Shemitah Basu (2:45)

Treasury Secretary Scott Besant said yesterday that he didn't think it was right for Powell to be attending the Supreme Court. Arguments. He, he spoke with CNBC from Davos.

Chris Rugaber (2:55)

I actually think that's a mistake because if you're trying not to politicize the Fed, for the Fed chair to be sitting there trying to put his thumb on the scale is a real mistake.

Shemitah Basu (3:05)

Powell has previously said that the Fed will not get involved in commenting and will abide by whatever the court decides. While his term as chair is set to end in May, Rugaber pointed out an interesting wrinkle that could impact the future of the Fed's relationship with the White House.

Chris Rugaber (3:21)

There's a separate term he has as a governor, a member of the seven member governing board, and that goes until 2028, January 2028. He could remain on the board for that time and then that would deny the Trump administration an opportunity to fill the seat. Most people expected that he was going to step down until this subpoena came out a little more than a week ago. Now the expectation, I mean, no one knows. But now it's seen as at least somewhat more likely that he may stay on the board.

Shemitah Basu (3:50)

Decision in the Cook case is expected by this summer. Today in Uvalde, Texas, an extraordinary trial is entering its final stages to decide whether a single police officer can be prosecuted for how they responded to a school shooting. Back in 2022, an 18 year old gunman arrived at Robb Elementary School and opened fire, killing two teachers, fourth graders. In the years since, federal and state reviews have been highly critical of the police operation, with the Justice Department concluding it was riddled with, quote, cascading failures. More than 370 officers responded that day and it took nearly 80 minutes for a tactical team to kill the shooter. But Adrian Gonzalez, who arrived on campus moments before his colleagues, is one of only two men to be facing criminal charges.

Elizabeth Findell (4:50)

Prosecutors are essentially arguing that he didn't act quickly enough when there was this gunman on campus.

Shemitah Basu (4:58)

Elizabeth Findell is a Texas based reporter for the Wall Street Journal covering the trial.

Elizabeth Findell (5:03)

The central question is whether a police officer has an affirmative duty to protect the public. Are they required to act? And that's interesting because it hasn't been tested very much and there really aren't many cases like this.

Shemitah Basu (5:23)

The indictment claims that witnesses alerted Gonzalez to the shooter's location and he heard the gunfire, but he failed to engage, distract or delay the shooter and he didn't follow his active shooter training. Here's the special prosecutor, Bill Turner in his opening statement.

Manuel Rizzo (5:40)

So why are we here? When a child is in danger and calls 91 1, we have the right.

Elizabeth Findell (5:48)

To expect a response the prosecution is arguing he should have run towards the gunshot, that that's what cops do, they follow threats and you run towards the gunshots and you figure out where they're coming from and you neutralize them.

Shemitah Basu (6:02)

Gonzalez has pled not guilty to 29 counts of child abandonment or endangerment. And his defense says he did take action by chasing who he thought was the gunman, then assisting other officers and helping evacuate kids from other classrooms.

Manuel Rizzo (6:17)

The government wants to make it seem like he just sat there, you know, he didn't just sit there, he did what he could with what he knew at the time. And this was fluid and it was dynamic situation.

Shemitah Basu (6:28)

Many of the victims families have been watching the proceedings in the courtroom. Manuel Rizzo, whose nine year old nephew was killed in the shooting, told Texas Public Radio why he was there.

Manuel Rizzo (6:39)

We're going to hope that the prosecution, the prosecutors, the district attorney and the people that owe this to their constituents do their job and they do a damn good job of it. But we want them to highlight every single opportunity Adrian had to protect the children and teachers and the survivors.

Shemitah Basu (7:03)

Find us that prosecutors have not accused Gonzalez of causing the deaths or injuries of the children. And they must prove his actions negligently caused harm, injured in attempting to prove his inaction was criminal. This case stands apart from most charges against police officers, she told us. There is really only one other case that parallels this, which was the trial of an officer who was on duty in Parkland, Florida when A gunman killed 17 students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018. That officer was acquitted of felony child neglect. While some families of victims say they hope to see Gonzalez found guilty, find us the focus on one individual following systemic failures hasn't satisfied everyone.

Elizabeth Findell (7:50)

Multiple reports have shown that the response to the Uvalde shooting was a complete failure at pretty much every level involving numerous agencies. And so a lot of people have asked why this guy out of 370 some officers? Prosecutors haven't answered that completely directly, but I think the answer is likely because he was the first person on the scene. Even if only by seconds.

Shemitah Basu (8:17)

The closing arguments will be heard today. Something kind of counterintuitive is happening in the American job market. Companies are increasingly looking toward an older workforce to fill its open roles. In fact, according to one recent analysis by a company that reviews employment trends, the average age for a new hire last year ticked up to 42 years old.

Taylor Telford (8:47)

What is happening is that entry level roles are kind of starting to look a lot more like management than they.

Shemitah Basu (8:54)

Used to Taylor Telford is a Washington Post reporter and she told us there are a couple of things going on that are making life difficult for gen zers. Many people who are employed already are staying on the job longer, some into their 60s and 70s. And then employers, betting on AI making jobs easier and more efficient, are increasingly looking for more seasoned resumes.

Taylor Telford (9:18)

The kinds of things that we're now seeing more common in some of these entry level roles are they're asking for skills that are a lot more like what we would typically see for somebody who's more experienced, who's had more time to learn how to do things like manage people and manage projects. And so what we're seeing is that actually older workers are really having an easier time in this market.

Shemitah Basu (9:39)

The data the Post examined showed that the share of workers 25 and younger has declined since 2022. Last year saw US employers pretty dramatically pull back on hiring, which could typically pull in more younger entry level workers. That doesn't appear to be happening at the moment.

Taylor Telford (9:57)

What's interesting right now is that the economy is doing really well and we're still having all of these conditions where post grads are in some cases spending one year, two years, three years applying to jobs without getting anything in the realm of what they studied.

Shemitah Basu (10:13)

Telford told us about Menasha Thomas, a 23 year old who graduated from Barnard College in 2024 with a degree in urban planning.

Taylor Telford (10:22)

She spent basically 14 months now applying to different jobs. She's done networking. She's spent a lifetime on LinkedIn, it feels like to her applying and also doing a lot of upskilling, trying to make herself more hireable with new certifications. And after all of that time, all that she has to show for it is a paid internship, which she is admittedly really grateful. But it just goes to show that in this situation, folks are just having a really hard time breaking in.

Shemitah Basu (10:51)

On the other side of this equation is the people staying in their jobs until later in life and the forces pressing them to do that.

Taylor Telford (10:59)

There's also the aspect of huge financial pressure that is definitely keeping retirement maybe more out of reach for a lot of people than they might have thought. Inflation has really driven up the cost of living in the past couple of years, especially the cost of stuff like housing and transportation and food. And so for a lot of people, they might have thought that they would have been ready to be out of the workforce at 65, but some of them are actually even unretiring in this environment. And in a lot of cases they're rejoining the workforce because of that financial pressure.

Shemitah Basu (11:40)

And finally, a few other stories we're following. This year's Davos summit was given the official theme a spirit of dialogue. There's certainly been lots of that already this week, though maybe not the way organizers intended. President Trump's threats over Greenland dominated the day yesterday and it was the French President Emmanuel Macron who turned the most heads with a sharply critical speech. He said, we're entering a world without rules as cooperation gives way to relentless.

Manuel Rizzo (12:09)

Competition, competition from the United States of America through trade agreements that undermine our export interests and openly aim to weaken and subordinate Europe, combined with an endless accumulation of new tariffs that are fundamentally unacceptable.

Shemitah Basu (12:26)

And Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney joined in with what seemed to be a rebuke of Trump, though he never mentioned him by name, urging like minded nations to stick together.

Chris Rugaber (12:36)

The middle powers must act together because if we're not at the table, we're on the menu.

Shemitah Basu (12:41)

But for California's Governor Gavin Newsom, the international response to Trump has so far been lacking.

Manuel Rizzo (12:48)

I can't take this complicity, people rolling over. I should have brought a bunch of knee pads for all the world leaders. I mean, handing out crowns and handing, I mean, this is pathetic Nobel prizes, they are being given away. I mean, it's just pathetic. And I hope people understand how pathetic they look on the world stage.

Shemitah Basu (13:10)

President Trump is expected to speak at Davos today. And Vice President J.D. vance and his wife Usha Vance announced they are expecting their fourth child later this year. And it'll come with a historic distinction. Vance will be the first vice president known to have welcomed a child while in office. Vance and Trump have both spoken out about how Americans should have more children, though the New York Times notes how one year into office, some of Trump's early pro family proposals, like making IVF free and federal baby bonuses, have not materialized. The new baby Vance, like all babies born between 2025 and 2028 with a Social Security number, will be eligible for a so called Trump account of $1,000 ceded by the government. 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 America's nicotine boom and how despite an attractive rebrand, long term health consequences for consumers are just now starting to become clear. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News plus narrated to find that story. I'll be back with the news tomorrow.