The Headlines - Biden’s Big Shift on Ukraine, and Neo-Nazi Marchers Shock Ohio

Episode Date: November 18, 2024

Plus, the 50-yard field goal phenomenon.   Tune in every weekday morning. To get our full audio journalism and storytelling experience, download the New York Times Audio app — available to Times news subscribers on iOS — and sign up for our weekly newsletter.Tell us what you think at: [e-mail]. On Today’s Episode:Biden Allows Ukraine to Strike Russia With Long-Range U.S. Missiles, by Adam Entous, Eric Schmitt and Julian E. BarnesTrump Stands by Defense Pick Who Says Encounter With Woman Was Not Sexual Assault, by Maggie HabermanShouting Racial Slurs, Neo-Nazi Marchers Shock Ohio’s Capital, by Michael CorkeryU.S. Opens Investigation Into Killing of Sonya Massey, by Amanda HolpuchParamount Takes Promotional Stunt to New Level for ‘Gladiator II,’ by Brooks BarnesThe New Chip Shot in the N.F.L.: 50-Yard Field Goals, by Ben Blatt

From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Monday, November 18th. Here's what we're covering. President Biden has crossed what used to be a red line in the US's support of Ukraine. He's authorized Ukraine to fire American supplied long range missiles inside Russia. It marks a major policy shift for the president. Even as the US has poured billions of dollars of military aid into Ukraine, Biden repeatedly hesitated when it came to helping Ukraine go on the offensive. He's been worried about provoking Russian President Vladimir Putin into a wider war.

But with Russian and North Korean troops now fighting in Western Russia to take back land that Ukraine seized, Biden changed course. The main reason for the change was a decision that was taken by Russia to introduce North Korean soldiers into the fight. This was such a escalation in the war against Ukraine that the administration felt that

it needed to respond. Adam Entus covers national security for the Times. He says the policy change has divided Biden's advisors. Some still fear retaliation from Putin. Some think the threat is overblown. Overall, he says that officials don't expect that green-lighting the long-range weapons will fundamentally alter the course of the war, but it will send a message. This sort of strategic message is really to the North Koreans, and that message is your

troops are vulnerable. There is a price, a significant price, that you're going to pay for your decision to involve your forces in this conflict. And the takeaway that they want the North Koreans to take from this is don't send any more of them. Biden's policy shift comes as the administration is in a race against time to bolster Ukraine before Donald Trump takes office. Trump has vowed to limit further support to Ukraine, and has said the war needs to end quickly.

He said very little about how he would do that, but Vice President-elect J.D. Vance has outlined a plan that would allow Russia to keep the Ukrainian territory that its forces have seized. A few days ago, Donald Trump's transition team got some news that surprised them. They learned that Pete Hegseth, the Fox News personality who Trump picked to be his Secretary of Defense, had entered into a financial settlement with a woman who claimed he sexually assaulted her in 2017. According to a memo sent to the Trump team by a person claiming to be a friend of the

woman, the woman said that Hegseth raped her and that she went to the hospital where they collected evidence for a rape kit. Local police in Monterey, California said an official complaint was made a few days later, but that charges were never filed. Hegseth's lawyers say he vigorously denies the allegation and that he only paid the settlement because he was worried about being blackmailed. Because the settlement was confidential,

it didn't come up as part of the vetting process when Hegseth was being considered to lead the Pentagon. The Times has learned that since the news came out, Trump told his advisors he would still stand by his pick. Trump himself has been found liable for sexual abuse and has been supportive of other men who face similar accusations. The new scrutiny of Hegseth comes as Trump has continued

to name key players for his next administration at breakneck speed. He's largely been making his decisions from the tea room at Mar-a-Lago. Aides flip through slideshows of potential picks on huge screens and play clips of their TV appearances, a crucial factor for anyone Trump is considering. This weekend Trump announced that Chris Wright, the head of a fracking company, is his pick for Secretary of Energy. Wright has no government experience, but caught Trump's eye in part because of his appearances

on Fox News. And last night, Trump announced that Brendan Carr will head up the Federal Communications Commission. Carr is currently a member of the FCC's board, and he's expected to use his new leadership role to wield the commission as a political tool for Trump, going after big tech companies he's claimed are biased against conservatives and potentially punishing TV networks who air coverage that's critical of the president-elect. In Columbus, Ohio this weekend, a small group of people marched through the city carrying Nazi flags and shouting about white power through a bullhorn.

There were only about a dozen marchers and no arrests were made, but the Anti-Defamation League says it fits a recent pattern of white supremacist incidents across the country. There have been hundreds in the last 18 months, including one earlier this month in Michigan, where Nazi demonstrators stood outside of a community theater performance of the Diary of Anne Frank. The incidents tend to be small and unannounced to avoid drawing counter-protests. And the vice president of the ADL said the hate groups organize for maximum shock value, especially on social media where the visuals spread quickly.

He told the Times, quote, "'At the end of the day, they want to create fear and anxiety in communities and get a photo op.'" The Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation into the killing of Sonia Massey, the black woman who was shot and killed in her home in Illinois this summer by a sheriff's deputy after she called 911. The DOJ says it has, quote, serious concerns about how the sheriff's office interacts with black people and people with mental health or substance abuse issues. Massey had called police because she thought there was someone prowling outside her house.

Deputy Sean Grayson, who's white, responded to the call. And body camera footage showed him shooting Massey after an exchange in her kitchen where he asked her to put down a pot of hot water. Massey had a history of mental health issues, and her mother had called the police the day before the shooting, saying her daughter was having a breakdown, and she begged police not to hurt her.

Grayson was fired from the force and charged with murder. He's pleaded not guilty. The Justice Department is asking the Sheriff's Office to show how it trains and responds to people experiencing behavioral health crises and to provide data about the race of people that its officers have used force against. Starting at 9 p.m. tonight, anyone in the U.S. turning on the TV, the radio, or checking social media is probably going to hear one thing. I don't fight for power. I fight to free roam for men like them.

The Gladiator 2 trailer is going to be running simultaneously on 4000 TV networks, radio stations, and digital platforms, as Paramount Pictures goes all out on trying to promote the new film. The strategy is what's known as a roadblock. That's the marketing term for buying up so much airtime that for a brief moment, one single product or film is everywhere you look. The Gladiator 2 roadblock could be one of the biggest ever. And the stunt is a sign of how far big studios feel they now have to go to capture people's attention

since viewing habits are so fractured. The studios are in fierce competition with streaming services, video games, and TikTok. Box office sales are down about 11% from last year and still down 25% since before the pandemic. And finally, in football, kicking a field goal from halfway down the field used to be a last-ditch act of desperation, because it was likely to fall short and fail. But now, 50-yard field goals are becoming more common.

There were three just this weekend, and the success rate on these faraway kicks has doubled since the 1980s. One former NFL kicker tells The Times that kickers have just gotten better. Young players now specialize in kicking and train year-round, where they used to only practice during football season and maybe took time off to play other sports too. Their success is changing how football is played. More teams are going for the 50-plus yard field goal earlier in the game, not just in the final two minutes when a team really needs to score. It's gotten to the point

that there's even chatter in the NFL about whether they should make things harder by moving the goal posts closer together. Those are the headlines. Today on The Daily, a deeper look at Donald Trump's pick for attorney general Matt Gaetz and what it reveals about Trump's promise for retribution. That's next in the New York Times audio app, or you can listen wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow.