--:-- Tracy Mumford: From the New York Times, it's the headlines. Today's Wednesday, February 12th.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: We're going to be signing a very important deal today. It's Doge, and I'm going to ask Elon to tell you a little bit about it.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: In the Oval Office yesterday, President Trump announced a new executive order expanding Elon Musk's mandate to overhaul the federal government. It calls for, quote, large-scale cuts at federal agencies and says that Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, will need to sign off on most new hires going forward.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: If your taxpayer dollars are not spent in a sensible and frugal manner, then that's not OK.
--:-- [Sound of a press conference]
--:-- Elon Musk: For about 30 minutes, Trump had me, who was standing next to him wearing a black autographed MAGA hat, take the floor and talk to reporters. It's the first time that I've answered questions since I started my overhaul.
--:-- Elon Musk: And I defended the slash and burn campaign that I've been carrying out against federal agencies.
--:-- Elon Musk: We have this unelected, fourth unconstitutional branch of government, which is the bureaucracy, which has, in a lot of ways, currently more power than any elected representative.
--:-- Elon Musk: Musk said federal workers have far too much power over Americans' lives. Though as a special government employee myself, I've been allowed to operate nearly unchecked.
--:-- Elon Musk: Musk also claimed, without giving any proof, that he'd found widespread corruption in the government, which reporters pressed him about.
--:-- Reporter: And how can we make sure that all the statements that you said were correct so we can trust what you say?
--:-- Elon Musk: Well, first of all, some of the things that I say will be incorrect and should be corrected. So nobody's going to bat a thousand.
--:-- Reporter: Over the course of the press conference, Musk also dodged questions about his potential conflicts of interest, given the billions of dollars in contracts his companies have with the government and the multiple federal investigations they're facing.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Meanwhile. What they're doing in the executive branch, I've been asked so many times, aren't you uncomfortable with this?
--:-- Elon Musk: No, I'm not.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: House Speaker Mike Johnson said he, quote, wholeheartedly agrees that the Trump administration can keep making cuts to federal spending. taking a position that is at odds with the Constitution
--:-- Mike Johnson: The Constitution says Congress decides how federal money should be spent and the executive branch is supposed to carry that out
--:-- Mike Johnson: Instead the Trump administration has been withholding funds that Congress signed off on in a direct challenge to the separation of powers.
--:-- Mike Johnson: Johnson still praised the effort, framing it as a forensic audit.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Yesterday, the Trump administration struck a deal with the Kremlin to release an American prisoner, Mark Fogel.
--:-- Mark Fogel: I feel like the luckiest man on earth right now.
--:-- Mark Fogel: Fogel was working as a teacher in Russia when he was arrested in 2021 on charges of bringing medical marijuana into the country.
--:-- Mark Fogel: He was sentenced to over a decade in prison.
--:-- Mark Fogel: I want you to know that I am not a hero in this at all. President Trump is a hero.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: He was released after Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, flew to Russia personally on his own jet for a meeting.
--:-- Steve Witkoff: It was the first time a senior U.S. official has been to the country since before Russia invaded Ukraine, and I flew back with Fogel.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Hours later, Trump hosted Fogel at the White House.
--:-- President Trump: And we appreciate President Putin's, what he did. He was able to pull it off for you, right?
--:-- Tracy Mumford: We don't know the contours of this deal. Specifically, we don't know what, if anything, the U.S. gave up in order to get Mark Fogel released.
--:-- Anton Trojanovsky: But it's already clear this is a win in its own way, both for Trump and for Putin.
--:-- Anton Trojanovsky: Trump got that photo op in the White House with this released American. Putin got this major step toward establishing a closer relationship with Trump.
--:-- Anton Trojanovsky: And it's really important for Putin to get on Trump's good side and stay there because he sees the United States as the biggest obstacle to his ability to win the war in Ukraine.
--:-- Anton Trojanovsky: And in many ways, that's true. The U.S. is by far Ukraine's most important ally, providing a huge amount of weaponry and financial assistance.
--:-- Anton Trojanovsky: Trump has already said that he thinks the U.S. has been making a mistake in providing all that assistance, that the war needs to end.
--:-- Anton Trojanovsky: And so Putin clearly sees a massive opportunity here that he's trying to capitalize on.
--:-- President Trump: President Trump himself said that the prisoner deal could be a first step toward ending the war in Ukraine and said more details would be announced today.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: U officials say another American will also be released but they did not say who.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is promising, quote, intense fighting in Gaza if Hamas does not go through with a plan to release more hostages this weekend.
--:-- Benjamin Netanyahu: He's accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire deal by postponing hostage releases.
--:-- Benjamin Netanyahu: Hamas has accused Israel of violating the agreement by blocking humanitarian aid and firing on civilians.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The ceasefire has been in place for nearly a month. It's supposed to continue for several more weeks, with the possibility to extend it.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: In Monterey County, California last month, a battery plant caught fire.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: It only got a fraction of the coverage of the wildfires that were happening in Los Angeles at the same time, but it burned for days, emitting thick plumes of smoke.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: We've been told to leave, and I don't mind doing that because, honestly, I don't feel safe this close to this facility.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The plant was filled with lithium-ion batteries, which contain heavy metals that can cause lung damage or neurological problems when inhaled.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Residents nearby reported a metallic taste in the air. They said they got headaches, sore throats, bloody noses.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: One man, who lived 25 miles from the fire, told the Times it felt like the air was burning his lungs.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Now people in the area are concerned about long-term health effects and the impact on local agriculture.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The area is known for growing strawberries and other produce.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: After the blaze, a state agency tested the soil for miles around the plant and found elevated levels of the heavy metals found in lithium batteries.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The fire has also raised questions about the safety of California's clean energy efforts.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The state relies on battery plants, like the one that burned, to store electricity gathered during the day and release it to the grid at night.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: But lithium-ion battery fires are notoriously hard to put out, since they can't be extinguished with water.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Current best practice is just to let them burn.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: One county supervisor told The Times quote We are right now in a place where government does not have the knowledge to regulate this technology and industry does not have the know to control it
--:-- Tracy Mumford: And finally, This year's nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame were announced this morning.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: There's a mix of eras and genres, everybody from Joe Cocker to Billy Idol to Oasis, Fish, and Outkast.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The Hall of Fame has been facing pressure in recent years for how few women it's recognized.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: And this year's list likely won't change that. Only two women are nominated, Cyndi Lauper and the Queen of the High Note. Mariah Carey.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The person maybe most excited to see his name, though, is 83-year-old Chubby Checker.
--:-- Chubby Checker: His 1960s cover of The Twist is one of the biggest hits in Billboard singles history.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Checker has been pushing for this for years. He even took out an ad over 20 years ago in Billboard magazine, calling on the Hall of Fame, and also boldly on the group behind the Nobel Prizes, to recognize him for his work.
--:-- Chubby Checker: I want my flowers while I'm alive. I can't smell them when I'm dead.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The Hall of Fame will announce which of the nominees make the cut in April.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: In the meantime, a quick update on another award that many of you had strong feelings about.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: I told you earlier this week that Golden Retrievers have never won the top award at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: And... For best in show. They still haven't.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: I choose the giant schnauzer. Oh, Monty! He did it!
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Monty the giant schnauzer won last night.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: His handler said he's going to celebrate by doing his favorite thing, destroying some soccer balls.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Those are the headlines.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Today on The Daily, Times Supreme Court reporter Adam Liptak walks through how the Trump administration is testing the bounds of its power.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: That's next in the New York Times audio app, or you can listen wherever you get your podcasts.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow.
