to sue
27:45
the airport for defamation and claiming the incident report had
27:48
been fabricated. People can say she's crazy, but they're still
27:52
talking about her, said Austin McCubbin, Mace's former political adviser,
27:56
who resigned in December after disagreements about campaign decisions and compensation.
28:01
It's kind of one of those things where you just
28:03
so long as you spell my name correctly, that's all
28:05
that matters, shifting pert political persona days after the former
28:11
state lawmaker entered Congress, Mace criticized Trump in the aftermath
28:15
of the January sixth, twenty twenty one attack on the Capitol,
28:18
saying she did not believe he had a future in
28:20
the Republican Party. As the insurrection unfolded, Mace told aids
28:24
she wanted to go out and get punched by rioters
28:27
so she could get on TV. Natalie Johnson, her communications
28:31
director at the time, told the Post, but Mace months
28:34
later decided to pair back criticisms of Trump after a
28:37
polshry commissioned showed they were unpopular in his district. Johnson said,
28:42
I don't know of anybody who puts their finger in
28:44
the wind and tries to see which way it's blowing
28:46
more than Nancy Mace said. Justin Evans, a longtime GOP
28:50
political operative in the state who supported her state house
28:53
run and now works for Pam Avett, the Trump endorsed
28:56
candidate who placed first in Tuesday's gubernatorial primary. She was
29:00
a good looking, talented communicator, had the social media following,
29:04
had all the ingredients that a successful candidate should have.
29:07
It's just her moral compass was completely missing. Soon after
29:13
entering office, Mace had shown herself to be a powerful
29:18
force in politics who told a compelling back story. A
29:22
rape survivor at sixteen on a high school dropout who
29:25
once worked as a waffle house waitress. She became the
29:27
first woman to graduate from the Citadel. C. J. Westfall,
29:31
chairman of the Georchester County Republican Party who worked on
29:34
Mace's twenty twenty two general election campaign, described her as
29:39
inspiring and hard working. Credited her when that year to
29:43
Republicans believing that she was an independent voice despite Trump's optimism.
29:48
Since then, Westfall said her pension for drama became clear,
29:51
and described her as a cry bully who liked to
29:53
provoke controversy and then play the victim when someone pushed back.
30:01
After her defeat, May said she challenged the powerful, even
30:04
if it cost her politically. Every vote I cast, every
30:07
hearing I called, every vote I picked, in fight I picked,
30:10
it was always for you, she wrote in a social
30:12
media post. I've seen what happens when good people stay quiet,
30:16
and I've seen what happens when they don't. I would
30:18
choose the latter every single time, strained alliances in Congress.
30:24
Soon after Mace's vote to Alice McCarthy in fall twenty
30:26
twenty three, Representative Don Bacon, Republican of Nebraska greeted several
30:31
of Mace's congressional staff eating lunch at the Rayburn cafeteria
30:34
and asked who they worked for. I used to really
30:37
like her, Bacon replied, not anymore. We can't work with her.
30:42
He told the Post he got along with her during
30:44
her early time in the House, but her vote to
30:46
push the speaker up was a tough pill for many
30:48
of us to swallow. At times, Mace allaid with liberal Democrats,
30:54
including Representatives Roe Connon of California and Jamie Raskin of Maryland.
30:59
She would interact with Democrats in a way very few
31:01
Republicans do because she has sided with victims of sexual
31:04
violence and sexual harassment. Raskin said, a lot of the
31:07
people on the GOP side want to quickly brush those
31:10
subjects under the rug, and Nancy, in her more free thinking,
31:13
uninhibited moments, is willing to side with Democrats. Mace and Conna,
31:18
who had found that a joint cauc is focusing on
31:20
affordable childcare, largely stopped their joint appearances after Mace fixated
31:24
on transgender people. Mace introduced a resolution to ban transgender
31:29
women from using women's restrooms in the Capitol. In response
31:32
to the twenty twenty four election of Representative Sara McBride,
31:36
a Democrat from Delaware as the first openly transgender member. Mace, however,
31:41
signed on to a successful petition last year by Conna
31:44
and Representative Thomas Massey, Republican of Kentucky, to release federal
31:49
investigation files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. She
31:54
said she wanted justice for Epstein's victims, even though Trump
31:57
initially opposed the release of the files. But Mace's decision
32:01
surprised her own dwindling team of aids because she was
32:04
bent on getting the president's endorsement for her gubernatorial run,
32:08
wooing Trump. A few days before Mace announced her run
32:12
for governor in August twenty twenty five, she tried calling
32:15
Trump to give him a heads up. She left a
32:17
voicemail for the President, who later texted her with well wishes,
32:20
according to a person familiar with their communication who spoke
32:24
on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. But
32:28
Mace panicked when Trump also passed along two poles that
32:31
showed her struggling in a hypothetical race. Mace commissioned her
32:34
own pole days later that showed her leading the field
32:37
and with the highest name recognition. Mace sent the poll
32:41
to the President, who then posted it to social that
32:44
month without comment, which political operative said lent credibility to
32:49
her nascent campaign. In the final days of the race,
32:52
Mace repeatedly set her support for releasing the Epstein files
32:55
was the reason Trump did not endorse her. The President
32:58
did not publicly criticize her for supporting the effort. Mace's
33:02
congressional office frequently shed staff, some of whom she forced out,
33:06
while others resigned citing difficult work conditions. At one point,
33:10
in a three month span after her McCarthy vote, her
33:13
entire nine members staff had turned over. Mace also struggled
33:17
to maintain political allies. She spoke of her love for
33:20
former Governor Nikki Haley, who backed Mason the difficult twenty
33:24
twenty two re election primary, but Mace went silent the
33:27
next year when Haley sought her endorsement in her twenty
33:30
twenty four presidential run, and proceeded to blast Haley while
33:33
campaigning for Trump. I don't think Nancy Bass has Mace
33:38
has ever seen a bridge in her life that she
33:40
hasn't burned down, said Will Hampson, one of her former
33:43
communications directors. Hampson had said his former boss was self
33:47
aware that she was on an island, but he's not
33:49
sure if she recognizes she put herself there. She was
33:52
her own best weapon, he said, and own worst enemy.
34:02
The next article from the front page of today's edition
34:04
is titled Bill Gates. Bill Gates tells Congress he didn't
34:08
know of Epstein's crimes by Mariano Afara and Megan Vasquez.
34:16
Bill Gates sought to distance himself from Jeffrey Epstein during
34:19
congressional testimony Wednesday, telling a judge a House panel and
34:23
prepared remarks that he made a grave error in judgment
34:26
by meeting with him fifteen years ago and denying any
34:28
knowledge of the deceased sex offender's ongoing criminal conduct. I'm
34:33
glad to be here volunteerily to testify to help with
34:35
the committee's work, Gates, the billionaire co founder of Microsoft,
34:39
told reporters before entering. I hope my testimony is helpful
34:43
to the important work of the committee to find justice
34:45
for the victims. He did not take questions. Gates sat
34:50
for a transcribed interview with the Oversight and Government Reformed Committee,
34:53
which from months had summoned powerful men and women from
34:56
Epstein's orbit. Unlike videotaped interviews the committee released earlier this
35:01
year from former President Bill Clinton in former Secretary of
35:04
State Hillary Clinton. Gates's closed door session was not recorded
35:07
on camera. Ahead of Gates's interview, Representative James Comer, Republican
35:13
of Kentucky, chairman of the committee, said he wanted answers
35:16
about the full scope of the philanthropist's ties to Epstein
35:19
and his accomplice, Gislaying Maxwell. We just want to know
35:23
about his relationship with mister Epstein and miss Maxwell. Comber
35:27
told reporters, what did he see? Did he know what
35:29
was going on? Was he involved in any of this?
35:32
He added? No one's accusing Bill Gates of any wrongdoing,
35:35
and I certainly appreciate him coming in voluntarily. In an
35:39
opening statement obtained by The Washington Post, Gates planned to
35:42
tell lawmakers, I never witnessed or had any indication that
35:45
Epstein was engaged in ongoing criminal conduct. I never went
35:49
to his island, his ranch, or his Florida home. I
35:52
have never victimized anyone. While he may have sought to
35:54
foster a personal relationship, I was never interested in that
35:58
and never reciprocated. Gates called meeting Epstein a grave error.
36:03
In judgment, He said he was introduced to Epstein in
36:05
twenty eleven by people he trusted, drawn by Epstein's claim
36:08
that he could raise billions of dollars for global health.
36:11
The relationship ran through twenty fourteen, Gates said, when he
36:15
concluded Epstein would never deliver the donors he had promised
36:18
and cut off contact. Gates also confronted the most damaging
36:22
material in the files, his own infidelity. In his prepared remarks,
36:26
he acknowledged being unfaithful in his marriage and said Epstein
36:29
later tried to weaponize that knowledge, in addition to many
36:32
lies that he layered on top to pressure him back
36:35
into a relationship. The effort failed. Gates said, if the
36:39
time I spent with Epstein lent him any credibility, I
36:42
am deeply sorry. Gates's reference numerous times in the Justice
36:46
Department documents released this year, though he has not been
36:49
accused of wrongdoing and connection with Epstein. Among the most
36:53
explosive items were draft emails or notes attributed in the
36:56
files to Epstein, including unverified claims about Gates's per personal
37:00
life and sexual health. Gates has denied those claims. Epstein
37:05
pleaded guilty in twenty eighteen to soliciting prostitution from a
37:09
minor and served thirteen months in jail. He met Gates
37:12
roughly three years later. Epstein died on a New York
37:15
jail cell in August twenty nineteen, ruled a suicide, weeks
37:19
after his arrest on federal sex trafficking charges. Lawmakers told
37:24
reporters Wednesday afternoon that they had asked Gates about Epstein's
37:28
ties to Gates's name Sink Foundation, even after Epstein's guilty
37:32
plea in two thousand and eight. Representative Melanie Stansbury, a
37:36
Democrat from New Mexico, said the language Gates used is
37:40
that despite knowing mister Epstein's reputation, he saw a narrow
37:43
roll for accessing potential donors for his global health initiatives.
37:48
And so when I ask him, are you saying that
37:49
the ends justified the means? He said, well, that's probably
37:53
too strong of language, but I felt that getting billions
37:55
of dollars for global health was worth it. Representativet Garcia
38:00
of California, the top Democrat on the panel, said Gates
38:04
Gates understands that he was around people that were actually
38:07
abused while in Epstein's orbit The committee interviewed Epstein's longtime
38:11
assistant Leslie Groff on Tuesday, and plans to question investor
38:15
Leon Black and former Barclay's chief executive Jess Staley, among others,
38:19
in the coming weeks. In letters to Black and Staley
38:23
requesting they speak to the panel, Comber wrote that the
38:25
committee believed they processed information that would assist in the
38:28
investigation due to public reporting, documents released by the Department
38:32
of Justice and documents obtained by the committee. Comber said
38:36
Wednesday that he would also call Alan Dershowitz, a former
38:39
Epstein attorney, to testify, a decision he said comes after
38:43
meetings with several of Epstein's survivors and information provided by
38:46
Groff during her interview with the committee. Comer did not
38:49
elaborate on the information brought forward by Groff or the
38:52
survivors about Dershowitz. We're going to give him an opportunity
38:56
to come in and answer several several questions, Comer said.
39:00
Comber added that he still once Acting Attorney General Todd
39:04
Blanche to appear before the committee to answer questions about
39:07
the Justice Department's handling of files related to Epstein. Garcia
39:11
said he was happy to hear that Comber wants to
39:13
bring Blanche in, but insisted that the deposition be conducted
39:16
under oath and be videotaped. Then Attorney General Pam Bondi
39:21
and Blanche voluntarily briefed the committee behind closed doors in March,
39:25
but Democrats balked at the terms of the appearance and
39:27
walked out less than an hour after it began. When
39:30
Bondi participated in a subsequent interview before the panel last
39:33
month for questioning regarding the Justice Department's handling of files
39:37
related to Epstein, she said Blanche had led the effort.
39:40
It was Blanche, Bondi told the committee who was in
39:43
charge of the document reaction process and the entire release
39:47
of the Epstein files. The next article from the front
39:56
page of today's edition is titled why low US math
39:59
scores are cons concerning researchers and Economists by Lauren Lumpkin.
40:06
Average math scores for nine and thirteen year olds in
40:08
the US remained lower than they were ten years ago,
40:11
according to twenty twenty five federal testing data released Wednesday,
40:15
a warning sign not only for schools, but also for
40:18
the economy. According to some researchers, while academic performance slumped
40:22
during the pandemic. Math scores have been stagnant since twenty twelve,
40:26
complicating narratives about why so many children are performing below
40:30
grade level in course subjects. We can clearly see that
40:33
this isn't just a pandemic story, said Matthew Soldner, acting
40:37
Director of the Institute of Education Sciences and Acting Commissioner
40:41
of the National Center for Education Statistics, which administered the tests.
40:46
The findings come from the National Assessment of Educational Progress
40:49
as Long Term Trend Test, which has measured nine and
40:52
thirteen year old maths olds, math and reading performance since
40:57
the nineteen seventies. Children are graded on a scaleale of
41:00
zero to five hundred, though most scores somewhere between one
41:03
hundred and fifty and three hundred. The latest results paint
41:06
a complex picture of American education. The scores for nine
41:10
year old showed slight improvement in math, while reading levels
41:13
rebounded to pre pandemic levels. The average reading score nudged
41:17
up from two hundred and fifteen to two hundred and eighteen,
41:19
reflecting an up to consistent across several groups, including boys,
41:23
low income children, and students with disabilities. Meanwhile, math and
41:28
reading achievement among thirteen year olds has barely budged since
41:31
the last time the test was given in twenty twenty three,
41:34
signaling a brewing crisis. The lack of progress among thirteen
41:39
year olds raises huge questions and ought to serve as
41:41
a catalyst for change, said Leslie Muldoon, executive director of
41:45
the National Assessment Governing Board. As a nation, we have
41:48
to bring more focus to the middle school years. She
41:51
added that among the lowest performing thirteen year olds, math
41:55
scores are statistically equivalent to the lowest scoring students in
41:58
the early nineteen seventies, and that is really jarring. Muldoon said.
42:03
Many of the thirteen year olds who took the assessment
42:05
last year are now in high school are preparing to
42:07
enter high school. Some economists estimate they will earn less
42:10
than their predecessors because they have fewer skills. People with
42:14
more skills earn more, said Eric Hannishek, senior fellow at
42:17
Stanford University's Hoover Institution. Today's graduates stand to earn on
42:22
average eight percent less throughout their lifetimes than the class
42:25
of twenty thirteen. Hannischek. Hanushek said he estimated the combined
42:31
effect of those losses will cost the US ninety trillion
42:34
dollars through the year twenty one hundred. People don't get
42:37
very concerned about this, in part because it's sort of
42:39
like blood pressure. It's like the silent killer. You don't
42:42
notice until you notice it. Hannishek said of the way
42:45
math achievement will affect the economy, what it comes out
42:49
is to a huge number that we have to pay
42:50
attention to because it affects our position in the world. Frankly,
42:55
other scholars have reached similar conclusions. Researchers from Harvard University
42:59
in Dartmouth predicted that forty eight million children enrolled in
43:03
public schools during the twenty twenty twenty twenty one school
43:06
year could lose nine hundred billion dollars in lifetime earnings
43:09
because of pandemic learning losses. In the short term, some
43:12
students may have a difficult time succeeding in certain careers,
43:16
said Courtney Brown, vice president of Impact and Planning for
43:19
Lumina Foundation, a higher education nonprofit. If students are struggling
43:24
with basic foundational math, it's really going to narrow the
43:27
range of credentials they can pursue. Brown said, A recent
43:31
survey by Lumina and Gallup found more than half of
43:33
employers are having a hard time finding candidates with the
43:36
right skills. Math is essential for jobs in healthcare, business,
43:41
information technology, advance manufacturing, and more. Brown added the current
43:46
scores are a continuation of a trend line in math
43:48
that dates back to the mid twenty tens. After a
43:51
period of progress between two thousand and twenty twelve, math
43:55
scores started to slump. The two thousands were defined by
43:58
high stake, standardized tests, rigid teacher evaluations, and other federal
44:02
accountability standards that researchers say had positive effects on math achievement.
44:08
By no means were these policies perfect or even sufficient,
44:11
said Brian Jacob, a University of Michigan professor of education
44:14
policy and of economics, But he added focused attention gave
44:18
clear targets and provided some incentives. His research suggests schools
44:22
saw increased funding during this period. Since then, states have
44:27
been given more flexibility in setting their own accountability metrics.
44:30
Schools have been increasingly focused on issues including mental health, attendance,
44:35
and digital devices. It may be schools just need to
44:38
focus on some of those other issues before they're going
44:41
to have the bandwidth to get back to kind of
44:43
measuring student learning. Jacob said. Meanwhile, some experts see the
44:47
growth that happened more than a decade ago as proved
44:49
that students can improve. I take from it that we
44:52
have seen high performance is indeed possible. It is something
44:55
that we can achieve again in the future, Suldner said.
45:03
The next article from the front page of today's edition
45:06
is entitled Aron's World Cup Team finds an unlikely home.
45:12
As Warship wore reshaped the World Cup, Iron's Team found
45:16
an unlikely home in Tijuana, Tijuana, Mexico, by Samantha Schmidt
45:22
and Susannah George. The three SUVs pulled into the gas
45:26
station parking lot, one after the other, Iranian flags taped
45:30
onto the hoods and fluttering from the windows. It was
45:34
barely four am. The city's nightclubs were closing and the
45:37
streets were dark. But this caravan had hatched a plan
45:40
to stake out a national soccer team they never imagined
45:42
they would see in person, and especially not here. So
45:46
four am at the gas station, it was like so
45:49
many in Tijuana. The Iranian national soccer team was never
45:52
supposed to end up here. They originally had planned to
45:55
spend the month across the border in Tucson, preparing to
45:57
play their World Cup matches in Los Angeles and NA Seattle.
46:01
But for the first time in World Cup history, a
46:03
host country is at war with one of the tournament's contenders. FIFA,
46:07
Global Soccer's governing body, with tensions high and uncertainty about
46:11
whether the teams would even be allowed into the US,
46:13
sought an alternative. Co host. Mexico agreed to house them,
46:17
with President Claudia Scheinbaum telling Your reporters that FIFA had
46:21
asked for help because the United States does not want
46:23
the Iranian team staying overnight in the country. Organizers opted
46:28
for Tijuana, a border city close enough to the US matches,
46:31
with a stadium where the team could practice, and a
46:33
local government eager to welcome them. Now Sedea, Galvalini and
46:39
his relatives were piled into these SUVs, hoping to welcome
46:42
their national team to the city that adopted his family.
46:46
They knew what the world thinks of Tijuana, the dangerous,
46:49
gritty border city from the movies, a hub for drug
46:51
smugglers and a cheap destination for Americans seeking parties and sex,
46:56
But they knew Tijuana as something different, a transient, multicultural
46:59
city that embraces migrants and misfits, offering creole schools for
47:03
Haitian children whose families are stranded there, and welcoming Sedek
47:07
and his wife four years ago when they knew no
47:09
Spanish and not much more English. It was just the
47:13
place for a global soccer tournament, they thought, an unlikely
47:16
but ideal refuge for their home team. Sedega and his
47:21
friends spent the past two weeks working to convince the
47:23
Iranian embassy and a team that Tijuana is safe. Now
47:27
the team was minutes away from landing at Tijuana International Airport.
47:31
He had slept barely an hour, anxiously tracking the team's flight,
47:35
worried he might miss his chance to greet them. The
47:37
jerseys ordered on Amazon hadn't arrived on time, but the
47:41
Iranian embassy sent replacements at the last minute. The ambassador
47:45
asked Today's wife, Miriam Asdi, to take photos and videos
47:48
of the fans at the airport to show Iranians back
47:51
home that Tijuana isn't as dangerous as they might fear.
47:55
Hi brother, yes, please, Sidea said, answering his phone as
47:59
he pulled into the airport. Military and police forces surrounded
48:02
the airport's entrances. The players must be landing soon, he thought.
48:06
He pulled over, hopped out of the car, and power
48:09
walked toward the arrival that the flight arrivals, waiving his
48:12
small Iranian flag. A divisive team, known affectionately as Team Meli,
48:19
Iran's national team was near universally loved in Iran for decades.
48:23
There was absolute mania around Team Meli, said Arash Azizi,
48:27
an Iranian author and historian who recalled celebrations breaking out
48:31
in the streets in Iran after the team qualified for
48:33
the nineteen ninety eight World Cup. It was one of
48:36
the most trusted beloved institutions in Iran across political differences,
48:39
he said. But after years of government mismanagement and repeated
48:43
brutal crackdowns on civilian protesters, many Iranians began to see
48:47
even their national soccer team as an extension of the
48:50
country's leadership. During the twenty twenty two World Cup in Qatar,
48:54
Iram was engulfed by nationwide women life freedom protests, and
48:59
its men's national team faced criticism for not vocally supporting
49:02
the protesters. The team stood silently during Iran's national anthem,
49:06
but some fans were unsatisfied. Social media videos showed Iranians
49:10
honking horns and setting off fireworks after their teams won
49:14
to nothing lost to the United States, which they viewed
49:16
as a symbolic defeat for the regime. Then this March,
49:20
the Iranian women's team came under a criticism from pro
49:23
government media outlets for standing silently during the national anthem
49:27
after reports that Iranian security forces had killed thousands of
49:30
people in a violent January crackdown on protest. Australia granted
49:35
six players and as staff member humanitarian visas, citing concerns
49:39
they would be persecuted for failing to sing along. Eventually,
49:43
five of the team members withdrew their claims and were
49:45
welcomed back to Iran with an elaborate ceremony. Then came
49:49
the War, which through the men's team, seasoned into chaos.
49:52
Most play in domestic Iranian leagues, whose games were suspended.
49:55
February twenty eighth, a friendly scheduled to be played in
49:58
Arizona was canceled. President Donald Trump, in a truth social post,
50:02
said the Iranian team was welcome to playing the World Cup,
50:05
but advised them against it for their own life and safety.
50:09
Just days before the team was scheduled to travel to Mexico,
50:12
it still hadn't received its US visas. Late last week,
50:15
the players learned their visas had been approved, but visa
50:18
applications for fifteen members of the team's support staff had
50:21
been rejected. In an interview with The Washington Post in Tijuana,
50:26
iranz ambassador to Mexico said the fifteen people included trainers, managers,
50:30
a media director, a security leader, and a delegate from
50:33
the foreign Ministry. He accused the United States of failing
50:37
to follow FIFA rules. On Tuesday, Iran's soccer federation said
50:41
the ticket allocation for Iranian fans had been revoked in
50:44
an unexpected move. FIFA requires that participating federations be allocated
50:49
eight percent of ticket capacity so fans can purchase entry
50:53
to the team's games. From my perspective, politics needs to
50:57
be separate from sports, Abolfazl Pasandiadda, the Iranian ambassadors said
51:03
through his translator in Tijuana, and if in this case
51:06
they want to mix the two, it has to be
51:08
the other way around. Politics must be at the service
51:10
of sports. But to some in Tijuana's small Iranian community.
51:14
The ambassador puts it at a twenty or so in
51:16
a city of over two million people. Politics are inherent
51:20
to Iranian soccer. For the team to come here while
51:24
the country is grieving, I don't think that celebrating the
51:27
football team right now is appropriate, said Pedro Maimond, thirty one,
51:31
who moved to Tijuana from Fresno, California, when his student
51:34
visa expired after graduation about five years ago. They're representing
51:38
the government that is killing our people. If he could
51:41
meet the players, he would want to send them a message,
51:44
he said, have you any shame? Sada understands the complex feelings,
51:49
but to him, Team Melia is still a symbol of
51:51
national pride of a country he chose to leave, but
51:54
that remains a core part of who he is. How
51:57
Tijuana became home Sedeg's families pathed to Tijuana, like the
52:02
stories of many in this city, began with a romance
52:05
across borders and cultures. About fifty years ago, Miriam said
52:09
her father visited San Diego as part of the Iranian military.
52:13
He fell in love with a Mexican woman who eventually
52:15
gave birth to their son. Miriam grew up hearing about
52:18
the half brother she had never met, who lived in
52:20
the far away city of Tijuana, but she didn't believe
52:23
the story until her half brother came to visit Iran
52:26
for the first time when he was in his twenties
52:28
and she was thirteen. Many years later, after marrying Sadah,
52:32
Miriam decided to visit her brother's city, not knowing anything
52:36
about Tijuana's reputation. Within two weeks they had decided to
52:39
stay here. You never feel like you are from another country,
52:43
Miriam said. This country makes you feel good, and as
52:46
a woman, you are more free. She shed her hedge ab,
52:50
a head covering that is mandatory for women in Iran.
52:53
Within weeks of leaving the Islamic Republic, where drinking his
52:55
band Settiga tried meskal for the first time. The music
52:59
coursing through Tijuana streets on Friday and Saturday nights made
53:02
Miriam feel alive. They longed for their family and for home,
53:06
but they soon began finding the other Iranians. One day,
53:10
Sediga saw a car parked on the side of a
53:13
road with vanity plates Tehran. He left a note on
53:16
the windshield with his phone number. The car's owner is
53:18
now his friend and boss at a car restoration business
53:21
in town. Sedega and Marianne gave birth to a Mexican son,
53:26
sephaher whose middle name Mayalhol was a reference to an
53:30
Aztec god. We want him to feel he's from here,
53:33
Miriam said. When her mother died unexpectedly of a heart
53:37
attack last year, Miriam fell into a deep depression and
53:40
returned to Iran for a long visit with her nine
53:42
month old son. The trip coincided with the US backed
53:45
Israeli attacks on Iran and she had to flee the
53:47
country by land. As soon as she landed back in Mexico,
53:51
she was moved by the strangers who offered to help
53:53
carry her suit case. She worried her grief would taint
53:56
the city for her. Instead, Tijuana pulled her out of it.
54:00
This was the place where she wanted to raise her son,
54:02
she decided. The couple bought a house in Tijuana and
54:05
began applying for Mexican citizenship. Then, with a World Cup
54:09
on the horizon and the war raging, rumors started circulating
54:12
their country's team needed a home. I am in my country.
54:17
Late last month, FIFA announced the team was heading to Tijuana,
54:22
Sedaga could hardly believe it. When Iranian news outlets raised
54:25
concerns about security, he began messaging the players directly on
54:29
Instagram to tell them about the city he loves and
54:32
assure them that they would be safe. He knew he
54:34
would never get a response, but kept typing anyway. His
54:38
boss and friend, Dara Makapour, met with the Iranian ambassador
54:42
and showed him around the city, to the stadium, to
54:44
the restaurant known as the origin of the Caesar salad.
54:47
Local tourism and Chamber of Commerce officials were eager to
54:50
use this as a chance to change Tijuana's reputation and
54:54
put it on a global stage. Sedega started a WhatsApp
54:58
group with his small circle of Iranians, an Iranian Mexican
55:01
family and friends in Tijuana, and they came up with
55:03
a plan to welcome them the airport for their one
55:06
thirty am arrival. When the flight was delayed to five
55:09
a m some in the group pulled out, but his
55:13
small family caravan had powered through, and now they were
55:16
gathered in international arrivals, surrounded by heavily armed Mexican National
55:20
Guard troops, trying to scope out where they might be
55:22
able to catch the team. They walked around a security
55:25
roadblock to a group of reporters and a handful of
55:27
other fans from across the San Diego area. Suddenly, the
55:31
team bus approached with the military escort. The small crowd cheered,
55:35
raising their flags and chanting the name of one of
55:37
the players. A team representative briefly rolled down the window
55:41
and waved straight towards Sedega. Mercy, the Iranian representative said,
55:45
with a smile. Sedega, his heart racing, accidentally spoke to
55:50
them in English, calling out welcome. He had forgotten he
55:53
could speak to them in Persian. Bien venerus. His Mexican
55:57
relatives shouted. Reporters surrounded of the couple to ask them
56:01
how they felt. Marham beamed, I think now I am
56:04
in my country, she said. The team later circulated a
56:08
photo taken from the bus on their arrival that morning
56:10
of Sedega waving his flag. He proudly shared it on Instagram,
56:14
writing in English and Persian that the Iranian national team
56:17
belongs to all Iranians, regardless of their beliefs, religion, or
56:21
political stance. Welcome to Tijuana, he wrote. The next article
56:28
from today's edition is titled study splits Americans into nine
56:32
political groups. Where do you belong? Pulling ten thousand Americans,
56:36
the Pew Research Center found divisions on the political left
56:39
and right, plus the tuned out middle by Scott Clement
56:44
as voters approached the twenty twenty sixth mid term. In
56:46
twenty twenty eight presidential election, it's no secret that the
56:49
country is highly polarized, but a new exhaustice survey of
56:53
more than ten thousand Americans shows the daunting challenges Republicans
56:56
and Democrats face in uniting disparate factions within their their
57:00
own parties. Deep internal fishers are dividing Republicans over matters
57:04
of style like how eager people are to a humiliated
57:07
political opponent, and substance like whether abortions should be legal
57:10
or carrying a gun in public should be commonplace. Democrats
57:14
are divided just as deeply over how to address transgender issues, crime,
57:18
and whether they'll like the democratic socialist label. According to
57:22
the Pew Research Centers twenty twenty six Political Typology study,
57:27
Pew asked a random sample of adults their opinions on
57:30
the role of government, economic issues, immigration, elected officials, and
57:34
other topics. The findings confirmed a long term problem faced
57:38
by both parties. Their most enthusiastic supporters hold the most
57:42
extreme views, whereas a broader swath of less engaged voters
57:45
who decide elections tend to be more moderate. The Pew study,
57:49
conducted every five years or so since nineteen eighty seven,
57:52
uses polling an analysis to re imagine how Americans would
57:55
cluster around ideas if they were not grouped into two
57:58
political parties. Due to time constraints, we will need to
58:03
end that item at this time. This concludes the reading
58:06
of the Washington Post for today, June eleventh. Your reader
58:10
for today has been Chris Greco. If you have any questions, comments,
58:14
or suggestions concerning this program, please feel free to call
58:17
us at eight five nine four two two six three
58:20
nine zero. Thank you for listening, and now please stay
58:23
tuned for continued programming on Radio I