Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon out at Fox News, CNN, Aaron Rodgers heads to Jets: 5 Things podcast

On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon out at Fox News, CNN

Cable news hosts Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon are out at their respective networks. Plus, China disavows comments made by an ambassador about former Soviet Republics and sovereignty, USA TODAY Politics Reporter Ella Lee has the latest from the Proud Boys trial, USA TODAY Investigative Reporter Gina Barton says runaways don't get the same police attention as other missing children, and Aaron Rodgers has been traded to the New York Jets.

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 25th of April 2023. Today, major changes in cable news. Plus, the latest from the Proud Boys' trial, and Aaron Rodgers has a new home.

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Tucker Carlson is leaving Fox News after the company announced yesterday that the two parties had agreed to part ways. The move comes just a week after a nine-figure settlement by Fox in a lawsuit over disinformation about voting technology from Dominion Voting Systems in the 2020 election. Text messages released in March as part of the suit showed that even though Carlson spread lies about the voting machines on his popular show, he said privately of former President Donald Trump, "I hate him passionately."

Carlson was also a major voice on television for far right viewpoints. One of those, the Great Replacement Theory, states that white people are being intentionally replaced by people of color. Anti-Defamation League CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, wrote on Twitter yesterday, "For far too long, Tucker Carlson has used his primetime show to spew anti-Semitic, racist, xenophobic and anti-LGBTQ hate to millions." Carlson himself may have been surprised by the decision and hasn't spoken out publicly. He ended his show on Friday by saying he'd be back on Monday.

Meanwhile, CNN also made a major move yesterday, moving on from anchor Don Lemon. He said he was fired from his post from CNN This Morning, which he had co-hosted for the past six months. Lemon said he was stunned. It's not entirely clear why he was let go, but in February, he made headlines for offensive comments about former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. He said that she's not in her prime and that a woman is considered in her prime earlier in life. Lemon was with CNN for 17 years.

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The Chinese government has disavowed comments made by its ambassador to France, who said the independence of former Soviet countries has not been legally established. The Chinese foreign ministry said that each former Soviet Republic has the status of a sovereign state after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Russian President Vladimir Putin, when invading Ukraine last year, said that Ukraine is not a real country and still part of Russia. China has tried to paint itself as neutral in the conflict while criticizing Western sanctions and helping to fund Putin's war by buying Russian oil.

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More than three months since its start, the seditious conspiracy trial surrounding the Proud Boys and January 6th is nearing its end as closing arguments began yesterday. I spoke with USA TODAY Politics Reporter Ella Lee to learn more. Ella, welcome back to the show.

Ella Lee:

Thanks for having me, Taylor.

Taylor Wilson:

So can you just start by reminding everyone who the Proud Boys are?

Ella Lee:

Absolutely. So the Proud Boys are a far right extremist group. They describe themselves as Western chauvinists, which is essentially, in their own words, men who refuse to apologize for creating the modern world. It was founded in 2016 and since then, members of the group have been fixtures of violent demonstrations across the country. For example, we've seen Proud Boys popping up at a lot of LGBTQ events in recent days and then obviously during the election, they were at a lot of alleged election fraud related events.

Taylor Wilson:

And what's at stake in this particular trial?

Ella Lee:

The most serious charge that the Proud Boys face is seditious conspiracy. That's basically plotting to forcibly oppose the authority of the federal government or forcibly block the government from executing laws and transferring presidential power. So it is the second most serious charge that an American citizen can face other than treason. And on top of that charge, they face an array of other charges, ranging from destruction of government property to conspiring to stop the certification of the election.

For the government in particular, this is an opportunity for them to prove that this is serious, that the Capitol attack was a real threat to American democracy. And I think that for attorneys for the Proud Boys, this is an opportunity to prove that maybe this was not as serious as some in the government have made it out to be, and perhaps not the fault of the protestors and more the fault of the former president, which is something that has come up at trial quite frequently.

Taylor Wilson:

What did the DOJ argue in its closing arguments?

Ella Lee:

So government prosecutors did not mince their words in making their final case to a DC jury. They talked a lot about American democracy and what they called a stain on the country that the Capitol attack left. In particular, they called the election certification process this shining example of democracy for the world since America's founding. But on January 6th, they said that the Proud Boys turned that into a "horrifying spectacle," and a "national disgrace."

Taylor Wilson:

And obviously, the defense has its opportunity in closing arguments. What are they arguing in the final days of this trial?

Ella Lee:

So two of the Proud Boys' attorneys went yesterday. There are five Proud Boys on trial, so each of their attorneys gets to give a closing remark. Attorneys for defendant Ethan Nordean and Zachary Rehl, they basically argued that the government's evidence is flimsy, the case is half-baked and the defendants had no plan. Nick Smith, who's Ethan Nordean's attorney, he compared the government's case to a bad action movie. He said it has thinly developed characters, but nonetheless it is loud and high octane. He also questioned whether the Proud Boys, who he called stupid and basically incompetent, he questioned whether they could have executed the seditious conspiracy that the government has alleged even if there was a plan.

Taylor Wilson:

USA TODAY Politics Reporter Ella Lee, thanks so much.

Ella Lee:

Thanks.

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Taylor Wilson:

Children who run away from home don't always get as much police attention as other missing kids. I spoke with USA TODAY Investigative Reporter Gina Barton to find out why that is and to hear what advocates say needs to be done. Gina, thanks for hopping on 5 Things.

Gina Barton:

Thanks for having me.

Taylor Wilson:

More than 40% of law enforcement agencies reviewed by USA TODAY allow police to put less effort into finding runaways than other missing kids. What are we talking about when we say less effort?

Gina Barton:

We reviewed the rules of more than 50 different police departments, and I think most people think that when a child is reported missing, there's going to be a big search through the neighborhood. Police are going to knock on your neighbor's doors. Maybe they're going to bring search dogs, bring out helicopters. And what we have found is that if the police believe your child ran away or left of their own accord, particularly if they're a teenager, that a lot of those things won't happen. In some jurisdictions, they just come, take the report and say, "Let us know if they come back."

Taylor Wilson:

Wow. So the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has removed the classification of runaway from its posters. Why is that?

Gina Barton:

There's definitely a stigma that's attached to the word "runaway." People think, oh, your child ran away. They're just off with their friends or their boyfriend or girlfriend. Maybe they're off partying. They're fine. They'll come back. But that is not always the case that even if a child leaves on his or her own accord, there are all sorts of dangerous things that could have happened to them. Maybe they got lured out by someone online and now they're involved in a trafficking situation, or they ran into somebody on the streets who wanted to do them harm or who wanted to prevent them from coming back. Not to mention the fact that kids, particularly under 16, can't drive, can't get a job, can't really support themselves at all so they need help. And a lot of times, the people who say they're going to help those kids really mean to do them harm.

Taylor Wilson:

Gina, you wrote that in many cities, being a runaway is considered a crime. Can you talk about why authorities say they do this?

Gina Barton:

That was one of our more interesting findings, I think. If they find a runaway, the police will put it on the child's record the same way they would truancy or underage drinking, maybe something like that, something that's not a crime if you're an adult. And in one jurisdiction that we found, which is Honolulu, the police are required to arrest any runaway that they find. And their spokeswoman told us that that was because arrest was the easiest and most secure way to get them to the social service agencies that they would need. But I found that pretty unusual. And there are other departments who have said, "We never want to arrest runaways because they're children."

Taylor Wilson:

In looking at how these police departments around the country deal with these cases, are any departments trying new ways to tackle this issue? And what more do advocates say needs to be done here?

Gina Barton:

The department that stood out for me as a department that was really doing something groundbreaking and forward-thinking was Dallas. And I spent a day with their high-risk victims and trafficking unit. They never arrest, even if they have been involved in prostitution, because they have really adopted the mindset that this category is at high risk for trafficking and that they are victims of whatever situation they were in. And so in the Dallas Police Department, they work really hard to get those children to resources. Advocates I have talked with nationwide have said they would like to see more police departments adopt that mindset and also would like to see the term "runaway" just banished from people's vocabulary because it implies that they're not at risk when they are.

Taylor Wilson:

All right. USA TODAY Investigative Reporter Gina Barton. Thanks so much.

Gina Barton:

Thanks.

Taylor Wilson:

Aaron Rodgers is heading to the Big Apple. The 10-time Pro Bowler was traded from the Green Bay Packers to the New York Jets yesterday. As part of the deal, the Packers will move up two spots in the first round of this Thursday's NFL draft. They'll also receive additional draft picks. Rodgers was the longest tenured player in Packers history after they drafted him in 2005. He won four MVP awards with them and one Super Bowl back in 2011. The Jets are hoping Rodgers can be the missing piece after losing six games in a row to finish the season last year despite a hot start. The Jets haven't made the playoffs since 2010.

Thanks for listening to 5 Things. You can find us every day of the year right here, wherever you get your podcasts. I'm back tomorrow with more of 5 Things from USA TODAY.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tucker Carlson, Don Lemon out, Aaron Rodgers traded: 5 Things podcast