Friday morning news: March 31, 2023

Trump » Former President Donald Trump will be the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges, after a grand jury voted to indict him.

The Manhattan district attorney has been investigating hush money payments Trump allegedly made to silence claims about extramarital affairs.

In a statement on Thursday, the former president called the indictment “political persecution” by Democrats.

Congresswoman Kat Cammack predicted the move will backfire for Trump’s opponents.

CAMMACK - I think Americans are going to resist this I think people who are on the fence about supporting another run from President Donald Trump, they're now saying you know what, I'm all in now. And again we know that Trump has a fighter he leans into the fight. He's not gonna go anywhere.

The exact charges against the former president have not been announced yet. Trump is expected to face arrest and arraignment in the coming days.

Nashville »

911 CALL: I’m hearing more shots in the upstairs hallway. I’m in the art room closet.

Authorities in Nashville have released the 9-1-1 calls from the shooting at The Covenant School earlier this week.

Six people died in the attack, including three children. Officers shot and killed the shooter within about 15 minutes of receiving the 9-1-1 calls.

The private, Christian school is associated with Covenant Presbyterian Church.

SOUND: [Protesters shouting]

Meanwhile, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in the Tennessee state capitol yesterday to call for stricter gun control.

Train fire » Cleanup from another train derailment is expected to take several days in Raymond, Minnesota.

Twenty-two cars derailed on Wednesday morning. About half of them were carrying ethanol, and four cars caught fire.

BNSF Railway Vice President Matthew Garland.

MATTHEW GARLAND: Ethanol will burn off and we’re monitoring the air and we’re monitoring all the conditions around the derailment site.

Representatives of the rail company traveled to Raymond following the incident, as did Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and other state and federal officials.

Residents within a half-mile radius of the site were told to evacuate but have since been allowed to return to their homes.

Healthcare » A federal judge in Texas has overturned part of the Affordable Care Act. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more.

JOSH SCHUMACHER: The portion of the Affordable Care Act in question required insurance providers to cover preventive services. That includes screenings for cancer, diabetes and mental health and other services like HIV screenings.

The judge in the case also declared the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional about four years ago. The Supreme Court later overturned that decision.

The Biden administration is expected to appeal and seek a temporary hold on the ruling.

For WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

Russia » The White House says that Russia may try to obtain weapons from North Korea in exchange for food.

The United States is sanctioning a Slovakian arms dealer accused of trying to broker the deal.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby:

KIRBY: As part of this proposed deal, Russia would receive over two dozen kinds of weapons and munitions from Pyongyang. We also understand that Russia is seeking to send a delegation to North Korea and that Russia is offering North Korea food in exchange for munitions.

Kirby added that any agreement would violate numerous U-N Security Council resolutions.

He also acknowledged that North Korea has said it won’t sell weapons to Russia, but said the administration is still monitoring the situation.

WSJ reporter » Meanwhile, the Biden administration condemned Russian for arresting American journalist Evan Gershkovich on espionage charges.

He works for The Wall Street Journal, which denies the allegations.

U.S. State Department spokesman Vedant Patel:

PATEL: I would like to make it clear that it is not safe for US citizens to be in the Russian Federation, any US citizen reciting or traveling in Russia should depart immediately. As stated in our latest travel advisory.

The Russian intelligence agency FSB says Gershkovich was caught was trying to gather information on a Russian military complex.

Gershkovich is the first American reporter arrested in Russia since the Cold War. His latest report covered the Russian economy slowing down amid sanctions.

Pope recovering » The Vatican reports that Pope Francis is showing improvement after receiving antibiotics for bronchitis.

He was admitted to the hospital earlier this week after experiencing difficulty breathing for a few days.

The 86-year-old pope had part of a lung removed as a young man due to a respiratory infection, and he often speaks in a whisper.

I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

Straight ahead: Culture Friday with Katie McCoy.

Plus, Listener Feedback.

This is The World and Everything in It.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.