Loading summary
Transcript36 lines
- [00:05]
A
Good morning. It's Thursday, December 4th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, Texas's bathroom bill has arrived. A look at what it means in practice. President Trump surprises his own party with a pardon for a Democrat accused of bribery. And why AI chatbots find it so hard to tell. TIME.
- [00:29]
B
Foreign.
- [00:34]
A
But first, there's been a drumbeat of headlines about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this week, drawing increased attention to new and older scandals. The latest came yesterday with a Pentagon inspector's verdict on Hexeth's now infamous signal chats. The watchdog reportedly found that he did violate department regulations when he shared information about planned strikes on Yemen over the app, and that in turn risked endangering lives. But on the issue of whether what he was sharing was classified information, the report points out that Hegseth has the authority to decide which information is classified or not. It ultimately recommended better training for all department staff on the use of personal devices. More recently, Hegseth has, of course, been at the center of ongoing congressional inquiries over his role in controversial military strikes in the Caribbean. But despite all the scrutiny, the White House has stood by Hecseth through these controversies, at least for now. Michael Gordon is a national security correspondent for the Wall Street Journal who wrote about what it is about Hegseth that continues to appeal to President Trump specifically, as Hegseth himself has put it, his warrior ethos.
- [01:46]
B
Part of that meant relaxing rules of engagement which are put in place to govern the use of military force. Hegseth argued that that the rules had been too restrictive in the past and that they needed to be eased. So I don't think it's surprising that the administration has taken a pretty assertive use and aggressive use on these bus strikes. It's pretty much what Secretary Hegseth said he was going to do.
- [02:13]
A
For years, Hegseth has argued that US Military leaders should relax the rules of engagement in order to free themselves from the burdens of possible legal action or courts martial arts. In a rebranding event of the Department of Defense to the Department of War earlier this year, Hegseth explained his approach.
- [02:31]
C
We're going to go on offense, not just on defense. Maximum lethality, not tepid legality. Violent effect, not politically correct. We're going to raise up warriors, not just defenders.
- [02:46]
A
In that same address, he characterized rules that govern military action as, quote, stupid rules of engagement. Gordon told us this makes him a real outlier in military circles, let alone to be leading the military.
- [02:59]
B
His recommendation that the ROE rules of engagement be used is highly controversial within military circles. I've talked to generals who are currently serving and they say the previous ROE were fine and necessary even to regulate the use of force.
- [03:16]
A
Hegseth's views are now facing more scrutiny than at any time since his confirmation hearings. As Congress seeks more answers on September's boat strike, Gordon says their approach to other strikes raises even more questions.
- [03:29]
B
The next month there was an instance in which the US Struck a semi submersible vessel. There were two survivors, they were rescued and they were repatriated to their countries. And so a question I have in my mind is how does the administration explain an action that killed the two survivors in September and a set of decisions just a month later in which it not only rescued the survivors but sent them home scot free?
- [04:01]
A
And yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Hegseth had forced the four star general heading up Caribbean operations to step down earlier this year amid concerns he had over the legality of planned operations. Hegseth has described some of the decisions made around the strikes as part of the fog of war. Today, lawmakers might get to clear some of that fog as they question the admiral in charge of the operation, Admiral Frank Bradley.
- [04:36]
In Texas today, SB8, also known as the bathroom bill, takes effect. It means transgender people won't be allowed to access the restroom that matches their gender identity, at least when it comes to schools, universities and public buildings. It's actually about more than just bathrooms. Prisons must now house those convicted based on sex assigned at birth, and it prevents transgender women from accessing domestic violence shelters. The bill is nearly a decade in the making, reviving a 2017 proposal that sank in the face of staunch opposition. Its House sponsor, Republican Angela Orr, told lawmakers it was about protecting women.
- [05:14]
D
Texans across the state are increasingly concerned that their daughters, sisters, mothers, grandmothers are losing the basic expectation of privacy in spaces traditionally separated by sex.
- [05:33]
A
During the hearings, though, many transgender people expressed fears that they would lose their right to use key facilities in civic spaces and that the bill would legitimize harassment. Here's Jerika Van Slyder testifying before Texas lawmakers back in August.
- [05:48]
E
It's plain to see that I'm a human being, but I would argue the fact that we're discussing this bill proves some of you don't get that SB8 is a monstrously cruel, discriminatory bill designed to erase trans people from daily public life and chip away at the rights of all women.
- [06:02]
A
And even though the law takes effect today, there is still a lot of debate about how it will be enforced.
- [06:08]
E
That's sort of the big question that's sort of hovering over everyone's head right now.
- [06:12]
A
Aiden Runnells is a reporter for the Texas Tribune.
- [06:15]
E
Because the law has no specifics on what enforcement looks like, it's really up to each individual county, city, public agency to decide how they're going to implement this law. There's only two requirements, that people who have the opposite sex assigned at birth don't enter certain public private spaces and that those agencies take, quote, every reasonable step. And there's been a lot of concern about what constitutes every reasonable step.
- [06:43]
A
No one can be criminally charged for violating the new rules, but institutions that don't comply face hefty fines. As the bill made its way through the Texas Legislature, Representative Orr said enforcement would be based on how people look. She since walked that statement back. But Runnell says that the opponents of this bill worry that puts the onus on fellow bathroom goers to become the enforcers of the rule.
- [07:08]
E
In other states, it's led to uncomfortable confrontations in public and private spaces. And so there's a lot of concern that this might ramp up some of those, you know, public confrontations or inappropriate interactions in a bathroom.
- [07:24]
A
And in some cases, people say the new law creates new problems. University of Texas San Antonio sophomore Katerina Rendone told ABC that she chose to live in mixed gender housing but had to move since she and her roommate, a man, can't legally share a bathroom.
- [07:41]
D
Now, I don't understand how you can police this to fully consenting adults. They're separating brothers and sisters. They're separating couples. You choose to live with who you want to live with, and they're taking that choice away.
- [07:51]
A
Texas joins 19 other states with similar laws.
- [08:03]
President Trump made a surprising pardon on Wednesday, this time granting clemency to a sitting Democrat. Texas Representative Henry Cuellar and his wife Imelda, were granted clemency just as they were set to stand trial on bribery and money laundering charges. Cuellar gave his thanks to Trump while speaking to reporters on the Capitol Hill steps.
- [08:23]
C
I would also say I want to thank God for standing during this very difficult time with my family and I. Now we can get back to work. Nothing has changed. We will continue working hard.
- [08:33]
A
Cuellar and his wife were accused of accepting just under $600,000 in bribes from an Azerbaijani oil Mexican bank in exchange for pushing policies that were favorable to those actors. He was also accused of laundering the money through sham consulting contracts. Earlier this week, we talked about Juan Orlando Hernandez, the convicted ex president of Honduras who was pardoned by Trump. He was serving a 45 year sentence in the US for drug trafficking. Similar to Hernandez. Cuellar's family sent a letter of appeal to Trump, lavishing him with praise and pleading for his mercy and compassion, a message that Trump attached to social media post and also like Hernandez, Trump pointed the finger at overzealous DOJ officials from the Biden era. Trump said Cuellar was prosecuted for his willingness to go against other Democrats on immigration policy. In his post, Trump said he didn't know Cuellar, but he said he could, quote, sleep well tonight and that his nightmare is finally over. There has long been speculation over whether Cuellar, one of the Democratic Party's most conservative members, might finally flip to the gop. But after the pardon, Cuellar wasted no time making his intentions clear and filed for reelection as a Democrat. Yesterday, Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries indicated to CNN that this was one Trump pardon he could get behind.
- [09:59]
F
Listen, the reality is this indictment was very thin to begin with. In my view. The charges were eventually going to be dismissed, if not at the trial court level, by the Supreme Court, as they've repeatedly done in instances just like this.
- [10:13]
A
The pardon now complicates Republicans plans for next year's midterms. The GOP slated Cuellar's seat as a key target and recruited a top Republican candidate to run for that seat. Trump won the district in 2024. The AP's White House reporter and CNN analyst Sung Min Kim told the network this would now make it a pretty awkward midterm campaign.
- [10:35]
G
What I find really fascinating, speaking of things that are going to get even more muddled, is the Republican strategy to defeat Cue been constantly trying to get him ousted for many, many cycles now. They don't necessarily always attack him over his legal issues, but the fact that he now has effectively a Trump seal of approval, I'm sure complicates the messaging.
- [10:55]
A
Liz Oyer was a pardons attorney under the Biden administration and has become a Trump critic since being fired earlier this year. On her social channels, she described this as part of a pattern. Donald Trump is normalizing public corruption in our country. During his second term alone, he has already pardoned at least 11 corrupt, corrupt elected officials, including Cuellar, George Santos, and numerous others. Trump has now granted more than 1600 pardons and commutations so far this term.
- [11:33]
Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. The doctor who illegally supplied ketamine to Friends star Matthew Perry was sentenced to two and a half years in prison on Wednesday, Dr. Salvador Plasencia pleaded guilty to illegally supplying the drug to Perry, who died in 2023 due to acute effects of ketamine and had long struggled with addiction. Placencia said in a letter that he treated Perry with ketamine and left vials for him after the actor paid him large sums of money. He said that money went to help his financially struggling urgent care clinic. Plasencia is one of six people charged with crimes related to Perry's death.
- [12:13]
The Trump administration on Wednesday took steps to roll back fuel economy requirements for new cars. The move is the latest in a broader shift away from hybrids and electric cars. Trump was joined by auto executives as he proclaimed the changes will make for cheaper vehicles. As NPR points out, automakers have been sent into whiplash by policy changes in recent administrations. The Obama administration set ambitious fuel economy rules, then Trump reversed them in his first term. The Biden reinstated them, only for Trump to now reverse them again.
- [12:47]
And finally, more and more people are turning to ChatGPT in search of answers for deeply personal and profound questions about themselves and the world around them. And yet it can't reliably tell you the time. Sometimes it'll ask for more questions, or it'll offer you a different time zone altogether. The Verge looks into why this is happening. Unlike your phone and your laptop, there's no built in clock, and ChatGPT draws from words and patterns, patterns in its training data, not from live information. An AI robotics expert told the Verge that the chatbot has a context window that is limited in what it can store, and if you try to add more stuff to it, you'd eventually have to start pushing other, more useful stuff out. So as we wonder how AI will transform the workforce, perhaps the old world job of the watchmaker will be safe after all.
- [13:39]
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. Scientific American reports on how the fossil fuel industry, in an effort to maintain profits, is betting big on the future of plastics. 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.
- [14:08]
B
Sam.