← The Headlines
The Headlines
Zelensky and Netanyahu Go to Mar-a-Lago, and Student Loan Borrowers Face New Reality
00:07:40
Plus, food trends coming in 2026.
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Transcript11 lines
- [00:00]
Center for Biological Diversity Representative
This podcast is supported by the center for Biological Diversity. Wildlife and public lands are at risk like never before. From the wilds of Alaska to the Florida Everglades, the Center for Biological Diversity is fighting these attacks with an uncompromising team of lawyers, scientists and activists. This year, the center has taken legal action every five days to protect species at risk and to keep public lands, forests, oceans and habitat safe from destruction. Your matched gift today will secure a future for the wild. Visit biologicaldiversity.org NYT.
- [00:38]
Tracie Mumford
From the new York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracie Mumford. Today's Monday, December 29th. Here's what we're covering. President Trump is closing out the year with a pair of high profile foreign policy meetings at Mar a Lago.
- [00:54]
President Trump
We discussed a lot of points and I do think we're getting a lot closer, maybe very close.
- [01:01]
Tracie Mumford
Yesterday, Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for talks about ending the war in Ukraine.
- [01:07]
President Trump
There are one or two very thorny issues, very tough issues, but I think we're doing very well. We made a lot of progress today.
- [01:13]
Tracie Mumford
The two were discussing a 20 point peace plan they've been hashing out. And Trump said he'd talked to Russian President Vladimir Putin for more than two hours as well. Russian officials, however, had been downplaying any peace talks. And over the weekend, the country's military carried out an hours long drone and missile assault on Ukraine's capital. Now today in Florida, President Trump is set to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The meeting comes as there have been growing tensions between the US And Israel on at least three fronts. The Israeli military's ongoing attacks in Lebanon and Syria seem to be at odds with the Trump administration's efforts to stabilize both of those those countries. Also in the West Bank, Netanyahu's right wing political base is pushing him to annex the territory despite warnings from Trump not to do that. And in Gaza, the fact that Israel has continued to carry out attacks there during the ceasefire with Hamas has angered the White House. Since the truce went into effect more than two months ago, Palestinian officials say Israel has killed over 400 people, including more than 150 children. Israel says it has targeted only militants. Also in one other foreign policy update.
- [02:30]
President Trump
They have a big plant or a big facility where they send, you know, where the ships come from. Two nights ago we knocked that out. So we hit them very hard.
- [02:39]
Tracie Mumford
President Trump says that the US Hit a site in Venezuela last week in what could be the first known attack on land there since he began escalating his military campaign against the country. US Officials the Times reached out to said Trump was referring to a drug facility, but declined to specify any details, and there have been no public reports of an attack from authorities in the region. Trump has been promising strikes on Venezuela for weeks as he turns up the pressure on the country's authoritarian leader, Nicolas Maduro, who he's accused of being a narco terrorist. Starting next week, the Department of Education says it's going to notify some student loan borrowers who are in default that the government will garnish their wages. That could mean having up to 15% of their take home pay withheld. It's a return to standard practice of sorts. After years of pandemic era relief on student loans, payments were paused entirely from 2020 to 2023, even after the payments resumed. But borrowers who defaulted weren't immediately penalized. But in the last year, those penalties have kicked back. In the first group to be notified about garnished wages will be small, roughly 1,000 people. That number's expected to go up on a monthly basis. About 5 million borrowers are in default total, and millions more are expected to be close to missing payments. Meanwhile, the longtime wisdom about student loans has been that there's no way to get out of them, even in bankruptcy, which can wipe away credit card and medical debt. Trying to erase student loans requires filing a separate lawsuit and undergoing a costly process with no guarantee of success. Most people don't even try. But a Biden era change streamlined the process and provided clearer guidelines on who could qualify. Now, a new study shows that borrowers are succeeding. They must still show that their student loans are an undue hardship, a legal standard that Congress never defined. So courts across the country interpret it differently. But people who go through the process now have an 87% success rate in dismissing most or all of their loans, more than double the rate two decades ago, a researcher behind the study told the Times. Quote, that's strikingly high when you think about the narrative being it's impossible. Across the country this weekend, we know this really could not have come at a worse time for those traveling for the holidays. Whether it's winter, weather has been wreaking havoc as snow and winds have made travel difficult or impossible in many areas. You're taking a live look at LaGuardia and Newark airports. Hundreds of flights have been canceled. In New York, there were widespread flight cancellations as the city got its heaviest snowfall in nearly four years. Central park saw more than 4 inches of snow pile up and other parts of the region got as much as a foot or more. Meanwhile in the Midwest we are under a next weather alert kind of obviously because it is messy out there. Forecasters are warning about a dangerous and potentially life threatening storm that was set to bring blizzard conditions to the region through this morning. Images from the weather service show nearly white out conditions on roads in Minnesota cause causing portions of the interstate there to be shut down. The state patrol told residents to push back or scrap travel plans for now. Overall this weekend tens of thousands of flights were delayed and several thousand were canceled. And finally, if you didn't know, IHOP sells protein pancakes. Come 2025, the food world hit peak protein. Apparently this Matcha place is like the best in San Diego. But they always Matcha was everywhere like.
- [06:36]
President Trump
Oh man, look at all the loft shrimp.
- [06:38]
Tracie Mumford
And classic chain restaurants like Chili's and Red Lobster proved they had staying power. Now the Times is looking ahead to 2026 food trends. Checking in with market researchers, industry executives, restaurant owners, etc. They say the ingredient of 2026 may be vinegar. Chefs and bartenders are embracing it for all kinds of things, whether it's pickling or or mixing it into non alcoholic drinks to give them more character or spritzing thyme flavored vinegar on warm cookies, which is apparently a thing. Another trend Grandma core cooking could be coming your way. With people looking to tap into traditional home crafted foods like sauerkraut and things jarred and canned in small batches. 2026 could also be all about texture. Crunchy has been on the rise for a while. More than 60% of all restaurant menus have that word on them. And forecasters think chewy is on track to be the new Crunchy. Anyone who has eaten a nerds cluster knows this is happening. There's a full list of what else is coming up@nytimes.com including two other food predictions I cannot even imagine. But I will try. Apparently cinnamon rolls are gonna veer savory and celery are is going to show up everywhere. Even in desserts. Those are the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow.
- [08:15]
Amnesty International Representative
This podcast is supported by Amnesty International. When the world is breaking apart, but you refuse to look away, Amnesty International is the place to start. They're fighting to protect freedom of speech, expose war crimes, support the rights of immigrants and refugees, and stop the spread of dangerous authoritarian practices at home and abroad. Your support will defend human rights for everyone everywhere. For a limited time, all gifts will be matched through the end of the year tax deadline. Donate@amnestyusa.org podcast.