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He’s running. What next for investigations into Trump? · Apple News Today

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  [GENTLE MUSIC]
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  Shumita Basu, Narrating: Hey there. It's Shumita here. Every so often, we're gonna recommend a show that we think is worth you checking out. "Decoder Ring" from Slate is a podcast about cracking cultural mysteries. In each episode, host Willa Paskin explores a question, object or habit, reveals its untold history, and tries to figure out what it means and why it matters. Check out "Decoder Ring" on Apple Podcasts.
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  Good morning! It's Wednesday, November 16th. I'm Shumita Basu. This is "Apple News Today." On today's show, a deadly missile incident in Poland raises the stakes in the Russia-Ukraine war, how tech layoffs fit into the broader economic picture, and some alternatives if you wanna go turkey-free this Thanksgiving.
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  But first… Former President Trump, who fought to overturn the will of the people who voted him out of office, inspiring a deadly attack on the Capitol, is now officially trying to get back into the White House.
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  [START CNBC ARCHIVAL CLIP]
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  Donald Trump: I am tonight announcing my candidacy for President of the United States.
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  [CROWD CHEERING]
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  [END CNBC ARCHIVAL CLIP]
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  Trump launched his campaign last night with what may be the most legal baggage any major presidential candidate has ever had. He hasn't been indicted, but he and his family businesses are the target of multiple major investigations. So let's check in on where some of the big cases stand.
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  One involves Trump's handling of highly classified documents after he left office. "The Washington Post" recently reported federal agents and prosecutors believe that Trump allegedly took classified documents to his Florida estate because he wanted mementos from his time in office. The investigation doesn't point to Trump trying to sell government secrets, but whatever the motive, "Post" reporter Devlin Barrett says taking classified documents can be a serious offense.
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  Devlin Barrett: It is a longstanding practice of the Justice Department to prosecute people who take large volumes of highly sensitive material away from where they're supposed to be, even if it's just for their own curious interest. People have been charged and gone to jail for that.
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  So far, though, that hasn't happened with former presidents.
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  Another major case involves the role President Trump played in the January 6th attack on the Capitol, and it's more complicated. It's not even clear at this moment whether it's gonna lead to legal consequences for Trump or his inner circle. Barrett says the ongoing trial involving the far-right militia group the Oath Keepers could give us some insight about how much danger Trump is in.
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  Barrett: If prosecutors are able to win a conviction of the Oath Keepers for seditious conspiracy, that gives them a little more leeway and a little more rope to pursue potential other cases against other organizers related to the riot. If they acquit on that issue, I think that is going to be a kind of yellow light to prosecutors that maybe they have gone as high up the ladder as they should go.
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  Barrett points out that the Justice Department may decide to appoint a special counsel to oversee Trump cases now that he's running again, but he says he doesn't expect a major change in legal strategy.
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  Two people are dead in Poland after a missile landed in a rural village near the Ukrainian border. It may sound like a small number compared to the overall death toll in Russia's war in Ukraine, but wrong moves here could cause a major escalation in the war, which is why you're seeing such careful language from Biden and other world leaders.
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  NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg spoke this morning…
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  [START CNN ARCHIVAL CLIP]
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  Jens Stoltenberg: Our preliminary analysis suggests that the incident was likely caused by a Ukrainian air defense missile, fired to defend Ukrainian territory against Russian cruise missile attacks. But let me be clear, this is not Ukraine's fault. Russia bears ultimate responsibility as it continues its illegal war against Ukraine.
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  [END CNN ARCHIVAL CLIP]
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  Earlier, Poland described it as a "Russian-made missile," but didn't say that it was intentionally launched from or by Russia. Ukrainian forces also use rockets that were made by Russia before the war started.
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  The investigation into who launched the missile is important because Poland is a NATO member. If attacked, allies, including the U.S., are bound to defend it. Again, this is why presidents and prime ministers have been so cautious with their words. If this were to be considered a Russian attack, the war could suddenly get much bigger.
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  The Kremlin previously denied involvement, calling this incident an attempt to provoke and escalate the situation.
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  Amazon, Meta, Twitter. Major tech companies have cut tens of thousands of jobs in recent weeks. Tech reporter Bobby Allyn talked about this on NPR, when Facebook's parent company made big cuts.
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  [START NPR ARCHIVAL CLIP]
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  Bobby Allyn: Big tech companies are some of the most profitable firms in the world, sitting on these huge mountains of cash. So when they have to start laying people off, like Meta's doing here, laying off 11,000 people, the rest of the corporate world sits up and sure does pay attention. Now, does it mean that other sectors will start preparing for a potential economic downturn? I am not sure. But it definitely sends a troubling sign to other large companies.
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  [END NPR ARCHIVAL CLIP]
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  Many of the tech companies making layoffs have cited two primary factors: they over-hired during the pandemic when people were spending more time online, and they're worried about a broader economic slowdown, which has companies spending less on digital ads.
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  Tech layoffs are getting a lot of attention because these are big numbers and some of these companies make products that we use all the time. But they aren't the whole story. CNBC has some useful context. Even though some technology companies are struggling, the broader job market has a lot of positive news. Some managers are fighting to hang onto workers, especially in blue-collar and service industries, and there are still nearly two job openings for every available worker.
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  That's not to say there aren't real worries about a recession that could hit the job market hard, it's just a reminder that the U.S. economy is a lot bigger than Big Tech, and some workers are doing well in it right now.
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  Thanksgiving is just over a week away, and if you're serving turkey, you're taking a hit in the wallet. The American Farm Bureau says prices are up 21% from a year ago. That's because avian flu reduced supply and widespread inflation made it way more expensive to raise and transport turkeys.
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  So that's got a lot of people who haven't yet finalized their cooking plans looking for alternatives, either to save some bucks or because they never really liked turkey in the first place.
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  "America's Test Kitchen" has five turkey-free ideas for you to consider, and I wanna tell you about just one of them because it's genius. It's based on the notion that the thing about Thanksgiving that everyone loves is pies. So the idea is, an all-pies Thanksgiving. You've got your savory pies, which can be anything from quiches to beef patties to Cornish pasties to empanadas. And then, of course, you have your dessert pies. And the nice part about an all-pie Thanksgiving is, you can make most of it ahead of time. It makes for a low-stress, high-reward meal.
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  And if you want to go all veg, KCRW has you covered. One of the more glamorous moves is a whole stuffed pumpkin. It's tasty, the recipe is really flexible, and the pumpkin comes out of the oven all beautiful and bronzed.
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  You can read some of these "who needs turkey?" ideas in the Apple News app, along with all of the stories we talked about today.
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  And if you're already listening in the News app, stick around. We've got a narrated excerpt of a book coming up next. You might recognize the voice. It's former First Lady Michelle Obama, reading from her new book, "The Light We Carry." She talks about the aftermath of the January 6th Capitol attack, and what the poet Amanda Gorman taught her about resiliency.
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  So enjoy listening to that, and I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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