0:02

The US and its allies. Make some moves.

0:04

UK

0:04

warned of a Russian plot to install a puppet

0:06

leader of Ukraine. The US considers

0:08

reinforcing troops in countries near

0:10

Ukraine. How close is Russia to launching

0:13

threatened Invasion? I'm

0:14

Steve inskeep with Rachel Martin man. This

0:16

is up first from NPR. News of

0:21

coronavirus are dropping in many places. We

0:26

can see that new normal where

0:28

people can not feel

0:30

that threat being a public

0:32

place. Why do scientists avoid saying

0:35

we're near the end of the pandemic. Also,

0:37

Sarah Palin is in court. Today, the former

0:39

vice presidential candidate. Sue. The New York

0:41

Times for a falsehood that it published

0:44

and retracted. What's the gay say about

0:46

the freedom of the press to be wrong?

0:48

Stay with us for the news You

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sponsor of Up First Capital one of

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impact, at dataiku

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you.com The

1:26

United States is preparing for Russia's

1:28

possible invasion of you.

1:30

More. Than one hundred thousand Russian troops have

1:32

taken positions to the South East

1:34

and north of Ukraine's capital for

1:37

the record, Russia denies any plans

1:39

to invade but President Vladimir Putin

1:41

has. Been making demands of the West now

1:43

the U.S. state department is reducing staff

1:45

levels at the embassy in Ukraine's capital,

1:48

the U.S. is also sending lethal aid

1:50

Ukrainian military forces Ukraine.

1:52

Is not a formal US ally, but several neighboring

1:55

nations are part of the US led NATO

1:57

alliance and NPR has confirmed

1:59

that. President Biden is considering sending

2:01

additional U.S. troops to those countries.

2:04

And. Let's pick up the discussion right there with NPRC

2:06

National Security correspondent Greg My

2:08

regret Good Morning Good Morning Steve How

2:10

Big Would This Us deployment Be

2:13

If It Happened Us? Officials

2:15

are saying Biden is considering a plan to

2:17

send up to five thousand troops

2:20

to the NATO countries in eastern Europe, now

2:22

a few important caveats here are

2:24

no final. Decision has been made this

2:26

a plan that emerged as Biden was

2:28

at Camp David this weekend and met with his national

2:31

security team, US already

2:33

has tens of thousands. Of troops in

2:35

western Europe and so some of these

2:37

could be move further east of Poland

2:40

and Romania er seems as though the most likely

2:42

options, possibly others as well

2:45

I'm. Other NATO countries could confirm

2:47

tribute troops, also though not clear

2:49

which ones I'm just thinking this through

2:51

that are relatively small number of troops

2:53

compared to Russia's more than one hundred. Thousand there's

2:55

thousand there's a signal, I guess a signal not

2:57

to mess around with NATO countries, nato signal of

3:00

US and Western resolved, but

3:02

could any of them become directly involved? In,

3:04

Ukraine as well as of

3:06

right now no Biden has ruled

3:08

this out at there's no indication that the

3:10

US or NATO has changed

3:12

this position is prepared to send.

3:14

troops into Ukraine if

3:16

Russia invades Ukraine would be largely

3:19

on its own against this much stronger

3:21

Russian military but if the

3:23

US and NATO do move troops into,

3:25

eastern Europe. This would

3:27

be a signal as you say this would be say direct

3:29

challenge to Russian leader Vladimir Putin

3:32

is demanding that NATO remove the relatively

3:34

small number of troops that. are already there there's

3:37

also talk that additional there us

3:40

and nato troops could be said after nato first wave

3:42

is

3:43

Now. The US and his allies seem to be calling

3:45

out Russian plans in recent days, the U.

3:47

S. the other day warned of some kind of false

3:49

flag operation that would give. Russia an

3:51

excuse to invade, and then over

3:53

the weekend the UK specified

3:56

something that Russia might wanna do what

3:58

was. Right, Brit.

4:00

Says. That Russia is planning to oust

4:02

the Ukrainian government of President

4:04

Volodymyr of the lynskey and

4:06

replace it with the current or former

4:08

Ukrainian leaders who would be friendly

4:10

to Russia now. Britain didn't say how

4:13

Russia my do this didn't provide any

4:15

details or evidence, still it's

4:17

is quite significant that Britain I went

4:19

to public with this sensitive information

4:21

and apparently in. In an attempt to head off

4:24

any such Russian moose if they are indeed

4:26

in the work in. a recent days

4:28

were hearing more about russian troop movements

4:30

russian forces in belo ruth

4:33

a friendly country or but

4:35

these russian troops would be in position

4:37

they're in belo ruse odd

4:39

if they were to go into ukraine they would be less

4:41

than a hundred miles from the capital kiev

4:45

Or what does this mean for the diplomatic efforts?

4:48

Well. "They're still underway, but the

4:50

this weekend seem to show our developments

4:52

moving in the opposite direction", Secretary

4:54

of State said, the Anthony Blinken

4:56

said there still are focusing on diplomacy

4:59

and. Could have more talks but

5:01

we haven't seen any breakthroughs his past two

5:03

weeks when the have been intensive talks broke.

5:06

my revenge for the update really appreciate Then.

5:12

The state of the pandemic this week

5:15

depends on where you are.

5:16

New. Cases of the current A virus are dropping

5:19

off sharply in areas of the Northeast and

5:21

Midwest, even so many places in

5:23

the cells, and the West continued

5:25

to see record numbers. Of new infections and

5:28

more than one hundred and fifty thousand people

5:30

are hospitalized.

5:31

"Across the country, so where do we stand and

5:33

years else and Abra joins as many Mondays

5:35

and is here once again, Alice in the morning, good

5:37

morning, see, okay, so does seem

5:39

that lots of the country is passed the Omagh

5:41

crime pick"

5:42

That's right looking at the map of Washington

5:44

DC and New York have about half as

5:46

many cases compared to their P. Keep

5:49

it or else and dropping and parts. The West

5:51

Florida and Texas has started to see a decline

5:54

in new and Saxons, but a lot

5:56

of theories are still in the thick of it.

5:58

The that utah or? Again, as

6:00

well as Alabama Tennessee, I

6:03

said to an emergency medicine doctor, Just

6:05

Pot Hos at U. W. Health, that's

6:07

in Madison, Wisconsin, where they are

6:09

still struggling to admit all the

6:11

patients who need a bad.

6:13

Right? Now it's is it's as bad as it's ever

6:15

been, we're are still seen a ton of competitions

6:18

and we're still on the situation where every day we're postponing

6:20

nino elective surgery. Producers are also

6:22

postponing, are we call Tier Three

6:25

and Three or Four surgical cases, which are

6:27

cases that you know you can postpone

6:29

for a week or two, but not really. Much

6:31

longer what we're doing all that.

6:33

"We still can't make everyone said"

6:36

The smaller hospitals in the region

6:38

transfer patients into his half that of, but

6:41

his as that I haven't been able to take them are, and this

6:43

comes at a time when nationwide

6:45

deaths from the virus or up to where nearly

6:48

two thousand deaths today.

6:50

But the numbers of new cases, as you mentioned,

6:52

are down in many places, so

6:54

are we at the turning point or beyond?

6:56

You know, some models suggest the worst

6:59

is over close to over predicting

7:01

deaths will begin to decline soon

7:03

in the coming weeks and cases will continue

7:06

to come down here is Ali, my dad

7:09

of the Institute for Health, metrics and Evaluation.

7:11

What? "We are seeing right now in many

7:13

states, it's coming down

7:16

as fast as it went up and some

7:18

March April, the should be in a very good

7:20

position our infections would" Be very

7:22

low, I am willing to bet

7:24

right now I'm not into betting the as

7:26

a scientist, but the spring

7:28

the brakes what happens and we should

7:31

see it for a. While that we are in a very good

7:33

position. Is so you

7:35

can hear some optimism there?

7:37

"We should feel for a while they were have a good position",

7:40

he says, meaning that this could get worse again.

7:43

You. Know, none of the exercise I've been talking to regularly

7:45

throughout this pandemic is willing to emphatically

7:48

say, "Hey, this is over, I mean, sciences

7:50

know the virus will continue to mutate"

7:53

But there is a consensus that we're

7:55

in a much better situation given so many people

7:57

have been infected and seventy people have been

7:59

vaccinated. Each day. "We are more

8:01

protected", I spoke to Michael Osterholm

8:04

at the University of Minnesota, who says we're

8:06

likely headed into a better day soon.

8:08

Food everyday person is very

8:11

hopeful that we can see that

8:13

new normal where people can

8:15

not feel at threat

8:18

been in a public place but,

8:20

I worry that we could see

8:22

another variant. that could put us

8:24

back into the same kind of position that we saw

8:27

that home across The good news is that.

8:29

The makers continue to work on vaccines

8:31

the country.

8:31

variants are offer broader protection and

8:33

there are a lot more therapies to treat

8:36

covert now, including the new anti viral

8:38

medications, said the idea is

8:40

that future waves said.

8:42

More manageable and years, Allison Aubrey

8:44

is right around two years of pandemic reporting,

8:46

Allison, thanks for your endurance. Thank

8:48

you feel.

8:55

Sarah Palin gets her chance in court

8:57

starting today, the former.

8:58

Then. Presidential candidate filed a defamation

9:00

suit against the New York Times five

9:03

years ago, The Times put to false statements

9:05

into an article about the Republican politicians

9:08

the paper soon made A. Correction, but pale

9:10

and suit could erode the broad protections

9:13

against libel suits that the news media have been.

9:15

Wait for decades and your media corresponded

9:17

David for conflict is followed, the case David Cameron.

9:20

Managed to you, what is this case about?

9:23

Well. This case involves an editorial

9:25

written by The New York Times in which it

9:27

explicit linked a graphic that

9:29

was presented an appeal to conservative voters

9:32

sent out by Sarah Palin's political. Action

9:34

committees to the shooting of Gabby

9:36

Giffords some years earlier,

9:38

which gravely wounded her and wounded

9:41

a dozen others, no evidence was found,

9:43

axes the shooter have are seen as messages. From

9:45

pailin and the editorial, some mischaracterized

9:47

the graphic with true cross hairs and congressional

9:49

districts, the Times wrongly indicated symbolically

9:52

targeted the actual members of Congress,

9:54

they did this an editorial. Six years after

9:56

the shooting hours after a Republican

9:59

congressmen was shot. A. Baseball game and

10:01

these errors and it's important to note this were inserted

10:03

into the editorial by James, bet it at

10:05

that time the Times is top a pain editor

10:08

kids was. seeking to make a larger point about

10:10

gun violence and heated rhetoric, but in this

10:12

case made a false point, so

10:14

how has the paper explain the way

10:16

that would have happened?

10:18

So. The Times made corrections

10:20

publicly within hours of posting

10:23

in the than publishing the editorial in

10:25

some of the exchanges that surfaced

10:28

is part of the evidence in this

10:30

case, teams Bennett. showed contrition

10:33

in private notes to his colleagues when

10:35

he registered what happens", David mccraw

10:37

he said, Deputy General Counsel to New York Times,

10:39

said: "Look, this was an honest mistake it. Was

10:41

not an exhibit of actual malice,

10:43

he said, that to the Washington Post a couple years

10:45

ago and, seen as you know, actual

10:48

malice, that's the legal standard that payments

10:50

attorneys. Will have to meet that is that the

10:52

New York Times even knew what they were saying was wrong

10:54

or so reckless disregard for

10:56

the facts given the ways in which are.

10:58

Laws protect free speech, that's a pretty

11:00

hard standard for any former public official,

11:03

the me.

11:03

I guess we should noted that the actual

11:05

malice standard grew out of a previous case

11:08

decades ago, involving the New York Times,

11:10

which has been involved in libel lawsuit for force

11:12

but prevails, so why do people think

11:14

that Palin has a chance here?

11:16

Well. It could be hard for to show actual harm

11:18

done that has she hasn't lost a job that we know

11:20

of or something like that, the strongest some and

11:23

is that A. Had been widely known for years, no

11:25

evidence had surface to show connection

11:27

between the shooting in Arizona

11:29

and with humans are mailings, and at the Times

11:31

reported that lack of. Connection to Bennett.

11:35

Added. Wrong material, as I said into the draft,

11:37

it was rushed out on deadline, is Bennett

11:39

later acknowledged sense: "Let's be clear the

11:41

fact that it's part of the opinion section doesn't" Get the

11:44

times off the hook because the editorial is

11:46

purportedly grounded in fact, so what

11:48

happens is a time should lose.

11:50

We'll look at jury verdict could reach the tens

11:52

of millions are theoretically the hundreds of millions

11:54

of dollars, according to media lawyers at

11:57

Talk to Supplement Attorney Want to introduce

11:59

evidence about. Their. journalistic lapses by

12:01

Bennett while he was at the time she left in twenty

12:03

after other controversies, The Times has heath:

12:06

"We got a focus on the specific incident involving

12:08

pm When it's not about ethics or practices,

12:10

but the last year people tell me anything

12:13

can happen if it goes in front of a jury's and

12:15

plans attorney let's be clear of. Ask the

12:17

court to send the media a message and

12:19

pure media corresponded Davis Hortons like David

12:21

Thanks events.

12:26

Another first for this Monday, January twenty fourth,

12:29

I'm Stevens and I'm a two minute about

12:31

tomorrow will be right.

12:32

Era. And the news doesn't stop in the past

12:34

and follow us on Twitter for add up first

12:36

and have you ever information officer that we talked

12:39

about day second and third morning?

12:41

Edition: It's a radio, so Stephen,

12:43

I hope that along with a Martinez and very

12:45

soon it to lay low fat find

12:47

morning edition and your and pure stacey, Stacey.

12:50

You do.

13:03

Anna

13:05

season of the storycorps podcast from NPR stories

13:08

about the helpers people who reached out

13:10

a hand, even they didn't have to,

13:12

most people see people in

13:14

a time of need they do love the way. So

13:16

I was just wondering, made

13:18

you talk to me? Cuz it

13:20

made my day a lot better now.