Transcript

4.11.26 · Washington Post

0:00
Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of today's Washington Posts for Saturday,
0:05
April the eleventh of twenty twenty five. Your reader is
0:11
Alice Dayer, with the understanding radioiz for those with difficulties
0:18
in holding or reading printed material. I will start with
0:23
today's front page, and it is a picture of three
0:30
red and white parachutes attached to the Orion module splashing
0:39
into the Pacific Ocean last evening, returning the missions four
0:45
astronauts from their record setting journey around the Moon. During
0:50
their ten days in space, the crew traveled further farther
0:54
from Earth than any human has before and observed parts
0:59
of the Moon that no human has seen with their
1:03
own eyes.
1:05
Speaker 2: It is a lovely picture.
1:07
Speaker 1: It's all blue with sort of the light blue, with
1:11
a little bit of a cloud in the background just
1:15
above the module, above a darker blue sea, and the
1:21
three parachutes with their tethers to the capsule looking like
1:25
it's chest at the horizon of the ocean, ready to land.
1:33
Speaker 2: To the light right of that.
1:36
Speaker 1: At talks, US will push for release of Americans in Iran.
1:42
Negotiations are set to open in Pakistan. Families of those
1:47
detained hope for a goodwill gesture by Adam Taylor, and
1:53
below that on the right hand side, Tehran's grip on
1:57
straight stresses brittle Sea by A Trump fumes as global
2:03
shipping remains snarled ahead of diplomatic talks by Victoria kraw
2:11
To the left of that, and below the picture of
2:14
the Artemis landing.
2:17
Speaker 2: Excuse me, global oil.
2:21
Speaker 1: Shocks barks surge in consumer prices fast fastest monthly pace
2:32
in four years hands Trump another political problem by Andrew
2:37
Ackerman and Isaac Arnsdorf, and below that on the left
2:43
hand side, Colorado's legal pot market hits a harsh come
2:49
down over supply competition helped stall nations first legal cannabis
2:57
trade by Karen Rouilliard out of Denver, and on the
3:03
right of that, taking up.
3:09
Speaker 2: Three fifths of the page one, two, three, four, five
3:12
sevenths of the.
3:12
Speaker 1: Page, Designs unveiled for Presidents two hundred and fifty foot
3:19
DC arch Administration begins work for formal approval of controversial
3:27
structure by Dan Diamond, and this is a picture of
3:34
an architectural rendering of proposed triumfull arch released Friday. Military
3:42
veterans have sued to halt the project, saying it would
3:46
alter key views of Arlington National Cemetery, and there has
3:52
always been a straight view from Arlington National Cemetery to
3:57
the Lincoln Memorial. It this two hundred and fifty foot
4:02
arch with the Golden Angel on top and wings on
4:08
either side of it with circles, I mean it's an
4:12
arc de triomph in America.
4:15
Speaker 2: Impedes that view.
4:19
Speaker 1: Artemis two splashes down safely.
4:23
Speaker 2: After historic voyage around the Moon.
4:27
Speaker 1: NASA's Orion module splashed into the Pacific Ocean just after
4:31
eight pm Eastern time on Friday, concluding an important test
4:38
for the Artemis program. Gary and I did watch that,
4:42
and a sun in California watched or waited to see
4:46
if they could see anything sonic boom or fire or anything.
4:52
But they saw nothing. We heard and saw more on
4:56
watching the TV. This is by Sarah Paplin. NASA's Orion
5:02
module splashed into the Pacific Ocean just after eight pm
5:07
Eastern time on Friday, safely delivering the four astronauts of
5:12
the Artemis two mission from their record setting journey around
5:16
the Moon. The successful landing marks the conclusion of an
5:21
important test for NASA's Artemis program, which aims to return
5:26
astronauts to the Moon's surface and eventually pushed deeper into
5:31
the Solar System. Artemis two was the first CREWE mission
5:35
to utilize NASA's Space Launch System rocket under Orion crew module,
5:41
demonstrating that the agency's equipment can propel people out of
5:47
Earth's orbit and bring them safely home. The path to
5:52
the lunar surface is open, NASA Associated Administrator Amid Kashtria
6:00
said at a news conference Friday night, adding, but the
6:04
work ahead is greater than the work behind us.
6:08
Speaker 2: It always is.
6:11
Speaker 1: On Friday, all eyes were on the Orion module's heat shield,
6:15
which must protect the crew from blistering temperatures during their
6:20
high speed descent through the atmosphere. On an uncrewede test
6:26
flight in twenty twenty two, gas build up within the
6:30
shield caused charged, charred fragments to break off. For this mission,
6:38
NASA opted to modify the entry maneuver that it believes
6:42
led to the gas problem. The capsule's successful splashdown off
6:47
the coast of San Diego on Friday night indicates that
6:51
the heat shield was able to do its job amid
6:55
temperatures of up to five thousand degrees fahrenheit. Though the
7:01
mission replicated many elements of the Apollo program, it still
7:06
notched several milestones During their ten days in space. The crew,
7:12
pilot Victor Gloval, commander Reed Weismann, and mission specialist Jeremy
7:19
Hansen and Christina Kock traveled farther from Earth than any
7:24
human has before. Gloval was the first black man and
7:29
Cocked the first woman to leave low Earth orbit. Hanson,
7:34
a Canadian Space Agency astronaut, was the first non US
7:40
citizen to reach the Moon. In addition to testing the
7:44
Orion's modules, propulsion, and life support systems, the astronauts collected
7:52
scientific data on a key component of human spaceflight themselves.
7:59
Before they launched, each crew member had a tiny chip
8:02
embedded in their bone marrow, which will help scientists understand
8:07
how deep space affects the body. They also observed parts
8:13
of the Moon that no human had ever seen with
8:16
their own eyes, including the cratered round expanse of the
8:21
lunar far side. After emerging from a forty minute black
8:26
eyed period Monday evening, when the Moon blocked radio transmission
8:31
between Orion and mission control, Cock said that no sight
8:37
was more precious than the blue and white orb of
8:40
our home planet. We will explore we will build, we
8:47
will build ships, we will visit again. But ultimately we
8:53
will always choose Earth. We will always choose each other,
9:00
said of a scratchy broadcast. Reentry is one of the
9:06
most intense phases of any mission, involving a carefully coordinated
9:12
approach to Earth and thirteen minute stomach turning descent to
9:17
the surface. At the peak of its free fall, Orion
9:22
was traveling as fast as thirty four thousand, nine hundred
9:27
and sixty five feet per second, and the astronauts were
9:32
subjected to forces almost four times the strength of Earth's gravity.
9:40
Speaker 2: Coming back from the Moon.
9:42
Speaker 1: Dot dot dot, You're really coming straight down. Everything has
9:48
to go right, Jeff Radigan, the mission's lead flight director,
9:54
said at a news conference Thursday. The reentry process began
10:00
about five hours before touchdown with a small engine burn
10:05
needed to fine tune the flight path. If the Orion
10:10
module into the atmosphere at too steep an angle, the
10:13
friction of the atmosphere could create more stress than the
10:18
spacecraft was able to tolerate. But if their approach was
10:22
too shallow, the spacecraft could bounce off the edge of
10:26
the atmosphere like a rock skipping across the surface of
10:30
a lake. Sometimes such gifts are intentional. In the twenty
10:36
twenty two Artamus one test, NISSA used the maneuver to
10:40
give itself more control over the spacecraft's eventual landing site,
10:46
but dipping in and out of the atmosphere caused gases
10:50
to build up inside the heat shield, leading to cracks.
10:55
Charred fragments of the shield's out layer were ripped away,
10:59
making the shield less effective. MONDSS show that temperatures inside
11:06
the Orion module remained normal, NASA said, meaning if there
11:10
had been astronauts aboard, they would have been safe. On
11:14
this mission, the Artemis two adopted a more direct approach,
11:19
limiting how long the heat shield was exposed to extreme temperatures.
11:25
Data from the descent shows that the spacecraft came within
11:29
zero point four percent of its flight path angled target.
11:34
According to flight director rip Hinfling, Orion's ultimate splashdown site
11:41
was less than a mile off target. After their flight
11:47
path was finalized, the crew changed into their launch and
11:52
entry suits, which provided an extra layer of protection during
11:56
the descent. Next the jettison and their service module, which
12:02
provided power, water, and air during journey. As Wiseman got
12:08
one of his last.
12:09
Speaker 2: Views of the Moon.
12:10
Speaker 1: Before landing, he radioed down to mission control. Looks a
12:15
little smaller than yesterday.
12:19
Speaker 2: Guess we'll have to go back.
12:21
Speaker 1: Artemis two Chief training Officer Jackie Mahaffey responded from the ground. Then,
12:28
roughly four hundred thousand feet above earth surface, the spacecraft
12:33
into the atmosphere, a pivotal moment known as entry interface.
12:41
As the Orion module wished through the atmosphere, it encountered
12:45
something that doesn't exist in the airless void of space, friction.
12:50
That force began to slow the spacecraft and turn its
12:54
kinetic energy into heat. Just twenty four seconds after entry,
13:00
the air around the craft became so hot it turned
13:03
to plasma, an electrically conductive superheated gas. Radio waves can't
13:10
travel through this material, leaving the astronauts completely cut off
13:14
from the outside world.
13:17
Speaker 2: All anyone could see of.
13:18
Speaker 1: Rion was a pinprick of light captured on camera by
13:22
aircraft near the landing site. For six minutes, those on
13:28
Earth waited for the Artemis two crew to emerge from
13:31
their silence. Integrity Houston Colm's check post blackout. The happy
13:40
said from mission control. There was half a breath of silence,
13:46
then Houston Integrity. We have you loud and clear, Wiseman
13:53
responded out of viewing room as Johnson's Space Center onlookers
13:59
explode into cheers. Next, a series of parachutes deployed, gradually
14:05
slowing O Ryon to a safe landing speed. Just before
14:09
splashing into the Pacific. The spacecraft was drifting at a
14:13
leisurely twenty miles per hour, gleaming against the brilliant blue
14:19
California sky. That was the picture we saw of the
14:23
three parachutes just above the water. Finally, the words everyone
14:30
was waiting for Houston Integrity splashed down off the coast
14:37
of San Diego. The USS John P. Mrtha was positioned
14:42
to retrieve the astronauts from their landing site. Once the
14:47
spacecraft powered down, Navy divers opened the hatch and helped
14:52
the astronauts onto an inflatable raft, where helicopters picked them
14:57
up and brought them to the ship. Though Friday's splashdown
15:02
marks the end of the Artemis two cruise voyage, it
15:06
is not the end of the mission. As soon as
15:09
the astronauts are safe, the recovery team will tow the
15:12
Orion module to the well deck of their ship and
15:16
NASA engineers will set about trying to understand exactly how
15:20
it functioned in flight. And there's a picture of the
15:25
four astronauts giving a group hug as they float in space, and.
15:34
Speaker 2: It is just a group of all You see the top.
15:36
Speaker 1: Of their heads looking down on them from a picture,
15:39
and it's just the smiles and the joy that you
15:44
can see on global because he's the only one whose
15:47
face you can see is just of sheer joy. Their
15:53
to do list includes figuring out several technical problems that
15:57
cropped up during the ten day voyage, the most significant
16:00
of which was a valve leak inside the service module's
16:04
proposal system propulsion. At a news conference Thursday night, Cashtrea
16:11
said the leak did not propose or pose a safety
16:14
problem during this mission, but will have to be resolved
16:18
before future missions that will orbit the Moon. The next
16:23
step of the Artemis program, schedule for twenty twenty seven,
16:27
will send astronauts to low Earth orbit. Well they will
16:30
test orbitable docking maneuvers with a commercially made lunar lander,
16:36
and in twenty twenty eight, two Artemus four astronauts are
16:40
scheduled to take humanity's first steps onto the lunar surface.
16:45
Since the end of the Pollo program in nineteen seventy two,
16:52
we're back in the business of sending astronauts to the
16:55
Moon and bringing them back safely, NASA administrator Jared Ismann
17:01
said in an interview aboard the mirth Friday Night Mirtha
17:05
Friday Night. The success of the mission, he said, is
17:09
a tribute to the dedicated staff at NASA as well
17:12
as partners at other national space agencies. But most of all,
17:17
it is a testament to the courage and curiosity of Wiseman, Glova,
17:22
Hanson and Cook. They're absolutely professional astronauts, wonderful communicators. Almost points,
17:31
these were ambassadors from humanity to the stars.
17:35
Speaker 2: Isaacman said.
17:37
Speaker 1: What this article doesn't say was that they did have
17:41
a few problems on board with testing the new toilet
17:45
system that they had. It did not work the way
17:48
they had hoped it would, and that caused for a
17:52
few problems aboard, and that when they landed there was
17:58
no communication between the fast boats off of the Mirtha
18:04
ship to get there. Somehow they could not get an
18:09
effective communication between the two so that the orion could
18:14
power down before the divers could attach the floating device
18:21
that they called the front porch, and our TV showing
18:30
of the landing ended before the collar was put around
18:34
the orion and they came out. We did not see
18:38
any of that, as we have before. Trump officials unveiled
18:44
designs for presidents controversial two hundred and fifty foot arch.
18:51
The arches intended to commemorate the United States two hundred
18:55
and fiftieth anniversary. Military veterans have sued to halt the project,
19:01
saying it would alter key views of Arlington National Cemetery
19:07
by Dan Diamond. The Trump administration on Friday unveils new
19:14
renderings for President Donald Trump's planned two hundred and fifty
19:18
foot Triumphal Arch, his most significant effort to remake Washington's skyline,
19:24
as officials begin to process of seeking formal approval for
19:29
the controversial project. The renderings, prepared by Harrison Design, feature
19:35
a golden inscription reading one Nation Underguard on the arch,
19:40
which is topped with the winged Lady Liberty statue, flanked
19:45
at its base by statues of four golden lions. The
19:50
project is slated for Memorial Circle around traffic roundabout near
19:56
Arlington National Cemetery, which city planners have add for more
20:01
than a century as the site of a potential monument.
20:06
It is right at the end of Arlington Memorial Bridge,
20:11
right there at Arlington National Cemetery the GW Parkway and
20:18
at the ind of Memorial Bridge, which leads and takes
20:21
you to the roundabout at Lincoln Memorial which leads to
20:25
the Washington National Monument. Along the grassy space between the
20:29
Capital and the Lincoln Memorial and the Ellipse area, It's
20:35
part of this beautiful part of DC, the tidal basin
20:39
and the Potomac River, of which the Memorial Bridge goes across.
20:44
The project is intended to commemorate the United States two
20:49
hundred and fiftieth Anniversary. Built to Trump specifications, it would
20:54
transform a small plot of land between the Lincoln Memorial
20:58
and Arlington National semi Terry into a dominant new monument.
21:04
Architects and historic preservationists have warned that the planned arch,
21:09
which would be more than twice the size of the
21:12
roughly one hundred foot Lincoln Memorial and tower over the
21:17
nearby cemetery, would distort the intent of the existing memorials
21:22
and obstruct pedestrian views. It shows a rendering of the
21:30
height the US Capitol at its height is two hundred
21:34
and eighty eight feet. That is next to the Washington
21:39
Monument at five hundred and fifty five feet.
21:43
Speaker 2: The proposed new arch is two hundred and.
21:46
Speaker 1: Fifty feet just under the Capitol, The Lincoln Memorial is
21:50
ninety nine feet, and the White House North Facade is
21:54
sixty feet. The renderings were filed Friday by the Interior
22:01
Department with the Commission of Fine Arts, a panel of
22:04
advisers on the city's architectural matters that Trump has stocked
22:10
with allies. The Commission is set to review the White
22:13
House's proposal at a meeting Thursday. Friday was the first
22:18
time that the administration has formerly filed plans for the arch,
22:23
a project that Trump has spent months teasing on social
22:27
media and in the Oval Office. The latest arch design
22:31
features significant differences compared to early concepts, such as the
22:36
removal of columns and the addition of golden treatments, including
22:41
a pair of eagles that were not golden in an
22:44
earlier mock up seen in the Oval Office. The eagle's wings,
22:49
which were closed in early models, are now spread. The
22:54
White House said that the administration would go through all
22:57
legal requirements to construct the art arch, which officials called
23:01
an iconic addition to Washington. White House spokesman David Ingall
23:08
said in a statement, it will enhance the visitor experience
23:13
at Arlington National Cemetery for veterans, the families of the fallen,
23:17
and all Americans alike, serving as a visual reminder of
23:21
the noble sacrifices born by so many American heroes throughout
23:26
a two hundred and fifty year history, so we can
23:29
enjoy our freedoms today. Administration officials declined to share the
23:35
project's cost, saying that it was still being calculated, or
23:39
comment on its potential funding. Trump said he plans to
23:44
draw on private donations.
23:46
Speaker 2: For the project.
23:48
Speaker 1: Notice reported this week that the arch would also draw
23:52
on taxpayer funding through the National Endowment for the Humanities.
23:56
Harrison Design did not immediately respond to about the project.
24:02
Rodney mems Cook Junior, a Trump appointee and the chairman
24:06
of the Commission of Fine Arts, proposed a memorial arch
24:10
in Washington more than two decades ago. In an interview Friday,
24:15
he signaled his support for the administration's new proposal, including
24:20
its planned location.
24:23
Speaker 2: There has never been a builder.
24:24
Speaker 1: President like this one since President Thomas Jefferson, and I
24:29
think it's time we had another, Cook said. He added
24:33
that he planned to scrutinize how the proposed project would
24:36
affect pedestrian's view of Arlington House, the former estate of
24:40
General Robert E. Lee that sits on the hillside in
24:43
Arlington National Cemetery.
24:45
Speaker 2: At Thursday's hearing.
24:47
Speaker 1: Cook said he is particularly sensitive to Lee's legacy because
24:51
he is a graduate of Washington and Lee University, where
24:54
Lee is now buried after serving as the school's president.
24:59
Trump and the White House have previously defended the arch's
25:03
planned height, which would surpass Paris's Arc de Triumph, which
25:08
is one hundred and sixty four feet high, and other
25:12
memorial arches around the world. I'd like it to be
25:16
the biggest one of all. We're the biggest, most powerful nation,
25:21
Trump told reporters in January. Under the law, certain parts
25:26
of the city, including Memorial Circle, are considered protected land,
25:30
and monuments built there would require congressional authorization. The circle
25:35
sits narrowly inside the boundaries of Washington. Charles A. Bernbaum,
25:42
who heads the Cultural Landscape Foundation, an education and advocacy organization,
25:49
said that he worried the new arch would interfere with
25:52
the carefully choreographed relationships between Washington's existing monuments. This inaptly
26:02
scaled monument would create a jarring and disturbing intrusion, Bernbaum
26:08
said in a statement Friday. Military veterans and a historic
26:13
preservationists sued the Trump administration in February, arguing that Trump's
26:20
planned art would obstruct key views when visiting Arlington National
26:25
Cemetery and interfere with the intent of nearby monuments. Public Citizen,
26:31
a government watchdog organization, is seeking to halt the project
26:35
until the administration secures approval from Congress and federal review panels.
26:42
Democrats joined the challenge last month. Trump was dismissive of
26:49
the legal challenge this week. You have got to be kidding,
26:54
Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday, after
26:57
being informed that military veterans were soon to stop the project.
27:01
I think it's going very good, and have veterans are
27:04
the ones that should like it. Trump has prioritized Washington
27:11
area construction projects in his second term, including a new
27:16
visitors center at the White House and changes to Dollars
27:19
International Airport, but some of his ideas have faced resistance.
27:24
A federal judge last month halted the president's plan to
27:28
build a four hundred million dollar White House ballroom, saying
27:32
that the administration needed.
27:34
Speaker 2: Approval from Congress for that project.
27:37
Speaker 1: Trump's desired arch does not appear to be broadly popular.
27:42
Twenty one percent of responders polled said they supported a
27:45
plan two hundred and fifty foot arch, while fifty two
27:49
percent opposed the project, according to economist Slash Yugov poll
27:56
conducted in February, the Pentagon violated court order to restore
28:04
press access, judge rules. The judge also admonished the Trump administration,
28:10
saying suppressing political speech is the mark of an autocracy,
28:16
not a democracy.
28:18
Speaker 2: By Scott Nover, a.
28:20
Speaker 1: Federal judge in Washington ruled Thursday that the Pentagon violated
28:25
his order to restore access for New York Times journalists,
28:30
finding that the Defense Department revised interim policy unconstitutionally sidestepped
28:37
his earlier ruling. The judge also rebuked the Trump administration,
28:42
likening its suppression of speech to that of an autocracy.
28:47
After Senior US District Judge Paul E. Friedman ruled in
28:51
March that the Defense Department's press secretary violated the First
28:57
and Fifth Amendment rights of the New York Town and
29:00
one of its reporters, Julian E.
29:03
Speaker 2: Barnes.
29:04
Speaker 1: Top officials at the Pentagon introduced a revised policy that
29:08
would have, among other things, removed journalists from their dedicated
29:13
workspace inside the five sided building to an external annex
29:19
in a library and conference center. The Washington Post was
29:23
among dozens of outlets that walked out of the Pentagon
29:26
in October rather than agreed to a new press policy,
29:33
sorry things are popping up on my computer, okay, rather
29:40
than agree to a new press policy conditioning access and
29:44
reporters promising not to solicit any unauthorized information, a policy
29:50
widely decried by mainstream news organizations and press freedom advocates.
29:56
Freeman wrote in an opinion Thursday that the revised policy
30:01
still prevents journalists from inducing unauthorized disclosures, the same unconstitutional
30:08
restriction he had already struck down, just with new language.
30:13
The judge used a top Pentagon official's own words to
30:17
overturn the policy. We used more words to say the
30:22
same thing and to foreclosed creative misinterpretations. Timothy Parlaw, a
30:29
senior advisor to defend Secretary Pete Hegseeth told The Times
30:34
in a recent interview, Parlatora authored the press policies, Today's
30:42
decision upholds their constitutional rights again and sends a clear
30:47
message to the Pentagon. Time spokesman Charlie status Lander wrote
30:54
in a statement after the ruling, adding compliance with a
30:59
lawful order of if a court is not optional, it
31:02
is required in a democracy committed to the rule of law.
31:06
We are pleased that Judge Friedman saw the revised policy
31:10
issued by the Pentagon after his last decision for what
31:14
it was, a poorly disguised attempt to continue to violate
31:18
the constitutional rights of The Times and its.
31:22
Speaker 2: Journalist, Theodore J.
31:25
Speaker 1: Butchris Junior, a partner at the law firm Gibson Dunn,
31:29
who represented The Times in court, cheered the judge's order.
31:34
This ruling powerfully vindicates both the Court's authority and the
31:38
First Amendments protections of independent journalism, he wrote an a statement.
31:46
Gabe Rotman, vice president of policy at the Reporter's Committee
31:50
for Freedom of the Press, also praised the ruling.
31:54
Speaker 2: He wrote, the judge.
31:56
Speaker 1: Rightly found that the Pentagon's policy still violate the Constitution
32:02
and that the government's evasion of his clear directive cannot continue.
32:08
In a statement, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said that the
32:13
Defense Department disagreed with the court's ruling and intended to appeal.
32:19
The Department has at all times complied with the court's order.
32:24
It reinstated that pfacs of every journalist identified in the
32:30
order and issued a materrely revised policy that addressed every
32:34
concern the Court identified in its March twentieth opinion. He
32:39
wrote in a post on x, adding the Department remains
32:45
committed to press access at the Pentagon while fulfilling its
32:49
statutory obligation to ensure the safe and secure operation of
32:55
the Pentagon Reservation. The judge also ruled that the Pentagon's
33:01
closure of the correspondence carrida the dedicated press workspace inside
33:06
the building and did span on unescorted movement throughout the
33:10
Pentagon were transparent attempts to undermine the access his original
33:15
order had restored. He ordered the Defense Department to fully
33:19
restore Times reporter's access and file a sworn declaration from
33:25
a Department official by April sixteenth, detailing compliance. Friedman concluded
33:31
his opinion with an unusually sharp rebuke of the Trump administration.
33:37
He wrote, the Court cannot conclude this opinion without noting
33:43
once again what this case is relay about the attempt
33:47
by the Secretary of Defense to dictate the information received
33:52
by the American people, to control the message so that
33:55
the public hears and sees only what the Secretary and
33:59
the trumpet midministration want them to hear and see. The
34:03
Constitution demands better. The American public demands better too, he continued.
34:12
The curtailment of First Amendment writes as dangerous at any time,
34:18
and even more so in a time of war. Suppression
34:22
of political speeches the mark of an autocracy, not a democracy,
34:27
as the frame is recognized when they drafted the First Amendment.
34:34
And another article about the Pentagon cardinals meeting at Pentagon
34:40
was unusual, Vatican official says US and Vatican officials have
34:46
sought to downplay accounts of a strange relationship. But there
34:50
have been tensions between the Trump administration and the Catholic Church.
34:56
And there's a picture of Cardinal christ Steph Christophe Pierre
35:02
leading a mass at the basilica of the National Shrine
35:06
of the Immaculate Conception in Washington in April of twenty
35:11
twenty five, and you see him at a lectern with
35:15
his red cardinal hat on, and you see it must
35:20
have been.
35:22
Speaker 2: Pope. Well it's not Pope Leo.
35:27
Speaker 1: It's the Pope before him at the Basilica, and you
35:31
see him smiling, and nineteen Pope Leo hadn't come back
35:37
to the States.
35:38
Speaker 2: Yet.
35:38
Speaker 1: Well, sorry, that's in material mad Natalie Allison, Anthony Faola,
35:46
and Michelle Bornstein. Through the first year of President Donald
35:52
Trump's second term, tensions between his administration and the Vatican,
35:57
now with the first US born Pope, had similar Days
36:01
after the one year mark of Trump returning to office,
36:04
an unusual meeting between the two sides took place and
36:08
has now turned up the temperature of the public discussion
36:11
about the relationship. Following expressions of concern by Pope Leo
36:17
the Fourteenth and Vatican officials over the administration's actions in Venezuela, Minneapolis,
36:23
and elsewhere. Pentagon officials on January twenty second, hosted a
36:28
top Vatican diplomat, Cardinal Christol Pierre, than the Holy Sees
36:33
ambassador to the United States, for a rare visit.
36:37
Speaker 2: It is not typical for.
36:39
Speaker 1: A church official to meet with the Defense Department instead
36:43
of the Distate Department or White House. During the discussion,
36:48
the small group of Pentagon and Vatican officials discussed the
36:51
differing views of current events. According to people on both
36:55
sides with knowledge of the conversation, what is less clear
36:59
is how adversarial the meeting was. One senior Vatican official
37:04
familiar with internal assessments of the meeting called it unusual
37:09
and not a walk in the park. It was a
37:12
frank and direct dialogue on issues where the distance between
37:16
the Vatican and the United States is evident and clear,
37:21
said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity
37:26
to discuss sensitive internal assessments. In the week before the
37:31
Pentagon meeting, Leo had publicly said multiple times that nations
37:36
should use diplomacy and not war. On January ninth, he
37:42
gave a much disgusted address to his diplomatic corps, warning
37:45
that war is back in vogue and that unnamed powers
37:50
had completely undermined the post World War II order. He
37:55
criticized governments that use weapons as a condition for asserting
38:00
one's own dominion. Sentimentality, Leo said, gravely threatens the rule
38:07
of law. In light of the Pope's comments, The Department
38:12
officials attempted to justify their military activity and sought to
38:18
frame America's force as a legitimate path to peace, said
38:23
one person who spoke with people who attended the Pentagon meeting.
38:27
That pitch, the person said, surfaced contrasting views as to
38:33
the role and purposes of war from both sides.
38:37
Speaker 2: The person spoke on the.
38:38
Speaker 1: Condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss
38:43
the matter publicly. The Vatican and government statements portrayed the
38:48
encounter as far more mild than some news coverage and
38:51
social media chata since news of the meeting was first
38:55
reported this week by The Free Press. That story framed
38:59
the meeting as pr having been summoned by Elbridge Colby,
39:04
a Catholic serving as Defense Department Under Secretary for War Policy.
39:10
Since then, the narrative of a hostile dressing down of
39:13
church officials by US military leaders has dominated some corners
39:18
of liberal social media platforms. The criticism has prompted harsh
39:23
pushback from conservative Catholics. Critics of the Trump administration latched
39:29
on to a claim in the story that a US
39:31
official in the meeting went so far as to invoke
39:36
the Avignon papacy, the era in the thirteen hundreds when
39:41
the French crown used military power to dominate the papal authority.
39:46
Tweets condemning US officials have been shared by the thousands,
39:51
with Trump detractors pointing to the report of the meeting
39:54
as evidence of a red line crossed by the administration.
39:59
On Wednesday, when Vice President J. D. Vance, a Catholic
40:04
who is close with Colby, was asked by The Washington
40:07
Post for his opinion, he said he had not seen
40:11
the report.
40:11
Speaker 2: About that meeting.
40:13
Speaker 1: I'd like to actually talk to Cardinal Christophe Pierre and
40:16
frankly to our people to figure out what actually happened,
40:20
said Vance, who acknowledged he had met Pierre previously.
40:24
Speaker 2: The Apostolic.
40:27
Speaker 1: Nunshetur to the United States, or Vatican Embassy, is across
40:33
the street from the Vice President's home at the Naval
40:36
Observatory in Northwest Washington. Soon after Vance wayhed in, Pentagon
40:42
officials dimissed the story as highly exaggerated and distorted, saying
40:47
in a statement that the two sides had a respectful
40:50
and reasonable discussion. The Apostolic Nuncietur did not offer any
40:57
disagreement in its assessment, saying it was grateful for opportunities
41:02
to meet with US officials to discuss areas of mutual concern.
41:08
The effort by US officials to quell the controversy suggested
41:12
the extent to which an administration that has often seemed
41:16
to disregard outside views appears concerned about perceptions that it
41:21
has had odds with the new and popular US born Pope.
41:26
Brian Burch, the US Ambassador to the Holy See, released
41:30
a statement Thursday after speaking with Pierre. He said the
41:34
cardinals called aspects of the story fabrications, including the threat
41:40
of Avignon. Birch said Pierre described the meeting as frank
41:45
and cordial. The Apostolic Nuncatour had no additional response to
41:51
Birch's statement. Pierre did not respond to her request for comment.
41:56
On Friday morning, as international attention to the issue you spread,
42:00
the Vatican issued a statement as confirmed by His Eminence
42:05
Christo Pierre, former Apostolic Nuncio to the United States. His
42:10
meeting with mister Elbridge Andrew Colby was part of the
42:14
paper representative's regular mission and provided the opportunity for an
42:18
exchange of views on matters of mutual interest. The narrative
42:23
offered by some media outlets about this meeting is completely untrue.
42:28
In the flurry of statements, the Defense Department released photos
42:32
on Thursday of the meeting. The pictures showed Pierre and
42:35
Kobe's smiling together and shaking hands and sitting around a
42:39
small table with associates.
42:42
Speaker 2: Seated next to Colby was David A.
42:44
Speaker 1: Baker, the Defense Department's Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and
42:49
NATO Policy.
42:51
Speaker 2: A Church official with knowledge of.
42:53
Speaker 1: The meeting, speaking on the condition of nananimity to discuss
42:57
the private discussion, told The Washington Post the candid conversation
43:02
did not involve US officials threatening the Vatican, and also
43:06
disputed the claim that the Avenue papacy was invoked to
43:10
hint at military action against the Church. The officials suggested
43:15
that the meeting was merely the Vatican doing what it
43:18
is called to do, using available channels of diplomacy and
43:23
dialogue to express its views. The Holy See officials and observers, however,
43:29
called the Pentagon meeting with Pierre highly unusual, and disclosure
43:34
of the previously unreported meeting raised eyebrows in Vatican City.
43:39
I don't recall similar encounters, said Reverend Antonio Spadaro, under
43:46
Secretary of the Vatican's Dyscotary for Culture and Education. What
43:53
I can say is that the classic rules of diplomacy
43:56
have been somewhat disrupted at this time, witnessing meetings that
44:01
would have once been conducted with very specific procedures and
44:05
have instead become highly theatrical. I'm thinking of the one
44:09
between Trump and Zolenski at the White House. In this
44:12
historical context. With these dynamics, it's hard to say what's usual, normal,
44:18
fair and what isn't. There was no indication that Leo
44:23
or Pierre, for that matter, held their tongues following the
44:26
Pentagon meeting.
44:28
Speaker 2: In fact, just the opposite.
44:32
Speaker 1: In late February, the French born Pierre attended a Mass
44:36
in Minnesota, after which he joined senior US cardinals in
44:40
denouncing the administration's emigration crackdown in the state. I'm very
44:46
proud personally to see our church, you know, be on
44:49
the side of those who suffer, Pierre said, according to
44:53
the Associated Press, adding that Leo backed the US bishop's
44:57
support of migrants.
44:59
Speaker 2: During that event.
45:00
Speaker 1: Massimo Figliauo, a religion scholar who attended. It said one
45:07
topic was how US bishops were becoming more aware of
45:10
the real nature of trumpsm and that they could not
45:14
continue to side with the Republican Party simply because of
45:18
the party's opposition to abortion. He said he worried that
45:22
there was undue pressure being placed on the Vatican during
45:26
the meeting with pr at the Pentagon.
45:29
Speaker 2: I don't know what was.
45:30
Speaker 1: Said in the meeting, but the place where it happened,
45:32
the Pentagon, is already a message in itself, Vagilio said.
45:39
Lee or times has been blunt when criticizing administration policy,
45:44
as when he described treatment of migrants in the United
45:47
States last year as inhuman. More often, however, he has
45:52
been circumspect, tending to refrain from mentioning Trump or the
45:56
administration by name. In January, just days after the US
46:01
intervention to capture Venezuelan President Nicholas madeiro Leo spoke to
46:06
diplomats and Battle Good City about the weakness of multilateralism
46:12
without mentioning the administration. He argued that a diplomacy that
46:17
promotes dialog and seeks consensus among all parties is being
46:21
replaced by a diplomacy based on force. He has grown
46:26
more pointed over the course of the war in Iran,
46:30
challenging the administration's depictions of a warlike God who picks sides.
46:36
On Palm Sunday, he said God does not listen to
46:39
the prayers of those who rage war, and quoted Isaiah
46:44
one fifteen, saying, even though you may make many prayers,
46:49
I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood.
46:53
On Easter Sunday, he declared, let those who have weapons
46:58
lay them down. After Trump threatened to destroy a whole
47:03
civilization in Iran, Leo bluntly called the remarks truly unacceptable.
47:10
The Vatican said in February that Leo would not visit
47:13
the United States this year, a decision that came after
47:16
officials in the Holy See had considered a trip that
47:20
would include a possible address by Leo to the u
47:23
N General Assembly in September. That trip never came together,
47:28
according to a Vatican official, who spoke on the condition
47:31
of anonimnity to speak freely because of the midterm elections
47:36
and standing Vatican policy to avoid papal trips during major
47:40
national campaigns. That official disputed another claim in the Free
47:45
Press story that the Pope may never visit his homeland
47:49
while Trump is in power. Separately, Spadaro said the Pope
47:54
is against war, not against Trump or any other political
47:58
figure or head of state. There's a very clear message
48:02
the defensive peace of international law that has always characterized
48:07
the Holy See. In a statement, Whitehouse spokeswoman Anna Kelly
48:13
noted Trump's increase in Catholic support in the twenty twenty
48:16
four election and said the administration has a positive relationship
48:21
with the Vatican, which was strengthened when Vice President Vance
48:26
attended Pope Leo the fourteenth inaugural Mass last year.
48:32
Speaker 2: In February.
48:34
Speaker 1: In a February interview with The Washington Post, Vance acknowledged
48:38
that he has a government official has a different job
48:42
than the clergy, so that it is going to inevitably
48:46
lead to conflict between the government and the clergy. Vance continued,
48:52
what I tried to do is come at that conflict
48:55
in a sport spirit of charity.
49:00
Speaker 2: Article front page, Trump fumes as around.
49:04
Speaker 1: Retains chokehold on Straight of Hormuz ahead of peace talks.
49:09
In addition to dalled shipping, continued, Israeli strengths and Lebanon
49:14
are threatening the shaky seas file.
49:19
Speaker 2: And There's a picture of riot police.
49:21
Speaker 1: Lineup along a road near the expected venue of the
49:26
US around talks and the government red zone of Islamabad
49:30
on Friday. There are three rows of soldiers lined up
49:35
in black jackets. The front row all has plastic shields
49:40
in front of them. They all have on helmets. The
49:43
second row is just standing at ease, well not at ease,
49:48
but standing oh. And the second one in looks like
49:52
he is holding a sword over his shoulder. And the
49:55
third row looks like it has swords pointed downward.
50:01
Speaker 2: And it's a long line of the two, four.
50:04
Speaker 1: Six, eight, ten, possibly twelve or fourteen lined up times
50:09
three in the looks like in the middle of a road.
50:15
By Victoria kraw The United States shaky ceasefire with Iran
50:21
is under intense pressure ahead of scheduled diplomatic torts in
50:25
Islam talks in Islamabad. As shipping remains effectively blocked through
50:31
the Strait of Hormuz in Israel and Hezbollah continued to
50:35
trade strikes. President Donald Trump accused Iran of doing a
50:40
very poor job, dishonorable, some would say, of allowing oil
50:44
to go through the Strait of Hormuz in a post
50:47
on truth social tonight. That is not the agreement we have,
50:51
he wrote, referring to the two week ceasefire announced Tuesday.
50:56
It followed an earlier warning from the President that Iran
51:00
better not be charging fees for tankers to pass through
51:03
the narrow waterway that carries around twenty percent of the
51:07
world's oil and natural gas shipments. Speaking Friday, en Routi
51:12
Islamabat Vice President JD. Vance, who will lead the US
51:17
negotiating team, said Trump had set some pretty clear guidelines
51:22
for the talks and he was looking forward to a
51:25
positive negotiation. If the Iranians are willing to negotiate in
51:31
good faith, we are certainly willing to extend the open hand.
51:36
If they are going to try to play us, then
51:38
we're going to find that the negotiating team is not
51:41
that receptive.
51:43
Speaker 2: Vance said.
51:45
Speaker 1: The US delegation will include Special Envoy Steve Whitkoff and
51:50
Trump's son in law Jared Kushner. Parliamentary Speaker Mohammed Bagger
51:56
Geliboff will lead Iran's contingent. The price of a barrel
52:02
of rent crude and international benchmark fell to around ninety
52:06
five dollars per barrel Friday morning, while Asian mark is
52:11
closed slightly higher and European markets gained some ground on
52:15
hopes of a resolution to the crisis. Restoring the passage
52:20
of ships through the Strait is a key objective for
52:23
the White House, but traffic has remained at a virtual standstill,
52:28
with Iranian state media saying the strait is closed to
52:31
ninety nine percent of ships after Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
52:39
All the ships that have passed through the Strait since
52:42
Monday are linked to Iran in some ways, such as
52:46
through trade or ownership. According to Lloyd's List Intelligence, a.
52:50
Speaker 2: Global shipping monitum, traffic remains ninety percent.
52:55
Speaker 1: Below normal volumes, with six hundred cargo vessels trapped.
52:59
Speaker 2: Its said in a briefing Thursday.
53:02
Speaker 1: Clearing the vessels as likely to take several weeks, even
53:06
if volumes increased toward pre conflict levels.
53:09
Speaker 2: Lloyd's added.
53:12
Speaker 1: Diplomatic negotiations to end the war, scheduled to take place
53:16
in Islamabad on Saturday, having been broken by Pakistan. On Friday,
53:22
Pakistan's army and police forces could be seen around the capitol,
53:27
where a public holiday has been declared, with some areas
53:30
cordoned off and.
53:31
Speaker 2: Checkpoints in place.
53:33
Speaker 1: Pakistan's Prime Minister, Shabaz Sharif, has held a series of
53:38
conversations with woral leaders ahead of the talks. Talks are
53:42
likely to be fraught from the start, with the two
53:45
sides not agreeing even on the terms of.
53:48
Speaker 2: The existing ceasefire. In addition to the status of the
53:52
Strait of.
53:52
Speaker 1: Homuz, the inclusion of Lebanon in the ceasefire agreement, and
53:57
Around's demands to enricher remain major obstacles. Iran is threatened
54:05
to withdraw from the talks, citing what it claimed were
54:07
breaches of the agreement over Israel's attacks in Lebanon. Israel's
54:12
offensive there, including a ground invasion of South Lebanon, has
54:16
forced more than a million people to flee their homes.
54:20
More than three hundred and three people were killed and
54:22
more than eleven hundred wounded on Wednesday, according to the
54:26
Lebanon's Ministry of Health, in a barrage of strikes on
54:29
Beirut that Israel described as its largest in more than
54:33
a month of war. The strikes drew away international condemnation
54:39
and calls from several European nations for Lebanon to be
54:43
included in a ceasefire agreement. Ghalibev said that time is
54:50
running out in a post on x Thursday that shared
54:54
three Iranian objectives in relation to the negotiations. Lebanon and
55:00
Rhyme's allies form an inseparable part of the Seaspire, he noted,
55:05
saying there was no room for denial on backtracking on
55:10
whether Lebanon was included in the deal. Seaspire violations carry
55:15
explicit cost and strong in capital responses extinguished the fire immediately.
55:24
Gobleboff added. Strikes between Israel and Hesbela continued Friday. The
55:32
Israel Defense Forces said it had struck Hesbala launch sites
55:36
in Lebanon, well Hesbela said it had launched rockets in retaliation.
55:41
VANCE has previously described the dispute over Lebanon as a
55:45
legitimate misunderstanding. Trump told NBC on Thursday that Israel would
55:51
scale back operations in Lebanon after a conversation he had
55:55
with Prime minist Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Wednesday.
56:00
Speaker 2: He's going to low key it.
56:02
Speaker 1: I just think we have to be sort of a
56:04
little more low key, Trump said, But Netinyahu has remained
56:10
emphatic there is no cease fire in Lebanon, he said
56:15
in a post on x Thursday, adding that Israel had
56:19
opened direct negotiations with Lebanon to disarm Hez below. The
56:25
State Department is expected to host Israel Lebanon talks next week.
56:31
A US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to
56:35
share sensitive details, told the Post Israel and Lebanon have
56:41
not held direct talks aimed at normalizing relations since the
56:46
US mediated process in nineteen eighty three, which led to
56:51
an agreement that quickly collapsed. Gary Dana was in Lebanon
56:58
and in Tehran in nineteen seventy eight, and at that
57:03
time or Lebanon was the mecca of the coastline of
57:10
the Mediterranean.
57:12
Speaker 2: It was a beautiful city.
57:13
Speaker 1: The Paris of the Middle East now said that it
57:17
has been so devastated.
57:20
Speaker 2: And with that and my personal.
57:22
Speaker 1: Observation, we end the Washington Post for today, the eleventh
57:28
of April of twenty twenty six. It is beautiful, It
57:33
is going to be beautiful today. Get it sad and
57:36
have a good weekend.
57:39
Speaker 2: Bye.