Up First from NPR - Kenya Protests, Evan Gershkovich Trial, Veepstakes

Episode Date: June 26, 2024

Deadly protests over Kenya tax hikes. U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich stands trial for espionage in Russia. And Republican vice presidential candidates make their final pitch to Donald Trump.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 Tara Neill, Kevin Drew, John Helton, Megan Pratz, Olivia Hampton and Lisa Thomson. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Christopher Thomas and Nina Kravinsky.Our technical director is Zac Coleman, with engineering support from Hannah Gluvna.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

protesters in kenya called for days of rage and got them they stormed the country's parliament leaving many dead and injured what was the purpose of a tax hike in kenya and why did it generate so much opposition i'm steve inskeep with a martinez and this is up first from npr news the american journalist evan gershkovich stands trial today on espionage charges in Russia. What are the chances of having him sent back to the United States and at what price? And President Biden is sticking with his vice president for this fall's election. Former President Trump is picking a new one. Donald Trump wants to find a vice presidential nominee who can help him win.

How is the former president deciding who will share his ticket? Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day. and abroad. From the skies to our change, this $2 commemorative circulation coin marks their storied past and promising future. Find the limited edition Royal Canadian Air Force $2 coin today. We all hear things differently, and that can be tough when there's so much noise. This election year, we're a space to speak up and to listen. Listen to 1A for the latest on election 2024, only from NPR. Why did people in Kenya storm their own parliament? The protesters created a moment that the president called an attack on democracy. While objecting to a tax increase, they stormed the home of the

legislature, overcame security, broke into the building, and left many dead and injured. The details of that tax hike, where the money is to come from, and where it goes, have a lot to do with it. Emmanuel Igunza is a journalist in Nairobi where he saw some of the violence firsthand, and just a warning that some of his reporting might be very graphic. Emmanuel, what did you see yesterday and what's the situation now? Well, good morning. The protests last week had called for seven days of rage and it turned out to be just that outside parliament. Both houses, the National Assembly and the Senate were extensively damaged during this protest. The symbols of power, the meshes, were taken by the protesters who stormed in, forcing MPs to hide,

and then they were whisked away via an underground tunnel hidden in ambulances. I saw parts of the complex on fire, a police truck immobilised and set ablaze, and on the road leading to Parliament, you could see pools of blood and several bodies lying on the road, which were quickly wrapped up by the protesters in the Kenyan flag and taken by ambulances. There were tear gas canisters, bullet shells were scattered on the road.

So what sparked the protest to begin with? Well, the protesters had always insisted they wanted to occupy parliament, and that was one of the hashtags had always insisted they wanted to occupy parliament, and that was one of the hashtags they've been using online to mobilize. These are young people, college students calling themselves the Gen Z. This protest started out as an opposition to the proposed finance bill 2024, which seeks to raise about $2.9 billion in taxes that the government says it needs to pay off huge foreign debt. But the protesters are saying that the taxes will make life much harder as it targets such things as sanitary

pads, diapers, and there's an increase in fuel taxes, which will make things like transport and production much more expensive. Okay, then how did the protests get out of control? President Trudeau has blamed criminals for infiltrating the protests. Let's listen to him. The security infrastructure established to protect our republic and its sovereignty will be deployed

to secure the country and restore normalcy. But these marches across the country were by and large very peaceful. We saw the protesters only with placards, anti-government placards, their phones and cameras and water bottles, and throughout they were chanting

that they want peace. But then when they overwhelmed police and broke the lines, police opened fire. I saw at least three bodies of people with headshot wounds lying outside parliament. Now, you reported on the program yesterday that all of this is happening at the same exact time that the first UN-backed contingent of Kenyan police officers arrived in

Haiti to try and restore law and order. Well, indeed, the contingent that's now in Haiti comes from the General Service Unit, which is the same paramilitary group that was overwhelmed by protesters in Kenya. We've seen video footage of them being chased away by crowds. And this has forced the president to call in the military to maintain law and order and guard parliament, statehouse and other government buildings. So it's a big headache for President Trudeau, who has styled himself internationally as a strong ally of the West, but domestically, he faces serious questions on his handling of the protests.

There is this perception that he's doing the dirty work for the U.S. in Haiti, while his own backyard is on fire. That's Emmanuel Igunza, a journalist in Nairobi. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. The trial of Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich on espionage charges began today in Russia's mountain capital. I looked it up for you. I knew this was going to be an issue. Yekaterinburg. Yeah, I took a U-turn on that pronunciation. That's okay. It's okay.

So I think it's called Yekaterinburg, the Ural Mountain capital in Russia, the same city where the American reporter was detained by Russian security agents 15 months ago. All right. Now joining us to talk about this case is NPR's Charles Maines on the line now from Moscow. Charles, obviously a very tough situation that we're dealing with here. What do we know about the circumstances of the trial itself. Yeah, you know, because of the nature of these espionage charges, this is a closed trial with no reporters, no family, not even U.S. embassy representatives allowed into the proceedings. They could see Gershkovich face 20 years in prison if he's convicted. Gershkovich's lawyers also face a gag order, so we won't hear from them. The trial got underway late this morning today in Ekaterinburg, as we say. There was a brief moment where the press was allowed into the courtroom in video published by state media. You can see Gershkovich looking healthy, but now with his head shaved in a padlocked glass cage. He smiles briefly, waves to the camera before journalists are escorted from the room. Now, OK, so the Russian government accuses Gershkovich of espionage. We know that.

But what do we know about the specific charges? Yeah, you know, after keeping these espionage allegations under wraps for 15 long months of pretrial detention, Russian prosecutors recently revealed at least some details of what they'll argue in court. They'll say Gershkovich was collecting secret information about a Russian tank factory on the orders of the CIA, specifically a tank factory in Nizhny Tagil. This is a town about 140 miles or so to the north of Ekaterinburg. Now, you've heard it before, you'll hear it again now. Gershkovich and the journal vehemently reject the espionage charges. They always have. They say he was working with full accreditation and vetting from

the Russian foreign ministry at the time of his arrest. In other words, he, like anyone working in Russia as a journalist, including me, went through background checks. You know, as to his presence in the Urals, the journal says he was on a reporting assignment. And I can tell you this town, you think to Gil, you know, made its name over a decade ago as a conservative bastion for support for President Vladimir Putin. So it's not a bad choice for journalists looking to learn more about the attitudes of working class fans of the Russian leader amid the war in Ukraine. The U.S. government has designated Gershkovich as wrongfully detained. The White House has also said that it's made several offers to the Kremlin aimed at securing his release.

Obviously, no success so far. What do we know about these negotiations? Well, the journal's editor-in-chief, Emma Tucker, published a letter yesterday that said even calling this a trial is a misnomer. She said the journal expected a bogus accusation to lead to a bogus conviction. Keep in mind that more than 99% of all cases do end in convictions in Russia. So while I'm sure they would all welcome a not guilty verdict, that doesn't seem to be where this is going. The U.S. hostage says diplomat Roger Karstens has said that efforts to negotiate the release of Grishkovich and another jailed American, Paul Whelan, continue. Earlier this month, President Putin acknowledged much the same. But recently, Russia's deputy foreign minister, Sergei Rybkov, said Moscow had presented

Washington with a proposal, adding that if the U.S. didn't like the deal on the table, that was their problem. So that's where we are. All right. NPR's Charles Maines in Moscow. Thank you, Charles. Thank you. The first presidential debate is tomorrow, but looking ahead in the political calendar, the Republican National Convention is less than three weeks away. Which doesn't give former President Donald Trump very much time to pick a running mate. He is treating this search a little like his old days hosting The Apprentice, and VP nominee hopefuls are rushing to make their final sales pitches.

NPR's Jung Yoon-han has been following the competition to be Trump's VP. So why might it feel like Trump is kind of going back to his reality show days in the way he's picking this VP? Hi. Well, it's his style to generate attention around him, to make headlines, to control the narrative. After all, it was clear early on that Trump would win the nomination. So the VP candidate is the only real race to watch for here. And Trump figures he'd make that race about him. I spoke with Republican strategist Ron Bonjean. He says Trump is intentionally stoking intrigue around the search. Trump does it in a manner which creates a fervor around it. And he's a master of manipulating the media and the public. But we can't help but follow his process because it's so important to our country's future should he be elected president.

And one last point on this. Trump is doing all this to show that he can. He wants to show that people are eager to work for him and that he's the star of the show. All right. So who's rising to the top of the list of VP candidates? Yeah. So there are five names that I'm really watching here. There's Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who's advised Trump over the years on foreign policy. Another person in the mix is Elise Stefanik, the congresswoman from New York. She leads the House Republican Conference. And then there's Tim Scott from South Carolina. He's the only black Republican in the Senate. North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum has also gotten some buzz. He's a businessman before going into politics, which

Trump values. And the last name I'll mention is Ohio Senator G.D. Vance, who has been a reliable ally of Trump in the last few years. Okay, so why these candidates in particular? Well, they're trying to show Trump that they have what he wants in a candidate. And what Trump wants is someone who's loyal, someone who's willing to defend him. For example, Vance has made numerous TV appearances in support of Trump in recent weeks. Remember, Trump likes that kind of showman style and performing is something that Stefanik also has experience doing on the Hill, particularly in defending Trump and the Republican Party. And we know Trump likes people like him. Before going into politics, both Vance and Burgum were successful in business,

so that's a plus for them. But as a recent NPR PBS News Marist poll shows, President Biden and Trump are in the dead heat. So Trump is really trying to appeal to as many voters as possible now. With Scott, there's a chance to speak directly to black voters. With Rubio, a fluent Spanish speaker, he has an opportunity with Latino voters. And Rubio has done well with moderates and independents in Florida. It's a group Trump wants to win over nationwide. Is it fair to say that being Trump's VP is less about the now and more about the later? Well, for these candidates, that's definitely the case.

They're all relatively young and have long careers ahead of them. So they're already looking into 2028, which for them isn't that far off. And Trump has shown that the Republican Party is his party right now. So these candidates are convinced that whoever is Trump's VP this year, if he becomes elected, will then take up the mantle afterwards. That's NPR's Jung Yoon Han. Thank you very much. Thanks, Abe. Okay, and before you go, we have news of yesterday's primary elections. They include a bitter Democratic Party fight between a prominent progressive in Congress and a centrist challenger. That's a little sound from George Latimer's victory rally in New York after winning the Democratic nomination in the 16th Congressional District. He is the Westchester County Executive. That's a suburb of New York City. And he beat out Congressman Jabal Bowman, who was a member

of the group of Democrats known in Congress as the Squad. Bowman is one of the first incumbents to lose a re-election bid this year, and this race highlighted divisions over the war in Gaza. It was also the most expensive House of Representatives primary in history. The tracking firm Ad Impact estimates the political advertising came out to nearly 25 million bucks. One of the outside groups pouring money into this race was the pro-Israel lobbying organization AIPAC. Now, Latimer was not the only candidate to prevail over an opponent he branded as too extreme. Happened to the other party, too, in the state of Utah.

Republican Governor Spencer Cox fended off a challenger who criticized him for working with his opponents. Also in Utah, Mitt Romney's brand of conservatism may survive his Senate retirement because the primary candidate most closely aligned to Romney's approach beat out a Trump-endorsed candidate. Now, at least one strong Trump supporter did actually advance last night, and that's Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, who won her primary in Colorado after she switched to run in a less competitive district. We've got more on all these results and coverage previewing tomorrow night's presidential debate, all at NPR.org. And that's a first for Wednesday, June 26th. I'm E. Martinez. And I'm Steve Inskeep. Your next listen is Consider This from NPR News. I was just listening last evening. This is a really moving episode about supplemental

security income that was meant to help some of the country's most vulnerable people. The rules keep some people locked in poverty. Listen to Consider This. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Tara Neal, Kevin Drew, John Helton, Megan Pratt, Olivia Hampton, and Lisa Thompson. It was produced by Ziad Butch, Chris Thomas, Nina Kravinsky. We get engineering support from Hannah Glovna, and our technical director is Zach Coleman. Join us again tomorrow.