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--:-- Steve Inskeep: Good morning, I'm Steve Inskeep with A Martinez, and this is Up First from NPR News.
--:-- A Martinez: 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.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: What do people who try to help Ukraine think of him now?
--:-- A Martinez: We've got the news you need to start your day. Stay with us.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: This message comes from BetterHelp. President Fernando Madeira describes how BetterHelp Online Therapy has helped him.
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--:-- Steve Inskeep: To get matched with a therapist, visit BetterHelp.com slash NPR for 10% off your first month.
--:-- A Martinez: This message comes from Mint Mobile. If you're tired of spending hundreds on big wireless bills, bogus fees, and free perks, Mint Mobile might be right for you with plans starting from 15 bucks a month.
--:-- A Martinez: This message comes from Lisa. Lisa mattresses are meticulously designed and assembled in the USA for exceptional quality, and each mattress is designed with specific sleep positions and feel preferences in mind.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: 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.
--:-- Quill Lawrence: 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.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: He'd even been interviewed by major media outlets. Which is of special concern to other people who try to help Ukraine.
--:-- Quill Lawrence: NPR's Quill Lawrence has been talking with some of them.
--:-- A Martinez: Quill, good morning.
--:-- Quill Lawrence: Good morning. First, how did this guy get involved with Ukraine? We don't know exactly yet.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: He had a criminal history with his gun convictions. He had a political history that was all over the map, but he had no military history.
--:-- Quill Lawrence: We know he went to Ukraine at least once in his late 50s already to help fight the Russians in some way.
--:-- A Martinez: 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.
--:-- Quill Lawrence: He was going to somehow bring to fight in Ukraine. He was also interviewed by a New York Times reporter.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: 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.
--:-- Quill Lawrence: And so this is what he was doing.
--:-- A Martinez: I gather you've been talking with American veteran groups who try to be serious about supporting Ukraine.
--:-- Quill Lawrence: Yeah, I mean, it's just not a great look to have someone involved in this who is also involved in their cause.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: 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.
--:-- Quill Lawrence: They also think it important to American security.
--:-- A Martinez: Lately they 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.
--:-- Quill Lawrence: I talked with Adrian Bohnenberger, who served with the U.S. Army in Afghanistan.
--:-- A Martinez: He co-founded American Veterans for Ukraine.
--:-- Quill Lawrence: And he said he was horrified to hear about the assassination attempt.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: You never want to see a presidential candidate go through something like that, especially not twice.
--:-- Quill Lawrence: But when I heard that he had a connection to Ukraine, of course, my first thought was, oh, no, that's horrible.
--:-- A Martinez: People are going to get the wrong impression.
--:-- Quill Lawrence: So, yeah, Bonenberger has visited Ukraine five times since the war started.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: On two of those trips, he and other U.S. combat veterans trained Ukrainian soldiers.
--:-- Quill Lawrence: But that is not to say Bonenberger is surprised that some of the Americans who go to Ukraine might be unstable.
--:-- A Martinez: You have idealists, adventurers, drifters, desperados, criminals, and madmen.
--:-- Quill Lawrence: 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.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: 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.
--:-- Quill Lawrence: And now this man was somehow attracted to the presidential campaign.
--:-- A Martinez: Is there any official reaction from Ukraine itself?
--:-- Quill Lawrence: Yes, President Zelensky has sent his sympathies and his best wishes to President Trump for the second time now.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: The Ukrainian International Legion was quick to say that Ruth never served there.
--:-- Quill Lawrence: 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.
--:-- A Martinez: And he didn't answer directly.
--:-- Quill Lawrence: And P.R. S.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Quill Lawrence, thanks so much.
--:-- Quill Lawrence: Thanks so much.
--:-- A Martinez: People in Springfield, Ohio, canceled their annual cultural festival celebrating unity and diversity.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Yeah, local officials cited safety concerns.
--:-- A Martinez: I mean, it's now routine in Springfield to close schools and even a hospital.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Ohio governor Mike Dewine says schools in Springfield have seen at least 33 bomb threats.
--:-- A Martinez: 33 threats, 33 hoax. I want to make that very, very clear.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: None of these had any validity at all.
--:-- A Martinez: 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.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: The governor says he's sending officers from the Ohio State Highway Patrol to monitor schools in the city.
--:-- A Martinez: So let's get a picture of life in Springfield now from Springfield News Sun reporter Jessica Orozco.
--:-- Jessica Orozco: Good morning.
--:-- A Martinez: Good morning. Wow. What's it been like in the last day or so?
--:-- Jessica Orozco: I mean, things have definitely been different.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: People are feeling the strain, particularly parents with school-aged children, having to pick up their kids who are being evacuated on a pretty regular basis now.
--:-- Jessica Orozco: Haitian immigrants are talking about how they're feeling unsafe.
--:-- A Martinez: 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.
--:-- Jessica Orozco: Well, now the governor seemed to want to put people at ease.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: I guess that's what the state troopers are for.
--:-- Jessica Orozco: What else are you hearing from him?
--:-- A Martinez: Yeah, so the governor announced that the state is going to provide safety resources to the Springfield schools.
--:-- Jessica Orozco: Which, like we said, have been the target of many bomb threats since last week.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: He talked about how these have forced evacuations, which have disrupted class time and soaked fears.
--:-- Jessica Orozco: And so he 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.
--:-- A Martinez: Are people reassured?
--:-- Jessica Orozco: For the most part, I would say yes, but there's, you know, still lingering anxieties.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: What are you hearing from the Haitian community specifically, the people who were misdescribed in this online rumor and by the candidates?
--:-- Jessica Orozco: 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.
--:-- A Martinez: And Haitian immigrants have been the subject of public discourse in Springfield for more than a year now, but tensions are now especially high.
--:-- Jessica Orozco: Can you tell me a little bit more about that community?
--:-- Steve Inskeep: I gather that they are people with what's called temporary protected status, so they have legal status in the United States.
--:-- Jessica Orozco: 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.
--:-- A Martinez: 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.
--:-- Jessica Orozco: Do they also require some extra resources, some help?
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Yes. Yes, they do.
--:-- Jessica Orozco: There's a large need for translation and interpretation services, which is particularly highlighted in schools and hospitals and medical centers.
--:-- A Martinez: Some are receiving different forms of federal assistance, and there's a definite need for driving education.
--:-- Jessica Orozco: Driving education, meaning people have arrived and they don't have driver's licenses.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Yes, yes, that's right.
--:-- A Martinez: And that's led to some concerns, including car accidents.
--:-- Jessica Orozco: Springfield News Sun reporter Jessica Orozco, thanks so much.
--:-- Jessica Orozco: Thanks so much.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: 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.
--:-- A Martinez: 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.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: He wants to give full control to his eldest son, Lachlan.
--:-- A Martinez: The other three children are fighting him in court.
--:-- David Folkenflik: NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik wrote the book on Fox News and has been covering the trial.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: David, good morning.
--:-- David Folkenflik: Good morning, Steve.
--:-- A Martinez: So what do you know about this proceeding?
--:-- David Folkenflik: Well, there's scant public details.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: 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.
--:-- David Folkenflik: But here's what we know. First off, we know that in court is Rupert Murdoch himself and his four eldest children.
--:-- A Martinez: There are two others who don't aren't said to get any control under this family trust, but share in the financial bounty.
--:-- David Folkenflik: And here's the deal about that trust.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: It was set up a generation ago when Murdoch left his wife, Anna Torv Murdoch Mann, for his third wife, Wendy Deng.
--:-- David Folkenflik: And she basically said, listen, I won't sue you for half of what you have.
--:-- A Martinez: You give me what turned out to be $110 million.
--:-- David Folkenflik: 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.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: And he agreed with that.
--:-- David Folkenflik: So that's what we know.
--:-- A Martinez: We know that in court with him, interestingly, is former attorney general Bill Barr, who served under George H.W. Bush and President Trump.
--:-- David Folkenflik: And he's saying Barr should be the guy who helps him operate this trust in the future.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: OK so now I understand why Murdoch would have trouble changing his own will because he had this previous agreement as part of divorce.
--:-- David Folkenflik: But why would he say that he does want to change it in favor of one son?
--:-- A Martinez: Right It was irrevocable.
--:-- David Folkenflik: And now he wants to revoke at least some of the terms of it.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: He arguing it on a couple of grounds.
--:-- David Folkenflik: He says, listen, Lachlan Murdoch has helped me run these companies for the last, say, five years and or six years.
--:-- A Martinez: And that this offers clarity when he dies, it will avoid litigation.
--:-- David Folkenflik: It will have a clarity of what the corporate structure is that benefits everyone.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: He also says, and this is vital to what's going on, the other children might hurt Fox News's performance.
--:-- A Martinez: Fox News, 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.
--:-- David Folkenflik: And he's also kind of annoyed.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Murdoch's sold much of the entertainment holdings of Fox to Disney.
--:-- A Martinez: Each of the children, all six of the children got $2 billion a piece.
--:-- David Folkenflik: 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 globetrotting behemoth that it is now.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: 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?
--:-- David Folkenflik: Well, there's been ongoing litigation and scandal on both sides at The Atlantic.
--:-- A Martinez: 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.
--:-- David Folkenflik: They say the short-term gains for an aging audience are hurting the professionalism and credence of company with news at its core.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Oh, interesting.
--:-- A Martinez: They want to actually change the editorial policies of this media empire.
--:-- David Folkenflik: David, thanks so much.
--:-- David Folkenflik: You bet.
--:-- A Martinez: We have one more story for you this morning.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: 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.
--:-- A Martinez: Now, the charges against him were not immediately known.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Officials said the indictment will be unsealed later this morning.
--:-- A Martinez: Though we don't know the contents of that indictment, Combs has been facing allegations of sexual assault.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Several women have filed lawsuits against the music mogul over the past year.
--:-- A Martinez: We'll have more on this story throughout the day at NPR.org and on the NPR app.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: And that's Up First for this Tuesday, September 17th.
--:-- A Martinez: I'm Steve Inskeep.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: And I'm Martinez.
--:-- A Martinez: For your next listen, how about Consider This from NPR?
--:-- Steve Inskeep: In just a little over two months, there have been two assassination attempts on former President Trump.
--:-- A Martinez: The most recent and the final stretch of the 2024 presidential election.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: What do we know about the attempt and the alleged perpetrator?
--:-- A Martinez: Let's listen on Consider This from NPR.
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--:-- Steve Inskeep: Today's Up First was edited by Andrew Sussman, Lisa Thompson, Emily Kopp, H.J. Mai, and Ali Schweitzer.
--:-- A Martinez: It was produced by Iman Ma'ani, Ziad Bach, Nia Dumas, and Mansi Khurana.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: We get engineering support from Carly Strange, and our technical director is Zach Coleman.
--:-- A Martinez: Join us tomorrow.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: This message comes from NPR sponsor Odoo.
--:-- A Martinez: Some describe Odoo like a magic beanstalk because it scales with you and is magically affordable.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Odoo. Exactly what a business needs.
--:-- A Martinez: Sign up at odoo.com.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: That's O-D-O-O dot com.
--:-- A Martinez: This message comes from Charles Schwab.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: When it comes to managing your wealth, Schwab gives you more choices, like full-service wealth management and advice when you need it.
--:-- A Martinez: You can also invest on your own and trade on Think or Swim.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Visit schwab.com to learn more.
--:-- A Martinez: This message comes from the Nature Conservancy.
--:-- Steve Inskeep: Nature is common ground for everyone, and uniting to protect nature can help solve today's challenges and create a thriving tomorrow for future generations.
--:-- A Martinez: Discover why at nature.org slash NPR.
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