Cecilia Ley (3:17)

There appeared to be no progress on Greenland's future, though no details have been offered since Trump stepped back from his demands at Davos last year. And on Friday, he simply said negotiations were ongoing. Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Friedrichsen was asked if the crisis had paused for now.

Mette Frederiksen (3:34)

No, unfortunately not. I think the desire from the US President is exactly the same. He is very serious about this theme. And as you know, I disagree with him. And we disagree, of course, as a kingdom of Denmark. And by the way, Europe disagree.

Cecilia Ley (3:50)

Alongside the big speeches were dozens of hallway discussions, fireside chats, and opportunities for ambitious Democratic lawmakers to get some on the world stage. California Governor Gavin Newsom urged Europeans to see Trump as temporary and encourage leaders to step up their criticism. And Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez made a surprising appearance. Known mostly for domestic issues, this was a rare foreign policy engagement and a hint for some that she might have larger ambitions. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, was there, too, and said allies were still upset by recent threats by Trump. Himes told the New York Times that if he had to sum up his meanings in Munich with the cartoon, he would draw a European saying greenland, Greenland, Greenland. It was perhaps the biggest MAGA breakup of President Trump's second term so far. MAGA is, I think people are realizing it was all a lie. It was a big lie for the people.

Donald Trump (5:00)

I don't know what happened to Marjorie. She's a nice woman, but I don't know what happened. She's lost her way, I think.

Cecilia Ley (5:05)

Marjorie Taylor Greene's 180 degree turn on the White House began with the Epstein files, but grew into wider discontent with Trump's agenda. She's now retired from the House, and today early voting for her seat in Georgia has begun.

Alec Hernandez (5:18)

The first thing I would say that you need to know about this race is that it is extremely crowded.

Cecilia Ley (5:23)

Alec Hernandez is a national politics reporter for POLITICO.

Alec Hernandez (5:26)

22 candidates total filed and qualified to be in the race. So 17 of those candidates are Republicans. And obviously in this sort of very conservative district in northwest Georgia, Republicans are really the ones who are likely going to dominate here.

Cecilia Ley (5:41)

The political makeup of the district means Trump remains popular, but as Hernandez reports, so is Greene. That's created a delicate tightrope for Republican candidates to walk.

Alec Hernandez (5:51)

There's no one candidate who is out on the campaign trail or out on social media saying, hey, we lost Marjorie Taylor Greene in Congress. I'm gonna go to Congress and I'm gonna fill the Same role that she did. You know, basically, like, the approach that they're all taking is a. They're cozying up to Trump, but they're also being careful not to attack Marjorie Taylor Greene because she remains popular in the district. So it's created a really interesting dynamic where it's like these candidates are going out and promoting their sort of like, MAGA platforms, but at the same time, they're not following Trump's lead in just totally bashing Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Cecilia Ley (6:23)

The special election was called in early January, so candidates have not had much time to campaign. All candidates, regardless of party, are on the same ballot, and there will be a runoff in April if no one gets 50% of the votes. Because of all this, Hernandez says the deciding factor will likely be paid media and how quickly candidates can raise and spend money. But the range of candidates means a Democrat has a chance of actually making the runoff.

Alec Hernandez (6:48)

Part of the fear there, at least among Republicans, was that, you know, if you have so many Republican candidates running on the same ticket, that's going to dilute the vote, and it could elevate the Democrat who's running in the race, one of the independents, a sort of candidate who otherwise wouldn't have really made any significant sort of notch there.

Cecilia Ley (7:03)

As the midterms approach, some Republicans are keeping an eye on voter behavior to see which candidates they pick and how close they align to Trump or Greene. And Hernandez told us the race suggests that it might be easier for Trump to elevate a MAGA supporter than to bring them down.

Alec Hernandez (7:18)

He's a kingmaker within the Republican Party. We see how far his endorsement goes, and so there are countless examples of how he is able to elevate. But I think what this race is potentially an interesting window into is, is Donald Trump able to undo the sort of celebrity of these MAGA personalities that he created in the first place?

Cecilia Ley (7:40)

Trump has endorsed Republican Clay Fuller, a local district attorney and Air Force veteran, while Greene has stayed out of the race. In recent months, the Trump administration has shown its enthusiasm for AI through some executive orders that encourage rapid adoption of the technology with minimal regulations. Speaking to NBC a couple of weeks ago, Trump reiterated his optimism.

Donald Trump (8:10)

It'll be the greatest jobs producer. It'll be the greatest military producer. It'll be the greatest medical producer. There'll be tremendous good, and there'll be probably some bad, too.

Cecilia Ley (8:21)

And that approach, as the Washington Post Ian Duncan told us, is starting to influence how the country is run day to day.

Ian Duncan (8:28)

That excitement about that technology that also the administration is applying it to the federal government itself and looking for ways to embed AI technology inside the government, really from top to bottom.

Cecilia Ley (8:41)

Duncan and his colleagues analyzed dozens of disclosures from agencies documenting how they use AI. They found that hundreds of projects have been launched in the last year. Some of that involves automating routine tasks or chatbots.

Ian Duncan (8:55)

What we were seeing, too, is that some of these are quite sensitive things. So working on DHS's deportation and immigration enforcement efforts, quite deep work on how the Department of Veterans affairs provides medical care and benefits to people who've served in the military.

Cecilia Ley (9:13)

He gave us a string of examples. DHS has adopted more sophisticated facial recognition tools. The FBI is relying on new systems to sift through information for investigative leads. And according to the Post, the VA is developing an AI program to help predict whether a veteran is likely to attempt suicide. Duncan said that's an example of where people see a lot of upside in using the technology.

Ian Duncan (9:36)

I talked to someone at VFW who advocates for veterans, and they said they're sort of a mix of excited and concerned about this, that they don't want to get into a situation where decisions are solely being made by an AI system, by a computer, that someone can't come in and challenge or understand how a decision was made, and that they're very keen that there is a human in the loop.

Cecilia Ley (10:01)

But integrating AI sloppily can spell embarrassment for government leaders. Take, for example, former New York Mayor Eric Adams, who launched a chatbot back in 2023 to help people navigate local business regulations. It became known for giving wrong advice, like telling employers they could take a cut of workers tips. His successor, Zoharan Mandani, shut it down a couple of weeks ago, calling it, quote, functionally un unusable. And there appeared to be some evidence of AI malfunction when HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Released a children's health report last May that cited research studies that didn't exist.

Ian Duncan (10:38)

Anybody who has used an AI tool in their own life knows it can make mistakes or it can kind of go off on weird tangents. But if you are using these to make important government decisions or inform them in some way, the stakes are just quite different. I think the other piece of this is that these tools are potentially pretty effective means of surveillance and of kind of combining information that's useful for law enforcement and if there are things in the systems that are kind of ending up sort of discriminating or aren't really possible to challenge or hold accountable, that there is some sort of risk or concern that people might reasonably have about how they're being used in surveillance and.

Cecilia Ley (11:25)

Policing, but DHS has said it employs technology while respecting civil liberties and privacy interests. And finally, a few other stories we're following. Over the weekend, former President Barack Obama responded to the racist AI video posted by President Trump's social media account earlier this month. In it, Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama were depicted as apes. He shared his thoughts in an interview with YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen.

Barack Obama (12:01)

First of all, I think it's important to recognize that the majority of the American people find this behavior deeply troubling. It is true that it gets attention, it's true that it's a distraction.

Marco Rubio (12:18)

But.

Barack Obama (12:21)

As I'm traveling around the country, as you're traveling around the country, you meet people, they still believe in decency, courtesy, kindness.

Cecilia Ley (12:32)

Also in the wide ranging interview, Obama urged Democrats to change their approach on homelessness and find more practical solutions, saying most Americans don't want to, quote, navigate around a tent city. And then towards the end of the conversation, during a lightning round of questions, Cohen asked Obama if aliens are real. Obama said they were, but that he hasn't seen them and that there is no underground facility. As many conspiracy theories have stated, passengers have not taken kindly to Southwest Airlines recent changes. The airline eliminated its famous open seating policy where flyers could sit wherever they liked. They also got rid of their bags fly free policy that let passengers check two pieces of luggage at no cost. The Washington Post reports a number of passenger complaints since the changes took effect, unavailable overhead bin space, kids being assigned seats far from their parents, and strict rules about staying in your seat even when there are empty rows, the editor of one travel site told the Post Southwest had nuked its beloved brand in just under a year. One user on X suggested the carrier should quote uno reverse card this policy. Southwest made the changes to become more profitable, which the Post says is working so far as the company saw record revenue in 2025. It's also seen a jump in stock price since the seating policy began, and finally, a cheating scandal in Olympic curling at the Milan Cortina Games over the weekend. On Friday, the Swedish men's team accused Team Canada of an illegal move known as a double touc. That's when a stone is touched after it passed the hogline, which marks the minimum distance the stone must travel after being thrown. The Canadians did not take the accusation lightly. Here's the exchange between Canada's Mark Kennedy and Sweden's Oskar Eriksen.

Alec Hernandez (14:25)

I haven't done it once you can.

Marco Rubio (14:27)

Off, you haven't done it once.

Cecilia Ley (14:28)

I haven't done it once.

Alec Hernandez (14:29)

Okay, I'll show you a video after the game.

Barack Obama (14:32)

How about you walking around on my.

Donald Trump (14:34)

Peel on the last stand, dancing around the house here. How about that?

Alec Hernandez (14:36)

Come on, Austin to show you a video.

Cecilia Ley (14:39)

Canada ended up winning that match, but Sweden doubled down, saying that by touching the stone and not the handle, their opponents circumvented electronic monitors. On Saturday, Canada's women's team was also called for a double touch and were penalized. Rachel Holman said there was no way she committed the infraction, but because there is no video replay, she couldn't contest the call. Canada's men's captain called the penalty despicable and said the Canadians were being targeted. Since the scandal broke, the double touch rule has sparked debate and World Curling said two officials are now stationed at remaining matches to monitor for double touches. 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. Men's Health explores the wide range of medical diagnostic testing companies that have recently come to market and offer pricey tests for everything from cancer to brain health. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.