--:-- [Theme music fades out]
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): I got to solo host yesterday. It was kind of, it was okay. Did you miss me?
--:-- Host (Steve Inskeep): I always miss you, Layla. Even when I have a co-host of some other kind.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): Aw. How widespread are efforts to hack the presidential campaigns?
--:-- Host (Steve Inskeep): There's a whole bunch of other stuff that we're just not seeing, we're not privy to. We do know the FBI is investigating the hack of documents from the Trump campaign.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): I'm Steve Innskeep with Leila Fadel, and this is Up First from NPR News.
--:-- Host (Steve Inskeep): Reproductive rights are on the ballot in eight states so far. Voters will decide in November what protections for abortion to keep or remove.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): So this is very much, you know, a prime example of direct democracy.
--:-- Host (Steve Inskeep): What do past elections say about how this might play out?
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): And U.S.-sponsored peace talks on Sudan begin today. The people of Sudan are facing one crisis after another with no end in sight.
--:-- Host (Steve Inskeep): Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): This message comes from NPR sponsor AARP. Where do you see your career in 12 years? What are you doing now to help you get there?
--:-- Host (Steve Inskeep): The sooner you start enhancing your skills, the sooner you'll be ready.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): That's why AARP has management, finance, and small business reskilling courses, all to help your income live as long as you do.
--:-- Host (Steve Inskeep): Because the steps you choose to take today will help you love what you do in the future. Learn more at aarp.org slash skills.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): This message comes from NPR sponsor Adobe. Introducing the all-new Adobe Acrobat Studio, now with AI-powered PDF spaces.
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--:-- [Discussion continues]
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): Days after the story broke, only a few things are clear about an apparent hack of former President Trump's campaign.
--:-- Host (Steve Inskeep): Politico first reported on Saturday that it's been receiving Trump campaign documents from an anonymous source.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): Other news organizations have since said they've received material, too.
--:-- Host (Steve Inskeep): It is less certain who's behind this hack, although an Internet security team from Microsoft has said Iranian hackers targeted an unnamed presidential candidate.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): NPR's Shannon Bond joins us to unpack what we know about the allegation.
--:-- Host (Shannon Bond): Good morning, Layla.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): So what is the Trump campaign saying about this hack?
--:-- Host (Shannon Bond): Well, it says these documents, which include a dossier on vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance, are real and were the result of a breach.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): And the campaign pointed to this report that Microsoft put out last week, the detailed efforts by Iran to target an unnamed presidential campaign.
--:-- Host (Shannon Bond): But the Trump campaign hasn't provided any evidence that these leaked documents are actually connected to that hacking attempt.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): And Microsoft isn't giving any more detail either.
--:-- Host (Shannon Bond): Now, generally, companies like Microsoft will not comment on these kind of cases unless the victim, in this case the Trump campaign, gives permission.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): But, of course, this is a serious claim. And so on Monday, the FBI said it's investigating it.
--:-- Host (Shannon Bond): And what do we know about this hacking attempt that Microsoft described?
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): Well, it says it came from a group run by Iran Revolutionary Guard.
--:-- Host (Shannon Bond): They compromised the email of a former advisor to this unnamed presidential campaign.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): They then used that to target a current campaign official.
--:-- Host (Shannon Bond): But the Microsoft report did not say whether this had been successful.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): The Washington Post has since reported that the former advisor in question here is Roger Stone, the longtime Trump confidant.
--:-- Host (Shannon Bond): And the Post also reported that the FBI has actually been investigating efforts by Iran to hack both the Republican and Democratic presidential campaign since June.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): I should add here that NPR has not independently verified the Post's reporting.
--:-- Host (Shannon Bond): And what does the Harris campaign say about this?
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): Well, it says the FBI notified it back in July that it had been targeted by a foreign actor, but that the campaign is not aware of any breaches.
--:-- Host (Shannon Bond): So you might wonder, where does this leave us?
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): And I think what we do know is it appears Iran is indeed targeting presidential campaigns.
--:-- Host (Shannon Bond): It's done that in past election cycles. So not so surprising to see them do it again.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): What we don't know is, first of all, whether any of this this year has succeeded.
--:-- Host (Shannon Bond): And specifically, we don't know whether these leaked Trump campaign documents are tied to Iran.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): I spoke with Chris Krebs. He ran the federal cybersecurity agency CISA during the 2020 election, and he's now at the security firm Sentinel One.
--:-- Host (Shannon Bond): He says this whole situation is kind of like an iceberg.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): You see the part that's out of the water. That's what we see right now in the media reporting and what Microsoft's put out.
--:-- Host (Shannon Bond): But below the waterline, there's a whole bunch of other stuff that we're just not seeing, we're not privy to.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): Shannon, in what ways does this incident echo the 2016 election when Russia hacked and leaked emails from Hillary Clinton's campaign?
--:-- Host (Shannon Bond): Yeah, I mean, there are definitely parallels here, but I think there's also some important differences.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): You know, the news outlets that got leaked, these campaign documents from the Trump campaign, they've been much more cautious and how they're reporting on them than how we saw those Clinton emails being handled eight years ago.
--:-- Host (Shannon Bond): And overall, it's unclear at this point what impact this kind of hacking will have this year, but it's an increasingly common threat, not just from Iran, but from Russia, even adversaries like China.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): And that's why we take and examine these claims really closely.
--:-- Host (Shannon Bond): I'd also say, Leila, it's worth remembering that back in 2016, the Trump campaign welcomed and even encouraged Russia to hack the Clinton campaign.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): But now that they have themselves become the targets of hacking, we hear them changing their tune.
--:-- Host (Shannon Bond): NPR's Shannon Bond.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): Thanks, Shannon.
--:-- Host (Steve Inskeep): Two more states have put abortion rights on the ballot this fall. Missouri and Arizona voters will express their views.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): One is a conservative red state, the other a swing state.
--:-- Host (Steve Inskeep): In all eight states so far, we'll have ballot measures on reproductive rights.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): NPR's Alyssa Nadwarni is here to fill us in.
--:-- Host (Alyssa Nadwarni): Hi, Alyssa.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): Good morning.
--:-- Host (Alyssa Nadwarni): So tell us about the latest additions in Arizona and Missouri.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): Well, both states said organizers had collected enough signatures to ask voters whether they want to add protections for abortion into the state constitution.
--:-- Host (Alyssa Nadwarni): So if the proposed amendments pass, both would legalize abortion up to what is generally recognized as the point of viability.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): That's around 24 weeks into a pregnancy.
--:-- Host (Alyssa Nadwarni): In Missouri, nearly every abortion has been illegal since June 2022 with the exception of medical emergencies.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): And in Arizona, just remind me what the current legal landscape is there.
--:-- Host (Alyssa Nadwarni): Current Arizona law bans abortion after 15 weeks and includes exceptions in cases of medical emergencies.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): Now it's interesting the Secretary of State there on Monday verified more than half a million signatures so that far more than was needed.
--:-- Host (Alyssa Nadwarni): Here Dawn Penich spokesperson for Arizona for Abortion Access the group behind the initiative
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): So this is very much, you know, a prime example of direct democracy.
--:-- Host (Alyssa Nadwarni): This is an issue that Arizona voters all over the state, from every political party, want the chance to vote on directly.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): And here's Jill Norgaard, spokesperson for the group Arizona Right to Life, which opposes abortions.
--:-- Host (Alyssa Nadwarni): Once again, people are misleading Arizonans by publicizing that their initiative is on the ballot.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): And Layla, Norgaard's group is actually suing to keep the question off the ballot.
--:-- Host (Alyssa Nadwarni): It's one of two cases in front of the Arizona Supreme Court right now.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): Okay, so on the ballot in Arizona for now, pending those cases, are we waiting for decisions about ballot questions in other states?
--:-- Host (Alyssa Nadwarni): Yes, we're waiting on three states, Nebraska, Montana, and Arkansas.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): There's been some drama in Arkansas. Last month, the Secretary of State there threw out signatures because they were collected by paid gatherers, which put the number below the necessary threshold.
--:-- Host (Alyssa Nadwarni): It's now at the state Supreme Court to see if the group behind the initiative is allowed more time to get additional signatures.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): And in Montana and Nebraska, the signatures are in, and now we're waiting for the Secretaries of State to decide whether they're valid.
--:-- Host (Alyssa Nadwarni): And that could come in both places as early as next week.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): And Alyssa, where else will voters be deciding about abortion in November?
--:-- Host (Alyssa Nadwarni): So before this week, abortion had already been on the ballot in six other states, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, New York, and South Dakota.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): Let me tell you about two of them.
--:-- Host (Alyssa Nadwarni): So Florida's ballot will ask voters if abortion should be protected in the state constitution up to the point of fetal viability.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): That's 24 weeks.
--:-- Host (Alyssa Nadwarni): There's currently a six-week ban there, which went into effect in May.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): And then South Dakota is a little bit different from the others.
--:-- Host (Alyssa Nadwarni): The proposed amendment there would allow abortions in the first trimester, or about 12 weeks, add more restrictions in the second, and then prohibit abortions in the third trimester, with some exceptions.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): So some abortion rate groups say the proposed amendment is too weak, while anti-abortion groups say it's extreme.
--:-- Host (Alyssa Nadwarni): Okay, and before you go, this isn't the first time voters have been asked about abortion at the voting box.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): What do we know from past elections?
--:-- Host (Alyssa Nadwarni): So since the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs, which eliminated federal protections, voters in six states have weighed in on constitutional amendments on abortion.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): Some amendments asked to add protections, like in Ohio.
--:-- Host (Alyssa Nadwarni): Others asked voters to restrict abortion, like in Kansas.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): And in all six of those states, Layla, voters chose access to abortion each time.
--:-- Host (Alyssa Nadwarni): That's Alyssa Nadwarni, who covers reproductive rights.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): Thank you, Alyssa.
--:-- Host (Steve Inskeep): Sudan has reached a breaking point. Those are the words of a United Nations official speaking after more than a year of war.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): The refugee crisis is the worst in the world, which is saying something if you think about the refugee crises in this world.
--:-- Host (Steve Inskeep): More than 12 million people have been displaced by fighting between a military government and a paramilitary group.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): U.S.-led talks to end the fighting begin in Geneva today.
--:-- Host (Steve Inskeep): NPR's Emmanuel Ekenwotu has been covering this and joins us now.
--:-- Host (Emmanuel Ekenwotu): Good morning, Leila.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): So before we get to this latest round of talks, I think we need a sense of just how bleak the situation is facing people in Sudan right now.
--:-- Host (Emmanuel Ekenwotu): Yeah, it sounds like a broken record at this point to say at pretty much every stage since last April that the country collapse has basically been a disaster and it still getting worse
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): More than a fifth of the population have been displaced
--:-- Host (Emmanuel Ekenwotu): About half of the country is facing acute hunger and potentially famine
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): The World Food Programme said last week that their warnings on this just aren't being heard and that the aid response is critically underfunded.
--:-- Host (Emmanuel Ekenwotu): Mohamed Rifat is the head of the International Organization for Migrations mission in Sudan, which has been responding to the refugee crisis there.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): And he said it's like nothing he's ever seen.
--:-- Host (Emmanuel Ekenwotu): The scale of this displacement and crisis is unknown since World War II.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): The people of Sudan are facing one crisis after another with no end in sight.
--:-- Host (Emmanuel Ekenwotu): War, massive displacement, hunger, disease outbreak, and now floods.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): Floods in Sudan have made the country's situation even worse.
--:-- Host (Emmanuel Ekenwotu): And Rifat said that about 70% of his staff in Sudan have been displaced too, which just shows you how the crisis has affected everyone.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): I mean, you're describing such a dire situation, an urgent situation, and yet diplomatic talks have failed over and over again. Why?
--:-- Host (Emmanuel Ekenwotu): You know, for decades, Sudan has been this battleground of international competition for its resources, for its influence, for control.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): And that's playing out now in the way this war is being prolonged.
--:-- Host (Emmanuel Ekenwotu): Several actors are fueling this, arming both sides.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): And a major one of growing focus is the United Arab Emirates.
--:-- Host (Emmanuel Ekenwotu): And they deny this, but Sudan and other bodies have said that they are heavily funding the Rapid Support Forces or the RSF.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): So how much hope is there around the talks that are happening today?
--:-- Host (Emmanuel Ekenwotu): Will they go a different way than previous talks that really were doomed?
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): It's already actually in a precarious state.
--:-- Host (Emmanuel Ekenwotu): The US have been working to persuade the Sudanese Armed Forces or the SAF to come.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): They've so far said that they're not going to attend.
--:-- Host (Emmanuel Ekenwotu): The RSF have sent a delegation and they're already saying that the military's absence in Geneva shows that they are the party that are blocking peace.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): Cameron Hudson is an analyst and a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, and he framed it this way.
--:-- Host (Emmanuel Ekenwotu): There's really no reason why either side has to talk.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): They're sustaining this fight from outside support unless that outside support dries up.
--:-- Host (Emmanuel Ekenwotu): There's nothing to make this new round of talks any more successful than last.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): So the talks are a start, but nothing fundamentally is going to change without some very tough decisions.
--:-- Host (Emmanuel Ekenwotu): That's NPR's Emmanuel Ekenwotu in Lagos.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): Thanks, Emanuel.
--:-- Host (Steve Inskeep): And that's the first for Wednesday, August 14th.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): I'm Leila Fadel.
--:-- Host (Steve Inskeep): And I'm Steve Inskeep.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): Your next listen is Consider This from NPR News, which reports on the customer service doom loop.
--:-- Host (Steve Inskeep): You know, you try to get help, you're forwarded to a page, and then to another page, and then back to the first page.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): Well, the White House says it's trying to make it easier to do things like cancel a subscription.
--:-- Host (Steve Inskeep): Will that work? Listen to Consider This.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): And today's episode of Up First was edited by Brett Neely, Catherine Laidlaw, Rebecca Rosman, Janaya Williams, and HJ Mai.
--:-- Host (Steve Inskeep): It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas, and Lilly Quiroz.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): We get engineering support from Hannah Gluvna, and our technical director is Zac Coleman.
--:-- Host (Steve Inskeep): Join us again tomorrow.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): Since you asked, I will.
--:-- Host (Steve Inskeep): This message comes from Ritual.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): What makes Ritual Vitamins different?
--:-- Host (Steve Inskeep): Ritual vitamins are made with bioavailable clinically studied key ingredients as well as the essence of mint.
--:-- Host (Leila Fadel): Get 25% off your first purchase when you visit ritual.com slash NPR.
