Hunter Biden Charged, Israel-Hamas War, Antisemitism And Universities
12:44 Share

Hunter biden is facing new criminal charges. The justice department invited president biden son on nine counts, alleging a failure to pay federal tax.

Will the new environment affect the twenty twenty four presidential race?

I'm Steve escape with my helle Martin. And this is at first from in P. R. news. Bombardments continue in gaza as israeli searches for homos leaders responsible for the october seven attack and the .

presidents of harvard, M I T and the university of pencillings, ia, are facing a backlash. IT comes after they were accused of being soft on anti semitism during a house hearing this week.

It's time for new leadership.

Are there jobs in jeopardy? Stay with us. We will give you a new. You need to start your day.

This message comes from mint mobile, from the gas pump ed to the grocery store. Inflation is every, so mid mobile is offering premium wireless starting at just fifteen dollars a month to get your new phone plan for just fifteen dollars, go to point mobile outcome slash switch this .

message comes from A P R sponsor the capital one venture x card, earn unlimited two x miles on everything you buy, plus get access to a three hundred dollar annual credit for bookings through capital one travel. What's in your terms? Apply details at capital one 点 com。 This message comes from matters firm.

The holidays can be stressful, but quality sleep each night can help you stay energized for all of the celebrations. Matters firm offers a selection of mattresses so you can get your best sleep ever, plus with free and fast delivery to your door, you'll be ready to recharge for the busy holiday season, get matched at matters firms, simi annual sale and clearance, and sleep at night restrictions apply. See matters firm dot com or store for details.

Hunter biden is facing new criminal charges. The president sun was indeed, last night.

justice department special council David wise brought this case, part of his investigation into hunter biden and his business activities. This second and diagonal of jo biden sun comes in december, just before an election year. Npr.

just as correspondant ryan lucas is covering this in us, with us not to tell us mork a morning. Rine, good morning. What specific charges is hunter biden facing with this indictment?

Well, this is a nine count. Endicott was handed up by a federal grand jury in the centura gis tics of california. The charges are related to taxes twenty sixteen through twenty nine. Three of the counts that hunter biden is facing here are fell any tax counts, one for tax evasion, two for five and false return. The other six counts are mister miners and those who were fAiling to pay his taxes and fAiling to file his tax OK.

So this all relates to the twenty sixteen. Through the twenty nine time period, what does the special council say that herb den was doing?

What prosecutors say, that over four years, hunter engaged in a scheme to not pay at least one point four million dollars in taxes that he ode IT also says that um he evaded paying taxes for twenty eighteen now the indictment says that between twenty sixteen and twenty two hundred made more than seven million dollars in total growth income.

The enticement references ces business dealings in ukraine, business dealings related to connections in romania and china. IT says that hunter got another one point two million intelligent financial support, but prosecutors say that hunter spent his money on drugs on s courts and girlfriends, on luxury hotels, exotic cars, among other things. Prosecutors say, in short, that hundred five and spent his money on his extravagant lifestyle, not on his taxi.

And so I guess they're saying that he willfully didn't pay his taxes, although we had the money. okay. So this is the second set of charges special councils brought against counter biden. Can you just remind us about the others.

right? He was invited this summer on federal gun charges as part of the special councils investigation. Those charges came about after A A plea deal that biden to in delaware fell apart.

He agreed to pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor x charges there. That whole deal unraveled. He was later charged on the gun counts.

He pleaded not guilty to those. After that deal fell apart, we knew that there was a possibility that he would get hit with federal tax charges. And of course, he now has.

Has there been any response from hunter biden or his attorneys to this new environment ment?

right? His torney abby law said in a statement last night that if hunters name was anything other than by that, none of these charges, not the gun charges or the new tax charges, would have been brought against them.

Low accused the special council of an essence folding under republican pressure to go after hunter, and he said that voice had investigated all of this for five years without bringing charges and now with no new evidence, he's brought these nine charges after Green a few months ago to resolve all of this with mr. miners. And that plea deal that ultimately collapsed. He also said that one hundred biden paid his taxes in full two years ago .

seems remarkable that the president sun is now facing two federal undetected. But also there were republican front runner in the twenty twenty four presidential campaign.

And not to forget, the house republicans have made hunter of focus of their impeachment inquirin present by in as well. But yes, as you said, the situation is extraordinary. Two federal diamants that trump is facing, of course, are trying to overturn the twenty twenty election results for this handling classified documents. Hunters, as we've said, africa and tax charges. But what we have now is the possibility of these cases all growing through the justice system in the middle twenty twenty four presidential .

campaign is in paris. Ryan, lucas, ryan.

thank you. Thank you.

The center of the israel homos AR is gaza, where israeli forces are searching for homos leaders and civilians have fled the israeli bombardment.

but the conflict includes tensions throughout the region, including in jerusalem. It's the side of holy places for three major religions city that israel claims as its capital and where hundreds of thousands of palestinians live.

For more, we turn to epr cat lam store, who's in television? Cat, hello. So you were reporting in jerusalem last night in the old city. Would you just tell us what you saw?

yeah. So IT was the first night of hanukah, and a group of rightwing israeli jews had called for a march through the muslim quarter of the old city. Only about fifty people showed up media and israel police probably outnumber of the marchers.

But some of the marchers were Carrying in flamma ary posters, which israel police then confiscate, and even in some cases, tore up, and then the police ended up blocking the road, which honestly is very unusual. I've covered these kind of marches before, and I haven't ever seen that IT IT shows, I think, how concerned they are about the potential for violence breaking out right now. And the march ultimately visit out.

So the old city for people who've been there, if you haven't been there, I guess if you have been there, you'd know its a very small ancient wall section of jerusalem, narrow streets, you need to talk about what the mood there was last night .

yeah and I was very tense. And you know, IT has been for quite some time. We were walking through the muslim quarter before that march was supposed to begin.

And we saw israeli jews who live in the old city, particularly ones who have moved into the muslim quarter, lighting their honorum and nose in the street and singing and dancing. And they were often surrounded by israeli police as palestinians. They're just kind of looked on or honestly tried to ignore IT.

I talked to one eighteen year old. His name was elan tolb. He was outside a jewish religious school, and the muslim quarter was some friends singing in front of a minora. Here's what he told me through an interpreter.

Double, double. The city is not divided in the quarters. It's one big jewish quarter with different neighbor's inside them and that's the way should be in people.

And we asked them them about what about the palestinians as any of IT belonged them and he said, just simply no.

okay. So let's turn to the situation in gaza. We have been hearing that israeli forces are pushing into central and southern gaza. What can you tell us about that?

Yeah, the israeli military says that they're in hand unus, which is the second largest city in gaza. It's also where the home of hamas leader, Jason Warren, they say they've been circled the home models and wear wear outs are unknown. The military says that in the past few days they've had some of the most intense fighting since this war began.

And you, that intense fighting has LED to mass displacement. People are fleet to, uh, which is a city in the south of gaza, near the border with egypt. And even that's not safe.

Israel says hamas has continued to launch rockets from near where people are sleeping and tense and rapa. And just yesterday there were a few isolated strikes from israel in rafa. Rafa is incredibly overcrowded.

Our producer there on as baa has been sending us photos and videos, and it's pretty astonishing. Streets just filled with people, cars and monkey cards piled high with whatever people could grab. You know, this is straining what few research there are there, food, water, medical care. Many aid groups are saying that the situation there is just dire.

That is npr cat, long stuff in television. Cat.

thank you. Thank you.

The university of pencil is board of trustees gathered yesterday to discuss comments made by the school's president during a house hearing on campus anti semitism comments that have set off a firestorm .

of criticism like other university president alison gal faced questions about or schools rules. A lawmaker asked if, quote, calling for the genocide of jews would violate the university y's code of conduct. Magill, alonger, the presidents of harvard and MIT answered in various ways that IT depended on the context and whether the speech was connected with hostile action. Now a congressional committee says they're going to investigate the universities.

Tobia Smith is with us now to tell us more. Good morning. tobia.

Good morning. okay.

So the pressure on these presence seems to be escalating since this hearing. What's the latest?

Well, the the blow back has really just continue to intensify since they were grilled on whether students calls for genocide would violate campus rules. And their answers ranged from maybe too long winded layer like dodges that prompted outrage from a broader ay of very strange bedfellows from republican congress woman at least to hana, who was firing the questions, to elan musk, who called the answers shameful. And democratic senator Elizabeth warn, who questioned the university president's ability to lead JoNathan Green black from the anti defamation league, was even more pointed.

Here's what he said. It's time for a new leadership. It's not just a failure of their reducer responsibility is the Better collapsed of their moral soto.

via some of the presidents have issued clarifications of their positions, but I take that that doesn't see to be helping.

correct? Harvard present and reiterated that calls for genocide were vial, and students who make threats against others will be held to account. But he stopped short of saying that those calls for genocide amount to such threats. And pens president liz magill did go further and maybe a little too late, but SHE saying, now that she's reconsidering pens policies.

here's how he put IT a call for genocide of jewish people is threatening deeply. So in my view, IT would be harassment or intimidation. These policies need to be clarified and evaluated. We can and we will get this right. So I take IT.

she's saying she's convening a group to do this. okay. And tobia, these are three pretty big institutions, and I imagine there's a range of opinions, but we able to speak to anybody on these campuses to get their thoughts about all this uh.

yeah, there are some who say, uh, the presidents had IT right the first time being purse on campus free speech and they're just made now to see the schools caving as one put IT to the political or financial pressure. I'll also share another more nuance take from harvard professor Stephen pinker, who's a staunch advocate for free speech, but also critical of what he considers a hostile environment for many to our students. He does not think carver's president deserves to be fired in part, he says, because removing or will not fix what he sees as a much more deeper ted problem. Here's how he describes IT.

I mean, it's like firing the coach when your team isn't doing well as kind feels good. It's a response to a demand, and he doesn't itself solve the problems.

And pinker, among the many who have accused universities of hypocrisy for cracking down on speech that offends the left, but allowing speech from the left that, for example, is making many jewish dents feel unsafe.

And as we mentioned, congress is now investigating these schools. What does that mean exactly?

Yeah, that house committee that held the hearings this week says it's now officially investigating schools disciplinary policies and IT won't hesitate to sepa documents if IT needs to and that's prompting complaints now that congress is not also investigating islam phobia and an anti palestinian or anti arab hate .

on campus that is to via Smith via thank you, you.

And that's up first for friday, december eighth. I am a .

shell Martin, and i'm Steven scape. Today's up first was edited by Christian native calomel mark cat coff and Steve IT was produced by lily caro's zion t. Butch and tailor hani.

We get engineering support from phil ed force and our technical director, st. C. C. M.

And don't forget up first air on saturday too. I you should russo and Scott Simon have the news that would be here in this feed or wherever you get your podcast.

This message comes from Green light. Parents rank financial literacy as the number one most difficult life skills to teach with Green light. The debit card in money up for families, kids learn to earn ve and spend wisely.

Get started today at Green light that come slash M P R. This message comes to M P R sponsor marrow. Whatever your financial goals are, you want a straight forward path there.

But the real world doesn't usually work that way. Maria understands that. That's why with a dedicated maria adviser, you get a personalized plan and a clear path forward.

Go to M L dot com slash bullish to learn more marrow, a bank of amErica company. What would you like the power to do? Testing involves risk. Mayo lynch, peer spanner in Smith incorporated, registered broker dealer, registered investment advisor, member as I, P, C.