Google Cloud Speech-to-Text API (Chirp) + Gemini 2.5 Flash Non-Thinking. Treat it as a searchable index of what was broadcast, not a quotation record.
00:00:00escalating, because the regime that
00:00:03uses migrants and tries to pressure
00:00:07the Baltic states Poland, to achieve its
00:00:10political goals, well, they can come up with various
00:00:14measures, which we saw this year in Lithuania, with tunnels, this is
00:00:17a completely new method, as I say, we had, we didn't have
00:00:21a physical barrier, so there were just attempts to cross our
00:00:24border simply on foot, we built
00:00:27a physical barrier, there were attempts to climb it
00:00:30we fought and we resisted
00:00:34those attempts to cross the border illegally, well, then the only
00:00:37way left was to dig from below, we are fighting that too, we are blocking
00:00:40those tunnels, well, if there are
00:00:44some counter-measures, there is a desire to continue
00:00:47those attempts to cross the border illegally, well,
00:00:50new methods will be considered, we are preparing for that, we are looking at what
00:00:54we can oppose to those attempts, well, and I believe that we are
00:00:57prepared, illegal migrants. In Lithuania,
00:01:01recently, their number has decreased, but also
00:01:04recently you have been talking a lot about the fact that Lithuania needs
00:01:08a change in migration policy in general, and you always said, meaning
00:01:11that policy would be tightened, perhaps you can now say more
00:01:15about what is planned to be done, so that policy regarding legal
00:01:19and illegal migration used to be very separate, mainly
00:01:23illegal migration was emphasized, that was the case all over Europe,
00:01:26now, participating in talks with interior ministers of European Union countries,
00:01:30when talking about migration, legal migration is also
00:01:33emphasized, how it can be restricted, what methods can
00:01:37be used for the return of illegal migrants, for migrants who have
00:01:41had a decision made, who had the status to be in the European
00:01:44Union, but it was cancelled and they have to be returned to
00:01:48their home countries, it is already being spoken about more strictly, that these returns must be
00:01:51accelerated, and speaking about Lithuania, regarding legal migration,
00:01:55in principle, what we have seen over the last four years, is that
00:01:59the number of migrants... has increased precisely due to this quota migration, when
00:02:02people from various countries come to our country
00:02:05to work, but this causes social and, well,
00:02:08let's say, economic tensions, because we cannot
00:02:11build our state's economy and development on the fact that
00:02:15businesses will earn profits only from cheap labor
00:02:18force, in this way we also eliminate our citizens from the labor market
00:02:22and in this way, well, we transfer
00:02:24costs to the state, because we see that integration and other things, well,
00:02:28must go to the state. Its business only takes the benefit, so I
00:02:32believe that these restrictions must be measured, because in the short term
00:02:35we really need that cheap labor force where we really don't have
00:02:39our own citizens, but in principle, that quota system doesn't work, because
00:02:43I have already received data, simply no one
00:02:46ever asked for such data about migrants who arrive
00:02:50under quotas, whether they actually all work, if they don't work and
00:02:54their temporary residence permit is cancelled, whether they leave, yes we
00:02:57have problems where we don't know if... those migrants
00:03:00really leave, so I say that this system doesn't work, I suggested
00:03:04a new system to the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister instructed to update the activities of the migration commission
00:03:08and within the framework of that commission, well, we hope to
00:03:10propose a model that would replace the current one, I hope so,
00:03:14since I am tasked with coordinating the work of
00:03:17that commission, I will present that model to the updated commission
00:03:20when we meet in the near future, but you
00:03:23talk mostly, almost
00:03:27exclusively about quotas, but according to the quota.
00:03:30this year, about 25,000 foreigners arrived, but still, when
00:03:34it comes to some problems, it is often talked about transporters,
00:03:38about couriers, who often arrive not even according to that quota, but through other
00:03:42channels. Would the new migration policy talk
00:03:45more broadly, if so, about what, or only about
00:03:48quotas? Yes, it would talk more broadly, because indeed, what we
00:03:52see is that there is a considerable number, according to the available
00:03:55statistics, of people who come
00:03:58on the basis of studies, but at the same time use the opportunity to work
00:04:02as individual entrepreneurs, they are actually, well, the basis
00:04:05of studies is only a precondition for them to come to Lithuania, they actually
00:04:09work much more, higher education institutions don't
00:04:12even physically see them, and that control is insufficient, I think that, well,
00:04:16that path must end, when some higher
00:04:19education institutions, well, profit from it, but in Lithuania
00:04:22that image is also forming, that, well, there are more migrants than is actually
00:04:26declared, and when you, well, add up
00:04:30all those numbers, not only the flood, but also the study basis and other
00:04:33other bases on which there are emigrants in Lithuania, well, we get
00:04:37those several 100,000, which also raise questions for our society, so also
00:04:41on the basis of studies, you will probably propose that it be
00:04:44stricter, I think that it must be, well, third-country nationals
00:04:48arriving on the basis of studies should come to study, not
00:04:52to work and simply use studies as a reason
00:04:55for coming, in fact, it is only a reason, not
00:04:59the principle by which they are here, so you will not allow them, for example,
00:05:03to engage in individual activities, this is one of the options, because we see that if we
00:05:07allow 20 hours to be engaged, well, they engage in 40 and
00:05:1060 and so on and there is no control that would check
00:05:14how much that activity is engaged in, whether those
00:05:18lectures are actually attended, whether exams are taken, or whether
00:05:21entire study programs are simply filled with migrants
00:05:25who do not
00:05:25appear in lectures.
00:05:30It would seem that the countries of the European Union and NATO now need the greatest focus
00:05:34on the growing threat from the east,
00:05:38although the societies of Western allies are most torn by social
00:05:41problems. In France, due to overcrowded classrooms, poor
00:05:45condition of school buildings and inequality in the education sector,
00:05:48protesting students managed to ignite a national
00:05:52movement, but France, indebted and with a large budget
00:05:55deficit, no longer has many ways to solve
00:05:59the long-standing problem without creating new ones, when
00:06:02unrest in the streets is fueled not only by gangs of vandals, but also by
00:06:06politicians of the far left who want to extract
00:06:09political dividends.
00:06:11The student movement changed history once
00:06:14before, when, scared that the situation was becoming unmanageable, the father of the
00:06:18Fifth Republic, President Charles de Gaulle, briefly
00:06:21fled his country.
00:06:24People wanted to control their lives, so they took to the streets and
00:06:27factories. A parallel that
00:06:31cannot be confused. Like
00:06:34in '68,
00:06:37so today, what started as a regular demonstration due to poor
00:06:40conditions in one suburban school, the protest grew
00:06:44into a national movement
00:06:47in a couple of weeks. In winter, the classrooms are cold, a third
00:06:50of the teachers are not replaced in our school, and it is not even among
00:06:54the worst, this year there are two teachers missing. We want the government
00:06:57to listen and take steps so that we can create
00:07:00a future.
00:07:03To express support for the students, their parents and teachers were invited,
00:07:06forming a critical mass in one city after another, one after
00:07:10another, educational institutions were blocked. At the beginning of October, there were more than
00:07:14160 of them throughout France, after
00:07:18a series of protests by fishermen and transporters
00:07:21due to high fuel prices, it will be
00:07:24hardest for Sebastien Lecornu's government to quell the anger of
00:07:28the massively protesting students.
00:07:31They have seen wars, climate change, sometimes
00:07:34they have seen how difficult it is for their parents and
00:07:37loved ones. Nevertheless, we ask you to choose a path and look to the future
00:07:41resolutely, to restore confidence, that is the responsibility of the government and all political parties.
00:07:45The usual solution would be to increase
00:07:48spending on education after
00:07:52cutting it in other areas, but the reality
00:07:55is that there is nothing left to cut without major consequences,
00:07:58saving on pensions, healthcare and services
00:08:01would probably cause even greater anger from other
00:08:05groups in society, the government can
00:08:08borrow more, but servicing the national debt is becoming
00:08:11more expensive.
00:08:16gross domestic product is approaching the level of Greece and Italy.
00:08:20Observers fear that such
00:08:24a vicious circle will eventually deter investors and
00:08:28this will cause even greater problems in the future, although
00:08:32the French Minister of Finance reassures.
00:08:35Let me emphasize that France remains a very reliable
00:08:38borrower, our account is balanced, our strengths
00:08:42in energy, technology and finance
00:08:45are widely recognized, so for now, the government is only trying to solve
00:08:49the situation with short-term solutions, saying it has found
00:08:53specialists who can at least partially fill the missing
00:08:56teacher positions in schools. I asked
00:08:59to find, as we call it in jargon, a teacher reserve, so
00:09:02teachers who so far have not been assigned student
00:09:05classes, but the problem also has another side:
00:09:08clashes with the police in some places became extremely violent, with...
00:09:12hundreds of students and officers injured, in a couple of weeks,
00:09:167,000 young people were detained, most of them
00:09:19minors.
00:09:21During one clash, a police flash grenade picked up from the ground
00:09:25tore off a student's hand. Some of the
00:09:28protesters accuse law enforcement agencies of using excessive
00:09:32force, but others claim to have seen with their own eyes
00:09:35that the chaos is fueled by gangs of vandals joining
00:09:39the rallies. Here are young people.
00:09:42Our schools and even from our district, coming with fireworks and
00:09:46explosions. We don't want that, we want to protest for our rights and
00:09:49future. Accusations of inciting unrest were leveled at politicians
00:09:53from the far-left party "Unsubmissive
00:09:56France", its representatives filmed
00:09:59gathering near schools, confronting
00:10:02the police. At one of the rallies, their leader
00:10:06Jean-Luc Mélenchon also appeared, putting himself forward as a candidate
00:10:09in next year's presidential elections. "This is
00:10:13the most powerful youth movement we have seen in 50
00:10:16years and no one can tell you that you are wrong, because you are
00:10:20right," so the ruling party accuses the far
00:10:24left of opportunism. Hiding behind concern for students,
00:10:27the national crisis is being exploited for narrow
00:10:30political interests and radical gangs are being
00:10:34incited. This is an obvious campaign to destroy
00:10:38the public education sector. But
00:10:40with the unrest continuing and the conflict growing ahead of the upcoming
00:10:44elections, of all politicians, the most important, Emmanuel
00:10:48Macron, is silent for now.
00:10:51As his last term ends and such a situation arises,
00:10:55he probably has few political calculations, but one way
00:10:59or another, unpopular decisions will have to be taken by someone sooner or
00:11:03later.
00:11:07Meanwhile, the accumulated social problems in Spain could
00:11:11lead to serious political changes. If it happens
00:11:14that after the early elections in November, Pedro Sánchez's progressive
00:11:18minority coalition is replaced by center-right and far-right
00:11:21forces. This is exactly the probability predicted by polls.
00:11:25However, the prime minister hopes that the upcoming elections will turn into
00:11:28a referendum on who will solve the most important housing
00:11:31problem, and the anger of the residents over housing prices into support
00:11:35for his socialist party. A risky gamble reminiscent
00:11:38of last summer, when even French President Emmanuel
00:11:42Macron decided to go all in, called early
00:11:45elections, but did not win them and further deepened the division
00:11:49in the country. What will happen in Spain is still
00:11:52unclear. What is clear is that the housing crisis
00:11:56continues to leave no one indifferent, protests in Madrid,
00:12:00Valencia, Barcelona and elsewhere are not dispersing, and the disappointment
00:12:03of their participants is deepened by the news that 87-year-old
00:12:06Marikarmen Abascal, who became a symbol of the protests after being
00:12:09forcibly evicted from her home in Madrid for failing to pay rent,
00:12:13died this
00:12:14week.
00:12:18We will be back soon.
00:12:22A suspected case of plague in Russia made the whole world remember
00:12:25the recently experienced pandemic.
00:12:28Next year, Lithuania will allocate almost as much money to defense as this year, what will
00:12:32we invest in.
00:12:35In the United States, a dilemma over the death penalty.
00:12:47We are back, this week. Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius
00:12:51stated that next year, Lithuania will continue to allocate almost the same amount of money from the budget
00:12:55to defense as this year, the percentage of the gross domestic product
00:12:58will decrease slightly, but will remain slightly more than 5%.
00:13:02defense funds also continue to cover not only armaments or air defense
00:13:06acquisitions, but also infrastructure development.
00:13:09This week it became clear that Lithuania is ready if Americans
00:13:13want to establish a base.
00:13:16Lithuania invited the United States to establish a permanent American base
00:13:20in Lithuania. Would you consider that?
00:13:23Well, they are my friends, great people, so we will definitely
00:13:26consider it, they are great people, Lithuania, I know
00:13:29so many people in this country, they are great
00:13:32people,
00:13:34the proposal to provide a permanent base was submitted by the Minister of National Defense to the Pentagon
00:13:38a couple of weeks ago, even earlier, the same proposal from
00:13:42the government was also conveyed to the American envoy to Belarus, Jon
00:13:45Coyle. We are ready to provide the best possible
00:13:49conditions for the US side, I am glad
00:13:51that such an idea is not rejected by President
00:13:55Trump. I have certainly instructed the Ministry of National Defense to do
00:13:59their homework, with American soldiers returning this month, Lithuania continues
00:14:03to do everything to please the most important security and deterrence
00:14:06guarantor, the Americans in General Silvestras Žukauskas' polygon,
00:14:09new residential buildings have recently been built, all expenses for the soldiers' presence
00:14:13are covered by the state. I think this is a very serious
00:14:17political signal. Lithuania's offer to continue
00:14:20covering the costs of the soldiers' presence and expanding infrastructure. True,
00:14:24experts emphasized that the United States administration is unpredictable,
00:14:27we are waiting to see how the situation with the military base in Poland will unfold, but
00:14:31it also raises the question, if Washington decided, would it not ask
00:14:35to change policy regarding Belarus, this administration is very
00:14:39business-like, let's call it that, in international relations, it is obvious
00:14:42that it will use such promises as a certain
00:14:45means of pressure or compensation to Lithuania for the opening
00:14:49of that transit, that is very good news, which
00:14:52shows that the United States trusts
00:14:56Lithuania, now the most important thing is to act consistently,
00:15:00we have received the United States military
00:15:03rotation. Consistently deterrence is being strengthened with another
00:15:06ally. In the coming months, the first phase of the military
00:15:10town for the German brigade in Rūdninkai will be completed.
00:15:13The project is being implemented faster than planned, from the German
00:15:16assurance.
00:15:19The security of the Baltic states and the security of Germany. The security
00:15:22of Berlin also means the security of Vilnius. We
00:15:25accordingly,
00:15:27funds are going not only to the infrastructure of the German brigade, the expenses of American soldiers, we need to strengthen
00:15:30air defense, air surveillance,
00:15:34we also need drones. The army, in turn, announced
00:15:38a training space for experiments with technologies,
00:15:41drones and what has become an integral part of the war in Ukraine will be
00:15:45tested here. The Ambo unit for autonomous remote unmanned operations
00:15:49has been working for some time, checking what would suit the army
00:15:52for reconnaissance, defense, attacks, short and long
00:15:55range. The army has already received significantly updated combat drones
00:15:59Switchblade 600, which are currently being quietly
00:16:02used by Ukrainian special operations forces, military intelligence and
00:16:06SBU forces.
00:16:11The Minister of National Defense says they want to test various unmanned aerial vehicles, including
00:16:14Lithuanian ones, several from very specific manufacturers,
00:16:18to find out what would be suitable, although very logical, but not very
00:16:21compatible with public procurement, the government needs to be asked
00:16:24for exceptions. Now we have government permission to acquire
00:16:2811 different types of drone interceptors,
00:16:31and with six, we already have
00:16:35that finish line, let's say. yes, regarding the signing of
00:16:38contracts, yes, so we are definitely not limiting ourselves to
00:16:41drones alone. The Ministry of National Defense intends to submit
00:16:45proposals regarding the public procurement law in the near future, the interest
00:16:48of industrialists, the possibility to test Lithuanian armaments, and even
00:16:52better, investments in local production.
00:16:55It would be fully possible to use the capabilities of Lithuanian industry,
00:16:58to use more the possibility of acquiring test
00:17:02batches and thus test new
00:17:06products and later. let's say, if there is
00:17:09positive feedback, then
00:17:13give the opportunity for larger batches to be acquired. After
00:17:17the audit by the Ministry of National Defense, the minister stated that the Defense Resource Agency
00:17:20responsible for procurement must change. The new
00:17:24head, Dovydas Palaima, who became the head of the fight, stated among the important desired
00:17:28changes to reduce bureaucracy. Public
00:17:31procurement is regulated by both Lithuanian and European Union procurement
00:17:35and competition law. We must ensure that these funds are
00:17:38used efficiently, transparently and proportionately. Procurement
00:17:42consists of many components, need, compatibility with Lithuanian and NATO
00:17:46defense plans, negotiations with manufacturers, production, delivery
00:17:49of capabilities, testing, training of personnel, the head of the Defense Resource
00:17:53Agency says that there is a shortage of people who can work with
00:17:56procurement, in the hands of these specialists are tens of millions
00:18:00worth of state money. How the agency could change will be
00:18:03presented in the coming months, but the changes will not be related
00:18:07only to personnel increase, the garage as
00:18:10an organization is certainly changing,
00:18:14both in terms of resources and competencies, we have grown,
00:18:17we are restructuring and indeed adapting
00:18:20to the challenges of the times so that we can
00:18:23timely and effectively respond to the army's capability
00:18:27needs. At the same time, we are changing the
00:18:30procedures themselves, both laws and internal
00:18:32procedures, and at the same time,
00:18:36procurement specialists
00:18:38efficiently use allocated funds. Is this
00:18:41an easy process? No, not easy, because the homework was not done
00:18:45on time. Mindaugas Sinkevičius' message is that next year's
00:18:48defense budget will be slightly less than five billion euros,
00:18:52remaining almost the same as this year. However, the percentage
00:18:55allocated from the gross domestic product will decrease due to economic growth
00:18:59and will be slightly over
00:19:005%.
00:19:04For those not interested in health topics, the plague at best
00:19:07recalls biblical stories or history
00:19:10lessons, perhaps Albert Camus' book. Nevertheless,
00:19:14in recent weeks, a suspected case of this disease in Russia
00:19:18forced the whole world to remember the recently experienced
00:19:20pandemic. There is not much clarity about a possible case of pneumonic plague in remote
00:19:24Irkutsk. Russian officials claim that the suspected
00:19:27case was not confirmed, but refuse to share information about
00:19:31the circumstances of the death of a young plague research institute
00:19:34employee. Nevertheless, scientists reassure. Even if the disease
00:19:38case is confirmed, the risk of spread is low and
00:19:41modern medicine is capable of preventing not only
00:19:44the spread, but also the death
00:19:47of those infected.
00:19:49At the end of 2019, the world's attention gradually focused
00:19:53on a Chinese city called Wuhan, which not everyone had heard of then. At the end of
00:19:56December, the World Health Organization received a report on
00:20:00cases of pneumonia of unknown origin. Almost seven
00:20:04years later.
00:20:11True, we are not talking about a new Covid, rumors are circulating about
00:20:14the well-known plague.
00:20:17The day everything happened, my mother called me and
00:20:21screamed that 10 people had already died, even though there were no
00:20:24official reports yet. I had read that it was something
00:20:28similar to Hong Kong syphilis, and that it was actually
00:20:31caused by bears. So people panicked because
00:20:35there were no official statements.
00:20:38There are not many official reports now either, it is known that a laboratory
00:20:41worker from the plague research laboratory, 28-year-old Dariya
00:20:45Shepilova, died in this hospital. Officially, it is stated that her life was claimed by
00:20:48pneumonia of unknown origin.
00:20:51Perhaps it would not be suspicious, especially since there are cases when doctors really
00:20:54do not know why a patient contracted pneumonia, for example,
00:20:58in the United Kingdom, such cases occur a quarter of the time,
00:21:01but contradictory information began to spread from the first reports,
00:21:05and the media, largely uncontrolled by the Kremlin, which announced a case of plague,
00:21:09very quickly retracted their statements, later deleting
00:21:12their posts on social networks. In Soviet
00:21:15times, all these cases were hidden under a thick veil of
00:21:19secrecy. People were not informed, then
00:21:22huge restriction and isolation measures were taken and it almost
00:21:26always worked, this applies to smallpox, plague and
00:21:29anthrax. The history of the Irkutsk Plague Research
00:21:32Institute also does not reduce suspicions, founded in 1934,
00:21:36the institute was supposed to control possible outbreaks in Siberia,
00:21:40Mongolia and China, research the plague itself, and later other
00:21:43dangerous diseases including cholera and anthrax. However, during the Cold
00:21:47War, the institution was officially included in the Soviet
00:21:51Union's defensive biological program. True, there is no information that biological
00:21:54weapons were created here, but the institute could have transmitted infections.
00:21:58However, it is also emphasized that the mere existence of the institute and its
00:22:02past prove nothing, although the plague is not widespread, but cases of it
00:22:06also in Siberia are recorded annually from 100 to three, therefore
00:22:09scientists constantly study the disease, search for better medicines and
00:22:12vaccines. In Madagascar, outbreaks recur almost
00:22:16annually, isolated cases have been recorded in Congo. Cases have
00:22:20also been registered in the United States, and reports are also
00:22:23received from some parts of the Central Asian steppes.
00:22:27True, of the three forms of plague, bubonic, septicemic and
00:22:30pneumonic, bubonic is the most widespread. It accounts
00:22:34for the largest number of naturally occurring cases of the disease. Meanwhile,
00:22:37pneumonic plague is the most dangerous, but up to
00:22:40ten cases are counted
00:22:42worldwide each year. Pneumonic plague, which we are talking about now,
00:22:46occurs when the pathogen is inhaled and infects the respiratory
00:22:50tract, the bacteria of bubonic plague, often called the Black Death,
00:22:54are carried by fleas infecting rats,
00:22:57fleas bite rats, and these, when they bite humans, transmit
00:23:01the bacteria. The inhalation of the pathogen would also coincide with the theory
00:23:04that the researcher, while conducting experiments, may have broken a test tube and thus
00:23:08became infected and later died. However, Shepilova's mother, who gave an interview to the local media,
00:23:12claims that only fools believe such allegations,
00:23:15saying that she knows what really happened, but does not
00:23:18say it publicly. The biggest concern is that pneumonic
00:23:22plague is the only form that can be transmitted from person
00:23:25to person, it progresses extremely quickly, from infection to
00:23:29death can pass in just a few days, and the initial symptoms
00:23:32resemble an ordinary flu, so it is difficult to recognize the disease immediately,
00:23:36the fact that Shepilova was admitted to the hospital on September 29 and died
00:23:40on October 1 is one piece of evidence that we are talking
00:23:44precisely about a possible case of pneumonic plague, nevertheless,
00:23:47it is emphasized that the disease is easily curable, although healthy... needs
00:23:50fast, small, and with a high probability of mass spread,
00:23:54since the infection is in the lungs, pneumonic plague can spread
00:23:57through close contact, but the infection does not spread very far, so
00:24:01direct close contact with a person suffering from pneumonic plague
00:24:04is necessary for infection. However, measures are said to have been taken, local
00:24:08media claim that about 200 people from the same plague
00:24:12institute and the deceased's environment have been quarantined.
00:24:15Reportedly, institute employees are not allowed to leave the building, they are forced to sleep
00:24:19in the institution's cafeteria.
00:24:21However, it is claimed that most have already been released, almost
00:24:25500 laboratory tests have been performed and nothing was found,
00:24:29no pathogen was detected. It is also claimed that a special
00:24:32cleaning team visited where the women lived, and when residents asked what
00:24:35was being sprayed, they were assured that they were fighting
00:24:39cockroaches. My brother attends primary school, where
00:24:43mandatory mask-wearing has already been introduced, they are even allowed
00:24:46not to attend school. I have a friend in Kucka who studies
00:24:50at a medical college, and there too it is now strictly required
00:24:53to wear masks all the time. The Russian authorities
00:24:56reiterate that no case of plague has been identified and emphasize that
00:24:59Shypilova was vaccinated against the disease, but at the same time, they did not deny that the plague
00:25:03version was considered and investigated. However, accusations are being leveled
00:25:06at the media, claiming that it is causing panic. Residents
00:25:10are urged to believe only official sources, but they
00:25:13are not necessarily transparent. The World Health Organization, to which Russia
00:25:17belongs, claims it has not received detailed information about a possible
00:25:20case of plague, which would help to form a comprehensive picture.
00:25:24In addition, there have been reports of a possible second
00:25:27infection.
00:25:29In recent years, we have experienced many lives
00:25:33claimed by the pandemic. I believe that preparedness for future
00:25:36biological threats should be one of the most important
00:25:40issues for the global health community.
00:25:43Preparedness and transparency of information, according to experts, are as important as
00:25:46treatment itself in cases of dangerous diseases. However, it still remains
00:25:50unclear how the employee of the plague research institute became ill,
00:25:54and if it was simply pneumonia, why did it claim the life of a young
00:25:57and seemingly healthy woman so quickly?
00:26:00greitai.
00:26:03In December, the United States could surpass Iran,
00:26:06North Korea, and Afghanistan in public executions.
00:26:09The Pentagon plans to publicly broadcast the execution
00:26:12by firing squad of an Islamist who killed 13 soldiers 15 years ago.
00:26:16This comes just as America is already embroiled
00:26:19in debates about the death penalty. Krista
00:26:23Pike, convicted of a brutal murder, survived the execution and
00:26:27even two lethal injections. This is the first
00:26:29such case, potentially changing the procedure for carrying out sentences,
00:26:33which most Americans still
00:26:35approve of.
00:26:41Former Associated Press journalist Michael Graczyk
00:26:44has observed over 400 executions since 1984.
00:26:48Journalists are invited as witnesses to the executions of convicts
00:26:51in the United States.
00:26:54There were a couple of cases, many years ago, even before pentobarbital was
00:26:58used, the needle came out
00:27:00twice. Then the curtains of the execution chamber were drawn,
00:27:04so that we, the witnesses, wouldn't see how the needles were reinserted and
00:27:08the injection was administered. When the curtain reopened,
00:27:11the death penalty was completed. Journalists witnessed
00:27:14a different ending last week at a prison in Tennessee.
00:27:17valstijoje.
00:27:1926 minutes to 8. She said, "It feels like my arms
00:27:23are going to explode." She, Krista Pai, was sentenced to death three
00:27:27decades ago. The photo of her victim behind the journalists is
00:27:30a brutally murdered 19-year-old.
00:27:34The curtains of the execution chamber first closed at 14 minutes
00:27:38to 8, but at 11 minutes to 8, they
00:27:41reopened. And according to witnesses, the fate
00:27:45of the condemned is unclear.
00:27:48When we left seven minutes to nine, Krista
00:27:52Paike was still breathing. They injected pentobarbital twice. I had never seen
00:27:55that before.
00:27:58While the press conference was still ongoing, emergency medical assistance vehicles
00:28:01appeared near the prison. It became clear that the execution with
00:28:05two doses of pentobarbital, which calms the central nervous system,
00:28:08had failed. Krista Paik survived. A week
00:28:11later, her lawyers announced that the client woke up and started
00:28:14talking. She has a thrombus in one hand, has pneumonia,
00:28:18cannot swallow or eat yet, and cannot move
00:28:22her arms. Lawyers say Paike is angry.
00:28:26She was kind and polite until they pricked her arm with needles
00:28:29for an hour. Then she felt a sting from
00:28:32the barbital and woke up in the hospital, surrounded
00:28:35by strangers with a tube in her throat. Medics believe
00:28:39that the preparation likely did not enter the circulatory
00:28:42system. I think the reason it didn't work
00:28:46was the veins where the catheters were inserted. They simply ruptured,
00:28:49exploded, and pentobarbital began to circulate not in the blood, but
00:28:53concentrated at the injection site and began to burn the arm. The condemned woman's
00:28:56lawyers had warned the state about possible
00:28:59complications. The plaintiff, Paike, had previously had problems drawing
00:29:03blood or inserting needles.
00:29:06The Eighth Amendment, prohibiting cruel and unusual
00:29:09punishments, can now help lawyers prevent the punishment
00:29:13from being repeated. It would be argued that, at least in her
00:29:16case, the execution would be cruel, because her body does not react to the lethal
00:29:20injection. This was supposed to be the first execution
00:29:24of a woman in Tennessee in 200 years, when the Supreme Court upheld
00:29:28the 1996 verdict. Lawyers tried
00:29:31to argue that when sentencing, it was not taken into account that Paik,
00:29:34who brutally murdered 19-year-old Slemer with her boyfriend, had herself
00:29:38experienced violence growing up. The governor also disregarded
00:29:41the clemency request. Now the woman has been returned to prison for treatment, and
00:29:45executions in the state are halted.
00:29:48Residents of Tennessee hope that sentences will be carried out not only
00:29:52legally and constitutionally, but also effectively. That
00:29:55was not the case. Opponents of the death penalty
00:29:58emphasize that such cases are not uncommon. In 2022,
00:30:02one-third of executions failed. As scary and stunning
00:30:05as it may be, it is not surprising. Back in
00:30:08May, another execution in Tennessee
00:30:11failed.
00:30:14And most often, executions fail due to
00:30:16injection. Often, it is difficult to obtain medications, because
00:30:20manufacturers in Europe often do not want their drugs to be used for that purpose,
00:30:23so other ways must be sought, as well as other specialists to
00:30:27carry out death penalties. They are provided for in 27 out of
00:30:3150 states. Although some executions were halted due to a shortage
00:30:35of preparations, last year South Carolina replaced execution by injection
00:30:38with firing squad, and then sentences increased. Last year, 47
00:30:41executions were carried out, the most in 15
00:30:45years. I think Americans can support the death penalty
00:30:48in theory, but when you confront it up close, it becomes
00:30:51uncomfortable. Krista Spike's case is already causing
00:30:54controversy. All attention is directed to Krista, she
00:30:57has become a celebrity and that is terrible, we must.