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- [00:05]
Shemitah Basu
Good morning. It's Thursday, July 24th. I'm Shemitah Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, how a Texas special session could shape next year's midterms. Transgender kids and their families find medical care dwindling, even in blue states. And the UN's top court says big polluters may need to pay reparations to countries feeling the brunt of climate change. But first, there have been a few developments in the Jeffrey Epstein story on different fronts worth catching up on. Let's start with the Wall Street Journal's reporting that President Trump was among hundreds of people named, including many high profile figures in documents from the federal government's investigation into Epstein. Senior officials in the administration told the Journal that Attorney General Pam Bondi notified the President back in May during a briefing. Now, it's important to note being named in the files does not mean Trump was involved in wrongdoing. But this is another detail that potentially sheds light on his actions around the Epstein case in recent weeks and why he might be trying to diminish its significance. And this reporting is particularly noteworthy because Trump just last week told a reporter that he had confirmation from Bondi that he was not named in the files. What did she tell you about the review? And specifically, did she tell you at.
- [01:28]
Todd Blanche
All that your name appeared in the files?
- [01:31]
Ro Khanna
No, no. She's, she's given us just a very quick briefing.
- [01:36]
Shemitah Basu
According to the Journal, during that briefing, Trump was told the files contained unverified hearsay about famous people, including himself, and that they had no plans to release more documents because some contained child sexual abuse material and personal information about victims. And he reportedly said that he would defer to the Justice Department's decision to not release any further files. The Journal says that briefing was crucial in setting the stage for the DOJ's announcement just weeks later to close the case entirely. The White House communications director called the Journal's report fake news. Meanwhile, Bondi's office confirmed she did share this information with Trump in a, quote, routine briefing, though her office didn't specify in that comment when the briefing was held. That brings us to the next development in Congress where the House Oversight Committee voted yesterday to subpoena the Department of Justice to release the Epstein files with all victims names were dated. The motion passed by a vote of 8 to 2, with three Republicans supporting the measure along with all of the Democrats. The subpoena also calls for the release of all communications between former Biden officials and the Justice Department related to Epstein and for depositions from A number of people, including Bill and Hillary Clinton, former FBI Director James Comey and former Attorneys General Merrick Garland and William Barr. The chair of the committee, Republican James Comer, also subpoenaed Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's associate, for a deposition next month. She's currently serving a 20 year sentence after being convicted of sex trafficking in 2021. Comer spoke to CNN yesterday.
- [03:12]
James Comer
If she's wanting a pardon or any type of immunity, that's off the table because I don't think any Republican would support that. She's been convicted of some very serious crimes and she's going to have to be held accountable for those crimes. But she has said publicly she wants.
- [03:27]
Shemitah Basu
To talk, and today it appears Maxwell will talk, but to the Department of Justice. The deputy attorney general and a former personal lawyer of Trump, Todd Blanche, had been seeking a meeting. And CNN reports she's expected to speak to the DOJ today. Finally, in Florida, a federal judge denied Bondi's request to release grand jury transcripts from the Epstein investigation. The judge said because Bondi requested the release due to ext interest, rather than offering any judicial reasoning, his hands were tied. This ruling came as no surprise, but some members of Congress want to see more action. Here's Democrat Ro Khanna, whose proposed bills relating to the Epstein case were not brought to the floor because House Speaker Johnson ended the session early, sending lawmakers home yesterday for their summer recess.
- [04:15]
Ro Khanna
Here's the problem. The grand jury testimony is largely about Epstein and Maxwell, not about all the rich and powerful men who abused, assaulted and abandoned young women. Those people are still being protected.
- [04:29]
Shemitah Basu
Many of the grand jury documents are already in DOJ custody if they decide not to release them. Congressman Comer had a warning in his CNN appearance.
- [04:39]
James Comer
If, when we come back in September, the documents aren't released, I can see Congress taking additional action. There's bipartisan support in Washington to find out exactly what the government has on Epstein.
- [05:00]
Shemitah Basu
Now to Texas, where lawmakers were called back to the state House this week for a 30 day special session that has two big agenda items passing legislation in response to the July 4th floods that killed more than 100 people. And discussing President Trump's order to redraw electoral maps, which he claims is necessary to address illegal racial gerrymandering. But Texas Tribune reporter Eleanor Klibanoff told us there's a much bigger objective in mind.
- [05:28]
Eleanor Klibanoff
President Trump had been sort of pushing this idea that Texas might redraw its congressional maps off cycle so in the middle of the decade so that they could potentially get More seats for Republicans ahead of what may potentially be a pretty challenging midterm election for Republicans. If Republicans can hold the House, the second half of his term looks very, very different than if they lose the House. And so I think President Trump is playing this very short term game, which is, how can I make the numbers make sense for me in the second half of my term?
- [06:01]
Shemitah Basu
Off cycle, redistricting is rare, but it has happened before. Texas Republicans changed electoral maps to their advantage back in 2003. The current maps were drawn in 2021 by Republicans, and Klibanoff says that many state politicians see no justification for redrawing them now.
- [06:19]
Eleanor Klibanoff
Democrats in the Texas legislature are mad. I mean, they see this as President Trump is trying to steal additional seats in the upcoming midterm elections. You know, they say, like, Republicans drew these maps. Republicans thought these maps were fine when they drew them. Why are we having to do this again? And I think even Republicans are saying, you know, like, yes, this is a baldly political, nakedly political process, right? Like, they are not arguing that the maps they drew are wrong or bad.
- [06:44]
Shemitah Basu
In fact, just weeks ago, during a trial over these very same maps, Republican representatives repeatedly argued that they used a race blind process to draw them. But then the Department of Justice sent Texas a letter earlier this month that claimed four majority minority congressional districts in the Houston and Fort Worth areas, all held by Democrats, are illegally, racially gerrymandered. So Republican Governor Greg Abbott called the special session. Democrats are now threatening to delay the process by dragging out hearings, filibustering, or even fleeing the state to deny the quorum needed for legislative business. And Klibanoff says flood relief for Texas has become a bargaining chip of sorts in the process for both parties.
- [07:27]
Eleanor Klibanoff
Democrats have said basically, like, we won't do any work until flooding is addressed. Republicans, whether or not they're even saying it, the plan very clearly is hold back legislation on flooding until we get what we want. On redistricting, they have more power to do that. They are the ones that sort of control both chambers.
- [07:45]
Shemitah Basu
Still, she says even if Democrats agree to come to the table for discussions, it's far from clear that Trump would get the districts he wants.
- [07:53]
Eleanor Klibanoff
President Trump has asked for five seats, and no one I've talked to sees a clear path to getting five more safe Republican seats. If they could have done that, they would have done that, right?
- [08:04]
Shemitah Basu
Governor Abbott and some Republican legislators have expressed concern that redrawing the maps could, in fact, spread their voters too thin and lead to a number of districts where Democrats could be more compet Texas maps have consistently faced legal challenges under the Voting Rights act, and Klibanoff says it's almost certain that any new maps drawn during this legislative session would as well. Since Trump took office in January, he's pushed to roll back rights for transgender people through executive actions targeting sports, travel, the military, the medical system and much more. His administration has threatened to revoke federal funding for hospitals that provide treatment to transgender minors and announced plans to subpoena providers for confidential patient information. The Supreme Court also dealt a huge blow to the trans community in June when the conservative majority ruled to uphold state bans on gender affirming care for minors across roughly half the country. Now, even in deeply blue states and cities where trans people and their families hoped to find some degree of protection, access to care is shrinking under federal pressure. In Illinois, UChicago Medicine recently announced that it's ending all pediatric transition care next month in Washington, D.C. children's National Hospital will stop prescribing medications to support transition. And this week in California at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, one of the nation's oldest and largest clinics for trans and gender non conforming people closed its doors. LA Times reporter Sonya Sharp told us about it.
- [09:48]
Todd Blanche
Effectively what had happened is that the Trump administration had used mainly bureaucratic maneuvers to put so much pressure on the hospital, particularly financial pressure, that continuing to operate the trans youth center, which had about 3,000 patients, would mean that they could not, for example, care for kids with cancer because they would just lose all their funding or almost all of their funding and effectively have to shut down.
- [10:15]
Shemitah Basu
The hospital receives two thirds of its funding from federal sources and said in a statement that federal agencies have already terminated some of its grants. LGBTQ advocates told KCRW they're concerned patients in the area won't be able to find new doctors, especially low income patients. There are dozens of hospitals across California that still provide gender affirming care for minors, But Sharp reports that list is changing almost day to day now, and advocates say fewer doctors are offering gender affirming care because they fear prosecution. KCRW also spoke with a patient of the clinic, 16 year old sage Sol Pechenek, who's received care at Children's Hospital for six years. They say it saved their life and before starting treatment and counseling they struggled with self hatred.
- [11:05]
Eleanor Klibanoff
The next generation of trans youth aren't gonna be able to have the resource that we did.
- [11:10]
Shemitah Basu
Parents that Sharp spoke to say they're terrified for themselves and their children and they don't know where to turn for care now fear has just exploded.
- [11:19]
Todd Blanche
Parents were saying, I'm afraid that children's has been subpoenaed and that they're gonna turn over my kids records and that I could be arrested, my child could be taken away from me. And everyone that I spoke to, everyone that I spoke to said at least at some level, they were making plans to possibly flee the country.
- [11:38]
Shemitah Basu
The government has defended its policies impacting the trans community by saying they're necessary to protect children. Major medical organizations including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical association say gender affirming care is safe, effective, helpful and in some cases medically necessary for transgender youth. Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. A federal appeals court ruled yesterday that President Trump's executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship is unconstitutional and upheld a lower court decision to block its enforcement nationwide. A panel of Judges on the U.S. court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit wrote that the order is invalid because it contradicts the plain language of the 14th Amendment. The ruling brings this issue one step closer to being picked up again by the Supreme Court, which only weighed in on whether lower courts had overreached when it issued a related ruling last month. Now to Idaho, where Bryan Kohberger was sentenced yesterday to four consecutive life sentences after pleading guilty to murdering four University of Idaho students in 2022. The surviving roommates and family members of the deceased delivered powerful statements in the courtroom. Here's Dylan Mortensen, who lived in the where her four friends were fatally stabbed.
- [13:05]
Dylan Mortensen
He didn't just take their lives. He took the light they carried into every room. He took away how they made everyone feel safe, loved and full of joy. He took away the ability for me to tell him that I love them and that I'm so proud of them.
- [13:23]
Shemitah Basu
Kohberger declined to speak when given the opportunity and to a major international ruling that could lead to richer countries paying out for their impact on climate change. Yesterday, the International Court of Justice, the top court at the un, judged that countries could be in violation of international law if they don't make efforts to protect the planet and nations worst affected could be entitled to reparations from wealthier countries. The case was spearheaded by a group of young climate activists who persuaded the small Pacific island nation of Vanuatu to take up their case. At the diplomatic level. The ruling is non binding, but it could influence future rulings in national courts. 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, Tufts University doctoral student Rumesa Ozturk, who was taken off the street by masked immigration agents in a surveillance video that went viral, writes a first person account for Vanity Fair about her arrest and detention in an ICE facility in Louisiana. 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.