What to expect when Trump is arraigned, LGBTQ+ couples face IVF barriers: 5 Things podcast

On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: What to expect when Trump is arraigned

USA TODAY Justice Department Correspondent Bart Jansen has what to expect when former President Donald Trump is arraigned in Miami. Plus, USA TODAY Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page breaks down the latest USA TODAY/Suffolk poll and what it tells us about Biden, Trump and others in the 2024 presidential race, billions in COVID-19 relief was stolen or wasted, LGBTQ+ couples face financial barriers for IVF, and is alcohol good for your health?

Podcasts: True crime, in-depth interviews and more USA TODAY podcasts right here

Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. 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.

Taylor Wilson:

Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and this is 5 Things you need to know Tuesday, the 13th of June 2023. Today, what to expect at Trump's arraignment. Plus, what new polling tells us about Biden, Trump and others for 2024, and hear how billions in COVID relief was stolen or wasted.

♦

Former President Donald Trump is expected at a federal courthouse in Miami today for his arraignment on charges that he kept classified documents at his Florida home after leaving the White House. For what to expect today, I spoke with USA TODAY Justice Department Correspondent Bart Jansen. Bart, welcome back to 5 Things.

Bart Jansen:

Thanks for having me.

Taylor Wilson:

So Bart, what's expected today leading up to the arraignment and what'll happen at the hearing itself?

Bart Jansen:

Yeah, Trump traveled from New Jersey to Florida on Monday. So he will be in the vicinity at his Doral Resort. He'll have to drive over to the courthouse. Google thinks that's about a half hour drive, but who knows with a big presidential style motorcade, what kind of traffic that might create. The hearing is scheduled for about 3:00 PM. It's called an initial appearance, but he has said that he will be pleading not guilty, so it becomes an arraignment in addition. So he makes at least an initial appearance to formally receive the indictment and is also expected to enter a plea.

Taylor Wilson:

What are the security concerns ahead of what will be a busy day in Miami today?

Bart Jansen:

Well, the courthouse itself is pretty secure. They have handled significant organized crime and drug cases. Somebody mentioned that Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega was brought to this courthouse at one point. So the facility itself is very secure. There were some concern about perhaps protestors either for or against Trump, or clashing with each other, could gather outside the courthouse. Trump was indicted in March in New York City on charges that he falsified business records there. He arrived at an arraignment and pleaded not guilty on those charges. And crowds gathered on both sides of those charges, but they were fairly sparse and they did not lead to violence.

Of course, the concern stems from his urging supporters to come to Washington D.C. for the counting of electoral college votes on January 6th, 2021. Those sorts of larger crowds and potentially violent crowds aren't really a concern among security experts this time around because so many people have been charged from the January 6th case that protesters are fearful of being arrested, charged by federal authorities if they were to protest outside the court this time. So authorities will be keeping an eye on what kind of crowds arise, but there's no real concern about violence on Tuesday.

Taylor Wilson:

And Bart, you touched on this a bit, but what will we learn specifically about Trump's legal strategy going forward at this hearing?

Bart Jansen:

At the very least, we'll get introduced to lawyers. He dropped two lawyers who had been working for him on these federal investigations up to now on Friday, and assigned one of the lawyers who participated in his New York case, Todd Blanche, to represent him in this case, that he was going to hire additional lawyers as well. And so he'll have a new slate of people. In addition, the judge in this case, US District Judge Aileen Cannon, is familiar with the investigation because she's the one who ordered that a special master review the documents that the FBI seized at Mar-a-Lago to see if perhaps some of them should not be used by investigators.

Trump had alleged that some of them might fall under attorney-client privilege or executive privilege. And so she assigned a special master. That order was overturned by the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals saying that any challenge he wanted to make to evidence gathered in the case he'd have a chance to do that at trial. Well, here we go. The charges have been filed now. She has been assigned randomly to oversee that case. She may not be presiding at today's hearing. The Miami Herald has reported that a magistrate judge, Jonathan Goodman, will be presiding at this hearing. But this hearing itself promises to be fairly brief and routine, and then over and done. So he'd be processed, but he is expected to make a speech at Bedminster in New Jersey at 8:15 tonight.

Taylor Wilson:

Bart Jansen, thanks for your insight as always.

Bart Jansen:

Thanks for having me.

♦

Taylor Wilson:

Both former President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden face big liabilities in the latest USA TODAY/Suffolk poll. I spoke with USA TODAY Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page to learn more. Thanks for hopping on the podcast, Susan.

Susan Page:

Hey, it's great to be back with you.

Taylor Wilson:

So, you write that new polling shows us that both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have big liabilities. Susan, what are they?

Susan Page:

Well, for President Biden, it's his age. He's 80 years old. He's already the oldest president in our history. And we find that 37% of Democratic and Independent voters, so those are the voters he's going to want to appeal to, say his age makes [them] less likely to vote for him. So that's a significant hurdle for him as he seeks a second term. Trump has a parallel one in a way. It's not his age, it's his legal troubles. 34% of Republican and Independent voters, so that's his voter pool, say the fact that he's engaged in all these legal problems, including the indictment on federal charges, makes them less likely to support him.

So that number is roughly the same for the two of them, although the hurdle that they have is a little different. Just one thing to add about Trump though, 11% say it makes them more likely to support him, so he gets a little bit of a rally around effect.

Taylor Wilson:

And sticking with Trump, how is he faring among Republicans at this point?

Susan Page:

Well, he's faring pretty well with Republicans. In the Republican contest, he's well ahead of everybody else. He's 25 points ahead of Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor, who is his most significant challenger. So the Republican contest really looks like it's his to lose.

Taylor Wilson:

And how are Biden and Trump faring head-to-head in this latest polling?

Susan Page:

If the election were held today, Biden edged out Trump by two percentage points. Now that's not very much, 34% to 32%. It's within our margin of error. The thing that's notable is about one in four Americans say they would vote for a third party candidate. That shows the level of dissatisfaction for a lot of voters with the choices they may well have next November.

Taylor Wilson:

And Susan, at this point, does Biden do better or worse in polling when compared to other Republicans?

Susan Page:

Well, Biden does better against DeSantis. He beats DeSantis by seven points, that lead is outside our margin of error. So at the moment, Trump is the stronger general election candidate despite all his legal troubles.

Taylor Wilson:And what are the most important issues that voters are focused on, according to this polling?

Susan Page:

It depends on whether you're a Republican or a Democrat. Americans generally are concerned about inflation. But when you get past inflation, there's a big difference. Republicans care most after inflation about immigration. But if you talk to Democrats, there's a bunch of issues they care about. They care about gun control, and healthcare, education, and threats to democracy. All of those issues got the support and concern of 20% or more of Democrats.

Taylor Wilson:

USA TODAY Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page, always with some great polling info for us. Thanks so much, Susan.

Susan Page:

It's my pleasure.

♦

Taylor Wilson:

Billions of dollars in COVID-19 relief aid was stolen or wasted. An Associated Press analysis has found that fraudsters potentially stole more than $280 billion in pandemic relief funding while another $123 billion was wasted or misspent. The combined loss represents about 10% of the more than $4 trillion the US government has so far dispersed in COVID aid. Much of the stolen money was taken through three large pandemic relief initiatives launched under the Trump administration and inherited by Biden. The programs were designed to help small businesses and unemployed workers survive the economic hardships of the pandemic. Investigators and outside experts say that the government conducted too little oversight, especially in the pandemic's early days, and put too few restrictions on applicants. Now, the government is trying to play catch up. So far, the US government has charged more than 2300 defendants with pandemic related fraud crimes, and it's conducting thousands of investigations.

♦

In vitro fertilization, or IVF, along with other fertility treatments, are expensive for most people who want children. But advocates say that LGBTQ+ couples face even higher financial barriers. That's because state laws and insurance policies can make it more difficult for them to receive fertility coverage. Those restrictions make an already costly process even more daunting for LGBTQ+ couples who tend to earn less, yet may also face the added expenses of needing sperm or egg donors, surrogates or gestational carriers.

The community also faces a record amount of anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced this year with some states proposing laws that could jeopardize access to IVF. For LGBTQ+ couples who want to foster or adopt instead of conceive, other roadblocks exist, with 13 states that allow state licensed child welfare agencies to turn away LGBTQ+ couples if it conflicts with their religious beliefs. There are efforts being made to expand fertility coverage for the LGBTQ+ community. President Joe Biden's 2024 fiscal year budget submission included proposed legislation that would expand access to fertility treatment and adoption reimbursement to single veterans, veterans in same-sex relationships and veterans who need donors, sperm, eggs, or embryos to build a family. The bill to end the debt ceiling crisis did not include that proposal, but the Biden administration continues to advocate for expanded access to assistive reproductive therapies. There are also proposals in a number of states. You can read more with a link in today's show notes.

♦

Is alcohol good for your health? Despite many harms linked to alcohol, research has shown that light to moderate drinking can have benefits that help protect the heart. And a new study may explain how that's possible. According to a report published this week in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, experts at Massachusetts General Hospital found that alcohol's linked to lowering the risk of heart disease may have something to do with reducing stress. But health experts say that doesn't mean more people should be drinking. Senior study author Dr. Ahmed Tawakol said the goal is still to find other approaches that could replicate or induce alcohol's protective heart effects without the adverse impacts of alcohol.

And before we go, the Denver Nuggets are NBA champions. It's the franchise's first championship in a more than half century long history.

Thanks for listening to 5 Things. If you have any comments, you can reach us at podcasts@usatoday.com. I'm back tomorrow with more of 5 Things from USA TODAY.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump arraignment, latest Biden and Trump polling: 5 Things podcast