← The Headlines
The Headlines
MAHA Moms Turn Against Trump, and More States Rush to Limit Transgender Rights
00:14:17
Plus, your Friday news quiz.
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We gave Times employees a preview of Crossplay from New York Times games and here's what they had to say. I can finally play with other people. I'm pretty competitive. It's fun to beat friends and co workers. I have a J for 10 points. I'm guessing Tenga is not a word. Let's see. Tenga is a word. Oh, as an English as a second language speaker, I like to learn new words. New York Times game subscribers get full access to Crossplay, our first two player word game. Subscribe now for a special offer on all of our games from the New York Times, it's the Headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Friday, February 20th. Here's what we're covering.
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The societal norm that we're talking about is that men go in men's rooms
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and women go in women's rooms.
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That's a societal norm that needs to stand.
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In statehouses across the country, the Times is tracking how Republican lawmakers are pushing a wave of hundreds of newbies bills aimed at limiting transgender rights.
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The highly controversial transgender bathroom bill will now become law in Kansas.
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In Kansas this week, lawmakers passed a law allowing people to sue transgender individuals who use public bathrooms that don't match their sex assigned at birth. Florida's workers should not be forced to choose between their conscience and their jobs. Some Florida lawmakers are trying to ensure public employees cannot be required to use their co workers preferred pronouns. House Bill 404 Sex designated housing amendments by representatives and in Utah, bills are moving forward that would remove protections against discrimination in housing and employment for transgender people. The moves are in line with the Trump administration's push at the national level to limit trans rights, they also reflect a shift in focus. While many of the restrictions and court fights in recent years have centered on minors, whether they can receive gender affirming treatment or play on different sports teams, these new bills mostly apply to adults. In some cases, they question whether, for the purposes of state law, a person can be trans at all. The Kansas bill, for example, would also invalidate people's driver's licenses if they've ever changed their gender in the state's ID system. Advocates pushing for these bills argue they are necessary to protect women and say they reject the idea of a trans identity, with one Utah lawmaker saying, quote, there is no such thing as gender. It's a made up word and term. It's actually just two sexes. There's male and female. Supporters of trans rights, however, say the efforts are discriminatory and that even debating them makes it harder for people to openly identify as trans. In recent years, polling shows Americans have become more supportive of restrictions like barring trans athletes from women's sports, though a majority still want trans people to have protections from discrimination in jobs, housing and public spaces. New data released this week by the government shows that overall in 2025, the country's trade deficit in goods hit a record high. Essentially, the gap between the huge amount of physical products the US Imports and the smaller amount it exports has never been wider. President Trump has repeatedly promised his steep tariffs would shrink that deficit by boosting US Manufacturing and turning people off overseas goods, but the data shows that's not happening yet. In some cases, the tariffs actually caused imports to spike as companies went into stockpiling mode, trying to bring in as much as they could before the surcharges kicked in. And while Americans have notably bought less from China, they bought more from the rest of the world Vietnam, Mexico, India. That's raised questions about whether the US Is becoming less dependent on imports or just shuffling around where it gets them from. The latest numbers are consistent with other data that shows companies have so far not brought production back to the US en masse. In the past year, American manufacturers cut 80,000 jobs. The President could soon need to overhaul his trade policy. The Supreme Court is expected to rule as soon as this morning on the legality of many of the tariffs he's put in place. This week. A small but vocal slice of President Trump's supporters, the self described Maha moms, have accused the president of betraying them. They backed Trump in 2024 after he got the endorsement of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. They were galvanized by Kennedy's pledge to make America healthy again by taking on things like toxins, artificial dyes and pesticides. But there's now been a sudden split after President Trump signed an executive order to boost production of a weed killer often marketed as Roundup, saying it's crucial for the country's food supply. The pesticide, which is used on a wide variety of crops and in home gardens, has been a key concern of the Maha movement and a key target for Kennedy himself. Before becoming the health secretary, Kennedy helped win a nearly $300 million jury award against the company that makes Roundup, claiming it knew it was carcinogenic. Just this week, its parent company said it reached a roughly $7 billion agreement to settle tens of thousands of lawsuits, claiming the product caused non Hodgkin's lymphoma. The company maintains the weed killer is safe, but the Maha movement's concerns about it are clashing with the administration's embrace of it. One conservative health and wellness podcaster told the Times, quote, women feel like they were lied to. And another prominent health influencer with millions of followers on social media said, there is a level of anger and frustration like I've never witnessed before. It's unclear whether or not Kennedy was consulted before Trump signed the executive order, but an influential MAHA activist said the situation pointed to what she called a widening disconnect between voters who want to reduce pesticides and the White House, which has appointed former chemical industry executives and lobbyists to oversee regulations. Okay, you guys, my power bill is here. My electric bill. Let's see what it is together. After a massive, bitterly cold winter storm hit most of the US Last month, Americans are now starting to open their energy bills. $475 for a gas bill one month and they're finding eye popping numbers. I can't pay this. $741.98. One energy company in Virginia said that since people had used more energy for home heating this winter than they had in several decades, customers are going to see bills that match that. But the record low temperatures are not the only factor driving up bills. By some estimates, the price of natural gas has risen 50% from last year. And electricity is also getting more expensive, a trend that's only expected to become a bigger issue as more and more massive data centers pop up across the country. Even as prices rise, the federal government is offering states less money to help low income residents through the winter. The budget for one program that subsidizes heating costs has been cut by about a third. Americans who rely on firewood for heating aren't immune from the scramble either. Suppliers across the US Say they've seen a surge in demand, leading to weeks long delivery delays for wood or even having to turn customers away altogether. And finally, a few days ago, a man took to the Internet to complain that he'd just ripped into a bag of Valentine's Day Reese's Mini Hearts and found they were not good. They weren't covered in milk chocolate, but instead in a chocolate flavored coating that cannot legally be called milk chocolate. The man actually threw the bag away, the first time in his life he said that he'd thrown away a Reese's. It was kind of a big deal because the man's name is Brad Reese. He's the grandson of the inventor of the Reese's Peanut Butter cup. Though the candies are now manufactured by Hershey's, the recipe change is part of a recent trend in the candy business. As prices for cocoa have climbed due to drought, labor shortages and other factors, companies have been moving away from milk chocolate. Other Hershey's products, like Rolo's, Mr. Goodbar, Almond Joy, no longer list it in their ingredients. In response to questions, Hershey said that classic peanut butter cups are still being made the way they always have been. Milk chocolate present and accounted for. But if you check the ingredient list for the seasonal varieties, hearts, Easter eggs, it's gone. You'll see sugar and vegetable oil listed first. One thing to look for as more companies make this pivot, does the packaging describe it as chocolatey candy? That why could be doing a lot of work. Those are the headlines. If you'd like to play the Friday News quiz, it is just after these credits. This show is made by Will Jarvis, Yon Stewart and me, Tracy Mumford. Original theme by Dan Powell. Special thanks to Isabela Anderson, larissa Anderson, Miles McKinley, Zoe Murphy and Paula Schuman. Now time for the quiz. Every week we have a few questions for you about stories the Times has been covering. Can you get them all? Here we go. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 62nd Munich Security Conference in Germany. This past weekend, world leaders gathered for the annual Munich Security Conference, where the big topic was what does diplomacy look like in the age of President Trump? Notably, a number of prominent Democrats who all have a lot of buzz around them potentially running for president themselves, made the trip to pitch their own vision for American foreign policy. We're going to play you three clips of Democrats appearances in Munich. See if you can ID who these potential 2028 hopefuls are ready.
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I'm here in many respects to remind everyone that Trump is temporary. He'll be gone in a matter of years. States like California are permanent where reliable, stable partners had a chance.
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Next one.
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The two that I am on the panel with are much more steeped in foreign policy than is the than a governor is. But you know, I do think that Ukraine's independence, keeping their land mass is
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the goal and we have to have a working class centered politics if we are going to succeed and also if we are going to stave off the scourges of authoritarianism, which also one more time, real quick.
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I'm here in many respects to remind everyone that Trump is temporary.
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The two that I am on the panel with are much more steeped in foreign policy than than a governor is.
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We have to have a working class centered politics. That was in order. California Governor Gavin Newsom, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. At the conference, there were actually so many maybe, possibly, will they, won't they candidates that one political strategist joked, munich is the new Iowa. Next question.
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Let's just call this what it is. Donald Trump's administration wants to silence anyone who says anything bad about Trump on TV because all Trump does is watch tv.
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This week, Stephen Colbert said his network, cbs, was too nervous about angering the FCC with its newly revived equal airtime rule to let him broadcast an interview with a Democrat running for Senate. Under Trump, the FCC's taken aim at not only late night shows to tackle perceived bias against conservatives. Your question? What daytime show did the FCC just confirm it's investigating? The answer. It's the View.
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Oh, yes, the Countdown.
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The View, hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, among others. It is under investigation for interviewing the same Texas lawmaker, James Talarico, that Colbert said he couldn't broadcast. The administration's crackdown seems to have actually been good for Talarico. Colbert put the segment up on YouTube instead, where it's gotten way more views than it ever would have on the Late Show. And Talarico's campaign said he raised over two and a half million dollars in the 24 hours after it was posted. Okay, last question.
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Clava, unleashing the thunder here on the final lap. What a finish. That is really impressive.
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The Olympics will wrap up this Sunday with the closing ceremony. So we are here with one last Olympics question for you. Some of the competitions at the Games don't actually have that many countries in the mix. Women's hockey, for example, only had 10 teams vying for the medals. But some events are more egalitarian. What sport at this year's Winter Games had athletes from the most countries competing? The answer, cross country skiing. With nearly 300 athletes from 65 different nations, some of them, like the skiers from Nigeria, Venezuela and Colombia, are actually the only athlete representing their whole country at the Games. That is it for this week's news quiz. I'm Tracy Mumford. The headlines will be back on Monday.
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This podcast is supported by the American Petroleum Institute. Energy is all around today. America's natural gas and oil keeps the country moving, growing and building and makes every day a little easier. But energy demand is growing and the infrastructure built today will help secure a more affordable, reliable future. With enough energy to go around when America builds, America wins.