[0:04]Welcome to Washington today on CPAN Radio for Thursday, April 9th, 2026. NATO Secretary General Mark Rut says he sensed President Donald Trump's disappointment with European allies who
[0:14]are not helping at the start of the war with Iran, but he insists they are stepping up now, especially to safeguard the Straight of Hormuz, which is still effectively closed by Iran as they claim Israeli violations of the current
[0:25]ceasefire. General Rut also says, "Let me be clear, the alliance is not whistling past the graveyard, as you would say in the United States." US House Democrats try to pass a war powers resolution to stop President Donald
[0:36]Trump from waging war on Iran without congressional authorization, but a Republican presiding over the brief House session does not recognize them to make the motion. International Monetary
[0:47]Fund Managing Director Cristina Gorgva says the Iran war will mean the IMF will downgrade its forecast for the world economy. First Lady Melania Trump criticizes what she calls lies linking
[0:58]me to the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein, the late convicted sex offender. She says she's not an Epstein victim. She's never been friends with Epste and Epstein did not introduce her to her
[1:07]husband, President Donald Trump. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Stomayor is asked by a University of Alabama law school student about bridging political divides with other justices. Governor Wes Moore,
[1:18]Democrat of Maryland, takes part in Reverend Al Sharpton's National Action Network Conference in New York City. And NASA expresses confidence in the Artemis 2 moon mission capsule heat shield that will allow the crew of four to land
[1:29]safely back on Earth Friday night. Reuters writes that NATO Secretary General Mark Ruta has briefed some capitals that US President Donald Trump wants concrete commitments within the
[1:40]next few days for help securing the straight of Hormuz. Three European diplomats told Reuters on Thursday. Rut met with Trump in Washington on Wednesday amid tensions within the alliance over the Iran war. US president
[1:52]has repeatedly called NATO a paper tiger and threatened to withdraw from the 32 member transatlantic alliance in recent weeks, arguing that Washington's European allies have relied on US
[2:02]security guarantees while providing inadequate support for the USIsraeli bombing campaign in Iran. That was from Reuters. President Trump writing on Truth Social Wednesday night in all
[2:12]caps, NATO wasn't there when we needed them and they won't be there if we need them again. Remember Greenland, that big poorlyun piece of ice. Three exclamation
[2:22]points signed President DJT. Mark Rut spoke today at the Reagan Institute's peace through strength center in Washington about the future of NATO and NATO count's actions concerning the US
[2:33]and Israeli war with Iran. >> Let me be clear, this alliance is not whistling past the graveyard as you would say in the United States.
[2:44]Allies recognize and I recognize we are in a period of profound change in the transatlantic alliance. Europe is assuming a greater and fair share of the
[2:55]task of providing for its conventional defense and from that there will be no going back and nor should there be. This is a move from unhealthy
[3:06]codependence to a transatlantic alliance grounded in true partnership. For increased investments and improved
[3:15]production to matter, they must be accompanied by a mindset shift. That mindset shift is well underway. But these shifts are often only fully
[3:27]appreciated with the benefit of time and the space between can be precarious. Let's consider the most recent events.
[3:38]When it came time to provide the logistical and other support the United States needed in Iran, some allies were a bit slow to say the least.
[3:50]In fairness, they were also a bit surprised. To maintain the element of surprise for the initial strikes, President Trump opted not to inform allies ahead of time. And I understand
[4:01]that. But what I see when I look across Europe today is allies providing a massive amount of support, basing,
[4:10]logistics, and other measures to ensure the powerful US military succeeds in denying Iran a nuclear weapon and
[4:19]degrading its capacity to export chaos. Nearly without exception, allies are doing everything the United States is
[4:29]asking. They have heard and are responding to President Trump's request. The United Kingdom, United Kingdom is leading a coalition of countries that
[4:39]are aligning the military, the political and the economic tools that will be required to ensure free passage through the straight of Hermus.
[4:50]This is evidence of a mindset shift. And right now, European allies play leading roles in NATO's operations to secure our eastern flank, the Baltic
[5:01]Sea, and the Arctic, acting rapidly to field personnel, aircraft, naval vessels, and more to bolster our security in the face of emerging threats
[5:12]in these regions. >> The NATO Secretary General Mark Rut at the Ronald Reagan Institute in Washington, part of his opening speech. He met with President Donald Trump and other top administration officials on
[5:24]Wednesday and today Rachel Hoff Reagan Institute policy director asked him about it. >> Understanding of course that with your visit to the White House yesterday, your meetings with President Trump, Secretary
[5:34]Rubio, Secretary Hegsth, of course in many ways diplomatic conversations must remain private in a certain extent to in order to work. Um but what what can you
[5:44]share with us from those conversations as we think about the future of the alliance? Well, I mean, as they would say in diplomatic circles, these conversations were frank and open.
[5:55]>> Um, which is good. I mean, they may have been they even were candidates, franken, >> but that's good because we are amongst friends here. I mean, the president, myself, we like each other. We are good
[6:06]friends for many years now. And and I'd rather have the conversation on the table instead of tiptoeing around it. Um
[6:15]and um uh I I sensed his uh disappointment about the fact that he felt that too many allies were not with him. And I explained to him yesterday, I
[6:26]said, "Hey, Mr. President, clearly the overwhelming majority of Europeans have done what the US asked of him and what was previously agreed in these
[6:36]circumstances." Uh and yes, sometimes it takes a bit of time, but hey, guess what? We have coalitions in Europe. we have sometimes uh the political home form to take care of. So sometimes it takes a couple of days but then we pull
[6:48]together and almost the whole of Europe did um for the US to project power on the world stage through its partners in Europe and and the U NATO is there of
[6:58]course to protect the Europeans but also to protect the United States. Um, as as Yonster, the Norwegian prime minister said, these these huge nuclear submarines in Russia are not there to
[7:10]attack Norway. They are there to attack the United States. And it is thanks to the alliance that we are able to make sure that they are not able to get in a position to do that. So, uh, and this is
[7:20]just an example where both the US mainland and Europe stay stronger and safer because of the alliance. So, it was a good conversation. It was open and candid. Um, and I I clearly felt his his
[7:32]disappointment, which again to a certain extent I understand. >> NATO Secretary General Mark Rut at the Ronald Reagan Institute in Washington. Later in that program, an audience
[7:41]member asked him about a viral moment. Mark Rut in June 2025 referred to President Donald Trump as daddy. >> Alina Shrazi from Daily Mail. So based
[7:53]on your conversation with the president yesterday, do you think that he is still going to stay in NATO since you know him so well? And second of all, do you still consider him daddy after yesterday?
[8:04]>> Well, on on on the daddy thing, this this is a language problem. What what happens is the following. I have to explain to you because it it follows me a little bit. Um I can assure you now we
[8:15]we we had a sort of uh pre-summit meeting the president and I in June in the H and and he had been very angry that day with Iran and with Israel. Uh this was in June last year and I and in
[8:26]Dutch you would say hey the translation of your father is daddy and I would say I said hey yeah sometimes daddy has to be angry so I was not calling him my daddy but saying but of course daddy has
[8:38]has also a special connotation uh and I now have to live as this the rest of my life and I own it and the president owns it because he brought out t-shirts he made
[8:48]a movie daddy is home when he returned to the United States was so funny and this is I like him so much. But uh hey yeah you make mistakes and this is when
[8:59]you are not a native speaker. Sorry for sorry for that. No again as I said the the conversation was really open. It was really between friends but is really also clearly his disappointment.
[9:10]>> NATO Secretary General Mark Rut at the Reagan Institute in Washington DC. DPA, the German news outlet reporting that EU foreign policy chief Kayakalis on
[9:21]Thursday rejected criticism that Europe is not doing enough in the Middle East, calling such claims unfair. She said to CNN, "Of course we can do more." It was
[9:31]during a visit to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, but she pointed to Europe's own security challenges, noting that Russia's war against Ukraine has been ongoing for four years. She said, "We haven't seen, you know, really the
[9:43]Gulf countries helping us there." Adding that support can't be only a one-way street. Reporting from DPA. Here's part of the interview where she's asked about President Trump's comments about the
[9:54]future of the US in NATO. >> The US Donald Trump very specifically has described NATO as a paper tiger. following his uh meeting with the
[10:06]secretary general Maur he said they weren't there when we needed them. They won't be there again if we need them. It is a criticism I know echoed through
[10:16]this Gulf region. I understand the Europeans didn't want this war. Um they've kept their support to a defensive posture.
[10:28]How concerned are you about the US position with regard NATO at this point? Well, NATO is the strongest defense alliance there is in the world and we
[10:38]need to keep it that way. We need to strengthen NATO, not weaken it. And of course, all the misunderstandings that we have between each other are definitely weakening it. And you know,
[10:49]coming from a country that lost actually a lot of soldiers in the wars that, you know, US uh asked us to participate, it
[10:58]is very very painful to hear that this has all been in vain. I mean hundreds of thousands of European soldiers fought in
[11:08]Afghanistan in in Iraq because US asked us to and now to say that we have not done anything. I mean this is you know
[11:19]not true and not fair. >> Do you fear retribution from the U from the US at this point? Does Europe fear retribution?
[11:29]Well, we need to uh definitely keep uh you know NATO together and not go into these disputes because uh who are benefiting from this are our adversaries
[11:41]because when we are not together we are both weaker. I mean that applies to us as much as it applies to Europe. So in this volatile security situation in the
[11:52]world we really need to work together to make it stronger uh and not weaker. Kaak Kalis is the European Union high representative for foreign affairs and
[12:02]security policy originally from Estonia. Interviewed today by CNN in the United Arab Emirates. The British Prime Minister Kier Starmer was also in UAE today meeting with that country's
[12:13]president talking about the war with Iran and efforts to ensure the straight of Hormuz is opened and remains open which is not currently the case. NBC News writing the truth between the United States and Iran was in doubt this
[12:24]morning following Israel's deadly new attacks in Lebanon. Iran said the the strikes which killed hundreds were a grave violation of the deal and warned of strong responses. America and Israel
[12:35]insisted Lebanon was not included in the ceasefire though mediator Pakistan says it was. Also from NBC news there was little sign that the crucial straightfor
[12:45]trade route had meaningfully reopened despite American claims of an increase in traffic. Iran even suggested it had put sea mines into the waterway as it offered alternative routes for the few
[12:56]ships transiting the straight. Again from NBC News, the US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landal spoke about the ceasefire today at the Atlantic Council in Washington. Could you give us
[13:07]a feeling where you think the state of the uh uh US military campaign is now, the prospects for resolution of the conflict? And are our Gulf friends right
[13:17]to look at this also through uh potentially uh a a growth in economic integration lens? >> Sure. I mean just to go to the first part of your question first, you know,
[13:29]we we um are trying to have a lasting and effective ceasefire. Uh I think that's something
[13:40]that that that both sides have uh expressed a willingness for. it has proven uh a little you know more elusive
[13:49]in the details as to how how far does that extend, who does that cover, what theaters does that cover. Uh but you
[13:58]know we are uh you know in talks as we speak to try to nail all that down. I
[14:07]think uh the United States has uh you know effectively accomplished the military objectives that were uh our goals from the outset in terms of
[14:18]degrading uh the missile capability uh the naval capabilities that the the delivery systems capabilities particularly in in the south and the
[14:27]Gulf. So, uh, you know, I I am hopeful. Again, you never know in this business. These things are necessarily somewhat tentative and the Iranian regime is, uh,
[14:37]even more opaque than than usual these days. But I think we are, um, working very hard to bring the, uh, current uh,
[14:48]military uh, campaign to a close. And I think going to the broader point you made the second point it is somewhat telling that
[14:58]Iran uh targeted a lot of uh commercial interests in this. I mean data centers I think Amazon I mean I think they targeted you know private business
[15:09]opportunities. I think you know they um understand that you know private enterprise in the Gulf in a sense is the
[15:20]is what's promoting stability in a lot of those uh countries and so they regard those uh as uh military targets I think
[15:29]very uh you know erroneously uh but I think it's somewhat telling uh to to get to your point that that is their perspective Deputy Secretary of State Christopher
[15:41]Landau today at the Atlantic Council in Washington DC. Another story from NBC News. President Donald Trump said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to dial back Israel's military campaign in Lebanon ahead of
[15:52]peace talks in Pakistan. Trump told NBC News in a phone interview, "I spoke with BB and he's going to low-key it. I just think we have to be sort of a little
[16:02]more lowkey." Wednesday was the deadliest day of Israeli strikes in Lebanon since the war began. And Netanyahu on Thursday said there's no ceasefire in Lebanon and Israel will
[16:12]keep striking Iranbacked Hezbollah militants there until security is restored in northern Israel. But he said he authorized direct negotiations with Lebanon as soon as possible aimed at
[16:22]disarming Hezbollah. Again from NBC News, President Donald Trump writing today on Truth Social, "All US ships, aircraft, and military personnel with additional ammunition, weaponry, and
[16:33]anything else that is appropriate necessary for the lethal prosecution and destruction of an already substantially degraded enemy will remain in place in and around Iran until such time as the
[16:42]real agreement reached is fully complied with. If for any reason it is not, which is highly unlikely, then the shooting starts bigger and better and stronger than anyone has ever seen before. It was
[16:53]agreed a long time ago and despite all of the fake rhetoric to the contrary, no nuclear weapons and the straight of Hormuz will be open and safe. In the meantime, our great military is loading up and resting, looking forward to
[17:05]actually its next conquest. America is back. That post from President Trump. Huffington Post. Huff Post writes that Republicans easily rebuffed an effort by
[17:16]Democrats to force the House of Representatives to vote on President Donald Trump's Iran war on Thursday. House and Senate are both on vacation, but each chamber periodically holds short proform sessions where a
[17:27]Republican member gavvels a chamber into session then immediately gavvels out. During a House proform session on Thursday, Congressman Glenn Ivy, Democrat of Maryland, tried to interrupt the proceedings to demand the House vote
[17:38]on a war powers resolution. It didn't work. Congressman Chris Smith, Republic of New Jersey, ignored him and banged the gavl. That's the reporting from the Huffington Post. Here's the 10 seconds.
[17:49]>> Pursuant to clause 13 of Rule One, the House stands adjourned until 2:30 p.m. on Monday, April 13th, 2026. Congressman Chris Smith presiding with
[18:02]about half dozen Democratic members on the House floor shouting their request to be recognized to ask unanimous consent to pass a War Powers Act resolution to prohibit President Trump from conducting military action against
[18:12]Iran without congressional approval. They were not recognized and their microphones therefore were not turned on and so you could barely hear them in that official House audio and the video
[18:24]also provided by the House. But those Democrats then went outside on the steps of the US capital building and held a news conference. Here is Glenn Ivy, Democrat of Maryland. >> This morning, we went to the House floor
[18:35]to demand that the Congress take up the War Powers Resolution that's been under consideration before, but we have to get back to it again. Uh we've been at war for 40 days. We've only been in session
[18:46]for 33, which is another part of this uh pattern for the speaker being away and being on vacation instead of being here and getting the people's work done. And we know that things are out of control
[18:56]over there as we've seen. Uh we've had problem with the uh the straight of Hormuz. We're falling behind on where we should be. In fact, Iran's in a better place with respect to the straight than
[19:06]they were before this war started. So, and also the nuclear materials, no gains on that. The the president said in June that they'd blown them all up, that they'd obliterated it, I think was the
[19:17]term that he used. Now, they're kind of saying that we they may have some more there and we need to go get it. And we've heard from other sources there's a thousand pounds of uranium that's still around in in Iran. So it's on the wrong
[19:29]track. He's been terrible with the wheel. The threats of uh total annihilation were, you know, beyond the pale. It's time for Congress to step in and take control of the wheel.
[19:40]>> Congressman Glenn Ivy, Democrat from Maryland, with other House Democrats and reporters on the steps of the capital building today. Another NBC News article. Dozens of congressional Democrats called for President Donald
[19:50]Trump to be removed from office Tuesday after he used extreme rhetoric against Iran that included threatening to wipe out a whole civilization. More than 70 lawmakers, including a handful of
[20:01]senators, said in separate social media posts that Trump's cabinet needs to invoke the 25th amendment to the Constitution and declare him unfit to serve. Congress should impeach and in
[20:13]convict him or both. That was from NBC News. Two House Democrats today were asked at the news conference about the possibility of impeachment. You'll hear from Maline Dean of Pennsylvania and
[20:24]Sarah Jacobs of California. >> Quick question. Representative Dean, you led the impeach the second impeach. You were part of the second impeachment of President Trump. Is impeachment something that Democrats could consider or even be on the table at this point?
[20:36]>> Well, I know you know uh that we went through two >> we went through two impeachments uh with Donald Trump as a result of his high crimes and misdemeanors. just some of
[20:45]them uh captured uh in uh the first term. Uh as you all know, we are in the minority. So bringing forward impeachment right now uh while he is
[20:55]guilty of a litany of high crimes and misdemeanors, uh I don't think it is a best use of our time. Let us get into the majority. Let us get a Senate majority and then hold this president to
[21:06]account. But for right now, I call upon and I think about those days when I was a manager during the second impeachment and we were we made our closing arguments on the floor of the Senate and
[21:18]what did Mr. McConnell do? And I say this to warn leader Thun. You do not want to be in the same position that Mitch McConnell is in for all of
[21:27]history. Voting not to convict the president for his high crimes and misdemeanors of inciting an insurrection at this very place where Capitol police officers were beaten. More than five
[21:38]lost their lives. You do not want to be in that same place, Mr. Thun, to uh wave a flag and allow the president to continue this. So the president needs to be held accountable. will do it first
[21:50]through the war powers resolution and get control back for Congress and second through elections to unseat these people who are amazingly silent. >> I just want to add our Republican
[22:00]colleagues saw the exact same tweets that we saw over the weekend, right? Our Republican colleagues know they know that threatening genocide is not acceptable. I urge them to come back and
[22:11]all options should be on the table. They should come back. They should realize that their president is putting us in harm's way. is making us less safe and they should also be demanding impeachment. They should also be
[22:23]demanding the 25th amendment. They should be here with us on behalf of the American people. This is not a partisan issue. Threatening genocide is not a partisan issue. I guarantee you if it
[22:34]was a Democratic president who threatened genocide, we would all be standing here too saying the exact same thing because this is not about right versus left. This is about what is right
[22:44]for our country. And so don't ask us about impeachment. Ask the majority. The majority who should be standing up for the American people. >> Congresswoman Sarah Jacobs, Democrat from California. And before that,
[22:54]Congresswoman Maline Dean, Democrat from Pennsylvania, with other House Democrats speaking to reporters on the steps of the Capitol building. House and Senate return to session in Washington next
[23:05]week from a two-e recess. And the Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat from New York, said on Wednesday the Senate will be voting on a war powers resolution dealing with Iran. Wednesday
[23:16]night, Senator John Federman, Democrat of Pennsylvania, told Fox News he'll be voting no. >> What our military's accomplished is is profound and significant and important.
[23:25]I mean, it has effectively destroyed its capabilities and destroyed its navy and they really haven't been able to really
[23:34]put a a glove on us through this entire uh epic fury campaign. And furthermore, I would like to remind people too, every
[23:44]single Democrat running for president and every single Democrat in the Senate said we can never allow them to acquire nuclear weapon. And now if you want to
[23:55]talk about a war crime, you know, Iran is a 47y old war crime what they continue to behave. So, you know, I as a Democrat, I supported what President
[24:07]Trump did, you know, to actually call Iran accountable and I think it's been successful as you have you've discussed and I agree it's not it's not finished
[24:17]yet, you know, but now where we are now, we are 38 days into it. I mean, the the Ukrainian war is in over four years. You know, all these other kinds of conflicts
[24:29]are years years. We're not even in for 40 days yet. So, where are we at right now? Yes. It's like if you make these kinds of let's let's go for the 25th
[24:39]amendment and then you know then we have we have a ceasefire then it's like t taco taco taco. I mean I mean you know like you can't have it both ways. I
[24:50]mean, so where where we are, it's like strange to be gleeful gleeful that, you know, that that we still have to accomplish some things and make these
[25:00]kinds of statements. I mean, you know, I'm old enough to remember we used to root for an for our military and we would all agree that Iran is the world's leading terrorism underwriter. I mean,
[25:12]they are the part of the evil empire. I mean, remember what Iran's done? You know, they underwritten 10 107. They have killed thousands of Americans over
[25:24]the near five decades. You know, like where we are right now, yeah, we have to finish it out without a doubt. But where we are now, you know, as the first
[25:35]president to actually do something about it and remind, that's why I'll be the only Democrat that support this. >> Senator John Federman, Democrat from Pennsylvania on Fox News Wednesday
[25:46]night. Associated Press writing, "The American economy slowed by last fall's 43day government shutdown grew at a sluggish 0.5% annual pace from October through December." The Commerce
[25:57]Department reported Thursday in downgrade of its previous estimate. The White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hasset was interviewed today on the Fox Business Channel about
[26:08]the US economy amid the ceasefire with Iran. >> What would you say the impact is on the US economy so far? I mean, we know, Kevin, that we just came off of the
[26:18]worst quarter for stocks in several years. We know that oil prices have risen 50%. What would be your expectation for the impact on economic
[26:28]growth uh in the coming quarters? Well, I mean, absent uh this event, then when you and I talked about this last time, I said that because AI is creating
[26:38]so much productivity because President Trump's policies, the D-RG and the taxes are causing an investment boom, an investment boom that considers uh or continues right to this this day. You
[26:50]know, we just got advanced durable numbers that said that orders for capital goods and shipments of capital goods are at an all-time high. All of that is happening because of optimism that President Trump not only will
[27:02]resolve this in the short term, but in the long term, his policies are going to create a golden age. And so I uh began the year with a guess that we'd probably be in the four to five range for
[27:12]economic growth because of all this. And and I'll stick by those numbers. I think this is a temporary uh distraction that will very very quickly go away. Uh you you saw that when you saw the market
[27:23]celebrate yesterday when they when they thought that this would be over. I think our excellent uh negotiating team will will finish the job and then we'll be back on track to one of the best years ever.
[27:33]>> Wow. So you still look for four to 5% growth for this year. >> Yes. That's right. That's right. Cuz productivity is already giving us two and a half and so if we get a little out of everything else then you could get
[27:45]way north of three. >> White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hasset today on the Fox Business Channel. Reuters writing that US inflation increased as expected in
[27:54]February and likely rose further in March amid the war with Iran. A trend that is expected to discourage the Federal Reserve from cutting interest rates for a while. The personal consumption expenditures price index
[28:06]climbed 0.4% after an unrevised 0.3 gain in January, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis said on
[28:16]Thursday. That was from Reuters. from Al Jazer. The International Monetary Fund has warned of a potential inflationary crisis with the US Israel war on Iran, darkening the economic outlook, whether
[28:27]or not the fragile ceasefire holds. IMF managing director Cristina Gorgva said on Thursday that the fund will downgrade its forecast for the world economy next
[28:37]week. Reporting from Al Jazer, Gorgva gave the curtain raiser speech today in Washington to open the IMF World Bank meetings. How large is the growth
[28:47]impact? The answer very much depends on whether the ceasefire holds and leads to lasting
[28:55]peace. One, and two, how much damage the war leaves in its wake. Uh given the uncertainties, our world
[29:05]economic outlook to be published next week. You can see Pierre Olivier Goringa here on the first row sitting comfortably
[29:17]because the word work is done. It would present a range of scenarios going from a relatively swift normalization which
[29:27]would be of course the best uh option to a middle scenario to one where oil and gas prices stay much higher for much
[29:38]longer. and second round effects take hold. All these scenarios start from a situation
[29:47]where strong AI and tech investment, supportive financial conditions and other factors were driving considerable
[29:58]momentum in the world economy. In fact, had it not been for this shock, the world would have been in a such a much
[30:10]better place than we would have been upgrading our growth projections. But now, even in our most hopeful scenario,
[30:20]we would have a downgrade. Why? because of significant infrastructure damage, supply disruptions,
[30:30]losses of confidence, and other scaring effects. They're already baked in. >> The IMF managing director Cristina Gorgva today in Washington. More from
[30:41]the Alazer article. The world economy had proven resilient in the face of United States President Donald Trump's decision to impose sweeping taxes last
[30:51]year on imports from most of the world's economies. In January, the 191 country IMF had upgraded the global growth outlook to 3.3%. And was poised to do so
[31:02]again when its new forecast came out next Tuesday. But the war, which began on February 28th, changed everything. The conflict has driven up the price of oil and natural gas, damaged oil
[31:12]refineries, tanker terminals, and other energy infrastructure, disrupted shipments of fertilizer that the world's farmers depend on, and damaged the confidence of businesses and consumers.
[31:22]That was from Alazer. Wall Street today, the Dow up 275, NASDAQ up 187, S&P up 41. Washington
[31:33]today continues in a moment. Friday on C-SPAN Ceasefire, a bipartisan conversation on President Trump's handling of the Iran conflict with former West Virginia independent Senator
[31:44]Joe Mansion and former North Carolina Republican Governor Pat McCroy, joined by our host Dasha Burns. They'll also discuss the economic and political fallout as the upcoming midterm
[31:56]elections approach. Watch Ceasefire Friday at 700 p.m. and 1000 p.m. Eastern and Pacific, only on C-SPAN.
[32:06]You can also listen to Ceasefire on demand anytime as a podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. Welcome back to Washington today
[32:18]available as a podcast on the free C-SPAN now mobile app and wherever you find your podcast. A few more headlines from the Hill. A Democratic National Committee panel voted on Thursday to
[32:29]reject a resolution condemning quote the growing influence of dark money and corporatebacked outside spending in Democratic races, particularly the American Israel Public Affairs Committee
[32:40]or Apac. At the DNC spring meeting in New Orleans this week, the resolutions committee voted to kill the push, which would have been non-binding as scrutiny over the pro-Israel lobby grows amid the
[32:51]midterms. That was the article from The Hill. The Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin responded, "Let's be clear on what really happened today. The resolutions committee voted to pass a
[33:01]resolution condemning the corrosive influence of all dark money in Democratic primaries. We had various resolutions that focused on different industries and groups and instead of
[33:11]going one by one, we passed a blanket repudiation. I have made my position on this clear from day one. We must end the influence of dark money in our politics
[33:21]and restore power back to the people. And from the Wall Street Journal, the Justice Department has opened an investigation into whether the National Football League has engaged in anti-competitive tactics that harm consumers, according to people familiar
[33:32]with the situation. The Sports Broadcasting Act grants the league limited antirust protection to allow the teams to collectively negotiate packages of TV rights. Media companies, regulators, and members of Congress have
[33:44]raised concerns in recent months over how difficult it is for consumers to be able to watch their favorite sports games as a result of rights deals in which leagues offer smaller packages of
[33:54]games to streamers. That was from the Wall Street Journal. First Lady Melania Trump writes AP is denying ties to Jeffrey Epstein and knowledge of his crime, saying Thursday the stories are
[34:05]completely false and calling online accusations that she was somehow involved smears about me. Reading an extraordinary statement at the White House, she denied any association with
[34:16]Epstein and said, "My attorneys and I have fought these unfounded and baseless lies with success." First Lady also called on Congress to hold a public hearing centered on survivors of
[34:26]Epstein's crimes with a chance to testify before lawmakers and have the stories entered into the congressional record. That's the article from AP. Here's part of the statement by First Lady Melania Trump.
[34:37]>> To be clear, I never had a relationship with Epstein or his accomplice Maxwell.
[34:46]My email reply to Maxwell cannot be categorized as anything more than casual correspondence.
[34:57]My polite reply to her email doesn't amount to anything more than a tribal note.
[35:07]I am not Epstein's victim. Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump. I met my husband by chance at a New York
[35:18]City party in 1998. This initial encounter with my husband is documented in a detail in my book
[35:29]Melania. The first time I crossed paths with Epstein was in the year 2000 at an event Donald and I attended
[35:40]together. At the time, I had never met Epstein and had no knowledge of his criminal
[35:49]undertakings. Numerous fake images and statements about Epstein and me have
[36:00]been calculating on social media for years now. Be cautious about what you believe.
[36:10]These images and stories are completely false. I'm not a witness or a name witness in
[36:20]connection with any of Epstein's crimes. My name has never appeared in court documents, depositions,
[36:30]victim statements, or FBI in interviews surrounding the Epstein matter. I have never had any knowledge of
[36:41]Epstein abuse of his victims. I was never involved in any capacity. I was not a participant. Was never on
[36:52]Epstein's plane and never visited his private island. I have never been legally accused or
[37:04]convinced of a crime in connection with Epstein sex trafficking, abuse of minors, and other repulsive behavior.
[37:15]the false smears about me from mean-spirited and politically motivated individuals and entities looking to cause damage to
[37:25]my good name to gain financially and climb politically must stop. My attorneys and I have fought these
[37:36]unfound and baseless lies with success and will continue to maintain my sound reputation without hesitation.
[37:45]To date, several individuals and companies have been legally obligated to publicly a apologize and retract their
[37:56]lies about me, such as Daily Beast, James Carville, and Harper Collins, UK. >> First Lady Melania Trump. Part of her
[38:06]statement made today at the White House. She did not answer any reporters questions. You can find the full statement runs about 6 minutes at our website c-span.org. New York Post article with some context. She pushed
[38:18]back against a report from author Michael Wolf that the notorious pedophile introduced her to Donald Trump. Wolf counters sued the first lady after she threatened a $1 billion
[38:28]lawsuit against him for his reporting on her and Epstein. Again, that was from the New York Post. And Congressman Robert Garcia, a Democrat from California, the oversight committee ranking member, writing on X. We agree
[38:39]with first lady Melania Trump's call for a public hearing with the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein. We encourage Chairman Comr to respond to the first lady's request and schedule a public hearing
[38:51]immediately. And a new CNN SSRS poll finds 41% holding an unfavorable opinion of First Lady Melania Trump, 29% holding
[39:02]a favorable view. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Stomayora was interviewed today at the University of Alabama School of Law in Tuscaloosa. One of the questions was about dealing with political
[39:13]differences. >> Our next question is from 3L Sav Miles. Sav asks, "Many Americans are troubled by deepening political divisions in our
[39:24]country. As a justice, how do you build bridges across ideological lines with your colleagues on the court? If you mean bridges by bridges,
[39:40]convince them that they're wrong. I desent so much I'm not very
[39:49]successful. Um, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. You know, my colleagues and I,
[39:58]um, we're students of the law. We're there because we've shown our deep passion for and engagement with law and
[40:09]with legal theory and legal approach. Um we've thought and think deeply about
[40:17]the issues who come before us and on some questions it's very hard more so on constitutional questions
[40:28]to talk people out of an approach that they think is the right approach. Okay. Um that's why the pundits are able often
[40:39]to predict our outcomes. Okay. the AI doesn't have a hard job in every case. Um, and it's not that we're stuck in our ways,
[40:49]but because we approach the legal issues in a way that we think is sound for each of us. Now,
[41:00]um, in every legal approach, there's positive and minus. I'm aware of my minuses. I'm aware of my positives.
[41:10]Okay? I hope they are too. Um, but it's going to be hard to bridge that gap. On statutory questions, we do it
[41:19]often. We we really talk through a lot of statutory questions um because there we're thinking about
[41:28]what Congress might intended and some of my colleagues say that they're number one indicator is the words that Congress
[41:38]use. But words can never be looked at in isolation. You have to look at them in context and you have to see how they relate to the other words of the statute and to the other provisions. And there
[41:49]could be more grounds for debate on that. Okay. But how do we talk? How do we get to a point where I think
[42:00]most of us actually like each other and we can certainly laugh together. We have lunch together often after argument
[42:10]and and after conferences. Um you'll see me walking the halls with people with whom I never agree on the
[42:19]court and we're joking and and and talking to each other like any other two human beings do. For me it's because
[42:31]I'm not thinking that how they vote defines them as people. or as human beings.
[42:40]I'm looking for the very best in them as human beings. Supreme Court Justice Sonia So Stomayor today at the University of Alabama School of Law in
[42:50]Tuscaloosa. Baltimore Public Radio writing that Maryland's budget season has come to a close after Governor Wesmore signed off on the three bill spending package Wednesday morning. The
[43:01]finalized budget authorizes the state to spend just under $71 billion in operating costs next fiscal year, a growth of 0.8% over the current fiscal year. Governor and lawmakers
[43:13]successfully closed a projected $ 1.5 billion structural deficit through fund swaps and modest cuts. The budget does not include any tax or fee increases.
[43:23]That was from Baltimore Public Radio. Governor Wes Moore sat down with Reverend Al Sharpton today at Sharpton's National Action Network conference in New York City and was asked about his tenure as governor.
[43:35]>> You are on the national stage clearly, but tell the people uh that are here from around the country what you are
[43:45]most proud of that you've done as governor of Maryland. Because before we can talk about where someone may or may not go, let's talk about what you've
[43:56]done at home. >> Yeah. >> Wow. Um, you know what I'm most proud of is that we kept our promises.
[44:05]>> You know, I um, and Rev knows this, so I don't come from a political family. I don't come from a political background. This is the first elected office I've ever held.
[44:17]>> Um, I I ran because I said I don't know how any civilized society can allow this level of child poverty. >> Thank you. >> And still call themselves civilized.
[44:29]>> That children's fate were being determined before they even have a say. And so I ran for governor against a whole bunch of people who had spent their time running for office to office
[44:39]to office to office. We had statewide elected officials. We had cabinet secretaries. We had a former head of the Democratic party and me.
[44:50]the guy who never on roses for in my life. And I said, "Listen, I don't know if I'm going to win, but I'm going to force him to talk about child poverty." >> Exactly. >> I'mma make it part of the conversation.
[45:01]>> And we won. >> And I promised the people of my state
[45:12]that if you give me this honor that we were never going to be confined. We were never going to be dictated to by
[45:21]a by a boss or by an interest that the I have one interest and that's making sure that the people who actually put me in office that they understand that I keep my promises. And so when I think about
[45:32]the fact that right now when we said we are going to make our streets safe that Maryland was having an epidemic of violence, my state's largest city, Baltimore City
[45:42]in 2022 was averaging almost a homicide a day. And I said, I refuse to be a governor who just t attends funerals and gives eulogies.
[45:53]>> And so we decided to work together with our mayor of Baltimore City, Brandon Scott, with our local law enforcement, working with states attorneys, working with working with our
[46:05]our our county executives all across the state of Maryland, working with community groups and community violence intervention groups. And I said, there is nothing that I will not do to make sure that our communities are safe and our communities are are are
[46:17]felt. And what's happened over the process of the past three years in Maryland, the violent crime rate in the state of Maryland is down nearly 50%. We
[46:27]are having the fastest drops in violent crime anywhere in the United States of America are inside the state of Maryland. The last time the homicide rate was this low in Baltimore City, I
[46:38]wasn't born yet. three years when we said that we were going to focus on making sure that we can have not just a growing economy but an economy that
[46:50]works for everybody and when we're seeing this assault that was happening on everything from DEI and e economic opportunities I say well I don't know what the feds are doing but let me tell you what we going to do in Maryland
[47:01]that we actually did procurement reform to make sure that our MBEs and our blackowned businesses are getting their fair share of economic opportunities and it's why since I've been the governor we've We've now had close to a billion
[47:12]dollars allocated to blackowned businesses in the state of Maryland unapologetically. Governor Wes Moore, Democrat from Maryland today, sitting beside Reverend
[47:23]Al Sharpton, the founder of the National Action Network at Nan's annual conference in New York City. AP writing about the conference. The Democratic Party's most ambitious politicians are
[47:33]courting African-American activists in New York this week as the party's unofficial 2028 presidential nomination contest take shape at the annual conference led by Reverend Al Sharpton.
[47:44]Governor Moore is mentioned in the article along with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Illinois Governor JB Pritsker, Kentucky Governor Andy Basher, former transportation secretary Pete Budajage, and former Vice President Kla
[47:55]Harris. The article notes that California Governor Gavin Newsome would have been there but had another commitment. Gothamist writing that Mayor Zora Mandani, also a Democrat, said
[48:04]Thursday that most of the free child care seats New York City will roll out for 2-year-olds this fall will run the full working day and operate year round.
[48:15]The announcement will be a major relief for working parents who have long struggled to juggle work with the city's existing preschool programs. Reporting from the Gothamist, here's the announcement by the mayor.
[48:26]>> So, we stand here together across multiple levels of government with the recognition that working 9 to5 is not just an iconic Dolly Parton song. It is
[48:37]also a reality for many New Yorkers across the five burrows. For those New Yorkers with young kids, however, holding down a 9 to5 and managing pickup
[48:47]and drop off at a traditional 3 p.m. time can be unmanageable. We see parents who are forced to either miss important work obligations, reduce work hours, or
[48:58]shell out for secondary child care. Last month, we announced the launch of Universal 2K, free child care for 2-year-olds, starting with 2,000 seats
[49:08]this fall in neighborhoods just like this one that need it the most. In the time since, we've been speaking to New Yorkers about how this program can best meet their needs. As part of that
[49:20]conversation, we are gathered here today, proud to announce that the default model for 2K seats across this city will be full day and full year,
[49:30]8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Now, that is going to be 10 hours a day, 260 days a year. A typical school year,
[49:41]as we know, only lasts 180 days. What this will do is save working parents at least $20,000 per child.
[49:50]>> Mayor Zoran Mandani, a Democrat, news conference today in New York City on his child care plans. Fox News writing that Mayor Mandani is facing backlash online
[50:01]after admitting that his campaign pledged to make city buses free is hitting funding roadblocks. New York Times with an article. The Artemis 2 heat shield NASA agrees is flawed. The
[50:12]heat shield is the critical layer at the bottom of a spacecraft that protects it and the astronauts inside from searing temperatures upon re-entering the Earth's atmosphere. If the shield fails,
[50:24]the underlying metallic structure could melt, rupture, and disintegrate. And there's no backup and no way for the astronauts to escape. NASA officials, however, are confident that despite the known shortcomings of the heat shield,
[50:35]the four Artemis 2 astronauts will remain alive and comfortable as they arrive at Earth on Friday evening at a speed of nearly 24,000 mph, concluding a 10-day trip to the moon and back.
[50:47]Reporting from the New York Times, NASA held a news conference today at the Johnson Space Center in Houston ahead of the re-entry. Ahmed Kashatria, NASA's associate administrator, spoke about
[50:58]this. Tomorrow evening, Reed, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy, the crew of Artemis 2, will come home. They will have traveled 400,000 miles. They will have seen what no living person has
[51:08]seen. They will have tested every system on the spacecraft and the environment it was built for. And they will have given us 10 days of data that will shape every mission that comes after. The test is not complete. Tomorrow, the Orion
[51:19]spacecraft will enter the Earth's atmosphere at approximately 25,000 mph. That heat shield, the thermal protection system, which is built by American hands and American factories from materials designed to withstand temperatures that
[51:30]approach the surface of the sun, will bear the full force of that re-entry. Every system we've demonstrated over the past nine days, life support, navigation, propulsion, communications, all of it depends on the final minutes
[51:41]of flight. We have high confidence in the system and the heat shield and the parachutes and the recovery systems we put together. The engineering supports it. The Artemis 1 flight data supports it. All of our ground test supports it.
[51:51]Our analysis supports it. And tomorrow the crew is going to put their lives behind that confidence. Until then, the flight control team, the engineering team, the recovery forces in the Pacific, to every engineer, every
[52:01]technician that's touched this machine, tomorrow belongs to you. The crew has done their part. Now we have to do ours. >> Amit Kashhatria, NASA associate administrator at a news conference at
[52:11]mission control in Houston. A reporter asked another briefer today, Jeff Ratigan, the lead Artemis 2 flight director, about the last time there was a splashdown that ended a moon mission. Hi, TJ Mascara with the Epoch Times.
[52:23]Thanks so much and congratulations on the mission so far. Question for uh Jeff. Uh can you um walk us through how this re-entry procedure differs from
[52:32]that of Apollo? >> Let's see. In in terms of uh it actually doesn't differ all that much in terms of
[52:43]uh you know just how fast we're coming back and uh you know how much uh how much has to go right. Um, of course there are some minor timeline differences. You know, the parachute systems are different between the two
[52:54]vehicles, but you know, big picture, coming back from the from the moon is all really close to the same thing. Um, you don't have the long coasting arcs that you have in low Earth orbit. You're
[53:04]really coming straight down uh and and coming and hitting the atmosphere a whole lot faster, but that means you go through it a whole lot faster, too. And so, uh, you know, I'd say it it parallels Apollo much more than it does
[53:15]some of our low Earth orbit returns. and uh and and that's really what we're looking forward to. Uh they're they're coming home pretty fast. >> Jeff Ratigan, the lead Artemis 2 flight director with NASA at today's Johnson
[53:27]Space Center news conference in Houston. The Artemis 2 crew held a news conference from space with reporters on Earth Wednesday night. One of the questions to astronaut Christina Cook
[53:37]was about lessons learned during this mission for the next one, which is scheduled to land on the moon's surface. >> Our next question is from Micah Maidenberg with the Wall Street Journal.
[53:47]Hi, good evening. For for anybody who'd like to answer, uh how do you think the flight has contributed to the broader Artemis program, uh of course it's not over yet, but what do you think the crew has already brought to the table for the
[53:59]next couple of missions? Thank you. >> Well, I love this question because part of our ethos as a crew and our values from the very beginning were that this
[54:10]is a relay race. In fact, we have batons that we bought to symbolize physically that we plan to hand them to the next crew. And every single thing that we do
[54:19]is with them in mind. Often times, it's actually easier in human space flight, especially on a first mission, to accept some of the things that aren't working quite right or the operational
[54:29]workarounds. And we have actually been diligent to try to fix everything. And we're always thinking from the perspective is what is the next crew going to think about this? how will this
[54:41]help them to succeed? So, manual piloting the vehicle, making sure that the procedures and the processes for making everything work are all as they
[54:51]should be. Then there's the human side of it. How are our provisions, how are our food, how is the human system working in here. Um, taking the time to do all of the the developmental flight test objectives that have been
[55:02]scheduled. So both in the vehicle and all in the last 3 years, we've really just worked to make sure that they are set up for success. And that's the all of the teams, not just the crew, but the
[55:14]flight control teams, the mission um engineering rooms, the launch teams, everyone. Uh we've just hopefully we've done our best to bring folks together and and to make sure that we can be the
[55:26]best they can be. Obviously, just testing, putting humans in this vehicle is is the easy thing to see, and we hope that we've capitalized on that and made it as much as it can be for our time here.
[55:37]>> Astronaut Christina Cook during a news conference Wednesday night as the Aremis 2 Orion capsule, Integrity, heads back to Earth from the flight around the moon. President Trump called the Aremis
[55:48]2 crew earlier this week, and Wednesday night, it was Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's turn. One of the four astronauts is Canadian, Jeremy Hansen. The prime minister joked about that jar
[55:58]of a Nutella hazelnut cocoa spread seen floating past a capsule camera this week. >> A lot of Canadians just want one point of reassurance that uh uh the preference
[56:09]is for maple syrup over Nutella on uh on your pancakes in the morning. I'll take that as a I'll take that as a
[56:28]>> absolutely sir. Uh we >> I can send Christina to get the syrup right away. But uh we definitely have it on board. It can make another guest
[56:38]appearance. >> That's excellent. >> Wednesday night, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney calling the Aremis 2 crew. The splashdown is Friday night off the
[56:48]east coast of California. C-SPAN will be having live coverage beginning Friday at 6:30 p.m. Eastern on C-SPAN television. You can also follow on the free C-SPAN now mobile app. Thanks for listening and before we go, reminder that C-SPAN
[57:00]Ceasefire will air Friday at 7:00 p.m. and 10 p.m. Eastern and Pacific this week. It'll be on C-SPAN 2 TV and our free app. Host Asha Burns will be joined by former Senator Joe Mansion,
[57:11]independent from West Virginia and former North Carolina Governor Pat McCroy, Republican, for a bipartisan dialogue about President Trump's handling of the Iran war and the economic and political fallout as the
[57:22]upcoming midterm elections approach. That C-SPAN ceasefire Friday, 7:00 p.m. and 10 p.m. Eastern and Pacific. Listen anywhere on the free C-SPAN now mobile
[57:32]app, also as a podcast. Have a great night.