US, Ukraine agree to terms of critical minerals deal | The Excerpt
On Wednesday's episode of The Excerpt podcast: The U.S. and Ukraine have agreed on the terms of a draft minerals deal. House Republicans advance a plan for President Donald Trump's legislative agenda. Paste BN National Correspondent Trevor Hughes discusses how expanded ICE raids are causing problems for some schools. A federal judge blocks President Donald Trump’s refugee program suspension. Democratic senators met to discuss the consequences of Trump’s efforts to eliminate the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Paste BN Editor Karen Weintraub explains how a measles outbreak is spreading in rural parts of Texas.
Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.
Podcasts: True crime, in-depth interviews and more Paste BN podcasts right here
Taylor Wilson:
Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson, and today is Wednesday, February 26th, 2025. This is The Excerpt.
Today, the US and Ukraine have agreed to terms on a critical mineral deal. Plus we look at some of the impact of ICE raids on schools and how a measles outbreak is spreading in rural parts of Texas.
♦
The US and Ukraine have agreed on the terms of a draft minerals deal. A source familiar with the draft agreement said that it does not specify any US security guarantees or continued flow of weapons. The move follows a public pressure campaign from President Donald Trump. He had argued that Kyiv should repay the US for money it spent defending Ukraine in the three years since Russia invaded, Trump, yesterday, indicated that Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky would be in Washington on Friday to sign the deal. That came after the two leaders exchanged hostile words last week.
♦
The House voted narrowly to advance the GOP plan for President Donald Trump's legislative agenda last night after an all-day whip effort convinced a few Republican holdouts to come on board and a dramatic last-minute turnaround. It was the first major test of the House Republican Conference, which looks to pass Trump's priorities for border, energy, and taxes. Though they hold one of the narrowest legislative margins in modern American history. Yesterday, after nearly two hours on the house floor whipping votes, Speaker Mike Johnson appeared to have failed and canceled the vote before abruptly calling members back to the chamber. The proposal passed around 8:25 PM. The vote now heads to the Senate, where Republicans are expected to take it up.
♦
President Donald Trump's expanded ICE raids are causing problems for some schools. I caught up with Paste BN National Correspondent Trevor Hughes to learn more. Trevor, thank you so much for hopping on this.
Trevor Hughes:
Yeah, good to be here.
Taylor Wilson:
So, just starting here, Trevor, what are school districts reporting about a drop in attendance and how might this be tied to these immigration raids we've seen over the last few weeks?
Trevor Hughes:
We've seen scattered reports around the country. I'm here in Denver and Denver Public Schools in particular has seen a notable drop in attendance. Kids are not coming to schools and there is a general fear about enforcement from immigration agents, but there are specific instances where some school districts around the country have seen very marked drops on particular days that are associated with ICE enforcement in the area of a school, of a bus stop, or where some people live.
Taylor Wilson:
So, Trevor, are immigration officials actually targeting schools? What are we seeing here over the last few weeks?
Trevor Hughes:
The immigration agents are not directly targeting schools. They have the power to do that right now under a new Trump memo that basically said the agents had the authority to go into schools, hospitals and churches, things like that, that had for a long time been off limits. A judge recently said that churches, in particular, a handful of churches that sued, those churches are now back off limits. But we haven't seen ICE going into a public school, for instance, and hauling kids out of classrooms. That's what people have feared, but that has not at all what has happened. What we have seen particularly here in Denver because President Trump targeted Denver and Aurora for extra immigration enforcement during the campaign, what we have seen is that some classrooms have seen their number of kids that should be like 36 kids in a classroom drop to like 7 kids for a few days following an immigration raid because people are so afraid.
Taylor Wilson:
Trevor, why does the Trump administration argue this is necessary potentially having the ability to go on school grounds in this way? And do we hear from any other Trump-aligned viewpoints here, say the Heritage Foundation or others on these points?
Trevor Hughes:
There are a couple of things at play here and there's a broad perspective issue here, which the Heritage Foundation has talked about, which is that schools around the country are basically educating more and more kids that they have not budgeted for. Under the constitution, every child in America, regardless of their immigration status, is entitled to a free public education where they live. So, there is a question about whether or not American schools are essentially shouldering a financial burden that they would not otherwise have to pay if so many folks weren't coming across the border without permission. The Trump administration in getting rid of this particular memo that blocked enforcement in places like schools and hospitals and churches basically said, "I trust immigration agents to make the right decisions," and that these are folks who are experts in their field. They should have the sort of ability to make those decisions on the fly as necessary. Now, there's always been an exemption for what we call exigent circumstances if there's a crisis. So, these schools were never completely off limits, but this is a situation where there is more fear than actual enforcement right now.
Taylor Wilson:
You mentioned a sanctuary teams in this piece, Trevor. Can you help us understand what those are and what teachers are doing to protect students or maybe encourage them to keep coming to school?
Trevor Hughes:
My local school district had a training the other week and they basically said, "Here's how we'll handle if ICE agents comes to the school." A lot of it depends on whether or not they have a formal warrant signed by a judge versus an ICE immigration warrant, which is different and doesn't have the same legal weight. Schools have talked about ways to delay federal agents to make sure that they really do have proper permission to come onto the school property. And then the issue with sanctuary teams is this.
If you have a child who is an American citizen, for instance, whose parents do not have legal permission to live in the city, we have seen instances where those parents have been targeted for detention and pulled out of the community without notice and leaving the child behind. And we saw that happen in Denver where two kids had their parents both detained, and so the school district had to figure out a way to look after these kids, to connect them with human services folks to look after these minors because their parents had disappeared from the community. So, you're seeing schools around the country adopting these policies or trying to protect kids. Another way that they do it, for instance, is creating a safe room that is in a non-public area of the school.
Taylor Wilson:
So, Trevor, in terms of what's next, you mentioned that we saw this federal judge block the Trump administration from conducting immigration operations in and around places of worship that happened earlier this week. Might we see a similar decision from the courts when it comes to school grounds? I know there's a lawsuit out of Denver. What's your expectation for what's next here?
Trevor Hughes:
Denver Public Schools filed what we believe is the first in the nation lawsuit against the Trump administration when it comes to enforcement near schools. They're asking the judge to do the same thing for schools that a different judge did for these churches, which is to say, we're going to restore these protections that schools have from routine immigration enforcement. There's not a specific deadline for when the judge is going to rule. We're expecting that anytime now, but this is one of those situations where there's a lot of fear and a lot of misinformation. I know in Chicago, for instance, people freaked out earlier this month because two federal agents showed up at a school. It turned out they were with the Secret Service, but they had handed over a card from the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Secret Service, and so people freaked out. Some people apparently pulled their kids out of school. There was a lot of fear in the community. Those Secret Service agents were actually following up on a threat made against a politician they protect.
Taylor Wilson:
All right. Trevor Hughes is a national correspondent with Paste BN. Thank you, Trevor.
Trevor Hughes:
Absolutely.
♦
Taylor Wilson:
A federal judge yesterday temporarily blocked President Trump's effort to suspend the US refugee program. The ruling came in a challenge filed by several refugee resettlement organizations whose lawsuit earlier this month argued that Trump's indefinite suspension of the program was unlawful and causing irreparable harm. US district judge said during a hearing that while a president has substantial authority over the program, that authority is not limitless. After taking office, Trump paused the refugee admissions program to determine if it aligns with the interests of the United States. With a report due every 90 days on whether the program should be resumed. Trump said the program should make sure admitted refugees appropriately assimilate and that taxpayer funding is not wasted. That move had closed the door on many already vetted and approved refugees, including former Afghan allies who once aided the US and refugee family members waiting to be reunified.
♦
Democratic Senators hosted a forum last night to discuss the consequences of President Donald Trump's efforts to eliminate the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Ahead of the gathering, Senate Democrats released a report saying thousands of complaints of alleged fraud and scams filed to the agency are going unanswered. Earlier this month, acting Director Russell Vogt cut funding for the agency after President Trump fired Bureau Head Rohit Chopra. The daily average of complaints submitted to companies has dropped 80% since February 13th from the pre-Trump rate. The Bureau was formed after the 2008 financial crisis to protect Americans against fraud and returned more than $6 billion to consumers under President Joe Biden's administration.
♦
There is a measles outbreak in a rural part of Texas spreading among under-vaccinated communities. I spoke with Paste BN editor Karen Weintraub to learn more. Karen, thanks for hopping on.
Karen Weintraub:
Thanks for having me.
Taylor Wilson:
So, Karen, just remind us because I think this is kind of in and out of the news, but many folks don't think about it at all. What is measles? Just give us a refresher if you don't mind.
Karen Weintraub:
Measles is a highly contagious virus that causes respiratory symptoms, but also this gross rash all over your body, starts at the top of your head and works down to your toes.
Taylor Wilson:
So, what are we seeing with this latest measles outbreak? What do the numbers say and how did it really start?
Karen Weintraub:
Nobody knows exactly how it started, but it first appeared in a Mennonite community in West Texas. This is a very isolated community, very rural, not a lot of vaccination, and then seems to have spread pretty widely in that community. There are now 124 cases just in Texas. It has spread over the border to New Mexico and probably likely to spread further within Texas because somebody from this community went to San Antonio recently, while likely contagious and spend a lot of time in a lot of popular places. Measles is pretty much the most contagious infectious disease known to man. Each individual person is capable of spreading it to about 18 others, so it is extremely contagious.
Taylor Wilson:
You mentioned the low vaccine rates. Is that really the story here, Karen? What does all this tell us about the impact or importance of vaccine rates in this particular illness?
Karen Weintraub:
Public health officials say that if kindergarten vaccination rates aren't at 95%, if 95 out of 100 kindergartners are not vaccinated against measles, that there will be outbreaks no matter what that it's just circulating, people come from other countries where there's measles and if the vaccination rates aren't that high, there will be measles and there are people who can't get vaccinated for one reason or another, or who have had say, an organ transplant or cancer treatment and their immunity has been reduced and so they're vulnerable. So, it is people or babies who have not yet been vaccinated sufficiently. Also, the vaccine, not only can it prevent infection, but if you've been exposed to the virus, you can get vaccinated after exposure and get protection so you won't get sick. One other thing about measles is that it's not only an uncomfortable infection, but actually, it has very high hospitalization rate. So, almost 25% of the people who've known to be infected in this outbreak have been hospitalized and people used to go deaf from it. It has a lot of serious complications.
Taylor Wilson:
And this particular outbreak, Karen, how does it compare to some of the past outbreaks we've maybe seen in recent years? What's the severity here comparatively?
Karen Weintraub:
This is the highest single-centered outbreak we've seen since 2019, and measles was virtually eliminated in the United States after vaccination came around in the late '60s, early '70s. We've had sort of scattered a few cases here and there since then, but 2019 was the first big outbreak and this is the first big one since then.
Taylor Wilson:
So, for folks listening, we don't know where this outbreak will go next, but what can folks do if they do notice any symptoms? If they know they're not vaccinated, they notice the symptoms coming in, what's the kind series of steps for them?
Karen Weintraub:
Stay away from public places. For one thing, talk to your doctor. Call on the phone. Don't go to a large crowded waiting room. Again, measles is super contagious. If you're in a space within two hours of somebody who's had measles and you're not protected, you can catch measles from that. The virus can hang in the air for two hours after somebody who has been infectious is in that space. You can actually be contagious before you have symptoms, and you're contagious for four days after the rash appears. So, again, stay out of public places, isolate, and talk to your doctor.
Taylor Wilson:
Karen Weintraub is an editor with Paste BN. Thank you, Karen.
Karen Weintraub:
Thanks so much for having me.
♦
Taylor Wilson:
For more than 90 years a cultural landmark in Harlem, the Apollo Theater has shaped the trajectory of entertainment in America. Icons like Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Quincy Jones have all performed there. It stages a true test of a performer's potential to make it.
Dionne Warwick:
These people not only let you know if they liked you or if anybody else was going to like you, that's probably one of the hardest uses to perform for.
Taylor Wilson:
Dionne Warwick was one of those who made it. The legendary singer sat down with my colleague Dana Taylor to reminisce about her memories of performing at the Apollo. You can hear that conversation right here on this feed beginning at 4:00 PM Eastern time, and thanks for listening to The Excerpt. You can get the podcast wherever you get your audio, and if you're on a smart speaker, just ask for The Excerpt. I'm Taylor Wilson, and I'll be back tomorrow with more of The Excerpt from Paste BN.