Alleged Murderer from NPR's "Serial" Podcast Free, National Guard Removes 50 Immigrants Trump's "One Finger Salute" (Not What You Think), US Hostage Released from Afghanistan (The Five for 09/20/22)
NOTE: The Substack software appeared to have failed on this one, and this issue didn’t send at noon like I scheduled.
Better late than never?! News expires quickly so I didn’t want this to sit until noon tomorrow.
Anyway, here you go.
Hey, welcome to The Five.
Lot’s of news happening…so let’s get into it.
[one]
Unless you’re living under a rock, you know about Governor DeSantis sending illegal migrants from Florida to the wealthy vacation community of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.
It’s certainly true that DeSantis is a savvy political actor who is likely doing this to build the foundation for a Presidential run in 2024. There's no real reason for this other than to play politics.
It’s also true that CNN and the people of Martha’s Vineyard…played right into his hands, and have quite a bit of egg on their faces.
After sharing hugs and teary goodbyes with roughly 50 migrants who had arrived unexpectedly by plane on this affluent vacation island, the volunteers who sheltered them at an Episcopal church carried out tables and chairs, packed food onto trucks and folded portable cots.
A familiar quiet had descended by Friday afternoon on the tree-lined downtown block on Martha's Vineyard, where Jackie Stallings, 56, could not stop thinking about a young Venezuelan -- she was 23 but looked 15 -- who sat with her in the St. Andrew's Parish House the night before.
The asylum seeker showed Stallings cell phone video taken during the journey across a remote Central American jungle, pointing out migrants who died along the way.
"It was like she was showing me cat videos but it was actually their journey and what they endured to get here," said Stallings, a member of the Martha's Vineyard Community Services nonprofit. "There were bodies and moms with babies trying to get through mud that was like clay."
And later in the article, the quote that got CNN, and Martha’s Vineyard roasted online:
We're used to helping each other. We're used to dealing with people in need and we're super happy -- like they enriched us, we're happy to help them on their journey.
The reason CNN and the vacation community are being lit up left, right and center is because Martha’s Vineyard called in 125 members of the National Guard to remove the 50 immigrants from the island.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve never inflicted a forced military removal on someone who’s “enriched” me. Like, “hey, Mrs. Stout, thanks so much for teaching high school history. I appreciate it and all, but these guys with Humvees and full auto rifles are going to take you to Idaho now so I never have to deal with you again. Again, thanks for the enrichment!”
It’s almost like the uber-wealthy residents of the vacation community forgot to read their own lawn signs or something…
[two]
Well, this has to take the cake for “weird Donald Trump reporting.”
From New York Magazine:
Trump rallies are still in some ways a singular phenomenon in American politics, but rarely does anything truly unexpected happen at them. The events typically feature more of the same, from the vivid demonstrations of Donald Trump’s cult of personality, to the all-too-familiar grievances and claims that make up the bulk of the former president’s long, rambling, partially improvised speeches. These days, Trump is just as likely to go on and on (and on) about the 2020 election and Hunter Biden and the Mar-a-Lago raid as he is likely to barely mention whatever GOP candidate he’s ostensibly appearing to support. But Trump’s rally in Youngstown, Ohio, on Saturday night broke some new weird ground — surprising even longtime observers of the events.
At the end of his speech, eerie music began to play on the loudspeakers as Trump reached the part of his remarks where he ominously goes through a list of all the many ways America and the world are becoming an apocalyptic hellscape without him as president. The music was a song inspired by the QAnon conspiracy theory. And while this was happening, many in the crowd raised their arms and pointed a finger upward. It’s not clear what the gesture meant.
Well, let me shed some light on this conspiracy.
And I uncovered even more evidence…
So, either Duke basketball (and their fans) and the Oklahoma football staff (or whoever that is) are in a deep conspiracy with Trump…or people tend to use the “we’re #1” gesture at rallies.
The reason I’m reporting on this “news” is that it isn’t.
In my opinion, Trump is not likely to secure the GOP nomination in 2024, with the surging popularity of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (see story #1). That’s still a long way off, but the polls are starting to tip in DeSantis’ direction, and the goodwill Trump got from being raided seems to be temporary.
This is highly subjective…but to me it feels like the novelty has warn off of Trump’s bag of tricks, and DeSantis’ policies in Florida are wildy poplar on the right.
But the media don’t seem to want Trump to fade to the edges of the political conversation.
The “finger salute” isn’t even interesting enough to be worthy of an opinion piece if it was anyone but Trump…and yet this is being reported as news even though NY Mag admits “we don’t know what it means.”
Could it be…that it just means the people at Trump rallies think Trump is #1?
UPDATE: A new NBC Poll has Trump as his lowest approval ratings with Americans in 16 months.
[three]
The nightmare for a kidnapped civillian in Afghanistan has come to an end thanks to a prisoner swap.
An American contractor held hostage in Afghanistan for more than two years by the Taliban has been released in exchange for a convicted Taliban drug lord jailed in the United States, according to the man's family and U.S. officials.
Mark Frerichs, a Navy veteran who had spent more than a decade in Afghanistan as a civilian contractor, was abducted in January 2020 and was believed to have been held since then by the Taliban-linked Haqqani network.
Negotiations for his release had centered on a deal that would also involve the release of Bashir Noorzai, a notorious drug lord and member of the Taliban who told reporters in Kabul on Monday that he had spent 17 years and six months in U.S. captivity before being released.
The exchange is one of the most significant prisoner swaps to take place under the Biden administration, coming five months after a separate deal with Russia that resulted in the release of Marine veteran Trevor Reed. It took place despite concerns from his family and other advocates that the U.S. military departure from Afghanistan, and the collapse of the government there, could make it harder to bring him home and could deflect attention away from his imprisonment.
My own views on prisoner swaps are somewhat complex. As much as I find Britteny Griner’s decade-long sentence in Russian prison to be unjust, I’m not sure that we can trade the WNBA star for an arms dealer nicknamed “The Merchant of Death.”
But a civilian for a drug dealer? The collateral damage seems to be a lot lower.
[four]
The subject of NPR’s blockbuster Serial podcast has been set free from prison, two decades after his conviction.
NBC News reports:
A judge on Monday vacated the murder conviction of Adnan Syed, years after the hit podcast “Serial” chronicled his case and cast doubt on his role in the slaying of former girlfriend Hae Min Lee.
City Circuit Court Judge Melissa Phinn said prosecutors made a compelling argument that Syed's convicted was flawed.
She vacated murder, kidnapping, robbery and false imprisonment against Syed. The judge ordered him released without bail.
Syed, who has a full beard, appeared in court wearing a long-sleeve white dress shirt, dark tie and traditional Muslim skull cap.
Maryland prosecutors last week asked to vacate Syed's conviction and for a new trial, saying they lacked “confidence in the integrity” of the verdict.
Serial, produced by NPR, was the first true blockbuster podcast in 2014, and drew many Americans to the podcasting medium…and is also partially responsible for the true crime craze that continues in podcasts, TV and movies to this day.
If you’ve never listened to Serial, it’s an excellent time to buckle up for one of the craziest true crime stories you’ve ever heard.
And for the record, I always thought Adnan was innocent.
[five]
Finally, 80% of Puerto Rico is without power after getting smashed by a major storm system.
Hundreds of people were evacuated or rescued across the island as floodwaters rose swiftly. Rushing rivers of brown water enveloped cars, first floors and even an airport runway in the island’s southern region.
Forecasters said the storm threatened to dump “historic” levels of rain on Sunday and Monday, with up to 30 inches (76 centimeters) possible in eastern and southern Puerto Rico.
“The damages that we are seeing are catastrophic,” said Gov. Pedro Pierluisi.
The storm washed away a bridge in the central mountain town of Utuado that police say was installed by the National Guard after Hurricane Maria hit in 2017. Large landslides also were reported, with water rushing down big slabs of broken asphalt and into gullies.
Fiona was centered 45 miles (75 kilometers) south-southeast of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (140 kph) on Sunday night, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. It was moving to the west-northwest at 10 mph (17 kph).
Fiona struck on the anniversary of Hurricane Hugo, which hit Puerto Rico 33 years ago as a Category 3 storm.
The storm’s clouds covered the entire island and tropical storm-force winds extended as far as 140 miles (220 kilometers) from Fiona’s center.
U.S. President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency in the U.S. territory as the eye of the storm approached the island’s southwest corner.
Until the next one,
-sth