Election Interference Report Goes Public, Wildfires and Mental Health, Pete Hegseth

Summary

Up First from NPR
Episode Title: Election Interference Report Goes Public, Wildfires and Mental Health, Pete Hegseth
Release Date: January 14, 2025
Hosts: Leila Fadel, Steve Inskeep, Michel Martin, A Martinez, Ayesha Rascoe, Scott Simon

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1. Ceasefire Negotiations in the Middle East

Steve Inskeep opens the episode with breaking news about potential ceasefire agreements in the ongoing Middle East conflict.

• Inskeep (00:00): Announces news of a possible ceasefire involving Israel and Hamas, citing an anonymous senior official from Tel Aviv. The proposed agreement includes a six-week cessation of shooting in Gaza, the release of some Israeli hostages, and the release of some Palestinians.

“We have news, not quite final, of a ceasefire in the Middle East... Israel and Hamas and other negotiators are very, very close to a ceasefire agreement that could unroll over the next few weeks.”
— Steve Inskeep [00:00]

This development suggests a significant shift towards de-escalation, although details remain tentative. Listeners are encouraged to stay tuned for updates as negotiations continue.

2. Special Counsel Jack Smith’s Report on President-Elect Trump

A Martinez transitions to political news, focusing on the release of Special Counsel Jack Smith's report investigating President-Elect Donald Trump.

• A Martinez (00:51): Introduces the topic, stating that the final report "does not back down."

• Steve Inskeep (00:56): Details that Jack Smith's report is now public, asserting that only the election prevented Trump from being tried and potentially convicted.

"Jack Smith's report... he writes that only the election prevented him from holding a trial on a case he would have won."
— Steve Inskeep [00:56]

Kerry Johnson, an NPR correspondent, elaborates on the significance of the report:

• Kerry Johnson (03:45): Emphasizes the report's role in providing accountability and a historical record, especially amidst Trump's continued claims of election fraud.

"Jack Smith wrote there was enough evidence to convict Trump at trial of these four felony charges related to efforts to overthrow the 2020 election."
— Kerry Johnson [05:19]

Johnson further discusses the implications for Jack Smith and other prosecutors, highlighting potential political reprisals and the challenges they may face moving forward.

"Special counsels are typically invited to testify in Congress once their work is done... Republicans want to investigate him."
— Kerry Johnson [06:27]

3. Los Angeles Wildfires and Mental Health Impact

A Martinez then shifts focus to environmental and public health concerns, particularly the aftermath of the recent LA wildfires.

• A Martinez (01:03): Highlights the physical devastation and the less visible mental health toll on residents.

Katia Riddle, NPR’s reporter in Los Angeles, provides insights into the psychological effects of the wildfires:

• Katia Riddle (07:17): Describes the pervasive sense of trauma among evacuees and residents who have lost cherished natural spaces.

"We really felt the loss of the forest beyond the physical losses of the fire is the toll on some people's spirits."
— David Eisenman [08:14]

Riddle introduces the concept of solastalgia, a form of emotional distress caused by environmental change, as explained by Dr. David Eisenman:

"Solastalgia can be just as real as any other kind of grief and that it needs to be addressed with mental health strategies."
— David Eisenman [08:14]

The discussion highlights the shortage of mental health professionals to address the widespread needs, despite efforts like psychological first aid being implemented in evacuation centers.

"People are going to need support in the workforce and in the community."
— Lisa Wong [09:35]

Riddle underscores the long-term challenges residents face in rebuilding their lives and communities while managing their mental health.

"Most people will not develop debilitating post-traumatic stress disorder... but wildfires are correlated with increases in anxiety and depression."
— Katia Riddle [10:04]

4. Pete Hegseth’s Nomination to Lead the Pentagon

The episode proceeds to discuss Pete Hegseth’s nomination to head the Pentagon, addressing the controversies surrounding his qualifications and past behavior.

• A Martinez (10:54): Introduces Hegseth’s nomination and the public debate regarding his suitability for the role.

Tom Bowman, NPR’s Pentagon correspondent, provides a detailed analysis of the concerns:

• Tom Bowman (11:18): Outlines allegations against Hegseth, including a 2017 assault claim and issues related to his management of the Concerned Veterans of America group.

"Pete Hegseth has already been the subject of public debate... he denied allegations of public drunkenness."
— Tom Bowman [11:20]

Bowman emphasizes the critical question of whether Hegseth possesses the necessary experience to manage the Department of Defense, which oversees a vast and complex organization.

"He does not have the experience to run an organization of that size."
— Tom Bowman [12:08]

The discussion touches on Hegseth's controversial views on diversity, equity, and inclusion, particularly his opposition to women serving in ground combat roles.

"We should not have women in combat roles. It hasn't made us more effective... has made fighting more complicated."
— Pete Hegseth [12:51]

Bowman counters these claims by presenting data on the growing number of women successfully completing rigorous military training programs, challenging Hegseth's assertions.

"Some 150 women have now passed Ranger school."
— Tom Bowman [13:49]

The segment concludes with concerns about Hegseth's lack of relevant leadership experience compared to previous Defense Secretaries, alluding to the potential implications for the Pentagon's future leadership.

"All those who have served as defense secretary since the position was created... came from top posts in government, the industry."
— Tom Bowman [12:51]

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Conclusion

Up First from NPR delivers a comprehensive overview of critical issues shaping the current news landscape, from international conflicts and political investigations to environmental disasters and high-stakes political nominations. The inclusion of direct quotes with timestamps offers listeners a nuanced understanding of each topic, ensuring that key insights and perspectives are thoroughly conveyed.

For those looking to stay informed, Up First continues to provide timely and in-depth reporting to start the day well-informed.

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This summary was generated based on the transcript provided and is intended to encapsulate the main discussions and insights from the January 14, 2025, episode of "Up First from NPR." For the complete episode, please subscribe and listen to Up First.

Transcript

[Steve Inskeep]

Hey, this is Steve Inskeep. We have some news for you. As it looks at 6:17 in the morning Eastern time, we have news, not quite final, of a ceasefire in the Middle East. A senior official speaking anonymously to our colleague Kat Lasdorf in Tel Aviv says that Israel and Hamas and other negotiators are very, very close to a ceasefire agreement that could unroll over the next few weeks. This involves ceased shooting in Gaza for six weeks, the release of some, but not all Israeli hostages, as well as the release of some Palestinians. That's our understanding a little bit after 6:00 Eastern Time. You can stay tuned to NPR News for the latest on this. And now here's the rest of today's news.

[A Martinez]

The final report from a special counsel investigating President Elect Trump does not back down.

[Steve Inskeep]

Jack Smith's report is now public. He writes that only the election prevented him from holding a trial on a case he would have won.

[A Martinez]

I'm a Martinez. That is Steve Inskeep, and this is up first from NPR News. Amid the other losses of the LA wildfires is the scar on a landscape that people depended on for their mental health.

[David Eisenman]

We really felt the loss of the.

[A Martinez]

Forest beyond the physical losses of the fire is the toll on some people's spirits. How do you address that?

[Steve Inskeep]

And Pete Hegseth has President Elect Trump's stamp of approval to lead the Pentagon, but does not yet have that of the Senate. How do lawmakers weigh his qualifications and the criticisms of his conduct? Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day.

[Ron Rutson]

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To learn more, go to saatva.com NPR this message comes from Intuit. Why is Intuit Enterprise Suite a better solution for growing businesses? It provides powerful financial management and accounting capabilities integrated with payments, process processing, payroll, HR marketing, third party apps and more. Through powerful automation and insights, it helps you manage one or more businesses in one place. Visit intuit.comenterprise to learn more. Money Movement Services by Intuit Payments, Inc. Licensed by NYDFS this message comes from Attentive. Imagine getting a message from your favorite brand, tailored just for you. Attentive. The SMS and email platform helps marketers transform interactions into personalized experiences. [e-mail] UpFirst Special Counsel Jack Smith will.

[Steve Inskeep]

Not record a criminal conviction against President Elect Trump. He will leave his conclusions for the history books.

[A Martinez]

The Justice Department lawyer investigated Trump for his bid to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election. Smith dropped two indictments after Trump's win in 2024, following a long standing policy against prosecuting a sit. But his report on one of those cases is now public and it asserts that the evidence would have convicted him. Smith also says it is, quote, laughable that he acted from political motives.

[Steve Inskeep]

NPR's Kerry Johnson joins us now after a very late night and early morning on this story. Kerry, good morning.

[Kerry Johnson]

Good morning, Steve.

[Steve Inskeep]

What does it matter that Jack Smith's report would be public now, given that he's not going to prosecute?

[Kerry Johnson]

This was really a last chance for prosecutors to explain their decisions and defend themselves. It also could accomplish some measure of accountability for people who were hurt on January 6, 2021, some of those police officers. There are civil lawsuits that are ongoing that continue against Donald Trump and others. And it's also really a record for history at a time when Trump and many other Republican lawmakers are clinging to fake claims about election fraud in 2020 and calling those people who stormed the.

[Steve Inskeep]

Capitol patriots because the final report was being argued over. The release of the report was being argued over in court. I had my doubts as to whether we would see it before January 20th. Inau, how did that work out?

[Kerry Johnson]

Yeah, every step of this investigation has been a battle. And even late last night, Trump tried one last time to get a judge to block this report, but he did not succeed. On social media overnight, Trump said the voters had spoken and returned him to the White House. And remember, the Supreme Court handed him a significant victory last year, ruling he had some immunity from prosecution. The justices there took so long to decide. The clock ran out on this indictment here in Washington, D.C. and really over the past week, Trump's former aides at the Mar A Lago resort had asked Florida Judge Eileen Cannon to block this report, even though that case was no longer in front of her. It was really an open question whether we'd see it up till last night.

[Steve Inskeep]

In the end, she did not block it. And so last night you get these 150 pages. What stands out for you?

[Kerry Johnson]

Jack Smith wrote there was enough evidence to convict Trump at trial of these four felony charges related to efforts to overthrow the 2020 election. Smith says the ultimate decision in this case to charge Trump was up to him. And he stands by that. He says, even though they couldn't get to TR because of the DOJ view that a sitting president cannot face criminal trial, that this effort mattered, that the rule of law matters, that the example his prosecutor set to fight for justice despite personal costs and attacks and threats, that all matters. Jack Smith wrote, as a prosecutor, you cannot control the outcome, but you can do your job in the right way for the right reasons. And he says they did.

[Steve Inskeep]

And it is interesting, given that Trump and his supporters have characterized Smith very negatively, that Smith is saying, no, actually we set an example. We were doing the right thing here. That is his. Is that the last word from him?

[Kerry Johnson]

You know, special counsels are typically invited to testify in Congress once their work is done. Democrats have asked the Justice Department to save all of Smith's files. Republicans want to investigate him. And President Elect Trump has vowed retribution. Jack Smith actually resigned before he could be fired by Trump. And other prosecutors who worked on the Smith investigations have been making plans to leave the Justice Department, too. Trump's nominees to lead the DOJ and the FBI in the next administration have promised to investigate those investigations. So it could be a difficult road ahead financially and otherwise for a lot of these people who worked in the government.

[Steve Inskeep]

And there might be questions about those investigations, promised investigations and confirmation hearings to come. Carrie, thanks so much.

[Kerry Johnson]

My pleasure.

[Steve Inskeep]

NPR's Kerry Johnson. The physical devastation of the Los Angeles wildfires is plain.

[A Martinez]

What's not as clear is how the destruction is affecting people's mental health. And that weighs on residents lives, even if it's harder to quantify than the value of someone's house.

[Steve Inskeep]

NPR's Kadia Riddle is in Los Angeles. Katia, good morning.

[Katia Riddle]

Hi, Steve.

[Steve Inskeep]

How do you see this aspect of the story?

[Katia Riddle]

Well, I was at an evacuation center yesterday and there were a lot of people who still just looked very dazed as they waited in line for resources like FEMA paperwork or services from the Red Cross. Experts I've talked to have pointed out that even for people here who weren't forced to evacuate, there can be ripple effects. If someone you know is affected, the trauma response can be contagious. And then some people are still awaiting the possibility that they will have to evacuate. So the cycle of trauma is still very much happening. One thing that is unique to these kinds of natural disasters is that people are grieving. Not just their own homes and communities, but there's a kind of grief for the land that happens. La, you know, is a place of just staggering, really breathtaking beauty and people here rely on that natural environment for emotional support. Here's a gentleman named David Eisenman. He's talking about a hike that he and his wife would take regularly in the Palisades.

[David Eisenman]

It would just calm us down and center us and make everything right for the moment. And we've lost that. And that was when my wife and I heard that. We turned to each other and I think we had tears in our eyes. I mean, we really felt the loss of the forest.

[Katia Riddle]

Eisenman is a doctor here in Los Angeles and he is also an expert in disaster response. He's the director of the UCLA center for Public Health and Disasters. He studied this phenomenon, has a name, solastalgia. He says solastalgia can be just as real as any other kind of grief and that it needs to be addressed with mental health strategies.

[Steve Inskeep]

Okay, mental health strategies. What do you do?

[Katia Riddle]

Well, there are evacuation centers throughout the city with mental health providers on call to help people who are in crisis. Many of them are practicing something called psychological first aid. That's a kind of CPR equivalent of mental health care. It means working with people to identify and address their immediate needs, things like shelter and food, medication in service of supporting their mental health. Like I said, I visited one of these shelters yesterday. Clinicians there said they have seen hundreds of people in the last week. While I was there, I talked with Lisa Wong. She's LA County's director of the Department of Mental Health. She said her staff across the city have really risen to the occasion. But she says in a way, people still have a lot of adrenaline. This is the easy part.

[Lisa Wong]

I think that is the real challenge, the sustainability of these efforts and also the longer term care of folks who have gone through such devastation. People are going to need support in the workforce and in the community and.

[Steve Inskeep]

Some are going to need that support while they're trying to deal with a home that was destroyed. Rebuilding a neighborhood that has changed beyond recognition. Which makes me wonder, Katie, as you're talking, are we thinking in terms here of post traumatic stress?

[Katia Riddle]

Well, research shows that most people will not develop debilitating post traumatic stress disorder in these kinds of of situations. But even if folks aren't at risk of developing ptsd, it's well documented that wildfires are correlated with increases in anxiety and depression in communities. In Los Angeles, as in many places, there are shortages of clinicians like psychiatrists and psychologists. Just not enough people to provide one on one mental health care for all the people who will need it. Several experts I've talked to here have pointed out that in the face of increased disasters like this one, the mental health system is not equipped to handle the resulting needs.

[Steve Inskeep]

NPR's Katie Ariddle in Los Angeles. Take care of yourself, okay?

[Katia Riddle]

Thanks, Steve.

[Steve Inskeep]

Today, President elect Trump's choice to lead the US Military gets a public hearing.

[A Martinez]

Pete Hegseth has already been the subject of public debate. The veteran and TV personality face news stories about alcohol and even the revelation of a critical email from his own mom. His mother, though, has now since publicly supported him and as has the president elect and some senators who were initially skeptical.

[Steve Inskeep]

NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman is covering this story. Tom, good morning.

[Tom Bowman]

Good morning, Steve.

[Steve Inskeep]

What are the questions about Hegseth?

[Tom Bowman]

Well, first of all, there are questions about his personal behavior. A woman alleged that Hegseth assaulted her during a Republican conference in California back in 2017. Hegseth strongly denied the charge, though he signed a non disclosure agreement with the woman. He said that agreement was only to save his job at FOX News. And also, Hegseth has denied allegations of public drunkenness, saying he never had a dream problem. And finally, Steve, there were issues of poor management when he ran this group, Concerned Veterans of America, a decade or more ago. He eventually left that group and he said both he and the group just decided to part ways.

[Steve Inskeep]

Isn't that part about management the essence of the job here? Because this is an assignment running one of the largest and most complex organizations in the history of the world.

[Tom Bowman]

Absolutely. Besides the personal issues, the lack of experience is a huge issue. You look at people like Senator Tammy Duckworth in Illinois, Democrat and Army combat veteran. She says that Hegseth is unqualified for the position since he never reached a senior military position or ran a large company. Here's Duckworth speaking on CNN.

[Steve Inskeep]

We're talking about an organization that is 3 million servicemen and women and civilians and a budget of over $900 billion. He does not have the experience to run an organization of that size.

[Tom Bowman]

And Steve, all those who have served as defense secretary since the position was created in 1947 came from top posts in government, the industry. That's not the case with Pete Hegseth.

[Steve Inskeep]

What he does seem to have, though, is opinions that match those of the president elect on diversity, equity and inclusion, Correct?

[Tom Bowman]

Yeah. And he opposes women serving in ground combat units. Here's Hegseth speaking last year on the Sean Ryan Show. I'm straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles. It hasn't made us more effective, hasn't made us more lethal, has made fighting more complicated. Now, Steve, women have been eligible for ground combat jobs since 2016. There are now some 30 years, 3,800 women serving in army infantry, armor, artillery. Another 700 women are in Marine ground combat units. Hegseth's lawyer, Tim Parlatore, he's a Navy veteran, has charged that the standards for the arduous Army Ranger School have been lowered to pursue quotas for women. Army officials deny that to npr, saying the standards for Ranger school are the same for both men and women. Some 150 women have now passed Ranger school.

[Steve Inskeep]

Listening to those numbers, Tom, tells me something. People will point out that on average, men are bigger and stronger than women, but some women are big and strong. And you're telling me there is a limited number of women, not 50, 50, but a limited number of women who meet the standards?

[Tom Bowman]

No. Absolutely, Steve. These are really hard things to get through. I've been out in the field with male and female Marines going through training. Some women were rock stars, they could really do the training. And others said, listen, I can't carry 100 pound pack. It's not for me. But you're small numbers of women, relatively small numbers of women can achieve the standard and get into these ground combat roles.

[Steve Inskeep]

NPR's Tom Bowman will be listening to your coverage of the hearing. Thanks so much.

[Tom Bowman]

Thanks.

[Steve Inskeep]

And that's up first for this Tuesday, January 14th, which just happens to be the 20th birthday of my daughter who's a listener to this podcast.

[A Martinez]

I'm Steve Inskeep and Ame Martinez. Remember, you can listen to this podcast sponsor free while supporting public media with UpFirst Plus. Learn more at plus.NPR.org that's P L U S.NPR.org Today's birthday episode of Up.

[Steve Inskeep]

First was edited by Emily Kopp, Diane Weber, Eric Whitney, Anna Yukonanoff, Ali Schweitzer and Lisa Thompson. It was produced by Ziad Buch, Nia Dumas, Iman Ma'ani and Lily Quiros. We get engineering support from David Greenberg and our technical director is Stacy Abbott. You don't hear a thing thing unless she does her job, which she always does very well. Join us tomorrow.

[Lisa Wong]

Want to hear this podcast without sponsor breaks? Amazon prime members can listen to up first sponsor free through Amazon Music, or you can also support NPR's vital journalism and get up first [e-mail] that's plus.NPR.org this message comes from Mint Mobile. From the gas pump to the grocery store, inflation is everywhere. So Mint Mobile is offering premium wireless starting at just $15 a month to get your new phone plan for just $15, go to mintmobile.com Switch this message comes from Mint Mobile. From the gas pump to the grocery store, inflation is everywhere. So Mint Mobile is offering premium wireless starting at just $15 a month. To get your new phone plan for just $15, go to mintmobile.com switch.