Veterans slam Trump incident at Arlington National Cemetery | The Excerpt
On Thursday’s episode of The Excerpt podcast: Paste BN Trump Campaign Reporter Zac Anderson explains what happened with former President Donald Trump at Arlington National Cemetery this week. Telegram's CEO has been charged in France. The Supreme Court rejects the Biden administration’s request to allow a student debt relief plan to remain in effect while its legality is challenged by Republican-led states. Two foreigners have been charged with 'swatting' U.S. officials. Here's what to know about sloth fever. An estimated 2.9 billion records, including Social Security numbers, may be affected after a National Public Data breach.
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.
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Taylor Wilson:
Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson, and today is Thursday, August 29th, 2024. This is The Excerpt.
Today, what happened with Donald Trump at Arlington National Cemetery. Plus, the CEO of Telegram has been arrested and charged in France. And, the Supreme Court rejects the Biden Administration's request to allow a student debt relief plan to remain in effects.
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We're learning more about an incident at Arlington National Cemetery this week involving Donald Trump, after the former president's team turned his graveside visit into a video slamming the Biden-Harris administration. The visit has angered veterans. Former Army Undersecretary and former Pennsylvania Representative Patrick Murphy said the Trump campaign's insistence on using the setting to shoot campaign material is a new low. And Fred Wellman, a 22-year Army combat veteran, said that Trump "has no right to use our most hallowed ground for his political aims." So exactly happened here? I spoke with Paste BN Trump campaign reporter Zac Anderson for more.
Zac, thanks for helping out.
Zac Anderson:
Glad to be here.
Taylor Wilson:
So Zac, what happened this week with Donald Trump at Arlington National Cemetery?
Zac Anderson:
So it's a pretty unusual incident. There was a report of an altercation between the Trump campaign staff and an official at the cemetery. They filed a report with a local police agency. Apparently, according to the statement from the cemetery, they confirmed that there was an incident and they cited a law that said that a campaign cannot film in certain parts of the cemetery in area known as Section 60 where newly buried graves of American servicemen are. So the cemetery, it sounds like somebody at the cemetery tried to stop the Trump campaign from filming there, and there was an altercation, although the Trump campaign is denying that there was a physical altercation in the way that was described by somebody to NPR.
Taylor Wilson:
Why was Trump at the cemetery in the first place, Zac?
Zac Anderson:
So he was there for a wreath lane ceremony to honor 13 American service members who were killed in a well publicized event in Afghanistan. During the troop withdrawal, there was an attack on service members at Abbey Gate near the airport in Kabul. And so he was there for that event and this is when that happened.
Taylor Wilson:
You touched on this a bit, but have we heard from either the cemetery officials or Trump campaign officials following this incident?
Zac Anderson:
So the cemetery just put out a statement confirming that there was an incident and that a report had been filed. I talked to a police agency who said that they got a report from the cemetery, but they refused to release it at this time, that I have to request as a public record. They basically said that at this point, no charges have been filed. The Trump campaign, they also confirmed there was some type of incident. They said that somebody tried to physically block somebody with their campaign from part of the cemetery, but they denied that it was sort of a physical assault as described by an individual to NPR.
Taylor Wilson:
Zac, are we hearing from veterans or, say, family members of those buried at Arlington speaking out here?
Zac Anderson:
Some of the family members of those who were killed have voiced support for the Trump campaign filming there. The Trump campaign put out some statements from some of the family members who said that they were happy to have the campaign there. The statement was from five family members representing two of the 13 people who were killed. There's been some response from various veterans and veterans groups expressing concerns about what happened here. One individual even told Paste BN that it was nauseating and that what happened was disrespectful to the people who were buried there.
Taylor Wilson:
Zac Anderson covers Donald Trump and Republicans for Paste BN. Thank you, Zac.
Zac Anderson:
Taylor, thanks a lot.
Taylor Wilson:
There continued to be reverberations. And while Paste BN has asked Arlington if they will file an official complaint with federal agencies, we've yet to hear a response.
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Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has been charged and put under formal investigation in France as part of a probe into organized crime on the messaging app. A Paris prosecutor said in a statement that the judge found there were grounds to formally investigate him on all the charges he was arrested for on Saturday. Those charges include suspected complicity in running an online platform that allows illicit transactions, images of child sex abuse, drug trafficking and fraud, and the refusal to communicate information to authorities along with money laundering and giving cryptography to criminals. Durov's arrest has sparked a free speech debate. Telegram has some 1 billion users and is used for a variety of messaging more than just criminal activity. The Apple allows encrypted messages that cannot be traced or viewed by others. In the US extremist groups, particularly on the far-right, have flocked to the app as traditional social media sites ramped up their content moderation.
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The Supreme Court yesterday rejected the Biden Administration's request to allow a student debt relief plan to remain in effect while its legality is challenged by Republican-led states. So what's this mean for an issue weighing on millions of Americans? I spoke with Paste BN Supreme Court correspondent Maureen Groppe to learn more.
Maureen, thanks for hopping on.
Maureen Groppe:
Thanks for having me.
Taylor Wilson:
So Maureen, what did the Supreme Court decide here over Biden's student debt relief plan?
Maureen Groppe:
Well, the court left Biden's debt relief plan on hold as it's being challenged by Republican-led states. A lower court had agreed with those states that the plan should be paused during the litigation, and the Biden administration had asked the Supreme Court to overturn that decision and the court did not.
Taylor Wilson:
Yeah. So what exactly led up to this moment in the courts?
Maureen Groppe:
Well, this is a continuation of the legal battles that started when the administration first tried to ease student debt burdens. The Supreme Court struck down that first plan last year. So the administration came up with a new approach. The court last year said that the administration had overstepped its authority with the first plan and the challengers of the latest plan are making a similar argument.
Taylor Wilson:
And for folks who aren't familiar maybe with this plan, what does it really mean practically for Americans, Maureen? Can you help us understand what's at stake here?
Maureen Groppe:
Sure. It could lower monthly payments for millions of Americans, and it does that in part by modifying how the government calculates your income to determine how much you have to pay. It also says the interest owed can't be more than the monthly payment. And it lets those with no more than $12,000 in debt have their debt forgiven after a decade.
Taylor Wilson:
Going forward, what's next? Do we expect an appeals process on this?
Maureen Groppe:
Well, the underlying challenge to the plan continues in the lower courts. Once one of the appeals courts that have been hearing those challenges rules on the legality of the plan, then the losing side can appeal that decision to the Supreme Court. Since an appeals court has already put the plan on hold, during the litigation, that's a good indication that they are going to end up siding with the challengers on the merits of the case and then the Education Department can ask the Supreme Court to review that decision. But if there's a change in the administration after the November election, the new administration may not want to continue to defend the program.
Taylor Wilson:
All right. Great insight as always. Maureen Groppe covers the Supreme Court for Paste BN. Thank you, Maureen.
Maureen Groppe:
Thank you.
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Taylor Wilson:
Two foreigners from Romania and Serbia have been indicted for allegedly swatting more than a hundred victims, including members of Congress and cabinet level officials by reporting fake bomb threats or other emergencies including at the Capitol. That's according to the Justice Department yesterday. The case represents another example of threats against public officials. The Justice Department created a task force to fight threats against election officials, which spiked after former president Donald Trump falsely alleged the 2020 election was stolen from him. Capitol Police reported in January that threats against lawmakers rose to more than 8,000 last year from just over 5,000 in 2018.
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US health officials are warning travelers about a potentially deadly insect-borne virus known as sloth fever that's infected 21 US residents returning from Cuba and thousands more in South America and the Caribbean. More than 8,000 cases of the virus have been reported through August 1st in a number of countries, including Cuba, Brazil, and Colombia. Most infections are mild, but two otherwise healthy women in Brazil aged 24 and 21 died after contracting the virus officials said. The symptoms which appear three to 10 days after a person has been infected include fever, chills, headaches, and muscle and joint pain or stiffness. The virus spreads by midges and mosquito bites. You can read more with the link in today's show notes.
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An estimated 2.9 billion records including names, addresses, and Social Security numbers may be affected after national public data confirmed it suffered a massive data breach involving the personal information of millions of Americans. Still, despite privacy concerns, Americans should not offer to submit their Social Security numbers to websites just because they claim they can help identify if they're a victim of a recent breach. For more on the breach and how to check if your Social Security number was part of it, check out a link in today's show notes.
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Be sure to stay tuned to The Excerpt later today when I'll be joined by Patric Gagne, author of the book, Sociopath: A Memoir. We'll discuss her story and how she's had to come to terms with her own sociopathy. You could find the episode which originally aired earlier this year right here on this feed after 4:00 PM Eastern Time.
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And thanks for listening to The Excerpt. You can get the pod 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.