Latest news with #WestminsterDogShow
CBS News
01-05-2025
- Automotive
- CBS News
What's the safest way to secure your dog in the car?
What's the best way to transport your dog in the car? What's the best way to transport your dog in the car? What's the best way to transport your dog in the car? With the warmer weather and summer vacations starting soon, more people will be driving with their pets in the car, but that can pose a lot of dangers to you, your pet and other drivers. Marcy Kronz loves her dogs like family, including Joker, a 6-year-old golden retriever who's traveled all the way to the Westminster Dog Show in Great Britain. "He's a show dog who also competes in AKC Hunt Fest, and he's my best friend, most importantly," Kronz says. Kronz travels with Joker secured in a crate, but many pet owners don't. She knows a fellow competitor who was in a car crash with her dogs, and the results were tragic. "[I know an] agility competitor that was in a bad car accident. She was unconscious. They didn't even know she had dogs, and unfortunately, that didn't turn out so well. They didn't find either dog alive." Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Melinda Bondarekna has seen all kinds of accidents involving pets, including animals killed when they're thrown from the back of a pick-up truck and accidents caused from an animal getting underneath the brake pedal. "You can't react the way you need to by hitting that brake to get stopped in an amount of time where you need to get stopped. Then you find yourself in a crash, and you're injured, and somebody else is injured, and maybe that animal gets injured too," Bondarenka said. Kronz says the safest way to travel with a dog or cat is to put them in a crate and secure the crate to the vehicle with a seatbelt or cord. A hard-walled crate is safest because it will protect your animal in an accident. The next best is a wire crate, which is not as strong but can be easier to transport because it's lighter and folds. A fabric crate will keep your animal from running around the vehicle but won't protect him in a crash. Another option to restrain your dog in a vehicle is in a harness with a seatbelt, but it's not as safe as a crate because they are not as contained, but it's better than letting the animal roam free. Having a dog or cat in the car can seem like fun, but it's anything but fun if it leads to an accident and you or your animal is hurt. "I'd love to have the dog sit next to me, just your best friend ride next to you, but I wouldn't be able to live with myself [if something bad happened,]" Kronz says. "A lot of people, at least in my interaction with them, talk about their pet being part of the family, and I said, 'Would you want your human child to be in the vehicle and in the position that you have your pet in?' That makes them stop and think," Bondarenka said. Bondarenka says while it's not illegal to travel with your pet unsecured, there can be traffic or criminal violations for not humanely transporting your dog or pet and clearly for causing a crash.
Boston Globe
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Beyond ‘crazy cat lady': Dispelling myths at Catsachusetts show
'People still somewhat stigmatize cat owners,' said Christian Cherau, northeast regional director of the He has heard all the hissing about cats. A black Bombay cat meows during the judging at the Catsachusetts Cat Convention. 'They're dirty; they can't be trained. That they can be mean; their kids aren't good with them; that they fight with dogs,' he said. 'I think we can prove every one of those myths wrong.' The show, held last week in Boston, featured 120 cats including 36 different breeds. Advertisement 'People don't know a lot about cats,' Cherau said as the feline faithful checked in. 'They don't know there's a breed of cats. They don't know that cats can do tricks, that they can be trained, that they can be bathed, that they're not just going to be dependent on to catch a rat.' Cat judging is done on seven tables, each equipped with a scratching post. It's hands-on and not a parade. There's also an agility ring and therapy cats, who are both contestants and stress relievers. The Westminster Dog Show in Madison Square Garden, it is not. The event took place at a dry ice rink in East Boston. But it is a fun event, not snooty, or high pressured. There's even a category for house cats. Advertisement Although the cats are kept briefly in cages during the judging, they spend most of their time in cushy minishow houses where they are pampered. Judge Harley DeVilbiss, has a Salvador Dali/Rollie Fingers handlebar mustache and beard that attract the curiosity of some cats. Meteora, a Cornish Rex gets up close and personal with judge Harley DeVilbiss' handlebar moustache during the Catsachusetts Cat Convention. One cat, a Cornish Rex named Meteora, licks the judge's face and even gets tickled by his stache. The judge awards the cat a first-place ribbon, saying the flattery 'didn't hurt.' He also issues a suggestion: 'You could use a TikTok. I'm sorry. She needs a Tic Tac because her breath was bad.' Elsewhere in the Porrazzo Memorial rink, an Ocicat named Riverspot's Comet of Sunflame leaps through hoops at the agility ring. It looks like he's reenacting Bobby Orr's 1970 Stanley Cup-winning goal. 'A lot of people think they can't be trained. He does sit, stay, rollover. He plays fetch. He jumps through his hoops,' said trainer Kim Dustin of Somersworth, N.H. Dustin also walks her cats with a harness, prompting snarky remarks from some. Amber Lilyestrom of Lee, N.H. combs the hair of Juniper, a Himalayan cat. 'There are a lot of people who have dogs who think that I shouldn't be on the same trails as them,' she said. 'They give me crap for having a cat even on the trail.' Traveling with cats can be a problem. Some hotels worry about scratched-up furniture and exposing guests and employees who are allergic to cats. 'There aren't a lot of cat-friendly spaces,' Dustin said. 'A lot of hotel chains will say they're pet-friendly. They mean dog-friendly. They don't mean cat-friendly. So that frustrates me.' Kathy Lynch of Arlington knows she looks like King Kalvyn, a Shaded Silver Dollface Persian. Advertisement 'Actually, after I got that cat, I let my hair go gray, so I look more like him,' Lynch said. 'And then I had this silver tinsel installed in my hair so that I could actually be a shade of Silver Persian myself.' Gus, a Siberian forest cat, he has been a therapy cat for six years with 'Caring Hearts Pet Therapy." She's a professional cat sitter. Single with eight cats. 'Everybody I know says when they die someday, they'd like to come back as one of my cats and be treated to the royal life.' There's also plenty of good karma here. Last year, Gwyneth Hayes of Caring Hearts Pet Therapy, a nonprofit Pennsylvania volunteer group, brought her two cats to 160 nursing homes, hospitals, schools, and libraries last year. Juniper, a Himalayan cat, poses with some of the ribbons she's won. She says 30 percent to 40 percent of people in nursing homes don't have anybody that visit them. 'Being able to bring that joy and make every visit count is what it's all about,' Hayes said. But she still sees the antifeline feelings everywhere. 'People . . . are more willing to accept a dog than cats' she said. 'It's just because cats are seen as unpredictable, even though they're not. You can see their body language and read them really well.' Linda Manning of New Haven, hugs King Fisher, a Maine Coon Polydactyl, after the judging. Maine Coons are the only long-haired cat breed native to the United States. One was awarded Best in Show in a legendary cat show in Madison Square Garden in 1895. It was an era where cats shows were gaining in popularity. Today, social media loves both cats and dogs. But on the streets, cat women take more grief (except for Michelle Pfeiffer and Halle Berry). Advertisement 'I mean, you still get to hear, 'Oh, it's the crazy cat lady,' ' Manning said. 'But [cats are] wonderful. They can tell what your feelings are. If you approach every cat (negatively) like, you're not going to care about me, the cat's going to be like, 'yeah'. Give them a chance.' Amber Lilyestrom of Lee, N.H., a brand and business coach for female entrepreneurs, loves both dogs and cats. 'If you earn the love of a cat, then you're doing something right,' Lilyestrom said. 'There's a level of patience required, I think, with cats. It's a different energy. But I think it's special that when a cat chooses you, it's a really beautiful thing.' Kathy Lynch of Arlington says she dyed her hair to look more like King Kalvyn, a Shaded Silver Dollface Persian. @font-face { font-family: BentonSansCond-Regular; src: url(" format('woff2'), url(" format('woff'); } @font-face { font-family: BentonSansCond-Bold; src: url(" format('woff2'), url(" format('woff'); } .dipupnext_hed { font-family: "MillerHeadline-Bold", "Times New Roman", Times, Georgia, serif; letter-spacing: .75px; text-align: center; font-size: 1.25em; line-height: 1; margin-top: 3px; color: #000; width: 100%; font-weight: 600; } .dipupnext_cap_cred { font-family: "BentonSansCond-Regular", "Times New Roman", Times, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: .5px; text-align: left; margin: 3px 0px 5px 0px; font-weight: 200; color: #000; text-decoration: none; text-align: center; } .dipupnext_photo { max-width: 100%; height: auto; padding-top: 15px; opacity: 1; } .dipupnext__form:hover { opacity: .5; text-decoration: underline .5px; } .dipupnext__form{ opacity: 1; } .picupnext__container { width: 100%; position: relative; margin: 0 auto; } .dipupnext__content { width: 100%; display: grid; grid-template-columns: 3fr; } .cdipupnextcontainer { display: block; width:100%; height: auto; margin:0 auto; -moz-box-sizing: border-box; overflow: hidden; } .upnext { font-family: "BentonSansCond-Bold", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.15; margin-top: .5rem; letter-spacing: 0px; color: #000; padding: 8px 8px 4px 8px; margin-top: 5px; letter-spacing: .5px; } .upnext:before, .upnext:after { background-color: #000; content: ""; display: inline-block; height: 1px; position: relative; vertical-align: 4px; width: 32%; } .upnext:before { right: 0.3em; margin-left: -50%; } .upnext:after { left: 0.3em; margin-right: -50%; } .theme-dark .upnext:before { background-color: #fff; } .theme-dark .upnext:after { background-color: #fff; } .theme-dark .upnext { color: #fff; } .theme-dark .dipupnext_cap_cred { color: #fff; } .theme-dark .dipupnext_hed { color: #fff; } @media screen and (min-width: 800px){ .dipupnext__content { grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr 1fr; grid-column-gap: 40px; } } UP NEXT Stan Grossfeld can be reached at
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Schnauzer from Connecticut takes top prize at Westminster Dog Show
CHAPLIN, Conn. (WTNH) — Connecticut has a new celebrity. Monty, a Schnauzer from Chaplin, took home the top prize at the Westminster Dog Show Tuesday night. Katie Bernardin, who is Monty's owner/handler, said that the 5-year-old pup is a hard worker who does dog shows every weekend, but is really just a puppy at heart. Monty the giant schnauzer wins Westminster dog show 'We spend a lot of time on the couch, playing in the snow,' Bernardin said. 'He's just a regular dog. He wants his treats, he wants his ice — every time you get ice, he has to have ice. He just kind of hangs out.' Westminster was Monty's 65th time winning 'Best in Show,' but it was definitely his most high profile prize. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Politico
13-02-2025
- Business
- Politico
Bezos goes back to Ballard
Presented by With Daniel Lippman BLUE ORIGIN HIRES BALLARD: New business is still flooding into Ballard Partners, which has registered to lobby for Blue Origin, the Jeff Bezos-owned rival of Elon Musk's space company SpaceX. Brian Ballard, Mat Forrest and Dan McFaul started lobbying for Blue Origin at the beginning of January on 'issues related to commercial spaceflight and guidance on opportunities to utilize Blue Origin capabilities,' according to a newly filed disclosure. — Ballard is the second new outside lobbying firm brought on by Blue Origin this year. Blue Origin also added S-3 Group in January. Both hires come amid unease in the space industry over Musk's deepening bond with President Donald Trump and sweeping push to remake the federal government. — Bezos last month handwaved concerns that Musk might misuse his government position to boost his vast business empire over competitors, telling Reuters that he believed Musk's assertions 'that he's doing this for the public interest and not for his personal gain.' — Still, Bezos has been among the parade of chief executives making very public overtures to Trump since last fall: Bezos intervened to block the editorial board at The Washington Post, which he owns, from endorsing Kamala Harris last fall; and after Trump won, Amazon donated $1 million to his inauguration (to which Bezos scored a seat in front of Trump's Cabinet nominees) and streamed the ceremony on its Prime Video service for free. Prime Video is also reportedly paying tens of millions of dollars to produce a documentary about first lady Melania Trump. — Blue Origin isn't the only Bezos-owned company on Ballard's lobbying roster. The firm also represents Amazon — among the e-commerce giant's former lobbyists on the account is now-Attorney General Pam Bondi. Happy Wednesday and welcome to PI, where Freddie the English Springer Spaniel is best in show in our heart. Let me know why your dog's breed should have won the Westminster Dog Show instead, your thoughts on the House GOP's budget blueprint or anything else that strikes your fancy: coprysko@ And be sure to follow me on X: @caitlinoprysko. HOUSE OF CARD: Card & Associates, the government affairs shop started more than a decade ago by K Street veteran Brad Card, is joining forces with Chartwell Strategy Group. The merger will strengthen Chartwell's lobbying practice and support the firm's organic growth, Chartwell managing director Dave Tamasi said in an email. — Card was a former Hill chief of staff who spent 12 years at Dutko before founding his own firm. He'll be a managing director at Chartwell and will be joined by his colleague Adam Bordes. Card & Associates' clients include Amazon, the Corn Refiners Association and the Greater New York Hospital Association. MORE NEW BUSINESS: Amazon has brought on a new outside firm as well. The company hired former Senate GOP tax advisers Brendan Dunn, Brett Quick and Riley Stamper of Phronesis to lobby on — wouldn't you know it — taxes. And software giant Salesforce has added Skyline Capitol, the firm started by former Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah), as a subcontractor of Moran Global Strategies, the firm founded by former Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.). — Republican lobbyists at TheGROUP D.C. have registered a few new clients — including private student loan lender Sallie Mae, for whom David Cleary will lobby on student loans and budget reconciliation, and AARP, for whom Pamela Thiessen and Cleary will work on Medicare, Medicaid and tax issues like the group's push for a caregiver tax break, according to a disclosure filing. — And aluminum recycler Novelis, the U.S. subsidiary of an Indian aluminum conglomerate, hired Mercury Public Affairs' Bryan Lanza, a former adviser on Trump's first transition, and James Messner, a former aide to House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, to lobby on trade issues related to the aluminum industry — a timely hire ahead of Trump's move this week to slap 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. ADANI'S LOBBYING ARMY: 'In the months since the U.S. criminally and civilly charged Gautam Adani over an alleged bribery scheme, both court dockets have gone quiet. But Asia's second-richest man has been busy, building a political influence operation in the U.S. spanning white shoe law firms and lobbyists, looking to simultaneously deal with the legal cases and expand his business, according to people with knowledge of the effort,' Bloomberg's Tom Schoenberg, Sanjai P.R., and Ava Benny-Morrison write. — 'And, increasingly, he is leaning on political relationships, with mounting signs he's gaining clout that could help sway the White House. In India, his camp has reached out to officials there ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington this week, said some of the people, who asked not to be named discussing confidential talks.' — 'In other corners, the pace of activity is quickening. Late last week, two prominent law firms previously hired by Adani — Kirkland & Ellis and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan — registered as lobbyists for both his legal cases and business interests.' — 'This week, a growing number of Republican lawmakers publicly weighed in, framing the charges as detrimental to the U.S.-India relationship and both countries' economies. More broadly, Trump himself signaled intent to dial back how the U.S. polices international bribery.' DON'T GO GETTING ANY IDEAS: Trump this week moved to roll back enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which bars American companies from offering bribes to foreign officials. But the top Democrat on the House Select China Committee on Tuesday fired off a warning shot to corporate leaders doing business in China that his panel won't be letting them off so easily. — 'Simply put, any company contemplating relying on the recent executive order to loosen internal policies or procedures regarding improper payments to government officials in the PRC should think twice,' Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) warned in a letter to the head of the American Chamber of Commerce in China. — The bribery statute carries at least a five-year statute of limitations — which would outlast the current administration and the FCPA enforcement pause alike, Krishnamoorthi noted. Even so, he continued, 'should an American business decide to try to take advantage of this pause in FCPA enforcement, they should not be surprised to hear from Congress.' HIT FROM WHERE IT HURTS: 'Red-state universities are hitting back at the Trump administration's expansive cuts to science and research funding, warning they would be forced to shutter laboratories and lay off staff should they face the sudden elimination of millions of dollars in funding,' per our Adam Cancryn and Juan Perez Jr. — 'The blowback, echoed by at least two Republican senators, marks the most widespread political resistance the Trump administration has faced in its rapid sprint to reshape the federal government and its spending policies.' — 'The administration has framed its blanket cap on National Institutes of Health funding for research-related administrative costs as reining in elite coastal institutions. … Yet in a flurry of lawsuits and dire pleas, universities in ruby red states like Alabama and Kentucky warned that the cuts could be devastating to public institutions that are widely regarded as economic engines in their regions.' SPOTTED yesterday at the Internet Education Foundation's State of the Net Conference, per a tipster: FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, Reps. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.), Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.) and Kat Cammack (R-Fla.); Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Ari Schwartz of the Center for Cybersecurity Policy & Law, Jeremy Grant of the Better Identity Coalition, Heather West of Venable, John Perrino of Internet Society, Steve DelBianco of NetChoice, Travis LeBlanc of Cooley, Shira Perlmutter of the U.S. Copyright Office, Emma Morris and Matt Kaufman of Roblox, Tricia McCleary of the Computer & Communications Industry Association, John Mitchell of the Consumer Technology Association, Billy Easley of Reddit, Jennifer Taylor Hodges of Mozilla, Christian Dawson of i2Coalition, Blake Adami of Snap Inc., Johanna Shelton of OpenAI, Jeffrey Zubricki of Etsy, former NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson, Rebecca Kern of the FTC, Chris Lewis of Public Knowledge, Tim Lordan of IEF and Maura Colleton Corbett, Amy Schatz, Anne Keeney, Davey McKissick, Halley Roth and Connor Farry of Glen Echo Group. Jobs report — Brett McGurk is now a non-resident senior fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. He most recently was deputy assistant to Biden and coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa at the NSC. — Audra Jackson has joined the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers as director of government affairs. She was previously special assistant to former President Joe Biden and White House legislative affairs liaison for the House. — James Baehr has been nominated to be general counsel of the Department of Veterans Affairs. He is currently a special counsel at the Pelican Institute for Public Policy, a senior fellow at the America First Policy Institute, and was a special assistant to the president in the Domestic Policy Council in the first Trump White House. — Esther Kahng, a longtime aide to ranking member Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) on the House Financial Services Committee who most recently served as the California Democrat's chief counsel, is leaving the Hill to serve as head of public policy and chief of staff at Zest AI. — Former acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf is joining the Protecting America Initiative as senior adviser. — Michael Chirico is joining American Water as director of legislative and external affairs. He was previously vice president of government affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and is a Carol Miller and Evan Jenkins alum. — Taylor Giorno is joining NOTUS as a lobbying and influence reporter. She previously was a business and lobbying reporter at The Hill. — David Hill will be executive vice president of the energy program at the Bipartisan Policy Center. He is an NRG Energy, Sidley Austin and Energy Department alum. — Jimmy Rhee is joining Grayson & Co. as senior adviser for Asia. He previously was cabinet secretary for business affairs in Maryland. — Jonathan Haray is rejoining DLA Piper as a partner in the litigation practice. He most recently was a principal assistant deputy chief of the Justice Department Criminal Division's Fraud Section. New Joint Fundraisers Representation Matters: Stand Up for Democracy (Reps. Janelle Bynum, Sharice Davids, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Jahana Hayes, Andrea Salinas, Emilia Sykes, One Voice) New PACs BAMA PAC (Leadership PAC: Shomari Figures) Maintaining Integrity in our Nation PAC (Leadership PAC: Dave Min) United for Truth (Super PAC) New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS Ae Industrial Partners, Lp: Ae Industrial Partners, Lp Ascend Consulting: Altus Solutions, Inc. Ballard Partners: Airlines For America Ballard Partners: Blue Origin, LLC Ballard Partners: University Of Florida Health Corporation Barker Leavitt, Pllc (Ska Mr. James C. Barker): American Capitol Group Obo Balance Of Nature Barrick Gold Corporation: Barrick Gold Corporation Carlough Solutions, LLC: Ssab Enterprises, LLC Continental Strategy, LLC: Coupang Inc. Continental Strategy, LLC: New College Of Florida Continental Strategy, LLC: University Of North Florida Defending Our Country, LLC: Sbcc Equipment Dentons US LLP: Bay Mills Indian Community Dga Group Government Relations LLC (Formerly Dentons Global Advisors Government: American Amusement Machine Association Dga Group Government Relations LLC (Formerly Dentons Global Advisors Government: Amusement And Music Operators Association Dga Group Government Relations LLC (Formerly Dentons Global Advisors Government: Avalon Advanced Materials Inc. Dla Piper LLP (US): Wisconsin Physicians Service Insurance Corporation (Dba Wps Health Solutions) Emergent Strategies: Zeta Global Corp. Ernst & Young LLP (Washington Council Ernst & Young): The Transport Project J M Burkman & Associates: Erika Magarian Jones Walker, LLP: Nola Education, LLC K&L Gates, LLP: Scholastic Inc. Lederman Group, LLC: Summit Agriculture Group Megafire Action: Megafire Action Phronesisdc, LLC: Amazon Rich Feuer Anderson: Ontario Systems, LLC D/B/A Finvi S-3 Group: Gea Mechanical Equipment US, Inc. Skyline Capitol LLC: Moran Global Strategies, Inc. Obo Salesforce, Inc. Tch Group, LLC: Bell Legal Group Thegroup Dc, LLC: Aarp Tripp Hollander Advisors: Contessa Health Tripp Hollander Advisors: Inbound Health Veng Group: Freefrom New Lobbying Terminations Fiber Optic Sensing Association: Fiber Optic Sensing Association Tch Group, LLC: Cormac Group On Behalf Of Bell Legal Group
USA Today
12-02-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Eric Adams sees fortunes turn on Trump actions
Eric Adams sees fortunes turn on Trump actions | The Excerpt On Wednesday's episode of The Excerpt podcast: USA TODAY Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page discusses what a reprieve for New York Mayor Eric Adams tells us about the Trump era. American school teacher Marc Fogel has been released by Russia after more than three years in custody. USA TODAY White House Correspondent Michael Collins discusses worries over Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency gaining access to personal information. Plus, the Education Department will shield federal student aid data from DOGE – for now. Flu cases surge to the highest levels in 15 years. Monty the Giant Schnauzer wins Best in Show at the Westminster Dog Show. USA TODAY's 2025 Restaurants of the Year. 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. Podcasts: True crime, in-depth interviews and more USA TODAY podcasts right here Taylor Wilson: Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson. And today is Wednesday, February 12th, 2025. This is The Excerpt. Today what a reprieve for New York's mayor tells us about the Trump era. Plus, an American teacher has been released by Russia after years in custody. And what critics are worried about if the Department of Government efficiency has access to your personal information. ♦ The Justice Department's directive to drop the criminal prosecution of New York Mayor Eric Adams marks the latest example that relationships, allegiances, and at times vendettas, are in some cases determining who gets targeted and who gets reprieved in the age of President Donald Trump. I caught up with USA TODAY Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page for more. Hello, Susan. Thanks for hopping on today as you're always so kind to do. Susan Page: Taylor, it's always good to be with you. Taylor Wilson: So Susan, let's just start with some of the basics. What did the Justice Department decide this week as it pertains to Eric Adams? Susan Page: Well, the Justice Department sent instructions to the prosecutors in Manhattan to drop the case against Eric Adams, the democratic mayor of the nation's largest city. He had been indicted and was awaiting trial on charges of corruption. Taylor Wilson: And in terms of Adams himself, I mean, how did he respond? And Susan, how did we get to this point? Was Adams cozying up to Trump in the weeks prior? I mean, what did we see leading up to this point? Susan Page: Once Eric Adams was indicted in September after an investigation that went back three years, he started to become much friendlier with Donald Trump. After the election, he went to Mar-a-Lago and met with him. He attended his inauguration in Washington. He announced that he would not be criticizing Trump, especially on the issue of immigration. And those immigration roundups, those mass deportations that Trump has vowed to pursue, they are particularly controversial in New York City. What Mayor Adams said was he was going to cooperate with that effort. And some say that was a campaign for clemency. If so, it worked with the decision by the Justice Department. Taylor Wilson: And Susan, what does this move tell us? What does it show as part of, I guess, Trump's broader, is it fair to say, vendetta/agenda? I mean, have we seen other things like this here in the first few weeks? Susan Page: We've seen a different attitude toward the Justice Department than we've had in most modern presidents. Since the Watergate scandal, there's been an effort to enact laws and pursue policies that keep the Justice Department cushioned from political calculations. That's not been the case with President Trump in his opening weeks in office. We saw that on the very first day, hours after his inauguration, when he pardoned nearly all of the January 6th defendants. This is reflected in other aspects of government in his seizing of spending authority from Congress, his efforts to expand territory that in other parts of his presidency, he's also testing the boundaries of presidential power. Taylor Wilson: Susan, you're right that there are rising alarms about a potential constitutional crisis in that President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D Vance have suggested the new administration may upend a fundamental legal precept. These are strong words, Susan. What are we talking about here? Susan Page: Both of them have suggested that the administration will not necessarily obey court orders. That is if a decision by a federal judge goes against them, they will not necessarily feel obliged to follow it. That is important because our system of checks and balances depends on each of the three branches of government respecting the role of the others. This would be a change from that. Taylor Wilson: All right. Susan Page is USA TODAY's Washington bureau chief. Folks can find this full piece with a link in today's show notes. Thank you, Susan. Susan Page: Hey, thank you. ♦ Taylor Wilson: American school teacher Marc Fogel has been released by Russia after more than three years in custody. He had been detained following an arrest for medical marijuana possession, and his release comes as part of an agreement between Washington and Moscow that the US said came as a result of talks to end the war in Ukraine. As he took questions in the Oval Office after an executive order signing, Trump declined to say what the US offered Russia to release the American citizen. Trump's administration has been actively working on a plan to end the conflict in Ukraine, though the president has sidestepped questions about whether he's spoken directly to Russian president Vladimir Putin since taking office. He previously threatened to put sanctions on the country if Putin did not enter into negotiations to end the war. ♦ Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency want access to your personal information. Critics are worried. I spoke with USA TODAY White House correspondent Michael Collins to learn more. Michael, thank you so much for making some time on this, sir. Michael Collins: Thanks for having me. Taylor Wilson: Michael, we know this has been contentious. In fact, a judge made a decision over the weekend as it pertains to this. What was the decision there and what's really the latest in the courts? Michael Collins: It resulted from a lawsuit that was filed by 19 attorneys general. They filed suit to keep Elon Musk and his team from accessing this information. They are concerned about him having access to confidential information that historically has been off limits to all, but only a handful of career government employees. They say he's unauthorized to get it. They're also concerned about what he might do with it. He could use this information to block federal grants for health clinics, preschools, climate initiatives, and a whole host of other programs. And so the judge held a hearing and he decided that they, at least for now, had been able to make their case that there was a significant risk here. So the judge put in place a temporary restraining order that prevents Elon Musk and his team from accessing this system. There is a hearing that is scheduled for Friday and the judge has asked members of the Trump administration to come and explain why this temporary restraining order should not be continued and why Elon Musk and his team should in fact have access to this system. Taylor Wilson: So then Michael, if the courts don't put a more firm stop to this, I mean, what personal information could Musk and his team really have access to here? Michael Collins: Well, there's just an astounding volume of private data in this system on the lives of millions of Americans. And if Elon Musk and his team are allowed to access this, they will be able to see all of that. I'm talking about things that are very personal, very confidential information. For example, if you've got a tax refund, they would be able to access not only your tax information, but they could see your banking account and the routing numbers. If you're paying off a student loan or a government-backed mortgage, they would be able to see that too. If you get a Social Security check or receive Medicare benefits or other benefits like SNAP, which we used to call food stamps, they could see all of that. And if you work for the federal government or have even gotten the government grant or a contract, they would be able to see all of that information. Taylor Wilson: Well, as you write in this piece, Michael, public interest groups really say that Americans have the right to expect that private information entrusted to the government will remain private. We've talked through this a little bit, Michael, but what are their concerns specifically as it pertains to this info? Michael Collins: Well, again, primary concern is what Musk and his team want to do with this. And as I've said, we just don't know. We're talking about things like Social Security numbers, tax records, all of these things that Americans keep confidential. There's also a fear that he or the Trump administration could take this information and use it to try to target critics of the administration. So they're really concerned about what he might be doing with it. Taylor Wilson: And Michael, there are concerns over conflict of interest, right? I mean, Elon Musk has his feet in so many different pools and the businesses that he runs. Can you talk through that a little bit? Concerns over conflict of interest here? Michael Collins: He absolutely does. Elon Musk owns a number of companies, probably the most commonly known are Tesla, his aerospace company called SpaceX, and he owns the social media platform that we used to call Twitter, which he is renamed as X. These companies that he owns have gotten billions of dollars in government contracts, particularly SpaceX. And so the fear is that you have this guy who's getting these government contracts, now all of a sudden he's going to be able to look at the financial records of his competitors. So what if he decides that the government shouldn't be paying his competitors and tries to stop those payments? Or what if he were to say that his competitors are wasting government money and that they shouldn't be getting any government contracts? So there's just the potential here for all kinds of conflicts. Taylor Wilson: Well, and Michael, there's also been this curious aspect to the Doge team where there's some really inexperienced people as part of these efforts. There's even a recent high school graduate as part of the team. Why are some concerned about that? Michael Collins: Well, there are several members of Elon Musk's team who are fresh out of college. And as you said, in one case, there is one person who just recently graduated from high school. We must note that he also has a lot of people working for him who are various season operatives. These people have been around, they have experience. So the concern is not with them. The concern is you have a lot of young people working and having access to this information and they may not fully grasp what they have at their fingertips. They may not know how to properly handle it. They may not realize why it needs to be kept confidential. So there's just some real concerns that you have young, inexperienced people having access to information that is very private, very confidential, that affects the lives of millions of Americans. Taylor Wilson: All right. This was a great step back piece. Michael Collins is a White House correspondent with USA TODAY. Thank you, Michael. Michael Collins: Thank you very much. Taylor Wilson: The education department yesterday said it would not allow any members of the Department of Government efficiency to see or use information from federal student aid databases until next Monday. You can read more with a link in today's show notes. ♦ Influenza levels in the US are the highest they've been in 15 years as winter weather continues and the second wave of the virus causes more and more infections according to the CDC. The most recent CDC Weekly US Influenza Surveillance report shows that 7.8% of visits to a healthcare provider were for respiratory illness. The worst since the swine flu pandemic in late 2009. And flu infections are growing or likely growing in 15 states. You can read more with a link in today's show notes. ♦ The 149th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show returned to Madison Square Garden in New York for the first time in five years this week, and one dog stood above the rest. Monty the giant Schnauzer was named Best in Show yesterday ahead of more than 2,500 dogs across 200 breeds during two days of competition. His win made history. Monty is the first giant Schnauzer to ever win best in show, and the first working group dog to win Best in Show since 2004, ending the longest drought of any particular group. You can check out pictures of Monty on ♦ What's the best restaurant in your neck of the woods? From Phoenix to Detroit, Palm Springs to Pensacola, newsrooms across our network banded together to put the spotlight on the best restaurants across the country. The results a list of 45 must-try places. We have a link in today's show notes. ♦ Visually, icebergs can be stunning to witness. But did you know they also produce songs? Vera Schlindwein: The songs start with high tones and then they get lower and lower as the icebergs slow down. Taylor Wilson: That's Geophysicist Vera Schlindwein, professor of Polar and Marine Seismology at the University of Bremen in Germany. Vera and her team were targeting underground seismic activity recently when they stumbled upon the ethereal sounds produced by icebergs. What do these sounds reveal? You can hear a conversation with my colleague Dana Taylor, right here on this feed today, beginning at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. ♦ And thanks for listening to The Excerpt. You can get the podcast 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 USA TODAY.
