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--:-- Shamita Basu: Good morning. It's Wednesday, March 5th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today.
--:-- Shamita Basu: On today's show, Trump touts his early victories before Congress, the Arab state's proposal to rebuild Gaza after the war ends, and the astronauts stuck at the International Space Station are finally getting ready to come home.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Let's start with President Donald Trump's address last night to a joint session of Congress, his first since taking office in January.
--:-- Shamita Basu: From the moment he entered the chamber, he was greeted by Republican cheers and Democrats protesting. Several dozen held up signs reading things like "Musk Steals" and "Protect Veterans."
--:-- Shamita Basu: Texas Congressman Al Green stood up to disrupt the president's speech and protest threats to Medicaid, and he was escorted out by the sergeant-at-arms.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The chair now directs the sergeant-at-arms to restore order. Remove this gentleman from the chamber.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Throughout his speech, Trump suggested he had a sweeping mandate from the American people to enact broad changes across the federal government.
--:-- Shamita Basu: At one point, he said that God had spared his life from assassination in order for him to return to the presidency.
--:-- Shamita Basu: With that mandate, Trump touted his long list of early actions, everything from dismantling DEI programs and U.S. government agencies like USAID to increasing resources at the southern border and renaming key landmarks like the Gulf of Mexico and Mount Denali.
--:-- Shamita Basu: We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplished in four years or eight years, and we are just getting started.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Trump also celebrated Elon Musk's work with the Department of Government Efficiency, claiming Doge has found hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud, a figure that's been hard for journalists to verify, though many outlets have found instances of Doge overstating its savings.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Trump attacked federal workers, though notably he didn't mention how much the government is saving with mass layoffs.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And he said the days of being ruled by, quote, unelected bureaucrats are over, to which Democrats responded by pointing to Elon Musk sitting up in the gallery.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Trump later turned to his plans for the future, spending quite a bit of time on tariffs and the economy.
--:-- Shamita Basu: His speech came just a day after he implemented tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, moves that sent stocks tumbling for a second day and have some notable economists, including from the International Chamber of Commerce, warning of a recession.
--:-- Shamita Basu: But Trump defended his decision, claimed it will be good for American farmers, even though farmers have sounded the alarm, saying they produce more than Americans consume and need foreign markets to buy their goods.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And Trump also announced his intention to impose reciprocal tariffs on a whole host of countries on April 2nd.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Tariffs are not just about protecting American jobs, they about protecting the soul of our country. Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And it's happening and it will happen rather quickly. There'll be a little disturbance, but we're OK with that. It won't be much.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Trump spent just a few minutes on foreign policy, with a passing mention of Gaza and calling for the war in Ukraine to end.
--:-- Shamita Basu: He tempered the recent hostility we've seen toward Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, instead noting that he appreciated a letter he recently received from Zelensky, saying he's ready to come to the negotiating table and sign the minerals deal.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And Trump reiterated his desire to expand the United States, saying he intends to take the Panama Canal and inviting the people of Greenland to join our country.
--:-- Shamita Basu: We need Greenland for national security and even international security, and we're working with everybody involved to try and get it.
--:-- Shamita Basu: But we need it really for international world security. And I think we're going to get it one way or the other. We're going to get it.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Since this was, after all, a speech addressing Congress, Trump did call on the lawmakers to support his agenda by removing taxes on tips, among other things, by funding his deportation agenda, quote, without delay, and by agreeing to pass laws criminalizing parents who allow their children to undergo gender-affirming medical operations.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Two opposing dynamics were on display all night, Republican exuberance for the president's agenda and Democratic objection, which Trump called attention to several times.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Some Democrats held up signs that said "false," acting as a sort of live fact check on Trump.
--:-- Shamita Basu: At one point, a small group of Democrats staged a small protest before walking out.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Others filed out at various other points during the speech.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Trump's speech was the longest ever given by a president to a joint session of Congress in modern history, eclipsing Bill Clinton's one hour and 29 minute record set in 2000.
--:-- Shamita Basu: According to the American Presidency Project, Trump's address clocked in at one hour and 39 minutes.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Senator Alyssa Slotkin, a Democrat from Michigan, provided the Democratic Party response following Trump's speech.
--:-- Alyssa Slotkin: Look, the president talked a big game on the economy, but it's always important to read the fine print.
--:-- Alyssa Slotkin: So, do his plans actually help Americans get ahead? Not even close.
--:-- Alyssa Slotkin: President Trump is trying to deliver an unprecedented giveaway to his billionaire friends.
--:-- Alyssa Slotkin: And to do that, he's going to make you pay in every part of your life.
--:-- Alyssa Slotkin: Grocery and home prices are going up, not down.
--:-- Alyssa Slotkin: And he hasn't laid out a credible plan to deal with either of those.
--:-- Alyssa Slotkin: While President Trump touted his popular vote victory in the presidential election, a trio of recent polls found that Americans are largely split on the president so far, and economic concerns still dominate with many.
--:-- Alyssa Slotkin: In one of these recent polls conducted by CBS and YouGov, 82 percent said they want the president to make the economy a high priority.
--:-- Alyssa Slotkin: And in an NPR Marist survey, a majority of Americans said that they expect prices to climb higher in the next six months.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Now to the Middle East, where leaders of the Arab League states held an emergency summit in Cairo yesterday to discuss a post-war plan for Gaza and to counter President Trump's proposed plan for a, quote, Middle East Riviera.
--:-- Shamita Basu: In January, the president floated the idea of the United States taking control of Gaza to develop the enclave into a tourism destination, forcing millions of Palestinians to leave their land with no guarantees they could return.
--:-- Shamita Basu: His suggestions have been widely denounced by leaders across the Middle East and worldwide, with some saying it's equivalent to ethnic cleansing.
--:-- Shamita Basu: At yesterday's summit, Arab leaders endorsed a plan proposed by Egypt that would allow Palestinians to remain in Gaza after the war between Israel and Hamas ends.
--:-- Shamita Basu: International correspondent Eya Batraoui, reporting from Cairo, explained for NPR what their proposal includes.
--:-- Eya Batraoui: It has actually several plans along several tracks. The first is basic reconstruction.
--:-- Eya Batraoui: You have tens of thousands of Palestinians killed in Gaza, more than 90 percent of homes damaged or destroyed.
--:-- Eya Batraoui: Basic infrastructure there needs to be rebuilt. So this plan looks at how do you repurpose the rubble? How do you bring in temporary homes for Palestinians to live in and other technical details?
--:-- Eya Batraoui: Egypt's plan to rebuild Gaza would cost an estimated $53 billion and take about five years to complete.
--:-- Eya Batraoui: But the plan didn't specify who would fund reconstruction.
--:-- Eya Batraoui: The Guardian notes it would likely require money from oil-rich Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
--:-- Eya Batraoui: The first phase of reconstruction would focus on clearing debris and unexploded bombs and creating temporary shelters.
--:-- Eya Batraoui: The second phase would focus on restoring critical infrastructure and rebuilding homes.
--:-- Eya Batraoui: The Egyptian government presented a 112-page document full of AI-generated images of housing developments, gardens, and community centers, plus plans for a commercial harbor, a technology hub, hotels along the beach, and an airport.
--:-- Eya Batraoui: But critically, the plan still doesn't give a clear answer to one of the biggest unanswered questions of this conflict, who will govern Gaza if the war ends?
--:-- Eya Batraoui: Egypt proposed an independent administrative committee will temporarily govern and be responsible for managing aid while preparing for the return of the Palestinian Authority.
--:-- Eya Batraoui: This leaves Hamas out of the power equation.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The Trump administration rejected it, saying the president stands by his vision to rebuild Gaza.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And The Guardian reports the Arab League-endorsed proposal does not have the support of Hamas or Israel.
--:-- Shamita Basu: A senior Hamas official said while they support ideas that do not displace any Palestinians, the group will reject attempts to impose development projects on people in Gaza.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously said he wants Israel to permanently control all Palestinian territories.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The Arab summit and proposal comes as the delicate ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas reaches a crucial juncture to see whether the parties can agree to proceed with phase two of the ceasefire and commit to ending the war.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The Wall Street Journal reports that Republican leadership in Washington have advised their members to stop holding town hall-style events after viral videos of angry constituents confronting their representatives about issues like government layoffs and feared cuts to Medicaid spread across the internet.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The guidance came from Representative Richard Hudson, chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, who warned that it could have negative consequences for the midterms.
--:-- Shamita Basu: House Speaker Mike Johnson, meanwhile, said lawmakers should still communicate with their constituents, but not in ways that, quote, give the other side soundbites.
--:-- Shamita Basu: In some good news, the American astronauts who've been at the International Space Station since June of 2024, when the original stay was only supposed to last a few days, are finally scheduled to come home.
--:-- Shamita Basu: NASA's Butch Wilmore and Sonny Williams are expected to return to Earth on a SpaceX capsule later this month.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Recently, SpaceX founder Elon Musk said the ISS has served its purpose and should be taken out of orbit as soon as possible.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The station is set to be decommissioned in 2030.
--:-- Shamita Basu: In a press briefing from Space yesterday, Williams told reporters that she thinks it would be a mistake to halt the work happening on board any sooner.
--:-- Shamita Basu: I actually was extremely impressed coming up here and seeing how much science is going on.
--:-- Shamita Basu: So, I mean, this place is ticking. It's just really amazing.
--:-- Shamita Basu: We're actually in our prime right now.
--:-- Shamita Basu: We've got all the power, all of the facilities up and operating.
--:-- Shamita Basu: So I would think that right now is probably not the right time to say, call it quits.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And finally, the famous Iditarod dog sled race across the Alaskan wilderness is underway this week after it was delayed for a second year in a row due to warm temperatures and too little snowfall.
--:-- Shamita Basu: This year, the lack of snow impacted a particularly dangerous portion of the course, forcing organizers to move the starting line several hundred miles to the north.
--:-- Shamita Basu: This is the fourth time in recent years organizers have been forced to make changes due to rising global temperatures.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And it means the mushers and their dogs will have to race longer.
--:-- Shamita Basu: The course change added more than 100 miles to their usual route.
--:-- Shamita Basu: You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And if you're already listening in the News app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next.
--:-- Shamita Basu: A report released last month found the amount of plastic making its way into the human brain today is roughly 50 percent higher than just eight years ago.
--:-- Shamita Basu: To give you a visual, that's about the size of a disposable spoon.
--:-- Shamita Basu: New York Magazine looked into the research and what we know about how microplastics affect our bodies.
--:-- Shamita Basu: If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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