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This podcast is supported by Pharma. Did you know that America is the only country in the world where half of every dollar spent on brand medicines goes to entities that don't make them? It's true. Learn more at p h? Rma.org Middlemen.
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Kristi Noem is under pressure. Professors have a new trick to combat cheating, and a teeny, tiny robot has enormous potential. That's some of what we'll get to on the Seven from the Washington Post, I'm Hannah Jewell. It's Friday, December 12th. Let's get you caught up with today's seven stories. Number one, at a combative congressional hearing yesterday, Democrats demanded that Kristi Noem resign. They accused the Homeland Security secretary of lying and violating the law as she helps lead President Donald Trump's mass deportation campaign. Democrats pressed her to explain why scores of US Citizens have been detained during immigration enforcement operations and highlighted cases of immigrants who have lived in the US for decades being deported, including some who have served in the US Military. Here's Democratic Representative Seth Magaziner.
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And it's not just veterans and military families. You are locking up and deporting children with cancer, mothers with babies in the nicu. United States citizens, there are many problems with your leadership, but the biggest problem is this. You don't seem to know how to tell the difference between the good guys and the bad guys.
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Republicans, on the other hand, heaped praise onto Noem for, in their view, improving public safety. Here's Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene. Thanks to Secretary Noem and the hard work of Tom Homan and all the brave men and women at dhs, our new Republican controlled admin has produced the safest and most secure border our country has ever seen. Thank you very much for that. But Noem is still under pressure from her own side. Her testimony came amid media reports that Trump is considering replacing her. Number two, President Trump is threatening states that try to regulate artificial intelligence. Yesterday at the White House, Trump signed an executive order on AI. It directed the federal government to file lawsuits against states that introduce regulations on AI technology, at least when it's deemed to undermine the global AI dominance of the US Trump spoke about the importance of AI to the economy at a signing ceremony yesterday.
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We're way ahead of what we ever thought we'd be just from the infancy of AI. So really both, and we want to be very careful with with it. We also know that a big part of our economy, it could be 50, 60% of our economy going forward for a period of time at least, especially during the startup, is AI and AI based.
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Trump's order may end up being more of a symbolic move. Legal experts have said the tactic would face considerable court challenges. That's because the Constitution gives states wide leeway to pass laws on issues that aren't covered by federal legisl. 3 the White House signaled a campaign to seize more oil tankers near Venezuela this week, the US Captured an oil tanker named Skipper off the coast of Venezuela. It appeared to signal a new stage in the Trump administration's effort to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Venezuela's economy relies heavily on overseas oil sales, primarily to China. To bypass Western financial systems and shipping services, China relies on dark fleet tankers. Those are typically aging vessels that operate with false registrations and flags. Now, three people familiar with the administration's plans say the US Is likely to capture more sanctioned oil vessels off the Venezuelan coastal. That campaign could dissuade ships from going to Venezuela, and that would be a blow to the Venezuelan economy. Number four Paramilitary forces in Sudan are killing kidnapping victims who can't pay huge ransoms. The United nations has declared Sudan the site of the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Thousands of people have been killed and 12 million displaced over nearly three years of civil war. Now a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces has overrun the western city of El Fahsher and is carrying out mass kidnappings. The group, which the UAE has been accused of supporting, has been holding civilians hostage and executing those who cannot pay. The Post spoke to nine kidnapping victims, family members and activists. To read their stories, follow the link in our newsletter today. Find that as always in our show notes, Professors are turning to a very old method to stop students cheating on exams with AI. That's number five. This story is yet another reason I am glad to no longer be a student. Ever since the release of ChatGPT in 2022, educators have been grappling with the challenge AI represents for existing methods of learning. One of those challenges is the temptation to use it to cheat on tests. A Disclosure the Post has a content partnership with OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT. But anyway, a small but growing number of educators are using an old fashioned tactic oral exams. One professor in Wyoming said she quizzes her students face to face for 30 minutes with nothing for them to lean on mentally apart from their own minds. Apparently the students are kind of into it, but I for one am happy to not be quizzed for 30 minutes about anything. Number six Record cold weather and snow will hit parts of the US this weekend. It's a good thing Midwesterners are so famously strong and brave when it comes to the weather. They will be facing a real test this weekend along with parts of the East Coast. Temperatures are forecast to dip as low as the minus 20s in the upper Midwest on Sunday morning. In total, 110 million people are predicted to experience single digit or below zero temperatures through next week. I grew up in California so I have no useful advice for you. All I can say is good luck. But you might still want to get outside despite the cold. That's because this year's best meteor shower will be visible on Saturday night. The Geminids could sling 50 green meteors overhead every single hour. In our newsletter, we have tips on how to get the best view. And at number seven, a tiny robot could someday swim through your arteries to heal you. Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania and University of Michigan have made a big breakthrough in a teeny tiny package. It's a miniscule robot with an onboard computer, sensors and a motor. The whole thing is less than 1 millimeter in size. That's smaller than a grain of salt. The scientists describe their invention as the world's smallest robot that's able to make decisions for itself. The hope is that someday robots like this could be deployed to travel through the human body. There they could rewire damaged nerves, deliver medicines to specific areas, and determine the health of a patient's cells without surgery. If you'd like to see a picture of this microrobot, you can find one in our newsletter today. It's pretty cool. That's the show for this week. If you are bursting with opinions about how we do things around here, you're in luck. We are running a listener survey for a limited time and if you fill it out you can enter to win a hundred dollar gift card. How enticing. To find the survey go to washingtonpost.com podcastsurvey that's washingtonpost.com podcastsurveY the associate producer of the Seven is Taylor White. The staff writers are Jamie Ross, Izzan Acabow and me. John Taylor is our editor. Additional editing by Christina Quinn. Copy editing is by Melissa Ngo and Thomas Haliba. Mixing and sound design is by Jim Briggs and Justin Gerrish. Our theme music is by Edith Mudge. I'm Hannah Jewell. Thanks for listening and have a great weekend. I'll meet you back here On.
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In America, half of every dollar spent on brand medicines goes to entities who don't make them. While middlemen like PBMs and 340B hospitals drive up costs, BioPharma is investing $500 billion in new infrastructure and manufacturing here at home and helping patients buy medicines directly at lower prices. Tell Washington to end middlemen markups and put American patients first. Visit phrma.org middlemen.