Up First from NPR - Trump Apparent Assassination Attempt, Venezuela Accuses CIA, TikTok Appeal

Episode Date: September 16, 2024

A man is in custody for what the FBI describes as an apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at his Florida golf club. Venezuela's government claims the CIA plotted to kill President Nicolás Maduro. And a court weighs the future of TikTok in the U.S.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 Russell Lewis, Tara Neill, Julia Redpath, HJ Mai and Ally Schweitzer. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas, Chris Thomas 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

Donald Trump survived a second apparent assassination attempt. A gunman hid in the brush with an AK-47 as the former president golfed at his club in Florida. What do we know about how this happened? I'm Steve Inskeep with Leila Fadl, and this is Up First from NPR News. Venezuela's government claims the CIA plotted to kill its president. The United States says that story is completely false. Does the accusation have anything to do with America's push for Nicolás Maduro to leave power? And the future of TikTok in the U.S. will be decided in court.

A case begins today over a planned federal ban that will take effect next year unless China sells the app. What precedent does this set for free speech? So stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day. As we're all navigating a divisive election, no matter what happens, the question remains, how the heck are we going to move forward together? So in this season of the StoryCorps podcast from NPR, stories from people who made a choice to confront the conflicts in their own lives head on. And in sharing stories from the bravest among us, maybe we can take their lead and find some hope for the rest of us.

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Listen now to the How Wild podcast from KALW, part of the NPR network. A man is in custody after what the FBI says was an apparent attempt to assassinate former President Donald Trump while he was golfing yesterday in West Palm Beach, Florida. Police arrested Ryan Wesley Ruth as he fled north in his vehicle on Interstate 95. If it is confirmed that this was an assassination attempt, it is the second against Trump. Secret Service Special Agent Rafael Barros spoke yesterday at a news conference. The threat level is high. We have increased the amount of assets that we've supported. We live in danger times. NPR's Greg Allen joins us now from West Palm Beach. Hi, Greg. Good morning.

So how close did this alleged gunman get to former President Trump? Palm Beach County Sheriff Rick Bradshaw said yesterday that Trump was about 300 to 400 yards away when a Secret Service agent saw the alleged gunman at the tree line at the golf course. The weapon he left behind, which is identified as an AK-47, was equipped with a scope, and Bradshaw said that would put the president within range. But he had only praise with how the Secret Service handled the president's security yesterday. They have an agent that jumps one hole ahead of time to where the president was at, and he was able to spot this rifle barrel sticking out of the fence and immediately engage that individual, at which time the individual took off.

You know, when Ruth fled, he left behind the rifle, a couple of backpacks, and a GoPro that was attached to the fence that was apparently there to record the events. A bystander got a photo of his car and police did arrest him a little later as he was driving north. And what do we know about Ruth? Ryan Wesley Ruth has a record of arrests mostly for minor offenses, but he also has a felony on his record for illegally possessing a machine gun. From his social media history, he says he supported Trump in 2016, but later expressed support for other candidates, including Nikki Haley and Kamala Harris. He was particularly active around the cause of providing support for Ukraine in its war against Russia.

The New York Times interviewed him last year about his efforts to recruit people, including former Afghan soldiers, to fight in Ukraine. Ruth doesn't have any military experience of his own, but said on social media he was willing to fight and die in Ukraine. He told the Times that he's wanted to do whatever it takes to get Afghans who had fought against the Taliban into Ukraine, including making fake passports and paying off officials if necessary. But that's not a scheme that apparently went anywhere. Now, this apparent assassination attempt comes just nine weeks after a different

assassination attempt. Given security was already likely beefed up, how could someone with a rifle get so close to the former president? Right. Well, you know, as you know, the FBI, I mean, the Secret Service was criticized for not acting quickly enough in that earlier attempt on Trump's life. This time they did spot the threat quickly and deal with it quickly. But that golf club, Trump International in West Palm, is a difficult place for the Secret Service to provide security in. It's right next to two busy roads that have only fences and shrubbery in between. A Palm Beach sheriff said if Trump were a sitting president, agents would likely have ringed the course, providing more security. But since Trump is just a candidate, the security was more limited, the sheriff said.

That may now change, in fact, likely will change. It's not clear how the alleged gunman knew Trump was at the golf course yesterday, though, of course, that's not publicized. But this is a course that he regularly plays at when he's at Mar-a-Lago. So that may have been a factor in the gunman's decision to go there yesterday. NPR's Greg Allen in West Palm Beach, Florida. Thanks, Greg. You're welcome. The Venezuelan government has accused the CIA of being behind an alleged plot to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro. Venezuela's Interior Ministry says it arrested three American citizens, among other foreign nationals, claiming they were mercenaries. The U.S. State Department has dismissed these claims as, quote, categorically false.

The backdrop to all of this is a disputed presidential election. Nicolás Maduro says he won, while the opposition, the United States, and many others say he lost. Journalist Manuel Rueda joins us from neighboring Colombia. Hi, Manuel. Hi, Leila. Good morning. Good morning. So what more can you tell us about this alleged plot? So the Venezuelan government is saying that the person at the center of this plot is a Navy SEAL

who they identified as Wilbert Castaneda. Venezuela's interior minister showed photos of Castaneda on TV and said that he was in Venezuela to make contacts with a gang known as Tren de Aragua who were supposedly going to get guns to attack Maduro and other members of Venezuela's leadership. The State Department vehemently denied these reports, though they did acknowledge that a member of the U.S. military has been detained recently in Venezuela, and the identities of the other two Americans were not revealed. So the State Department saying it's categorically false. Is there any sign that President Nicolas Maduro's grip on power is waning

as a result of his disputed victory? Well, Maduro has arrested more than 1,600 people who have protested the election result. He's banned the social media platform X and also increased censorship on the local press. So this suggests that he's tending his grip on the country and that he has prosecutors, judges, and members of the military who are willing to carry out his orders. But what some analysts say is that Maduro's latest move showed that he's somewhat desperate and has lost legitimately. Basically, he's resorting to violence and repression

because no one in Venezuela believes he won the election. We'll have to see how long he can keep the military on his side. For that, he needs more money. But that could become scarce if the U.S. ramps up sanctions on Venezuela's oil industry. Now, you have just returned from the Colombia-Venezuela border where you've been talking to Venezuelans leaving the country. What were you hearing from them? Right. So I was in some shelters along the road that heads from the border into the center of Colombia.

And what you usually see in that area are people who are fleeing the economic situation in Venezuela. But now you're also getting people who had a job in Venezuela who were doing okay, but they had to leave suddenly because they were going to get arrested for participating in protests or for being involved in efforts to monitor the vote count on Election Day. You know, these are people who say they've been harassed by paramilitary groups tied to the Venezuelan government or even narrowly escaped being taken from their homes by police. I met one guy there who had been there a couple of days.

He was waiting for his family. He had arrived in Colombia with nothing, not even a backpack days. He was waiting for his family. He had arrived in Colombia with nothing, not even a backpack, because he had to leave so suddenly. And he was waiting for his family to join him so that they could go to Chile, where they have some relatives. And even that's going to be tough, because some countries in South America have placed lots of visa restrictions on Venezuela, because so many millions of Venezuelans have already fled the country. So Venezuela is now fleeing the economic conditions and possible political persecution. That's reporter Manuel Rueda from Bogota, Colombia. Thank you for joining us.

Absolutely. TikTok and the Department of Justice are in court today in a case that could determine the future of the app. A federal law that takes effect in January may ban TikTok in the United States. NPR's Bobby Allen is covering the case in Washington and joins us now. Good morning, Bobby. Good morning. Okay, so what's expected to happen in court today? Well, TikTok's going to be fighting for its survival in front of a panel of three federal judges. It's an hour of oral arguments, and it's really high stakes here, right? There's billions of dollars, 170 million users in America, and really, Leila, the future of online speech, all of that is at stake. And, you know, the stakes are so high because of what happened last spring

when Congress overwhelmingly passed a law that would put TikTok out of business in the U.S. unless it gets out of its Chinese ownership. Why is Washington so concerned with TikTok's Chinese ownership? Yeah, you know, these days it's really hard to find any lawmaker in Washington who supports TikTok being owned by a Beijing-based tech company. And that's because the U.S. says TikTok is a national security threat, right? The Biden administration fears the Chinese government could use TikTok to spread pro-China propaganda or, you know, misuse the data of millions of Americans.

So again, we'll see oral arguments this morning with both sides kind of, you know, making their case for and against TikTok's existence in the U.S. And the outcome could decide whether TikTok has any future here. So what evidence does the government have against TikTok's existence in the U.S., and the outcome could decide whether TikTok has any future here. So what evidence does the government have against TikTok? Yeah, I mean, that's really a big part of this case, actually. And that's because a lot of the evidence against TikTok is classified and, as a result, not publicly available. You and I can't see it. TikTok has been pushing to declassify all of that, but the Biden administration says the information it has on TikTok is so

sensitive that releasing it could cause, quote, exceptionally grave damage to American national security. Right. Here's what we can say, though. China experts say it's possible that Beijing could access Americans data or use TikTok to try to sway public opinion or influence an American election. But so far, we do not have any evidence of that happening. And TikTok said it's taken really drastic steps to kind of cordon off TikTok's Chinese parent company from its U.S. operations. But in the White House, officials have become hardened against TikTok. Their position is completely sever ties with China or be shut down for good.

And when do we expect a decision? Yeah, a decision isn't expected today, but there is a looming deadline, January 19th, right? That's TikTok's legal deadline for finding a buyer or facing a nationwide ban. And as I already mentioned, they said it's not for sale. So this legal challenge is basically their last shot. Many observers are saying that that January 19th TikTok ban date could be extended. But if the court doesn't offer an extension and sides with the Department of Justice, the undoing of TikTok in the U.S. will begin. I mean, TikTok is so popular, especially with younger people. How are TikTokers responding to all this?

Yeah. You know, a group of TikTok creators actually have a lawyer representing their interest in the case. You know, their argument is that a ban would deprive them of their ability to exercise their free speech on the app. There's lots of political content on the app, as we know. And for many creators, though, there's a bit of a TikTok ban fatigue, right? It's kind of understandable. We've been talking about TikTok maybe being banned for four years now, right? So it's kind of head spinning. I will say this time is different. Okay, we have a federal law on the books, on the verge of taking effect. And unless TikTok's legal challenge is successful, the app's going to be squeezed out of existence. NPR's Bobby Allen.

Thank you, Bobby. Thanks, Leila. can't leave you without one more story about which our colleague eric deckins sent a voice memo the 76th emmy awards last night were this interesting balance of expected wins and surprise upsets now the biggest surprise of course was the max series hacks Best Comedy, upsetting the night's big favorite, FX's The Bear. FX's lavish drama Shogun made history with the most Emmys for a series in a single year, 18 wins in all. Now, one Emmy for The Bear was a surprise when Liza Colon-Zayas became the first Latina to win as Best Supporting Actress in a comedy. And in one of the show's most powerful moments, actor John Lozano came on stage to remind Hollywood about his past problems under and misrepresenting Latinos, celebrating current progress while reminding everyone there was still a lot of work to be done. For more on all these

stories, go to NPR.org and listen wherever you are. And that's a first for Monday, September 16th. I'm Layla Faldin. And I'm Steve Inskeep. Your next listen is Consider This from NPR News. If everything stays on schedule, this time next year, NASA will be sending astronauts back to the moon. Wow, next year. The first crewed mission since the end of the Apollo program. Our colleague Scott Detrow goes behind the scenes at the Johnson Space Center to see how the team is preparing on Consider This from NPR. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Russell Lewis, Tara Neal, Julia Redpath, H.J. Mai, and Allie Schweitzer.

It was produced by Ziad Butch, Nia Dumas, Corey Bridges, and Mansi Karana. We get engineering support from Carly Strange, and our technical director is Zach Coleman. Join us again tomorrow. For a while now, you've probably been hearing about book bands, how they're gaining momentum everywhere, in Texas, in Missouri, Florida, and Pennsylvania. On the Code Switch podcast, we're taking a look at why.

Why are so many books suddenly considered so dangerous to kids? Listen to our new series on the Code Switch podcast from we're taking a look at why. Why are so many books suddenly considered so dangerous to kids? Listen to our new series on the Code Switch podcast from NPR. From poll numbers to talking points to all the drama, we get it. Election season can be a lot. That's why here at NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast, we're in the business of providing a little release from the squeeze of the political season. Try out any of our shows on the latest in TV, movies, and music to keep you grounded and bring you back to earth. New episodes every week on Pop Culture Happy Hour, only from NPR.