Post Reports

This week in the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president, Stormy Daniels gave explicit and disturbing testimony and sparked an angry reaction from Donald Trump.

Stormy Daniels, the adult-film actress at the center of Donald Trump’s hush money trial, testified against the former president Tuesday. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, recounted details of her alleged sexual encounter with Trump. Her testimony was met with muttered profanities from the former president. At one point, Judge Juan Merchan called over Trump’s lawyer to warn that Trump’s cursing was audible and could be intimidating.  

Trump is accused of 34 counts of falsifying business records to disguise a payment of $130,000 to Daniels in 2016 so that she would keep quiet about what she says happened between them. 

Today on “Post Reports,” reporter Devlin Barrett breaks down the significance of Daniels’s testimony on Tuesday and how that might complicate the outcome of the trial.

Read more:

Stormy Daniels testifies, Trump curses in an angry day in court

Why Stormy Daniels’s account of sex with Trump may be problematic, and other takeaways

Read and subscribe to The Trump Trials newsletter

Today’s show was produced by and mixed by Ted Muldoon. It was edited by Lucy Perkins. Thanks to Elana Gordon.

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When Francis became pope in 2013, it was clear that he would be an unconventional pope. He was more casual than his predecessors, and often rejected the fineries of his office. In particular, he made a splash when, early on in his papacy, he responded to a question about gay priests by declaring, “Who am I to judge?”

Since then, Francis has moved to make the Catholic Church more welcoming to the LGBTQ+ community, including approving the blessing of same-sex couples, and allowing transgender people to be baptized. At the same time, the Church continues to argue that homosexuality is “intrinsically disordered,” and that “sex-change intervention” could poses a threat to human dignity. But in spite of this, Francis has begun to regularly invite transgender women, many of them current or former sex workers, to meet him at the Vatican. 

Rome bureau chief Anthony Faiola met a number of these women, and joins “Post Reports” to talk about how these meetings came about and the resulting backlash Francis has face from conservative clerics. 

Today’s show was produced by Peter Bresnan. It was edited by Monica Campbell and mixed by Sean Carter. 

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Today, whether the U.S.’s long-delayed aid to Ukraine will impact the outcome of the war.

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After months of stalled negotiations, Congress passed a foreign aid package that included $61 billion in aid to Ukraine. With low supplies and exhausted soldiers, the war-torn country is in desperate need of funding and weapons. U.S. officials hope the aid will buy time for Kyiv to replenish its military ranks and strengthen battlefield defenses, but The Post’s Missy Ryan reports that even the large aid package is unlikely to enable a major Ukrainian offensive anytime soon. 

Today’s show was produced by Ariel Plotnick. It was edited by Allison Michaels and mixed by Sean Carter.

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In a time of rising anger and threats, one man in Endicott, N.Y., in the throes of a mental health crisis threatened Rep.Marjorie Taylor Greene, telling her “You spread hatred, and you’re gonna pay for it.” Here’s what happened to him. 

This story is part of our Deep Reads series, which showcases narrative journalism at The Washington Post. It was written and read by Ruby Cramer. Audio production and original music composition by Bishop Sand.

It’s Friday, so it’s time for The Campaign Moment — our weekly roundtable conversation to help you keep track of the biggest developments during the 2024 campaign. Senior political reporter Aaron Blake, who writes The Post’s new newsletter by the same name, and White House reporter Cleve Wootson join Martine Powers this week. They talk about how President Biden responded this week to the campus protests over the war in Gaza and what that could mean for his support, whether voters are paying attention yet to former president Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York related to a hush money payment to adult-film star Stormy Daniels, and what a story South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem reveals in her new book about killing a dog could mean for her prospects to be Trump’s running mate. 

You can now also follow The Campaign Moment in a new feed to hear extra episodes from Aaron and our politics team as the campaign year continues. 

Subscribe to Aaron’s newsletter, The Campaign Moment, here. 

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Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon and Sean Carter. It was edited by Renita Jablonski and Mary Jo Murphy.

In February, a massive cyberattack nearly brought down the entire U.S. health system. Doctors are still reeling, and many patients don’t even know their data has been exposed. Today, Dan Diamond traces what went wrong and the new scrutiny in Congress.

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Even if UnitedHealthcare isn’t your health insurer, the company has probably interacted with you or your data in some way. UnitedHealth Group is both the nation’s largest insurer and its largest employer of physicians. It owns pharmacies and home health agencies. One of its subsidiaries, Change Healthcare, processes more than 40 percent of the country’s medical claims, acting as a kind of “information superhighway,” explains the Post’s national health reporter, Dan Diamond.  

In February, hackers broke into that system and led to what is being described as the largest cyberattack ever in American health care. Behind the scenes, the attack froze health payments and compromised patient information. It spread pain across doctors and hospitals nationwide, especially in rural communities. It’s still unclear how many people have been impacted, and the breach has yet to be fully resolved.   

The chaos and fallout brought UnitedHealth Group’s CEO, Andrew Witty, to testify this week before Congress for the first time in more than 15 years. During separate House and Senate committee hearings, representatives grilled Witty on why basic security safeguards were lacking and, more broadly, whether UnitedHealth Group might have become too big, raising bigger questions about how U.S. health care operates. 

Today’s show was produced by Elana Gordon. It was edited by Lucy Perkins and mixed by Sean Carter. Thanks also to Stephen Smith.  

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Six months after becoming speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson’s job is on the line. Today on “Post Reports,” we explore Johnson’s rise to power and his potential ouster at the hands of his Republican colleagues.

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Mike Johnson became House speaker following the historic ouster of Kevin McCarthy in October. After three weeks of infighting among Republicans, Johnson emerged as the only viable candidate, in part because Johnson was relatively unknown. Before becoming speaker, Johnson was best known for leading the charge to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 election. 

Johnson’s short tenure has been tumultuous. Last week, Johnson helped pass a bill that provides billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, over the objections of Republican colleagues. Now, in response, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has vowed to introduce a motion that could see Johnson kicked out of the speakership. The House will probably take up the motion once she reintroduces it next week.

Congressional reporter Marianna Sotomayor joins “Post Reports” to talk about Johnson’s politics, how he has changed since becoming speaker and the chances that Johnson could soon lose the speakership.

Today’s show was produced by Peter Bresnan. It was edited by Ted Muldoon and mixed by Sean Carter. Thanks to Rachel Van Dongen.

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India is rising as a competitive global power. It is also joining a club of nations that aggressively target dissidents on foreign soil. Today on “Post Reports,” we dive into India’s assassination plots.

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It was a split-screen moment: As the Biden administration hosted a White House state dinner for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2022, an officer in India’s intelligence service was relaying instructions to a team hired to kill one of Modi’s most vocal critics in the United States. The assassination plot was part of several repressive acts targeting Indian diaspora populations in Asia, Europe and North America, according to officials in the United States and in India. 

Greg Miller, a Washington Post investigative foreign correspondent, breaks down how a team of Post reporters have probed a global surge in aggression against dissident groups.

Amid shifting geopolitical forces, Miller explains how the United States and other Western governments have struggled to stem this repressive tide. India, for example, has faced few consequences for its use of violence against dissident groups, in part because the United States and its allies want closer ties with India in a new era of competition with China. 

Today’s show was produced by Emma Talkoff. It was mixed by Ted Muldoon and edited by Monica Campbell. Thanks to Peter Finn and Ellen Nakashima.  

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For the first time, a virulent strain of bird flu has been detected in U.S. dairy cows. Fragments of the virus have also been found in commercial milk. Today, health reporter Lena Sun shares the latest on the outbreak and why the risk to humans remains low. 

In recent years, H5N1 bird flu has become widespread among wild birds around the world and has spread to mammals like seals and squirrels. It can be fatal and has resulted in the deaths or cullings of tens of millions of chickens in the United States alone. 

Then in March, another concerning development caught the attention of scientists around the world: H5N1 was found in a herd of dairy cows for the first time in the United States. The virus has since been identified in cows in at least nine states, and preliminary testing of the virus fragments in commercial milk indicate the outbreak may be more widespread than previously thought. 

While the cases in cows appear to be mild so far, a dairy worker also became sick last month with mild symptoms, marking the second known U.S. case of this type of bird flu in a human. 

Today, national health reporter Lena Sun joins “Post Reports” to share the latest on what is known and not known about the growing outbreak, and the precautions people can take to stay healthy. 

Read more: 

As bird flu spreads in cows, fractured U.S. response has echoes of early covid

Bird flu explained: How it spreads, milk and egg safety and more

How prepared the U.S. is for a bird flu pandemic 

Today’s show was produced by Elana Gordon. It was edited by Lucy Perkins and mixed by Sean Carter. Thanks to Rachel Roubein and Tracy Jan.

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Elahe Izadi chats with Aaron Blake, author of the Post newsletter The Campaign Moment, and national politics reporter Colby Itkowitz. They delve into the most important political moments of this past week. Listen for these conversations most Fridays during the 2024 campaign. 

It’s Friday, so it’s time for The Campaign Moment — our weekly roundtable conversation to help you keep track of the biggest developments of the 2024 campaign. Senior political reporter Aaron Blake, who writes The Post’s new newsletter by the same name, Post Reports co-host Elahe Izadi and national politics reporter Colby Itkowitz sit down to talk about Tuesday’s congressional primaries, the latest presidential polling, the right’s reckoning with Marjorie Taylor Greene, and the potential effect on the presidential campaign from the protests on college campuses. Follow “The Campaign Moment” podcast feed as well to catch bonus episodes from Aaron. 

Subscribe to Aaron’s newsletter here. 

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Today’s show was produced and mixed by Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was edited by Renita Jablonski and Allison Michaels.