The New Way Trump Allies Are Offering Access to the President, and the Flood of U.S. Ammo to Mexican Cartels

0:02From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Monday, February 9th. Here's what we're covering.

0:13In my campaign for president, I pledged to give America the most spectacular birthday party the world has ever seen for America's 250th anniversary. A new investigation from The Times has found that as part of President Trump's plans to celebrate the country's 250th anniversary, His allies are offering access to the president and other perks in exchange for donations of at least a million dollars to a new organization. To help carry out these exciting plans, we have created a new public-private partnership. It's called Freedom 250, working with states, companies and organizations. The group Freedom 250 is planning flashy events and monuments that are very Trump.

0:59That includes a massive new marble arch overlooking D.C., an IndyCar race through the streets of the Capitol, and an ultimate fighting championship match on the White House lawn on Trump's birthday. While there was already a commission called America 250, established by Congress a decade ago to plan anniversary celebrations, the newly formed Freedom 250 has a more opaque corporate structure. And like Trump's White House ballroom project, Freedom 250 has emerged as another way for people and companies to curry favor with the president. Donors who give$2.5 million or more, for example, are being offered speaking roles at an event in D.C.

1:40on July 4th. according to a fundraising pitch that my colleagues got a hold of. It's the latest example of how Trump has gone all in on fundraising, even though most presidents usually dial that back in their second terms. In the past year, he and his allies have raised roughly$2 billion for his favored political causes and passion projects. The Times has found that many of those donors have either benefited from or are involved in an industry that's benefited from the administration's actions or statements. In response to questions, representatives for the White House and Freedom 250 downplayed concerns about selling access, with a spokeswoman for the group saying, quote, The president is incredibly grateful to his donors, but unlike the politicians of the past, he can't be bought by anyone.

2:29Notably, back in 1976, the country's last big birthday celebration also faced questions about who was footing the bill. President Nixon was accused of stacking the Planning Commission with political allies. And the events had so many corporate donors that people began to call it the BUY centennial.

2:56Now, three more quick updates on the administration. A federal judge has ordered the White House to unfreeze billions of dollars in federal funding for a major infrastructure project in New York, a rail tunnel under the Hudson River. The administration had frozen the money during the government shutdown last year when it was targeting Democratic districts to turn up the pressure on lawmakers. Since then, the Times has learned that top Trump administration officials told New York Senator Chuck Schumer that they would release the funds, but only if he agreed to name Penn Station and Washington Dulles Airport after President Trump.

3:32Schumer, who has no direct oversight over either of those facilities rebuffed them. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. Also, a number of Republicans are calling on you to apologize for that post. Is that something you're going to do? No, I didn't make a mistake. I mean, if I look at a lot of thousands of things. On Friday, after widespread backlash, including from some within his own party, President Trump deleted a racist social media post he'd made, which showed Barack and Michelle Obama as apes. The White House originally defended the post, then blamed it on an unnamed staffer before Trump finally took it down in a rare moment of retreat under political pressure, though he did not apologize for sharing it in the first place.

4:19It was the latest example of Trump promoting offensive imagery and slurs. Senator Tim Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, called it, quote, the most racist thing I've seen out of this White House. And in Congress, the standoff over President Trump's aggressive immigration enforcement is going to come to a head this week. We need to press forward aggressively and ensure that there are legislative changes enacted as part of any DHS spending bill. Democrats have insisted they won't fund the Department of Homeland Security without strict new guardrails on the behavior of ICE agents. And without a compromise, funding for DHS will run out on Friday.

5:01The left has gone completely overboard, and they're threatening the safety and security of our agents so that they cannot do their job. Republicans, however, have so far rejected Democrats' demands, like having agents unmask. If they can't reach a deal, several parts of DHS, including the TSA, FEMA, the Coast Guard, and the Secret Service, will run out of funding. Many of those agencies would continue operating, but employees would have to go without pay. Some Democrats have suggested funding those agencies separately while they continue to negotiate limits on ICE.

5:41Across Mexico, police and even the country's military are finding themselves outgunned by cartels. The cartels have acquired heavy firepower that in some cases includes.50 caliber ammunition. Those rounds are huge, as long as your hand. They were developed to attack tanks and aircraft. Cartel gunmen have used them to assassinate government officials, massacre civilians, and even down helicopters. Now, a new report from the Times and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists shows that some of that ammunition is not only coming from the U.S., but was made for the U.S. military. My colleagues obtained files from multiple incidents where Mexican authorities said the casings were marked with the imprint of Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, which is just outside Kansas City, Missouri.

6:33It's owned by the U.S. government, run by private contractors, and is the top supplier of rifle rounds to the Pentagon. But the factory's also allowed to make commercial sales to retailers. An Army spokesperson said that saves U.S. taxpayers tens of millions a year because it lowers the government's cost for ammunition. In some cases, civilians bought rounds from retailers, then passed them off to smugglers. Pretty much any American over the age of 18 can buy any type and any amount of rifle ammunition, even the armor-piercing variety. Data shows Lake City in particular is a major source of the.50 caliber ammunition being used in cartel battles in Mexico.

7:17The U.S. Army did not respond in detail to questions about that. Neither did the current contractor operating the plant. When the Times talked with the former mayor of one town where cartels used.50 caliber rounds in a brutal gun battle, he said he wasn't surprised to learn where they'd come from. He said, quote, the drug traffickers can get their hands on anything, and they get the best weapons from the United States.

7:49And finally. And that will do it. Seattle reigns above them all. This was the weekend to sit on your couch and watch other people be really athletic. The Seahawks tromped the Patriots to take the Super Bowl, with Bad Bunny putting on a joyful riot of a halftime show that was basically a love letter to Puerto Rico.

8:15And in Italy, the Olympics provided moments of absolute heartbreak and triumph. Lindsay Vaughn, the comeback of all comebacks. Lindsay Vaughn, even being on skis at all, was a huge moment. At 41, she was trying to become the oldest Alpine Olympic medalist ever. And she was trying to do it with a ruptured ACL. But about 13 seconds into her race... I can tell you. Oh, no! Von's gone! Von has crashed out! She crashed and had to be airlifted off the mountain. The crowd rose to its feet to applaud the five-time Olympian in what could be the last race of her career. Von's teammate Breezy Johnson won the event, earning the U.S.'s first gold medal at the 2026 Games.

9:02The U.S. also won gold last night in team figure skating, thanks in part to 21-year-old Ilya Malinan, a.k.a. the quad god. He is the only skater in history who has landed the quad axle in competition. None of the skaters that he'll be up against in the individual competitions at the Olympics have even attempted to do that. Those are the headlines today on The Daily. They're grabbing kids or they're grabbing U.S. citizens, detaining them and putting them in the back of the van and not giving them. I did not know that things like that would happen. People that are doing this the legal way. Conversations with some Americans who voted for President Trump about what they think of his aggressive immigration crackdown.

9:48You can listen to that in the New York Times app or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow.