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Speaker 1: Why didn't you tell your eyes in Europe and Asia

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Speaker 1: like chapare about the wall before? I thinking you are,

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Speaker 1: so we are very confused about well.

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Speaker 2: One thing.

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Speaker 1: You don't want to signal too much. You know when

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Speaker 1: we go in, we went in very hard and we

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Speaker 1: didn't tell anybody about it because we wanted surprise.

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Speaker 2: Who knows better about surprise in Japan? Okay, why didn't

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Speaker 2: you tell me about Pearl Harbor?

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Speaker 1: You're listening to the forty seven Morning Update with Ben ferguson.

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Speaker 2: Good Saturday morning. Nice to have you with us on

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Speaker 2: the forty seven Morning Update, and we've got two big

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Speaker 2: stories for you. First up, Donald Trump's administration has launched

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Speaker 2: an investigation of states that are mandating health insurance cover abortions.

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Speaker 2: Why are they investigating these states? We'll explain it in

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Speaker 2: just a moment. Plus, Saudi Arabia uniting the Arab world

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Speaker 2: against Iran? What did they have to do to make

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Speaker 2: this happen? I explained? That is what It's the forty

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Speaker 2: seven Morning Update and it starts right now.

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Speaker 1: Story number one.

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Speaker 2: The Trump administration set on Thursday that it has launched

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Speaker 2: an investigation into thirteen states that requires state regulated health

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Speaker 2: insurance plans to cover abortion. This is a major development,

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Speaker 2: and it goes right to the core of one of

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Speaker 2: the biggest cultural and cons social battles in America right now.

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Speaker 2: We're talking about states like California, New York, New Jersey, Illinois,

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Speaker 2: states where the government has said, if you want insurance,

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Speaker 2: abortion coverage is mandatory with no exceptions, and the Trump

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Speaker 2: administration is now saying that may be illegal. Now. At

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Speaker 2: the center of this fight is something called the Weldon Amendment.

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Speaker 2: It's a federal law that has been on the books

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Speaker 2: for years. It explicitly says the government cannot discriminate against

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Speaker 2: healthcare entitiestors, insurers, employers who refuse to provide, or pay for,

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Speaker 2: or refer for abortions. In other words, you cannot force

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Speaker 2: Americans to violate their conscience. But here's where it gets serious.

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Speaker 2: The Trump administration's Department of Health and Human Services says

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Speaker 2: these states mandates may be doing exactly that, forcing employers

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Speaker 2: and individuals into plans that cover abortion even if it

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Speaker 2: violates their religious beliefs. And according to officials, that could

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Speaker 2: put billions of dollars in federal health care funding at

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Speaker 2: risk if states are found in violation. Now, let's talk

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Speaker 2: about the scale of this. There are thirteen states currently

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Speaker 2: under the investigation. These laws affect millions of Americans enrolled

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Speaker 2: in state regulated insurance plans. Federal protections aren't just one law.

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Speaker 2: There are actually more than two federal statutes protecting religious

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Speaker 2: and moral objections in healthcare. And here's the key stat

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Speaker 2: that matters politically. For decades, under the High Amendment, federal

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Speaker 2: taxpayer dollars have been barred from funding abortion. That policy

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Speaker 2: has had Bi Parson support for decades. President Trump didn't

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Speaker 2: just maintain it. He strengthened it, signing executive action to

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Speaker 2: enforce it across the federal government. And most importantly, I'm

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Speaker 2: sure taxpayer money is not used for elective abortions. And

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Speaker 2: this is where the Trump agenda comes into focus. From

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Speaker 2: day one, the administration has made it crystal clear we

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Speaker 2: protect life, we defend religious liberty, and stop government coercion.

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Speaker 2: The White House has said President Trump is committed to

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Speaker 2: protecting the unborn and restoring conscience rights across federal policy

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Speaker 2: investigation they say as a direct extension of that promise. Now,

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Speaker 2: the other part of this debate is how officials are

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Speaker 2: actually fighting over it framing the arguments. Pauli sten Art,

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Speaker 2: who heads the HHS Office for Civil Rights, put it bluntly,

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Speaker 2: health care entities are protected from paying for abortion contrary

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Speaker 2: to conscience. Period. That's not ambiguous. That's a line in

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Speaker 2: the sand. And conservatives are rallying behind this move as well.

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Speaker 2: Pro life and religious liberty advocates have argued for years

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Speaker 2: that these mandates are government overreach, forcing faith based organizations,

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Speaker 2: small businesses, and individuals into impossible choices. Many conservative leaders

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Speaker 2: have said in response to policies like this quote, no

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Speaker 2: Americans should be forced to choose between their faith and

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Speaker 2: the law, or the government should not compel participation in abortion.

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Speaker 2: And the White House said this conscience rights are civil rights.

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Speaker 2: And that last point is key because what the Trump

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Speaker 2: administration is doing here is reframing this entire debate, and

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Speaker 2: that is brilliant, not just as an abortion policy, but

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Speaker 2: as a civil rights issue.

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Speaker 1: Now.

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Speaker 2: Politically, this is a very strategic move. It draws a

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Speaker 2: crystal clear contrast. The Republicans and the Trump administration are

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Speaker 2: defending religious liberty and individual choice, and Democrats are expanding

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Speaker 2: mandates and government control in healthcare, forcing you to actually

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Speaker 2: pay for coverage for abortions, even if you don't agree

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Speaker 2: with it religiously, and it puts Democrats finally on defense

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Speaker 2: because they now have to explain why someone should be

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Speaker 2: forced to pay for something they morally and religiously oppose.

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Speaker 2: Even critics of the administration are admitting what's happening here.

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Speaker 2: Some Democratic officials are already calling the investigation politically motivated.

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Speaker 2: But that also shows how high stakes this debate really is,

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Speaker 2: because if the Trump administration wins, you could see three

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Speaker 2: different things happen. Number One, states would be forced to

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Speaker 2: roll back abortion mandates. Number two, federal funding battles tied

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Speaker 2: to compliance would then be up for real debate. And thirdly,

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Speaker 2: and potentially that you could have a Supreme Court showdown

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Speaker 2: on the limits of states' powers to mandate abortion be

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Speaker 2: a part of healthcare. The bottom line is this, this

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Speaker 2: isn't just another policy fight. This is about whether the

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Speaker 2: government can force you, can force your business, can force

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Speaker 2: your church, can force your family to fund something that

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Speaker 2: violates your moral beliefs. And President Trumps may get very

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Speaker 2: clear with this investigation that the bond will not be

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Speaker 2: crossed without a major fight.

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Speaker 1: Next story number two, Saudi.

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Speaker 2: Arabia has now united the Arab world against Iran. Trust

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Speaker 2: has completely been shattered, as what they said in new

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Speaker 2: statements as the government of Saudi Arabia held a large

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Speaker 2: level meeting with representatives of other victims of Iranian bombings

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Speaker 2: in the past month, issuing a joint statement condemning Tehran

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Speaker 2: for widespread drone and missile attacks on civilian sites in

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Speaker 2: over a dozen countries. Participating in the meeting where the

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Speaker 2: foreign ministers of Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Pakistan, Turkey, Katar, Syria,

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Speaker 2: and Lebanon as well. On Thursday, the Saudi Press Agency

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Speaker 2: published a joint statement from the participants demanding an immediate

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Speaker 2: end to bombings by Iran's Terras Islamic Revolutionary Guard and

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Speaker 2: warning Iran to stop disrupting commercial traffic in the Strait

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Speaker 2: of Hormuz. Iran has been at war with Israel. In

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Speaker 2: the United States since February the twenty eighth, President Trump

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Speaker 2: announced Operation Epic Fury to eliminate Iran's ability to pose

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Speaker 2: a threat to its neighbors. Iran is the world's most

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Speaker 2: plurific state sponsor of terrorism, funding the IRGC in addition

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Speaker 2: to several other terrorist proxies, including Hesblahamas, the yeminy Houthi Gangs,

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Speaker 2: the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and several Iraqi Sheite militias, among others.

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Speaker 2: On the first day of Operation Epic Fury, Trump announced

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Speaker 2: an air strike had eliminated the Supreme Leader American Israel

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Speaker 2: have eliminated, as you know, dozens of senior Iranian leaderships

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Speaker 2: since but in response to the military campaign, Iran has

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Speaker 2: used its missiles and drone capabilities to target its Arab

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Speaker 2: and Muslim neighbors. Among the countries Iran has targeted, striking

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Speaker 2: civilian areas are many of the participants in the meeting

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Speaker 2: late Wednesday. Iran has also repeatedly targeted Israel instruct Cyprus,

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Speaker 2: and Iranian officials have denied targeting nations such as Turkey,

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Speaker 2: though the IRGC has openly struck Saudi Arabia and the UAE,

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Speaker 2: allegedly because they're not actively hostile towards America and Israel.

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Speaker 2: Now following the meeting of the Gulf Corporation Council countries

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Speaker 2: and other guests, the government of Saudi Arabia also published

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Speaker 2: a joint statement by the participating countries condemning Iran. The nations,

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Speaker 2: according to Saudi Press Agency, affirm their condemnation and said

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Speaker 2: these deliberate Iranian attacks with ballistic missiles and drones which

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Speaker 2: targeted residential areas, civilian infrastructure, including oil facilities, as well

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Speaker 2: as airports, residential buildings and diplomatic premises, was unacceptable. The

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Speaker 2: Minister's further affirm that such attacks could not be justified

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Speaker 2: under any pretexts or in any manner whatsoever. The text

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Speaker 2: continued that Iran must immediately halt its attax and affirm

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Speaker 2: the necessity of respecting international law, international humanitarian law, and

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Speaker 2: the principles of good neighborliness. Yes, this is now where

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Speaker 2: we are in the Middle East, as all of these

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Speaker 2: countries seem to be finally realizing they can't just look

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Speaker 2: the other way with what Iran is doing, and now

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Speaker 2: they're joining with the US to hold them accountable.

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Speaker 1: Thank you for listening to the forty seven Morning Update

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Speaker 1: with Ben Ferguson. Please make sure you hit subscribe wherever

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Speaker 1: you're listening to this podcast right now and for more

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Speaker 1: in depth news. Also subscribe to the Ben Ferguson podcast

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Speaker 1: and we will see you back here on Monday morning,