The Daily - The Year in Sound: An Audio Time Capsule of 2018

Episode Date: December 24, 2018

Between the government shutdowns that bookended the year, there were furious standoffs over a border wall; shootings at a high school, a bar, a grocery store, a synagogue; devastating wildfires in California. Handshakes and promises shared with autocrats in North Korea and Russia. Powerful men brought down by #MeToo or trying to make a comeback, and a Supreme Court nominee accused, then elevated to the bench. Questions about a murdered journalist, about election interference, about how much Facebook knew. A midterm vote that delivered one of the most diverse — and divided — governments in American history. Here’s what 2018 sounded like. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

The President of the United States, President Trump, and the United States have been working together to make the world a better place for us to live. We are going to a very good start, as you know, with the great tax cuts and ANWR and getting rid of the individual mandate, which was very, very unpopular, as you know. But we are going to have a tremendous year. The stock market, I think, is going to continue to go up.

Companies are going to continue to come into the country. And they're doing it now, soon to be a record clip. So we look forward to seeing you inside. Come on along. 2018 starting off just as 2017 ended. A flurry of news and controversies. All right, so President Trump went on a tweet storm on his first day back at work. Attacking his own Justice Department as a deep state secretly working to undermine his presidency.

Developing now a new war of words with North Korea, President Trump taunting North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un. Regarding the size of his nuclear launch button. Bragging in a tweet that he has a bigger and more powerful nuclear button than North Korea. But it doesn't stop there. The president tonight apparently uncorking another astonishing statement. The president is teaching little kids a new word. Quote, why are we having all these people from a word, a bad word, blank hole, asshole, shithole countries. Why do we want these people from, quote, all these shithole countries here? It appears the federal government

is headed for a shutdown. Day one of the government shutdown, and right now no end in sight. The main issue is immigration. Democrats want legal status for 800,000. Over the issue of DACA, the program to protect young undocumented immigrants. The president's response direct, no wall, no DACA. Senator Schumer now says the border wall funding is no longer an option. All back, and it's not even February yet. The special counsel's investigation will continue to haunt the Trump administration in 2018.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller brought the indictment of 13 Russian nationals on charges they interfered with the presidential race. First charges by Robert Mueller specifically for that interference. Sources tell the New York Times that President Trump ordered the firing of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, but then backed off. Robert Mueller has told the president's lawyers he is likely to request an interview with the president. If the special counsel doesn't want to interview the president? Yeah, good luck. Over my dead body, but you know, I could be dead. Larry.

Larry Nassar. Larry. Larry. Larry. Larry. You, Larry, turn the sport I love into something I hate. You cannot break me, Larry. I am a survivor.

The former gymnastics team doctor, Larry Nassar, sentenced to up to 175 years in prison. The entire USA Gymnastics Board of Directors has resigned. Now, one emergency. Please help, please help. There's people here, there's people, school buses live pictures on your screen i i am sorry to have to report here that we're talking about a high school shots Shots have been fired. This is Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, if you know it. This is Parkland, where Stoneman Douglas High School has been under lockdown after reports of an active shooter situation.

When I thought about this, about being in a school shooting, and the one thing that I've always said that I would do is text my mom, I love you. And I'm like, thank you for everything. And I was so like mad at everything that I wasn't going to be able to get to do that. And I was going to die and not let my mom know that I loved her. To the leaders, skeptics and cynics who told us to sit down and stay silent. Welcome to the revolution. and stay silent, welcome to the revolution.

It is a powerful and peaceful one because it is of, by, and for the young people of this country. Politicians who sit in their gilded House and Senate seats funded by the NRA telling us nothing could have ever been done to prevent this. We call BS. Senator Rubio, can you tell me right now that you will not accept a single donation from the NRA? They say that tougher gun laws do not decrease gun violence. We call BS. So right now, in the name of 17 people, you cannot ask the NRA to keep their money out of your campaign? They say a good guy with a gun stops a bad guy with a gun. We call BS! I can pledge to you that I will support any law that will prevent a killer like this... No, but I'm talking NRA money. No! They say guns are just tools like knives and are as dangerous as cars. We call BS!

NRA, please just keep the money out of Rubio, okay? That us kids don't know what we're talking about, that we're too young to understand how the government works. We call BS! There have been mass shootings in America in the past. There have been protests in the past. But this time,

the people think something is different. But this time, change can be achieved. Tonight, Mark Zuckerberg once again facing skeptical lawmakers, pushing him on Facebook's failure to protect its users' private information. When did Facebook learn that Cambridge Analytica's research project was actually for targeted psychographic political campaign work? Congresswoman, it might be useful to clarify what actually happened here.

Well, no, I don't have time for a long answer, though. When did Facebook learn that? New U.S. tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum are set to take effect 10 days from now. These tariffs are aimed at China, which U.S. steelmakers say depresses prices of steel by dumping steel in the global market. If this all launches a trade war and other nations slap tariffs on American products exported overseas, President Trump says trade wars are good and easy to win. The US embassy in Israel will officially move to Jerusalem this May.

Police trying to establish when and how Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned. establish when and how Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned. And President Trump is claiming victory after an allied missile attack on Syria's chemical weapons program. Okay, here we go. Harvey Weinstein coming out in handcuffs going into... Harvey Weinstein, at one time one of the biggest names in the movie business, surrendering to police on sex crime charges. He was charged and arrested in two sex crimes cases in New York. It started off all about him.

And he's like, have you seen my new magazine? And I was like, someone should take that magazine and spank you with it. And I said, you know, give me that. And so he did. And I was like, turn around, drop him. You told Donald Trump to turn around and take off his pants? Yes. And did he?

Yes. The White House is denying a report that a porn star was paid to keep quiet about President Trump. And I was like, oh, here we go. And you had sex with him? Yes. The president's lawyer now admits he personally paid Stormy Daniels. She's the porn star who said she's had an affair with Donald Trump. Cohen told the New York Times that the money came out of his own pocket

and that he was not reimbursed by the Trump campaign or company. The U.S. attorney for New York's Southern District is investigating Cohen's personal business dealings. Mueller stumbled upon this stuff and said, look, I'm not in New York. This doesn't directly relate to me. You guys handle it. I don't care about what a porn star who has been shown already to be a liar several times.

I really don't care what she says. I'm not talking about what she says. I'm simply going to say she got $130,000 from Michael Cohen. Point is, if that was a payoff to help the president election, that could be a violation of federal election crime. You either think that's a story or you don't. I'd like to begin by saying that based on the recent statement of North Korea, I've decided to terminate the planned summit in Singapore on June 12th.

Today in Washington, D.C., summit whiplash. It's on, then off, and now the United States-North Korea summit appears to be moving full speed ahead. It will be the first time the leaders of the U.S. and North Korea have ever met. This is an important moment for the United States, frankly, the world. There's Kim Jong-un right there, live on your screen right now. That is unbelievable. Here comes the president of the United States. Watch that handshake. History has been made.

President Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un finished an unprecedented meeting in Singapore with a deal to start denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula. They did not establish a timetable to meet that goal. If it happens, there was also no mention in the agreement of humans' rights abuses and no specifics on how the deal would get done. I don't think I ever saw this coming. I don't think I ever saw this coming. I mean, I never thought they would actually do it. So as a result, I never even imagined what the reaction to it might look like,

you know, what the country might think of it, because it just seemed so unlikely. There has been reports that you are considering separating children from their mothers at the border. Only if the situation at that point in time requires it. You know, if the mother is sick or addicted to drugs or whatever. So if you thought the child was endangered, that's the only circumstance to which you would separate. Can't imagine doing it otherwise. That was never true. This morning, an immigration mystery. What happened to nearly 1,500 missing unaccompanied migrant children? And where is your child? Is this your task? I don't know. I was told that here in Texas, I have no one else for me.

The Secretary of Homeland Security claims we do not have a policy of separating families at the border. Period. Jill, don't you have any empathy? Jill, go ahead. Come on, Sarah, you're a parent. Don't you have any empathy for what these people are going through? They have less than you. Brian, guys, settle down. If you cross the border unlawfully, then we will prosecute you. It's that simple. If you are smuggling a child, then we will prosecute you. And that child may be separated from you as required by law.

required by law. I hate the children being taken away. The Democrats have to change their law. That's their law. Thank you very much. We're sorry. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much.

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remain separated from their families today. More than 2,300 children separated from their parents are in limbo. There are mounting questions about how they'll be reunited and growing confusion within the government. Even the hardliners who supported family separation are frustrated because it was all for naught. The policy didn't deter people from crossing the border, which was the whole point of family separation in the first place. My dear Mr. President, this letter is respectful and formal notification of my decision,

This letter is respectful and formal notification of my decision, effective July 31 of this year, to end my regular active service as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. Respectfully and sincerely, Anthony M. Kennedy. Justice Anthony Kennedy will be retiring. This will be a major opportunity for President Trump to appoint a new justice to the Supreme Court. You are going to see 20 states pass laws banning abortion outright because they know that there are now going to be five votes on the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade. The Supreme Court will be transformed.

One historic summit down, another to go. Well, it's official. Trump is scheduled to hold a summit meeting with Vladimir Putin on July 16th in Helsinki. Breaking news, a major twist ahead of the Trump-Putin summit. We've heard that 12 Russian intelligence officials have been indicted by the U.S. government. 12 Russian military officers knew proof that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. The White House is confirming that the Trump-Putin summit is still on.

It was one of the most extraordinary moments between an American president and a Russian leader. A productive dialogue is not only good for the United States and good for Russia, but it is good for the world. President Trump asked, who do you believe, President Putin or the U.S. intelligence community? His answer? I have President Putin. He just said it's not Russia. I will say this. I don't see any reason why it would be. The president of the United States sided with Vladimir Putin over the unanimous assessment of the American intelligence community. For the president of the United States to side with President Putin against American law enforcement, American defense officials, American intelligence agencies is thoughtless.

It's dangerous. It's weak. The president is putting himself over our country. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. It happens to be likely the most disruptive day in the Trump presidency so far. Both the state of New York and Manhattan district attorney are now looking into Trump's business activities. President Trump's former attorney, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to eight charges of financial fraud. If those payments were a crime for Michael Cohen, then why wouldn't they be a crime for

Donald Trump? Cohen was his guy. So he was negotiating through 2016. We know about the Trump Tower meetings. There's a lot more that we could learn from Michael Cohen now saying he is willing to tell all he knows to the special prosecutor. I think the two biggest issues for the president are Michael Cohen's guilty plea, which directly implicates the president and commission of a crime, and then the ongoing Mueller investigation. And of course, Manafort is out there as well.

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was found guilty on eight of 18 counts of bank and tax fraud facing him. Taken together, this is a very serious situation for President Trump. It appears that Mueller believes the road to the ties between Russia and the Trump campaign goes through Manafort and Cohen. Only time of course will tell. A very bad day for President Trump. After declaring that Bill Cosby is a sexually violent predator, a judge sentenced the once beloved actor to three to ten years behind bars. And he's going to have to have time to think about what he did to Andrea and the rest of us women.

Cosby also becomes the first high-profile figure to be convicted and sentenced during this MeToo movement. Meanwhile, fired CBS anchor Charlie Rose may be planning to spin his own downfall into a comeback. Bill O'Reilly is reportedly planning a return to cable news. Disgraced NBC anchor Matt Lauer could be returning to television. Meanwhile, Louis C.K. on the stand-up stage for the first time in months. Many are asking, should the accused be shunned forever? Tonight, it is my honor and privilege to announce that I will nominate Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court. Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court. A woman has come forward publicly accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of assaulting her at a party more than 30 years ago.

The woman's letter says that during an encounter at a party, Kavanaugh held her down and that he attempted to force himself on her. When she tried to scream, he put his hand over her mouth. She says she thought that he would kill her. Kavanaugh and a friend the woman claims was also in the room at the time both deny the accusation. They will look at what she had to say from 36 years ago, and we will see what happens.

I am terrified. I am here because I believe it is my civic duty to tell you what happened to me while Brett Kavanaugh and I were in high school. to tell you what happened to me while Brett Kavanaugh and I were in high school. Indelible in the hippocampus is the laughter, the uproarious laughter between the two. And they're having fun at my expense.

This whole two-week effort has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit, fueled with apparent pent-up anger about President Trump and the 2016 election, revenge on behalf of the Clintons, and millions of dollars in money from outside left-wing opposition groups. You're saying there's never been a case where you drank so much that you didn't remember what happened the night before or part of what happened? You're asking about blackout. I don't know. Have you? Could you answer the question, Judge? That's not happened. Is that your answer? Yeah, and I'm curious if you have.

I have no drinking problem, Judge. Nor do I. Okay, thank you. What you want to do is destroy this guy's life, hold this seat open, and hope you win in 2020? You've said that, not me. Boy, y'all want power. God, I hope you never get it. You're looking for a fair process? You came to the wrong town at the wrong time, my friend. None of these allegations are true. Correct.

No doubt in your mind? 100% certain. Dr. Ford, with what degree of certainty do you believe Brett Kavanaugh assaulted you? 100%. You swear to God. I swear to God. This is a Fox News alert. As the Kavanaugh debate rolls on, the effect on the midterm election seems to be showing up in our brand new Fox News polls, which could spell trouble for Democrats in key battleground states, at least when it comes to the Senate. Opposing him could cost red state Democrats dearly at the polls in November.

This isn't a political decision. If this were a political decision for me, I certainly would be deciding this the other way. The senator for Maine. Mr. President, I will vote to confirm Judge Kavanaugh. The nomination of Brett M. Kavanaugh of Maryland to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States is confirmed. Every available unit in the city needs to get here now. We're taking on 8K47 fire from out the front of the synagogue. Tonight, shock and horror.

A gunman opens fire in a Pittsburgh synagogue, killing at least 11 people and wounding several of them. Inside the borderline bar in Thousand Oaks, killing 12 people. The Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland. In Santa Fe, Texas. Shooting in Benton, Kentucky. In Trenton, New Jersey. Near Cleveland, Ohio. Bakersfield, California. In Jacksonville, Florida. Shooting in New Orleans. In Tallahassee. In Jefferson Town, Kentucky. There has been a mass shooting almost every day this year. The gunman, a crazy person, just walks right into the school, knocks down the window of my child's door, and starts shooting.

Shooting her! And killing her! President Trump, you say, what can you do? You can stop the guns from getting into these children's hands. President Trump, what can you do? You can do a lot. 1.5 degrees. If the Earth's average temperature rises any more than that, the results could be disastrous.

Global temperature is likely to reach 1.5 degrees C between 2030 to 2052. 600 people are still unaccounted for and at least 66 people have been killed due to wildfires in California. and at least 66 people have been killed due to wildfires in California. Hey, guess what? We're not going to catch on fire, okay? We're doing all right. The Butte County Sheriff now says 85 people are confirmed dead. This makes the Camp Fire now the deadliest wildfire in California history. Well, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is having to explain his way out of controversy yet again. Holocaust deniers, he said, would not be blocked from Facebook.

Is receiving criticism again today for how it handled evidence of Russian election interference on the social network. The mystery deepens tonight over the fate of Jamal Khashoggi. Jamal Khashoggi, a respected Saudi Arabian journalist. Khashoggi's body was dismembered, chopped up into small pieces. The CIA has concluded now that the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman personally ordered the murder. He told me that he had nothing to do with it.

There are new calls to end U.S. involvement in the war in Yemen as the fallout continues over Khashoggi's murder. Meanwhile, uncertainty over the U.S.-China trade deal is casting a shadow over an economy. Do you think there will be any kind of an agreement in the year ahead? I think the president is doing the right thing and standing up to China economically. Let me take more. The midterm election is less than two weeks away, and the question now is, will there be a blue wave or just a ripple?

This is one of the most important elections of our entire lives. With just 20 days until the midterm elections, voter suppression is a real issue. We're talking about immigration. We're talking about health care. Health care shaping up to be a key issue in the midterms. The fight over Brett Kavanaugh, as we've been reporting, has sparked partisan fury. But gun control is not at the top of the list, as many said it would be. Democrats and Republicans running full speed ahead. President Trump is about to get very, very busy. He has an eight state campaign blitz.

Tomorrow, the voters of this state will cast their ballots in one of the most important Senate elections of your lives, of all of our lives. And you made it. It's finally here. A decision in 2018. It is another election day in America. We do have our first flip of the night from red to blue. CNN can now project that Democrats will win the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. It will hear my voice. It will hear your voice. This is a huge win for the Democrats, a huge setback for the president and for the Republicans. We don't only welcome immigrants, we send them to

Washington. We voted and we won and we did all of this. More than a hundred women will serve on Capitol Hill in the next term, first time ever. More than two dozen of them for the first time. But the GOP added to its narrow majority in the Senate after the president's last minute campaign blitz. God bless Texas. The new Congress will be divided with Democrats leading the House and Republicans in charge of the Senate. A divided Congress for a divided nation. And this is going to be a big problem for President Trump going forward. If he thinks that the media is annoying, wait till he meets a Democratic House that has subpoena power and actually has the legal ability to force them to turn over documents. We're going to look like nothing compared to that.

For Democrats, these are the spoils of victory. They can now launch investigations, issue subpoenas, even demand tax returns. Democrat Nita Lowey, set to chair the powerful Appropriations Committee, checked off a laundry list of potential areas for inquiry. The travel ban. Yes. The family separation policy. Absolutely.

Hurricane relief in Puerto Rico. Oh, it was absolutely inadequate. You have all those critical chairmanships, House oversight, House intelligence. Look at the rebirth of many lines of the Russia investigation. I could see democratically controlled House of Representatives voting for impeachment. If we don't get what we want, one way or the other, whether it's through you, through a military, through anything you want to call, I will shut down the government. Okay, fair enough.

And I am proud. We disagree. We disagree. If you watch Tuesday's spectacle in the Oval Office, you got a preview of what to expect in 2019 when Democrats take over the House. So the scene is already set for some fiery months ahead. Will Mueller move to indict anyone in the president's immediate circle? Will anyone at Facebook be held accountable for anything? Will President Trump and the House Democrats end up in an impeachment fight by the end of the year? Will a dispute arising out of the Mueller investigation reach the Supreme Court?

And what will it do? How much of an issue will climate change be in the 2020 presidential campaign? How will Nancy Pelosi hold House Democrats together? Will the year of the woman in 2018 help Democrats get over their fears about nominating a woman as their presidential candidate? Will the Trump administration ramp up its tightening policies and practices around immigration? Where will the major terror attacks of 2019 happen? Will the North Koreans conclude they're never really going to get sanctions lifted and go back to launching missiles

and testing nukes? Will another country step up to take in immigrants who are turned away from the United States? What is Russia doing to get ready for the 2020 election? Will Democrats get

President Trump's tax returns? And what will they show? How will President Trump's environmental rollback Will people finally quit Facebook and droves? The Supreme Court has a new conservative Will anyone emerge and what will they show? How will President Trump's environmental rollback the Supreme Court has a new conservative will anyone emerge as the Democratic Party?

How will America's economic and family separation be like it? That's it for The Daily. For the next week, we're going to revisit our favorite episodes of the year, listen back, and then hear what's happened since the stories first ran. I'm Michael Barbaro. See you on Wednesday, after the holiday. Daily listeners often ask how they can support this show.

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