Washington Today (6-28-24): Post-presidential debate rallies: Donald Trump in VA, Joe Biden in NC

[Music] welcome to Washington today on cpan radio for Friday June 28th 20124 day after the first presidential debate of the Year President Joe Biden heads to Raleigh North Carolina and former president Trump to Chesapeake Virginia the Supreme Court overturns a 40-year precedent that told federal courts to follow the opinions of experts in federal agencies when evaluating regulations that are not clear what was known as the Chevron deference we'll talk about the potential impact with USA Today supreme court reporter Moren grape Supreme Court also Limits The Justice Department's use of a federal law that makes it a crime to corruptly obstruct or impede an official proceeding when charging defendants including Donald Trump in the attack on the US capital on January 6 2021 during congress's counting of the Electoral College ballots confirming President Joe Biden's Victory it could potentially overturn convictions and shorten sentences US House passes three large fiscal year 2025 spending bills for the Department of Defense Department of Homeland Security and Department of State plus foreign operations US military removes the pier on the coast of Gaza built to bring in humanitarian Aid again due to bad weather and there are reports military may not reinstall that Pier unless the United Nations starts taking that Aid which has been piling up and distributing it to the Palestinians US Secretary of State Anthony blinkin releases the annual International religious freedom report an evaluation of nearly 200 countries and country music legend Randy Travis goes before a house Judiciary subcommittee to ask Congress to pass the American Music Fairness Act which would require radio stations pay royalties to songs performers two presidential candidates in last night's CNN debate were on the campaign Trail today President Joe Biden Democrat in Raleigh North Carolina former president Donald Trump Republican in Chesapeake Virginia WYTV in Portsmouth Virginia writes the historic green buyer Farms is the location for former president Donald Trump's first rally following Thursday night's presidential debate the parking lot opened at 8:00 a.m. with the gates to the venue expected to open at 11:00 a.m. David Rice a suffk resident said we got here about 2 a.m. and the article says the traffic was so bad to get to the event wavy's crew covering the rally got stuck in it here is President Donald Trump opening that rally thank you hello Virginia did anybody last night watch a thing called a debate man that was a big one but as you saw on television last night we had a big victory against a man that really is looking to destroy our country he's the worst he's the most corrupt the most incompetent president in the history of our country and we have to take it back from that party that's an evil party despite the fact that crooked Joe Biden spent the entire week at Camp David resting working studying he studied very hard he studied so hard that he didn't know what the hell he was doing he got the debate rules that he wanted he got the date that he wanted he got the network that he wanted with the moderates he wanted no amount of rest or rigging could help him defend his atrocious record it's not defensible I don't care who you were you could be the late great Clarence Darrow has anyone ever heard of Clarence darl he was known as quite a good debater not as good as your Governor but that's okay hello Governor I can't miss this guy in the crowd but his son's much better looking than him Joe Biden's problem is not his age it's not his anything really it's you got no problem other than it's his competence he's grossly incompetent you know they keep saying old I know people that are much older than him that are doing unbelievable things making a fortune I knew a man that at 79 he was never a success and he made a billion billion and a half dollars from 79 to 92 and that's what it is it's not his age it's his competence he's not respected anywhere in the world our country is being laughed at all over the world Biden is using the weaponization of his justice department the FBI Local District Attorneys and Attorneys General to try and win an election against his political opponent that happens to be me do you know who I am something that actually was Unthinkable in our nation but which is very common in third world countries are in banana republics that's what he's doing he's using law enforcement to try and hurt his political opponent every one of those things last night you saw that was all started by this guy this crooked guy and not only I crooked I mean just so bad in so many ways he's killing our country he's incapable of winning based on his far-left policies of open borders massive tax increases the green news scam that's a windmill on every corner most of which don't work and things like putting men in women's sports really not a great idea as as every American saw firsthand last night this election is a choice between strength and weakness competence and incompetence peace and prosperity or war or no war they like a war they love Wars you know they love killing people it's so wonderful you know I'm the only president in many many decades that didn't saw start a war I finished one I beat Isis in record time former president Donald Trump Republican presidential candidate and presumptive nominee this year campaigning today in Chesapeake Virginia among those joining him Governor Glenn yunan of Virginia also Republican the Raleigh news and Observer newspaper reporting in North Carolina just afternoon elected officials are beginning to gather at President Joe Biden's first public appearance since Thursday nights debate with former president Donald Trump which left many political pundits asking whether Biden should end his campaign they are among hundreds being pumped up ahead of Biden's appearance by both live performers and pre-recorded music The Deep River singers sang several songs before the rally began and led the crowd in a sing along to the lyrics be the change you want to see in the world that was from the Raleigh news and observer here's part of President Joe Biden campaigning in Raleigh North Carolina I know I'm not a young man State the obvious well I know well I don't folks I don't walk as easy as I used to I don't speak speak as smoothly as I used to I don't de debate as well as I used to but I know what I do know I know how to tell the truth I know I know I know right from wrong and I know how to do this job I know how to get things done I know like millions of Americans know when you get knocked down you get back up I know what it took to take our economy from the depths of pandemic to where it is today the strongest economy in the world I know it'll take to bring this economy to everybody I know it take to Rally the world to stand up against Putin and defend Freedom not yield them and I know it will take to keep the world safe and free for the years ahead folks I give you my word is abide and I would not be running again if I didn't believe with all my heart and soul I can do this job because quite [Music] frankly the stakes are too high the stakes are too high [Applause] Donald Trump Donald Trump is a genuine threat to this nation he's a threat to our freedom he's a threat to our democracy he's literally a threat for everything America stands for look he doesn't understand what I think all of you do America is the finest and most unique nation in the world we're the only in the world and I mean this sincerely it's a fact statement not a hyper hyperbolic statement it's fact we're the only nation in the world built on an idea all the nations built on ethnicity geography and other religion but we're built on an idea that we're all created equal deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives we've never fully lived up with I'll be damned in the year 2024 just two years just two years before the 250 anniversary of our declaration Independence that I'll let Donald Trump walk away from it President Joe Biden campaigning in Raleigh North Carolina joined by first lady Jill Biden meanwhile vice president Kamala Harris held a campaign rally in Las Vegas Nevada also talking about last night's debate President Joe Biden and Donald Trump had their first debate and earlier today the president said himself it was not his best performance but there are three things that were true yesterday before the debate that are still true today let's level set on this all right first the stakes of this race could not be higher second the contrast in this election could not be more Stark and third we believe in our President Joe Biden and we believe in what he stands for that's right and to that point we all know let's not forget he beat Donald Trump once and in Nevada with your help we're going to do it again and we're going to win because for all the punditry last night for all of that our president made clear there is a contrast between someone who lies and someone who leads vice president kamla Harris at a campaign rally today in Las Vegas Nevada story from Associated Press President Joe Biden strained to quell Democratic anxieties over his unsteady showing in the debate with former president Donald Trump as elected members of his party Clos ranks around him in an effort to shut down talk of replacing him at top the ticket Biden's halting delivery and Meandering comments particularly early in the debate fueled concerns from even members of his party that at age 81 he's not up to the task of leading the country for another 4 years that was from the assoc to press reporting today Independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr who wanted to be on the debate stage Thursday night but CNN said he didn't meet the qualifications was interviewed this morning on Fox News do you think Joe Biden is fit to be president right now I don't think so I think that should he resign the decisions that are being made uh the decisions that are being made particularly on Ukraine which is bringing us over closed the nuclear war were closer to nuclear conflict today with the Russians and China and and you know and then who are in League now with Iran which has never happened before that's almost exclusively because of policies of the Biden Administration this week we sent we colluded with the ukrainians to send cluster bomb missiles over Russian territory and we killed people on a beach cluster bombs which are illegal in every country in the world except for two North Korea now ours as war crimes and we're we're now we are now at odds with a nation that has 2500 more nuclear weapons than we do they have better defensive weapons and it's I apologize you want somebody in charge of our country we want somebody in charge of our country who actually is conscious of these things and President Biden doesn't seem to be I got you Robert I only got a few seconds left I and I understand you're making a policy debate but I'm not even talking about a policy debate because we couldn't even get to his policy last night I'm saying from a mental standpoint as someone that can retain and receive information understand what's happened on the national before you can he can even make the policy decisions that you're suggesting do you think he's fit to be president based on that I don't think that President Biden he does not seem to be the person who's making decisions in the white house I think our government is being run by anonimous men in lanyards and it's scary Independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr interviewed on Fox news this morning CNN's Chief Congressional correspondent Manu Raju posting on X Dem leaders not planning a direct intervention to press Joe Biden to drop out of the race after his widely panned debate performance last night per multiple Dem sources at least not yet Dems want to let the dust settle with the public and assess the strength of Biden's campaign house Democratic leader aim Jeff told reporters today that Biden shouldn't drop out asked about his reaction to Biden's performance Jeffrey said we are going to win the house in November that was the post from Manu Raju CNN Chief Congressional correspondent Michael Tyler is the Biden campaign communications director he spoke to reporters on Air Force One do you firmly reject any calls for the president to consider stepping aside or or not running again are there any conversations about that no conversations about that whatsoever the Democratic voters elected nominated Joe Biden Joe Biden's the nominee Joe Biden and a couple of things I would point to about this too if you look at the actual what we actually saw uh since the debate last night we have seen again the president go to North Carolina touch down had thousands of supporters in the state of North Carolina rally around them but we also raised $14 million yesterday in fact the 11:00 hour was our most successful Grassroots fundraising hour of the entirety of the campaign that is democratic voters tuning in telling Joe Biden that they've got his back for the fight ahead because they understand that he's fighting for and just a quick one does the president commit to appearing at the debate in September absolutely that's what we laid out when we challenge Donald Trump to two debates Joe Biden will be there on September 10th we'll see what Donald Trump does Michael Tyler Biden campaign communications director speaking to reporters as they flew on Air Force One story from the Washington Times Congressman chip Roy Republican of Texas said he plans to introduce a resolution calling on vice president Kamala Harris to mobilize the administration's cabinet and invoke the 25th Amendment to remove President Biden from Office the move which Mr Roy announced on X comes after Mr Biden struggled at times during Thursday night's presidential debate to articulate his thoughts that from the Washington Times Congressman James comr republican from Kentucky was on Newsmax this morning the American people got to see what we've been seeing in Congress for two years now a president that's in mental decline a president that doesn't have the ability to fulfill uh the the job responsibilities for the remainder of his term much less for an additional four years after that and I think what the American people got to see is that the mainstream media who continue to have who have constantly been writing stories talking about how he does push-ups every morning that he's the sharpest guy in the room and all this this is another lie that the mainstream media has been caught in just like the lie about the laptop just like the lie about there being no evidence of Biden family corruption I mean this is something the American people got to see uh in real time last night and I think it's very damaging to the Biden campaign and and I've seen a few Democrats in the hall walking to do this interview this morning they wouldn't even make eye contact with me they don't know what to do they are are in panic mode not only are they worried about losing the presidency they're worried about losing uh the house they're worried about losing Governor's races I mean this is a fullblown disaster for the Democrat Party Congressman James comr republican from Kentucky interviewed on Newsmax this morning CNN article registered voters who watch CNN's presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump largely think Trump outperformed Biden according to a CNN poll of debate Watchers conducted by SSRS with most saying they have no real confidence in Biden's ability to lead the country at the same time a majority who tuned in said it had little or no effect on their choice for president debate Watchers say 67% to 33% that Trump turned in a better performance Thursday that was from CNN and neelen media research saying today that 47.9 million people watched Thursday night's presidential debate on TV that is about 20 million fewer than watch the first debate in the 2020 election cycle between President Biden and president Trump this is Washington today story from the New York Times the Supreme Court swept aside a long-standing legal precedent on Friday reducing the power of executive agencies and endangering countless regulations by transferring power from the executive branch to Congress and the courts Chief Justice John G Roberts Jr writing for the majority said that agencies have no special competence and that judges should determine the meaning of federal laws the president Chevron V natural resources defense council is one of the most cited in American law underpinning 70 Supreme Court decisions and roughly 177,000 in the lower courts that was from the New York Times the combined cases in today's decision are ler brigh Enterprises Inc V Gina Rando and Relentless Inc V Department of Commerce Senator Chuck Schumer Democrat from New York the majority leader putting out a statement in overruling Chevron the Trump Maga Supreme Court has once again sided with powerful special interests and giant corporations against the middle class and American families and Senator Tom Cotton republican from Arkansas spoke about the decision on Fox News well this case is a huge victory for the American people constitutional government and the rule of law it's a huge blow to the administrative state in Washington DC no one elects bureaucrats to make these decisions for the American people they elect us congressmen senators and the president to make those decisions we shouldn't be having bureaucrats making them and Congress should be writing clearer simpler laws that allow people to understand them and not punting off to the administrative state to make those decisions for us that's one reason or that's one way you get the web of regulations you've seen over the last three and a half years they're acting like a wet blanket on economic growth maren grape a supreme court reporter for USA Today joins us now for a closer look at the decision that overturned the the Chevron Defence Doctrine thanks for being with us you write at usatoday.com that this is one of the biggest decisions of the term what is the potential impact it it make it harder for regulations to stand up in court regulations that protect the environment protect workers protect consumers in the past uh since this decision in 1984 that has now been overturned the courts were supposed to defer to an agency's interpretation of a statute if the statute was not very clear and the agency's interpretation was uh um was justifiable but in this decision the court is saying no we shouldn't be deferring to the agency's interpretation anymore the the courts it's the Court's role if the statute is ambiguous the Court's role to decide what statute actually says this was a six to3 decision what were the legal rationals of both sides uh well the legal rationale for the majority and and the six3 decision split along um ideological lines uh they said that that that decision that they overturned was wrongly decided because it conflicts with something that's called the administrative procedures act um and and it conflicts with that by giving the agency's priority and interpreting laws instead of the Court the uh the three denters the three liberal justices on the court um they argued about the practical of this that the uh the Congress when they write these laws they can't fill in every detail about how regulation is supposed to be written um and they also don't know what might be coming down the pike and so the experts at the FDA or the EPA or whatever Federal agency it is they are the ones to you know to take the the cont of the legislation and spell that out into well how do you actually apply that what does this mean for past cases and there were a lot of them that relied on the Chevron Doctrine yeah so that was one of the arguments that the administration made in saying do not overturn this they said that could um create chaos by putting those past decisions uh uh in play and uh Chief Justice John Roberts uh said that this decision is going forward it does not undo um decisions that were made in the past based on um the old standard we're talking with Morin grape from USA Today you write ironically the 1984 decision stem from a case that cut back on environmental regulations and was applauded by conservatives at the time why did the sides flip in now yeah that's one of the most interesting things about this case is that um the the initial decision that led to this uh um Doctrine that's been overturned um that was brought by environmental groups who thought that the EPA wasn't uh there they weren't following the law they weren't they weren't they were letting polluters off and they and they weren't following the law in doing so and the court at that time said oh you know we think that the uh the law wasn't clear and we think the epa's interpretation was reasonable therefore it stands um but since then many conservatives have argued that that gave ended up giving too much um leeway to agencies and and not enough to the courts and this has been part of this challenge to uh this Doctrine has been part of this um larger conservative movement to go after what they call the administrative State uh for for years now they think that the federal agencies have have too much power and and this was um a big win for them in uh in trying to diminish that Authority and finally can Congress pass any law that would affect this decision well uh some of the the groups the the public interest groups that um oppos this decision um they said that Congress should uh effectively take the old um decision that was been overturn take that standard and put that into law so it would be in law that the courts would have to defer to to agencies um that's that that is probably not going to happen um but what it does do is because uh because the court is is saying that um that the law that the agencies can't L interpret the laws that puts a lot of pressure on Congress to make sure that the laws that they're passing that they are clear so we don't get these disputes that then have to be UND decided by a court Marine grape supreme court reporter for USA Today you can find her articles at usatoday.com thank you very much thanks for having me house Speaker Mike Johnson republican from Louisiana spoke to reporters today about the Supreme Court's decision overturning that Doctrine the Chevron Doctrine and also another decision as Washington Post report Federal prosecutors improperly charged a January 6 defendant with obstruction the Supreme Court ruled on Friday decision that will likely upend many cases against riers who disrupted the certification of the 2020 presidential election and that Donald Trump's legal team may use to try to whittle down one of his criminal cases that was from The Washington Post here's speaker Mike Johnson this was a big day at Supreme Court as well the Chevron Doctrine has been overturned and this is something that is a will be a remarkable turn of events it will allow us I genuinely believe to exercise again article one Authority the legislative branch and the way our framers intended this to work is supposed to have the authority to determine how the agencies of the government work and what their scope is uh the Chevron Doctrine since 1984 has made that uh a real problem because it gave deference to the agencies to interpret their own rules and that is why the administrative state has grown so far out of control it's one of the primary root problems that we've been trying to work through here and so in a 6 to3 decision the Supreme Court has made the right choice there we I filed an amikas brief in that case the house filed a brief in that case uh and we're delighted uh by that outcome is a long time coming took almost 40 years to get here um the other uh case that was handed down was the Fisher case today also a 6 to3 opinion and uh the the import of that is is U the decision says effectively the court agrees that uh a number of the defendants in the January 6 proceedings have been over charged and that is something that I also think uh many people have recognized for some time and now the highest court in the land has um declared that to be so house Speaker Mike Johnson republican from Louisiana speaking to reporters today some democratic reaction to the two Supreme Court cases first on the Chevron Doctrine Senator Elizabeth Warren Democrat of Massachusetts posting on X let's call the Supreme Court ruling on Chevron what it is a power grab by the far right to benefit the wealthy and well-connected corporate interest want extremist judges to write the rules at the expense of consumers workers safety and the environment and on the other case dealing with the January 6th defendants Congressman Benny Thompson democrat of Mississippi former chair of the January 6th investigative committee putting out a statement I am disappointed that today's overly technical opinion jeopardizes dozens of prosecutions for January 6th offenses the conservative Court in the words of Justice Barrett forced itself to perform textual back flips to find find some way any way to narrow the reach of a clearly written law which Congress passed those who sought to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power on January 6 2021 still need to face the consequences of their deplorable acts to be clear this ruling will have an impact on only a small number of cases out of the over 1,400 criminals who've been charged and sentenced for their violent actions on that terrible day and thankfully the justice department should still be able to aggressively pursue those who would undermine American democracy that was the statement from Congressman Benny Thompson Supreme Court says that Monday January 1st will be its final decision day so we can expect a decision in the case USV Trump about whether Donald Trump can be prosecuted for his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election or whether presidential immunity in whole or in part applies and one more decision issued today by the Supreme Court it upheld a law in grp Pass Oregon that sought to keep homeless residents from sleep outdoors and penalizing sleeping and camping in public places such as sidewalks and city parks the six to3 rulings of the law was not a violation of the Constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment you're listening to Washington today from the hill.com the house on Friday approved a trio of government funding bills that the White House has already threatened to veto if they land on President Biden's desk setting the stage for a bitter spending fight later this year the three measures funding foreign operations and and the Departments of Defense State and Homeland Security have virtually no chance of becoming law amid opposition from the White House and Democrats in the House and Senate over the spending levels partisan policy writers and poison pill amendments but Republicans nonetheless have sought to clear their version of the spending bills to put the party in a stronger negotiating position during talks with Democrats down the road that was from the hill the house debated these bills plus amendments to them over the past 3 days and one issue that came up more than once was us support or not for Ukraine Congressman Paul gosar Republican of Arizona offered an amendment to the state department funding bill to end US military sales to Ukraine you'll hear opposition from another Republican Mario Diaz Bart of Florida my Amendment prohibits funds for foreign military sales to Ukraine the foreign military sales or FMS program is a form of security assistance authorized by the arms export control act as of June 7th the United States has spent nearly six $100 million in active government toover sales cases with Ukraine under the FMS program the United States should not approve of foreign military sales to authoritarian foreign countries like Ukraine Ukraine has arrested priests raided a monastery suspended 11 opposition political parties and Consolidated all television platforms into a state single channel the country does not even allow presidential elections even more shocking is that the FMS program may be used to supply Ukraine with American weapons that can be used to strike with inside Russia last May the state department approved a possible emergency foreign military sale to Ukraine of high Mobility artillery Rockets or himars concerningly just last month an American supplied himars rocket system was reported to be likely used in the attack inside of Russia I for one would rather not have American weapons being used on a ter of our country we are not even at war with President Eisenhower once said that quote a vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment end of quote we cannot keep the peace with weapons of our military establishment being wielded against a third party against another great power if you truly support Global democracy and Liberty and the foreign military sales to Ukraine and with that I ask there my colleagues vote Yes and with that I reserve the gentleman from Arizona reserves what purpose does gentle for what purpose gentleman from Florida seek recognition thank you very much Mr chairman I Rise to claim the time in opposition gentlemen is recognized so Mr chairman we use the term here my friend all the time but I will tell you that gentlemen from Arizona and I are friends and I have great respect for him uh but but I do have to claim the time in opposition so Congress recently provided $1.6 billion in foreign military financing for Ukraine not in this bill that was already done and other countries impacted by the situation in Ukraine so while foreign military financing funds in this bill are not designated for Ukraine there aren't any let me tell you why I still respectfully uh have to stand in opposition I think this just sends a pretty bad message uh during a time of active War I think it would be a Monumental mistake uh potentially in Bolden emboldening our our our enemies including Russia and sending a dangerous signal of the United States weakness something that unfortunately this Administration does every single day and lack of resolve to others around the world including potentially communist China and other adversaries so uh I will also note that House Republicans uh successfully secured language in the fiscal year 24 State and foreign operations bills that brings unprecedented transparency and oversight requirements on all assistance all assistance going to Ukraine which is I think is a very important thing to do and and I and I think all of us agreed to that so I want to repeat there are no FMF uh funds in this bill for Ukraine uh but it goes to again because the only FMF that we have in this bill goes to other uh uh key partners and I mentioned that like like Taiwan and so but I just think that a Prohibition and potentially sends a very bad message uh there are no funds but I think this would send a very bad message and so I have great respect for again somebody who actually is a friend of mine we're good friends uh but but I respectfully have to oppose uh this amendment and I would reserve the balance of my time Congressman Mario Diaz bolar republican from Florida on the house floor on Wednesday he chairs the appropriation subcommittee that covers the state department and foreign operations Bill the goar amendment Paul goar Republican of Arizona failed by a vote of 61 yes and 350 no it was one of dozens of amendments considered over the past couple of days to that bill and two other spending bills and all three bills passed today by the house the state department Bill $51 billion which is 19% under President Biden's request for fiscal year 2025 passed on a vote of 212 to 200 and then the house passed the Pentagon defense department spending Bill $833 billion that's 1% over last year that vote was 2117 to 198 and the third Bill Homeland Security Department spending $65 billion that vote was 212 to 203 three fiscal year 2025 spending bills completed in the house and nine to go the new fiscal year starts October 1st although house Speaker Mike Johnson did point out in these three bills it covers about 70% of the discretionary spending of the federal government Washington today continues news in a moment the house will be in order this year cpan celebrates 45 years of covering Congress like no other since 1979 we've been your primary source for Capital Hill providing balanced unfiltered coverage of government taking you to where the policy is debated and decided all with the support of America's cable companies C-SPAN 45 years in counting powered by cable [Music] welcome back to Washington today available as a podcast on the cpan now mobile app that's free and wherever you find your podcasts story from Associated Press the pier built by the US military to bring Aid to Gaza has been removed due to weather to protect it and the US is considering not reinstalling it unless the aid begins flowing out into the population again us officials said Friday while the military has helped deliver desperately need food through the pier the vast majority of it is still sitting in the adjacent storage yard and that area is almost full eight agencies have had difficulty moving the food to areas further into Gaza where it's most needed because the humanitarian convoys have come under attack Sabrina Singh is the Pentagon Deputy press secretary questioned about it today at her news conference and then one question on the pier six weeks ago today the pier began operating if my if my math is right and it's been down for roughly two and a half weeks has the peer lived up to its expectations I would say it certainly has Orin um I mean just it it it might have been operating for you know six weeks and during that time yes we have had periods of time where we've had to pull it offline because of weather uh we've had periods of time where we we've had to do repairs uh but as I mentioned in my topper um since May 17th we've had over 19 million pounds of Aid delivered to the shore in Gaza that is I would say a great success um and you have to remember that at the beginning of uh this year and uh the State of the Union the president directed this Maritime Corridor be established and I think it has been successful because at the end of the day not enough Aid is getting into the people of Gaza this is meant to be an additive measure this is not meant to be the only um route where AID can get in and we've been able to deliver 199 million pounds and yes there is still Aid that is sitting in that marshalling area awaiting further distribution we're working with groups to to make sure that happens but um I would say that our men and women in uniform have done really heroic work to get that Aid to the people that need it most Pentagon Deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh more from the Associated Press article the United Nations which has the widest reach in delivering Aid to starving Palestinians hasn't been Distributing food and other emergency supplies arriving through the pier since June 9th the Paul's came after the Israeli military used an area near the pier to fly out hostages after their rescue in a raid that killed more than 270 Palestinians prompting a un Security review over concerns that Aid worker safety and neutrality may have been compromized from Voice of America the United States criticized China in the state Department's 2023 report on International religious freedom describing the country as a repressive regime in the report released Wednesday parman also cited a International and domestic increase in anti-Semitism and islamophobia which it attributed to the war in Gaza Secretary of State Anthony blinkin spoke at the state department on the report's release Pew Research Center recently found that government restrictions on religion had reached their highest Global level since tracking began back in 2007 today governments around the world continue to Target individuals shutter places of worship forcibly displace communities and imprison people because of their religious beliefs some countries Place restrictions on wearing certain types of religious dress others enforce it in some instances governments are reaching beyond their own borders to Target individuals because of their faith and their advocacy for Religious Freedom in every region people continue to face religious-based violence religious based discrimination both from governments and their fellow citizens they may be shut out of schools denied jobs harassed beaten or Worse violent extremist groups also Target People based on their faith as we saw in the attacks last weekend on churches and a synagogue in Russia's dagistan region in which police civilians and a priest were killed since hamas's horrific terrorist attack on Israel on October 7th and the subsequent conflict in Gaza both anti-Semitism and islamophobia have increased significantly across the globe here in the United States reports of hate crimes and other incidents targeting both Muslims and Jews have gone up dramatically the Department's report tracks these kinds of threats to Religious Freedom in almost 200 countries for example blasphemy laws in Pakistan help Foster a climate of intolerance and hatred that can lead to vigil anism and mob violence in Hungary officials continue to use anti-semitic tropes and anti-muslim rhetoric and they penalize members of religious groups who criticize the government nine other European nations have laws that effectively ban some forms of religious clothing in public spaces in India we see a concerning increase in anti-conversion laws hate speech demolitions of homes and places of worship for members of minority Faith communities at the same time people around the world are also working hard to protect religious freedom Secretary of State Anthony blinkin on Wednesday at the state department on the release of the annual report to Congress on International religious freedom the business today news site out of India has an article the ministry of external Affairs on Friday said the US state Department's 2023 religious freedom report is deeply biased and lacks an understanding of India's social fabric addressing the media mea spokesperson rander jazal said as in the past the report is visibly driven by vote Bank considerations and a prescriptive Outlook we therefore reject it Wall Street today the Dow down 45 NASDAQ down 126 S&P down 22 country star Randy Travis writes billboard magazine had members of Congress gushing and brought star power to an otherwise business-like hearing titled radio music and copyrights 100 Years of inequity for recording artists held Wednesday by the house Judiciary subcommittee on courts intellectual property and the internet Travis who has had difficulty speaking since suffering a stroke in 2013 was represented at the hearing by his wife Mary Travis his circumstances have made him a fitting witness and supporter of the American Music Fairness Act or AA a bill that would create a performance right for sound recordings at terrestrial radio unable to sing Travis has given up touring and relies on royalties for his long-term Healthcare that from billboard magazine here is the opening statement part of it from Mary Travis music is was and always will be his Lifeline but but that Lifeline has changed and we need to acknowledge that the days of Randy packing a car and tracking across thousands of miles uh throughout the country to visit radio stations and deliver copies of his newest cut cassette in hopes of having his music heard or things of the past the Advent of streaming has all but replaced physical records and CD sales and there are no guarantees that listeners are running out to buy concerts and t-shirts folks can hear all the music they want on demand for pennies a day of all the things that we do differently than we did a century ago One Thing Remains the Same and that is that the voice is still the mandatory bridge between the writer and The Listener and it's time to do right by the ones that created that sound that Melody that emotion that keeps the listeners coming back and the advertisers buying into radio passing ampa bill would make many old wrongs finally right artists musicians and producers would receive a gratuity for their work artists would would be much more inclined to collaborate with stations on projects and events all platforms all other platforms uh would be more understanding of the level paying field artists can send more time can spend more time with their family and less time on the road and the size and the nature of the radio station will determine the scaled fee starting at just $10 a year structured to protect and assure continued success for stations of all sizes you have the power to change this and better sooner than later as we are staring AI technology squarely in the face Mary Travis the wife of country music legend Randy Travis who was sitting beside her at a house Judiciary subcommittee hearing on Wednesday Randy Travis has had trouble speaking since a stroke a decade ago billboard magazine article on this saying that under this proposed American Music Fairness Act small non-commercial commercial radio stations with annual revenue less than $100,000 would pay as little as $10 per year and stations that earn 1.5 million in annual revenue and whose parent companies make less than 10 million would pay $500 each year story from the hill Congressman Thomas Massie republican from Kentucky announced the death of Ronda Massie his wife of over 35 years on Friday morning he posted on X alongside photos of him and his wife yesterday my high school sweetheart the love of my life for over 35 years the loving mother of our four children the smartest kindest woman I ever knew my beautiful and wise queen forever Rhonda went to heaven Congressman chip Roy republican from Texas spoke today on the house floor we were all saddened to learn today of the passing of the spouse of one of our members uh Thomas Massie the gentleman from Kentucky his wife Rhonda of many years they were childhood sweethearts um she suddenly passed away yesterday uh Mr Massie had drive home to Kentucky and be home with his family which is where he is today uh I would ask everybody in the chamber and everybody around the complex to please rise and observe a moment of silence and offer your prayers and thoughts and condolences for our good friend from Kentucky Congressman chip Roy republican from Texas today on the house floor Congressman Andy Bar republican from Kentucky wrote on X I'm deeply saddened by the passing of Ronda Massie the Beloved wife of my friend and colleague Thomas Massie ronda's warn kindness and dedication to her family and Community touched everyone who had the privilege of knowing her Congressman Bar's wife also died unexpectedly in 2020 thanks for listening to Washington today subscribe to CB's free evening newsletter word for word and you'll get the stories making headlines in Washington send to your inbox every day sign up at c-span.org connect have a good night and weekend oh [Music]