The story behind the historic prisoner exchange with Russia | The Excerpt
On Saturday’s episode of The Excerpt podcast: The story behind the historic agreement that freed US prisoners in Russia involved months of delicate negotiations. Paste BN White House Correspondent Michael Collins shares what went on behind-the-scenes to make the deal happen. Vice President Kamala Harris officially becomes the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III reverses an offer by military prosecutors to put the death penalty back on the table for the mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and two accomplices. U.S. hiring slowed substantially in July as employers added fewer jobs amid persistently high inflation and the looming threat of a recession. What started with a car fire in northern California's Bidwell Park has grown to the fourth-largest wildfire in the state's history. Climate change is causing one of Hawaii’s most popular spots — Waikiki beach — to disappear.
Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.
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Sarah Ganim:
Good morning. I'm Sarah Ganim filling in for Taylor Wilson. Today is Saturday, August 3rd, 2024. This is The Excerpt. Today, how an imprisoned Wall Street Journal reporters mom worked back channels to help free her son from Russia, plus Vice President Kamala Harris is officially the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, and one of Hawaii's most popular beaches is disappearing.
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President Biden called it a feat of diplomacy, and that's because the historic agreement that freed American prisoners being held in Russia involved months of delicate negotiations. For some behind the scenes details about how it went down, were turning to Paste BN white House correspondent Michael Collins, who joins me now. Michael, thanks so much for being on the excerpt.
Michael Collins:
Thank you for having me.
Sarah Ganim:
Let's start with the biggest hurdle for this deal. You reported that Russia refused to release any Americans without the exchange of convicted assassin, Vadim Krasikov. Why did this make things so difficult?
Michael Collins:
Well, it made it difficult for a number of reasons. The largest reason of which, of course, was the fact that he was in jail in Germany. He had been charged with murdering a Chechen dissident in a park in Berlin and open daylight. He had been jailed since 2021. And for reasons that are not really clear to anybody, Vladimir Putin really likes this guy. There are rumors that at one time, he may have been Vladimir Putin's bodyguard, but regardless, Putin really wanted him to be released as part of this deal that created problems for the United States, since he was not in US custody. He was in German custody. So they had to go to the Germans and convince the Germans to release him as part of this deal, so the three Americans and the other European folks who were in prison in Russia could be released as well.
Sarah Ganim:
Evan Gershkovich had the staff of the Wall Street Journal constantly reminding the world that he was wrongly arrested, but I didn't really understand, until I read your story, that his mom was also very much involved in his release. Can you talk about that?
Michael Collins:
Sure. She was actually absolutely working very hard behind the scenes. Her name is Ella Milman, and she was raised in Leningrad Russia right around the same time as Putin. She worked the back channels. She worked the official channels. She traveled to Moscow for Evan's appeal hearing. She was at a gala dinner in New York, and the German Chancellor Olaf Schulz was there. So she marched right up to him, really pressured him to do something to help son. She let him know that he held the key to this deal. And then during the annual White House Correspondents Association dinner, she was in a photo line with President Joe Biden. She, again, urged him to call the German leader and try to get things moving.
Sarah Ganim:
Wow. Never underestimate a mom, right?
Michael Collins:
Right.
Sarah Ganim:
And amidst all of this celebration though, I think it's important to note that there are families whose loved ones are not part of this deal. And Pennsylvania teacher Mark Fogel is the one I'm thinking of. He was not released. His family put out a very harsh statement criticizing the Biden administration. What can you tell us about that?
Michael Collins:
Mark has been in prison in Russia since 2021. He taught at the Anglo-American School in Moscow for nearly a decade, and he was detained at an airport in Russia and charged with possession of cannabis, which is illegal in Russia. Now, his family says that he had a medical prescription for this marijuana and that he uses it to treat chronic back pain. Well, his family put out a statement since saying that they were completely heartbroken and outraged. He's not rich, he's not a celebrity, he's not connected to powerful patrons. All he has is his 95-year-old mother who is fighting for his rights. And they really felt like he has been abandoned, that he's been forgotten, and that he is just being left to die in prison for less than an ounce of marijuana. The Biden administration says it hasn't forgotten about Fogel. It says that they really worked very hard to try to get him included in this prisoner swap, but Russia, for whatever reason, simply would not let that happen.
When President Biden announced the prisoner swap, he mentioned that there were other prisoners still detained in Russia and that he was going to do everything in his power to get those prisoners released.
Sarah Ganim:
Analysts have been pointing out, in the last 24 or 48 hours, that it does seem like Putin is making a habit of arresting innocent people and then attempting to use them as bargaining chips. Is it in fact becoming more frequent?
Michael Collins:
You have people like Evan Gershkovich, people like Paul Whelan, who were essentially just plucked off the streets and being used by Russia, as you said, as bargaining chips to try to get the release of various prisoners who are held in the US or in Europe. So it certainly appears that that is the case.
Sarah Ganim:
Michael Collins is a White House correspondent for Paste BN. Michael, fantastic reporting. I really appreciate you taking the time to be on the show.
Michael Collins:
Glad to do it.
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Sarah Ganim:
The party votes have been cast Vice President Kamala Harris is officially the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, making US as the first black woman and first Asian-American from a major party to win the designation. Harris secured the Democratic nomination yesterday afternoon just one day after voting opened. She received the majority of votes, at least 2,350 from her party's delegates. And shortly after, Harris thanked them, saying, "Your dedication cannot be overstated, your dedication to our country. I know we all feel this way, so strongly." Harris will officially accept the nomination. Next week at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
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Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has rejected a plea deal with the Mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and his two accomplices. The deal would've allowed them to escape the possibility of the death penalty. The announcement comes after some relatives of 9/11 victims had reacted with anger when they learned that the deal would allow Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two of his top lieutenants to plead guilty in exchange for life sentences.
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US hiring slowed substantially in July as employers added fewer jobs. This comes during a time of historically high interest rates, persistent inflation, and growing household financial stress. The US Labor Department says the unemployment rate rose from 4.1% to 4.3%, the highest since October of 2021. It's stoking recession fears and bolstering the Federal Reserve's case to cut those high interest rates. The Fed signaled earlier this week that it could make cuts, possibly sharp ones, in mid-September. Until then, Americans are feeling the pain in their pocketbooks. What started with a car fire in Northern California's Bidwell Park has grown in just nine days to the fourth largest wildfire in the state's history. According to CAL FIRE, it's burning nearly 400,000 acres and destroying more than 500 structures. It's torched an area larger than New York City, and more than 6,000 personnel have been battling the Bidwell Park fire. More than 25,000 people have been forced to leave their homes. Local officials say that the fire started after a man, who has since been arrested and charged with arson, sent his mother's flaming car off of a 60 foot embankment. The fire is now 24% contained.
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One of Hawaii's most popular spots, Waikīkī Beach is disappearing. My colleague, Taylor Wilson, talked to Paste BN, reporter Kathleen Wong about why it's happening and how officials are working to stop it.
Taylor Wilson:
Kathleen, thanks for helping on the excerpt today.
Kathleen Wong:
Thanks for having me.
Taylor Wilson:
So Kathleen, let's just start with this. What are we seeing as parts of Waikīkī Beach are disappearing?
Kathleen Wong:
So at the Eastern and western ends of Waikiki Beach, their beaches are basically gone. They were never really big, but now they're almost extinct. We're also seeing water splashing up onto walkways, especially during high tides or if there's a swell. But you may notice that the main strip of Waikīkī Beach, which is the most famous part of the beach, is still there, but it's actually man-made, so sand is taken offshore and then put onto the beach to replenish it. However, we are seeing that having to be done more frequently, so every five to 10 years, when decades ago, it was maybe every 20 years or so.
Taylor Wilson:
Yeah. So how is climate change playing a role here? And just generally, why are Pacific Islands, including Hawaii, especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change?
Kathleen Wong:
So Hawaii is the most remote archipelago in the world, so very surrounded by ocean and also very limited in resources. So as sea level rise globally, it's going to cause a really big impact here, and there's not really space to go anywhere. And because climate change can cause different factors like extreme weather, like droughts, which can cause more wildfires or more severe hurricanes, which can wreak more damage, that can really impact life here, and also resources like fresh water.
Taylor Wilson:
So Waikiki was actually built on top of a wetland that was then drained for development. How does that factor into what we're seeing there with disappearing beaches?
Kathleen Wong:
Yeah, so that happened in the early 1900s, and researchers are watching now to see if the groundwater table below is going to eventually come back up and resurface. So you'll see storm drains basically not draining and filling up, and that can also possibly flood Waikīkī.
Taylor Wilson:
You mentioned shoreline hardening in this piece. I was not familiar with this term beforehand. What is this, and what impact does that have on shrinking beach size?
Kathleen Wong:
Yeah, so you might see it around as sandbags piled up along a seawall made of stone. So that's basically a way of protecting development like houses or hotels from crashing waves or rising sea levels, but the long-term effects of that are being studied. And basically what happens is the ocean is just swallow up the sand, and then water just hits the seawall and that will eventually deteriorate. So this problem will just get worse, and basically there'll be no more beach, just the water and the barrier.
Taylor Wilson:
So Waikīkī is, of course, such an iconic part of O'ahu, of Hawaii in general. What does all this mean for Hawaii's tourism and economy?
Kathleen Wong:
The beach is one of the main draws for travelers coming to Hawaii, and Waikīkī is possibly one of the most crowded beaches, most popular beaches here, so that has some big economic implications. Tourism is a quarter of the economy in Hawaii, so that could be a really serious problem if people don't want to come here. And Waikīkī in particular has the highest density of hotels, so it's a really important place for the economy.
Taylor Wilson:
And beyond the economy, what does this beach loss mean for marine life? And also, could help us understand the cultural significance of this kind of loss?
Kathleen Wong:
Yeah, so a lot of natural systems depend on the beach. It's a really important ecosystem. Endangered animals like the Hawaiian monk seal, and also sea turtles use the beach to take care of their babies. And the beach also helps feed fish, so that could impact the life cycle in the ocean. And culturally, there are native Hawaiians bones buried in the sand of some of the beaches, so they risk being exposed. And the solution to that, it's a really tough question.
Taylor Wilson:
In terms of solutions on this Kathleen, who is working on this problem? Who's working to really build Hawaii's resilience for the future?
Kathleen Wong:
So the good news is pretty much everyone is ready to take action. So there are government officials, property owners, and hotels themselves. Some of the ideas being floated for Waikīkī in particular include building a boardwalk so water can flow under that if the water enters Waikīkī, or building more canals to collect water. There are also sensors in storm drains that are monitoring if water is coming back up and not basically being drained.
Taylor Wilson:
Interesting stuff. Kathleen Wong covers consumer travel for Paste BN. Thank you, Kathleen.
Kathleen Wong:
Thank you.
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Sarah Ganim:
As the world changes, we must adapt. Enter artificial intelligence. How can we break out of the AI doom loop and focus on using it to our advantage? Tune in tomorrow after 5 A.M. Eastern to hear my colleague, Dana Taylor, chat with best-selling author and life coach, Jim Frawley, about how to not only embrace change, but to master it.
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Thanks, as always, for listening to The Excerpt. You can get the podcast wherever you get your audio. And if you're on a smart speaker, just ask for The Excerpt. I'm Sarah Ganim filling in for Taylor Wilson, who will be back on Monday with more of The Excerpt from Paste BN.