Up First from NPR - Details Emerge On Alleged Gunman, Rumors Impact Community, Rupert Murdoch's Empire

Episode Date: September 17, 2024

Before his alleged attempt to assassinate former President Donald Trump, a gunman had a different attention-grabbing cause. Ryan Wesley Routh said he was recruiting soldiers for Ukraine. Springfield, Ohio, which has been in the news after Trump and his running mate promoted a false story about immigrants, has canceled a festival celebrating cultural diversity. And Rupert Murdoch aims to change his will to affect who controls Fox News. Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.Today's episode of Up First was edited by Andrew Sussman, Lisa Thomson, Emily Kopp, HJ Mai and Ally Schweitzer. It was produced by Iman Maani, Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Mansee Khurana. We get engineering support from Carleigh Strange. And our technical director is Zac Coleman.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Before his alleged attempt to kill the former president, a gunman had a different, attention-grabbing cause. Ryan Ruth said he was recruiting soldiers for Ukraine. What do people who try to help Ukraine think of him now? I'm Ian Martinez with Steve Inskeep, and this is Up First from NPR News. Springfield, Ohio, canceled a festival celebrating cultural diversity. The governor sent state troopers to guard schools responding to dozens of threats, and each came after former President Trump and his running mate promoted a false story about immigrants. What's life like when your city becomes a campaign prop?

Also, Rupert Murdoch aims to change his will to affect who controls Fox News. Why are his children fighting in court? Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day. Election seasons are tough on everyone. So Pop Culture Happy Hour is there to serve you recommendations and commentary on everything in the pop cultural universe while helping you snap out of that doom-scrolling mindset. It's important to stay informed, but you also need to take care of yourself.

So treat yourself to a new episode about the pop culture you love on Pop Culture Happy Hour, only from NPR. This Hispanic Heritage Month, Codeswitch sits down with Mexican-Cuban-American journalist and author Paula Ramos to discuss the rise of U.S. Latinos to the far right. It's a small but growing shift in American politics. Paula Ramos thinks she knows what's behind it. Listen on the Code Switch podcast from NPR. Hey, it's Mike and Ian. We're the hosts of How to Do Everything from the team at Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me.

Every week we take your questions and find someone much smarter than us to answer them. Questions like, how do I safely jump out of a moving vehicle? How do I dangerously jump out of a moving vehicle? We can't help you, but we will find someone who can. Listen to the How to Do Everything podcast from NPR. A look into the background of an alleged assassin found one especially distinctive thing. Ryan Ruth had a history like many people who attempt attention-grabbing shootings. His online history showed contradictory politics. He also had a self-published book. What stands out about his story is attempting to fight Russians in Ukraine. He'd

even been interviewed by major media outlets. Which is of special concern to other people who try to help Ukraine. NPR's Quill Lawrence has been talking with some of them. Quill, good morning. Good morning. First, how did this guy get involved with Ukraine? We don't know exactly yet. He had a criminal history with these gun convictions. He had a political history that was all over the map, but he had no military history. We know he went to Ukraine at least once in his late 50s already to help fight the Russians in some way. The news site Semaphore interviewed Ruth in 2023, and he claimed to be in contact with hundreds of Afghan soldiers, U.S.-trained Afghan soldiers in exile he was going to somehow bring to fight in Ukraine. He was also interviewed by a New York Times reporter.

In that interview, he said he might have to pay bribes and forge passports to do it. And he was sort of just dismissed as unserious. And so this is what he was doing. I gather you've been talking with American veteran groups who try to be serious about supporting Ukraine. What are they thinking now that his story is out there? Yeah, I mean, it's just not a great look to have someone involved in this who is also involved in their cause. There are a lot of Americans, many who did serve in the military, and they see turning back the Russian invasion as a moral issue. They also think it's

important to American security. Lately, they're concerned that Ukraine has become a partisan political issue and that Ryan Ruth's example could paint their whole movement as radical or anti-Trump. I talked with Adrian Bonenberger, who served with the U.S. Army in Afghanistan. He co-founded American Veterans for Ukraine. And he said he was horrified to hear about the assassination attempt. You never want to see a presidential candidate go through something like that, especially not twice. But when I heard that he had a connection to Ukraine, of course, my first thought was, oh no, that's horrible. People are going to get the wrong impression. So yeah, Bonenberger has visited Ukraine five times since the war started. On

two of those trips, he and other U.S. combat veterans trained Ukrainian soldiers. But that is not to say Bonenberger is surprised that some of the Americans who go to Ukraine might be unstable. You have idealists, adventurers, drifters, desperados, criminals, and madmen. It takes, you know, days or weeks or months to even, in some cases, sort out people who are essentially reasonable people who are doing something unusual and extraordinary from people who are not reasonable, who are there for their own purposes, or people who are just mentally unbalanced. I am just recalling, as we're talking here, Quill, that at the beginning of the war, Ukraine

captured utterly the nation's attention, the world's utter attention, and it would attract all kinds of people. And now this man was somehow attracted to the presidential campaign. Is there any official reaction from Ukraine itself? Yes, President Zelensky has sent his sympathies and his best wishes to President Trump for the second time now. The Ukrainian International Legion was quick to say that Ruth never served there. But still, there's a lot of concern, especially after the presidential debate during which Trump was asked whether he even wanted Ukraine to win. And he didn't answer directly.

NPR's Quill Lawrence, thanks so much. Thank you. People in Springfield, Ohio, canceled their annual cultural festival celebrating unity and diversity. Yeah, local officials cited safety concerns. I mean, it's now routine in Springfield to close schools and even a hospital. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine says schools in Springfield have seen at least 33 bomb threats. 33 threats, 33 hoax. I will make that very, very clear. None of these had any validity at all.

And each of them came after former President Donald Trump and his running mate, J.D. Vance, began spreading false claims about Haitian migrants there. The governor says he's sending officers from the Ohio State Highway Patrol to monitor schools in the city. So let's get a picture of life in Springfield now from Springfield News Sun reporter Jessica Orozco. Good morning. Good morning. Wow, what's it been like in the last day or so? I mean, things have definitely been different. People are feeling the strain, particularly parents with school-age children having to pick up their kids who are being evacuated on a pretty regular basis now.

Haitian immigrants are talking about how they're feeling unsafe. Some of them are choosing to keep their kids home from school and just stay home themselves as much as possible to avoid any kind of danger. Well, now the governor seemed to want to put people at ease. I guess that's what the state troopers are for. What else are you hearing from him? Yeah, so the governor announced that the state is going to provide safety resources to the Springfield schools, which, like we said, have been the target of many bomb threats since last week. He talked about how these have forced evacuations, which have disrupted class time and soaked fears. And so he's directed the

state highway patrol to have 36 members of its field force to spread out across school buildings to sweep for threats before and after the school day and to stick around during the day. Are people reassured? For the most part, I would say yes, but there's still lingering anxieties. What are you hearing from the Haitian community specifically, the people who were misdescribed in this online rumor and by the candidates? Yeah, a lot of Haitian immigrants in Springfield are upset to be painted with such a broad brush and to have completely unsubstantiated rumors spread about them.

And Haitian immigrants have been the subject of public discourse in Springfield for more than a year now, but tensions are now especially high. Can you tell me a little bit more about that community? I gather that they are people with what's called temporary protected status, so they have legal status in the United States. They've been described as consuming all the resources of Springfield. Are these people who've come and are paying rent and working jobs and doing that sort of thing? Yeah, from what we're hearing, the vast majority of Haitians in Springfield have that temporary protected status, meaning they can stay in Springfield

or in the country for a designated period of time, and they're getting work permits so that they can work, and they're paying rent, they're paying taxes, they're positively influencing businesses with their money. Do they also require some extra resources, some help? Yes, yes they do. There's a large need for translation and interpretation services, which is particularly highlighted in schools and hospitals and medical centers. Some are receiving different forms of federal assistance. And there's a definite need for driving education.

Driving education, meaning people have arrived and they don't have driver's licenses. Yes, yes, that's right. And that's led to some concerns, including car accidents. Springfield News Sun reporter Jessica Orozco, thanks so much. Thank you. Okay, in a court in Reno, Nevada, 93-year-old Rupert Murdoch is acting to ensure his control of his media empire beyond the grave, especially Fox News.

He is seeking to convince a probate official that the trust set up to grant his four eldest children equal say in his media empire. After his death should be altered, he wants to give full control to his eldest son, Lachlan. The other three children are fighting him in court. NPR media correspondent David Fulkenflik wrote the book on Fox News and has been covering the trial. David, good morning. Good morning, Steve. So what do you know about this proceeding? Well, there's scant public details. And the reason is that the probate official running this procedure ruled against NPR and other media organizations and is

doing this whole thing behind closed doors. But here's what we know. First off, we know that in court is Rupert Murdoch himself and his four eldest children. There are two others who aren't said to get any control under this family trust, but share in the financial bounty. And here's the deal about that trust. It was set up a generation ago when Murdoch left his wife, Anna Torv Murdoch Mann, for his third wife, Wendy Deng. And she basically said, listen, I won't sue you for half of what you have.

You give me what turned out to be $110 million. But let's make sure that each of our four then current children, one child by his previous marriage, three children by his marriage to Anna, they all share in control of the family media empire after you die. And he agreed with that. So that's what we know. We know that in court with him, interestingly, is former Attorney General Bill Barr, who served under George H.W. Bush and President Trump. And he's saying Barr should be the guy who helps him operate this trust in the future. Okay. So now I understand why Murdoch would have trouble changing his own will because he had this previous agreement as part of divorce. But why would he say that he does want to change it in favor of one son?

Right. It was irrevocable. And now he wants to revoke at least some of the terms of it. He's arguing it on a couple of grounds. He says, listen, Lachlan Murdoch has helped me run these companies for the last, say, five years and or six years. And that this there's clarity when he dies, it will avoid litigation. It will have a clarity of what the corporate structure is that benefits everyone. He also says, and this is vital to what's going on, the other children might hurt Fox News's performance. Fox News is really the economic engine powering their wealth by pulling the network to the center and away from the right wing programs that have made it popular with its core audiences. And he's also kind of annoyed. Murdoch's sold much of the entertainment holdings of Fox and to Disney. Each of the children, all six of the children got $2 billion

apiece. And he's like, look, I should be able to decide what happened with this huge media company that I built up from a single newspaper in Adelaide, Australia, my native land, to this globe-trotting behemoth that it is now. Okay. So as we wrap up our review of this sequel to the TV series Succession, what arguments are James Murdoch and his sisters making that they should get more than that few billion dollars they've already received? Well, there's been ongoing litigation and scandal on both sides at The Atlantic. Most recently, the U.S., a defamation suit for which the Murdochs had to pay $787 million for amplifying and embracing former President Trump's false claims of election fraud.

They say the short-term gains for an aging audience are hurting the professionalism and credence of a company with news at its core. Oh, interesting. They want to actually change the editorial policies of this media empire. David, thanks so much. You bet. That's NPR media correspondent David Volkenflik. We have one more story for you this morning. The hip-hop artist Sean Combs, better known as Puff Daddy or P. Diddy, was arrested late last night in New York City after a federal grand jury indicted him. The charges against him were not immediately known. Officials said the indictment will be unsealed later this morning. Though we don't know the contents of that indictment, Combs has been facing allegations of sexual assault. Several women have filed lawsuits against the music mogul over the past year. We'll have more

on this story throughout the day at NPR.org and on the NPR app. And that's a First for this Tuesday, September 17th. I'm Steve Inskeep. I'm Amy Martinez. For your next listen, how about Consider This from NPR. In just a little over two months, there have been two assassination attempts on former President Trump, the most recent in the final stretch of the 2024 presidential election. What do we know about the attempt and the alleged perpetrator? Let's listen on Consider This from NPR. Today's Up First was edited by Andrew Sussman, Lisa Thompson, Emily Kopp, H.J. Mai, and Ali Schweitzer. It was produced by Iman Maani, Ziad Bach, Nia Dumas, and Mansi Khurana. We get engineering support from Carly Strange, and our technical director is Zach Coleman. Join us tomorrow. What do you think are the greatest things to come out of your city?

Well, get ready to defend your argument because it's been a minute is bringing the smackdown. A debate series to cities all across the country. Serena Williams versus Muhammad Ali, the Peanuts versus Prince. Listen to Smackdowns you never saw coming on the It's Been a Minute podcast. Wilderness is changing. More wildfires, more people, more cell service the how wild podcast hits the trail to explore the history of wilderness how it's changing and what that says about us as humans listen now to the how wild podcast from kalw part of the npr network