Trump Removes Sanctions on Russian Oil, and Chatbots Want Your Health Records

0:00This podcast is supported by Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Here's a story that's not getting nearly enough attention. Defunding Planned Parenthood has already caused chaos and harm, and access to essential reproductive care is plummeting. Right now, the Trump administration's backers in Congress want to permanently defund Planned Parenthood, forcing even more health centers to close, and millions at risk of losing access to care. It takes less than a minute to help. Go to plannedparenthood.org slash defend and make a gift of any size. From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracey Mumford.

0:37Today's Friday, March 13th. Here's what we're covering.

0:45A quick update to start on oil. As the Trump administration scrambles to contain energy prices that have shot up because of the war with Iran, the U.S. has temporarily lifted sanctions on oil from Russia. Is it a matter of regret to you that Russia is benefiting from this conflict? Well, again, I think it's an inevitability. Treasury Secretary Scott Besson, whose department issued the exemptions, has stressed that they're limited and temporary. But he acknowledged in a podcast interview that relaxing sanctions will benefit Russia to some degree. It is unfortunate, and we hope that it will be in a micro period that they will benefit.

1:29Russia has faced punishing sanctions from the U.S. and many Western countries since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. One expert who previously worked with the State Department on sanctions policy told the Times that now, quote, in one fell swoop we've undone a huge amount of pressure on Russia. At the same time, the pressures that are driving up the cost of oil and gas show no signs of letting up. Yesterday, Iran's newly appointed supreme leader directed his country's military to continue blocking the Strait of Hormuz, and officials say Iran has started laying mines there. The narrow waterway basically separates the world's biggest oil and natural gas producers from the people who want to buy it.

2:14The shock of the cutoff is rattling businesses and households all over the globe. In Hanoi, Vietnam, gas station owners have posted sold-out signs, leaving drivers in a lurch. In Western India, some people mourning the death of a loved one have found that crematories have closed, with no gas to operate. From Mexico to Canada to Europe, farmers are facing a surge in fertilizer costs, a lot of which comes from the Gulf. And in the U.S., the energy crisis has roiled the markets with all kinds of secondary consequences, like homebuyers seeing mortgage rates edge up. One former U.S. diplomat, who also used to work at the Energy Department, told The Times that the shutdown of the strait is the emergency scenario everyone feared.

2:59Quote, this really is the big one.

3:06Meanwhile, both Iran and Lebanon were rocked yesterday by the Israeli military's ongoing airstrikes. In Lebanon, they've been hitting the southern suburbs of Beirut, parts of which have been strongholds for Hezbollah, the Iran-backed armed group. But yesterday, they bombarded central Beirut, feeding fears that parts of the city once considered comparatively safe are now targets too. My colleague David Guttenfelder is on the ground there. Just before sundown, the Israeli military called for the evacuation of a neighborhood around a targeted building in the center of the city. Families in the area were scrambling to leave, streaming out on foot, and I met many of them on a highway bridge overlooking the building.

3:50Soon after, Israeli aircraft fired three missiles that came screaming in, exploding against the building. People ducked behind cars and concrete walls and then looked up as an Israeli warplane flew high overhead. The strike, which hit very near the country's government headquarters, has raised fears that the war is expanding further into Lebanon and deeper into the heart of Beirut. Israel said it was targeting infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah. One of the strikes hit the campus of Lebanon's main public university, killing at least two people, according to a state-run news agency. Lebanese officials say in all, 70 people were killed in yesterday's attacks, and more than 700 total have been killed since Israel escalated its campaign there last week, including many paramedics and emergency workers.

4:41The violence has also displaced more than 800 ,000 people.

4:52In Michigan and Virginia yesterday, there were two separate attacks, one at a synagogue and one at a university, that have raised fears of anti-Semitic violence and possible terrorism. At a synagogue outside Detroit. I confirm that we are leading the investigation right now as a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community. The FBI says that a man rammed his car into the Temple Israel building, driving through the doors and down a hallway, hitting and injuring a security guard. The man then exchanged fire with the guards there. What I can share is this. There was one subject involved in this incident who is now deceased.

5:31And as my partners have said, we've had no victim fatalities. The suspect was a 41-year-old man who lived in the area. He was born in Lebanon but became a naturalized U.S. citizen a decade ago. Synagogue officials say around 140 preschoolers were in the building at the time of the attack. They were not injured. Authorities say they're still investigating the attacker's motive. It's the latest in a series of assaults and threats against Jewish Americans in the last few months. One counter-extremism expert said many synagogues have added extra security in recent weeks. And at Old Dominion University in Virginia.

6:06Our campus and our community have been truly shaken, if ever impacted, by this senseless act of violence. A gunman opened fire in a classroom with a number of ROTC students, killing one person and wounding two others. Authorities are investigating it as an act of terrorism. They say the man walked into the room and yelled an Arabic phrase meaning Allah is greater. An army officer who was a professor of military science was killed. The attacker was later subdued and killed by students. Police say the gunman was a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Sierra Leone. He once served in the Virginia Army National Guard, but then tried to fight for ISIS after becoming radicalized watching videos online.

6:49He was arrested as part of an undercover FBI operation and convicted for trying to send money to the Islamic State. He was released from prison in late 2024. Federal officials have warned that the conflict in the Middle East could spur retaliatory attacks around the U.S.

7:12Now, a quick update on Congress. Let's fund the whole department. Let's get this over with. Republican lawmakers say getting the Department of Homeland Security back up and running at full strength is critical, given the war with Iran and increased threats. DHS has been partially shut down since funding lapsed last month, as Democrats have refused to approve money for the agency without significant new restrictions on federal immigration officers. We want ICE agents that are transparent, trained, and accountable, not acting above the law. The Senate deadlocked over the issue again yesterday. Some Democrats have proposed funding just some arms of DHS, like the TSA, where workers are required to keep coming in without pay.

7:56But the GOP has rejected that piecemeal approach. Republicans are hoping that airport disruptions stir at least enough Democrats to break with their party to fund the agency, like what happened last year with a broader government shutdown. But so far, the Democrats have remained united.

8:19And finally, the chatbots want your health records. This week, Microsoft unveiled a tool that will let users share records from multiple health providers directly with its chatbot, which promises to come up with a high-level overview of health issues for the user. Amazon, OpenAI, and Anthropic are all making similar moves. Some experts say there can be upsides to this use of the technology. It can help centralize data that can be scattered across a lot of different places and platforms. It can also be a low-cost solution for helping people gain insights at a time when health care has become increasingly unaffordable.

8:57Then the downsides. Privacy concerns, data leaks, and the real risk of getting something wrong. There have already been high-profile examples of things going awry when it comes to AI and health advice. A 60-year-old man was held for weeks in a psychiatric unit after a chatbot suggested that he could cut down on salt by eating sodium bromide instead, causing paranoia and hallucinations. Those are the headlines. If you'd like to play the Friday News Quiz, stick around. It's just after these credits. This show is made by Will Jarvis, Margaret Kadifa, Jan Stewart, and me, Tracy Mumford. Original theme by Dan Powell.

9:38Special thanks to Isabella Anderson, Larissa Anderson, Zoe Murphy, Miles McKinley, and Paula Schumann. Now, time for the quiz. Every week, we ask you a few questions about stories The Times has been covering. Can you get them all? First up. Look at this. Nine bedrooms, 15 bathrooms, 11 full, four and a half, 27 ,000 square feet. That is your backyard. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife just bought a new property for an eye-popping$170 million, the highest price anyone has ever paid for a home in this particular area. Your question, where is the house? Name the state.

10:25The answer? We're getting our first look at the most expensive home ever sold in South Florida, Bloomberg. Florida. According to the Wall Street Journal, Zuckerberg snagged the mansion, which is unfinished, at the highest price point ever for Miami-Dade County. It sits on an exclusive barrier island that's been dubbed the billionaire's bunker. Jeff Bezos has three houses there. The Miami area in general has recently become a darling of the super rich, thanks to its tropical climate and low taxes. Last year, more ultra-luxury homes were sold there than anywhere else in the country.

11:05Next question. A 35-year-old candidate is on the verge of becoming one country in Asia's youngest ever prime minister after his party won in a landslide in recent elections. The vote was the first one since a youth-led revolution overthrew the government last year, fueled by complaints about corruption. It was dubbed a Gen Z uprising.

11:31The likely new leader is a rapper turned politician. Your question, which country is he about to lead?

11:49The answer, Nepal. Balendra Shah has been a rapper, an engineer, the mayor of Kathmandu, and he's a big fan of sunglasses, which he insists on wearing indoors. He's positioned himself as an outsider, writing on social media, quote, all politicians, new and old, are thieves. Quick bonus question, Shaw is not the only big political figure who can rap. What other high-profile politician who burst onto the scene last year used to perform as young Cardamom? Wake up with you on my mind, celebrating this kind of time. So I leave my waka like Shakira So I call me a muleta That's New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani.

12:33I will note, as he aged, he graduated to Mr. Cardamom. And last question. The Academy Awards are on Sunday, celebrating the best in film from the past year. But before that, on Saturday, are the Razzies, an annual tongue-in-cheek ceremony that recognizes the worst in film. There's actually a number of actors who've managed to win both over the course of their careers. We're going to play you two clips of performers who have showed real range, getting both celebrated and skewered on occasion. You try and name them. First one. After the carnival, I moved into the music business, the country music business.

13:18I partnered with one of its biggest stars, Hank Snow. That is Tom Hanks. He won a Razzie for that performance as Colonel Tom Parker in Elvis. But he can put it on the shelf next to his two Best Actor Oscars. And... Tony, here's your quarterback, all right? When you look at him, you think of me, how you have my back, how you have his. Okay? Yes, ma 'am. Good boy. I think I'll have some fun. That is Sandra Bullock in The Blindside. She actually holds the rare distinction of winning both an Oscar and a Razzie in the same year. Oscar for The Blindside, Razzie for All About Steve, a comedy the Times called Grimly Unfunny.

14:02Now, Bullock did go and accept the Razzie in person. Honestly, it can be kind of a badge of honor. Forget EGOT, you want to get the REGOT.

14:15That is it for the news quiz. Good luck with your Oscar ballots. The show will be back on Monday.

14:28This podcast is supported by Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Here's a story that's not getting nearly enough attention. Defunding Planned Parenthood has already caused chaos and harm, and access to essential reproductive care is plummeting. Right now, the Trump administration's backers in Congress want to permanently defund Planned Parenthood, forcing even more health centers to close and millions at risk of losing access to care. It takes less than a minute to help. Go to plannedparenthood.org slash defend and make a gift of any size.