0:00

I watched the Barbie movie, guys. It

0:02

was amazing. Everybody needs to watch

0:04

it. You need to watch it, Zach. I

0:06

was like crying and laughing the whole time.

0:12

Donald Trump is due back in court today. And

0:14

he's expected to plead not guilty to charges

0:16

that he conspired to overturn the 2020

0:19

election.

0:20

He had every right to advocate

0:22

for a position that he believed in. Jaime

0:24

Martinez with Leila Fadal and this is Up

0:26

First from NPR News.

0:30

When it comes to climate change, the science is

0:32

settled. Our summers are record hot and

0:34

they're going to get hotter. New polling from NPR

0:37

shows that's a top concern for most

0:39

people with one exception, Republicans.

0:41

And Russia is increasingly using

0:44

food as a weapon of war. After

0:46

Moscow pulled out of a vital grain deal,

0:48

it attacked a port in Ukraine damaging 40,000

0:51

tons of grain destined for countries around the

0:53

world. What does that mean for global food

0:55

prices? Stay with us. We've got the news

0:58

you need to start your day.

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dot com. Former

2:06

President Donald Trump is returning to the nation's

2:09

capital today. He's set to appear before

2:11

a federal judge on new criminal charges

2:13

related to January 6th.

2:15

Trump faces four new felony

2:17

counts stemming from his efforts to hold on to

2:19

power after the 2020 election. At the same

2:21

time, he's running for president.

2:23

And PR White House correspondent Franco Ordonez

2:25

is here to talk about how he's trying to

2:28

balance those objectives and to

2:30

pay for them. Good morning, Franco. Good morning, Leila. So

2:32

what do we expect to happen in court today?

2:34

Well, Trump's being charged with four crimes,

2:36

including leading a conspiracy to defraud the U.S.

2:39

and obstructing an official proceeding. He's

2:42

expected to plead not guilty to all of them.

2:44

His lawyer, John Loro, talked to

2:46

our own Sasha Pfeiffer on all things considered

2:48

yesterday. And he says that Trump is

2:51

protected by the First Amendment and that

2:53

the Justice Department is trying to criminalize free

2:55

speech. It's a very straightforward defense

2:58

that he had every right to advocate

3:00

for a position that he believed in and his

3:02

supporters believed in. Of course, Leila,

3:04

prosecutors paint a much different picture.

3:07

In the 45-page indictment, they say

3:09

Trump can advocate for his position. They say

3:11

he can even lie about the results. But

3:14

they say he can't use the tools of government

3:16

and enlist co-conspirators to try

3:18

and prevent a core function of democracy. That's

3:21

the peaceful transfer of power.

3:22

In his case against Trump is

3:24

one of many, and defending himself

3:27

can't be cheap. How is Trump paying

3:29

all his lawyers while also funding

3:32

an expensive presidential campaign?

3:33

Yeah, it's all tangled together, and

3:35

defending these cases has been a

3:37

drag on the campaign. I

3:39

mean, Trump's leadership committee has spent more than $40

3:42

million on legal costs just this

3:44

year, according to The Washington Post. But

3:47

he's making a lot of money as well.

3:49

The campaign uses these challenges

3:52

to really flood the inboxes of supporters

3:54

to help fund the defense. And we've

3:56

seen the numbers, and it's been pretty fruitful.

3:59

fruitful to his finances, he's making

4:02

money off it, but what about to his campaign? What's his

4:04

messaging on this, his third criminal indictment?

4:06

Well, it's kind of just all added to the

4:08

mix. I mean, Trump points to the charges

4:10

to push his claims. He's a political victim.

4:13

He's been on social media even this

4:15

morning tweeting about free speech, and

4:17

I'm sure he'll bring it up in Alabama and

4:20

South Carolina where he's expected to speak

4:22

later this week. Laila, one popular

4:24

line that he likes to repeat, and I bet we'll hear

4:26

it soon, is that federal prosecutors are not

4:28

coming after him, they're coming after you. He means

4:31

the voters, of course, and that he's standing

4:33

in the way, and it's a line that often gets

4:35

a lot of applause.

4:36

You know, his rivals

4:38

have been reticent to speak against

4:40

him, some even defending him, but we did hear

4:43

from former Vice President Mike Pence. Has

4:45

this indictment changed those dynamics now?

4:47

Yeah, we did hear some of the sharpest language

4:49

yet from Pence yesterday. President

4:52

Trump asked me to put him over the Constitution,

4:54

but I chose the Constitution, and I

4:56

always will. I really do

4:58

believe that anyone

5:01

who puts himself over the Constitution should never be

5:03

president of the United States. It's interesting

5:05

because Pence has been resistant to speak

5:08

out against Trump, and most of his rivals

5:10

continue to be, and that's because of Trump's

5:12

popularity with the Republican base. Both

5:15

Governor Ron DeSantis and Senate Senator

5:17

Tim Scott, for example, they accused

5:19

the Biden administration of weaponizing government.

5:22

So it's gonna be interesting to see whether

5:24

Pence benefits from the tough talk or is

5:27

politically hurt by it.

5:28

White House correspondent Franco Ordonez,

5:31

thank you, Franco. Thanks, Leila.

5:42

July was the hottest month ever

5:45

recorded on planet Earth. Now those record

5:47

high temperatures are fueled by climate change,

5:49

and scientists say it's only gonna get

5:52

hotter. That is, unless leaders

5:54

of the world's most powerful countries step up to

5:56

curb emissions, but for the most part

5:58

they're not. And in the U.S.

5:59

The new NPR PBS NewsHour

6:02

Marist Poll shows that it's largely because

6:04

one political party is turning away

6:07

from the climate crisis.

6:08

Joining us now to talk about that and more

6:10

in this latest survey is NPR senior

6:12

political editor and correspondent Domenico

6:14

Montanaro. Hi Domenico. Hey, thanks

6:17

for having me. All right, so let's get to climate change and the party

6:19

we're talking about, Republicans. What

6:21

did Republicans we talk to say about

6:23

the climate crisis? Well, we asked people

6:25

a few questions about climate change, including

6:27

one that I think is really key for why so

6:29

little is getting done in Congress to address the

6:31

problem. That's exploring this tension between

6:34

climate change and the economy. Now, climate

6:36

change is costing the country and the world billions

6:39

of dollars in disaster funding and preparation,

6:41

but Republican messaging to their base has

6:43

been about the potential short term cost

6:45

of climate change. So we asked if

6:48

priority should be given to climate change,

6:50

even at the risk of slowing the economy, or

6:53

to the economy, even if it means ignoring

6:55

climate change. The results really were eye opening,

6:58

I thought. Overall, a majority of people

7:00

said climate change should be the priority,

7:02

including a majority of independents. But

7:04

here's the rub. Three quarters of Republicans

7:07

said the opposite. In fact, as the days

7:09

have gotten hotter, Republicans have only increased

7:11

in feeling this way, up 13 points in

7:14

the last five years. A lot of that

7:16

could be attributed to the way former President

7:18

Trump speaks about the climate crisis, the leader

7:21

of the Republican Party over the last several years. The

7:23

science has settled, the evidence is clear,

7:25

but he's downplayed its effects, and we've seen

7:27

that base that loves him so much seem

7:29

to really lap up everything he's had to say.

7:31

But I mean, like you said, the science

7:34

is settled. Don't most people see climate

7:36

change as a major threat, not just to the country,

7:39

but to the world we live in?

7:40

Yeah, I mean, most people do, but only

7:43

a small minority of Republicans do, and you need

7:45

Republicans and Democrats to be able to agree

7:47

on something to get something done. 70% of

7:50

Republicans in our poll said that climate change

7:52

is either just a minor threat or no

7:54

threat at all. Overall, majorities

7:56

of respondents also said climate change is

7:59

having a serious impact. impact, and having at least

8:01

some effect on their communities now. But 80%

8:03

of Republicans said climate change

8:06

will in the future only have a minor

8:08

impact or in their communities, none

8:10

at all. The only potential glimmer

8:13

for climate change action here is that

8:15

younger people are more likely to say

8:17

that they see climate change as a major threat.

8:19

Okay, so this was a fairly wide-ranging

8:22

poll beyond just climate change, and it dealt

8:24

with how people also view institutions in this

8:26

country, like Congress, where these climate laws

8:28

would be made. What did it find?

8:30

Yeah, I mean, institutions are really suffering right

8:32

now. I mean, Congress has among the lowest

8:34

ratings we've ever tested. Just 22% said

8:36

they have some confidence in Congress. The Supreme

8:39

Court continues to get poor ratings. Even

8:41

the FBI, which had been so vaunted for so

8:43

long, has become really split with people

8:46

with Republicans not trusting it, Democrats

8:48

trusting it. And we've seen that there's been

8:50

all these indictments of former President Trump, and it's really

8:53

been in the middle of all of our politics.

8:55

And we have a presidential election coming

8:57

up. What about politics? How are people

8:59

viewing the parties and President Biden?

9:01

Yeah, I mean, people don't like either party, you

9:03

know? And President Biden is getting really middling

9:06

approval ratings, just a 41% approval

9:08

rating. Somebody's got to win in 2024, even though

9:12

people don't seem to like President Biden or

9:14

former President Trump. This spells a lot of volatility,

9:16

and we shouldn't be surprised by any surprises that

9:19

come forward in the 2024 election. Hmm.

9:21

And Piers Domenico Montanaro, thank

9:23

you so much. You're so welcome.

9:32

Ukraine is struggling to find a way

9:34

to export its grain as Russia repeatedly

9:37

strikes its ports. Drones and missiles

9:39

have hit Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea

9:41

for the last couple of weeks, ever since Moscow

9:44

withdrew from a deal safeguarding ships

9:46

carrying Ukrainian grain exports to world

9:48

markets. And Russia is now

9:51

targeting a main alternative route

9:53

for that grain at Ukraine's ports on

9:55

the Danube River.

9:56

Joining us now from Kiv to talk about

9:58

this is NPR's Joanna Kaczko. Hi

10:00

Joanna. Hi Leila. So tell

10:02

us about these ports on the Danube River. How

10:04

important have they become to Ukraine's exports?

10:07

Well, you know, since Russia

10:09

pulled out of that deal of protecting container

10:11

ships in the Black Sea, the river ports

10:14

of Ismail and Rennie have become essential

10:16

to keeping grain exports moving. These

10:19

ports are located on the lower Danube River

10:21

in the far southwest of Ukraine. The

10:23

Danube is the largest river in the European

10:26

Union. It starts in Germany and runs through

10:28

Eastern Europe and it forms part of Ukraine's

10:31

border with Romania, a member

10:33

of NATO and the European Union. The

10:35

Danube also empties into the Black

10:38

Sea, but in a part of the sea that is very close

10:40

to Romania and of course NATO. And

10:42

so until now it felt more protected than

10:44

other ports on the Black Sea. And

10:46

I should say that before the war, these

10:49

Danube ports were hardly used. They are

10:51

much smaller than the port of Odessa, for example,

10:54

but now they account for at least a third of grain

10:56

exports, according to Ukraine's infrastructure

10:58

ministry. Ukraine is also trying

11:00

to transport grain by rail and

11:02

road, but that's very expensive. And

11:05

what kind of damage have the Russian strikes

11:07

on these river

11:07

ports caused? Well, on Wednesday,

11:10

Russia used drones to hit Ismail,

11:12

which is Ukraine's main inland port.

11:15

It's right across the river from Romania. The drone

11:17

attacks destroyed buildings on the port and

11:19

also stranded ships preparing to load

11:22

with Ukrainian grain. Ukraine's

11:24

infrastructure ministry said that these attacks also

11:26

damaged and destroyed almost 40,000 tons

11:29

of grain that was supposed to be

11:31

going to countries in Africa as well as

11:34

to China and Israel. Global food prices

11:36

shot up and the attacks

11:39

really scared people in the city of Ismail. I

11:41

spoke by phone with Nikolik Popliyenko,

11:44

who lives in Ismail and works at the local

11:46

university. And he said this remote corner

11:48

of Ukraine was largely spared during

11:51

the war. And now it feels almost like a front

11:53

line and a front line just

11:55

across the river from NATO and the EU.

11:57

It's also dangerous for the EU, I

11:59

guess. because sometimes, you know, the

12:01

drone can miss. The territory of Izmir

12:04

port is like 200 meters

12:06

from the territory of the European

12:08

Union.

12:08

In other words, he says an errant

12:10

missile or drone could strike Romania.

12:14

And now you mentioned this 40,000 tons of grain

12:16

that was damaged that was supposed to go to other countries.

12:19

Ukrainian grain is a vital food source for many

12:21

countries, especially in Africa. What

12:23

options does Ukraine have at this point to get

12:26

the grain to countries that need it? So

12:28

Ukraine's leaders are asking their allies

12:30

for more help, like to beef up air

12:32

defense around these Danube ports.

12:35

And Mykola Koplyenko, the Ismail resident

12:37

I spoke to, he said, you know,

12:38

they understand that the Ukrainian military

12:41

may not have the resources now. So

12:43

he says local residents are actually trying

12:45

to crowdsource to help pay for air defense

12:47

equipment. Meanwhile, with

12:49

exports, the alternatives, transporting

12:52

this grain via train or road, that's

12:54

much more expensive and not very efficient. As I mentioned

12:56

earlier, a lot of countries are relying on this

12:58

grain. And Ukraine wants to show

13:00

the world that Russia is using food as a

13:02

weapon in this war. A weapon in this

13:04

war. Joanna Kokic is in Kyiv. Thank

13:07

you, Joanna. You are welcome.

13:13

And that's Up First for Thursday, August 3rd. I'm

13:15

Laila Falden. And I'm A. Martinez. Up First

13:18

is produced by Claire Murashima and Lily

13:20

Quiroz. Our editors are Amara Postich,

13:22

Megan Pratz, Ali Schweitzer, and

13:25

Michael Sullivan. Our director is Katie Klein. Zach

13:27

Coleman is our technical director. And we get engineering

13:30

support from Hannah Glovna. Join us again

13:32

tomorrow.

13:33

And are you ready for more NPR news? There's

13:35

a radio show for that. Find NPR's morning

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14:00

From the rough translation podcast,

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when falling in love means risking

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your life, this group in India promises

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to protect lovers. The love commandos.

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The love commandos. I was like, wow,

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