Transcript

12.6.25 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of Today's Washington Post for Saturday,
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December the six of twenty twenty five. Your reader is
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Alice Stayner, and have the reminder that RADIOI is an
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organization for those that are blind with difficulties holding and
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reading printed material. So I start with today's front page
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of the Washington Post. On the far left, sweeping revision
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to vaccine schedule, CDC panel votes to no longer advise
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hepatitis B shots for all newborns by Lena Hsun and
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David o'vaille Eda Atlanto. In the middle of the picture,
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early snow showers sneak in and this is a picture
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of commuters traveling to work near King Street Metro in Alexandria,
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right where was many years ago as the year's earliest
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snow slow showers since twenty eighteen fell on Friday. The
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flakes caused some school districts to close for the day,
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and this is obviously at the metro station, which was
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being built when I lived in Alexandria in the seventies.
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To the far right, Trump's birthright ban faces legal test.
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Justices take up high stakes case. Ruling could decide who
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gets to be a US citizen and by Justin Juvenal
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and below the snow picture, Democrats press for wider probe
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into boat strike by Theodoric Maya and Noah robertson urgency bills,
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following footage that shows the killing of two survivors, and
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below the fold on the left, Judge orders Epstein Grand
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Jewelry transcripts to be released by Perry Stein and another
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picture in the middle a cafe in the twenty four
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Somali Mall in Minneapolis, which has a large Somali immigrant population,
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and you see five people at sort of it looks
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like a delai a bakery, but Pepsi machines in the
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back boxes on top of the machines and a cake
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stand and pastries in the case. Minnesota turns cold for
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Somali migrants. Community is fearful as it faces Trump's rants
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and ice action by Caroline O'Donovan and Emmanuel Felton to
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Minneapolis and the far right. Fank Geary dies He was
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ninety six years old nineteen twenty nine to two thousand,
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twenty twenty five. Creative mind stretched architectures, boundaries, unearthly but
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brilliant designs from Bilbao to Los Angeles became global landmarks
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by Elaine Rue and mister Geary designed the Guggenheim Museum
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in Bilbao and in Spain and the Walt Disney Concert
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Hall in Los Angeles. I will start with the Supreme Court.
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Supreme Court will hear case on Trump's ban on birthright citizenship.
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The announcements sets up a test of a controversial policy
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that could redefine who is considered an American. And there
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is a great big sign outside the newly redune Supreme
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Court in a blue border and in black. If you
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are in red, bold big red, born black. In the
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big bold red USA, you are an in black American citizen.
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In red, if you are born in the USA, you
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are an American citizen. And there are people holding signs
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up saying the Trump fascist regime regime must go now.
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And there are men and women holding up these signs.
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The one holding up the big sign, if you're born
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in the USA, you are an American citizen. She has
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on gloves and a white hat. Obviously before the snow, well,
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this was May fifteenth. People demonstrate outside the Supreme Court
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on May fifteenth. I believe there's a little bit of
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snow in DC now by justin juvenile. The Supreme Court
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said Friday that it will hear a case examining the
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legality of President Donald Trump's ban on birthright citizenship, a
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high stakes test of the controversial policy that could redefine
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who is considered an American. The Justices have yet to
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set a date for arguments, but the High Court has
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taken the case in time to render its decision by
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June or July, when the current term ends. That will
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be twenty The Trump administration asked the Justices to take
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up the case on an expedited basis in September, after
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lower courts found the policy, a key component of the
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president's anti immigration agenda, unconstitutional and blocked it. On the
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first day of his second term, Trump instructed government agencies
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to stop issuing citizenship documentation to children born to parents
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who were in the country illegally or visiting temporarily. The
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move challenged the long settled view that the Fourteenth Amendment
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confers citizenship on any child born on US soil. Solicitor
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General d John Sewer wrote in a filing with a
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High Court that reading was mistaken and the president was
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attempting to restore the original meaning of the constitutional Amendment,
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which was ratified in eighteen sixty eight after enslaved people
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were freed following the Civil War. The amendment provides that
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those born da da dac in the United States and
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subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are US citizens. It overturned
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the Supreme Court's infamous dread Scott decision, which denied citizenship
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to black people. Sour wrote, the citizenship clause of the
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Fourteenth Amendment was adopted to grant citizenship to newly freed
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slaves and their children, not to the children of temporary
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visitors or illegal aliens. Sauas said, birthright citizenship is a
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powerful incentive for illegal migration, presents national security concerns because
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some people illegally enter the United States to carry a
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hostile acts, and facilitates birth tourism foreigners traveling to the
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United States to have babies so their children can be
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US citizens. Most legal experts reject the Trump's administration's interpretation
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of the Fourteenth Amendment. In a landmark eighteen ninety eight case,
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the Supreme Court ruled Wong kim arc, a man born
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to Chinese immigrants in San Francisco, was a US citizen
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under the Fourteenth Amendment. The day after Trump issued his
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executive order in January, Washington State and three other states
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challenged it in court. A federal judge issued a preliminary
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injunction against the ban, which was later upheld by an
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appeals court. In June, the birthright citizenship case reached the
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Supreme Court in a separate case. At that point, the
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Trump administration did not ask the justices to rule on
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the substance of the policy, but rather on the narrower
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question of whether lower courts could issue nationwide injunctions. In
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a six y three ruling, the Justices sided with Trump
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officials and limited the orders. Soon after, a group of
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individuals represented by the ACLU filed a class action lawsuit
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against the birthright citizenship policy in New Hampshire. A federal
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judge issued a preliminary injunction in that case, but before
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an appeals court could render a verdict on that ruling,
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Trump officials petitioned the Supreme Court to hear the case.
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The New Hampshire case is the one the Supreme Court
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decided to heal. Cecilia Wang, ACLU's national leader, legal director,
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said in a statement, we look forward to putting this
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case to rest once and for all. No president can
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change the Fourteenth Amendment's fundamental promise of citizenship. For over
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one hundred and fifty years, it has been the law
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and our national tradition that everyone born on US soil
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is a citizen from birth. Wang said roughly two hundred
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and fifty thousand babies were born to mothers who are
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in the country illegally or on a temporary basis in
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twenty twenty three, the latest year figures were available, according
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to the Cene for Immigration Studies, which aims to curb immigration.
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Margo Schlanger, a law professor at the University of Michigan,
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said the Trump administration faces long ards of winning the case.
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The Court talks a lot about textualism and original meaning,
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and the original meaning of the text don't support the
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Trump administration's argument, Schlanger said, adding the pertinent President wonkim
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ark is very adverse to them. This is an issue
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that has really been settled for a long time. The
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Supreme Court has set up a blockbuster term, agreeing to
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hear a handful of cases on policies central to Trump's agenda.
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In November, the justices appeared skeptical of the legality of
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the president's sweeping tariffs. On Monday, the High Court will
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hear a major challenge to the president's bid to fire
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a Democratic member of the Federal Trade Commission, which could
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reshape the executive control over roughly two dozen independent agencies.
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In January, the Justices will examine the legality of Trump's
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move to fire Democrat Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve,
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which occupies a central role in setting interest rates and
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guiding the economy. The Trump administration has been overwhelmingly successful
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in winning temporary orders from the Supreme Court upholding Trump's
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policies in recent months, many coming on immigration related issues.
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The Justices have allowed Trump to strip deportation protections from
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hundreds of thousands of migrants and lifted limits on immigration
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raids in the Los Angeles area imposed by lower courts.
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They have also allowed the administration to deport migrants to
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countries where they are not citizens. The Supreme Court has
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pushed back on some emigration policies. It has ordered the
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administration to facilitate the return of the wrongly deported Salvadorian
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immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose case generated wide spread attention.
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Trump orders review of childhood vaccine scheduled, called US an outlier.
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His announcement came hours after CDC advisors eliminated a longstanding
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recommendation for every newborn to receive a hepatitis B shot
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by Lena h Son and David o'vaille Atlanta. President Donald
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Trump on Friday ordered federal health officials to review the
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childhood immunization schedule and to consider recommending fewer shots to
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align with other developed countries. His directive came hours after
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an influential vaccine advisory panel voted to lift a long
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standing recommendation that all newborns receive a vaccine for hepatitis B,
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marking the most significant change to the childhood immunization schedule
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under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Junior. The advisors frequently
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invoked countries that have a more targeted recommendation, and later
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heard a presentation from an FDA official touting the Danish
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vaccine schedule that calls for fewer shots than American children receive.
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Critics of US vaccine policy often note that European countries
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recommend fewer shots for children. The public health experts counter
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that those countries are smaller and have better health care
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systems to test for and treat disease. Medical associations have
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argued that the US schedule has been thoroughly studied and
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have credited for controlling once rampant pathogens. Trump's memorandum described
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the US as an outlier for recommending vaccinating children against
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eighteen diseases and questioned the practice of giving children annual
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flu shots. It said changes to the schedule should preserve
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access to vaccines now available to the Americans. In a
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Friday Evening Truth social post, Trump said the US recommends
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far more shots to children than necessary, echoing his past
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rhetoric that alarmed public health experts. Trump wrote, in fact,
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it's ridiculous. Many parents and scientists have been questioning the
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efficacy of this schedule, as have ah Asked for comment
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on Trump's announcement, the American Academy of Pediatrics pointed to
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a statement this week from Jose Odomearro, a pediatrician on
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its Infectious Disease as Committee. Mister O'Mara o, doctor o'mero,
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said children in the United States are at risk of
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different diseases than children in other countries. We also have
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a completely different health system. The bottom line is Vaccine
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recommendations in the United States are designed to help children
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resist serious illnesses so they can stay healthy and our
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communities can stay healthy. Earlier Friday, the Advisory Committee on
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Immunization Practices approved the revisions to the Hepatitis BE vaccine guidance,
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despite fierce objections from medical groups that said the recommendation
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had proved a successful public health strategy, nearly eradicating the
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dangerous virus among US children. The committee voted eight to
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three to eliminate a recommendation dating to nineteen ninety one
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for every child to receive a first dose of hepatitis
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B vaccine shortly after birth. The panel said the newborn
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shot is no longer necessary for babies born to mother
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who test negative for the virus. They suggest parents of
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those children delay the first dose for at least two
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months and consult with their doctors about whether or when
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to begin administering the three dose series. Supporters of the
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change said the universal recommendation regardless of risk, was overly
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broad and undermined informed choice. Retzef Levy, ACIP panelist who
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voted to change the language, said he believes the intention
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is to push parents to consider whether they want to
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give another vaccine to their child, he said. Or Levy
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is a professor of operations management at MIT, and he
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said it's actually suggesting a fundamental change in their approach
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to this vaccine, and maybe more broadly. A slew of
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Democratic governors condemned the revisions of the Hepatitis B recommendation,
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and several of their state health departments reaffirm the guidance
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for every newborn to get vaccinated, including in New York, Connecticut,
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and Maryland. The American Academy of Pediatrics continues to recommend
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routine hepatitis B vaccination for all newborns. The recommendation from
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the group of outside government advises goes to the Acting
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Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for
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final approval. Medical experts have argued that it's important to
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vaccinate all newborns for hepatitis B even if their mothers
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test negative, because babies are at risk of infection if
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their mothers receive a false negative or become infected after testing.
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Although the virus primarily spreads among adults through bodily fluid,
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young infants can also contract the virus through contact with
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infected people in their household. Some of the dissenting panel
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numbers pushed back on the change. Psychiatrist job Joseph Heblen
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called the revised guidance on hepatitis be unconscionable, while pediatrician
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Cody Meisner said the move was rooted in baseless skepticism.
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We will see hepatitis infections come back, said Meisner, a
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professor of pediatrics at the Gissel School of Mutus of
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Medicine at Dartmouth, adding the vaccine is so effective it
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does not make sense in my mind to change the
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immunization schedule. Under the revised recommendations, parents would still be
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able to vaccinate their newborns for appatitis B if they
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want to, and insurance would still pay for it. Panelists
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who voted for the change said it would not undermine
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access to the vaccines because it calls for an individual
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decision making approach that lets parents decide in consultation with doctors.
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But Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive from Michigan, who was
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representing this association of state and territorial health officials, said
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that approach would cause confusion for doctors and create practical
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barriers for patients. Many health care provaders may interpret the
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decision as the vaccine is controversial and also consider that
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they may be exposed to additional liability. She said, it
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muddies the waters, creates a false sense of scientific uncertainty,
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and places unnecessary burden on clinicians and families. The vote
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came one day after the committee heard presentations on the
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issue Thursday, but delayed a vote to review proposed language.
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Kennedy has long criticized childhood vaccines, including for hepatitis B,
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and appointed fellow critics to the Vaccine Committee on Thursday.
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Prominent vaccine critics recently hired by the CDC questioned the
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safety and necessity of the vaccine series for infants, despite
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broad consensus among medical experts that the vaccine is safe
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and effective. During the Friday discussion, Kirk Milhone, a pediatric
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cardiologist who was recently named as the panel's new chail,
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was overheard telling another panel member that he wanted to
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talk to some of the higher ups about the panel's work.
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According to a transcript of the exchange captured by video
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conferencing software and obtained by The Washington Post, Milhoan said,
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you know, I feel like you know it's sort of
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like we feel like a little bit like puppets on
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a string as opposed to really being an independent advisory counsel.
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As to beate those remarks, Milhone wrote in a text message,
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there are pressures, pressures for many organizations, federal industry, medical
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organizations that are trying to influence by ad Homan attacks
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when we are trying to look at and ask for data.
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He said he was not referring to the Trump administration
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and has not faced any pressure from Kennedy. The panel
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on Friday also voted six to four to recommend parents
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wanting their children to get second and third doses of
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the hepatitis feed vaccine to consult with doctors about getting
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a blood test paid for by insurance to show if
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those doses are needed. One member abstained. Opponents said they
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wanted to memorize the number of doses a baby might
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receive and empower parents because they said there is not
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enough evidence showing additional doses are effective. CDC data has
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shown that infants achieved full protection after three doses, and
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dissenting panel numbers noted there was no evidence that the
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multiple shots are harmful to children. The rollback of hepatitis
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B shot recommendation could pretend broader changes to come, as
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outlined by Trump. On Friday, the panel also launched sweeping
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re examination of the nation's childhood immunization schedule that included
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a presentation by a prominent lawyer for anti vaccine causes.
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In the past, the committee has often invited outside speakers
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with differing opinions, but Friday speakers have promoted skepticism about
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routine childhood shots. Some health experts and representatives of medical
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associations said the topics so confusion while conferring a government
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sponsored forum to theories long rejected by mainstream science. They
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warned that revisiting the schedule could undermine hard won trust
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in vaccines as the United States experiences regional outbreaks of
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preventable diseases such as measles and hooping cough. Aaron Siri,
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a Kennedy Allen, and a lawyer for the anti vaccine movement,
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delivered a presentation for more than ninety minutes. Siri said
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clinical trials for vaccines have not been properly performed, that
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safety surveillance after vaccines are licensed is lacking, and that
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the efficacy of vaccines in reducing deaths in spread of
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disease has been overstated. Siri and Kennedy aligned activist argue
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that the cumulative number of shots places an undue burden
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on child immune systems. Scientists counter that the schedule is
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designed to protect infants and young children at moments when
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they are most vulnerable, and that the immune system can
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safely handle far more intigens than vaccines contained. Siri petitioned
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the government in twenty twenty two on behalf of the
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anti vaccine group Informed Consent Action Network, which is run
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by Kennedy's former communications director, to reconsider its roval of
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Saintofi's standalone polio vaccine. Siri argued that the government had
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relied on inadequate data acclaim regulators rejected his scheduled appearance
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rankled Senator Bille Cassidy, Republican of Louisiana, a physician who
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has treated patients with severe hepatitis B infections, Cassidy, chair
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of the Senate's Health Committee, voted to confirm Kennedy despite
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concerns about his vaccine stance. In an ex post Thursday,
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Cassidy said that Siri makes his living suing vaccine manufacturers.
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He is presenting as if an expert on childhood vaccines,
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the ACP is totally discredited. Cassidy on Friday also argued
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Jim O'Neill, the acting CDC director, to reject the proposed
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change to the Hepatitis B BE vaccine. Ending the recommendation
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for newborns makes it more likely the number of cases
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will begin to increase again, Cassidy, a lover specialist who
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has treated patients with hepatitis B complications, wrote on X
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adding this makes America sicker. Panel member Evelyn Griffin, a
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gynecologist and critic of coronavirus vaccines, gave a brief presentation
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of aluminum adjuvants, ingredients added to vaccines to help the
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body produce an immune response strong enough to protect against disease.
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Aluminum salts, such as aluminium hydroxide or aluminium phosphate are
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a key component in more than a dozen routinely recommended vaccines.
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Aluminum has become a focal point for anti vaccine groups
28:56
that claim cumulative exposure may harm neural logical development. Vaccine
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researchers note that aluminum is present naturally in breast milk, food,
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and water at higher levels than in vaccines and is
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rapidly cleared from the body. Democrats press for expanding inquiry
29:19
into Caribbean boat strike. Republican leaders have neither ruled out
29:25
nor committed to launching a fuller investigation after revelations that
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US forces killed two survivors of the attack. There's a
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picture of Admiral Frank Bradley arriving on Capitol Hill Thursday
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for several classified meetings with lawmakers. He is in his
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suit with his stripes on his arm, three narrow ones
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and one broad one with it looks like a presidential
29:56
seal on his right breast pocket and his epaulets one
30:02
to three of five like five four stars on his epaulet.
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He is surrounded by people in coats and ties and
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identification tags. This is by Theodoric Maya and Noah Robertson.
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Democrats have stepped up their demands to expand the inquiries
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underway in Congress into a US military attack that killed
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two alleged drug smugglers who survived an initial strike on
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their boat. The push comes after a select group of
30:41
lawmakers Thursday reviewed a video of the September second operation
30:46
in the Caribbean Sea and were briefed on Capitol Hill
30:50
by Admiral Frank M. Bradley, the commander who oversaw it.
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Democrats said they want a public hearing and access to
30:58
documents related to the incident. Republicans, who controlled the Senate
31:03
and the host, joined Democrats in seeking answers from the
31:07
Defense Department after The Washington Post reported last week that
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had given a verbal order before
31:17
the strike to kill all of the boat's crew members.
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But as of Friday evening, Senator Roger Wicker, Republican of Mississippi,
31:27
who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Representative Mike D. Rogers,
31:34
Republican of Alabama, his counterpart in the House, have yet
31:38
to signal how they will proceed. Republicans have neither ruled
31:43
out nor committed to launching a fuller investigation. Spokespeople for
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Wicker and Rogers did not respond to requests for comment,
31:54
and neither made any public statements after meeting with Bradley
31:58
on Thursday. The silence has unnerved some Democrats, who say
32:03
Congress has a duty to perform rigorous oversight of the situation.
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To be very blunt, I've seen no clear sign yet
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that Republicans really are seeking an agressive investigation, said Senator
32:21
Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, a member of the Senate
32:25
Armed Surfaces Services Committee, adding I've seen no indication that
32:31
they are going to use the tools that are available
32:34
and necessary to pursue all of the facts. Blumenthal, who
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did not meet with Bradley during the Admiralds briefings for
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Committee chairmen and ranking Minority Party members Thursday, is one
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of the many Democrats pressing for more accountability. No Democrats
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voted earlier this year to confirm Hegseth's summination, and they
32:57
have repeatedly denounced his stewardship of the Entigone over the
33:00
past ten months. There needs to be a full, prompt,
33:06
penetrating Armed Services Committee investigation, beginning with subpoenas, because one
33:12
of my fears is that those records and documents well,
33:16
somehow will be somehow lost or even destroyed, and we
33:22
need to secure them right away, Blumenthal said, adding that
33:26
he specifically wants to see the written and verbal orders
33:30
that Hexeth gave before the operation of the Democrats, including
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Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schuma of New York and
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Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, have said they have confidence
33:45
that Wicker and Senator Jack Reid of Rhode Island, the
33:48
top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, will investigate. September
33:55
two mark the start of a campaign that to date
33:58
includes at least twenty two strikes on boats in the
34:01
waters all flat in America and has killed at least
34:05
eighty seven people. The Trump administration has said the strikes
34:10
are necessary to stem the flow of illegal drugs into
34:14
the United States, but they have infuriated Democrats, who have
34:19
accused the administration of ignoring the laws of war. The
34:24
administration's decision to move the USS GERALDR. Ford aircraft carrier
34:30
and other ships to the Caribbean have stoked fears that
34:33
the administration is preparing to strike Venezuela. President Donald Trump
34:39
has accused of Venezuela's leader, Nikolos Madoro, of leading a
34:44
cartel sending drugs to the US. Senators Tim Kaine, Democrat
34:51
of Virginia ran to Paul Republican Kentucky, and Adam Schiff,
34:57
Democrat of California and Schuma filed a bipartisan Wars Powers
35:04
resolution Wednesday to force another vote on blocking Trump from
35:09
attacking Venezuela at congressional authorization. A similar effort failed in
35:15
November when all but two Senate Republicans voted down the measure. Cain,
35:22
a member of the Armed Services Committee, said Friday, We've
35:27
got to have a public hearing on this. This is
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highly unusual that we're more than ninety days into this,
35:35
more than eighty people have been killed, and yet neither
35:39
the Armed Services Committee nor the Foreign Relations Committee has
35:43
had a single public hearing. Senate Majority Leader John Thune,
35:50
Republican of South Dakota, has defended Trump's military campaign broadly,
35:55
but also said he would like to see the Senate
35:58
Armed Services Committee seek at the facts of the September
36:02
second attacked. Fene said, figure out procedurally what's the correct
36:09
lawful way to do things, and determine whether or not
36:12
everything was followed, he told reporters this week. Senator Tom Cotton,
36:19
Republican of Kansas, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee
36:24
and a member of the Armed Services Committee, said after
36:28
his meeting with Bradley that he did not see a
36:31
need for further investigation. I can't say exactly what's going
36:36
to happen on the committee in the future. But I
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think what happened today with General Cain, Admiral Bradley coming up,
36:44
showing us the videos, kind of talking through everything that
36:49
led up to September second, is a very thorough review
36:52
of what happened, Cotton told reporters Thursday, referring to Chairman
36:57
of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Kine, who
37:01
also attended the sessions. Still, Cotton said he didn't object
37:07
to the Pentagon releasing the full video of the strike,
37:11
as some Democrats have demanded. Trump indicated Weinsday that he
37:16
supported releasing whatever they have. The Pentagon is in touch
37:22
with the White House about whether to release the video,
37:26
according to senior administration official who spoke on the condition
37:30
of inemity to discuss private deliberations. Anna Kelly, a White
37:37
House spokeswoman, said in his statement that the administration had
37:41
been extremely transparent with the Hill and would main forthcoming
37:47
about Trump's efforts to take on the cartels and stop
37:51
the illegal smuggling of drugs into our homeland, just as
37:56
he promised on the campaign trail. The Senate Armed Services
38:03
Committee has taken at least one step that could shed
38:07
more light on the administration's activities. The committee has asked
38:12
Admiral Alvin Holdsley, for now the US military's top officer
38:18
overseeing operations in Central and South America, to testify before
38:23
the committee next week. According to Lumenthal and another person
38:27
familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of
38:30
anonymity to describe private conversations, and there is a picture
38:36
of the head of US Southern Command, Admiral Alvin Holseley,
38:40
who has on his uniform with one star and his
38:45
stripes three narrower ones and one broad one, and all
38:50
of his medals on his chest underneath the eagle and
38:54
a star ribbon. And I'm sorry, I don't know what
38:58
that one stands for, but it is a decoration, adm.
39:03
But he has a broad white sash across his chest,
39:08
white in the center, outlined on either said with a
39:11
red blue and red white and blue stripe on either side.
39:17
Holsey is leaving his assignment well head of schedule. The
39:22
move was announced by Hegseth in October as military operations
39:27
in the region began to intensify and attract greater scrutiny
39:31
on Capitol Hill, fueling speculation that the admiral was at
39:35
odds with the Secretary over the administration's approach to combating
39:40
drug trafficking. A spokesperson for Hoseley declined to comment. A
39:46
spokesperson for Representative Adam Smith of Washington, the top Democrat
39:51
on the House of Armed Services Committee, said that the
39:54
panel also requested briefings with the US Southern Command, though
39:59
not Withhold specifically. Rogers, the host's Armed Services Committee chair,
40:05
said earlier this week that the committee would not hold
40:09
public hearings on the matter in the near future. Representative
40:13
Don Bacon of Nebraska, and a member of the Armed
40:18
Services Committee and a rare Republican who has openly criticized Hegseth,
40:24
said he supported releasing the video of the September second
40:27
operation and called on Holseley to meet with the committee.
40:31
I believe his testimony could be critical, Bacon wrote in
40:35
a text message to the Post. Lawmakers who attended the
40:39
briefing with Bradley on Thursday asked for more information about
40:44
the strikes, including public release of the full video, the
40:48
written execute auto related to the strike, and any communications
40:53
Bradley had as the operation unfolded. According to two people
40:58
familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of
41:01
anonymity to describe the classified sessions. Reid and Wicker requested
41:08
copies of the execute orders related to the strikes in September,
41:13
without success. Read too has pressed for a more complete
41:18
accounting of what transpired. The materials are seen as essentral
41:23
pieces of evidence in determining how and why the military
41:27
leaders involved in the operation judged the two people who
41:31
survived the first strike were still legitimate targets. Bradley supported
41:37
sharing the materials when asked by lawmakers Thursday, but noted
41:42
that he alone was not authorized to release them. Two
41:45
of the people said. Senator Janine Chaine, Democrat of New Hampshire,
41:53
a senior member of the Armed Services Committee, called for
41:57
a briefing for all lawmakers in decline sassification of the
42:01
administration's rationale for the strikes. She said in his statement
42:05
that it is essential for lawmakers to hear directly from
42:09
the revelant military commanders, not just Secretary hag Seth and
42:15
his appointees spin on these operations. Senator Tammy Duckworth, Democrat
42:22
of Illinois, another member of the Armed Services Committee, said
42:26
she had requested copies of the after action reports and
42:30
intelligence debriefs from the pilots and drone operators who carried
42:35
out the missions. I'd like to see all of that,
42:39
Duckworth said on CNN, adding now whether or not my
42:44
Republican colleagues are going to stand up and force that
42:47
to happen is a whole different question. And bearing to
42:54
an article about Trump hiring a new White House ballroom architect,
43:00
and although the president and the original architect had clashed
43:05
over the size of the project, the decisive factor was
43:09
the small firm's limited capacity to handle such an enormous project.
43:16
And there is a picture of the east wing of
43:19
the White House completely demolished and totally. I mean it
43:25
is destruction personified along that beautiful area of the White
43:31
House now with cranes and all kinds of equipment there.
43:38
And you see in the background one of the gates
43:41
that used to enter the White House grounds with sort
43:43
of a private inference all on the east side that
43:47
used to be the first ladies wing of the White House,
43:50
so to speak, the East wing, But that area is
43:55
completely gone now. So here's the article by Jonathan Edwards
44:00
and Dan Diamond. President Donald Trump has replaced the architect
44:05
he handpicked to design his White House ballroom, according to
44:10
three people familiar with the project, ending the involvement of
44:14
a boutique firm whose selections raised questions from the start
44:18
about whether it had the capacity to complete the massive,
44:22
high profile endeavor. For more than three months, James McCreary,
44:28
the second and his namesake architecture firm, led the effort
44:32
to design Trump's three hundred million dollar ballroom building until
44:37
late October, when he stopped working on the project. One
44:41
of the people said it is unclear whether mccrey stepped
44:44
back voluntary or voluntarily, but the men parted on good
44:51
terms and remained so. According to one of the people
44:54
familiar with the project, all of whom spoke on the
44:57
condition of anonymity to discover us internal conversations. Trump and
45:03
McCreary had clashed over the president's desire to keep increasing
45:08
the size of the building, but it was McCreary's firms
45:12
small workforce and inability to hit deadlines that became the
45:17
decisive factor in him leaving. One of the people said,
45:23
Trump has chosen architecturalum Bhraines, who has been designing and
45:29
renovating government buildings in Washington for two decades or four
45:34
decades to pick up the mantle. According to two of
45:37
the people, Brain's firm has handled a number of large
45:42
Washington projects dating back decades, including projects involving the main
45:49
Treasury building near the White House, the Federal Reserve, and
45:52
the headquarters of the General Services Administration. Brains led a
45:58
billion dollar renovation of the Pentagon immediately after the terrorist
46:02
tacks of September eleven, two thousand and one, which he
46:06
described as his proudest moment in a twenty seventeen Washington post.
46:12
Uphed his architectural approach, which includes modernist buildings, is different
46:17
from McCreary's classical style. As we begin to transition into
46:25
the next stage of development on the White House Ballroom,
46:29
the Administration is excited to share that the highly talented
46:33
Shalombraines has joined the team of experts to carry out
46:37
President Trump's vision on building what would be the greatest
46:41
addition to the White House since the Oval Office, the
46:45
White House Ballroom. White House spokesman Davis Ingeld said in
46:49
a written statement, adding, Shalom is an accomplished architect whose
46:55
work has shaped the architectural identity of a nation's capital
46:59
for decades, and his experience will be the great asset
47:04
to the completion of this project. The White House and
47:08
Biquery's representative have said that McCreery remains involved in the
47:12
project in a consulting role. A top Trump deputy said
47:18
Thursday that the White House expects to submit ballroom plans
47:22
this month to the National Capitol Planning Commission, a twelve
47:26
member board charged by Congress with overseeing federal construction projects.
47:32
Will Shriff, who serves as the President's staff secretary and
47:38
was tapped by Trump this summer to lead the NCPC,
47:42
which said at a public meeting Thursday that the commission
47:45
would review the ballroom plans at a normal and deliberative pace.
47:51
He said the other White House officials had not shared
47:54
information about the ballroom with him, but that he expected
47:57
more details about the project to home comes soon. Sheriff
48:02
said at the meeting, I'm excited for NCPC to play
48:06
a constructive role in what I expect would be one
48:10
of the most important projects in the true core of Washington,
48:14
d C. For many years to come. The lack of
48:19
NCPC involvement in a project until months into delimination and
48:25
site prep is not normal, especially for one as large
48:29
and symbolically meaningful as the ballroom building, a security fence,
48:35
and tennis pavilion, neither of which involved the White House itself.
48:40
Each took more than a year to move through the NCPC,
48:46
but formally submitting. Before formally submitting proposals, planners at federal
48:53
agencies typically contact NCPC step as part of a rigorous
48:58
four step review, ending with presentation at a public commission meeting.
49:06
At each stage, commissioned staff and commissioners give feedback on
49:11
details ranging from esthetics to environmental impacts. In such cases,
49:17
agencies have typically held off on demolition, site prep, or
49:23
construction until getting the commission's approval. The White House has
49:29
shared few details about the project's specifications beyond its seating
49:34
capacity square footage, and that the government plans to rely
49:38
on private donations to fund construction. The approach has drawn
49:43
complaints from outside architects, historic preservationists, and Democrats, who say
49:51
Trump owes the public more transparency about a major project
49:56
that will reshape the White House's grounds. From the view
50:01
I saw of the demolition, it certainly will, that's my opinion.
50:05
White House officials have said they did not seek INCPC
50:10
approval to demolish the east wing because only new construction,
50:15
not demolition, falls under the compis's purview. And there's a
50:22
picture of the new ballroom on a table in the
50:26
Oval office, which is very large. Historic preservationists have said
50:34
the White House should have waited for federal advisory panels
50:38
to review and sign off on the project. Senator Richard Blumenthal,
50:43
Democratic Connecticut, on Thursday introduced legislation dubbed the No Palaces
50:48
Act that would require demolition on the White House grounds
50:52
to trigger NCPC review, require congressional authorization to use private
50:58
funds for White House instruction, and impose other restrictions on projects.
51:04
Members of the Congress would also be allowed to file
51:07
an injunction to enforce the law. There ought to be
51:13
a right on the part of a member of Congress
51:16
to seek a court order stopping this kind of absolute,
51:19
atrocious destruction. It's not Donald Trump's house, It's the people's house,
51:26
Bloomenthal told The Post. Trump has had his own concerns
51:31
about the project, including whether his original architect could finish
51:35
the job on Trump's timeline before the end of his
51:40
second term. The ballroom building at ninety thousand square feet
51:48
and estimated to hold nearly one thousand guests and cost
51:54
three hundred million dollars was from the start of herculean
51:59
task from McCreary, said people familiar with his firm operations.
52:04
That might have been true for any firm given Trump's
52:08
rushed timeline, but it was especially difficult for the head
52:12
of a small firm better equipped to design churches, libraries,
52:18
and homes. Trump's selection of the firm raised operasm on
52:23
architects and planning experts worried that his shop, as small
52:27
as mcquery's couldn't complete such a large project in little
52:31
more than three years. One architect said federal officials tasked
52:35
with a voting contracts would normally consider only firms four
52:40
times bigger than McCreary's to take on projects of that scale.
52:45
Those concerns grew almost immediately, according to one of the
52:50
people who spoke on the condition of anonymity about the project.
52:55
Everybody realized he couldn't do it, the person said. A
53:00
spokesman did not respond to requests for an interview. The
53:04
renovation represents one of the biggest changes to the White
53:08
House in its two hundred and thirty three year history,
53:13
and has yet to undergo any formal public review. The
53:18
administration has not publicly provided key details among the building,
53:23
such as its planned height. The structure also is expected
53:27
to include a suite of offices previously located in the
53:31
East Wing. The White House has also declined to specify
53:36
the status of emergency BUNKA located beneath the East Wing,
53:41
citing matters of national security. In the week since the
53:47
switch from mcgery to Bahrains, crews of dozens of workers
53:52
have continued to prep the site for construction, driving piles,
53:58
stockpiling materials, reinforced concrete pipes, and amassing an array of cranes, drills,
54:06
and other heavy machinery. Voters obtained by The Washington Post
54:10
show on Wednesday, they erected a towering crane anchored into
54:17
a concrete paddock. On Tuesday, Trump said during a cabinet
54:23
meeting that the pile drivers operate all night and have
54:27
created a disagreement in his marriage. The President said he
54:32
loves the sound, while First Lady Milania Trump has asked
54:35
him to make the constant pounding stop, a request he's denied. Sorry, darling,
54:43
that's progressed, Trump said. He told her my last article,
54:49
the World Cup has always been about politics. The tournament
54:55
played a role in early twentieth century nation building, Jonathan
54:59
Wilson and says in a new book, and it is
55:02
still political today. And there's a picture of FIFAFA President
55:08
Gianni Infatino handing the World Cup trophy to the US
55:14
President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on August twenty second.
55:20
And Trump is in his signature blue coat or blue suit.
55:25
This time he has no tie but an open collared
55:28
white shirt but his signature red hat with forty forty
55:33
five dash forty seven on the side, and Trump writes
55:38
something every I can't read the rest of the writing
55:41
on the shirt. And then the FIFA president with a
55:46
wrapped gold trophy soccer ball in his hand to give
55:52
to President Trump by Ishaan Thoror. On Friday, the build
55:59
up to the twenty twenty six World Cup begins in earnest.
56:03
The leaders of the tournament's host countries, President Donald Trump,
56:07
Mexican President Claudia Schinbaum, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Kearney
56:13
is set to appear at the Kennedy's Center in Washington
56:17
for a draw to allocate the forty eight participating teams
56:21
into groups. Once that's done, soccer pundits get a picture
56:27
of the exciting matchups ahead, and fans can start planning
56:31
their itineraries for what will be the biggest tournament of
56:34
its kind yet. But the event is more than just
56:38
the game. FIFA, the sports government body, will be awarding
56:43
its own Peace Prize, and Trump, who has spent months
56:47
clamoring for a Nobel recognition, is expected to receive his
56:52
newly invented bubble. Trump is expected to tether himself to
56:56
the tournament, and like the Emir of Guitar twenty twenty two, hosts,
57:01
will be on the field of the final next July,
57:05
handing out the famous trophy to the victors. The prestige
57:09
he could soak up in the moment might well obscure
57:11
other concerns that loom over the tournament, including the staggering
57:16
cost of tickets in many stadiums and the difficulties and
57:20
obstacles that US immigration authorities may face for foreign fans
57:25
hoping to attend. The World Cup has always been embedded
57:30
in national and global politics, as acclaimed soccer writer Jonathan
57:35
Wilson's sketches in his new book The Power and the
57:38
Glory The History of the World Cup. The tournament played
57:42
a role in early twentieth century nation building, helped both
57:47
buttress and undermine autocratic governments, and always reflects the shifting
57:52
politics and culture of a globilized world. What distinguishes the
57:58
World Cup from an event like the Olympics, which also
58:02
draws on countless millions of casual fans. The Olympics has
58:07
different sports, and different countries take different sports with a
58:11
different degree of seriousness. The World Cup is the one
58:15
global event where everybody is focused on the same thing.
58:20
Everybody's focused on it, and it's pretty much the only
58:24
sport that pretty much all of the world plays and
58:29
cares about. And with that in today's reading of The
58:33
Washington Post foot Saturday, December sixth of twenty twenty five,
58:39
Please continue listening to programming on Radio I, take care
58:43
and stay warm. Bye,