Trump officials inadvertently added a journalist to a text thread discussing sensitive military plans, The Atlantic reports. It all took place over a non-government-sanctioned messaging app called Signal. Trump’s border and immigration crackdown is sweeping up unexpected people, including some with valid documents and some for expressing their opinions on the administration. NBC and Politico have details on individuals caught up in the chaos. The White House’s inconsistent messaging on tariffs will impact consumers and businesses. Laurel Wamsley with NPR describes how. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal looks at where tariffs stand today. Plus, new wildfires hit the Carolinas, the Trump administration invoked a rarely used legal privilege to avoid handing over flight data related to deported Venezuelan migrants, and why it might be time to delete your 23andMe data. Today’s episode was hosted by Shumita Basu.
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Hey there, it's Shamita. I've got a quick request for you. If Apple News Today is an essential part of your morning routine, follow the show in Apple Podcasts. And if you have another 30 seconds, leave us a rating and a review too. It helps other people find our show and it helps us know what you like about it. Thanks. Good morning. It's Tuesday, March 25th. I'm Shmeeta Basu.
This is Apple News Today. On today's show, what we know about legal residents and visitors who've been detained or deported by the Trump administration, how tariffs are hitting consumers and businesses, and why privacy experts say you should delete your 23andMe data right away.
But first, earlier this month, just before the United States launched new strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen, top officials in the Trump administration discussed those plans in detail using a non-government-sanctioned group messaging app called Signal. And they added a journalist to their group by mistake, Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic.
Goldberg reports that he has no idea how or why he was added to the group chat, which appears to have been created by National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and included the vice president, secretary of state, director of national intelligence and others. Goldberg says he initially wasn't sure it was real. But over the course of several days, he watched the conversations unfold.
And on Saturday, March 15th, a Signal user in the chat named Pete Hegseth texted the group operational details of planned strikes against the Houthis, what kind of weapons the U.S. would be using, and information about targets. The Hegsath account said the strikes would start in several hours, so Goldberg waited to see what would happen.
And sure enough, he started to see reports on social media about explosions in Yemen's capital. Here's Goldberg talking to PBS.
That's when I realized that the chain was real. Until that point, I really had a deep suspicion that that I was being spoofed or hoaxed or being led astray on a disinformation campaign. But this all seems so improbable that I simply assumed that it couldn't be real.
Both the National Security Council and the White House have since confirmed the existence and authenticity of this group text. However, President Trump told reporters in a press briefing on Monday that he didn't know about the chat.
The hooties, you mean the attack on the hooties? Yes. Well, it couldn't have been very effective because the attack was very effective, I can tell you that. I don't know anything about it. You're telling me about it for the first time.
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