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- [00:04]
Hannah Jewell
The Justice Department obtained an indictment against New York Attorney General Letitia James. That's where we're starting the seven from the Washington Post, I'm Hannah Jewell. It's Friday, October 10th. Let's get you caught up with today's seven stories. A grand jury in Virginia indicted James yesterday on one count of bank fraud and one count of making a false statement. The Justice Department has accused her of committing mortgage fraud when she purchased a property in Virginia. James called the charges baseless and accused President Trump of weaponizing the justice system. James won a civil fraud case against Trump, his company and family last year in New York. James is the second official to be charged in the Eastern District of Virginia since Trump pushed out the top prosecutor there and replaced him with his close ally, Lindsey Halligan. Halligan presented the case against James to the grand jury in Alexandria herself. That's unusual and suggests that the office struggled to find a career attorney willing to take on the assignment. One senior attorney in the office indicated to her staff in recent days that she believed the case was weak and did not want to present it to a grand jury. Halligan also obtained an indictment two weeks ago against former FBI Director James Comey that was on two charges, including making a false statement to Congress. Comey has pleaded not guilty. Number two, President Trump said he will travel to Egypt to attend the signing of a Gaza ceasefire deal. Yesterday, Israeli ministers approved an initial ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza that has set into motion the first part of a plan that, if carried out successfully, would end the two year long war. And Trump is eager to claim credit. Yesterday, a senior White House official told the Post that Trump used maximum pressure against Israel to force the US Ally to accept the deal. Trump plans to travel to Egypt, where the deal was negotiated, to attend its signing. It's not clear when that will be. The president had hoped to be rewarded for his efforts in the Middle east and elsewhere with a Nobel Peace Prize. But this morning, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced that the recipient would be Maria Karina Machado. She's a prominent opposition leader in Venezuela and is being recognized for her work promoting Democratic rights in that country. Number three, the White House has not engaged with Democrats on the government shutdown. The shutdown is dragging into its second week. Polling has shown that Americans blame Republicans more than Democrats for failing to keep funding the government. The key sticking point between Democrats and Republicans in Congress is Obamacare subsidies. Those are set to expire soon. If they do, it could hike the cost of health care for many Americans. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries continued to point the finger at House Republicans.
- [03:35]
Hakeem Jeffries
Yesterday, House Republicans canceled votes. Last week, House Republicans canceled votes. This week, House Republicans appear ready to cancel votes next week. These people are not serious about reopening the government.
- [03:54]
Hannah Jewell
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson deflected the blame right back.
- [03:58]
Mike Johnson
We've done our job and the Democrats need to do theirs now. That ball has been sent to the other court. That is the place where it lands right now. Six times, I remind you, they voted to shut it down. We need five Democrats to break ranks. We need five of them to wake up and come their senses and do the right thing for the American people. How long are they going to allow this pain to be sustained?
- [04:18]
Hannah Jewell
Behind the scenes, Trump and his aides are refusing to negotiate. That's according to a senior White House official, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune said his strategy is to wait for Democrats to fold. Number four is a Post exclusive. Tech billionaire Peter Thiel delivered apocalyptic warnings in private lectures. Thiel was an early investor in Facebook and is the co founder of the data analytics firm Palantir. You weren't supposed to know what he said. In four off the record lectures he delivered in San Francisco over the last month, the audience was told to keep quiet about the content of his speeches, but the Post got a hold of leaked audio and it was pretty revealing. Thiel's lectures fused beliefs about religion and technology. They connected government oversight of Silicon Valley to an apocalyptic future. He also said that Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and critics of artificial intelligence are legionnaires of the Antichrist. His words. The billionaire's lectures were a forceful display of religious beliefs in an industry that has historically been secular. The U.S. could spend up to $50 million to protect polar bears in Greenland. That's our fifth story. Documents reviewed by the Post show the Trump administration is considering investing significantly in protecting vulnerable wildlife. It's also proposing $25 million to protect snow leopards in Nepal. This would be strikingly at odds with the administration's dramatic cuts to other forms of U.S. foreign aid. The Greenland initiative is noteworthy, given Trump has repeatedly expressed a desire to buy or annex the territory from Denmark. Meanwhile, the US Also finalized plans yesterday for another use of foreign aid, a financial rescue for Argentina. That $20 billion move could relieve pressure on President Javier Milei. He's an enthusiastic Trump supporter. A storm is set to bring high winds, waves and coastal flooding this weekend. That's number six. This storm will sweep up the east coast from Florida to Long island and southern New England, although the worst impacts are expected in coastal areas. Major cities will be affected, too. New York, Newark, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. will be very stormy. In North Carolina, there's a risk that dozens of homes will fall into the sea. That's after eight houses in the Outer Banks collapsed last week. And if strong winds affect runways, we can also expect flight delays. It's unlikely, though, that this storm will get a name, but that doesn't mean it won't be destructive. And at number seven, Trump supporters are planning an alternative super bowl halftime show. Some MAGA fans are furious that Puerto Rican star Bad Bunny will headline the super bowl halftime show in February, so they are making their own plans. It's being organized by Turning Point usa. That's the organization founded by the conservative activist Charlie Kur, who was killed last month. We don't know who will perform at the show or where it will take place or how it will be broadcast, but Turning Point said the show would celebrate faith, family and freedom. The group has shared a form asking supporters which music genres they'd like featured. So if that's your type of thing, be sure to get your requests in. That's the show for this week. The associate producer of the Seven is Taylor White. Special help this week from producer Lucas Trevor. The staff writers are Jamie Ross, Izzin Akabao and me. John Taylor is our editor. Additional editing by Christina Quinn copyediting by Melissa Ngo and Thomas Haliba. Mixing and sound design is by Jim Briggs and Justin Gerrish. Our theme music is by Edith Mudge. Renita Jablonsky is our director of audio. I'm Hannah Jewell. Thanks for listening and have a great weekend. I'll meet you back here on Monday.
- [09:24]
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- [09:55]
Mike Johnson
Weeks.
- [09:55]
Washington Post Advertiser
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