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I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Wednesday, April 15th.
Here's what we're covering.
This war and I ran. What are we doing? I don't think we have any business to be over there.
“I don't think it's America first at all.”
The amount of money and resources that's gone into that is ridiculous. The time has been asking people across the country what they think of the war with Iran. What are we doing here? That's good story. Well, here's that your Republican, so did you support him and could you vote for President
Trump? So, I actually voted for President Trump all for his own. Even among some Republicans, there is growing dissatisfaction with the conflict. While others say they support Trump's decision to attack Iran. I guess I don't think that the President decided it was time we had to act.
I sometimes get a little unnerved by the President's rhetoric, but I like the guy to do things. Not to worry about what he says about what he's doing. Right. Overall, a new poll from Ipsos and Reuters shows that 51% of Americans think the war in Iran has not been worthwhile.
24% think it has been, and 22% aren't sure. One pronounced split in the data is that young Republicans, specifically, are far less likely to approve of Trump's decision to go to war than older Republicans. I recognize that a lot of young voters don't love the policy that we have in the Middle East.
Okay. I understand that. Vice President J.D. Vance seemed keenly aware of that last night at an event for the youth focused conservative group, turning point USA.
“I'm not saying you have to agree with me on every issue.”
What I'm saying is don't get disengaged because you disagree with the administration on one topic, get more involved. Make your voice heard even more. Vance's comments appear to be an acknowledgement that many of Trump's supporters had backed his campaign because of his promise of no new wars.
Meanwhile. The U.S. says it's trying to help diffuse the conflict in Lebanon, where Israel's been carrying out attacks in its fight against Hezbollah, the Iran-back militia that's based there. The ongoing violence has threatened to derail the fragile ceasefire with Iran.
This is a process, not an event. This is more than just one day, this will take time. Yesterday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted Israeli and Lebanese officials for rare talks in DC. It was the first time the two countries have sat down together in decades.
The talks underscore the fact that both Israel and Lebanon have come to share a common goal of disarming Hezbollah.
There was no immediate breakthrough, though, in this morning, the Israeli military continued
its attacks, launching a new wave of deadly air strikes, according to Lebanese state media. Lebanon's health ministry says that in the past months, more than 2,000 people in the country have been killed. Now two other headlines from Washington. First, my delay in taking action against Eric was driven by fear, not doubt.
Fear of his political power, his background as an attorney, and his family law enforcement ties. Yesterday, another woman came forward to accused Democratic representative Eric Swallwell of sexual assault. On the same day, he officially resigned from Congress after facing a swirl of other allegations.
The woman said she had come to Swallwell in 2018 for advice on her own political career, when he drugged and raped her at a West Hollywood hotel. Her lawyers said they plan on sharing evidence with law enforcement. The times has not independently confirmed her account. A lawyer for Swallwell said yesterday that he, quote, unequivocally denies each and every
allegation of sexual misconduct and assault. When asked about Swallwell's behavior, Democratic Senator Rubin Gallego, a friend of Swallwell's, told reporters that there had been whispers of misbehavior for years.
He said he never witnessed him engaging in any harassment or abuse, but he regretted not
confronting Swallwell about the rumors he had heard. Diego suggested that turning a blind eye like that has become an unfortunate part of a
Culture of silence among lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
In the second update from DC, taxes are due today, and Republicans are hoping that Americans
“will now start noticing the tax cuts they passed last year, potentially giving the party”
a boost ahead of the midterm elections. An estimated two-thirds of Americans are expected to see lower taxes. And the average tax refunds so far have been about 10% higher than last year. Still, tax experts say the benefits are unevenly distributed. For example, while many middle-class families will get tax relief, just a fraction of the
lowest income Americans will see new cuts to their taxes. And overall, poor Americans are likely to be worse off going forward since Republicans offset some of the costs of the tax cuts by cutting funding for safety net programs like Medicaid and food stamps.
“In Western Massachusetts, the Small Liberal Arts School Hampshire College has announced”
it is shutting down. It had been struggling financially for years, as enrollment dropped to just about 600 students, half of what it was 20 years ago. The closure is part of a wave of colleges and university shuddering across the US, according to one analysis, in the last two decades or so, more than 300 have closed, often after facing
the same kinds of issues as Hampshire. Some of what is staring down these schools is a demographic issue. According to one expert in higher ed, schools in the Northeast and Midwest specifically have been struggling, because those states have shrinking populations, and since students
“generally stay close to home for college, those schools have taken a hit.”
Another factor at play is how more and more Americans are questioning the value of a liberal arts education. The higher ed expert said students have been migrating towards bigger institutions that often have programs in business and technology. Hampshire's president said it's all part of an increasing focus on what students will
earn after graduating, not what they're learning in school. And Hampshire's most famous alum, the documentary filmmaker Ken Burns agreed, saying that in his view, higher ed has become, quote, "high-jacked" by the transactional.
And finally, $95, that is what it's going to cost to take a bus from around Boston out
to the stadium for a World Cup game this summer. And it could cost more than $100 for the train ride from Penn Station to the New Jersey Stadium, a ride that normally costs about 12 bucks. These prices, news of which has been trickling out recently, are coming on top of other sky-high costs for fans traveling to the games.
The tickets alone have been going for thousands of dollars, and the mounting price tag could be one factor that keeps people away.
With the first kickoff less than two months out, the 11 US host cities are watching
closely to see how many people are actually going to make the trip, especially from other countries. Last year, the US was the only major nation to record a decline in international tourism. For a potential World Cup visitors, it's not just about cost, but also concerns about visa restrictions, stories about people's phones being searched at the border, and fears
about immigration agents. According to my colleagues at the athletic, senior FIFA officials have talked about asking President Trump to stop ice-raids while the World Cup is on. Those are the headlines. Today on the daily, three times reporters on the strategy behind Trump's blockade of
the straight-of-horror moves, and whether or not it will work. You can listen to that in the New York Times app or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Tracy Mumpford, we'll be back tomorrow.
