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- [00:05]
A
Good morning. It's Monday, October 27th. I'm Shemitah Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, Congress launches an investigation into cases of US Citizens detained in immigration raids. How Letitia James and James Comey are joining forces. And France makes arrests in the Louvre jewelry heist. But first, it was a weekend where the Trump administration appeared to reignite a trade war in one direction while edging closer to a truce in another. Not so long ago, President Trump was suggesting there could be tariffs of 100% on Chinese exports, a threat that sent jitters through Wall Street. But as Treasury Secretary Scott BESANT Indicated on NBC's Meet the Press, that appears to be off the table.
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B
I think that's old news. President Trump gave me a great deal of negotiating leverage with the threat of the 100% tariffs on November 1st, and I believe we've reached a very substantial framework that will avoid that and allow us to discuss many other things.
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A
Bessant said that following the breakthrough in talks, he expected a deferral on China's plans to curb rare earth materials that are so vital for US manufacturing. And speaking to ABC's Martha Raddatz, he expressed hope that China would soon end their boycott of U. S Based soybeans and revealed he had been personally affected.
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C
Do you see a real light at the end of the tunnel there that may allow soybeans again?
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B
Well, Martha, in case you don't know it, I'm actually a soybean farmer, so I have felt this pain too.
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A
Besant's background is in finance, not farming, so it wasn't immediately clear what he was referring to. But CNBC reports that according to disclosures, Bessant owns farmland in North Dakota worth anything between 5 and $25 million, which he rents out. Besant stressed the agreement with China his team had reached was preliminary and that an actual trade deal would need to be confirmed by the two leaders themselves at their face to face meeting this week. Jonathan Zin was the China director on President Biden's National Security Council and gave his analysis to pbs.
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D
The Chinese side seats have switched from playing defense for most of the year and largely reacting to U.S. policy moves to playing offense through these expansive export controls on rare earth elements which China has a chokehold over. And I think the fact that the US did not follow through with its threats to retaliate, I think Beijing is going to see that as a sign that they can enact these kind of measures with impunity. And if that's the case, I think we are in for further bumpy rounds in the trade war and 2026.
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A
But even as tensions eased with China, Trump demonstrated his enthusiasm for using tariffs as a geopolitical weapon. Late last week, Trump called off talks with Canada and announced a further 10% tariff on Canadian goods. That came after Ontario released an ad campaign in the US Criticizing Trump's central economic policy, drawing on the words of a former president with edited clips.
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E
When someone says let's impose tariffs on.
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B
Foreign imports, it looks like they're doing.
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E
The patriotic thing by protecting American products and jobs. And sometimes for a short while, it works, but only for a short time. But over the long run, such trade barriers hurt every American worker. High tariffs.
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A
That was part of a 1987 radio address by Ronald Reagan, the bulk of which was a celebration of free trade against protectionist tariffs. But Trump criticized the ad, suggesting Reagan loved tariffs. After it got an airing during the World Series. Ontario's premier, Doug Ford said they would now pause the ad, though he defended the decision to run it.
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B
I heard that the President heard our ad. I'm sure he wasn't too happy. But it's real because it was coming from the best president the country's ever seen, Ronald Reagan. So it's very effective. It's probably one of the best ads I've ever seen, and it's coming from Ronald Reagan's voice.
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A
According to abc, Canada had been hoping the talks would bring down the tariffs on steel and aluminum used in everyday goods like home appliances, food packaging, cars and auto parts. With talks now on hold, trade experts told ABC that domestic prices for these sorts of goods could go up. Now to some reporting on detained US Citizens that sparked plans for a Democrat led congressional investigation. Journalists at ProPublica recently detailed more than 170 cases this year where US citizens were held by immigration agents at raids and protests. Among them, George Reddes, an Iraq war veteran who encountered ICE agents driving through a protest on his way to work on a California farm. He spoke in a video made by his lawyers.
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D
I explained to agents I was assistant and just trying to get to work. Moments later, chaos broke out. Agents smashed my window, pepper sprayed me, dragged me out and kneeled on my neck and back.
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A
Now a number of Democrats in the House and Senate announced plans to look into incidents like this. Here's California Representative Robert Garcia speaking to npr.
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E
We have numerous questions of the administration. Why is this happening? How is this being funded? Why isn't due process in the Constitution being followed? And so it's important that we begin documenting all of this and also talking and speaking directly with those that are being detained.
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A
The US Government doesn't track how many citizens are held by immigration officials, so ProPublica compiled its own count by sifting through social media, lawsuits, court records, and local media reports. Reporter Nicole Foy told us about some of the cases.
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F
Citizens in particular have reported a number of really disturbing and violent behavior when they run into immigration agents. They've reported being kicked, dragged, beaten, tased. One woman was shot. They've had their necks kneeled on. Several people were kind of in vulnerable positions. At least three citizens in our review were pregnant when agents detained them or held them for any period of time.
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A
Immigration agents do have the authority to hold American citizens in limited circumstances, like if they reasonably think they are in the country illegally. They can also arrest citizens who interfere with or assault officers. And the Supreme Court granted immigration agents in California the ability to take race into consideration in their targeted Sweeps. DHS told ProPublica they do not engage in racial profiling and that the agency does not arrest U.S. citizens for immigration enforcement. But Foy told us stories like that of Leonardo Garcia Venegas, a young construction worker in Alabama, complicate the narrative from the administration.
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F
He posted a video back in May that initially went viral of immigration officials arresting his brother at a work site in Alabama, and then as he filmed, coming towards him and arresting him as well, even though he was yelling that he was a citizen.
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B
Can I show me papers now?
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A
Garcia Venegas has since filed a lawsuit. DHS did not respond to ProPublica about specific questions regarding his arrest, but has previously said that he physically interfered with agents, something his lawyers contest. Foy said U.S. citizens are being detained by federal immigration forces more frequently now than they were before because of widespread sweeps initiated by the Trump administration.
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F
This is kind of just the natural consequence of what happens when there's increased immigration enforcement with aggressive quotas and officials going into communities with maybe not as much intelligence and targeting as they have in the past, as well as this mandate to arrest and deport as many people as possible.
- [08:23]
A
The Democrats lack the power of subpoena, so it's not clear how much the administration will cooperate with the congressional investigation. But Representative Garcia said they could still collect information and put these incidents on record. On Friday, New York Attorney General Letitia James pled not guilty to claims of mortgage fraud being brought by the Department of Justice. She emerged from the courtroom to crowds cheering for her.
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C
So there's no fear today. No fear, no fear. No fear. No fear. Because I believe that justice will rain down like Water and righteousness like a mighty stream.
- [09:13]
A
That same day, it was reported that she's joining forces with James Comey. They're filing a joint motion to dismiss their indictments, claiming that Lindsey Halligan, the interim US Attorney who brought forward the charges, was illegally appointed. Halligan is Trump's personal lawyer and was given her job at the DoJ after her predecessor refused to indict Trump's enemies owing to lack of evidence, and resigned. Jeremy Roebuck covers the Justice Department for the Washington Post.
- [09:43]
G
Trump was railing against the fact that he felt the Justice Department was moving too slowly to prosecute several people that he's identified as his political enemies, people like Comey. Also New York Attorney General Letitia James, Senator Adam Schiff out of California. So he appointed Halligan to take over Siebert's position after he stepped down. And Halligan quickly moved to jumpstart this case against Comey and Letitia James. And so now Comey's lawyers are saying, due to some details over how that appointment was made, that Halligan's appointment was invalid.
- [10:16]
A
Halligan was appointed without Senate approval. Congress has pushed back on some of the president's more controversial nominees, and so the Justice Department has employed a novel legal tactic to allow for more temporary appointments to vacant positions. One, which was the basis for Halligan's appointment, allows for an interim attorney to serve for a period of 120 days without Senate approval. Comey's legal team says that Trump already made an interim pick in Halligan's predecessor and that the rules don't allow the Justice Department to make back to back 120 day appointments.
- [10:51]
G
And so the people that have been challenging these U.S. attorney appointments argue that if the Trump administration can just keep appointing whoever they want for periods of 120 days, there's a world in which they never have to go before the Senate to try to get someone confirmed.
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A
That is not the view of the White House.
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G
Now, the Trump administration doesn't agree with that reading of the law and thinks they can appoint as many people as they want in back to back successive 120 day terms.
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A
It remains to be seen whether this will prove to be an effective legal strategy. The Post notes that a judge has never concluded that dismissing an indictment is appropriate, even in cases where the U.S. attorney's appointment is voided. But Comey's team is arguing that his case is different because no career prosecutors were involved. The DOJ did not address Comey's arguments to the post, but has until November 3rd to file its response in court. Before we let you go. A few other stories we're following. Hurricane Melissa is set to batter parts of the Caribbean after the storm was upgraded to a Category 4 on Sunday. Officials in Jamaica say the storm is expected to make landfall later today or tomorrow and warn that some communities might not survive catastrophic flash floods that may occur. The storm is expected to be the strongest hurricane to ever hit the island nation. Heavy rains also fell in nearby Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The Washington Post reports that if it reaches Category five, it'll be the third hurricane to do so this year, making it part of the growing trend toward more intense storms. We are years away from the next presidential election, but over the weekend, two of the biggest Democratic names from the west coast seem to be hinting a possible presidential run. First, California Governor Gavin Newsom made explicit on CBS his ambitions that people have.
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E
Long assumed after the 2026 midterms, you're going to give it serious thought.
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A
Yeah, I'd be lying. Otherwise, I'd just be lying and I can't do that. And on the BBC, former Vice President Kamala Harris left the door open to another run.
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F
But you say in your book, I'm not done.
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A
That is correct. I am not done.
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F
I have lived my entire career, a.
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A
Life of service, and it's in my bones. Axios notes. The Democratic field in 2028 will be the most wide open field in a generation. And finally, authorities in Paris arrested two people in connection with last week's jewel heist at the Louvre. Two men in their 30s were arrested Saturday night. News of the arrests leaked in a local newspaper, angering authorities who said the information hinders investigators still looking for all of the suspected thieves. Four people are believed to have pulled off the brazen daytime robbery. The arrests came as authorities raced to find the stolen items before they can be dismantled, melted down and sold, which experts in the art recovery world warn could happen. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. The New Yorker has the story of Scott Johnson, an Australian man whose mysterious death led his wealthy brother to spend three decades and countless dollars on solving the case. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News plus narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.