Congress passes bill to fund government after threat of holiday shutdown | The Excerpt
On Saturday’s episode (first published on December 21, 2024) of The Excerpt podcast: Congress reached a last-minute, bipartisan deal to keep the government running after a midnight deadline. A driver rammed into a Christmas market crowd in Magdeburg, Germany Friday evening, killing at least two. Paste BN Wellness Reporter David Oliver talks about giving the gift of genetic testing. The FAA warns the public to stop aiming laser pointers at the sky. Paste BN National Correspondent Elizabeth Weise explains how cute and hungry otters are eating up an invasive crab species in California.
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 Saturday, December 21st, 2024. This is The Excerpt. Today, Congress passes a bill to fund the government, plus the latest from violence at a Christmas market in Germany, and why you might want to ask for genetic testing this holiday season.
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Congress reached a last minute bipartisan deal to keep the government running after a midnight deadline for a partial shutdown days before the holidays and a month before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. The Senate sent the spending package to President Joe Biden's desk at 12:38 AM earlier today by a vote of 85 to 11 hours, after the house voted 366 to 34 to approve it. Biden is expected to sign it and the bill will fund the government through March 14th. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Mike Johnson:
We will not have a government shutdown and we will meet our obligations for our farmers who aid, for the disaster victims all over the country, and for making sure that military and essential services and everyone who relies upon the federal government for a paycheck is paid over the holidays.
Taylor Wilson:
The breakthrough came despite flack from Elon Musk, a top advisor to Trump and funder of his campaign, whose criticism scuttled an earlier House version of the bill. Johnson said he spoke to Trump and Musk before the House vote was completed, and they both understood why it had to happen in preparation for Republicans to take control of both chambers of Congress and the White House next month.
Democratic House minority leader Hakeem Jeffery said the compromise was reached because Republicans removed a provision President-elect Donald Trump had sought that would've raised the amount the government can borrow until after the 2026 election. You can read more with the link in today's show notes.
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A driver rammed a crowd at a Christmas market in central Germany yesterday evening, leaving at least two people dead and more than 60 injured according to local officials. Police have taken the suspected attacker into custody and have not released information about a possible motive. A video posted on social media shows a car speeding through a crowd caught between two rows of market stalls. People can be seen knocked to the ground and running away. The news comes just a month after Germany's interior minister advised people to be vigilant at Christmas markets, which security services say could be a potential target for extremist attacks.
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This Christmas, you may want to ask for a different type of gift, genetic testing. It could save your life. I spoke with Paste BN wellness reporter David Oliver for more.
Hello, David.
David Oliver:
Hey, Taylor. Thanks for having me.
Taylor Wilson:
Thanks for hopping on this story, David. So, let's start by talking about Rose in Michigan. I know she's the child of Holocaust survivors. What can you tell us about her and her story?
David Oliver:
So, Rose's sister found out that she had breast cancer and tested positive for one of the BRCA genes, which is a gene that is common among Ashkenazi Jews. A lot of Jewish women have this specific mutation for breast cancer. So, because Rose's sister tested positive for that gene, Rose herself was tested for it, found out that she had it and took measures to make sure that she wouldn't get breast or ovarian cancer by having a double mastectomy, having her ovaries removed, all of those things. So, she took proactive steps and she's now speaking to the public about this. Not just to patients but to the medical community, things like that, to make sure that people are aware of all the ways that they can be tested for specific genes and to find out whether they need to start taking more proactive steps or to live a longer life and be healthy.
Taylor Wilson:
How difficult of a decision was this for her? Was this controversial within her family? I mean, how did she get to this decision?
David Oliver:
I was asking her about that and it wasn't controversial. I think, for her, she said that she had no regrets about it to this day. I think that she viewed it as something that she wanted to be there for her family. I think given that history coming from the child of Holocaust survivors, I think... And she was one of, I think, five living relatives in her family, it was important for her to be there for her own children, she has four kids, be there for her husband who recently passed away. I think just to be super present for them and for grandchildren and graduations and all the other milestones of life, it was important to her. And she even, with the mastectomy, she said that she looks like a Barbie doll now, but she's okay with that because she's alive.
Taylor Wilson:
David, you also spoke with an oncologist. This is Dana Zakalik. She talked with you about some of the science at play here, really. What did you learn in that conversation?
David Oliver:
We talked about a lot of different things related to the science. I think a big takeaway that I had was just how far genetic testing has come even since the '90s and how many different genes that you can test for. How there are just ways to be proactive in terms of science and taking care of yourself, and how common a lot of these genes are and how some are more serious than others. But it's all about starting with a place of knowledge. Going to your doctor if you can, and finding out your family history if you can.
People who are adopted or have limited family for whatever reason or don't know things that their relatives died from, that's a particular space where you can make sure you speak to a genetic counselor to try and learn more about your history and get tested for certain genes that are maybe more common that run in some of have your genetics that you may not be aware of. But if you're an Ashkenazi Jew, for example, that ethnicity predisposes you to certain diseases more than others. So, it might make you more likely to get tested for certain things over others.
Taylor Wilson:
And, David, this technology is available on a consumer level. Why might it make sense? I mean, you touched on it a little bit here, but to ask for genetic testing as a part of the Christmas season and maybe even the gift giving.
David Oliver:
I think the idea is that it's something that when all the family is gathered, it's a good opportunity to share and talk these types of topics because everybody's there and maybe can share information that way. I think one big caveat I will say is that when you do a test like the 23andMe or Ancestry provides regarding genetic testing, be aware that there's information potentially that you might find out that you didn't expect.
I think we hear a lot about secret children or paternity, maternity concerns that come up with things like this. So, I think if you're talking about diseases specifically or looking into that type of history, these tests can certainly be helpful and do-it-yourself type of stuff. But it might be good to talk to a genetic counselor to find out what type of testing you might need and the emotional follow-up that's possible when you find this stuff out.
Rose, for example, was ready to do what she could to save her family, save herself. Some people might be more afraid than that or not willing to handle the emotional repercussions of getting really intense information. So, it is best to speak with someone to make sure that you're doing what's right for all of you. With that said, knowledge is power. So, the more you know, the more you can act on it, but not every gene necessarily has something actionable that you can do either. That's another big caveat to keep in mind.
Taylor Wilson:
David Oliver covers wellness for Paste BN. David, I appreciate the perspective and breakdown for us as always. Thanks so much.
David Oliver:
Of course. Thanks for having me.
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Taylor Wilson:
The Federal Aviation Administration is warning you do not point lasers at the sky. Amid ongoing drone sightings in the Northeast, the regulator reports there has been a huge spike in pilot-reported laser pointings in the last few weeks. And in a statement, the FAA made clear that aiming a laser at an aircraft is a serious safety hazard and a violation of federal law. According to the agency, laser pointers can distract or temporarily blind aircraft pilots, which could put the lives of hundreds of passengers and bystanders on the ground at risk. Conviction can result in civil and criminal penalties, and up to five years behind bars. FAA data shows that at least 15 laser strikes have resulted in injuries so far this year, though the agency did not specify the type or extent of those injuries.
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An out-of-control invasive crab species has met its match, cute and hungry otters. I caught up with Paste BN national correspondent Elizabeth Weise to learn more.
Hello again, Beth.
Elizabeth Weise:
Hello. Happy to have a happy story to go out on for the end of the year.
Taylor Wilson:
Yes, absolutely. A lot of cheer in this story. So, we'll get to the kind of happy part of this here in a second. But first, would you just tell us about these green crabs and how they became this really serious invasive species on the West Coast?
Elizabeth Weise:
Oh, they are just nasty. Nasty. So, these are European green crabs, which got to the East Coast a long time ago and kind of ate their way through everything and messed up the ecosystems. They didn't get to the West Coast until the 1980s. That's the first time anybody saw them. They're little, they're not big. They're not really big enough to eat much on. I mean, they only get to maybe four inches across. But man, they just eat everything in sight and they mess up ecosystems. They will eat other crab, they eat Dungeness crabs, they eat king crabs, especially the smaller ones and the babies. They showed up in the '80s and they have since spread kind of up and down the West Coast, which has not been good for ecosystems that are still recovering from some of the things that we've done to them over the last couple of hundred years.
Taylor Wilson:
So, really, how have states and local communities tackled this issue over the past few decades?
Elizabeth Weise:
Alaska has an early detection and response plan in place. Washington states allocated $12 million to fight them because... I mean, all of these states are very concerned about their crustacean harvest systems. California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, we all have big commercial crab operations and no one wants to see those harmed. So, everybody's doing what they can to try and get rid of these green crabs, but it is hard.
A couple of years back, the University of California Davis spent a couple of years trying to eradicate them from this one little lagoon up in Marin County. They basically got rid of all the adults, so that was great. But it turns out that there were still babies in the water and they just bounced back with a vengeance. So, they're not easy to eradicate.
Taylor Wilson:
All right. Well, there is a nice refreshing twist to this story, Beth. How do sea otters enter the equation here?
Elizabeth Weise:
So sea otters, southern sea otters, if you've ever watched National Geographic, I mean, they are just adorable. They twist and turn in the water and they're so cute. They're also voracious because they don't have blubber, they've just got fur. I mean, that's why we hunted them into extinction because their fur is so nice and warm and thick, but they have to eat a ton of food to stay warm.
And so, southern sea otters had been almost eradicated along the California coastline because of hunting and also because of oil spills. Because in an oil spill, if they get oil on their fur, they can't get it off and they can actually freeze to death because their fur loses its ability to keep them warm. So, they were under serious threat. We thought they were extinct at the beginning of the 19th century.
And then it turned out that there was this one little tiny, tiny remnant population near big sea cove near Big Sur. A group of sea otters is called a raft, it turns out. They were first discovered around 1914, and very slowly they started to come back. And they naturally were able to get about 35 miles away, which is the Elkhorn Slough, where they started very, very slowly to re-inhabit their old stomping grounds.
Taylor Wilson:
Awesome. Som what's really been the outcome as it pertains to crabs, Beth? What have we seen?
Elizabeth Weise:
So, it turns out otters just eat a ton of crabs. There's only 120 of them in the slough, and yet they're eating, they think upwards of 120,000 of these invasive European green crabs a year. And so as the Otter population increased, the crab population crashed. And what's interesting, and this paper was just published this month, they've been looking for the past 10 years, and this seems to be the only thing that really keeps the green crabs in check because the otters just eat the heck out of them. And so it's kind of one of these wonderful win-win positive feedback loops where they ate the crabs, the ecosystem got healthier, the otter population could increase, the eelgrass increased, the whole system started to come back into its natural equilibrium. And it's because of these little adorable sea otters which are chowing down on these invasive green crabs.
Taylor Wilson:
Beth Weise, I appreciate your coverage on this and making the time. As always, thanks so much.
Elizabeth Weise:
Always fun.
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Taylor Wilson:
For years, Wanda Tucker has used her family story to encourage others to explore and preserve their family history. Tucker has traced her history from Virginia to the shores of present-day Angola. Earlier this month, when President Joe Biden became the first US president to visit Angola, Wanda Tucker traveled there as his guest. Listen tomorrow when Paste BN national correspondent Deborah Barfield-Berry joins my colleague, Dana Taylor, to discuss why Wanda Tucker remains open to confronting a painful past and what she hopes others take away from her journey. You can find the episode right here on this feed.
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And thanks for listening to The Excerpt. You can get the podcast wherever you get your pods. And if you're on a smart speaker, just ask for The Excerpt. I'm Taylor Wilson, and I'll be back Monday with more The Excerpt from Paste BN.