[MUSIC]
Democratic Congressmen Eric Swallwell is resigning after multiple women accused of sexual assault and misconduct. >> I've certainly made mistakes in judgment in my best. >> When we could go, he was a front runner for California governor. Now he's out of the race and out of a job.
>> I mean, Martinez, that is Michelle Martin, and this is a first from MBR News.
[MUSIC] >> Neither the U.S. nor Iran are letting ships pass through the straight-up or moves. The blockade has sent oil prices surging again and the world is feeling it. What are the prospects of another round of negotiations? >> And President Trump is feuding with the first American-born Pope for opposing the war with
Iran. He attacked Pope Leo the way he attacks political opponents, calling him week on crime. The Pope responded by saying he is not a politician and that he has no fear of the Trump administration.
“Stay with us. We'll give you news you need to start today.”
[MUSIC] >> These days, it feels like the news changes every hour. Well, MBR has a podcast that does that too. NPR News now brings you a fresh five-minute episode every hour of the day with the latest,
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Listen to NPR News now on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. >> One week ago, Representative Eric Swallwell was seen by many as the front-runner in the California governor's race. >> This morning, the seven-term Democrat is on his way out of Congress. Swallwell announces resignation yesterday after facing allegations of sexual assault in his conduct from multiple women, including at least one former staffer.
>> NPR political reporter Alema Moore has been covering this and is with us now. Good morning, Alema. >> Good morning, Michelle. >> This all seems to have happened pretty fast, so bring us up to date here. What are the allegations against Swallwell?
>> Yes, Swallwell has been at the center of controversy since just last week when rumors began to
circulate online about him and an alleged history of abusive behavior towards women. By Friday, the controversy gained steam, after at least four women spoke with the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN about experiences they had with Swallwell ranging from unwanted sexual advances by the Congressman to allegations of rape, and NPR has not independently verified the allegations and Swallwell has forcefully denied them, but still Michelle the allegations sparked
almost immediate political backlash. He lost key endorsements for his gubernatorial bid and ended up suspending his campaign Sunday night, but that didn't stop growing demands for him to leave Congress, too. More than 50 former Swallwell staffers called on him to resign, and a handful of House lawmakers indicated they would try to expel him as soon as this week.
“And then he said that Swallwell forcedfully denies those allegations. What is he said?”
>> Yeah, in a video posted Friday, Swallwell did deny these allegations, but he also said this. >> I've certainly made mistakes in judgment in my past, but those mistakes are between me and my wife. And to her, I apologize deeply for putting her in this position. >> And he made similar comments on Monday when he announced his resignation and criticized potential efforts to remove him from Congress, arguing that expelling someone without due process is wrong.
But then he added, quote, "It's also wrong for my constituents to have me distracted from my duties." >> Do we know anything yet about whom might replace him? >> Yeah, it starts a whole process in his statement, Swallwell didn't say when he would leave office, but when that happens, California governor Gavin Newsom has 14 days to call a special election to fill his seat. And we should also say, this is a super safe, blue district, you know,
it's in the Bay Area, Kamala Harris carried it by 35 points in 2024, so Democrats aren't in jeopardy of, you know, essentially losing it. >> Swallwell mentioned the threat of being expelled,
“but he's not the only lawmaker who's faced calls for expulsion. Can you tell us about that?”
>> Yeah, I mean, for weeks, there have been calls for Texas Republican Congressman Tony Gonzalez to resign over a past affair with a staffer who later died by suicide. And Gonzalez has since said he will not run for reelection, and shortly after Swallwell announced he was resigning, Gonzalez said in a statement that he planned to file his retirement from office on Tuesday. Today, not to mention, there's also controversy with Florida Democratic Congressman Sheila
Sheriffless McCormick, who was indicted last year on fraud charges, though she denies them, and there's an ethics investigation into Florida Republican Corey Mills over allegations of sexual and financial misconduct, too. So this Swallwell news comes just at a time when many lawmakers were already extremely frustrated with how Congress has held accountable. Congressional ethics investigations can just take a long time, and on top of that, Michelle, only six lawmakers have
ever been expelled from the House. So some lawmakers are saying, this is all just not good enough. That is, and we have a political reporter Alena Moore, Alena. Thank you. Thanks, Michelle.
In the U.
Both countries are blocking oil exports through the critical straight of
“hormones, and both countries, as well as others all around the world, are taken an economic hit”
as oil is unable to reach global markets. For closer look, we're joined by NPR National Security correspondent Greg Migra Gordon warning to you. Hi, Michelle. So first of all, what is the scene around the straight of hormones? Are any ships moving? Well, very, very little it seems. See an in-reported A Chinese own ship traveled through the straight today, and another ship reportedly made it through Monday, but this near total halt to shipping traffic looks
likely to become the norm. As we know, Iran closed the straight weeks ago, and the focus was blocking ships from Arab countries aligned with the U.S., and Iran has allowed out a small number
of ships going to and from Iran. But even this trickle of ship traffic now faces the U.S. Navy
blockade that began Monday against ships heading to and from Iranian ports. So both sides are blocking the other, and we could be looking at a tense prolonged standoff. And as the days pass, who is likely to feel the most economic pressure? Probably Iran, Iran's economy is hugely dependent on its oil exports, and it was getting some oil out as we noted. But now that's cut off with the U.S. blockade. So it's quite possible Iran with an already crippled economy
will suffer the most economic pain in an extended blockade. But Michelle was truly striking about this situation is that the vast majority of the countries in the entire world are taking an economic hit because of this conflict that includes the U.S., which gets a minimal amount of oil from the Gulf. But because oil prices have surge globally, it's right around $100 a barrel. The U.S. faces much higher gas prices as do other countries. All the major economies in Asia,
Europe, depend heavily on imported oil, as do many developing countries. What about oil-producing countries? Don't they reap a windfall when oil prices soar? So that's true, but many of the big oil producers have also been hit by the war in the shutdown in the Gulf. We're talking about Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Wait, the United Arab Emirates. There are a few oil-producing countries outside the Middle East and they're likely to benefit by these higher prices. But we're talking
about just a few exceptions. Really, the vast majority of the world is going to have to endure more economic hurt until the U.S. and Iran sort this out. If this standoff continues, does either side have additional leverage to use against the other? Well, you know, yes, but not a lot. It's obvious. And a crisis like this you normally turn to allies, but President Trump is alienated many U.S. allies by not consulting them and in many cases insulting them. So none have answered
his call to take part in the blockade. And Iran has long been isolated internationally and doesn't have many allies to begin with. You know, of course, Trump could in the ceasefire and returned to war, but the president wasn't able to meet his goals with more than five weeks of heavy bombing. So he seems reluctant to do that. And there's no guarantee of renewed military operation
“would deliver the results he wants. Any prospects for another round of negotiations?”
Yeah, Trump said Iran has been in touch and wants to make a deal. The associated press is
reporting that Pakistan has proposed hosting a second round of talks like the ones they did last
weekend. So there's a lot of chatter, but nothing solid, and then just on a related note, Israel and Lebanon are holding talks in Washington today to try to sort out that conflict which is linked to the war in Iran. That's, and here's Greg Myrick, Greg Thanks. Sure thing, Michelle. President Trump was criticized by even some of his staunchest supporters this week when he posted an image of himself as a Jesus-like figure. President has attempted to explain the post,
which has also been deleted. All this has come as he has attacked, hopefully over the 14th, the first American born pope. Here to tell us more about all this, is NPR White House correspondent Daniel Kirstlevin. Good morning, Daniel.
“Hey, Michelle. What is the president's explanation for this post?”
He told reporters yesterday he did post the image himself, but that he thought it wasn't an image of him as Jesus. It's supposed to be me as a doctor, making people better, and I do make people better. To be clear, though, this image depicts Trump in a white robe with a red shawl or sash, which is how Jesus is often depicted, and there's light coming from his hands as he heals a man, and there's a woman who appears to be praying to him. And crucially, many of his supporters thought
it was depicting him as Jesus or God. You know, Daniel, you've reported many times that the president really tries not to be seen as ever backing down or apologizing. So is it significant
That he removed this post?
for deleting a post, it was a really racist video depicting the Obama's as apes in a Drew
Mass of Criticism. Trump told CBS last night, here, moved this post because people had been confused by it. But some influential supporters, they were really mad about this, Riley Gaines, the commentator who also outspokenly opposes transgender athletes, initially responded to the image by saying, "God shall not be mocked." And the president posted this image right as he was attacking
“the Pope, who has spoken out against the Iran War, and is this new territory even for Trump?”
Not exactly. It's not the first time he's clashed with a Pope in 2016, Pope Francis criticized Trump than a candidate for wanting to build a border wall, and suggested that Trump wasn't a real Christian. And as far as AI images go, once last year, Trump posted a picture of
himself as Pope. Now, time will tell how much this alienates anyone. I mean, courseness has always
been a central part of the Trump brand. So his actions have often raised questions about whether
“his Christian supporters would abandon him. But overwhelmingly, the ones who like him have just”
stuck with him. By last night, for example, Riley Gaines had softened on that image Trump posted posting that it was amazing that Trump had deleted it. Now, all of that said, Trump is already in a week's spot right now. This war is not popular. Peace talks have failed. His approval has slid prices are high. So you can see this image, his criticism of the Pope as new instances that can further just wear away at Trump's support. How has the Pope responded? Well, he told
“reporters this week that he's not a politician. He's not trying to get into a political debate.”
He also added that he has no fear of the Trump administration. And it all highlights a pretty remarkable aspect of all of this, which is how differently Trump and the Pope have responded to each other. Trump is attacking the Pope like a political opponent. He posted that the Pope is weak on crime, for example. Pope Leo, on the other hand, is talking about the war generally in these bigger terms about peace-making humanity and the gospels and God. So Trump is picking a fight here
with someone who's operating on this totally different level. Trump is making this about him, about winning and strength. The Pope isn't really engaging with that. He's the head of this millennia-old institution, and he's talking from a place of belief, as opposed to winning or losing.
That is NPR's Daniel Curse, like a Danielle. Thank you. Thank you. And that's up first
for Tuesday April 14th. I'm Michelle Martin. And I'm a Martinez. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Jason Bruzzleau, Andrew Susman, Rebecca Metzler, Mohamed Elbardisi, and Alice Wolfly was produced by the F-Buch, and Aba Poukatch. Our director is Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support formation Highness, our technical director is currently strange and our supervising senior producer is Ben Spierson, dress again to more.
