The Daily

The Environmental Protection Agency has begun for the first time to regulate a class of synthetic chemicals known as “forever chemicals” in America’s drinking water. Kim Tingley, a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, explains how these chemicals, which have been linked to liver disease and other serious health problems, came to be in the water supply — and in many more places. Guest: Kim Tingley [https://www.nytimes.com/by/kim-tingley], a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine. Background reading:  * “Forever chemicals” are everywhere. What are they doing to us? [https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/16/magazine/pfas-toxic-chemicals.html] * The E.P.A. issued its rule about “forever chemicals” [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/10/climate/epa-pfas-drinking-water.html] last week. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily [http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily]. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

A Times investigation shows how the country’s biggest technology companies, as they raced to build powerful new artificial intelligence systems, bent and broke the rules from the start. Cade Metz, a technology reporter for The Times, explains what he uncovered. Guest: Cade Metz [https://www.nytimes.com/by/cade-metz], a technology reporter for The New York Times. Background reading:  * How tech giants cut corners to harvest data for A.I. [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/06/technology/tech-giants-harvest-data-artificial-intelligence.html] * What to know [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/06/technology/ai-data-tech-companies.html] about tech companies using A.I. to teach their own A.I. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily [http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily]. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Overnight on Saturday, Iran launched its first direct attack on Israeli soil, shooting hundreds of missiles and drones at multiple targets. Eric Schmitt, a national security correspondent for The Times, explains what happened and considers whether a broader war is brewing in the Middle East. Guest: Eric Schmitt [https://www.nytimes.com/by/eric-schmitt], a national security correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading:  * Here is what we know [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/14/world/middleeast/iran-israel-drones-attack.html] about Iran’s attack on Israel. * The barrage made the Middle East’s new reality undeniable: Clashes are becoming harder and harder to contain [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/15/world/middleeast/iran-israel-mideast.html]. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily [http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily]. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

At the center of the criminal case against former President Donald Trump in Manhattan is the accusation that Trump took part in a scheme to turn The National Enquirer and its sister publications into an arm of his 2016 presidential campaign. The documents detailed three “hush money” payments made to a series of individuals to guarantee their silence about potentially damaging stories in the months before the election. Because this was done with the goal of helping his election chances, the case implied, these payments amounted to a form of illegal, undisclosed campaign spending. And because Trump created paperwork to make the payments seem like regular legal expenses, that amounted to a criminal effort at a coverup, argued Alvin Bragg, the district attorney of Manhattan. Trump has denied the charges against him. For Lachlan Cartwright, reading the indictment was like stepping through the looking glass, because it described a three-year period in his own professional life, one that he has come to deeply regret. Now, as a former president faces a criminal trial for the first time in American history, Cartwright is forced to grapple with what really happened at The Enquirer in those years — and whether and how he can ever set things right.

Warning: this episode contains descriptions of violence. A massive scam targeting older Americans who own timeshare properties has resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars sent to Mexico. Maria Abi-Habib, an investigative correspondent for The Times, tells the story of a victim who lost everything, and of the criminal group making the scam calls — Jalisco New Generation, one of Mexico’s most violent cartels. Guest: Maria Abi-Habib [https://www.nytimes.com/by/maria-abi-habib?smid=pc-thedaily], an investigative correspondent for The New York Times based in Mexico City. Background reading:  * How a brutal Mexican drug cartel came to target seniors and their timeshares [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/21/world/americas/mexico-timeshare-fraud-cartel.html]. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily [http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily]. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.